A large, comfy, but amongst all, crimson red, chair, stood right behind the wooden desk were Athiel kept all the documentation. The statue of Ganagral, the god of commerce, fair trade, and economic stability of the dwarven pantheon, stood right beside a lit candle that Athiel made sure to change daily.

Although the old dwarven religion was not the official one of the Imperium, the country had always supported a policy of religious and non-religious syncretism that tried to eliminate any possible reason of conflict. So it was not strange to find elves, dwarves and humans that came from every corner of the Imperium, practising openly one or more religion; sometimes, albeit more rarely, even customs would mix strangely mix together very well to create something new and utterly amazing. Hell, even the emperor had married years ago with the daughter of King Tamrindel, the sovereign of the elven country that bordered east with the Imperium.

However, things were far from idyllic. The revolt that had took place some time ago was an evident proof of that. After all, Nyle knew that those kinds of things that never, not even once, ended good for rioters, usually took quite some time to break out, so he strongly suspected that the order that came from the Ministry of War was used just as an excuse to spread chaos. If only that managed to calm things down…

Sadly instead, with the murder that had just happened, and tensions that were slowly climbing back once again due to the massive discontent that was felt all around, things weren’t looking good. A sigh escaped him. While it was true that he wanted nothing more than finally advance his career by taking advantage of that sudden opportunity, it was also true that he enjoyed life to the fullest when things were quiet and simple. A dichotomy he would gladly have done without.

Shaking his head to clear his mind from such heavy thoughts, Nyle noted how Athiel sat down in her chair letting out a comfy sigh that denoted how happy she was to be within the privacy of that room. Having a brief moment, he took the opportunity to snoop around. It had been quite same time since he had set foot inside, after all, and a few things had changed. For example, right behind the dwarven woman, a huge tapestry with the colours faded by time was hung carefully on some golden mounts. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, the scene depicted on those interwoven threads must have be-

The sudden sound of the woman’s voice brought his attention back to her.

“Nice piece, isn’t it? Cost a good amount of coins to get too.”

Nyle smiled. He wasn’t an expert in art pieces. Not at all. But even could see that thing must have cost more than a good amount. Surely, she was half joking with him. “…People must really like your pastries and coffee. I can’t imagine how many of those you had to sell to buy that.”

“Ah! And you’re one of those, aren’t you? Cheeky bastard.”

“Never said I wasn’t.” said Nyle raising his hands in a jokingly manner. A smirk was plastered on his tired face, that somehow, perhaps thanks to the dark liquid he had just assumed, now looked less…pale. “All jokes asides, how the hell did you find that? If I’m not mistaken, that things is old. Like, ancient old.”

This time, Athiel laughed good heartedly. “You know I don’t owe my new found richness only to this business, yes? I have other activities. And I’m sure you’re aware of the biggest one, aren’t you?”

“The commerce company?” he asked incredulously. Surely she was joking. That business had just begun operating a couple of years ago! There was no way…

“Why, yes!”

“…How?” was everything that Nyle managed to say.

“Careful investments, good luck, and the help of the great Ganagral. Praise his infinite benevolence. Anyway, that’s not why we’re are here, are we? So tell me: what the hell is going on?”

Nyle diverted his gaze for a brief moment. The context of what he was about to reveal was sensitive, potentially dangerous, and utterly secret. It didn’t take a genius to picture what the possible punishment would be for those that had revealed that kind of information. Especially if he had been the one to do it. He didn’t sit well with some higher ups, and that would be nothing but the perfect excuse to strip him of his position for which he had scarified so much to obtain. But Athiel had always been a person that had helped him when he had needed it the most. Could he really lie to her? Should he do it just because he could risk some repercussions? No. He just couldn’t…

“Well…things are…complicated.” said Nyle, still slightly unsure.

“Yeah, I can see that. Still, I believe you owe me some kind of explanation. After the last favour I did for you, my contacts had requested some absurd payment. You can only imagine the lengths I had to go just to repay them.”

“Hey!” said Nyle feigning some hurt. While it was true that he was the one that had requested the help of her less law-abiding friends, it was also true that, to repay what the she had done for him, he had helped her by providing some classified information that was stored in the Ministry of Commerce’s archive. Nothing dangerous, of course. Just some reports on the business dealings of some of her competitors; especially on a human woman who ran a grocery store down by the harbour. Nyle could have not known this, but there was some bad blood between the two women.

“I have repaid that debt quite some time ago. You cannot possibly ask me to do more…right?”

The mask of neutrality that met him made him realize that now wasn’t the time for jokes.

“Alright. Alright.” said Nyle as he sat down at the other end of the desk. “But first, let me ask you something. Have you heard anything?”

