Chapter XXXIV

Things at Marquise Zoe's castle had been relatively quiet. There was more talk about what to do about the Nihilite invasion, and there was the problem of trying to divide the food supplies evenly now that there were refugees living in the castle, but overall not many problems within. That was, until the dead body from the village of Fitra arrived. It was found stuck up against the grate outside the castle. Obviously, the arrival of a charred corpse in the river from which everyone in the castle got their drinking and bathing water created quite disturbing. Sure, they always boiled the water before they used it for anything, because they knew that dead fish would sometimes find their way into the water as well, but there's something to be said about the horror of discovering a dead human being, especially one in such horrific condition, in one's drinking water. No amount of boiling or water treatment can get rid of the sickening feeling that comes from seeing something like that.

Once the body had been buried in the graveyard in back of the castle, Sarahi said to Estelle, “That body must have been sent on purpose. The Nihilites are trying to scare us into submission.”

“Well, it seems to be working,” Estelle said.

“We mustn't give up!”

“I know that, but tell that to the refugees. They're panicking. Some of them are saying the river is cursed now, defiled beyond repair. That we'll all die if we stay in the castle.”

“Which is just what the Nihilites want them to think, I'll bet!”

“Exactly!” Estelle said. “It's extremely well-played.”

“Well, it's your responsibility to help them keep hope! You'll be their Marquise some day!”

“Oh, you're right. I'll just tell them 'Don't worry! Everything's going to be fine! It's just the burned body of one of your countrymen floating in the water you've been drinking for the past week.'”

“Estelle, I'm serious!”

“So am I! I have no idea how to calm them down! They thought when they came to this castle that they'd be safe. Now the Nihilites, master thieves that they are, have stolen even the feeling of security from them!”

“Speak to them,” Milo said. “Show them you're not afraid, and they'll follow your lead.”

“That's just the problem, I am afraid.”

“Ah. The truth comes out,” Milo said. “I understand that this sort of thing is pretty scary, but if the Nihilites really thought they could take this castle don't you think they'd have attacked by now? They sent us a dead body down the river because they have no way of actually hurting us in here.”

“King Amasi was killed in his own castle, by Nihilite infiltrators, if I'm not mistaken. Who's to say that a few of those refugees aren't infiltrators too?”

This was a chilling thought. If the Nihilites wanted to take over the castle but didn't feel that they had enough people or equipment for a full siege it would make sense for them to send people to infiltrate and destroy the castle from the inside. They'd already nearly torn apart the capital once with just a few infiltrators.

“You have a good point,” Sarahi said. “But even if the castle has been infiltrated we must not let our enemies know we're afraid, or that we're onto them.”

“I suppose, then, I should try to say something to the people to calm their fears,” Estelle said, shaking her head.

Within an hour she'd had the refugees in the castle all gathered up in the main dining hall, from which all the tables had been removed to accommodate all the guests. Estelle stood on the balcony over-looking the teeming masses. For a moment she searched the crowd for any sign of a suspicious character, until they'd all quieted down. “My people, I know you're all afraid. These are hard times, I agree. We are at war with the neighboring kingdom of Nihilus. Their armies are marching in our lands and killing our people, but let me reassure you that here, in this castle, you are safe. That is why the Nihilites haven't attempted to attack this place. That is why the only move they've made against us is sending a corpse down the river. They have nothing they can threaten us with, so they try to scare us into abandoning our homeland. Would you be so terrified if a single Nihilite soldier stood outside our walls taunting and insulting us? That's all this is, we have nothing to be afraid of.”

There was a murmuring through the crowd, mixed sounds of agreement and argument once Estelle had finished speaking. Estelle was satisfied that her words had calmed them.

Until, of course, the Blackstar Talismans arrived by way of the small pieces of timber sent to float downstream. The timing could not have been more perfect, really, it seemed that no sooner had Estelle finished her speech about the people being safe in the castle and that there was nothing to worry about then demons stormed the halls. When survivors told the story later they usually said that as soon as she'd said the words, “We have nothing to be afraid of,” demons came pouring into the main hall. This was not true, but not far off. In fact, when she finished speaking, on the other end of the castle, the pieces of floating timber arrived in the castle and demons appeared there. The guards nearby proved no match for the demons as they appeared, falling before anyone had time to hear their screams.

