Agonizingly slow...

Marius had never went at this slow of a pace and it was becoming more tiring to stay reasonably behind the messenger than it would have been to just go to St. Marmelise as quickly as possible. And the information he was digesting over involving what is known about Claudia and her order’s purpose didn’t help matters.

“I wondered what Sylvese meant when she said this was a child of her’s and Jaris...”

Redeeming whores and pimps, using her body to cleanse the sins of others. This was certainly inline with the concept of using Sylvese’s domain to do something sort of like justice. But the need of martial capability to protect oneself from the more dangerous elements of criminals and heretics...well, that didn’t seem like a particular strength of this order. Nor were they helped with the Grand Cardinal’s decree for these paladins or sin-tax-takers to operate without guards.

“What sort of philosophical understanding can you get from acts or the art of prostitution?”

Maybe the Grand Inquisitor was right...this old man must be losing it. But this was an experiment by the gods, right? And if so, why didn’t they go to St. Marmelise’s Grand Inquisitor? Why the Cardinal?

“I sense a tangled web...but who is the spider?”

These were the thoughts that haunted the Rune Blade’s mind until he, eventually, had arrived to the city of St. Marmelise. And, of course, he was met by the usual greetings his kind receives in these lands.

Namely sneers, hushed but fevered words, fearful gazes, and people rushing to go to the opposite side of the streets than him or into alleyways. It mattered none to him, it left him to his thoughts. Hopefully no one would be stupid enough to try anything funny to him. He could handle the looks and spats.