"Thanks."
She was keeping the conversation simple and straightforward so as not to bother the Master Scribe, but the look in her eye definitely spelled relief. Since they had a bit of a wait, Rena got up and paced around for a bit. She glanced at the books and scriptures, but she had no hope in reading them, as they were all in Thanati. Somehow, they had to be as clever as her uncle had been, those years ago, in figuring out who among these people had spoken out of turn, and how.
One-by-one, they began to arrive: An elder woman whose hair might've been blonde before age set in, a weathered and scarred guardsman who clearly knew how to use the weapons on his belt, a young groundskeeper...strangely, and a robust scholar around Arlius' age who has managed to retain a full head of hair and beard...which was a graying brown. For those of you not quite savvy to the theme of Thanati, dark hair was uncommon and red hair was both lucky and not. The former meant that you other had a strange quirk of genetics or someone in your family was a foreigner. The latter meant that life was giving you a bit of extra luck for hard times ahead. No word yet on whether Exon needed it or not.
Now, to our arrivals... As soon as the apprentice who had helped find them had left, Arlius introduced them. The elder woman, Cavra, was a teacher. She had green eyes, about as light a skintone as Thanati were often to have, and the look of someone who was a calm-but-firm repository of knowledge. She was dressed in a simple tunic and she looked like she might've been tending plants recently, judging by the marks on her knees and the work gloves she'd been using. Arlius made mention that she had a young daughter, Caire, was soon to begin her apprenticeship and was very promising.
The guardsman's name was Arrok Tal'run, and he looked as though he'd seen better days in his youth...shortly before someone ruined his right eye and scarred his dark-skinned face. He was silver-haired with a dark-blue eye, often seen scowling or indifferent in expression. He did, however, look good in a way that seasoned warriors could, which is what he was. Many a retired warrior will join the Temple once his serious fighting days are done. He was one-such man, making damn sure that anyone who tried something unwarranted was going to face a face that picked a fight with a stone wall and won. He was armored at the torso, armed with two swords, and had both bracers and shinguards. Currently, he was also wearing a hooded cloak not unlike Rena's, likely for outdoor duty during rainy times.
The young groundskeeper, Errison, was the son of the man who found the Eye of Hunger in the first place. Given where his future lay, as that man had passed on, the Temple had decided to make certain the family understood what had happened so as to guarantee their silence in a proper fashion. Given that it was a small family of father, mother, and son...this wasn't hard. The young man had sandy-brown hair with green eyes and work clothes on. He also had a few tools on him and a trowel, since he had been otherwise occupied prior to being called in. He had actually been assisting Cavra, since she was studying a few plants and planting methods.
The scholar was a large and robust man who had also been a warrior, once upon a time, but had joined the Temple to expand his horizons and speak age-old wisdoms. This would make him many things, but the title of scholar went, since he did not have a specific calling. Sometimes, he preached, while other times he philosophized. He had deep violet eyes and indeed his hair color was an anomaly, but nobody could find any real trace of a foreigner in their family, so he was just different, insofar as anybody could tell. This quite loud man was a decent man, known to be jocular, but generally without an indoor voice. He addressed Arlius informally, as well, as they were friends of old.
Maeger: "Well, we're all here now, Arlius, so out with it! ...who slipped?"
Cavra: "Slipped? We've been of one mind to keep all of this quiet for years. How could any of us have even considered letting it out to the public?"
Arrok: "We would know if the public knew, but the streets are silent. What's going on?"
Errison was pointedly silent and looking concerned at the situation, like something he might've dreaded happening his entire life was coming to pass. Of course, that IS what was happening, so perhaps this expression was justified. Arlius held up his hand to hush the other three.
Arlius: "The situation is dire. The Eye of Hunger is gone and I have found it on no person that I can think of to have access to it. We represent those who were there at the time who are still alive."
He now gestured to Rena, who was standing opposite them and on the other side of a table from them. She didn't expect any to cause her trouble physically, but it's always best to make certain, especially while she was unarmed.
Arlius: "This is Rena Goldswith, current head of her family in Serendipity and Zan's niece. She came in his stead because Wizard Zan is dead, has been for almost as many years as the incident is behind us."
This was a shock to three of them, driving them silent for a moment. Errison didn't really know Zan that well, so he wasn't as shocked, but the news did not please him.
Maeger: "What's the Maoin for?"
"My interpretter for all things Thanati."
That cool, crisp, and quick answer seemed to meet the man's approval. She looked and sounded like she was ready, willing, and able to get down to business. Now, where do we start?