Insanity

[Rezantis]

Nathan looks up at this, surprised.  "The Starflare?  The lost ship?  That will do wonders for the king's credibility, can he bring it back here?"

[Brian]

"He thinks so," the specter says brightly.  "And you're right; the Starflare would validate His Majesty's Spark.  Currently, of course, no one knows about this in all of Anabara except for you.  Proving it will be difficult, until Dr. Christianson brings it back."

[Rezantis]

"Of course.  But predicting it will get me credibility - and having just been released from an asylum, I could certianly use that."

"Did he give you a timeframe?"

[Brian]

"Not as of yet," the elder Shuker says, frowning.  "I expect he will summon me when he has one."  He pauses.  "I could go ask him, I suppose.  I should have asked when I was there...."  He shakes his head abruptly.  "But, no matter."

[Rezantis]

"Good to know anyway," Nathan muses, starting work on the hot food.

"I found the tablet," he says between mouthfuls, "I had it in the basement.  It's not something I think I can decipher, but I know why people would want it."

[Brian]

"Oh?" the elder Shuker asks curiously.  "Is this news I should take to Dr. Christianson?"

"That's what I was killed over?" Molly asks with a frown.

[Rezantis]

"There is a legend," Nathan says slowly, "that says that the Creator left behind a message, an actual physical -object-.  I think this might be that message, or part of it."

"I'm guessing - but that's what I think it is.  My notes have similar markings to what's on here, so I think that I went through the gate looking for it in the first place."

[Brian]

"Proof of the Creator?" the elder Shuker asks, raising an eyebrow.  "That would be large."

"Larger than me," Molly agrees with a frown.

"The Church wouldn't willingly let this slip from their grasp ... it must have taken some doing to get!  Can you read the message?"

[Rezantis]

Nathan grimaces at Molly's words.

"I don't know what it says, I can't read it.  The legends say that while it's something carried, it's message will be heard - my notes say that I thought that difference was important."

He pauses.

"It wouldn't have been easy to acquire - that might explain a few things about my return."

[Brian]

"I can only imagine," the elder Shuker agrees, shaking his head.  "If that tablet is an artifact of the Creator, I can see why Hathoway would be willing to risk what he did for it."

"Hey," Molly says cautiously, quietly, sinking to actually sit on the couch instead of hovering over it.  "Do you think the Inspector's found anything from those men he took custody of?  I mean ... we've got to have 'em on my murder, if nothing else, but it seems to me that Hathoway's going to be in a lot of trouble for that -- at least, he'd better be!"

"It's possible," the elder Shuker murmurs.  "One question comes to mind, though.  How did Hathoway know about the tablet in the first place?  It was never mentioned when you were in the asylum, so he didn't learn about it from you."  He pauses, then narrows his eyes.  "This is more, and deeper.  We don't enjoy regular contact with the Church, but in the name of diplomacy we do allow an envoy from their land to come here once every six months, and another to go back.  Mostly they choose to stay here, though."

"I heard about that," Molly agrees.

Then the elder Shuker turns to her, as though the lecture was for her benefit.  "It's common knowledge," he agrees.  "The timing isn't so well known, though.  But an envoy came through before Nathan returned.  By about a week."

[Rezantis]

"I'd never have gotten through the gate if they knew I had it," Nathan says thoughtfully, "and nobody on this side should even know it existed, which means that Hathoway must have found out some other way.  The simplest explanation is that he's in contact with the church - somehow."

He frowns.  "What methods are there to communicate between the spheres?  Just the gates?"

[Brian]

Nathan finds that breakfast was delicious, outside of possibly the conversation.

"And ghosts," the elder Shuker notes.

Molly curls her legs beneath her on the couch and looks thoughtful at that.  "Oh, now Hathoway's got ghosts?" she asks.  "Well, now ... why doesn't the fellow that Nathan shot with a bow got a ghost?"  She blinks suddenly.  "Or ... does he, and he's with Hathoway now?"

The elder Shuker looks grim.  "I took pains never to appear before Hathoway -- or those brutish thugs he's made out of convicts with the gates.  Still.  There's the gates, and there are us spirits ... but somehow, I expect there's something else.  Something we don't know, yet."

"Then how to find out?" Molly asks pointedly.

[Rezantis]

"The only real way that occurs to me," Nathan says, "is to spy on him - or ransack his house.  Neither of which seem particularly viable, but I'd like to have a word to the Inspector sometime about both.  The thugs mentioned Hathoway by name, so if he can pry something out of them . . ."

He frowns.

"Well, what we do know is that not everyone becomes a ghost - well, I'd assume not.  But we also know that Hathoway didn't specifically tell them what to look for - just that they'd know it when they saw it - which probably means that he didn't know."

[Brian]

"That's a good point," the elder Shuker muses.  "But still.  It seems to me that Hathoway is in some way complicit in Church schemes."

Molly shrugs.  "Maybe, maybe not.  And as well as Master Shuker here killed one of the men what killed me, I'd just as like see the man behind them punished."  She looks the tiniest bit defiant at that, as though daring someone to challenge her.

The elder Shuker glances at her, then back to Nathan.  "Regardless.  What do you suppose would be the best course of action?  Personally, I think I should return to Dr. Christianson and find out when he plans on returning the Starflare -- garnering that support for the king will give us leverage.  Leverage that could be used against Hathoway, too."

[Rezantis]

"I agree that Hathoway has to be working with the church at least in some way - it's the logical conclusion given that he's looking for something that only they should know I have.  I'd gather that they wouldn't want it known - but notably, he possibly isn't trusted enough to be told what it is.  But that conjecture, unfortunately, isn't quite proof - yet."

Nathan starts pouring himself some tea.

"And we'll have his head on a stick, Molly, don't worry about that - and whoever else is in the ditch with him."

"Checking in with Bjorn again," he continues, adding some milk and turning back to the older ghost, "would be really helpful, if you could get some specifics on a timeframe - an immediate dose of credibility."

He pauses.

"My problem is that while I understand the situation I'm not sure where to go.  For now, I think I need to do three things - I need to speak to the Inspector and see what we can get on Hathoway from the thugs, and about the whole situation and our suspicions.  He's the investigator.  Second, I need to find out just what that tablet says . . . and third I need to get into that safe.  I'm hoping that some of the books missing from my study are there - they might be able to tell me something else."

He starts, putting his cup of tea back down, his eyes narrowing.  "You said I didn't have the key when I was committed to the asylum, but do you know if I had it with me when I went through the gate?"