A Heretic Comes For Tea

A Heretic Comes For Tea
Date of Scene:	01 April 2014
Location:	Ivalice
Synopsis:	Inquisitor Faruja Senra invites Toph Beifong to ask her help in a matter, with some minor hitches along the way.
Cast of Characters:	20, 152

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Faruja (152) has posed:
The Church of Glabados' capitol, the Holy City of Mullonde, is an island-city worthy of the name. It's design is equal parts reverence for the God and prophet the religion reveres, as well as a carefully calculated show of wealth and power. Every road is well kept, every alleyway free of excessive trash, and small parks, gardens, and beautifying shrubbery lines walkways throughout the city.

Even at noon, the massive city is full of life and energy. Preachers cry out upon street corners, urging pious donations, giving blessings, and arguing with their compatriots over matters of doctrine and politics. Temple Knights and Wizards make patrols in full armor and regalia. Around every street corner sits a Church, and more often, a small Cathedral. Clean shops line the main street leading up to the massive main cathedral, where the High Confessor, High Templar, and other highly ranked officials and aides reside and work.

Toph Beifong is given an invitation, both written and translated braille. Faruja's nothing if not thoughtful, when trying to get someone on his side, after all. While she's given free reign to explore the city, as well as accomodations in a rather plush hotel, the office that the meeting would be held at may be a bit hard to find, tucked away in the shadow of one of the older Churches in Mullonde, aside from the Cathedral itself.

Toph may well have to push past crowds of worshippers to even get there. On the upside, everyone is exceedingly polite, though not always in the high-mannered ways found in court. The Church is a magnet for the ambitious low-borne of Ivalice, and it shows.

Faruja's office is small, and a bit cramped in a building that may 'feel' as though it groans under the weight of filing cabinets, reports, and people busily seeing to them. Personal affects are few: a framed mini-portrait of a slightly younger Faruja, and several other robed persons. Books on magery, and religion both. And most notably, a well-built, but understated cabinet filled with wine, and various other drinks of choice.

There's three glasses set out upon the desk in the room, as well as hot scones. One glass is filled with white wine, while the other is filled with a fizzy drink similar to soda. The choice is Toph's! Faruja himself, quietly sips at his own glass while he awaits the arrival of the young Earthbender.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
The earthbending master has no reason to decline an invitation from one of her allies, though in hindsight, she can't help but wonder about why she was asked to come here. This whole place just seems so... /fuddy duddy/. Sure, she can't see the looks and how beautiful it must look for those blessed with eyesight, but her feet take in what sets this place apart from other places she's been. Where's the natural mess? This place seems... so forcefully kept in place. And the people at the street corners? Ugh.

Spirits and such business never concerned Toph much at all. Heck, it even made her doze whenever Aang droned on and on about Avatar business. Like she's about to listen to this crap now. Seriously, people have nothing better to argue about...? There's a war going on, and people are squabbling over--- ugh, she's not even going to finish that thought. There's enough stuff to worry about. Like finding that place she was supposed to meet Faruja at. And no, she's not going to hesitate pushing her way through the crowd, accompanied with loud "'scuse me!"s and "coming through here!"s.

Oh well, at least they aren't as bad as Earth Kingdom snobs.

Finally the blind girl arrives at the old church and opens the door to Faruja's office. She's clad in her usual gear, though she does have her bag flung over her shoulder. "Heya, you wanted to see me?" she asks of Faruja, closing the door behind her before she turns towards the desk. Sniff. Is that... hot scones?

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja discretely snaps closed a small pocketwatch as Toph opens. The rat smiles gently. Right on time, and without a knock. Exactly what he's come to imagine of the girl.

The scones, at least a good dozen laid out, are of various fruit flavors; strawberry, raspberry, and even one stuffed with a local sweet fruit similar to a peach. They're fresh, judging from the feeling of heat wafting off of them.

"Ahh, Toph, excellent timing! Sister Annita delivered our meal not moments ago. Lord's blessings to ye, and thank ye for coming all of this way. I apologize for the inconvenience, however, we of the Church oft like to lean upon formality, particularly in such a case as we find ourselves in." That last bit, oddly, seems to be directed at her. A chair is lightly pushed out for Toph's benefit.

"Please, sit. Eat to thine hearts' content. Wine? Cordial? The left glass is the wine." Faruja taps both glasses, helpfully, with a claw.

