“Is there anything else that comes up to m-”

Before Nyle could finish his question, a knock, sharp and decisive, came from the door behind him. Then, after a few seconds of complete silence, the same two Magisters that had appeared at the crime scene came inside. Of Captain Villamor, however, there wasn’t even the shadow. Strange…

Still, there was something that Nyle immediately found even stranger, if that was even possible.

Behind them, hidden thanks to the height difference, there was a woman with long blonde hair that peeked from that human shield that seemed impenetrable. Her delicate facial features deeply contrasted with those jade-coloured eyes that exuded an air of command and authority that Nyle had only previously seen in the large celebrations where everyone gathered in a giant mansion. But, no matter how hard he tried to remember, emptiness was the only thing the popped into his mind. And yet, even if only by sight, he should have recognized all the important figure within, at least, the Civil Order. So who in the bloody hell was she?

That was a question that would soon be answered, judging by the look of sheer obedience that Magister Barail had on his face. Magister Barail instead wore a careful mask of neutrality that didn’t leave any sign of disturbance or submission leak out. Whoever that woman was, it was clear that she was the one in control. Otherwise, Nyle had no doubt whatsoever that Magister Barail would have rushed inside to chew him out about taking a lead over the captain.

“Ah!” said the woman, stepping forward. Now that Nyle could look at her straight in the eyes, the aura of command that he had perceived only intensified. “So that’s the famous troublemaker I’ll have to deal with? I almost pictured him more impressive.”

Nyle exhaled sharply. While the first impression with a superior ranking officer, or any person of interest, was always going to be beneficial to him in the long run, even if only in managing the bothersome paperwork, now he didn’t care. The horrible start of the day he had some time before surely didn’t help in soothing out the frustration and tiredness that was plastered on his face for all to see; but, in all honesty, it was the interruption he couldn’t digest. After all, it had not been easy to establish a relationship of “trust” with Isobel.

“If you’re going to actively participate in this, then please be my guest. A new perception will only help us all. But if you’re only going to just stand there and make witty remarks about me, then you can kindly wait outside. I’ve got nor the time, nor the patience to deal with…whatever the hell is happening now.”

Magister Gideon’s eyebrows shot up so quickly that it almost didn’t seem real. The surprise, who had caught him completely off guard, quickly wore off, only to be replaced by the anger and disbelief that he had surely repressed before. And just maybe, well hidden under those emotions he was now clearly displaying, even a little bit of fear. Of whom, it seemed obvious to Nyle.

“Inquisitor Nyle! Th-This is an outrage! Not only you didn’t wait for Captain Villamor’s arrival, ignoring my order. You’re also acting like this in front of her! This is a serious matter! You’ll suspended and placed under arr-”

“Shut up.” thundered the mysterious woman coldly. “I’m not talking to you.”.

Nyle couldn’t understand who that petite woman was. but he still understood that, for a man like Gideon to be so…powerless against her, she was someone important. Of that, he didn’t have a shadow of a doubt.

“Anyway…”

The woman turned her attention back at Nyle, staring at him straight in the eyes. Magister Gideon, who had acted so outraged just then, now looked dejected and afraid of what could have happened if he had kept on talking. It seemed that woman was powerful indeed…

“I see the reports about your personality are true, Inquisitor Nyle Vyrsir. You surely don’t beat around the bush.”

“…Who are you? I have never seen you before. And yet, by the way you act…” asked Nyle clearly agitated.

“Imperial Grand Magister Ewin Mac Lorien. At your service. Though you can just call me Ewin when it’s not in public.”

A mock bow and smile were plastered all over her. Nyle, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Somehow he managed to gulp down the tension the he felt bubbling inside. And for a good reason. An Imperial Grand Magister! Now that was something! The one responsible for a lot of districts of the capital was inside the same room. Never, not even in his strangest dreams, he would have thought he could experience this. And now he was going to face the consequences for it. Lucky him…

“…Damn me and my damned luck.” blurted out Nyle as he upped his stare for a brief moment. “I apologize if I have offe-”

“Don’t, Inquisitor. I would rather have a conversation with someone that will speak to me without any kind of filter than a bunch of people that only want to earn my favour with honeyed words.” she said as she look clearly displeased even with just the thought of it. “And besides, I’ve read you care deeply about every case you’re assigned to, so it’s no surprise, really. Don’t get me wrong. It’s a quality I admire in a person in your position. You know, the imperium already has social climbers…”

A side directed at Magister Gideon made it clear at who she was referring to.

“…Thanks, I guess. I…I’m a little lost for words.” said Nyle surprised. A Grand Magister had read his file! Great! Or maybe not? He wasn’t too sure which one was it. However, of one thing he was always going to be sure. “But let me assure that is just the way I am. And that is never going to change.”

