Last chapter of the week! Happy Saturday guys!

I was a bit late because I was downtown all day with some friends from college. :) Sorry about that.

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Chapter 24: Questions and Answers

Having ridden hard most of the night, Oksana arrived in Abaza in a foul mood. The villagers were more wary of her than they were of Kaz when he had arrived. One was a cheerful young scholar, while the second unknown visitor was a sullen and heavily armed woman. Riding her horse to a stop in the village square, Oksana dismounted and walked towards a seated village girl who was peeling potatoes in front of the inn. .

Slightly intimidated by Oksana, Gerel still put on a smile and greeted the scoutmaster happily. “Welcome to Abaza! I hope you have had a peaceful trip here. What can we do for you?”

“I’m looking for your village chief.”

“Temur is currently not here right now. He’s visiting the travelling scholar Kir at his temporary hut just outside the village.”

“Travelling scholar?”

“Yes, ma’am. Kir is a travelling scholar trying to pass his..I think it’s called the Trial of Tradition? I’m not sure on the details, but he’s studying the giant groundhogs around here! Oh, he knows ever so much about everything!” Gushing with admiration, Gerel didn’t notice the dangerous glint in Oksana’s eyes.

“Where exactly is this hut? I need to talk with your village chief and I’d like to ask this scholar if he could help me with my current predicament.”

“Oh just take the southern gate out of the village and go along the road. You’ll see his hut almost immediately. It’s near a copse just southeast of here. Do you want to stay for lunch before you go? Olga’s making this wonderful three cheese platter for lunch.” Her mouth nearly watering at the thought of lunch, Gerel managed to keep the blissful look off of her face as she talked with Oksana.

“That won’t be necessary. I am limited in time, so I will go visit the scholar and the village chief now. Thank you for your help.” Mounting her horse once more, Oksana rode off quickly towards the south gate.

“Shame. But I guess that this means there’ll be more cheese for me?” Grinning, Gerel continued her work as she hummed a tune to herself.

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Upon exiting the southern gate of the village, Oksana did indeed see a small hut before a small group of trees in the distance. There also appeared to be a small fire that was cooking a roast in front of it. Urging her horse to go faster, Oksana closed the distance very quickly.

As she got closer, she saw that there were two people sitting down on the hut’s porch. The man on the left was undoubtedly the village chief, since he was built like a bear. Heavily muscled and tanned, the village chief looked as if he could have been a member of the Empire’s elite shock infantry. Sitting next to him on the right was a much younger man, wearing worn travelling clothes. This was the person that Oksana was most interested in.

His age looks to be a match. However, his other features don’t seem to be a direct match. Kazimir was said to have blonde hair and green eyes. This scholar has dark brown hair and grey eyes. Hair dye does exist, but our rogue mage would have been hard pressed to dye it on the go without the proper materials. Plus, I know of no way to change eye color. But the shape of his face seems very similar to descriptions from the castle’s staff. I need to question him to make a decision.

Slowing down, Oksana dismounted a short ways away from the fire pit. Walking closer, Oksana spoke in an accusatory tone. “Are you Kir, the travelling scholar from the Imperial Library?”

“That’s right. Say, has Miss eaten yet? I have this wonderful roasted groundhog loin that’s dripping fat right here.” Picking up the skewer of meat with the juices dripping, the man offered it to her. The young man flashed her a bright smile, as if he was anticipating her question. This only served to make Oksana more suspicious. However, the roasted meat did smell particularly savory. Hesitating for a second, Oksana took the skewer from the man’s hands.

Raising it to her face, Oksana sniffed the unknown cut of meat. Not detecting the scent of any poison, she used her teeth to rip a portion of it. The moment her teeth sunk into the meat, she tried to bite down. Unfortunately, Oksana discovered that she was unable to easily bite into the meat. Pulling away, the scoutmaster glared at the two men who were staring at her. Trying again, Oksana was still unable to really get a good bite in.

