Yes! That's very weird!

Vanyel isn't sure that he likes that! Even if it's pretty convenient for their purposes.

He'll follow the others' lead, though, and try to look very poised and composed. 

The young man leads them through the lobby and to a staircase. Then he winces.

"I can teleport us, if you show me where."

"Uh, five flights of stairs," he says. "Up there." And he points to a balcony looking out on the rest of the temple. 

"Have a fun walk," Mahdi says to Fazil and Vanyel, and then jumps himself and Yfandes there.

Vanyel makes a face at him and starts trekking up the stairs. 

:Need Van to refill your teleport?: Yfandes asks, as her Chosen arrives, out of breath. 

I have one more if we need to get out in a hurry. Well, get some of us out in a hurry.

At the top of the stairs there's a grand pair of doors, with guards stationed there. Their escort takes a moment to catch his breath and then says "the High Priestess of Nethys, Nefreti Clepati."

And pushes open the doors. 

"Well, come in, come in, my sight's not what it used to be. Do you know why the gods gave men old age?"

:Er, no: Yfandes sends, very politely. :Why?: 

Vanyel follows her through the doors, trying not to look as tense as he feels. 

"Men kept resisting death at the end of the time the gods had planned for them in this world! So they thought, make it worse by measures, and then by the time death comes the men will have forgotten all their reasons to resist it. That's why old age makes you forgetful, too. You think little of them, for this trick, but it is others you are affronted for; you will not die of old age." It's not clear who she's speaking to.

"- High Priestess," he says, and bows.

Vanyel bows as well. I am so confused right now. 

:Is she, um. Normally like that: 

I think so. Nethys is - not necessarily a good influence on people, right.

"No, no, it's a good influence," she says, even though none of that conversation was directed at her at all. "It is a fact of the universe, from its smallest parts; the more clearly you see where it is going, the less you can see of where it is right now. But there are many who can see the things in front of them, and those who can see things far away, in space or in time, we are few. You will have to tell me your quest; I know I will accept it but I do not know what it is."

Vanyel takes a deep breath. "I come from another world, and ended up here by mistake. Back home, I'm scared a war is going to happen. There's a mage who I'm supposedly destined to fight, but who might or might not actually be my enemy, and my kingdom currently believes he kidnapped me. Which he visibly didn't, but. I need to talk to him. In - safe conditions, in case he is just hoping to kill me. We found a place to put him which would be safe, but we don't think we can teleport him from my world ourselves without taking a lot of risks. So we wanted to ask you to do the Gate spell, to bring him to this world so we can speak, and maybe avoid a war." 

Not the most eloquent summary, but it's very hard to keep his composure in front of the mysteriously-extremely-scary elderly cleric. 

"Oh," she says. "The same story tells itself again and again across worlds. Sunlight glinting on the clouds, and it looks like death, from the wrong angle - a god descends from the heavens, to die saving us - young men who believe themselves immortal, because they are, because they were - but eveything else was not, everything else was lost, a price they did not know they might need to pay, and time erodes even the mountains. A boy, a forest, an ascendant. I will help you. I will want magical artifacts of your world, in payment. That I may study them. The ones you are wearing, and the ones he is wearing; that is the agreement I will offer you."

Vanyel just blinks helplessly at her for a few moments, trying to parse any of that. All right, the last few sentences actually make sense. "I, um, sure. This?" He tugs at the shield-token he's wearing around his neck. 

"Yes! Thank you." She stands up. Wobbles over to take it.

He's not exactly delighted to part with it, but he removes it and holds it out to her. "I - can't promise you that he'll offer his willingly. Although I can probably get you other magic things from my world, later, if you want to study them." 

"I want his. He is very clever, and he will not speak to me, here, he has turned his back on all the servants of all the gods. I will learn more from his. This is the deal I offer."