Silence - Chapter 31

2/3

* * *

Two days passed on since Evie had stopped brooding in the rafters. Cal was happy for it, and for the fervor with which she pushed herself into combat training again. It had been lacking in the weeks since their arrival, and Cal finally felt like some semblance of normalcy had returned to their lives.

The jobs continued on as well, though they grew harder by the day. Already the offers had dried up by half, with too many dangerous beasts pushing toward Haarwatch, few were willing to risk their lives for a few silver. Her team were still taking as many as possible, still turning them in with the regularity of seasoned Guilders. The Elders might have thrown them from their roster, but they could not take away their Skills and years of training. Few could handle the increasing monster hordes as well as her people.

Cal stood atop their small slice of the Dust Quarter, the creak of corrugated iron loud beneath her shifting boots. The sun was rising, a time she loved more than any other. It reminded her of simpler times, when her biggest concerns were crawling out of a tavern or securing her next paying gig.

"Yyero's backside, this district is a hole," Harn muttered.

Cal smirked. "The Dust is aptly named. Few eyes turn to this place, out of habit or disdain."

"Either one's good for us," he grunted. "New jobs got posted. Yan and Kelgan checked the boards last glass, says there's three Elmination jobs."

"Tier II beasts?"

"Mhm. Leader types, heads of a smallish horde they say." Harn spat over the edge of the roof. His heavy metal boots made almost no noise against the iron. "We'll likely need to bring the heavy hitters on this one."

"Bodie, Yan, Kelgan, yourself, and...Vivianne, I'd say," she said. Then a thought occurred to her. "Oh, take Evie with you. She could use some more field experience, somethin' a bit more straight forward."

"Hm. One problem. Evie—" A shadow swept over them, as if a cloud had passed over the rising sun. Harn stopped dead, and Cal followed his gaze. "What's that?"

"Blood and ashes," she cursed. "Blood and burning ashes!" She gritted her teeth and watched as the shadow pushed beyond the sun and crossed the sky. "What in the Twin's name are they doing here?"

A banner flew from the Manaship's mast, a golden sunburst on a white and red background. Harn growled in recognition. "Inquisitors."

"A whole gods damned Manaship of them," Cal added. She watched as the craft scudded across the air, before docking smoothly with the topmost section of the Guild's Eyrie. "This can't be good."

Harn spat again. "Do we drop the jobs we took?"

Cal shook her head. "No, keep 'em up. Take more if we can. We need the silver to get out. If the Inquisition is here, I don't wanna be." She paused. "What were you saying about Evie?"

Harn drummed his fingers on the haft of his axe. "She can't come with us on that job."

"Why not?"

"Because she's already left," Harn said.

"What?" Cal narrowed her eyes. "Where?"


* * *


Evie tried to slip through the crowds and found herself flummoxed at every turn. People were everywhere in city center, packed to the gills and jostling for position along the main thoroughfare around the Guild tower. The tiered steps leading to the Eyrie were difficult enough to manage on a normal day. She groaned aloud, berating herself for the fourth or fifth time. Evie had expected to hide among the crowd so as not to be noticed approaching the Guild, but the crowds were beyond thick. Now she was packed tight as a priest's wallet, or an Elder's sense of superiority.

The ramps and steps wound, serpentine, around the crown of the city center and were typically crammed with tradesmen and porters moving materials hither and yon. Now, however, it was filled with men, women, and children all watching wide-eyed as the Inviolate Inquisition went on parade.

"Finally! The Pathless sent warriors to save us from the monstrosities!"

"Bah! The Guilders are already handling it," a grumpy voice decried.

"That's not what I hear," someone replied.

"Praise be the Light!"

The Inquisitors marched, all shiny and new in their white and silver armor. Technically they were only Acolytes, low level members of the order. Still, the early summer sun glinted off their armaments, near blinding folk, and their crimson cloaks flowed heroically in a steady breeze. Evie had lost track of how many had entered the city. She was fairly sure they were doing loops around the upper streets, just to impress people. She pushed forward, finally managing to enter the square before the Eyrie itself.

"Look! The Inquisitors!"

Cheers went up as someone stepped out onto a hastily erected stage near the fountain. It was packed with more of those redcloaks, though these had fancy swords and more elaborate chest pieces. Many of them didn't even wear the strange helmets the Acolytes did, instead bearing their grim faces to the world.

Lotta greybeards, she noted. Wasn't a single higher up younger than fifty, though all of them were physically fit enough to shame most Untempered folk. The benefits of money and powerful Essence Draughts. Evie slipped through more of the crowd, drawing on the weight of her chain to give her some more momentum. Folks started stepping away from her path, and some she didn't even have to jab in the ribs at all.

