1

EPHIDEL INTERROGATES MINA FOR THE FIRST TIME

Exterior of the interrogation room, Ephidel comes in first,

upon opening the room, there is some kind of wind hustling
through it.

MINA
That's peculiar.

EPHIDEL
Wait outside a bit. In the meanwhile,
discard every personal items such as
books, consumables, or any
encumbering items.

MINA
Okay.

Mina discards her personal items and carefully puts her book
on the counter.

OSCAR
Okay, let's go!

EPHIDEL
You're not entering in.

OSCAR
Wait why? The more the better, you'll
hold her hands while I'll be plucking
out her teeth before she can admit
her crimes! Then we'll finally be a
be to burn that bitch, I know a good
spell that-

Ephidel ignores Oscar.

OSCAR
(mumbling)
Sure yeah, fucking ignore me. True
fucking team spirit right there.

Ephidel takes out some bracelets and an amulet and gives it to

Mina.

EPHIDEL
Wear these. Once you've put them on,
I'd suggest not scratching either in
or around the bracelets or the
amulet, you may feel some skin
irritation: it's normal. Once you've
put on these: do not wear them off
until I'll do it otherwise you'll
most likely lose consciousness,
recieve a mental shock that could
permanently damage you or worse. You
understand that?

OSCAR
(mockingly)
 2

You understand that?

MINA
What are these?

EPHIDEL
...

MINA
... Alright.

Mina puts on the bracelets and amulets. We hear some strange

sounds like something activated.

MINA(CONT'D)
... These bracelets feel... I feel my
heart pounding more.

EPHIDEL
Good. You'll eventually get used to
it.

Ephidel invites Mina in. She enters.

OSCAR
Yeah sure yeah, have fun!

Ephidel closes the door and locks it. There is a strange choir
of winds echoing in this room. Ephidel sits at the other side
of the table he lights up a lantern, reavealing the really
small room.

EPHIDEL(CONT'D)
Or not. It varies from subjects to
subjects.

Mina is being lead to sit and Ephidel joins and sits in front
of her.

EPHIDEL
You can take out your hood now. Get
yourself comfortable, this process
may take a while.

MINA
Hm hm.

Mina takes out her hood and reveals her face while Ephidel
puts some files and organize them to the table, she realizes
that the chair is squeaking a bit.

MINA
Oh, huh, old chair.

EPHIDEL
...

MINA
You think this will hold it? I feel
it's squeaking and moving.
 3

Ephidel is preparing his files and laying them on the table.

He gives a disinterested answer while browsing and organizing
his files.

EPHIDEL
You don't seem that heavy so I think
it'll hold just fine.

Ephidel takes an inkpot and a quill, drenches the quill and

starts writing on a blank paper.

MINA
Oh you're using a metal based ink? I
like this one, I use it too.

EPHIDEL(INTERRUPTING)
... By going through this, you
acknowledge you are now under the
official surveillance of the Empire
meaning that all of your rights as
citizen will be properly evalutated
and correlating to the current
interview. you understand that?

MINA
... Hm hm.

We hear a short silence of Ephidel writing down.

EPHIDEL
What is your first name?

MINA
Mina.

EPHIDEL
M as Mede, I as Isaac, N as Neravar,
A as Akatosh?

MINA
Hm hm.

EPHIDEL
Last name?

MINA
Orivani.

Ephidel stops writing and looks at Mina. His usual

disinterested turns now in a surprised one.

EPHIDEL
Spell that for me?

MINA
O as Orange, R as... Redguard, I as
uh... Isaac. Uh, V as Veronica, A as
Akatosh, N as Neravar and I as uh...
Isaac.
 4

Ephidel slowly writes the name, puts down his quill and looks
closely at the name.

EPHIDEL
...

Ephidel puts the paper aside and takes another one, he seems a
bit more in haste than the other time and rewrites on it.

EPHIDEL
Could you show your ears?

MINA
I'm sorry?

