Nevill said:
Can Rand get a special treatment, though? Since we suspect the Eberhardt to be another clone, this is a business concerning the well-being of the crown. It might be important for exposing the Eberhardt as a creature of the Dark Goddess, destroying the reputation the dwarf (?) seems to acquire lately.
What sort of special treatment? All the bodies will undergo a full autopsy as part of the investigation by the Academy's medical staff. If you do not trust them to find whatever you are looking for then your only other option is to do it yourself.
At this point it would also take a public demonstration of Eberhardt's 'monstrous' nature to undermine his growing reputation. The rumours that are circulating cast him as a hero of the people, someone that will protect even the poor from foreigners and the undead. After the fire and the assaults by the necromancers the people feel a need for such a figure and undermining his growing 'legend' will not be easy.
Nevill said:
He has recognized the seven figures as the sisters of the Goddess. Does Jan know who the rest of them are supposed to represent?
No, today was the first time he has heard this version of events, which is why he was confused when you mentioned it at the beginning of your interview. He has no idea who the five male figures are except for the information given by the tablet.
Nevill said:
Save him the trouble and name the three princes of the Dreaming. I really only want to know about the wyrm and the mortal (though it is already clear who he is). Anything known about them?
You give him the names of the three princes of the Dreaming which he hastily records. He says he knows nothing about the wyrm and little about the mortal. Until today he thought the mortal was a saint or early leader of the Goddess' cult and that this spear was a powerful artefact given to him by the Goddess in the early days of the dwarven race. The news that the mortal was actually more of an ally and potentially independent is new to him.
Nevill said:
Where did his tablet originate from, anyway? Does he know who added the last inscription?
He found it in the large temple complex northeast of the city of Myrgard damn near eighty years ago or so. It was baked into a large clay idol of the Goddess and he only uncovered it when he accidentally tripped and dropped the idol. He could not read it and knew of no one else that could so he filed it away with his other texts in his lab.
Those last lines were already on the tablet when he found it.
Nevill said:
Well, we can't let Hallr go, and any attempt to carry him out unconscious would likely face same questions. Would this be any different if we didn't shove him anywhere?
It would be funnier.
You are going to have to answer a fair number of questions regardless as their are eleven corpses down there and an ancient temple that should not officially exist. There will be investigators all over the place in the days and weeks to come.
You do have those letters from the King though, if you want to
kidnap take someone for interrogation then there is nothing the guards can ultimately do to stop you. If they interfered the King would have them fired, they are not mages and so are simply not as important.
Nevill said:
What kind of interest? What did interest him specifically as of late?
The best kind of interest, that of a natural student of knowledge. Jan says that Timo has a passing interest in everything and that he listens with great interest to any topic Jan decides to tell him about. Whether that happens to be the marriage practices of cultists in the fourteenth century or his theory that early cultist experiments in invisibility magic led to the creation of the entire field of light magic, Timo is always prepared to give his younger brother time to talk. In fact, Jan says that Timo greatly prefers to listen rather than speak, he says that Timo asserts it is the best way to knowledge, to listen and to think.
Lately they have been talking about cultist dietary practices during a drought that hit the south of the Kingdom three centuries ago, it has been quite fascinating. Jan has also been telling his brother about all the temples and cultist sites he has visited over the years. Last year Timo suggested that he write a book about cultist architecture for the Royal Library and Jan quite likes the idea so he has been compiling notes and running them past his brother.
Nevill said:
Jan laughs at the idea, then apologies for being rude. No, Timo is not a mage, not for lack of ability mind you, he simply does not have the time to pursue the magical arts. Instead Timo dedicates all of his time to preserving his House and advancing its interests. Timo also takes great interest in the actions and aims of all his siblings. Jan says, with a great deal of pride, that his brother is probably the most well informed dwarf in the entire Kingdom though Derryth believes that Mayer could probably give the Albrecht prince a run for his money.
