The chair is currently occupied by a struggling and frequently screaming (or cursing) Kavi who has managed to wriggle his hands free of the straps. The two Jupani Guards have made no motion to secure his wrists again, despite his (so far vain) attempts at trying to loosen his waist and ankles from the restraints as well.

A single Jupani Guard is at the door, and he greets a black Vartan with a head nod, though he does not yet move aside to allow entry to the chamber. After all, it would seem that Arch-Inquisitor Azrael – more often called simply "Brother Azrael" – has a 'guest'. Zoltan has been kept at the Temple for the night, given modest accommodations, and a chance to check on Nicodemus only occasionally – assured that the half-Vartan is in stable condition, if still kept under constant observation.

The Vartan winces a bit at the screaming of the 'guest'. He tries to sneak a peek inside of the room to get a look at the Inquisitor he's about to speak with and then steps back to wait quietly by the wall. He probably wants to remain in this Inquisitor's good graces as much as possible.

A shadow passes in front of one of the torches in the dimly-lit chamber. It is the Inquisitor, dressed in robes of black. Not black and red, or black and blue, or some other combination, but simply black. He is rather tall – though still not so imposing as the Vartan in terms of height – and the more so thanks to a rigid, segmented cowl that juts forward enough to obscure his face. An occasional glint of light in the right direction reveals that there is a shrouded lupine muzzle underneath that cowl, but even that cannot be seen clearly, and any hint of ears is hidden underneath the cowl. Just by his bearing, if not his costume, it would seem this is the Inquisitor.

Zoltan shrinks down against the wall just a bit. His ears perked to the noises inside of the chamber. ( I hope they don't put me in the chair… )

"Ha! I spit! I – " The Kavi demonstrates, landing some spittle on the Inquisitor's robes. "SPIT on you and your Temple! Down with the system! I'm FREE! You're just a part of the machine! A brick in the wall! HA HA! And the wall … is gonna FALL!"

"Excuse me," the hippogryph quietly asks the guard near the door. "The Kavi in theres, what he do?"

The Jupani Guard before Zoltan simply keeps his gaze focused on nothing in particular. Normally, it would be such that the Jupani would be looking just over the head of whomever would be at the door. Due to Zoltan's size, this puts his gaze somewhere on the big bird's impressive chest, though the Guard might as well be looking THROUGH it. "He is suspected of conspiring against the Temple, sowing discord, and being a bad influence on the youth."

The Inquisitor walks around the chair, saying nothing. He does not bother with wiping the spittle off of his robes, leaving it to glint in the torchlight.

Zoltan nods his head. "Typical Kavi… was just wondering if he was involved with group that attacked my family." He looks back into the chamber, taking his eyes off the Jupani.

"He taught some young Temple Scouts a song which was inappropriate," the Guard adds. "It broke several ordinances."

The Kavi continues a long diatribe, "… and cruelty toward Foxes! Foxes are our BROTHERS! By your mistreatment of them, and all Exiles, you show yourselves to have the BLACKEST of hearts! Have you no SHAME?"

This makes Zoltan's feathers fluff out a bit. "You know if one of scouts was little spotted cub? Her name Pouncer." ( Hooo boy… I hope I'm not going to have to start washing Pouncer's mouth out with soap now… )

The Guard replies, "I am not aware of any further details concerning the crime, or that of the accused's involvement."

The Inquisitor's cowl turns toward the door. The Guard falls silent at that instant.

The Vartan nods his head and goes back to waiting.

The Inquisitor's cowl rotates back toward the Kavi. "I will listen to more, but I have a visitor. While I leave you, I must insist that you remain still. You are not to touch anything. I especially insist that you do not touch any of the levers. Doing so would cause you extreme discomfort and unhappiness."

The Kavi hisses, lurching in his chair. "Oh! Oh … of course, your worshipfulness! Oh, yes, since you warn me of such dangers, I shall have to OBEY you. That's it, isn't it? You're so proud, so angered that I won't obey you, that you just have to trick me into doing SOMETHING that follows your directions, right? Well, we'll just see about that! Ha? You can't make me do ANYTHING! I REJECT all authority!"