EPHIDEL
Your ears. Could you brush your hair
away so I can look at them.

MINA
Uh...

Mina brushes her hair away showing her ears.

MINA
Anything wrong?

Ephidel doesn't answer and continues scribing.

EPHIDEL
Could you tell me more about that
name?

MINA
I... It was assigned by birth I
think.

EPHIDEL
Have any official papers or letters
given by the empire instating your
name?

MINA
No.

EPHIDEL
Are you properly registered as a
citizen of the empire?

MINA
Is that bad? I uh... No, I don't
remember.

Ephidel writes.

EPHIDEL
Can you tell me your date or place of
birth?

MINA
 5

... I don't really know.

EPHIDEL
You don't know?

MINA
We never really told me when or where
I was born for sure.

EPHIDEL
Approximate age?

MINA
Uh... I'd say around twenties? Maybe
thirty?

Ephidel writes down and then gets silent for a moment. He

looks at her to confirm the age.

EPHIDEL
...Have any family?

MINA
Used to.

EPHIDEL
Elaborate.

MINA
I had an aunt.

EPHIDEL
Name?

MINA
I don't know, I used to call her
baba.

EPHIDEL
You don't know why?

MINA
She never really told me... Or I
don't recall even asking her once.

Ephidel stares at Mina.

MINA
What?

EPHIDEL
What race was she?

MINA
An Elf.

EPHIDEL
Bosmer? Dunmer? Altmer? Maormer?
Khajiit-Ohm?
 6

MINA
... I uh...

Mina shrugs.

MINA (CONT'D)
I don't know for sure, she never
really told me.

EPHIDEL
From your interpretation, what kind
of elf would she be? Skin
pigmentation, overall defining traits
of the face, color of the eyes?
Accent?

MINA
...

Mina looks at the side.

MINA (CONT'D)
She had pale skin but with a hint of
yellow, she definitely had elf
ears... brownish hair.

EPHIDEL
The eyes?

MINA
Oh she was blind.

EPHIDEL
Any accent?

MINA
Not that I know of... she wasn't
speaking a lot, as she was blind she
mostly communicated through clicking
with her tongue. I don't it was... a
way for her to know the proximity of
things but it became mostly the way
she communicated with me, sometimes
whisper, sometimes clicks.

Ephidel writes off everything but seems a bit worried.

EPHIDEL
Do you know anything about other
possible members of the family?
Siblings? Mother? Father?

MINA
(shaking her head)
Hm hm.

EPHIDEL
Nothing? Not even a simple word?

MINA
 7

No,

EPHIDEL
... You don't know how you were born?

MINA
No... I just remember growing up with
my aunt.

We hear a long silence in the room.

EPHIDEL
Are you sure?

MINA
Yes.

EPHIDEL
...

Ephidel stares at Mina who doesn't seem that intimaded.

EPHIDEL(CONT'D)
Do you have any records of visits to
any priests of any of the divines,
documents, or anything correlated to
physical or mental health?

MINA
No.

EPHIDEL
Nothing at all? No memory loss?
Inaptitude or difficulty either
mentally or physically?

MINA
I don't think so.

EPHIDEL
No scars? Birth defects or injury?
Anything?

MINA
*shaking her head* hm hm.

EPHIDEL
What about that eyepatch you're
wearing?

MINA
Oh, this? It's just to hide my left
eye.

EPHIDEL
Why?

MINA
I just don't like it. It seems
intrusive.
 8

EPHIDEL
... If you don't mind, I think it'd
be highly helpful if you would wear
it off so I can see, you can refuse,
it's up to you.

MINA
... I... Alright.

Mina gets her bandage off. Ephidel looks at it. Mina looks
embarassed.

EPHIDEL
Brush off the hair so I can get a
clean view.

MINA
... O-okay...

You hear the lantern rattling as Ephidel gets it closer's to

Mina's face.

EPHIDEL
... What is so special about it?

