The Inquisition Begins

The squad drifted from the Adventurer’s Guild house slowly, soaking up the mid afternoon sun casually. They were taking full advantage of the leave they’d been given for their help in stopping Ominek from destroying the wellspring of light. They even enjoyed a bit of hero worship as they progressed up the market board walk. As they walked, Sala fell in next to Akamori.

“That ability you channeled, with the void cloak. What was that?”

Akamori bit down on his nervousness. Sala had showed fear over his abilities in the past. Things had just gotten to a point where the squad felt like it was back together, and he wasn’t looking to lose that feeling so early.

“Oh, uh. It’s something I picked up when we went into the void. When I lost my armor fighting Lucinda, I needed something.”

Sala nodded pensively. “Like when I channel my magic for protection?”

Akamori thought about it for a moment. In a roundabout way, it wasn’t exactly wrong. He shrugged and smiled lopsidedly. “More or less, yeah. Mine just focuses more on protecting me by making sure I hurt the bad guys faster than they can hurt me.”

Sala nodded, looking as though he was running the logic through a check system. “That makes sense. It suits you.”

Akamori frowned, eying Sala sidelong. “It does?” What makes you say that?”

“Well, you know. You act decisively and violently. It makes sense as an all out offense would serve as your defense.”

Akamori blinked. That was a lot kinder than he’d expected. And insightful. He studied Sala secretly for a moment, wondering where the primal kept that introspective side of himself the rest of the time. He figured it was more likely a case he just needed to spend some more time around Sala. Something he hoped to do a little more in the days to come. As they strode along, he blinked as the woman broke free of the ebb and flow of customers in the market and raced up to them.

She was a primal, looking very much like Sala but with feminine features. Dark red fur that bordered closer to a brown. Her hair was jet black and wild, spilling down around her shoulders. Her eyes were green and had the same ring of red lining them. Like Sala, she had her share of scars, though hers were smaller, less ragged. The kind that remained after magical healing. Her attire was simple, a dark navy blue tunic that looked like a shirt Morwen would wear under her jacket, and black slacks and boots.

“Amara, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“I was at the Adventurer’s guild hall. What’s wrong?”

“ArchPriest Erlaut is making a declaration. He’s announced an Inquisition.”

Morwen’s standard stoic expression darkened into a frown that made Akamori’s blood cool. The very nature of the name was enough to make him pause, but coming from the new ArchPriest was even worse.

“When does it begin?”

“Wait, an Inquiwhatshun?” Akamori asked.

Luffa gave Akamori a patient smile, shifting focus to him. “An Inquisition. The ArchPriest has declared that all Sauridius binders are the number one threat to Eryn.”

“Well, he’s half right at least.” Akamori grumbled before Amara elbow checked him in the side.

“Ow!” he hissed, as Amara shouldered him out of the way.

“Tell me everything.”

Luffa nodded, grateful to see Amara again after the madness that exploded in the city. “Erlaut held a huge meeting while you were out with most of the city nobility. They all decided the Sauridian binders were a threat that couldn’t be ignored anymore. The city is cracking down. Soul Scrying is going to become mandatory. With routine screenings done weekly to make sure you haven’t been bound for city officials or anyone working in vital positions. Emerald Guards will conduct random scan patrols. All orbital traffic will be intercepted and inspected. The fleet’s readiness is also going to elevate to stand by.”

Akamori frowned. “That might get some of them, but it’s going to burn out the Eryn navy while Erlaut is chasing shadows.”

“True, but he can’t well ignore any potential damage Ominek could cause if left ignored. You saw what he did with the temple and my family.” Morwen said.

A fiery scroll appeared and unfurled before everyone throughout the market. A mass distribution message sent by Erlaut himself. The squad read through the message dispatched from the temple. Attached to the end of the message was a recall status for all Federation soldiers serving and present at Eryn. Everyone had mixed feelings.

“Will this work?” Akamori asked Morwen.

“Difficult to say. Ominek is very crafty and slippery. We aren’t sure what his remaining aim is. Without knowing that, we’ll be working blind.”

Akamori waved the missive aside. It crumbled into motes of fiery aether that looked like embers blown free of a fire. “He wants us to report immediately. Guess we better go check back in. Captain?”

Morwen nodded, striding to the front of the group, and the rest of the squad fell in behind her. They were tired and had rested little, so that was a priority for Morwen, though she knew Erlaut was going to want to send them out immediately. She didn’t want to be stuck haggling for time for her people to rest.

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“Let’s swing by the Indra and drop off unnecessary extras. The temple is probably going to want to send us out as quick as it can.” Akamori said.

“So much for relaxing and team building.” Yasiin said with a sigh.

“It’s not so bad. Maybe we’ll get extra pay.” Akamori joked. A beat passed as everyone eyed each other before sharing a laugh.

“Maybe you’ll get a promotion too.” Sirsir teased him.

“Ugh, pass. I’ve seen how Federation command works and trust me, I’m not cut out for it.”

