Interview At the Temple of the Mother (CHY 27 ET)

[Danomel]

Side Thread from here.

Having been shown through the a series of halls within the Temple of the Mother to the antechamber of Mother Abeaja, the pair of men were being questioned on the purpose of their visit.

“As to be expected.” Danomel acknowledges the matrons remarks with a slight bow.

“I am Danomel, representative the Imperial Archives. My companion is Morgoan Scrylock, representative of the University of Magic.” Danomel continues in his most formal tone and attitude.

“We seek audience with Mother Abeaja on a matter of some ergency and confidentiality. It is in regard to the disposition and current state of affairs of a specific artifact, for which she has graciously, in the recent past, provided some council and insight. I apologize for the sketchiness of detail, but I am constrained as to the extent of what I might discuss with others not directly involved.”

[Morg]

The taller Morgan remained quiet as they were led through the corridors of the Mother's Temple, opening his mouth only to whisper a quick "Thank you" to the girl who had led them there. He would have addressed the matronly woman, too, but Danomel had already said everything that needed to be said, and then some. Instead he nodded and stayed silent, standing with his feet a pace apart and his long-fingered hands clasped behind his back. The interview might require him to play the role of a good cop or a bad cop, and so until he was needed to speak and declare himself one way or the other he did not do so. He simply stood there with a neutral smile on his pale face, awaiting the woman's response.

[Grey Wolf]

The elderly priestess arched her brow at Danomel's over-eloquence, but did not comment upon it, merely nodding and offering a short response. "I shall see if Mother Abeaja is able to see you. Perhaps if she is not you can come at a later time?" It was a rhetorical question and without waiting for a reply she turned, and with a soft knock entered the door opposite the one two men used to enter. As the door clicked shut, the pair could hear no sounds from within, and it was a good half a burn before the woman emerged back out and held the door open for them. "Mother will see you now."

She did not follow them in, the door closing with a soft click, as they entered a rather unique chamber, its floor covered in soft grass, twisting vines covering the walls and ceiling. The bed in the corner looked like it too was a living plant, olive green moss covering its top, looking soft and inviting. The cover bundled in a corner of it was made out of flowers. It was a bedroom and they found Mother Abeaja seated upon a gnarled tree that had somehow shaped itself into a deep chair. She motioned to a pair of similar chairs near the door and looked at the newcomers. "Good day, gentlemen. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

[Danomel]

With but the briefest glance towards Morgan, Danomel turns his attention to Mother Abeaja.

“Pardon our interruption; we are interviewing the six people involved in the ritual to destroy a certain book, in the hope of gaining some insight into where it might currently be located as it was most definitely not destroyed. This is but one of several avenues of investigation we are pursuing in the hope of finding the book before it can be the cause of any more mischief.”

[Morg]

Morgan seated himself in one of the strange chairs, crossing one long leg over the other. It was always edifying to see how the Mother's worshippers could convince Nature to be so very helpful.

"The book in question is a volume of the Liber Maleficarius," he added, perhaps superfluously. He expected the priestess to have worked it out already from what Danomel had said, but he also wanted to appear up-front about the whole issue. Besides, uttering the tome's name couldn't cause any harm... could it?

He followed this up with a simple introductory question, phrased in a slightly less formal tone. "For a start, do you yourself have any suspicions as to who could have taken it, or where it may have ended up?"

[Grey Wolf]

Someone of less worldly experience might have flinched or shown some emotion as the two young men presented their case, but Mother Abeaja merely arched an eyebrow and tilted her head. The chairs granted them creaked under the weight of their bodies and somehow molded themselves to their backsides, comfortable despite being made out of hard wood without any sort of padding. "Ah, the Liber. Perhaps you could answer a question first before we go any further? Under whose authority are you here and why should I answer your questions?" She smiled softly before adding. "You need to understand, boys, the subject you wish to discuss is rather sensitive and I am surprised you even know that the tome has gone missing. So, let us start by first learning who sent you and for what purpose?"

[Danomel]

The slight movements of the chair caused Danomel a momentary distraction as he took a flicker to adjust his own position, seeing if the chair responded.

“I am here on the behest of Mistress Tabeann whom, just as you were, was one of the six involved in the ritual of destruction.” Danomel responded to Mother Abeaja, not being able to keep the slight sound of disapproval out of his voice. He could appreciate her straight forward approach, having not been sure what exactly to expect.

“And to be bluntly upfront, if you chose not to answer our questions or talk with us, well we have no real legal authority in this manner.”

Glancing sideways at Morgan for a flicker before continuing, Danomel states, “Though I can not speak to Morgans motivation, morally I myself feel the need to make sure that whoever took the Liber neither falls under its corrupting influence, nor plans no abuse of its power.”

