Validus was tired. He worked anyway. He always worked, even when there wasn’t anything to do. Because there was always something to do. If you don’t see a problem, find one, they’re everywhere. The only issue with that, was Validus knew about a problem, and a pretty big one at that, but he couldn’t do anything about it. No, that wasn’t right, he could do something about it he just didn’t know how. Shuka the witch was gone and he had no idea where she was. Somehow, some of the best trackers in the Celestial Empire had failed to find her. Aurulin had told him that her tracks were being hidden magically and she had a very powerful ward against divinations on her. The ward made sense, she was travelling with the daughter of the archmage of artifice, she was sure to be protected well, but how did the witch hide her tracks? It would take more than simple illusions to trick the empire's best trackers, and devious though she may be, Validus was not impressed with her magical capabilities.
It must have been that mage that was with her, but who is he? And why is he helping Shuka? I had thought she was gathering her allies through magical charms, but a mage of his calibre wouldn’t be so easily enchanted. Servianna’s daughter would also be warded against charms, wouldn't she? So how is she enlisting their help? Deception? Blackmail?
It was a question he didn’t know how to find an answer for, but luckily for him, he wasn’t alone in this endeavour. There was a knock on the door to the Grand Paladins office, and after Validus informed the person on the other side they could enter, the door opened. Aurulin walked into the office with a polite and demure demeanour, bowed slightly to Validus and then began to speak.
“Stars guide us Grand Paladin. I would request a moment of your time, if you would be willing to speak with me.”
“Of course high priestess, what is it you would like to talk about.”
As he spoke, Validus pressed a rune hidden on the underside of his desk that activated the privacy wards of the room to prevent spying. Sound would not reach the outside, anything invisible would be highlighted with a magical glow, scrying of any kind was prevented, and many more magical effects, most of which he had forgotten. In truth, Validus rarely even used his office, let alone its privacy functions, but Aurulin had insisted he had it on for their every conversation. Immediately the priestesses posture changed, from a shy girl in front of her superior an irritated punk about to mug a man in a back alley. It was quite at odds with her ceremonial robes covered in religious iconography, but Validus was starting to get used to it. She stomped over to a chair, fell into it with the posture of a rebellious teen, and dumped a stack of papers Validus didn’t even see her take out onto his desk.
“So I got some info on Shuka’s two newest friends, but it aint fuckin much.”
“Well at least it’s something, I was worried you were bringing me bad news.”
“Oh just you fuckin wait, I am. But read the document first.”
So he did. It was only a handful of papers and Validus had gotten plenty of practice reading since he became the Grand Paladin, so it didn’t take long. The first thing noted in the document was that both Shuka and Maryam grew up in the Vondoom Orphanage located in Rainsburg. Xorvos, the quanso, had also lived in the small village since he was young and Aurulin theorized they were all childhood friends. It made sense to Validus, he had originally assumed the quanso had been charmed by Shuka, but that seemed less likely the longer he chased them. Charms were hard to maintain long-term, and Shuka didn’t seem to have the magical expertise to keep one up for months. Maryam's mother probably protected her from such things, so trickery and emotional manipulation were Shuka’s only real avenues for gaining allies. The document then went into ‘Ralisdor’ the mage that they encountered in Lancrin. Apparently, it took Aurulin a bit to even find his name. He was a freelance illusionist that nobles and merchants would hire to decorate and entertain for their parties. He had a suspiciously blank background though, and only took on a few rare jobs, indicating it was likely a fake persona created by someone else. The real interesting part was that around three years ago Ralisdor retired and moved to Rainsburg of all places where he took on an apprentice. Shuka.
“Shuka is this Ralisdor’s apprentice? Or is that also some sort of cover for him?”
“Nah, I think that’s legit. Your witch has the competence of a wet sock, he’s probably the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.”
“You think the mage is the mastermind behind this whole thing?” Validus asked incredulously. “That seems a bit far-fetched don’t you think?”
Aurulin rolled her eyes, obviously about to go on some insulting tirade, when she, and Validus too, heard the faint sound of approaching footsteps. Immediately, she fixed her posture to sit in her chair properly and put on the most innocent and polite face she had. A moment later the sound of metal against wood rang out in the office as someone wearing a metal gauntlet pounded against the door. Validus sighed, there was only one man who dared risk damaging his door with such aggressive knocking. The door was enchanted and unlikely to sustain damage even from a directed assault, but that was beside the point. Validus deactivated the privacy enchantments so the man outside his office could hear him, and then called out, trying his best not to let his displeasure show in his voice.
“I am in a meeting Kreivos, is it important?”
Kreivos, the only man it could have been, answered in a deep and intense voice that did not know how to whisper.
“IT IS.”
Validus expected that answer, for all the flaws that Kreivos had, and he had many, he did not waste time with petty issues.
“Then you may enter.”
