The Inquisitor

When he heard the title of inquisitor, he initially assumed that the position must have been a sacred one, or something that put the fear of God into people. Erlana looked terrified, but he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react. In front of the two was a large house that looked as normal as any other,

No dark colors, no crying crows, and no possible places to bury bodies. It just looked like any other house there.

“The Inquisitor will see you now. Please step forward,” one of the guards closest to him guided the two of them forward and stepped onto the gravel pathway up to the door.

A few knocks later and a heavy sound came from behind the door. His hair stood on end, Erlana shivered more, and the two were rooted to the spot as the footsteps grew louder and louder. He was expecting a terrifying man. A terrifying man who could crush him into a pulp.

What he wasn’t expecting when the door opened was for a short and elderly woman to step forward with a smile plastered across her wrinkled face.

“Oh, Miss Dagny, so good to see you again.”

She was dressed in brightly colored robes concealing her frame, a pair of haggard old boots slapped onto her feet, a walking cane in hand, and a face that had seen years of life pass away. This was an old woman who stood at only half his height hunched over with a warm smile across her face.

This HAD to be a mistake.

“I’m sorry, but… where’s the Inquisitor?”

“Eh? Oh, young man, you’re looking at her, alright! Now, Miss. Dagny, wasn’t last night’s ritual the one you forwarded to me the week before?”

He must have been the only one who was surprised because Erlana STILL looked as terrified as ever. She was still shivering on the spot with tears threatening to burst from her eyes like a sprinkler. He couldn’t help but look at her with shock at how she reacted to someone who couldn’t even walk without her cane. 

“Y-Yes, madame Inquisitor, but I sw-swear I had nothing to do with last night’s disturbance! I complied with the demands and forms exactly as I wrote them under the bylaws of public rituals and…,” but Erlana was cut off from her stammering by the sudden shift of the older woman’s face.

What was once a warm and kind expression quickly morphed into an inquisitive one framed by annoyance. A cane pointed straight at the young woman’s chest and poked her there thrice.

“And it just so happens that the founding corpse placed here to commemorate a fallen hero is suddenly gone alongside his armor? Not to mention I get word that this one shows up out of the blue causing a ruckus?”

And now she was pointing it at him. Suddenly, it dawned on him now why Erlana seemed so worried about meeting this person. The Inquisitor looked at the two of them with annoyance clear on her features before she looked to the guard closest to them.

“You’re dismissed. Go back to your unit and inform the captain to keep the search going, understood?”

The soldier who led them here raised his arm to his chest and bowed down.

“Yes, Madame Inquisitor!”

Fumihito would have watched the man leave if it wasn’t for the older woman ushering Erlana and him inside. From the outside, this place certainly looked normal, but the moment he stepped inside was the moment he found out why the woman seemed so terrifying. The floorboards were splotched with various dry stains that made his nose crinkle. The main room seemed full of nothing but cylinders containing various objects.

He walked after Erlana who was ushered over to a table that had a mound of soil on top.

“Miss. Dagny, are you aware of exactly what your ritual might have caused?”

She finally addressed Erlana who looked confused. The nervous young woman shook her head from side to side. That, however, seemed to be the wrong move because the older woman across from them mashed her cane into the soil. He expected dirt to go flying. Instead, he was greeted by a sudden bright light emanating from the soil.

Bright purple lines wiggled through the air as if they were alive.

“Rotten soil. Rotten soil, Miss. Dagny. I was told that the ritual you performed was a basic summoning ritual, but can you explain why when I examined the site I found traces of necromancy?”

For the first time since he could see something close to anger cross Erlana’s face before it was pushed down. She looked ready to burst and shout before she clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

“N-No, that’s not true. Madame Inquisitor, it’s exactly as I told you when I arrived here a week ago. I was here for a summoning ritual to form a pact. I can’t even perform necromancy! I couldn’t even if I wanted to!”

The older woman didn’t look so convinced from what he could see before she narrowed her eyes and stirred the soil once again. Another poke and he could see a spring of green energy wrap around the cane. It almost seemed like leaves of vibrant energy grew from the old instrument as they touched the soil.

To his shock, he was met with the purple flow of energy suddenly vanishing within the next instant.

“Regardless, you were the only person there that night and it just so happens that the founder’s corpse is gone? There’s no other explanation for it. Were it not for your lack of magical talent, I would have assumed it was you…”

Erlana’s face seemed relieved once her features relaxed. It gave him enough confidence that the two of them would be spared from whatever judgment this woman was giving out. However, that grouchy look of hers was pointed at him alongside that cane being jabbed into his chest roughly.

“But this doesn’t explain your presence. I know exactly what Miss. Dagny said from one of the guards, but I know just as well that you weren’t here. When exactly did you arrive?”

‘Crap, what the hell am I supposed to say? I don’t even know what I can say… Erlana only lied because she thought I was just some god! Which I’m not… Okay, just… I...'

The Inquisitor only glared at him, her gaze smoldering, but Erlana finally pushed the cane away from his chest before she could prod him any further. She stepped closer and tugged onto the sleeve of his shirt with a bright flush on her face.

“It’s my fault! That summoning ritual… It didn’t work. I ended up dragging someone from another country here. He’s just confused about this area since it’s new to him. I’m so sorry for not informing you, Madame Inquisitor. I was just worried that people might overreact…”

The older woman looked at the two of them with a suspicious glance. He couldn’t even tell if she believed them. It just looked like she was contemplating her next words carefully. He subtly leaned into Erlana’s grasp. She seemed to mimic the same motion as him and bunched herself closer to him as well.

The older woman narrowed her eyes.

He gulped.

“As much as it pains me to admit it, there isn’t enough information to work with to justify an investigation,” the older woman’s features relaxed into a frown and her expression became calm. Fumihito let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding in relief.

“You two can go. We’ll solve things from here, Miss. Dagny. If you happen to find any clues, be sure to relay them back to us as soon as you can. The Founder’s grave is no simple matter to the people here.”

The young mage bowed her head respectfully and pulled herself away from him. He somewhat forgot the two of them were nearly connected at the hip.

“I understand, Madame Inquisitor. We’ll take our leave. Fumihito, let’s go…,” Erlana mumbled the last part out and dragged him by the hand as politely as one could when trying to escape responsibility.

He couldn’t have agreed more. The two of them were finally free to leave and leave the house, but he swore he could feel eyes digging into the back of his head. It was a strange sensation. One he couldn’t even begin to describe, but it was over now. Maybe now they could finally leave this place, couldn’t they?