Chapter 21: The Inquisitor

“Inquisitor Chekov. The rogue mage is long gone.”

A lithe woman covered from head to toe in dull black leather armor made her report to a robed man sitting on a stone chair in front of a stone desk. They were in the remains of the stone library that was found in the ruins of a magical complex, deep into the woods south of the Blood Citadel.

“We know that already. The real question is how long ago did he leave? The rotting remains of our hunter killer team is out there in front of that huge destroyed mana crystal. Some of their wounds look to be the result of weapons, while others are clearly from magic.”

Looking at his subordinate, Chekov wrenched his gaze away from the report that he was reading. Chekov was somewhat young, having recently gotten his credentials as a Klavan inquisitor. He was tall, even for a soldier. Even sitting, his eyes were nearly the same height as hers. Dressed in dark purple leather armor, his symbol of office was the small silver emblem on the right side of his chest.

Carved with magic upon a small plate of silver, the symbol of the Klavan Inquisition was a lightning bolt within a map of the country of Klavan. Many people, innocent and guilty people alike, shuddered when they thought of that emblem. The message was clear: there is nowhere in Klavan one could hide from the reach of the Inquisition. Sighing, the Chekov motioned for the woman to follow him as he stepped out of the library.

“The mage made preparations. He knew that we would be coming, and how long it would take us to get here. It’s not going to be easy to catch him if this trend continues. Where do you think his destination is?”

“Sir. My scouts have reported that he appears to have headed south after leaving this complex. Apparently he left a trail of dead animals and monsters in his wake.” Grimacing, the scout captain

“Have you ruled out the possibility that the dead creatures are a false trail?”

“Yes. We initially thought so as well, but unless he could travel without the need to traverse the ground, the trail leads south. My scouts and I have combed a five kilometer radius of this complex, and there were only two directions that contained tracks.”

“Hmph. The first is obvious. The initial foray into this complex by the mage and the hunter killer squad on his tail. The second would be the mage’s path as he went south. Did he at least attempt to cover his tracks?” Walking at a brisk pace, Chekov and the woman arrived at the now destroyed central mana crystal. Staring at the decomposing remains of the hunters, Chekov intently listened to the report.

“Yes, but not well enough. It is curious, the mage demonstrated that he had some skill in covering his presence in the forest. It is quite at odds with how he seemed to use the forest’s creatures as practice for his magic. However, his skill in travelling through the forest is far inferior to our skill to track. He is headed south, this is a fact.”

Frowning, Chekov started to walk towards the armory. His team was sprawled throughout the complex gathering intelligence and materials after the scouts had secured the location.

“You said that our target seemed to use the forest’s creatures as objects for practicing magic? What about the giant boars and wolves that live this deep within the forest?”

“Yes, it seems so. All sorts of creatures, from normal wildlife such as owls and rabbits to monsters such as giant boars, have been found slain. They were killed with a variety of different spells. Some of them seem to have been impaled by spears that have since disappeared.”

“That’s most likely water magic. Frozen spears would be the most basic and likely suspect.” Chekov’s eyes glinted as he started to compile his quarry’s profile mentally.

“Some other creatures seemed to have died over a short period of time. Their blood was completely black when we found, and there was an extremely strong scent of rot.” The woman’s face scrunched up as she recalled the eerie image of the dead animals.

“Isn’t that natural when something has decomposing for a period of time? Or was the blood much blacker than usual?” Taking out a piece of jerky from one of the pockets of his armor, Chekov started to snack on it idly.

“The blood was much blacker than usual. The rot seemed...to be unnatural. We have no idea how he caused this, or what kind of spell was involved. The scouts and I speculate that the animals’ blood was poisoned via magical means, and they died rather quickly but not instantaneously like the first few.”

“I never thought that my first assignment would involve dealing with some type of unknown magic. Oksana, do we have any leads on who could have taught him this type of magic or where he could have learned it?”

Pulling out a small red notebook, Oksana flipped it open near the beginning. “It seems that the mage, Kazimir, exhibited no signs of any interest in the magical arts before he disappeared the night the Blood Citadel’s incident happened.”

“What about his magical aptitude? Surely he had been tested prior to this. Magic is all the rage among the nobility. They love recruiting magi from outside sources as well as pampering their own.” Finishing his jerky, Chekov took another piece out to snack on. Oksana gave him an exasperated look, then continued on.

“The Arcane Library’s assessment of his magical aptitude was that he had the lowest possible magical aptitude possible to still be considered a mage. In short, even with the proper training he’d end up no more useful than a common hedge wizard.” Chekov’s chewing slowed down as he considered the information.

“That doesn’t add up. This Kazimir is an extremely dangerous individual. There doesn’t seem to be anybody travelling with him, yet he can cast unknown magic that can wipe out entire hunter killer squads. Something must have happened to him between the Blood Citadel incident and his return after the event. I can’t exactly fault Lord Zhakar for not noticing considering the unenviable situation that he had to explain to the Emperor.”

“Witnesses to his return point out that his excuse for being absent was that he was returning materials to the previous Master Apothecary Ahriman prior to the incident.”

