Most of the animals seemed to be common types that were often found around farms and fields. There was a rabbit, squirrel, ferret, and other rodent like creatures resembling rats and mice. Talia gladly accepts Falaine's coin and pulls the small tinker toy from the case and presents it to her. Once out of the case, the tiny animal seems to stretch and yawn as if it had been woken from a slumber. It turns in circles on the glass case before taking a few steps toward Falaine with a mix of apprehension and excitement. Talia gives it a gentle push toward Falaine and says, "It's okay. She'll take good care of you."

((I will create an item and add it to your inventory. If there's a certain tiny animal you'd like, let me know and we can probably go with that.))

Paren would see that the animals in the case are all based on small creatures and none bigger than a rabbit. They all seem to be of animals that walk as their main form of movement. There is no owl here. "They're like little pets," Talia says again. "You just don't need to feed them. If you ever have any troubles with them, you can bring it back here and I'll repair it for free. They shouldn't cause you much trouble. They don't speak or fly. They're just fun little things I like to tinker with."

She takes a more serious tone talking of the divine. "Families have their squabbles. I imagine the gods are no different. I'm not sure what they would be fighting over though. It seems they both have a very strong followings that thinks very highly of them both. I for one would avoid being the target of their anger. Shamara is known to grant life with her blessings. I'm sure that she's able to do the opposite if she's scorn. Aiden on the other hand doesn't seem too concerned with the piety of it all. He has no  great works like his parents and no large shrines in his name."

Falaine will take a Ferret

Paren lets out a small chuckle. "It seems as a follower of an old god I am constantly creating ire for the new gods, sometimes in person." He turns and gives a slight wink to Finan. "You seem to be well travelled and learned. Have you ever heard of Merveille?" 

Talia thinks for a moment. "The monastery offered several teachings. That's why I chose to travel there. I felt like my studies were rather... limited while researching the craft in the nearby library in Thornwood. Even with the vast amount of books on the subjects, most of the healing information I could find dealt more with prayer to Shamara for her blessings and healing. That's all fair and good for those that offer themselves to her service, but I need more immediate results in my line of work. That requries me to study from the ways of societies that aren't so influenced by the family. Their ways deal with more natural forms of remedy. That's what led me to the monastery.

It's rather secluded from outsiders and they rarely let others into their sanctuary. It took some work, but I convinced them to let me enter so I could study their healing methods.  It's very different than towns like Holden Heights. The monks there are... an interesting type. Most of the teachings seem based on the old gods though I didn't waste my time listening to sermons. Their library was the real treasure I was hoping to explore. There were countless books on just about anything you could imagine. It was definitely not limited like Talos's libraries."

She thinks for a moment. "Merveille? One of the old gods, right? I think I saw the name on some of the spines of the old books in the monastery. With the family having such a strong presence, the old gods have mostly fallen away with time. Do you speak to your god?," Talia asks with interest.

((Falaine's ferret has been added to her inventory)

Paren's face shifts into a warm smile. "Yes. I do now. It's taken me a while but the events of these past days seem to have brought things into clarity and now we speak often."

Talia smiles with a bit of excitement at the response. "That's rare. You should feel honored."

Paren gives a smaller smile this time. "With the events that have been going on here I'm not sure honoured is the word I would choose for it. So far it has brought me riddles and confusion. And a distrust from people I would rather count as friends." He glances over at Finan and then on to the rest of the group.

Finan gives Paren a pained smile, sharing the feeling of their kinship being strained by the distrust caused by the two squabbling Gods. He is glad things have settled somewhat in the store, giving everyone a bit of room to breathe.
"Is the Shrine still operational? I thought it was completely destroyed yesterday. Paren, does that make sense with what you saw? The direction in which the guards were carrying her, I mean." he asks, both to change the topic and to bring it back to their original line of questioning.

