Café de Nuit

Cyrus's mental reaction was similar to his brother's, but instead of angry indignance, the elder twin's mind raced with amused arrogance.

So the clumsy infidel thinks he's the one in charge of us, the priest mused.

"Very well," he said with an entertained smirk. I'll play your silly game for now, his expression added. With that, he turned on his heel and followed after his brother.

Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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"Very good. Don't let me detain you." Bastion Pineau said with the same humorless smile, picking up the stack of papers in his office and beginning to read them. For a moment, it seemed as though the Ezran hierarch had dismissed you from his mind completely. As you left, however, he did say one more thing. "If you do find something of note, keep me informed."

Lia wrote:"That works for me," Lia says, nodding calmly. "Shall we go?" she suggests to the Blackwoods, sweeping her arm towards the door.

The two Blackwoods turned to look at her in response.

The Blackwoods were generally amiable people, but they did not seem like seasoned adventuring types - so perhaps this was the reason they looked as pleased with the situation as Darius. Richard glanced to the Hazlani priests, and then slightly longer at Sister Doherty, as if hoping one of them would protest the arrangement. When no objection seemed forthcoming, he turned his attention back to Professor Mournswaithe, stiffly and formally drawing himself up to his full height - but looking just a tad like a schoolboy who'd forgotten his homework. Alice, in contrast, simply stopped smiling.

"A-ah, yes, I, I suppose we had better," Richard said.


Warden Bertin Lecanu's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Warden Lecanu's quarters were below the Cathedral of Ezra, in one of the subterranean galleries deep below the earth. No light reached this far down, and such illumination as was present was offered only by the small lamp Giroud had provided before leaving to guide the others. Now you found yourself underground and alone once more, searching a missing man's room. Distantly, you could hear the other anchorites going about their daily business, but the underground passages made the sound echo weirdly, at times so close you could hear breathing, at times creating an illusion of utter isolation.

Somehow, it was easy to believe that the Cathedral connected to the catacombs here.

Warden Lecanu's quarters themselves, their subterranean splendor notwithstanding, were rather mundane. Aside from a bed (unslept in), there was a desk, a cabinet, and numerous, numerous bookshelves. Lecanu was a reader apparently, and every inch of available wall was covered with books, leather-bound tomes with titles scrawled on the side in spidery handwriting, or else stamped with heavy gold lettering.

The desk and cabinet were of dark oak, and seemed somehow dwarfed by the bookshelves. Both were neatly organized, the desk covered with neat stacks of books, the cabinet containing nicely organized clothing, both mundane and ecclesiastical. A large wooden chest stood by the cabinet, locked, a wooden-framed mirror hanging on the wall above it, a small space between the bookshelves crowding it on either side.

Warden Christin Vaillant's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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The walk to Warden Vaillant's chambers was a starkly quiet one, especially in comparison to the normal chatter that came piece and parcel with a group as large as the one that had come here. The Warden's room lay to the side of the cathedral, in an outbuilding, a small wooden thing that could be easily overlooked by anyone passing by. There didn't seem to be many others about in the chambers, out of fear, perhaps, or perhaps the building was always this quiet. The Blackwoods did not seem inclined to alleviate the silence. Several times Richard looked like he was about to say something, only to change his mind and continue walking, staring out the windows into the snowy landscape beyond. Alice seemed interested in walking to the room and only that, and thus the sound of footsteps across wooden floors was the only accompaniment to the journey.

Warden Vaillant appeared to be a very orderly man. His room was rather larger than those in the subterranean complexes, leaving him plenty of space for his furniture. An armoire sat in one corner, doors shut; the bed sat in another, done up so neatly you could bounce a coin off it. There were quite a few bookshelves lining the walls, but the lion's share of the room was left around the desk - positioned under a large widow to keep it well lit. Several large sheets of parchment had been laid out - neatly - on the desk, surrounded by a variety of drafting tools and pens. On the parchment was a half completed sketch of a huge stained glass window, as well as several random studies of various cathedral bits. A large leather book was sitting next to it, carefully bookmarked and shut to preserve the spine, as well as a brass oil lamp for when it got dark. The whole place was immaculately clean of dirt and dust, as if the Warden had gone over it with a feather duster and a can of polishing wax every morning.

