Dysis too observed that custom, and turned her own face from the bronze visage of the Underworld Lord. While she had a healthy respect for Hades, she was gladdened to find that Persephone was given proper and due reverence, here.  To her she would sacrifice, then.

Dysis was assuredly no farmer. It was not for any reasons of agriculture that she had turned to her worship.  No, it was her other mysteries, as the Underworld Queen, that had spoken to a young Dysis.  Touched by elemental darkness, she had a link to their realm.  And, perhaps even more significantly, she identified with her.

Persephone's existence had been so sharply changed, after being abducted by Lord Hades.  Like Dysis' life had been changed, after her father's crime, that had sent her into slavery.

"My purpose is a little different, sir priest," she answered the grey eyed man, meeting his gaze levelly.

"I practice the arts of the elements, Lady Persephone is my patron." She indicated the symbol that hung about her throat.  "I've traveled here with colleagues, whom also serve the gods. We are each paying our respects."

For the first time the smile fades from Gastadonis' face as he looks at the spilled wine. "A pity." he says.  As the waitress returns with additional wine, he waves her off from refilling his own glass. "No need, good lady." he says.

With that, he stands and bows to Aleta, the smile returning to his face. "Alas, fair, sweet, clumsy Aleta, I must take my leave, I have another... pressing engagement which had slipped my mind until now." he returns from the bow saying "However, I am sure that we'll meet again. Until then..." he blows her a kiss.

The maid at Itylus' table had taken his stony silence to her question as indication he did not wish to talk, and so went back to the kitchen, though she darts looks at Aleta and Gastadonis as she goes.

---

At temple, the the priest had raised an eyebrow, but nodded in response to Dysis in understanding what she was telling him. He responds "Few are attuned to the elements of the realm that all eventually travel to." he states. "Gods and Goddesses are by their nature mysterious in whom they choose to work their will." he comments. "Very well, we shall proceed forward with the sacrifice..."

The priest takes the animal and begins the ritual as Dysis makes her prayer and petition. Although there is no mystical response like she had experienced in Thena, she knows that she is bonded with Persephone and that her patron's favor is with her.

When she is ready to leave, she sees that the grim warrior outside the temple of Zeus still stands guard. The only difference now was that his arms were uncrossed as he spoke to a youngster. The warrior nodded to the boy, who then entered into Zeus's temple with a skip and hop, and the grim warrior then recrossed his arms, waiting...

---

As for Eurenomes, following the approximate hour or two he spend in connection with Hermes through prayer and worship, he slowly begin to return back to the world.

Once he is ready, he can take his leave of the temple. Outside of Hermes' house, he sees that the house of Aphrodite is still open. Knowing that this is where he last saw the woman in yellow enter into, he can choose to follow her if he so desires.

"Thank you my Lord Hermes..."

Eurenomes emerged into the normal world thoughtful, his mind having difficulty adjusting. Communing with gods was like a dream and now he was awake. It took time.

Outside, after a moment of hesitation he gathered his chlamys around himand walked towards Aphrodite's house.

Aleta nods to Gastadonis "You have a good night and hopefully we can meet again" she waits for him to leave before waving the waitress back over.

She waits to see if anyone else comes over to her table.

Something about the scene had suddenly given Itylus a feeling of déjà vu. It had reminded him of another inn, on another town, long time ago... on the old times when he still worked with her.... As per usual she had been handling the information gathering from the locals, just like Aleta was doing now, and he had been watching her back in a close by table, just like he was doing now. But one night, that night, suddenly one of the most bone-chilling screeches he had ever heard on his life had cut the air, and before he knew it everything had turned on a living nightmare...

He shook his head. Suddenly realizing he already had the steak he had asked for in front of him, and that Aleta had already dispatched the would-be-Adonis and his lackeys from her table. Angry at himself for dwelling in the past in the middle of a work, Itylus started eating his steak, while belatedly he processed the scene his senses had recorded but his mind had been to busy to process. Once he finished doing that, he rose from his table and as discretly as possible went to Aleta's table and asked. "Are you alright? Is the drink he gave you having any effect on you? If you think so, then go upstairs and rest. I'll handle the rest of the information gathering."

