Chapter 42

“Inquisitor has gone,” Athena announced.

‘He’s in Thersus, exterminating any amongst the Militia he thinks are less than worthy of Beog. The Seeker and his party are there too, keeping well out of his way, ‘ Jemima sent.

“OK, Athena, off you go,” I nodded. ‘Are Naimh and her team OK?‘ I sent back to Jemima.

‘Yes, John. The city not so much. He made a right mess of it when he ported in and set off a firestorm in each attack location. The timer for the bombs is OK though and he’s still in the area. Doubt we’ll get him, but it might cause him to lose face.‘

‘Hopefully Athena will manage that for him here too, ‘ I agreed as Athena and Gregorius slipped through the wall without even a hint of a phasing spell.

We continued our work in making the dead space ‘liveable’, though had no intentions of permanently basing anyone here. It was simply enough to know that if we needed to get in here again, we could do it without a trek through the desert.

“How’s she doing, Abi?” I asked, referring to Athena whom, along with Gregorius, I couldn’t detect at all.

“She’s speaking to them in the ... enclosed purdah area,” Abi replied, for she, as a Seer, apparently could track Powers and Theurgists if they weren’t trying to hide from the Seers.

“Any sign of success?”

“Can’t tell, John. I can scan her, but not hear her and the Orc side is mostly confusing, though at least they didn’t call the guards.”

“True, guess we wait.”

Crnnch kept his face calm, though inside he was seething. Thersus was a mess, though it could be rebuilt easily enough. What angered him was the Inquisitor questioning then killing out of hand any who might have witnessed the event. None of them could have prevented it at all and they had tried their best to, at least, find the attackers. Crnnch had deliberately sent his Adepts and their advisors away from the scene until (he hoped) the Inquisitor’s blood lust had abated.

The militia commander was just being dragged forward to witness the fight to the death of his immediate subordinates, before being enlightened when a series of massive explosions ripped through the area causing his shield to react and harden whilst killing all unprotected in the area. He did enjoy the grim satisfaction of watching the Inquisitor and his guards bowled over like skittles, including the death of two of them, before the Inquisitor finally regained his feet, though not his dignity.

“This is why we search the sites thoroughly before making judgements,” Crnnch stated calmly as the Inquisitor swung towards him his visage filled with wrath.

“You could have warned us!” the Inquisitor hissed. “You have been judged and found wanting, Seeker!”

“I did warn you. My report, which is already in the hands of Archimandrite Brnnt, shows this and you will likely be judged by him should any harm befall me over this,” he replied in neutral tones, halting the Inquisitor in his tracks.

“I find your attitude somewhat disturbing, Seeker.”

“I find yours to be childish and wasteful. None of those killed could be blamed for what happened here. Indeed, you killed those whom I wished to interview and who may have had some insights as to who this enemy are as well as their capabilities,” Crnnch hit back with the equivalent of a verbal slap in the face.

“You dare!”

“I dare. You are supposed to be assisting this investigation. All I’ve seen is a pathetic child throwing a tantrum.”

“I could have you killed out of hand for saying such things!”

“Feel free. I rather suspect your explanation to the Council of Archimandrites will be short and excruciatingly painful though.”

“Very well, Seeker. We’ll continue it your way ... for now, though your lack of success suggests you are failing to make progress.”

“This is a most skilled enemy. They rarely make mistakes and have adapted rapidly to situations where I believe they have. They are skilled in infiltration, deadly in attack and understand our collective psyche. Hence their use of anti-personnel weaponry in areas where they have openly opposed us. They are skilled psiontists ... well, some of them anyway, and although I believe their technology is less advanced than our own, they know how to use it well.”

“They are nothing compared to the power of Beog!”

“Yet they have killed an Inquisitor and a Dastur. We, as far as I know, have not even seen one, never mind killed one.”

“I have seen the video feed; I agree that is probably not whom we are truly looking for.”

“Seeker, we have found an unactuated device they used,” Adept Slaarg announced politely.

“Ensure it remains that way and carefully store it,” Crnnch replied.

“At once, Seeker.”

“You surround yourself with failures,” the Inquisitor sneered.

“How did they fail? The Dastur sterilised the planet Craachan, leaving very few to resist the enemies counterattack. We failed them.”

“Pah, foolishness, there were enough Yr’ch to defend against what appears to be only a few enemy.”

“An enemy who took over our orbital bombardment system with ease and used it to target the Orbs, as well as somehow kill the Dastur with it. As far as I’m aware, normally those of the Beoghra could survive such an event.”

“This is true,” the Inquisitor conceded.

“My Liege!” one of the Inquisitors surviving guards stated.

“Yes?” he hissed.

“My Liege. Word has reached us from the military base. All your female attendants have vanished...” the guard trailed off as suddenly the Inquisitor was no longer there, having muttered a rapid transportal chant.

“Well, this is going well,” Crnnch sighed as he summoned his Adepts as well as the Inquisitor’s guards.

“What do we do, Seeker?” Kurl asked.

