Outskirts of Sethroian, 12th of Fogveil, year 313 UC
The underground room stank of blood and sweat. A single lamp cast shadows across the stone walls. A man sat bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room, his once-fine clothes now torn and stained dark with blood. His face was barely recognizable—swollen, bruised, with one eye completely shut. Where his left ear should have been, there was only a ragged, weeping wound.
Bryan stood in the corner, arms crossed, his face unreadable behind his junior Inquisitor mask.
Inquisitor Maddox circled the chair slowly, his boots making soft clicking sounds against the stone floor.
"Councilor Elwin."
Maddox said, his voice almost gentle as he leaned down.
"We've been at this for hours now. My patience, while considerable, is not infinite."
Councilor Elwin's head lolled forward, blood and saliva dripping from his split lips.
"Please."
He whispered, the word barely audible.
"I've told you... nothing... told no one..."
Maddox sighed, straightening up to glance at Inquisitor Kress, who leaned against the wall opposite Bryan. Kress was shorter, stockier, with fingers that seemed too thick for the delicate work of torture. Yet Bryan had watched those same fingers extract the councilor's fingernails with surgical precision.
"We have evidence, Councilor."
Maddox continued, producing a small scroll from his pocket.
"Documentation of your meetings. Records of payments. The shipment schedules you provided for the magic crystals and magitech weapons."
He unrolled the scroll in front of the councilor's face, though the man's remaining good eye was too swollen to possibly read it.
"So I'll ask you one more time."
Maddox's voice hardened.
"Who did you sell this information to?"
Elwin shook his head weakly.
"No one... please... my family..."
The door suddenly banged open with enough force to strike the wall.
Inquisitor Thorn strode in, dragging a small figure. A young girl, no more than ten years old, blindfolded with a cloth gag in her mouth and her hands bound behind her back. She thrashed against his grip, making muffled sounds of terror behind the gag.
"Found her hiding in the cellar."
Thorn announced.
"Right where you said she'd be."
When the girl continued struggling, Thorn slapped her hard across the face. The sound echoed in the small room.
"Be quiet."
He growled.
"MIRA!"
Councilor Elwin surged against his restraints, the chair legs scraping against the floor.
"DON'T TOUCH HER! PLEASE!"
Maddox stepped between Elwin and his daughter, blocking his view.
"This is unfortunate, Councilor."
He said, his tone suggesting it was anything but.
"I had hoped we could resolve this matter between men."
He gestured toward the girl without looking away from Elwin's face.
"But if you won't cooperate, we have other methods. First your daughter. Then your wife. Then your mother and brother. We'll bring them all here, one by one."
Maddox leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"And when we're done, we'll release all evidence of your corruption to the public. You'll be a living exile—no family, no honor, no future. You'll wish we had killed you."
He smiled thinly.
"And to ensure you never profit from magic again, we'll erode your ether pathways. Permanently."
Bryan watched the councilor's face crumple, whatever resistance he had maintained finally shattering. Tears mixed with blood as they streamed down his cheeks.
"The Chief Constable."
Elwin sobbed, the words tumbling out now.
"Kael Morvain. He... he ordered me to provide the information. Said it was a matter of national security. I didn't know... I swear I didn't know it was treason."
Maddox straightened as he fixed Elwin's ragged clothing and patted him on the cheek twice.
"There, was that so difficult?"
He nodded to Thorn, who released his grip on the girl.
The child didn't run. She simply dissolved into dust, particles floating in the air before vanishing completely.
Elwin stared in horror, his mouth working soundlessly.
"An illusion, Councilor."
Maddox said, placing his fingers against his own lips in a shushing gesture.
"Your daughter is still safely at home, completely unaware of her father's... predicament."
The councilor sagged in his restraints, a broken sound escaping him—half relief, half despair.
Maddox turned away, nodding to Kress and Thorn.
"We have what we need. Chief Constable Morvain will be our next visit."
As the other Inquisitors moved toward the door, Maddox paused beside Bryan. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, leaning down to speak quietly.
"Finish the job, Blackwood."
He said, his voice matter-of-fact.
"Make it clean."
Then he was gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click that somehow sounded more final than the earlier bang.
Bryan remained still for a moment, watching the councilor weep silently in the chair. The man's shoulders shook with each sob. A man of power, now diminished and left as prey for the predators.
