The street with the abandoned building was narrow and had no wagons. The few pedestrians walking along quickly made themselves scarce when they saw the group approaching -- most likely due to the presence of Kayu. The direwolf-like dog was definitely scary looking as he swiveled his head back and forth to pick up various scents. Ada thought it ironic that she, Ruciella and Leanne were probably seen as the least threatening. Anyone watching probably conceived the story as three young girls being forced to follow a thug with his giant dog. On closer inspection, they would see that the dog was limping and the man looked like he was in a strange daze but no one approached them close enough to observe this.

Ada felt relieved that there was no one who stopped them or eyed them suspiciously. She opened the conversation. "I didn't think we were making that much noise. How do you think those guards found us?"

"I have noticed that there are guard towers in every sector of the city stationed by guards. They probably saw the battle on the rooftop or the aftermath of it," Leanne answered.

"If they saw the battle, even if they don't know my abilities, they would at least be prepared for a magician's. Why did they only send three guards? One of them looked like a complete greenhorn too."

"Greenhorn?" Leanne and Ruciella asked concurrently.

"Slang term meaning an inexperienced beginner of a particular discipline or activity."

"Ah, I can easily answer that one for you. The city guard is known for its group of men with all brawn and no brains. I have yet to meet one smarter than an ostrich. They believed their swords would be enough to intimidate us."

"You seem to believe that most people are stupid," Leanne observed.

"That's because they are. The classic case of stupid people being overly confident since they don't know they're stupid."

"That's the Dunning–Kruger effect at work here. Two deities on my world investigated the behaviors of mortals and uncovered that people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. Without the self-awareness of metacognition, people cannot objectively evaluate their competence or incompetence."

"That does make sense," Leanne nodded.

"Hmm, well, this theory explains the toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance which seem to permeate much of the older faculty at the Academy," Ruciella said.

"They may also have fallen into the Peter principle which states that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their level of incompetence. People in an organization are promoted based on their competence in previous jobs until they reach a level where they're no longer competent since skills in one job don't necessarily translate to another."

"Hmm, let me think," Ruciella said and then paused dramatically. She continued, "No, doesn't apply here. I'm sure they weren't competent ever in their lives."

"Did you not tell me that I remind you of one of your respected elders at the Academy?" Leanne asked.

"I did."

"But you seem to have no respect for them."

"Also true and I would love to get into the finer points with you later. Right now though, I'm wondering if we can go a little faster?"

Ada looked and noted that both the man and Kayu have adjusted themselves to an even slower pace. Their steps slowed after they emerged from the side streets onto a larger thoroughfare with a large number of people and lumbering wagons. There were more people and animals and at this congestion meant it was harder for them to move at the same pace though people did get out of their way as soon as the gigantic dog appeared in view. She did a quick calculation. "We have slowed down by about 30%. With our currently speed and the estimated distance of 0.4 km, it'll take us about ten minutes to reach there."

And I sound like a robot, Ada groaned internally. Neither Ruciella nor Leanne cared. Ruciella continued, "Can't you make him walk a little faster? Maybe just 10%? My four-year-old nephew can beat them in a walking race. Besides, there's no one in front of us."

She muttered under her breathe. "I guess that's one good thing about a big mutt. No one wants to get in its way."

"Even if Ada forces Sçæaisøh to walk faster, Kayu will not be able to go much faster since he is already severely injured," Leanne answered before Ada could reply.

"Never expected a priestess to make the decision for her goddess. Wow, that's pretty bold of you."

"I was not making the decision. I was merely observing that we need to take into account the reality of their injuries."

I hate taking sides on their bickering so let's try to be diplomatic, Ada thought. "I think our current pace is fine. I don't think shaving off a few minutes really matters."

Ruciella nodded though she still looked disgruntled. Ada wondered, "Are you worried that more guards will stop us if we don't hurry up? Or do you have to report back to Master Obar?"

"No and no. I doubt the other guards had enough time to realize their companions are now in some deep water -- literally. Master Arbon is perfectly fine. He'll be occupied until he can sort out the latest mess the council dumped on his lap," Ruciella said.

"Then what is it?"

"Well, actually, I just want to get this over with so we can do something much more interesting."

"What do you consider 'much more interesting'?" Leanne asked in a tone which implied that she was not going to like the answer.

"I think I have a hunch of where you're going," Ada said.

"Obviously, I want to see your cloud. You have to go there later any way to hide it so why not take me on your escapade?"

"You overheard us?" Leanne was clearly annoyed.

"Well, my assignment was to spy on you and I think I did a pretty job all things considered."

"That's fine by me but are you able to keep it a secret?"

"Of course. My lips are as sealed as a mute seal."

Leanne gesticulated in worry and annoyance. "Goddess Ada, are we really going to trust a magician who we barely know to tour your palace? What if she steals your secrets and tells everyone else at her Academy?"

"Steal? I can't believe you will ..."