“Wait, wait. What Master Apothecary? I’ve never heard of him before in the capital. You’d think that somebody appointed as the chief of medicine for the second most important noble in the Empire would be more well known.” For the first time since Oksana began her report, Chekov’s full attention was on her.

“He’s a rather secretive man. Dead now, but that’s besides the point. Almost nothing is known about him prior to his self introduction to the previous Lord Zhakar. He came during the previous Red Sickness epidemic that struck the Blood Citadel about ten years ago. Coincidentally, Ahriman arrived just as the previous Master Apothecary succumbed to the disease. He managed to provide a cure to the Red Sickness, although in a surprisingly short amount of time. His medicinal prowess intrigued Lord Zhakar, so Ahriman was hired to replace the dead Master Apothecary. ”

“There is no coincidence in our line of work, Oksana. Ahriman must be part of the reason why Kazimir suddenly exhibited signs of developed magical power. What interactions did the two have?”

“Surviving castle staff have stated that Kazimir and his master the Historian were the only ones besides the previous Lord Zhakar to have spoken to Ahriman on a regular basis. Most of the time the man stayed in a small cottage in the forest near the Citadel. Servants, although mostly it was Kazimir, would deliver necessities to the cottage and carry prepared medicines back to the castle on a regular basis.” Chekov resumed chewing on his jerky as he thought in silence.

“Ahriman might very well be a plague mage. They’re not unheard of in the South. They’re wicked magi that specialize in diseases and poisons.”

“Pardon, but how would a plague mage that specializes in dealing with disease be able to cure it? They shouldn’t be trained in medicinal matters since it’s not relevant.”

Grinning slyly at Oksana, Chekov finished the last of his snack before washing it down with some water from a flask.

“See, this is why you’re not going to make Inquisitor rank anytime soon.” Oksana grimaced and glared at Chekov’s smiling face in silence. Seeing that he was not going to bait a response out of Oksana, the Inquisitor continued.

“Plague magi do indeed specialize in diseases and poisons. However, to have true mastery of any such disease or poison is to also know what causes it and what can counter it. Wouldn’t it be a sick joke of the plague mage succumbed to his own spells and poisons?”

“You’re suggesting that Ahriman purposely infected the Blood Citadel with the Red Sickness, then swooped into a position of power when it was available? That does make a sort of sick sense, but I think it is implausible.”

“If it this case was normal, they wouldn’t have sent an Inquisition team after it. By the information gathered from the castle staff, Kazimir had an incredible memory and visited Ahriman the most. What if these meetings carried a deeper purpose? What if Ahriman was grooming Kazimir to be his successor mage?” Oksana’s face slowly changed, but she seemed to remain unconvinced.

“Sir, this still does not explain how Kazimir suddenly increased his magical prowess. By conventional standards, this feat is impossible for anybody.”

“Yes, yes, yes. But this isn’t really conventional, is it? We’re tracking a rogue mage that by all eyewitness accounts hasn’t been educated in the arcane. But he manages to blast his way from the Citadel to even this place without managing to die. Now that’s what interests the Inquisition. Can you imagine, Oksana? If there was a way to artificially increase the magical prowess of humans?”

Ah. So that’s the real reason why we’re on this wild goose chase in the first place. Fuck. It doesn’t look like he’ll stop talking anytime soon…

Struggling to not sigh outwardly, Oksana resigned herself to listening to Chekov ramble. Walking in small circles, Chekov didn’t notice or care about Oksana’s disposition.

“We wouldn’t be stuck here in a war of attrition over some shitty pass in the mountains. We’d take the fight straight to those arrogant bastards in Janaro. If mass producing magi as soldiers, even if it’s at an hedge wizard level, was possible….Klavan would own the world.”

“Regardless of that, sir, we should initiate pursuit as soon as possible. It becomes exponentially harder to track something when there are no records and time has passed.”

Oksana’s words snapped Chekov out of his reverie. “How far ahead of us, time wise, do you estimate he is?”

“About a month is the most accurate estimate that he have made. If he dawdles, perhaps only two weeks. If he’s hurrying with no regards to safety and on foot, perhaps two months. We’re lucky that it’s not the rainy season, which would obscure all but the most established tracks and clues.”

“Have the men finish their tasks, or as much as can be finished, in 15 minutes and gather at the cavern center. We leave immediately on the chase after that.” Finally completely serious, Chekov walked away from Oksana towards the cavern center.

“By your orders, sir.”

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Briskly walking on a path along a grassy plain, Kaz smiled as he continued towards the village in the distance. It had been about two weeks since he had left the cavern after studying the Book of Blood. The tome held many secrets, of which Kaz had only managed to learn three. Following him high above, two spirits were nearly invisible as they flew slowly with Kaz. Humming a common folk tune, the Lord of Kaksigrad, Kaz seemed like a normal traveller.

The reaper spirit had not changed in appearance, but it’s bloodthirsty aura had increased a bit after it had slaughtered many forest creatures. The second spirit looked like a normal ghost in shape, but the color was completely different. This spirit was a light red all over, except on its hands which were a deep blood red.

