“Arterian cuisine is not really a style in and of itself. Though, one might say its style is actually the fusion of styles. Whilst one should, in fact, try authentic dishes from elsewhere that you might not get to visit; such as say, Veronan Sea Serpent Mash. Ultimately, true Arterian cuisine, and one that I admire dearly, is in fact, the adaptability of the different palettes, all forming their own unique take on everything. From succulent Veronan Swarm Meat Skewers infused and coated by Carradorian seasonings. Adonari baked delicacies boldly served with classic Gratian savoury delights. Or perhaps the sour almost unmistakable taste of Traxian Mire Toad Soup topped with decadently sweetened root vegetables from Ascar. Arterian cuisine is a fantastic mix of flavours that one must try in order to truly appreciate, even if it doesn’t have a ‘dish’ of its own."

- Paliszeth Versshirms, Veronan Exploration Guild, Chef, Wilderness Explorer, “Feasts and Foods of the Mixed Platter”

Aryana wasn’t sure how to react, she was frightened by the silent look of contemplation that currently etched itself onto Eva’s face. The older girl had sat quietly for almost five minutes now, her eyes flickering as she mulled over the information that Aryana had told her. Aryana had left out certain details here and there but had relatively faithfully recounted the major details of their journey in broad strokes. Sophie had been in other parts of Melton; Melisgrad, and the terror of the cult; Sturmbreaker and the orcs; then Arteria and the monster. Aryana did notice however that at the mention of the orcs, Eva’s face had dropped into almost a heavy scowl for a brief moment. Whatever memories there clearly remained unpleasant for the older girl as well. A deep sigh eventually emerged from Eva, one that startled Aryana slightly.

“Fine. Show me where it went down.” Eva grunted.

Aryana blinked back her surprise at being addressed, her own body finally letting out a breath that she didn’t even know she held in. Aryana flicked her eyes over to find her drink still half full and moved to slowly take another sip, Eva watching her intently all the while. After she felt the familiar taste of fruit and tea she nodded at the older girl.

“Fucking idiot,” Eva cursed under her breath and Aryana wilted slightly, earning the gaze of the older girl who immediately shook her head apologetically, “not you. Sophie. Sorry.” Eva sighed.

“O-oh.” Aryana managed to murmur.

“She’s always getting herself into trouble. Fuck’s sake.” Eva hissed before looking a bit more despondent and dropping her voice, “Did she… is the reason why you’re looking into the monsters because…”

“No? No!” Aryana quickly reassured the older girl, “Nothing like that, Sophie is fine… well not fine, but fine, but ummm she’s…”

“She…? Did she get captured?”

“What? No! No! Sophie’s just… she’s… she’s hurt… bad… like, really bad.”

“Wait. Does that mean you know where she is? Can’t we see her first?”

“No! No we can’t! I mean, yes she’s safe right now. Being treated but we can’t visit! I mean we could try. But we-”

“Dammit girl, speak clearly.” Eva snapped.

Aryana flinched and lowered her head in fright, “S-sorry.”

Eva let out a tired sigh and shook her head. “No, no. I’m sorry for yelling. But…”

“It-it’s fine.”

“Mmm.”

“Um… uh… Sophie’s with the knights… urr the legion… the clover legion! In their fort, unconscious.”

Eva swore under her breath before running a hand through her hair. “Shit.”

Aryana just nodded in agreement.

“So why are you going after the monster err scholar? I mean she’s being treated already, isn’t it. I mean…” Eva looked defeated and Aryana quickly spoke up.

“B-because they think she’s a monster. That she’s unnatural.”

“They… think she’s a monster? But why? Cause she’s a half elf?! That’s fucking-”

“No… no! Not like that. She’s… she’s different than us. She-”

“Oh? You too?! Just like the rest of them?” Eva growled.

“No! What? Of course not! She just heals… she heals strangely… like… umm,” Aryana helplessly flailed her arms as words failed her, “like there’s-”

“Something else that’s a part of her.” Eva finished Aryana’s sentence with a tired murmur.

“Mmhmm.”