"Ah, that is to say, you, you are the one with the most, most experience in these, these matters, Professor," Richard deferred, excruciatingly politely. It was easy to tell when Richard was being formal - he stood up straighter, for one, and he also looked painfully stiff, both of which only served to make him look more awkward. "Where, where would you like us to start?"

Warden Martin Grenier's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Warden Grenier's room was in one of the nearby outbuildings of Ste. Mere des Larmes. It was a somber little building, with masonry walls and a peaked roof, a place for the visiting clerics to dwell without subjecting them to the labyrinthine passageways below the Cathedral.

The Darkonian's room itself was bare, ascetic really. There was a bed, with only a few sheets and no coverlets or mattresses. There were a few hooks on the wall on which hung a handful of priestly vestments. There was an end table, the sole occupant of which was a large and rather handsome copy of the Fourth Book of Ezra. A small chest stood at the foot of the bed for Grenier's limited personal belongings.

The sole hint of luxury, of any sort really, was the mirror. It was a free-standing mirror, a tall oval of glass in a brass casing, standing on two clawed feet in a corner of the room. Even then, it had the appearance of a rich man's castoff, with the glass cracked at the bottom, and the brass framing badly worn in places.

Main Library, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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The main library of the Cathedral of Ezra was one of the more obscure libraries in Port-a-Lucine, in that it wasn't open to the public, but it was also one of the more unusual ones as well. The reason being that the entire library was under ground, under the lawn just north of the Cathedral, actually. No open candles or lamps were allowed, with most of the light being provided by sunlight coming in via grates in the roof.

There was a claustraphobic element to it, certainly, with low roofs and narrow passages between the book shelves. The entire library was not so much a single chamber as it was a huge assembly of small chambers, each devoted to a subject. Warden Giroud led you to a reading room, a burrow-like chamber with a sloped roof, some chairs, and a desk.

"I've had the novices bring in all of Lecanu's works and recent reading material that we could find." Giroud gestured to a large stack of books on the desk. "If you need anything else, I'll be attending to my duties in the Cathedral proper."

"A moment before we do anything else," Lia requests, and raises her staff as if to conduct a symphony. Energy pulses around the staff while Lia casts a focused stare at everything in the room, then subsides when she lowers the end of wood again. "There is a minor spell keeping the room clean," she announces, "nothing else, magically speaking. But please proceed with caution.

If I might ask you to perform the more inglorious tasks of checking for notes under the pillows, blankets and mattress of the bed?" she asks, inclining her head to the Blackwoods. "A bit of a longshot, but still, one mustn't discount the cliché'd. I will look at this book" - Lia points her staff at the volume with the bookmarks next to the drawing of the glass window - "and when we are done with that, we might check the armoire together, perhaps?"

Provided the Blackwoods do not object to this plan, Lia crosses over to the desk, and opens the book; first at the fly-leaf to determine its subject, next at the various bookmarks. If she finishes with the book before the Blackwoods are done, she carefully checks any drawers the desk might have, edging her dagger between drawer and desk or through the handles and thus teasing them open.

(OOC: Arcana check: 22.)

"Cheery" muttered Nicolas under his breath as they were lead into what reminded him forceabley of a tomb.

"Well where do you wish to start Signore, divide these between us perhaps, or shall we start from the most recent and look together? I shall bow to your oft-employed investigative acumen in this case." He says once the Warden has left, before taking a chair and propping his feet on the table.

Whetehr Nicholas was deliberatly baiting the Borcan or was genuinely bowing to the man's ability was hard to tell. Regardless the poet runs his finger leisurely down the spine of the books looking at them with interest.


Arcana 22 and Perception 10 to see if anything looks magically interesting or significant amongst the stack.

It takes all of Tomas's self control to keep from smiling at the looks on the Hazlani twins's faces, instead keeping an impartial, 'If anyone has a better idea, I'm all ears.' expression on his face. He does reply to Kerrian, "I agree, son. The whole place has more layers than a halfling parfait, but any kind of catacomb exploring should wait until we get back and compare notes."

After one last polite not-quite-a-bow to the Bastion, Tomas heads out as the others do, turning to Celeste as they step out. "Keep track of the route we take back from the cell to the library, please. You've got the best eye for materials, from what I've seen." If he has the time, he'll wave Alice and Cyrus over, and make the same request of them.