After leaving the dining hall, Milo and Sarahi heard the sounds of fighting and of people in metal boots fleeing down the halls. They both readied their weapons and rushed towards the sounds of the attack. Staggering into the hallway they saw a man with a hump on his back and a bloated belly, hunched over and sickly pale. As if completely intoxicated, he stumbled towards them, his arms swinging wildly. His mouth flew open and tentacles, like those of a squid or an octopus, but pitch black, reached out of his mouth at Milo and Sarahi. Milo swung out his sword and cut off most of the tentacles before they could reach them, but Sarahi grabbed one of the remaining tentacles, wrapped it around her arm, and yanked on it as hard as she could. With great force she pulled the man and the demon inside him towards them.

This parasitic type of demon, often called a Donnvic, would wrap its slithering body around its host's spine and intertwine it with his internal organs, which meant that if someone were to slay the demon they'd have to kill the host too. No weapon could pierce the vital parts of the demon's body that wouldn't also kill the host, and no exorcism spell could separate the demon from the host without killing both. Both Milo and Sarahi knew this, and, as much as it pained them, they knew what needed to be done. The least they could do was grant the poor man a quick death. Sarahi forced her spear down the man's throat and stabbed the demon. Milo beheaded the man as soon as Sarahi's spear was out. When the man's body fell onto the floor, both of them stabbed at it a few more times just to make sure the demon wouldn't claim another host.

This was cut short, however, as a long, spindly arm that had far more joints and elbows than any human arm, reached through a doorway and seized Milo by his long hair and dragged him into the other room. Milo flailed around with his sword but couldn't cut the demon that dragged him. Once he was in the room, though, he managed to get a good look at the creature. It was almost twice as tall as a man, very skinny, and had six, long, scrawny arms that bent in several places. A Daeva, it was commonly called. Two of its hands found their way around Milo's throat and began squeezing tightly while two others, surprisingly strong for how scrawny they were, held his arms down so he couldn't swing his sword. Sarahi rushed around the corner and stabbed the Daeva in the chest with her spear, killing it before it could hold Milo for a second longer.

Had Milo and Sarahi been the only paladins in the entire castle that day it's unlikely that they would have been able to win the battle, but they soon met up with other paladins who had been stationed there. Some of them had been brought there because of injuries they'd received on the battlefield, but they insisted they were still strong enough to fight the demons. Together they fought their way through every hall of the castle, killing Daevas, locust demons, seekers, Lamassu, Donnvics, and countless other forms of demons, some they'd never even heard of before.

After every demon in the castle had been slain the paladins called it a victory, but damage had been done there that could not be undone. The pieces of timber that had held the Blackstar Talismans had kept floating down the river after they passed through the castle, so the source of the demonic invasion was unknown. Now, more than ever, the refugees talked about how they weren't safe in the castle. Rumors spread that a witch or warlock was hiding amongst them.

“It could be anyone! Not just someone you don't recognize, they could have been living in your village for years!”

“Aye, I've heard of this! They lay wait in some city or another, plotting their evil years in advance. They make everyone believe they're upstanding citizens of the community so people won't suspect them when disease starts to spread, or demons start eating the children!”

“Keep a constant, vigilant eye! If you see anything suspicious don't hesitate to do something about it!”

“A moment's hesitation could cost us all our lives!”

Advice that was well-meaning enough when said, but soon led to violence. There was a young man from the village of Ptarmig who was rather a recluse, due to the fact that he'd lost his family years ago in a terrible fire. His name was Nephi, and since he had few people to speak to most of the time he was given to muttering things to himself, constantly. His thoughts were not so much silent as they were little whispers, just loud enough for only him to understand, but for all nearby to hear that he was saying something. This was thought odd by other refugees, and a few of them met to decide what to do about it.

“Have you noticed that Nephi didn't come here with his family?”