Dysis thanked the priest of Hades for his aid, then made her way outside, toward the temple of Zeus. As she approached, she noted the shift in demeanor, as the foreboding guardian seemed to unclench for the boy, before recomposing himself.

Good. She was dealing with a human being, at least.

She considered returning Persephone's symbol to within her bodice, but then decided not to.  Though there might be a chance of prejudice, she could not bring herself to be covert about her devotion, so soon after paying homage. Without more ado, she made her way over to the guardsman.

"Sir," she inclined her head politely, "My name is Dysis. My friends and I are newly arrived on this isle. We have come from Thena, en route to Argos. Our number includes both a priest and a nobleman, and we are each servants of the gods, in our differing ways.  The mayoress told us, briefly, about some trouble on the isle's western side. And, well...we were a little curious about the nature of it. I do not mean to pry, sir. But we were curious, and often the clearest view of things comes from those closest to the gods."

Arthanos smiles and nods at the priests words.

"Yes, to give thanks for our safe arrival, and for hope that he will continue to look kindly on us when we go to continue our journey...though we will of course be offering him another offering then." He remarks to the man, then waits to follow his instructions.

Gastadonis leaves the inn swiftly and it is observed by the other patrons present, with the townspeople looking on with some interest at what happened, casting looks in Aleta's direction as well before they return to their drinks, dinner and own conversations. The nobleman with the bushy beard ignores the entire thing, just continuing to drink and watch the door, while the Lyricst continues playing her lyre.

It is only Itylus who approaches Aleta's table for the present moment...

---

The priest of Poseidon returns Arthanos' nod with approval at hearing his words. "It is good. We shall conduct the ceremony, and see that Earth-Shaker receives your offering." The priest takes Arthanos' proffered animal and proceeds to enact the sacrifice on Arthanos' behalf.  After it is finished, the priest offers Arthanos a hand to step up, saying. "The signs bode well. Lord Poseidon smiles on you and your venture." he says offering a smile.

Outside of the temples, Dysis approached the grim warrior outside the temple of Zeus. His eyes narrow slightly as she introduces herself but as she asks her question, Dysis can see some curiosity, and perhaps, some surprise. "I am known as Orion, a devoted son of Zeus, the divine witness of oaths." he pauses a moment. "I have been in this village for some time now. As I understand the problem, there have been some self-exiles to the western side of the isle, enough to start their own settlement."

"Assistance from this eastern village to the western one has been, let's say, less than generous." he states now giving a half-smile. "Island-travel has been virtually cut off due to attacks on small groups of travelers and, supposedly, attacks on the western village itself." Orion shakes his head. "It is probably just pirates or opportunistic bandits, though obviously there are those who swear they've seen far worse." he shakes his head. "The westerners have been politically difficult, so I suspect there is some hope they will either disband their settlement or rejoin this one." he shrugs "It is hard to tell what will happen. Little news comes from them in recent weeks."

Aleta looks at Itylus and speaks quietly "When I tasted the wine, something didn't taste right. I am not sure if it was drugged or just bad. But would  man like that have bad wine? I just had a bad feeling about it" She take a deep breath trying to see if she felt anything.

"I see."  Self-exiles?  Dysis was intrigued, by that.

"Is it known from where these exiles arrived?  And is the matter simply that they wish to govern themselves?  Or, is it some other issue which makes them difficult?"

"Hmmm.... The proprietor warned me the man fancied himself as a charmer and not many said no to him... Probably this is what he was talking about." Itylus paused for a moment to think what to do next, and then said. "Stay here for a little while, Aleta. If you start feeling  odd tell me and I'll take you from here. Meanwhile I will go talk to that nobleman." he looked  towards the nobleman with the bushy beard. "He seems a little too alienated from all that is going on. He didn't glance even once towards here while that fellow and his friends were here with you. Perhaps whatever is troubling him has something to do with the problems in town. In the mean time, if you could keep an eye on the Lyrist, i would appreciated it. Usually that sort of people hear a lot of gossip while they are working."


He then rose to depart, but before going he added, in a casual tone. " Oh and Aleta, if it isn't asking too much, try not to attract more odd people for today, please. It would be rather inconvenient if we have to go search for another inn because we were foced to put a dagger in one of the patrons' heart for trying to abduct you." And with this remark and a small smile, Itylus departed from Aleta's table and moved towards the nobleman's one.

