There was silence for a moment after Ehud’s proclamation.

“Did he know why? Did he hear the charges?” Jair was, somewhat surprisingly, the first one to speak, her voice uncharacteristically serious.

“Association with the Order of Kalze,” Ehud said.

“Is that an Ascendant?” I asked, recognizing the Western pronunciation of the name, but not its meaning or origin.

Hector nodded. “Of wind.”

“It was normal guards, right?” I asked Ehud. “Not other Chantry workers?”

Ehud nodded.

I shared a look with Hector. “Do you think we could get Keeper Ialdi to tell us where she is?”

“You mean if she’s in the normal dungeons or if she’s been made to disappear?” Hector said with a bit of dry, morbid humor. “Yeah, we can probably get her to say. She won’t cross the Inquisitor though, if he’s said to leave it alone.”

I nodded and then looked back at Ehud. “Did you manage to learn anything else?”

Ehud shook his head. “I’m sorry. I should have pressed her more earlier, tried to get… something.”

“It’s not your fault,” I assured him. “She had been an unexpected gift, and now we’re just back where we were.” Which was nowhere, but I didn’t feel the need to say that aloud.

Ehud took a deep breath, sighing. “Are we going to try to talk to her anyway?”

“We’ll talk to the Keeper, but if the Inquisitor was there personally, he’s probably covered his bases when it comes to nosey captains,” Hector said, and I nodded before somewhat abruptly standing.

“Where are you headed, Captain?” Jehu asked.

“To talk to Ennis. Maybe he’ll have something in his records.”

“You think he’s going to accept your Chantry theory?” Will asked.

“I don’t know. But he hasn’t distanced himself from me yet, so I may as well push it.” I headed for the door with a wave over my shoulder.

It was raining harder than it had been earlier– nearly pouring.

Entirely unbidden, the words, “be nicer to Teris,” floated through my mind, and I sighed.

You alright in the rain?

I was greeted with the distinct image of my raven sitting in the nook of a tree in the outer ring, on the ground, resting on the soft moss.

I figured that looked pretty comfy for a bird. Don’t get hit by lightning.

Do my best, came the wry response, and I smiled faintly to myself as I continued on my way to Ennis’ Manor.

“Leon! Leon!”

I stopped, turning at the sound of someone calling my name, and found a soaking wet but beaming Ava running towards me. I realized she probably just got off her shift at the seamstress, taking the same route to the Outer Ring that I was.

She smiled up at me, her hand raised over her eyes to try to shield them from drips. “Hi!”

I wasn’t in the greatest mood, but her enthusiasm was both cute and contagious. “Hey. How have you been? Sorry I’ve been busy.”

“It’s okay.” Her expression fell slightly. “I was really sorry to hear about the prince. It sounds like he was very loved.”

“He was. He was a good man. Would have been a good Highlord one day.” Part of me rather cruelly wondered if perhaps if his father had clung less to power, if maybe Callian would still be alive, having had the benefit of guards as Highlord. Another part wished that he had simply let the assassins have found their way to his father’s bedroom. He never would have done that though; as I had said, he was a good man.

“Did you know him?”

“Not extraordinarily well, but he was my friend.”

“I’m sorry.”

I shrugged slightly, wanting to move on. “The Fates don’t make mistakes, right?”

“Of course not. It doesn’t mean we can’t be sad with their decisions sometimes,” she said softly, but she did get the hint. “Are you headed back home?”

I shook my head. “I need to talk to Guildmaster Ennis about something. I’d be happy to walk you home though; it’s not like it’s out of the way.”

She smiled broadly. “That sounds nice.” She looped her arm through mine, and we walked together through the muddy streets.

“How’s the job?”

“It’s fantastic,” she said with a broad grin. “I really love it. Doria is very sweet; sometimes we eat lunch together. She’s been teaching me how to help with the sewing in between customers, and she even told me I could keep the first dress when I finish it! She said it’s special as my first creation.”

I smiled, enjoying listening to her talk. “That’s great. I’m glad it’s working out. I’m sure she really appreciates having your help.”

“Honestly, business has been doing so well she’s mentioned hiring someone else too,” Ava told me.

“That would be wonderful. Tell her if she needs an investor, I’d be happy to provide.”

Ava smiled at me, staring at me with an interesting look on her face for a long moment.

“What?” I asked, a bit defensively.

“You’re such a softie.”

“I am not,” I objected.

She laughed and hugged my arm a little tighter. “Such a softie.”

I chuckled and stopped arguing. “Are you thinking about maybe getting your own place? Moving into the central city?”

“Oh, I don’t think I could afford a place on my own, but Doria has been dropping some hints about maybe renovating one of her spare rooms above the shop. Maybe soon, although the inn is very nice.”

