What stood out most about the buildings in Fort Nordric was the age of the grand buildings. It was easy to tell which were remnants from before the War of the Firmament. The stone had a yellow hue to it, and they were usually circular in shape. The Wizard’s Society was no different. It was a massive series of buildings connected by a number of outdoor walkways. From the black iron gates where Hump stood, he saw a garden busy with people chatting, and a large training courtyard with wizards practicing their spellcasting.
His invitation had specified that the Inquisition was located somewhere on the complex. Hump almost expected someone to stop him as he entered the grounds, but nobody did. Nishari followed at his side, taking in everything with the curiosity of a child, her eyes wide and flicking everywhere. When they approached anything new, she’d race ahead of him and start sniffing before looking back at him as if asking why he was walking so slow.
It was mid-morning, and perhaps thirty people made their way through the grounds, most of them on the younger side of him. Through the windows, Hump saw lecture halls full of wizards of all ages, though again, most seemed younger. He’d not heard much about the schooling in Fort Nordric, but it seemed to be extensive. It made sense, of course. Where better to educate a large population of wizards than the front line of the Fallen Lands. No doubt they would see much combat.
He followed the stone walkways to the rear of the grounds and did his best to ignore the many eyes that glanced his way. They whispered and chatted excitedly, clearly recognising him. Each time someone looked her way, Nisha exploded with excitement through their bond, desperate to sprint at them and say hello. Fortunately, her training had come far enough now that she could contain herself.
A group of girls about his age laughed when he caught them staring, one of them waving. Hump pretended not to see and continued.
Play? Nisha thought.
No. Later.
She dragged her feet and let out a huff in protest.
Once we’re done here, I promise.
A couple of minutes later, Hump reached his destination. The House of the Inquisition was clearly old, though it lacked the yellow stone and roundness of much of the estate. Instead, the building was castle-like, with tall, grey stone walls and murder holes out of reach above. A gate gave access to the inner courtyard, where a guard was stationed outside.
“Wizard Humphrey?” the man asked as Hump approached.
Unlike everyone else Hump had seen on the estate, the guard had a longsword at his hip, and was armoured in steel plate. He didn’t need to look closely to tell it was enchanted. Runes formed patterns over the armour, filled with faint essence.
“What gave it away?” Hump asked, trying to keep a straight face as Nisha stretched her head as far forward as she could to sniff at the guard, without stepping in front of Hump.
The guard’s eyes went to Nishari and he chuckled. “Lucky guess, sir. Inquisitor Sarielle is waiting for you in her office.”
“Are dragons allowed inside?”
“Our rules regarding dragons are a little undeveloped. Go right on ahead.” He opened the door, revealing a large reception room decorated with paintings and a lavish woven rug. “Follow the hall and then it’s the first door on the left. The inquisitor’s name is on the door, you won’t miss it.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, sir. Good luck.”
Hump followed the hallway, looking at the few paintings on the walls. It was scarcely decorated, and incomparable to the rest of the Wizard’s Society branch. If anything, it was as if they’d tried to make it as bland as they could. Hump found the door and knocked twice.
“Enter.”
The door creaked open and inside Hump found Inquisitor Sarielle sat alone. A number of letters lay across her desk. She looked up from them and gave him a tense smile, her face framed by hair that hung in ringlets past her shoulders. “Ah, Wizard Humphrey, so glad you could make it. And you brought the rumoured dragon! She is magnificent, truly.”
Nisha sauntered into the room, her tail wagging with excitement. Hump had to hold back a little of his own excitement as he gazed over the many shelves along the walls of Sarielle’s office, each of them packed with artifacts and essence stones. There were crystals as large as his fist, one had the colours of the four main elements, all of them shifting within as if constantly battling for dominance. He passed a small picture with a person actually waving inside, the movement making it appear almost real.
“These artifacts are amazing,” Hump said.
“One finds themselves in possession of many magical artifacts when they work in a position like mine. I’ve taken to collecting them. Please.” She gestured to a seat opposite her.
Hump leant in closer to look at a miniature wooden elephant. It shook its head and looked at him, trunk twisting.
“That one was created by an artisan from Hubaan, in the south. A number of them were being smuggled into Alveron and one ended up in my hands.”
“Does it do anything?”
“It looks good on my shelf. I don’t ask it for more.”
Hump took his seat. “Certainly does the job.”
“Now, forgive the hurry but today has suddenly become very busy for me,” Sarielle said. “I hope you don’t mind if we get right to what you have for me.”
