The cages didn’t take too much effort to remove; all 8 from one and 4 from the other. They weighed roughly 120kg apiece and, paired with the other cages in the camp, would be a decent, albeit limited, supply of iron. My digbots were making good progress into the ground.

  In the next few days, they’d all converge on the iron-rich vein running under the hill, and the supply of materials to my mini-refinery would be consistent enough to bootstrap a true mining operation. Once my errands were completed in Eprie, things would be in full swing.

  I checked in on the drones I’d sent out to search for creatures with crystals, but it seemed like there weren’t any in the surrounding forest. Did animals fall under a unique set of qualifications for crystals? Did they need to be self-conscious?

  Damn those stupid Crystals.

  Another hour passed, and the last of the goods were packed and loaded. The camp was nearly barren, aside from the tent Armela and I shared and some other sundry scrap too worthless to bother collecting. The afternoon was creeping on and, like the last group we’d sent out, I instructed this group on the path to Hilst.

  The inn wasn’t anything special, but would be more than enough to provide these people with soft beds and warm food. They’d need to camp overnight, but there were no major threats between the camp and Hilst, so they could rest easy.

  It would make the journey to Eprie seem that much shorter, as well as provide some people with an opportunity to decide what they wanted to do next. Many did not need to return to Eprie, so travelling straight there would take them out of their way.

  Armela asked why I didn’t simply use my gates to send them to Hilst and I had to explain that opening a gate large enough to drive the wagons through would likely cause all sorts of problems with both the townsfolk, and the priests of Rel they currently hosted.

  She scrunched up her face at that and asked me why it mattered. I supposed that as a mercenary she wouldn’t have much use of charisma, but causing undue friction with the church would only make things harder for the townsfolk. I couldn’t do that.

  It was sliding into mid-afternoon now, and I still hadn’t heard anything from Seta regarding the priests. They hadn’t stopped to check on the drones gathered at the Leader’s house, nor had they discovered Seta’s resting in her mattress.

  I wondered if they were still interviewing and speaking with parents. There didn’t seem to be any kind of commotion that I could hear or observe, so I let things continue on as they had. If I hadn’t heard from Seta by nightfall, I would dispatch a drone over the village to establish an over-watch of the situation.

  I wasn’t worried yet, but the priests’ lack of interest in the drones struck me as somewhat odd, since that had been the reason they were called out to the village. It occurred to me they might have been waiting for me. No doubt they knew the message had been delivered to me here at the camp.

  It was as I had this thought that Seta burst into her room and scrambled under the bed. She whispered as loudly as she dared.

  “Vita!!! Vita, they’re coming for me, they’re following me, they’re going to get me. I’m scared, I’m scared, I’m scared!!”

  I didn’t hesitate and dropped her through a rift into my arms.

  “Easy, Seta, breathe. Be still now. You’re safe now. Eaaaasssy.”

  She was feverishly panting and looking around; the transition from where she’d been to where she was had stunned her. I began walking towards the tent Armela and I shared to keep Seta out of the filth of the camp yard.

  “Just hold on; you’ll be alright.”

  I could hear footsteps in her house, searching the rooms one by one. They were heavy steel thuds as the feet creaked across the wooden floorboards.

  Guards, not priests.

  One man entered her room and searched it. Another voice from outside the room spoke.

  “She in there?”

  The man in her room replied while continuing to dig around in baskets and crates.

  “Nah, ain’t even under the bed. I dunno where she coulda gone; we watched her come in here.”

  The man was still for a long moment.

  “The window ain’t even open; none of ‘em are open. You think there’s a secret passage?”

  The other man scoffed.

  “No way some backwater shithole like this has onea those, ya moron. Nah, she had help, probably. Or managed to close the window without us noticin’.”

  There was a light clinking of metal as the man in her room shifted his weight.

  “Yeah… but Dormul woulda caught her comin’ out the back though… there’s something fucked going on here, Radam.”

  A long sigh came from the man in the other room.

