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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 2834328" data-attributes="member: 3448">Kit, Mother Honore, Marcus, and Jet met briefly with Alistair's loyal half-siblings, and then went to meet with Clarence. Clarence, the only sibling besides Alistair who had explicitly asserted a claim to be heir-apparent of the Archduchy, maintained a small townhouse near the palace district. Mother Honore rapped on the door, and a thin, furtive looking young man in his twenties answered the door. His eyes widened as he looked at Mother Honore. "You don't go into the bloody room, do you?"Mother Honore paused. "Uh, no. May we speak with Lord Clarence?""Yes, yes, of course. Come in, come in. I am Lord Clarence."Kit's eyebrows raised at Clarence opening his own door, but the group followed Lord Clarence into his sitting room. "We wanted to speak with you about your decision to declare yourself as the Archduchess's heir."Clarence nodded. "I had to. They told me to, and it seemed best.""They told you to? Who are they?""The rat people, the white rat people who appear out of nowhere. Have you met them, Mother?""No, I haven't. Why do you ask?""When I talked with the new priest at Glor'diadel of the Fields, he knew about the ratmen. We talked for a while and he said I would be a good Archduke and should announce that after my father's death I was next in line. So since you're a priest, I thought you might also know about the ratmen.""I see. No, I can't say that I've met any of the ratmen. What did you mean when you asked about the bloody room?""When I met the new priest, I could see that there was blood in the room beyond the sanctuary, where the black ratmen were. I didn't like the black ratmen... they weren't nice like the white ones that talk with me. But the priest told me not to worry about the black ratmen. He said they weren""The new priest?"Clarence nodded. "I hadn't met him before we had that nice talk."Kit concentrated and sensed the contours of his mind. In a low voice, she said, "He's definitely remembering that bloody room and the rats. He's addled, and I wouldn't put delusions past him, but that isn't one."Mother Honore nodded. "Thank you, Lord Clarence. It would be best if you stayed in here. Things could be a little dangerous for the next few days. I think I need to have a conversation with my colleague at Glor'diadel of the Fields."The group headed quickly over to the temple. As they approached, Mother Honore cast a quick spell and frowned. "The hallowed ground has been defiled. The church isn't properly sanctified.""All the more reason to speak with the priest then."The priest of the small temple nodded at Mother Honore as she came in. "Good day, Mother. How may I help you?" The priest had a thin, somewhat sinister looking face and a coldness to his smile."I wanted to talk with you about one of your parishioners. I believe his name is Lord Clarence?""Ah, yes. Clarence. Such a troubled young man.""Yes, we're worried about him. He said that you were new here?""Indeed. The old priest was reassigned out of the city. I think Clarence took his departure hard. The young man had been discussing his problems with the prior parish priest, and it's always a hard transition when a new priest has to take over a matter like that.""I understand. Where was your previous assignment?""In the Diocese of Caldra, out in the east. I didn't have any parishioners with problems like his back there. He keeps seeing strange things.""You think they're just visions, then?""What else could they be? The poor young man is just not well. I've tried to convince him that his visions don't make any sense, but I'm not sure he even understands everything I'm saying. How did you become interested in young Clarence, Mother Honore?"Honore paused. She hadn't mentioned her name... How much did the priest know? "I'm just trying to help out Lord Clarence. The Archbishop was concerned for his welfare after his erratic behavior since declaring his intention to inherit. I'm hoping that I can help him recover."The priest nodded. "I hope that you can. I fear that I have not been making much progress.""Let's head back to the palace. I think we should discuss our next step." Mother Honore said."Do you think he knows what we're investigating?""I'm not sure. He recognized me, and I suspect he knows we're from Lord Alistair's household. But I think he believed that we were just trying to help Lord Clarence. Still, he must be working with the skaven. It's the only thing that explains his different responses when talking to Lord Clarence and us, the defiled temple, and whatever the bloody room Clarence saw was."</blockquote>

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