The walk back was uneventful save for the witch-doctor Qing joining the party, at which it was decided they should take a carriage back to the Temple, to save them the difficulty of walking all the way. Buran's identity is quite sufficient to allow her to bring her two visitors to her quarters, located in the outermost of the secured realms of the Temple, where they now sit with cups of tea procured from the cafeteria…

Aski Medes makes a face after 'savoring' a sip. "What have they done to the subtle blends of Ahu Dhabian leaves this is supposed to be?"

Buran merely answers, "The cafeteria prepared it."

The Witch Doctor's tea simply steams in one forgotten hand, held off to one side so as not to get in the way of the others. He regards the pair quietly.

"Even the most incompetent of field hands on an expedition… " The Rath'ani sighs, remembering some rather awkward moments. "Ah well, perhaps it could be worse. Crumbled animal produce could be in the tea, rather than fueling the fire as is its proper place. So then, I shall give your name to the owner of the ship, and perhaps you'll receive a nice bonus for any bardic work you do, Buran. I'm not sure if they're looking only for accredited singers, but surely an extra voice will prove most welcome… "

Aski Medes shudders. "As to how that fox could have gained credentials as a bard… " He looks skyward, which is to say, to the blank ceiling of the room.

Qing makes an attempt at amiable conversation. "He could have woken the dead," he agrees.

Buran offers her chair to Aski, pulling it out from beneath the desk. A few modelling supplies rattle. "How do you know he didn't?" she asks to Qing. "He is rather … hmm … distinctive. I'm sorry I don't have a chair for you, sir, but I don't know what Nagas use anyhow."

Aski settles into the chair with a sigh. "Ah, bless you, lit'un," he says. "You are truly a sending from the First Ones. So mannerly, so polite, not like the Kavis in the Bazaar." He shudders.

"I am quite comfortable simply being coiled," whispers Qing, arranging himself in a loose pile near the door. "I understand that the both of you will be taking a trip soon."

Buran shivers a little as she seats herself on the bed, looking to Aski.

Aski Medes looks to Buran to see if she wants to tell the story, then nods to Qing. "Indeed, we are. We've obtained some tickets aboard a ship travelling to Half Valley, where we intend to see the Seeress Jennendra. An old friend of mine, and perhaps one of yours, if you know her?" He looks curious.

Buran absently rubs the back of her neck with her knuckles as she, too, listens.

The steam rising from the mage's cup of tea grows fainter. "The name is familiar to me. I believe she served as a court wizard for one of the more minor nations on the surface of Sinai near the latter points of her career. Sss… other than this professional knowledge of a colleague, I know little. The Onyx Eye was reclusive, even before her retirement."

"And I certainly don't get out much," adds Qing.

"Oh yes. We met on a trip through Lamu. A truly fascinating continent; it is almost as if the continents were each their own little world of ecology," the old Rath'ani says as he reminisces. "Well, we are going to visit her on the chance that she might be able to tell Buran a little more about herself."

The serpent's head dips just slightly, to look over the tops of his smoked glasses. "Ahh… is that so? What mystifies you so about your nature, that you seek a Seeress to answer your questions, Technopriestess?"

Buran shivers again, slightly. "My dreams. What's happened. I want to understand. I hope she will know more than I about what I've seen, if it's real."

"Mm. Yes, magic can provide insight not ordinarily available. Jennendra is a respected mage, and can probably help you," murmurs Qing. His untouched tea has completely ceased to steam, the arm holding it still cocked to one side. "I trust you have procured tickets? Funds for food and lodging? Equipment suitable for travel?"

Aski Medes nods his head agreeably. He takes another sip of tea before remembering its disagreeable taste, and wrinkles his muzzle, then continues, "Yes, we're quite provided for. Though I suspect we won't impose as much on the captain as he'd thought from previous expeditions. There's quite a generous cargo allocation, if we had any equipment to bring."

Buran shifts her gaze from Qing to look around the room and then, finally, at Aski. Again, she rubs at the back of her neck.

"As to the rest, funds and the like… " The Rath'ani sighs a bit. "Alas, owing to my unfortunate state of money, I'm afraid we'll be largely living off of whatever second class passage affords. Hopefully there will be no unexpected expenses."

