-=[Traetorius Manning, Gold City Magistrate]=-

Traetorius managed to rise from his desk just as his door slammed open.

“Whopsie, managed to put a biiiiiit too much Qi into the door there,” Baroness Sparks declared.

The Magistrate glared at the vexing girl, rubbing his aching face. He knew that there was a desk-shaped bruise there, slowly fading away as he poured Qi into it in a healing rune-pattern. It worked poorly, since most of his usable Qi had been drained away.

He looked down at his arms, noting that his Dantian had lost most of its lustre, the aura looking dismal and gray. Just yesterday he was one of the most powerful people in this city and today he was weaker than a twelve year old, almost completely stripped of his power.

“Sup grandpaw?” The Baroness wiggled her eyebrows, plopping down onto the chair across his desk. “Phew, that was a tough battle.”

“Battle?” Traetorius tiredly inquired. He had no idea what was going on, being locked in his office like a prisoner by his own grandaughter and her… fiancee.

“This castle is very dreary and severely lacking in music.” Ash stretched, wincing. “Why don’t you have a bard? Bards are cool. You know, I should hire a bard to sing of my glorious deeds of the age… well three days of deeds so far, but I’m working on it, okay?”

As Traetorius tried to digest her chatter, Aria stepped into his office. Her right arm was bandaged up in a sling and looked like it was recently broken.

“Aria? What happened?” The Magistrate inquired, hoping for answers.

His seventh scion limped to the leather couch and sat there, not acknowledging the Magistrate. Traetorius opened his mouth to bark at his granddaughter as he always did, but was met with brilliant silver eyes of the Baroness piercing his very soul.

“I’ve used the Deathstorm ward to take down the entire garrison. All of them were traitors. Your lovely Captain was planning to execute you with… uh… what was it?” Ash rubbed her chest, glancing behind her. “Glendaria?”

The Captain of the guard passed through the doorway as well, carrying the kitsune. The girl in the Captain’s arms smelled like she was dead but also like she wasn’t.

“Ceborakian poison,” Glendaria uttered.

The Magistrate’s eye twitched. “Captain Xericson, you’ve served my family for nearly a hundred years! How could you betray us?!”

Glendaria’s face darkened.

“Ohh, do tell my lovely Magistrate exactly why you’ve betrayed him! This ought to be good. I lack televised drama in my life.” The Baroness postulated with that aggravating smirk of hers, using a phrase the Magistrate didn’t understand.

Glendaria twitched. The Magistrate smelled that the Captain fully belonged to Baroness Sparks. He was tied to her by that horrid ‘noble’ oath of hers and a mercantile pact of absolute obedience.

“I couldn't care less for the Manning family,” Glendaria spoke coldly. “A vile nest of viper-snakes who don’t think of the people they supposedly rule. I’ve been serving you my entire life and for what? For a measly pittance in salary? I've seen your nearly empty treasury! The Magisterium is bankrupt, useless and weak! It’s the Guilds that truly rule this city, the Guilds that keep the economy running!”

Traetorius' face burned with shame and anger.

Another of the Magistrate’s ex-warriors stepped into the Magistrate’s office. The man was dressed fully in arcane celesteel armour and carried a somewhat dusty portrait that had clearly been dug up from the catacombs.

The Magistrate’s face paled when he saw it. It was the portrait of his mother, Calypso Manning.

“Yeah, that’s it. Take down that landscape painting and put it riiiight there,” Ash pointed at the wall.

Magistrate Calypso was hung on the wall facing Traetorius. He gulped, looking at her red, curly locks and piercing emerald eyes. The emerald ring on Calypso’s finger was now being worn by Baroness Sparks and the fiery determination in the blue eyes of the girl was akin to that of his mother.

“Hmmmmm.” Sparks admired the portrait. “A nice addition to this office, don’t you think so, Magistrate?”