Nevill said:
Well, at least he can tell us if Wenzel could have known about the Pathfinder prison that was attacked recently, and where from.
Yes, Wenzel would have known about the prison, as a royal prince it is well within his station to be aware of such things.
He does not know if Wenzel has any specific information about the attack, who might have led it, or from where.
Nevill said:
Who was she? A soldier? A combat mage? A medic? A researcher? What was the purpose of the last expedition she undertook?
She was his little sister, first and foremost in his mind she was family.
He will admit though that, that probably means little to an outsider so to answer your question more directly, she was not a member of the military, she had no real love of battle though she could hold her own well enough (she was certainly better than he is at fighting), she was not a medic, she helped him in the role of a research assistant from time to time but she showed little interest in joining the Academy. At the end of the day if he had to categorize her he would say that she was an adventurer, she preferred discovering new ruins and going where no dwarf had previously been over his more settled and careful brand of archaeology and systemic inquiry. He had always put her impulses down to her age, something she would eventually grow out of, sadly she was never given the chance.
Nevill said:
Does the portrait picture her in royal regalia, or in plain clothes? Can we borrow a portrait or ask him to comission a replica of it?
It pictures her in her traveling clothing, black leather armour and a reddish brown cloak. She has a sword at her hip and a dagger in her belt, a small pack is casually thrown over her shoulder.
He is loathe to part with the portrait. If you want he could have a quick sketch made and delivered in a day or two or he could have an exact replica commissioned but that might take more time than you have. He is also a little curious as to why you would want a picture of his dead sister.
Nevill said:
Has he never encountered evidence - from the Cult side - that the first king or his administration might have been connected to the Goddess in some way? It is purely hypothetical, of course, but he himself said that the Goddess granted her followers political power over others.
He bristles at the question in spite of his attempts to remain impartial. He has never encountered any evidence that the House of Albrecht has been compromised in that way and he would thank you not to suggest as much, even hypothetically, in the future.
He asks you not to bother him with such baseless scenarios in the future.
Nevill said:
Did he ever encounter evidence if any of the Great Houses came to exist due to such a connection? This matter is slippery as hell, and it is probably not something one should talk publicly about, but can he share his opinion as a scientist?
None of the current Great Houses, no. If he did it would be grounds for the complete destruction of the house in question and he is certain his father and brothers would not let such an opportunity pass unexploited.
Nevill said:
Has he ever encountered her true name? She must have a name, right - she wasn't always just the Spider Goddess?
No, all of her followers simply call her the Goddess though it is possible that her name might be found in some of the oldest texts or those made by the various heretical splinter cults. He can not read their texts though and unless you want to lend him the girls for a couple days to translate at least part of what he has, he has no way of knowing one way or the other.
Nevill said:
What is the 'official' version of the dwarven creation myth? How did the dwarves came to pass?
He is willing to give you the short version though he asks you not to be offended since some of the assumptions the myth is based on come from a time when the only other sentient race the dwarves had encountered was the ghôls.
It is said that Wyrd laboured to create the world, always in dispair. He created the sun to warm the lands and the moon to cool them, he created the winds and the tides, the mountains and the fields. He created animals and plants in all of their wondrous varieties and yet still he despaired for he wanted companionship.
To solve his problem he set to work creating sentient life. He began with the bodies of animals and from them he formed all the races of the surface world.
He expected them to hold themselves with dignity, he expected them to realize the gift they had been given and to turn to him with arms and voices raised, he expected to no longer be alone.
All were disappointments however, they raised their hands and voices but not in warfare, not worship, and they set to work destroying all he had created.
Wyrd wept at his failure, these new beings were nothing more than animals at heart. They killed one another and ate one another. They reveled in their barbarism.
The flaws in his creations were only natural. From beasts they had come and so beasts they would remain. At first he sought to wipe them from creation but they had turned to the Dark Gods and those maddening monstrosities protected their little perversions. They hid in the caves and clefts of the mountains and Wyrd was powerless to find them all.
