“I swear by Divine Lord Kargathax, I am telling the truth. Pass the Lyodgard plains, they were there. By the holy father there were so many. I…I deserted my post and for that sin I will never be able to atone for it. Nor can I justify ordering my unit to retreat. But you must raise the alarm, alert the Boyars, the princes, anybody. Tell them Fortress Toivoa has fallen, it was a massacre. Dragonlord preserves us.”

- Rotmistr Nikola Plamenslava, Testimony before Court of Honor in Zmeysgard, Verdict: Guilty - Sentence: 10 Years service - Penal Company - Reason for Punishment: National Emergency

“Everyone alright?” Taurox queried, his voice booming into the night.

Apprentice Mila and Sergeant Wilde murmured their assent, Sophie furtively nodded while bandaging her arms. Duke Haukr, Thegn Carodin and the prince formed up in their own little huddle, the bodies of the fallen lay where they died.

Sophie shuddered when they regrouped in the house, she had expected the orc to be fierce seeing how the blademaster seemed nearly exhausted by their bout. But what she didn’t expect was the orc’s headless corpse, signs of being compressed by hand still dripping fresh bone and gore on the floor. With the fight over it was time to chart a new course of action as the bright demonfire used by the cultist’s likely drew attention throughout the whole basin and they had a scant few moments to collect themselves.

Sophie’s eyes shot upwards at the soft footsteps of the prince’s party approached theirs and shot an apologetic smile at the battle worn trio, the noble scowling in response whilst the prince offered a small smile of his own.

“Yes?” Taurox spoke for their own group.

“I must offer my most humble gratitude for the timely rescue, however coincidentally everything might have turned out.” The prince bowed.

“Nonsense, we should apologize instead for not realising the extent of the cult’s activity.” Taurox threw a cheeky glance at the two other inquisitors before turning his admonishing gaze at Sophie, “And I must also apologize for allowing civilian interference amidst the chaos of this operation.”

“Please, you don’t need to apologize, we were just worried that Baroness Kestrel sided with my brother. We had originally come here to seek her aid you see, considering how she favors outsiders like the adventurer here.” He nodded at Sophie.

At this Taurox raised an eyebrow whilst the templar tilted his helmet, Mila just gave Sophie an incredulous look.

“Adventurer? This young elf is just a maid.” Taurox stated matter of factly.

Despite her mind being clouded still by Markus’s words and the thoughts of her origin, she was aware enough to let out an embarrassed huff as she tried to hide from the gathered group. Why call me out like this, she wailed internally.

The prince at least, looked pleasantly amused by this turn of events whilst Duke Haukr and Thegn Carodin looked aghast.

“Disrespectful, a coward, and now a liar. Hah, to think a maid would jump headfirst into a situation like this, surely this is a jest?” Duke Haukr spoke up.

“Unfortunately the young elf is in fact a civilian and not an adventurer. I am afraid this is no jest.”

“Then are you working for the palace staff? Sent to keep an eye on us hmm?” Haukr looked at her accusingly.

Sophie shook her head and turned to the others for support only to find them pointedly avoiding her gaze.

“Tch so for what reason are you even here? Just to sully the name of the prince by telling the world a lowly maid had to rescue him?”

“Now now, Urien, she did free us after all.” The prince chided.

“Pfft, only to then leave us to fend for ourselves until she got discovered.”

“Gentlemen, the Lionhunt is sure to arrive soon, I suspect you should be departing before we come to blows. My team and myself shall remain here to let them know that the events that transpired by the Inquisition will not intervene politically should they find you.” Taurox warned the two.

Thegn Carodin nodded his assent and Duke Haukr reluctantly backed off. To Sophie’s surprise, the prince held out a hand and upon looking at Taurox for instruction who only shrugged, she feebly reached out with her left hand as Duke Haukr looked furious at the prince for dropping a small curtsy.

“In that case thank you for your timely assistance, err young aelf? My name is Prince Alvin Meltius, may we meet again under more pleasant circumstances, wayfarer of Astralis.” He nodded appreciatively as he gave her a cheeky wink, much to Haukr’s displeasure.

