Sosiel nurses his drink soulfully. "So what brings you to Drezen? And in the middle of this storm, too."

"I'm the new ambassador from Lastwall. Also a fifth-circle cleric, if you know who to talk to about getting slotted into the channel rotation."

"Oh, there's a priestess of your Goddess at the temple who handles all of that," says Sosiel, "I mostly save my magic for adventuring. It's a beautiful temple, or at least it clearly was before the demons took the city. Such a shame. I have half a mind to repair the statuary, but I don't know how."

"Does the Knight-Commander have you on missions every day?" That's not best practices, if you have the personnel to do rotations.

"No, no, it's one in two and then a week off after two, but I like to decompress, on my days off, and every once in a while something will come up."

"So on your days off your channels are saved for emergencies?" He would hope Sosiel still uses them at the end of the day when they'd otherwise go to waste.

"Yes, that's right." Sosiel seems somewhat nonplussed. "If demons attack or we have to go bail out a patrol. I think they've got plenty of healing at the temple in any event."

He really hopes so.

"...I hear you gamble? Do you understand the Abadaran thing, about using it for divination? I'm afraid I never have, but maybe an explanation from someone who is not, themself, an Abadaran might work better."

- a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I can't say I've ever heard that. No, I just enjoy the rush. It's like the feeling of fighting demons, but with less mud and blood."

"Ah. Well. It's certainly safer. And cleaner. And perhaps easier to schedule, though there's no shortage of demons here." Aarind thinks fighting demons is certainly more noble and dignified but - his Goddess is not Shelyn. He doesn't really understand Her priorities.

Sosiel doesn't really understand Shelyn's priorities either! He'd much rather the burden of Her blessings be given to someone else, except that he hasn't found Trever yet. "Indeed. Game of cards?"

"...Sure." He'll try to figure out the divination again while he plays. He doesn't get anywhere with it and loses a bit of money to Sosiel.

Sosiel thanks him in good spirits and invites him to another round with some friends of his, soldiers who seem quite drunk to be playing complicated arithmetic games. 

"...For money?"

"Well, not all that much of it!" He laughs.

He frowns. "It seems that it's taking advantage of these men."

"Come, now, if they lose it's a lesson and they might win, Eddar's sharp. Took two gold off me the other day. We can have another drink first, if it helps you feel better."

"I do not want another drink. And I think that if you play against these men while they're as drunk as they are you are treating them unjustly." - Do Shelynites even care about justice? They're still Good at least - "And unkindly." he adds.

That does seem to make Sosiel look flustered and upset. "It's just a little lighthearted game!"

"You are a powerful adventurer. These men are poorer than you. If they were acting wisely, they would not play, and it is cruel to take advantage of their foolishness for your own profit."

...Shit he is failing at being a diplomat, isn't he.

Sosiel stands. He's taller. "Well, you're a pompous ass who just came here to judge everyone so you can go back to letting us die!"

"At least I intend to use my Goddess-given healing powers to heal the wounded!"

- He needs to de-escalate this and not get into a drunken fistfight with the Crusade's senior cleric. He takes a breath.

"I am sorry, Sosiel, I spoke rashly - "

"You sure did." There's a bit of a crowd gathering around. "Your Goddess hates beauty, and joy, and fun, and everything that makes life worth living, and you all want to outdo her at it."

       "Master Sosiel," says the bartender, in the tone of one who has had this interaction before, "can I offer you a drink on the house?"

Sosiel spins to glare at him, but with at least some of his fury diminished. "Now, this is nothing like the incident with that mongrel -"

      "Of course not, Master Sosiel, but wine rights many wrongs." His facial expression requests that Aarind take a few steps back or maybe just leave.

Right.

"Begging your pardon," and he backs out the door and makes for the temple where maybe he will find some sanity.

The temple is in some disrepair but it's got Iomedae's holy symbol displayed prominently above a window through which a Continual Flame shines, and there's a belltower which has been counting out the hours at least close enough to reliably that it's not easy to catch it in error.