Chapter 175: Inquisitors
Departing the wagon, Lnd and Isobel were stopped by a driver from further up the caravan. The man, darker inplexion like he had sat in the sun all his life, sauntered over, a grand smile on his face. He started speaking to them in an unfamiliarnguage. When it became apparent there was a disconnect, the man turned and waved over a younger woman.
The woman wore a sleeveless vest and a wide straw hat. She, like the man, had a great smile. They spoke for a moment before the woman spoke with a heavy ent, “Either of you speak Galform?”
Isobel answered, “Mother tongue, yes.”
“I thought so,” the woman continued, the man talking in her ear. “From Palemarrow? Not too many of you types here.”
“Life is strange that way.”
“Right so! My father just wanted to thank you for taking care of the monsters. He says it was the easiest ride he has had from the Graverenders to Jyn in decades. Even when the powerful board his wagons!”
Lnd smiled at that. Something as simple as Isobel wanting to <em>sleep</em> and not be disturbed was enough to make these people''s lives much easier. It was a shame others wouldn’t do the same, but such was life.
“d we could help!” Lnd said.
Isobel stole a re. “’We?’”He shrugged. “If you didn’t do it, I would have.”
The woman looked between them quizzically. She hummed, her father whispering something else. She went back and forth with him in theirnguage for a moment, eventually speaking in Galform, “What are you two looking to do here? Need transportation out of Jyn? I can trante and get you a discount if you wish. I know all of the caravans.”
Before Isobel could answer, Lnd did. “That would be great. If you could also rmend a ce to eat and stay for the night?”
“Perfect! Name is Kris.” She gestured to herself then to the man beside her. “My father Tor.”
“Well Mr Tor, that was one of the smoothest caravan ride’s I’ve ever had,” Lnd said.
Kris tranted his words then responded with Tor’s, “d we could be of service.”
The driver bowed to Lnd and Isobel, patted his daughter on the back, then walked off to deal with the wagons.
“Shall we go?” Kris asked.
Lnd and Isobel followed, Isobel with a frown that contrasted with Lnd’s smile.
The local showed them through the town, pointing out ces to eat and sleep as she went. She told them that every establishment was ustomed tomunicating through anguage barrier. As it turned out, people from far and wide came to Jyn to study the Archons, which also meant there were plenty of magical shops to explore.
Built mainly with imported wood and stone, Jyn was a melting pot. People from all over rushed around, some carrying thick stacks of books, others walking with sacks of herbs or ss vials. Buildings were short and fortified, whether from monster attacks or internal alchemical explosions. Yet there was a distinctck of guard presence.
Despite most of the town’s poption engaging in dangerous experiments, no one seemed to be at odds with each other. In fact, most people knew each other. Jyn wasn’t small by any means, but it wasn’t toorge either. And because most were researching Archons, there was a sense ofmunity.
Kris eventually took them to the transportation depo, a shabby shack with a single attendant sitting inside. She handled herself excellently, brokering passage for two west. Where west? It didn’t really matter to Lnd and Isobel. Some routes were harder, others cheaper, but as long as they went west, they didn’t care what towns or cities they visited.
“Are you looking to travel all the way bynd?” Kris asked. “Because Noir Stone is a <em>very </emrge port. Travel anywhere in the world from there!”
Isobel kept a straight face, but Lnd not so much. “Isn’t that the city the Sprawling Mire destroyed?”
Kris frowned a bit. “That was decades ago. They mostly rebuilt. And besides, the Mire was killed years ago.”
The Sprawling Mire, an unnatural disaster. Originally, the Mire was thought to be an oddity when it came to weather and mana or some powerful monster, but quickly local governments found the truth. The Mire was a single person, one of the strongest earth mages ever known. It was said that during the Mire’s crusades, she could destroy entire towns with a single spell. Swallow them up whole, and leave the ground perfectly level afterward.
Knowing that a city was able to survive an attack from the Mire was a nod to the city itself.
Lnd nced at Isobel. She, of course, was looking elsewhere, scanning through the crowd and the like. He sighed, saying, “Noir Stone sounds like a good goal. Maybe a route there that doesn’t go through the marshes?”
Kris nodded, turning to the travel attendant. She came back with a total. “Nine gold chunks.”
Lnd didn’t know how much a “chunk” was. He had only ever used coins. He asked Isobel. “Does that sound right?”
