Image removed. Please read our art usage policy. Thank you!This man, Kavik had the distinct impression, was someone who expected deference, obedience, and honesty from those around him and was accustomed to getting it. It was in his bearing and the weight of his gaze.
Kavik stalled for a moment while he formulated his reply. The followers of Kia were by no means their adversaries, but he had no way of knowing if Davis was the only one in the temple who had been compromised, or just how far what he said in mixed company might travel. Whoever had gotten to Davis was clearly willing to kill for their secrets. He would need to balance being truthful and sharing information with not saying so much that he was recklessly endangering the life of Alvina and himself.
"Well?" demanded the robed man.
Out of time, he thought as the High Priest's intent gaze bored into him.
And I get the impression this is the sort of man who isn't easily fooled by lies."Forgive my hesitation your Holiness, but Brother Davis was an old friend of mine and I'm afraid I don't quite know how to approach this-""-With the truth, if you please." The man cut in sternly, but without being harsh.
"Yes," Kavik replied with a deferential bow of his head,
"of course. The truth is, I'm afraid that Brother Davis may have been caught up in something dangerous, something which got out of control for him, and I believe that was truly the cause of this."The high priest raised a speculative eyebrow.
"Explain."It was true he didn't want to risk outright lying to the man, but he had spent enough years around people to be familiar with the concept that the best lies were half-truths. Although in his current situation he might have changed that to read: the best half-truths were those that could pass for whole-truths if one didn't ask too many questions...
"You have to understand, I've known Davis for many years. When I came here today it was as a man seeking help from a friend in letting go of his past - closing a chapter in my life as it were. I wouldn't have thought anything had gone wrong for Davis' at all except for the behavior of of the man himself. He seemed more nervous than I remember him- as though something serious was on his mind, yet he wouldn't tell me what it was."Then, as I moved to sit down, I stumbled across a book he had set out. I went to move it but Davis was there immediately as if I wasn't supposed to see it..." Remembering where the priest had set the book Kavik went to the corner of the room and retrieved it, then brought it to the high priest to see the man's reaction. He doubted very much that the high priest himself was a part of some dark conspiracy, although he knew nothing for certain, but at the very least the man's reaction should tell him if the man already knew about the dark god. No reason he couldn't fish for a little information himself...
However the other man merely inspected the book for a few moments before turning his gaze back to Kavik, who could glean nothing useful from the high priest's expression. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't felt anything unusual this time when he had touched it either. What did that mean?
"And from his manner and this one book you believed Brother Davis, a servant of Kia, was involved in something dangerous?" asked the high priest. His tone remained polite, but his skepticism was conveyed none the less.
"No," Kavik admitted,
"I was unsure, but there is more..." He held back, acting hesitant, as he glanced at the men around the high priest.
"Are you sure you want to have this entire discussion in the presence of so many your high holiness?"The high priest frowned slightly, meeting his eyes. Kavik suddenly had the impression of being an ant under a magnifying lens. It was all he could do not to squirm. Finally the high priest leaned towards Brother Gabriel, saying something softly which caused the young man to nod. He and the other men in robes -aside from the high priest himself of course - silently took their leave. The guards in chain mail however did not move.
The high-collared priest gestured towards them.
"These men have sworn their lives to safeguard the institution of the Gods, serve Kia, and protect their brothers to their last breath if necessary. You can trust them in the presence of any... sensitive information." A slight impatience seemed to slip into the man's tone and Kavik suddenly worried he had gone too far - the last thing he wanted to do was annoy the high priest.
"So do enlighten us if you please as to what you believe is going on here."Kavik resisted the urge to take a deep breath and pace. He was taking a huge gamble, and before he even opened his mouth a voice in his head was berating his own foolishness. While he had managed to shrink their audience, the high priest or one of his trusted guards *might* still have been involved in the plot to kill Davis. Yet he couldn't help himself. They had almost no information, and were badly in need of help. He desperately hoped that one or the other of them would result from his roll of the dice.
"At one point during our conversations, a piece of paper slipped from Davis' possessions as he was putting them away."Reaching into one of his pockets, Kavik removed a folded piece of paper and presented it to the high priest. Now more than ever he watched for a reaction from the man, for it was not the map he had taken from his pockets but the fragment of a dark scroll given to him by Barnet.
He knew he was walking a knife's edge in more ways than one. Technically Kavik had still avoided telling a lie. After all he hadn't actually stated that this was the *same* piece of paper which had fallen to the floor. However if the high priest's uncanny powers of perception were too accurate he might be able to tell that Kavik was telling him only fragments of the truth. On the other hand if the man was not perceptive enough then he might decide he had no real reason to trust Kavik over his own priest, and still come to the conclusion that he was being lied to. Or for that matter he might just decide to press for further details just to be cautious and in so doing force Kavik into a lie.
Either way flashing around pieces of what that library contained was dangerous in its own right if the body on the floor was any indication, and he felt self-doubt trying to get a strangle-hold on him again.
Is this really likely to help us, or am I just rationalizing a foolish gamble?Only time would tell, and he found himself surreptitiously glancing at Alvina as the high priest unfolded the paper. He hoped she would be able to pick up on any signs from the man he missed.
"When I heard footsteps I hastily put the paper in my pocket, and for that I apologize. Not knowing who was coming, I suppose I was afraid and reacted out of instinct. I don't know what it says." Again, technically true. He hadn't had time to try and translate the scroll fragment.
"But I have been a servant of Ki for many years and I ask you to believe me when I tell you I believe there to be something dark about that text. I show you this because it was when I pushed Davis on this very topic that I finally became convinced he was involved in something. It was his response you see... he asked me as one friend of many years asks another... He asked me to forget the whole thing. To simply go home."