The young ambassador dangles thoughtfully from a sturdy wooden bar over the collection of pillows and cushions that serve as a bed when she's in the mood to rest her feet. Not that she isn't now, since her knees bear most of her weight. For someone with hair as long as her, it's somewhat comical to watch, and though she's tied her unruly tangle back in a loose tail it still dangles down, though not as far as her loosely-furled wings. She hums quietly, her eyes closed and arms crossed.

A light scratching comes from behind the wall, near one corner of the room.

Brishen furrows her brow a little, then opens an eye. One would get the impression that an ear would perk if her ears weren't always perked. She curls back a little, scratching a bare foot, then yawns. From the looks of her practical, snug pants and short-sleeved shirt, she's probably been out working on the Embassy grounds again. A few tell-tale grass stains may confirm that.

One of the lower wall panels in the corner slides open a few inches, and a gold-pupiled eye peeks through into the room.

Brishen tilts her head slightly, then looks towards the sound. Her eyes glitter faintly in the light provided by a few candles on her desk. Her wings rustle, like leaves. "Who is it?" she whispers.

"How many other people move through your walls?" whispers back a familiar voice. "It's Envoy. I didn't want to wake you… "

Brishen grins, whispering. "I wasn't asleep. And these days I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of people started popping out of the walls." She drops, lightly, to the floor, then pads quickly over to peer into the tiny slit. "Is that really you? Can you see my hands?"

Envoy opens the panel the rest of the way, so Brishen can see her crouching down. Apparently the designers assumed cubs would be picking up the chamber pot or dirty dishes or whatever was meant to be left in the corner before. "I can see," the Exile signs.

Brishen glances towards the door. Her wings flutter a little as she rushes over to lock it. Then she rushes back and crouches down near the Aeolun. "Good! My friend from the City of Hands sent a messenger. I know where we'll need to take the Savanites."

"Where and when?" Envoy signs.

Brishen tilts her head a little, squinting thoughtfully. "A warehouse, near the Old City. Have you ever been to the Grim Fandango? When depends on you." She bites her lower lip as she quickly signs out the directions to the warehouse, as well as what needs to be done to avoid the local guard, as she was instructed by the Kiriga. "How long will you need?"

Envoy thinks for a moment, then signs, "I wouldn't want to move them all at once, or at least not all together. Do you think two or three together would be inconspicuous?"

Some noises can be heard in the studio of the front door, and voices. "We … we weren't expecting anyone from the TEMPLE so SOON!" says Degarde, very loudly.

Brishen smiles a little as her hands dance through the shadowed air. "How are they? I'd have gone mad if I'd been – Oh. That may make things harder." She hisses faintly.

The Exile scoots back into the passage and gets ready to close the panel.

Brishen signs, quickly. "We need to talk again, soon! Bye!" She looks around the panel to see if anything's amiss, then rushes for the door.

Envoy slides the panel closed again.

Brishen looks herself over for a moment. She's not exactly dressed to entertain visitors. The observation earns a shrug as she shuts the door to her room behind her and pads towards the sound of Degarde's voice.

In the studio of the embassy, Degarde timidly steps aside to make way for the Temple party – an Inquisitrix, with a visible retinue of Jupani and Zelak Guards.

Brishen frowns faintly, brushing her hands off as she walks down into the studio. "Hello." A lock of hair is tucked behind an ear as she looks at the Inquisitrix. "How can I help you, Inquisitrix – ?"

"Don't worry," says a high, smooth voice. "If we find what we are looking for, we shall not be long." The voice comes from a tall female Jupani, her face partially hidden by the shadows within her cowl.

Brishen glances towards the cowled Jupani. A faint curiosity trails along her otherwise practical countenance.

Esther raises her head to Brishen's eye level. "ARCH Inquisitrix, Madame Ambassador. I am Arch Inquisitrix Esther yod Rahab. The Temple has sent me to conduct a full investigation of the premises… " She glances edgewise. "… and settle some other – matters."

Brishen nods. "Well met, then, Arch Inquisitrix Esther yod Rahab." She surprises herself a little by smiling, though it may be a little strained. "I've been working around the Embassy today, so please excuse my rather informal attire."

The Guard Lieutenant salutes Esther. "Shall we start our search, Arch-Inquisitrix?"

