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*****

(C/* 7/17/2013)

I've got an arrangement now with Meadow, a thrice-weekly dinner arrangement. Because of her duties to Dame Eudora, she prefers to keep a close eye on her, especially with the squirrel femme still being only a few months into her widow-hood, and some weeks into her motherhood. I don't mind being the one to bring dinner; after all, I'm looking for any old excuse to cuddle a squirrel kit.

Yes, all right, and a mouse femme, too. She has offered to make it a breakfast arrangement at some point when the mourning period is over, and I might well take her up on that. Right just now, though, might not be the most sensitive time.

The meal tonight was a cold noodle and pine-nut salad, washed down with generous rations of Persoc Tor peach nectar. The dining room, so to speak, was the garden of Dame Eudora's home, the same one where, last year, I'd managed to knock Meadow into the ornamental pond.

The conversation had meandered for a long while, until Meadow gave me a sly, knowing look over the top of her nectar-glass.

"Does the Marshal have you on the Cathedral matter?"

I looked up, somewhat surprised, which gave her a good deal of satisfaction. She answered the unspoken question. "The gossip all around the city is that one of the Cathedral's monks was found unconscious this morning, and it was one of the Marshal's men who found him. Considering that "Y" is out of town..."

"...and that no one would recognize him, anyway." Lieutenant "Y" was the fourth Blood Seal bearer, at least that I knew of. I'd not actually met him, surprisingly. Or at least, knowingly. Apparently, he's very good at disguise.

"Well, true. Anyway, the rumour around town is that you're going to be looking into the matter."

I frowned. This was not going to make my job any easier, and in fact, was probably going to make it a good deal harder, if this was widely known.

"How did word get around so fast?"

"Well, the brothers are notorious gossips, Westersloe. You forget that I'm from around here."

"Are you familiar with the Cathedral, Meadow?"

"I've been to one or two weddings there, and my name day ceremony was in one of the side chapels. Other than that, just my little local Temple. Why?"

"Just curious. I've been there any number of times, now, but I don't really know much about the history of the place. It's been there for a long time, I imagine."

"I'm not that old!"

"Heh. I didn't mean to imply you were there for the cornerstone laying, Meadow." That got me a bit of bread thrown at my antlers. "Still, though, if I wanted to find out some basic information about the Cathedral -- without any blabbermouth monks and clerks at the Hall of Records being involved -- what would you recommend?"

Meadow thought for a bit, toying with her nectar glass, and then excused herself. A few minutes later, she came back with a slim book bound in green boards, and handed it to me. The Cathedral Church of Albric Tor: A Description of Its Fabric and a Brief History of the Archbishopric See. It appeared to be part of a set of volumes on the various notable Temples devoted to Fuma across the Empire.

After dinner, the two of us found a comfortable chair, and we skimmed the book together. The first fifth of the book was devoted to the history of the Cathedral itself. It was, apparently, the fourth major religious building built on the site. The second Cathedral had been wrecked under somewhat murky circumstances by King Irenaeus (possibly related to a desire by him to destroy the images throughout the building), and the third had been mostly burned down by a freak pair of lightning strikes many centuries ago, not long after Irenaeus had constructed the building according to his own designs. The first Temple was apparently a very simple affair of wood, dating to the "Long Ago." It had been replaced by the second Cathedral (the one that Irenaeus had wrecked) at the time the first Imperial dynasty had been founded. The book contained some reproductions of drawings of the original building, and it did seem like it had a rather plain, rustic charm about it. Nothing, of course, fit for an Empire, I suppose.

Much of the history focused on the present, fourth Cathedral, and who designed what and who left such-and-such in his will to found such-and such a memorial. The Cathedral had not lacked for energetic Archbishops with an eye toward the glorification of Fuma (and content to ensure that they merely stood in the reflected glory). The library of the monastery attached to the Cathedral (which, luckily, seemed to have been immune from both nature and the whims of Irenaeus) had one of the most comprehensive libraries to be found anywhere in the Empire; not surprisingly, it was very strong on works relating to the Church.

The bulk of the book was devoted first to a survey of the exterior of the Cathedral "and its Precincts," which included the Bell Tower, the Monastery, the Infirmary, the Treasury, and the Chapter House. I recalled from my notes about the proceeds from the collection boxes going to the Treasury, and made a mental note as to its location. The second part dwelt on the interior of the Cathedral, including the Choir (and the stalls), the transepts, and the chapels, as well as the crypts.

I liked this description of "The Watching Chamber": "There is a small room, which is reached by a staircase from the north-west corner. A window in it commands a view into the cathedral, and from this circumstance, it has been inferred that in former times a watcher was stationed here at night to protect the priceless treasures of the church from pillage by marauders. Some doubt has been thrown on this assumption, since the interior of the cathedral cannot fully been seen from the window, but the room is still generally known as the Watching Chamber. Probably the church was much more efficiently guarded than by the presence of a solitary monk in a chamber, from which even if he could see thieves he certainly could not arrest them; for we know that "on the occasion of fires the church was additionally guarded by a troop of fierce battle-ants."