A few more steps, and Tomas starts sounding a little sheepish, as its much easier to sound like you know what you're doing in front of a large crowd. "I am not meaning to be so...bossy. Just, well, in my experience if you let them a group of headstrong people will spend all day arguing about who should go where and do what, so I figured having a plan to agree or disagree with would save us time, ja?"

And then they arrive. "Huh. Neat, for a bookish type." Eisenwald observes, cracking his knuckles and rubbing his back a little. Heavy shields are heavy. Tomas starts looking around the room, waiting to see how Kerrian and Celeste are naturally inclined to investigate before giving advice.

(Perception: 8, Dungeoneering: 13, Insight: 25.)

Once Kerrian had briefly worked to suppress the lurking worry that some malign spiritual entity was about to work to bring about his end, he set about investigating. Which in his particular case meant examining the man's taste in reading.

"A..lot of books here" He said, with something which might be construed as envy tinting his voice as he looked over the titles on the shelf. "I wonder if he was taken due to something he was studying..or if that's unimportant.."

An examination of the bookshelves quickly turned into an examination of the whole room itself, not seeming to follow any real rhyme or reason, the young laborer seeming to wander from spot to spot more as if following some internal guide than anything resembling logic.

OOC:35 Perception, 20 Nature

Darius looks over the room with a air of distant approval. With a different set of religious appurtenances this could be the cell of a priest of the Iron Faith. The Darkonian Ezrans are more or less lunatic in their apocalyptic fervor, but by no means contemptible...unlike their so-rational Dementlieuse counterparts, who are dangerous and contemptible both, if their Bastion is any example of the type.

Leaving going through the clothing and examining the furniture to his brother, Darius goes to the false scripture and riffles through it carefully but rapidly, looking for bookmarks, marginal notes, passages underlined--anything apart from the text itself, which he's seen before.

After finishing with the book he turns his attention to the mirror. It seems unlikely this Grenier was a vain man, so its presence is likely to be significant somehow. After a brief physical examination--looking at the back, running his fingers along the edges in a fairly cursory look for secret compartments--Darius examines it for any traces of dweomer.

Perception 9, Religion 19, Arcana 27

M. Eisenwald wrote:"Keep track of the route we take back from the cell to the library, please. You've got the best eye for materials, from what I've seen."

The pleased glow that Celeste gave off at that moment was around the equivalent of a three-day suntan. You gathered that, while people were perfectly willing to be nice to her on a semiregular basis, this rarely extended to trusting her implicit attentiveness. Or general competence, really. Had Tomas known her for more than a couple of weeks, he likely would have thought this an extremely well-justified trend.

Nonetheless, someone who had written a book on something had just claimed that Celeste would be good at that thing. This would be interesting.

“…Mr. Eisenwald!” The brief moment of pure glee was quickly tempered by self-conscious purposefulness; she drew herself up to her full height, fixing Tomas with a sober nod. “Sir, you may depend upon it! I have always maintained that, if there is one cardinal virtue shared by Viardots throughout the ages, it is our surpassing eye for materials. I will endeavor to exercise it to only the furthest of my ability—I am confident that you shall not be disappointed!”

----

Celeste didn’t appear at all fazed by the descent into the bowels of the church, or by Lecanu’s quarters. Much the contrary, in fact:

“Oh! What a singularly comforting arrangement—to be surrounded wholly by knowledge made manifest, as befits a seeker of our blessed Lady’s wisdom! Why, I recall a most illuminating monograph on the clerical duties of the ancient Akiri, that…ah, but I do prattle on!

M. Mauganson wrote:"A..lot of books here" He said, with something which might be construed as envy tinting his voice as he looked over the titles on the shelf. "I wonder if he was taken due to something he was studying..or if that's unimportant..”

“A possibility, M. Mauganson, a possibility! Nonetheless, the heart of the matter stands: to understand such a man, one must understand what he reads. It is by this maxim that our search must be guided!”

With that, Celeste began to peruse the bookshelves alongside Kerrian, doing her best to pick out anything significant.

28 on a History check and 22 Arcana for anything Kerry may pick out of the bookshelves, or really anything else that looks interesting; I’m not beating a 35 Perception, so I’ll sort of back him up and build off of what he finds.

Cyrus clasped his hands behind his back and walked around the room, examining every nook and cranny with a critical eye. Despite his smart mouth and arrogant attitude, the dommer was a practiced investigator. The business of divine law enforcement required a sharp eye and a clear mind, both of which Cyrus possessed.