“We investigate here. I rather suspect the military base will not be a safe place for anyone at this time,” he replied, getting signs of assent from all, even the guards. “Start by gathering evidence, assuming the ‘holy Inquisitor’ hasn’t destroyed it all,” he finished in sarcastic tones.

“Yes, Seeker,” came a multitude of replies as his staff spread out to do their jobs.

“Gone as in totally destroyed?” a curious Roxanne asked Lagertha.

“Yes, Mage Roxanne. We had just portalled all our staff out along with the new handmaidens when the Inquisitor came back and went ... berserk is probably closest to the mark,” she explained.

“Everything and everyone on our side OK?” Morgana asked.

“Yes, Mage Morgana. As missions go, this one was a total success, save only one of the mines failed to detonate. It only remains to be seen how the Orcs react.”

“I suspect that they’ll be reluctant to send in more Inquisitors,” Roxanne chuckled. “Step up our sabotage missions, without the military base to back up the Militia I suspect we could get a few horde wars getting way out of hand.”

“At once, Mage Roxanne.”

“Care to see what Athena has got herself?” Roxanne asked Morgana and Elizabeth.

“Why not,” Morgana replied with a friendly smile as they came out to thank those who were on the mission with Athena.

“Well done, Athena,” Roxanne congratulated her as her new handmaidens came into view.

“A mixed success, I just heard what that idiot Inquisitor did and I doubt we’ll have such easy access to the Vultoq military base until it gets rebuilt and that area closed off again,” Athena replied as the Orc women stood around somewhat nervously.

“Aye, he went off like a rocket, I’m told,” Roxanne chuckled. “However, there are other ways into Vultoq so it’s not a great loss.”

“True. Now may I introduce my new handmaidens.”

“Greetings, ladies,” Roxanne and Morgana said in perfect Yr’chan, calming them somewhat.

“Greetings,” they all replied.

“You are now handmaids of the goddess Athena and under her protection. But we welcome you to this world and hope that you will be happy here,” Roxanne added.

“Lagertha, could you portal them to the temple in the Yr’ch encampment? Seekta, my head handmaid, is expecting them. I need to have a ... word with Gregorius,” Athena requested, her eyes flashing with fire to a certain extent.

“Someone’s not a happy bunny,” Morgana stated as Athena led off a grinning Gregorius.

I explained the incident as best I could as the team added their views to the now grinning Morgana and Roxanne.

“That man is in so much trouble,” Roxanne giggled.

“I honestly don’t think he’s bothered, he obviously adores her and it did work to get her to lower her ... fundament to slide in on her belly rather than try to crawl through,” I chuckled.

“True, but Athena’s a woman ... well, female ... probably ... well, it’s her choice anyway,” Roxanne floundered for a few seconds. “And criticising her looks is not smart.”

“Probably not, though from what I can hear it looks like she plans to ... exhaust him, by way of punishment,” I chuckled.

“Oh hell. Athena! Privacy screen, if you don’t mind!” Roxanne yelled.

There was no reply but the sounds of passion vanished and some uncomfortable looking, if grinning, Mages relaxed.

“Bloody insatiable woman,” Roxanne sighed, then laughed out loud.

“True,” Morgana grinned. “I suspect Gregorius knew exactly what he was doing.”

“Aye, he does seem to know her well, unlike some men that I know and their understanding of women,” she replied looking directly at me with a sly grin.

“I’m resigned to the fact that I’ll never understand women, Mage Roxanne,” I replied with a grin and a shrug. “I just treat them all as special and hope it’s enough, as well as relying on them to tell me if there’s something wrong.”

“Smart man,” Morgana chuckled. “Though Jukar still leads you a merry dance at times.”

“She likes the making-up bit, very intense,” I replied, my face going crimson.

“So I’m told,” Roxanne laughed out loud at my discomfiture. “Relax, John, we’re only teasing and you have a good thing going here with Brianna, Abi and the rest of your roomies.”

“I don’t want to talk about it ... please,” I begged.

“Oh, you’re still way too easy a mark, John,” Morgana replied with a smile. “But enough. My final reports are done and I need to report back to the Council.”

“Farewell, my Mage,” I replied with a formal bow. “Give my love to Róisín, Imelda and Jukar and Mark when you see them.”

“I will, John.”

“Take care, old friend,” Roxanne added with a hug.

“I’m not the one baiting Thaumaturges,” she replied with a grin before gathering Elizabeth to take formal goodbyes and hugs from all until she stepped through a portal to Loegria and hence home.

“The Most High believes he can suppress this ... incident, however, I personally believe it is already too late,” Brnnt chuckled harshly.

“As do I, brother. The damned fool of an Inquisitor’s situation is already known amongst the Dasturs and Saltigues and will no doubt leak to the techno-Yr’ch in short order,” Karkol replied with a sneering grin.

“I cannot say whether this was a deliberate attempt by this enemy to humiliate the regime, but if it was, it was a master stroke.”

“Indeed, brother, indeed.”

“Our Seeker also fares well against the presence of the Inquisitor too. None of his staff have been enlightened or otherwise ... chastised,” Brnnt added, alluding to the Inquisitor orders’ habit of killing anyone who displeased them.