“What sort of man flees his home-town and doesn't bring his family with him?”

“A spy, of course!”

“Now, we don't know that! All we know is he'd a bit off!”

“Didn't we agree to not let anyone suspicious go unnoticed? Any hesitation could lead to the deaths of hundreds, possibly everyone in this castle! It's possible for one warlock to conjure enough demons to take this whole castle!”

“But if we kill an innocent man...”

“We kill a lot more than just one innocent man if we let him conjure demons among us!”

It's been said time and time again that fear makes men moral. Fear of consequence scares men away from doing what's wrong. But the Inquisition long counted fear as one of the twelve deadly sins, partly because it can prevent men from doing what's right, but also because paranoia can drive men to do wrong they would normally be incapable of doing. Nephi was blissfully ignorant of the plots against his life. In his mutterings, as he was constantly lost in deep thought, he didn't notice that he was being followed and watched everywhere he went. When those plotting against him found him walking into an empty room by himself they took it as one more sign that he was up to something, as well as an opportunity to do something about it. That day, merely getting lost in the castle cost poor Nephi his life, as those who’d been following him quietly strangled him with a piece of rope. They covered his mouth with thick cloth to prevent him from screaming for help or conjuring demons.

The men who killed him considered themselves heroes, to be sure, but they didn't dare spread the word that they'd strangled Nephi out of mere suspicion that he was the warlock they were looking for. The guards soon found the body, exactly where the men had left him, the same room in which they'd murdered him. Without any other explanation offered up the refugees, and indeed everyone in the castle, soon came to believe that Nephi was murdered by a Nihilus spy.

From there things spiraled out of control. A man named Mosiah was constantly preaching that faith was the answer to all of their problems, proclaiming that if they simply believed hard enough that God would send his angels to deal with the spy for them. Some of the other refugees decided that this was suspicious. Perhaps a demon-worshiper trying to cover up his true purpose in the castle by pretending to be a faithful Agalmite and over-compensating? Or perhaps someone trying to get them to let their guard down enough, merely trust in faith, so that he could keep plotting against them uninterrupted? The truth was that Mosiah was a former priest, one who had been disgraced when he had gotten far too drunk on sacramental wine and gone running through the streets in the middle of the night, singing bawdy songs, loudly and badly. Even though he was no longer a priest, he still liked to encourage people and help them keep their faith alive, but this proved to be his downfall. A couple of refugees found him when he was alone and put a knife in his back. Again, these people didn't dare tell everyone that they'd killed Mosiah out of suspicion, so they kept it quiet and left the body behind. Once again the guards found the body and everyone assumed it was the work of the Nihilus spy.

Matters were made even worse once the Gidim plague, carried downstream by the dead body that had started this whole paranoid mess in the first place, finally began to show its symptoms. As people's skin turned green and they were having troubles breathing or swallowing some first thought it was a normal disease that had somehow escaped the water-treatment or that a refugee had accidentally brought in with them, but when normal medicine didn't cure this plague it became obvious that it was demonic in origin, and the paladins set to work curing it at once.

This made things even more terrible for a young woman named Almana. Before the plague had started showing its symptoms she'd suggested that there was no Nihilus spy, that the murders may have been committed out of paranoia rather than by an infiltrator. Some people considered that she might be right, actually, but when the Gidim plague broke out and Almana was, mysteriously, one of the few in the castle who didn't suffer any symptoms. She looked suspicious, and was soon thrown out the window of one of the castle's towers.

“Are the last traces of the demon plague gone?” Estelle asked Sarahi, a few days later.

“Yes, as far as we can tell. Everyone who was showing symptoms has been cured.”

“My guards have been trying to catch that spy for a long time now, but we have no leads,” Estelle said.

“With all due respect,” Milo said. “There may not be a spy. Almana may have been onto something. Maybe it's just paranoia tearing this castle apart from the inside.”

“And where did the plague come from, then?”

“From the river, maybe? Gidim don't die from boiling water, you know. Could be any number of things in that river that carried that plague.”

“But all traces of it are gone now, right?”

“Everyone with symptoms has been treated, yes,” Sarahi said.

