[01:21] 10In the Cloister's courses on negotiating with divinities, the minor river god of Pneuma is occasionally brought up as an example of a difficult case to resolve. The city, of course, has the highest concentration of Immaculate temples anywhere in the Threshold. At the end of each Calibration, just past midnight, all temples fall silent for exactly one hundred heartbeats. One monk, selected by lot, presents the river god with an [01:21] 10 offering; when it is accepted, the prayer calendar begins to turn once again.  [01:21] 10It is said that this spirit's adherents were prone to debate and unrest, and in order to pacify them, the Immaculates brokered a deal; its final phrasing was "we will have no other gods before him".  [01:21] 10Daizo: "The theologians spent thirty-one years quibbling about the exact meaning of 'before'. So that's why he's so well-known." ------ 15[20:16] The inside of the cabin is lit gently yellow by a peculiar coral-like stonework that clings to the ceiling, looking organic and disorderly. It's a cozy fit for the seven of them, but it's more accomodating than the hearth might have guessed from outside. Cushions and rugs line the floor as furniture, and the walls are lined with shelves of jars and squat scroll racks with scintillating 15[20:16] hand-woven tapesteries hanging beneath them. A large, emerald-green reptile coils around the cooking pot, half-lit ember red by the banked beneath it. 15[20:16] One eye swivels up to track their entrance. [20:18] 4Grim! 15[20:19] Seiri's voice is hushed, like she's giving directions in a library. "She doesn't have guests often, she hopes we'll make ourselves comfortable." The room is heavy with the clashing scents of sweet perfume and smoky meat. [20:21] 4Piu: "Indeed!" 4She's not fool enough to just plop down anywhere, though. [20:21] 10Daizo: "Of course, of course. Please convey our apologies for showing up so unexpectedly." 10Grim? This is almost exactly what Daizo would have expected to see, had someone asked him to describe the dwelling of a hermit witch. [20:22] 6Zhangyu will find the second-most worn seat. First-most is obviously the witch's. 15[20:24] She serves the hearth by hand, setting a tray of teacups and a steaming clay kettle on the low table opposite the cookpot. She sets out a cup for everyone, but doesn't pour. 15[20:25] Seiri: "She says she was expecting the ali-ki, or maybe a summons from the Governor." [20:26] 14A wise move by the host with unfamiliar and suspicious guests, if she doesn't want to be suspected of poisoning. [20:32] 07Dryas is the last to enter, barefoot (the condition of her feet is an exercise for the reader but suffice it to say that in Pangu City they are considered two of her most attractive characteristics). [20:33] 4Piu will properly obey all the local rules of station and ordering -- who goes first, how much to pour on your first cup, so on -- gracious and perfectly. [20:33] 6Zhangyu pours himself a cup - somehow, he still remembers how to do it 'properly.' Normally he just remembers it in order to do it wrong, but that seems cruel to the rest of the Dynasts. [20:36] 10It's all right, Daizo indicates little "yes" or "no" nods when Zhangyu seems unsure or bordering on a mistake. [20:36] 6Hey, he knows exactly what to do. He just usually does it wrong on purpose. [20:37] 6You need to know the rules in order to break them. 15[20:37] Once everyone is seated and served, the Witch says, via Seiri, "Who are you who have come so far to see me?" [20:39] 6Zhangyu's keeping an ear out for both the original and the translation. Call it paranoia if you'd like. 15[20:40] So far so good. [20:53] 4Piu: "Ma'am, we've come to seek your expertise and guidance in the matter of..." 4Blapes. "...Blood apes. We're sort of looking for a sorcerer..." 