“The Lionhunt will arrive soon. Let us not tarry my prince.” Duke Haukr smiled politely and scowled in equal measure, forcefully pushing the prince away.

Sophie nodded shyly in response and watched the trio scurried out into the countryside, two nobles and a knight looking like a bunch of rats fleeing a cat. Allowing herself a small chuckle she felt amused for a brief moment before the cloud of doubt descended once more. She furrowed her brow and tried to push back the haze in her mind and focus down on the memory of her arrival. Of the forest she spotted in her vision of the time she spent there. She remembered the panic and the darkness, the bear and its fear of her. What else she could recall was a heavy cloud that lifted with Eva’s arrival. But what happened before I got there?

“Hey dumbass, focus up, calvary's here.” Mila snapped her finger in front of Sophie.

“Guh!” Sophie snapped out of her thoughts and nodded fervently.

Through the doorless doorway they could see a dozen or so armed men approaching from the main road. Heavy full body scale armour decorated with ornaments, sigils and a gold-purple tabard bearing the image of a lion. Between them strode a more stiff figure, also clad in armour but instead of just the tabard he had over him a shimmering gold sash, that’s one way to mark importance. The inquisitors for their part shared a collective look before standing at half attention to meet the oncoming part, Sophie too tried to do her part and stand up but winched as she accidentally used her right hand to push herself up. This is gonna be a problem, that’s my main hand.

“Inquisition huh? Didn’t expect you guys this far in.” Gold Sash hummed as he removed his helmet, revealing a faceful of sophistication. Handlebar moustache, combed back hair under a helmet, narrowed condescending eyes, olive brown hair and a slightly crooked nose. This is just Hilda but a dude, Sophie hissed to herself in surprise annoyance, always looking so damn self righteous.

“Lionhunter, apologies for the mess.” Taurox nodded at him while he eyed the man scanning the room.

“I’ve seen worse,” Gold Sash shrugged, “Not here to cause us any trouble though?”

“Not if we can help it.”

“Disgusting.” Gold Sash grimaced as he nudged the headless orc with his boot, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Though his men grunted nonchalantly, Sophie saw how Taurox narrowed his eyes, like he had just figured something out when Gold Sash turned his attention to her.

“Didn’t know you let elves join the inquisition.” Gold Sash raised the most condescending eyebrow ever.

She felt herself tense up and shrink back slightly at the sudden attention, two or three other hunters also whispering amongst themselves as they followed Gold Sash’s gaze. The brief moment of silence was palpable enough that Sophie squirmed under the scrutiny before the blademaster once again came to her aid.

“Civilian contractor,” Taurox tapped her shoulder, “But everyone is allowed to join the inquisition provided their faith isn’t found wanting. Elves just rarely commit that much in the name of the church, considering they have their own…way of understanding Astralis’s guidance.”

At this the hunters chuckled amongst themselves as even Gold Sash seemed vaguely amused, “Fair enough, but why is a civilian here then?” Though he was unrepentant in prying out more information.

This seemed to give Taurox some pause, there was no tangibly graspable reason for Sophie to be here. But there was one near truth that Sophie already knew.

“B-bait.” She blubbered out. By the divine, I need to get better at public speaking.

Her soft and timid voice earned her the full brunt of the hunter’s stare as Gold Sash glared at her.

“Oh? It speaks? And how ruthless of you, though I can’t say I’m surprised nor can I argue with the results.”

“The little elf is currently my subordinate, yes.” Taurox confirmed, “It is thanks to her that the cultists here were already in disarray when we arrived.”

For some reason this darkened Gold sash’s mood and he gave his mustache a stroke before he tapped on the desk and looked directly at her eyes.

“One last question if you’ll indulge me, inquisitors. My apologies for…taking up your time.”

“Of course.”

“Did any of you, especially you, happen to catch a glimpse or assist any prisoners?”

“We have.” Taurox answered for them.

