The Registry is the largest Guild in the world. While technically classified as a Great Guild, the governmental superpower dwarfs even its nearest rivals by orders of magnitude. Composed of multiple member guilds working in concert across the surface and the Dungeon, it is the world's largest employer. So when an organization this vast needs decisive action, it requires agents who can bypass bureaucracy and cut through the sluggish communication between departments, local governments, and powerful individuals.

  This is where Inquisitors come in.

  Theirs is an organization that answers only to the Registry's highest echelon. Their expertise varies wildly: criminal investigation, accounting, esoteric arcane knowledge, history, and countless other fields. They are invariably high-rank—rarely below tier-25—and when their skills prove valuable enough, the Registry invests heavily in their growth, ensuring they can operate without obstruction and at peak efficiency. Their role is simple: To get answers. To get things done. They are the hand of the Registry itself: swift, effective, and powerful.

  It is understandable, then, that their movements are followed and studied with great interest and that more often than not, their arrival coincides with great changes. Some of which can be quite brutal.

  - Institutions of the Modern Age, by Seeker-Historian Marella Therin

  As the door clicked shut behind them, a pleasant, soft music floated in, replacing the faraway sound of the busy hall. They were in a brightly lit room, down the hall, and plenty of daylight was coming through the wide window. Beyond the glass was a small private garden, but the Inquisitor they had come to see was neither out there nor at the empty desk that had been set on top of the central carpet.

  Brie and Thalia shared a look, but neither spoke as they looked around, waiting for a sign, a voice, anything.

  The wait was unbearable. Brie felt hyper aware of her surroundings. Of her own heartbeats and breath. But somehow, it was also as if she was floating in her own body. As if she was moving and controlling herself remotely.

  Had Lott known this was going to happen? Had he been summoned already? Had he talked?

  Brie pressed her lips in a line, her attention shifting toward the song crystal that filled the room with the supposedly “calm” song that was only putting her more on edge. Why was it unnerving her so much?

  Looking away from the source of the music, she noted three doors, two on the right, and one on the left. Some muted noise was coming through the last one, but neither she nor Thalia dared to move.

  A shaky breath escaped her companion, and Brie found her thoughts circle back to their third accomplice.

  Lott was a Shadow. He knew plenty, but somehow she doubted he could have predicted an Inquisitor showing up as their movements were never disclosed in advance. In fact, she’d bet he was sweating just as much as them, considering he was likely just as outranked as they were. No, he must have known something about her, but not the Inquisitor.

  She frowned. Maybe their movements weren’t that big of a secret?

  She shook her head. While he hadn’t known the details, he knew someone connected to her was coming. But as she eyed the left door, a shiver ran down her spine.

  The timing was weird. The timing was too weird.

  Her gaze swiveled back to the song crystal, and her brows furrowed. Song crystals weren’t that rare, but they were still expensive and out of her siblings, only two cared for such. Brie tried to connect the dots, but before she could get anywhere, the sole door to their left swung open, revealing a kitchenette with a couple of cooks bustling within, and out came a tall, young-looking man with a wrapped sandwich set on a plate, and he froze in turn, face slack as a fry dangled between his teeth. He wore the formal black robes of a high-ranking official, complete with badges and epaulets, but while the intimidating uniform drew the attention, it was the inner color of the uniform that caught her eyes.

  It was the Amaranth red of the Ironvault Great House.

  As she tried to process what she was seeing and as her thoughts teetered on a tight-rope, a tidbit from her past private lessons floated to the surface. The Registry didn’t really allow the coat of arms of Great Houses or Great Guilds to be displayed on their uniforms, but they did allow color.

  “Little sister!” the man exclaimed, a wide, surprised grin on his face as he let the door close behind him. He quickly put down his plate at his desk and stepped closer to her, and she suppressed the reflex of taking a step backward as he loomed over her, hands splayed out. “It’s been a while! No hugs for your favorite sibling?”

  The room was quiet, only filled with the subtle music and the words echoed in her ears. That finally shook her out of her fugue, and her brows knitted as she took a step back. All her stress and worries, all of her anxieties burned away in a second as her features shook with barely restrained rage. And it must have shown on her face, because after hesitating for a second, Talon grimaced and lowered his hands, taking a step back.

  “Right. You must be… cross with me.”

  He was still an Inquisitor, and that was a high, dangerous position for her to mouth off to. But he was also her sibling. And it was that aspect that took precedence right this second and before she knew it, the words left her before she could modulate them. “Cross?” She punched, aiming at his shoulder, and he dodged away as she pursued. “You left me in that den of vipers. You didn’t answer my letters. You—you—” she cut herself off, and taking two deep breaths before she started slinging spells. Behind her, Thalia was completely frozen, unblinking, and she thought that maybe, maybe, she should calm down. But this was still family. Her family. And he was an Inquisitor.

