When the Vigilant Eye docked at Mt. Rephath, Willow had to wait until the men were debarked, with the raiders and retainers being kept separate from the kidnapped ones. There were quite a few Yodhrephath on hand to escort the captives, and seemed remarkably well disciplined considering some of their prisoners had a hand in bringing down their fellow Yodh. Notably absent from the group was Mr. Bright. Karada kept Willow company on the deck after fetching her from his quarters.
"Where is Mr. Bright?" Willow inquires as she watches the people disembark from the ship. ... and manage to not get stabbed in the attempt. "And for that matter, I'm surprised there have been no righting, or escape attempts. But ... most of them are probably still in a bit of a daze."
"I imagine they're hoping for protection, or else know that escape would not go well," Karada says. "I'm having Mr. Bright brought up now. He already gave me all of his notes and journals, so I was going to send you both in together."
"That'll attract attention," Willow remarks, "Two Aeonians walking in together? Isn't that the start of prophecies?"
"Is it?" Karada asks. "I don't think it would make a difference if you went in together or separate. I could throw a blanket over you both though if you think it would help?"
"Not particularly. That would just get stuck on the horn, which would be annoying," Willow notes and even manages a small shrug.
One of the sailor escorts Mr. Bright up from below. His hands aren't bound, but they are occupied with trying to preserve his modesty. He does smile when he sees Willow though. "I hadn't expected it to be so chilly up here," he tells her.
"Well, that explains the shrinkage," Willow manages to say with a completely straight face. "I guess you do not wish to let the world see a unicorn with two horns, hmm?"
"I'm too nervous for that to be an issue," Bright admits, and then Karada gestures for the pair to follow him down the boarding ramp. At least Willow has the coat still.
Willow pulls her coat a little tighter. "Well, looks like the nightmare is coming to an end," she commends as she starts after Karada. "Stay close."
There aren't many Yodh between the dock and the temple now, and those that are still outside seem to have duties involving the airship. Once inside the temple, things are slightly warmer - but that could just be from being out of the wind. The Hall of Transgressions is well lit though, which does add more heat. There is a still a group of men being sorted in the lower floor - the raiders themselves, save for Razor, who is gone, and Stitch, who hasn't returned yet with the Doctor. Karada keeps them moving towards one of the side corridors though.
"It's bigger in here than I was expecting," Bright notes to Willow.
"Large temple, fair number of members. Not a place many want to visit," Willow remarks as she looks about, and tries to sense how the other captives are feeling now that they're here.
There is a lot of anxiety, aura-wise, and it's not all coming from the captives - quite a few Yodh are anxious as well. Nobody seems to be suffering from outright despair, though, and some of the men are actually in a good mood. Mr. Bright is certainly leaning towards the anxious side of the spectrum, while Karada is.. anxious in a different way. More predatory, really.
"Nervous?" Willow asks of the other Unicorn. She does also have to wonder why Karada would be feeling predatory at the moment. Is something up different from the plan? Are they now in trouble too?
"Of course," Bright admits. "I just don't sweat like a Rhian." Karada's attitude is still odd. It isn't predatory in the sense of having a target. It may just be how he stands his own with the Yodhrephath - or he's anticipating something. He stops at a nondescript door, then knocks on it. A slit opens briefly, then closes before the door opens inward. A tawny-colored Yodhrephath looks out at the unicorns, and raises her eyebrows. "I thought Aeonians exploded if they came within a dozen paces of one another," she tells Karada in Babelite. Willow can't hear all of it clearly but being fluent helps to fill in the parts beyond unicorn hearing.
"Look after them while I notify the High Priestess, Metasia," Karada says, using a familiar tone with the woman, who barely scowls. Clearly some authority-sparring just happened, and the Yodh came out on the bottom. She gestures for the pair to enter the room.
"No, we don't explode. There just aren't many of us, so we tend to live far apart," Willow remarks in Babelite, just to make a point that speaking in another language does not assure not being understood.
