Goriel and beyond, part 6

[Alberich]

Immediately after her escape, Anfisa had been filled with triple fears and anxieties - of her own people, of the disgrace she'd brought on her House by escaping, of the vengeance that would follow, of Desiree's uncertain devotion, and the eagerness of this new "companion" to shelve her somewhere away from her new love. Fleeing through the wilderness, camping out and waiting for disaster while listening to third-hand accounts of how she was being hunted - none of this had shown her at her best. Talking to strange men in a civilized place? That she could handle. Or thought she could. While she might've preferred fresh clothes and an hour or two getting prettied-up by Desiree, they'd done enough before coming here that she felt presentable.

This was a panel of foreigners, and male foreigners at that. She couldn't be what she was by being shy in front of strange men, and while they might be easier to handle one at a time and naked, she didn't mind them in small groups and clothed. That one there was from the same country as Dina's pillow-book - and a little part of her mind imagined him in the position of "two geese flying on their backs" with Dina smearing the butter...

She didn't have Kirassia's art for sizing men up at a glance, and (just as well for her nerves) had the magical senses of waxed fruit, so all she saw was older men used to wielding authority and confident in themselves - and that was by no means alien to her. Men like that liked their ladies sweet and demure, but with a hint of availability. So she stood in mock-shyness but with her charms visible, gave a private smile at the Tsuiarkuan man's compliment, and spoke -- soft enough to seem awed by them, loud enough to be heard easily.

"Anfisa, yes" -- she deliberately left out the name "Duravsky"; Lord Arman sat on the Confederacy Council and who knew how far his influence extended? Better not to meniton a clan name at all, as Desiree hadn't. "I met my new friends here just a few days ago and don't have any special position, really, but I'm so glad to be seeing the world with them. I hope I'll be welcome in this lovely city."

[Alberich]

Tim, for hsi part, had winced a little when the middle-aged priest referred to the Inquisition as "spooky." Granted, one of them had turned out to be fallen...but still, he expected that kind of attitude to be voiced by the tolerated sects, not from his fellow Orthodox, and especially not by an Orthodox to a tolerated sect. They were far too likely to misunderstand why the Inquisition was needed at all, and the Orthodox should not be fuelling that particular fire.

It was the special charge of the Orthodox not only to guide men to salvation but to administer Luminosita's kingdom on earth. Indeed, in a fundamental way, the functions were insparable. How else to keep control of the heretics? Recently, so Rose had told him, it had arisen that a tolerated unorthodox sect had raised its own private army - and it seemed to him that Rose herself had been lag in reporting it 'til Tim himself had reminded her. Well, the news probably hadn't reached this fellow yet, but that was what an inquisition was for.

The thought of facing a Court of Inquiry did not bother Tim. He'd seen and heard enough to imagine he'd be lucky to get through it all without seeing one of those, if not a court-martial. The composition of this one struck him as odd - why was a minor sect sitting on it? And a heathen Tsuirakuan? (Or was he a convert?) There was really only one concern he had, that he wanted to raise with Rose. But that could be done later. From his understanding, this was just introductions, not the inquiry itself. And there was probably enough magical ability around this room to make the mind-speech unwise. The question was - how did this "plausible deniability" Rose had been explaining to him about their mission up north play into this? Was there anything that had to be hidden from this panel, based on who made the mission "deniable" and who convened the panel? That was what Tim wanted to know.

When the introductions happened, he breathed a silent prayer that the group had split up as it had. Even the high-class Gorielian whore knew how to show the proper respect, as did all the others. Everyone who might've been insolent to this panel -- the elf, the cat-monster, the Tsuirakuan buffoon -- was gone. Even Eli (painful thought) - but he thought his friend could've controlled himself, if he'd been under his own power. When time came for his own introduction, he genuflected to Father Amalric (apparent President of the panel) and kept it simple -

"Brother-Lieutenant Timothy Gantric, from the church and the militia in Umbertiel" -- where I have wished myself back so many times.

[Drannin]

<He had me obfuscate his presence before we left the airship,"> Argus thought back. <"Then he went off to do whatever it is he does. Probably just as well, to be honest."> He had no idea how Harker would have interacted with this panel. It was a scary thought.

[Graybeard]

"Thank you," Father Amalric said stonily. If he noticed that Anfisa had responded in Veracian, rather than by way of the Translation spell, he concealed it. He turned to the other panelists. "Any preliminary questions?"