“Saints damn it all to hell. I thought it was all over.” Eva grumbled, “Sorry… I just… nevermind. So why the monster again?”

“Proof, evidence. Investigation for Sophie.” Aryana nervously blurted out.

Eva just sighed and nodded along. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Sh-she can tell you better herself. B-but… um… we need to help the legion help her.”

It was like something just materialised itself within Eva’s mind and Aryana could see the girl’s expression morph into a more conspiratorial one.

“I get it. Proof that she’s not the monster, or at least throw them off the scent using the real monster.” Eva hummed and looked at Aryana expectantly.

It wasn’t entirely correct, and Aryana was certain that Eva took a few leaps of logic too many. Though, Aryana realized she hadn’t really given out a compelling case and just settled for nodding, vowing to clarify it to the other girl once they were done. Eva’s scary.

“Fair enough. We’ve done enough dawdling. Lead the way.” Eva snappily ordered.

Eva had bid a wordless goodbye to her students, the gathered outlanders watching their departure with visible concern. Most of them are likely wondering why their teacher would follow a strange looking redhead that they barely knew. Still none got up to stop them, a few even offered acknowledging nods before returning to whatever they were discussing before.

The two of them ended up at the stairs leading up to the north wing’s second floor, Aryana taking the first nervous step forward. She looked around and found more than a dozen odd guards stationed everywhere, the majority of them sporting the blue cloaks that she had seen at the Noscali gates. Aryana was wary, cautious of most of the guards . Eva however, seemed much more ill at ease, the look of displeasure that gathered on her face was unmistakable.

“Feckless nobles, see how the Trinite’s are trying to push the legion out through sheer numbers?” Eva hissed under her breath, “Bet some councilman or senator thought there might be artifacts to be found in his office. Is that what we are looking for too?”

Aryana could only offer a half hearted shrug. It was the truth, even she didn’t know what lay inside either. Eva grunted her concern but didn’t push the subject further, choosing instead to make a series of hand gestures. Aryana however, had no idea what they meant and just stared blankly until the older girl apologised.

“Sorry. Used to the class. Just follow me, we’ve just got to get in right?”

A nod.

“Good. Let me do the talking.”

Aryana was relieved that she wouldn’t have to come up with a plan and gladly followed along. She still, however, felt incredibly nervous at the attention that was cast their way as they ascended the stairs towards the northern annex. Eva on the other hand, switched herself up completely. Gone was the disgust and concern. Now she strutted forward as if she deserved to be here, like the library belonged to her and for a moment Aryana could immediately tell that the girl had noble’s blood flowing through her veins. The way she held herself, looking almost haughty or even bored of the armed troops around them was almost inspiring.

The troops too, clearly seemed unsure how to react, a few turned their heads at the new arrivals but made no move to challenge the arrivals until they reached the entrance to the hall. Here, One legionary and one Trinite stood at attention and they immediately halted the duo.

“Sorry mam, restricted area.” The legionary stated.

“We’re here on church business.” Eva announced loudly, drawing in a few more curious ears.

“Church business? We weren’t informed of this.” The legionary turned to the Trinite who nodded in agreement.

“He’s right. We didn’t get any updates on this, so you better go back to the cardinal and get us an official letter if the church really wants to join in the investigation.” The Trinite scoffed, “‘Sides, don’t you two look a little too young to be official anything.”

That earned a snicker from the gathered crowd and Aryana could feel hesitation creep in as doubt filled the room. Eva was, however, unperturbed by the accusation and just sneered a little bit more. Aryana watched as the girl pulled a small medallion from her pockets and dangled it in the air in front of the two. Whatever it was, something in the room changed and suddenly the two guards looked a little more serious, a little more concerned.

“That’s a church chain isn’t it?” The legionary asked the other guard.

“Looks like it.” The blue cloak grumbled, “How the hells did you get that?”

“Said I’m here on church business didn’t I? Or did you think they just handed these out to everyone who passed by?” Eva shot back a little more sarcastically than expected.

“Tch.” The blue cloak scoffed but the legionary held him back.

“And what about your friend then, she got any ID on her?” The legionary gestured at Aryana.

“Well-” Eva began.

