In Nomine Rome: Episode 3 - Do Ut Des

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Episode 3 - "Do Ut Des"

The shrine of the Bona Dea near the temple of Diana is not the one served by the Vestal Virgins of such historical fame. As with many gods in Rome, the Bona Dea has more than one place of worship, and is known by various names, just as Jupiter (better known to his colleagues as Zeus, ever since the ascension combat) has temples to himself both as Jupiter Stator and Jupiter Supremus on the same hill of Rome. This temple is a modest walled establishment, with two polite male guards at the outside, and, as it turns out, absolutely no men inside. The shrine is for women only.

Some brief questioning of the guard eventually allows that the shrine is not so much "for women only" as "not for men", a division that allows for anyone who will swear they are No Man to enter accordingly.

On the premise that it would cause some confusion to swear that he is actually a multi-winged multi-eyed serpent who serves the One True God, Decimus decides to stay outside and eye a nearby weasel dubiously.

Pamphilos keeps Decimus company, to provide companionship and commentary. Pelagia’s shoulder finds itself occupied by a small songbird, which is probably an omen of some kind.

The rest of Pelagia isn't challenged as she walks inside.

"I am Blāsjarī ki himdcha, The Blizzard That Walks, called Crinitus in Rome. I am here to convey the good wish of Himalaya Mandala to Parvata jō mānchē kō śauka cha, called Bona Dea in Rome. And I give you assurance that I am no man."

One of the guards looks utterly baffled at this declaration. The other narrows his eyes, and then ducks his head slightly. "Enter, No Man," he says, and smiles thinly. "Perhaps behave yourself better than Odysseus did."

Inside the walls stands a modest building made of archaic bricks, much-patched; the courtyard is paved with stone worn with the passage of feet and time, showing how people have walked in circles around a small cistern in the center, or stopped periodically to touch man-high (woman-high?) stones set on opposite sides of the courtyard. An old woman in red-banded robes stands before the entrance to the shrine, leaning on a cane.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha peers at the woman. "Are you the person of rank here?"

The old woman inclines her head slightly. "Welcome, Blizzard Called Crinitus," she says. She must have exceptional hearing, especially for her age. Either that or the yeti spoke very loudly. "Who is your companion, and what brings you here today?"

Pelagia says, "I am Pelagia. We seek a woman from a tenement nearby. Her name is Aldegund. Primus Aemelianus asked after her welfare since the fire."

The finch flits away off Pelagia’s shoulder, onto the woman’s. It trills placidly.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "I have conveyed message from the Himalaya Mandala to those that you call the Alps. I am in Rome awaiting their answer, and felt it would be polite to convey their greetings to the one you call Bona Dea. And also, to ask after the woman, who we believe is a devotee here."

The woman raises a finger to the finch on her shoulder, offering a perch. "Very polite of the Himalaya Mandala," she says, "and I shall pass their message onward to the Bona Dea when next we speak. Now, Aldegund, inhabitant of tenements, holder of coin, wife of Primus Aemelianus, daughter of..." She smiles, showing several missing teeth. "I know her. A good woman inasmuch as she is able. She is well."

Pelagia asks, "Do you know why a demonling would set fire to the building she lives in?"

"Daemons have all manner of desires," says the old woman philosophically. (She uses the Greek term, applied to small gods, ethereals, demons, and angels in near equal measure.) "Some desire gold, some desire fire, and some desire the cold wind between their teeth. What do you two desire?" She nods to the bird. "Or is it you three?"

The finch chirps three times, brightly.

Pelagia shrugs. "I serve Knowledge and Creation. They told me to follow him for a while," she gestures at etherial companion. "I desire to be of use, to learn, and to finish a working medical skill talisman someday. I think I know what I did wrong last time."

"I serve as a diplomat for the Himalaya Mandala, to travel where they cannot. I do not know why they--" Blāsjarī ki himdcha indicates Pelagia and the finch with a tilt of the head. "-have been tasked to follow me, but it is polite not to refuse travelling companions."

The finch attempts a longer series of whistles and chirps, conveying its role as guide and mediator, as well as its earnest appreciation for the continued well-being of the shrine and the people served thereof.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "At the moment, I desire mostly to receive an answer from those you call the Alps so that I can return to climes of more comfortable temperature, but a mountain does not make up their mind quickly."