  “Alright, let’s go tell Bossman the little bitch gave us the slip. He ain’t gonna be happy, but I dunno what we coulda done if she had help. Maybe it was this ‘heretic’ he’s been blabbin’ about.”

  The man in her room walked out.

  “Ahhh fuck, that guy is an absolute prick when he’s pissed. I feel sorry for those other kids now.”

  As they exited the house, the other man growled

  “Don’t talk about that shit man, I don’t wanna fuckin’ know anything about what that sick fuck does behind closed doors. We get paid to wear armour and beat the piss outta people he don’t like. You mention those kids again and I’ll knock your front teeth out.”

  I looked down at Seta, who was actively trying to calm her breathing.

  “Where were your parents, Seta?”

  “T-they… had to speak to the Cardinal, they left me… with the guards, but… they felt… weird.”

  She was gasping; the adrenaline in her system had turned her pupils into wide, pitch-black saucers as she jittered in my arms. It was a miracle she was coherent enough to speak as clearly as she was.

  “I waited for them to get distracted and then ran. I ran so fast. I couldn’t think of what to do, so I ran home. Now I don’t know what’s going on, Vita.”

  She was terrified. All her life, the priests and guards had been symbols of trust and order. Justice and righteousness. But that had now melted away over minutes to reveal a cruelty she couldn’t fully understand.

  Her gut feeling had been right, and she’d done exactly what she needed to do.

  “You did the right thing, Seta. The best possible thing. I was going to wait until tonight if you hadn’t gotten to me. I’m proud of you for what you’ve done, and everything is going to be alright now. You have my word.”

  I tried to imbue calmness into my words that I didn’t feel. Something was happening in Hilst. Something terrible.

  Reaching the tent, I set her down on a clean bedroll and then set a hand on the top of her head.

  “Just wait right here, alright? I’ll let Armela know what’s going on, and then I’ll take care of things in Hilst. Your parents and your friends are going to be just fine.”

  Panic filled her eyes.

  “Please don’t leave me, please, Vita! You can’t!”

  She was tugging at my heartstrings. And to be fair, she didn’t know Armela yet. Being left in a tent at some camp with some Wolfkin woman probably wouldn’t do anything to decrease her fear.

  I grimaced, but was confident I’d be able to keep her safe if I brought her along with me.

  “Alright, I won’t leave you. But you need to swear to me you won’t stray from my side unless I instruct you to, understood?”

  Seta nodded wordlessly as she clung to the hem of my tunic.

  I reached out to Armela through our link and informed her we were heading into Hilst for a bit. There wasn’t much need for us at the camp now that the wagons had been readied for departure, so she was coming along for whatever awaited us.

  She questioned the ‘us’ part, but when she rounded the tent entrance and spotted Seta kneeling in the bedroll, she turned to look at me.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “I didn’t know you were a father…”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Armela, this is Seta. Seta, meet Armela, my mate. Your proper introductions can wait until we finish what we need to do.”

  Opening the rift into Seta’s house, I took hold of her hand and made my way through it.

  “Jeez, not even a chuckle? It wasn’t that bad.”

  Armela whined as she stepped through behind us into the small, dusty house. It was still and quiet with no other occupants.

  “There’s a time and place, Armela. Unfortunately, this was neither. Seta, where was the last place you saw your parents? Can you take us there?”

  She nodded and shuffled closer to my leg. That would be troublesome, so I hoisted her onto my shoulder, and she grabbed hold of my head for balance. Ducking under the doorway, we worked our way out the front door of the small house.

  It opened onto a well-kept yard penned in with a small wooden fence. A well-worn dirt path led to a small gate, which led out onto a gravel street. Chickens clucked and bobbed around the yard, pecking at seed and bugs in the grass.

  A small path split off and wrapped around the side of the house to what I assumed was a small grazing lot for the few cattle they owned.

  Stepping through their gate, I detected a man roughly 20 metres down the road. He was partially hidden behind the edge of a building and, after peeking around the edge, sprinted deeper into the village.