The Yodh doesn't seem too shocked. "You must be the diplomat?" she asks. The room is.. actually not horrible. There are candles for light (set to Eeee eyesight though, so a bit dim) and benches that aren't made of stone, along with a small clay oven. There are blankets on the benches, which look a bit coarse. There's a limit to how far Yodhrephath will go to make a place comfortable. "Do you want something to drink?" she the asks. "Water or.. tea?"
"I am," Willow replies, and "Tea would not be remiss, thank you. I hope we are not too much of a problem for you."
"Well, I have to make the tea," the Yodh replies. She does this by leaning out of the door and looking up and down the corridor. "Hey! Acolyte! Yes you with frizzy hair! Go to the kitchens and get a pot of tea and two cups." After a moment, she adds, "And bring them back to this room." After she closes the door, she notes, "You have to be very explicit with Acolytes. Fear makes them forget details."
Mr. Bright sits on a bench, and asks, "May I use one of the blankets to cover myself?"
Metasia seems to consider this, pursing her lips. "I've never seen Aeonians before, I'm not sure," she says. Looking to Willow she asks, "Does he need to not be naked?"
"You could also try not scaring them so much," Willow points out helpfully. "And no, he doesn't need to not be naked, but it isn't normal or comfortable to be naked. It would be a nice gesture to allow him to cover up."
"The blankets aren't exactly soft," the Yodh notes, but then nods to Mr. Bright. "Go ahead, because you asked first."
And so the stallion wraps one of the blankets around himself. "These are made of old sacks?" he then asks their guard.
"If I may ask, what is your particular role here?" Willow inquires. "Besides scaring Acolytes, that is."
"Hospitality," the Eeee claims, leaning on the wall. "They're made of old.. twine or something. I'm not a blanket weaver. It could be pirate hair for all I know."
"I was not aware the Yodhrephath have a role for hospitality. At least one that does not involve instruments of persuasion," Willow notes a bit deadpan.
"I'm the one that comes after persuasion, and just before execution," Metasia claims. "So be warned: the tea is very bitter." And then comes a timid knock, and the Yodh looks through the slit before opening the door. The frizzy-haired acolyte holds a tray with a small clay pot and simple cups on it, and is doing her best not to make things rattle. "Put it on the stove," Metasia instructs, and the girl does so, while openly staring at Willow and Bright as much as she can.
"Just like your soul is," Willow notes, unfazed, "That's the appropriate thing to add to such a statement." And in counter to being stared at, she stares right back.
The acolyte pours the tea, and brings the cups over to the unicorns. "Do you grant wishes?" she asks both of them.
"I don't remember," Bright says. The cups are small, probably to make sure there isn't enough to really fling at someone.
"Yes, but they have a one-hundred percent failure rate," Willow claims.
"You aren't here to talk to the guests," Metasia notes, and the acolyte squeaks. She hurries to the door, only pausing to ask, "Is there anything else, Sister?" "No, I don't expect they'll be here much longer."
"A century or two, hardly any time at all," Willow claims.
The acolyte bows and hurries off, and Metasia closes the door.
"It's warm," Bright notes of the tea. "Better than the mushroom tea. Bark or leaves?"
"No idea, never touch the stuff," the Yodhrephath notes.
"Why not?" Willow asks as she takes her tiny cup and sips it now.
It could very well be some sort of licorice tea from the taste. But it is warm - not hot. "Takes too long to make. Who has time to heat up water? That's for laundry."
"You need to enjoy more things in life. Take some time to make tea," Willow notes and then takes another sip. "And smile. Smiling is important."
Metasia frowns. "Showing off that you've got all your teeth is asking for trouble," she claims, as another knock comes at the door. She rolls her eyes and looks through the slit again. Then she hauls the heavy door open again. Karada is there. "She's ready to see you both now. Finish your tea first."
Willow downs the tea in one gulp and sets the cup down. "That wasn't bitter, by the way. If you want true bitterness, try Sylvanian Wine made form the Grapes of Unending Sorrow; reaped from the battlefields of the last Necromancer war," she remarks to Metasia. "Now that is bitter; tinged with the anger and sorrow of the thousands that died and were forced into undead servitude."