Then Wyrd had an idea.
He would create a race without flaws, a race with a will of iron, backs of diamond and hearts of gold. He would give them silver tongues to resolve their disputes without recourse to violence. He would give them keen eyes of bronze that could catch the light in even the darkest of places and he would give them the blood of molten magma, hot in their veins, to drive them ever forward. From these pure stones, metals and minerals he would forge a race without the weaknesses of the beasts above them. In the ground they would grow, in the ground they would multiply and from the ground they would spring up to cleanse Wyrd's creation of the monsters that inhabited it.
They would be the only children worthy of his love, children of stone.
Of course Jan does not believe any of this and he is more than willing to admit that it valourizes the dwarven race while ignoring their flaws
and at the same time justifies the very worst sort of practices when dealing with other sentient species that deserve respect like the humans, fir'Bolg, mauls or Trow.
He says that the creation myth is a product of its time, that first era when the dwarves had just broken through to the surface, and that it must be read and spoken of in that light.
Nevill said:
Any names we might look into if we want to explore this theme further? Did he ever hear of Lamashtu?
No names he is afraid, the cultists he has talked to simply refer to them as the 'old enemies'.
The name Lamashtu does not ring a bell but he will admit that dwarves in general (including dwarven cultists) simply do not care what the beasts worship so he is not necessarily all that surprised that he has never heard of such a being.
Nevill said:
He does not believe that if the Goddess and her Cult ceases to exist they will bring down the dwarven kingdom with them, then? She is influental, but not instrumental to its existence. Is that his opinion?
He does not believe that the Goddess and the Cult can be destroyed permanently, that is his opinion on the issue.
He supposes on a purely theoretical level that nothing is necessary for the Kingdom to persist except for a strong army and a good economy but he does not know how the Goddess' disappearance and the disappearance of her followers would change things.
Nevill said:
Is everything in his collection, umm... legal, for lack of better word?
Yes, he has permission to study and to store all of the artefacts in his possession.
Nevill said:
Does he know what the black eggs are supposed to do? How were they transported here in the first place?
He knows they can be used for communication, if they have secondary features he is not aware of them.
He originally tried to transport them in wooden crates but some of the workers on his digs began to act strangely. He eventually realized, after an entire shipment was stolen, that the artefacts can influence the minds of the weak and so he set a team to work trying to find a way to safely handle them. By sheer luck he was talking to a colleague about the use of lead to dampen magical signals and he struck upon his idea for lead lined boxes to transport the artefacts in. IT seemed to work and so he has kept the practice up.
Nevill said:
Did he ever test his theory about communicating with the Goddess through her artefacts?
Not personally but he has seen it done. He got permission to give an artefact to a captured cultist that was willing to defect to their side and help him with his experiments. He gave an egg to her and he was able to monitor its activity. Something definitely tried to make contact with the cultist, unfortunately the cultist killed herself before he could ask her any questions about it, it was strange, she died with a smile on her face that he found quite unsettling.
Nevill said:
Does he want to? Test it, I mean, not communicate.
He does not particularly want to expose himself to the effects of the artefacts just to satisfy his curiosity but he might be open to experimentation depending on what you have in mind.
Nevill said:
Does he have a theory of why the cultists could not get access to the tomb constructed in their own temple without a combination that was written on the tablet created by them until we showed up?
No, not really. At least nothing beyond the obvious. The temple was located behind several layers of security at an institution loyal to the crown. It has likely taken them some time to infiltrate it properly. He has also been in possession of the key for decades as well and he does not keep research assistants on hand that could be corrupted to retrieve it for them.
Nevill said:
Even after not-Rand registered under the good Doctor's name, indicating a connection between them? Ah, well, can't win them all.
Anyone could use Miosguinn's name, it does not prove anything other than that the clone has heard of the deceased Doctor.
Nevill said:
What is Jan going to do about his security from now on? The cultists are on the rise and since he is an expert in his field, he and his artefact collection might attract their attention.
