An equine official, wearing loose, flowing robes, open at the front to show trousers tied at the sides and a collarless tunic, rises from his bow to look expectantly at his visitors – marked as foreigners by their Rephidim Temple uniforms. One, a Kavi, holds a young native by bound wrists, but makes no answer to the official beyond a perfunctory nod. Instead, she looks to the other, a white poodle, to make their reply.

"We come to see the mayor regarding official Temple business," says Elise the moment she feels the other Executor's eyes upon her. Her own eyes look to the Rhian questioningly.

"Of course you are," the Rhian says, speaking in fluent but not unaccented Rephidim Standard. His eyes glance to their prisoner, not missing that Elise has completely ignored his implied question. "It is with sad regrets that I must inform you that his worship, our mayor, is unavailable at this moment, as he, unfortunately unaware of your arrival, is on other business. It is my hope that he shall return soon, perhaps within an hour's time, when I am sure he will be able to put off whatever other trivial matters might call on his attention, that he might welcome the honored visitors from Rephidim. In the meantime, perhaps the beautiful ladies from the sky island would be so gracious as to present their humble servant with their documents of identification, that we might dispense with such unimportant formalities?" He delivers the flowery speech naturally, without hint of sarcasm.

Kaalaas fingers the rope leashing her captive's wrists, looking more bored than anything else. For all the attention she's giving the official, he might as well be speaking Khattan – she shows no signs of intending to answer him.

The lady poodle reaches to a pouch at her side and removes a scroll, offering it to the Rhian. "An hour," she repeats with a hint of irritation. "Until then, I am certain you will offer your full cooperation and assistance."

"Dar El Salem extends every courtesy and all are our aid to our honored guests," the equine says, offering another bow as he accepts the scroll case. Kaalaas takes enough time out from her busy schedule of staring off into space to give the Rhian a similar one, and he likewise bows as he takes it. With both in hand, he gestures to the cushions before the table. "Would the wise and noble visitors from the heavens wish to make themselves comfortable while this unworthy servant examines these papers?" He settles himself back on his cushions, opening Elise's case first.

"No need to be seated. This will not take long," says the lady, resuming her standard on-duty monotone. As the events that occurred but little time ago begin to fade she again focuses on her work, allowing the humiliation to ease from her mind that she might worry more about the here and now. Strength, First Ones, I can do this. "We are looking for a Rhian, Abrecan Ordway, and two other individuals by the name of Fateh Nyorga and Nadia. Ordway is wanted on kidnapping and murder charges." She tilts her head looking as if she has more to say, but waiting for the Rhian to catch up before she continues.

Something flickers over his carefully courteous expression as Elise insists on standing, but it fades into blankness again almost immediately. "If the gracious lady would allow this humble servant but a moment to examine these items… ," he requests, polite as ever. The equine rings a little bell on the table. "Perhaps the wondrous ladies of Rephidim would care to partake of some refreshment, to soothe their wearies, enhanced as they must be by all these unfortunate and sorrowful delays?"

Elise shakes her head slightly. "I need nothing." She then glances at Kaalaas, raising a brow. "Executor Majoris?"

"Nor I," Kaalaas echoes, "in the way of refreshment."

Executor Secundus de Bellefeuille nods to her superior and returns her gaze to the official.

He takes his time examining the papers, spreading them out before him on the desk and going over them with a careful eye. He pays special attention to the Temple marks on every page, and the great seal on the final document. The various items establish the identity of the two women as Temple Executors – Kaalaas as Executor Majoris, and Elise as Secundus. The equine looks at the silent Kaalaas for a long moment after noting her superior rank, but says nothing. He finishes the documents, which further explain their assignment to capture Abrecan Ordway. While he's looking them over, a young Khatta servant pads in to stand beside him, waiting patiently but extending a few curious looks to the Executors nonetheless.