"Yes, of course," Esther answers, her eyes still locked with Brishen's. "Let us first investigate directly the scene of the crime. If the Ambassador will be so good as to lead us?"

Brishen nods, furling her wings neatly as she turns towards the basement. "I had been keeping the Savanites downstairs, in preperation for the arrival of the Temple guard. That would be where I last saw them."

The basement is musty, the walls lined with stone blocks very neatly fit together with a minimum of mortar required.

Esther nods. "Reewit, you're with me. Shimei, take the others and fan out." She follows Brishen down the stairs.

A central, broad corridor runs down the basement along the length of the house above, with six chambers branching off from there. One of those chambers contains the stairway leading back up to the ground level.

Brishen's pace slows as she walks down the stairs, until she stands, still at the foot. Her wings tremble faintly.

An Eeee with the Temple party accompanies Esther, apparently the one named Reewit. The lieutenant, Shimei, remains above. Heavy bootsteps can be heard as the guards start about their business.

Esther asks, "Is this where the slaves were last?"

Brishen wraps her arms around herself, absently, frowning. "Yes. I'd thought it would be safer that they were here."

Esther looks thoughtful. She reaches out and pulls a torch handily out of a wall sconce, then walks casually down the corridor, looking around. "Safer from what?"

Brishen tilts her head slightly. "The safety of property, Arch Inquisitrix. The slaves were intended as reparations to the Temple. I did not want them to use the opportunity of uncertain futures to escape."

Esther turns briskly on her heel. "Escape?" she pipes up suddenly. "Well, I suppose if you consider death to be escape, yes?"

Brishen shivers faintly as she looks down at the floor. "No. No – I wouldn't call that escape."

"Reewit, will you fetch Phanuel, please?" Esther says quietly. She then turns back around, facing directly away from the staircase, and proceeds into the chamber there. "So tell me, Ambassador," Esther calls out from the other room, "what exactly did you find down here?"

Reewit nods and heads away, back up the stairs, leaving the Ambassador and the Inquisitrix alone in the basement.

Brishen says, quietly. "Nothing at all." She shakes her head, then looks towards the Arch-Inquisitrix. "A Temple guard found a – note."

Bootsteps can be heard descending the staircase, this time belonging to two persons – one light, like an Eeee, and one heavy, like a Jupani.

Brishen looks towards the staircase. It seems, in the basement, that she has gotten smaller, slumping faintly. She does not move from where she stands in the center, a lock of hair dangling down to touch her muzzle.

"Ah yes. The note." Esther's bootsteps echo. "The work of the fateful Amaranth, it would appear," she adds, her voice wavering a bit for some reason. "Which of these rooms exactly did you find the note in?"

Brishen looks about, vaguely. "Here, somewhere, I think." She bites her lower lip. "I don – " She pauses again, then points towards the next room. "There." The young ambassador remains exactly where she is.

Esther steps back out and observes where Brishen is pointing. Esther cranes her neck around briefly, then glances up the stairs. "Indeed."

A bat and wolf enter the room. The Jupani Guard comes up to Esther, with an eager-to-please look on his face. "Yes, Arch-Inquisitrix?" The Eeee assistant just remains silent.

Esther says, "Phanuel, please tell me what scents you find in this room," she says, pointing to the room she had just left, "and then follow me into this other room over here."

Phanuel nods his head up and down, then goes about, sniffing every crack and cranny in the storeroom. "Phew!" he says, then says it again several times.

Esther says, "I expect you smell ritual incense and chalk, and the Shiga spirit mage who used them. Anything else?"

Brishen looks around, from her vantage point at the center of the basement. She shivers again, lowering her chin. "I don't like it here," she whispers, very, very quietly.

"Naw, that's in the other room," Phanuel says. "In this room, I smell stinky stuff. Like … uh … in the Inner Mysteries. Like they preserve Creens for vivi – uh … vivi – … uh … cutting apart to learn stuff."

Phanuel shrugs, "I smelled some candles and chalk-dust and a bit of Naga and a bit of Fox in the other room."

Esther nods, then walks into the room Brishen pointed out. She gazes around intently, wrinkling her nose at the pungent formaldehyde odor.

Brishen inches a little closer, though given that it is in the literal sense she hasn't really gone very far. Her wings rustle faintly as she wraps her arms around herself again.

