Dealing with Inquisitor Crimson and what she had left in her wake left the entire party more than a bit scarred. Nothing a few days of rest wouldn’t fix, but certainly something that left them exhausted and their minds occupied. So, when the messenger from Vassund finally arrived to bring the necromancer the goods she had been promised in exchange for the book, he found Anastacia blankly staring at her empty cup in the corner table of the inn. Out of the three, she had been hit the hardest by the fight and almost as badly by the cleanup afterwards, so the package with her name on it was a welcome distraction.

Along with the gold the package contained a small wooden case and two beautifully folded and wax sealed letters, one with a something a bit heavier stuck inside it and one that appeared to be a greeting. Anastacia had immediately ignored the letters and pried open the case to see what she had been given. Inside were three rings, each with a distinct gemstone attached onto them. Nothing about the case gave any hints on what the rings did, but luckily, she at least had the sense to check the letters before trying them on.

“Dear miss adventurer,

“This package contains the payment for the book you so graciously sold to me. I shall keep it safe and in good condition till the end of my days, as it is the single most important piece in my collection. I can not thank you enough.

“Along with the money we agreed upon, you should find a token, bearing Vassund’s coat of arms and a sealed letter. Presenting either of these to any Vassund official, military or otherwise, will guarantee you any aid they are able to give on the spot and if needed, a messenger will be sent to the capital to inform The King that you have chosen to use the royal blessing. I urge you to hide the letter well and carry the token with you. Your lifestyle will no doubt have you and our people cross paths sooner rather than later.”

Anastacia already knew of a spot behind her wardrobe where she could hide the letter in, and broke the seal to take the token to keep on her person, as was suggested.

“In the box, you’ll find three silver rings. One with an emerald, one with a ruby and one with a topaz embedded into it. I have chosen them from my collection, because I felt like they would benefit someone of your profession the most.

“The one bearing an emerald, will provide its wearer with a clarity of mind. Being able to rationally approach any situation, without the burden of feelings such as fear or hate, can be lifesaving. However, you should not wear it for long periods of time as it will dampen your own feelings, even those of attachment towards your own party.

“The one with a ruby in it will greatly increase your tolerance to pain and physical harm. It will not protect you from anything, but will keep you operational under extreme pain or loss of blood. I’ve observed no ill effects from wearing it all the time, if anything, it’ll increase your quality of life by making minor aches and pains more tolerable.

“The last one, with a topaz on it, is my personal favorite. It makes anything that will be said to you next, after putting it on, be true. Others won’t notice the effect, and will instead hear whatever the speaker meant to say. Putting it on and asking someone an awkward question can be great fun, but it should also prove helpful when interrogating people while gathering information. Based on my tests, it works once every five hours or so, so use it sparingly.

“Now, those three rings are also a set, created by the same enchantment. Wearing them all at once will provide you with amplified effects. For one minute after putting on the last ring, the speed of your thoughts will be greatly increased, any physical harm done to you will have no effect and you can not be lied to. This can be done once every year and right now they should be fully charged. After the minute is up, the rings will remove themselves from your fingers, DO NOT TRY TO STOP THEM. One of my assistants is missing his fingers because he kept his hands clenched in a fist.

“Once again, I can not thank you enough for the book and sincerely hope that we will get to meet again.

-Mikhail Grenn.”

Anastacia looked at the rings again. She was surprised by the absurd enchantments they had. A normal brass ring could provide effects like slightly better recovery from exertion or not having to eat as often, and even then, it would cost a few thousand gold to get an enchantment that lasted for a month. Mikhail made it sound like these would last for years, so their value must have been immense.

Rosie brought out some juice and fried snacks Anastacia had ordered earlier. She noticed the letter and the rings. “What have you got there? Don’t tell me you got this many suitors already…”

“What? Nononono. These were sent by the old fart I sold the book to. They’re actually kind of amazing.” The necromancer explained and handed over the letter.

Rosie was a slow reader. She mouthed the words while reading and every few lines, stopped to stare at a word for a few seconds. Once she was done, she lowered the letter and stared at the rings.

“You try any of that topaz ring shit on me and I swear I will have you butcher chickens for a month.” The innkeeper understandably warned and headed back into the kitchen.

That was exactly what Anastacia had planned to do, but it looked like she’d have to pick another victim.

Anastacia put the rings safely in the same pouch she kept the token and her pearl in. While eating the snacks, she continued to read the necromancer tome. She now knew she couldn’t skip the chapters she deemed disgusting. Deeply engrossed by a chapter about better ways to cause interference to other necromancers, she failed to notice the daunting presence of another necromancer first approach the inn, then completely silently enter the building and appear directly behind her. Only when a skeletal hand reached over her shoulder to grab one of her snacks, she awoke to it.

“You really shouldn’t eat while reading. Alizarin will kill you if you ruin the book.” Coquelicot noted and ate the piece of fried chicken she had stolen, immediately going back in for seconds.