OOC:

"Yes, that did seem to be the direction they were taking her. Though by the time I saw her she was already dead." He turns back to Talia, "Is there anything else you could tell us about her death. It seems like you know more than you've told us. Is there anything that could have caused her to pass on so quickly?"

Tanni feels a pang of guilt on Paren's comment, but tries to conceal it by looking closely at the mechanical ferret Falaine bought. She makes a mental note of producing similar toys or mechanical trinkets for wealthy people, escpecially young nobles or children of wealthy families. Considering the materials needed and her skills, she could make a nice profit if she found the right market...

Tanni is clearly lost in thought, letting the conversation flow past her.

Talia frowns and says, "If they took her to the shrine, she was most likely lost in the rubble. They'll be digging that place out for weeks if they send another Messenger here to restore it. Zynphura was brought here with extraordinary wounds coming from the fists of Gunthar as well as severe damage to her throat from strangulation. Those wounds all should have healed rather quickly given her divine state. Gunthar had his face nearly caved in from the blow of a staff or maul of some sort. I was able to reposition his nose and stop the bleeding in his brain.  There was some sort of illness in him that I was not able to diagnose. It was almost like an infestation that contaminated his blood.

It intrigued me, honestly. So I took samples of it as one in my field would do. I also took samples from Zynphura. The most peculiar thing happened when I combined the two blood samples. It was almost like the two were fighting each other no matter how stupid that sounds. You see, they did not mix. Now, I'm not skilled in areas of divine magic but my guess is that Zynphura had been protected by some sort of Shamara magic that had kept her alive when taking blows a normal person would die from. The blood had a sort of healing property to it. I assume that is how the Messengers are able to live so long."

She pauses a moment. "So I did what I could to remove this blight from the half orc who would surely die if it were left to linger. And, knowing that the blood of the angel would fight it off, I transferred it to her. That morning, they both were looking rather rejuvenated thanks to my service. It would only be a matter of time until the infestation that was transferred would be completely consumed by the holy blood. Something after she left must have complicated that process."

She thinks for a moment. "What dust were you talking about?"

[Quick recap of information:

• Talia has not seen Zynphura or Gunthar since they left her shop
• Gunthar was taken by guards
• Zynphura was taken by acolytes
• Zynphura pulled Falaine through the gates to save her and later died to wounds suffered
• Zynphura was taken from the gate to the temple.
• No one has seen Zynphura since
• Talia studied her craft in a monastery that was devoted to the old gods and has heard the name Merveille

/end recap]

Paren turns back to the group. "I think our best option would be to head to the temple area and find some acolytes next. See what they know about things, and see if they've found any more."

Falaine will nod on be agreement, place her ferret on her shoulder and head outside with a smile.

Jonathan looks back to the group, "Done then?" He asks. "I suppose whilst we're at the temple we can check on how the wounded are doing."

"They are still asking some questions, but we're going to head to the shrine."

The streets outside the small shop are filling with travelers making the journey on the lift to reach the other half of the region. Most of the people passing through are traders with wagons full of goods they hope to sell in cities far away. You would all see that the goods in the wagons are the types of things you'd see coming from the Hightlands including furniture and various fabrics. From what you can tell, the townsfolk have done their best to move on after the events of the festival and are now doing what they can to make some coin off the fresh visitors.

The walk from Talia's to the shrine isn't a long one. When you arrive back in the town square, you see that the shrine has been left in a similar state to how you left it. It's unclear if a new Messenger will be arriving to coordinate the restoration. You look around and see that the large number of acolytes are no where to be seen. All that remains of the shrine is the marble rubble. It looks like travelers and townsfolk have taken what they could from the shrine leaving little sign of the holy statues that once stood within the stone walls. 

[If Finan has any further questions, we can work that out when he returns this evening]

"Okay, so to be fully honest, I am still not on board with everything that is going on." Jonathan tells the group as they wander. "I am also not a highly religious guy, so any advice before heading into the shrine would be appreciated. My personal etiquette training has its limits as I know the folk of the cloth may have different standings."