"Now then! I shan't keep ye in suspense. Simply put, Toph, I desire to hire ye as an investigator in my stead. I need something found, by a trustworthy warrior of skill, bravery, and most importantly, integrity. To be more specific, I am in need of a Geomancer." The rat's smile grows, and as he crosses his legs and wiggles his nose a bit, his gaze keeps to her own. It may be useless, but the rat's polite like that. Very much in the 'fuddy dudy' crowd.

A clawed hand reaches into his desk, and after a moment, pulls out a silver-chained cross. Plated in gold with a core of simple iron, he slides it across the table.

"Before I make any offers, nor fill ye in upon the details, I must perform a small test, if ye would be so kind as to indulge me. Take the cross before ye, examine it thoroughly. Tell me what ye sense from it, if anything, please."

The cross, is in fact, something of a beacon to those spiritually sensitive; only mildly enchanted, and merely giving off a gentle feeling to those able to pick up on it, it's very useful in gauging one's spiritual awareness.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Making her way over to the desk, Toph sniffs the air some more and reaches out to grab a scone, stuffing it into her mouth with a nod when Faruja mentions they are freshly delivered. As for the thanks given at her coming out here, she merely offers a salute as her mouth is busy with chewing at the moment. The bag slides off of her shoulder slightly, and she puts it down on the floor next to her as she does indeed sit down. "Just don't let formality be the thing of main importance, right?" she cautions. "I heard you got that Inquisitor lady." Heh. Kind of makes her regret not being able to join that day. Then again, she has no taste at all for murder. Fighting, sure! Nothing like flexing some muscle. But shedding blood? No thanks!

As for the glasses, Toph reaches for the right one without hesitation. "I'm not exactly old enough for alcohol, and I'm not /that/ rebellious!" she adds with a slight smirk. But enough of that. She sips her drink even as Faruja begins speaking. Now this seems a bit weird, but she will voice her questions later, for now she will hear him out. Yet it should be clear that she has questions on her mind, wanting to hear /why/ he had to ask her of this here and not over the channels.

... a test?

Now that makes the girl arch a quizzical eyebrow, and she lowers the glass slightly, setting it down again before she leans forward and picks up the cross by the chain. Examine it? That should be easy enough. As for what she senses?

Toph lets it dangle close to her face, and she sniffs at it briefly before she closes her fingers around it. "Feels like iron... and gold." Jericho gave her gold to bend for her birthday, so she has gotten a decent feeling of that metal. Then she moves her hands to opposite ends of the cross... which bends in the middle as Toph gives it a thorough examination. "Yup, normal iron and gold," she confirms before she bends it back into shape and tosses it back towards Faruja, her expression still wondering why he wanted her to examine the cross.

No. Toph Beifong is /not/ spiritual. At all.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Toph's eating and salute earns her a small chuckle from the rat, clearly amused. After a few moments, the Burmecian visibly relaxes.

"My dear, those words art a balm upon mine soul. I assure ye, the matter at hand is far too important to waste too much time on such things." He seems to mean it, too; far too much time in the company of pompous nobles swiftly becomes grating.

As for the Inquisitor, there's a sudden shift in the rat's demeanor. A rare spark of fear shows, the Burmecian shivering at the fresh memory. Black, oozing blood and bleached bone reaching for them all...

Taking a long pull of his wine, he manages to somewhat settle down. His heart hammers in his chest as he forcefully pushes the memory aside. His tail caresses a small cross carved into the desk's leg.

"As ye like." Faruja makes a mental note to look into /just/ how old she is later. Being short has that problem.

Faruja watches closely as Toph inspects the cross. Curiousity reigns...and then, those arms bend. With every small movement of those two metallic arms, the smile on Faruja's face starts to tip downards. Much like the new mangled cross, there is a scowl on the rat's muzzle. His tailwhips back and forth behind him, like some kind of predator about to pounce. Teeth grit, and a little growl-squeak escapes him, only to be replaced by an utterly strained smile of politeness.

"Toph. My dear. /KINDLY/ doth not...." And then, she bends it right back into shape. The oncoming tirade of holiness peters out rather pathetically. Faruja's ears, tail, shoulders, and head slump. He robes his temples.

"A tip, Toph. The Church is rather...protective...of our holy symbols. My apologies for not informing ye earlier, however, please try not to disfigure them where possible, please." His tone, luckily, has shifted to exasperation. Cue more devouring of wine. He pours himself another glass, and swiftly steals Toph's untouched one.

Straightening, the rat finally gets to business.