  I highlighted his figure in both Armela and my vision in order to keep track of him. Ejecting two drones into the air, I instructed them to patrol the sky in wide, circling arcs. The man was hustling towards the main street, where a small gathering of guards stood, presumably discussing possible search locations.

  Armela swung her head to look at me.

  “How am I seeing that man through the buildings?”

  I tried to think of a way to explain it simply.

  “I’m just projecting his physical location to your vision through our link. If you turn your head enough that he falls outside your field of vision, a small red marker will appear in your peripheral vision to notify you of what direction he’s in. I’m tracking him with various methods, but the main one is that.”

  I pointed to the circling drones and then highlighted the remainder of the visible guards.

  “It seems like they’re gathering near one of the businesses along the main street; it could be where the priests have been conducting their affairs. Seta, just point me in the direction you last saw your parents, please?”

  She nodded with an ‘mhmm’ and then pointed down the street toward where the guard had run off.

  “Do you remember what the Cardinal said when he took your parents?”

  She hesitated before responding.

  “...He said he needed to review the faith with them. But my parents looked scared. They wouldn’t hurt my parents, would they, Vita?”

  Review the faith? Could be a kind way of saying ‘reeducation’. Could also be an inquisitorial interview to see if they were harbouring heretical people, namely, Seta. Based on how the soldiers had hunted her down, the Cardinal may have learned about Seta and her dealings from them.

  Her parents were no doubt in trouble, but I didn’t think the priests would go so far as to kill them, the town as a whole still seemed to be oblivious to the actions of the church, so causing a scene was not part of their plans.

  Even so, I didn’t have the heart to outright lie to her; nor did I have the stomach to express how dire the situation was. Ultimately, I took the middle ground, dodging her concerns as best I could.

  “Your parents will be fine, Seta; we’ll make sure we get them back.”

  Her little hands tightened around my head as we carried forward. I didn’t know whether my attempt at reassurance had been enough to comfort her, or if it had only worsened her suspicions. The running soldier met up with the group gathered on the street, and they all made their way towards us.

  One of them split off and ran into the commerce building, likely to relay that they’d located Seta, and that she had company. Armela drew the sword she’d strapped to her hip and twirled it in anticipation of a fight.

  “Seta, the guards are coming, likely to collect you from us. I will not let them take you, but we’re probably going to hurt them in return. I’m giving you the choice of remaining here or hiding elsewhere if it comes down to a fight. What will you do?”

  She practically riveted herself to my head.

  “Don’t make me go.”

  I reached up and patted her hand, which had welded itself into my hair.

  “Very well, I’m sorry for what you might hear and see.”

  She simply replied with another ‘mhmm’.

  “Armela, we’ll negotiate first; if they insist, we’ll maim and incapacitate instead of kill. I’m sure some of these soldiers don’t fully understand what’s happening or who they truly serve here.”

  She nodded and assumed a strike stance. I stepped behind her, and we waited for the group to come through the houses.

  Interestingly, two of the soldiers broke off from the primary group to cut off our retreat down the side roads. It was less than a minute before the group came upon us, swords drawn.

  “You there! Release the girl to us or you shall be subdued and subjected to the wrath of Silteran law!”

  Silteran? Was that the country? Kingdom? Law? Were these soldiers in the government's employ? Did that mean that the Church of Rel had the blessing of the kingdom? Was it the other way around?

  Just how deep did these tendrils of corruption run? My mind immediately spiraled away with question after question before I clamped down on it and reentered the current moment.

  “Soldier, this girl is currently under my protection, and she will not be relinquished to any force of man nor God. I implore you to put aside your orders and allow us to pass. We are currently searching for her parents, who were last seen in the care of the Cardinal of Rel.”

  My confidence and civility seemed to disrupt them slightly. They hadn’t expected such a response under the threat of swords.

  “If you know of his location, then you may either tell me or, if you promise no violence, you may lead us to them yourselves. Regardless, the girl will remain with me.”

  This only seemed to anger the guard. It was clear from his disposition he was not used to people saying no, or attempting to negotiate.

  “You’re in no position to speak, whelp. You’ll hand the girl over, or we’ll be forced to take her from you by force. Set her down and step away.”

