-- High Priest Silas--

The old man crunched down on a maple candy. He kept a jar of them around for the kids, but that didn’t mean he didn’t sneak a few himself, sometimes.

Now if only Felix would stop stealing them!

That was irrelevant, though. He had to focus, had difficulty focusing, as he got older. When he was younger, he was as sharp as anyone. He could recite all sixty tenants of Nox in less than three minutes! Now, that was sharp. Indisputably—

The young woman in front of him cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present.

“Ah, our sweet Ira.” He smiled at her. The girl had been raised in this very orphanage and was one of the few to return (albeit with a bit of a bad attitude). “What’s brought you here?”

It wasn’t Felix, was it? It could have been Aurelia, too, the poor girl had been awfully insecure lately, which had led to her lashing out a bit.

“Your holiness—”

“Just Father Silas, Ira. There’s no point in formality.” He’d only become the sect’s leader because he was the oldest left, and that deserved little respect.

Ira sighed in exasperation. “Father.”

The title brought warmth to his heart. Ira had called him ‘Papa Silas’ when she was still small and inquisitive, but ‘Father’ was nice too.

“Yes, my dear?”

She shook her head slightly, likely thinking him senile. “Nova discovered a dungeon, in the old palace.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Maybe he was senile. Or at least hard of hearing.

“Pardon? I think I misheard you, little tabby.”

Ira chuckled at the old nickname. “Father, you didn’t mishear me. Nova discovered a dungeon—in the throne room of the old palace. We must lay claim to it, before the sect of Laurus—”

“Now hold on, Ira.” Silas held up one hand, “There’s no need to be so hasty.”

“But Father—”

He frowned, “What the new sect has done is quite unnecessary. Dungeons do not fall under the discretion of religious authority. They ought to be free for anyone’s use.”

“I know, Father!” Ira raised her voice, frustrated. She had gotten so much angrier since she’d gone away from the Scoop. Even if she’d returned, he couldn’t help feeling they’d lost a part of her forever. “But that sect doesn’t care! The dungeon will become like the others—used only by followers of Laurus—if we do nothing! We need to act now, before we lose our chance.”

Silas sat back, considering her with melancholy eyes. “It has,” he admitted, “Been a long time since I’ve left the Scoop.”

“Yes,” Ira clenched her fists, “The outside world has changed, Father. So must we.”

He sighed. Swallowed the remains of his candy. “You’re a good girl, Ira. I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you, Father.” She smiled at him. It was the same smile she’d given him throughout her childhood, but there was tension in her eyes now that didn’t belong.

Reaching into his candy jar, he found an extra-large lump of sugary goodness. “There you are, little tabby.” He grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm.

“Father.”

“Yes?”

“I’m 25 years old.”

He looked at her, confuzzled. “Ira, I’m not sure what you’re getting at. You’ll have to explain it to me, I’m getting very old.”

Laughing suddenly, she popped the maple candy in her mouth. “Never mind.” She smiled at him. “I’ll contact Priestess Aurora, then?”

Aurora. The beautiful leader of the Lux sect. His heart skipped a beat. It may have been palpitations.

“I’ll contact her.”

Ira blinked. “Doesn’t she hate you, though?”

“Don’t worry about it.” He smiled goofily. “This old man can handle it.”

“Alright.” She shook her head. “I’ll pray to Nox for you.”

Silas ignored her trepidation, fumbling around for his walking stick. It was difficult for him to walk as far as Lux’s temple, anymore.

Still, he knew it would be just as pleasant as when he was young.