Phanuel sniffs, then says, "I smell spotties. Spotties were in here, definitely."

Esther says, "Which way did they go from here?"

Phanuel sniffs again, goes around in circles, heads out the door, then back in again. "Uh … sorry … trail's too old." His ears droop.

Phanuel goes back out, and can be heard sniffing in the other rooms, then he comes back here again. "Hmmm," he says to himself, several times, narrowly avoiding bumping into the Arch-Inquisitrix as intent he is upon his nose.

Brishen, slowly, with single, solemn steps, draws closer to the room. She shivers again, but says nothing.

"Wow," says Phanuel, sniffing at one of the torch sconces. He wiggles the loose fitting, then tugs at it. Nothing happens. He whines in disappointment.

Esther, still intent on her own investigation, perks up. "What is it, Phanuel?"

Phanuel says, "Oh, I thought I smelled something … uh … different over here. I dunno what. Just different. Really different."

Brishen's ears cant towards the room, though she remains fixed to the spot. "W – what. What is it?" Upon what may seem to be second thoughts, she takes a few steps back.

Phanuel gives a hopeless shrug as he says, "Different. And I know a lot of smells!"

Esther runs her hands around on the walls near where Phanuel is standing.

Brishen clenches her hands into fists, taking a deep breath, then slowly walks towards the room, peeking around the corner. "What did you find?"

Esther doesn't answer the Ambassador, but pulls a dagger from her robes, which glints in the dancing torchlight. She turns it to its butt end and starts tapping hard against the wall.

Phanuel says, "Well … this torch thing is kind of loose. I thought maybe it was something important. But it isn't. Sorry. Uh?"

*thok thok thok tok thok thok*

"THIS stone, right here." Esther says, "There's a hollow behind it, I think."

Brishen tilts her head slightly, shivering.

Phanuel gives the stone a good kick. The stone doesn't do anything. He then steps aside for the Arch-Inquisitrix to resume.

Esther cries out, startlingly loud, "a-HA!" as she feels around and digs her fingers into an edge of some sort.

Brishen bites her lower lip, taking a few steps back as her eyes remain fixed on the Inquisitrix.

Phanuel jumps back. As the Arch-Inquisitrix works the dagger into the seam around the block, bits of mortar crumble away. The block is evidently loose … and, with considerable effort, slides out from the wall, and onto the floor, revealing a shallow, hollow space behind it.

Reewit looks at Brishen … no, stares.

Esther takes a good sniff at the hollow area, then holds her torch near it to look inside.

Brishen blinks a few times, stepping closer. Then she blinks again and furrows her brow. "C-careful."

Inside are the crumbling remains of a wooden cask. The glint of copper and ceramic can be seen in the torchlight, within the bits of rotten wood and chitin fittings.

Brishen takes a hesitant step closer. Then a few more. "What is it?"

Esther says, "Well, that's very interesting! Phanuel, please retrieve."

"I don't know, Ambassador," says Esther. "Do you?"

Phanuel reaches in, digging around. He pulls out some bits of rotten wood, chitin fittings of the small container, and a handful of coins.

Phanuel counts the coins. "Ah … three coppers … and maybe ten tenners. Maybe that was worth a lot a long time ago?" He sniffs at the coins, then sneezes.

The green coppers and moldy ceramics don't look very pleasing, but they're definitely Rephidim currency.

Brishen blinks a few times then slumps, letting a short breath out as she almost, but not quite crumples. "I – I've had n-nightmares about moving stones." A few moments pass before she looks up at the Inquisitrix. "I don't know. This house is much older than the Embassy."

Esther sniffs the coins, then stops and stares at something else. "I wonder if anything walks through THESE walls," she mutters to herself.

Brishen shivers faintly. "Don't say that. P-please don't say that. They're supposed to keep things out."

Esther gestures to Phanuel. "Replace the block."

Phanuel gives Esther a thoroughly clueless look, then shrugs and shoves the block back into place.

"Well, let's get to something else, shall we? Who was here in the building at the time the disappearance occurred?" Esther asks.

A very loud thump can be heard upstairs. Something heavy must have been dropped or tipped over. Degarde can barely be heard fussing and worrying out loud.

