"He did what now?" Lana thundered, her voice echoing through the suddenly quiet common room. Her and Glory had managed to find a modest inn at a decent price and settled in to wait for the others. Wally immediately stuck his nose in his book and began muttering to himself.

"Volcanic rock? That might just be the answer... it isn't simple fire, after all." He was unphased by Magra's news of the others, too caught up in his work.

Glory winced from behind his mug, "That's a whole lot of shite. What are we supposed to do about it?"

They all fell silent, and in time, the common room returned to normal. Lana finally broke the silence, "We can go to the King and explain. He must hear from his people at some point, he is well-liked by most folk. Even back home in the Snowcap, we hear about the Kingdom of Ingran and all its glories."

Magra shrugged and ordered a drink, counting the coins in her purse with a look of regret, "I can go to the church of Lyealle and ask there for guidance. Maybe the Goddess can guide our path. It would be best to go in the morning, however." She counted her coins again, "And of course there's the offering to make. I hope this is all worth it and Andar isn't just a crazy half-orc doomed to savagery. Do we even need him?"

Lana glared and Wally finally looked up, "Hey, let's all be friends, okay? We started this together and Galt said we should stay together. And I say we listen to him. It's only because of him we all got to meet in the first place."

Lana finally smiled, nodding with one hand on Wally's shoulder, "He's right. We need to stick together. So we will do what we can tomorrow, with the light of a new day on the problem. The rooms are already paid for, with plain fare to break our fast in the morning. I, for one, am turning in. Wally, it's time to go to bed. Put the book up, there's time for that tomorrow."

Wally looked up, stricken, "But, I'm so close to figuring something out. I'll only be up a little longer, promise." Lana stared at him until he blushed, his red skin turning an even darker red. He stood and mumbled about feeling tired anyway and closed his book with a sigh.

Glory shrugged and tossed the serving girl another silver and motioned for another drink. He watched her walk away, hips swaying. Right before she walked out of view, she looked back over her shoulder and winked at him, eliciting a small cheer and a hiccup from the tipsy pirate.

Magra looked at her drinking companion and shrugged, ordering an ale of her own. "Might as well get something useful done tonight."

Magra pulled at her collar and winced. Might be time to get a clothing upgrade. The traveling clothes just weren't doing the job.

The temple was busy, with people coming and going to do their early morning prayers and offerings. It was also the best time to go to get spellcasting done, as most of the priests hadn't had time to use all their spells for the day.

"Good morning, welcome to the temple of Lyaelle. I see by your robes that you're also a follower of the faith. What can I do for you today? Are you here for basic worship?" A robed figure stepped forward, his hair cropped short and every finger sparkled with rings. Most priests took vows of poverty, though the followers of the Goddess of Wealth didn't need to worry about those things.

"Actually, no." Magra spoke smoothly, letting go of her irritation with her collar, "I'm actually here to see if I could use your temples services for spellcasting." She pulled a couple of platinum coins from her small coin purse, internally wincing at the loss. She had stopped at a moneylender earlier but didn't have time to actually talk to them. The coin changer had mentioned something about a bank account she could open, though, which was certainly on the list of things to do.

The priest's demeanor instantly changed to one much friendlier, and he laid a hand on her arm, "Well, of course, we would be happy to help. What can the Goddess do for you today?" The coins disappeared in a flash so fast that Magra could have sworn she could still feel the weight in her empty palm.

"I'm looking for communion with the Goddess. I have the capability but lack the materials. Any assistance would be much appreciated."

"We have just the thing to help you. If you'll just follow me, I can lead you back to where we cast that particular spell. You're lucky to have gotten here so early, we were almost out of the lower level spells for the day."

Magra sighed inwardly. Thank the Goddess, otherwise, this would have been a real pain. Anyone else would be fooled, though Magra heard the real words behind what the man said, "All the cheap low level spells for the day." There was always a cleric of the Goddess willing to spend personal slots for a quick coin.

Magra followed the priest into a back room, making his way deeper and deeper into the temple. The press of the noise from the day began to diminish, though Magra could still hear the sound of the few worshipers who felt that by being loud, the Goddess would be more likely to hear them. It rarely worked, though when it did they used that as proof of their theories.

'Fools,' Magra thought, 'Don't they know it's the sound of coins that attracts the Goddess' attention?'

The room they walked in was small, with an old woman sitting on a small cushion. Her robes were clean, crisp, and obviously OLD. It looked as if she hadn't moved from that spot in a century. Magra turned to thank her guide but he was already gone.

Instead, she bowed to the woman, "Greetings, blessed one. I have come for guidance from the Goddess, in regards to a decision my group must make later today."

The woman's face never changed, though she intoned in a deep voice, "My child, what questions do you have for our mother? Ask, and the bones shall lead thee true."

"Ehrm.." Magra scuffed her foot and cursed silently, "Later today, my companions and I would meet with the King. Will this lead to freeing our companion from being falsely imprisoned?"

The priestess nodded, her eyes closed as she communed with the Goddess. It looked almost idle, the way she let go of the bones. She didn't even throw them, just let them slip from limp fingers. They rattled across the table for a near impossible amount of time, until they settled. Without even opening her eyes, the lady spoke, "Our mother tells me your chances are strong for favorable outcomes. She bids thee jump upon this opportunity. Did you need anything else?"

Magra regained her professional composure, though on the inside she was practically dancing with glee, "No, blessed one. That will be all. Thank you, and many praises upon the Goddess of Luck."

The crone waved her hand in a clearly dismissive gesture. Magra shuffled quickly out and hurried back to their inn to tell the others. Time to stand in line to talk to the King... "And then, to the bank!"