A thought struck Aryana and she quickly tapped Eva to stop the older girl. Before Eva could acknowledge her, Aryana fished Sophie’s noble sigil out from her pockets, having collected most of the unconscious half elf’s belongings from Fort Clover.

The legionary frowned at the sight before cocking his head at the sigil, directing the blue cloak’s attention as well.

“That’s a royal sigil, for a noble’s house.” The man stated.

A shaky nod.

“So the same question applies, how the hells did a runt like you get something like this?” Blue cloak asked.

Aryana swallowed some saliva and made ready to answer only for Eva to jump in.

“Look, we’re trying to find out what the hells happened to the guy for him to turn. She’s an inquisitorial ally,” Eva gestured at her, “she’s been assigned to us and is acting as my scout, like a bloodhound.”

“You expect me to believe that slop?” The man snarked.

It was like something had changed within Eva, the more conciliatory and respectful demeanour shifted almost instantaneously.

“I don’t expect you to believe anything, guardsmen. But you’re wasting my time when I’ve got prey to catch. So if you, either of you, have a problem? Send it up the chain and have them complain to my superiors. Barring that, we’re taking a look with or without your help, and if you so choose to obstruct us further. Then by the Goddess I won’t hesitate to label you a heretic and purge you for enabling monstrous heresy.” Eva berated the guard.

At that the man stepped back slightly, pulled back by the legionary, his companion offering him a measured look before sighing.

“Expect to hear from us. This is an active investigation and there shouldn’t be a mix up like this.” The legionary complained, “Believe me, we will be informing our superiors, but until then, your names at least, without that I sure as shit ain’t letting either of you pass.”

“Evaline Rosengart of House Rosengart.” Eva stated without missing a beat.

The guards turned to Aryana who nervously gulped down her fear before speaking up. “A-Aryana, no last name.”

The guards paused before giving each other a strange look and rounding on her once more, something that even Eva couldn’t prevent.

“No last name? No house? How the fuck you’d get a noble’s sigil? Nick it off a corpse?” Blue cloak sneered.

“H-House Rutley, given the sigil by High King Edward Meltius.” Aryana shook her head and stammered out, “The pride roars eternal.” She meekly stated as her mind ran through the details Sophie had told her.

The legionary turned to the blue cloak who finally relented after staring deep at the sigil. With a dissatisfied sigh. “Get moving then.” Blue cloak sneered even as he moved aside, the legionary following soon after.

Without a word, the two girls hurried past them and into the room that they guarded. To Aryana’s dismay, most of everything seemed to be picked clean. Any documents or potentially easy to find evidence had obviously been seized by the guards anytime between the last four days since the incident. It was a vexing conundrum but she had other concerns. Something had told her to check the room out, that perhaps there was still a clue here and find it she would. Eva just looked at her expectantly and Aryana waited for the older girl to speak.

“Well?” Eva tilted her head impatiently, “What are we looking for?” Her eyes gazing around at the almost ransacked room.

“Magic, traces of magic. Something that might’ve panicked the monster. Or any paper about the Old Ones… sorry… the Myn Deer?”

“The Myndir?”

“Yes, the Myndir!”

Eva looked almost confused before she spoke again, “Why would anyone care much about the Myndir? Much less need papers on them?”

“Hmm.” Aryana pursed her lips, “Sophie wanted to learn more about them, something to do with herself.”

“Something to do with… her?”

“Mmm.”

“Like what?”

Aryana paused her rummaging of bookshelves and contemplated the question, truthfully, all she also knew was that Sophie suspected there was something of the Myndiri within her. She frowned at the and forced herself to think of more and only managed to add the towers of the Old Ones.

“Hmm… a cult. I remember her saying that much. As for the rest… you’d best ask her yourself, I don’t know much either.”

“You… don’t know much? Why the hells are you even here?” Eva growled.

Aryana shrank slightly and shook her head, “Wish I knew.” She murmured.

Eva seemed unsatisfied but let the matter drop, diving in to help her rummage through bookshelves for any documents that remained.