“Not where you want to stay if you make this your home, though.”

“It’s still where you’re staying,” she pointed out. “How come you never moved?”

“It’s convenient.”

“Really. A hotel is more convenient then getting a small place of your own?”

I shrugged and then sighed. “My room has a window that makes a convenient exit, and I can make it to one of my emergency escapes out of the city in under ten minutes,” I said flatly.

Ava blinked at me in surprise.

“I’m a little paranoid.”

“But you’re so…. You’ve taken on armies. You need to be close to an escape route?”

I opened my mouth to start to explain how when someone eventually decided to burn the city down around us with all the people inside, I wasn’t enough of a hero to stick around for that, but I stopped. Truth be told, maybe I would stick around for that, with all the people I knew here now. Could I just leave them all to burn?

“It just makes me feel better,” I said after a short moment.

She hummed, maybe a little dubiously, but I was able to avoid more questions with the arrival at the inn.

I got the door for her and bowed slightly. “My lady.”

She chuckled and then simply hugged me. Somehow she felt warm despite the rain. “I know it’s been busy, but when things settle down… if you want to get dinner sometime again?” she said hesitantly.

I smiled gently. “I’d like that. I’ll let you know.”

She nodded and then ducked inside the inn.

I let the door close behind her.

Taking a breath, I turned and continued on in the pouring rain and mud towards Ennis’ Manor closer to the Southern Gate and the wall. I knocked three times on the solid wooden door, blinking water out of my eyes.

Once again, it was a butler who answered the door, but this time he recognized me immediately, probably having figured out my mask pattern from the last visit. “Captain!” he exclaimed in surprise. “Come inside, out of the rain!”

I smiled slightly and slipped under the door, trying to stay on the mat in front of the doorway and not track mud all over the house. “Thank you. May I speak to Lord Ennis, if he’s not busy?”

“Of course, sir. Let me take your coat and show you to the sitting room.”

“I don’t want to get water all over everything.”

“Nonsense, sir. Your coat?”

I chuckled at his stubborn insistence and gave in, shrugging out of my coat and handing it over, hiding the old reluctance I felt over the action. I stepped out of my boots also, leaving them against the wall, before following the butler across the wooden floor, through an open archway to the left into a sitting room with a gently roaring fire and thick, soft rug on which the furniture rested.

“Please, have a seat. I will tell Lord Ennis you are here.”

“Thank you.”

The butler nodded and then scurried off while I took a seat on the couch, looking around the room. The rug was a dark burgundy that went well with the dark tone of the wood– entirely expectedly, the majority of the floor was made from redwood, though the pillars of the house were the same mined white stone that came from the Shattered Mountains to the southwest. The fire crackled nicely, and I curiously went to see if I could stick my hand into the fireplace.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Lines of lavaslivers carved into the stone, but unactivated, sparked as I started to cross the threshold of the fireplace with my fingers, flaring to life and shooting a wave of forcefield across the area. I smiled faintly at the security measure, but more specifically at its discretion. The house was subtle in its use of slivers, not flaunting them like so many were prone to do.

There was a portrait set above the fireplace, a painting of Ennis’ mother and father, along with himself and a brother and sister. I’d never heard of his siblings and wondered if they were still around.

“Leon!”

I turned at the sound of my name and saw Ennis walking into the room with his arms outstretched, and it took me a few seconds longer than it should have for me to recognize that he intended to greet me with a hug.

I returned the brief gesture of greeting and then followed his lead to resume my seat on the couch, with him taking the recliner across from me. “Lord Ennis.”

“What can I do for you this evening, Captain?” Ennis said. He beckoned a servant over with his hand without a second thought. “Drinks for us.” It wasn’t a barked command, but it was a curt order, given with the sort of casual indifference that only nobility seemed to be able to manage. “What do you like?” Ennis asked me.

“Just a water, please,” I addressed the servant, who nodded and scurried away to fetch them for us. “I hate to do this, but I need to ask a favor.”

“Of course, of course,” Ennis said easily. “A professional request or something less on the record?”

“A little of both. I have a theory in relation to our investigation of the kidnappings.”

Ennis frowned. “Really? I thought you had closed the case as a serial killer? Some Surgebinder working for the cults?”

My blood ran cold. “Who told you that?”

“I received a letter. I think most of those who knew any of the victims did. Didn’t you discover the dumping grounds? You were given credit for the resolution.”

Dahl, I thought his name like a curse. “May I see the letter?” I asked, trying to stay polite.

“I’m assuming I’ve been lied to,” Ennis said mildly as he stood and walked over to a desk tucked away into the corner, opening a drawer to retrieve the sealed paper.

“It’s… unclear.”

Ennis snorted softly and then handed me the envelope.

