[h2][center][b][color=ed1c24]Novak[/color][/b][/center][/h2]
Novak considered the Illuminator's offer carefully.  Lazhira believed that the orb was a seal to something, and that the god would use it.  She also seemed to think that endeavoring to return it would be a bad idea.  If she wanted to prevent this, perhaps that was her motive for stealing it, he thought.

On one hand, there were a lot of unsettling things about this god.  Dancing with a corpse-mannequin outside a laboratory where human hearts were used as ingredients at the bottom of an abandoned temple surrounded by an unnatural fog and infested with slime monsters...it was only natural that someone be a little apprehensive about dealing with someone like that.  If the orb was as seal, does that mean the Illuminator wanted to break it?  And what would that mean for the world?

On the other hand, from a pragmatic standpoint, agreeing to this was likely the only way to get Lazhira out of here.  Novak counted himself fortunate that Iva’Krorh had been swayed by his reasoning, and to back out now would be foolish.  Even if they were able to escape this temple- a task easier said than done considering the only way was a rope- they'd be marked, and the god's wrath would catch up with them sooner or later.  Not to mention that Leannah was still somewhere here and they couldn't risk doing anything that'd jeopardize her safety.

There was one other consideration, however- their divine mission.

The goddess had pulled them from death and brought them here to restore the world.  She told them that world is dead, inhabited by people who cling to survival with no future, and she wanted it fixed.  He didn't understand quite what breaking this seal would do, but considering the world's current state, it might help rouse this dead world back to life.  Furthermore, perhaps earning the Illuminator's favor could lead to the locals regaining the knowledge that was taken from them.

"I agree to your terms, Illuminator," Novak finally answered, his mind made up.  "In exchange for allowing Lazhira to leave this place, I will do what I can to find what is yours and return it."

[@Rune_Alchemist][@Click This]