It didn’t take Lily long to reenter Verdanport. Yet the heiress didn’t go back to the Blodmane estate straightaway. Despite all the unwelcome excitement she’d just experienced at the hands of her uncle, she could use a little extra pep. Only, excitement from screwing around in the city, not kidnapping and mortal combat.


    But screwing around in the city isn’t very fun when it’s only you, Lily thought to herself. Andric would find her soon enough, there was no doubt about that. But while she did count him as company, he was a unique kind, and not what she meant by the word in most cases.


    That left a great many others who could fill the role. So as the elemental summoner strolled through the hazy, afternoon marketplace, she mulled over her options. She had found herself at the heart of the most solidly mid-grade area of the main mercantile district. Such places were where one could most reliably find any manner of person—from the dressed up nobles to merchants, artisans, street performers and urchins, and most of them making all manner of noise.


    Ignoring one of the more reputable-looking street vendors despite her stomach, Lily headed off in the direction of the Tower. The Tower, the Bronze Aerie. It was the only place in the entire city one could consistently find the quarry she’d now chosen—little Archie with his billowy robes and anemic-looking staff.


    Why him? Because he’s a wimpy sourpuss and dragging him around is really funny. That was why. And also because Lily wasn’t in the mood to compose herself for more demanding company. No, the ice mage wanted to be the one making things difficult.


    Being as close as she was to the Tower—its elongating shadow now fell over the whole street as it loomed over the peaked, green-tinted rooftops—the trip should only take her a quarter-hour at the very worst.


    This estimate was not accounting for the time she spent to acquire her latest weaponry—two spicy sausages, though that number would be reduced by the time she arrived.


    “You look pleased.”


    “Eh!” Leaping a foot into the air, Lily found herself tragically disarmed. In the momentary alarm caused by Andric’s stealthy appearance, she seemed to have relinquished her hold on one of her weapons. “Damn you, you fool, look what you’ve done!”


    To his credit, the alchemist did look rather remorseful as he eyed the poor, still-steaming sausage that had split open on the muddy cobbles. “I’ll buy you another one. Where are you going?”


    Huh. Frowning, Lily caught up to her infuriating retainer as he entered the back of the two-person line. I expected him to ask where I was. “The Tower. I’m gonna see if I can find Archie.”


    “Alright. I hope you don’t mind if I join you.” Reaching into his coin-purse, he passed a few slivers of tin to the vendor. Yes, the man often carried a coin-purse—despite the perfectly functional storage ring on his finger. Lily never understood it.


    “You’re going to join me regardless of my thoughts on the matter.” Mustering as much noble haughtiness as she could spare at the present moment, Lily plucked her replacement sausage away from him. “And I could hardly stop you.”


    “Yes, which is why I said I hope you don’t mind.”


    The alchemist remained oddly quiet as they moved on. Not that Lily would complain—it gave her time to think. She expected her half-brother to have dragged her back to the estate by now. Half brother, ha. She always laughed at that little joke of hers. He wasn’t her half brother, he wasn’t even adopted. When Lily said Andric was her half-brother, she meant that he felt half like a brother and half like an obsessive parent. He obviously wasn’t her literal half brother—because as far as anyone knew, she was a scion of the small but respectable Gershenfeld merchant family.


    They were just passing by one of Lord Darius Loch’s larger storefronts when he started to gather himself to speak. ‘Loch Alchemy & Enchanting’ read the engraved wooden sign hanging from the second story. There was a bit more than just that to be bought there, Lily mused. But they didn’t put it on the main sign, probably because it would be too wordy and ‘Loch Alchemy and Enchanting’ was already baked into the common lexicon.


    “Where were you? I get the sense that disappearing so suddenly and so thoroughly wasn’t your own idea. Though do correct me if I’m wrong.”


    Ha. Lily chuckled at that. “Do you really think I would correct you on that?”


    “No, but I’d rather force you to lie to me than give you such a trivial means of escape.”


    Fair enough. “Well in that case, Basil did it.”


    The alchemist’s brows furrowed, his gaze darkening—and then he blinked. “Ah.”


    “Yeah, he kidnapped me—forcefully, mind you—and then dumped me in a storage closet in some secret monster prison in the underworld somewhere nearby. It was pretty fucked up, especially since he also brought the Demon too and then caused a mass break-out.” Noticing that Andric had stopped walking, Lily stopped as well. She turned back to face him. “What?”


    The alchemist failed to find words several times. Then he found them. “Seriously?” He shook his head as he started walking again. “Holy hell, I will be discussing this with Victor. If she doesn’t do something about that man, I will hasten my plan for reaching Rank B just to discipline him myself.”


    Lily laughed so hard she came damn close to choking on her sausage. That, combined with the spiciness, had her forming genuine tears. “Oh that’s great. Is it bad that I now want Victor to ignore you just so I can see that go down? That would be so hilarious. ‘Yeah so I became one of the youngest people ever to hit Rank B ever just so I could beat up my friend’s annoying Uncle sooner.’ Oh man.”


