Church! What could possibly go wrong?
More surprises awaited me inside. There was so much light, to begin with, cast from what must have been a hundred lanterns. I knew that the Kee were notoriously bad at seeing in the dark, but if this was more to their liking then they must find the outside dim, indeed. It was almost too much for me to bear at first, but I learned quickly not to directly look at any one given lamp; my eyes also seemed to adjust after a few moments. But only to a certain degree, and the sharp shadows threatened to make me shiver.
Another surprise was the congregation. That there were many here after curfew did not shock me, or even alarm me, since every person here was one on the streets not causing trouble. But there were more non-Kee than I expected. Most hunched over as if to avoid my gaze, but a few stared back, unblinking and defiant. For my part, my impulse was to match glare for glare, but why should I? This was a Seacity temple, not some primitive shrine to the dead gods of the Kee. They all had every right to worship here, alongside anyone else of the faith willing to abide their presence.
It occurred to me that they might not wish to abide my presence, but nobody said a word as we walked up the aisle to the central altar. A man kneeled there, back to the congregation, and praying to the image of the Dreamer that hung on the back wall. As we reached him, Willkoad hastily went to one knee in front of the image, his hand firmly dragging me down to do the same. It was not a ritual of the Dreamer, but I allowed him to direct me. I had no quarrel with this god, after all, and it would not hurt me to show Him respect.
Or so I thought.
First: I am reminded of certain memoirs of people seeing a crucifix in a church and concluding christians were nuts.
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Second: Fools Gold where the lead and his (recently ex-) wife find records relevant to their search and proceed to go for a sacrilege trifecta.
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What could possibly go wrong indeed?
Syncretism might be a vicious blade indeed, in a world where the gods are more real.
The “willing to abide their presence” clause is another tasty little touch of implied worldbuilding.