Marcus tried to pull himself up as the guards rushed to his side.
It had gotten away. The heinous thing had gotten away with its accomplices and had touched his mind with its filthy corrosion! Even with the howling and scratching gone, he wasn’t clean as murmurs still scratched at the back of his mind and blood flowed from his wounds. He couldn’t help but stare at them as the rain splattered down onto the streams of red and diluted them, the symbol of his failure.
“Arch Inquisitor! Are you alright!?”
He looked up, meeting Junior Inquisitor Victor’s face.
“I’m alive Victor,” He groaned, “Do you have guard-“
Before he could finish his question, his answer was given by the thunder of hooves clattering against the cobbles.
“Inquisitor!?”
Marcus sighed, gritting his teeth as he brought himself up, “You have a lot more to learn junior Inquisitor. The only hope we have now of catching those heathens is the city watch of all men…”
Victor’s eyes darted to the ground as he bowed his head, “I will pay penitence later for my failure to God.”
“Save that for when we know for sure they are beyond capture. Now I need the square to be searched and the people reassured. They cannot lose faith, do you hear me?”
Victor nodded, “Men! The Arch Inquisitor wishes for the square to be scoured and to ready the people for an address!”
The soldiers nodded, marching back down the stairs, leaving the two alone as Victor snapped right back to Marcus. “Do you know why the fae ran into this place!? Surely even the heathens are not as stupid to corner themselves like rats!?”
The Arch Inquisitor rested on his cane and wiped some of the blood away from his face, “I may have an idea…”
“You do?”
He nodded, “The fae, its accomplices, the orc, and the three orators could be part of a larger cult. This incident was clearly planned given their quick escape and any organisation requires gold in order to function…”
“So, this fae was a thief!?”
Marcus nodded again.
In truth, he didn’t truly know why it did that. The theft was only one of many hypothesise built on sand and filled with assumptions swimming in his mind, though it was the most plausible. The most plausible other than it being a simple escape combined with an attempt on his life. A way to get out from his steely watch and either end it forever or corrupt him to the side of the anathema. However, that possibility was not one that Victor should think about, instead, he needed something to focus his mind on the grander plans and objectives of the Inquisition.
“Tis the most likely motive.” Marcus continued, “It would secure them funds that could last them a while and also drawing us out to force us to display our strength to them. Considering that the fae ran and had to resort to foul magics to escape, I’d say they won’t be trying to face the Inquisition unless they have to now.”
Victor leapt back a little, “It touched your mind!? Are you sure you are fine sire!?”
He put a small smirk on as he let himself have a single chuckle, “I am far stronger than he imagined I believe, and while I was temporarily stunned, my faith in God brought me through it. Indeed, I believe this experience has strengthened me in a way.”
You believe?
“Arch Inquisitor!?”
He realised his eyes had flown wide open when the strange voice spoke inside his mind. A damned remnant to be purged in my meditations…
He shook his head, “I’m alright Junior Inquisitor, it was just a slight relapse. Did you bring any bandages?”
Victor reached into his robes, “I do sire,” he replied, pulling out a small bundle of cloth as he moved to Marcus’s side, “The blood loss must be inhibiting your mind. I’m sorry for not applying them as soon as I arrived!”
“Well, put them on, I must be lucid enough to do my sermon.”
“Of course, Arch Inquisitor.”
He sighed, feeling the bandages get pulled tight around his arm as he finally heard the city bells start to ring.
It was far, far too late to be of any use now and he could only wonder how took so long for the runner to reach one of the towers. By now the fae would have either escaped or been apprehended dead or alive at the gates of the city. A bell wouldn’t change that.
Unless…
The door burst open again, spraying droplets of water outwards as an out of breath Inquisition guard slumped through the doorway.
“What is it!? Have we caught him!?” Marcus snapped.
The guard shook his head with enough vigour that he thought it might come off. “N- No Arch Inquisitor!” He stammered, “I have just come from the keep sire. The- The prisoner has escaped! The orc!”
Marus darted to attention, “When did this happen!?”
“Just now sire! I went down and found all the men on duty on the ground with the cell door broken open. I don’t know where he’s gone but the brothers are attending to the guards and aren’t sure if they’ll live.”
He wanted to curse and scream at that moment. To burry his face in his hands as he felt his chances at succeeding in his work slip through his fingers.
If this got out… Yet another theory is needed to plaster over the cracks. And those guards will need a personal interview before doing what will be needed to stop the news of any disgrace…
“What’s your name guard?”
“Cort sire!”
He nodded, “This is to be kept between us and the others must not hear of this. We don’t know who might have been involved with this incident as there is no way that the heretic could have escaped without help. It is highly important that you do not let loose lips inform the traitor of anything.”
