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The man looked harmless enough, but Astra knew that appearances
could be
deceptive, especially in the caverns. He looked to be in his fifties. He
was wearing a robe of a heavy woollen material, held together by a cord
round his waist. He had sandals on his feet. The crown of his head was
bald, with
a fringe of hair around it. He had a rather unkempt beard, mainly black
but shot
through with gray. His face seemed kind.
"We don't get many visitors these days," said Father Tom. "In fact I can't remember when the last one was. Somewhen before the dragon took up residence in the caverns, twenty years or more ago. Naked young female visitors would be even rarer, of course." Astra thought she detected a chuckle in his voice, but she was impressed to note that as he talked to her he kept his eyes fixed on her face. She was still troubled by the statue of the man on the cross, though. This must be a very strange religion indeed. She had come across many cults in her travels, but never one like this. "If you would come with me to the abbey, adjacent to the cathedral," Father Tom went on, "I can offer you a meal, and some clothing if you would like it (though admittedly not well suited to a young woman). Even a bed for the night if you wish - not that night and day have much meaning here, but I vaguely remember them from before I came to the caverns. I will introduce you to my fellow monks. And if you will let me, I will explain our faith to you. I saw your troubled look as you gazed on the statue of Our Lord. We may be a very minor religion compared to the worship of the Roman and the Norse gods, at least as far as our number of believers is concerned, but nevertheless we know that ours is the one true faith."
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10/15/1999 2:02:58 PM
Extending Enabled
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