“Who was giving you orders?” Lucy asked.

“My direct superior was Sergeant Rudolph. He is part of the duke’s guard.” She replied.

“Is he controlled as well?” I asked.

“I do not know.” She answered.

“We will have to tell the duke.” Lucy said.

“Yes. is there anyone else we should know about? Other agents or handlers?” I asked.

“There are other agents but I do not know them. There should be at least three inside the city.” She replied.

I scratched my head. “We need a better way to find them.”

“If I might ask, how did you free me?” The woman asked.

“She ate the magic, like the glutton she is. You should see her at a buffet.” Lucy teased.

“I did not eat the magic, my spell did.” I clarified. “By the way, who are you?”

“Oh, I apologise! My name is Martha. I was an infiltrator. Unfortunately, I did a bit too well. I overheard a noble plotting a rebellion and reported it to my superior. They congratulated me. When I took the offered drink I passed out. The next thing I remember is pain. A lot of it. I am not sure how long I endured but in the end I was their slave. After that I received some training in assassination. Once the civil war started I was deployed in the field.”

“Do you know how many they control? Or who is behind it?” I asked.

She frowned. “What do you mean? It is the Inquisition who is responsible. There are two high inquisitors left, I am not sure if they have chosen a third again. And I do not know how many they control, my apologies.”

“There is someone else pulling the strings. Those mind control runes use soul magic. While you are now free they could reactivate those runes if they capture you.” I warned her.

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Her eyes grew wide. “That… is disturbing. Is there a way to change that? A cure?”

“We are working on it.” Lucy replied. “Sadly, only Amaya can free people, for now.”

“I am willing to help!” Martha offered.

“Thanks but the people working on it are not here. For now you can help with information. Anything you know about their hideouts, agents, abilities,...” I said.

“Did you see any succubi?” Lily asked.

“I do not think so, but they could have been shapeshifted.” She replied.

“What about demons in general?” I asked.

“The Inquisition has made more use of them recently. Ever since they started the plan to take over Iron Rock it became somewhat accepted. I know they use them as scouts, sometimes as assassins. They have also used them to frame people. They pretend someone is a demonologist and arrest them when in truth they placed the demons there.”

“Was there no objection? What about the more devout followers?” I wondered.

“They ranged from outraged to: The end justifies the means. Some told themselves demons were simply a tool. Or that the enemies of the Empire deserved to be devoured by them. Others objected. They either vanished or changed their mind.” She explained.

“They probably used them as test subjects.” Lucy mused.

“I wonder why that paladin was still loyal. If he was controlled there should have been no reason to keep him in the dark. And if not, how could he miss all of this?” I wondered.

Martha’s eyes widened. “Paladin? You mean Sir Francis? He is here?”

“Yes. We gave him to Lilith. She is gathering information.” I said.

“You… you gave Sir Francis to a demon lord?” She asked.

“He did try to kill us.” Lucy pointed out.

“His companions died. Except for that mage, who became a cloud of smoke. Actually, do you know anything about him?” I asked.

“He was supposed to be the communications expert. He was relaying orders from the high inquisitors.” She replied.

“Has anyone seen those high inquisitors recently? Are they still around?” Lucy wondered.

“I am not sure. They should be leading the army against Unitera. I would expect them to be there.” Martha said.

“Maybe Sergeant Rudolph knows more. Shall I apprehend him?” Lily asked.

“Go. You can take Shani, if you want backup.” I suggested.

Lily nodded, then left.

“I… Could I make a request?” Martha asked.

“What is it?” I inquired.

“I would like to see Sir Francis. If he has been deceived, maybe I can help. I am proof of those runes.” She said.

“I have no objection but you will need to ask Lilith. But I have my doubts that he was ever a decent person.” I replied.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because he seems to dislike non-humans.” Lucy replied. “He might not be aware who he is serving but his real beliefs are not much better either.”

“I understand.” Martha said but she sounded unconvinced. I was not sure what her personal beliefs were. So far she had not insulted Lily, or Lucy. At least she seemed to be ok around them. But the thought led me to a problematic question. What if we freed someone who was hostile? Eventually we would meet the true zealots. I suppose we could just set them free, as long as they behaved. I did not need them to agree with us, just to not cause problems.

“So, something occurred to me.” Lucy said. “Dalroc and Loriel are still talking with the duke, right? What are the odds that they are getting attacked?”

“They have guards. And they are quite powerful. Iris is there too and Lily is on the way to arrest this sergeant. They should be fine.” I replied.

“They tried to poison us. How resistant are they to poison?” Lucy asked.

“Damn, I have no idea.” I replied, getting worried. “Ok, let’s go back.”