I checked the seal; it wasn’t Chantry, it was from the Peacekeepers. Was Ialdi involved? I didn’t want to believe her capable of it; I had always been quite fond of the Keeper. She could still have just been following orders though, believing what she had been told, not poking too hard, not causing any problems. Not the ideal quality to have in the head of the Peacekeepers, but not the same as being actively involved in murder. I hoped that was all it was as I opened the letter.

It was a mass printed letter, not even addressed specifically to Ennis, but rather just a generality relating to those who had been impacted by the disappearances. It claimed the disappearances and subsequent murders were part of an outreach of the Order of Kalze and the result of one Surgebinder in particular that it named as Raesh Erendi. Upon first glance, it could have been a neat and tidy resolution, but I knew better. For one thing, the letter claimed the corpses had all been found in the dumping grounds when I knew for a fact that hadn’t been the case. For another thing, it didn’t explain the kidnapper team who had slit their own throats rather than be captured.

The orders are a religion too. They could spawn zealots in the same way the Chantry could, a traitorous voice in the back of my head whispered.

But where were they going? It was too neat. It was too coincidental.

Or I just very much wanted Dahl to be responsible.

I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead and putting the letter down as I finished reading it.

“I’m guessing you don’t agree with the contents there.”

“It doesn’t make sense, and it definitely doesn’t make sense as to why no one would have told us. It was our case– Hector’s and mine. Why did someone go behind our backs and close it if everything was fine?” I sighed again. “On the other hand, it might’ve been an oversight and Ialdi could have been planning to tell us next time we were in the office. It’s been a busy week.”

“I was sorry to hear about Callian,” Ennis said. “I didn’t know him well, but you two seemed to be friends.”

“I wish I’d known him better,” I admitted quietly and then smiled slightly up at Ennis. “But thank you.”

“Do you still need that favor now that you’ve seen the letter?” Ennis asked.

“Yeah, it can’t hurt. I’d still like to be safe,” I said with a tight smile. The letter may have turned out in my advantage, I realized. It meant Ennis might not think too much about what I was doing. “Do you mind if I look at your records for outgoing shipments for the past three or four months?”

Ennis’ eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “That’s a lot of records.”

“I won’t leave the manor and it won’t take me that long. I know what I’m looking for, and I look fast.”

Ennis chuckled. “You’re very persuasive, you know that?”

“I do my best.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. If you’d like to follow me to the records room?”

The servant reentered with our drinks, and Ennis took both of them from him, offering me my water. “You’ll probably want that when we get in there; it’s a bit dusty.”

I smiled and silently followed behind him through the sparsely decorated hallways down to another wooden door that Ennis unlocked with a key he had in his pocket before allowing me into the records room– shelves and shelves of bookshelves with hand-written logs in massive, bound volumes with various dates written on their bindings.

“The oldest are at the far end, with the newest closest to us. Feel free to let Duncan know if you need anything else or would like to ask me something.”

“Thank you. I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.” Ennis shrugged. “It’s not like I’m doing much,” he said with a short breath of a laugh before turning and walking away.

I looked around for a moment in the narrow but cramped and dusty room and took a deep breath of fresh air before fully entering. Then I got to work.

It was simple enough to find what I was looking for, since the shipments headed to the Cathedral were clearly and efficiently delineated as such. The rest of it was just flipping through the two books that detailed the months I was looking at and mentally noting the times and dates of shipments as well as the duration of the tanks’ stay in the Central Square.

It took me a few hours to sift through all the pages, but soon I had cataloged all the information that I thought would be useful, even if I wasn’t entirely sure what it was going to be useful for as of yet. We didn’t have specific dates of the kidnappings with which to match up the shipments, although I thought I could probably get a general idea based on the dates they had been reported. That still only worked for the ones that had been reported at all, but it was something. At this point, I would take almost anything.

It was late, the three moons probably high above in the sky, though they were still invisible behind the clouds, the rain still pouring heavily down on the city below.

Duncan, the poor servant who’d been waiting outside of the room for me, was almost asleep leaning against the wall, and he startled when I exited.

“I’m done,” I told him softly. “Thank you, and please pass on my thanks to Lord Ennis as well.”

“I’m sure he’ll want to see you out–” Duncan began.

“Then offer him my apologies as well, as I won’t be sticking around to let him. Have a good night.” With a quick inclination of my head, I headed quickly for the exit and let myself out of the manor and back into the pouring rain, tugging my coat on as the rain bit into my skin through my clothes with a chill it hadn’t quite possessed during the day. The wind had picked up too, making it a very unpleasant night to be out and about, even aside from the late hour.