“…Meaning?”

Nyle groaned. There was no way that she had not received some words about what had took place. “Oh, I don’t know. Like some kind of no entrance zone?”

“…Yes. I heard about it.”

“Well…a murder has occurred.” said Nyle, going straight to the point. “Even if an exclusion zone has been set up at the soonest opportunity, I expect that some information has managed to spread out before our arrival. I just hop-”

“Where?” suddenly asked Athiel, who wasn’t at all surprised by that news. So she had heard about it after all…

But if that was the case, the situation might have needed additional attention to that agreed upon with the Magisters.

“St. Octavious’s church. Right inside it.”

“Inside a church?” asked Athiel surprised. Now that was something that Nyle didn’t expect. “Daaaamn. Who the hell would kill inside a sacred place? That’s fucked up on so many levels.”

Nyle blinked. “Wait a moment. Why the hell are you acting so surprised? I was under the impression that the news about it have already reached yo-”

He stopped. Now that he thought about it, hadn’t she asked where, as if there had been another one? Yet he had not heard from anyone, not even inside the Main Quarters gigantic halls, about another murder.

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“Did another murder occur?” asked Nyle, who was holding his breath. Of all the things he needed, another murder was certainly not among them.

“…I cannot say for certain. I have heard some of my early morning customers complain about some disorder, or clash, or whatever the hell happened. They did mention that some blood was spilled, so I just connected the dots together. But I guess I was wrong…”

“Where?”

“Nowhere near St. Octavious’s church, if that’s what you’re asking.” said Athiel. “Maybe it was near Erwin Plaza, but the customers were not so sure about it. Their information was…lacking.”

“So the murder shouldn’t be connected with those disorders…”. His mind was already picturing a thousand of possibilities, from the most likely to the most absurd.

“How the hell should I know? You’re the Inquisitor. Not me.”

Nyle stopped. Had he said that thought out loud?

“Sorry. I didn’t realize I said it out lout. I a-” a big yawn escaped from within, carrying with it all the tiredness he was feeling inside. And he still had the whole day ahead of him. Well, if nothing else, he would have no trouble falling asleep that night. Ahhhh. Just thinking about it was making his crave his bed even more.

“Did you get any sleep?” asked Athiel, who had just noticed the dark circles under his eyes. “You look like shit.”

“For umpteenth time this day, I’m fine. I just had a complicated night.”

“Let me guess: your sister?”

Nyle simply nodded. Just thinking about the huge confrontation he had with her just some hours ago was enough to make him clench his fist in anger. The hurtful things she had said kept on ringing inside his head. “…I don’t want to talk about it.”

Athiel laughed. “Family is always such a conversation killer, don’t you agree?”

“…Yeah. Anyway, as I have told you, a body had been found in that church. I can’t say for certain, but it is highly likely we’re dealing with some kind crazy killer, whoever that is.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“The body. While I’ll spare you the grimy details, I can tell you that it has been tampered.”

“How so?”

“…You don’t want to know. It’s bet-”

“Cut that bullshit right now.” said Athiel as she pointed her right index finger, where a golden ring was resting on, at him. “You know I’m not some delicate highborn woman who has never seen blood before. Do you remember where I grew up? Violence wasn’t something that had not existed there. So stop being a sissy and tell me as it is.”

“Alright. Fuck it. I don’t care anymore.”

So Athiel wanted the grimy details? Then damn it she was going to get them!

“The victim, an elven man named Nyvor Grellyn, was found dead with strange symbols etched on his skin. And the church has been tampered with. Take for example the braziers. None of them were left burning.”

“None?” asked Athiel surprised.

“No. Even the central one, which as you know should be extremely difficult, if not outright impossible, to extinguish thanks to the complex fire arcanism that has been laid in it, has been extinguished. How, we don’t have a clue.”

“That is…worrying.”

“I know. After all, even if I’m no expert in arcanism, I can clearly understand that it should take more than the timeframe the killer had at his disposal to even attempt something that could potentially destroy the diagram. So how the hell did he do it?”

“That is not what’s worrying me. Though it is certainly a good point.”

“…?”

The look of a merchant appeared on her face. “First of all, let me tell that name doesn’t ring any bells. Second, my…contacts have told me that things at the imperial court are becoming more and more chaotic. And with the growing discontent about the war, the merchant guilds are always more restless. I fear that, if news about this spread around the city, we risk a coup.”

“A coup?” Now Nyle was the one who couldn’t believe his ears. “That’s impossible. Even if I don’t give a damn about the emperor, or any noble family for that matter, he must have the court under control. He just has to. Not to mention his…eyes, if you know what I mean. They’ll instantly remove any threat to the throne before it could become real.”