Ada interrupted Ruciella before the girl's face would get any redder. "I'm not going to say no. Several reasons here. One, Ruciella, excuse me Aurian, doesn't appear to be someone who would just give up if I tell her no. Two, she has been very helpful already. I think we can trust her."

"What about number three, Ada?"

"The third reason?"

"You said several which implies three or more. I think I know what it is."

"Sure, take a shot."

"I'm intelligent, capable and beautiful. I've also shown that I'm willing to help. Naturally, you don't want to lose this golden opportunity."

"Hmm, a bit arrogant but otherwise accurate. You'll probably do pretty well in job interviews if you tone it down a bit. I do think you have a good heart and I have a feeling that you can offer a lot of insights into things which neither Leanne nor I may be aware of."

Ruciella smiled. "Wow, I never expected such high praises from a goddess. I hope I won't disappoint."

Ada looked over to the left at Leanne and expected a look of consternation from her. Instead, there was just a look of resignation. Ada anticipated that to build her base of followers, some of them would clash with others over personalities and world perspectives. Technological progression should be applicable to people of all backgrounds. For instance, on Earth, the invention of electricity led to improvements in everyone's lives regardless of their ethnicity, religious background, sex, beliefs, etc. She didn't feel that she was making a mistake drawing Ruciella into her circle of confidence. "You won't. I typically have good judgment."

"Is that another of your divine abilities? I thought you're a goddess of elements."

She could concoct all sorts of abilities and the girl as well as Leanne would probably believe her. That might be useful to dazzle some mortals but she thought of the long-term. Lies inevitably slip up. Besides, she decided that she wasn't going to sacrifice her integrity to appear more impressive. "It's not one of my abilities. Just saying that I have good intuition."

"Ah, so glad we don't have another goddess with the power of Serina here. What are your powers really? Indubitably, it has something to do with the elements."

Hearing this question, Ada saw Leanne's ears perk up. No doubt that was a question her seer has been wondering for a while and she suspected that Leanne was just too reserved to ask her directly. "I can go into it a little but I think a full-length conversation would have to wait until we're at the cloud palace."

"Hmm, so it is the elements? The Academy elders have always informed us that every god can manipulate several but not all of the elements."

"How many elements do your elders say there are?"

"Like the temples, they say there are five elements which make up everything in the world. Air, water, earth, fire and metal. Some natural philosophers of the Club of Rose once believed there's an infinite number of elements made of an even more fundamental material. They also did not consider fire to be an element. Their research ground to a halt though once the temples got word of it. Actually, I should clarify that they themselves ground to a halt."

"What do you mean?" Ada asked.

"Shortly after the temples found out their heresy, they were all hanged as heretics."

"Well, the so-called heretics were mostly right. Definitely more right than the temples or your Academy."

Ruciella leapt in the air and joyfully exclaimed. "Aha! I knew it! Never trust anything that all the temples declare as absolute truth."

Leanne had a look of dismay. "Are you saying that there are not five elements that make up everything?"

"I'm sorry, Leanne, but if that is what your former temple was teaching you, then they were either ignorant themselves or intentionally hid the truth."

Leanne's shoulders dropped and she sighed. "I just cannot believe it."

Ruciella shrugged her shoulders. "I believe it. Temples are just places where people are brainwashed into knowing less than they knew before they went in."

"That ... that is not true. I learned so much."

"Well, clearly you learned a lot of meaningless things. Speaking of meaningless, here's the temple."

Ada looked up. With the seven tall pillars which loomed over their heads with snaking vines, this was definitely a temple to a powerful deity. Large bushes and trees containing a variety of bulbous fruits and nuts were arranged in an aesthetically pleasing pattern surrounding the entranceway. The main entranceway itself was through a set of adjacent dual dark brown wooden doors three times her height. One of the doors was closed with a sign while the other was open. She couldn't read the words on the large sign in front but she was sure Ayula was imprinted there somewhere. There was a priestess, or an Adept as they were called, standing in front of the sign. The woman looked like she was in her early thirties and was dressed in a simple solid green tunic. Upon seeing the man and the dog, she flinched. She was clearly frightened but she had enough resolve to not step away.

"Sçæaisøh, come back three steps and tell your dog to step back as well," Ada commanded.

Leanne pointed at the sign. "The sign says the temple will close soon but I believe I can convince her to let us in."

Ada nodded. "I trust in your negotiation skills."

As Kayu walked back to Ada, Leanne rapidly skirted around his massive frame to approach the priestess. They greted each other. They were far away enough that Ada couldn't hear anything they were saying even if they were speaking in the Divine Tongue. Ruciella observed the scene and sighed, "If she can negotiate herself into your employ, I suppose I should have some faith in her capability."

Ada chuckled. "Wow, a compliment. I'm a little surprised."

"I'm not a mean person. No offense to your follower but she's just so ignorant about how the world works that it's infuriating to explain to her. I guess that's what happens when you're cloistered in a temple for so many years. So ... how did she negotiate herself into 'employment' under you?"

"I'm not sure if I'll call that negotiation. In any case, if their conversation is going to take a while, I'll be happy to tell you the story."