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He doesn't notice her, though the surprise in his expression when she sits in front of him is mild and short-lived, transforming itself into something carefully courteous; Atticus Vedici is (nearly always) a courteous man. The scar on his eyebrow is still healing, but the bruises around his throat from his unexpected altercation with Benedict and Ser Coupe have faded to an almost unnoticeable grey-ish yellow.

"Beleth Ashara, Head of Scouting within Kirkwall. A pleasure."

If something might be seen to quicken in his pale eyes, it could just as easily be a trick of the light; his expression grows only a touch more accommodating. "Likewise," he replies, his smile thin. He sets down his quill and laces his fingers together in front of himself. Naturally, his eyes mark her ears, the vallaslin on her face, but there's no revulsion or derision in his expression. "I am, as you can see, at your disposal, Messere Ashara." He spreads his shackled hands a bit. "How may I help you?"

Her eyes linger on the chains, then move to his eyebrow, his throat. Imprisonment has not been kind to the Tevinter, and Beleth is too much of a big obnoxious Dalish to not take some measure of pleasure in the irony. But...she's not here as a big obnoxious Dalish, she's here as the Head of Scouting, and so her expression remains neutral.

Once they've both gotten an opportunity to study each other, she breaks the silence lingering between herself and the Inquisition's newest guest. She'll have to move carefully here--this is the first time she's actually interrogated a prisoner, and while Leliana had given out advice, it's still nerve wracking to implement it.

"It has come to my attention that you could, possibly, possess information that would make you an asset to the Inquisition," She begins, lacing her fingers together, hands resting on the table. "And I have the responsibility for dealing with these kinds of assets." She pauses, letting the words sink in, while she glances calmly around the library. "Would you like some tea? I can put together some tea for you, if you would like."

This was how you dealt with interrogating someone with less power than you--treat them as an equal, make them feel comfortable with you. If he had not been a prisoner--if he were restored to his former rank of magister--carefully laced threats and secretive shows of power would have been more appropriate. For now, however, he gets tea, instead.

"Yes, thank you," is his simple, courteous response to the offered tea, though his smile and eyes aren't warmed by the gesture. He knows the steps to this particular dance well--these things are not so very different in Tevinter.

He waits the requisite amount of time for her to call for a page to fetch it for them, keeps quiet until they are relatively isolated again. Then he sits forward in his seat and replaces his spectacles on the bridge of his nose; one lens sports a thin crack in it from frame to frame. "Let me see," he murmurs as if to himself and reaches out to one of the stacks of confiscated Venatori texts that have been brought to him for deciphering. He sorts through the titles for a moment, then removes one--a dry text on ancient dramaturgy--and settles it in front of her. "I deciphered the information from this text," he says, and lays the decoded text, with annotations in the margins, beside it.

The information is presented to her without context, but its content is fairly straight forward: the Venatori are preparing for a major offensive against the city of Perendale in Nevarra. This in and of itself might not be compelling news for Beleth, for Perendale is situated close enough to Corypheus' seat of power that for it to become the focus of a Venatori power-grab isn't incredibly useful intelligence.

When the tea arrives, Atticus reaches out to collect the offered cup and sips from it quietly. "That's not all," he tells her, as though anticipating her criticism.

Edited 2017-09-19 01:17 (UTC)

Beleth accepts the page with a thankful nod, holding the paper delicately as she reads through it. Her face remains politely neutral as she looks it over, offering no criticisms to him just yet. It's certainly new information, though it isn't particularly useful information. It proves that he's capable of delivering new intelligence...but that's about all it proves. That there's a possibility.

Still, she doesn't say anything until Atticus speaks again, and places the page down. Her attention turns to the tea, and she takes her cup, sipping from it as she spends a few more moments staring down at the page. Once she's had some personal time with her tea, she glances back up to Atticus, an amicable smile on her lips.

"I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, and I would welcome anything else that you have to add," She tells him pleasantly, stirring her tea with her spoon. "Let me know if you need anything else for your tea, as well."

"...I would welcome anything else that you have to add."

"I'm gladdened to hear it," Atticus replies, gives his head the smallest of shakes regarding his tea, and then adds, "There are Venatori infiltrators within the Inquisition."

This news delivered as though he's requesting milk for his tea, rather than sugar. He sets the cup down and continues. "It appears they have been within your ranks for some time. Theirs is not intended to be a coordinated strike with Corypheus' forces in Perendale, but rather a serendipitous coincidence. When the Inquisition deploys its forces to aid Perendale, the operatives will leverage your lower numbers, the changes to your routines, and will attempt to steal research from your divisions." This, it seems, is the true value of the information he has to share.

Briefly, Beleth contemplates accusing him of being a double agent for Leliana, and wonders if this is all another one of her tests. But Beleth has more than proven herself since she attempted to ferret out Venatori infiltrators in what proved to be an evaluation from her mentor. No, this was the real thing, and even with the cup of tea in her hands, Beleth feels her throat go very dry.

It's not so surprising that the Venatori have tried--it's surprising that Leliana hasn't caught them. That it might be up to her to try to catch them.

She takes a sip of tea, and closes her eyes.

"If what you are saying is true, that is dire news, indeed." She keeps her voice, her expression in check. "I'll have to alert the other division heads, of course. It would effect the entire Inquisition. If you can prove, or show us how to prove, that this information is correct..." She opens her eyes, glancing up at him. "That would prove that you could, in fact, be quite a valuable asset to us. And valuable assets are not left to rot in dungeons."

"And valuable assets are not left to rot in dungeons."

Lucky him. But he isn't gullible enough to trust Beleth's word that this will be done, once she has the intelligence in her hands. So he says, "I would be delighted to share my evidence with your fellows, at your leisure." Should she choose to take the notes and books that he has referenced up until now, he won't stop her; evidently, the source of his information regarding the infiltration is elsewhere.

Beleth doesn't blame him for the lack of trust--she wouldn't either, in his position. It's smart, for him to be careful like that. Not that Beleth wouldn't prefer having an idiot to deal with, but still. She can hardly hold it against him.

So it's with the same calm poise that she's maintained that she nods to his words. "Of course. The other division heads would need to know about this, and it would be practical for them to hear it from you directly." She makes it sound like an excellent idea, maybe to lessen the feeling of being goaded into taking him to the meeting. Maybe to try to flatter him.

She leaves most of the various information behind, only taking the page that he had offered her, folding it and tucking it away on her.

"I'll have a meeting arranged at the earliest opportunity, though...I'm not sure when that will be. Still, considering the urgency of the situation--I'm sure the others will agree to haste."

"A wise course of action," he replies thoughtfully. He watches her past the rims of his spectacles as she collects the single page, folds it, and pockets it, not protesting its removal. He spreads his hands to either side mildly, his smile thin and inscrutable. "I'm at your disposal, Messere Ashara."

"Yes," Beleth agrees amicably, and sets aside her tea, standing up. "You are. Have a pleasant day, Magister Vedici. I'll let you know when the meeting will occur."

And with that, she takes her leave, off to make all the necessary arrangements.

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