Stone's Throw

[Dog]

To confirm this fact, Dog shifts so he can push Joy down with one paw, pinning her firmly in place as he continues to lick the grime and dust of their travels off her.

[Charon Tethras]

Charon grabs Dil's hand, pulling him along towards the (blessedly darker) interior of the building. 

[Diligence]

"Ah!" Dil's cry cuts off swiftly as he recognizes the feel of the hand on his own and he scurries along after his best friend. The interior of the temple is dimmer than outside, though it's still lit well enough for kender and the like to see fine. It's also cooler, though thankfully not cold, thanks to being a large stone building.

The first room past the front door is, as one would likely suspect for a temple of this size, the worship hall. What one would likely not expect is the near utter lack of religious symbols; the only exception being a handful of wooden discs with seventeen dots arranged in a circular formation, five grouped at the top and bottom and seven arranged in three rows for the middle. Each dot is a different color but are all the same size. The design is unfamiliar to Charon-- or Dil-- as something they've seen, but Charon is almost certain he's heard Dil mention it during one of his rambles about his Heptad Churches Studies class.

Décor aside, there's no a whole lot to see in the room that stands out. Wooden benches, candle holders, a simple altar and podium at the front and that's about it. There's a group of a dozen or so kids midday way up on the left side that are all listening to an older kid-- maybe even a very young adult-- talk about plants. Evidently, lavender and verbena can be grown in small pots, need very little attention or food, and are useful somehow? Neat. 

[Charon Tethras]

"Hey," whispers Charon. "Which holy symbol was it with the seventeen dots? Was that Astea?"

[Diligence]

"Huh? No, Astea's the, uh, the eight on its side," Dil answers, deciding to skip the lemniscate definition exchange. "Seventeen dots... That's, uh, that's..."

[Father Lelldorin]

"That's a symbol used to refer to the Heptad as a whole," a new voice answers from one of the four side doors. Stepping into the room is an old human man, dressed in a grey half robe over neat trousers. He has a cane but is just carrying it right now, though his gait is slow and deliberate in a way that marks him as crippled. He has bright, kind eyes set in a deeply lined face and snow white, wispy hair that's near but unstyled. "This temple is meant to serve any in need, not just those of a single faith."

[Charon Tethras]

"Oh! Uh, that's, that's cool," he says, turning rapidly. 

[Father Lelldorin]

"Thank you for thinking so," the old man says with a faint but honest smile. "I am Father Lelldorin, though you can call me Bright Lelldorin or Seeker Lelldorin if you're more comfortable with those. Welcome to my temple."

[Charon Tethras]

"Seeker, that's... oh, duh. Alydra." Patron of the entire city. "Cool, cool. So we're looking for somewhere to stay..."

[Diligence]

There's a soft huff next to him, then, "I'm Diligence but I prefer just Dil. And my friend is Charon."

[Father Lelldorin]

Lelldorin nods his head in greeting, politely ignoring Dil adding 'manners, Char' under his breath as he does so. "I see. We can speak on lodging for you, of course, but would either of you care to wash up and join us all for lunch before that? It's simple fare, but clean, filling and what should be hot is hot and what should be cold is cold."

[Charon Tethras]

"Yes," he blurts, almost before Lelldorin is done speaking. 

[Father Lelldorin]

Father Lelldorin takes a longer look at the eager pair, then gives them a kindly stern look. "Are both of you familiar with Famine-to-Feast Syndrome?" When Dil cocks his head to the side, almost to a ninety degree angle in fact, he explains, "if you've gone for a long time without sufficent food, then your body will have started to adapt as best it can to that condition. But if you then procure a great deal of food and attempt to eat it at once, your body will be unable to process it and you'll vomit. You may eat your fill, but slowly. Do not worry if you are not done after everyone else has finished."

[Charon Tethras]

He bristles, a little. "We'll pay you back for the food, it's just... I don't have a job just now. But I'm handy with a sickle or a hammer if you need any work done."

[Father Lelldorin]

The priest shakes his head a little. "Today's meals are a gift and a welcoming. If you wish to pay your way with your labours starting tomorrow, then we can work something out."