"That has not been my experience in the slightest." Granted, most people didn't have encounters with the gods, save for their slightly presence at funerals. Especially encounters not mediated by saints. "With gods, I mean. And the only ones who have anything close to reliability are saints."

Of which Penric had only worked with two, though he'd met others in passing. Granted, he didn't know what they felt like to other people; he picked them out first by Des acting like a mouse that had heard a hawk. But even the non-sensitive noticed when a god was paying particular attention.

(Not wrong, but still insulting, Des commented.)