The door opened, it automatically locked and unlocked with the activation and deactivation of the privacy enchantments, and in walked Kreivos. He was a mountain of a man, clad entirely in well-worn metal with only his face showing through his helmet. It wasn’t some standard issue set of armour though. The set Kreivos wore was enchanted and had channels cut into it through which an eternal source of oil flowed. The oil stuck to the armour rather than make a mess everywhere he went, but more importantly, it was lit with the right white holy flame of Humanus. Always. Validus had never seen Kreivos outside of his iconic armor and he had never seen that armor not burning with pure white fire. He knew that it hurt the man who wore it too, and the flame of Humanus was far harsher than mundane fire. The pain was how Kreivos showed his devotion as a paladin of Humanus, and if he didn’t feel it, what was the point? Validus had a different opinion on the matter, and the two paladins often had arguments of faith, among other things. Kreivos stomped up to Validus’ desk, all but ignoring Aurulin, and slammed his hands on its surface. The flames licked dangerously close to some very important papers, but neither paladin was worried. Holy flame only burned flesh.
“SEND ME AFTER THE WITCH.”
“Kreivos, we don’t know where the witch is. While I respect your strength in combat, there is not much either of us can do until she is found.”
“SHE IS WITHIN THE CITY, I CAN FEEL IT. MY FLAMES BURN WITH THE DESIRE TO KILL, AND HER CORRUPTED SOUL WILL FEED THEIR RAVENOUS HUNGER.”
She’s in Sidus? No, Kreivos’ hunches have been wrong before. Still, I can't ignore this. Sending him is dangerous though. Shuka is surely evil, and that mage is likely fully complicit as well, but I feel like Xorvos and Maryam are being tricked. Kreivos would kill them all, and anyone else who might be in his way.
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“If they are in the city then I will search for her myself, but you have a tendency to cause… collateral damage in public area’s.”
“MY FLAMES HAVE YET TO KILL AN INNOCENT. THEIR PAIN IS WORTH HER DEATH.”
I wonder how many of those innocents would agree with you.
“Your methods aren’t subtle, if you start interrogating people for her whereabouts it might spook her and cause her to go into hiding. Now that I know she is within Sidus I will focus my attention here. Once her exact location is found, I will call upon you to aid me in her arrest.”
“IN HER DEATH, NOT ARREST. THERE IS AN IREDEEMABLE EVIL WITHIN OUR WALLS THAT IS DESERVING OF ONLY ONE PUNISHMENT.”
“Fine. But stay your blade from her companions, I have reason to believe they are being tricked.”
“THEN THEY BEAR THE SIN OF ALLOWING THEMSELVES TO BE DECEIVED BY EVIL. I WILL NOT ALLOW THEM TO STOP MY JUSTICE.”
It sounded bad, but Validus knew that was the best he was going to get.
Surely the sin of being deceived is not worthy of death. I will just have to hope it isn’t, even if I ordered him Kreivos follows his own rules. I would rather not bring him at all, but leaving him to his own devices would probably be worse.
“If that is all Kreivos, then you are dismissed. May Humanus guide you.”
“MAY HUMANUS GUIDE YOU.”
Kreivos pounded his fist against his chest plate in a salute and then turned and strode to the door of his office with intensity. Before he left though, he turned his head and gave one last remark to Validus.
“IF YOU FAIL TO STOP THE WITCH, I WILL CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE POSITION OF GRAND PALADIN ONCE MORE. YOUR STRENGTH IS GREAT, BUT YOUR WILL IS WEAK, I WILL NOT FAIL A SECOND TIME.”
The door slammed closed and Validus could hear the heavy sound of the paladin's footsteps fade away. Validus reactivated the privacy enchantments and Aurulin wasted no time letting her thoughts be known.
“Fucking freak. Asshole just wants your title so he doesn’t have to pay a fine every time he ‘accidentally’ kills a petty thief.”
“He believes his cause is righteous. And he has only ever killed murderers, even if they lacked a death sentence.”
“Only because he knows how much he can get away with. That all changes if he becomes the Grand Paladin. He will go after anyone who is any less than his stupidly strict definition of pure and have absolute immunity while he does it. You may not be liked, but everyone hates him.”
It was hard to argue against her, Validus had his own worries about his fellow paladin. But he also knew that the Grand Paladin was no mundane governmental position held up by law alone. It was blessed by the gods themselves, and could not be held by any they did not accept. If Kreivos truly was fueled by his dark desires alone, no amount of won duels would grant him the position.
“Earlier you said you had some bad news for me Aurulin. What is it?”
“Oh, so you finally remembered how everything’s going to shit? Good job.”
“Just tell me what’s wrong already.”
“Fine, here’s the deal. Mervil told me to drop the Shuka case, he said he has something else he wants me working on.”
Something else? What could be more important than dealing with this witch? He knows she is likely planning on summoning demons, why is he interfering now? He could have just denied me when I requested more resources a few days ago. Is this a political decision? Or does he really not believe in the danger of the situation?
“Can’t you deny him?”
“Not really. Your dumbass privilege as the Grand Paladin means you’re outside his authority, but he’s my direct superior. I could tell him to fuck off, but I don’t really have much room to argue if he decides to put his foot down.”