“I can see that. Though I think it would be better if you’ll reign that attitude of yours. Some degree of…clarity of mind is needed to reach the maximum potential after all. You know what I mean, yes?”

“Yes, Grand Magister.”

“Good. Good.”

Happy to have made her point across, she turned her attention to the others. “Now, with that out the way, is that Inquisitor Eldrin I see over there?”

“Yes, Grand Magister.” said Eldrin in the same fake smile Nyle had already seen before. “It’s always a pleasure.”

“I’m sure it is, Inquisitor. Though I would have preferred if you made yourself more visible. I haven’t seen since the Winter ceremony of four years ago. Surely that can be rectified, right?”

“I apologize. Things beyond my control took up all the time at my disposal. I’m sure you understand.”

“Yes, of course. Of course. Still, you’ll attend the next dinner organized by the Order, yes? Why, there’s a ball two weeks from now, now that I think about it.”

“…If a summons comes for me, then I’ll do everything in my power to be there.”

“I suppose that’ll do.” she said grinning. As for the other members inside the room, a quick introduction and off she went to speak about the case.

“Magister Barail and Magister Gideon were so kind to bring me up to date as soon I showed up uninvited. A crime like this, in those turbulent times, require a certain…dexterity to be handled. We must avoid another riot at all costs. The emperor is too busy right now to address the situation personally, so it fall to us to restore order. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Grand Magister.” said everyone almost in unison.

“Good. Now, tell me, Inquisitors. What have you discovered so far?”

Nyle and Eldrin exchanged a look. That was most unusual, to say the least. A Grand Magister, one of the highest ranks in the whole imperium, didn’t actively participate in the investigation, even if it was a murder. Their job was more about managing logistics and dealing with paperwork and other less hands-on duties. And yet, here she was asking about the statement they had just heard. Was she really going to actively participate in that whole ordeal? Nyle didn’t know. Nobody did, for that matter.

As no one seemed to want to be the first to speak, Grand Magister Ewin repeated her question, this time with more force.

“According to lady Isobel…” said Eldrin, who had finally mustered up the courage to begin talking. “The victim, named Nyvor Grellyn, didn’t have any known enemies or a serious discussion that could have explained this sad outcome. The same could be said about Isobel and their son Adrien. As for his last known whereabouts before he disappeared, Isobel has told us that he went out drinking with some friends at the famous tavern, the one run by those famous owners: The Warrior’s Rest. Now it should be poi-”

“Oh! Then we must question those friends at the soonest opportunity.”

“We’ll be summoning them as soon as we’re done here.” Inquisitor reassured her. However, Grand Magister Ewin seemed to be of a different opinion. With a flick of her finger Magister Gideon snapped to attention. “Magister, be so kind as to tell my entourage downstair to fetch those friends.” she declared as she grabbed the parchments where one of the elven entourages of Inquisitor Eldrin had written the information. “Now go.”

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Magister Gideon simply grabbed the parchments and ran out of the room, making Nyle smile. He didn’t what would come out of that mess. But he sure was happy to have seen that magister bastard ran like that.

Whit that out the way, she returned to the matter at hand. “As for the tavern, we should be able to have a lot eye witnesses, then.” said Grand Magister Ewin, looking dead serious for the first since Nyle had seen her. “That tavern is near a well enough trafficked port, if I’m not mistaken. Even if the hour was late, some workers might have been there during his stay. Not to mention that venue. It’s usually very busy, so it should be ease to father testimonies.”

Nyle scoffed. A gesture that wasn’t lost on the Grand Magister.

“Not a fan of taverns, Nyle?”

“Well…” Nyle said, trying to collect his thoughts into something that wasn’t going to anger the powerful woman. “I’m sure you sure know I do love a good drink once in a while. What I don’t like is interrogate inebriated people who would for sure avoid telling me anything, be it for choice or otherwise. It’s not a prospect I look forward to.”

“Neither I.” she said smiling. “But the clientele is not who I would question.”

“…Are you telling me to question the owners?”

“Why, of course! They certainly possess what we are looking for.”

“…”

“What? Why are you silent?”

“…The owners had some dealings with us in the past. Not with me personally, but I have heard what went on with those who had been in charge of that. Let’s just say they don’t particularly like us.”

“That might be the case. But I have no doubt you all are going to be up to the challenge.”

Everyone nodded.

Then Eldrin, who seemed almost disinterested with the presence of such an important figure, resumed talking. “Anyway, the tavern, as I was trying to say, is managed by some group of old veterans. While that shouldn’t pose a problem, the soldiers who fought in the Costal Wars didn’t receive the right welcoming party when they came back home. Most of them still resents the governing body for that unjust treatment. We can expe-”

“How they feel about that isn’t of any concern to us.” said Magister Gideon stepping inside, interrupting the elven inquisitor once again. Even if he had ran back down to lowest floor, he somehow wasn’t short breathed.