Elise watches him with a steady gaze that hints at mild impatience, and her expression only changes when the Rhian gives Kaalaas that curious look. Despite herself she smirks, just a bit, at the how strange it all seems – serving under a Kavi, an Tsagairt, and the job choice itself.

At last, the Rhian looks up from the papers. "A thousand pardons for my unconscionable slowness, O beautiful ladies," he says. "I see by these signs that the great Temple of Rephidim seeks to capture a reprehensible villain who has foolishly fled to my country in the hopes of escape. I assure you that Al Bawaba shall do its utmost to assist you in his capture. I fear that I, your humble servant, am foolishly ignorant of this Abrecan Ordway's whereabouts. Yet, if the beautiful ladies chance to have some likeness of this infamous creature, this boy will see that it is circulated to the rest of Dar el Salem. With luck, someone among my unworthy fellows will know something of this person you seek."

If Elise looks mildly impatient, Kaalaas embodies the emotion, her fingers tap-tap-tapping against the rope while the Rhian goes through his long-winded pleasantries. Nonetheless, she doesn't interrupt him or Elise. Instead, she only glowers at the equine. The Kadie captive, so far silent, as if hoping she'll be overlooked that way, twitches a bit as she tries to get less uncomfortable, and emits a squeak of a whimper.

"Indeed." The poodle fetches a folder from a leather bound case hanging at her side and flips through it. Eventually she draws out three sketches and walks forward to place them on the Rhian's desk, identifying each person in turn. "The last two, Fateh Nyorga and Nadia, are acquaintances of Ordway. Nyorga is known to have lived his childhood years in the area, and is has family and friends here. Nadia, 'sister' to Nyorga by favor, may also have ties to this area."

The Rhian's eyes flicker as he glances over the drawing of Nadia, and then he nods as he looks at Nyorga's. "This man I have seen before – at the docks, perhaps? I am not sure." He hands the likenesses to the waiting servant Khatta, and, speaking the oddly accented Khattan Elise has heard earlier here, orders, "Take these to the rest of the house, and see what may be learned of these people. The illustrious Executors of Rephidim seek to capture this man, Abrecan Ordway." He taps his finger on the top rendering of that same man meaningfully. "We will do all in our power to help them."

"As for this girl," the lady gestures to the bound Kadie without moving her gaze, "she had the mind to steal from the Inquisition. I trust you have laws that deal with such things, and we will leave her to you to see to them. We will return in an hour."

The Rhian's gaze falls on the girl, who started trembling in fright as soon as Elise referred to her. "We do, O gracious lady," he assures the poodle, his tone sober. The Kadie stumbles and falls to her knees, whimpering, as Kaalaas hands the rope to the equine.

Kaalaas tosses off a careless salute to the official after turning over her prisoner, and turns to the broad archway of the exit, ready to follow Elise out.

The poodle inclines her head to the official, bowing just slightly, then straightens and repeats, "An hour." She snaps off her own salute and then turns to follow Kaalaas out.

The Kavi glances to Elise, gives a silent chuckle, and walks out before the other woman

Once outside, Kaalaas snorts. "Bah. I hate these Himaatian people, with all their 'humble this' and 'gracious that.' I'm not anyone's Dagh-cursed beautiful anything, and it take them ten times longer to say one sentence because of it." She folds her arms across her chest and surveys the town square. "What do you plan to do with your hour, Binadantake?"

"I do not entirely trust that man. The way he looked at Nadia, for instance. I believe we should do a bit of our own investigation, and return here in an hour," answers the Executor Secundus.

Kaalaas smirks. "Fine, Binadantake. So. Investigate." She sweeps a hand out in a gesture to encompass all of the close-packed walled city. If the Kavi has any intention of offering Elise advice or a starting point, she doesn't show it.

Executor Secundus inclines her head and looks to the folder in her hands. She flips through it, then takes a sheet of parchment out and looks it over. "There are two known acquaintances of Nadia that we have listed by name: Mrs. Fareesa and Mr. Shaay – both business owners. I believe we should start there. The distance is significant for our time frame; we will need rent mounts. I do hope you can ride, Executor Majoris," says the poodle.

