It's not necessarily an invitation to stay, Malicus finds.  It's more of a request to serve.  The Temple of Minerva serves the goddess of wisdom, and she is no pushover.  Let others stay hidden behind walls waiting for the next attack; Minerva will challenge her foes.  Her way.

The Temple of Minerva is a grand looking marble structure, surrounded by columns, at the top of which are statues of famous thinkers.  Except at the front- the statues at the top appear to be giant owls.

Several owls cruise around the outside.  There is a garden outside as well, with stone benches and magic lights.  In warmer weather there would usually be people strolling and discussing, and even holding classes outdoors in the garden, as The Temple of Minerva doubles as Arras’s school.
All of Minerva’s clerics are women, by long standing tradition, and Malicus hasn’t actually been permitted to stay at the temple- men never are- but they’ve paid for his stay at the boarding house at the Caravanserai run by the Temple of Mercury.

The past few decades have not been kind to the temples here.  Donations and tithes are not what they used to be.  Budgets are very limited.  And there are fewer called to serve the gods.  Minerva’s cult had been struggling along- the recent recovery of treasure belonging to the temple of Minerva by Malicus, Seti, and Teona has helped immensely.  Still, the temple is down to ten priestesses, including the four novices.  They also have some servants, and a few scribes and teachers.  There are no guards- all the temples enjoy the common protection of Arras, which has not been enough, lately.

Oda, newly sworn in as High Priestess of Minerva, has been looking for something… anything.. they could do.  Inaction is not their way.  And a message from Seti, the priest of Pluto who has in the past helped them out, has provided an interesting opportunity.

The priestesses often held discussions for days before doing anything.  Minerva was wisdom.  Wisdom generally manifested in long meetings.  Not this time.  Somehow, Oda went from message to plan in minutes.  When they finally pulled Malicus in, he understood why.  They’d been driven to the edge of paranoia by the way their enemies- the Blackguards- learned things.  Oda had decided to move too fast for any plan to be uncovered and intercepted.  Until the time was right.

She laid out the basics:  Seti had requested a temple of Minerva.  He would get one.  Teona would be sent to establish it.  And it would be bait for the sect’s enemies.

Malicus, of course, would be the one to turn the tables on the Blackguard.

One thing is still weighing on Oda.

”We cannot afford wasted effort.  I need to make it appear that the simple consecration of a new temple is more than it appears, and it is so that the Blackguard is lured into action.”

Malicus listens to Oda.  He has a moment to think on what she is saying.

"A few things come to mind for me.  We could spread the word that Minerva has spoken and wants this temple consecrated or a certain priestess anointed at a certain time.  On the full moon at midnight say.  We would have people in place ready to catch them.  I could dress up as a priestess and wear a costume and be ready to be struck.  I guarantee they won't be expecting me to come out of a costume and counter attack.  The Blackguards like to use poison and have one that makes the one poisoned lose memory.  Ready to counter their poison is a must for us.  You want to draw them out though.  That requires risk on our part to get the reward."

He looked away for a moment and sighed.  Looking back to Oda, he had to ask.

"What is your ultimate goal in this?  Want me to kill the Blackguard assassins they send or do they have to remain alive?  That will affect what trap we need to spring and how we go about the set up."

The Temple of Minerva is larger than most of the others.  This is because, in addition to the usual religious, administrative, and living areas, it houses a school.  It also contains a few rooms most people never see, such as the very small, very private room in which Oda, Teona, and Malicus are meeting.

"My ultimate goal?" Oda asks.  "My ultimate goal is to live a life of enlightenment and guide others to do the same.  My near term goal is to defeat the threat against us.  The Emperor, and all he represents, cannot stand forever.  His army has been defeated in the field, we can defeat his assassins in the shadows.  But that said, how is the problem.  They learn of our plans, and thanks to that Obliviax Moss we do not even know which of our plans are exposed to them.  That is why we must move quickly.  We must act... strange for a priestess of Minerva to say this... without planning."

"It is rash to act without planning," Teona says.

"There are exceptions to every generalization," Oda replies.  Then the High Priestess continues.  "Time, Malicus, must drive this.  We must move quickly... but the solstice is too close.  There is nothing that we can accomplish by then, it is only days away.  A complete new temple, though... too long.  It may take a year.  But the solstice... we will send Teona on her way, and you should reach Ganda by the Solstice.  The timing is convenient. We cal let it be known that the land must be consecrated on the Solstice.. it will take some time of course to have a true temple, but this might draw them out.  As to whether they should be captured or killed... Minerva always prefers knowledge.  Do not kill them if it wastes information.  If no information is at stake, it is probably best, though, that they do not survive to trouble us again."

Malicus listens and is tapping his chin with his index finger as Oda speaks.

When she finishes, a rueful smile slides slowly upon his face.

"Well then, you have made this where I need to be around.  And by around, I mean I will need to be near Teona.  I can not be near her looking like this.  I have to shave my face, wear a wig, and dress as a woman...a young priestess and assistant to Teona I will become.  This way when the assassin or assassins strike to get her I will be right there.  That is the only way I can see doing this."

Closing his eyes, Malicus begins to massage both of his temples as he is playing this out in his mind and begins to speak.

"I am going to need a priestess outfit that will fit me, two or three actually if you have them.  Going to have to modify it to make my body and portions appear feminine.  Have to shave my face every day, perhaps twice a day and wear make up.  Teona should be able to help me with that.  Also, all of your priestess's need to be carrying on them poison antidote.  I carry two on me at all times.  The Blackguards could attempt an assassination else where and not attack Teona at the consecration.  Would be like them to stage a different assassination with so ripe a target available."

As he finishes rubbing his temples and talking, Malicus looks up.

"One more thing.  I need to know something a young priestess would carry on her.  Something that would not be out of place that she would have in the open.  It is to help with my disguise."

Many things rolled through his mind as he finished speaking.  He had more to tell, but wanted to gauge Oda's response before he divulged any more.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Thu 21 Feb 2013.

The priestesses are very surprised by Malicus’s request.  Clothing for a woman?  For Malicus?

He’s not exactly petite.

”You would be an amazon,” Oda says.  “Still… it cannot hurt to try.  They might think you a temple guard… some temples have used warrior women.  We did.”

”What would fit him?” Teona asks.

”Hyrada has clothing we can borrow,” Oda says.

Hyrada, they explain, is not a priestess, but a teacher in the school.  Now, an ex-teacher.  Retired.  She is quite large, for a woman.

Having not been in Arras for years, Teona remembers Hyrada as a teacher.  A long standing fixture in the school, and a nightmare to many young novices, because Hyrada was a pushy, aggressive person, and some of the novices were driven to tears by the woman’s harsh demands.  The High Priestess had “suggested” she retire, two years ago, while Teona was away in Lutetia Parisiorum.

Teona points something out.  “If we borrow, High Priestess, that is one more person who knows…”

”Quite right,” Oda says.  “We will steal.”

It is something Malicus has already learned of the Temple of Minerva:  When logic and morality conflict, they usually come down on the side of logic, without a moment’s hesitation.

”Something a novice would have…” Teona muses aloud.  “A journal.  We study, we learn.  Minerva is the patron of scholars.  A novice often carries a journal to record her experiences, and the things she learns.”