A Knight's Lilies

“Two caravans attacked, one ransacked. Guard detail missing or dead. Cargo: Seven obtained by resistance fighters, Ten dead, Two missing... Tracker Warren reports resistance camps around Mydiri ruins before being forced to evacuate... Minoran contacts denies any connection to resistance forces, elven insurgents suspected of independent actions."

- After Action Report: Transport 0341 - Summary - Templar Sergeant Archibald Wilde

Senior Inquisitor Viktor Von Krantz was furious. He sighed in defeat and hid his clenched fist behind the desk as Templar Sergeant Wilde finished delivering his report. Those fucking bastards! He slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone in the room. Years! We had spent years setting up deals with the Minorans and they fuck it up!

“My apologies Sergeant Wilde, I am merely…frustrated.” He said with a heavy sigh.

“Understandable my lord, I would not have foreseen this possibility either.” Wilde replied.

Viktor leaned back onto his armchair and turned to Serilda’s protégé, her dirty blonde hair sticking out like a sore thumb compared to the armoured and uniformed soldiers around her. Serilda never really spoke much about her besides a quick ‘help me watch out for her Viktor’ and foisted her on him, pfft typical Seri. Well, it can't hurt to ask, I suppose.

“Apprentice, your thoughts?”

Shocked at being addressed, the apprentice squeaked out a tiny, “My thoughts?” as she gestured at herself, earning a dry chuckle from the other Templar in the room, Blademaster Taurox the minotaur.

“Yes, apprentice, your thoughts? I trust your master taught you to pay close attention?”

“I-of course my lord, my humble apologies.” She apologized quickly, only for Viktor to gesture for her to continue.

“I believe that whoever is targeting the staging posts and convoys likely also knows a similar amount of information that we know.” She paused and looked at Viktor who bade for her to go on. “At least on a public level, I think that they are also aiming to outright kill or capture the void touched as well.”

Viktor turned to Taurox and received a small nod in return.

“An apt observation, but if they share our goal of snuffing out the void touched then should we not just…let them do it?” He made a mental note to do this more often, he could feel his anger dissipate as he asked the questions.

“Uhm…perhaps my lord, but I suspect they know of our aims and since they haven’t made contact and have actively opposed our efforts. I would assume that even if the overarching goal is the same, there is likely something heretical or more sinister at play that we aren’t aware of.”

“And?”

“Err, well assuming that their goals don’t align with ours then it’s likely a group that seeks to further inflame the current situation further through the void touched.”

“Good, Seri-Inquisitor Serilda did say you were a quick study,” Viktor praised her and a flicker of pride flashed onto the young apprentice’s face, but he could see the small frown that perched itself upon her brows.

“My lord…if I may?” The young woman dipped her head in supplication.

“Speak freely.”

“If we are aware of this, which I assumed we are,” she looked up to a room of small nods, “then why are we allowing them to hinder us without actively opposing them?”

“Oh?”

“I mean no disrespect or doubt my lord, I’m…I’m just curious why we haven’t really retaliated given the resources at our disposal or the losses that we have sustained.”

“Sergeant Wilde.” Viktor called.

“Yes my lord. As of currently we have lost over two dozen caravans, leads and a scattered handful of forward posts over the course of a half decade of operations.”

“And the time frame?”

“Most within the last two years my lord.”

“Good, apprentice?”

“My lord? I mean, the numbers are rising as are hostilities as the good sergeant had listed. Surely this is impetus for us to take a more active role in both the search and defensive actions?” She protested, “But I suspect you are raising this point to chastise me I suppose.”

Viktor snorted briefly and Taurox guffawed at the sight, earning him an accusatory look from the Inquisitor.

“Yes and no dear apprentice. The numbers are rising and action should be taken. That I agree with you on.” He nodded thoughtfully.

“But?”

“But our foe is not just cunning and aggressive, I suspect there is a much grander scheme at play. Think on how they assault our caravans, the most recent one was…filled with plausible leads who are now mostly perished barring a few correct?”

Sergeant Wilde nodded, “A few of them were picked up by the resistance or skirmishing groups that our eyes can confirm. Another two have been missing and the rest lay in the ground.”

“Right, and to all normal eyes what does this look like?”

“Bandits striking a caravan transporting prisoners?”

“Correct, despite their aggressiveness they have their proxies and maintain a high level of deniability in their methods. I cannot stand to speak for other Inquisitors and their methods, but I would very much like to discover the depths of their infiltration and the level of control they have over their operations.”

