Byzantine.

It was a word that Merwin Fuller had first heard during his stay at the Akademie der Magie in the north. He had had to look it up, to discover what it meant after first hearing its use.

To think that one day he would use it to describe his own work. Truly, he was no longer the starry-eyed fool that he had once been, filled with innocence and curiosity.

Now he knew that innocence was merely a form of ignorance, and that curiosity was the path to an untimely and gruesome death.

Something strange was happening in the Five Peak’s Conclave of the Inquisition, and as one of the Chief Inspector Generals it was his duty to get to the bottom of it. The office he was loaned was a spartan little room, a desk at the far end, some shelves and lockers for personal artefacts and a few chairs which were occupied by a fidgeting Administrator and a stoic Paladin.

“I do not suspect that I must explain why I am here?” he said. His accent had always been thick, no matter how hard he tried to rid himself of it, still, it gave a harsh edge to his words that made softer men weep.

Administrator Silva squirmed in her seat and Paladin Uther was as straight as any man in his position, though the scuffs and scrapes in his uniform certainly suggested that he was not at his best. Few combatants were as proud or fierce or implacable as the Paladins of the Inquisition, and that price showed in their neatness.

“This incident, this absolute mess, is not, as far as I can tell, the fault of the local Inquisitors,” he said.

The Administrator almost sank in her seat before remembering herself. “Yes sir, thank you sir.”

“Nonetheless we will be going through a full inspection and evaluation, a subject has escaped our grasp, one of the most dangerous seen since the Inquisition started its work. More, I believe it might have been freed by another subject. Paladin, your report, it was complete but I want your opinion.”

Paladin Uther nodded once. “The Seventh Night Guard Rotation, group two, were on the scene first. They are some of the only ones that had more than a fleeting glance of the second subject. The anomaly appeared to be a young humanoid with erroneous appendages. Tentacles, essentially. We classify her as a biological modifier, an anomalous mover and perhaps a shifter.”

“Dangerous,” Fuller said. “Administrator, I require the file on Anomalous Subject One-Oh-Four-Two.”

Administrator Silva nodded so quickly her shako almost flew off her head. She pulled up a briefcase and slipped her thumb into a hole at its top. A few pulses of will rang through the room as she pushed a specific pattern into the case’s locking device, undoing the many locks keeping the documents within safe.

The case was opened with a pneumatic hiss and the Administrator pulled out a file which she passed to him. “I, Administrator Silva attest that Chief Inspector General Fuller has the Classification required to view this document.”

“Witnessed,” Paladin Uther intoned.

There was a large red three on the front of the file. He pressed a thumb to the number and pushed his will into it. It revealed the circle hidden within the folder and he deactivated the security countermeasure with a few twists of his will.

Everyone in the room had classification at or above level three. Though he suspected he was the only member of the Inquisition at Five Peaks other than the Site Director with Class one.

He laid the small pile of sheets within the document before him and began reading them.

Anomalous Subject-1042 Rapid Response Threat Rating: AS-1042 is capable of generating large amounts of non-anomalous liquid material. This material complicated capture and movement of AS-1042. AS-1042’s size and dimensions make it difficult to move and capture.

ADDENDUM: As of Incident 1042B Subject AS-1042’s original body has changed to resemble that of a young human male with unknown properties. Exercise extreme caution around AS-1042. For additional information see document: Incident AS-1042B, AS-1042 Secondary appearance. Subject Description: Subject AS-1042 appears to be a large mass of gelatinous liquids filled with long strands of an unknown material. Within the liquid mass are white masses that move in non-anomalous ways but who are confined to within the liquid ‘body’ of AS-1042.

AS-1042 has a distinct, pungent odour similar to that of rotting vegetable matter.

At time of containment (See: Incident AS-1042A Capture Report), AS-1042 seemed to be trying to avoid human contact and attempting to hide behind large objects within its environs. Containment Procedures: AS-1042 is to be contained within a Class 4D circle with additional security precautions for waste disposal (Liquid Waste Management circles of Class 3I have been effective thus far). Subject behaviour is non-hostile to humans. Ongoing experiments have yet to discover any eating habits. Subject seems to shy away from any direct contact or attention. Addendum: As of Incident AS-1042B Subject AS-1024 has fled with the assistance of another Anomalous Subject (Potentially AS-1032. See Classified Files AS-1032D). Subject’s appearance has changed to that of a human male of ages 10-13. Subject’s new body was created using the severed limbs of a team of Inquisitorial personnel.

These limbs have since been replaced with anomalous matter in the form of ‘combat tentacles.’ Further experimentation is required. See: Incident AS-1042C.

“Do you have the report for Incident AS dash One-Oh-Four-Two B?” Fuller asked as he deposited the report. Administrator Silva nodded and began extracting the appropriate document from her case. “This situation is a mess. We have not one but two Anomalous Subjects loose in a city of this size. Subjects with human appearances.” He shook his head. “Paladin Uther, do what you must to find these subjects. We cannot let them harm the populace, or worse, end up in the hands of some cult of degenerates. We need to put an end to this mess and as soon as possible. For the greater good of humanity.”

“For humanity,” the two Inquisitors intoned.

Fuller nodded. He could only just imagine the amount of paperwork this mess would lead to.