This world preyed on the weak. Bryan learned that early on. No one was safe, it was just the law of the jungle.
Slowly, Bryan moved forward, drawing the knife from his belt.
Councilor Elwin raised his head, his one good eye focusing on Bryan for the first time. Recognition dawned in that bloodshot gaze.
"You're just a boy."
He whispered.
"Gods help us all."
Bryan's hand tightened on the knife handle.
"The gods aren't here, just me."
He replied.
Bryan stepped behind the chair, positioning the blade. A quick thrust to the base of the skull would be painless, at least compared to what the councilor had already endured.
"I have a son."
Elwin said suddenly, his voice stronger now.
"About your age. Does he know what his father truly is? What would he think if he saw me now?"
Bryan hesitated, the knife hovering inches from the man's neck.
"It doesn't matter what he thinks. You betrayed your kingdom."
"I thought I was serving it."
Elwin whispered.
"We never see our own corruption until it's too late, do we?"
"Any last words, Councilor?"
Bryan asked.
Elwin was silent for a long moment.
"Tell my family I'm sorry. And boy... whatever they've done to make you this way... I'm sorry for that too."
Bryan's jaw tightened beneath his mask. With one swift motion, he drove the blade forward.
The councilor's body jerked once, then went still.
Bryan cleaned his knife on the man's shirt.
He turned to leave, but paused at the door, looking back at the slumped figure in the chair.
We never see our own corruption until it's too late.
Bryan shook his head sharply, dispelling the image.
***
Outskirts of Sethroian, 15th of Fogveil, year 313 UC
The courtyard of the Chief Constable's estate lay in darkness. Guards lay unconscious—or dead—at their posts, having never raised the alarm.
Bryan stood with his boot pressed firmly against Chief Constable Kael Morvain's neck, pinning the man to the ground. Unlike Councilor Elwin, Morvain had fought back when they came for him. His expensive nightclothes were torn and stained with his own blood, his face bruised from the brief struggle.
"Don't move."
Bryan said coldly.
Morvain had nearly escaped, forcing Bryan to expend a lot of ether to reinforce his body so he could increase his physical capabilities. Chief Constable Morvain was a mage, but it seems that in his time playing politics, he let go of his training.
Footsteps approached from behind, and Bryan didn't need to look to know it was the other Inquisitors.
"Nice job."
Maddox said, stepping into view. He looked down at Morvain with a cold smile.
"Chief Constable. What an honor to finally meet you properly."
Morvain struggled beneath Bryan's boot.
"This is an outrage! Do you know who I am?"
"A traitor to the crown."
Maddox replied simply.
He crouched down, bringing his face closer to Morvain's.
"We know everything, Chief Constable. Councilor Elwin was most... forthcoming... before his unfortunate passing."
Morvain's face drained of color.
"Elwin? What have you done to him?"
"The same thing we'll do to you, if necessary."
Maddox said.
"But first, some questions. Where did the shipment go? Who's your contact in the Holy Empire?"
Morvain's jaw clenched, his eyes darting between the Inquisitors. Then, with sudden desperation, he opened his mouth wide.
Kress moved with surprising speed for his bulk, grabbing Morvain's face in one meaty hand and forcing his jaw open.
"None of that now."
Kress growled.
"We need you alive and talking."
Morvain made a muffled sound of defiance. Kress responded by tightening his grip, applying pressure to Morvain's jaw until a sickening crack echoed through the courtyard. Blood gushed from the Chief Constable's mouth as several teeth shattered, fragments scattering across the cobblestones.
Morvain's scream was garbled by the blood filling his mouth, his body convulsing beneath Bryan's boot.
"Where is the shipment?"
Maddox repeated.
"This can be much worse, I assure you."
***
Ashern City - Reinhart Institute of War, 3rd of Brightforge, year 315 UC
Bryan opened his eyes to the darkness of his dormitory room.
He blinked once, his mind still lingering on the fragments of memory that had played through his dreams. Chief Constable Morvain's broken teeth scattered across the courtyard stones. The sound of his muffled screams. The weight of a man's neck beneath Bryan's boot.
'What a stupid thing to recall.'
He thought, sitting up and running a hand through his hair.
The past was the past.
Yet as he rose, the echo of Councilor Elwin's final words followed him like a shadow.
Whatever they've done to make you this way... I'm sorry for that too.
Bryan pushed the thought aside. He had no time for ghosts.