"I'm not fond of wine either," Metasia notes, taking the cups from the unicorns. "I hope to not have to watch over you again," she adds. Given her duty, that's probably meant to be a blessing of sorts.
"Well, I do suppose most would be too ... concerned to be willing to subject themselves to a trial of the soul," Willow claims and dips her head. "May you have few to watch over," she adds, then steps out of the room.
Bright is quiet, not one to verbally spar with his erstwhile captors. At least, not without pants. Karada takes them into more familiar passages (familiar to Willow, at least) until they arrive at the anteroom to Koldesh's office. "She'll see you first, Ambassador," Karada notes, and gestures to the slightly ajar double doors.
"Ah, I am to be interrogated first then," Willow remarks as she tightens her coat a bit. "Very well," she says, then turns and marches towards those two doors. she takes a deep breath, then opens them and steps through.
"Please close the doors behind you, and watch your tail," Koldesh says from behind her stone desk, which is covered with maps and scrolls. She then looks up and smiles at Willow.
Willow closes the doors, making sure to not make noise while doing so. And yes, she does mind her tail, closing one in the door is quite painful. And oddly seeing Koldesh smile is a bit unerving.
The High Priestess sets a wooden box on her desk. "This is for you," she notes.
Willow arches her brow slowly. "This makes me nervous," she claims as she approaches the wooden box upon the desk and looks down at it.
"It's a box," Koldesh notes. "You generally have to open them before you can legitimately feel scared."
"You have not seen the boxes I have, then," Willow claims, then reaches over and opens the box.
It's filled with glittery things and.. it's a harem girl costume.
Willow arches her brow. "And this is for ... ?" she has to ask. "Do you expect me to put this on...?"
"Yes," Koldesh says. "If you can guess why, I'll give you a cookie."
"You're going to marry me to someone?" Willow suggests, looking both amused and worried. She then sheds her jacket and goes about the arduous process of putting that outfit on. There are so many parts. The base parts are simple enough, but all the sashes, ribbons, danglies, and the like take an age to put on. "I also think this is revenge."
"Yes! Now, who do you need to take to the mages to have their head sawed open or whatever it is those devils do? And which ones can we interrogate?" Koldesh asks. "Also, the Doctor should be arriving soon, if all went well. How do you want to play that? Mock execution?"
"I would say Mr Bright to be examined, but I am not sure if you wish to let him go. The Rhain, Sack-cloth would be a good choice, or Stitch, as alternates. Both have had their minds messed with," Willow says after some thought, and even rubs her chin a little. "As for the one you can interrogate, Razor. You can't kill him outright, but he's the one with the least alterations, and he was serving willingly ... so his memories will be the most accurate to try and get from him."
"The big Vartan that was tied up?" Koldesh replies. "I can see him as the willing associate type, yes. We'll see what we can get from him. Which of the others do you think will have the best chance of remembering things? Aeonians usually have lots of lost memories, don't they? I've gone over Karada's initial interview reports with the, uh, retainers. One had his eyes replaced? How about the shipwreck boy, the Cervani? Cooperative sort? Sackcloth is the one that takes care of the others, isn't he?"
"The older the memory, the greater chance it would be lost," Willow says and nods, "Sackcloth and the Cervani I think would be very cooperative,. And yes, one did have his eyes replaced, with ones enchanted to let him spy without knowing he was a spy. I feel sorry for that one; what a horrible thing to have done," Willow says and shudders. "Things with eyes makes me uncomfortable."
"We'll keep him separated from the others," Koldesh notes, and stares at Willow. "You aren't dancing," she points out. "How should we prepare for the Doctor?"
"You didn't say I had to dance," Willow points out, then starts dancing. It's good she watched the Radovah sisters a lot growing up; she memorized those dances! So, she starts with one of those. "As for the doctor, making a magic-proof cell would be a good starting point," she says, "Probably something dark and creepy, where he'll be judged without much of a trial, and sentenced to death. Then 'executed' somehow, probably through a slow-acting painful poison, that's really just something that would knock him out in reality."