The Rokuga's face shifts slightly. Though his typically neutral expression remains difficult to read, it seems to have tilted slightly toward 'concern'. At least, it's hard to read as anything else. "Oh, my. Did you factor in possible ritual expenses? I imagine ritual spells will be the only magic powerful enough to learn anything substantial. Ritual apparatus tends to be rare, and sadly, expensive."

Aski Medes rubs a finger under his chin. "No, I'm afraid that I have no budget for anything of the kind, Qing. That was your name, wasn't it?" He frowns. "I had hoped that if anything unusual was required that Jennendra didn't have on hand, that we could trade for it somehow, or borrow whatever was needed… "

Buran continues to focus on Aski. Is she avoiding Qing's gaze? Or is she merely concerned for the aging Rath'ani? It's hard to tell. "I've got some savings," the technopriestess reminds the scholar. "If nothing else… "

"Oft-times, ritual supplies are consumed in the process of spellcasting. Incenses, specially burnt woods, et cetera," whispers the Witch-Doctor, nodding slowly. He watches Buran carefully. "However, I bear fortuitous news."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of asking you to use those," Aski hastens to assure the winged Khatta, patting her hands. "Besides, if anything unusual is required, well, they will certainly be quite expensive and hard to obtain. Perfect black pearls a foot across, for instance. Or a relic of the First Ones."

The Rath'ani furrows his brows, puzzled. "How is that, Mage?"

The Rokuga lowers his hat slightly, allowing it to shade his face against the lamps. "Sir Bassai, Minister of Savanite Affairs, has generously offered to extend his help in the matter, to help a fellow scholar in a time of need. He is willing to supply equipment that you might need. Perhaps you can save funding you'd normally use on it for other, more worthwhile purposes."

"But… Do you mean Archaeologist Bassai?" Aski says, staggered by the news. "Is he a Minister now? And he never let on! This is truly fantastic, Mage. He is a jewel of the first water among Nagai!"

Buran smiles, though her eyes still do not turn toward the pale mortician in the corner. "How kind. I can only imagine the trouble his generosity will avoid."

"Indeed." The Witch-Doctor's left eyeridge rises slightly. "It is curious that he did not tell you. The honours he has reaped in the Empire have been many, some awarded by the Emperor-Potentate himself. At any rate, the Minister would ask some small token of recompense. He would like you to allocate some cargo space for transport of some of his own equipment."

Aski Medes smiles. "Oh, too small a favor to return for his magnamity, Mage Qing. But consider it done. As for myself, there's little enough that we will need, or at least I cannot begin to think what Jennendra might need. Her last letter to me reported herself quite content with a sedate life in Half Valley."

The Rath'ani leans forward again. "Will the Arch – Minister be meeting us on the trip later then?"

Qing bows slightly in Buran's direction. "This is his hope. The extending of knowledge is a sacred mission to all of us, is it not?" His torso rotates on his uppermost coil. "Actually, Scholar Medes, the equipment you will be transporting is personelle. Myself, the Minister, and possibly his aide, though I am unsure."

This takes the Rath'ani aback again, at this revelation. "But – but, how can you describe yourselves as equipment? Surely you merit far more prestigious quarters aboard the ship, Mage?"

Buran briefly whispers quietly into Aski's ear, too softly for anyone but the Rath'ani to hear.

The Rath'ani flicks his ear as he listens closer. "Eh?"

"We are equipment. The tools of the Emperor, and mere parts of the machinations of the Nagai peoples," hisses the undertaker. His hat is still lowered, as thusly he misses the whisper. "The unnecessary and undiplomatic barricade erected by the Temple, for no disclosed reason, is also a factor. Events rush past us as we languish here, stranded on an island in the sky." Another brief pause. "No offense intended, Technopriestess."

Aski Medes looks incredulous at Buran, missing Qing's explanation. "But, are you sure it's not merely your imagination, dear Buran? The gentleman here is a friend of Archaeologist Bassai, a scholar of impeccable credentials."

