"If you have questions about what we know we can answer them, we realize that 'trust us we're here to stop it' is a lot to ask," Mordred says, on the basis that he doesn't have a better way to prove good intent than offering to share information.

"Uh, full disclosure, I am a former member of the evil cult?"

SKEPTICISM.

"Lev, you didn't know it was an evil cult until all your friends were eaten by mouths."

"I mean I probably could have figured it out if I weren't-- not the point. I saw the-- thing get summoned, and-- please please help us do something about it, this is not a thing that should be in the world."

Berhane thinks about it carefully and nods.

"I want you to know," she says, "that if you betray a nun to demons, you are going to spend a bunch of extra time in Purgatory and I will not ask the priest to perform the liturgy of the dead for your souls."

Oswald nods fervently.

"That seems extremely generous, honestly."

"We are the order of St. Frumentius. St. Frumentius lived in the third century and converted Ethiopia to Christianity. He founded our order shortly before he died. This much is widely known. What is less known is that St. Frumentius was one of the most talented exorcists who has ever lived. He founded our order to continue his work."

Berhane grows serious. "We have secret vows." She recites, as if a person saying something sacred. "'If we falter, none will stand against the Mouth. Its jaws will crush our animals, our families, ourselves. If we fail, none will bear to face the Fisher. Its claws will mark our animals, or families, ourselves. We must not fall.”

"This is a translation from Ge'ez to Italian and from Italian to English, sorry, I bet it sounds way prettier in Ge'ez."

"It's still pretty good the way it is," she says, a little awed.

"We opposed the foreigners who came those years ago to dig at Dallol. Although our alarm was great at what they were doing, we opposed them quietly, sabotaging their supplies, undermining them among their allies, undermining their progress at every turn. But they were tenacious. Both their leader, Acuna, and the American, Ayers, were obsessed with penetrating the ancient chambers. When they finally did, we had no choice but to pray until God chose to end the shrine in fire."

"Do you think the shrine in Dallol was really completely destroyed?" This is an honest question. She has no idea what to think of this right now.

"Perhaps you will learn something from inspecting the ruins? God buried the chambers themselves so that none can enter. But some of the structures are still standing."

"That makes sense. We're not sure. But - it seems possible that might still be some information."

"But you must tell me what is happening with the awakening of the Mouth elsewhere."

Zoe is at this point fairly convinced that literally anyone could be secretly in on evil cult stuff, but is very relieved that any of them are against everyone getting eaten by mouths.

"Yes. We were hired to investigate what had happened to someone who had opposed the cult just before Ayers's expedition here. Many members of the cult were killed, the night the summoning took place, but some survived. Mr. Aarons ended up in a mental institution. But Mr. Samson Trammel, in Los Angeles - he has continued the original cult, and expanded it. They have bases in Bangkok, in Mexico City, and in Malta, in Italy. We suspect that all of these locations have a mouth. The one in Los Angeles - we saw. Trammel kidnapped one of our fellow investigators - she was his foster daughter, she never dreamed he was directly involved in what she was investigating - and, ah, kept her in his basement, with the mouth, until she was - when we tried to rescue her, a week and a half later, she was very different. She told us that she was to become the daughter of Nyarlathotep."

"Is-- Nyarlathotep the demon's name?"

"Yes."

"We believe so. We think he might have a lot. But - one of them."

"We do not know their names. If you know their names you can summon them and-- St. Frumentius wished us not to experience temptation. On such matters."

Nod. "That makes sense."

Oh dear. "We apologize if we've accidentally broken a rule by telling you."

Smile. "I do not find myself the slightest bit tempted to summon a demon."