Most shelves seemed picked clean, a few had some scrawled papers but they mostly read like deranged writings that contributed nothing much to their search. It felt like they had been at it for hours and Aryana's interests slowly waned. Her eyes however, were eventually drawn to the small medallion that Eva still had wrapped around her fingers. Upon noticing the interest the older girl sighed and shrugged.

“Inquisitorial emblem. Got one from the one… well let’s just say assigned to the academy. Find it interesting?”

Aryana frowned before shaking her head, “No, we traveled with one. Sophie and I. An apprentice inquisitor, that is, she was always angry. Never had one of those though.” Aryana imitated a deep scowl that earned her a small chuckle from Eva.

“Probably belongs to the more senior ones then, ain’t likely they giving something like this to regular cadres or even apprentices. ‘Sides, it worked didn’t it? Guards don’t get paid enough to get into trouble from the church. Not when they don’t expect at least.” Eva sighed, “So? Found anything?”

Aryana gave a disappointed shake before scratching at her scalp in frustration. She didn’t know what she had expected to find, or anything at all, but finding nothing still depressed her somewhat. Eva clearly shared some of her frustration and the older girl just responded with a solemn nod.

“Guess this wasn’t exactly well thought out, huh?” Eva said.

Aryana sighed loudly and despaired, “It’s been five days since, I guess I was just hoping… I don’t know… for something.”

“Mmm, wait. Five days? As in five days since everything happened?”

“Y-yeah?” Aryana nervously responded.

“Christ, no wonder you can’t find anything. The guard would’ve combed over everything the first two days if not the others. By the saints, just what were you even hoping to achieve then?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Sophie’s life is at stake here!”

“I-I know!”

“Dammit girl.”

“S-sorry.”

Aryana despondently leaned against the desk, defeated and ready to surrender. Yet, she knew nature, she knew the woods. She also knew when wood felt strange, when it had been weakened. As her leg tapped against the side of the desk, she could feel a slight sensation that was different from the rest of the desk. Other angles were sturdy, wooden and solid, here, it felt a little emptier, a little more hollow. Before Eva could berate her once more, Aryana ducked down to examine the spot. The intricately carved wooden desk was covered with decorations that were divided into ornate little squares, each rimmed with hints of lacquered wood and fancy finishes.

Her fingers found purchase on the edge of the carvings and her sudden movements drew the attention of the older girl who shuffled over behind her. Aryana tried to tug or pull at anything but to no avail. That was when the older girl wordlessly shunted her aside and gripped the same panel that she had been holding earlier. With a breath or two, Aryana was awestruck at the sheer force on display as Eva tore the panel off the side of the desk in one clean pull, the loud noise eliciting what sounded like some small commotion on the outside.

The door burst open just as Aryana managed to find small little sheafs of paper stacked neatly inside the drawer. Letters! Her attention was focused almost solely on sifting through the papers even as the room around her erupted into chaos.

“The hells going on here?” One of the soldiers barked, his hostile voice bombarding the room. Blue cloak’s voice, I think.

A half dozen soldiers blocked the doorway and began surrounding them in a semi circle. Eva jumped up and started holding her hand in warning, the soldiers not quite willing to aggressively push her position just yet.

“Hey, watch it! Inquisitorial investigation here. Do not interfere.” Eva growled.

“Watch it yourself girlie.” Someone else growled back, “You trying to destroy the office or what?”

“We’re in the middle of an active investigation please-”

Aryana tuned them out and desperately tried to search for any possible clues, but to her growing horror, she found that most of the words were written in a script she found absolutely ineligible. The paper alone told her of something from ages past; it was dry, brittle, worn out and faded from the passages of time. Letters… but not letters… a memento! How anyone could read them seemed almost impossible in the location they were hidden away in, no obvious mechanism to open or close. No, but it did make sense if they were meant to be stored almost like a trophy. Her mind raced with possibilities as the others argued around her, their words getting more terse and the situation growing far more tense.

“You’re obstructing us! We have every right to resume control, inquisitor.” One of the guards spat with fury, “That is, if you’re even a fully fledged one.”

“Ask for Inquisitor Janos, he’ll set you straight.” Eva barked back.

