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on his clothing. He was a stout individual, with grey hair and tired-looking, but very searching eyes. He had the air of someone who had been through a great deal of stress.
    Turning towards him, I made sure he could see the brooch of the Sun Chamber on my chest.
    ‘My name’s Lucan Drakenfeld, and this is my colleague, Leana,’ I began in Kotonese. ‘We’ve been asked to investigate the matter of Bishop Tahn Valin.’
    ‘Ah. My name is Priest Damsak. We should talk somewhere more discreet.’ He held my elbow gently and steered me into the temple, all the time looking about him as if he had reason to be worried.
    Inside, statues of the strange animalistic man and woman were repeated, and in every instance they maintained the same half-horse, half-fish representation. Rows of cushions and small rugs were arranged for the congregation to sit or kneel upon. Thick tapestries hung from the walls, each one depicting strange scenes featuring the same male and female gods, some versions with them in armour, some naked.
    ‘Which gods are these?’ I asked.
    ‘Astran and Nastra.’ For a moment he lost his sense of fear. ‘The two split aspects of heaven. Astran, she is the goddess of the land, while Nastra is the god of the seas.’
    ‘On our way here I saw a straw ox on the fringes of Kuvash. There seemed to be some sort of ceremony going on.’
    Damsak glared at me. ‘Those are the old gods. The old ways. Such practices ought to be forbidden.’
    ‘That was nothing to do with your gods then?’
    ‘It was certainly not. There are unfortunate remnants of a more primitive time. Several old cults use ceremonial sacrifices of livestock where they cannot afford to waste real animals. It is a barbaric practice. It is a commune with the dead rather than the correct way of venerating their spirits.’
    I had seen similar religious offerings across Vispasia, particularly Detrata. It didn’t seem so primitive to me, but I put the priest’s disgust down to the fact that it was not something his own gods agreed with.
    Damsak let out a sigh and muttered something in a much older version of the language, which sounded very respectful.
    ‘If I may say, you seem rather concerned.’
    ‘Why shouldn’t I be after what happened to Tahn,’ he snapped. ‘The man had done nothing to deserve such evil treatment. What if it is someone who dislikes our gods? What if I’m to be next, sliced up in such a manner?’
    ‘You’re aware of his fate, then?’
    He nodded his acknowledgement.
    ‘What have you been told?’
    Changing languages to Detratan, probably so only the learned might eavesdrop, he said, ‘I know only what the authorities have shown me. I believe it is him who has been found – those parts of his arm.’ The priest held out a bony arm, and I could see a similar bangle to the one worn by the bishop. ‘What else can you tell me so far?’
    ‘I’m afraid I don’t know much else,’ I replied. ‘That’s why I’m here. I’ve come to find out more about the bishop and I was hoping you could help the start of my investigation. And the more you tell me, the more I’ll be able to help you in finding who did this to him. I can put your mind at ease. That is,’ I added, now he appeared less on edge, ‘if you yourself had nothing to do with his death?’
    ‘How could you say such a thing?’
    ‘Quite easily,’ I replied. ‘We must eliminate all possibilities. You might stand to gain from his death.’
    ‘On the contrary,’ he replied, a bitter sneer upon his face. ‘With the bishop going, I have no idea what will happen to this temple. I’m certainly not in line to follow someone as grand as a bishop. I have my place and it was by his side. We had plans, next year, to venture from the city on a pilgrimage so Nastra-knows what I’ll do now.’
    ‘You were going to leave the city?’ I asked. ‘Who else knew about this?’
    ‘It was common knowledge, as of the last new moon a couple of months ago, when we