[Morg]

Morgan nodded. "I feel the same way. That book is too dangerous to be floating around the Citadel. My aim is to ensure that it ends up in safe hands, or at least accountable hands."

The question about authority was one that he'd been hoping no one would ask, perhaps rather naively. He didn't want to have to bandy Elvin's name about too much, particularly as the whole point of him doing the investigation rather than the Professor was to keep a lower profile. "I was asked to look into this by Professor Motricé. You could speak to him, or to Professor Octava at the University, if you need someone to vouch for my character." Either would hopefully say something at least passably nice about him.

The magus shifted a little in his chair. His recently "rediscovered" feminine side seemed to feel rather uncomfortable at the wooden seat's opportunistic grasping of his pert, shapely buttocks. "But, as my colleague mentioned, we have no official empowerment to act. We're simply investigating this with the few resources we have at our disposal. So this isn't an interrogation." He smiled, in a non-interrogatory sort of way. "We'd simply appreciate any and all information you could offer us, since we're hoping you're as concerned about the Liber's disappearance as we are."

[Grey Wolf]

Abeaja smiled politely as the boys presented their case, her brows arching at choice moments, though she remained quiet throughout. "Well, now. That is much better." The chair under Morgan's pert, shapely buttocks shifted most gently reshaping to make him as comfortable as possible, molding itself to a more attractive curve. Danomel's seat shifted as well, but since his rump was not so pert or shapely, his seat merely became comfortable. "I will gladly answer any questions you have, gentlemen, though I must express a slight worry first. You say you desire to avoid having the Liber corrupt anyone. How do you plan to prevent it from corrupting yourselves?" She paused a flicke,r but quickly went on, picking her mind for the questions they had asked her before interruption. "The Liber is not here, nor did I take it. Were I to suspect someone it would either be Mistress Tabeann or one of the Professors at the University. Panling is not crafty enough to have taken it, and Tabeann was very much opposed to it. I personally think it needs to be found and destroyed. It is a blight upon all that is holy to my religion."

[Danomel]

Danomel quietly listened to the Mother Abeaja before answering. “You raise a valid point, and at this time I have no valid answer as to how we might avoid the corrupting influence of the book. As we are not really close to finding the book, there seems to be some time to consider options and research possibilities. I myself have no real desire to touch the thing, but then I have never looked upon it either. And once it is located, I am sure that outside help will be required to retrieve and contain it.”

“And as far as the ultimate fate of the book is concerned, I must disagree with your position. While it might be an issue later, at this point in time it is not, and I do not see my involvement to go beyond locating the thing.”

Danomel considers for a flicker. “Perhaps you can relate the events leading up to the attempted destruction. Your prospective might provide insight different form others. At this junction one does not know what might prove valuable or not.”

[Morg]

Morgan spoke up only when Danomel mentioned avoiding being corrupted by the book. "I should add that I am an advanced student in the Faculty of Daemonic Warding," he said levelly. "Now that the University has moved to Sierra, there can only be a few people on this island as capable of protecting against the Liber's corruption magicks as me. So the book will be in safe hands until we can find a more permanent solution." It was a boast, but not an idle one. In all likelihood it was true, and Morgan didn't like to mince his words. Of course, the text of the book could prove to have a corrupting influence in itself, but they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

[Grey Wolf]

The priestess looked over the two young men in her room and smiled somewhat motherly, especially when Morgan mentioned his skill in dealing with the demonic. Strangely her smile may have been overbearing, but it was not mocking, or merely marginally so. “Alright, that sounds fair enough. Truth be told I only got involved because I was invited. As you know the book is magickal in nature and normal means of destruction would not work. Each of the priests was involved because of the insight we could provide. Mistress Tabeann because of her faith’s dealing with written texts in all forms and shapes. I because of the corrupting influence the book had on the insects in the Pan’s Temple and my knowledge of the ways of nature. And the Priest of Pan because of the way book influenced those who perused it, playing upon their passions. The two of us were to contain the corrupting influence with the help of Professor Moore, while the Archivist unwove the binding of the book with the assistance of other two professors. Unfortunately when we came to destroy the book it simply burned when we put it in the fire, and we knew something was wrong because the true Liber could not burn in regular fire.”

[Danomel]

“Can you provide a time frame? Specifically the dates when you were invited to participate, and the actual ritual?” Danomel responds.

“From what you have said, it seems most likely that the book was taken before the ritual. Which is a good indicator that the feat was most likely accomplished by someone internal to the University.” Danomel casts a sideways glance at Morgon.

[Morg]

Danomel's inference irked him slightly, even though he knew that it was a logically sound one. As a matter of fact, it was what Morgan himself had been thinking, and his suspicions had come to rest on Professor Moore after the events of the previous night. But he still didn't like to hear his thoughts confirmed by someone external to the institution.