A tall man stepped out onto the stage, slender save for his bulky armor of white plate. The armor was far more ornate than the others, even the full-fledged Inquisitors, decorated with delicate gold filigree across the pauldrons, vambraces, and cuisses. A tunic edged in gold thread and emblazoned with a golden starburst across the chest finished the look, along with his bright red cloak thrown over one shoulder. A complicated helm was tucked beneath the man's right arm, displaying his hawkish features and greying temples. He smiled out into the crowd, and Evie felt his Spirit wash over her. Over everyone.

Soft sighs escaped those closest to the man, and applause soon followed. The man let it go on a while before raising a hand for silence. It fell immediately.  "People of Haarwatch. Countrymen. Loyal defenders of the Hierocracy! I am Lord Khorun Katan, Master Inquisitor of the Inviolate Inquisition, and I have heard from your leaders that trouble stalks your gates. The Foglands, long cloaked in mist and secrets, has unveiled itself...and monsters have come calling."

Mutters passed through the crowd, rippling around Evie like soft waves. She put her head down and tried to ignore it all. She pushed toward the Eyrie, toward the Archive.

"Your pleas for protection have been heard by the light and flame of the Pathless. The Hierophant herself has sent us to alleviate your worries! To cleanse the Foglands of all that is dark, foul, and impure." The man raised his hands and a shimmering, golden radiance descended upon him from the sky. The crowd squealed and cheered, but hushed a moment later. "We will restore this city and its lands to the faith! The true faith! And all of us shall be blessed by the light!"

At the last, the golden illumination spread outward, like a growing stain. Evie gasped as it fell on her like a physical force. It was Mana, she knew, and it swirled above and through the crowd, so thick and potent she could see the streamers of it dance across her face. Evie spat and flared her own core, weak though it was, and the sensation of dark ice in her veins pushed back the cloying heat. A little.

The one advantage of the Master Inquisitor's move was that Evie could easily slip through the dumbstruck townsfolk. Were she a dipper, a pickpocket, it would have been quite a haul; none struck by that light seemed to have presence of mind to move, let alone protect their valuables.

But, eventually, the light winked out. Evie stumbled, trapped between several broad shouldered laborers and washerwomen that roused from their stupor. She glanced at the stage, but the Master Inquisitor was already gone, as were all the others. The Acolytes still marched, but they appeared to be filing out into the city, the massive columns splitting and spreading down every street she could see.

"This ain't good," a Dwarf laborer remarked in a low voice. He was talking to another Dwarf and a Hobgoblin, both wearing the dusty jackets of stonehaulers. They eyed the redcloaks nervously. "Inquisition don't just show up to put on a parade."

"What do they do?" the Hobgoblin asked. His skin was almost as red as their cloaks, Evie noticed.

"Pathless is all about his three pillars, you know? Strength. Order. Purity. For Strength you got the Paladins. For Order you got the priesthood. But for Purity?" the Dwarf nodded at the shining white zealots. "You got them."

"Purity of what?"

"Of the Pathless," the other Dwarf said in a menacing tone. His lip curled beneath drooping mustaches. "They hunt down anyone what worships the old gods."

"Lotta people round here pay lip service to the old gods, not so many are goin' to temple for em," the Hobgoblin pointed out. "So why're they really here?"

"Resources," the first Dwarf said. "Here for the Foglands, right? They gotta be."

Evie shook her head and pressed on, eager to get away from nosy laborers and Inquisitors alike. It took another twenty minutes, but eventually she slipped into the Eyrie and down the marble steps to the Central Lobby. Guilders hustled here and there, lining up at various desks to turn in jobs or receive them. A bustling place, certainly, though it seemed busier than ever, like an overturned ant hill. Countless doors and hallways cut into the sides, leading to meeting chambers and even a communal bath. At the far end were the stairs, sweeping upward in grand arches to ascend the many levels of the Eyrie. Apart from all of that, the Lobby's space was dominated by a huge device hanging from the vaulted ceiling, suspended sixty paces up. Made of thick glass, brass gears, and more sand than she'd ever seen, it was a sandglass to beat all others.

"About time you showed up!" a voice hissed from a shadowed alcove. Evie looked over to find Atar, his robes done up all proper and his hair just so. He would've looked almost handsome had his face not been red and veiny. He stabbed at the sandglass above. "You're approaching an entire glass late! I had to duck out of plans with my team for this!"

Evie glanced about. No one was looking at her or him, so she casually walked to the side. "If you haven't noticed, we've got a parade on our hands. Didn't expect that to come, now did I?"

"No one did," Atar said. He shook his head. "The Elders are scrambling. They were not told the Order was coming here until they were docking at the Spire."

Evie chuckled. "Ooh, bet they loved that."

"You damn well know they didn't," Atar snapped. "Everyone's running around in a tizzy. And the Elders..." At this he grabbed Evie's arm, leading her into deeper shadow. "Elders are busy at least. We have to move now, or else lose what little advantage we have."