Brishen closes her eyes. "At night, it – it would be myself, my assistants. The guards on the roof and one inside. I can give you the roster of who works each shift."

Brishen rubs her forehead. "During the day, the guards are outside, except for the lookout."

Esther wanders off absentmindedly, apparently following her nose. "Phanuel, where else does the chemical smell go?"

Brishen remains still for a moment, stopping in mid-word, then turns and darts after the Inquisitrix, making sure the Jupani is not far away.

"Just this room," Phanuel says. "Funny … something this stinky, I'd expect to smell a bit more around … but I guess they brought it in and opened it right in here."

Esther peers intently at the floor and ceiling. "Reewit, would you see what Lieutenant Shimei has found?" She stomps hard on the floor in a few places.

Reewit bows his head, and shuffles out of the room, and on up the stairs.

Esther says, "Is there anything on the other side of this wall, Ambassador?"

Esther looks thoughtfully at the torch sconce, and grabs hold of it with one hand.

Brishen blinks a few times. "Uhm – Dirt?"

A Jupani guard comes into the room, accompanied by a white reptilian. "Arch-Inquisitor, the magical investigator has returned."

Esther looks around at the guard, still jiggling the sconce. "Ah, Mister Qing. What brings you back here?"

An acrid odor arrives shortly after Qing does, the Rokuga witch-doctor peering through the dark glasses beneath his bowl-shaped hat. "I've simply been detailing my report, as my contract with your Temple is not yet expired, Inquisitrix," he murmurs. "You may be interested to know that this house is made of thistlebark wood."

Esther continues playing with the wall sconce. "I regret my knowledge of magic is lacking, sir; what is the significance of that fact?"

"Thistlebark is known to have anti-Ssspirit properties," the pale Rokuga hisses evenly. Each pair of arms folds over his chest, one after the other. "According to legend, spirit 'creatures' would not be able to pass a thistlewood barrier."

Esther's bat aide comes back into the chamber. "Lieutenant Shimei reports nothing of particular interest as of yet, Arch-Inquisitrix."

Brishen blinks at the Rokuga a few times, then looks back at the Arch-Inquisitrix. Her eyes wander down to the remains of the chest.

Esther says, "And your conclusion?"

Esther steps away from the wall. "Phanuel, help me pull this stone out again. Excuse me, Ambassador."

Phanuel assists, and the stone block is pulled out once more.

Qing's lower half coils beneath him, and he turns his head a few degrees to regard the Ambassador, even while he replies to Esther. "Combined with the fact that I have not detected any abnormal power concentrations or spirit manifestations, it's highly unlikely any spirit entity exists within this area, much less could have entered this building. I have researched this so-called 'Amaranth', as well… "

Esther takes out her dagger again and prods and taps at the stone at the back of the hollow.

Brishen takes a few steps back, ending up near Qing. She furls her wings neatly and watches the Arch-Inquisitrix. As more people arrive, her shivering has faded, replaced with a faint sort of annoyance. "Then, perhaps she's not a spirit."

A sound can be heard like stone scraping against stone, inside the hollow that Esther reaches into.

"I should say not, Ambassador," Esther says, a sense of satisfaction in her voice. "Spirits do not require secret doors."

Brishen blinks. "Secret – ?" She crouches down, looking into the hollow.

"I would be inclined to agree," whispers the witchdoctor. He dips his head slightly to look over the rims of his glasses at the hollow.

Esther stands up and dusts herself off a bit. "Phanuel," she motions with her dagger, "find out where that leads. And be on the lookout for hairs, smells, anything, along the way."

Brishen furrows her brow as she kneels down. A faint ping echoes into the hollow. "Then if she's not a spirit – what is she?"

Phanuel tries to squeeze in, but his shoulder-pads are a bit too large. He sheepishly pauses to remove them, carefully laying them aside … then crawls through. "Dark in here!" he barks.

Esther says, "Someone with access to preservation fluid, and a little imagination, I'd wager."

Qing's forked tongue flicks out, tasting the air.

Phanuel can be heard sniffing, saying "Phew!" several times, then … "Hey! Someone's DOWN here!" He starts barking, and can be heard running. And hitting something. "Ouch!"

Esther's eyes widen. She darts to the doorway. "SHIMEI!" she cries.

