Chp.7: The temple

"I don't understand. Why is the temple so far from the city? Shouldn't it be close to the faithful?" Corgorin growled, furious that they had been walking for over an hour. Even though she couldn't technically get tired, it was still annoying, as well as extremely boring.

"The temple cannot be in the city. It is a place where purity and immaculateness exist, where one goes to be cleansed of one's sins. It must be in an equally pure and uncontaminated place, certainly not in the midst of a receptacle of corruption and evil as cities are" Carlos explained.

Corgorin was a little surprised by those words. "Sorry, but shouldn't you try to defend your kind? And now you define the place where they live a receptacle of corruption and evil?"

"Look, I didn't say that we are all bad. In fact, most people are good" Carlos tried to explain himself better. "But wherever there are people there are also some individuals who prefer to follow evil rather than righteous ways. Every city is full of criminals, rapists, opportunist merchants, noble tax collectors... a temple must be far from this wickedness"

"And placing it in the middle of nature seems better to you? Do you have any idea what animals do every day? Most of them perform acts that you would define as brutal and monstrous" Corgorin muttered. "Or is it only human wickedness that matters?"

"I think it matters that humans have the ability to choose whether to harm or not. Animals, on the other hand, act on instinct" Carlos tried to say.

"Come on! This is ridiculous. Wouldn't your gods have created the world according to your dictates? Then why did they create a world where the instincts of animals lead them to do things you call criminals?" Corgorin asked. "At this point, perhaps you should ask yourself if the gods don't prefer that simple and natural way of life, rather than your complex and dogmatic..."

"Corgorin, please stop!" Rhaegal exclaimed in exasperation. "Focus on the mission, instead of challenging the religion!"

"Phew! It's not my fault that half of these dogmas don't make sense!" Corgorin grunted, but at least fell silent, to the delight of Carlos and also Rhaegal, who was sick of hearing her moan.

After Darbi had contacted them and revealed Haku's plan to them, the whole family had mobilized to be able to find out some information about the lizardman named Zamor. Sisna had gotten quite a few interrogating the baron the night before, and now it was Rhaegal and his party's turn to get busy and talk to the lizardman's ex-wife. Sisna had proposed that Rhaegal and the others go to the temple for two reasons: firstly, because it was better for her and the other sisters to remain at the shop, since it would have seemed strange if maidens had left the city defenseless, and secondly because there was the possibility, albeit remote, that that baron had notified someone at the temple and therefore it was better to send someone who had no apparent connection with her, such as the party 'One day'.

"Is there anything we should know before entering the temple?" Rhaegal asked Efren. "Things like how to behave or stuff like that?"

Efren sighed and scratched his head. "Well, first of all, when you're there, avoid criticizing the dogmas of the goddess. I'm speaking especially for someone" he said, looking at Corgorin, who gave him a rasp in response. "Then... well, when we will arrive we will have to follow a strict protocol. First we will have to go to the chapel and say a prayer of thanks to the goddess Heloisa for leading us up to the temple. After that we will have to salute the high priest, and we will have to do it according to a precise pattern: we will kneel, we will bow our heads, we will declare our names, we will salute him in the name of the goddess, and only when he allows us we will get up and speak to him again. At that point we should be free to wander around the temple as we please"

"Will it be all right for you to enter the temple?" Serengal asked. "I mean... don't you serve the Goddess of the Hunt? Will she not be offended if you enter the temple of another goddess?"

"Words don't matter to the gods, it's what a person believes that counts" Sarah said slightly derisively. "The great Ishtana, who can look into our hearts, will know for sure that ours is a fake prayer. She won't mind, I'm sure"

"I agree. If the gods resented every time someone says a fake prayer, they'd have to spend every second of their day punishing mortals" Carlos added with a laugh, getting punched in the stomach by Sarah.

Serengal wasn't too convinced, but she asked no further questions. It seemed strange to her that it was possible to predict the decisions of the gods in that way, but in the end humans were the experts in the matter, certainly not the dragons.

After another ten minutes of walking, a large building appears on a hill ahead of them. The three dragons had to admit that it was very beautiful indeed. The temple was surrounded by a large wall which could be passed through a large arch studded with gold and silver; inside there was a huge garden, full of ponds and extremely well-kept plants, and some people were working to keep everything in order. In the center of the garden was a building, about eighty meters long and thirty wide; it consisted of two rows of columns on the outside which supported a roof in the shape of a semicircle. After the columns there were walls that probably surrounded what was the chapel. The whole was of fine white marble, so white that the temple almost gleamed in the sunlight.

"Wow... sure you humans are really good at architecture" Corgorin commented, then asked, "Is that part of the temple too?"

In the distance, much further than the temple, there was in fact another building. It looked like some kind of tower built out of a very dark material, and it almost seemed to pulsate as if it were animated with life of its own. "Oh, no. That is the temple of the God of Knowledge" Sarah answered.

"Who?" asked Corgorin, who obviously had no idea who he was.

"What!? You don't even know about him?" Sarah exclaimed in amazement. "I can understand the goddess Heloisa, but… the God of Knowledge? One of the oldest gods in existence? The only one who truly knows past and future, and whom all mortals and even gods respect?"

Corgorin seemed to be about to yell at her, clearly not having liked those words, but Serengal anticipated her: "No, we don't know him. Can you explain who he is, please?"