15[20:54] The witch's reply is short and firm. Seiri: "She says she doesn't consort with demons." [20:55] 6That's just sensible. [20:58] 10Daizo: "That is good to know. We do not seek to call up a demon, but rather identify the sorcerer who has." [20:58] 6In Seatongue: "Is there anyone here who would?" [20:59] "Oh! I'm sorry. I did not mean to imply such! We're looking for a sorcerer who summoned one against us." [21:00] 6He nods towards the others. "As they said." [21:00] 6Important to clarify. He wouldn't want to be taken the wrong way. 15[21:02] The lizard in the back uncoils, walks the length of the house, stretches, and returns to coil around the fire in the time the witch stays silent. Seiri: "She says people come and go all the time. Amatuea is full of strangers." [21:03] 07Dryas chooses this moment to speak up: "We seek to unravel the conspiracy that slew Hamoji." 15[21:07] The witch is cordial, but guarded. Piu gets the sense that her suspicion is contingent - it's likely possible to earn her trust. [21:09] 4Hmmmmmm. [21:09] 4Well, let's see how she reacts to the Hamoji namedrop. 15[21:10] She reacts, first, by pouring herself another cup of tea. "She says that she saw an omen of his death, but she ignored it. So she counts herself among the conspiracy." [21:11] 6...Conspiracy? [21:11] 4Piu, somewhat glumly: "Well, we happened to be standing there giving a big speech when it happened, which the killer used as cover. So we're kind of in the same boat." 15[21:12] It's an unusual word in Seatongue, without an easy synonym. Dryas used it, so Seiri translated it directly, and now the witch responded in kind. [21:12] 6Translating is difficult. 15[21:13] "She asks if you're in danger of punishment. She wants us to know that she has no authority to defy the colonial governor, but that she might be able to make the Feathered One see reason." [21:14] 6Zhangyu will glance at Daizo at that. [21:15] 10Daizo: "I have already received my punishment from the Feathered One. I repaid him by saving his life when the Governor was prepared to throw his away." [21:16] 10Daizo: "May we relate to you the story of what we saw and heard that day?" [21:16] 07Dryas grits her teeth a bit at the witch's suggestion. As if she would need the assistance of a barbarian sorcerer, or that she was concerned with avoiding punishment. "It is a matter of honor rather than punishment," 07she attempts to clarify. [21:16] 4Piu: "We've probably been punished all we're gonna be punished. We're here for understanding, ma'am, not leniency." 15[21:16] The witch nods to Daizo. [21:17] 4Dryas is adorable when she's obviously trying not to explode at a commoner. [21:19] 07Not just a commoner, but a barbarian at that! [21:20] 10Daizo: "It began that morning when I found myself rising early…" 10He'll begin to relate the story,. If the witch has a sticking point or needs clarification, she can interrupt anytime. [21:22] 10The part about Dryas interrupting the ceremony might be tricky. But the witch herself isn't one of Hamoji's priesthood.  [21:22] 4Piu has always demurred at that point in the conversation. She was adopted into House V'neef, of course. [21:22] 4Re: 'barbarians.' [21:32] 10Daizo: "…And so we swore our Hearth atop the mountain." [21:35] 10He's told it fairly and true as he knows it, but something must be getting missed in the translation here. Not by any fault of Seiri's, mind. 15[21:35] Seiri: "She's terribly sorry for what's happened to you, and to Hamoji. Whatever the assassin's intentions, Hamoji's death will bring misery to Amatuea." [21:36]  [21:36] 4Sadly: "That is true." [21:38] 6Is she? Whatever. "We are working on it." [21:38] 10Daizo: "I would speak with her more later about the Feathered One's curse, if she would grant me a boon." 15[21:38] At this, the witch nods. 15[21:58] She gathers up the tea service. Seiri: "She says she may be able to help us, but that she has to know we have the wisdom to use her knowledge responsibly." [21:59] 4Piu nods seriously around a mouth full of tea, which is vaguely amusing. [21:59] 4>:I [21:59] 6Zhangyu is the most reponsible. [21:59] 6I can hear you laughing. Stop that. 15[22:00] "She invites us to take tea with her." [22:00] 07Dryas: "It is, as we noted, a matter of personal and collective honor. For me, conducting such a hunt-" 07she does not use the words for Wyld Hunt - "in an upstanding and correct fashion is of the utmost importance." [22:01] 4Piu will nod seriously again. ...How is the tea? [22:01] 07Dryas: "-- ... Again?" [22:01] 10Daizo had already prepared himself to expect some kind of trial or ordeal from the witch. "I do not believe she means literal tea, this time." 15[22:01] "Another kind of tea. A seer's tea." 15[22:02] "Seer, or shaman. It's the same word, sorry." [22:03] 4Oh wow that went completely over her head. Piu thought she was inviting them to take the tea to-go, like those trendy places back in-- nevermind. [22:05] 10Daizo regards the others. "What do you think? Sadako, Seiri… you have no need to participate, unless you choose to." [22:06] 6...Is that correct? The tea thing. 