Peek: Small Steps

Kardul greets the dawn with an eager smile. He has the permit to start Lord Thedeim's new church here in Horlon City, so now he just needs to get the deed. But first, he should get something to eat. If he's going to be negotiating for a land contract with the owner, he'll need the energy to do so.

Thankfully, the inn has a small restaurant attached, and though it's certainly no Cobble Bread, there's a wonderful scent drifting through the air this morning. The receptionist catkin is still at his post, and another comes to greet Kardul as he enters the eating area.

"You have good timing, sir. The house oatmeal is nearly done, and we offer a variety of dried fruits and nuts to go with it," she explains as she shows him to a table.

"Oatmeal? I didn't know oatmeal could smell so good," he comments, much to her amusement.

"Oh, most other places serve it very bland, but we cook ours with wine. Nothing too fancy, most of it too sour to simply drink straight, but it adds a wonderful taste to our oatmeal."

"Hmm. I'll have that then, please, with dried nuts and fruit, you said?"

She beams and nods. "Yes sir! Would you like some tea as well? Our breakfast blend is great for energy in the morning, and I think it goes well with the oatmeal."

He chuckles and nods. "That sounds wonderful, miss...?"

"Halae, sir. I'll get that out for you quickly!" She smiles at him again and heads off to fetch his meal. As promised, it's the best oatmeal he's ever had, though that's not a high bar to clear. Still, he can see himself ordering it again, as well as the tea.

Much as he wouldn't mind sipping tea and chatting with Halae, sitting around in the inn won't get Lord Thedeim's church established! He leaves a few extra coppers on the table before making his exit, and heading for what will hopefully soon be the new church for Lord Thedeim.

The street is crowded, but he takes that as a good sign. With so many people, that will mean more people to potentially come inside! The building is nestled between two others, practically all the shops built wall to wall along the entire road. One of his neighbors looks to be an armory of some variety, though there's no signs of a forge. The smithy must be located somewhere else. On the other side is an accounting firm or something similar. Some sort of scribe work, at any rate.

The church looks more like a shrine with delusions of grandeur than a proper church to him. In fact, considering the two businesses on either side, he wouldn't be surprised if it really was some small roadside shrine that the city eventually grew to envelop, and the zoning for it was never changed.

At the moment, the door is closed, so he can't get too good of a look, but the building appears to be in good repair and the neighborhood clean. There aren't any symbols or anything claiming the spot for any deity, but he recalls what the registrar told him about it being recently vacated by the Shield. Even if they don't own the deed themselves, they'd know who does, and they're supposed to be close.

It's only a few more blocks before he reaches the church district, and the crowds are a bit more manageable. Sure, most churches are open every day and will take supplicants at any hour, but most worshipers will visit once a week for the main service, and which day depends on the deity. The Shield's is still a few days off, so it's simple enough to get to the building.

It's a much more grand building than the one they have in Fourdock, though it doesn't compare to the grand cathedral of Lord Thedeim... even if he last saw it still in the early stages of construction. If it's anything like the lighthouse... he'll need to make a pilgrimage back once he has the church here established.

As he climbs the grand staircase leading to the doors of the large church, an older elf steps out and smiles at him like an old friend. "Ah, I don't think I've seen you before. Would you happen to be Kardul?" he asks, much to Kardul's surprise.

"I... I am? But how do you know me?"

The other elf's smile manages to brighten even further, and he opens the door and holds it. "Wonderful! I don't know you specifically, but the Crystal Shield has nothing but kind things to say about your Lord Thedeim. It asked us to clear out the old shrine for your use, but... well, it won't be free."

Kardul eyes him warily even as he accepts the invitation into the church. "I have some coin, but... why help me? I don't even know your name, and you didn't know my face."

The elf laughs at that. "Ah, of course! How rude of me! I am Kleary, Head Priest of this particular church. And as for why to help you, well, the Crystal Shield told me to. I didn't get here by defying It, you know?" he says with a wink, then continues.

"Which of course makes one wonder why the Crystal Shield would tell me to help. I won't claim to know all of It's motives, but I think this is an easy one to guess: Lord Thedeim is responsible for the new paladins."

Kardul's eyes widen at that. He had of course heard of the young paladin Freddie, the orcish lad who got his class from Lord Thedeim. It had been widely accepted that the Shield must have been working to spread the class, but to hear it so casually confirmed...

"They're doing well?" he asks, earning yet another wide smile from Kleary.

"More than simply well! The Crystal Shield has been trying to forge a similar class for quite some time now, as I understand it. My own pride might be wounded if someone new accomplished something I'd been working at, but I think it's a good lesson to not let pride get in the way of a breakthrough. Now, It told me your Thedeim is reluctant to work with other deities directly and officially, which is where the price comes in."

Kardul does his best to keep his footing, both physically and mentally as Kleary talks, and the mention of price helps him to focus. "Ah, right. I take it you have the deed, then? How much do you need for it?"

The Shield priest winces before he speaks. "Unfortunately, we don't have the authority to simply hand it over. And to lease it would be... prohibitively expensive, I'd imagine. You saw how busy the street was, I'm sure? Leasing it for anything less than a premium would be obvious quickly, I'm afraid. But there's a way to offer it to you for services rendered."

Kardul eyes him suspiciously. "What kind of services?"

Kleary gives him a reassuring smile. "The kind I believe you're qualified for... though you may need to go prove it to the local Mason's guild, first. Building inspections are expensive, and not simply for the cost of correcting whatever issues they find. If you are licensed to inspect here in the capital, the church would like to have you on retainer for inspections and repairs. Not only will you have the lease for the shrine, but also receive proper payment, too."

Kardul considers that for a few moments before answering. "Inspect and report what I find? Not try to bury it?"

The Shield priest nods. "And repair at our expense, yes. Our churches Protect those inside, and the Crystal Shield would not stand for us to ignore such dangers. Not just this church, but likely most of the churches across the city."

"Won't the masons be upset if I take their business?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have to pay dues, and they'll probably try to raise a stink about us not hiring one of their more established members for this, but nothing too serious. If they try to pit their reputation against that of the Crystal Shield, I don't think it'd go very well for them."

"...what if they try to undermine Lord Thedeim?"

Kleary laughs aloud. "From what I hear, it'd go even worse for them!"

Kardul frowns at that, before remembering all the obstacles Lord Thedeim seems to overcome without even breaking stride. He chuckles and nods. "Fair. I'll need to go to the mason's guild, then, and be recognized as a master."

The other priest smiles. "Excellent! If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask. We'll practically be neighbors soon, so we should help each other out as we can."

He nods at that and they shake hands, leaving him to return to the inn to prepare for the guild. Should he show them Lord Thedeim's concrete? He'd rather keep that secret for now, but it might be a good idea to have it ready, just in case. He's already seen the little Changes starting to spread, and a large guild could see that as a threat and try to keep him out. It couldn't hurt to have something so big they can't ignore it, just in case.

He nods to himself as he gets back to the street and pushes his way through the crowd. He'd like to get some more tea, and to ask Halae about alchemical supply shops. What he needs isn't especially exotic, but an alchemy shop would be the simplest place to get what he needs without someone asking too many questions.