Offilo felt as if he had been warped in the thickest wool known to mankind. There was a welcoming warmth and the promise of forgetful bliss, but at the same time he felt lost and alone. Slow, the strange feeling lessened until he found himself in the streets of Eldebourg like a sleepwalker.

The sun was rising above the horizon, while the cold of the night lingered in the shadows. For a moment, Offilo was almost convinced that he had been dreaming and truly sleepwalking, but he couldn’t convince himself of it. Something he wasn’t certain about if it was good or bad. Still, he needed to return to Duodecum.

Finding his way back to castle Eldebourg turned out to be quite the journey. Despite the whole structure looming over the city, it could only be accessed through one path. And to reach that he had to circle the castle hill, which meant crossing more than half the city.

On his path, Offilo came across only a few of the inhabitants, who minded their own business. He didn’t bother with them either and huddled into his cloak. By doing so, he imagined the ring Veduca had given him to coil tighter around his left ring-finger. It seemed almost like an ill omen, but Offilo chalked it up to his nerves. Best not to draw any undue attention to the ring, he thought and walked a little faster.

He entered the castle grounds without opposition. Once more, looking at the crater, Offilo couldn’t help but stop. It was clear proof that things vastly outclassing him or any other ordinary human being for that matter. While he had never bothered to think about it, now he became aware of how little his actions mattered considering the stakes at play. But that was before he asked his master’s enemies for help. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so bright and feasible to spy on the Divine Lord as it had been sitting in front of Veduca.

“There you are”, said someone beside him.

Offilo flinched away and almost fell over his own feet. Luckily, he didn’t tumble into the crater. A small consolation considering how close he was now to one of the Dark Priests. It was enough to make him queasy. The hood managed to hide the mangled corpse underneath, but Offilo thought he could still sense it.

“Lord Duodecum was worried about you”, the man continued. “He ordered me to scout the city for you, but I didn’t find you until you entered this courtyard. Where have you been?”

“I-I was… I was investigating some rumours”, he stammered and fought the urge to touch Veduca’s ring through his glove. “I-inside the Merry Boar I-inn.”

“You weren’t at the inn when we looked.”

His heart stopped for a second. “That’s because I managed to trace their path to an abandoned house.”

“You found them?”, asked the Priest as cold as ice and inched closer — too close.

“N-no”, Offilo lied and backed away. “I didn’t.”

The Priest inched even closer and made a sound as if he were sniffing him. Offilo felt as if he was mere seconds away from getting gutted. But after a moment the Dark Priest retreated almost animal-like and watched him weary.

“Go and make a detailed report to Lord Duodecum”, the Priest said, thoughtful. “He’ll then decide any further actions.”

“Yes!”, he replied tense. “Where is he?”

“Lord Duodecum always resides in the throne room”, he answered, still much too thoughtful for Offilo’s taste. “And don’t forget to mention the spell, which has been cast on you.”

“Spell!?”, he squeaked.

“Yes”, the Priest said, deadly calm. “Spell. It was one which addled your mind, so you’ll be forgiven your obliviousness, but you won’t be forgiven your tardiness. Make haste.”

Without stretching the monstrous priest’s patience further, he immediately headed into the castle and down the corridors towards the throne room. In front of the open door, he hesitated. What was he going to tell the lord of the castle? He doubted a lie would suffice, but it was all he could do.

“Come in”, said Duodecum inside, his voice reverberating in the air despite their softness.

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Offilo swallowed hard and entered the throne room with stiff legs. It’s too late to run, he told himself. As if I could run…

Duodecum sat on the throne below the tattered banner of the former lord of Eldebourg. He looked more like a statue than a living being. The remaining chairs, formerly occupied by members of the court were empty and collected already some dust.

“You have returned”, he said as Offilo walked with clear reluctance towards him.

A second later the entrance closed on its own with, accompanied by the soft yet to Offilo incredible loud click of the lock sliding into place.

“I’m aware of the magic, which touched you”, the Knight continued in a low voice. “Spells altering the mind can only be reversed by the strongest of mages. Often to the detriment of the one who suffered them. Our creator is aware of your situation and has advised that you shall not suffer because of it.”