The Magistrate heard a sob from the couch. He turned his head and saw that Arianna’s eyes were filled with tears. Six year ago his granddaughter had dug up one of Calypso’s journals in the catacombs, describing the wonders of the ancients. Through the words on the yellowed pages Arianna had stepped into the shoes of his mother.

She came to Traetorius one day and declared that she’s taught her minions to go down into the dead city to search for artifacts, just like Magistrate Calypso. He crept into her bedroom while she slept and cut out the fatal memories and desires out of her and burned the old journal. He thought that it was done then. He was wrong.

One of Arianna’s orphan seekers didn’t give up. A penniless urchin had inexplicably awakened an Ancient and became what the Magistrate feared most. Arianna’s passion for the cursed land was back with a vengeance and there was nothing that Traetorius could do now. With every passing hour the Ancient memory sitting in front of him was gaining more and more power.

“I hate you,” Arianna hissed quietly. “I hate you so much grandfather.”

“Magistrate Calypso was the only decent ruler of this city in centuries,” Glendaria noted, also staring at the portrait. “She had passion. She wasn’t guided by fear or greed. A pity her rule didn’t last long.”

The ex-lord of the castle smelled the air and saw a tiny, minute chance… a possibility for a future in which he didn’t die horribly. Ash Sparks had feelings for the sleeping monster carried by the Captain. The Magistrate saw an opportunity in his future and grabbed at it with all of his remaining will.

“Your… kitsune. She hangs between life and death. She will not wake,” he spoke, trying to hide the tremble from his voice.

“Hrmmmm?” Ash raised an eyebrow at Traetorius.

“I can use my art to snip away her dream-state,” the Magistrate said. “I can help her wake up. I’m weakened and her body is very damaged, filled with corrupting, deadly poison and rot. It will take at least five, maybe ten thousand heartbeats, but I am certain that I can remove all of it from her vital organs, cleanse the stilled blood. If… if you leave her with me, I’ll help her wake up fully. I won’t hurt the girl or the creature, I swear.”

Ash glanced at Arianna.

“He’s telling the truth,” Aria said.

“Ha. Look who decided to play nice.” The Baroness grinned. “What do you want in exchange, Magistrate?”

“I… I don’t want to be a prisoner in my own castle,” the Magistrate answered.

“Wake up my Celes and we have a deal, Traetorius.” Ash nodded, sparks of joy dancing in her eyes.

The Magistrate nodded, smiling internally. He finally got a tiny win, the smallest opportunity for some breathing room.

“Lay her on my desk, I can begin immediately,” he said.

Ash nodded at the Captain. The kitsune was gently placed on the Magistrate’s ornate, wooden table. The Magistrate placed his hand onto the head of his patient and started, slowly cutting away the rot and poison in her body.

Sparks watched him silently working away at it for several tense heartbeats and then, just as he expected it, she got bored. She got up and offered her fiancee a hand.

“Let's go explore more of my castle, Ari? We’ll let granddad work on Celes.”

Arianna nodded, getting off the couch.

The two girls and the Captain left, leaving Traetorius alone with the geisha. The Magistrate sniffed again. The future led to death, hellfire and dreadful torture at the hands of the cult Immortals. The geisha was tied, owned by the cult of Boundless Chorus. The temple of Inquiry would find her and then Traetorius and everyone in this castle would die. The Magistrate made a decision then. He would sacrifice everything to save himself.

-=[High-Inquisitor Pikoss Rhondarius]=-

High-Inquisitor Pikoss Rhondarius was sorting through the Gold city reports from various high-cultivators present on the streets. The gathered information was turning out to be... exceptionally unpleasant. The city boiled with rumours about a high-cultivator and sixteen-year-old Saint Ash Sparks that would save everyone from the coming Deathstorm Convergence. It was of course utter lunacy. Throughout the day high-cultivators tried to dissuade the mortals with threats and violence but that only fuelled the rumours further.

