The next morning, Callan was awoken by a loud rapping on his door. He leapt up, scrambled around a moment to find his pants, then hopped his way across the room as he pulled them on.

“What is it?” he asked, nearly falling over as he flung the door open. Already his mind was filling with images of worst-case scenarios: cultists attacking the village, the mayor murdered in her bed, Kivi kidnapped and held for ransom until Callan gave in to Veritas’s demands. Any one of a hundred things that could go wrong between now and the duel.

He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Kivi standing there, one worry eased in his mind, at least. Then he saw the expression on her face.

“Apologies for waking you at this hour Avatar, but... it has happened. The temple to Athakolu has fallen.”

“Oh, is that all?” Callan set off walking at a brisk pace, Kivi practically jogging to keep up. “You had me worried that this was a *real* emergency or something.”

Kivi frowned at him. “Perhaps it is not the most dire turn of events, but it still requires haste. Had Belinda not been in attendance at the temple already, it might have been hours until it was discovered, hours during which Veritas’s domain would have continued to spread—”

“Yes, yes. You don’t have to explain it to me, High Priestess, I know what’s at stake here. Hey, Xeph!”

Zzz-zt! Gruh?

“Good of you to finally join us. We’ve a situation on our hands.”

By the time they reached the cellar doors behind Falchion’s, Callan had the god caught up. He stepped aside to let Kivi down the stairs first.

And you have sufficient memory stone on hand?

“Yep, never leave home without it.” Callan patted one of his pockets, which bulged slightly with the reddish crystals. “Besides, I made sure to top off last night before I went to sleep, so we should be more than adequately supplied. Besides, doesn’t it only cost five Conviction to establish one of these things?”

Yes, but there are other concerns as well.

Before Xeph could elaborate, they reached the bottom of the steps, and found Belinda waiting for them, wringing her hands in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness. Her expression turned to a mixture of relief and glowering at the sight of Callan.

“About time you got here! I could feel Veritas’s taint slipping in through the walls as we speak.”

“Xeph says it won’t expand nearly that fast. Also, phrasing.” Stepping past the mayor, he approached the altar—or, former altar, now. Belinda had cleared away the jars containing ‘wind essence’, or so she’d claimed, but the elegant tablecloth remained. Along with several unlit candles. Callan collected those and handed them to Belinda.

“We won’t be needing these, thanks. High Priestess, are you ready?”

“Whenever you are, Avatar.” She took Callan’s hands in two of her own. As soon as she did so, a message appeared in his vision.

Would you like to create a temple? Cost = 5 Conviction

Technically, you do not both need to be present for this, Xeph noted dryly. It was only a condition of the first temple. Now, either of you might independently create a new one, though for the High Priestess to do so on her own would require a supply of—

“Yeah, yeah. Save the exposition for later, Xeph. We’re on the clock here.” Squinting, Callan concentrated on accepting. The message winked away.

Temple has been established. Generating interface, please wait...

Generation complete.

Temple Designation: *Unassigned*

Temple Class: Basic Temple

-STATISTICS-

Nave: 0

Aumbrey: 0

Narthex: 0

Scarsella: 0

-CONSECRATIONS-

Teleport

Scry

Commune

Tintinnabulation

-DOGMA-

Annexes: 0/3

Domain: 50 yards

Conviction: 0/10

Conviction cost: 1/week

“Nice to be able to finally look at one of these without getting a bunch of error messages in my head,” Callan noted. Kivi gave a thoughtful nod of agreement. Scanning the sheet over, one detail immediately caught his eye. “Hey Xeph, the Commune function, it’s—”

Yes, I know, mortal. Leave it for the moment. We have more important matters first. Such as refilling the temple’s conviction reserves—unless you wish it to collapse in upon itself in the next few minutes.

“Oh, good point.” Placing his hand back on the table, Callan channeled his remaining five Conviction into the temple, filling half of its own available reserves. “That good?”

For the moment. Now, if you would please draw your attention to the Statistics section, I think it is time we discussed these in more detail.

“Oh? Are you finally going to reveal all the secrets you’ve been withholding from me, Sensei?”

I withheld nothing, human, the information was compressed! There is a difference! Xeph paused a moment, then added, What is a sensei?