15[22:06] Seiri: "Oh, could I? I've read so many stories, and I've always wondered..." 15[22:06] Sadako: "I didn't come all this way to watch." [22:06] 4Piu: "I'm in!" [22:07] 10Daizo: "Please join us, then." [22:07] 07Dryas nods. 15[22:09] The witch sets a smaller pot over the bubbling cauldron, and mixes various dried plants into it -- the root of this, the bark of that, a pinch of something dark from a jar, etc -- until something brown and foul-smelling is simmering away. 15[22:09] Seiri looks on eagerly. [22:10] 6Does this brew have a name? 15[22:12] Surely it must. Zhangyu has no idea what it is. The witch simply called it 'tea'. [22:13] 6Bitter? Sweet? Bland? No matter what, that is the tea, sis. [22:17] 10Daizo recognizes a number of the ingredients by edescription or smell. He read something about this not too long ago.  15[22:18] Daizo, meanwhile, who made careful study of the plants growing out front, is able to recognize its consitutent components - the root is strongly hallucinogenic, and the bark is a severe toxin that has wildly unpredictable, severe reactions with any number of different people and substances. Notably, it amplifies the effects of the root by orders of magnitude. The combined tea is referred 15[22:18] to in the Immaculate anthropologies as "nursemaid's tea", "spinster's tea", and "den-mother's tea" based on how generously a given writer renders the concept of an elder unmarried woman. 15[22:19] He suspects further that plants grown in the Wyld, as these have been, will have stronger and stranger effects still. [22:21] 10Daizo: "I think even Dryas might be surprised by this one. Just remember that you're in a safe place and surrounded by friends." 15[22:25] The liquid is ladled out into much smaller cups, the kind you might serve very fine wine or liquor in, one for each of them. The light dims and reddens, seemingly on its own. "She says, steady your breath and thoughts. If pain or sickness comes, let it. It will only be temporary. Focus on the question you want your spirit to answer." [22:27] 4Piu's eyelids 14flutter. Different mindset. [22:30] 10Daizo is a still lake in a shaded valley. He raises the cup to his lips.  [22:33] 07Dryas examines the fine workmanship on the cup for a moment, before getting a sense of the bouquet of the tea mixture. It doesn't seem like the taste is the point, does it. Maybe getting this in with something else would improve it. She stops herself, refocuses on The Hunt - and takes it in a single draught. 15[22:33] The witch sings gently to the brew, and then the seven of them drink at once. 15[22:34] Almost immediately tbeir bodies struggle to reject it. The taste is foul, and turns fouler after it's gone down. Their stomachs churn... [22:34] 14Hhhhhhhhhhhh. [22:40] 10A single cup poured into that still lake will disperse, and the water will clear.  15[22:48] Everyone feels the urge, but only Seiri has to double forward and get sick in the great painted jar at her side. But she seems to feel better almost immediately, and while the feeling remains it becomes a remote part of a much larger, totalizing physical sensation, a steady subauditory thrum that seems to vibrate outward from the chakras of the torso. 15[22:49] But the witch's advice reverberates: focus on the question you want your spirit to answer. 15[22:49] What is that question? [22:50] 14Who truly betrayed House Iselsi? [22:53] 10What must I do to attain the power to cleanse myself… no, purify myself… and ensure it never happens again? [04:34] 6What does Zhangyu need to do to gain genuine respect and not simple fear from his house and others? [04:38] 6...Without fighting. [22:58] 07How can I usurp the evil Nn Tloc without serving the interests of those even worse, wonders Dryas...