There was an admirable little plan of the Cathedral, which showed where everything was in location to one another. As is typical in the Great Temples of Fuma, you enter through the main door and reach the long nave. Most of the time, this is where the common folk hear and see the Holy Recreation. Somewhat in front of the nave is the choir, where the monks and nuns of the Chapter sing the service. In front of that, there is the Presbytery, and in front of that, the main Altar itself. Behind the Altar, in an upside-down "U," can be found some of the smaller chapels. The "Old Chapel," where I found Brother Felix, could be accessed by walking from the nave, up the north aisle that passed to the left of the choir, and past the north-east transept and the Vestry. (The Treasury was located to the left of the Vestry as you looked at it on the plan, that is, to the north.)

I did get a very strong impression that a determined fur could easily win a game of hide-and-seek like that the Marshal described to me.

The book also explained a number of the monuments I'd seen in and around the "back" of the altar. Of course, since Irenaeus' time, these no longer showed the form of those whom they commemorated, but usually bore some kind of legend or symbol. Seemed a little duplicative of the Hall of Ancestors, in a way, but I suppose some furs wanted to play it safe by ensuring that they at least had the right of rebuttal against whatever forces set up monuments in the Hall.

It took me some hours to read through the book, and thus it was rather late by the time I'd finished, which I suspected was Meadow's intention. She sweetly, and matter-of-factly, informed me that she had a duplicate of my uniform hanging in a closet, and it would be the work of a few moments to move my pins and ribbon to it tomorrow morning, before I had to set out for the Cathedral as per the Marshal's orders.

The interval between then, and the time a freshly washed and brushed roebuck left in the early-morning dark for the great temple, passed quietly and uneventfully. Which is not at all to say uncomfortably. I left with a book in my tunic pocket and a kiss on my cheek, both of which were quite stimulating.

Slipping in through the great West Door, underneath the Holy Symbol carved above it, I found that I had managed to beat the Chapter into the Cathedral. Peering out one window as I headed through the north aisle of the nave, I could see the monks lining up in the cloister, off to my left (the north).

From studying the plan of the building, I had selected a spot that put me in the shadow of the stairs leading up to the north-east tower. From here, I could look directly south (toward my right) to the choir, and east (ahead of me) past the Presbytery and Altar (blocked by screens) toward the Old Chapel in the back (whose entrance was at least visible).

I had just enough time to slip quickly to the Old Chapel, and put down some very crude and simple wards that would do nothing more than silently mark the passing of furs, and their numbers. Given the dark of the Cathedral, I was able to do this and pad back to my post near the stairs. Luckily for me, the door to the Vestry was still closed. It might have been a little awkward, even with my Blood Seal, to explain my presence at that particular moment.

The service itself was marvelous, if you'll excuse a word more appropriate for entertainment. I'd never managed to see a dawn service from start to finish before; it's rather longer than the standard service that's held even in the most humble backwoods temple. For one thing, the full Holy Recreation is carried out. I could not see it, directly, but I had seen the Presider and his assistants leave the Vestry. The Presider had his paws encased in very thick gloves and his eyes protected by smoked glass. The First Assistant carried the Casket of rocks, the Second Assistant the tongs for extracting the rocks, and the Third Assistant carried the Cup of Reagent. The Fourth Assistant had a very long spill in his paw.

At the appropriate part of the service, which commemorates when Fuma engaged in the Act which brought forth the World, the Third Assistant hands the Cup to the Presider. The First Assistant opens the Casket, and the Second Assistant extracts an appropriate rock, which is dropped into the Cup. When the Presider hears the reaction between the rock and the reagent (at a point when the full Choir swells in song), there is a signal to the Fourth Assistant, who dips the lit spill into the Cup.

You really do need a skilled Presider, because the ethylene gas released from the rock can be quite volatile. An experienced one can get the full measure of the resulting sheet of flame, and if the rock sample was a good one, he will even start to speak in tongues as the fumes envelop him. Judging from the flash of light, and the booming and florid voice from the Presider, it must have been a very pure sample, indeed. Well, I suppose they get the pick of what's available.

I did take note of the Choir at this point of the service. While those seated on the north side of the Choir (to the left) were not fully visible, with their backs to me, those that were seated on the south side (to the right) were. There was clearly an assigned pecking order among the monks (and nuns), and the regularity of the spacing told me that there were only one or two isolated vacancies in the south half; as to the north half, I could make a few guesses, but not much more.

The dawn service came to a close, with all giving the blessings with the knuckles to one another. As the choir began to empty, I slipped east toward the Old Chapel, and checked my wards.

They were quite interesting. They recorded one entrance, which must have been during the service. However, they recorded no exit. Posting myself across the passageway (and camouflaging myself against the stonework), there was no further traffic until one of the brothers came in to empty the Old Chapel's collection box, just as Felix had done after the dawn service the previous day. When the brother departed, I found that the wards had correctly noted his arrival and departure. I waited for another few hours, until about two hours past dawn, but there was no further movement there.

Elf-mind disclosed no one there, and indeed no one in the surrounding area. I dissolved the glamer of the wards, but not before checking whether the Old Chapel was truly empty. It was, not a fur present save for myself. The ward might have been triggered accidentally by a small feral animal. Then again, maybe not.

It had been a busy morning, already, a fact announced to me by my stomachs. I probably had enough time to stop in and get breakfast at the FAFI, write up my report, and have another swot at the book Meadow lent me, before the Marshal came back from his meetings.