"Iron and gold. Naught else? Excellent. Allow me to explain: the cross is indeed made of the aforementioned metals, however, 'tis also enchanted. Those sensitive to holy...and unholy...entities and enchantments would be able to, to a certain degree, sense this presence in a multitude of ways. Ye, my dear, art regrettable void of such senses."

Faruja's smile widens, and becomes utterly natural. "Therefore, ye hath passed my test."

Coming from a priest, it may seem an odd statement.

Faruja touches his ear, and whispers into the linkshell. Outside, a pair of guards rather insistently clear the hallway. The window curtains are closed by the Burmecian, and agents outside rather gently move away the flow of crowds.

"The Inquisitor is exactly why I hath called ye here. 'Tis true, Heretic Anna Bellgrave is dead. While I wished to capture her, and bring her to justice, there were...circumstances. Ones that I shan't trouble ye with, unless I must. Ye need not the burden upon thine soul." His voice turns serious, and solemn, that note of terror entering his voice again.

"Do ye remember the Geomanc...ahem, /Earthbender/ ye fought in Bellgrave's company? Prior to our battle with the Inquisitor, he appeared, and swiftly absconded with an artifact. One of terrible power, that in the hands of the ambitious, or ignorant, or ill-intentioned, may very well cause the deaths of innocent Ivalicians. Nevermind what would happen should it fall into the hands of Archadia, or the Confederacy, Lord forbid."

"The artifact is an unholy one, able to possess others. So too may it hath other fell powers, however, at this time we doth not know of what 'tis capable of. To those spiritually sensitive, the artifact causes great illness and debilitation."

Faruja's gaze burrows into Toph meaningfully.

"For the sake of innocent souls in Ivalice, and beyond, will ye, Toph Beifong of the Union, assist the Holy Office of Inquisition in retrieving and destroying this artifact, and aide in the capture of the rogue Geomancer? We art prepared to reward ye for thine time and efforts. It shall be dangerous. Ye know his capabilities firsthand...nevermind what the artifact may allow him to do."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Important stuff. Huh. Well, she'll take his word for it, and well... It does seem that Faruja is kinda twitchy today, huh? Toph blinks slowly as she hears his heart race at the mention of that annoying woman. At least it seems that he is calming down again, fortunately. Toph grabs another scone, she /is/ a bit hungry after all. And she wouldn't mind some real information really.

His reaction to her stunt with the cross though does strike her as weird at first, then she lets out a slight groan of exasparation. Not /him/ too. The girl can't see the expression on his face, but she hears and feels the way his tail whips back and forth, not to mention that growl-squeak. "It's /just/ metal!" she protests even as she bends it back. As for his tip, it makes her snort. "You really should relax a bit more." Seriously, who the hell puts so much worth in simple objects like that? She didn't break it! They are just /things/. But fine, he seems to calm down and not freak out too much.

She nods when he repeats her statement. "Iron and gold." It's not like she cares for enchantments nor places too much importance in it. A thing is just a thing after all, it's the value you give it that matters. As he explains further, Toph reaches up to stick her pinkie finger into one nostril, plucking at her nose. "I have managed without those fuddy duddy spiritual things before, I think I can manage some more without them."

Just where /is/ he going with this?

She... passed it?

When he calls the geomancer for an earthbender though, she snorts. "That wasn't bending. That was earth magic at best. Bending is something else. But yeah, I remember that oaf," Toph replies, pulling back her hand to flick a booger off to the side. So he stole something, huh? She arches an eyebrow and listens intently. And smart as she is, she gets the picture soon enough, even before he makes the request. So when he finally makes it, Toph sighs. "Keep your reward. I don't do what I do for money, I'm all in it for the asskicking. Not to mention this dunderhead can really mess people up, right? I'm in."

Faruja (152) has posed:
"'Tis less the object itself, and what it represents! A symbol of one's faith, and willingness to do good works for the downtrodden, the lost, and the innocent!" Fires the rat right back, before finally just rubbing the back of his head.

"I merely wish to caution ye. Not all would be particularly forgiving, in Mullonde, of such things." After all, Faruja is relatively /restrained/ next to some of his compatriots.

And then she's plucking her nose, right in his office. Not for the first time, Faruja has to wonder if she's /really/ the daughter of a noble. One of his ears, indeed, starts to twitch and wiggle.

At least she's confident, and /that/ has the rat relaxing a bit. When she utterly turns aside a reward? His gaze softens.

"I see I hath indeed found the right woman for the job. Welcome to the Inquisition, Toph. Ye may turn aside rewards, but such acts doth not go unremembered. Mullonde's walls art ever a safe harbor for one such as thyself, should ye ever need them." His irritation is gone, Faruja gazing upon Toph with newfound respect. A hand is offered over to shake.