MINA
I don't know.

EPHIDEL
You don't know? Can't you see with
it? What am I supposed to look at
that could make you feel that way?

MINA
It's... embarassing, that's all. I
just feel I'm... out of character.

EPHIDEL
Is it supposed to look like this? Or
is there any fluctuations of the
shape, dilatation of the pupils,
sudden change of pigmentation? Pain?
Uncomfort?

MINA
No.

EPHIDEL
... You can put it back on.

Ephidel writes. Mina puts her bandage on still a bit

embarassed.

EPHIDEL
Where did you live with that aunt?

MINA
Cyrodiil, a village near Bravil.

EPHIDEL
 9

Goldenlane?

MINA
That's the one yeah.

EPHIDEL
When was that?

MINA
Uh... between the 180th of the 4th
and 195th I think.

Ephidel writes.

EPHIDEL
What was your aunt's profession?

MINA
She wasn't working.

EPHIDEL
And you?

MINA
I wasn't working either.

EPHIDEL
Then how were you able to afford to
live? Afford food? To pay the tax?
Did you have a roof under both of
your heads?

MINA
We mainly had our own farm, mostly
planting tomatoes, cucumbers... we
also had a henhouse but we mostly had
rice. We sometimes sold some eggs and
vegetables so I believe we were able
to pay them all.

EPHIDEL
You believe? Approximatevely how much
did you sell per year?

MINA
Uh... a few. Around few pounds of
tomatoes, rice and sometimes dozens
of eggs.

EPHIDEL
... Are you sure?

MINA
Hm hm.

EPHIDEL
...

MINA
I'm pretty sure it was that quantity.
 10

3... 4 bags of rice containing 2

pouds, I believe it was uh... 20
septims the bag.

Ephidel stares at Mina for a bit then continues on writing.

EPHIDEL
And then what happened? Why did you
decide to live now in this... shoe
house?

MINA
The farm disappeared along with my
aunt.

EPHIDEL
Cause of it?

MINA
Uh...

EPHIDEL
Fire? Bandit Raid? Natural
catastrophes? Infraction of the law?

MINA
I don't know, It wasn't there
anymore.

EPHIDEL
...

Ephidel stares at Mina for a bit. The chair squeaks more than
usual.

EPHIDEL(CONT'D)
What do you mean?

MINA
Everything disappeared. My aunt, the
farm, the henhouse, the crops, it
completely disappeared.

EPHIDEL
...

MINA (CONT'D)
The whole place we used to live was
covered with fully grown wheat, like
it never existed. No more roads, no
more traces of anything. It was like
no one ever came here in the first
place.

Ephidel drops his quill. A silence resounds, the wind hustling

is slowly shifting for an electric ambient sound.

EPHIDEL
I assume you're familiar with
everything magic related knowing your
 11

place of residence.

MINA
Hm hm.

EPHIDEL
... Did you encounter, here, before
the disappearance of your aunt or
after something surnatural, even for
everything correlated with magic?

MINA
...

Mina looks at the side, the chair squeaks this time a bit
louder.

MINA
Actually... yeah. Just when I
realized everthing was gone.

EPHIDEL
...Could you describe me these
events?

MINA
...

The electric ambient sound gets a bit louder. The chair

squeaks.

MINA
I... I... Uh... So... I... before the
farm disappeared, I used to take the
same daily walk down the lane. I
think I stayed for one hour or two,
when I came back I realized that
everthing disappeared. I shouted the
name I gave to my aunt but she wasn't
answering. I looked all around and
maybe wondered that I've took the
wrong road, so I retraced my steps
but it soon confirmed my suspicions:
everything was gone. Then... when I
was... still processing what happened
by contemplating the fully grown
wheat field... something... I had a
cold feeling under my feet and had a
strange sensation down my throat.
Those were rails, they appeared out
of thin air. I was standing on rails,
like those ones we see for mining
carts... They were leading to...
No... Wait... the... the view of the
wheat field had something opening.
Inside of it, like a torsion.