The creation of this Blood Spirit is really a boon. It’s not as strong as the reaper spirit, but it has a much higher utility. I had to forcibly combine all of my previous spirits besides the reaper spirit to one another in the presence of blood in order to create this thing. This spirit actually provides the same soul power as eight regular ghosts. If spirit compression is still possible after this, I may have solved my limited mana pool. Plus, a couple of spirits is much easier to control than a horde.

With a spring in his step, Kaz walked towards what appeared to be a small bump in the middle of the road. Sparing no more than a glance at the feature, Kaz continued on his way.

*MIIIII KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE*

A huge meaty paw swiped at Kaz from underneath the mound. Caught by surprise, Kaz’s right leg was clawed as he lept back. Hissing from the pain, Kaz called down his spirits in anticipation of a fight. Shuffling backwards until his spirits came in front of him, Kaz commanded the blood spirit forwards as the reaper spirit kept guard.

A huge amount of dust was blown into the air as the creature ripped itself from the hole in the ground. The blood spirit was eerily quiet as it waited for the dust to settle. In an instant, a several large masses shot forth from the dust.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaz started to gather his mana and soul power in preparation for a spell. Curiously, the masses turned out to be four gigantic groundhogs. Charging at Kaz, they were closing the distance at an incredible rate. Snarling, Kaz finished gathering power in his hands, and casted Defile Blood at the closest groundhog.

A thin black mist, smelling of rot, materialized in the air around the groundhog. Smelling the rot, the animals’ instinct kicked in and they hesitated. Not waiting for anything, the black mist shuddered, then disappeared into the groundhog’s body. Instantly, the creature’s pained squeals rang out.

*MIIIIIII K-KE-K-K-KEEEE*

Writhing on the ground in pain, the groundhog could do nothing but squeal as its internal organs suffered from extreme septic shock. Blood began to burst out of the groundhog’s orifices, black blood erupting from the pitiful animal in multiple places.

While the other groundhogs were in hissing towards Kaz, the blood spirit attacked the next closest groundhog. The terrified animal started to turn and run away, but it was too late. The blood red hands of the spirit, claws more like, raked across the groundhog as it tried to run away. Squealing miserably, the groundhog fell to the ground in intense pain as the spirit’s claws mutilated the animal's back. With fresh blood pouring out from the groundhog, its blood started to float towards the blood spirit as if attracted. Absorbing the blood, the spirit seemed to revel in it before flying towards the furthest groundhog. Empowered by fresh blood, the blood spirit’s eyes started to grow darker as its speed increased slightly.

The last groundhog was paralyzed in fear, and stayed rooted to the spot. Kaz had already started to prepare a second spell by the time Defile Blood had been casted, and he unleashed the power now. Upon finishing the chant, Kaz’s green eyes flashed red as the spell took effect. As Kaz’s gaze met the groundhog’s the blood magic spell Gaze of the Initiate was activated. Blood violently forced itself out of the animal’s body, floating in the air for a second before shooting towards Kaz. The blood wrapped itself around Kaz’s injured right leg, before melting into the wounds. The gashes left by the first groundhog’s claw started to fade slowly, the wounds closing themselves magically. Ruefully, Kaz looked towards his ripped pants as the last groundhog was slain by the blood spirit.

“Mm. It’s itchy as always. I guess the feeling of wounds healing will never go away as long as I can still feel. But this is my last intact pair of pants...I’m going to need to buy some new travelling clothes at the village ahead. It’s a good thing that those hunters carried travelling currency with him, otherwise I would really be in trouble.”

Looking around his location to see if there were any more noticeable bumps that might contain groundhogs, Kaz slowly approached the second groundhog.

“Gah. Gods. I really need to find a way to kill these animals without completely ruining the corpse. I can barely study these corpses since the blood magic spells that I know completely ruins the body of its target.” Glancing ruefully at the fast rotting corpse of the first groundhog, Kaz scrunched his nose and moved upwind of the body. Motioning for the blood spirit to carry the body of the most intact groundhog to him, Kaz nearly fell over as the blood spirit tried.

Unfortunately for Kaz, the blood spirit was still a spirit and not a true flesh and bone minion. It’s bloody claws could inflict damage, but was unsuited for any other task. It tired to pick up and drag the groundhog, but only ended up ripping off the hind legs of the animal. Sighing, Kaz commanded the blood spirit to fly above him and watch for dangers instead.

“In the absence of bone soldiers, I guess I’ll have to just bear the stench if I want to study these weird animals. Gods. How heavy are these bastards?” Moving onto the last groundhog which was the second most intact, Kaz pulled out a brown notebook from his knapsack. Flipping it open to a empty page, he began to draw and take notes. Humming to himself once more, Kaz’s eyes glittered as he made note of everything he could. After a short while, the necromancer closed the notebook, put it back, and continued on his way towards the village.

Passing a signpost, Kaz felt excited as he read the distance.

“Hmm. Only one mile to go until the village of Abaza. I should make it there just in time for dinner. Ah, it’s been so long since I had a nice home cooked meal, I’m looking forward to it!”

Picking up his pace, Kaz eagerly walked towards Abaza.

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