Hump removed a cloth pouch from his bag and placed it on the table, unravelling it to reveal the dungeon node inside.
“It’s a bit on the small side,” Hump said. “I think we got to it during the early stages of its development.”
The woman leant forward, studying it closely. “It’s perfect. Better than the others we have. Much better. We have one other with a few of the tendrils intact, and they were not cut with this proficiency.”
“The credit for that goes to my party member,” Hump said. “I was a little preoccupied at the time. I presume you’ve heard of our encounter?”
“Word reached me, yes. Sounds like you had a close call.”
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“Closer than expected on a quest like this, but we made it back.”
“That you did, and with a prize to show for it. This is more than enough for us to go ahead with our arrangement. You’ll be granted access to our full collection of spellbooks and be welcome to pick. In exchange for this, we’re willing to offer a Tier 6 spell and two Tier 5 spells. Beyond that, I’m afraid you will need to pay the same amount as our inquisitors.”
“That’s more than satisfactory,” Hump said. Hump glanced at the node—it lacked the strength of a dungeon core and the lustre of an essence stone. “What’s your interest in the dungeon nodes?”
“Unfortunately, that’s still inquisitor business.”
“Then if you don’t mind me asking a different question,” Hump said, “does your interest in them have anything to do with the artificial dungeon cores the warlocks used to attack Sheercliff City?” Hump laid his staff across his lap, lifting the focus crystal slightly. “Cores like the one on my staff.”
Sarielle narrowed her eyes. “That’s a very specific question.”
“I know that the one that leads the warlocks has power over plants like the Trees of Damnation we saw in Sheercliff, and I saw the strange fungi this node grew from. It’s not a massive leap in logic to consider a connection between the two powers.”
“No, it’s not. In fact, it’s a leap I’ve made myself.”
“The reason I bring it up is that my party informed me that warlocks are suspected of being behind the demons that infiltrated the fortress during the assault. If the same warlocks are active here, I want to be involved.”
She tapped the long nail of her forefinger on her desk. “And why should I speak with you of any of this? This information is not for the public. Only a small circle even knows about the theory.”
“I’ve dealt with them before,” Hump said. “I’ve seen how deep their influence lies. Lord Ferrand of Sheercliff was in their pocket, along with dozens of other nobles and people of influence.”
“You’re suggesting there could be traitors in our midst?”
Hump frowned, caught off guard at the question. “Yes, and I’m sure this isn’t a sentiment unfamiliar to you.”
She sighed. “No. Unfortunately, it is not. But I’m still struggling to see how you fit into all this. Do you want to join the Inquisition now? Because Inquisitor Latris told me she already made you an offer that you refused. I’ll be frank, part of my instructions are to win you over to the Inquisition. The offer still stands…” she must have seen something on Hump’s face as she trailed off. “You’re after something else, aren’t you?”
Hump nodded. “My position on the Inquisition remains unchanged.”
“Then what do you want? Before me sits a young man in a position many would envy—a hero by many accounts; a person desired by various guilds and organisations, my own amongst them; and yet you remain an outsider. I’ve seen people like you before. Do you know what they have in common?”
“What?”
“They’re all hiding something.”
Hump met Inquisitor Sarielle’s eyes with an impassive face, doing his utmost to give nothing away. The truth was, he had much to hide. Not to mention his spellbook, but his relationship with the Inquisition was hardly good. Inquisitor Eliana had been behind the death of his master, and she’d been trained by the same man that had betrayed his master at Elenvine Academy. Gods knew how deep the warlock infiltration went.
“I want to work with you to uncover these warlocks,” Hump said. “It’s as simple as that.”
“You don’t deny it then?”
“I see no need to comment on it. Do you need more of a reason than the fact I want to help defeat evil people? I’ve seen what they’re capable of. They intended to sacrifice the lives of an entire city for their purpose, and that’s just the beginning. I don’t want to see that happen here, and I certainly don’t want to see what comes next if their plan succeeds.”
“And what do you know of their plan?”
Hump couldn’t tell if she was acting ignorant of the Seal of Osidium that the warlocks had destroyed or truly didn’t know. Starrick had said it had been the second, which meant that there were more. Either way, it wasn’t his place to give such information away. “I don’t believe I’m permitted to say.”
“There is no inquisitor of higher authority than I in Fort Nordric.”
“Exactly,” Hump said. “Which means either you know and are testing me, or you don’t and were intentionally not informed.”