The High-Inquisitor was now certain that it was Sparks that had infiltrated the compound aided by geisha Rada. All evidence pointed to it - every person leaving and entering into the compound was scanned by the gate servitor. Ash Sparks and geisha Rada had entered and left the compound several times.

Ash Sparks had to be captured, publicly whipped and executed for heresy beneath the eyes of the archangel. The full power of the temple of Inquiry was focused on finding one little urchin girl. Hundreds of servitor hounds were dispatched from the temple to find the girl and they had all come up with absolutely nothing. It was as if the scrawny urchin’s Dantian had vanished completely.

Pikoss Rhondarius assumed that perhaps she ran into the depths of Lord Boundless or drowned herself in the rivers of the dead city, but that only lasted until Ash Sparks appeared in the ruins of the Whale’s Song restaurant along with Arianna Manning and the Gold city Magistrate. According to the report, Lord Manning had announced that the wedding of his granddaughter and Ash Sparks would take place in central park in three days.

The High-Inquisitor’s eye twitched. Lord Manning had clearly gone mad and like a disobedient dog he had to be put down as soon as possible.

Worst of all was the persistent rumour that Ash Sparks belonged to High-Administrator Han Sempiter. It was of course ridiculous. Han had never even met the girl and was currently recovering in the Serenity Temple from his injuries. A guard was dispatched to check on him and found that Geisha Rada who was supposed to be in charge of the healing Han had left the temple, abandoning her Master. This was a very concerning development.

Pikoss Rhondarius was ready to depart for dinner when his Scribe Kraze Kodea burst into the room, waving a letter. “Your excellency!”

“Yes, Scribe Kodea?” Rhondarius raised an eyebrow.

“I have a letter from geisha Rada! It has her Qi-imprint on it. A servitor just delivered it to me! You simply MUST read it!”

Pikoss grabbed the letter from the Scribe, looking over its contents. His eyebrows shot up as he did.

---------------------------------

Dear high Inquisitor Pikoss Rhondarius,

Please forgive me. I have made a grave error in bringing potential geisha candidate Ash Sparks to the temple.

Ash Sparks had accidentally learned about the Deathstorm Convergence and stolen seven beast cores from High-Administrator Han Sempiter. She treacherously attacked my Master as he was heading to the city of Eternal flames and took the cores from his case. Once the deed was done she made herself stronger with the stolen power. Through this unholy act she has gained vile powers.

I have convinced her of my friendship, but I don’t know how long it will last. With each hour Lady Sparks grows stronger, gaining new allies through her powers of deception. You undoubtedly already know that she convinced Arianna Manning to become her wife.

Lady Sparks is currently hiding in the Winter Palace estate of Magistrate Manning. She is protected by her fiancee. I’m certain that the Inquiry temple hunters will not be able to find her because her Dantian has changed due to the completed engagement ritual.

Lord Manning is unable to break the engagement, fearing an uprising of the populus who have been misled to believe that Sparks is a Saint. He and I are in agreement - Lady Sparks must be stopped.

I know that I have made a terrible mistake in judgement and I seek only your forgiveness, High-Inquisitor.

I no longer deserve the immortality that Enforcer Han promised me. I have failed my master. I beseech you to bring me a letter of amnesty signed by you, allowing me to live sixty years more in the Serenity temple as a lowly servant and to die from old age. In exchange, I will leave the Manning estate east gate and side door open for you - tonight at midnight and the wards will be disabled by the Magistrate.

Beware - Sparks has grown in power thanks to the stolen cores she consumed. She can now match a high-cultivator in battle, even if surprised. I beseech you to come yourself and bring the entire force of the Temple of Inquiry - all three squadrons.

Your servant,

Geisha Celes Rada

-------------------------------------------------------

The High-Inquisitor gritted his teeth, nostrils flaring. He now knew everything.

“Scribe Kodea - write up a letter of… amnesty made out to Geisha Rada for me to sign.”

The Scribe nodded.

“...and then prepare the three squads of high-cultivators. I want them fully armed and ready for midnight. We shall end this tonight!”