“Never mind. You were about to tell me some valuable information, right? I admit, I have been curious.” Callan took a moment to look over the statistics. Only four of them, and all were at zero, the same as his own had been when he first blended with Xeph.

However, it was the names themselves that had truly vexed him. “What’s up with these titles? I feel like I’ve heard the term narthex somewhere before, but the others are complete unknowns.”

Do not read too deeply into the names. They are simply drawn from human cultural archetypes buried deep in your subconscious. If you’d rather, I can change them to something more familiar to put you at ease...

“No, no, I guess it’s not that big of a deal. So what are they for, exactly?”

Each one represents a different branch of this temple, its strengths and weaknesses. More weaknesses than strength at the moment, if we’re being honest, but with time—

"Focus, Xeph.”

Hmmph! I was getting there, mortal! The god paused to affect an irritated cough, then continued, Nave represents the overall strength and utility of temple consecrations. Aumbrey does the same, but specifically for any annexes. Narthex aids in passive recovery of followers while within these walls. And finally, Scarsella determines the upper limit to which our domain can spread.

Callan repeated all of this to Kivi, who had been waiting patiently as she sat through his half of the conversation. When he was done, she glanced at their shared screen with a frown.

“Most of those make sense to me, Avatar—at least as much as any of this makes sense—but what does Xeph mean by ‘Annex’? I see that we are apparently limited to three of them, but I know not what purpose they serve.”

“Huh, good point. Xeph, is this another one of those cultural appropriation words you mentioned before?”

No, mortal! Human cultural archetypes! We appropriated nothing! The god let out a long sigh. Annexes are simple—they are additional rooms that can be either created or drawn into the temple, enhancing overall functionality.

Callan frowned. “Yeah, okay, you’re going to need to explain that further, because I didn’t get anything from what you just said.”

It is easier to simply show you. Concentrate on Annexes if you would, please.

When Callan did as instructed, another menu appeared.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Please select one of the following options:

1. Basic Living Quarters — 5 Conviction

2. Basic Library — 5 Conviction

3. Basic Storeroom — 5 Conviction

Available Conviction: 5/10

More advanced options become available as Aumbrey is raised, Xeph added. Callan nodded absently.

“Should I actually select one? I’m not sure any of those are of particular use right now.”

They are not, but it could not hurt to experiment. Just remember to refill the temple’s conviction reserves afterwards.

“What are you seeing?” Kivi asked, bringing Callan’s focus back to the present and reminding him that the high priestess couldn’t view the same sub-windows that he did.

“Hold on a moment, High Priestess. I just need to... there!”

The temple’s conviction drained away as he selected ‘Basic Storeroom’. At the same moment, the wall behind Belinda began to quake. She gave a shout and leapt away.

“What in the name of the Cairn are you trying to pull, boy? I’m too old for my heart to be jumping out of my chest like that!”

Callan ignored her. As he watched, the wall continued to shake, and the dirt and rock comprising its center simply... faded away.

“Is this some sort of stone god thing?” Belinda asked.

Hardly, Xeph scoffed. While the formation of annexes take different forms depending on the patron deity, they are also dependent upon the space the temple occupies. If we were in a large, open building, it might have simply partitioned some of the space rather than creating it from scratch.

“Is that what happened back at Zavastu’s temple?” Callan asked, remembering the layout of the former lud storehouse. “I always wondered how they got that giant cage in there.”

Hmm, yes. That was likely grown as part of the temple rather than brought with them. It says much about this goddess Zavastu that she felt the need to include such an option for her satellite temples, and none of what it says is good. Do not expect to receive similar offerings from me.

“Believe me, buddy, I wouldn’t want them.” Callan ducked inside the storeroom after Kivi, with Belinda peeking her head through the doorway, like she didn’t entirely trust the space not to swallow her whole. He glanced around, taking in the new space.

There wasn’t much to it. Plain dirt walls and a few crates in a corner. Approaching the latter of these, he pulled the lid off one and peered inside.

“Huh. Empty.”

Were you expecting them to be otherwise? Given that we have not invested any points into Aumbrey yet, I’m amazed this room generated anything at all.

Callan turned back towards the door to find Belinda still looking around, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Seems like a lot of wasted effort. My husband never felt the need to generate extra space like this back when it was our temple.”

