5.4 Surprisingly expected

Difference: Minimal
AN: Path of exile league launch has been a blast. I am very tired but happy and with 2 locks in my stash. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

It took exactly 44 minutes and 20 seconds for them to be called. The timekeeping a courtesy of Alice the impatient. Calm had meanwhile equipped them with most of what he thought necessary before half that had passed. The rest of the time they had been left to themselves, except for Desir who was enthusiastically receiving some ‘guidance’. Irwyn had stopped listening early on when the older Soul mage had started explaining how to ‘spontaneously redefine words to better fit a framing’. Both because it sounded insane and impractical to him.

The high inquisitor did not have an office in one of the Spires. In fact, she did not have a permanent office at all. Instead, Calm was transmitted coordinates, which he passed on to Alice, notified relevant authorities about the teleport, then sent them off. The place they arrived in was somewhere in the outer city, judging by the half broken state of the warehouse they found themselves in. Irwyn could even see the sky through various holes in the roof - rather noticeable by the leaking stream of Light.

Neither of the two people who welcomed them were the high inquisitor. Both of them had one Soul Concept each as far as Irwyn could tell. Though, ‘welcome’ was also a bit of a stretch. The two of them were completely covered in white gowns that hid every hint of any feature, including the face and fingertips, and just wordlessly stared. 

It was Desir who broke the silence after some thirty seconds. “So, is the gawking a test of some kind? I’ve heard we had an appointment. Should the High Inquisitor’s time be wasted like so?”

The two robed people exchanged a glance, then turned around. The group followed behind them further into the worn down warehouse. Had it just barely survived the original mayhem of Abonisle? Or had it been rebuilt and somehow so severely damaged again since? Either way, they did not have to tread far. Their mute guides brought them to a closed door, pointed to it, then turned around and promptly left. Their pace of departure was also notable faster than guidance.

“Needlessly rude,” Elizabeth said with a frown.

“Strange, yes,” Irwyn nodded, glancing back. 

“Let’s not keep them waiting,” Desir urged.

Elizabeth nodded, then stepped forward and opened the door. As soon as she did Irwyn flinched, hissing “Rot.” His magic surged, as did everyone else’s. He did not cast anything outwardly yet, but quickly applied all his empowerments while reinforcing his barriers and keeping some offense on hair trigger.

“I have it well in hand,” a voice sounded from within. Very flat, without emotion, though clearly a woman’s. Perhaps it shouldn’t be that surprising - meeting with an inquisitor as they performed their duties.

Irwyn did not let himself relax, though the group did not dally around and filed into the room. Inside, his attention was attracted immediately by the apparent source of the smell: A massive bone totem. Seemingly put together from human skulls, ribs, and assortment of other carved bones. It towered almost to the ceiling, taking on the vaguest resemblance to a one-armed silhouette. 

And besides it stood a woman in white robes. She seemed almost ordinary, with hair cut short and a visage that didn’t appear a day over thirty. Surprisingly enough, Irwyn recognized her. Though they had only met briefly, Irwyn had promised he would try to remember. Back when he had suffered from an affliction upon his Soul, it was her who had cured him. High Inquisitor Wesu… Wesu-something. He intently did not let his embarrassment show.

“Awful thing. But it is new, and that is always dangerous. I cannot see what is the point of it, so any suggestions are welcome. Assuming it isn’t just a distraction meant to waste time and manpower.”

“It’s not fully human remains,” Desir said immediately, staring at the grim idol.

“What else is there?” the inquisitor nodded.

“I am not sure what the species is exactly, but…” he started, hesitated, then continued. “Something mainly of Fate, which has the capacity to tap into other elements through it.”

“Fortuna?” Elizabeth suggested. “Cousins to golems… maybe fate golems by some definitions. Knots of Fate granted Soul and Life. Legend has it that they can make any elemental they wish spontaneously manifest by manipulating chance… Though they are also notoriously reclusive and hard to find in those stories. I have no idea how accurate that is or how they would even be part of that, on account of lacking bodies, much less bones, in any accounts I have read.”

“They can possess almost any living vessel. Either as symbiotes or parasites,” the high inquisitor added. “Yes, it would make sense. I have read of such methods by the Rot in our archives. I will have a specialist confirm and figure out the purpose, but I will count your insight as a contribution.”

She then turned towards them. “You have kept battle ready, good. But deep down you lack the fear. Bad, but often inevitable given your age and power so it should barely be counted against you.”

“We knew that we were coming to meet you, Inquisitor Wesuvian” Elizabeth pointed out. 

“It can always be an intercepted message. Especially with this War’s overarching strategy. Abonisle still hides deeply borrowed pockets, just waiting for an opportunity to spend themselves effectively.”

“But even an ambush still requires power. Whatever they have available is unlikely to be sufficient for us.”

“You have a point that it would be logically unlikely. The undead thrive on those assumptions. We need to survive every time, they do not. Is the invisible one with you?”

“Yes. Waylan,” Irwyn confirmed.

“I rarely ever see someone that advanced in their honing,” she nodded. “Make sure to not leave the Rot a corpse when you die.”