"A good indicator, although no certainty." The magus nodded. "At any rate, the degree of advance planning needed makes it very likely that it was one of the six people involved." He spread his palms wide. "Hence the investigation."

In truth, Morgan had already ticked the priestess of the Mother off his mental list. She'd already stated that she wanted to destroy the book, which meant that removing it from the ritual would be a strange choice on her part. Furthermore, she wasn't one of the key players, since she'd only been invited to participate rather than being involved from the start. It was of course possible that she was lying or concealing the truth, but Morgan's intuition was that she was not. Nevertheless, she was well placed to provide them with information if she was willing, and so Morgan was happy for them to try to wring a little more out of her. He listened attentively for the priestess's response to Danomel's question.

[Grey Wolf]

Abeaja smiled like a mother does when her children make her proud, and do something cute and above their age, quite liking the worry and concern the boys showed for the well being of Citadel and Empire and likely the whole of Tazlure. “Son. I fear I can not tell you the exact dates as I do not keep a journal. I can make a good guess, but that is the best you can get. So tell me what you want to know of and I will try to place it in the time frame of the book’s destruction. It was not that a precise thing. We had a month or so to prepare and only knew by which time we had to be ready. And I know I was ready a good solid week early. My part was rather simple.” She paused and tried to actually recall the dates, but it was not easy as she never much cared about such things, living one day at a time. “The covers are made out of human skin and bits of the unfortunate souls who were flayed still reside within. It is their anguish that powers the book and it is that same anguish that fuels the changes. Like their skin was stretched taut to bind the book, so too are the creatures around it stretched and they suffer terribly throughout the ordeal. They are in constant pain and that is why they act aggressively. They just want the pain to stop. And so I was to sing those poor souls a lullaby and make them rest for a while. Soothe their pain until we multiplied it by casting it in flames, thus freeing them from eternity of torment through a torrent of agony.”

[Morg]

A lullaby. How sweet. Further evidence for Morgan's suspicions that they were looking in the wrong place. The woman before them had played only a minor role in the grand scheme they were investigating, a bit part on the stage of the Citadel. Furthermore, her attitude was really getting on his nerves. She's treating us like schoolchildren who've been given extra sweeties for good behaviour. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so patronised. Or perhaps matronised is a better word for it.

The information she provided was useful, though. The souls in the binding were yet another variable in a complex equation. Morgan leaned forward in his chair, taking a more active role for the first time. "I assume Professor Moore built the wards to contain it..." he mused out loud. "What exactly was the Panling's role in the process?"

It was a very specific question, and one that would be better asked to the Panling himself. But Morgan had little else other than specifics that he still wished to gain from this interview. Since Danomel had taken the lead in the questioning, he would leave it to the Aurelian to bring it to a close.

[Grey Wolf]

When one was the chief representative of the very epitome of nursing and motherly devotion, it was to be expected that such a person would be somewhat matronly. Mother Abeaja merely took it to another level, and truth be told she knew how her attitude annoyed people, but found it cute and amusing and thus stuck to it. “Indeed the Professor was there to contain anything that might slip out during the process, since we did not know if our method would work. For all we knew the souls bound in the covers could have broken free when we burned the book. Who knows what we could have unleashed, so Moore was there to protect us.... And the city.” At the question regarding Vanir the woman shrugged. “I honestly do not know what the Panling was to do exactly. His religion deals with passions and emotion and he was to help me by suppressing the negative emotions of the souls within, as well as to protect us from the corrupting influence of the text. What better corrupts than lust?”

[Morg]

"What indeed," Morgan mused knowingly. He would probably have to speak to the Panling himself at some point, so it wasn't a great loss the she didn't know Vanir's role in the ritual.

The magus glanced at Danomel. "Thank you for your time and... indulgence," he said with a smile. "I think we've grilled you enough for one day. Rest assured we'll keep you updated on the progress of the search." With this he stood, extricating his butt-cheeks from the strange seat. It hadn't been the startling string of revelations Morgan had hoped for, but it had provided him with a few more pieces to slot into the puzzle of the missing Liber.

[Grey Wolf]

Even as Morgan announced his intention to leave, Mother Abeaja raised a tiny, delicate flower and as she shook it a soft tingling sound emerged from the bell-shaped flower. A few flickers later an acolyte stood in the doorway, bowing reverently to the head priestess. “If you have any additional questions feel free to call upon me again. Or simply send me a note and I will endeavor to provide you with answers in a written form, though truth be told a matter as delicate as this all but demands that we discuss it personally. I am loathe to commit anything to paper out of fear that others might learn of the Liber disappearance and seek it for their own ends. Best if the book is found quickly and disposed off as soon as possible after that.” The acolyte waited politely for them to be done before escorting the two visitors out of the Temple.

[Morg]

(OOC: Fin for me! )