EPHIDEL
Something opening?
 12

MINA
... The rails were leading to that
opening, some kind of... strange
black hole, like a portal, covered
with smoke and that eerie smell of
blood emanating from it, it let out a
choir of whistles sometimes
harmonizing sometimes not. I... I
don't know but I've suddenly heard
something like breaking, what was
it... I don't but I knew it was
something breaking and... It made me
walk, following the rails. I ended
entering in that hole.

EPHIDEL
... What did you see?

MINA(CONT'D)
A dark and large tunnel, filled with
those rails going in parallel. The
walls were made of this peculiar and
shiny gray matter. I touched it
and... it... bit me. The walls bit me
everytime I tried to touch it. No,
not bit, it was like a ward,
protecting it. I could however taste
the blood in my mouth from within
each time I touched it. I've heard
some pickaxes echoing in the tunnel,
but no signs of life. Mining, again
and again... I felt like... My body
was touched by hands, from
everywhere, sometimes carressing,
sometimes pinching... Yet I continued
on walking. I've seen a small light
heading my way it was carrying a
strange cyclic sound resonating
coming from afar. It was a block from
the other side of the hole... It was
carrying the light and this cycling
sound... Some kind of block with
windows in it... There was light
inside and shapes. It was like
conducted by those rails. It... It
passed right next to me in a blinding
speed, letting out a small whistle
going from a high pitch to a slow
one. I was scared. It went right next
to me. It was going so fast I was
barely to see what was inside but I
could see shapes... It... I couldn't
see the faces but I could like
figures of... humans? Elves? And some
of animals standing on fours...
Horses? Lamas? Camels? Lions?... and
I swear I've seen a... No. No I don't
think that was it. The... block made
some sounds like an insect. At first
 13

I thought it was cyclic but it kept

being out of rythm. It was irregular.
I remember the sounds. I remember
them. It went... Toko toko. Toko
toko. Toko toko.

EPHIDEL
...

MINA
And then it disappeared to the other
side... I continued walking... I do
not know for how long... it felt like
an eternity... no, like a minute, Ah
(sighs) It's hard to tell but... I
finally arrived at the end of the
tunnel, it had a door... nothing
particular about it. It was made of
some kind of wood and the knob was
made of the same metal as the rails
or the walls. I touched it once, it
bit me. I touched it once again and
it didn't, however just pressing my
palm upon this knob made it bend
easily and giving me again that taste
of blood in my mouth. I managed open
the door and arrive into a... lounge
room? At least the putrid odor of the
blood was gone. It was...

EPHIDEL
A lounge room?

MINA
... There were five short pillars
sitted on some kind of sofas. The
room was neatly decorated with
paintings of... I don't... It looked
like something alien, something...
(exhales)... The rug at least looked
comforting, reassuring, it had motifs
of geometric black shapes creating a
wonderful composition. I...Uh... This
time the sound was different... It
was like a choir of people singing in
the other room... or was it this one?
I couldn't locate it, I don't know
but it was muffled... I heard an
organ, and people singing the same
muffled stuff... I don't remember the
names,they were chanting about two
people, I think two men. They were
chanting the departure of two men
like they were martyrs of something.
An agony. A triumph, a heart that's
what I could pick up from those
muffled voices. It was repeating
again and again, like something
broke, sometimes it stopped and I've
 14

heard... the same sound that I've

already heard with this moving block,
this... whistle, it was accompanied
with these... fast high pitched
screams. Something clicked and the
choir began again. There was that
organ at the beginning, I think it
was at least but... usually I-

EPHIDEL
Focus on the pillars.

