"Those who stand with us never stand alone."
Prince Romél of Vol, founder of the Harmonium
First Void Day of Accordant, 126 HR
Only a few weeks earlier, Naghûl would never have thought to meet the factol of the Harmonium so often in such a short time. And yet, he stood in the reception hall of the Barracks again, this time without Sgillin.
Lady Diana obviously had similar thoughts, because when he asked to see Sarin, she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Again?"
The tiefling nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again."
The concierge raised her shoulders and closed the book in which she had just made some entries. She smiled, actually more friendly than polite. "Well, he'll have his reasons, I'm sure." She stood up. "Follow me, please."
Naghûl bowed his head. "I am deeply indebted to you," he replied.
She led him along the same path as Jostos did on his last visit. The long corridors seemed endless, with the countless doors to the right and left, then up the stairs and corridors again. The Sensate looked behind him briefly, then forward again. "Have you ever thought about a carriage?" he asked abruptly.
Diana looked at him, frowning. "Through the Barracks?"
"Well, a carriage would be exaggerated," the Sensate conceded. "But maybe a board with wheels at the bottom that you can stand on and then roll off. I've seen a few young tieflings in the Lower Ward. They were real acrobats with it."
Diana arched one of her brows. "Exactly. And I can just imagine legate Shar or our factol whizzing through the corridors."
Naghûl had to laugh. "You have a sense of humor, dear Diana."
His remark elicited a grin from the concierge. "Nobody ever thinks that's possible in the Harmonium."
"Granted, sometimes it's hard," the tiefling interjected with a wink. "When you only know the officers from the streets ... or from interrogation."
Diana smiled meaningfully. "That certainly depends on how you behave as a citizen of our beautiful city."
"But of course," Naghûl hastened to assure her. "I certainly didn't mean to imply anything bad about the Harmonium. I'm rather talking about the general impression of the common citizen bragging in a gutter pub."
He wondered if his assurance sounded a little too eager, and indeed the concierge smirked. "I thought so," she replied amiably. "Don't worry, I'm not very sensitive about it. Anyone who belongs to our faction needs a thick skin, that's the way it is."
"Oh, we're no different," the tiefling replied cheerfully. "I don't even want to know what people say about the Sensates."
Diana grinned briefly. "I could write books about that."
"Of course you could," Naghûl replied with a laugh.
During this casual conversation, they had reached the end of the last long corridor. The concierge stopped at Sarin's office, in front of which there was only one guard this time. "Is the factol in conversation?" Diana inquired.
The guard, a green-haired tiefling woman, looked astonished. "The factol isn't present at all, Lady Diana."
"Not present?" Diana, for her part, seemed surprised. "But I didn't see him leave, and I was here six hours ante peak."
"Um, he is here, but ..." The guard looked at Naghûl. "Today is the first Void Day of the month, isn't it?"
Diana smacked her forehead as if she had forgotten something completely obvious. "Oh, that's right. Then we have to go one door further."
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."
Naghûl nodded, then turned back to Diana. "Oh, you have something in your hair," he remarked. "May I?"
She gave him an irritated look. "Um...?"
Unperturbed, the Sensate put his staff aside. "The draught from the big Barracks door must have blown it in." He moved his hand slowly past the side of her head. She frowned, but let it happen. "Ha, indeed!" he then exclaimed. "I think this is yours!" He withdrew his hand along with a rose.
Diana made a surprised face, but then laughed. "Oh, you Sensates!" She shook her head.
"You've really earned it for your efforts," the tiefling explained. "Thank you again."
He bowed playfully - and at the same moment the door opened and factol Sarin entered, just as Naghûl presented Diana with the rose. He was not wearing his armor, but black trousers with a dark red, almost knee-length tunic embroidered in gold, a kind of sherwani, it seemed. He also carried a one-year-old child in his arms.
"Factol Sarin." Naghûl quickly stepped out from behind the table and bowed.
Diana flinched, turned around startled and curtsied deeply.