Finally, the priest stopped before the mirror and looked it up and down. A frown crossed his face as he stared at the foot of the glass. There was an odd discoloration and the whole mirror just seemed not to fit. It was out of place in the room but the frame was also the wrong size for the glass. Odd. Cyrus picked up a piece of paper, rolled it up, and poked the mirror with it.

Nothing happened. Yet.

He turned toward his companions.

"There is something wrong about this mirror," he said, glancing significantly at Darius.

Warden Bertin Lecanu's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Kerrian wrote:"A..lot of books here" He said, with something which might be construed as envy tinting his voice as he looked over the titles on the shelf. "I wonder if he was taken due to something he was studying..or if that's unimportant.."

Celeste wrote:“A possibility, M. Mauganson, a possibility! Nonetheless, the heart of the matter stands: to understand such a man, one must understand what he reads. It is by this maxim that our search must be guided!”

It had to be said that Warden Lecanu was a very, very neat man. His books were all precisely organized, arranged by category around the room. There were books of general Ezran theology by the bed, and on the adjacent shelves were books of more specific theological interest, usually to do with Ezran interrelations with other deities. Off to the side some more were books of history or art, both interspersed but sorted by subject matter. At various times Lecanu had been interested in pre-invasion Kartakass, in Darkonian history, in Akiri and proto-Akiri culture, in Dementlieuse history. He was a man of broad, and one had to say, rather ecletic tastes.

Opening one of the books (a work on Darkon in the third century), revealed that Lecanu was even more organized than had been suspected. On the inside front cover of every book, Lecanu had inserted a piece of paper covered with small handwriting. Here, he noted the time the book was purchased, the location, the cost and seller, and often a brief assessment of the book's contents and their general trustworthiness and accuracy. This he did for every single book in his room, of which there had to have been hundreds easily.

As you observed the dates and locations, a certain pattern emerged. Warden Bertin Lecanu, though a man of broad tastes in literature, also changed those tastes fairly frequently, usually once or twice a year. It was then that he would go and buy a number of books on different topics. Then he would usually buy no more books on that subject, and nine months or so later, he would go and buy a supply of books on other subjects.

Thus one could tell that his most recent interest was in Dementlieuse history, which had begun with the purchase of some twenty or thirty books on pre-Leon history about six months ago. Prior to that, it had been Kartakan history. Before that, in mid-769, he had been interested in the early cultures of the Amber Wastes. Going backward in time, one found interests in Darkon, in Falkovnia's Dead Man Campaigns, before that in Valachani religion. The oldest interests you could find dated to no earlier than 766, though whether that was because this was when Lecanu started in his interests or whether he just stored the oldest books elsewhere was anyone's guess.

Warden Christin Vaillant's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Rock wrote:"If I might ask you to perform the more inglorious tasks of checking for notes under the pillows, blankets and mattress of the bed?" she asks, inclining her head to the Blackwoods. "A bit of a longshot, but still, one mustn't discount the cliché'd."

The Blackwoods gave Lia a bit of a look at the request, but obeyed, although a sigh might have drifted forth from Alice's general direction. The two began a slow process of haphazardly dismantling the bedsheets, taking the pillows from their cases, and trying to lift the heavy mattress. It did not look like something that was going to bear fruit anytime soon, if ever. Alice seemed much more pragmatic than her brother, perhaps even enjoying the process of tossing the goose-feather pillows off the bed; Richard, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble overcoming years of being told not to mess up his bed sheets.

The book was old and yellowed, painstakingly copied from a book that had been even older. The title on the flyleaf read simply "The Five Teachings". The first bookmark flipped open to a spot in the middle of a passage, filled with thick verses and obscure theology:

• "...and the Lady reached forth and gave her blessing upon her Chosen ones, and told them to open their eyes. And Lo, each had five eyes, upon hands, feet, and foreheads, given by the Lady to pierce the veil. And they were given five wings, upon back and feet and tongue, to walk through the veil. And wherever they walked they walked above the tainted earth, and five petaled flowers sprung up in their passing. And they brought forth the message of the Lady, and they brought forth the Lady's shield, that defended us from the veil. And the Lady spoke a word, and I saw the Second Book sealed in light, and was sent forth in the jaws of a great black hound. And Lo, a dragon rose forth from the veil, and set its jaws wide open to devour the hound. But the Lady took forth her sword and struck it, and the second of its heads fell, and the hound ran forth from the veil, singing: Blessed be our Lady and Guardian,
  Blessed be her disciples,
  Blessed are the penitent,
  For all men are pawns of darkness,
  And those who seek forgiveness are forgiven."