Offilo couldn’t speak. His throat became so tight even breathing seemed near impossible.

“My creator has also ordered me to not prod into your mind”, Duodecum continued. “As you still did what was asked of you. You did well and found our master’s enemies. As such, I’ll send you back to Gabáuan, where you’ll be rewarded.”

“Wait!”, Offilo blurted out and made a step forwards as if he could stop what Duodecum seemed to have already decided. “What will happen now?”

“That’s none of your concern”, he answered and stood up.

“B-but I don’t even know where I was put under the spell!”, Offilo argued and stepped away from him. “How can you know?”

“That’s true, I don’t know where the spell was put on you but because they let you out within city walls, we do know they’re still here”, he indulged him amused. “Searching this place will take its time without using a lot of magic, but it’s easier than scouting the whole dukedom or even kingdom. Luck is on our side.”

Luck. Involuntary, Offilo thought once more of the crater. This wasn’t luck. It seemed that God himself wanted all of this to happen. But if He let everything happen… If He even punished one of his angels… What was the goal? What was His reasoning? What could someone like Offilo do? Could he even make a change?

“A test of faith…”, murmured Offilo without thinking.

“What was that?”, asked Duodecum intrigued, which caused him to flinch.

“N-nothing, Sire”, he replied with a nervous smile. “I feel tired.”

“I shall send you back to our master”, he said, and closed in on him.

Before Offilo could react, he found himself within a whirlwind and a heartbeat later inside the courtyard of Castle Gabáuan. Being trusted so suddenly in-between the looming towers made his mind twist and turn for a few moments before his gaze focused on the Ravendemon.

She sat on the ground a few feet in front of him with her back turned his way. To his confusion, she had her wings spread out in the sun, her feathers shining like the most expensive brocade in the world. But she had one wing pulled down as if she had no strength left in it. She seemed tired.

Uncertain if he should address her or head straight to the Divine Lord, Offilo hesitated. At the same time, he touched Veduca’s ring through his glove and wished he could immediately use it to warn her.

Suddenly, the demon shifted and pulled her wings back to look at him. Her expression was contemplative.

“You’ve returned”, she said without much enthusiasm and turned away as if she were already done with him.

“Y-yes!”, Offilo squeaked and moved closer to her. “How are you doing?”

“Better”, she replied and shifted slightly. “Stop blocking the sun.”

“Sorry!”, he said and moved away from her back.

In moving around her, he saw her partly mangled wing and the bandaged arm. While clearly painful, her mind seemed occupied by other things.

“What’s the matter with you?”, the demon asked suddenly and gave him a sinister look. “Aren’t you going to report to our master what you managed to find out?”

“Don’t you already know about everything? I think you could do a better job of explaining it to him than I.”

“I do, but I would rather not see this miserable pile of meat right now.”

“Did… Did he do something to you?”

“The fool insulted me. That’s all.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t look like it’s just that.”

At this, the demon let out an angry hiss and stood up. Even before she turned to face him, Offilo backed away, ready to beg for forgiveness if need be. But instead the Ravendemon just looked at him with an unreadable expression, her health wings dropping a few inches.

“Why do you bother?”, she asked and moved uncomfortably close while pulling her wings back up.

“Because… I don’t know”, he replied meek, and forced himself to stay where he was. “I want to help you, but I guess there’s ultimately nothing I could do.”

At this, the demon laughed. It was a gentle, genuine laugh, which caught Offilo by surprise.

“You’re quite the chivalrous type, aren’t you?”, she remarked, still amused. “Anyway. Our master didn’t harm me in a physical sense. I could easily break him if he even thought about doing so. No. I guess I just let my guard down, and he stumbled into the insult. In the end, I’m just as petty as he is. Now go and tell him about your findings and let me enjoy the sun a little longer. It won’t last.”

“Then I’ll better immediately go.”

“Yes. Do so.”

Without further testing the demon’s patience, Offilo headed into the castle. Upon entering, he regretted not to have asked the demon where he could find the Divine Lord. But returning to her also seemed out of the question, so he decided to head towards the throne room. If the Divine Lord wasn’t there, then he ought to be in his study. A room Offilo didn’t know the way to, but he hoped to ask Primus for directions, who was certainly inside the throne room.