uuuuuugh nobles showing up exactly an hour after dawn always want something and half the time it's a spell he didn't prepare today, or couldn't get even if he asked for it, and none of them ever seem to realize that they'd be more likely to get their spell if they sent a request the night before, or better yet bothered the Abadarans who are more numerous and have fewer better things to do with their time and gifts.

Fine. Iustin will meet with the fucking archduke who probably thinks he's the greatest thing since Iomedae Herself.

"My lord," he says, smiling politely, and gives a bow. "How might we be of service to you?"

"I have a number of questions and concerns that I think ought be addressed to someone in the Church hierarchy," he says, "but first, I suppose, I'd like to determine to whom, specifically, this and future inquires ought be directed—previously they'd mostly been ending up with Alexeara Cansellarion, and I really don't think that's the best use of his time."

"It depends on the nature of the inquiries, my lord. They might be directed here, or to the church in Vellumis, or to Vigil, or perhaps somewhere else entirely. Whatever the case, if they are brought here I can send them onward as necessary." aaaaargh. "I agree that Ser Cansellarion has many responsibilities and it is wise to direct matters that do not directly pertain to his holy order to another source. What were your questions?"

"Well, first I wanted to ask whether it was known to the Church whether Hellknights were actually empowered by any power in Hell, and second I wanted to tell someone who will do something about it that Valia Wain—the Select from Pezzack who's a delegate to the Convention—is saying things that are likely to lead to bloodshed and badly needs more guidance in her faith than I suspect she's had, that being 'none'."

"But I don't think you're getting my point. You clearly have more important responsibilities as well," or at least are acting like you do, "and I shouldn't have to come in here and interrupt you every time I have a question that touches on matters of religion. When I was young, there was a priest who had been assigned by the Church, admittedly as one of several responsibilities, to advise me on matters of governance, and I was only a count then. Now, I'm a lot older than I look, and that was the Church of Aroden. I get that you're not the Church of Aroden. I get that Iomedae doesn't have the resources he did, and she allocates what she does have differently. But he's dead, and she's supposed to be his Inheritor. We all just got handed this country out of the literal clutches of Hell, and we're trying to make it hers the same way it was his, and as far as I can tell her actual Church is barely even involved in the process. There isn't even a single Commune-capable priest in the whole country, as far as I can tell."

"My lord. For whatever reasons, Iomedae has seen fit to empower two clerics in this country, no more - perhaps for lack of suitable candidates, but likely not, as those are the only two that I know Her to have selected across all of Avistan this year. That is not enough to replace those lost in the same period, even if the two new Select were not indefinitely detained here in this city. I am not privy to all of the staffing decisions made by Her church, but commune-capable and -trained clerics were scarce two years ago and I do not know any reasons that they would be less scarce today; Beyond the staffing issues, I imagine communes themselves are considered dear, considering whatever it is that constrains the Goddess' willingness to act on this plane. Given all of that, it seems unwise to attempt to make this country Hers as it was Aroden's. Perhaps She imagines Cheliax needs another god more, or perhaps She finds that having this country be Hers does not advance Her goals enough to be worth the costs, or perhaps She has simply given too much in the fight to make Cheliax not Asmodeus' so as to be unable to take it for herself. I am not myself privileged to know. If you would like, I can write to Vigil on your behalf and see if there is an explanation for you. My lord."

"I'm sorry if I was rude. I know a lot of this isn't in the Church's control, and none of it in yours specifically. I'm aware that the Goddess is limited in her ability to act on this plane, and that she's spent a great deal of hers recently. I still think that, unless she's specifically told you otherwise, acting to make the people of this country not damned should be a higher priority than the Church currently seems to be making it."

"We don't need priests to make water—well, we desperately do, but I understand why we're not getting any. What we need are people who know what it means to serve Iomedae, or even just to be Good, and can help the people of Cheliax that want to do that and don't know how. If Lastwall sent us a thousand random farmers, they'd still know more about Iomedae or Lawful Good than most of the people who are in there trying to write this country's highest law, including at least one of your Select and basically all the nobility that haven't just come back from the dead—to be clear, don't put that in your letter to Vigil. What I actually want, right now, are half a dozen decently qualified chaplains for the delegates at the Convention. Maybe you can get them to teach a class covering topics like 'why the Goddess opposes executing people for not worshipping her', because half my peasants think that and I bet half the people at the Convention do too."

"I get that Communes are expensive, with prophecy broken and all. But honestly, if you have two Commune-capable priests in your hierarchy, one of them should be here. I really don't think I'm being parochial when I say that what we're trying to do here is going to affect the fate of more souls than anything else that's currently happening on this planet. The Worldwound is closed, and if Tar-Baphon does get out I give him three rounds before Élie Cotonnet locks him up again."

"I'll write the letter to Vigil myself, unless you think you can predict what they'll say to any of that."

'I don't think I'm being parochial when I say that my country is the most important, the worldwound is closed, nevermind all the demons still there, and Tar-Baphon's no big deal, right, nor is Geb, what's a great archmage out of legend next to a great archmage of today'

"I believe there are Iomedan lay priests accompanying the noble contingent from Menador. Beyond that, convention delegates are of course welcome to attend the sermons here, though they tend to be crowded. Perhaps we can arrange a special time when we are open only to delegates. I do not know whether Lastwall has more to spare that have not already been sent to whichever parts of Cheliax where they were deemed to be needed most. I expect, due to the tight constraints on the Goddess' resources, that a greater deal of care is being taken with communes, and in particular some care is being taken to avoid duplicate communes, and a commune-capable cleric in Westcrown would make that much more difficult and not improve communications with Heaven by as much as you might expect." Also they would have to be constantly fending off requests from archdukes to consult Iomedae on trivial matters.

"I see. Thank you for your time."

He writes his letter to Vigil. It says all the same things he said to the priest at the temple, except more politely, and he drops the request for a specifically Commune-capable cleric in favor of one for 'an official liaison of the Church to the Crown of Cheliax', and they can decide themselves whether to send someone who can cast Communes. He also adds a request for an advisor who's specifically cleared on the secret matter of which he's aware. He doesn't complain about be temple priest at all. 

He gets his Teleport wizard to deliver it; the man clearly has some clout in Lastwall. Maybe he can actually get it in front of someone who will listen.