Cort swallowed, “Yes, sire.”
“And that goes for you as well Victor, you will be the main implement of justice in this investigation. The fae is the least of our issues for the moment.”
The Junior Inquisitor’s eyes flicked to him, “But Arch Inquisitor! Between this and the theft, we might need to raise an army of men to deal with this! We might be facing deep-rooted conspiracy…”
“Exactly what I thought,” Marcus responded sagely, “But that means our work has already uncovered and disrupted it before it could cause serious harm to the city and its people. That, we should keep in our minds as we move forward so as not to be disheartened by our partial failures and the ever-growing wall of heresy we face.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
The smirk slipped back onto his face, “First, I need to give my speech to reassure the people as planned. There I will have to rally the people and gather their support for our expansion and reveal to them the partial truth. Just enough to make them realise the gravity of the situation, while not panicking them. We will need them to know for what we will do next…”
The horses were almost completely exhausted by the time they found a patch of forest to rest in. It was just about dense and deep enough to hide in, but it wasn’t all that far away from the city. All in all, it was probably too close for comfort but even Dyo could tell the things were going to need a good few hours of rest continuing even at a walk.
Agrippa blew a sigh of relief as they all finally came to a stop and quickly tried to get off their horse rather ungracefully. “Do you think… They followed us?”
“I don’t think so,” Shani replied, “They didn’t look like they were expecting anything like this.”
“But could they be patrolling the roads by the time we’re ready to head out again!”
“That’s if they don’t try to cover it up like last time.”
Hreysti snorted, “No one would take that humiliation well. There will be some one group or another trying to come after us, be it his men, zealots, or bounty hunters.”
“If there are any bounty hunters who actually know what happened and where we went.” She said, her eyes glancing over at Hreysti, “Mercs are not going to run around trying to find some runaways that they’ve only heard rumours of. Especially if there are better jobs around.”
“So, what do we do now?” Agrippa asked.
“I think,” Ercole said, elegantly sliding off his horse with all the grace that fitted his smile, “We should ask Dyo about the very eventful incident he just created. I’m very curious to say the very least about your little meeting and fight with that Inquisitor…”
He looked up, glancing between the eyes of everyone which were all focused on him.
“I’m honestly not sure how to describe just all… That quickly.”
Shani shrugged, “We have a while to talk.”
WhiteRose-BlueSpace Thank you to my Patreons Mirron and Zero!
Marcus tried to pull himself up as the guards rushed to his side.
It had gotten away. The heinous thing had gotten away with its accomplices and had touched his mind with its filthy corrosion! Even with the howling and scratching gone, he wasn’t clean as murmurs still scratched at the back of his mind and blood flowed from his wounds. He couldn’t help but stare at them as the rain splattered down onto the streams of red and diluted them, the symbol of his failure.
“Arch Inquisitor! Are you alright!?”
He looked up, meeting Junior Inquisitor Victor’s face.
“I’m alive Victor,” He groaned, “Do you have guard-“
Before he could finish his question, his answer was given by the thunder of hooves clattering against the cobbles.
“Inquisitor!?”
Marcus sighed, gritting his teeth as he brought himself up, “You have a lot more to learn junior Inquisitor. The only hope we have now of catching those heathens is the city watch of all men…”
Victor’s eyes darted to the ground as he bowed his head, “I will pay penitence later for my failure to God.”
“Save that for when we know for sure they are beyond capture. Now I need the square to be searched and the people reassured. They cannot lose faith, do you hear me?”
Victor nodded, “Men! The Arch Inquisitor wishes for the square to be scoured and to ready the people for an address!”
The soldiers nodded, marching back down the stairs, leaving the two alone as Victor snapped right back to Marcus. “Do you know why the fae ran into this place!? Surely even the heathens are not as stupid to corner themselves like rats!?”
The Arch Inquisitor rested on his cane and wiped some of the blood away from his face, “I may have an idea…”
“You do?”
He nodded, “The fae, its accomplices, the orc, and the three orators could be part of a larger cult. This incident was clearly planned given their quick escape and any organisation requires gold in order to function…”
“So, this fae was a thief!?”
Marcus nodded again.
In truth, he didn’t truly know why it did that. The theft was only one of many hypothesise built on sand and filled with assumptions swimming in his mind, though it was the most plausible. The most plausible other than it being a simple escape combined with an attempt on his life. A way to get out from his steely watch and either end it forever or corrupt him to the side of the anathema. However, that possibility was not one that Victor should think about, instead, he needed something to focus his mind on the grander plans and objectives of the Inquisition.
“Tis the most likely motive.” Marcus continued, “It would secure them funds that could last them a while and also drawing us out to force us to display our strength to them. Considering that the fae ran and had to resort to foul magics to escape, I’d say they won’t be trying to face the Inquisition unless they have to now.”