Nyle looked at Eldrin, and just like he thought, his eyes clearly indicated he was on the verge of fuming with anger. Relatable, given the circumstances.

“It is our job to search the answers whatever the adversities we might encounter. They will either collaborate or they’ll face some time in the cells. That will make them talk.”

“And for what?” asked Nyle clearly bothered by that show off attitude the Magister was having only to appear strong in front of a superior. That kind of power-hungry moves were one of the things he despised about his job. “No. That will just give them another reason to hate us.”

“It doesn’t matter!” shouted Magister Gideon angrily. “We cannot allow anyone to interfere with the case. The potential complications that could arise if news of the murder reached the public before a suspect has been identified would be catastrophic. We cannot afford that from leaking. Me and my fellow Magisters would be at the center of the hurricane that would for sure arise if the worst scenario were to happen. And I’m not going to risk my career for some idiotic vete-”

“I strongly advise you stop talking, Magister.” said Grand Magister Ewin in a frigid tone of voice that seemed colder than ice. Her eyes too had taken on a similar appearance, like the cold northern lakes. “If I hear you utter another word from your mouth while you’re still here with me and everybody else I’ll make sure to strip you of your rank, your wealth, and your possessions. Nod if I made myself clear.”

After the initial shock had passed, a thing that Nyle was having in common with his young companion, who seemed shell shocked to be witnessing all that as a mere rookie, Magister Gideon slowly nodded. His eyes, which seemed like the perfect representation of fear, were looking down to the ground.

As for Magister Barail, who was quietly watching all of that in the background, he simply sighed, clearly bothered by the complete idiocy of his fellow Magister.

Shaking his head, Nyle began to ponder how such a sorry excuse of a man could have reached such a high rank in the hierarchy. As far as he knew, Magister Gideon didn’t come from a prominent noble family, nor he could count on the support of one of it. Counts, Dukes, Marquesses, and any other high nobility in between would never involve themselves with such a shallow figure. Perhaps Grand Magister Ewin could have counted on some kind of help from them. Or maybe she was even from one of them. But even that was only a maybe. So how did Magister Gideon conquer that rank?

Before he had time to further elaborate on that thought, his attention was caught by that short woman.

“Please continue, Inquisitor Eldrin. There won’t be another interruption.”

“Certainly, Grand Magister.” said Eldrin in his now familiar fake smile. “As far as we know, the victim didn’t have a motive, or anything else that could point out an enemy. The last known information we have about his position yesterday night is that he was headed to the tavern aforementioned. We still need to verify that.”

The woman nodded. “Anything else?”

“There would be the details of the murder, but I was not present. Inquisitor Nyle, however, could recount them.”

“Good.”

Then she turned her head towards him. “Please, Nyle. Tell me everything you saw.”

“…I…”

“What is the problem now?”

“Given the nature of the crime I don’t think it’s right for me to discuss such grue-” he stopped just in time. “…Such things in front of the family. I may not be the most softspoken person in the world, but even I don’t lack that much tact.”

As a soft smile appeared on Grand Magister Ewin’s face, Nyle observed quietly as she ordered the two men stationed outside to come inside. “Escort them to the inner office, the one near the statue. I’ll meet you there shortly.”

“Yes, Grand Magister.”

When Kliras, the human guard and the gentlest between those two, reached the family to escort them, his dwarven companion shared a brief, silent, but full of meaning look with Nyle. But, before he could even try to come up with a way to silently convey what had transpired, an elven guard, the one that looked more tense and angered, voiced his apparent disapproval.

“We are the one tasked with their protection.” said the elf as he looked at human guard with an air of distrust. “Why should we entrust their security to those two?”

Even if the other elves kind of shared that sentiment, they all remained silent. To voice that in front of not only a direct superior, but even an officer of the higher ranks was something that everyone, no matter age, gender, or race, was something akin to madness. No way that elven man was walking out of that room without consequences.

“Junior Officer!” said Inquisitor Eldrin with a look on his face that spoke more than a hundred words. He was clearly surprised by such a break of professionalism. After all, he was the one that had personally hand-picked them in the giant pool he had at his disposal. “You’ll keep those remarks to yourself. We are paid to follow orders, not voice our opinions whenever we feel like it.”

“But…Inquisitor!” said the elf. “We cannot allow them to e-”

“Silence!” screamed Eldrin. This time his face looked like the perfect epitome of anger.