Kaalaas snorts. "Somehow, I'll manage," she says, dryly.

Finding an establishment with mounts to lease proves a challenge in and of itself. Apparently, in this part of the world, there's not enough trust in strangers to make a business out of loaning animals out. However, after some asking around, Elise eventually finds a man with Drokars to sell, and the Katthan dealer parts with two animals, in reasonably good health, for a price which is doubtless marked up but not exorbitant. Her inquiries about renting their use lead him to offer to buy them back at a later date for an unspecified – but undoubtedly much lower – price. Still – they have mounts now, and the cost was within their Temple-allotted budget.

By this time, however, the hour the mayor would supposedly take to return from his business has expired.

After having acquired the Drokars, Elise, finding their time frame nearly expired, directs Kaalaas to return to the government building in the town square. There they dismount and tie their mounts before entering the building.

The mayor proves to be a tall stallion, his dark fur graying around the muzzle with age. Much to Kaalaas's relief, he welcomes them with fewer pleasantries and far less obsequiousness than the Rhian official they met earlier. The exchange goes well, with the mayor able to tell them that the last airship from Rephidim, prior to their own, was Bird of Paradise. It arrived seven days earlier, putting Elise and Kaalaas much closer to their target than she'd hoped. Fateh Nyorga has been employed, doing various odd jobs, at a public house called Nadeem a Sadek, owned by Maarouf Kabir. One of his employees has been sent to make inquiries after Nyorga already, but hasn't returned yet.

Alas, no further information has been gained on Nadia or Ordway, but the mayor assures them that he expects to have answers for them very soon. In the mean time, he offers them the hospitality of his own house, inviting them to dinner and welcoming them to stay in separate suites beneath his spacious roof. The thought of having a single room to herself – never mind several – comes to Elise as a sharp contrast to the tiny cabin she has been forced to share with Kaalaas for the last six days.

"Mayor, are you aware of any caverns or other cave networks located in the hillside? Also, if you have people who frequent the hillside, I would speak with one," says the lady poodle. She has been doing all the talking since she arrived, Kaalaas having waited as impatiently as ever. The lady poodle is as thankful as the Kavi that the mayor seems to do away with the excessive pleasantry. A little voice in her mind reminds her of how very similar such pleasantry is to the version her own circles use back on Rephidim.

"Myself being not familiar with the countryside, Lady Executor," the mayor says. Like the other official, he speaks in Standard, though with a much more pronounced accent. "But sure am I that a guide found can be for you. These mountains mined once were, and many caves are there."

Elise inclines her head. "A map of the location of various mines, specifically those that have been abandoned, would be ideal." The Executor Secundus glances towards a window, notes the apparent height of the sun, and then bows slightly. "We will departing again, mayor, and will return as duty allows."

"These things gather will I for you," the mayor answers. The sun has crept low on the horizon, and Elise can guess that the dinner he invited them to would be pretty soon. "Wish I to you every success."

The Executor Secundus casts another glance at the window, then shakes her head disappointedly. "I fear the sun will not allow us to attend dinner, mayor, and I apologize for that, but duty comes before pleasure," she says, looking to him. "You understand."

Outside again after the interview with the mayor, Kaalaas mounts onto her Drokar. "I don't know why you're so interested in the caves around here," she says in her usual unpleasant tone,

"If I were a Temple Ranger, and I knew Executors had come for my head … " The poodle sticks her good foot in a stirrup and hauls herself up. "… why, I would flee to the hills as soon as I knew a Temple airship arrived." She adjusts her other foot and settles in, glad to be on Drokar back again – all this walking stirs old pains in her leg. "He could sustain himself for days, and a bow would be much more useful at range from a hillside than in a city. Hopefully we have scared him enough to flee. Regardless, we are going to visit Mr. Shaay."