MINA
I...Sorry.. The five pillars were in
different sizes. The biggest one had
some kind of... charcoal arm, however
this is not right no. Charcoal isn't
supposed to reflect that much. These
black pillars could look like
charcoal but... they shined like it
was cheaply imitating charcoal... The
pillar with the arm pointed at a
vacant sofa. So... I decided to sit
on it. I had a view on window at the
right, however the view was just a
pale shade of grey. It was strangely
soothing. The arm of the biggest
pillar moved and pointed at me. I
looked at the pillar and it... its
arm started to bend to point at
itself. The bending of that arm let
out a screech, It transmitted
something, not a whisper, not a cry,
but something I could read, I don't
how and where the scriptures were
located in space. I understood what
it said, like I became fluent in a
dialect I didn't even know about in
the first place.

EPHIDEL
What did it say?

The chair squeaks loudly this time.

MINA
...

EPHIDEL
Focus.

MINA
... Instanction of the eternal Past.

EPHIDEL
Eternal past?

MINA
... Then... the arm started to point
again at something, something I
 15

didn't notice before, it was some

kind of... machine, like those kind
of dwemer machine, like a shelf made
of dwemer machine. I realized that
the choirs of the martyr and the
organ were contained into that odd
shelf. It was coated in black. The
arm... then pointed back at me... I
could read it too.

EPHIDEL
... And this time what did it say?

MINA
... Instanciation of the contextual
past: Eternal comeback.

Ephidel lets out a grunt, he clears his throat as is something

stuck there.

EPHIDEL
... And then... and then what?

MINA
It made me immensly... powerless,
like I wanted to curl up... So I did.
I don't know how, it's.. fuzzy but...
next thing I know I'm located at a
different sofa, the one with the
shortest pillar. Curled up with a
warm blanket on top of me. It felt
comfortable, almost alluringly so.
I... I don't know if I'm sure of
it... but I felt like I shrank. The
sofa felt that it was twice as big,
the pillars too, everything really.
My attention was however directly
pointed to the window. I think I was
seeing something.

EPHIDEL
What did you see?

MINA
... Two people in robes floating
leaned in diagonal. One of them was
pointing down, he had an execution
hood on but... it didn't make sense,
the execution hood was way bigger
like it was containing a bloated
face. It had a small hole on the eye
part for the person to see. Next to
him was a woman but I couldn't see
her face, it wasn't covered with an
execution hood. She was holding the
other person. It was... It was
beautiful, the two of them were
floating in this sea of gray. It was
like the most honest yet the most
 16

illusive sensation of love I've had.

It truly was...

EPHIDEL
...

MINA (CONT'D)
But then... Then I started to look
back at the pointing statue. It still
was pointing at me. Then it started
to point at the door which I came
from. I looked it and...

EPHIDEL
...

Mina scoffs. The chair starts to crack.

MINA (CONT'D)
It was a view, a view of me, a view
of me and the wheat field looking
straight to my own self, it was me
just before I entenred that portal,
It was...

EPHIDEL
... (clears his throat and starts
coughing)

MINA
That... That was... Wait... Why...
Why is the lantern floating?

Ephidel looks at the lantern in the room they are floating, he

also sees that the inkpot starts to float too.

EPHIDEL
(coughs) Wh-what is happening?)
Suddenly the chair succombs to the weight of Mina and she
falls letting out a small grunt. The electric ambient sound
completely stops at the collapse of the chair.

MINA
Oh!

At the same time the lantern falls on the table and the ink
too, the lantern falls and its fire start to consume the paper
Ephidel was writing, Ephidel puts it out as fast as possible.
Then a silent resides with the gustling wind echoes back in
the ambience of the room, Ephidel breathes heavily for a bit.

MINA
Well... It looks like the chair
didn't hold on after all.

EPHIDEL
...

MINA
I... I think your face is a bit
 17

covered with the metal ink.

Ephidel puts his finger on his face, feeling the gooey texture
of the ink and looks at his hand. He looks apalled. He gets up
momentarely and heads for the exit, he nervously picks his key
and opens the door.

EPHIDEL
Stay in there.

