The First Balcony of the Post housed three unique structures. Kavala had already visited, On the Edge, the one-of-a-kind tavern owned by a rather interesting individual by the name of Rideon Mistshadow Pitrius. The second, even more artistic in design and form, was the Temple that sat between the tavern and the VIP offices where Kavala was currently residing. The Temple of Izurdin was different than many temples dedicated to the gods across the land. There were no walls, no pews or benches, in fact there was no seating of any kind. Huge stone pillars carved to look like great heroes from Isurian history, held up a massive stone roof baring more historical carvings. As Kavala made her way to the VIP offices to finally meet with the Isurian Priest, she passed the temple and was able to see it in all of its splendor. In the center of the temple sat a large granite anvil covered with religious etchings. Surrounding the anvil were tools and implements used in a forge. Kavala had heard that the temple was actually used as a functioning forge by the Priest himself. As she passed, she could also see a handful of local isur standing near the anvil, their heads lowered, their metallic arms held out in front of them with clenched fists; a religious communion perhaps?
Kavala's meeting with the Priest, known to the Isur as the Anvil, was not at the temple. Instead, it was at the Anvil's private office located in the same building where Kavala was quartered. The VIP building as it was known to the locals, was by far the largest of the structures found on the First Balcony though far simpler in design when compared to the tavern or the temple. The outside still bore the same basic design to the rest of the buildings in the Post; pillars supporting an elaborately carved facade with marble and granite stone comprising the overall form. When Kavala finally reached the heavy bronze doors that offered entry into the building and made her entrance, she was greeted with the same sight she had seen since arriving at the Post.
The doors offered entry to a large central common room with a large statue of Izurdin in the center. The statue held out its hands in welcome to visitors while a number of stone benches were arranged throughout the room. There were two short hallways that branched off of the common room. One led to a series of offices, one of which belonged specifically to the Anvil. The other hallway led to a number of rooms designed to house wealthy and influential visitors. Two of these rooms were used by the local priesthood with the Anvil Priest taking one and his assistants using the other. A set of stairs positioned next to an attendant's desk led to a smaller number of rooms reserved for special guests. It was one of these rooms that Kavala called home while at the Post.
There was still a little time left before her meeting with the Anvil thus Kavala had the opportunity to do whatever she needed to prepare herself. Her room was luxurious by the standards of the Post's residents. There was a walk-in closet filled with rows of shelving, handmade clothing hangers and two separate privies. There were two marble bureaus and a four-poster bed made from the finest wood with fine linen hangings. The mattress was stuffed with feathers and adorned with silk sheets. There were a couple of stuffed chairs along with a fully stocked writing desk. The walls were adorned with tapestries depicting various Isur as well as amazing views of a vast subterranean city.
When Kavala was ready, she would find the attendant downstairs at the desk ready to escort her to the Anvil's office. The Chief Attendant was a Isurian woman with a crimson colored arm. She had short, strawberry blond hair and wore a silver-threaded white skirt and matching boots. A series of delicate silver chains formed a barely functional chest wrap. This was something Kavala couldn't help but notice since coming to the Post; most of the resident Isur had little in the way of modesty. The woman, Itiri Bloodtear Sultros, led Kavala down the short hallway. There were three offices on one side and two on the other including a separate room for storage. At the end of the hallway was the Anvil's office.
Itiri paused a few feet from the door and gestured for Kavala to enter. With a heavy accent, Itiri said in the Common Tongue, "I hope your meeting goes well and you learn all that you have come for." With a simple, half-smile, she gave a nod and returned to her desk. That was another thing Kavala had quickly come to realize about the isur, while they were courteous, helpful and friendly, they were not overly cheerful, at least they didn't appear to be around outsiders.
Upon entering the office, Kavala was greeted with a grand variety of sights. The walls of the office were covered in more tapestries. These depicted numerous landscapes with such detail that it looked as though they were actually windows open to far away realms. Looming mountains, impossibly deep caverns, fortresses of such raw magnificence that they looked as though they could deter any threat either with fortification or beauty itself. There were alien-looking cities of marble, a lake with a near perfect, mirror-like finish and what appeared to be a central city plaza of some sort made from silver-veined ruby.
In the center of the room was a circular stone table surrounded by stone chairs baring carvings of hammers and anvils. In the chair across the table from Kavala sat a man dressed in light gray robes trimmed in gold. He had short, dark brown hair and eyes of the deepest blue. His face looked as though it had been chiseled from a piece of the finest stone by a master sculptor. Kavala could see that unlike most of the other Isur she had seen thus far, with their black, red, green and even the occasional violet arms, this man's was a deep sapphire blue lined with raised veins of silver. On the table in front of him were a couple small piles of paper, a handful of small scroll cases and a couple of books, one of which looked to be extraordinarily old. There was also a bottle and two small, silver goblets.
The man looked up from his papers when Kavala entered. In a refreshingly cool, soothingly deep voice with a light accent he greeted Kavala in rather basic yet relatively serviceable Kontinese, "Welcome, Lady Kavala, you honor me with your presence." Switching to the Common Tongue with a bit more proficiency, he continued, "My name is Emaneus Vizerian. Please, have a seat." Emaneus gestured for Kavala to sit in one of chairs.
Emaneus took the bottle, pulled free the cork and poured a violet liquid into each of the goblets before sliding one to her. In traditional Isur fashion, Emaneus was polite yet got right to business. "You've traveled a long way to speak with me and I must say, the letter you sent intrigued me. It's not everyday that I receive a message from a Konti of Riverfall wishing to speak with me about religious matters. So needless to say, you have my ear."
If Kavala were to smell the offered drink, it would smell like dry stones suddenly touched by Spring rain. If she were to taste it, it would not have a taste like anything she had experienced before. The nearest she could compare it to would be tasting like how a rose smells. The conflicting nature of the smell and taste was quite pleasant and after the first sip, seemed oddly appropriate.