“Good. Well, if it surfaces again we'll know there's a spy in the castle causing all of this,” Estelle said. “And if that happens...” Estelle trailed off and stared off into the distance before leaving Milo and Sarahi. She went to her bedroom, where her husband, Jesse, was waiting.

“Estelle, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Estelle had kept a veneer of calm for days now. She’d shown no sign of the panic that was overwhelming her heart, but when she spoke to her husband she couldn't help but let all the emotions she'd been internalizing pour out in a flood of tears, accompanied by sobs. Now, it was true that Jesse and Estelle were not in love, they'd been picked for each other by matchmakers and forced to marry against their will, but this didn't mean that they didn't care for one another. Upon seeing Estelle like that Jesse couldn't help but walk over to her and pull her into his embrace.

“The castle's falling apart! I'm going to lose everything my mother built while she's off fighting the Nihilites and I can't do a thing about it!”

“We'll come up with something. Maybe Milo was right and there's no infiltrator. Now that this plague is done maybe that's the last of it,” Jesse said.

“But what if there is a spy in the castle?”

“Let's wait and see.”

“No, I need to know how to react if it turns out there really is a spy in my mother's castle causing all of this. Tell me what to do, Jesse!”

“There's only one solution that comes to mind...but you won't like it.”

“Tell me, please!”

One thing that Arxian physicians, apothecaries, priests, paladins, and all other healers didn't understand was the concept of a healthy carrier. A person can be infected with a contagious disease and show no signs or symptoms of that disease. They can be totally healthy, except for the fact that others around them can catch the disease from them. One particular soul in the castle, Laish, was, unwittingly, one such carrier. This was particularly bad considering that he was one of the castle's cooks.

Within a few days' time the Gidim plague spread again, reviving suspicions that a spy was hiding amongst the refugees. Again paladins scrambled to heal the plague, and Estelle came to visit her sister as she and Milo were in the infirmary, treating the sick.

Sarahi knew in an instant, though, that something was wrong this time when she saw that her sister wore a full suit of armor, with a sword at her hip and a spear in her hand. “Take care you don't get infected yourself,” Estelle said.

“I will,” Sarahi said, uneasily.

Estelle gave Sarahi a quick nod and walked off down the hall, with Jesse, also clad in full armor, following behind her. Sarahi gave Milo a look that said, “We have to follow them!” and Milo knew what the look meant. Seeing the sight of the two of them marching together, towards the main dining hall, in full armor made Milo nervous as well. They followed at a safe distance, trying not to get so close that Estelle would hear or see them.

Estelle talked to one of the guards. “Gather all of the healthy refugees here, into the dining hall. Any refugee not currently in the infirmary must be brought here. Make sure every available guard comes too.”

After hearing this Sarahi dared to approach her sister and demand some answers. “What are you going to do, Estelle?”

“Go back and see to the sick,” Estelle said, placing her hands on her sister's shoulders. “You're a paladin, and that means you must always be good and righteous, no matter the cost. Go, heal the sick, be the heroine they need.” Estelle hugged Sarahi tightly. A tear rolled down her cheek as she did. Jesse watched the two of them with a sympathetic look.

“Estelle, talk to me, what are you doing?” Sarahi asked.

“The only thing I can do, but it's better if you not know,” Estelle wiped the tear from her face and gave Sarahi a hard push. “Go back to the infirmary, Sarahi, now! And be glad you'll never have to be the Marquise.”

“Estelle?”

“Now, Sarahi! Go!”

Sarahi turned and ran down the hall towards the infirmary, with Milo chasing after her. “We have to get the other paladins into the dining hall, now!” Sarahi told him.

“Why? What's your sister doing?”

“I hope I'm wrong...we have to hurry!”

“What's going on?”

“She's going to kill the refugees! All of them! She's reached the end of her rope and she's gone mad!”