"What are you doing?" the paladin asked with a skeptical look at the rose in his concierge's hand.
"Lady Diana was kind enough to show me the globe of Ortho," the tiefling explained quickly.
Sarin gently pushed the child's hand away from his collar, to which the toddler was clinging. "How thoughtful of her," he remarked, eyeing Diana with raised brows.
She blushed and didn't seem to know what to do with the rose in her hand.
"Quite," Naghûl came to her rescue. "A very attentive and friendly lady."
Sarin looked briefly at the child, then at Diana. He seemed to consider something, but said nothing, nodding to her instead. "Thank you very much, Diana. You can go back downstairs."
She looked relieved. "Thank you, factol."
After another curtsy, she hurriedly left the office and Naghûl turned to Sarin, who seemed to be quietly amused. "I am truly sorry to disturb you," the Sensate explained. "I was informed about the significance of this day a little late. So I don't want to bother you for long, I just want to know if the whole situation has returned to normal?"
The little child began to babble and Sarin set the toddler down on the floor. "It's all right," he placated. "You had no way of knowing how I organize my family life. And precisely because it's about my family I've instructed Diana to let you enter." He pointed to one of the chairs at the long meeting table. "Please."
"Thank you," the tiefling replied and took a seat.
The toddler, who had short, black hair and very dark eyes, promptly crawled to his chair and grabbed his cloak. Naghûl leaned down with a grin.
"Well, dear? Um, a girl or a boy? It's always so hard to tell when they're still so small." He calmly let the child pull on his cloak.
But Sarin, who had also taken a seat, leaned forward in his chair and gently pulled the child's hand away. "Daria, no." He looked at Naghûl. "Forgive me, there's only one nanny here right now and it's a lot going on. So ..." He looked at the child. "My youngest daughter, Daria."
The tiefling smiled. "Daria, a pretty name. I'm sure she'll be as beautiful as her mother one day. May she play with an astral compass? Nothing can really happen."
Sarin looked a little surprised at the unorthodox suggestion, but he shrugged. "If you're not worried about it breaking."
"Nah." The Sensate waved it off. "And if it does, I'll certainly find a new one." He pulled the compass out of a belt pouch and held it in front of Daria's nose. "Look, you probably don't have anything like that in your toy collection, do you?"
The little girl snatched the compass with a squeak, eliciting a grin from the factol. Naghûl looked more at the playing child than at Sarin when he asked: "How is your daughter Marinda? I hope things have ... fizzled out a bit?"
Sarin swayed his head. "At least she's talking less about that Blue Jay. In general, her misplaced enthusiasm seems to have receded. She still hears the sonic crystal - a little too often to my taste - but whatever you did, it didn't completely miss the mark."
He tried to hide it, but inwardly the Sensate breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that was the purpose: to steer things a little more in the right direction." He hesitated briefly, but then he couldn't stop himself. "By the way, I heard that you applauded at Fiendish Blood."
Sarin raised a brow. "I am always amazed and appalled in equal measure at how much gossip there is about me in beautiful Sigil ..." He leaned back. "Yes, you heard correctly. The text is quite good, I have to admit. The song about the dabus was of course ... well. But Fiendish Blood was definitely worth applauding, contentwise."
Daria put the compass in her mouth and then rolled it across the floor. Her father obviously didn't feel the need to intervene, and Naghûl suspected that with nine children, this was no longer a matter of concern. He grinned a little.
"Yeah, it's all a matter of taste. Speaking for myself, I find those birds mediocre at best and wouldn't normally attend one of their performances." There was a certain temptation to poke a little fun at the double-life alter ego under the cover of his actual personality.
"At the concert, I tried ..." A loud rumble interrupted Sarin's remarks and he stood up. "One moment, please." He went to the door that led to his chambers and opened it forcefully. "What are you doing?" the factol called.
A child's voice answered in a language that Naghûl did not understand but recognized as Celestial. Meanwhile, the Sensate sat down on the floor with Daria.