“Don’t intend to,” the sneak briefly appeared just to reply.

“And you,” she turned to Desir. “I have no idea what you are, but the same advice applies. If you haven't already, take preventative measures at my command.”

“We have just returned to the Federation, it is being arranged,” Elizabeth assured. It was presumably something that Calm needed a bit more time for.

“Good. You are the missing corpse from Steelmire?” she turned to Alice.

“Y-yes,” the Time mage answered, startled.

“You also have search cover…” the inquisitor continued.

“Does the inquisition not care about someone falsely blaming such an attack on the undead?” But Alice was not quite ready to let that line of questioning go.

“It helped us escalate among the lower rungs ahead of schedule - middling mages often lack appropriate urgency, even when the orders come down. All important bodies except yours were accounted for and properly disposed of, and that final complaint has just been settled. While weakening the Federation‘s forces needlessly is always disagreeable, the inquisition cannot meditate politics. That is a failing of the Dukes.”

“...” Alice had nothing to say to that, just staring wide-mouthed.

“Do not take that for approval. The forces lost outweigh any benefit to our cause. But from the Inquisitions eyes, it would take far more than some maneuvering and honest lies to warrant punitive reaction.”

“You know who is responsible,” Alice realised.

“And will not share a word. Just as I will not let slip any details about you. The inquisition does not meditate politics. But as I was saying Irwyn’s ‘nose’ has certainly gathered interest since Abonisle. That is firepower, two sources of seeking if we count divination, transport, and scouting. Your group seems to have the capacity for what you wish to do.”

“I hope that was never in doubt,” Elizabeth inclined her head.

“Everything is always in doubt. I still have questions. Firstly, do you genuinely believe that this is your best option how you can contribute?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth immediately replied.

“Fast answers are always thoughtless.”

That gave everyone else a pause. But Irwyn had actually considered such things in their downtime. “There might be places where we could technically do more in the short term, but an assignment like this also provides a degree of relative safety. We will grow much further yet, I think that potential should offer us that much leeway.”

“Agreeable. Do you intend to misuse this position for any kind of politicking?” Wesuvian continued.

“No,” Elizabeth said after letting a second pass. “No, I do not.”

“Will you do it anyhow?”

That gave her a real pause before an answer came. “I do not believe I will, no. There are no grudges unsettled that would remotely warrant it. Causing a divide with the inquisition is not worth anything petty. If such a thing were to arise, I would be careful to settle scores in my own time. Few such attachments cling to me either way.”

“It is common for authority to be abused. A failing of human nature. Many see the multitudes suddenly beneath them and revel in making a show of those shifts.”

“I already look down upon most. Any position will change little in that respect. Enough fear has been aimed at me as an heiress to House Blackburg - it brings little amusement anymore.”

“Very well. You have my approval to operate under the inquisition’s jurisdiction to root out infiltrators and traitors. You still require the permission of the powers sovereign over any territory that you minted to carry out executions in, but the power of arrest is mostly universal.”

“Just like that?” Irwyn frowned.

“Truthful words are loud enough. You opinions are written across your Souls, and they are satisfactory. No point wasting either of our time. There will be a review of your activity at some point in the upcoming months and at then a more thorough examination after the war is over. It might take a few hours before it becomes officially recognizable, but coordination and planning can start before then.” 

“Are we dismissed then?” Irwyn made sure.

“Unless you have any more insight into this attrocity?” she pointed at the foul totem. “Then you may leave.”

And so they did. It took an extra minute before Alice received the go ahead to teleport them into one of the Spires again. This time, the place was a lounge. Immediately, Elizabeth ensured their privacy before delving into a conversation.

“Fortuna?” she questioned Desir once they had that privacy. The heiress had taken a seat next to Irwyn on a couch, while Alice and the shapeshifter sat opposite to them. Where in the room Waylan might be was anyone’s guess.

“I was not provided with the user manual to my unnatural form,” Desir shrugged. “My best guess is that I was composed in part of one species from each element that has the inborn capacity to mimic the other elements to some degree. I only knew two… now a third, I supposed. There was a degree of resonance, or perhaps kinship, that I had felt before. And my Concept of Fate reacted as well, if only very slightly.”

“Fae, Sucubbi, Fortuna,” Elizabeth summarised. “I wonder what the others would be. Perhaps dragons for Essence? Is that even possible to hybridize? Someone must have tried that at some point.”

“Johnson probably has,” Irwyn pointed out.

“Yes, I would love to meet the good ‘doctor’,” Desir nodded, then paused. “After it is made abundantly clear that you want me alive and unharmed. Even from just his reasearch, the man sounded at least two hinges short of a door.”

“He is not that unpleasant,” Elizabeth assured.

“When he is trying to be. And I doubt he has ever gotten unkind with you. But try to account for your personal bias and realize that anyone willing to commit human experimentation at the scale of an entire country cares very little for the lives or wellbeing of strangers. I haven’t met him, but he is clearly willing to do anything for his goals.”

“I suppose you have a point,” she reluctantly admitted. “I will have a talk with him before letting you two be alone in one room.”

“And don’t think I don’t appreciate that,” he nodded.

