”Fucking damnit. I was right here, how is this even possible?!” Anastacia asked from no one in particular and stared at the ceiling of war chief’s room to avoid seeing the pool of blood on the floor, or the fresh corpse of the room’s resident in the middle of it.

Teal had offered his help with the body once more and was inspecting it for the cause of death. “Single stab wound, directly at the heart. Looks like it went through the ribcage like butter and killed him in a couple of seconds.” He concluded and shook the blood off his hands. “Not really a surprise he didn’t manage to scream first. When you stab someone like this, the air in their lungs just kind of leaks out without making much more than a sigh.”

“Of course you know that, why wouldn’t you? Anything else you can tell me about it?” The adventurer asked and took a few quick glances at the body.

Fang’s face didn’t show any signs of surprise or agony in his last moments, which could have just been because of his calm demeanor, simply a coincidence, or it could have meant that the war chief knew what was coming and had accepted his fate.

Still firmly clutching to his cane, the orc had taken a tumble backwards and only missed the door by a couple of centimeters. Even in death, his grip on the walking aid was so firm that Teal had to pry his fingers off it one by one just to move his arms out of the way. The staff itself was given to Lady Helia for safekeeping.

The Ouan representative had been cleared of suspicions for the time being, as she had been with Teal at the time of the second murder and seemed to be an unlikely culprit for the first one. The reason behind tasking her to help with the investigation was simply that the adventurer found great joy in forcing her and Teal stick together – and having a representative from both alliances to stay neutral in case someone asked about it.

Saying the she appeared even slightly bothered by her ally’s demise would have been a lie, and Anastacia would have found this suspicious, if it wasn’t Lady Helia herself that suspected Fang in the first place and admitted to not really caring for how the orc ran things in Toumarill.

“Well, the shape isn’t anything out of the ordinary for a small knife, but I have to wonder about the amount of strength it takes to do something like this. It’s a small weapon but not a spike or anything, so pushing it through an orc bone so cleanly would be impossible for most people.” Teal continued to analyze the wound. “Not to mention that most people couldn’t do it without us- I mean without me noticing it.”

“What could the necromancer inquisitor Teal mean? Could it be that the unclean abilities of necromancers allow for surveillance?” Asked Lady Helia suddenly and stopped fiddling with the cane. “Perhaps this could have been mentioned to us before?”

Teal touched the wound and rubbed the blood between his fingers before smelling it. “All necromancers are equipped with the senses to roughly locate useable materials in their surroundings, and those of us that aren’t limited to just dead material, can sense living things as well.” He said without turning away from the body, like it was the thousandth time he had to explain it.

Flustered by the realization that the inquisitor could have been keeping an eye on her the whole time, Lady Helia took a step away from him and tried to cover herself more with her arms, as if that did anything more than her uniform already did.

“That’s right, he knows what you do at night and can feel every little bit of you, all the way from his room.” Anastacia said, seeing the opportunity to throw more fuel into the fire. “You know, necromancers are all interested in learning about the physique of all mortal races, maybe you should introduce him to your god given one?”

“HOW VULGAR!” The Ouan screeched and whacked the inquisitor with the cane.

Teal sighed long and hard before continuing his work without even bothering to question Anastacia’s actions. He had more or less done all he could with the body and the only thing left was cleanup. Touching his fingertips into the pool of blood, he began drawing back the spillage and gathering it into a sphere in his hand. Though he considered it for a few seconds, the inquisitor’s professionalism prevailed against his petty hatred for Anastacia, and he carefully moved the blood into an empty vase on one of the drawers in the room instead of throwing it at the adventurer.

“The necromancer inquisitor Teal mentioned that this heinous act of murder would have required great strength?” Lady Helia suddenly asked after getting over what she had just learned about necromancers. “Perhaps vulcan forgemaster Magnon could muster the fortitude for such a feat?”

Anastacia nodded. “Those spikes on his forearms are mighty pointy, and he did have a bit of a scene with Fang earlier.” She admitted even though the forgemaster was one of the guests she actually liked.

“They are roughly the right shape, I suppose, and I’ve heard tales of Vul’s troops just punching their way through doors with those things. This would be just a quick jab in comparison.” Teal agreed. “But what I don’t get is how he would defy necromancy like that? Magic might provide a way for all we know, but Vul’s magical knowledge is limited to party tricks at most.”