“And to do this…we need to study how they operate?”

“Serilda did say you were a quick study.”

Everyone shared a small chuckle as they thought about the implications of such a move before another question was raised.

“But. If you don’t mind, why would we not just refocus and eliminate them? Surely the Venatus or Witch Hunters can do that and still discover their plans?”

“A very good point, apprentice.”

“I’m guessing there’s more?”

“There’s always more with Viktor.” Taurox chimed in and Viktor chided him with a sharp look, only for the minotaur to shrug nonchalantly. "Sorry Senior Inquisitor Viktor."

“Ahem, well think of it this way, yes we can stop them. And yes we can probably at least superficially discover their plans. Maybe they seek to cause havoc, harness the powers of the void, destroy the Gods, the church, hells the world even. But…when someone seeks to impede the Astral church so actively and without a seeming personal gain such as hiding evidence from Inquisitors or performing secret summoning rituals, I find myself very intrigued to find out the why.” He paused and took a sip of tea and turned to the minotaur, arching an eyebrow as the large fellow rolled his eyes.

“What Inquisitor Von Krantz wants to say, is that there is a web of connections behind whoever is stopping us. And whilst eliminating their agents and perhaps even their command structure, the underlying question of who supported, funded and shared their beliefs outside of the organisation remains unknown. Thus, we desire to unmask everything, before putting them all to the sword in one fell swoop.” Taurox finished eloquently, earning him an approving nod.

“That should sum it up apprentice.”

“Thank you my lord.”

“Templar Wilde!”

“Yes sir!”

“Take the apprentice with you on your next excursion round the outposts.”

“Sir? I mean yes sir!”

“My lord?”

“Inquisitor Lionel should have arrived in Eichafen earlier today. Do you know why I had you here to sit in today?”

“So I could catch up on everything?”

“Exactly that, Sergeant Wilde will help you get a lay of the land. I realize I’ve kept you confined for the past week so count this as my apology when you tell Serilda everything. The blademaster and myself shall go greet our guests, I expect you two to keep everything running in the meantime, am I understood?”

“Yes sir!”

“Yes my lord!”

“See that you return ready to do take on additional responsibilities. Dismissed.”

Viktor waited for the two to leave his office before sighing and turning back to Taurox. A frown creasing his face as he sighed,

“Vik?”

“This just turned into a disaster didn’t it?”

“More or less.”

“Why now of all times, and when fucking Lionel visits too.”

“I did tell you to take care of them earlier.”

“Tch, I just wanted to find out who the hell is sponsoring them.”

“The curious Kobold is the first to die.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you. You spend so much time reading in the library I’m surprised you know how to wield your blade.” Viktor exclaimed exasperatedly.

“But that wasn’t the cause of how we’ve lost one of our suspects.”

“You never cut me any slack," Viktor grumbled, "But, at least we did get one thing.”

“Hmm?”

Viktor held up Wilde’s report and let Taurox flip through it. He watched with amusement as the Minotaur’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Near Myndiri ruins?”

“Keep reading.”

“Huh, so one of the trackers followed them back to a ruin in the Mistveil? You think they’re looking to tinker with old magic?”

“Or at least their sponsors want them to. Six years, Rox, six years these bastards keep trying to just run interference and now we finally know something about why they do it.”

Taurox scratched his chin and Viktor could see the cogs turning in his brain.

“Old magicks huh, heretics? Cultists?”

“Worse.”

“Worse?”

“I suspect they themselves might be well organized heretics. But their sponsors likely are looking to utilize some Myndiri artifacts.”

“But treasure hunters find Myndiri artifacts all the time and that isn’t a problem so…”

“Likely something considered dangerous even by the Myndir. Something powered by void magic.”

“Damn.”

The two shared a solemn nod as Taurox placed the file back on the Inquisitor’s desk before tilting his horns towards the door.

“Death cults and dark artifacts aside, you still have a meeting.”

Senior Inquisitor Viktor Von Krantz groaned as he stood up and gave the minotaur a tired pat on the shoulder.

“Then shall we?”

“Only if you buy me a round afterwards.” Taurox grinned as Viktor scoffed in fake annoyance. But he recognized the fire now burning in the Inquisitor’s eyes, the hunter had now found the prey’s preferred feeding ground, and was finally closing in for the kill.