The woman puts a finger to her lips for a moment. "Yes," she says, "certainly, I understand now what the three of you seek." She rests a hand against the wall of the shrine for support, and raps against it three times with her cane. "Auricula," she calls, "your companions have arrived."

Another woman's voice calls back from inside the shrine, in a lilting bit of Greek. Purest Attic Greek, in fact, such as only orators and the pretentious tend to speak in these days. "I'll be there at the right moment!"

"She will be," says the old woman, and waves toward the font. "Make yourself comfortable, there's no hurrying her." She turns to hobble back inside the shrine herself.

The finch returns to Pelagia’s shoulder, chirping smugly that it was able to so clearly communicate without language.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha leans against the inside of the outside wall, and waits.

A young Greek woman of astonishing beauty and excellent teeth swans out of the shrine, combing damp hair back with her fingers over her cloak. She's dressed modestly, but in the finest weave of linen, with borders of lemons among leaves embroidered at her hems. "I never would have guessed Aldegund's guarantors were of such a quality," she says, in slightly accented Latin. "I am amazed, and I rejoice!" She claps her hands together, the rings on her fingers chiming against each other. "How would you like to pay?"

"Who is ransoming her?" Pelagia asks.

"Surely..." The young woman waves a hand. "The three of you? Didn't your pretty little bird say so? Let's not say /ransom/, as if she's captive here! She came of her own free will, and promised the whole fee would be repaid in full."

The finch squawks.

Auricula frowns at the finch. "How un-urbane," she murmurs.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Pelagia, refresh my memory. Was not the fact that Aldegund had all of their money a significant thing that Primus made clear? There seems to be much unsaid here."

"Presumably all their money didn't cover this bill," Pelagia says. "How much needs to paid, for what services rendered?"

Auricula counts up on her fingers. "The money for me to come to her call, the Essence for the wings to carry her to safety, and then the price to spirit her away to this place and say nothing of any of it to certain parties she named. Now, usually I would consider ten Essence and a hundred sesterces a reasonable price for all of this, but I did overhear something about making talismans..." Her smile is beatific.

"Unsuccessfully making talismans. Eli stops by from time to time to show me what I've done wrong. Usually unannounced. Often intoxicated," Pelagia says. "I'd happily give you my last failure. It grants knowledge of how to repair socks. With needle and thread."

The young woman frowns prettily. "Intoxicated enough to, mm, drop off a talisman and not remember to pick it up again later? I'm not certain that a darning talisman is quite appropriate for how I saved that poor woman from death, shame, and worse."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha leans forward and peers at the woman at the mention of essence and wings. "So you are another different-than-human, then? I do not recognize the type."

"Free Lilim," Pelagia explains. "A part-time Demon. I'm not sure if they were Hell's answer to Malakim or Grigori. They're made by a Human named Lilith. Adam's first wife, from Eden. It's supposed to be impossible for a human to Fall, but she managed somehow."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Demons are the... enemy? Of you who are called Angels? Is that right? There are not many of either of you, where I am from."

"By and large we're enemies, honey-eyes," Auricula says to the yeti, "but we still find ways to cut a few deals on the side. It's so much more civilized."

Pelagia says, "Free Lilim are sort of allowed renegades. A few have even redeemed and become angels, although there's hardly much difference. They're the celestial version of a reversible jacket. Don't accept any favors without negotiating a price up front. Their resonance is to inflict geases, binding you to their will, in exchange for filling a Need. Knowledge has special eye veils we're issued if we know we're going to be dealing with Lilim, so they can't look in our eyes and resonate us." She shrugs. "A bit late now, I expect."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Unless they can induce those you call the Alps to make up their minds faster, I do not think I have a Need."

Pelagia says, "I Need clear written instructions from my Superior, and I'm in service to Eli. Good luck with that one."

Auricula steeples her fingers. "Now, does this mean the three of you don't want to be that nice woman's guarantors? Because if so, I should ask you to move along before other offers stop by. ...though I could look into the matter with the Alps."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "The man Primus said that the shrine told him she had not been here. Does that indicate that he is one of the 'certain parties she named', for you to say nothing to?"