“Probably didn’t think it was worth the memory shards.” Personally, Callan was in agreement. A neat feature, but ultimately useless for them here. Though at least now he better understood why there were so many empty rooms back home. Just how powerful had Xeph’s main temple been at one time to fill all those tunnels and chambers?

Approaching the altar again, he tossed a few memory shards into his mouth, swallowing them with a slight grimace. Once his reserves were full, he dumped all of them back into the temple.

“There. Should help keep the lights on for the rest of the time we’re here. At least, I hope so. Better not take more than two and a half months to sort this little conflict out.”

Careful, human. Don’t utter such phrases unless you wish to inadvertently give them life, Xeph warned. Now, if you feel as if you have a grasp upon how Narthexes function, we should move on to the next matter at hand.

"Yeah, I think I got it. Pick a room, add a room. It's like playing the sims, but with less choices and woohooing."

...What?

Callan sighed. “Never mind. What do you need?”

Draw your focus to the temple’s statistics.

Doing as directed, Callan watched that section of the interface expand. A new message appeared alongside it.

This temple currently has (1) unassigned point available. Would you like to assign it?

Temples do not function by the rules as avatars do, Xeph intoned. They do not gather faith, but rather increase their functions by the slow conversion of divine energy over time. Each week, a point of Conviction is consumed by the temple, and another point becomes available to assign to its various statistics.

“Really? One measly point per week? Seems like it could take forever to grow a temple.”

Not as long as you might think. First tier temples max out their growth of each statistic at ten, so this one would be fully upgraded before a year is out. However, both the upper limit and the rate of growth can be increased by raising this place to the next tier.

“Something we can’t do until we’re significantly more powerful ourselves,” Callan noted.

True.

“So where should I put this point then? Scarsella? That’ll increase the range, which is kind of what we need right now.”

Also true. However, the growth rate will not increase by a significant enough amount to matter greatly. I advise placing the point into Nave, so that the temple’s consecrations can be better utilized instead.

“What benefit could that possibly provide—oh.” Realized settled on Callan even as he spoke.

Oh indeed. There was a smirking note to the god’s voice—like a rock tumbling down a hillside.

“Okay, so I just need to—”

“As much as I love to stand around and listen to a man talk to himself all day,” Belinda interrupted, “Some of us have real work to attend to. If you don’t mind, Avatar, I’d like to get back to the business of keeping my little town from tearing itself apart.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good to see you too, Mayor.” Callan waved absentmindedly, only half paying attention to the footsteps tramping up the stairs as he assigned the temple’s sole point to Nave.

“If you do not have any further need of me, Avatar, I shall take my leave as well,” Kivi said.

“Actually, High Priestess, you should probably stick around for a few more minutes.”

“Oh?” The lud girl stepped up beside him, frowning at the main temple screen. Callan grinned as he finished navigating submenus to the one that he wanted. With a mental flick, he selected ‘Commune’.

Please select from the following temples:

Main Temple (Tier 3) — 1 conviction

“Choices, choices, so many damn choices,” he muttered. Kivi glanced at him curiously, but he just waved her away. Instead, he selected the sole option available, then waited as both his submenus and the main temple interface disappeared.

“So hey, Xeph, how long does this take? Like, should I go grab a cup of coffee or—oh, never mind.” A hazy image had appeared in the air in front of them, centered above the table. Kivi gave a slight jump at its appearance, but upon glancing at Callan took a moment to straighten her dress and compose herself.

The image continued to clear, albeit slowly. Callan thought he could see someone on the other side but couldn’t quite make out who. A voice rang out, surprisingly clear. “Hello? Who goes there?”

“It’s me.” A heartbeat later, Callan added, “Callan, avatar of Xeph-Zul-whatever. Also High Priestess Kivi.”

“Avatar!?!” The image stabilized, and Callan found himself staring right into Argas’s face. The young lud immediately bowed his head, fuzzing the image. “And the high priestess as well! It is an honor to receive a vision of you both!”

“This isn’t a vision, Argas, just a little temple-to-temple communication.”

“Ah, I understand.” Rising, Argas studied them both. “So you have been successful in establishing relationships with Aos? Does that mean you shall be returning soon?”