“Oh? And were any of them nobility? We have got reports of a few nobles going missing in this area.”

“That we are unsure of.”

“In that case you, elf. What did you see?”

His sudden shift in aura radiated so much hostility that caught her off guard. Uncomfortable and suddenly set upon, she fidgeted awkwardly with her feet before answering, unable to look away from the man’s eyes as she felt something gnawing away inside her mind. His eyes glowing with an oppressive orange, the longer she looked the more pained she became.

“Ummm…err…four…four prisoners.” She managed to eke out a strained reply.

“And?”

“Honored huntsmen there is no need to utilize…” Taurox began but Gold Sash raised a hand and Sophie could hear the sound of the armed hunters drawing their blades and pointing it at the inquisitors.

“Melton tolerates your ilk, inquisitor. I do thank you for dispensing with this cult, but do not interfere with lionhunt operations, our patience with your peoples recent…overreach have not gone unnoticed.” He growled without looking away from her, “So, elf. Speak.”

At his insistence the pressure on her mind increased exponentially and she struggled to stay upright as words simply left her mouth.

“One…died to orc…I…I freed the…others. Ngh, They nobles…fought guards…I ran and the blademaster came.”

“Names?”

“Huntsmen perhaps…”

“Enough inquisitor, I will not warn you again. Once again, names?”

Pain dug beneath her scalp and she blinked fervently trying to resist the assault on her senses. Like an invasion against her mind that sapped her the very essence from her soul.

“Carodin…Haukr…Alvin.”

“Oh my? And why then is the inquisition here? Why are they aiding an enemy of the state?”

“Ngh! Ugh…they…cults…came for…I…personal vendetta…” She grunted her mind pushing back against the intrusion.

“So that’s…huh?” Gold Sash broke his concentration at the unexpected resistance and Sophie felt relief flow through her once again as the pressure eased off. “So you’ve got skills after all.”

“Guh…fuck.” Sophie gasped for air, “The cult took my friend and I needed answers, anyone else was just extra problems I didn’t want to deal with.” She threw a hateful glance at Gold Sash as she continued, “I hope you die in a fire you kobald shitstain. ”

“Why you insolent little…”

“Enough.” Taurox piped up from next to her inspiring a luckless halberdier to prod at him only for the minotaur to rip the weapon out of his arms and snap it in two. The loud crack got everyone’s attention as the hunter backed away in shock and Taurox addressed Gold Sash once again.

“We chased the cult over from Carrador well ahead of the main inquisitorial force. She just happened to show up at the right time. None of us knew much about prisoners being here or we would have acted sooner.”

Gold Sash’s eyes turned back to a normal hue of light brown as he faced the minotaur who nodded in affirmation.

“And why should I believe you? Any of you?”

“What reason do we have to lie?” Taurox replied candidly, “Politically the inquisition has always maintained a neutral stance to leadership as long as the church is respected.”

“And King Edward’s favoring of the druids in recent events has…”

“Had no noticeable impact on Astralian and royal relations.”

Gold Sash paused and glared at the minotaur before he finally shook his head, “Tsh, this is lionhunt business now. No more searching or loitering, begone!” Gold Sash tutted, his eyes looking almost disgusted at them.

The inquisitors nodded their ascent and Sophie stubbornly glowered at him until Taurox forcefully dragged her toward the doorway. What a thoroughly unpleasant man, and to use a spell on my mind…I’ll kill him one day. She vowed to herself as they emerged back out into the rain, the water more pleasant than any breath of air she shared with the lionhunters. Now I know why that guard was so antsy about them. He didn’t even introduce himself, the prick, just like Hilda.

For the first time in a long time, Sophie wasn’t depressed or hateful, she was just brooding. She could feel her cheek muscles rise ever so slightly as she scowled at failing to get any proper answers. It’s only chance that Markus recognised me as somewhat useful otherwise I’d be dead right now. But what did he mean by learning about the past? He did talk about demons and a tide so I’m guessing the dark tides but that’s like a decade or more worth of reading, the hells will I get the chance for that?’