Pelagia says, "I'm always interested in secrets, I'm an Angel of Knowledge. We collect them. But while we are authorized to trade with Free Lilim, there's a procedure for it. The Eye Veils and all that."

Auricula points to the yeti. "High praise for the well-swathed not-man! Now, if you simply want to buy /secrets/, we can offer those separately. I haven't been paid to keep any yet, after all."

Pelagia says, "I haven't had the seminar yet. They didn't think it would come up."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Since it is the man Primus who asked us to find the woman Aldergund, if he is someone she asked not be told of her whereabouts, I do not think us finding her would be favor to her."

Pelagia asks, "How many essence to speak with her?"

"You don't need any veils with me," Auricula says. "I'm /respectable/." She does a little spin, and tosses her hair. "Oh, two Essence to go speak with her, if you mean to be like that. That's hardly worth anything at all."

Pelagia touches the Lilim's shoulder and passes over two essence.

Auricula reaches into the cloth purse that hangs at her side, and whips out a sheet of paper, an agreement written tidily upon it already. "Sign here," she says, offering a pen in turn.

Pelagia reads the agreement.

The finch hops down to Pelagia’s wrist, to get a closer look at the agreement.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha peers over Pelagia's shoulder at the agreement, then shrugs. "It is all Greek to me."

The finch hops back up to Pelagia’s shoulder, and chirps affirmatively.

"All the best contracts are written in Greek," Auricula says confidentially to Blāsjarī, "but this one is Latin. You know what they say. When in Rome..."

Pelagia says, "All the best contracts are written by Lilim of Greed? I may not have had the full seminar, but Knowledge doesn't let you down to earth without a basic written test."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "My Latin is not so good, but one thing I have learned is that 'best' can mean many things."

"You can sign or not," Auricula says pleasantly, "but if you do want to speak with that woman before other creditors appear, you may want to make up your mind promptly. After all, I stepped out here because I thought my appointment was being prompt."

Pelagia says, "You have the essence. We have an agreement on terms. The contract was produced after payment. If all the essence buys is knowledge of her current location, we can move on with our other business."

"If you don't want the added protection that comes with well-defined terms, suit yourself," Auricula says. She sweeps aside, waving towards the shrine. "Go on in. That blessed priestess isn't likely to stand in your way, unless you do something nefarious."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "It is curious, I think, that despite her being spirited from the tenement on wings, and her location kept secret from her husband, that there are creditors who know both her location and that she is indebted. May we ask who these creditors are?"

Pelagia bows to Auricula. "A pleasure doing business with you."

Auricula winks at Blāsjarī. "An Essence, and I'll tell you."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha rumbles for a moment, then reaches out to touch Auricula's shoulder, transferring an Essence.

The finch wingbeaks.

Auricula leans in close to whisper in... well, she can't actually /reach/ the presumed ear up that high, but she can at least whisper toward it.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha leans down, politely.

("The same people who made her set fire to the building," Auricula whispers. "I don't know who they serve, but I trust them to pay what she owes.")

Pelagia grumbles to herself as she heads inside, loud enough for Auricula to hear, "It's nice to have more contacts in this town but now I need to sign up for a seminar, where am I going to find time for that, schedule's full enough already..."

Done whispering, Auricula spins about, sending her modest, expensive clothing fluttering. Then she goes to wait by the gates, looking rather impatient there.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha rumbles again, then follows after PPelagia.

Inside, the shrine is fairly small; an altar that looks to never have seen blood, a few rooms off to the side for the living quarters of the temple's keepers. It's easy enough to find Aldegund, or someone safely assumed to be her; she's the only woman in the temple who is not wearing some sort of red on her clothing. And for that matter, her clothing still smells of smoke. She sits by the hearth with a drop-spindle, fumbling at her thread.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha tilts his head towards the woman. "You are the woman-called-Aldegund?"

"I am," says the woman. Her voice is firm, though her hands are uneasy on the wool. "Auricula told me that someone would pay my debts, if I could not. Are you the ones paying?"

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "The man-called-Primus asked us to find you, but it seems like you would not wish to be found if by him. Is this truth?"

"We may," Pelagia says. "We need more information first."

