When the first expedition returned after a whole five days, Naomi saw wide smiles on their faces. They immediately surrounded her and started thanking her for her last floor, asking for more things like that. Even though the golem only superficially resembled the orc warriors, adventurers told tall tales of the events on the eleventh floor. And with each new mug, the details grew more incredible. The prizes were also not small, although they were mainly food. But food was always in demand, especially in the north. There were three to four months to grow anything, and citadels need supplies to be ready for a siege. Most of the year, carts of food were hauled north to support soldiers and paladins guarding the border. One more source will be a great help.
While in the north people were in a cheerful and hopeful mood despite the approaching winter, in the south, the opposite was happening. It started one morning in the city of Freyharf. Two guards who had just finished their night shift and were returning to the barracks were stopped by a terrified servant.
“My Lord… he is dead…” He said in a breaking voice.
They immediately followed him to the modest mansion, but it visibly belonged to someone rich. When they entered the bedroom, what they saw made them pale. The expensive carpet was soaked in the blood of a dead man. The killer makes sure that the victim won’t survive.
One guard blocked the entrance to the room, preventing anyone from entering until the paladins arrived with the Inquisitor and the priest. He also ordered all servants to gather and wait to be questioned. Other guardsmen, in the meantime, run to the temple of the Sun with the news.
The victim was Lord Gerold, the third son of Viscount Orderic. It wasn’t a big or influential noble house, but it was a noble house nonetheless. Questioning and checking every servant's path went smoothly, but it didn't answer how it happened. It only allowed them to establish that the victim died in the middle of the night. All servants were sure that their lord went to his bedroom late at night that day, and his body was discovered by the head servant, who needed to ask his lord how to organize the day. There was one suspect, but she was nowhere to be found. It was Lord Gerold's personal servant girl. The servants partially confirmed the suspicion of an indecent relationship between the lord and the girl, but they also denied that the girl was forced in any way by the lord. They even suspected that the poor girl dreamed of one day becoming Lord Gerold's wife. Inquisitor noted their opinion, but without the girl's testimony, he needed to leave that question open. Servants in general had a high opinion of the lord. In their opinion, because he was the third son, he was a very hard-working man. He often visited other influential people and frequently returned late at night. His guardsmen gave an extensive list of houses and places they were visiting, where, in his opinion, Lord Gerold was conducting businesses. The examination of the crime scene raises more questions. The inquisitor found mana traces of cultist taint, and by the look of wounds, he suspected that the blade was poisoned. This suggested that Lord Gerold's killer was a cultist. While paladins didn’t find any evidence of the lord's treason, there were too many unanswered questions to close the investigation. For now, they decided to look for the missing servant girl. She could have some answers.
The murder of Lord Gerold became for a few days the topic of rumors, but for people, it wasn’t the first time that a noble died because he tried to do business with some shady people, who turned out to be cultists. Then the second and the third murders happened. Now everyone knows that something serious is happening.
The investigation of the third crime scene finally gave some answers.
“The way victims die suggests the killer was the same person. The traces of tainted mana and poison in the wounds indicate a cultist assassin. While we don’t find any evidence of treason for the first two victims, the third victim, Master Merchant Teo, was a traitor. We found documents in a hidden room that confirm this and that he did business with two other victims. Because of that, I suspect we are witnessing some infights among the cultists. Regrettably, without catching the culprit or any cultist for interrogation, I can’t tell why it’s happening, or if there is a reason at all.” Head Inquisitor ended his rapport.
“Then until we catch him, we can expect more victims, yes?” The Grand Priestess Eleana asked.
“Yes, Grand Priestess. I suspect that after all influential people double their guards, the killer will hide for some time. But it’s impossible to guess if he achieved his goals or not.”
“True. While news of cultists killing each other isn’t bad news, I’m worried about innocent victims who could be involved. We need to find the culprit, Inquisitor.”
“Agree. My people are looking for any clues even as we speak.”
“Let’s pray then to the Sun god, for his light to reveal the truth.” Grand Priesstes said.
In Freyharf, the murders did indeed stop, but they began to occur in other towns as well. Fear was slowly spreading in the south. Paladins, inquisitors, and guards worked tirelessly to catch the culprits. It became obvious that this was the work of many people. Some victims die on the same day in places that are even one month apart from each other.
The headquarters of the inquisitors in the City of Light was flooded with new raptors and testimonies. The Grand Inquisitor appoints a team of inquisitorial masters to analyze all of them carefully. He also said that any new clues should be reported to him immediately.
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For the first week, eleven priests read one scroll after another, making notes and comparing their findings to each other.