“If only he would be good friends with a high magister… Oh right, he is.” Anastacia smarmily pointed out.

The Ouan shone her lantern directly at Anastacia’s face and lowered her head to speak to her. “Human adventurer Anastacia would suggest that the human high magister Ilyu would abandon our covenant for personal matters? Is this correct?” She asked but was not going to wait for an answer. “Perhaps that could be the case? We ourselves often question Astra’s motivations, as they serve no gods. It can be assumed that one of theirs could be led astray, for they lack guidance. How do you propose we continue from here?”

Teal lifted his arm as if he was asking for a permission to speak. “We need to take into account that even if Magnon and Ilyu were behind this one, it might have just been to get revenge for Nikolai’s death and may well have all been a part of the original murderer’s plan to sow chaos into our meeting. Perhaps it would be better for us to split our efforts? I could no doubt get a confession out of Farcie, if there is one to get in the first place, and you two could have a chat with Magnon and Ilyu.” He suggested.

This immediately gave Anastacia an idea for furthering her own goals for the meeting, but all of that would have to wait for a while. “That’s a good point, but honestly, I’m getting really hungry and I doubt I’m the only one. We missed the breakfast and we’re already late for lunch.”

“Anastacia, someone was poisoned earlier; do tell how you’re going to get anyone to eat anything?” Teal asked jokingly.

“That much is easy, I’ll limit the number of options a bit and personally keep an eye on the chefs. If someone else wants to starve after seeing me eat, it’s their choice.” The adventurer shrugged. “But first, I need you two to grab a sheet and haul Fang into the cellar as well.”

Though Lady Helia refused to help hauling the corpse, she accompanied the inquisitor for the task and the body was swiftly moved without anyone else seeing it – at least almost. Stel, who had been sent to get more coffee for the adventurer, caught a glimpse of the bloody sheet and had a reaction much like the one Anastacia would have had a few months backwards. Needless to say, the second pot of fresh coffee suffered the same fate as the first one and needed to be cleaned off the floor.

Before gathering the lodge’s staff, Anastacia forcibly locked both Teal and Lady Helia into the latter’s room for the time being and warned them that breaking out would result in some particularly dire consequences. This was partly to keep them out of harms way and partly to keep them in each other’s way.

Teal stared out of the window and tried to kill time by focusing on every little bit of movement he could spot. “Huh, I think that’s a bear out there. Looks like we made the right choice to not store the bodies outside.” He muttered and squinted to see the dark brown lump of something slowly lumber across the field of snow in the distance. “Though there’s only so many we can fit in there… If only that brat spent more energy and time on figuring out what’s going on instead of messing with us.”

“We have worries of similar nature. The attempt to cause conflict among our nations is apparent. We do not appreciate it.” Lady Helia agreed and flipped through an ancient-looking book, that was lined with gold and silver and probably weighed more than a small child. Though each page was extremely thin, the tome must have had thousands of pages and was easily over ten centimeters thick. Each page was covered in text so small it was barely legible.

“That’s the word of the five, isn’t it? I believe our library has a copy of your holy text as well.” The inquisitor said and turned away from the window. “Forgive me, but do you actually expect to find us some answers in it?”

“The Word contains all answers if one looks in the right place, but we do not rely on it alone. The ones we seek right now are for a matter of salvaging this meeting.” The Ouan explained and rapidly flipped through some more pages. “Should we intentionally step into a trap laid before us? The Holy Empire will cure this world of its blights of darkness, but it will not be sicced like some rabid dog by an unknown conspirator.”

Teal was extremely relieved to hear the Ouan acknowledge that someone was trying to cause discord and that she would not be blindly acting on it. He sat down next to her and started to read the book as well, though only managed to catch a single phrase from each page before Lady Helia moved on to the next one. “Am I correct in assuming that even if our nations are to put a hold on our differences for now, it doesn’t entirely solve the issue?” He asked.

“Perhaps it might? Or not? Toumarill will seek its own answers for the death of their war chief, but that may be easy to mend. However, as we spoke, Vul might already be ensnared in the trap? If they were to launch an offensive, we have no choice but to answer.” Lady Helia explained her thoughts while reading at an ever-accelerating speed. “But would Mournvalley follow suit?”