MINA
Wh- What? Wait-

Ephidel doesn't answer and shuts the door. He locks it tight,

leaving Mina alone in that room. He starts to quickly head for
his coat. Oscar is on the counter reading Mina's book.

OSCAR
Ah déjà ? So did she admit?

EPHIDEL
Change of plan, we have something
urgent.

OSCAR
Ah beh... Wait, wait, what is that..
gray stuff you have on your face?
(scoffs) What the fuck happened back
there?

Ephidel equips his coat.

EPHIDEL
Listen, you are to keep this person
locked inside of the interrogation
room at all cost, do not come in, do
not let her come out.

OSCAR
Oh la! Now hold on a minute, did she
actually admit-

EPHIDEL
The case is suspended for now. Now
the most urgent matter is to do what
I say and shut up about it.

OSCAR
(scoffs)
Wh- you can't be serious right now.

EPHIDEL
Oh I can.

OSCAR
Well, where are you going?

EPHIDEL
Get some information.
 18

OSCAR
Ooookay, where?

EPHIDEL
None of your concern.

OSCAR
None of your- (raspberries) come on,
we're in this together, I-I could try
and do the interrogation myself, just
hand me the wierd torture bondage
tools and I-

EPHIDEL
No.

OSCAR
Mais mais mais putain mais- What the
fuck is your problem? Can't I at
least get why you're soaked in...
whatever grey goo this is - and I
know really am curious about what the
fuck happened there - and know
what's so urgent?

EPHIDEL
I can't. Cofidential.

OSCAR

Cofidential mon cul, I'm a

professional too you can trust me.

EPHIDEL
... (scoffs) You? A professional?
Someone you can trust? Last night you
were so drunk your orc friend had to
put you in bed and undress you and I
don't need to mention your lewd
interactions with my wife or
Sycamore.

OSCAR
(exhales)
Okay so first it's called being a man
you should try it out, and second:
yeah sure, you're the professional.
If you were so, you would have made
her admit it instead of acting like a
bitch with... seriously it looks like
your face is covered with-

Ephidel grunts and pins Oscar to the wall.

OSCAR
(groans)
What the... fuck!

EPHIDEL
Now you listen to me Breton.
 19

OSCAR
I-

EPHIDEL
Shut the fuck up. This is an urgent
matter. Something that could be
dangerous nor only for the people who
disappeared but potentially Nirn
itself. You get that?

OSCAR
... I mean-

EPHIDEL
Do you have my word that you are not
to set foot inside of it, you are not
to let her out, you are not to
interrogate her until I say so.

OSCAR
... I-

EPHIDEL
Yes. Or. No.

OSCAR
Yes, yes fine, for mara's sake now
can you cut out the gay act and let
me go I can smell the stench of
that... thing you have on your face
from here.

Ephidel grunts and release Oscar in a violent manner.

OSCAR
Sure. I won't do a thing! Cofidential
matters!

Ephidel shows the key to the door of the interrogation.

EPHIDEL
Indeed I'm sure you won't. No stay
here and don't try to bullshit me.

OSCAR
Yeah count on it. (mumbles) Pédé va.

Ephidel leaves the entry room and heads outside, meanwhile

Oscar can be heard screaming.

OSCAR
(Shouting)
I'll be a good boy! Don't worry about
it! No need to worry about some
families suddenly missing their
fucking organs! "Oh, Skjorn?" "What
is it my bulky woman?" "Oh, I hope
I'm not bothering with it but my
liver and my heart are fucking
missing!"
 20

Ephidel leaves the scene and closes the door behind him and
locks it.

OSCAR(CONT'D)
(shouting)
Oh sure yeah, lock me in too why
don't you?! Don't worry! Won't do a
thing! Nope! Zip! (whistles) I won't
find your secret bondage collection
you use on yourself because your hot
wife acknowledge that you look like a
bloody poof! Top security your place
here! Look at the fucking door to
your interrogation room it still has
a fucking hole in it!!!