Inwardly, he prays that it's /not/ the hand she was picking her nose with.

"Shake on it, then?" Right. Blind girl.

An ear perks. The radio goes off. Faruja's head smacks into the desk. "...I see I shall never be bored." Faruja proceeds to pour Toph a glass of wine, and then leans back up. He mutters something about 'Twitchy'. There may have been mild sobs during that head-desk.

"Well then, I shall prepare ye a full briefing, once my contacts hath returned to me, and then we shall organize a search. Whatever ye do, Toph, do not handle the artifact directly. Do not attempt to use thy skills upon it. Keep it away from deceased bodies, if possible. 'Tis a crystal approximately six inches wide."

Then, Faruja grabs a scone himself. Nom. "Any questions?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
"Sorry, but if you need an item in order to do stuff that's right and good, you might wanna reconsider how important that object is," Toph shrugs bluntly. And yeah yeah, she hears that. The people out on the streets seemed a bit preoccupied with talking. Heck, they seemed more intent on talking than listening...

When he welcomes her to this Inquisition though? She snorts. "I'm not about to join your little club, but I can help you catch this guy before he does something bad. That's the thing I care about." Sure, Toph might be brutally honest, step on toes with her straight forward remarks... but she's not all that selfish. The big picture is what matters to her, and she doesn't care if people are offended by her truth. If they are, then that's their problem. Earthbenders speak their mind, for better and for worse.

Luckily for Faruja, the hand Toph picked her nose with was her left one, and she extends her right hand to shake his. "Sure thing. Just gimmie the info I need to find this guy and show him some real bending."

Twitchy. Heheh. When the wine is poured she does blink. Really, he thinks she's old enough? Well, she /is/ curious... so why not? She is thirteen after all! So she reaches out, picks up the glass and sniffs at it, then takes a decent sip. Only to cough and frown, all before she spits it back into the glass. "Bleeeergh....!" She sticks her tongue out, looking a bit displeased with the taste. "Yeah yeah, no touchie. Like the borg. Do you guys have a model of it somewhere? What is it made of? I could probably wrap it up in earth I think."

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja's hand runs down his face. He blinks several times, tail squeezing the leg of his desk. Sigh.

"An interesting way of looking at the issue, pardon the phrase." The rat might seem a bit needled by the comment, but he's not about to draw it out. Clearly this is something he'll have to attempt to instill in the girl.

Faram help him. Faruja will need it.

"And /that/, Toph, is the crux of the matter. The man must be stopped, and the offending object destroyed before it may cause harm." A swift nod. Here, at least, they're on the same page.

A firm shake, free of boogers, and the rat finally stands. "Quite. Give me a few days, there hath been many a sighting. Far too /plain/, he is, makes getting any sort of information difficult at best. I shall inform ye when we know enough to give ye a place to start."

Then, she takes the wine, and the poor girl spits it out. Here, Faruja laughs aloud. "I see, then, that ye shan't become besotted this day!" Grinning, he offers her a clean napkin to at least wipe her lips. This time, he pours more cordial.

"Sadly, we do not. 'Tis spherical in shape...however, Ainsley /did/ manage to get a few pictures. Once they art developed, I shall have them sent to ye. We doth not know of what 'tis made of...and Faram willing, we shall not. That /thing/ is a blight. 'Tis best destroyed as soon as possible, rather than studied."

Faruja pauses. "That is all I hath for ye at the moment. Ye art free to stay, or go, as ye will. My office is thine own. Thank ye Toph. Ye hath done more for Ivalice, the Church, and myself than ye know."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
"A few days…? Heh, okay. Though I will recognize his voice if I hear it. I never forget a voice," Toph states with absolute confidence. Her eyes might not work, but there is nothing wrong with her ears.

No, getting drunk... isn't something she planned on anyway. That alcohol was sour, how can people stand to drink wine? It doesn't taste good at all! Far too strong, far too sour...! The napkin is accepted, and she briefly wipes her mouth before tossing it away on the desk. But what really makes her day though, is Faruja's comment. "Oooh really? I hope they will be colour photos!" she exclaims, pressing her palms to her cheeks. "In extra wide resolution! With special lenses!"

The sarcasm is practically dripping off of her words, isn't it?

She sobers up quickly enough and gets up from her seat though, scratching at her butt. "Yeah yeah." At least she can be modest about some things. "I have to go really, but keep me updated on the dunderhead. Later!"