Nisha followed the familiar trail to the main building and made her way up to the meeting room.

Since guests were welcomed right now, the Grand Marshal had to be home and host them.

Only the head of the House enjoyed the right to receive guests in an official function, otherwise the reception area would not see use.

As the person in charge of the capital’s defense, Luthais Dharnas often spent all day working and might not even return overnight to his own dwelling, sleeping on a small pallet in his office.

Not much time had passed on the way over, and the special warrior class ended around noon in front of the arena, hence it was unusual for the Duke to be here so early.

Straightening out her dress and recalling the manners befitting a noble daughter, Nisha carefully knocked on the door to the drawing room.

“You may enter.”

Although it was muffled through the heavy wooden door, it was indeed Luthais Dharnas who answered her.

The elf pushed the door open and surveyed the room upon entering.

Without surprise, the Duke sat in the position of the host and the head of the table, while Henry also attended the gathering, sitting towards the left.

Behind the two men of the Dharnas house, Galan waited upon them, the perfect example of a butler and an incarnation of politeness.

To the right, an elderly man with the garb of a senior priest and a middle aged man with a similar face and a plain robe were seated, each greeting the new addition to the room with a curt nod.

“Please pardon my intrusion, Lord Duke.

And to our dear guests, I extend my most genial greetings and hope that the hospitabitality of the Dharnas house does not disappoint you.”

Lifting the corners of her dress, the elf curtsied towards the right and waited until the host, Duke Dharnas, gave her permission to move towards the seat next to Henry.

“Let me introduce you to the young mistress of the House, Miss Nisha Dharnas.

She has had a class at the royal academy and it was not convenient for her to join us earlier.

Nisha, these two are guests from the [Seven Star Church], who grace us with their presence.

This gentleman is Deacon Matthew, as well as his nephew, Senior Priest Matthew, who hails from the Hall of Fire.

The City Guard often seeks cooperation with the church for matters related to religious affairs once they appear during the guard’s duty to keep the city safe.

Since I have personally corresponded often with Senior Priest Matthew, I asked for his advice.”

As always, Luthais Dharnas sat with his back straight as a ruler in his seat of the host.

Despite his placid tone, he nodded towards the younger guest and expressed his gratitude, indicating that their working relationship was fairly good.

 

“You praise me too much, Ser Luthais. The church is also interested in securing the peace and stability of the capital, that’s why it is our duty to support the honorable guards while they keep our believers safe.

Our priests are always full of praise when they work together with the guard or accompany them on a journey outside of Thurgau.

It is only proper that we reciprocate the generous treatment this time.”

Although the younger man sat in a lower position, it was clear that he was the leader of their group and amiably included Nisha in the conversation, not shunning her for being young or a female.

On top of that, he familiarly addressed the Duke as Ser Luthais instead of Duke Dharnas, perhaps they were even on a first name basis once not in a formal setting.

These clues pointed towards the good relationship they shared, which all reminded Nisha that this was an ally of the Grand Marshal.

The elf quietly took all that in and exchanged some pleasantries with the guests befitting a noble bred daughter, similarly to Henry who iterated stories about training with his [Guardian Griffon] in preparation of joining a knight order.

Only once Father Andrews returned to the salon did the conversation turn to the main topic again.

Luthais Dharnas cleared his throat and asserted his position as the host, turning all eyes towards him.

“Recently, the City Guard tried to track down as many carriers as possible to limit the outfall of the [Blackroot Plague], yet unfortunately the disease does not break out early enough to show symptoms while the host spreads it further.

We found some infected citizens and brought them straight to the church for treatment, however there are more cases showing up everywhere anyway.

The first victims appeared in cities outside of the capital, indicating that it is no longer possible to contain it in Thurgau.

On the coming Day of Fire, the palace will hold an official announcement so the citizens can take precautions and keep themselves safe.

In addition, there is a lot that we have yet to know about the disease, making it difficult to find an effective response at the current time.

So far, only spells powered by faith and burning all contaminated areas thoroughly have shown results in containing the plague, but it’s unrealistic to burn the capital down.”

 

His tone was measured and grave, clearly conveying the seriousness of the situation to his listeners.

Especially as the Grand Marshall, Luthais Dharnas was used to giving orders and speaking to his soldiers, making his bearing closer to a general and leader than a regular family head.

Henry furrowed his brows and turned pensive, whereas Nisha already knew about the state of affairs - more or less, at least - from her interactions with the [Thieves Guild] and reporting it to Luthais.

She was not all that bothered by burning things down, as a dragon with the fire element, taking a bath in molten lava and iron was quite relaxing and enjoyable, a little fire would make the environment just comfortable.

While the priests also had a troubled expression, the young man in charge of the delegation responded quickly and with levity.

“It’s a great gift from the origin of fire that our humble brothers are capable of removing the taint of the plague.

Not just the Hall of Fire, all members of the [Seven Star Church] will fight as hard as we can to prevent our believers from falling into eternal darkness.”