  But she still couldn’t believe his audacity. Brie glared, stepping back next to her friend as she shot him one last dirty look. “I don’t hug strangers,” she finally spat, jaw tense, and glancing to her friend, she quickly whispered. “I’ll explain later.”

  Thalia, her eyes still wide and unblinking, gave her a slow nod.

  Talon took her outburst with a grave face, but he didn’t object to anything she said, which made her even madder. While she had kept it all deeply bottled and “got used to it” she still deeply resented her air-headed sibling and how he never checked in. While she could understand that he was much older than her and had been busy, he had no clue what she had to deal with and him never getting back to her had stung.

  Though there was at least a benefit to all this. Next to her, Thalia was still as a statue. All concerns of the possible interrogation had been forgotten in the midst of the family drama.

  Talon cupped his face with both hands, pressing on his eyes, before he brushed back the red hair framing his face, then nodded. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. I’ve been… gone for too long. And I was too out of reach. But that’s no excuse. I do hope you’ll let me explain. For now, would either of you like some tea? I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt.”

  Thalia was quick to nod, and Brie was pretty sure it was more of a reflex considering the person in front of her was a high-ranker. As for Brie, she bit her tongue a couple of times, then gave him a single nod. “Fine.”

  That should help her cool off a little. And understand why her brother had become an Inquisitor, and why exactly he was here in front of her.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  The situation was still dicey, and they were not out yet.

  ***

  Minutes later, Talon, Thalia, and Brie were seated around a low table in the next room over, one that seemed to be a guest room. One of the cooks had brought three cups and a tea set, and Talon had just finished filling up her own and Thalia’s cups before filling his own. Next to her, Thalia was squirming, but no word came out of the warrior. As for Brie, while not that comfortable with the silence in the presence of this half-stranger, half-official, still didn’t want to say something that might create more trouble for her than she needed.

  Sure, outbursts had happened, but that was no excuse to dig her grave deeper. Especially considering that the somehow goofy man ahead of her was still her brother, and she knew he wasn’t as simple-minded as he sometimes seemed.

  But she wanted to get this going. She still needed to know if she and her friend were in trouble.

  Arms crossed, she ignored her cup and leaned back against the comfy chair. “So. Did they send you to get me?”

  “Hm? Oh yeah. You wouldn’t believe how many hints I’ve gotten these last few months,” Talon said, looking up as he put the teapot down. “They’re pissed. Not about your absence, but how you running away makes them look. There were rumors, and whatnot, but they managed to spin it into having sent you up to a third-rate city as punishment. Sooner or later though, they’ll have to recover you. That’s why they’re beginning to consider using some muscle. Asking me and the others. They knew I was heading up, but they didn’t know why. Registry business, and all that. Though once they hear I’m up here—if they haven’t already been informed—I’m sure I’ll be getting a few more messages.”

  This didn’t come as a shock to Brie. She knew well enough how her parents worked, though it’s a little surprising they had managed to keep things somewhat under wraps. At least for now. Thalia reached for her teacup, mumbling some thanks while Talon did the same. He seemed to be about to address her friend when Brie pulled on his attention once more.

  “And what do you plan on doing?”

  Talon smiled. “It’s almost as if you’re the Inquisitor, not me.”

  Thalia squirmed further, but Brie held his gaze and after a second, Talon leaned back, a smug smile still on his face as if this was just a little family reunion. He took a sip, then shrugged. “Nothing. I’m not here for you. Well, I’m happy I got to see you, and I still feel shitty for not having gotten in touch before now, but I’m not about to antagonize you even more than I already have. So. How about you introduce me to your friend?”

  Before Brie could respond, Thalia stood up and saluted. “Thalia Callahan, sir. Junior City Watch Constable.”

  Talon grinned, eyes twinkling. “Oh. So formal. Come on, Brie. You do it too.”

  Brie narrowed her eyes. “No,” at which point Thalia seemed to have finally cracked, and a not-so-subtle kick caught the side of Brie’s boot. But swallowing the pain, Brie stubbornly kept quiet, her eyes only watering a little.

  “Well, nice to meet you, Thalia,” he smiled, cup in hand as he nodded down to her chair. “Take a seat, and thank you for taking care of my sister. I hope she hasn’t been too much of a handful.”

  “Of course, sir,” Thalia said, finally sitting back down.

  “Call me Talon,” he smiled. “We’re all friends here.”

  “Are we?”

  Talon took a deep breath, his brow twitching, then sighed loudly and slowly. “You know, it’s fair. But I do hope that you’ll eventually agree to put those daggers away so we can talk while I’m up here.”