The eyes. Or at least, that was what the people who were aware of their presence called them. A name that was perhaps way too common to inspire any kind of emotion, but one that clearly denoted their duty. After all, to Nyle limited knowledge about them, they were the ones who heard, saw, and actively carried out the emperor’s will where he couldn’t reach. A coup, as Athiel was suggesting, was a hypothesis that seemed so farfetched, if not outright impossible, that was utterly surprised to even hear about it.

“Be suspicious if you must. But that is what my contacts have told me, and that shall not change. Whatever you believe them or not, is up to you. I have already made some preparations in case something like that will ever happen.”

“Preparations?”

“Let’s just say I don’t ever plan to get involved with any kind of power straggle. I have a treasure to defend, you know?” said Athiel smiling from ear to ear. “Anyway, I suppose you’ll have a chance to stop any coup before I happens, right?”

Nyle looked completely perplexed. What the hell was she talking about now? But then again, if there was someone who could know what was going to happen, it would be Athiel’s shadowy contacts. Did they tell her something that could prove unvaluable? But even if that was the case, what did he have to do with all that? Its not like he ever had a chance to hang out with the Imperial Court. Not the ever would like that.

“What? Why would I have that chance? What are talking about?”

“Two weeks from now…” said Athiel, grabbing a red candy from the glass jar she always kept on the cabinet behind her. By the content look that immediately appeared on her face after she put it in her mouth, it must have been one of her favourite flavours. Perhaps cherry, if Nyle had to guess.

“…The emperor is going to host an enormous ball at the Moon Palace. He’s probably going to announce the intention to celebrate the recent victory his army has obtained in the north, but that’s just a pretext. In reality, that ball is just an excuse to keep watch and control his subjects, to ensure his continuous reign. I also heard that various members of the Ministries and foreign ambassadors will invited…”

“I fail to realize what chance I have. I could never attend such a thing. Besides, how do you kn-. Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

Athiel smiled. “It’s nothing serious, really. I just called in some favours to people that owed me. Now seemed the perfect time.”

“But if that’s the case, how come you’ve not heard about the murder? If you can gather such information, surely a mere crime is nothing in comparison.”

Athiel laughed. “While that is true, keep in mind that those kinds of things always require some sort of payment to be…acquired. There’s no way I can afford to hire the service of one of them all year around. I would go bankrupt in no time.”

“Speaking of…” said Nyle, changing the subject briefly. “What are the chances of me obtaining a favour from your contacts? You know, I wouldn’t mind the help on this case…”

“Honestly, it depends what you ask them.” she said thoughtfully. “The bigger the task, the steeper the price. And, don’t take it the wrong way, I don’t think you’re swimming in gold coins.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. The salary that the treasury paid him weekly was certainly not huge. In fact, far from it. But if his monetary possessions weren’t great, maybe there was another way to secure that favour. A way however, that he didn’t even know if it was plausible.

“…Let’s suppose I provide some sort of service, or something of equal value. Will that be enough to compensate the lack of coin?”

“…Maybe…”

“Maybe? What th-”

“It means I have no way of knowing for sure.” said Athiel interrupting him. “Though I can say for certain that you’ll better off paying coins than trying that route. While that’ll be no small amount, I think it’s going to be much easier than providing a service, which I remind you, could be anything.”

“Surely they couldn’t ask me to do anything too risky…right?”

Athiel groaned. “Now that has always been your problem. You fail to realize that they will always ask something that outweighs the favour you’re asking them. Hell, even I, who have been dealing with them for years, have never received better treatment. That’s just the way they operate.”

“Then how the fuck am I supposed to pay whatever price they could ask me? Are you going to front me on that?” ranted Nyle, letting his frustration roam free. He had come looking for help, not to be taught a lesson about a mysterious group that only Athiel seemed to be aware off.

Nyle had half expected to be verbally assaulted by the little woman, who had one of the strongest characters he had ever encountered, for his sudden outburst. To his surprise however, none of that happened. Instead, the dwarven woman, who had eyes green like emeralds, agreed to pay out of her own pockets.

“…Why are doing this?” asked Nyle suspicious.

“There’s something that you could for me, my friend.”

He smirked. Of course there was something that could benefit Athiel. “And that is…?”

“Nothing crazy, I assure you. I just want you to provide me with some information about what the merchant guilds will do at the ball.”

“The ball? I will never be invited to such a lustrous occasion. That’s just not going to happen. I told you. I’m just an Inquisitor.”

“That I already know. But I know someone who could make you attend as “business partner” of mine.”

“…Can you do that?”

“Of course I can!” replied Athiel, feigning offence. “Who do you take me for? Anyway, do you accept?”

Nyle smirked. What other choice did he have?