"A good wife always desires what her husband desires," Aldegund says, not meeting anyone's gaze. "Did he tell you what sort of wife I am?"

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "He was very complimentary."

Aldegund drops her spindle. Not in the usual drop-spindle way, but onto the ground. "...mountains below us," she says, "I do not know..." She shakes her head. "Did he say... anything about what happened? With the fire?"

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "He believes it to have been one of the tenants."

Pelagia says, "On our way here we met a demonling that seemed to be involved."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Or at least, that is what he said he believes."

Pelagia says, "We rebuked it slightly."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "For what he truly believes, who can know the heart of man?" They shrug philosophically.

Pelagia says, "We put the fear of us into it."

"A... you met a daemon?" Aldegund's eyes widen. "Omens upon omens!" (Of course, in the Latin, that could as easily be 'Monsters upon monsters!' when she says it.) "Perhaps it--but only if--" She gathers her wool and spindle again. "An evil daemon set the fire. Yes. Perhaps that was it."

Pelagia says, "A baby demon. Five Forces tops."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha rumbles. "That does not appear to be what Auricula thinks."

Pelagia says, "Greed is occasionally quite happy to sell information it doesn't have."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha rumbles again. "I should be cautious in deals with those you call Demons, I suppose."

"We're angels, dear. Well, me and the bird." Pelagia jerks a thumb, "He's a blizzard."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha pulls down his scarf, revealing again an ape-like muzzle tufted with white whiskers. "You see, you need not fear telling us of things that most people would not believe."

"...oh," says Aldegund, in a small voice. "Oh." She lowers herself to her knees, and clutches at the knees of Pelagia, as the least intimidating (and most knee-accessible) of the three. "Please, only help me return to the mountains! Even if my husband doesn't remember what I did, I don't want to return to that place! The walls and the ceilings close in, all the buildings press close together, and the ice melts before it forms!"

Pelagia defers to Blasjari with a flourish, a dramatic sweeping gesture that says "Here! Look at _this_ guy."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha looks visibly sympathetic, inasmuch as a largely nonhuman face can convey recognizably human emotion.

Pelagia says, "We need some more more exposition. How did you wind up in debt to a lilim, and who else might be coming to buy you into slavery because of it?"

"I... I don't know what a 'lilim' is," stammers the woman. "My debt is because I wished to be saved from the fire, and that woman came to save me, with wings. She took me here when I asked, when she would have left me in the aqueduct otherwise, for all the money I carried. I think she is the spirit of a mountain stream, to have heard my prayers? Then she said she knew what I had done, but she would not tell anyone, so long as I waited until she sent others for me."

"Pity we don't have a way to check for geas hooks," Pelagia sighs. "It would be sad to buy your freedom and just have the lilim order you back here the next day."

Aldegund continues to look slightly stunned and deeply confused, though she seems a little more hopeful now than she was before.

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "She said that the people coming to pay your debt were the ones that made you start the fire. You could talk about that, perhaps?"

"I don't know why I started the fire," Adelgund says, in a distraught but hushed voice. "I simply... I did it, I don't know why. I don't remember why. I struck my husband when he came to stop me, and he fell, though he falls often, being so drunk. I thought it was the right thing to do. I was so angry. I've never been so angry before. Then I was in the room, with fire all around me, and I thought... I thought my husband was dead, until he came here to ask after me."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha turns to Pelagia. "Making someone do something, and not remembering why... does this sound like, a 'Demon' thing, to you?"

Pelagia says, "Shedite."

The finch bobs its head. It’s hard for finches to look angry, but this one is really trying.

Pelagia says, "A fallen kyriotate. They don't evict those they posess, they sit alongside them in their heart and push them into evil acts. At a guess, Goldy knew to rescue you from the fire because her friend made you set it. The demonling perhaps acted as lookout. You were set up. The question is why."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "I must admit, I do not have a firm feeling for why Angels or Demons do much of anything."

"No, Auricula was never helping any wicked daemons," Adelgund insists. "She rose from the water and flew to me, when I was praying. She took me to the shrine of the Goddess of Mountains, who I have worshipped since I was a small child. Whatever evils others might have done, she has done me service, and now I must give service to her in return. It is the way of gods."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Even humans are sometimes puzzling."