To the dragon, it sounded exaggerated, but everyone nodded along and signed the seven pointed star on their chest as a gesture of respect towards the church.

Nearly every resident of the kingdom followed the teachings of the church, mostly joining the Hall that their own elemental gift belonged to.

Only some of the foreigners from the far south or far north held on to their tribal beliefs instead and practiced their customs in private.

The [Seven Star Church] openly proclaimed that they were entitled to follow their own beliefs and did not force anyone into joining them, as the division into different halls already proved that it was perfectly normal to follow other beliefs.

Some radicals insisted that only the seven Halls were the one true calling, but people were more concerned with their day to day business than singling out heretics.

“I relayed my worries about the safety of my family to Senior Priest Matthew during a recent meeting, and he recommended his uncle, Deacon Matthew as well as Father Andrews to me.

In return for a token of appreciation towards the offering coffer of the Hall of Fire, the two esteemed priests agreed to move their place of residence towards our humble estate for the next turn.

Should we need their protection for a period beyond that, we will convene again and broker another agreement based on the situation in the capital at that point of time.”

The two elderly priests nodded in agreement and looked at peace, content with the subject of their assignment.

Similarly, the younger generation of the Dharnas House understood that these two were responsible for the protection from the plague for their estate.

 

“Father Matthew and myself are not of much use normally in the Hall, hence it’s a blessed opportunity that we can exercise our paltry gifts in service of the country.

One of us will always join the guard at the gate and make sure that every visitor is illuminated by the grace of the origin of fire before setting a foot into the estate, keeping this place a safe haven from disease.”

Speaking in a manner befitting of an amiable senior priest used to tending to his followers, Father Andrews offered their assistance without the Duke having to order them first.

Luthais Dharnas nodded appreciatively and gestured towards Galan behind him.

“The head butler will organize your lodging in the main building, feel free to express your requests to him at any time, the Dharnas House will do its best to meet your needs to repay your graciousness in turn.

If there is anything amiss or that you want to bring to my attention, my study is always open to the esteemed Fathers.”

Nisha curiously compared the intensity of their energy with her [Spirit Sight], as the Duke was among the most powerful people she had seen in the capital with few exceptions.

Both of the priests who would end up staying at their house had similar cultivation levels, if the dragon had to guess, probably around the sixth rank.

The young man accompanying them, on the other hand, exceeded their power by a good margin, likely because he broke through the second great divide and stepped into the seventh rank at quite a young age.

Of course, compared to the Duke, their power was paltry in comparison.

Luthais Dharnas radiated an almost solid halo of dense water aura, making it hard for the girl to estimate whether he was an eighth rank or ninth rank warrior after all.

“Thank you for the generous reception, Ser Duke. We will do our best.”

Father Andrews and Father Matthew showed no opposition to the arrangements and the rest of the meeting ended with some smalltalk on recent events at court or at the Seven Halls respectively.

In the end, the Duke escorted Senior Priest Matthew to the gate of the estate, whereas Galan took the lead to show the two priests their future lodgings.

Only Nisha and Henry were left in the reception room.

 

“Is it really okay to have two priests stay here exclusively if the disease is that far spread already?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have them help in the church to treat more infected patients?”

After the discussion, the elf had a long list of questions she wanted to ask, but it would have been more than impolite to do so in the presence of guests.

Henry had been involved in the political and social circles for all his life, his knowledge of them was much greater than her own.

“It’s not that uncommon, and two priests are probably rather few compared to other estates near us.

Most of the Halls in the [Seven Stars Church] have quite a few priests that get stuck at the first or second great divide, even with the guidance of their faith.

Consequently, those without hope to advance from the third stage usually leave the capital and take up leadership roles in towns and cities depending on their connections in their respective halls.

For those stuck at the sixth rank, it’s usually not suitable to leave Thurgau and preside over anything less than the cities where Duke families have their main seat, meaning that a lot of them remain here, praying and practicing with the hope to one day break through in a stroke of inspiration, otherwise their advancement up the ranks has stopped.”

As expected, the heir of a Duke House had a firm grip on the insider details from the other major players.

“Most likely, Father Andrews and Father Matthew can no longer progress with their cultivation and it’s more profitable to lend them to someone like my father, which gives the Hall a monetary benefit and a favor from a highly respected party, there’s no reason why they would not make connections like this.”

Nisha could see the logic behind it, but it still felt weird to her. Trading services from two powerful priests in return for gold and a favor somehow did not feel right, but she had no say in the matter.

“Don’t underestimate Senior Priest Matthew either. While he is young compared to his peers, his personal strength made huge strides forward and he might become one of the leaders of the Hall of Fire in the future.

He is quite the schemer and will only side with the party that can bring benefits, forgetting old friends once they need help.”

The young man shook his head and expressed his disapproval.

“I see, thank you for the warning. In the future, I will take care when I am in his presence.”

For now, Nisha accepted the arrangement and returned from the reception room to her own room, eager to sort out her thoughts.