A deafening silence fell inside interrogation room 35-A, enveloping everything and everyone in its tight embrace. Even Nyle, who usually didn’t give a damn about the circumstances and kept on doing his agenda, was feeling uncomfortable. Whatever it was thanks to his own tiredness, or due to what was happening in front of him, he couldn’t tell. Or he simply didn’t care enough to find out.

“…Junior Officer, leave this room right now. We’ll have a talk at a later time.”

The elven man tried to voice of his displeasure and anger at that decision, believing he was in the right. How could he trust the protection of his own kind to a human and mostly important, to a dwarf? How could his superior believe that, when he had been the first to manifest similar sentiments in the past? But nothing worked out in the end, as his words fell on deaf ears.

Inquisitor Eldrin would not hear any of that. “Save it, Junior Officer. I will not hear any of it.”

“…Yes, Inquisitor.”

Then the elven man walked past everyone, bumping into the table with his left leg, only to storm off as if he was a hurricane, ready to destroy everything on its path.

The sigh that followed was so loud that Nyle was immediately drawn into the direction from which it came from.

To his right, sitting with his eyes turned towards the ceiling, there was Inquisitor Eldrin. He had not moved an inch since they had started that whole thing, remaining always impassable. But something had just changed. His eyes, which had always been attentive and keen, now looked tired after the last confrontation with that subordinate.

Suddenly, when the tension was going to skyrocket, Grand Magister Ewin masterfully diverted the focus back to the task at hand, ordering once again to escort the elven family out the room. After a minute or so had passed, and Isobel and her son had left, her gaze turned to Eldrin, to whom she ordered to rest.

“I can keep go-”

“I’m sure a man like Nyle can keep recounting the events that took place there without your support. You can rest for some minutes.”

“But-”

“No buts.” said Grand Magister Ewin with a giant smile plastered on her face that left no doubt about her intentions.

Nyle saw the elven Inquisitor sag his shoulders and nod in defeat. Then came his turn to take over the conversation with all those people watching him closely. A thing that he personally hated.

Exhaling sharply, Nyle began to recount what his inquisitive eyes had saw. “The victim, whose name, as it was previously said, is Nyvor Grellyn. Elf of 137 years. He has been found inside Saint Octavious church during the early hours of the day. The time of death is something that will require some time to exactly point out, be we know for sure that the wounds that have been inflicted on the body, both on the chest and the back, are post mortem. Now, the wounds clearly resemble some kind of diagram, or s-”

“Diagram? Are you saying the killer has etched something arcane?”

“That is something outside my sphere of knowledge. All I can say is that there are some similarities with the usual diagram that all arcanists, regardless of specialization, practices and utilizes. However, I must point out that the symbols used in that fucked up display didn’t match any letter, number or rune that I could recall ever coming across. It seems to me that we must dig further to comprehend what those incision means. If they even mean anything.”

“Could the killer have invented all that?” asked Inquisitor Eldrin. “We had some madmen in the past that would surely match that kind of behaviour.”

“…It’s possible.” answered Nyle nodding slowly. His mind was struggling to keep the pace of the ideas that were coming up. “But I fail to understand the logic behind that display, if that’s the case.”

Eldrin shrugged. His hands were massaging his temples, as if all the exhaustion he was feeling inside had suddenly come up all at once. “That’s where you’re wrong. You’ll never understand a madman. Even if you try to think like him. Their though process is too distorted from reality.”

“That might be the case.” said Grand Magister Ewin, attracting all the eyes on herself. “But I want us to be prepared for anything. For the moment, do no leave any stones unturned. Anyway, is there something else?”

“All the braziers inside the church have been found extinguished. And, while it pains me to admit it, I have no clue about how they’ve done it, nor the reason why.”

“The braziers?”

“Yes. Even the one dedicated to the All Mother has been extinguished. I thought it would be an impossible to achieve…”

Grand Magister Ewin dropped silent. Her eyes were lost in thought. “…Me too.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, the petite golden-haired woman turned around and began pacing towards the exit, stopping at the last second. “For now, good job. Both of you. But the road ahead is still long and full of pitfalls. But I know you’ll be ready.”

Then, as she was ready to leave, she turned around one last time, glancing at Nyle with her stunning eyes that resembled emeralds. “Oh, and I almost forgot.” she said with a smirk on her smile that didn’t foreshadow anything good for Nyle. “From now on, I expect you to visit me often, Inquisitor Nyle.”

He wanted to refuse. To say that, as it always was, the case needed all his time and effort. But he just couldn’t. If he was a hill in the hierarchy, she was a mountain; and a tall one at that.

Nyle nodded, sighingly heavily. Which of course only further amused Grand Magister Ewin.

It was in cases like this that he longed for that damned promotion.