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The dragon boat stops beside a large plaza. It's floored in marble; the random patterns indicate to you that this isn't quintessence-crafted, but actually natural stone. "Huh..." Arkadi mutters, "This ain't common."
Osprey looks around the plaza, sizing up the dwellings here. Several petty gods are roaming around the area. It only takes the Circle a few moments to divine Djedet's location. Osprey heads toward the small temple. While impressive by mortal standards, it is shoddy by those of Yu-Shan. Gia follows.
Osprey raps on the handsome -- but unworked -- wood door. Someone opens it. Inside it is dimly lit and the air is heavy with sandalwood and caramel. A god matching Djedet's description answers the Circle's footsteps soon. Osprey looks to Arkadi. Arkadi smirks. Gia wordlessly jingles a pouch of ambrosia and quintessence.
"Hello."
"Good day sir...is your name Djedet?" Osprey fades back to give Arkadi room to work, folding his arms and looking severe. The hilt of his cursed sword protrudes up above his shoulder, paper ward dangling from it.
"Yes, I'm Djedet." The god doesn't give any indication of its gender. It appears to be made of glass.
"Well sir, we're investigating the deaths of two sidereals recently, will you answer a few questions?"
"Certainly. Please, make yourselves comfortable." The temple's furniture appears to be made of wood...but it has an odd, waxy look about it. Malic seats himself on one of the strange, waxy chairs, feeling the wood idly. The wood is chocolate. Its grain shifts and swirls as Malic's skin melts it, but none of it comes off on his hands. Arkadi arches an eyebrow and sits down.
Gia turns to Malic with a near-silent whisper. "I'll give you a bit of quintessence if you lick the chair. I bet it's made out of something sweet."
Malic replies, in a low voice, "Ambrosia coin."
"Deal." Malic sneakily licks his chair.
Osprey moves to stand behind his comrades, but does not sit.
"How is it?"
Arkadi sighs, "Anyways sir...ma'am...err...basically, we're investigating the deaths of two former-circle-mates. I'm sure you've heard the tale by now, devoured by a Clestial Lion...accidentally."
Malic grins. "Its chocolate. Hand over the coin." Gia slips him the coin, hiding a grin.
Djedet nods. The surface of its feet appears to be coming off in cubes. "I had been wondering about that."
"We recently interviewed the Lion in question, and he claims to have not intended to have eaten them, but accidentally swallowed them when he tripped over something. Upon further investigation we discovered that something was, well...you. Care to shed further light on the situation?"
"Hm. I do remember having a sort of collision...some time ago, the Court of Seasons had some festival?"
Malic stretches, invisibly snatching one of the cast-off cubes. He whispers to Gia "Two coins, if you eat this." Gia stealthily pops the cube into her mouth and reaches out her hand expectantly. Malic passes over the two coins.
"Yes, sir. We've come to ask you what you saw, and what you were doing there."
Djedet explains its serving job, carrying small delicacies around for whoever might like to take one.
"See any bats?"
"I don't recall seeing the lion in question until after our...encounter. Hm, I'll have to think about that a moment. You mean, just when we collided?"
"So the collision was an accident?" Gia asks, obviously not believing it for a moment.
"A bit before that, acutally."
"I might have. Something was definitely flying around."
Osprey suppresses a sigh.
"Whom else was in the area with you?"
"No one I can think of."
"I see."
Gia sighs in irritation and holds up the bag of money. "It's a real shame you have absolutely nothing useful to say. Because ALL of this quintessence and ALL of this ambrosia is for someone who actually knows what happened."
Djedet pretends not to notice. "But I suppose that I could think a little harder, eh?"
"Yes. Yes you could. And the more you know, the more generous we can be."
"Well, let me draw you a little picture." It gestures and one of the chocolate walls rearranges itself, appearing like a pleasant sepia-toned drawing of the scene of the trip. It depicts a rather tubby celestial lion tripping over a slightly cartoonish version of Djedet, carrying a tray.
"As delightful as the visual aid is, why did you trip the Lion?"
"I was paid to."
"By who? This, incidentally, is the question that may make you the richest god in the slums...Of course, not telling the truth could make you the deadest god in the slums, but that's neither here nor there."
"I don't have a name." The god gives a detailed description, though, which should be enough to track down the employer. Gia's spider informs her that no one matching that description is in the City, nor has access to it.
Osprey steps forward, plucking the tiny chocolate statue of Djedet's employer from the wall.
Gia smiles brightly. "Try again, or we'll feed you to the Lion. Apparently he has a sweet tooth." The edges harden on Gia's expression. "He could use dessert after you made him SWALLOW MY FRIEND."
Djedet looks frightened.
Arkadi looks at Dje "I'm sorry, she gets like this sometimes...Very touchy about what happened really...she'd do it."
"Well....I can give you a title...but it doesn't taste like a name."
" 'Course if you're forthcoming, none of this has to happen...Oh? What kind of title?"
"Any bit of help that happens to be true would be welcome." Gia still looks deadly serious.
Osprey sets down the chocolate statuette and takes a step toward the candy god.
"He called himself the Triumph of Melancholy. He smelled like one of the Chosen."
Osprey recovers the candy statue, and holds it up. "Show us what he looks like." The chocolate shivers and changes to glittering sugar crystal for a moment, then marzipan, lovingly dyed in shades of purple and black. It twines into the shape of a thin man with white hair and pale eyes.
Gia tosses Djedet the sack of money. "Thanks for your time. And should our paths cross in the future.." She picks up the statue of the god and bites its head off. "Don't EVER lie to me again." The door closes behind you with a caramely smack.
Arkadi says to Osprey, "You know...with a title like that, and a face like that...you know what I'm thinking?"
Osprey turns the candy figurine over in his hands. He mutely nods. Turning to his comrades, he holds up the tiny marzipan man. "This is our enemy."
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