He plans to talk to his father. He is confident that Albrecht will know what to do and if he doesn't Jan will take his concerns to Timo, who the researcher has great faith in.
Nevill said:
Can he tell us where did he hear the mention of this faith?
While at a bar in Stoneheim he was slipped a message from his waitress. She claimed that she received it from a cloaked dwarf and her story held up under interrogation. The message claimed to be from a priest serving 'She Who Waits' and it directed him to the temple where he later found the tablet you helped him translate today.
A bit of a funny coincidence he must admit.
Nevill said:
And a few question about the Academy itself. Is there some kind of centralized bureaucracy in place? Who runs and governs the institution?
Yes, the administrative branch takes care of all the practical logistics involved in running the place. They secure supplies, set up laboratories, determine the security protocols, assign funding and the like. It is dull work though Jan will admit that the mages and officials in that branch of the institution are also the most 'grounded' and seem the most sane (though he maintains that they are mad in their own way as well it is just easier to hide).
The Academy as a whole is run by a board comprised of the heads of each department. There are about thirty departments all told, some focus on specific schools of magic (for example there is an entire deparment that just deals with applications of light magic), while others are more 'goal oriented' (Weapons Development, for example, draws from a number of different schools and is primarily concerned with producing useful tools for the armed forces of the Kingdom).
Nevill said:
Is there a 'Provost', so to speak?
The heads of each department vote to determine who will become the head of the institution. The position tends to be held for life though an individual can step down at any time.
Nevill said:
What schools of magic are practiced at the academy? So far we only know of two, enchantment and light manipulation. How many more are there?
Practiced or taught? Since there is a slight difference.
All known schools of magic* are practiced at the Academy (with the obvious exception of necromancy) though many only have one or two knowledgeable practitioners.
By contrast, only enchanting and light manipulation are actually taught at the Academy in any sort of organized fashion.
*Meaning Animal, Physical, Elemental, Enchantment, Gate, Illusion/Mental, Invisibility/Light, 'Meta', Movement, Nature, Protection, Summoning and Technological.
Nevill said:
What is this technomagic that we heard about? Are there any known experts in the field?
Technology magic is not something Jan is terribly knowledgeable about. It is a very new field that blends the new 'natural sciences', as they are called, with many unorthodox applications of traditional magical theory. In many cases it seems to be a field that is less interested in actual magic and more interested in the ways it can be used to alter or enhance the 'natural' or mundane 'laws' of physical existence.
There were quite a few practitioners at the Academy several years ago but most of them have managed to blow themselves up and the department was closed eight months ago due to a lack of qualified personnel. There are still a couple practitioners at the Academy but they do not seem to do a lot except argue with one another and eat up funds that could go to more proven fields of study.
You get the general impression that Jan resents the 'new mages' to a degree and thinks that the funding they receive should go to more traditional studies.
He does say that if you are looking for an expert in the field he could have one of the secretaries upstairs look up the address of a rather gifted human mage he has met on occasion. He cautions you that she is quite unorthodox but he thinks the two of you would actually get along fairly well. Her name is Meletē if he remembers correctly.
Nevill said:
What research department was Hallr heading and what is going to happen to it now that its head is incriminated in some deeds that are unlikely to warrant his release any time soon?
Hallr specializes in technological magic and enchantment magic but Jan has not really seen him practice either very much. His team was responsible for cataloging and observing all of the artefacts stored in sub-basement nine. Now that he has been revealed to be a cultist his entire team (or at least what little remains of it after your massacre) will be arrested and imprisoned pending investigation (and likely military trial). A new team will have to be appointed to oversee all activities on sub-basement nine and they are likely to be carefully vetted to prevent a repeat occurrence that would embarrass the entire institution. Until Hallr and his people can be replaced sub-basement nine will be sealed and all experiments that can be suspended will be suspended. Jan knows a few colleagues that will be livid as a result but procedure is clear in this regard.