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Watching the scoutmaster struggle with the groundhog loin for about a minute, Kaz felt a bit bad. Even though she was part of the Inquisition team that is trying to hunt him down, nobody really deserved to be tricked by groundhog meat. It was the dirtiest of dirty pranks. Containing his laughter, Kaz thought that he would let the woman struggle for a bit before speaking up again.

Who would expect that such fragrant meat, which looked amazing once cooked, would be such a pain to eat? Even if you did manage to rip a mouthful of meat, it’s near impossible to chew. Hell, even Temur couldn’t choke it down after nearly ten minutes of chewing and I think he has some bear ancestry in him.

“If you really aren’t enjoying the groundhog meat, I have some rye bread and cheese here too…”

*Clang!*

Upon hearing that Kaz had other food, and that he was offering it to her in lieu of the infuriating meat, Oksana threw the skewer back onto the rack and took a long swig from her water flask. Glaring daggers at Kaz, she took the bread and cheese that he offered. As she was eating ravenously, Temur spoke up.

“May I know who this Miss is? My name is Temur, and I am the chief of Abaza village. Is there any way that we can help you?” His shoulders no longer shaking slightly from holding in his laughter, Temur was able to give Oksana a cordial greeting.

“My business is with the both of you. I am an Inquisition scout. I am looking for a fugitive mage. If it is not too much trouble, I have some questions to ask the two of you separately.”

“That sounds serious.” Temur frowned as he fell into contemplation. “If we can be of help, we will try our best as long as your requests are reasonable, right Kir?”

“Absolutely. The Empire’s enemies are our enemies as well. I may just be a low level scholar not yet formally admitted into the Imperial Library, but my knowledge is at your disposal.” His face serious, Kaz stood up. “Why don’t you come in a take a seat inside. It’s much more comfortable than standing outside.” Beckoning Oksana to come inside the hut, Kaz walked in.

Not one to laze around, Oksana swiftly followed Kaz into the hut. Feeling left out, Temur smothered the fire roasting the groundhog meat before sighing and walking inside. “That experiment to see if groundhog meat is delicious was a huge waste of time.” Muttering under his breath, Temur closed the door behind him.

The inside of the hut was actually more spacious than it looks from the outside. There was a moderately large table with three chairs. A small bed was in the corner, and there were a number of barrels containing essentials scattered throughout the room. Cracking open the window near the table, Kaz sat down opposite Oksana while Temur took the last seat to the side.

“Now, what should I address you as?” Trying to be friendly, Kaz poured a cup of water and placed it in front of Oksana.

“You may address me as Ranger.”

“Oh, do you need to have your name remain a secret?”

“My name is not relevant to this conversation. Kazimir, what would you say you’re doing here, exactly?” Sniffing the water first, Oksana took a sip when she didn’t detect any malicious odor.

“Kazimir is not my name. My name is Kir. Please remember that.” Frowning, Kaz looked puzzled as to why Oksana would call him that. Looking at his reaction carefully, Oksana replied.

“Of course not. It was a slip of the tongue. My apologies. Kir, what would you say you’re doing here, exactly?”

Sighing, Kaz recited his pre-planned response. “I’m a low level scholar from the Imperial Library. I am attempting my Trial of Tradition in order to gain full access to the Imperial Library as a full Imperial Scholar. As of now, I am just an apprentice.”

“What are you studying?”

“My research is on the physiology of the Giant Southern Groundhogs of the Klavan Plains.”

“So what does that mean?”

“I have been studying the outer and inner physical features of the groundhogs, from skeletal structures to muscle anatomy to the workings of the inner organs. I have mostly completed the first two, but now I need to tackle documenting the inner organs. Here, have a look at my research so far.” Sliding his notebook across the table, Kaz sat back in his chair with a knowing smile.