Callan hesitated. He hadn’t actually gotten as far as thinking about what to say to Argas. “Actually, about that—”

“One moment, Avatar.” Argas glanced behind him, then back. “I should summon Shamain. She will be angry if she doesn’t speak with you herself.”

“Oh, Shamain’s back? When did she—aaaand he’s gone.” Callan sighed at the now-empty screen. He turned to Kivi. “I guess while we’re waiting... what exactly do we want to tell them?”

Kivi frowned. “We need to inform them of the situation here in Aos at the very least. It might even be prudent to discuss the matter of reinforcements.”

“You really think that’s a good idea at this point? I haven’t even had my first duel with Veritas. For all we know, I might win handily.”

“While I wish to only remain optimistic about such prospects, Avatar, the fact remains that—”

Suddenly, Shamain’s image ballooned in front of them, her weathered face leaning so close the image began to fuzz again. “Hmmph. The fool was right. It seems you’ve been successful on your little adventure after all, Avatar.”

“Hello to you too, Shamain.” A mischievous grin started working its way onto Callan’s face. His mouth spoke before the rest of him could stop it. “How was your vacation to the beach? Did the fresh air help improve your mood, or just leave you saltier than before?”

“Hah, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, lad? But I’m afraid it’ll take more than a few days away to bend this old woman’s habits that I spent a lifetime building.” Shamain shot him a gormless smile.

Ah, Callan had to admit, he’d missed Shamain’s acid wit. At least with her, you knew you were getting the truth. Clearing his throat, he moved on to business. “How did it go?”

“What, with Seabrest? As successful as one could hope, I suppose. They almost unanimously voted to throw their support behind the avatar.”

From the back of his mind, Callan felt Xeph slither to the fore. They did? How many new followers are we referring to?

Callan repeated the question. Shamain’s smile widened. “Eager for a little more strength, are you? Can’t say I blame you, or that god in your head. By my count, we’re looking at thirty-five new followers.”

“Thirty-five.” Callan’s mouth was suddenly dry. He reached a hand towards the old lud’s image. “Well, what are we waiting for, then? Send them on over!”

Mortal, I hate to be the bearer of ill tidings, but faith cannot be passed through a remote connection like that, Xeph noted dryly. We shall have to wait until our return to the main temple.

“What? That’s utter bullshit and you know it, Xeph. Why do we need physical contact, anyway? Aren’t you already receiving the faith anyway?”

That isn’t how the relationship between god and faithful works. There must be an element of touch to form the proper bonds on the metaphysical level.

Callan pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Metaphysical, really? Is that actually your word for it, or just a close approximation that you’re pulling from my brain?”

The second one. The actual term implies connections formed on at least three layers, all of which are of a transcendental and preternatural nature. If you wish, I can try to lay it out in terms that you might comprehend, but be warned that many of the nuances will be lost in translation—

“Ahem.” The sound drew Callan’s attention back to the wavering image. Shamain’s expression had cooled to a mere smirk. “I assume you had a reason for contacting us, Avatar? Is everything well in Aos?”

“Uh, actually about that...” As briefly as he could, Callan explained the situation. The longer he talked, the more any trace of a smile faded from Shamain’s face. By the end, she was practically glowering, though whether it was directed at him or just the situation in general, Callan didn’t know.

“Of all the foolish messes... and now you say you are bound into this duel, lad? No chance that you could scarper off and leave the yeth to deal with their own mess?”

“I mean, we could leave,” Callan said. “But what would be the point? We’d lose access to all that faith we’ve accumulated so far, plus what’s promised in the future.”

“Hmmph. Not much of a promise if it came from a yeth. Still, what’s done is done. We’ll just have to make the best of it.” Shamain shook her head.

“Yeah, that’s the other reason for this call. The high priestess and I thought it might be prudent to discuss the matter of potential reinforcements. Just in case something goes wrong with the whole duel plan.” Callan hoped he wasn’t jinxing himself by saying that out loud.

“Oh. Well that’s an easy discussion to have,” Shamain said matter-of-factly.

Callan blinked in surprise. “It is?”

“Indeed. Because the answer is no. I won’t send so much as a runner to help you until the mess with this other avatar is dealt with.”