Shadows over Sigil - The Eternal Boundary

Familiy Day

She hurried down the corridor to another door, which also had a guard standing outside. Naghûl followed her, a little confused. "I'm really very sorry," Diana now addressed the other guard. "But factol Sarin is required."

The man also seemed surprised and hesitated. "Um, well ... is it very important?"

Diana nodded. "He instructed me himself that this case should also be brought up on the first and third Void Day."

Naghûl was increasingly confused by these mysterious exchanges while the officer on duty saluted curtly. "Must be really important," he stated. "I will announce know." With these words, he opened the door and disappeared behind it.

"Thank you," the concierge replied, and the tiefling frowned in irritation.

"Um ... Would you mind enlightening me?"

Diana laughed apologetically. "Oh well, you can't know. The first and third Void Day of every month are family days for factol Sarin and his wife Faith ... so to speak. They spend them with their children, for whom they don't always have as much time as they would surely like."

Naghûl was pleasantly surprised by this explanation, but also a little uncomfortable. "Oh, I understand. I'm sorry about that, I could have come tomorrow. I'm embarrassed now."

"Don't be," Diana assured him. "As I said, the factol has instructed me that your case may be brought up on these days as well. So it must be something important."

"In a way, most certainly," the Sensate conceded. "And also somehow fitting for Void Day."

Diana just raised a brow, but said nothing. She was all professional discretion. At that same moment, the door opened again and the guard returned.

"The factol asks you to come to his office," he explained.

"Thank you." Diana made her way back to the door where the tiefling woman was standing. The guard acknowledged her return with a slight smirk. "After all?"

Diana nodded, whereupon the officer whistled softly, as if to express her astonishment. Then the concierge led Naghûl into the now familiar - but still empty - office. "He'll be here soon," Diana explained.

"Certainly," the tiefling replied. "Thank you." He looked around the room, examining the stone fireplace, the large desk and the long conference table, until his gaze lingered on a globe. It showed several continents, colored green and ochre, but their outlines did not match any prime world he knew. "Is that Ortho?" he inquired.

Diana nodded. "Right, that's the Homeworld."

The way she emphasized the last word conveyed a certain sense of distaste. It was so subtle, however, that Naghûl wasn't sure whether he had perhaps only imagined it. He stepped a little closer to the table, then paused. "Do you think I could have a look at it - the model, that is?"

"Of course," the concierge replied.

Naghûl examined the globe more closely and turned it back and forth a little. "Which part of the world is your factol from?" he asked.

Diana turned the globe as well and then pointed to the central continent, which stretched both north and south of the equator. "Factol Sarin is from here, from Iironda," she explained, pointing to an area colored green on the coasts but otherwise mostly ochre and yellow, which seemed to indicate a warm and in parts rather dry region.

"Ah yes." The tiefling leaned a little closer to the model and inspected the oceans depicted. "Lots of water on Ortho."

"Yes, at least that's what the globe says," said the concierge. "But I've never been there, so I can't tell you much about it."