8th Labor

Origin of the phrase “the day’s many questions share the night’s single answer.”

A village headman registered a complaint with the local chartoularios, claiming that the local priest of Osiris was an impostor; he also complained that exactions from all the local temples had skyrocketed, and without explanation. Imperial investigators found nothing amiss, and the regional council of priests found the new exactions and tithes to be appropriate. The headman turned up dead a month later. His daughter sought out Arden, who arrived with Vul to investigate. Vul journeyed to the temple of Osiris, where he observed a suspiciously high level of tithe collection; he also discovered many messengers traveling to the temple of Isis. Arden adopted the guise of a pilgrim and spent a fortnight begging for Isis. Eventually the pair discovered that a powerful priestess of Jael was impersonating the priestess of Isis, and that her minions had also replaced the priests of other local temples. Arden located the hidden shrine to Jael, and destroyed it, thus ending the illusion and permitting a return to proper religious harmony. Arden presented the half-moon torc of the priestess of Jael to the chartoularios.