The Kavi gives a derisive snort, setting her mount to walk alongside Elise's. "Read the file again, Binadatake," the Majoris sneers. "Ordway's not from Al Bawaba, and neither is Nyorga. He's from the hills on the west coast, a good hundred and fifty miles from here. Nothing to say Nadia knows about Bawaba's old mines, either. This – " She gestures derisively to the city. " – is just as far as an airship would take them. Why would they stay anywhere near here?" As they leave the square, there's a commotion by the archway of the town hall, as a pair of guards escort out a small, squirming figure.

A Rhian near the archway booms out a phrase three times, his distorted Khattan resonating through the square. The meaning of the words aren't immediately clear to Elise. By the third repetition, she can pick out the individual sounds as "Summon," "Lord," "Punishment," and "Justice." It still doesn't make any sense to her, but the people in the square are responding to it, backing away from the middle. Some form into a semicircle to watch, while a few other slip away or avert their eyes.

"Nadia has friends here, and I suspect more than that. They may use those contacts to hide within this city where Nadia has the most influence. If that is so, and Ordway fears being caught, naturally he may flee to the closest thing resembling what he knows. It may not happen certainly, but its likelihood I cannot determine just yet. Hence we are investigati – " The poodle's explanation is broken off by the commotion, and she turns her gaze to follow the guards as she finishes her sentence. " … investigating what leads we have … "

As she watches the two guards, Elise notices that the squirming figure between them has the ratty, but bushy-tailed appearance of the thief she and Kaalaas caught earlier that day. The Rhian with the booming voice precedes them, and behind them walks another, with a single-bladed axe swinging from his hip, carrying a heavy, stained block of wood.

"Al Bawaba justice, I take it, our flowery-spoken reflection," comments the Gallee. She glances to Kaalaas and raises a brow.

The Kavi looks over her shoulder at Elise's words, examining the proceedings. "Presumably," she says, unconcerned. The Rhian herald stops at the center of the square, booming out the same odd phrase four more times, while the Rhian bearing the wooden block sets it down behind the herald. He takes a smoking brazier off the top of the block and places it on the grass beside him, while the guards show the face of the thief to the crowd. From Drokar-height, Elise and Kaalaas have a good view of everything. "Shall we go see – Mr. Shaay, was it?" the ferret asks.

"Indeed. There is the other justice to be dealt out, and we will not further its cause by gawking here. Come," answers the lady. She spurs her mount and moves on down the road.

At the touch of spurs, the animal lurches into a trot. The drumming of its hooves against the dusty ground is almost enough to drown out the scream they hear two blocks later, carrying from the town square despite the intervening buildings.

As Elise's Drokar trots up to the address she was given for this house, a young Zerda looks up from trimming the hedge around the garden. He bows to the Executors, avoiding eye contact with either of them, and returns to his work.

The poodle dismounts and guides her Drokar over to a post to tie it, saying, "Too much show. Punishment should not be an amusement for the curious." Her muzzle quirks in a brief and annoyed scowl, but after tying her Drokar up, she begins for the door to knock and allows her expression to drop to a more friendly neutral – more friendly than scowling, at least.

"You're a squeamish poodle, Binadatake," Kaalaas says, likewise dismounting and following the poodle. "A punishment unseen and unknown is no good at deterring others from the same foolhardy path."

The Zerda keeps his eyes on his shears, staying away from the strangers.

Elise snorts. "I said show, ma'am, not public display. It is one thing to display solemnly the act of punishment; it is another to shout it as if it were a carnival sideshow. A view of suffering should not be an entertainment to be cheered," the lady says quickly, nearly snapping. She again needs to force her expression to indifferent, and before Kaalaas can argue with her further, she reaches to knock on the door.

The Kavi glares at the poodle, about to snap off a retort, but is interrupted by the opening of the door. A Zerda woman – wife or sister, perhaps, to the gardener, dressed simply after the manner of Al Bawaba servants – stands before them, eyes widening at the sight of the strangers. She bows deeply to them, with the same courtesy they saw at the town hall. "I give you the greetings and welcome of the House of Shaay," she says in Khattan. The phrasing isn't familiar to Elise, but it has the ring of a ritual greeting.

