I was getting more and more bored and I was contemplating getting into a staring contest with one of the cats also inhabiting the courtyard, a contest I was sure to lose, when Belvani returned. He sauntered up and announced that Haloric had time to see us. I gratefully, if not gracefully, got up from the bench and indicated that I was prepared to follow his lead. Leaving the cats to their sunning Belvani led me into the closeness of the temple. We twisted and turned through the corridors until we reached an office. Belvani clapped his hands together to announce our presence and a voice told us to enter.
The room was better lit than the corridor with a fairly sizeable window in the outer wall. The reed shutter hadn't been lowered yet as the heat of the day wasn't too bad so far. Haloric Goldbrow sat cross legged on the ground beside a low lap desk and a pile of clay tablets. He had a note tablet filled with wet clay in his hand and he was dictating to a secretary who also had such a tablet in his hand. When he saw who his guests were he dismissed the secretary and set his tablet aside. He stood and bowed from the waist. I returned his bow and noted that he Haloric was the exception to the rule who didn't smell. Neither did Belvani for that matter, at least not of natural human odours, some kind of perfume I'd guess. Haloric and I exchanged small talk and I showed him my writ of authority from Sor-Eel.
I decided that I didn't really want to bother playing footsie with Haloric so I told him what I knew already. He nodded confirmation of what Sor-Eel had told me. "So can you tell me if the deceased had any enemies?" I paused and then continued, "Or perhaps more accurately who would benefit most from his removal." Haloric sighed and raised a quizzical eyebrow, "You do realize that I have no obligation to tell a non-Yemalian the truth don't you?" It was my turn to sigh, "Yes, of course. I just have to hope that the truth is in your best interests." Haloric smiled at this, "Well I suppose it wouldn't surprise Sor-Eel to know that neither the Sun Dome here in Pavis nor the Sun Dome in Sun County considers it in their best interests to ally themselves closer to the temple in Dragon Pass. That temple is far too closely tied to Lunar interests for us to want to have more than the minimum required relations to it.' He paused for added weight, "Of course it wouldn't be in our best interests for Cressidus Silvercloak to die in any fashion that could be blamed on us either. If you like I will swear by my god that I have no idea who killed Silvercloak." I shook my head, "Never mind that, I'm more interested in who did kill him than in knowing who didn't kill him."
"So who would have reason to want him dead? I asked. Haloric
actually rolled his eyes, "Let's say that he was a rather unusual
Light Son. A better question might be, who didn't want to kill him?",
he hastened to add, "well besides us that is." Nothing like some
surprising revelations about dead people to mess up your
investigation. "What do you mean by that?" Haloric sighed rather
dramatically and said, "Well," he paused to scratch his head, and I
would bet it wasn't due to head lice, before continuing, "He was a
rather unusual Light Son. Maybe you should make some inquiries at the
place he was staying." "He wasn't staying here at the guest hostel?"
I raised both eyebrows this time, they were getting quite the workout.
Haloric grimaced this time and said, "No, he was staying at an inn."
An inn? With the riff raff and women of questionable morales? I
rolled my eyes and decided to get him to let the other shoe drop,
"Which inn was that?" "Silibar's Fancies."
To be continued.
Oliver
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