Qing tilts his head at an odd angle, and rotates it slightly, letting one lidless red eye look past a smoked-glass lense. As close to a quizzical look as the Rokuga can manage. "Is something… amiss?"

Buran perks an ear to catch Aski's reply. Once more, she whispers to him. "I wish it were. I feel … uneasy."

Aski frowns. "Still, Arch – the Minister is doing us a great favor here, Buran. And furthermore, I promised him that I would help him if I could. Is it really so dreadful a thing that Mage Qing is asking, Buran?"

The mortician's head, currently tilted left, begins a slow, gradual journey to the right. He doesn't catch what Buran is saying, but he can hear Aski clearly enough. "If you would perhaps share any misgivings you may have, perhaps I can help put them to rest."

Buran shakes her head, looking relieved as the buzz fades. "I wouldn't dream of refusing. It wouldn't be fair. It's just Qing… I will explain later, in private. Please, lower your voice. The good Mortician is becoming uneasy, I believe."

Aski moderates his voice and then whispers, "Well, I can't blame him. It would be quite unsettling if people started looking at me oddly as well, and whispering right in front of me. Dear, he is a trained professional of the Sphere of Spirit. They're all a little strange, but I'm sure that he's a solid snake." Aloud to Qing, he says, "I hope you'll excuse us, Mage. Buran's had a premonition of some kind."

"Of course," murmurs the mage. His upper half rotates in place, until he faces the wall, the Spirit sigil on his back a stark black against the spotless white of his mantle.

Buran whispers quickily to the Rath'ani, telling him of a strange sensation at the back of her mind that seemed to be associated somehow with the spirit-mage, and somehow seemed to be almost a warning of some sort, or perhaps better described as an uneasiness somehow attached to him.

"Well, perhaps he just unnerves you," Aski suggests. "But what about this, I'll help smuggle them aboard, but I'll ask him to keep his distance from you. You won't need to worry about him then, dear Buran. Will that suit?"

Buran sighs softly, then whispers, "I don't like to do such things, but … that might be wise, at least until I know more."

Aski nods to Buran, then says to Qing, "Well, I think we can do it, but there will be one condition, for which I apologize in advance, Mage. No insult is intended."

The mortician's upper-body swivels smoothly again, two pairs of arms crossed, and the bottom right hanging by his side while its counterpart holds a cup of stone-cold tea. "And that would be?"

The Rath'ani says, "It seems that something about you makes my ward – ah, Buran quite nervous. If you don't mind, while you're aboard, I'd prefer it if you stayed some distance from her, during the trip. I'm sure that will be sufficient to take care of her worries." He looks apologetic about even having to make the request.

The Witch-Doctor remains silent and still for at least thirty seconds. Finally, he speaks again. His tone is smooth, but the tiniest touch of his usually suppressed Imperial accent surfaces in his speech. "I undersstand. I must admit that, in my line of work, some aspects cause uneasyness in many people. I hope that, as I keep my distance, you will come to lose your… apprehenssiveness. It is still my duty to run a few more tessts, but I will only do so when you are willing."

"Of course," Aski agrees gratefully. "Is that well with you, Technopriestess?"

Buran chances a look at Qing once more, now that the 'buzz' has faded. "Quite," she answers. "I'm sorry to have to ask, but … " She looks apologetic.

Aski smiles. "Well then, it's settled. Can you have your 'boxes' ready at the port and give me word to where to find them by tomorrow morning, Mage? I'll find that memoir that the Minister wanted, and bring it along to give him something to read along the way. And you should pack as well, Technopriestess. Plan on a trip of some months; airships sometimes do not keep to schedules as well as they ought to."

The Sphinx rises to see her guests to the door, even though it's only a few steps away. "I'll take my leave here tonight, and I'll be ready in the morning."

Leaving his untouched tea on a convenient coffee table, the pale reptile gathers his coils beneath him, and glides out of Buran's quarters. "We will see you then."

Aski Medes takes one last sip of his tea, then promptly makes a face. "Remind me to buy you some tea of your own, Technopriestess." He chuckles. "Perhaps we'll be able to afford some now, with Minister Bassai's generous gift." The elderly Rath'ani totters out the door after Qing.