The Veracians had none, although Sister Rose noticed that Amalric and the Luminositan Scientist held eye contact for a little longer than necessary, and the man from the sect might have given a barely perceptible nod. Kitaura, however, held up a hand. "If I may, please humor me," he said, his voice as emotionless as ever despite the self-effacing words. "I will be unable to join you tomorrow, as you know, and this will be my only opportunity to gain knowledge so that I may inform my government on a matter of mutual interest to our countries. I have but three simple, general questions. First, Sister Rose, I would be most appreciative if you would explain exactly how you came to travel to a location as remote as Goriel." It was clear from his tone of voice that he would have preferred to use a word other than "remote," but given that there appeared to be three citizens of the Northern Confederacy here, one of whom might actually be important, he chose the more moderate term.

Rose had been expecting this question, and she was preparing to answer when, unexpectedly, Amalric cleared his throat. "I don't think we need to trouble our guests with that question, Captain," he said, his voice and face still as forbidding as ever. "I'll brief you on that part after we break up here."

Well, that was interesting, thought Rose. Was Amalric actually going to stick up for them here? She had to admit, it wouldn't be out of character; the man might have Luminosita's own rod up his back (or backside...), but everything she'd seen of him in Gervasiel said that he looked after his own -- and in this room and context, Veracians were "his own" and the Tsuirakuan was not. "Thank you," she smiled sincerely at the priest. "What was your second question, Captain?"

Kitaura nodded, and the barest hint of a smile played around his own lips. Anyone who knew the man would have found that more frightening than reassuring, but he went on. "Doctor Cleiviein, a question for you. As you will recall, permission to travel with your Veracian friend here --" his gesture indicated Rose, leaving it unclear whether he understood that "friend" didn't quite do it justice any more -- "or more accurately, her predecessor, was originally granted in connection with the disappearance of a Veracian priest from our warp gate, a matter of considerable concern to our country. In your opinion, is there a relationship between that unfortunate incident and the similarly unfortunate death of the man you followed to Goriel?"

[Drannin]

Argus shrugged. "Possibly. The circumstances were very different, and there's no real way to be certain of any connection. I'd rather not make a judgement call with imperfect data."

Play your game, Kitaura. It doesn't mean I have to play it with you.

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose winced mentally at Argus' answer. <"I'm not sure evading him like that was a good idea,"> she thought at him. Kitaura, however, didn't seem to mind; at least his facial expression didn't change. On the other hand, Rose thought, his robes could have been on fire, and he'd probably still have that reptilian look.

"Very well," the Tsuirakuan said, before she could continue the thought (speech). "My third question, then, is for Lady Thérèse." (Rose and Therese both noted both the "Lady" title and his fluent, exact pronunciation of the name. The title wasn't strictly accurate; Refuge-Nouveau had no noble class, nor would Therese have been part of it if they had. Goriel's feudal system did allow for such titles, however. If Kitaura had erroneously concluded that the women were from Goriel, none of them were going to enlighten him.) "How did the Northern Confederacy come to have an interest in what appears to be a Veracian internal matter, apart from the assistance of a distinguished Tsuirakuan mage in resolving it?"

Therese breathed a silent prayer of thanks to the Five Great Mothers that she was fielding the last of the three questions, not the first; that had given her a little time to prepare an answer. This man's interest in the whole affair was obviously political, on some fairly high level. He was interested in the big picture, not little details. (Of course, she was wrong; Kitaura devoured details like fine caviar. Yet she was right as well.) Well, she would answer accordingly.

"We met in Goriel for the first time," she said. "The details would be hard to explain without detailed knowledge of the Gorielian culture, which we may discuss tomorrow, but I infer that you don't have the time for that." Yes, that was what his body language seemed to be saying ... subtly, of course. "Suffice it to say that I was doing my duty as a public servant, when I met Doctor Cleiviein, Sister Rose and their colleagues. We had long had an interest in a -- subversive organization that, from their description, might have had some connection to the man they sought on their mission."

"And that organization is?" Kitaura prompted; sniffing out, and crushing, subversive organizations was what he lived for, after all.

"They are known to us as the Convergence," Therese said. "A small matter, of no concern to -- is something wrong?"

Rose couldn't believe her eyes. An expression of utter shock had passed across Kitaura's face at the mention of the Convergence. It only lingered for a second before the shades went back down, and she would have distrusted her vision if Therese hadn't paused as well. No, something had just happened. She stole a quick glance around the room, but none of the Veracians seemed to have reacted to the term at all. (She was wrong in this assessment; one had reacted strongly indeed, but had the sangfroid not to show it -- yet.)

"Thank you, my lady," Kitaura said, with perhaps a shade more warmth and animation in his voice than usual. "That is most -- interesting information. Our time here has been well spent." He turned to Argus. "Dr. Cleiviein, please be so kind as to be in your chambers here, at the dinner hour, before you and your lady friend go out to dine. I require a brief, private word with you."