One priest by the name of Thomas got the idea to organize an ambush on one of the culprits on the road to the new city. To predict when a killer could travel, he needs to know when the first and the last confirmed victims were found in each town. He takes a map and starts writing dates next to each location. In the end, he didn’t find a pattern to predict where and when killers will attack next. But instead, he found a place where everything began. It was the city of Freyharf. He immediately went to the archive and read scrolls about recent events there. The next day, he found a scroll describing the escape of a cultist who was being escorted to the city for trial. When he looked for anything about this cultist, he found another scroll. When he read it, his eyes went wide. He may not have found a killer, but he found a reason why it’s happening. He immediately wrote up his findings and went straight to the Grand Inquisitor's office, even though it was already late.
“Enter!” The Grand Inquisitor loudly said.
“Grand Inquisitor, I found something. It could be important.” The priest said immediately upon entering.
“What did you find?”
“The place where it started, and the reason. It’s something I found after analyzing dates of each death.”
“Where?” The Grand Inquisitor asked. Dates were circumstantial evidence, but sometimes they can tell you something.
“On Taram.”
The Grand Inquisitor stiffened. He didn’t expect that. On the other hand, it was a place where strange things were constantly happening.
“Show me what you found.”
“I started analyzing dates of each death to see if I could predict movements of killers. Regretfully, I didn’t find anything that could help. The number of victims is different in each city, and the time between the first and last victim also varies. I only managed to recreate the killer's past movements.” He shows a map. “The first news was from Freyharf. I went to the archive to see what happened there before the first victim died. Around two weeks before, there was one unexplained event involving cultists. Very similar to what is happening now. A caravan from On Taram was escorting cultists to Freyharf, but was attacked. Most likely to rescue captured cultist, but he, for some reason, killed his rescuers.”
“There is similarity between what’s happening and that event.” The Grand Inquisitor nodded. “And what about On Taram?”
“It was another scroll. There was a description of a conversation between the Dungeon Mistress and the runaway cultist.”
“I remember now. There was a report about that. Can you tell me exactly what you found?”
“I think the reason for the infight between the cultists is the conclusion of their talks. Dungeon Mistress calls him a fool, believing in empty promises. And this spy has a lot of time to think about her words.”
“At least one month.” The Grand Inquisitor agrees. “Is this the final version of your findings?” He pointed at the scroll.
“Yes Grand Inqizitor.”
“Good. Return to your work. You most likely found something important, but catching killers is the top priority.”
“Understood. I'll see if I can find a good place for an ambush. Some towns are connected by only one road. If I were able to predict time for killer movements, maybe then we could catch him.”
“Do that.”
The Grand Inquisitor went to the Office of the Archpriest immediately after the young priest left his office. Despite it being almost evening, he was still in his office. Not working on anything important right now, but ready if anything happens.
“Welcome, Grand Inquisitor. I assume you have some news?” The Archpriest asked.
“I believe so. One of my priests found something.”
“Please tell me you have a way to apprehend killers, or at least stop them. While most of the victims were traitors and their punishment will be death anyway, they should have a proper trial, and shouldn’t be killed by an assassin.”
“Agree. However, for now, my priests haven’t found a way to stop them. Instead, they found the origin of what’s happening. It begins in On Taram, and the Dungeon Mistress caused it.”
“How?” Both Archpriest and Chino asked simultaneously.
“Do you remember her conversation with the cultist, and how she called him a fool? The same cultist ran away. He has help, but he killed his rescuers, and now he is killing others. Be it revenge, or an attempt to take their place for himself.”
“Dear gods. How was she able to plan all of that?” The Archpriest was stunned.
“I don’t think it was planned at all. Or not planned consciously.” The Grand Inquisitor answered. “She is an old soul. While her past knowledge is gone, some instincts remain. There is no way to tell who she was in the past.”
“And if she were queen or just advisor to the royals, she was doing that kind of thing routinely,” Chino whispered with her eyes wide open.
“And now her instincts guide her, even if she doesn’t know that.” The Grand Inquisitor added.
“Shouldn’t we tell her?” Chino asked.
“I think we shouldn’t. Dungeon Mistress barely accepts the deaths she caused in her dungeon. Even if she was a queen in the past, right naw she is just a normal and kindhearted woman. It could break her will.” Archpriest shakes his head and sighs heavily.
“But we can't lie to her.” Chino protested.
“And we give her the truth any time he asks us anything. But only if she asked, not before.”
“I don’t like it,” Chino said.
“Don’t worry, Dungeon Mistress. We may not tell her, but the rumors and news will reach her anyway. And she is a smart woman, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she realizes the truth herself.” The Grand Inquisitor said.
