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The Zora sanctuary

Naroy: "Hi Arty! When did you get back? Already tired of Avendale? So where did your business take you this time?"

Arty: "Hello, Naroy Ba'Dardan! Give me a drink first, at least. I'll tell you everything as soon as my thirst is quenched."

Naroy: "The usual? A house beer?"

Arty: "You know me! Your beer is always cold and light. It's the only thing I could think of since getting back from Zora."

Naroy: "So, what's the news from that place?"

Arty: "There are still kamists at work all around Zora. I had picked up my animals from the stable and I was leaving Zora by the Goo Chase district gate. In the plain right outside of town, I took a little detour to see if the Kami fanatics were still there. I could hardly believe my eyes!"

Naroy: "Really? What were they doing, Arty? Still praying to Ma-Duk?"

Arty: "Ha! Since I last saw them, the Kamists had lighted huge torches and set up a stable and corral for mektoub, as well as a wooden building of a kind I had never seen! There were several men taking turns speaking with the grand Zoraï. I was intrigued by the new building and I wanted to go pump him for information.

Naroy: "Did he tell you anything?"

Arty: "He said to me, "I am the Kamis Representative," and he started giving me his memorized spiel. With all his tirades of "The Karavan are going to attack our followers!" and "Have faith in the Kamis," he gave me a headache. But in between all his rhetoric, I gathered that the structure I had seen was going to be a Ma-Duk Sanctuary, when the kamist followers had finished putting it all together. Can you imagine that, Naroy? They are building a house of Ma-Duk! Some news, huh?"

Naroy: "No kidding! Still, it would be bigger news if a Kami came and tried to stop me from selling my beer!"

Arty: "You're right. And the worst of all would be if a Karavan came along and tried to keep us from talking. Hey, how about another round."

The outlying areas of Zora

Arty: "Hello Naroy!"

Naroy: "Arty Mac Keaggan! I haven't seen you around Avendale for a long time! What will you have?"

Arty: "Your house brew, as usual. That's what I need to recover from my trip."

Naroy: "So where have you been to this time?"

Arty: "I went to Zora, with my little convoy of mektoubs. Business is pretty good with the Zoraïs."

Naroy: "Good for you. So what's the news from there?"

Arty: "Some really strange things, let me tell you. I was going to the stables to collect my animals, when a Tryker came up to me and asked if I supported the Kamis and wanted to follow them."

Naroy: "From the looks of it, I would say that guy had joined the Company of the Eternal Tree"

Arty: "That's right! He took me for a kamist. The little worm practically forced me to follow him to the plains just at the edge of Zora. There were about a dozen of his companions from the Eternal Tree and a small crowd of homins running around doing I-don't-know-what. In the middle of them all, there was a Kami Preacher Lord, accompanied by a grand Zoraï. The Kami Preacher Lord had difficulty speaking, but the Zoraï faithfully interpreted his words of devotion to Ma-Duk. His exhortations were repeated by all the homins in the crowd. Since there was no prospect of either selling or gathering anything, I left this crowd of worshipers to their collective trance."

Naroy: "Wow! Can I get you another beer?"

Arty: "Sure!"

Meeting in Zora

Arty: "Say Naroy, do you remember that Tryker I told you about, the one I met at the stables at Zora?"

Naroy: "Of course, I remember. Have you seen him again? Is he still with the Company of the Eternal Tree?"

Arty: "Believe it or not…he quit."

Naroy: "Really? Have the recent events convinced him to join the Church of Light? You seem to know quite a bit about this loafer. Have you seen him recently?"

Arty: "Yes, during my last trip to Zora. And he's no longer a loafer since he and I have become acquainted. His name is Dany O'Doyley. He has fallen madly in love with Geng Xo-Yuang, the range weapon merchant in Zora. Incredible, isn't it? To prove his love for her he left the Company, sold all his belongings at once and went to see the Dynasty Magistrate of Zora to plead with him to grant him Zorai citizenship. The magistrate tested him before allowing him the rites of passage to becoming a citizen. Danny had to give his dappers to the dynasty treasury."

Naroy: "And he gave them without shilly-shallying?"

Arty: "Yes, and happy to do it! Then the Magistrate questioned him about the Zorais, their history and values. I don't know if Dany really knew the answers to the Magistrate's questions, or if it was just good luck, but he got them all correct."

Naroy: "Mmmm…Perhaps he has kept some of his good-for-nothing tricks up his sleeve?"

Arty: "Maybe, but before I had a chance to ask him about this, he left for a trip across the whole Zorai territory to prove he can pass the test. Naroy, do you realize what love can do?"

Naroy: "Huh! Come on Arty, this round is on me. Lets drink to Dany's health!"

  Arty Mac Keaggan, the Chronicles from the Temple Wars