Aryana could tell every piece of parchment of paper was old, older than her and likely even older than the library's north wing annex where the office was. So stained and wrinkled that she feared she might snap one in half if she wasn't careful. She mused around who she could ask for help transcribing such documents when a stray thought popped into her head. She could go to the hatires, but if the guards of the elven quarters did not humor her, then she would be cast out again. However, there was someone else who belonged to a race that often outlived a generation or two of humans, a person also suspiciously well versed in acquiring the latest reading materials. Karzan, he might know.

Her eyes narrowed at what appeared to be the final remains of sigils outlined on a few of the papers and quickly snatched the two longest pages with those markings up. She then quickly liberated another pair of unmarked papers and winced as the loud crinkle almost cracking noise of the papers silenced the room when she stood back up.

She sensed the tension and the questions that lingered behind everyone’s lips and steadied herself before she spoke.

“Hidden drawer. Many papers, very fragile. Script is ancient, older than even the tribal writings.”

The guards shared skeptical looks amongst themselves and even Eva seemed a little confused.

“We’ll take these to a translator, the rest are yours.” Aryana reassured everyone.

“Hey wait a minute.” One of the legionaries rounded on her, “I recognise you, that red hair, you were there when this shit went down. Why the hells are you actually here now?” He glared accusingly.

“I…” Aryana stammered as she was caught off guard, “I was-”

“Like I said, she’s a bloodhound. Sniffed out the scent of trouble a while back with her bodyguard. Came to tell me once things went wrong.” The older girl stated matter of factly.

“Bodyguard?” One soldier queried.

“I think she means the one we’ve got back at the fort.” Another legionary replied.

“So? What now?” A blue cloak interjected, “Trying to right your wrongs with some off the cuff investigations?”

“No, we’re trying to figure out who the hells is behind this act of barbarism.” Eva gestured at the room around them, earning herself a few acknowledging grunts, “And what might have triggered it.”

The soldiers looked amongst themselves for a moment and Aryana could spot two camps forming, the legionaries and the blue cloaks. Ultimately, she decided to take advantage of their confusion and cocked her head to Eva to follow. She steeled her nerves and strutted up to the soldiers and aimed to pass before she threw her next words at the now divided guards.

“There are… umm… plenty more documents in there. More than enough. You... you can present them as your find. I-I-we won't mind.”

The guards stared at each other, one even moving to block her path when another held him back.

“Let them go.” An older, more veteran looking blue cloak ordered, his voice a low but neutral tone.

“But, sir-”

“Legion’s already backed down.” He gestured at the legionaries who looked more puzzled at the new discovery than anything. “Besides.” He turned to Eva, “ Were you ever here?”

Aryana watched as Eva pondered things for a moment before shaking her head, “Like I said, we’re here on church business. Never talked about it being on the books.”

“Heh.” The veteran grunted before turning to the other blue cloaks, “We found the drawer, we assisted the legion, and we earn our promotions as long as everyone keeps quiet. Deal?”

His men hurriedly nodded, the veteran’s aura growing overwhelming as even Aryana felt goosebumps down her neck at the tone of his words.

“But sir-” The first blue cloak complained.

“There’s a killer on the loose and these two ladies are on the trail. Supposedly, they are on church orders, but even if they aren’t, it doesn’t hurt to have more eyes on this.”

“But sir, Councillor Vesprays said-”

The veteran leaned in and at once the man quieted, “There’s a killer, a guard killer, on the loose, I don’t really care how he’s found. Just that he’s brought to justice, hmm?” The man growled, gaining a grunt of approval through even the legionaries.

“Sir… yes sir.” The blue cloak backed down.

With the tension temporarily dissipated and the legion having stood down on one side, Eva nodded at the two sets of guards before she gently shoved Aryana past the soldiers and whispered into her ear, “Stop gawking, we can talk once we’re out of here.”

Aryana did her best to pretend her heart wasn’t pounding in nervousness and just opted to nod, following Eva back out of the confines of the library and into the cool night sky outside. With one hand on gently holding onto the papers within her pockets, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. A lead! Hold on Sophie, I-we... ah... we're coming for you.