The streets were fully abandoned as I skipped past the warmth of the inn and my bed, heading back into the city, winding my way through twisting streets that seemed distorted and filled with shadows in the night, the lavasliver lamps shedding an unnatural orange and red glow over the dirt and cobblestone.

I knocked three times on a heavy wooden door and waited.

To my surprise, it wasn’t even a servant who opened it.

“I wondered how long it was going to take you to show up here,” Keeper Tiana Ialdi looked tired. She was still fully dressed despite the late hour, and there was a weariness in her eyes that I wasn’t used to seeing there.

“Am I early or late?”

She shrugged. “It was hard to know when you’d get your hands on one of the letters. Was it Ennis?”

“I think you’ll understand if I don’t feel like disclosing that,” I said tersely.

Tiana sighed heavily and then swung the door open further. “Would you like to come inside? It’s not like I could keep you out.”

I stepped over her doorframe. Her home was nowhere as extravagant as Ennis’ Manor, but it was more decorated, cozier. It felt like more of a home than the building I had just left– had a woman’s touch, I supposed. I didn’t bother taking off my coat or shoes. “Did you think I was going to force my way inside?”

“I don’t know.” Tiana sighed. “If you could keep it down, I would appreciate it. My husband is sleeping, and I’d rather not wake him.”

I nodded. “I have no interest in disturbing him. Why did you let Dahl use your station to wrap up the case all neat and tidy with no evidence?”

“There’s not no evidence.”

“Of a Western Order here? There is no evidence.”

“He’s the Inquisitor. He would know more about these things.”

“Is that what you’re telling yourself to sleep at night?”

Tiana sighed heavily, and I noticed again how tired she looked. “Do I look like I’ve been sleeping?”

“You know he’s corrupt.” It wasn’t a question.

“I don’t. If I knew, I would do something. But I don’t know, Leon. Neither do you. You’re just guessing, I’m just… paranoid.”

“We’re paid to be paranoid,” I snapped. “And you wouldn’t be having trouble sleeping if you actually believed it was all clean. You wouldn’t have closed the case under my nose and under my name if you thought it was fine.”

“He wanted the name of the investigating officer.”

“He didn’t even know it was me?”

“I don’t know if he did or not,” Tiana admitted. “She is a Surgebinder. The girl, Erendi. She’s a Surgebinder, and she has a record of causing problems since she got here a few months ago.”

“A few months ago?” I repeated. “And you somehow think she’s the mastermind behind kidnappings that have been going on for as long as she’s been here? I mean, I got started on my job pretty fast after I arrived, but I would think that she would at least need a week or two to set up a massive kidnapping conspiracy, don’t you?”

“I can’t go against him!” Tiana snapped. “He’s Chantry. He’s the High Inquisitor himself! The Orders are his domain, rogue Surgebinders are his job, and he says it’s all handled with a nice little bow. What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to know better! When are these things ever this neat and tidy? One person, locked away, and tada? Problem solved? How was she moving them? Where did she get the recruits? Where are the other people involved, where was their base, where are the rest of the corpses?”

“So, what, that means the Chantry did it? Why would they do that?”

And I stopped, because that was the question, wasn’t it? The why, the one aspect I couldn’t answer.

“I don’t know. And I wasn’t sure– not until he tried to pin it on the lead we had just gotten.”

“What?”

“Ehud had a meeting with Erendi, scheduled for tonight, just a couple hours after Dahl grabbed her. She said she had information about the kidnappings, and now she’s gone? Why would she have reached out to us if she were involved? We had no idea who she even was.”

“That’s not enough. None of it is enough to accuse the High Inquisitor.”

“Yeah, and it’s going to be a lot harder now that Erendi’s gone, now, isn’t it? Is she at least in the official dungeons, or did you let him take care of her in his own way?”

“What do you think of me? Of course she’s in the normal dungeons. I can’t let you see her though.”

“Of course not. What do I think of you?” I looked at her for a long moment. “I think I expected better.”

“Leon–”

“What would you lose? Position? Honor? Money? He’s going to try to kill me, throw my team in a dark hole that they’ll never get out of! And none of us are hiding.” I looked at her for a long moment, watched the way she looked down in shame. “I expected more,” I repeated and then turned and left.

My return to the inn was quiet, but I was surprised to find a raven flying above me in the rain.

I thought you were hiding under a tree.

You seemed like you could use the company.

I blinked and then breathed a short laugh, shaking my head slightly. If you want to sit by the fire, I’ll leave the window open for you.

There was silence for a moment. Sure.

True to my word, I left the window open to my room once I had climbed through it, waiting for the soaked raven to follow me inside and land near the fire. I closed it most of the way to keep out the water, though I left it cracked in case he had a need to escape.

“Good night, Teris,” I said mildly.

Good night. Leon.