  I shook my head, which rocked Seta back and forth. He had one more chance to avoid conflict, and then his men would be met by Armela, who was currently bristling over his calling me a whelp.

  “Take us to the priests and we will avoid any unnecessary injury to you and your men. I do not want to have to do this; there is a path here that leads to both of us getting what we want, and you’re currently stepping off it.”

  He thought about this briefly before standing straight and sheathing his sword.

  “Very well, our goals do align; however, I’ll ask that the Wolfkin hand over her sword before we take you. As it stands, we’re within our rights to arrest you for kidnapping. Do not press us further.”

  I nodded and gestured to Armela to throw the sword down, which she absolutely hated; I could feel the rage pouring off of her.

  Sending her a gentle reminder over the link that she didn’t need the sword to put them down, she relented and tossed the sword to the guard captain’s feet. Though she did send me a seething mental command.

  “You better fucking get me that damn sword, Vita. If I lose it because you made me toss it on the ground, I’m kicking your nuts so hard they come out your ears.”

  I instructed one of the circling drones to collect the sword after we’d moved on and return it to Armela when the opportunity arose.

  “Good, do anything stupid, and we’ll be forced to take retaliatory action. Follow me and keep your traps shut.”

  The guards surrounded us, and we moved as a unit down the street heading toward the commerce building. I whispered to Seta.

  “Everything is alright, Seta. I’m here.”

  She just trembled and kept her body wrapped around my skull. Poor girl.

  It was a tense walk to the building. None of the guards wanted to open up an opportunity for us to strike, so their swords were out and ready the entire way. Windows and doors were slamming shut as we passed houses; however, some curious onlookers were picking up our trail and following several paces back, likely interested in finding out what all the commotion was for.

  Was that how things went in small towns? I had thought the soldier presence would deter onlookers, but it appeared it only incited them.

  By the time we reached the commerce building, a dozen villagers had gathered and were now loitering just down the street. The guard captain ordered a halt and told his men to keep us detained while he went to notify the Cardinal.

  It struck me as rather strange that none of the other priests were present; no one had mentioned the other priests or indicated that they were here. Were they somewhere else in the village? My drones had noticed nothing elsewhere in the village.

  He disappeared through the door, and several minutes passed before he reemerged with a priest in tow. The priest was tall, slim, and not nearly as old as I’d thought he would have been. His hair was an incredibly light blonde, bordering on white; his face was narrow and hawkish.

  He wasn’t unattractive, but neither was he handsome. It was a utilitarian face; no laugh lines, no blemishes, just a sharp nose and permanently creased eyebrows. He glanced over us, dismissing Armela immediately before focusing on both myself and Seta.

  “Are you… the heretic?”

  He asked it down his nose at me, as though lowering his chin to address me would somehow put him on my level. He had a small pair of spectacles perched on the end of it that just seemed to add to the pomp and huffy air around him.

  “I am Vita, and I have not denounced Rel. Are there no other gods to worship in this land, or does Rel make a habit of snuffing out beliefs wherever their will passes?”

  The priest’s lip curled in a sneer.

  “My fellow Cardinals and I received a blessed revelation from Almighty Rel, one that spoke of a man spreading heretical opinions of another god in our land.”

  As I’d suspected, the lilt and timbre of his voice were grating. He spoke with a Received Pronunciation, lacking rhoticity and yod-dropping. He sounded like a pompous ass.

  “People are very much allowed to worship who they like, but persuading those righteous members of the faith into straying from Rel’s light will not be tolerated. Proselytising in Holy Siltera is punishable with immolation, heretic.”

  So this was the Cardinal. He spoke with conviction, and I noticed both the guards and the villagers turn wary eyes upon me. Though he seemed to be oblivious to the message that had been relayed to me by the brigand leader. Was it a ploy? Why threaten me?

  “And does Rel also punish those who deal in the subjugation and distribution of slaves? Does Rel condone the capture and torture of women and children?”

  I allowed the heat in my voice to rise in order for the people listening in from behind their shuttered windows could hear the exchange.

