The Reverend Senator Dooley Azizid, Bishop of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Roman Far East:
Ah, so this was a tagnuul, a spy for the Imperium. No wonder he was so good at this.
In the halls of the Church of the Roman Far East, everyone knew everyone. The monks, the monasts, the deacons and assistants called each other by name and prayed together. Bishop Dooley was accustomed to hardship and rough living, but never betrayal.
The Mongol recounted these things to the other Seantors and to the mysterious bearded man. Pausing after explaining it, he shook his head.
"The head of an Azizid is worth half its weight in gold in Mongolyn Ezent Güren. The wicked Lords of the Sky assassin band has tried to kill my family for centuries, and many times, they succeeded. I surround myself and my family with loyalists and guards I grew up with and with whose children I have seen play with mine. The doors to the church I reside and preach from are guarded by order of the Ecumenical Patriarch himself. There is no one who stays near me for long periods of time that I have not vetted. God willing, I will live to see a natural death."
He frowned.
"My brother was very trusting, and I must admit, so am I. Had my brother not died of the plague immediately after his blinding, the act of betrayal by corrupt elements working against the Imperium would have broken him completely."
The bishop sighed again and turned to the mysterious man.
"Tagnuul, what exactly are you trying to accomplish by scaring us? I trust the men in this room entirely. Why? -because the holy Khagan Angeloi, God's Regent on the earth, vetted and approved each of these men from longstanding loyal houses. I'd trust my life with any of these men. Are you attempting to trick us into cannabalizing ourselves to weaken the Blue Khural? I've lived seventy years and I know what an Imperium state galley looks like. Unless you've hijacked this ship despite all the armed men that escourted us to this ship being there to stop you, I can't buy a word out of your mouth."
He shook his head.
"Your fearmongering has no place in this cabin. God willing, we'll make it to Constantinople alive. I trust in Him and do not fear death."
Bishop Dooley paused for one moment, turning his gaze from the bearded man.
* "...-but the notion of a traitor," he thought, "terrifies me." *
He made the Sign of the Cross and leaned back in his seat. Mongols were good at keeping a poker face, and he hoped that no one could see his inner nervousness.
Ah, so this was a tagnuul, a spy for the Imperium. No wonder he was so good at this.
In the halls of the Church of the Roman Far East, everyone knew everyone. The monks, the monasts, the deacons and assistants called each other by name and prayed together. Bishop Dooley was accustomed to hardship and rough living, but never betrayal.
The Mongol recounted these things to the other Seantors and to the mysterious bearded man. Pausing after explaining it, he shook his head.
"The head of an Azizid is worth half its weight in gold in Mongolyn Ezent Güren. The wicked Lords of the Sky assassin band has tried to kill my family for centuries, and many times, they succeeded. I surround myself and my family with loyalists and guards I grew up with and with whose children I have seen play with mine. The doors to the church I reside and preach from are guarded by order of the Ecumenical Patriarch himself. There is no one who stays near me for long periods of time that I have not vetted. God willing, I will live to see a natural death."
He frowned.
"My brother was very trusting, and I must admit, so am I. Had my brother not died of the plague immediately after his blinding, the act of betrayal by corrupt elements working against the Imperium would have broken him completely."
The bishop sighed again and turned to the mysterious man.
"Tagnuul, what exactly are you trying to accomplish by scaring us? I trust the men in this room entirely. Why? -because the holy Khagan Angeloi, God's Regent on the earth, vetted and approved each of these men from longstanding loyal houses. I'd trust my life with any of these men. Are you attempting to trick us into cannabalizing ourselves to weaken the Blue Khural? I've lived seventy years and I know what an Imperium state galley looks like. Unless you've hijacked this ship despite all the armed men that escourted us to this ship being there to stop you, I can't buy a word out of your mouth."
He shook his head.
"Your fearmongering has no place in this cabin. God willing, we'll make it to Constantinople alive. I trust in Him and do not fear death."
Bishop Dooley paused for one moment, turning his gaze from the bearded man.
* "...-but the notion of a traitor," he thought, "terrifies me." *
He made the Sign of the Cross and leaned back in his seat. Mongols were good at keeping a poker face, and he hoped that no one could see his inner nervousness.
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