"Hello there. Waiting for someone to arrive?" he inquired, following his gaze towards the door.

A sweet and scented perfume greets Eurenomes' nostrils as he enters into Aphrodite's temple. The motif of the temple celebrates the birth of Aphrodite, as fountains adorn the passage from the entrance towards the temple's antechamber which the priest now stood in. It was here that a marble statute of the Goddess herself, bare chested, awaited those who would enter into her domain.

It is here that rather striking priestess approaches him. "So, a son of Hermes desires to enter into the Goddess' chamber?" she inquires with a laugh."That is never a surprise to any."

The priestess looks him over. "But you do not look like you come to give worship. What pleasure do you seek?"

---

Orion shrugs. "From all over. Plenty of folks here have roots in Thena, Argos and Heraklia." he continues "Many dislike the mayoress and her policies and politics. She is the sort that tolerates no disagreement if you catch my meaning."

---

Aleta breathes deeply but doesn't feel all too different. She could still taste the oily aftertaste on her tongue from the wine. This continued "taste" did make her slightly queasy, but her stomach was able to tolerate it despite the discomfort.

It is good that she didn't drink more to the point of being truly sick or having something worse happen.



The bushy bearded nobleman gives Itylus a brief look of disdain as he sits at his table. "Yes, I am waiting for somebody, and you are not he, so kindly remove yourself from my table, sir." he states flatly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:53, Sun 26 Apr 2015.

Aleta sips some of the wine the barmaid brought over to try and get the taste out of her mouth. She continues to look around at the people in the bar. She is curious as to what the man was up too but it didn't seem right. As Itylus left, she just waves him off. "I will be fine."

Eurenomes laughs. "The pleasure of your company," he suggested. Turning to the statue of the goddess he bowed low. "And the honour of the goddess of course."

Straightening he looked at the priestess, taking in her golden hair sun coloured dress. "I am Eurenomes of Argos, bound for that fair city but my companions and I are becalmed on your shores for a few days. I was hoping a fellow servant of the gods could help provide a little information and help." His eyes glittered and he smiled. "And perhaps more."

The priestess laughs in turn at Eurenomes' comments. "You speak with the tongue of a dionysian. Still, many come to the temple of Aphrodite for answers to their problems. We can speak of the more perhaps later. For now, What information do you seek?"

Arthanos thanks the priest for his efforts and words, then heads out of the temple. Once outside, he looks around too see if he can see either of his compatriots.

Stepping outside of the temple, Arthanos sees Dysis speaking to the grim warrior standing outside of the temple of Zeus. Eurenomes is nowhere to be seen.

In reply to Maze Master (msg # 60):

"I do," she nodded, and replied to Orion. "Well, that gives me a clearer understanding of the situation. Thank you for the information, sir."

It didn't truly tell her anything she hadn't already known, but it had been worth a try.  Even did he know more, it likely wouldn't be wise to pry.  He might report such an attempt to the mayoress, and that would not serve them.  She smiled as Arthanos approached.

"So- has father Poseidon been properly reverenced?  Shall we make our way to the inn?  I know not where Eurnomes has gone...although I might guess," she added with a faint smirk on her lips.

Itylus' rose his hand in a mollifying gesture. "Peace, friend. I didn't mean to intrude. I was just wandering if you know anything about the man who was harassing my friend just now." He gestures towards Aleta's table. "It seems like he slipped something in her drink and I worry about what it may have been."

Arthanos grins back at her. "The priest says that the Lord Poseidon is currently happy with us." he says before a bigger grin split his face.

"Yes, we should probably head to the inn. It would be most rude to interrupt Eurenomes attempts at....prayer." he says, now trying to adopt an expression of innocence.

"And were your own prayers and inquiries successful?"

The man scowls at Itylus. "By the looks of it, your "friend" there was encouraging Gastadonis' attempts at seduction and wasn't being "harassed" by him." The nobleman says dismissively. He then takes his his eyes off Itylus and looks suspiciously at Aleta for a moment before returning his gaze. "She looks healthy enough for a clumsy girl who spills her drink." he scoffs. "Look, sir. If you have complaints about the wine perhaps you should take it up with the serving wench. I have nothing else to say to you."