  “I happen to have intercepted quite an interesting letter at a nearby slave camp; it made some peculiar promises in the name of your Almighty.”

  This put the Cardinal on the back foot momentarily; I could see the recognition in his subtly widened eyes, the minuscule flaring of his nostrils, the exaggerated bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. It was quick, but it was there.

  “Absolutely preposterous! Rel is a merciful and compassionate God, to suggest that there would be any tolerance for such things is blasphemy of the highest order.”

  He shook with indignation. His face slowly shaded a light crimson with his rising ire. Was he not given the same message as the brigand leader? Who sent it along to me, then? And why was Rel giving their priests different ‘revelations’?

  “How dare you even utter those words, you vile man! I’ll have you bound to a pyre before the day is out for this heresy.”

  Armela took a defensive stance.

  “Easy now, priest. I’m not here to banter about your beliefs. I’m here to collect this little girl’s parents and be on my way; there doesn’t need to be any trouble, and I don’t want your men to suffer. Simply release her parents and we will go.”

  The guards had also readied themselves for a fight now, and the villagers stepped back, not wanting to be drawn into the conflict. I could tell that my calling him a priest had stung his pride, but he quickly moved past that at the mention of Seta and her parents.

  He eyed her with a speculative cock of an eyebrow.

  “Ah yes, the girl. I don’t know what you did to your parents, witch, but they were adamant you’d done nothing wrong. Even when plied with serums and pain, they refused to implicate you among the other children. It’s almost admirable, really.”

  He idly observed his fingernails as he spoke, blowing on them lightly before buffing them against his stark-white robes.

  “Unfortunately, all of that bravado was for naught, as the other children were more than eager to throw you to the wolves to save their own parents. Indeed... instead of complying, you fled, which strikes me as the actions of a guilty soul.”

  My fists balled, and Seta was fighting back tears as she whispered in my ear.

  “Vita… what does he mean by ‘pain’?”

  I stared the priest down.

  “What have you done, priest? What cruelty have you perpetrated here? Explain yourself now while you have the opportunity to speak. I promise you it will not last forever.”

  This Cardinal knew about the slave ring, so he would not be living for very long anyway, but I couldn’t just strike him down without getting the information I needed, or without a just reason in front of the villagers. The Cardinal barked out a laugh, once again brushing past my dismissal of his rank.

  “HAH! Listen here, heretic. Her parents were aiding and sheltering a known threat to our faith. They had the information necessary for the capture and elimination of that threat. No man, woman or child would stand before the Inquisition duties of a Cardinal of Rel and believe they could conjure an excuse to forgive their deeds.”

  Now he was speaking to the gathered people. Projecting his voice so that it wasn’t just a threat for myself, but those listening as well.

  “Rights are the realm of man; justice is the realm of our God. And in pursuing that justice, there are no means beyond our ability. I do thank you for delivering both yourself and the witch to us; it was very convenient. However, now we shall be taking you into custody and arranging for your purification via fire. Guards, apprehend the—”

  Before he could finish his sentence, Armela was already breaking the knee of her second man. I made my way up the stairs as she continued to put down the surrounding men. The priest seemed to have trouble understanding what was happening as he backed up, but I reached out and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him through the door to the commerce building and then throwing him to the floor.

  Using a whip limb, I slammed the door shut, leaving Armela to her work. The inside of the building was well furnished; sturdy tables and chairs were adorned with candelabras, inkpots, and stacks of paper. A long bar ran down the right side of the building, behind which sat several shocked workers.

  A few of them dropped their quills and scrambled for the back rooms at the far end of the building. I hit the area with a sweep in the infrared range and located two people on the upper floor currently bound to chairs. They looked unconscious, but based on the heat signature, very much alive.

  The Cardinal scrambled back across the floor until he ran into a table, knocking over several candles and setting a few stacks of paper on fire. He thrust out his hand and began uttering something as a bright golden sigil sprang to life in his palm.

  Normally this wouldn’t concern me, but with Seta on my shoulder I couldn’t risk her being injured.