The lady poodle's eyes remain on the Kavi for a few seconds after the door opens, but as she is addressed they flick to the Zerda and Elise shifts her attention to matters she deems easily more important than arguing. "We are here to speak with Mr. Shaay," says the poodle Templar evenly.

"May this humble servant know of your names and business, gracious visitors? My master is just sitting down to his dinner, and his humble servant does hope that such as your business is, it may wait until such time as his meal is complete." The servant has mostly straightened from her bow, but she keeps her torso bent forward and her head bowed as she speaks.

"This," Elise turns to gesture towards Kaalaas, "is ExecutorMajoris Kaalaas. I am Executor Secundus de Bellefeuille. We would speak with your master when he is available, at his earliest possible convenience."

The Zerda gives another deep bow, after Kaalaas wiggles her scroll case with its prominent Temple seal upon its side. The servant admits the two and shows them into a small side room to wait. She closes sliding doors of thin wood on them, screening the noises from the rest of the house, and leaves them there.

"It must vex you to need sit in such a fine home. You seem to carry no love of the nobility," comments the Gallee. She sits, hands folded in her lap, idly inspecting the woodwork of the sliding door.

"The only thing that vexes me, Binadatake, is having to waste my time sitting around with you," the Kavi answers. Without asking, she takes the leather-bound file containing Faith's case notes from Elise's side. "As wasting time comes naturally to you, I'm sure this is no strain at all on your part." The Kavi flips through the densely-marked pages, seeming to scrutinize the writing. After all the time she spent with the file on board the airship, she ought to have it memorized by now.

The lady at first finds herself with the intense urge to snarl, but then as she considers her superior a moment the urge becomes one to smirk. Either way she fights the urge – no need to openly appear to needle her superior. "Am I truly so horrible in your eyes, Executor Majoris, ma'am? Or is it simply that all poodles strike up your ire?" she inquiries.

Like the town hall, the windows are tall and narrow, unglazed and unshuttered, while the tiled floor has an intricately patterned rug upon it. A low table and padded mats are the room's only furnishings, and the ferret takes the file with her to one of the mats, curling up on it. Contrary to Elise's suggestion, she looks rather comfortable, sitting almost on the floor as she is, though she has to squint to read in the dim light of sunset. For some moments, it looks as though the ferret intends to ignore Elise entirely, but then Elise notices her eyes, venomous, peering at her over the edge of the folder. "I don't even know where to begin, marik," she hisses, then turns back to the file.

"Wherever you like, ma'am. I am much in the way of ears – as you will note most of my species is, delicate and curly though they are. That is if you care to elaborate, of course, Executor Majoris." The Gallee glances around at the furnishings, all mats and runs and nary a couch or chair to be found. She thinks of her sister and what she might say if she knew she was sitting on the floor in a far off town with her only company being a Kavi.

Somehow, she doubts that Katherine would approve. Kaalaas, as before, seems more inclined to ignore Elise than give vent to whatever cause she might have for her feelings, but at last, she comments, "You all may have ears, but I note your kind is far readier to use your mouths."

At that the lady laughs, rich and full, and then nods slightly. "Quite so, quite so. Well, I have troubled your reading enough I am certain. I shall leave you to it, ma'am," she says. And with that the Gallee gives a long look at the closest cushion and with a sniff drops herself to sit, armor clacking. She settled in and unlatches her cross bow to inspect it as a means to pass the time.

Kaalaas glances up at the laugh, and for a moment the poodle catches something like genuine surprise on the Kavi's face. However, she quickly hides her face back in the file, ignoring Elise.