[Religion]

It went on like this for some time: thick, inscrutable text so heavily mired in symbols to make it nearly incomprehensible. The rest of the book seemed much the same, except a few potions of the book that had been left blank - deliberately so, it appeared. The rest of the desk held little of interest. One drawer held a jar of ink, quills, and pen knife, another held a fresh sheaf of parchment. Another held some random odds and ends: a ball of string, a stick of wax, a book of matches.

The Blackwoods didn't seem to have had any luck either. Richard was trying in vain to remake the bed as precisely as it had started as, and looked a little embarrassed at how badly he was failing. Alice simply shrugged and shook her head at Lia.

"I'm afraid we're not really the best sort for this," she said, quietly.

Warden Martin Grenier's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Darius wrote:Leaving going through the clothing and examining the furniture to his brother, Darius goes to the false scripture and riffles through it carefully but rapidly, looking for bookmarks, marginal notes, passages underlined--anything apart from the text itself, which he's seen before.

After finishing with the book he turns his attention to the mirror. It seems unlikely this Grenier was a vain man, so its presence is likely to be significant somehow. After a brief physical examination--looking at the back, running his fingers along the edges in a fairly cursory look for secret compartments--Darius examines it for any traces of dweomer.

The search revealed little of interest. Warden Grenier's copy of the Book of Ezra was filled to the brim with marginalia and private notes, numerous annotations and private commentary. There could be found Grenier's thoughts on both the sermons of his own Bastion Raines (inspiring) and on the sermons of Bastion Pineau (thought-provoking). Likewise, there were bits of writing in preparation for Grenier's own sermons, which in so far as Darius was any judge were of considerable literary worth, albeit heretical literary worth.

• All wicked men's pains and contrivance which they use to escape the Legions of the Night, while they continue to ignore Ezra's teachings, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from the Mists one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of the Legions, flatters himself that he shall escape them; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Every one lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid their hungry souls, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail.
  
  They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the greater part of men that have died heretofore are subject to the Legions of the Night and the darkness of the Mists; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done. He does not intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take effectual care, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.
  
  But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow.

The mirror, for its part, seemed to have no magical aspects to it, at least, not that Darius could discern. But Cyrus was right. It was markedly wobbly in its frame, the glass not too well fitted. There was also a faint discoloration under the glass, near the bottom.

Main Library, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Nicolas wrote:"Well where do you wish to start Signore, divide these between us perhaps, or shall we start from the most recent and look together? I shall bow to your oft-employed investigative acumen in this case." He says once the Warden has left, before taking a chair and propping his feet on the table.

Warden Lecanu's set of books were of broad but largely uninteresting categories. There were books on theology, (Traits of the Infinite Legions, The Sentire's Book, Contemplations on Ezra, and so forth), interspersed with books of history and geography (The Vaasi Invasions, Vol II., An Annotated Atlas of Darkon and the Surrounding Principalities, The Terrible Tombs of Har'Akir, and similar books of varying historical worthiness.)

None of them were particularly related to magic, except in a very cursory way when discussing Azalin Rex of Darkon or Kartakan skalds. For that matter, there wasn't really any apparent organization that you could find, at least not on first glance.

Tomas just sort of smiles and does his best to look enthusiastic, having not entirely anticipated touching Celeste that way. Still, if it gets her to pay attention, heck, she can give herself a fancy title and make a new hat for looking at walls.

The books are a bit overwhelming after a while; Tomas may enjoy literature, but his tastes were decidedly more relaxed than this. There is something bothering him, though...something Martel told him, once, about solving crimes.

"Follow the money." Tomas murmurs, checking the reciept again. "Wait." Tomas blinks. "These are the Warden's property. I had thought that he just borrowed a lot from the library..." Tomas checks a few more books. Note. Note. Note. Note. "...how could a low ranking Anchorite afford this kind of hobby?"

"Do not worry yourselves," Lia says with a placating hand gesture. "Perhaps you would feel more at ease with the conundrum I have found here?"

