Thankfully for Ethan, and his near complete lack of direction, the town's sanctum was rather easy to find, both because of its size and location. The sanctum, a beacon of the past, where the Keepers and their Messengers stood firm for the populace of Nelumexa, was at the center of what was considered "Old Town" by the locals and area map makers. The fact that there was even and old town was a testament unto itself, though the fact was mostly due to location as Cloudcrest was deep within what turned into allied territory during the war. It had been around 100 years since the Keepers and their Messengers were able to bring the war to an end, though it had been at a significant price, and Cloudcrest had grown exponentially every few decades. While it was on the small side compared to the other towns and cities that survived the war it was still large enough to proudly represent the new world near the edge of the inner kingdoms as a commercial hub.

While the old town section of Cloudcrest was indeed... well old, it was by no means dirty. Being the old center of town, and considering the importance placed on the history of the land, mostly due to devastation, old town was never allowed to break down and fester. At least not until recently that is. As time moved on people began to forget about the past, as they are ought to do, and as such also began to take their history for granted. The town still took care of the streets and buildings in general, however, the budget to do so shrunk more and more each year. Buildings like the sanctum, considered relics of times long past and with little value in the new world, were the first ones to be removed from the short list of building upkeep.

While Ethan made his way down the street which was no where near as busy as the ones around the guild hall he noted the disparity between the different buildings of old. He began to notice a pattern where old warehouses, that were too far from the market to be of use, or smaller buildings that were once small shops or forges, that weren't large enough to be of use, were rundown and crumbling. However, at the same time he could see where historically important buildings, such as the old town hall, which was now a records archive, or the old inn that didn't have a name which was now a cheap refuge for the poor traveler, were in much better shape, though even then one could see their weathered surfaces could use some love. The streets were still clean though, as waste removal and management was just as much about the health of the town as it was for appearance.

The only building of historical significance that had clearly been overlooked was the sanctum, though Ethan didn't really have any idea as to why this was the case. After picking up on the earlier upkeep pattern he would have figured the sanctum would have looked better than it did. It fell somewhere between the forgotten and the still barely repaired, but it was clear that certain areas of the building couldn't be used anymore due to structural issues. Ethan took a moment to survey the front of the sanctum after stepping through the open gate facing the pair of massive doors that represented the entrance. Between him and that entrance was a large circular fountain with seven hooded figures standing on its ledge, circling it. The fountain and the figures were made of stone, and the rippling water within surrounded a plan ball of marble that represented their world.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

After stepping up to the fountain Ethan looked up at the various statues and noted their faces, or more precisely, the masks of emotions they wore. From his teachings at the orphanage he knew each of them by name, and he whispered them to himself as he slowly looked at each one.

"Evireal the Happy, Vanoradin the Sad, Coriten the Disgusted, Deniber the Fearful, Yytsia the Bad, Xelinar the Angry, and Tresnor the Surprised."

As one could imagine, the statue representing Evireal wore a smiling mask, while Vanoradin's wore a pouting mask. Coriten's mask had a face similar to what a child makes when they eat something they don't like for the first time, and Yystia's had a naughty grin with a wink. Finally Xelinar's mask had a yelling face, and Tresnor's looked like a circle that a round peg would be placed into.

"Praise be the Keepers and may they watch over us."

Ethan whispered his words respectfully before stepping away and then around the fountain. He noted that the fountain had been cared for and maintained with great effort and love. Whether it was out of skill or simply devotion of time and, or, funds, Ethan wasn't sure, but the result was clear, this sanctum still held the old ways in the highest of regards. For some reason, and he wasn't sure why, he suddenly smiled at the thought of someone respecting the old ways to such a degree. Even though he did respect the Keepers and their Messengers he didn't consider himself a devotee, and his offerings of words were more of a gesture than devotion. Finally he returned his attention to the door he now stood before and reached into his pack to retrieve the job posting before reaching up and using the plain, though large, door knocker. A moment later the door gradually opened and he lowered his head in greeting.

"Hello! My name is Ethan Kipley and I'm here about your job posting."

He held the piece of parchment out and felt it removed from his grasp, at which time he lifted his head with a smile on his face. Once his eyes focused on the person in the doorway his smile faltered and he felt his cheeks flush. Standing there, looking back at him with a deadpan gaze and no expression was none other than Katarina. The girl looked down at the parchment, lifted her gaze back up to Ethan, and then looked back over her shoulder in the opposite direction.

"Tch!"

"Hey!"