Some fifteen minutes after they were shut in the room, footsteps sound outside the door, and the sliding doors are parted by the Zerda, who steps out of the way, bowing to her master, a gray-and-white furred old Khatta. "Sir, these honored visitors are Executors from Rephidim, Lady Kahr-lahs and Lady Bell-fee," the servant says, managing to gesture to each in turn without looking up as she mangles their names. "Honored guests, this is the master of this house, Mr. Shaay."

"Lady" Kaalaas might be disgruntled by the title bestowed on her by the servant, had she shown any inkling of understanding it. Instead, the Majoris merely folds the file together and stands, offering the Khatta a half-decent imitation of the bows common to this town.

The actual lady, Elise, rises and offers a bow as well – though her own is easier and more practiced than her superior's. "Mr. Shaay," she greets the man, "we would have words with you regarding a former employee."

"My house is honored by your presence," Mr. Shaay responds. Like his servant's greeting earlier, this sounds like a ritual phrase – and this one, not heartfelt. Far from honored, Shaay looks irritated, but he gestures for them to be seated. "What questions would you ask of me, honored strangers?" the old feline asks, folding himself onto a cushion.

"We are here investigating one Abrecan Ordway, murderer and enslaver of children, and two others: Fateh Nyorga and a woman by the name of Nadia. The latter you wrote a letter of recommendation for, some time past, and we believe she has again passed within the walls of this city. We have a sketch of the two men and the woman," Elise says with a slight nod to Kaalaas, "here with us."

The feline blinks several times, taken aback by Elise's lack of preamble or politeness. He takes a moment to recover, then nods his head. "Nadia worked for me once, yes, many years ago. I know nothing of these others whom you speak, nor of murders or slavery. What has this to do with me?"

The servant, standing nearby with her head bowed – waiting for further instructions from her master, perhaps – looks similarly shocked by Elise's bluntness. She keeps her stance, however, without much variation.

"As an employer of Nadia you would may be aware of family, or other connections, here within this city. You may also be aware of Nadia seeking employment again within the city, such that she inquired of you or your fellows. Any other information you may have that could prove useful would also be valued, and most certainly speed us on our trail," says Elise, continuing on the same line of even toned bluntness. The lady finds a guilty relief in doing away with so much flowery greeting and politeness, years of it back home had almost caused her to forget one could ever act any way else.

"No," says Mr. Shaay, irritable. "I have not seen Nadia for many years, and I remember little of her save that she was a skilled worker and good with flowers. I do not keep track of the families of my former employees. I am sorry for wasting your time," he finishes, giving the impression that he is much sorrier that they have wasted his, "but I have nothing for you." He climbs to his feet, bowing to them.

Kaalaas starts at the bow, rising herself but turning to Elise. "What's he saying, Secundus? What did you ask him that set him off already?"

The poodle bows as well, the action being more polite than her words, before glancing at Kaalaas. "He says that he has nothing for us, that he does not keep track of the family of a former employee and knows nothing of Nadia," she informs her superior.

Following Elise's cue, Kaalaas bows as well, but says, "He sure sounds mad about something. What did you do, threaten to burn his house down?"

Meanwhile, the Khatta backs from the room into the hallway. "May your journeys be fruitful and blessed, Executors," he says, with no hint of sincerity in the ritual phrase. "Dounia will show you out."

The poodle looks between the Kavi and the feline, offers Mr. Shaay a departing, "Good eve, then, Mr. Shaay. I trust we will not need return, since you have nothing to offer," and then turns to walk for the door. As she goes, she explains to her superior, "I did not threaten him, I simply moved to the matter at hand. Apparently I was lacking in excessive compliments and rose-sweet dialogue." She shrugs, just faintly. "Forgive me, ma'am."

While the Zerda shows them the door and Mr. Shaay heads upstairs, the Kavi looks at Elise suspiciously, as if doubting her honesty. She almost smirks at the comment on "rose sweet dialogue," but quashes the expression. Stepping outside into the fresh evening air of the garden, Kaalaas says only, "We'd better hire an interpreter for future interviews."