The mystery of Benfal (Moore, Tryll)

[Anastasia]

"YES!" Baleruk calls, "THIS IS ART!" He pulls an eisel and paint out and starts at it, painting furiously with one claw.

Sylvie steps back, leaning on a pile of gold and watching. "I'm rooting for you to find a work around on this," she says. "I have an idea if all else fails, too."

[Nephrite]

"I still don't understand -why- this is hidden. Is it even that big a deal?" Moore says as they wait. "Or is it because someone did something that's frowned upon by the Lords and Ladies at the top?"

[Anastasia]

Baleruk speaks. Nothing. He carves. Nothing, just blank stone. You bilk. Again and again. Finally...

"It's not what she did here. It's something else," Baleruk says, watching you intently. "Do you recall that? Say something if you did."

[Nephrite]

"Not what she did? What do you mean?" Moore asks. "Oh! I know right before I heard... a bell, I think? And some fragments of something that sounded like they might be maybe a song, or ... something like that. I don't know if that helps."

[Anastasia]

"Yes," Baleruk says, "You recall that much from it. What else do you remember?"

[Nephrite]

"First there was the bell sound... then a blur. Then... Then... ..." He takes a breath and tries to focus. "Then if all must... ...something. Be destroyed? ..." He shakes his head. "Glory everlasting... because of what happened, right?" He takes another breath. "In the sky above... this... is the part about raising it, isn't it?" He takes another breath. "Forty nine beautiful... ...angels? It has to be... seven by seven is 49."

He huffs once. "I think I remember hearing something in a report about a voice saying something about a bell."

[Anastasia]

"That may be as close as you're able to come," Sylvie points out, rather gently. "Do you think you're getting somewhere?"

[Nephrite]

"I think everyone heard something different. Or maybe bits and pieces of it." Moore says. "Let me ask you this, Sylvie -- without 21, would you be satisfied at this point?"

[Anastasia]

"No," Sylvie admits, "You're not going to stop either, are you?"

[Nephrite]

"A few months ago, I woke up in Venya." Moore explains. "I had no idea how I had gotten there and came to the realization that I had lost countless... I don't even know how many memories. I have been slowly but surely recovering them and I'm starting to understand what must've transpired to have me arrive where I did. Suffice it to say, I have a... a thing about not being able to remember something. Call it a grudge or whatever you want, but I simply can't let this go, my conscience won't let me."

[Anastasia]

Silence follows for a brief time, until, "What will you do if it ends up being a mistake. Some knowledge is hidden for a good reason." Sylvie says.

[Nephrite]

"Then I'll trust that my friends will find a way to come rescue me from whatever madness has overtaken me." Moore says with a smile. "Can there be any other answer?"

[Anastasia]

That gets Sylvie to go quiet. "Suit yourself," She says. "There's a book about Cantasa Alexandria, the book itself can be read even if you'll forget about it in a week's time. It's the only known account of her that's not anathemic knowledge. That would help, but perhaps not as much as you hope, because you remember a little of her already."

[Nephrite]

"I'll give it a try." Moore says. "Thanks, Sylvie." He turns to Baleruk. "If I had a suggestion for you, it'd be to maybe try and paint or make some art that just contain bits of the story. Perhaps it's a situation where the whole thing is the problem, not the individual parts."

Plan from here is to collect all the varying sources of "the words" that everyone heard before the [REDACTED]. Then he'll go to find this book!

[Anastasia]

GI check.