Several thumping and crashing noises can be heard upstairs, and then several boots running down the stairs. Shimei bursts into the room, sword drawn. "Arch-Inquisitrix! Are you all right?"

Brishen scrambles back from the hollow. "Wh – Are you alright?! Phanuel?"

Some screams can be heard from beyond the hole. They definitely don't sound lupine, male, or Savanite. There are several barks and yelps.

Qing makes an odd face, as if pondering something strange. He keeps an interested eye on the hollow, though.

Esther quickly selects a few of the thinner guards, and pushes a torch into the hand of one of them. "You three… into that passage, after Phanuel! Search and retrieve!" She turns to Shimei. "Have the men outside scan in and around the graveyard. Someone may be emerging from a secret passage or trapdoor!"

The three guards head into the hole, while the rest quickly file out.

Brishen blinks, wide-eyed at the Arch-Inquisitrix. "I'll alert my guards!" Her wings almost flap as she turns towards the door.

Esther dashes back to the hole. "COME OUT, IN THE NAME OF THE TEMPLE! YOU ARE SURROUNDED!" She spins toward Brishen. "That won't be necessary, Ambassador."

Brishen covers her ears, wincing, and closes her eyes. "Ow."

More screams and shouts can be heard inside the tunnel, and then the sounds of punching and kicking. "DIE! DIE! I'll KILL ALL OF YOU MORTALS!" shrieks the voice. "OW! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" More barking. And then things die down.

"Got her!" a lupine voice calls from the other side of the hole.

Brishen opens an eye. That voice sounds familiar.

"Bring her out, then," calls Esther.

Qing slithers off to the side to make room and stay out of the way, all six arms folding themselves under his mantle. He mutters to himself.

Brishen takes a few steps back from the hole as well, though her eyes remain fixed on it.

"Two ways out!" barks one of the guards. "Looks like a hole out in the graveyard. And – get this – a bunch of paintings on the wall!" There are more sounds of struggle, and a wolf pops through the hole. He then turns around and roughly pulls a squirming form through the hole. It's a Zerda female, wearing a cracked ceramic mask, and a tattered dress of some exotic style. She makes hissing noises, and drool dribbles from her chin.

Brishen wrinkles her muzzle, drawing a hand up to cover her mouth. "Oh – "

"Heh," says Qing. It sounds vaguely like a laugh, but no trace of humor or a smile crosses the witchdoctor's pale face. "Well."

Esther rushes over to the Zerda. "Hold her!" she exclaims to the guards. "So you must be Amaranth… in the flesh after all."

"Ah, mere mortal! COWER in the presence of the timeless!" The masked Zerda cackles, struggling in the grip of two strong Jupani, but not having a chance of getting free.

"A rather pale charlatan," murmurs Qing, mostly to himself.

Phanuel comes through, last, scratched and clawed up a bit, but still in one piece.

Esther snorts. "Very good, Phanuel. Is she the mystery smell?"

Brishen's eyes narrow and she whispers, "It – she was here – Here. All along. Not a ghost, but a – thing."

Phanuel sniffs at the charlatan. "Uhm … I dink so." He holds his nose. "But… ow … she gave me a bloody nose."

The witchdoctor hisses, "Quite a bedraggled thing." He slithers to one side to inspect the zerda. "I was called out here… for thisss? The legend is a popular one, and has mutated in the telling… but honestly." He lowers the brim of his hat, concealing his eyes again in a distainful gesture.

Esther shouts at 'Amaranth.' "Who was with you? And what did you do with the Savanites that were in this room? Talk, if you know what's good for you!"

"I DEVOURED them!" laughs the deranged Zerda. "And I shall devour YOU as well!" She tries to throw herself at Esther, but she's securely held.

The young ambassador turns away. ( This was not the person I heard in the graveyard. This was not the person I saw outside the Embassy. Something is not right, here. )

Esther waves a hand at the Zerda, wrinkling her nose. "Ehhh!" She fixes her chin. "Restrain her and keep watch. Nobody enters or leaves without my leave."

Esther kneels down and begins to crawl into the secret room.

There's still a torch in the secret chamber. It's a sloping tunnel, some sort of really old maintenance accessway perhaps here as long as the Sewers, but obviously with some enhancements since then. Further down the tunnel can be seen another source of light … far enough away to be past the Embassy outer walls, and to be from an entrance to the surface.