Lia beckons Richard Blackwood. "This book is interesting. Tell me, can you place it better than I? I was ... a little confused." She turns to Alice. "I am unsure where your expertise lies, m'selle, but if you would assist ...?"

Warden Christin Vaillant's Quarters, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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Rock wrote:Lia beckons Richard Blackwood. "This book is interesting. Tell me, can you place it better than I? I was ... a little confused." She turns to Alice. "I am unsure where your expertise lies, m'selle, but if you would assist ...?"

The pair dutifully came over and look at the indicated book, Richard relieved to have a task that did not involve pawing through someone else's bedspread. Alice leaned over and took a look at the yellowed pages, her eyebrows arching at the lines and lines of dry prose. "Oh dear," she said in response. "No, this is Richard's sort of thing, not mine! I haven't the head to sit down and plow through thick old tomes like this. You shall have to ask the little scholar," she finished, placing a fond hand on her brother's arm. The absurdity of calling Richard "little" was completely ignored.

"Siiiis..." Richard protested, his cheeks turning rather pink. It took him a few moments to recover his composure, like a cat trying desperately to look dignified after chasing a bit of string across the room. He pulled himself up straight again and brushed off his coat, gently tugging away from Alice's hand, though the blush never left his face. He quickly turned his attention to the book, carefully turning the pages with his long fingers. It was easy to see what Alice had meant; Richard's mist-grey eyes turned distant as they perused the pages, all other things in the room forgotten. He carefully picked up the sheets of parchment in his other hand, glancing between the two as read. The scars on his right hand, carved in the pattern of Ezra's shield, seemed fitting alongside the incomplete drawings.

"I, I think I recall something, hearing about this," Richard said, after a moment. "Several, some of the priests were, had been attempting to, to recreate Mere des Ste. Larmes, as it was before, before it was found. Bastion, Bastion Secousse decided not to rebuild the, the Cathedral, but several, some of the priests, ah, believed that, that this was because no, no one knew what it looked like, originally." Richard shut the book, examining the cover, before continuing. "It, it's not something that a, a majority of the priests endorse because there's, because of the guesswork involved. The, the priests are attempting to, to recreate the missing walls and, and carvings, carvings and windows with references and allegory from, from the old texts. But no one can truly, truly know which texts are accurate, if, if any of them are. I, I think this one was, was found under, in the underchurch of Ste. Larmes, but it was less old, it was dated to be later than, than many of the original texts found, especially the ones that, that the Bastion used when writing the Third Book. Some, some priests think it might be a, a forgery, magically aged."

"Do you think it's relevant?" Alice asked, cocking her head to the side. "From what I recall, it was more of a hobby for the priests involved. No one truly expects, or is pressing for, the Cathedral to be rebuilt."

"Please allow me to reserve judgment on that," Lia says. 'I have seen too much of what can happen when someone tries to recreate the past,' she thinks - and sweeps up the book and puts it in her backpack.

"Not a word to the Bastion yet, please," she says, placing her hands on the Blackwoods' shoulders. "Not until we have examined this book and made certain. I have a ... feeling. An unpleasant feeling. But we need to correlate our findings with those of the others, and we need to study this book in greater detail."

Lia slowly releases the Blackwoods. "Now," she says in a calmer voice. "Let us check that wardrobe, then see about the gentleman's other books and leave this place." Lia starts for the wardrobe with the intent to open it.

Nerit brushed past the twins without a word. She passed a reassuring smile to Richard when he watched her. Of all monials, she knew she could take care of herself. That was evidently clear in her posture and expression.

She did wonder, however, if Tomas was up to something. For now, she would take it as a compliment; of all the members of Chateau Malchance, who could handle the Hazlani twins?
~~~~~~

The nun let the twins tear apart her brother Darkonian's dormitory with amazingly little protest. She kept her hands in her sleeves, though she might have been gripping something in her right hand.

The ascetism of the room was identical to her own quarters back in the Chateau with one exception: she had been allowed to take a diptych icon for contemplation in the foreign city. The mirror, could it have been similar? She doubted it. The Isfahanis were right in one thing: the mirror was peculiar.

Nerit came forward to peer more closely, her reflection showing an inquisitive gaze and knitted light brow. She knelt on a knee by the dark spot.

"Remove the glass, if you would be so kind, gentlemen." Her tone was flat, but her lip curled a little. She straightened and stepped back.