Victor leapt back a little, “It touched your mind!? Are you sure you are fine sire!?”
He put a small smirk on as he let himself have a single chuckle, “I am far stronger than he imagined I believe, and while I was temporarily stunned, my faith in God brought me through it. Indeed, I believe this experience has strengthened me in a way.”
You believe?
“Arch Inquisitor!?”
He realised his eyes had flown wide open when the strange voice spoke inside his mind. A damned remnant to be purged in my meditations…
He shook his head, “I’m alright Junior Inquisitor, it was just a slight relapse. Did you bring any bandages?”
Victor reached into his robes, “I do sire,” he replied, pulling out a small bundle of cloth as he moved to Marcus’s side, “The blood loss must be inhibiting your mind. I’m sorry for not applying them as soon as I arrived!”
“Well, put them on, I must be lucid enough to do my sermon.”
“Of course, Arch Inquisitor.”
He sighed, feeling the bandages get pulled tight around his arm as he finally heard the city bells start to ring.
It was far, far too late to be of any use now and he could only wonder how took so long for the runner to reach one of the towers. By now the fae would have either escaped or been apprehended dead or alive at the gates of the city. A bell wouldn’t change that.
Unless…
The door burst open again, spraying droplets of water outwards as an out of breath Inquisition guard slumped through the doorway.
“What is it!? Have we caught him!?” Marcus snapped.
The guard shook his head with enough vigour that he thought it might come off. “N- No Arch Inquisitor!” He stammered, “I have just come from the keep sire. The- The prisoner has escaped! The orc!”
Marus darted to attention, “When did this happen!?”
“Just now sire! I went down and found all the men on duty on the ground with the cell door broken open. I don’t know where he’s gone but the brothers are attending to the guards and aren’t sure if they’ll live.”
He wanted to curse and scream at that moment. To burry his face in his hands as he felt his chances at succeeding in his work slip through his fingers.
If this got out… Yet another theory is needed to plaster over the cracks. And those guards will need a personal interview before doing what will be needed to stop the news of any disgrace…
“What’s your name guard?”
“Cort sire!”
He nodded, “This is to be kept between us and the others must not hear of this. We don’t know who might have been involved with this incident as there is no way that the heretic could have escaped without help. It is highly important that you do not let loose lips inform the traitor of anything.”
Cort swallowed, “Yes, sire.”
“And that goes for you as well Victor, you will be the main implement of justice in this investigation. The fae is the least of our issues for the moment.”
The Junior Inquisitor’s eyes flicked to him, “But Arch Inquisitor! Between this and the theft, we might need to raise an army of men to deal with this! We might be facing deep-rooted conspiracy…”
“Exactly what I thought,” Marcus responded sagely, “But that means our work has already uncovered and disrupted it before it could cause serious harm to the city and its people. That, we should keep in our minds as we move forward so as not to be disheartened by our partial failures and the ever-growing wall of heresy we face.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
The smirk slipped back onto his face, “First, I need to give my speech to reassure the people as planned. There I will have to rally the people and gather their support for our expansion and reveal to them the partial truth. Just enough to make them realise the gravity of the situation, while not panicking them. We will need them to know for what we will do next…”
The horses were almost completely exhausted by the time they found a patch of forest to rest in. It was just about dense and deep enough to hide in, but it wasn’t all that far away from the city. All in all, it was probably too close for comfort but even Dyo could tell the things were going to need a good few hours of rest continuing even at a walk.
Agrippa blew a sigh of relief as they all finally came to a stop and quickly tried to get off their horse rather ungracefully. “Do you think… They followed us?”
“I don’t think so,” Shani replied, “They didn’t look like they were expecting anything like this.”
“But could they be patrolling the roads by the time we’re ready to head out again!”
“That’s if they don’t try to cover it up like last time.”
Hreysti snorted, “No one would take that humiliation well. There will be some one group or another trying to come after us, be it his men, zealots, or bounty hunters.”
“If there are any bounty hunters who actually know what happened and where we went.” She said, her eyes glancing over at Hreysti, “Mercs are not going to run around trying to find some runaways that they’ve only heard rumours of. Especially if there are better jobs around.”
“So, what do we do now?” Agrippa asked.
“I think,” Ercole said, elegantly sliding off his horse with all the grace that fitted his smile, “We should ask Dyo about the very eventful incident he just created. I’m very curious to say the very least about your little meeting and fight with that Inquisitor…”
He looked up, glancing between the eyes of everyone which were all focused on him.
“I’m honestly not sure how to describe just all… That quickly.”
Shani shrugged, “We have a while to talk.”
WhiteRose-BlueSpace Thank you to my Patreons Mirron and Zero!