"Painful, hmm," Koldesh ponders. "I'll need to talk to Rizalka. We've got the quiet room. As for magic-proof.. that's to keep magic from finding the Doctor? He can't do any magic now can he?"
"Well, he can't exactly spead, and has no hands or feet ... so no, I don't think he can. But, there are three mages in him, and who knows how sneaky they can be," Willow points out, then pirouettes around Koldesh and wraps veils around her.
"You like the gift, don't you?" Koldesh asks with a big grin at the antics, and pats Willow's behind. "I'll put a curse on the quiet room. Usually it's good enough to make someone do anything to please the first voice they hear.. but with the three voices in one head maybe not. Never tried it on someone like that."
Willow starts groping Koldesh in passing, rather blatant ones too, from her breasts, to between her legs. Then she spins away before Koldesh can extricate herself from the scarves enough to grab her. "Mmm, maybe. Mostly I'm just surprised ... you have a sense of humor," she notes.
"Humor? This is revenge," Koldesh says. "I'm the High Priestess of Vengeance, after all," she claims. "That's all you get to wear. I'll let the Cervani be taken to the mages first. If they can fix him, then I'll risk the important ones. There's plenty they can tell us about what they do remember. Then we can check it against what memories are recovered later. Razor sounds like the one to break though - if anyone is going to know about the Royal Mages master plan, it'll be him. And the Doctor of course. Hopefully.. three people in one head, probably had memories messed with too. How much will the mages charge for this? Especially if we have to send one to open the.." she pauses to check some notes. "Magicked chest?"
"I have no idea. But, given they have the largest rewards out for the mages, they might do this in lieu of payment," Willow notes, "And what do you mean this is all I get to wear?"
"You need more?" Koldesh asks.
"Well, not at the moment, no. But when I'm back to normal I will," Willow points out.
"Where do you have your clothes stashed then?" Koldesh asks. "Need something from the sailors?"
"I don't have any stashed anywhere close. I just won't change back right now," Willow notes, and gooses Koldesh in passing.
Koldesh is, well.. hard.. but at least isn't wearing her armor or leather at the moment. "Yes, I think you really like gift!" she laughs. "Any of the men I need to watch out for, besides Razor? Those Rhians are big, and the tiger isn't petite either."
"True, but they are rather timid. There is one tiger, though that can go bloodlust, so .. just be a little cautious with them," Willow notes and now whip-swats Koldesh with her tufted tail.
Koldesh makes a grab for the tail of course. "I got a whip, can keep them in line!" she claims. "Any worth letting the girls play with?"
"Well, some of them might enjoy that, assuming you mean play, and not torture," Willow notes and shrugs a little as she now stays out of reach whilst shaking her butt. "The skeeks and such are timit, but the cervani's and the larger ones aren't so timid."
"They too big for us?" Koldesh asks. "We don't have big butts like you do, after all," she teases.
"The cervani are not, the Rhians may be. Mr. Bright wouldn't be," Willow ticks off. "And you're just jealous I have a nice butt than you."
"And the tigers aren't surprisingly!" Willow adds.
"I can crack nuts with my butt," Koldesh counters. "How about the.." she checks her list again. "Jupani? There's a Lapi too, but Lapi are small I think."
"Lapi aren't that small. Many work at the Club in town and are very popular. And Jupani are good, though you best plan for lots of time with them; they get, er, stuck to those they sleep with for about an hour," Willow explains.
"Hmm, Lapi should be safe enough at least then," Koldesh says. "Exotic for Babel. Too bad Aeonians don't.. perform. From what I've heard."
Willow laughs. "Oh, that one does. He did for me ... and for Mercy," Willow points out. "They just need encouragement."
"Encouragement is not what we are known for," Koldesh notes. "But you can go dance for him before sending him in. I'll get the Cervani ready. Need to move fast on all of this, no telling what will happen when the Doctor goes missing."