The castle's guards had no idea what Estelle wanted them to bring all of the refugees into the dining hall for. Most assumed she was going to make some sort of speech, or say something inspirational. Others assumed that she had some trick she would employ to deduce which of the refugees was the spy. None of them suspected that what Estelle would soon tell them all to do would be the most sinister order they'd ever received. Still, because some of them assumed the spy was about to be caught, after they'd brought the refugees into the dining hall they blocked off all the doors.

Estelle looked over the refugees. Men, women, children, the elderly. Families were grouped together, holding each other's hands. Children were clinging to their mothers' dresses, curious and scared about what was to happen. “One day, when you become the Marquise,” Zoe had told her long ago, “You will be the one the people look to for protection. You'll be their symbol of hope in troubled times and the one they thank for the good times. It'll be your responsibility to keep them all safe.” The words had been so encouraging and kind when her mother had spoken them, but now they seemed so cruel, so biting. The memory of her words was like a razor that cut open Estelle's soul to reveal the blackness that had settled in during this crisis. She knew what she had to do, and it was so terrible that she doubted she'd be able to live through it. Even before she began to speak she considered taking her own life once this was all over. Maybe someone capable of doing something so terrible, whether or not it was necessary, shouldn't live. Steeling herself, and putting on her sternest, coldest face, she began to speak to the crowd.

“My people, as you know someone among you is a spy from Nihilus. Whomever this spy is, he or she has been clever enough to evade capture and kill several people already. He or she has set loose a plague in this castle. Despite the best efforts of my guardsmen this spy cannot be caught. None of you are above suspicion, and we cannot allow these attacks to continue. If the spy continues to run rampant, summoning demons in these halls then this castle will fall, along with all of Muri. I cannot allow this, you understand? I've been pushed to the end, and I know now what I must do.” Estelle let out a heavy sigh and looked down at the floor. She said a quick, silent prayer for the redemption of her soul, and then turned her head back up to face the guards surrounding the refugees. “Guardsmen, purge them. Kill every refugee in this hall.”

The guards weren't even sure if they'd heard that order right, or if this was some sort of test, or what to do. The refugees, much the same, couldn't believe what they were hearing. Was this some sort of nightmare? Could this truly be real? As the guards and refugees alike stared up at Estelle in shock they slowly came to the horrible realization that she was serious, that she truly wanted every last one of the refugees purged. The refugees began to panic and scream. They huddled together in the center as most of the guards began to advance towards them with their weapons drawn. Some guards realized the logic behind what Estelle had said. It had all come down to this. If they didn’t carry out Estelle’s orders everyone in the castle would die, and the plague would soon spread throughout the March of Muri. Other guards refused to follow such an order, it was sheer madness, and attacked their fellow guardsmen. Pandemonium broke out in the halls as there were guards attacking the refugees, guards attacking each other, and refugees picking up the dead guards' weapons and fighting back.

In seconds, though, the paladins arrived, and rushed down the stairs into the fray to defend the refugees. Milo charged in, swinging his big, diamond sword in large arcs, driving back some of the guards and cutting through the weapons of others.

“This is insanity!” Milo cried out. “You mustn't harm these people! Don't you owe your loyalty to Muri? These people ARE Muri!”

“Do as I say!” Estelle cried out, louder than Milo. “In my mother's absence I am the Marquise!”

“Stop this!” Sarahi shouted, coming up behind her sister with her diamond war-hammer drawn. “Stop this at once! You've completely lost your head!”

“I'm doing what needs to be done!” Estelle shouted, drawing her sword and pointing it at Sarahi. Jesse did the same. “Don't stand in my way! If you let the spy loose here you endanger us all!”

“YOU endanger us all! I can think of nothing the Nihilites would want more than this, us killing our own people! If you do this they've won!”

“They've already won, Sarahi! Don't delude yourself! They've taken this castle as surely as if they'd besieged it and torn down the walls! All we can do now is minimize the damage!”

“How is this minimizing the damage, Estelle? Have you gone completely mad?”

“Anyone, upon seeing that this was the only course of action would go mad, Sarahi. Just be happy you're not the one who has to make this decision!”

“I've sworn to protect the people of Arx, to protect all the faithful from those who threaten them. If you will not stand down I will be forced to fight you, whether or not you're my sister. Please, don't do this!”

