Mordred already likes her. He answers her questions and has the knowledge pool of someone who has been conlanging and obsessively reading on the subject since the age of ten, that being what he is.

Mariam watches while they talk, excuses herself for a moment to speak to Inaaya, and then returns.

"Let me be frank," she says.

Mordred stops in the middle of a passionate explanation of the Volapük linguistic schisms and nods.

"I am aware that you were hired by Samson Trammel."

He does not allow the enormous quantity of question marks that make up his internal monologue to show on his face.

"Your employer and mine have not, historically, gotten along. But I do not see any reason there has to be a lack of cooperation between us."

ahahahaha this is either the best thing that has happened since arriving in LA or the most deadly.

"I would be very appreciative of a chance to cooperate with you," he says, for once entirely sincere.

"As a show of good faith, I will explain our researches. We were hopeful that this could be a site related to the Liar from Beyond, our god. However, further study suggests it is merely another site of the Forgotten God, worshiped in Hungary. The Forgotten God is also, of course, known as the Fisher from Outside. Very little information of importance to our cult exists here. What are you studying?"

"We, too, were hoping Axum would have information related to the Liar." Grimace. "It appears not."

"You were following George Ayers?"

"Yes."

"Why is his expedition interesting?"

because we didn't have any other leads that didn't involve messing with the cult Mordred can't tell Mariam that. Nor does he want to actually give her true and useful information she doesn't already have. Nor can he admit that in fact he doesn't know shit and is in way over his head. This is so many constraints.

"One of our party was his student, and other things but student is what's relevant. And among the books he left behind was on the cults of the Aksumite empire, and especially given his later publications it seemed like an avenue of research that hadn't yet been explored or at least not in a way that the cult in Los Angeles ever learned the results of, and we had hoped he might have found more once he arrived. Hope that, evidently, proved false, but hope nonetheless."

"Yes, a tragedy. We have both reached dead ends, it seems. If you send me your site report on Dallol, I would be delighted to send you mine on the Obelisk. We both, after all, serve the same Master. There is no reason for us to be enemies."

"Of course," Mordred agrees.

Ahahahha. How deep have they just dug themselves.

"Where are you planning on going next? We're not quite sure. Probably the Orkney Islands, perhaps the Yucatan, perhaps Australia. Daniel has been making noises about us going to Malta of all places."

"Neither are we, I had thought Scotland but plans were liable to change based on what we found here and, well."

"Keep us updated. I can receive telegrams at"-- she gives her information. "And good luck with the switch to Captain Walker."

"Of course. And thank you."

"I will let you discuss languages with Louise. --your friend seems to be getting along with Anchisa."

Mordred has honestly only been paying attention to Oswald insofar as he needed to make sure they didn't contradict each other, when he and Anchisa started flirting Mordred tuned out in favor of obscure intracommunity auxlang discourse.

"Frankly I stopped paying attention to them at around the point I started talking about Esperanto. I'd be happy to try to help keep them both out of trouble in the future, if it comes up again."

"Well, if Anchisa's enjoying herself... My condolences about the fate of Mr. Trammel. I did not know he was ill. I suppose even worshiping our God does not grant immortality."

"Frankly, neither did I."
 
 
 
 

"Sickness was a weakness Mr. Trammel would not want to admit to."

"I'm not sure Trammel had ever in his life met a weakness he would admit to."