Watching Oksana read his notebook, Kaz smiled as he went over his list of mental preparations. His hair and eyes had both turned darker after he started to practice the necromantic arts. Although Kaz didn’t know the exact cause of this, he speculated that it had something to do with the Chant of the Novitiate. Speaking of the Chant, Kaz had never forgotten to recite it daily. It only took about an hour and he practiced the mnemonics at least once a day, usually at night when there would be nobody to interrupt him.

The Chant has done wonders for the scarring on my body. All of my previous scars are mostly gone. The accelerated natural healing is probably what will help me bluff my way past this Inquisition scoutmaster. She can’t be the actual Inquisitor since she doesn’t have the symbol of office, and the Inquisition isn’t known for their subtlety anyways.

Oksana patiently studied the contents of Kaz’s notebook. Even though she did not quite grasp everything that was written in the notebook, her reading this was a stalling tactic. Having been trained in the subtleties of body language and interrogations, Oksana was a master at picking up clues from the people that she talked to. Thinking for a moment, she spoke up.

“My apologies, but I need to put on my mask. My eyes are sensitive to light, and I’m sitting right below the window. You understand, of course.” Not bothering to wait for Kaz’s reply, Oksana pulled a black mask in and placed it on her face. The mask that she pulled out lacked any features. It was simply a featureless mask in the shape of a face, but where the eyes, mouth, and nose would be nothing existed. After a short while, Temur felt uncomfortable enough that he stopped looking at Oksana directly, and instead looked out the window. Still maintaining his neutral appearance, Kaz was amused inside because he knew the true purpose of the mask.

This interrogator isn’t that experienced. She should have worn the mask before she arrived at the village. People would naturally be suspicious if they don’t know the purpose of the actions somebody else takes. This mask should be an Mask of Sight. It’s mainly used by interrogators because it allows them to carefully observe their victims but not allow the victims to know what the interrogator was looking at. At the very least, she’s not looking at the notebook anymore and only pretending to flip to the next page occasionally. She’s observing my features and trying to cross reference them with the eyewitness accounts. Probably.

Kaz’s father was once a candidate for the Inquisition. He never made the cut to be an agent in the field, such as an interrogator or investigator, since his physical capabilities were too low. He couldn’t fight well enough and he couldn’t keep his anxiety under control in stressful situations. However, he was very very good at absorbing information to the point that the Inquisition recommended him to the Imperial Library. Eventually he became a steward, but he passed most of his knowledge to his second son Kazimir, who was the more curious of his two sons.

Although Kaz’s father Danil was not familiar with the more complicated details of Inquisition modus operandi, he had memorized the basics of their equipment and thought processes since this information was taught to every candidate. The Mask of Sight was standard Inquisition equipment for just over the last hundred years. Kaz knew that Oksana was staring at his forehead, trying to discern if the Mark of the Exile was still carved onto his forehead. If it was, then there was reason enough for Kaz to be taken into Inquisition custody. Exiles were supposed to exit Klavan lands within a month or face execution. With no other country to travel to, most Klavan exiles tried to hide in the forests or brave the Swamp in order to escape. Many of those hiding were caught and beheaded while the ones who entered the Swamp were never heard from again.

Making a face, Kaz ran his hands through his bangs, bringing them back. To all observers, this seemed like a sign of anxiety. Yet Kaz knew that this was on purpose, he wanted Oksana to see that there was no Mark upon his forehead. The Chant of the Novitiate had repaired Kaz’s scarring so that the previous serpentine scar on his forehead now resembles only a small indent where Zhakar first plunged the point of his knife in.

“Kir, how did you get that scar on your forehead?” Oksana pursed her lips as she suddenly shot a question out.

“Oh, this old thing?” Kaz smiled as he put his fingers over the indent. “I got it when I was a small child in the capital. I was in a fight with some other boys in the streets, I think it was over a pastry. I had picked up a coin in the streets which was enough to buy a berry pastry from one of the local bakeries. I think it was called the Fragrant Loaf. Some of the bigger boys cornered me and wanted to take it for themselves. I tossed the pastry into the air, and when they were distracted, punched the one in front of me in the face as he was about to catch the pastry. I think I even broke his nose, heh. Unfortunately, they beat me up after that since pastry fell into a nasty puddle. I got this scar in my forehead when I fell down some steps and slammed my head into the bottom stair. Is that helpful?”