Sarielle let out a long sigh. “You’re certainly an interesting young man. You’d do well as an inquisitor. You’ve got the right mind for it. It’s a path few wizards are well suited to. Often, a very dark one, full of evil and betrayal, but do you know why I do it?”
Hump shrugged. “I could guess at a few reasons.”
“To protect wizards,” she answered for him. “There is a growing contempt for wizards across Alveron, even more so in places seeing war like Fort Nordric. At every turn, warlocks appear involved, and that reflects poorly on the rest of us. There is a threshold we cannot cross if we are to hold onto the rights we have as citizens of Alveron today. For every warlock scheme that succeeds, we’re one step closer to crossing it. To returning to the days where wizards were hunted by followers of the Pantheon and burned at the stake. The reason I do this is to ensure that never happens again. What is it you fight for, Wizard Humphrey?”
It was an admirable motivation, and not one Hump expected from an inquisitor. He’d always seen them as a brutal enforcement unit, there to hunt down wizards that went beyond some superficial barrier, but he supposed the true job of the Inquisition was to keep wizards in line so that the Pantheon didn’t become involved.
“My ambition is far from anything so grand,” Hump said. “My party are my family. Two of them are Chosen, here on King Henry’s orders. Another is a martial from a noble family—again, she cannot leave. We are to join the expedition to the Infernal Halls soon, and my own theory is that if the warlocks and demons are indeed working together, then the expedition will surely be a target. I want to keep my family safe.”
Sarielle rested her elbows on the table and interlocked her fingers. She held his eyes for a long few seconds. “You seem honest, which is good. I can certainly empathise with your desire to protect your party, and I can’t deny that the expedition has been identified as a vulnerability. I am certainly keen on working with you—this private meeting should be evidence of that alone—but there’s a problem that’s very difficult to move past. How can I trust a rogue wizard to act in the city with so many eyes already on us? My reputation is already on the line.”
Hump paused, thinking. Nisha looked at him, seeming to pick up on the tension in the room. “You don’t have to trust me in the city. I’m sure there are many wizards more knowledgeable and powerful than me active within these walls. What I want is information. In exchange, my party will use our experience to identify any schemes that may evolve in the expedition.”
“Are you implying that you would not do so if I do not provide this information? I’m well aware of your arrangement with Countess Daston and Lady Marcela.”
“No, but it would certainly make things easier if we were on the same page.”
“An interesting proposition.” She raised her voice and said, “What do you think?”
The door opened, and a man with black hair speckled with grey entered the chamber, chilling blue eyes finding Hump.
“Wizard Aldric,” Hump said, a sinking feeling in his stomach. The same man that had clearly been suspicious of him when they’d met at the gathering hosted by Count Daston. This was an intentional ambush.
“He’s alright,” Aldric said. “A bit immature, but I think we can work with him.”
“You were spying on me?” Hump said.
“Apologies for the surprise,” Aldric said. “But we must be careful with who we grant Tier 6 spells to. Even more so when they start probing for classified information.” He gave Sarielle a pointed look.
“It was unexpected for me too,” she said. “I didn’t expect him to connect the dungeon nodes and the artificial cores. He’ll be a valuable asset.”
Aldric glanced at Hump, looking him up and down. “I’m not ready to say yet.”
“Not sure I like where this is going,” Hump said. “This is underhanded, even for inquisitors.”
“Revealing myself now was a courtesy,” Aldric said. “If we wanted to spy on you, you’d never know. And I’m no inquisitor. Sarielle, I’ll take him from here. Thank you.”
She eyed him suspiciously but nodded. “Understood. I’m sure we will speak again soon, Wizard Humphrey. Appreciate your time.”
That brief exchange was enough for Hump to tell who was truly in charge here.
“This attitude isn’t working for me,” Hump said. “I owe you nothing, Wizard Aldric. Why should I go with you?”
“I’d like to have a bit of a chat, wizard to wizard. Along the way, you’ll get your spellbooks.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Why don’t we start with your encounter with the greater demon. Primarily, I just want to know if I can trust you. Hard to find a man that can be trusted these days. You might even learn something along the way.”
“Like what?”
“Well, your assumptions were good, but you missed something obvious.”
“What’s that?”
“The warlocks didn’t just help the demons breach the city. We suspect that the Infernal Halls itself is a dungeon created by the warlocks. We are fighting a war on two fronts, my young wizard friend, one of which is within our own walls.”