To say that the small collection of guards stationed in that area were tense was an understatement. One had already slipped away on a horse to inform the court of the Devout's movement, and the rest were now huddled together in a loose clump, whispering fervently to one another while casting frequent glances to the entity in question. They seemed to be discussing who would be the one to approach her. 

The once proud stand of trees had been reduced to mere stumps, cut for lumber and firewood. Even so, the surrounding land still retained its healthy green foliage, tinged around the edge with the dry, brittle plants that had become a regular sight in Anatina. Small ornamental plants bearing odd fruits, nuts, and berries were scattered throughout. Some had been clearly cut and pruned back, either by a stealthy citizen who managed to pilfer it or by the guards themselves.

The whispering reached a fever pitch and one of the guards was shoved out of the group. He stumbled in the direction of the Devout before recovering, nearly tripping over his own spear in the process. He took a couple hesitant steps closer before he swallowed thickly and began to speak.

"Uh, in accordance with the orders given to us by King Prospero II, this area is currently closed to... visitors." He reeled through his speech automatically, though by the way his voice was shaking, it was clear that those the king had posted to guard the temple ruins were not exactly the finest the kingdom had to offer. "Please exit the ruins immediately." 

The guard flinched at the sound of his own voice, but to his credit, he didn't back off. "You are here outside of the visitation hours. You're in violation of the agreement."

The other guards had stopped bickering and were now watching intensely. There was a mumbled chorus of agreement at the spearman's words. Some of them had drawn their swords, but looked reluctant to use them-- whatever punishment there was for failing to uphold their orders was enough for them to consider tussling with a demigod, albeit hesitantly. 

"We cannot disobey orders." The spearman leveled his weapon towards The Devout. The other guardsmen followed suit. "Last chance."

The thunderous sound of hoofbeats announced the arrival of General Opulenti. He was astride the horse of the messenger that retrieved him. Both man and beast were breathing heavily-- neither was prepared to move at such speed-- but by the way the general dismounted and angrily stabbed his cane into the ground as he made his way over, his breathing had less to do with exertion and much more to do with the matter at hand. Gone was his characteristic uniform. In its place was a simple shirt-and-pants combo covered by an equally simple cloak. He had been pulled away from one of his precious few moments of downtime, and it was clear he was not happy about this turn of events.

The guards remained motionless at Opulenti's arrival, but as he came to a stop between them and The Devout, there was an awkward clamor of some putting their weapons away to offer him a hasty salute, some kneeling, and some still eyeing The Devout. The general stared at them for a long moment, his silver eyes ablaze in disapproval.

"You're relieved from your posts for today. Go make yourselves useful somewhere else. Quickly, now." His voice was soft, but by the way the guards reacted, he might as well have threatened them with execution. The sound of weapons being sheathed amongst a smattered chorus of "yessir" was the only sound in the grove. Within seconds, they were headed back into the heart of the city, practically running out of the ruins.


General Opulenti watched them go for a moment, then fixed his gaze on The Devout. "My apologies," he said, dipping his head slightly. "They should know better than to threaten anyone, least of all you, on temple grounds. I will be sure to deal with them personally later."  He heaved a great sigh of a man exhausted before the day had scarcely begun. "I have a different selection of guards posted here for your visitation hours to ensure everyone is well-protected. What brings you here outside of those agreed-upon hours? Are they no longer to your satisfaction? I'm sure we could have reached a new understanding that didn't involve spooking my guards."

Opulenti leaned forward on his cane to get a better look at the growths The Devout was referring to. "Oh? And how are they doing? It's been quite difficult for most to get anything worthwhile to come out of the ground with the blight, but I would assume such a task is easily done here." he lifted a hand in a lazy wave to the stumps and pruned shrubs that surrounded them. The horse he had ridden in on was gratefully munching on some iridescent-looking berries nearby. Now that the guards were gone, the general didn't seem very upset at all. In fact, he looked downright relaxed, as if he was engaging in idle chitchat with a neighbor.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Well enough. My work is never done, and things seldom go the way intended, for better or for worse." He tilted his head in the direction of the saplings. "What are your plans for these? They could always be transplanted into the inner courtyard to reduce the risk of being meddled with."

It would stop Anatina's citizens from seeing the trees seemingly regrowing where they were cut down on Prospero's orders, and such things could prove to be a catalyst for bigger things. That was none of The Devout's concern, however.

The general raised a hand in a mock surrender. "If it's that important to you. Though I'm sure they would find a way to survive even if they were to undergo a disruption. Nature often does." He knew better than to give them more of a reaction than that. "I will ensure my men know not to allow them to be meddled with. Given the location, some citizens may try to take some cuttings as a souvenir. That used to be common practice here, you know." He lifted his cane slightly and sank the tip of it back into the rich earth in a vague approximation of pointing. The grass directly around it seem to lean toward his cane, out of pattern with any sort of breeze that might have been passing through. "We had to do away with it. There simply isn't enough to go around anymore. It wouldn't do to have our people coming to blows over a little sprout."

Sorry, I'm still alive))

"That typically wasn't a problem with the way things used to grow around here. It used to be quite a nice little place. One of my favorite temples to visit. And one of the more useful ones, too." A rare positive word about Anatina's patron deity, but it seemed like Opulenti actually meant it. "A lot of the others are needlessly grand affairs. The effort that went into building them could have gone to other things. Not that temples aren't important, but many of them were built while Anatina was actively at war and those resources could have gone to the army. Well, nothing we can do about that now."

Opulenti's mouth twitched ever so slightly, as if he was inclined to disagree on several fronts, but the general needed to pick his words carefully. The Devout was not one of those pompous courtiers that he could speak his mind and face no repercussions. "I know what a temple is." he replied, his tone matching hers which, in a roundabout way, was technically his own. "Many people treated this grove as such. There are stories of people bringing their sick and injured here to be healed by the attendants."