Darius decided to take the elderly priest’s advice and arm himself with a little patience. He didn’t quite want to admit it to himself, but it was also down to the pleasant coolness inside the temple. Making the most of the time, he tried to find out something about the surgeon. The archdeacon merely praised the man’s good heart, as he helped those in need entirely selflessly. The people gathered in the place where Oxern usually worked were very taciturn, if not to say they didn’t want to say anything at all. Moreover, everyone the Guards asked about the surgeon looked at them as if they were trying to do them a terrible wrong.
Coming to the conclusion that he would learn nothing of interest this way, Bleist turned his attention to the temple itself. The unusual arrangement of the shrines to the Goddess of the Underworld and the God of Death was, in a sense, justified given that the sanctuary’s principal patron was the God of Light. Although in similar shrines, where Solas was the main object of worship, it was more common to find the chapels of Direl and Thanatos built underground. Especially since the other shrines here had been erected as apses attached to the main body of the building. It was precisely this arrangement that gave the impression that the temple had been built entirely of domes.
Pondering the reason behind the architects’ decision, Darius took the opportunity to ask the archdeacon, who had been glancing his way from time to time. The old man set about explaining with eagerness and enthusiasm.
‘You see, Colonel, Bushtabhar has a very turbulent past. Oh, I’m not talking about the last few years, or even the last few centuries. Even in the days of Arayse, this was an important place for the Shehedic houses. It was from here that the rulers of one of the old dynasties hailed, and consequently, it was a place where their supporters gathered. Even when another house claimed the throne,’ he emphasised. ‘The local emirs enjoyed extraordinary respect and trust, particularly as they also