    “I do know how to make a joke, Liliana. But really, this is serious. And are you certain it was him who caused this mass outbreak?”


    Lily nodded. “Oh yeah. For sure. I mean, I didn’t see him start it, but who else could it be?” She paused as a thought struck her. This also allowed her to polish off the remainder of the sausage. “It could have been the Demon I guess. Actually I think that’s quite likely. But he’s the one who brought the Demon there, so…”


    Andric cursed. They were almost at the Tower, just now emerging into the wide square around its already-wide base. “This is serious. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I really didn’t expect him to do this again.”


    Now, it was Lily’s turn to freeze. “Wait. What do you mean by ‘again’?”


    _____


    It had been two weeks since Sean’s return to Verdanport. In that time, little had happened. Little of note, that is, aside from his meeting with the High Inquisitor. That was something that was definitely of note, but the young Templar had expected, well, more.


    For all that he’d experienced, and for all the heightened activity of the Inquisition as a whole, Sean found his two week vacation to be remarkably mundane.


    He spent most of the time with either Captain Hardy or Magus Arthur. The irony there was that he engaged with the former as a friend and with the latter as a professional. The Captain was making good progress with replicating those experiments—well that’s what the old warrior said, at least. The metal mage had grown increasingly enthusiastic about the whole thing—bordering on manic, perhaps. Sean didn’t understand why, but he knew Captain Hardy well enough to be optimistic himself.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The time he spent with Arthur was devoted to improving his understanding of arcane theory and honing his abilities with more nuanced, delicate magic. For all that the guy was both an apprentice himself and rather immature in many ways, it was no mistake that he’d unlocked his archmage class. Despite being roughly the same age, Sean had come to believe that additional levels and a growing maturity would take Arthur’s existing potential very, very far.


    I just wish he was a better teacher, Sean thought for the hundredth time. His ‘tutoring’ consisted of assisting his fellow apprentice with the crudest parts of his research. The only reason it was worth it was because the young Templar managed to squeeze some use out of the condescending, if correct, rambling and the frequent corrections.


    Yet all of this was normal. Standard, even. What wasn’t normal was reporting back for duty in the morning and finding two decked-out Inquisitors waiting for you—again. Sean rubbed his eyes as he entered the stone courtyard. Surely this was a coincidence. But they were talking to Captain Hardy, and that didn’t bode well.


    “And there he is,” the Captain proclaimed as he finished his approach. “He’s a fine young lad and going to be a great Paladin, so I hope you’re here to recruit him and not execute him for some profane act.”


    Both Inquisitors shifted with nervousness. Sean couldn’t help but pity them. Neither was an officer, and certain kinds of obvious jokes could still be horribly awkward when you weren’t well-acquainted already.


    “Well if I’m going to be executed I do hope it won’t hold up my schedule. Captain Hardy here can attest that I’m not one for ceremony.” Pitying the Inquisitors didn’t mean Sean wasn’t going to do the same to them himself.


    One of the Inquisitors glanced at the other. “Would we be allowed to confirm with someone whether we were detaining them for execution?” He sounded new and very uncertain.


    “I don’t think so… but we probably just did.” The other Inquisitor gave Sean a sheepish grin. “We’re just here to bring you to someone bigger and scarier than us.”


    Sean shrugged and moved to follow the short man and his willowy-thin companion.


    The Captain grunted from behind them. “Bigger, eh? Can’t say that tells us much.”


    But Sean didn’t pay attention to that. He was too focused on what the first Inquisitor was confiding to him in a low tone from beside him. “We technically shouldn’t say this, but honestly might as well. You’re already some special Paladin recruit I hear—so how do you feel about joining us as an undercover Inquisitor?”


    _____


    Liliana frowned as Andric emerged from her grandmother’s manor. He always looked serious, but at present his face had turned—darkly serious. It was the kind of look that resulted from a cool-headed, stiff-backed man experiencing the closest emotion he knew to what most people would express as seething anger.


    It made Lily nervous.


    “I take it you didn’t like what she had to say about Basil?” His curt nod told her all she needed to know. “Figures. I guess I shouldn’t expect anything less from the head of the legalized cult.”


    The alchemist stiffened at that, something which shouldn’t have been possible. “That is no way to speak about your own family. You are more a part of this ‘legalized cult’ than I am.”


    Ha. Am I? Lily wasn’t sure. Her laugh became a bit bitter as she thought about it. “I’m not so sure about that. Which one of us has a higher access level to main branch resources again? Please remind me. Oh, and which one of us is allowed to identify as a Blodmane in public? I seem to have forgotten.”


    “She wants to speak with you.” Andric crossed his arms. “You could say as much to her directly. There’s a difference between displaying cowed humility and healthy respect.” He left her alone before she could retort. It was a shame, because she could have said something quite clever.


    He didn’t actually address what I said, huh? Typical. Rising from the garden bench, Lily straightened her sleeves and marched back towards the manor. But maybe I can try executing on his advice.