Anastacia released the dagger she had instinctively taken control of and slapped the boney hand away from her plate. She had no idea how the inquisitor moved around so unnoticeably, but figured it was something she needed to get used to.

“That’s disgusting. Order your own snacks and don’t fiddle mine with those… things.” She groaned.

The inquisitor sat down next to Anastacia and looked around quickly. “Where’s the bar maid? Those things are exquisite.”

“Why are you here? I doubt you just happened to come by.” Anastacia wasn’t too happy about her “ally” visiting, the red robe reminded her of Crimson.

Coquelicot ignored the question but managed to locate Rosie and waved for her to come over. “I would like some of these. Could I get thr… five portions and a bottle of red wine? Something from the south, if you have any.”

Rosie turned to Anastacia with a look that demanded an explanation, only to receive a shrug in return.

“Ah, you must be wondering who I am. Standing in front of you is the Grand Inquisitor of Mournvalley, Coquelicot. I have come to congratulate Anastacia on her recent victory over one of OUR enemies.” The inquisitor said with a twirl of one of her hands.

The innkeeper measured her new guest with her gaze. “So you’re the one who gave her that book? Don’t cause any problems and I’ll let you stay.” She muttered and left to cook the order after glancing at Anastacia once more.

“Wonderful… Back to business. I’ve heard about Crimson. You’ve done well again, that nutjob was no small-time necromancer. I would have loved to help you but going close to any of the inquisitors with my hands is not a smart move. Those daggers of yours probably won’t help much either.” Coquelicot congratulated her ally with a pat on the back.

Anastacia scoffed at the gesture. “She was exactly what’s wrong with necromancers in Mournvalley, all of you are disgusting and I see no difference between you and her.”

“It’s such a shame you think like that, but I hope I can improve your image of us once we’ve cleared out the ones that support the old ways. We plan on opening Mournvalley to the world! Imagine how much necromancers could do if they weren’t bound to an insane old cult!” The inquisitor exclaimed, making promises Anastacia had some serious doubts about.

Coquelicot noticed her order being carried and got excited. She had been living with mostly the same diet of roots and nuts as Anastacia had, with the addition of some of the treats available only to the few selected higher ups within the country, but even those would be considered basic meals everywhere else. Seeing someone eat with six hands was quite a sight and it caught the attention of some of the more curious adventurers in the tavern. Having emptied the platter in no time, the grand inquisitor Coquelicot wiped the corners of her mouth and poured herself another glass of wine.

“We need these things in Mournvalley, they have no idea what they’re missing.” She commented on the food.

Anastacia was impressed and slightly disgusted by the amount of fried chicken, potatoes and onions that had disappeared from the platter – but it did make the inquisitor seem more human than before. At least it seemed like she wasn’t cruelty-driven enough to not enjoy fried and unhealthy food, so maybe there was hope for her home country after all. However, it was hard to imagine Mournvalley without the cult.

“So that’s it? You came here just to give me a pat on the back and eat? I don’t need encouragement from you and aren’t you supposed to be busy?” Anastacia asked, hoping her unexpected guest would leave already.

The Inquisitor neatly folded her napkin back into her pocket. “Don’t be like that. Of course I have something for you. I just had to make sure Crimson wasn’t around before I could come.”

She placed a leather mail and a pair of steel gauntlets on the table. Though they seemed like decent pieces of armor, their designs were a bit too Mournvalleyish for Anastacia’s liking, as both the mail and gauntlets had a skull pattern on them and had their leather parts dyed black.

“You got me some armor? You know I have tons of money now, right?” The adventurer turned her nose up at the gift.

Coquelicot scoffed at the lukewarm response. “Wow… Could you at least pretend like you were grateful? These aren’t just some basic gear! Alizarin spent ages making them and then adjusting them to fit on your flimsy husk. They have bone plates embedded into them and you can harden them to be uncrushable with necromancy. You can’t use them against other necromancers, but we don’t really want you dying on one of those stupid quests you take now either.”

Seeing some utility to the gear now, Anastacia gingerly inspected them. “Thanks… I guess. Tell Alizarin that I’ll take good care of them, and that his book is totally fine.”

Coquelicot stood up, took a few coins from her pocket and placed them on the table. “Thank the cook for me. We’ll see each other again sooner or later.”

Anastacia realized that this was her chance and searched for the topaz ring from her pouch. While slipping it on behind her back she grinned. “Say, Coquelicot. There’s something I’ve been wondering… How do you wash yourself in a bath without hands? I can’t imagine you getting the bone ones wet.”

“I pay courtesans to do it for me, of course.” The inquisitor said nonchalantly.

Anastacia chuckled “What?...”

“I said piss off. It’s none of your business.” Coquelicot repeated what she thought she had said before.

Anastacia thanked Mikhail in her head. The topaz one was clearly the best out of the three.