Evie nodded. "Lead on to the Archive, then."

"Don't you know the way?"

"Can't say as I've ever felt the need to read about stuff instead of doin' it," she said with a shrug. Atar's face screwed up incredulously and Evie hid a smile. The fire mage swiftly led the way to the back staircase and upward.


* * *


The Archive was as expansive as Evie had been told, containing more books than she could read in six lifetimes. Or would want to. The two of them entered and ducked quietly past the Archivist at the front desk, and Atar led them into the rear of the sprawling second level. This meant climbing yet more stairs, a task with which Evie was becoming annoyed and had Atar puffing with exertion.

"Thought the Guilders would have you doin' more Endurance work," she said.

"I'll have you know I've earned six whole points in Endurance and two in Strength in the pasts months."

"Ooh, your big time now," Evie snorted. "Harn'll be happy to hear that. He's been wanting to spar against your fire magic again."

Atar's olive skin blanched and Evie suppressed another snicker. The mage was entirely too easy to rile up. It was almost unfair.

Still fun though.

"I'd have thought you'd be more serious, considering the situation," Atar said at last.

Evie sobered immediately. "Just get us to the meeting place."

Atar nodded, but she didn't miss the satisfied look in his eyes. Bastard.

They passed stacks and stacks of books, with shelving that went all the way to the ceiling. Ladders on little wheels were shifted about curving tracks, and a few times Evie spotted a Guilder moving them around to access some hard to reach tome. It wasn't too ugly either, well appointed with thick rugs, tapestries on the walls and the shelving was carved with a repeated pattern of slanted diamonds. It was fairly empty as well, with only a few Guilders off in the distance. Only once did she see an Archivist aside from the one at the door, and she was rearranging books on a ladder. Had the nicest blue-green hair, though.

Atar brought them to a secluded alcove somewhere in the twisted depths of the Archive, so far back that Evie swore she spotted layers of dust thicker than three of her fingers. There was a tapestry in the alcove, depicting some sort of battle between a huge serpent covered in feathers and creatures made of mountains...it was pretty enough, but it looked ridiculous. Evie couldn't believe someone would waste time making such a thing for some tavern tale.

"Get in," he said, holding the tapestry to the side. Evie's lips thinned but she dipped her head and stepped into the dark.

Night Eye.

The dark came alive in shades of green, showing her a small chamber with a table, several chairs, and some sort of mosaic on the far wall. There was a single other person in the room, and they stood up nervously.

"Evie, hello," Vess said, but didn't manage more than that. Whatever else she was gonna say was cut off by the crushing hug Evie gave her. They embraced for a while, neither speaking but Evie could feel the weight of the last few months lessening a bit.

Magelights bloomed above them, garishly bright in the space. Evie and Vess both winced, stepping away from one another and deactivated their vision Skills.

"Ah, yes, sorry," Atar said from the door. He latched it closed and locked it with a thick, iron key. "Should have warned you."

"You think?" Evie snapped, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Now I'll feel this tingle in my nose for half the day."

"I said sorry. We don't have a lot of time," Atar said. "With the Elders in disarray, this may be the moment we need to seize our chance."

Vess nodded. "The arrival of the Inquisition has put my guardian on edge as well, and is why I've been able to slip away so easily. The survivors are on the tenth floor, I only hope their guard slackens during this time."

"It might," Atar said. "Some very capable Bronze Ranks are stationed on that floor. With everything happening now..."

"Tell me," Evie said. Atar swallowed. "Tell me about Magda."

Vess looked between the two in confusion. "What is this?"

"Atar sent me a message same time you did. He even had some bits about the survivors too, which is why we're all here." Evie leaned forward, intending to loom but unable to keep her arms and hands still for nerves. "Tell me. You said you have information on her body."

Vess' breath caught, but Evie didn't want to miss anything the mage said. Atar, for his part, looked supremely uncomfortable. He cleared his throat.

"The same rooms they are holding the survivors also holds her body, held in stasis with a ridiculous amount of arrays. I—I thought they were trying to remove her Essences for another Guilder, but I found out no alchemist has been seen on the tenth floor at all."

"Then what do they burnin' want with her body?" Evie demanded.

"I don't know. I don't!" Atar protested as Evie leaned forward menacingly. "I saw her body there and it sits sour in my gut. The more I found out about it, the more I didn't like it. Maybe she hadn't been the best to me in the past, but that didn't mean someone should...it wasn't right, is all."

Atar heaved a couple tense breaths, as if he'd just sprinted down the hall. Evie nodded, reluctantly, and Vess' mouth firmed into a disapproving line.

"Then we put an end to it," the heiress said. "Right?"

"Right." Evie grinned through the wet in her eyes, and if her voice was a little thick, well who doesn't get a frog now and then? "How much of a tizzy are the Elders in, exactly?"

Atar smiled nervously.