The lies smoothly flew from Kaz’s mouth like wine from a bottle. Even though Kaz could not see her face, he was certain that she had a huge scowl on her face. Although Oksana was very experienced in reading body language, she wasn’t nearly as skilled at hiding her own when annoyed. Although Temur wasn’t able to pick up on it, Kaz could tell that she was visibly annoyed even through the mask. Seeing as she probably wasn’t going to get anything else from Kaz, Oksana turned her attention onto Temur.

“Temur, are you aware of any suspicious individuals travelling around Abaza?”

Startled because Oksana abruptly turned her attention onto him, Temur’s back started to sweat a bit. “Oh no ma’am. There’s been no suspicious people travelling through the lands surrounding Abaza recently. Scholar Kir here is the only person that’s new around these parts aside from you. The only visitors that we’ve gotten besides you two is the merchant caravan, but they’ve always travelled through here on a quarterly basis. Four times a year.”

“I know what quarterly means.” Snapping at Temur was mean, but it did make Oksana feel a bit better. “If there was anybody trying to flee the law, where would they go from here?”

Frowning, Temur thought about the question. Of course, he and his villagers would never think about committing serious crimes. The only type of crime that happened in Abaza was petty and easily resolved with reparations or a stern talking to from the village chief. “I would say that the only way to avoid the law, in my amateur opinion since I have no experience doing so, would be to cut directly across the plains away from the villages and avoid the roads. From here, the only way that the regular peacekeeping soldiers would not venture to is the Southern Swamp, but that place is supposedly a deathtrap. I’ve never heard of anybody coming out of there after entering deep enough.” After Temur had finished speaking, Oksana was silent for a short time.

“I think that’s all the information that I need out of you two. Thank you for your time, if I need anything else I’ll be sure to come back and trouble you once more.” Standing up, Oksana started to walk towards the door. Scrambling to get out of his chair, Temur was barely able to beat Oksana to the door in order to open it for her.

“Thank you very much for gracing us with your presence, dear Inquisitor! If you have need of anything else to not hesitate to contact this village again. If what you need is reasonably within my power, I will do everything it takes to help with your investigation.”

“Bye! Have a safe trip back!” Smiling as he and Temur waved Oksana off, Kaz’s eyes glinted dangerously unnoticed by anyone.

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Chekov was anxious the for the entire day that Oksana was gone. He needed to send a message to his superiors tonight if he was to meet the reporting deadline. After reporting nearly nothing of value for weeks, Chekov could feel the impatience that were in the replies from the Arcane Library. As he was brooding, Chekov heard the sound of hooves. Looking up, he could see Oksana riding into the campsite. Standing up, Chekov briskly walked toward Oksana’s horse.

“Well, what do you have for me?”

“Features are a half match. Hair and eye color are different, darker. Plus there was barely a trace of the Mark of the Exile on his forehead. However, the sketch of pre-incident Kazimir matches the suspect nearly on all facial features. He lives in a small hut alone near the village. No reaction at the name Kazimir, too calm during the conversation. His mental fortitude is unlike that of an apprentice scholar, it looks like he had prepared for my visit in advance. I suggest that we kidnap him tonight for further interrogation.”

“Very well. Tell the men to pack up and be ready to move. We’ll leave in 15 minutes. We’ll wait a short ways outside the village in the dark while you and your team of scouts perform the kidnapping. If needed, we can provide backup.” Walking to his portable table, Chekov started to draft a letter. It was simple: ‘Possible suspect identified. Will attempt to kidnap and interrogate with all means possible. Verify existence of Kir, Imperial Scholar Apprentice in the Capital. -Chekov’

A short while later, the Inquisition team moved out on horseback towards Abaza. High above them, a nearly translucent spirit started to fly back in the same direction.

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