The acolyte is back presently. "The oracle will be with you in less than an hour," he says. "Will angela and her guest prefer to wait here, or at the foot of the mountain?"

"Micaiah, do you have a preference?" Isabella asks. "The foot of the mountain has Alleluia's husband's workshop; he and one of their children are there most of the time. Up here there are acolytes. I'm fine either way."