“My apologies young elf, I did not think the Knight Commander would resort to psychic magicks to pry the information out of you.” Taurox apologised once they were back near the town.

Knight commander huh? That was pretty high up in Carrador, does this mean we’re about to get into more trouble? Sophie nodded absently at the minotaur and chewed her lip. Once again, so many questions.

“What even was he?” Mila grumbled, “I thought psychic magic was dangerous enough that we hunted most of them down?”

“That apprentice, was a man trained in the ways of the druids.” Taurox replied knowingly.

“A druid? Don’t they specialise in nature or geo magics?” Mila asked incredulously and this time Sophie paused her thoughts to tune in, she too was curious, what the fuck did he do to me?

“More or less that is correct, psychic magic is dangerous enough that the inquisition often dispatches agents such as myself or Inquisitor von Krantz to track them down. It is true most druids are taught to harness nature or the earth itself to fight. But they also utilize a lesser known form of suggestive psychic magic in their pagan rituals.”

“Damn.” The apprentice hissed, “So why haven’t we put a stop to that?”

“An apt question,” Taurox nodded, “It mostly comes down to politicking and Meltonian assurances from the crown that they will keep the druids under control in exchange for adopting the church teachings without a fuss and for a while there wasn’t really anything wrong with that. Most of their magic was…helpful to varying degrees of usefulness. The psychic magic too, is primarily used as a quick and suggestive way for bringing people together and often employed during pagan dances to bring about a wave of goodwill and acceptance. Not the most harmful and so we left it alone.” The bard! That’s why I felt so iffy when he was singing to Anna.

“Clearly…”

“Clearly we have underestimated their suggestive abilities and ways in which they could be deployed to manipulate the mind in a malicious manner as our young elf had unfortunately experienced.” Taurox nodded at her, “I believe some changes might be in order if this is the case. The inquisition has a low tolerance of such magicks for what I believe are quite clear reasons.”

The apprentice nodded, satisfied with the answers as they finally approached the town. The dim street lamps and few torches that weren’t put out by the rain shone a small beacon of hope for the weary party. The gate guard thankfully hadn’t changed shifts yet and as the inquisitors passed by he flashed Sophie a friendly if curious smile, brightening her mood ever so slightly.

“Alright, Sergeant Wilde, come with me back to the chapel, there’s a great many things I must get reported to Inquisitor von Krantz.”

“Yes lord inquisitor.” The Sergeant nodded.

“Apprentice, take the young elf with you back to the tavern and this time don’t let her wander.”

“Yes my lord.” Mila replied with a frown at Sophie.

Sophie only sheepishly looked away and kept her head down.

“Stay alert everyone, I suspect we will not remain an extra day in Harweald given the...current complications.” Taurox finished and received everyone’s affirming nods, “Dismissed.”

Giving the minotaur a snappy salute, Mila and Sophie turned off the road to the chapel and began heading toward the inn, a moment of quiet contemplation passing between the two as the rain prattled a strangely soothing melody after the night’s events. I did it again huh? Needed someone else to carry my part cause I’m so damned useless.

“Sorry.” She whispered to her companion.

The apprentice turned to her with bright blue eyes and Sophie was struck by how enrapturing they seemed, wondering for the briefest moment if her own was anything like them. The moment however, was soon broken when the apprentice scratched at her bun and broke into another scowl.

“What are you on about?” Mila tutted dismissively.

“I…” Sophie murmured, struck by the annoyed tone in the other girl’s voice, “I’m sorry for being such a nuisance to you.” She bowed her head apologetically, “and for hampering the mission.”

“Tch.”

Sophie raised her head to find the girl's eyes crinkled up in thought, her scar making her seem like a broken soul before the scowl returned.

“Job’s done right? Then that’s that. No use crying over any mistakes now. You got the papers and book with you too?”

Sophie hurriedly opened her pouch to show the inquisitor and watched her companion’s face don a horrified expression.

“What?”

