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»»»Alteis gestures to the stone steps at the far side of the Temple, and takes a seat in the shade. You follow suit. At the bottom of a short hill, you see a 100-foot long, rectangular patch of sand marked off with ropes, which you assume is the Tenkor Field. It doesn't look like the players are ready yet.
ask if he has siblings.
Wait...
DO WE HAVE SIBLINGS?
You decide to strike up a conversation while you wait.
So, Alteis. Do you... have any siblings?
Brothers and sisters? If I did, my parents hid them pretty well! Heh. How about you? I'm not sure. All the kids in my clan were raised together in a Creche House, so I grew up with about 30 kids my age. I think Neema had the same parents I did, if that's what you mean, but we never got along well. Sheesh, that many kids in one house? The people that raised us were professionals... that was their job. Yeah, it would take a professional to keep a small army of toddlers in line. My folks had enough trouble with just me. We had a farm, but it barely grew anything. Mom figured that the Undermountain League had poisoned the ground, after they fought and lost to the Exemplarate during the Inquisition. Dad joked that some local Daemon of Harvests was just mad that the godless folk won, and was making us pay for driving the Dwarves and Kobolds back underground. Either way, we had a hard time growing food to feed the three of us, which is why I left for the Temple as soon as I was old enough. So, you grew up in the Temple then? That I did. Was raised by a bunch of stodgy old ascetics, on an island not far from here. Trained to be a Temple Guard. Studied the art of war and the forge, as an Aspirant.Ask about the Aspirants- you mentioned meditations and lessons? What's that all about? Heck, what's actually involved in being an Aspirant? How do they make their living?
You keep using that word. What is an Aspirant, anyway? You mean you don't know? Well, I haven't been in the Exemplarate for long. There's a lot to take in. Is that so! When you said you were a traveler, I thought you just meant you were in Dossent from out of town. Which... I suppose is technically still true! Heh.
Aspirants come to the Temples from all walks of life: merchants, soldiers, stablehands, tailors, and such. It's not really a profession, either. Most of us practice other trades. All that's required is to strive to be more Perfect. You don't really mean "Perfect," do you? I mean, everyone's got flaws. That's why we're called Aspirants. Perfection is just something we aspire toward. Despite knowing that you'll never be able to reach it? Well, of course it's impossible to reach Perfection! At least, it's impossible to do it in one lifetime. However, our spirits carry our experiences with us after we die, though most of us don't remember once we're born into new lives. Still, this means that with each rebirth, our spirits get a chance to become better in new ways... and a little bit closer to the Ideal, you know? Is it one of those "the journey is more important than the destination" things? You could say that. Though there is a point to the journey too. We're trying to become perfect enough to transcend this imperfect shadow-world, full of pain and death, and get back to the True World. The Exemplar here in Dossent could put it a lot more eloquently, though.Talk with the man about his travels and what brings him to Dossent.
Speaking of journeys, you said you were a traveler too, right? What brings you here? I left my position as a Temple Guard a few years ago. After that, I joined the Cartographer's Guild, and do work for them. Right now they're looking for some new talent, so I thought I'd check into some of the local Temples. First time I've been back to one in a long time, to tell you the truth. So, you're with the Cartographer's Guild now? Map-making seems an odd fit for you. The name can be a bit misleading. Sure we make maps and survey wild areas, but we also keep the roads safe, run supplies and messages between frontier towns, investigate local troubles when the authorities are tied up... all sorts of things. Interesting. So you were a Temple Guard, and now you're a "Cartographer." But you never said why you left the Tem... Hey, looks like the match is finally starting!
See the skinny Orc? That's Skandon. The guy has some incredible moves, just wait and see....
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Topic: [ISG] Blunderbuss: Nuts to the fuzz, let's go all Nancy Drew on this Biz! (Read 140895 times)