Pelagia pats Adelgund. "Yes dear, the question is why she did it." She turns to Blasjari and the finch. "What else do we need to know from Adelgund during this conversation we've purchased?"

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "I would like to return her to the mountains. I am not sure what else she can tell us that will aid us in that."

Somewhere off in the city, a man named Quintus Varro finds himself in a tavern with a cup of wine, a bloodsoaked tunic, but no wounds. In the shrine, one of the younger acolytes comes in, not looking particularly deferential. “What service did you promise her?”

Adelgund is beyond surprise at sudden questions from strangers at this point. "I said that I would pay my debts," she says. "Though how, I do not know. I would have asked her to take me back to the mountains, but what could I offer? My parents had no herds to find worthy sacrifices from, and they are likely dead by now."

Pelagia turns to the finch. "I believe a seritor of Trade is best equipped to negotiate with a Lilim of Greed?"

The acolyte looks at Pelagia. “Once we know what the deal was, yes. It’s for the best you refused to sign her contract, it was designed to keep this woman on the premises.”

Pelagia says, "We may also need to find if a shedim, lilim, and demonling conspiring to burn down apartment buildings is part of some larger scheme, or simple extortion."

The acolyte turns back to Adelgund. “To pay your debts is vague, especially if you did not agree on a price. Did you put your mark to anything?”

Adelgund shakes her head. "I said that I would stay here, until she introduced me to those who would demand a service of me, in her name. She said that once I had done my service, she would tell no one of what I had done, nor where I had gone."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha rumbles. "She has not technically introduced you to us, has she."

Pelagia says, "She's waiting carefully outside."

Pamphilos says, “That _is_ the sticking point, yes.”

Pelagia says, "You acknowledged and agreed to the debt, so that's a full-on geas."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "I would contribute Essence towards the cost of her freedom, but I am afraid I am penniless, in terms of money. It is generally of little use to me at home, and rarely relevant abroad."

"I already gave her all the money I had," Adelgund says, sitting back on her heels. She sighs. "Besides, it is right to pay one's debts to the gods. There are many stories of what happens to those who try to cheat their gods."

The acolyte kneels down and takes Adelgund’s hand. “It is a good thing and proper to pay one’s debts, when fairly earned.”

Pelagia says, "If it turns out she didn't endanger you first, that's laudable."

The acolyte says, “When you buy a loaf of bread from the baker, should he demand a hundred sesterces for it?”

Adelgund shakes her head. "But a life is worth that much, and a secret... may be worth a life."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "It seems, from what you have said about Lilim, that it does not matter if the debt is fairly earned; she will be compelled to pay it regardless."

Pelagia says, "If she's agreed to it, even an angel would be bound. If a debt has not been acknowledged, a strong will can resist the attempt to call it in, and the effort even rebound against the lilim as dissonance. But by agreeing, she gave up the option to resist."

The acolyte says, “She will have her due, yes. We would rather she not have _gratitude_ atop it.”

Blāsjarī ki himdcha spreads his hands, somewhat helplessly.

Pelagia says, "Right, we need to go back and talk to the lilim again."

Blāsjarī ki himdcha says, "Again, I would contribute Essence towards her freedom, but I have no currency nor knowledge of how to obtain any, in Rome. I will help to the degree that I am able, but I must depend upon you, travelling companions."

Pelagia says, "She might take extra essence and less currency. We'll have to negotiate. We have another essence donor outside the temple we can call upon."

The acolyte looks at Adelgund, her face entirely too young for the sad and frustrated expression she wears. “We will pay your debt, and we will take you to the mountains, but we will speak further of what it means to draw debt from gods.”

To be continued...

---

Bonus from the OOC:

"Pelagia has tact. She keps it in a jar back in the library."; the Kyriotate rolling an infernal intervention on a default Emote check to see if they could communicate with the priestess in finch form; "Blasjari has a very dry sense of humor for someone literally made of precipitation"; "Finch Affirmations is the name of my next band"; the GM scrambling to come up with Very Careful Wording for a Lilim of Greed's promises.

Also: Went back and fixed the previous log, which had somehow lost several paragraphs of imp interrogation in the middle, plus the miasma incident.