When the council joins her, she speaks to the group as a whole.
"We have seen in our ways what we can. Let us share our findings and draw conclusions. I spoke to the novice and gleaned information and non-information. Whatever committed these crimes has found some way to hide itself from my...
"Why yes, thank you for offering," Chaundra replies without warmth. "Please gather the others so we can all discuss what we learned and our individual plans of action," she instructs, just to give Ceda something to do, given that she is so clearly interested in lending a hand. "We will convene...
Behind her mask, Chaundra's gifted eyes flicker to follow the past and present simultaneously. She blinks in an effort to clear her sight of the blind spot in fate. She has never seen anything like this before, never heard of such a thing from any mentors, nor read of it in any texts. She feels...
The quiet is good, the quiet is what is needed to progress with a clear mind. Inside the temple is loud with rot and misery, and the novice has been engulfed in it for an uncomfortable amount of time. Chaundra takes a moment to absorb the quiet as a replenishing thing, and tries to convey the...
Chaundra thought it somewhat crass that they poke and prod right in front of the apprentice, who is clearly struggling through shock. She touches the novice's shoulder again.
"Come. You need not see what follows, but trust that it is to further our shared cause," she instructs. Then she turns...
"Well done," Chaundra murmurs to the novice. "Your efforts are seen and appreciated by myself and our good, governing gods. Take a moment to collect yourself, discipline your thoughts. There is time to mourn, but much less time to apprehend the one who has committed this heinous act before they...
Chaundra removes her hand from her robes, then folds it around the novice's shoulder, gently clasping. "Peace," she intones, like the ring of a bell at prayer. She moves her hand to the novice's face, cupping her chin. She wets her thumb on her tears as she strokes it once across the ridge of...
I apologize in advance for inevitably slipping into past tense. I'll try to be careful to edit my posts but I've never written in third person present tense like this.
Chaundra does not rush, nor worry about weaving around the early morning folk who take advantage of first pick of the day at the market. The body will still be there, the guards are capable of protecting the scene, the other members of the tribunal are as capable of seeing it and learning from...