Along the walls are paintings of people in old-fashioned garb. The whole tunnel smells strongly of formaldehyde and cleaning fluids.

Esther reenters the Embassy basement. "No trail. Someone was involved in this beside this lunatic, and he or she was smart enough to use chemicals to foil the scent."

"I am no lunatic! I am IMMORTAL!" shrieks the "ghost".

Brishen scoots closer to the hole, peeking into it. "What sort of paintings are down there?"

Qing mumbles a few things, taking a monocle from one of his pockets, and draping something filmy over it. He studies 'Amaranth' with it for several minutes as the other things go on, just for the sake of arguement.

Esther says, "Portraits, by the look of them. Old-fashioned clothing. You're welcome to look if you like, but first we must take care of some other business."

Brishen wrinkles her nose a little, then furls her wings tight along her back and scrambles down through the hole. "If those are matters of reparations, Arch-Inquisitor, then perhaps in a peculiar fashion we have both found something we wanted today."

Qing drops the monocle back into his pocket. "Hmph."

Along the wall can be seen grotesque figures, caricatures of people, in old-fashioned attire, looking as if they are standing for portraits, but their forms distorted and tormented as depicted by the strokes of a wild artist. Here and there, bug pieces can be seen mixed in with the dried and cracked paint.

Esther says to Qing, "What is it?"

"Just being sure, Inquisitrix," replies the snake. "No sign of spell traces or possession."

Brishen squints. She almost sticks her tongue out, then thinks against it. Instead, she tries to discern some sort of signature.

No signature, just lots of bug guts smeared on the walls.

Brishen crosses her arms. To her, the paintings are barely recognizable as portraits, indistinct smears of gray-on-grey. "Arch-Inquisitrix, given the prior tenant of this house, these paintings may be – Uhm. Valuable." She blinks, shaking her head. "As they were found within the grounds of the Embassy, they are part of the Embassy. Thus, upon sale, they may produce a significant sum of money for the Temple and bring to closure a certain matter of reparations."

Esther sighs and crawls back through the hole. She looks at the walls.

Esther says, "With all due respect, Ambassador, I highly doubt they are equal in value to the required sum of four gold shekels."

Brishen looks towards the distant spot of light that marks the way out. The wrong way out. "I do as well, but the artwork of Kame Ikata has sold for considerable amounts of shekels in the past, or so I've heard." She wrinkles her nose, "Perhaps not four gold shekels, but a considerable sum." She glances at the spot of light again.

"Firstly, Ambassador," Esther says, her voice sounding somewhat tired, "this area, since it was not known of by either the Temple or yourself, is not part of the Embassy property, which is, I might add, on loan to you from the Temple. You could certainly make your case before a Temple court, but I would doubt your legal claim to these paintings." Esther grimaces. "If you could even get them off the walls to sell them."

Brishen leans a little closer to a painting, but not much closer. "Ugh. You certainly have a point, Arch-Inquisitrix."

"And secondly, even if you could profit from this property, it would not relieve you of your immediate cash obligation. We cannot accept the proceeds of a sale before the sale," Esther adds politely.

Brishen turns to look at the Inquisitor. "Of course." She rubs her forehead, wincing faintly. "I certainly can't take a tour through here. Not with the smell." Her eyes wander towards the spot of light, far down the tunnel. "The presence of this area, paintings or not, does raise a certain concern, Arch-Inquisitrix Esther. It will need to be filled. I imagine the funding to do so will have to come from the Embassy's purse, but the fact remains that the tunnel extends beyond the boundaries of the Embassy. I have no desire to trespass upon land owned by the Temple."

Esther's eyes seem to flicker for a moment, then she smiles. "Of course, Ambassador. Naturally, in this unforeseen situation, we would not think of penalizing you unnecessarily. On the contrary, I will personally lend my assistance." She puts her hands behind her back confidently. "Clearly this passageway is a security risk to you, and so I will hand-pick a crew of my best expert guards to cover the area. They will also, at no cost to you, assist in your patrols and explore your building for other hitherto unknown security holes."