The squad got to the sleek and aggressive Indra where they deposited excess gear and items they’d got from the Adventurer’s Guild Hall. Akamori having purchased an armored coat. The light armor weave gave him mobility and moderate protection. He slipped it on and adjusted the armored pauldrons, giving it an approving nod. Black wasn’t quite his color. He preferred blue himself, but it worked to look more professional, which he was fine with.

Akamori tugged the sleeves down and strode through the corridor of the Indra towards the aft cargo area. The rest of the squad was already geared up and gathered. Sirsir gave Akamori a long, approving whistle.

“Lookin sharp sir. Not quite your usual colors, but it looks good.”

“Thanks Sgt. Everyone ready?”

North and south head movement from everyone. Morwen stood next to him, giving a final nod of approval. “Let’s be off then. ArchPriest Erlaut will probably want us at the forefront of his inquisition.”

“Yeah, because we’re the only ones doing fuck all.” Sirsir grumbled.

Akamori gave him a sharp look, but the soft chuckling from everyone undercut the mood. They all knew it. The Federation was dysfunctional and impotent. Akamori knew the only reason the Brotherhood stuck around in the Federation this far along was because they lacked any adequate response to magic.

During the walk to the temple, they crossed more than a few Emerald Guards clad in their gleaming gold and green spell armors. A priest from the temple in white and gold robes accompanied them as they scried random groups in the markets. Some vendors complained about the guards hassling their customers. Shoving matches ensued until spell weapons were drawn.

“Looks like the ArchPriest’s binder hunt is off to a good start.” Akamori grumbled as they walked by.

“Erlaut is proposing many changes. It may take some time for them to be appreciated.” Morwen said.

“If they appreciate them at all.” Amara added.

Repairs on the main thoroughfare had progressed. The few earth mages living on Eryn found themselves rapidly employed. Already some of the white marble structures and store fronts were in various states of repair and rework. Some shop vendors giving their store fronts a much needed facelift. Others took the chance to rebrand.

A weapons store was hanging a new sign with a trio of Emerald Guards and their priest approached the debris littered front. Akamori could hear them announcing themselves as the squad passed by, drawing a worried frown from him. The populace would put up with this for now because they were scared after the attacks by Ominek. But how long would that last? How long could this last?

“I hope Erlaut knows what he’s doing.” Akamori said softly.

“As do I.” Morwen said.

The entrance to the grand temple still lay in rubble. Even with most of the earth mages working to restore the temple’s rooftop, the front entrance was unusable, forcing anyone that came to visit to use a hole blasted in the side by Sauridius hatchlings. Most of the structural damage internally had seen repair work. Support columns were already in place, and much of the groundwork laid to repairing damage to load-bearing walls and much of the floor.

Various maintenance workers shuffled about with carts full of stone or earth to shape into stone. Magic circles and runes in many areas were in various states of repair and recharging. Artificing materials and tools sat at the base of many walls and in collected kits around areas of focus. Akamori smiled inwardly. Kusinaki would have loved to have been a part of the repair efforts.

Rounding a corner that led to the main antechamber before the descent to the golden well, ArchPriest Erlaut stood before a crowd of mages and artificers barking orders. Morwen led the squad quietly to a safe distance from those gathered around the new ArchPriest and, as he issued orders and critiques with near manic haste.

“Look at this spell! This is shit! I wouldn’t trust this to protect my grandmother from a backache and she’s been dead for centuries! Fix this. Now!”

Several red faced artificers immediately scurried into action gathering materials and producing wands to begin to re-scribing runes and glyphs. Erlaut issued a few more admonishments before dismissing the crowd with an annoyed wave. He gave Morwen a nod. The manic, displeased expression faded for a few moments. Long enough that Morwen and the squad caught the shift.

“Captain.” Erlaut greeted her with a nod to the fresh captain’s bars on her uniform again.

“ArchPriest.”

“Thank you for coming as promptly as you could. I’ll cut right to it since I’m sure you’ve seen my city wide missive. I want you and your squad out there hunting down Ominek and his binders. I know they’re loose out there. Shackling more innocent civilians. I can’t let him spread his evil here any longer. I can’t let him threaten the well. Not again.”

Morwen nodded grimly. “Yes. Ominek has a way of ruining families. We’ll do what we can to uproot his presence and rid Eryn of it.”

“That’s precisely what I was counting on. We did not see Ominek leaving the planet, so we have to assume he’s gone to ground. Which means he’s free to cause whatever trouble he likes. An impermissible state of affairs. Find hun and stop him.”

Morwen nodded, assuming this would be Erlaut’s request. It suited her and the squad fine. None of them were happy with how things ended. Everyone was looking for some payback except Yasiin and Sala, who saw their district profit from the temple’s detonation. The sudden influx of so many valuable magic materials tipped the economic scales in their favor. Overnight, impoverished working-class families suddenly had enough money to thrive. If Morwen was being honest, it made her happy too, since many of them of them were dwarves and nomads.

Erlaut would level the full brunt of the Temple against Ominek now. Now it just remained to be seen if it would be enough. For everyone’s sake, she hoped it would. But a niggling dark voice in the back of her mind insisted it wasn’t enough.

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