[OOC: So D, do you want to transact that word off-line or here in the thread? Your call, but there's going to be some back and forth in this one. That's still a couple of hours of game time away, so we don't have to pause things here, but it's going to be important.]

[Drannin]

(OOC: Yeah, just PM me about it).

[Graybeard]

[OOC: OK, we'll make it so. To move closer to that point:]

The rest of the session was anticlimactic. Sister Rose noted that none of the questioners introduced themselves; the only members named were the scribe (a youngish priest named Brother Oliver), the man who'd brought them to the room (Brother Merton), and the two that she already knew. The others were playing it close to the vest. The session concluded with an admonition to keep what happened in the room confidential, and an instruction to be ready for the main session immediately after Matins, which Rose had to interpret for those unfamiliar with Veracian liturgy. (Some of the others didn't like it much; dawn was altogether too early to be getting on the move. However, it certainly beat being questioned through the night.)

A few minutes later, the travelers were installed in small -- very small -- cells in the cloister. Each had his or her own room, and there really wasn't much opportunity to double up, whether for "romantic" purposes or otherwise; the cells were barely big enough for one full-size adult, let alone two. Rose took the opportunity for a Hygiene spell, then went to knock on Argus' door, noting to her surprise that the hallway was unguarded. The travelers would be able to come and go as they wished for the evening. That was reassuring.

"Argus?" she said at the door. "We still have an hour and a half before Kitaura is coming to talk to you. Do you think --" She swallowed an unexpected lump in her throat before continuing. "Do you think you'd like to meet my mother now? She lives only about a ten-minute walk from here."

[OOC: Everyone else, feel free to look for adventure as you wish, or not; just be ready to go tomorrow morning. ]

[Alberich]

With that special gift for timing that had once gotten him drugged (and might've gotten him worse, if Desiree had been more mischievous and less scrupulous), Tim interrupted Rose's knock. "Sister Rose," said he - "Ummm, before you go, could we have just a word in there?"

When Argus had answered, Tim asked himself in for a brief huddle. There was one burning question on his mind and it just wouldn't wait. Besides, to his way of thinking Rose had a tendency to put her personal concerns ahead of the mission - a little less addiction to warm baths, for example, and they might've caught Blaise before he reached his unnaturally fast seacraft; a little less eagerness to you-know with Argus, and she might've remembered her duty to him back in Port Lorrel...

"With this, ah, board of inquiry - how does that play with the 'deniability' mission and all? What I mean is, is there something we can't tell, because the orders are from up above the convening authority for the board?"

[Graybeard]

Sister Rose looked appraisingly at Tim. "Come in and let's talk about it." Soon he and Argus were sitting on the rather spartan bed (as advertised, no room for both of us, Rose noted, but this was a place for decorum anyway), Rose on the cell's single chair.

"That's a good question," she answered as soon as everyone was comfortable. "The answer is that this is a tell-everything situation, at least everything they ask for. Everyone but that Tsuirakuan, who won't be here tomorrow, is cleared for at least LUMINOSITA'S SECRET information. If things get beyond that, we may have to ask the other women to step outside for a bit. No problem, it's been done before. At plain old SECRET, we can have them inside, as long as we swear them to secrecy." She thought about that for a minute, didn't like what she found. "That might cause a problem," she continued. "The oath usually is a 'so-help-me-Luminosita' thing, and at least Desiree and Therese aren't going to like that, and justly so." A glance out of the corner of her eye left some doubt about Argus' own feelings on the matter; she'd want to discuss that later with him ... among other things. "Some modification to the language of the swearing-in may be required. They should be sensitized to that already, since I don't think Kitaura was exactly going to be favorably inclined to swearing loyalty to a construct representing a country he's at war with." That might have been putting it too strongly; Tim looks shocked. But that's exactly what Kitaura considers Luminosita to be. And the hell of it is ...

Fortunately, that thought was interrupted by a knock on the door; a novice was bringing tea, and although he was surprised to see the last three of his "customers" all in one room, he simply left the teapot and cups, and bowed his way out of the room. Rose thanked him (and waited for his footsteps to recede down the hall) and continued. "The authority for this panel comes from way up high -- as in all the way to the Patriarch's office. They made that clear. That pretty completely trumps the 'plausible deniability' business, which was supposed to end when we got back onto Veracian soil anyway. They'll be expecting full answers to everything they ask. And that's what we must give them: full, accurate, truthful answers to exactly what they ask, don't volunteer answers to unasked questions. They'll probably have a Truth spell up; indeed, they might have had one today." (She was correct in this surmise, although she would have been surprised at its caster.)

"Anything else?" she asked Tim, sipping her tea; it was good to get the native Veracian tea leaves again. Some things, she thought, had a new and novel air to them when one went abroad; others did not ... and it wasn't just the beverages.