  Brie tilted her head, faking interest as a not-so-real smile spread on her lips. “Oh? And why are you up here, then? Not to see me, clearly.”

  If her constant needling was actually annoying him, Brie couldn’t tell. Though the fact that she couldn’t get a rise out of him was pissing her off more and more. It made her feel childish, which she was being. But pointing it out to herself was only aggravating her further.

  Talon ignored her tantrum, taking a sip from his cup. “The incident at the gate. The Ashen Wanderer.”

  That caught her attention. “You’re here to catch him?” she asked, for once letting some genuine curiosity slip through her frustration. Genuine curiosity was less suspicious than suddenly growing tense, which she wished her naive warrior-friend could master soon. Though if he had noticed the subtle shift in Thalia’s posture, Brie couldn’t tell. Instead, Talon snorted, reaching for one of the biscuits arrayed in front of him.

  “As if. No. It’s just a high-enough profile incident, and if the Registry doesn’t look into it some factions would riot. The Wanderer did break some rules on their exit, but while the Registry has no interest in antagonizing someone so difficult to get a hold of, especially considering their track record, they did make some powerful enemies. The Obsidian Office and Redmarsh were ready to come up here and tear the city down until they found them and that would have been a mess.”

  Brie had heard some rumors, but unlike some fanatics, she hadn’t really been paying that much attention to the Wanderer and what he’d been up to in the Dungeon. To hear that Miles had made such enemies, though….

  “And it’s not just those two factions that have their eyes on the matter, either.” Talon continued. “I hear plenty of contracts had gone out for any hint, information, sighting, or rumors of their presence in Rivergate. And if it wasn’t for Hollow’s Wind and us, the cook that had met them would be hanging in a dungeon already, tormented until he gave up anything that’d allow hunters to close the net. So. To prevent any diplomatic incident, they sent me!” he exclaimed, leaning back with a self-satisfied smirk on his face. “I’ll ask some questions, talk to some people, write my report, then head back down.”

  Brie listened intently, her mind a flurry of theories and thoughts. That sounded like good news. But while the Registry was generally a benevolent organization, they weren’t completely without their own agency either. What was their goal here in deploying an Inquisitor? Was it just about preventing further escalations, or did they have their own angle.

  Talon let out a sigh, and Brie managed to steal a glance at her friend and found the Vanguard staring back at her. There were questions in her gaze, and Brie immediately felt bad. She had never told Thalia about her family, only that she had gotten away from them. She would tell her later. She owed her at least that. And she hoped that it wasn’t too late.

  Reaching to empty air at his side, Talon flicked a finger, and a parchment appeared against his palm. “I hear you two had an interesting patrol. It was flagged, though an Apprentice Shadow backed you. One that apparently, neither of you had met before that day. Mind telling me what happened exactly?”

  He looked up, his face still as affable and friendly as he always was, but the sharp twinkle in his eyes almost made her shiver. The tension immediately ramped up in the room, and while Brie was almost sure she let none of it show on her face, he had seen it. Talon chuckled, waving the piece of paper around. “Trust me, there’s nothing to worry about. I just need a good picture of what had happened. No one’s in trouble, no matter what you tell me.”

  Brie looked at the piece of paper, then back at her brother. The friendly face of the Ironvault main-branch. The one nearly everyone in the family liked. Who was hired by the Registry to become an Inquisitor, who was then sent up to look into the Wanderer’s incident and act as a peace-keeping effort to prevent some factions from taking actions.

  The Registry rarely intervenes in scenarios like this, Brie thought. Unless there was something they—

  She stilled. Her brows lifted a little, then her gaze flicked to her sibling. He was giving her a little knowing smile that made her want to punch him again though as she looked at him, she knew she had it.

  He had always loved laying out puzzles in front of her and seeing her putting pieces together. Maybe that’s why he became such a renowned delver and archaeologist.

  “You’re after him. The Registry’s trying to recruit the Wanderer.”

  The twitch of his lips told her she got it, but her triumph near instantly came crashing down as her own words echoed in her ears, and like a predator who caught a scent, Talon leaned forward, his smile widening for a second before he picked up another biscuit and leaned back.

  There was a lump in her throat, and Brie wanted to hit herself. She had slipped up, and as she scrambled to figure a way of taking back her mistake, Talon spoke up.

  “I knew you were still sharp, little sister. Too bad our dear parents couldn’t see it. Or maybe they did. But their method of letting us fend for ourselves could really use some work,” he mused. Then popping the biscuit in his mouth, he chewed for a couple of seconds, his mirthful eyes dancing between her and Thalia. “But yes. The Registry is interested in making contact with him. And something tells me you two know something. So. What happened in that patrol?”