Isobel was staring off ahead and didn’t answer.
Sighing, Lnd asked Kris, “Is there a conversation rate for Palemarrow gold coins to ‘chunks?’”
She nodded, “By weight, yes.”
Lnd reached for his back pocket, summing a dozen gold coins to his hand from his ring. While not <em>incredibly rare</em>, inventory rings <em>did</em> bring unwanted attention most of the time. Pickpockets were one, another was just normal people gawking at the wealth.
Kris handed the money over, receiving some back in change. She then handed Lnd a scratchy piece of paper with a date and time.
“Leaves in two days. Caravan called the ‘<em>Long Whip.</em>’”
Lnd made the same gesture to his back pocket, putting the paper into his ring. “It’s going to be dark soon. Mind walking us back to one of those inns you showed us?”
Kris nodded. “Of course.”
And that was what they did. Through the market and research district, past the statue of an artist’s depiction of a “Grand Archon.” Lnd read the que, learning that the artist had never actually <em>seen</em> an Archon and that there was no such thing as a “Grand Archon.” Still, the statue was rather well made, just too human-like with not enough veils or gems.
At the thought, Lnd silently hoped Sapphire made it to wherever she was supposed to be.
As the setting sun cast the town in amber, Lnd noticed a change in the air. Maybe it was living in the wild and sleeping under the threat of attack for thest few weeks that had his senses honed. Life or death battles had bemonce for him and he had yet to rx from that fact.
“Isobel?” he whispered, Kris leading the way just a few steps ahead.
“<em>Inquisitors,</em>” the Huntress spat, her eyes leading a trail through the crowd.
Lnd followed it,ing to a man and a woman wearing the familiar colors of the Palemarrow Inquisitors. Their armor was simple polished steel with golden trim and a deep red cloak, one wore a sword on their hip, the other wore ck enchanted gloves – a caster of some sort.
“We should—”
“Stop,” Isobelmanded, her eyes turning to those of an eagle. “Can you see what they are holding?”
Squinting, Lnd wished he could cast invisibly. He had the perfect contract for situations like this. “Are those wanted posters?”
Isobel growled, spinning on her heel and pushing Lnd down the street in the opposite direction, leaving Kris behind. She pushed him quickly, her strength easily overpowering him. Knowing it was futile, he didn’t fight it.
They ducked behind a building. “What?” Lnd asked.
“Those posters were of us,” she spat. “Sybil, you, and me. We had ‘dead or alive’ pricing.”
<em>Oh that was…</em> Lnd thought for a moment. “How much am I worth?”
Isobel sneered at him.
“I’m just saying—”
“We are fugitives, <em>boy,</em> do you not get it? They think we kidnapped the princess. And if the Inquisitors are all the way over here, then they are desperate.”
Lnd gave her a <em>look</em>. “I do get that. But I – <em>we </em>– also know that Sybil was sent home. So, there shouldn’t be a problem, should there?”
Isobel looked at him like he was dumb. “You are a Harbinger and I am a rogue operative. Regardless of the kidnapping thing, you are kill on sight and I am detain on sight with killing me being an eptable oue.”
“Sybil wouldn’t allow that to happen. She would protect us. She’s probably already told Aunty P. everything that has happened.”
Actually agreeing to that, Isobel peered past the building. “But information like that takes time to organize and send out. <em>Right now,</em> we are wanted. Maybe those Inquisitors will have their orders recalled, but as of right now, we are in danger.”
Lnd saw reason in that. “So we just ignore them, then? Don’t get caught? We are leaving in a caravan in a few days anyway. We cany low until then.”
Isobel took a long second. “No, no we are not.”
“Don’t tell me—”
“We are traveling by foot.” She smiled. “Or should I say, we are <em>flying</em>.”
Slow realization overcame Lnd. He smiled. “We need a ce to stay for the night and I’ll need a list of Lords to petition… although, I know the Crow Lord and my Lord have a thing.”
“A ‘thing?’”
“She killed the original Crow Lord years and years ago. It was implied that the current Crow Lord will do anything to stay on her good side.”
Isobel <em>had been</em> leaning past the wall peering at the crowd, but at that deration she slowly retracted herself. She stared at Lnd for more time than wasfortable, then she shook her head.
“Whatever works,” she muttered.