Zoltan winces inwardly. He already senses what's coming.

The Inquisitor walks a few steps away from the chair, and raises one arm, the heavy sleeve sliding away enough to reveal a thick leather gauntlet, with which he beckons to Zoltan to approach. The Guard steps aside, even though he does not see this signal.

He takes a deep breath and quietly enters the office. Zoltan had done lots of work for the Temple at various times in his life, he'd met templars of all types, but that was all just private work… this was the Inquisition. He lets the breath out slowly as he enters the room, his eyes fall upon the Inquisitor. ( At least he's not a poodle… )

The Inquisitor beckons toward a spot to the side. There is no furniture in the corner to sit down on – not for the Inquisitor, and not for anyone else.

Meanwhile, the Kavi thrashes about, giving up on his attempt to free his waist from the shackles. "Don't touch the lever! Oh, what awful things will happen to me, hmm? Horrible, nasty nasty things! Ha! I cower in fear!" He fumbles for the levers. His hand falls upon the red one.

Zoltan moves to stand in the spot indicated. He tries to keep his feathers from sticking out on edge as the Kavi grabs at the lever.

The Kavi yanks the lever. It makes a cranking, ratcheting sound. The Kavi holds his breath for a moment, but nothing happens. He laughs. "Ha! Nothing! NOTHING! I've called your bluff, coward! You won't even show your FACE! Ha! If only I could see the look on it now… "

The Inquisitor says in a calm voice, "Greetings, Citizen Zoltan. Please pay no mind to Citizen Jyrka. He misunderstands a great deal about the Temple."

The blackfeathered Vartan, meanwhile, is trying to press himself as flat against the wall as possible just in case the Kavi blows up.

"Ha! And – What?" the Kavi squeaks, as there is another ratcheting sound that reverberates through the walls. And then, the jumble of machinery at the base of the chair spreads out, expanding. It forms a nasty-looking cage that closes around the Kavi like a set of jaws. "AAAAAAAA!"

Engraved on the front plate, in archaic lettering, is the title, "Cage of Extreme Discomfort and Unhappiness."

"Yes sir." Zoltan coughs in reply. "I- hrk!" His feathers stick out in funny directions as the cage pops out of nowhere.

"Do not be concerned. Citizen Jyrka has made an unfortunate mistake," the Inquisitor calmly states, though a little more loudly to speak over the cranking, scraping and ratcheting sounds emitting from the cage – as well as the screaming. "Now then, I believe you had some information for me, Citizen Zoltan Cambio?"

"NOT THE FACE! NOT THE FACE!" screams Jyrka from within the Cage.

Zoltan nods his head, a bit distracted by all the noise. "Where shoulds I start?"

"That is up to you, Citizen," responds the Inquisitor. "If you would prefer, we could move into an adjoining chamber. You do not look … comfortable."

The Vartan's nodding quickly grows into enthuiastic head-bobbing.

The Inquisitor nods faintly, the effect muted by his voluminous and semi-rigid cowl. He reaches up with a gauntleted hand toward the wall, pressing against one of the recessed panels. With a scraping and rumbling noise barely audible over the screams, the panel slides in, and then to the side, revealing a passage into another room that looks almost exactly like the first … complete with its own set of two Jupani Guards, and a chair with someone seated in it. This one, however, is not screaming. He also happens to be a Fox. He just whines quietly.

"Thank you sir," Zoltan says as he moves into the other room… He does his best to ignore the fox. "After all excitement from yesterday, the more quiets the better."

"Very good, Citizen," the Inquisitor says to the foppish Fox in the chair. "Disobeying me would have let to Unspeakable Humiliation and Great Displeasure." To the Guards, the Inquisitor turns and instructs, "Remove the Exile. I will deal with him further later." They nod and do so, releasing the Fox and dragging him out of the room. Once the stone panel slides back into place and the door closes, the Inquisitor is alone with Zoltan, and the screams are almost entirely blocked out.

