“Alexander!” Katla cried out with a grin. She placed the tool she was working on down on a table next to her and bound over to where the newcomer was standing. Einar was kneeling beside the forge, tapping the inside of it with a hammer and chisel.

“Actually, people around here call me Inquisitor.” Alexander replied as he removed his helmet. He felt a brief pang of guilt for correcting Katla for being friendly but it was important to maintain proper etiquette, especially with the newcomers.

“Ah, yes, your people do strike me as the sorts who would be overly concerned with using titles,” Katla said with a nod, her smile not diminishing as far as Alexander could perceive.

“So, Inquisitor,” Katla said with almost sarcastic emphasis, “what brings you to our smithy? Hopefully nothing urgent that requires the forge, Einar is still enchanting it. When he’s finished it will make more heat with less charcoal and produce finer works than ever!”

“No, I don’t need any work done. I’m just here to check in on you two.”

“Ah, making sure we stay out of mischief, is that it? Making sure we’re not spreading beliefs in strange gods or encouraging people to drink a second glass of wine?”

“Sort of. Marcus wants me to visit you two frequently in the coming weeks. Partly to make sure you’re integrating well and also so that the people see that we are keeping an eye on you. The Emperor may be changing the laws to make it easier for foreigners with valuable skills to live here but most people are still suspicious of outsiders.”

“That seems wise, yes.” Katla said.

“So everything has been going well? No one has been causing you trouble?”

“Trouble? Ha! Hardly.” Katla said with a laugh. “The way men speak to us when they come around the forge, you would think we were terrible monsters from some story told to frighten children into behaving. Wait, are stories with monsters allowed in this place or is that also against some rule?”

“Generally, stories about imaginary creatures are frowned upon as friv-”

“Of course, I should have known. I’m sure your children sit eagerly at their grandfather’s feet to hear the tale of the boy who received a spanking for eating a second cookie. I’m sure we will make good substitutes for monsters, the woman who wore trousers and her very tall brother who dared to have a beard. I swear by whatever it is you swear by in these lands, I would have thought your country was ruled by a council of barbers whose wives had all been plowed by cloth dyers. Every man has the same short hair and shaven face unless he’s old and then they all have beards trimmed the same length. And everyone is dressed is such plain clothes! If I did not see two women at once with my own eyes I would have thought there was only a single dress shared among all the women in Crow Town!”

“People don’t want to appear vain.” Alexander said after taking a moment to process everything Katla had said.

“Vain, of course not.” Katla said, rolling her eyes. “Will you be eating at the public house tonight?” she asked. “It’s nearly dinner time.”

“No, I’ll be getting back to the villa. I just wanted to stop in after making my rounds.”

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“Alright then, we’ll try not to terrify too many of your people before you come by next.”

Alexander turned and began the walk back to the villa as Katla returned to her work. He had questioned some of the people in town about the newcomers before he visited them himself. So far, no one had any specific complaints about the two. Many expressed concern at the presence of foreigners in the town at all but most were willing to tolerate the presence of a smith who was also a Thaumaturgist so long as the Inquisition would be keeping a watchful eye on him and his talkative sister.

Though there were still several hours remaining before the sun would set, clouds moving in from the west blocked much of the light as Alexander arrived at the villa, making the hour feel later than it actually was. Upon passing the front gate he immediately noticed a strange horse in the stable. When he entered the house he found Marcus and an unknown, middle-aged man wearing worker’s clothing seated at the dining table.

“Inquisitor,” The man said as he stood up.

“Alexander, this is Orville, from the village of Amdell a day’s ride north of here. He rode out to fetch us, said there’s been a couple of murders in the village recently.” Marcus said, rising from his chair.

“Is that so?” Alexander replied as he made his way to the table.

“Yes, Inquisitor, I was telling the Inquisitor here about it. Three nights ago, Bernard’s boy went missing from the house. Bernard and Gilbert, he’s a hunter, they went looking for him with the help of Gilbert’s smell hound. Found him on the road halfway to Croton, stabbed dead. They carried his body all the way back to town, Bernard was a right mess. That was his only child, see. Well, this morning Bernard himself is found with his throat cut just outside of town. Gladys, his wife, she was beside herself with grief. I never heard wailing like hers before.”

Alexander and Marcus exchanged glances as the man continued to speak. “Some of the men were going to make a party to look for who it was that did this but I said that I would ride and fetch the Inquisitors so they can help.”

“You did the right thing by coming to us.” Marcus said as he rose from the table. He walked to the kitchen where Alexander could hear Chloe banging and rattling as she prepared dinner.

“Slave,” Marcus said. Alexander could tell the word was uncomfortable on his mentor's lips but he had to keep up appearances in front of strangers. “I will be bringing Orville to a guest room. When you have finished preparing dinner please bring him his meal there.”

“Yes, Inquisitor.” came Chloe’s reply. Marcus returned to the table. He led Orville down a hallway, Alexander could hear a door creak and groan as it was opened and then again as it was shut, followed by Marcus returning a moment later.

“A man and his son, both meeting violent ends mere days apart, seems too suspicious.” Alexander said.

“Yes. Normally a single death on the road would be a matter to bring to the Legion, encourage them to increase patrols in the area or perhaps rally the men of town to hunt down robbers. But a boy disappearing from his house at night and being found murdered halfway between two towns? And then his father being killed only days later much closer to home, this doesn’t seem like the work of a highwayman.”

“I agree, maybe it was someone who hated the man or felt wronged by him and his family.”

“Whatever the reason may be, someone who has killed twice will almost certainly have no qualms about doing it again. We need to figure out who is doing this and why before anyone else dies.”

Chloe walked out of the kitchen and past the Inquisitors, carrying a tray.

“I put him in the second room, with the squeaky door.” Marcus said quietly. Chloe nodded and continued on her way.

“Hopefully we can get there and examine both bodies before they’re burned,” Marcus said as the sound of the guest room door creaking on its hinges was heard down the hall. “I know his widow, Gladys, will likely be eager to have the funerals, especially since her boy will have been dead for days by the time we get there.”

The sound of the door creaking again preceded Chloe walking past the Inquisitors and into the kitchen.

“Speaking of funerals,” Alexander began as he took his place at the table, “what happened with Simone while I was gone? What did her father decide?”

“Simeon gave his daughter a proper funeral. Even punched Edwin the elder for saying she didn’t deserve one. The council decided not to punish him for the assault, said he would be excused this time due to grief.” Marcus said as Chloe appeared from the kitchen with dinner.