    She expected to wait to be let into her grandmother’s personal study. Instead, she didn’t get to even enter the manor. Lady Victor was waiting for her around the corner of the path. Lily did nothing to restrain her scowl. “You meant to eavesdrop on me, didn’t you?”


    Lily hated the smirk she got back. It wasn’t a smug smirk, no, it was a friendly, bemused smirk and Lily hated it. Her grandmother tilted her to the side, false confusion written across features that looked no older than her own. “It is hardly my fault that Rank A perception diminishes the effect of such a short distance.”


    “It most definitely is, because firstly, you are the one who advanced to that rank and distributed stat points, and secondly, it seems oddly convenient that you just so happened to position yourself there.”


    Her grandmother hummed for a moment. “You are correct, I fear. But come, walk with me.”


    Lily obliged. They walked.


    It started with silence, and Lily feared that she was being forced to speak. But her fears were unfounded, for her grandmother began shortly. “I will tell you what I imagine you are thinking.” Oh, well this is going to be great. Lily loved people deciding her own thoughts for her. “You think most of the side branch families are rotten, you resent being forced to stand half in and half out of our world, and you think I’m a callous bitch who allows anyone to get away with anything if it doesn’t affect anything I care about personally.”


    Well that might be a hyperbolic way to state it, Lily thought, but yes, you are essentially correct.


    “Well if that is indeed your assessment—I admit I may be mistaken—then you are mostly correct.”


    What? Lily had a quick enough wit to remain upright and moving, though she did stumble a bit. Her mind froze over for the span of a breath—and then exploded into a blizzard of activity. This is going to be some big, heartfelt monologue about her life story, her purpose and the role of the family in the kingdom, isn’t it? That would be better than the usual lecture but still largely uninteresting.


    “Your Uncle is a vile man. I don’t care about his radical politics. In some ways his ideals might be correct, though in practice he is dangerous and unpredictable.” At that point, her grandmother stopped walking. “No, I am referring instead to the infernal cult he has built and their increasingly bold actions.”


    What.


    Lily stared as the head of the Blodmane main branch nodded. “Yes. A true cult, the illegal kind. Your uncle reeks of Disdain. But that is not the worst. He and his followers have taken to experimenting with Corruption.”


    Lily remained silent for what felt like multiple minutes. It was likely far shorter than that. “You’re serious. You’re truly serious, aren’t you.”


    “Of course I am.” She shook her head with—was it sadness? “Basil has gone down a path from which I fear there is no departure. Sacrifice-fueled ritual is far from his worst sin. I believe he has done these things for the worst reason of all. An obsessive drive for the pursuit of knowledge.”


    At this point a passion entered her grandmother’s voice that Lily had never heard. It was disconcerting, perhaps more so than the revelations themselves. Lady Victor clenched her fist. “A motivation of power, glory, revenge, spite… all of these things are far less forgivable. But they are also less dangerous. A man who pursues the profane for the love of the pursuit itself can accomplish far greater horrors. Can, and likely will.”


    Lily could only nod. She understood what her grandmother was saying—thought so, at least. But then—“Why? Why allow him to continue? Basil is strong, but surely he couldn’t stand against you.”


    “No, he could not. But his ignorance of my lack of ignorance makes him useful. Liliana. Your uncle is not the only powerful individual meddling with things he shouldn’t. Do you realize why that scheming mentor of yours saw it fit to rescue a higher Demon from the wastes? Why he would bring the girl to us? Why he would make hasty and extensive preparations for taking on not a sixth student, but a true apprentice?”


    Lily didn’t. In fact, the last part was news to her. “No, not really. I would just assume he thinks it would be entertaining. That’s why he does basically anything.”


    But her grandmother scoffed. “Liliana. You have much to learn if you think someone like Lord Loch does anything because he is simply bored. I do not know his true motivations with certainty, but I can guess. Lord Loch has discovered the same cluster of elder ruins that I have, that your uncle and his cult have, and that the Church doubtlessly has too.”


    Elder ruins?! This kept getting crazier and crazier. Lily felt like she would soon lose track of all the colossal revelations.


    “He knew too that Basil meant to execute his own ritual of Demonic ascension. And when the team of students he sent into that very territory at that very time encountered a mysterious ‘healer,’ he deduced the greatest secret of all.” Lily waited for it, numbly. Her grandmother made sure to look her in the eye. “Your uncle failed. He tried to incorporate the elder’s strange arts into his ritual, and it did not go as planned. Some unexpected confluence caused by his profane intention summoned something. Or perhaps he simply awakened it.”


    “The Demon?” Lily didn’t know why the Demon, Zoe, was so special. Aside from being, well, a higher Demon, what did she have to do with all of this?


    “Yes. But you are only half correct, because this ‘Zoe’ is only a Demon in form. Your uncle has awoken an elder-touched Outsider… and Lord Darius Loch intends to claim and harness it.”