“Astralis save me. I'm working with idiots.” Mila shook her head before hurriedly ripping the pouch off of Sophie’s shoulder, dragging the elf a few surprised steps forward, “It’s like a boyar's breeches in summer! What have you been doing you dumbass? We can’t use it if it all disintegrates in a soggy mess!”

Sophie’s eyes widened in surprise, the thought never occurred to her that all the tumbling and fighting done out in the rain soaked muddy yard and simply standing aimlessly in the rain might’ve been a bad idea. Seeing the apprentice take off running, Sophie tried her best to follow along as the inquisitor unknowingly dragged Sophie’s injured arm with her.

Sophie grit her teeth and grunted through the pain as light streaks of blood droplets leaked past her bandages. Just a little longer, just a little. They ran through the town in a hurry, their speed rattling some nearby effigies though Sophie could swear they all looked a little angrier than before, however much sticks could be arranged to look angry. In no time at all they pulled up in front of the inn and Mila hurriedly dashed inside with the pouch leaving Sophie out in the rain. Pained and annoyed, she leaned against the wall and rewrapped herself under an awning as the coldness of the rain now chilled her body as well.

Carefully she pushed open the door to the tavern and hoped to avoid attention but was too late. The apprentice’s hasty entrance caught everyone off guard and now that the door opened yet again all eyes turned to her. She tried to keep her head down and avoid eye contact but the tips of her ears could feel the stares, burning under the intense scrutiny as the tavern dropped to a silent whisper. The words “elf” or “knife ears” echoing from distant corners of the main room. Sullen, she shuffled awkwardly to the side when someone pushed themselves up from the bar table, one leg on the floor and the other missing.

Slap

Anna! Sophie had time to think before her vision blurred and she steadied herself on the doorway. Her nerves had been so numb from the day’s events that the stinging pain only registered moments later. Her own face still contorted in a half smile from the surprise. She…she…slapped me.

Too confused to react Sophie stood still for a while when the tavern burst into laughter, the tension of everyone seeing an elf defused by the almost comically timed slap from a cripple. She winced as the pain began blossoming on her cheek. She turned upwards to find the ranger standing above her with a pained sneer on her face.

“Idiot.” Annalise grumbled softly as she turned around with a disapproving huff, assisted by the busty light brown haired maid from earlier. The poor girl shot a sheepishly apologetic look at Sophie and she could only watch as the two of them returned back up the stairs.

Still shocked, she felt another pain flare up inside her, the thought of having been abandoned bringing about a familiar feeling of sorrow and anguish that she couldn’t quite remember when she felt it before only that she recognised it. Her body ached all over and as the extra pain was added Sophie was thankful for the rain as the droplets that remained on her still hid the tears that welled up in the corner of her eyes. She turned to find the apprentice haggling with the barkeep before giving Sophie a concerned frown and giving the bartender some coins.

Wordlessly Sophie trudged closer only to find a small key being pushed into her hands. Looking up i confusion she found Mila tilting her head towards the stairs and follow the girl’s gaze.

“Last room before the stairs.” Mila stated matter of factly, “Try not to break anything. You can do that without hurting yourself right?”

Her mood brought down further, she quietly nodded and staggered up the stairs, leaving the inquisitor to finish her business with the inn keep. Soft creaks of the floorboard kept her steadied as she grimaced with every step. I just wanted to help a little. Why is it so hard to do anything right?

Twisting the key into the last door, she heard a small click and found herself in a small if cozy single person room. One bed, a dresser, a small desk and a chair. Realising the inquisitor paid for another room, she felt even more dejected as it reminded her of the money she took from Annalise, that’s why she was so mad, she must’ve found out. Glumly Sophie closed the door behind her and grabbed an extra pillow from the bed, plopping it on the ground as she stripped and recklessly threw her clothes unceremoniously into a corner.

Feeling the cold wooden floor tickle her damp skin, she clutched the pillow close to her chest, curled up, suppressing a sob or two before she passed out as the day’s emotions flooded her mind all at once.