"You wish to bed Mr. Bright?" Willow has to ask, surprised.
"And yes, I don't know how many others there are besides the Doctor, so ... best to plan for the worst," Willow agrees.
"We always plan for the worst," Koldesh claims. "It's just that usually we are the worst. We'll be setting up a curtain defense as soon as the Doctor is brought in. All those ruined watchtowers still work fine, after all."
"There is much worse than the Yodhrephath in the world," Willow notes, "You need to expand your worldview and plan for that. Is there anything more you wish of me? And do you prefer me as a girl, or guy?"
"Would you wear this outfit as a guy?" Koldesh asks.
"Probably," Willow admits.
"Hang on to it then," Koldesh says. "When Rizalka gets here, you can dance for us in both shapes, we decide then."
"She's crazy, she would want me to dance as a Rhugrat, or something," Willow points out.
"Rughrats can't dance," Koldesh claims. "Too many legs."
"That's why she would want it," Willow points out, then sighs and rubs her forehead. "You must think me strange, and not terribly impressive."
"You're very impressive," Koldesh notes. "What does being strange have to do with it?"
"I'm not very ... I don't think I am what people wanted or expected," Willow admits. "I was born here, but even now I still don't really feel like I belong."
"Very few belong in Babel," Koldesh claims. "After all, not many would want to come here, and most that are here feel trapped. Those who leave most likely never mention that they're from here."
"Eh, many could say the same about Sylvania," Willow points out. "But it's more like ... I finally come home, and still feel like a stranger looking through the glass. Though at this point, I'm not sure I belong anywhere now. I've become something unique."
"It's probably more about the people that want to belong with you," Koldesh offers. "But you can be intimidating, being a creature out of myth."
"I can be intimidating, but I rarely am," Willow notes, "And I try to avoid it. This mission got to me in ways none have before. I've done things that broke promises to myself."
"It is difficult to hold onto your ideals and do what is needed," Koldesh offers. "Such is the world we live in. But you can usually make up for what you have to do, given time."
"The difference is, if I slip, the consequences could be incredibly dire," Willow notes. "I have the potential to consume everyone in the world, if I fell far enough."
"Would you though?" Koldesh asks. "You got dressed as a harem girl for me."
"I have the potential. There was a time I would have burned the world," Willow notes. "The last time I left Babel, I was destroyed, in terms of innocence. I was ready to condemn the world completely."
"So what stopped you?" the High Priestess asks, leaning forward a bit and resting her chin on her fist. "In Babel it was always.. well, everyone fighting one another over what power there was. Not enough to share, no matter how much there might be."
"A friend stopped me," Willow notes, "And Rosalind."
"Maybe your anger wasn't as strong as you thought, if two people could stop you," Koldesh says. "Or maybe you wanted to be stopped?"
"You underestimate the power of love," Willow points out and actually taps Koldesh's nose.
"Of course," Koldesh says, crossing her eyes at her own nose. "I'm Babelite. And I doubt even Inala understands love."
"Not in her current form, no," Willow agrees, and shrugs. "The most key tenant of love ... is willing to give everything you are and am, for the happiness of someone else. Having someone that matters more to you than yourself, and in a manner where you do not wish anything for yourself in trade."
"In battle I've come close to that, but.. I'm not a soldier, with that sort of bond. The Yodh don't wage war. We've only been able to develop something of a military mindset thanks to Karada's influence," Koldesh says. "You keep your friends and allies close, you protect them."
"It's similar, yes," Willow agrees. "But enough of my troubles and concerns. There is much to do. i can worry about the future when I know there will be one."
"Go send in the unicorn, then," Koldesh says. "I'll have the Cervani sent to you. And.. probably arrange for transport to the Mages Tower."
"I can arrange transport if needed," Willow offers, then grabs her former coat and heads to the door. She throws it open and tells Mr. Bright. "Welcome to your doom, the High Priestess will see you now."