Dysis began walking, as she answered Arthanos "The shrine of Hades contains an idol of my patron, Persephone, so I was able to offer to her, directly.  Which was splendid.  But, in terms of learning more about those troublemakers..." she shook her head.

"The guardian of Zeus' temple seems to believe it a reaction against the policies and politics of the mayoress.  She really likes to be obeyed, it seems.  But, I did not learn anything more specific, than that. Perhaps our friends have?" 

Eurenomes smiles, more pleasant and less leering this time. "Lord Hermes rewards the silver tongued amongst us but I am no Dionysian daughter of Aphrodite. As I said honour your scarlet haired Lady and her servants. Know they are loved in Argos."

The young priest continues: "I have spoken with your mayoress who kindly offered my companions and I sanctuary while our ship is repaired. She also told there is a division on your island. May I ask what is the cause?"

Aleta sips the new wine that was brought over as she watches Itylus. He does not seem to be getting any where but the man might have such a mood, it would take a goddess to get though. She waits for him to come back over.

The priestess frowns at Eurenomes' question for a moment, before she states. "Politics, sadly." she elaborates. "The religious community here tries to shy away from espousing one city's political viewpoint or another, but those in the village are tied from whence they came."

She looks at Eurenomes, before beckoning him to follow her. "Come, we can speak as one holy person to another, but not here in public." She leads the priest of Hermes through the temple to a private alcove.

She pauses. "How to explain to a newcomer? I guess you need to know some of the importance of this place. You see, our island, Dacia, is not formally tied to any of the three great cities. In fact, those who live here hail from or have roots from all three. What makes this a problem is that we are a strategic location and as such all of the great cities take an interest in forging stronger ties with us.""

"Mayoress Khloe is an aggressive leader, and in part to her, she has helped our island to flourish." she continues "But she is a Heraklian" The priestess says. "There is a community of Thenas and Argosians who distrusted her motives, and believe very strongly that she was pushing the island towards Heraklian annexation." She shakes her head. "Many months ago, they attempted to remove her by force but miscalculated their timing... The mayoress and the Heraklian community here swiftly took action and arrested the leaders. The rest of the population self-exiled themselves to the other side of the island." She sweeps her hands. "Since then, we are warned of the dangers of traveling and now only few travel outside the safety of the walls.""

"That, my handsome son of Hermes, is the cause of the division... and why we here live in tense times."

---

At the bar, Itylus takes his leave from the nobleman who glares daggers at him. The hunter sits back with Aleta, and whispers to her. "I distrust this man as much as I do your would be suitor.  It may be nothing, but I am going to see if I can track him down, see where he goes and who he speaks with."

With that, the hunter arises from the table and exits the bar.

Not too longer afterwards, Aleta notices that the nobleman had lost patience with whomever he was waiting for and left as well, though it appeared he was a guest as he went upstairs to the rooms of the "Island's Rest"

The young thief looks around the room again. The local men still continued to drink and obviously some were getting drunk. Some would shamble out of the inn while a few would peek over at Aleta where she sat drinking by herself. None approached though, but whether this was because they were busy with their drinking or perhaps put off by Gastadonis' failed attempt as 'seduction', it was hard to say.

The Lyricist had paused in her playing, as the innkeeper brought her a bowl with bread, as well as some cheese which she ate as gracefully as she had played her music.  In the interim since they had come in, Aleta sees a few other guests who had entered. Another woman, who might have been Zuri's twin but for her jet black hair had come in. Tall, strong and powerful looking, this Amazonian sat uncomfortably alongside one of the local men at another table and appeared to be questioning him.

Perhaps of more interest to Aleta was another man who put her in the mind of the old thief she had met before leaving Thena. This one was a young looking rogue who she observed playing a game of cards with another local. What the local didn't notice (but Aleta did), was that the man would occasionally slip a card from his sleeve into his hands during gameplay.

Aleta's observations are interrupted though by the arrival of Dysis and Arthanos, who now enter the inn after their respective pilgrimages to the island's temples.