The woman led the priest through the city streets of Angragar towards the north end of the city. When they reached the door to the elixir shop called The Asylum, Vand waved the woman away. She nodded without comment and left the priest. Vand stood staring through the doorway of the shop for several moments before he entered it.

The old woman who ran the shop looked up nervously as the High Priest entered. Her eyes immediately swept the room to see if anyone was present before greeting the priest.

“It’s not often we get such distinguished customers,” the woman said hesitantly as she worried that the priest was there to cause trouble. “How may I aid you?”

Vand ignored the woman as he picked up a potion and gazed at it. Abruptly, he put the potion back on the table and turned to storm out of the shop. That was when the woman saw the back of Vand’s sweat-soaked robe.

“You need more than potions,” the woman said softly as she realized that the priest was not there to demand her closure. “What you seek is down the stairs. Go before other customers enter the shop and see you.”

Vand hesitated at the door. He turned and looked questioningly at the woman, but she ignored his gaze. She turned and walked to the back of the room and began moving potions around on the shelf. Vand’s eyes wavered from the doorway leading to the street to the top of the stairs leading downward. A sudden shout from the street outside the shop jolted the priest out of his indecisiveness. He headed for the stairs and proceeded downward.

Vand descended the stairs into a large cavernous room. In the center of the room was a large pit of hot mud and several people were lounging in it. An old man immediately approached the newcomer.

“Remove your robe,” instructed the old man. “There are hooks over there to hang it on.”

“I am not here to dally in hot mud,” scowled the priest. “I expected…something more.”