Brishen crosses her arms. Her voice is soft as she responds. "I do not believe such an arrangement would benefit either Rephidim or Babel, Arch-Inquisitrix. As I said once to the Captain-Astromancer, it is not my intent to have the Temple patrol the grounds of the Embassy. I have employed guards for that purpose. However, your assistance in dealing with the exits of this tunnel, which are beyond the aegis of the Embassy, would be greatly appreciated."

Esther says, "Oh, but it is no trouble at all. At the very least we can post a watch around the perimeter of Embassy property. It would be sheer negligence if, knowing that a dangerous person might gain surreptitious entry, we, as your landlords, did not offer you whatever security assurances we reasonably could. And that brings me to another subject – that of the missing slaves."

Brishen almost, but not quite shrugs. "The Temple will do in the Old City what it deems fit. And what of the missing slaves?"

Esther says, "Well, they are apparently either escaped or kidnapped, and either way they are clearly of significant value to you. Surely we can help you try to get them back."

Brishen tucks a lock of hair behind her eyes, glancing out of the corner of her eye at a large cluster of insects-as-art. She wrinkles her muzzle slightly. "That would be wonderful, Arch-Inquisitrix. I am very much interested in seeing that this disaster has a conclusion that will please both Babel and Rephidim."

Esther says, "Good. Now have you given descriptions of the six slaves to the Guard already?"

Brishen sighs quietly. "I believe the property has been sufficiently described. And that would be eight slaves, Arch-Inquisitrix."

"Oh, that's right," Esther pipes up. "I remember now, it was eight. Well, good. We will start looking for them at once. The only thing remaining is four gold shekels. Then I shall be on my way."

Brishen crosses her arms. "It had been agreed, amongst Babel and Rephidim, that the payment would take the form of eight slaves. The manner of payment was chosen because the Embassy does not have the liquid funds necessary to render four gold shekels to the Temple. In absence of the slaves, the matter of payment is a difficult one. My aide, Degarde, is presently determining the value of items we brought to the Embassy from Babel. It is possible that in time, perhaps a few weeks, we shall have all or part of the payment. But we do not have it now."

Esther sighs deeply. "You don't have the slaves or the equivalent cash funds for the reparation payment?" She shakes her head. "This is most unwelcome news."

Brishen raises a brow. "Arch-Inquisitor, this is a matter known to Rephidim. It is why the slaves were chosen as payment. In absence of the slaves, it will take time for the Embassy to acquire the necessary funds."

Esther says, "Oh, I certainly sympathize with your situation. But surely you can't hold the Temple responsible for your lost slaves? When I return empty-handed, I am going to have to make a report to the Captain-Astromancer. I can guess already that he will be displeased."

Brishen sighs quietly, rubbing her chin as she walks along the tunnel, glancing at the paintings now and then. "I can provide to the Temple two gold shekels, now. A third once my aide and I have had a chance to examine our funds. The fourth – As I stated to you earlier, we are in the process of assaying the worth of certain items we brought from Babel. The worth of that, in total, may be the fourth piece of gold."

Brishen lowers her chin, slightly, fixing her eyes on the Inquisitrix. "Payment in this fashion, Arch-Inquisitrix, will bring this tunnel into question again, however. I trust that the Temple will be swift and efficient in attending to those portions of the tunnel outside of the Embassy wall?"

Esther nods thoughtfully. "That would certainly go a long way toward demonstrating your compliant intent. I am sure the Captain-Astromancer could be convinced to extend your deadline. In the meantime, rest assured that we will attend to the tunnel and to other potential compromises of the security of your campus. We will also do our best to take your slaves into custody so that our original agreement can be upheld."

Brishen nods. "Thank you. It would be best for everyone concerned if they were found again." She tucks a lock of hair behind an ear.

Esther says, "Very well. Please, let's go inside. I can't stand this smell."

Brishen's wings rustle as she passes the Arch-Inquisitrix, turning back towards the entrance to the tunnel. "I don't know if I CAN smell anymore. I can't believe that – that – thing lived down here."

Esther stands in front of the tunnel. "After you, Ambassador."

Qing's voice comes down the corridor from outside the painted passage. "I find it a comfortingly familiar scent."

Brishen does not need encouragement, and after the stench of the tunnel, the basement is almost pleasant. She shakes her head a few times before leaning against a wall. "The smell alone will keep most people out."

Esther follows, and darkness falls on the secret passage as the block is pushed back into place.