“The inquisition knows who is responsible, but let the lie persist.”

“We might genuinely be better off ignorant for now,” Elizabeth opined. “It seems to be more of an open secret among the most powerful. Either way, we are still too weak to do anything about the situation. You always knew that to have any chance at revenge, the path will be long.”

“One day, I will drag them out by the throat and make them confess what they had done before the entire Federation. Let every Duke, mage, and peasant see,” the Time mage said, teeth gritting for a moment. Then a ring flickered on her finger and serenity returned to her expression.

“And we will be there with you,” Desir promised, taking the girl into a reassuring hug.

“Do we know where we are headed in the short term?” Irwyn turned to Elizabeth and asked, voice a bit quieter as to not interrupt the moment.

“Not yet. Calm supposedly has a few places in mind. But he has not told me which. He will contact me. Until then… I suppose we have downtime. Yet we cannot afford to just carelessly wander around, there are probably spies - or regular opportunists - around by now looking to confirm our power.”

“Then I do have an idea,” Irwyn smiled. “It has been a while since we had last dueled, hasn’t it?”

That gave her pause, then a brilliant smile bloomed upon her lips. Indeed, there had been few opportunities during the trial to battle one another, even if they now understood one another better than ever. Elizabeth reached towards her bag and withdrew her old dress.

“You know, I used to wear this literally everywhere,” she mused. “It was gifted by my father, to congratulate me on recovering from my long illness. Now I have barely thought about it for months.”

“Does it still work?”

“The clearance to just teleport around as I please is definitely out of date, but it's too well made to fade. As for the training room… well, it is not exactly in Abonisle proper. As far as I understand it, it only comes into being when in use. So it should be undetectable, since we are not actually moving around.”

“Then shall we?”

For an answer, Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder. Then Irwyn found himself in a nostalgic room. How many hours had he spent there, practicing under Dervish’s guidance? It had not been that long ago, but it felt like an eternity has passed since then. This time he had been able to notice how the teleportation had filled him with mana. Or note an instant in between the transition. It remained beyond him still, but he was getting closer.

“Will this place hold?” he questioned.

“It should hold up to the strain of a Domain,” Elizabeth replied. “I would not rely overmuch on the protection and healing. Concepts could mess with an automated effect like that. They are rare for a reason, most of it being how impractical they are for the cost in making such spells affect an entire area. But it’s perfect for some light sparring.”

They both grinned, then took positions.

*****

It took… Irwyn didn’t actually know how long and was a bit embarrassed to ask. Anyhow, it took Calm an uncertain amount of time that was likely counted in hours to get everything sorted out. First off were the contracts. Much like what Irwyn had seen in the siege of Abonisle, these were much more elaborate. 

The material was literally glowing with all the magic within the paper. The text was also so incredibly dense Irwyn literally had to use magic just to read the words that had somehow been fit on just one sheet. Which was a part that took a while, as Desir insisted on reading through the whole no matter how trusting Elizabeth seemed of the concept. That naturally gave Irwyn the opportunity to sift through everything himself.

In so many words, most of the clauses were about not being turned to an undead. A binding promise in that regard apparently held weight. Much more so if it was combined with countless qualifying statements and conditions, specifying any possible and seemingly impossible loopholes. 

Things like ‘this contract shall persevere even in the case of my memories being erased and mind altered’ sounded like they might come up alarmingly often. Others seemed dubious - such as not being inhabited by a parasitic undead fish. Though the duration was a bit confusing. 

“Not in perpetuity?” Desir questioned when he was done.

“Anything longer than 400 or so days gets impractically expensive, so they default to a year for convenience,” Elizabeth explained. “I am under such, but that had been build up gradually throughout my life to be easier and more stable. Are you ready to sign? We will need a notary, and those are busy.”

“Anyone any complaints?” Desir looked around.

“Boredom,” Waylan revealed himself, standing one legged on the shapeshifter’s head, then vanished again before Irwyn could give the pose a second look.

“I think we are in agreement,” he deadpanned.

“We will have a slot in 20 seconds. Alice?” Elizabeth turned towards their time mage.

“Yes, yes, I haven’t lost the coordinates.”

The signing went without an issue. Irwyn had to briefly explain his inability to physically sign, but the notary made sure the effect was not significantly diminished. Nor was it a problem that Waylan’s signature disappeared. It was the intent to sign with a sufficient witness that mattered the most, apparently. That was the man’s job after all. A domain mage dedicated to empowering magical contracts. Apparently there were just a few across the entire Federation despite continuous efforts to nurture more, though House Blackburg had the reach to get a brief appointment even on such short notice.

Thereafter they received a few more boons. A security clearance for Alice so that she could teleport to many areas without requiring explicit permission each time. At least as long as she broadcasted some hyper specific fluctuation with each cast - the explanation of what and how was apparently so technical Alice did not even want to try explaining.

Unfortunately, they could not meet with Johnson. Calm claimed to not know where the good doctor was… then admitted he might have erased the memory just before the conversation. Either way, Desir was not getting examined before their departure. Because Calm had finally gotten everything ready for them, including their first assigned destination.