Teal leaned back to sigh and stared at the ceiling. “We might have to. We’re a bit reliant in our allies at the moment, and not supporting them because of a temporary alliance to a kingdom that has sworn to more or less genocide all necromancers is a hard sell, even from someone in my position.”

“This is precisely what we seek answers for. Might there be a misinterpretation that caused this? Our conversation revealed great many things about necromancers of this day. Many of them unimaginable based on our prior knowledge. So, could there be a way you, vile servants of death, could be redeemed?” Continued the Ouan with a hint of excitement in her voice.

“I’m not sure I follow. I haven’t read the word of the five, and Cobalt, our scribe, only gave me the very abridged version of it, but if it says necromancers are evil, there’s nothing you can do, right?” Teal asked and scratched his head. His briefing for the meeting had hardly covered studying the entire religious beliefs of the opposing nations and mostly focused on financial matters and attending a meeting without expecting to be the only one leaving there alive.

Lady Helia suddenly grasped the inquisitor’s head and moved it around while intensely staring at every detail. “There is no doubt that necromancers are a filthy species that revels in the dark and does all it can to refrain from the light. Lesser beings without purpose. It is natural that the light would burn the stain that is Mournvalley off the face of the world – or this is what we thought. Yet, the only mention of your abhorrent species is in the form of your immortal king and how the gods themselves desire him gone. The revolution you spoke of banished his remains from the mortal plane, correct?”

Teal had gotten used to the Ouan going out of her way to insult necromancers every chance she could, and paid no mind to it, but he was starting to understand what she was after. “Correct, the immortal lord Alabaster, nor his followers have no place among us.” He confirmed.

“Then, might there be a slightest of chance, the most marginal of cases, where an atrocious necromancer could be redeemed? To prove this could prevent the inevitable destruction of the dregs of existence that are necromancers.” Suggested the Ouan representative. Getting caught up in her own excitement, she grabbed the inquisitor’s hands and pressed them together against her chest.

Naturally, the inquisitor’s first thoughts were of Anastacia, whom the rest of his organization considered to be an embarrassment to necromancer’s as a whole; but lacking discipline in even the loosest sense of the word and, at least according to some intel and rumors, engaging in things the gods themselves couldn’t explain, the adventurer was probably even lower down the list of beings the Ouans considered acceptable than most necromancers.

“What would this ‘redemption’ entail?” He asked warily.

“The Five only ask that all mortals learn the ways of the light and acknowledge them. Could it be that one of you despicable vermin is able to do as much?” Lady Helia said in an extremely suggestive manner for her otherwise monotone and bland way of speaking.

Knowing what was unavoidable, the inquisitor took a deep breath and stood up. He could already hear the mockery he’d receive from the other inquisitors whenever it got out that he was forced to basically join a cult, but he also knew that each and every one of his sisters and brothers would do the exact same thing if put into his situation. “Very well. In behalf of Mournvalley, I, inquisitorial sentinel Teal, would like to take this chance to accompany you to Ou and learn the ways of the light to prove that our kind is not beyond ‘redemption’” He declared in an overly serious manner.

Lady Helia smiled, closed her book and placed her hand on its golden, extravagantly decorated cover. “As the Archfurion of the Holy Empire, we welcome you to the light. As a speaker for the Five, we pray for them to absolve the people of Mournvalley of their crimes of their dark existence, for one has sought the light. Valo, the first of the light, may she show them the way. Ljusia, the untainted, may she cleanse them. Sviesa, the guardian, may he shield them from the dark of Mer. Fos, the burning brightness, may he scorch their past clean. Isik, the reflection, may he welcome them to the fold.” She prayed.

As the Ouan spoke, the room became noticeably brighter by the second and Teal could feel a strange burning sensation within himself. Being who he was, the inquisitor sought reasons for it from anywhere else than the gods and ended up blaming it on a sudden case of heartburn and a bit of magic.

When the prayer’s final words echoed in the room, a blinding flash briefly cleared it from all shadows and did no favors to the necromancer’s retinas in the process. Though for a while after being blinded, he could swear he saw a pair of translucent wings sprouting from Lady Helia’s back and a far more ornate dress of silver and gold on her, but as the light faded, so did the vision and all returned back to normal.