The chair is slightly different in design than the other. It looks as if there are … clippers and razors? … jutting through pieces of framework in the base.

Zoltan looks around uncomfortably for a moment… unsure if he is to sit in the little chair or simply stand. He decides to remain on his feet until told to do otherwise. "I suppose I should start with this," he finally says, pulling the bit of scrimshaw he'd kept in his pocket out. "A Kavi came by my Shoppe and sold me this… said he gots it off of exile wolf that died in Vermiteville."

The Inquisitor looks over the scrimshaw, spending some time examining the image, but also flipping and examining the blank backside as well. He says nothing.

"I saw one of those before… for reals. How Exile knew abouts it I never know." the Vartan begins to explain. "I had seen big metal bird on Paradys while exploring. I think people that attacked my shop after what insides of it… big black things called 'boomers'."

The Inquisitor nods. "That particular Exile, known as Kane Moreau, claimed to have arrived on Sinai in such a 'bird'. His Processing was done many decades ago by my predecessor. It is unfortunate that he is no longer alive for further questioning."

"I had hope that finding out more abouts bird would help me find outs about fate of Shokar. He vanished from Paradys during time when winds prevented normal means of escape, I regrets ever speaking to that Kavi now… " The hippogryph idly picks at a clump of feathers on his shoulder… nervous preening. "I not know how attackers know of metal thing… or of boomers. But if they does then it very very bad for everyone."

"You seem to know a great deal about these 'boomers', Citizen," the Inquisitor remarks. "Please, elaborate upon them, and what sort of threat they pose."

Zoltan puts a hand on his head. "Some of whats I tell you, you no believe me… so I tell you what I can prove. These boomer things is some kind of weapon, there pictures of them in book that you Lutenant took from dead bat… they make big explosion. And people that after me was very interested in them."

The Inquisitor nods. "There are many sorts of explosives known on Sinai, however. You, Citizen, appear to think of this as a special threat. Given the records of your exploits and travels, I do not suppose you for one panicked easily. Do not concern yourself, Citizen, with what you expect that I shall believe. I wish to hear what it is that you believe."

The Vartan ponders on those words for a good long moment. His hand drops away from his head, "When I was on Paradys, I had dreams… dreams of being on ship and seeing someone drop things that look like boomers off edge, and all Sinai was destroyed beneath me. I had many dreams on Paradys, and I no think they come from my head."

The Inquisitor nods faintly. "When, in relation to these dreams, did you learn of 'boomers'?"

"After. A few weeks after I thinks," Zoltan replies. "I saw boomers on metal bird a few weeks after dreams, but never made connection in my head until yesterday when I see picture in book. Then it was just likes I reliving dream all over again… "

"Tell me, Citizen, do you believe that you often gain insight through your dreams?" the Inquisitor asks.

The Vartan shakes his head. "I never have anything happen to me likes what happen when I on Paradys. And I no been having any strange dreams since I leave, or… since I thoughts I get rid of source of dreams."

The Inquisitor nods, pacing about the room, circling the central chair slowly. "Given all of this, Citizen, and your expressed concerns, what do you suggest is the best course of action to be taken?"

Zoltan frowns. "Whoever gets these things going to have power to do lots of harm. I not know who attackers were, but I no think it impossible to guess that they know where boomers they lookings for are, unless there another metal bird somewheres on Sinai that I not knows about. What I suggests is that someone needs to go to Paradys, take boomers, and find some way of safely destroying them so they no cause anyone harm."

The Inquisitor responds. "It is fairly clear that someone is interested in these 'boomers'. However, your testimony in this matter seems to comprise mostly of connections made from dreams. I am not a stranger to the truth which can be found in dreams, but nor am I a stranger to the way in which some persons use dreams as an unverifiable 'proof' to put behind hunches and whims. Have you anything else to offer, aside from dreams, to justify this as a considerable threat? That the 'boomers' may be explosive devices make them worth such troubles. I want to know what else you know which justifies your fear of these weapons."