"No way!" Sarin replied indignantly. "Put it back at once!"
Naghûl stifled a grin and turned to the little girl. "Look at this, Daria. My staff has lots of colored lights. I can make them brighter and darker." He manipulated the magical lights on his staff and the child lowered the compass and watched in fascination. "Brighter ... darker ... brighter ... darker ..."
"Now, I say!" Sarin shouted, louder this time. "What's all the fuss about? Just because your mother isn't here today and there's only one nanny doesn't mean ..."
Someone yelled in return, again in Celestial, but this time it was apparently another child.
"No!" the paladin replied sternly. "No debate! And you better not let me hear anything else now!"
Naghûl grinned to himself as a child shouted back again. Sarin snorted. "What? No! And just because Iridias does it doesn't mean you have to do so, too!" Then he closed the door noisily and returned to the table.
Naghûl raised his brows with a grin when Sarin returned - the staff was still getting brighter and darker. When the factol saw the tiefling sitting on the floor with his youngest, he smiled.
"I apologize. My children are actually rather disciplined, but they are children after all."
"Children remind us of who we really are," Naghûl said while slowly raising again. "I don't want to take up any more of your valuable time, factol."
Sarin bent down and took Daria in his arms again. "That's all right. As I said, I ordered it myself. Let us hope that the case is closed now."
Naghûl nodded. "Yes, I think so. Have a nice family day and if it all gets too much ..." He grinned. "We also have an extraordinary children's program at the Festhall."
The paladin had to laugh. "I'm afraid so."
"Factol, it was an honor." The tiefling bowed in amusement.
Sarin nodded to him. "We'll probably meet again soon anyway."
Now the tiefling's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? I am amazed, but you certainly know more than I do."
"It's about a meeting of the Harmonium and the Society of Sensation," Sarin explained. "But I don't want to get ahead of your lovely factol. I'm sure she'll explain it herself."
He took the compass from Daria and handed it back to the Sensate. The child immediately began to cry loudly and shrilly. Sarin sighed and Naghûl, who had been about to put the compass back in his pocket, paused. "She can keep it."
Sarin smiled, with a hint of exhaustion. When Daria reached out for the compass again, he didn't hold her back. "You'll get it back, of course."
The tiefling watched with delight as the little girl grabbed the astral compass. "I'm sure. - Um, this meeting is certainly not a celebration, I take it?"
"No, it's not," Sarin confirmed. "But I suspect you already have an idea what it is about."
"To be honest, I have a lot of clues, but no concrete idea," the tiefling replied.
The paladin smiled again, albeit almost seriously this time. "Then you can indeed be curious. After all, Sensates are into that, aren't they?"
Naghûl cleared his throat, caught off guard. "Indeed, factol."
Sarin smirked, and at the same moment the compass fell to the ground, clattering. Sighing, the factol picked it up. "I'll get you a new one."
"Don't worry about the compass." The tiefling waved it off. "I thank you for your time and wish you a peaceful day. Please give my best regards to your wonderful wife."
"I will," Sarin replied. "You to your charming factol as well. Lady's Grace, factotum."
He nodded once more, then went to the door, that led to his private chambers, with Daria in his arms. As he opened it, the yelling of several children reached the tiefling's ears for a moment.
"Family is a beautiful thing," Naghûl smiled cheerfully as he opened the door to the hallway.
The guard, who had heard his words, laughed. "Yes, and Sarin has a large family. Quite unusual for a factol."
Naghûl nodded. "Lovely, really. Lady's Grace and a quiet shift I wish you."
"I'll take you downstairs so you don't get lost," the tiefling woman explained politely.
Naghûl hid a grin as he nodded. Of course they wouldn't just let a Sensate wander around the upper floor of the Barracks alone. But at least the guard disguised it as a friendly offer of help.
"Right now, I would find my way around," the tiefling therefore explained amiably. "But I won't complain about a pleasant escort, of course."
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played February 5, 2012