Sarah looked a little uncomfortable, and the same was true for once of Efren and Carlos. "The God of Knowledge is… well, the God of Knowledge. He knows all, sees all, and knows everything that ever was and ever will be. And he is the most respected of all the gods, to the extent that no dares to go against him. Other deities often come into conflict with each other, inciting their worshipers to kill each other's worshipers, but none has ever tried to fight the worshipers of the God of Knowledge. To touch one of his servants is to suffer a fate worse than death. The presence of his temple here is proof of that: in the Jurao Kingdom, even if there is freedom of religion, it is forbidden to build a temple that isn't of the goddess Heloisa, but this rule doesn't apply to the God of Knowledge"

The three dragons were quite surprised. Although they were used to seeing newcomers respecting gods, it was the first time they had heard of a god respected even by other gods. "He must really be an amazing deity. Why do other gods respect him so much too?" Serengal asked.

"No one knows except the gods" Sarah replied. "Perhaps his priests know, but they can only reveal what he allows them to reveal"

The three dragons didn't understand. "Reveal?"

"The priests of the God of Knowledge are prophets" Efren explained as he joined the discussion. "They can see events in the future, but they can reveal only as much as their god allows, no more. And their prophecies are always right. All who have attempted to oppose them have done nothing but help to fulfill them"

If what the three of them said was true, then the God of Knowledge must indeed know the past and the future. "What's his name?" Rhaegal asked curiously.

But the three adventurers immediately shook their heads. "Don't ask that loud!" they exclaimed almost in unison. "No one can say the name of the God of Knowledge! Only his priests can, and even they abstain most of the time!"

The three dragons looked at each other in confusion. From their point of view it was strange that a god was so respected and at the same time that his name was not known... but in the end it was not up to them to judge. If the God of Knowledge was okay with that, then good for him. "Well, it doesn't matter now. Our objective is the temple of the goddess Heloisa, not that. Let's go and finish the mission" Rhaegal said, and everyone immediately agreed.

The party hurried to the top of the hill and passed through the impressive arch. Up close they could see that the temple was even more majestic than it looked from a distance: every single piece of it, from the roof to the columns, was specially modeled to form magnificent decorations representing the goddess, and these decorations were in turn coated with powder of gold and silver. In the garden they could immediately notice that their information was correct: there were in fact several lizardmen dressed in very simple clothes (just a habit, without even shoes) who were working to prune the plants or clean the statues. So at least the baron had told the truth that the lizardmen following Zamor had been imprisoned there.

As Efren had told them to do, the group made their way to the chapel. The door was very high and made of an extremely fine wood and gilded. With a gentle push Rhaegal opened it and entered. The chapel was very large and some windows lit it up as day; at the far end of the room was a statue of a woman at least twenty feet tall, and in front of it was a brazier burning intensely. Rhaegal, Corgorin, Serengal, Efren, Sarah and Carlos knelt before it and joined hands, and then prayed (or rather, the three adventurers prayed and the three dragons repeated their words): "Great and noble Heloisa, you who make green our fields and drive away drought and famine, thank you for sending your light to enlighten our foolish hearts with your message and to lead us to this sacred place of yours, where we can admire your magnificence..."

'What the heck are they saying? Or better, what the heck am I saying? Aaaah! And then they are surprised if I consider religion stupid!' thought Corgorin as they were praying. She really hoped the gods weren't touchy, like Sarah had said, or she might end up being struck by lightning as soon as she left the temple.

Once they finished praying, the group got up and walked out of the chapel. There they found some priests waiting for them, among which one stood out dressed in a white robe and a golden necklace around his neck that ended with a metal circle on which the symbol of the goddess was engraved. This was undoubtedly the high priest, and evidently he had come to welcome them. All of them knelt down, declared their names and saluted him in the name of the goddess, and then I waited until he said: "Please stand up. All who come to our temple under the blessing of the goddess are welcome"

The group stood up. The high priest had a peaceful smile on his face. "We weren't expecting visitors, as it's not a public holiday. May I ask what brings you here today?" he asked.

Efren spoke up: "We are adventurers, and recently we have spent a lot of time on various missions. We have fought against many bandits and monsters and we have seen many bad things. We wanted to come here today so that we could stay here in the temple for a while and feel the presence of the great Heloisa in our lives. If that's okay with you, of course..."

"Of course, no problem. You have every right to" the high priest replied. "You can stay as long as you like, explore the temple, and seek the comfort of the goddess. The great Heloisa always helps those in need, and we do the same. If you need spiritual guidance, just ask us and we will be happy to assist you"

"Thank you. We don't want to disturb your sacred duties, but if we need to, we'll come immediately" Efren said, bowing his head slightly in humility. The high priest smiled at him again, after which he walked away followed by the other priests.

"Wow... so now we can roam the temple freely? Shouldn't they at least let someone watch us? Aren't they afraid of thieves?" Corgorin asked.

"If you try to steal anything here, you will become the enemies of the entire Jurao Kingdom" Carlos replied. "No one would be that stupid"

"What about them? Shouldn't there be guards watching them?" Corgorin asked again pointing to the lizardmen.

"Look at them. They have collars of submission" Rhaegal told her. In fact all lizardmen clearly had collars around their necks. "They couldn't escape even if they wanted to. Come on, it's time to find Thora"

The group set off around the garden, occasionally asking the lizardmen. And very soon they found the one they were looking for. She was a lizardman with teal scales, not very tall and with emerald green eyes, who was intent on planting some flowers. "Thora Elins?" Rhaegal called her.

The lizardman turned around. "It's me. Who are you?"

"We are friends" Rhaegal answered. "We need your help. We want to know what really happened to your husband"