Quoted By:
You take a moment to read the room. There's no way you're accepting soup from this man, but you don't want to come across hostile. You accept his offer to sit and talk, but opt to politely decline the soup.
"I'm not hungry," you say. "Unlike many who probably end up here, I am well-fed - I just ate this morning. But I appreciate your hospitality."
He motions for you to sit down; you oblige, taking your place at the table.
He walks over to the fireplace and begins working on a pot that seems to have been cooking over it for a while. It smells like turnips, and maybe some type of meat.
"Don't worry," he says, "this isn't for you. It's almost dinner time for my friends."
"So..." you say. "This is a very interesting place. What, exactly, do you do here, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Whatever I need to," he says. "I serve a higher cause. For that purpose, this is my temple."
"There are a lot of strange folks here," you continue. You have a hunch that he has something to do with mongrelfolk, but you're not sure how to address it. "Do you... house them? Where are they from?"
He nods. "I make sure they are fed and happy, but alas there is only so much I can do. I am sorry the Belview attacked you when you came to see me. I will see this act of injustice corrected."
"The Belview?"
"Zygfrek Belview, the gravedigger. The Belviews are a happy family, they live here in my Abbey."
"The beast people? Are they all part of the same family?" you say.
The Abbot turns to you and smiles warmly. "Yes," he says.
"What happened to them?"
"Oh, I had a regretful accident," says the Abbot, still smiling. "It was for a righteous cause, but there is no reversing it. To correct my mistake, I make sure they are fed and sheltered... it would not be right to return them to the world, not anymore." He turns back to the pot of soup and begins stirring it.
(cont.)