Estelle looked over her shoulder at the guards below, all awaiting further orders. “Kill the paladins too if they get in the way, and any guard who doesn't do as I command is guilty of insubordination!”

Sarahi lunged at Estelle, but Jesse jumped in the way and grabbed her hammer by the handle, just above Sarahi's hands. He pushed her back and thrust his sword forward at her chest. The sword glanced off of her armor, but the force of the blow knocked her back further, and Jesse kept after her.

Down below the guards charged in again in an attempt to attack the refugees, but the paladins, outnumbered as they were, fought back against the on-coming guards. Their diamond weapons pierced armor and broke through shields. In an attempt to spare as many lives as he could, Milo struck his enemies with the flat of his sword. It was harder to swing this way, due to the wind-resistance, but he managed to hold his own in spite of that, partially because the room was large enough to allow him the reach advantage with such a huge weapon.

Jesse wildly stabbed at Sarahi with his sword, forcing her to dodge every blow and stay ever on the defensive. She never knew which strike would be hard enough to pierce her armor, or which one would find a weak-point and tear through. Jesse's look was stern and serious, but in his heart he was apologetic, feeling terrible that he had to do this to his sister-in-law in order to ensure his wife's safety. When Jesse stumbled for just a second, Sarahi struck out with her hammer and caught him in the side of the head. She smashed his temple and the right side of his face, and sent him crumpling to the ground off to one side.

“Well then, Sarahi,” Estelle said. “I guess it's down to just you and me.”

“Call the guards off, Estelle! This is insane! You must see that!”

“Of course it's insane. The Nihilites made it so. As soon as this war started we saw insanity in our land, maybe even a little bit before that.”

“Then you're surrendering to them!”

“We cannot win this war, sister,” Estelle said, her eyes filled with the deepest sorrow Sarahi had seen in them since their father died. “I don't want to be around to see the end, I don't want to see them destroy all of Arx, and I don't think those people really do either.”

“What happened to my good-hearted, head-strong sister?”

“She's dead. The Nihilites have long since killed her. I'm just the hollow husk of that woman. There's nothing left in me now.”

“Estelle...”

“You heard about what the Nihilites are doing to every village they come across. They murder everyone, sew their flesh into banners that are lifted high above the villages for the world to see, stick their heads on pikes, draw and quarter them… Their hate cannot be stopped, Sarahi. Please, don't let me see the end. Kill me, if not out of mercy than out of justice! After what I've done I deserve it!”

“No!”

“I deserve it!”

“That's not for either of us to decide!”

“Then out of mercy!”

“You don't deserve that much mercy either.”

“Then out of self-defense. Defend yourself, paladin!” Estelle lunged forward at Sarahi, her sword-arm outstretched. Sarahi found it easy to step out of the way, which her sister likely intended. She was not truly trying to kill Sarahi, just trying to give Sarahi an excuse to kill her, but Sarahi would have none of it. When Jesse had attacked Sarahi he truly meant to kill her because she was in the way of doing what he thought was right, and so in self-defense she took his life. As Estelle attacked her, however, it was clear that Sarahi was in no true danger, so there was no true need to protect herself. Letting go of her hammer she punched her sister in the side of her head and knocked her out. Had it not been for Estelle's helmet the blow would have likely killed her, but in this case it was just enough to cause her to lose consciousness.

With her sister out of commission, Sarahi was now in charge, and she took advantage of that fact immediately. “Stop! Cease the fight at once!” she called out. At her order all of the guards, paladins, and refugees stopped fighting.

After that the paladins gathered everyone together and made sure to perform an exorcism on everyone in the castle, every last person, in case someone's body held any kind of demon that could not be seen. In the process they unknowingly cured Laish, the healthy carrier, of the Gidim plague he was carrying. With Laish cured the plague ended. After three days of no demon attacks in the castle the refugees and guards alike assumed that either the spy had died during the attempted purge or that there truly had never been any spy at all. For some this was a comfort. Others would carry with them guilt they'd never be able to overcome, for they had murdered innocent people in their paranoia.