Now that he had his Dagger upgraded and he'd gone back to poke around the Hollowed Grounds with Maea, Tal finally had time to sort out what was weird about it.
Everyone said there used to be shrines to the old gods there, but no one knew where to find them anymore. And maybe it wasn't any of his business, and it should probably be someone else's problem but...
Hail. He just couldn't leave it alone. The old gods had done pretty good by him, and maybe this time he could give something back to them. Besides, with all the void critters wandering around, Caido could use all the help it could get.
He'd been to quite a few shrines in his travels, but there weren't many that served all the gods, so it was that the courier made his way back to the Celestine one warm and sunny Longheat afternoon. Within the gardens the gentle twilight shifted the perception of time, giving the area around the shrine with its musical water gardens and blooming flowers an otherworldly feeling that itched between Tal's shoulder blades as he cleared his throat and began setting out offerings on the altar.
A hollow three dimensional star carved of white wood, all of one piece though its arms extended in several directions was set beside a basket of fresh raspberries and two clay jars of cream and honey. Boreal carried over a small stuffed dog that Tal had outgrown years ago but kept in a cherished chest of memories and laid it gently beside the rest, grumbling encouragingly as her human took a deep breath and then reached back into his Bag. A reindeer's thigh bone that had been carved into a flute was placed above the stuffed dog. A small rock with a trilobite fossil perfectly preserved was set above the basket of raspberries alongside an egg. Finally, Tal set a jar with holes in the lid above the wooden star. Inside the jar was a twig with several flowers and a living butterfly with vibrant blue wings that fluttered slowly as it thought its strange, butterfly thoughts at its current lot in life.
Tal knelt and drew in a deep breath before starting his prayer.
"So, I'm prayin' to... to all o' you old gods today. Safrin an' th'Freys an' Ludo an' Vi an' Mort an' Rae... yeah. I wanted t'pray in th'Hollowed Grounds but I couldn't find a shrine t'any o' you there. Is that somethin' that matters t'you? I'd be willin' to..." He paused, scowled, and shook his head as he battled to keep his foot out of his mouth for once. "I mean, it'd be an honor t'help out. If that's, y'know, somethin' I can do for you?"
Everyone said there used to be shrines to the old gods there, but no one knew where to find them anymore. And maybe it wasn't any of his business, and it should probably be someone else's problem but...
Hail. He just couldn't leave it alone. The old gods had done pretty good by him, and maybe this time he could give something back to them. Besides, with all the void critters wandering around, Caido could use all the help it could get.
He'd been to quite a few shrines in his travels, but there weren't many that served all the gods, so it was that the courier made his way back to the Celestine one warm and sunny Longheat afternoon. Within the gardens the gentle twilight shifted the perception of time, giving the area around the shrine with its musical water gardens and blooming flowers an otherworldly feeling that itched between Tal's shoulder blades as he cleared his throat and began setting out offerings on the altar.
A hollow three dimensional star carved of white wood, all of one piece though its arms extended in several directions was set beside a basket of fresh raspberries and two clay jars of cream and honey. Boreal carried over a small stuffed dog that Tal had outgrown years ago but kept in a cherished chest of memories and laid it gently beside the rest, grumbling encouragingly as her human took a deep breath and then reached back into his Bag. A reindeer's thigh bone that had been carved into a flute was placed above the stuffed dog. A small rock with a trilobite fossil perfectly preserved was set above the basket of raspberries alongside an egg. Finally, Tal set a jar with holes in the lid above the wooden star. Inside the jar was a twig with several flowers and a living butterfly with vibrant blue wings that fluttered slowly as it thought its strange, butterfly thoughts at its current lot in life.
Tal knelt and drew in a deep breath before starting his prayer.
"So, I'm prayin' to... to all o' you old gods today. Safrin an' th'Freys an' Ludo an' Vi an' Mort an' Rae... yeah. I wanted t'pray in th'Hollowed Grounds but I couldn't find a shrine t'any o' you there. Is that somethin' that matters t'you? I'd be willin' to..." He paused, scowled, and shook his head as he battled to keep his foot out of his mouth for once. "I mean, it'd be an honor t'help out. If that's, y'know, somethin' I can do for you?"