Both diplomats crashed into their chairs, exhausted and drained.

“I have several questions.” Teal said and tried to catch his breath.

“Perhaps they can wait for when we return to Ou? There is much for you to know.” Lady Helia suggested and took the inquisitor’s hand again. “But seems we are in luck. The guardian was quite taken with you.”

Teal frowned. “What does that even mean?”

“It may be appropriate to begin from the basics, once we have more time? But we may simplify it for now. All those that know of the light are divided by the Five. Sviesa, the guardian has claimed you. A fortunate turn of events.” The Ouan nodded and smiled in a joyous way Teal didn’t think she was even able to pull off. “For each shield of the guardian is required to protect others of light. Especially those of Fos, such as us.”

Teal smiled to be polite but groaned internally and questioned whether and why the gods appeared to have a similar sense in humor as Anastacia. However, even someone so opposed to all things divine as the inquisitors, had to admit that when both mortal and supposedly greater wills have tethered him to the Ouan, any resistance would be futile and only make things worse.

“Just smile and think of Mournvalley…” He muttered to himself to strengthen his quickly crumbling resolve.

The Ouan’s bliss and the inquisitor’s misery came to an abrupt end, as something weighty slammed against the locked wooden door to the room. Followed by a barrage of what sounded like someone was dragging a couple of meat hooks against it again and again. Like Lady Helia had described, the sound was not unlike that of a large dog, scratching at the door, trying to get in.

Teal was absolutely certain that there were no such animals inside the lodge, but what was even more confusing, was that as far as his abilities were concerned, there still wasn’t – the corridor on the other side of the door was completely empty.

As a few moments passed, audible snarling and barking could be heard from the other side of the door whenever the clawing ceased briefly.

“This is what we are talking about. How can this be acceptable? We are beginning to question our adventurer’s abilities.” Lady Helia hissed annoyedly and got up to walk to the door.

Teal leaped up from his seat and put himself between the Ouan and the beast on the other side of the door. “Do not open it! Whatever is behind there, is not a dog.” He warned her.

Lady Helia seemed confused. “But how else are we to drive it away? Should we shout? If Teal is so insistent on such matters, should he do it himself?”

“Fine! I’ll do it, just take cover and run to Anastacia if things go sour.” The inquisitor said and checked one more time as precisely as he could but found nothing behind the door or anywhere near it. He had some confidence in his hand to hand fighting skills, but whatever was trying to force its way through the door sounded awfully large.

Baffled as to why Teal would be so worried over a simple beast, Lady Helia couldn’t understand the reasoning behind his suggestion, but heeded it on the account of him sounding completely serious and took a few steps back to wait for the door to be opened.

Teal waited for the scratching to stop before carefully unlocking the door without making a sound and suddenly slamming it open to capitalize on his element of surprise. In the fraction of a second he had to act, he saw a large gray wolf with burning orange eyes and a mane that seemed to be sprouting thorny vines all over the upper half of the animal’s body. None of this had the time to bother him as he punted the beast directly into its jaw. As unrefined as it was, a good kick was unrivaled in power as long as it hit its mark.

The wolf winced and slid all the way across the hallway, far longer than something as big as a small horse should have.

Almost immediately, before he had any chance to continue his attack, a downright terrifying presence awoke in the first floor of the lodge. This halted the inquisitor to his tracks and filled him with primal fear – something very unfamiliar to his ilk.

Though Teal ranked well in the handful or the world’s mightiest necromancers, he suddenly found himself standing before something he could barely comprehend and didn’t even have the time to give up before Anastacia tore away the control he held over his own body. The proud inquisitor’s defenses were slapped aside and crushed like a bug.

As a sudden cold breeze overtook the hallway, Teal glanced at the beast he had very briefly fought and saw that in the place of the wolf, there was a crying maid who was holding her knee and huddling against the wall in terror.

Trying to piece things together in his head as the all-encompassing necromantic presence hastily closed in, he used his last free movements to turn to the equally visibly confused Ouan, possibly to say his farewells.

“WHY IN THE EVERLOVING DICKPILE OF DONGS DID YOU KICK MY ASSISTANT!” Bellowed a high-pitched yet thunderous yell from the stairway leading to the kitchen.