“Why is he interfering now though? Do you know what this more important thing he wants you working on even is, or is he just making an excuse to deprive me of an ally?”
“Well, some bullshit’s actually going down. I don’t know the specifics, but a few days ago Mervil took Frederick and had a little chat with Asheli about something real hush hush. Even most of the thieves guild members don’t know the details, and what they do know they're not snitching on.”
“Frederick is involved too? I know the two of them are friends, but Mervil doesn’t normally take him to his meetings, does he?”
“Nope. Whatever’s going on, it requires the expertise of the idiot savant himself. Probably something to do with the perfect dual alignment happening in a few days.”
There’s a perfect alignment in a few days? Could Shuka be planning something then as well?
“Who is the alignment between?”
“Gnollan and Varkos.”
Unity and war… it’s a good alignment for armies. Maybe that means Shuka will try to summon a mass of demons rather than one particularly powerful one. I can’t imagine what Mervil is planning with it though.
“So what do you plan on doing?” Validus asked.
“Well, the big boss man just called me, of course I’ve got to answer. He never said anything about who else I could bring though. I’m meant to be meeting Mervil at the thieves guild in an hour, and I want you to come with me. You just gotta promise to play nice in the guild, okay?”
“I know your opinion of me is low, but at least think better of me than that. I may not like Asheli and her people, but I’m no Kreivos.”
“You keep him around though. You could have kicked that psychopath out ages ago, you wouldn’t even need to make an excuse. Just say ‘You’ve gone too far this time’ and then he can fuck off to somewhere else.”
It was true, Validus knew. He had both the authority and the reason to banish Kreivos from the paladin order. But it wasn’t so simple for him.
“Aurulin, how many paladins do you think are in my order. Not squires, but full paladins.”
“Two dozen? Three?”
“Twenty-three paladins.”
“So what, you gonna whine about how you’re undermanned?”
“Yes I am, because if our historical records are to be trusted, eight hundred years ago when this empire was founded there were thousands of paladins, each with multiple squires assisting them. Half the paladins now don’t even have one squire, I don’t even have a squire.”
“Eight hundred years ago this land had more demons in it than humans, of course paladin was a popular occupation.”
Validus knew she was right, there was a much greater need for divine warriors during the Celestial Crusade, but he still felt all the good he didn’t have the manpower to do, and all the evil he wasn’t prepared enough for.
“The reason I have yet to banish Kreivos from the Celestial Empire, is because if Shuka succeeds, or any other nefarious evil doer, he will be the first man on the front lines. In times of peace he may be… unpleasant, but one day he will be needed. We may be approaching that day right now.”
Aurulin just spat onto the pristine floorboards, a look of disdain still covering her face.
“That fucker better die a hero then cuz I’m one more fuckup away from shanking him in an alley, and I’m not the only one.”
“Trust me, the moment he goes too far I will ensure he will meet proper repercussions. I am prepared to strip him of his rank and banish or arrest him, and he is on thin ice.”
“He’s been on thin ice for a decade, and that ice is never going to break. He knows how to play this game, ‘too far’ isn’t going to happen until he is the one who decides what ‘too far’ is.”
“Aurulin enough! I understand your concerns, but I have to trust my brother in arms to do the right thing.”
“Tch.”
Aurulin roughly got up from her chair, letting it tumble to the floor carelessly, anger and frustration clear on her face.
“Everyone is someone's trusted brother, even the assholes. Sometimes, you just gotta tell your brother to fuck off.”
*
Kreivos had his orders from the Grand Paladin. He was duty-bound to follow them. But the Grand Paladin was weak. The witch would not escape justice. He could not interrogate, but Kreivos had no intention to. He had no victims with the information he desired. Evil had a scent, one Kreivos knew well. The city was awash with it. Vile thievery, opulent corruption, and weak minds in power making weak decisions. Kreivos could sense it all, each evil unique in its own nauseating way. But today he hunted a witch. The scent of witchcraft was muddled though, by one of Asheli’s vermin. Melia. Kreivos longed to see her head on a pike, but she was favoured by the Ashen Hand. One day, all the scum of the thieves guild would burn in holy flame, but that day was not today. The witch’s goal was to summon demons. A familiar fate the empire had faced before. Too familiar. For sixty seven years a gate to hell had been open in the very city the paladin stood in. Nearly eight centuries had passed since it was closed, but even still, the stench of the infernal remained. He would not find her through her hellish desires. But she was not alone. A quanso, a mage, and a draconist. The quanso surely reeked of broken honour and wretched deception, but the guild of thieves had such a scent in droves. The mage Kreivos was sure was filled to the brim with sin, but what sin exactly, he could not know. The draconist however, bore the blood of dragons and their tyranny. It was faint, and he had to search for it, but it was there. No other draconists lived within Sidus, and only a handful of dragons were even found outside of Draconia. It had to be the witch's companion. Her life would be spared, he did have his orders, but she would pay dearly for her transgressions. All of them would, but the one named Shuka most of all.