The Vartan folds his hands behind his back… thinking. Something does manage to leap to mind. "Sir, while I on Paradys, there was section of the island that was blasted out… like meteor hit it. I think one of these boomers was cause of thing." He pauses, and then adds, "Sir… whoever want these things did no even blink at attacking me and my family, and they willing to die so that they knowledge no leak out. Any secrets that so dangerous that so many peoples must die surely must prove there something dangerous about this thing."

The Inquisitor walks over to the Vartan, standing before him. Even here, thanks to the dim light, and the shadows of the cowl, his facial features cannot be made out. There is a pause. Then, the Inquisitor asks, "Citizen, are you willing to show us how to find these 'boomers'?"

Zoltan looks into the darkness of that face, "Yes sir. I believe many people in danger rights now, and even though I goings to have trouble finding exact location of Paradys again… I gots pretty good idea of where it is, and I know what it looks like." He inhales slowly, trying to draw up the words from somewhere inside of him. "These people almost kill people most dear to me, I want to make sure that no more die because of them."

There is another long silence, and then the cowl moves away. "I will instruct the Guard to show you to the office of the High Cartographer. Citizen, it would be appreciated if you could assist the High Cartographer in plotting a course for the Intimidator to follow to Paradys."

"Intimidator… is that the ships that be going?" the Vartan asks.

"If the threat to Sinai is as great as you suggest," the Inquisitor says, cowl turned away, "then nothing less would suffice." He raps on the door to the chamber, and it opens, revealing the Guard posted outside. The Inquisitor draws a small roll of parchment from his voluminous robes, and takes it to this room's "pulpit" before the chair. There, he takes a quill and dips it into an inkwell built into the flat face of the pulpit, and quickly writes on the scroll. He then rolls it up and hands it to the Guard. "Take Citizen Zoltan Cambio to the High Cartographer, with these instructions."

"Sir. If possible, there a few more matters I like to bring up with you before I go, if you gots few more minutes to spare." The black-feathered hippogryph nervously peeks at the scroll. "If possible, I woulds like to reccomend the ship I came to Paradys in, and some people for crew. Hrr… there also matter of safety of my family while I gone."

"Your family will be looked after as guests of the Temple, and your slaves well-kept," the Inquisitor responds. "Any recommendations for the crew would have to be made through proper channels, Citizen. The High Cartographer should be able to direct you appropriately. However, if you have any names to mention and reasons I should consider, I will listen." The Inquisitor stands still before the Vartan.

Zoltan swallows. "My daughter, Pouncer… I afraid to leave her alone on Rephidim. It a very long story, sir, but short version is that I make someone very powerful mad at me on Paradys, and she still like to show her face from time to time by makings things happen. As for crew, I woulds like to get as many of the Paradysians as crewmembers as possible, they know every inch of island. I also woulds reccomend my captain and his crew from the Si-… hrr, I mean the Freedom's Dream. Beyond that, if possible, I woulds like for the Champion of Roses to come if she could, and my personal slave, Star."

The Inquisitor responds with, "Your recommendations will be given due consideration, Citizen, but no more will be promised. If that is all, please go with the Guard to see the High Cartographer."

The Guard clutches the scroll, waiting patiently.

From the other chamber, a muffled, "AAAAAA!" can be heard.

The Vartan nods his head. "Thank you, Inquisitor." He moves after the guard, "Crew, although important, is secondary for me. My main goal is to keep family safe. Thank you for you time."

The Inquisitor offers no farewell, but allows the Guard to take Zoltan away from the chamber. A grating noise of stone against stone can be heard from the chamber after the hippogryph leaves, and a voice. "Citizen Jyrka, I would strongly recommend this time that you touch no more levers… "

Zoltan quietly follows the guard, unaware of the sounds around him. His mind is a million miles away – on some remote island that holds many wonders, and many dangers.