Chapter 17: Next Steps

“Before we go into detail about what we will be doing, take this.” As she spoke, she made the same emblem she showed him previously appear. The sword with an eye in the middle slid across the desk towards him. It didn’t have the grasping hands like Abigails nor was its gold, it was just plain old copper.

Picking it up Abigail spoke again. “Send some mana into it, it will bind to your mana signature like your guild card does.”

Doing as he was told his mana trickled in, as he did so the eye in the center glowed silvery grey, matching the color of his mana. He spoke up “So I’m guessing this is the symbol for the inquisitors?”

Abigail nodded and said “Its proof you are an inquisitor, they are strictly controlled. To the point that if an Inquisitor dies a High Inquisitor and an Enforcer will be dispatched to recover it and the body. If you use it at any guild, you will be treated the same as a visiting branch director. Don’t use it unless you absolutely have to. Abusing the authority will have extreme consequences. Simply put, It’s a badge of office.”

With a chuckle Thomas responded, “Yeah I’m going to store this away and forget about it until I have a better understanding of my new position.”

Abigail laughed at that. She told him “You will be with me for the most part. At least until I get you trained up more. Just make sure it’s on you at all times, I recommend wearing it as a necklace. Next.” She then pulled ten gold out and put it on the table. Thomas just stared at the massive amount of coin sitting on the table.

His mouth couldn’t function as he looked at the coins. Abigail helped him by saying “Your monthly rate will be two gold; the other eight let’s call it a bonus. Let’s get you some decent armor tomorrow.”

Thomas hesitantly reached out and took the money, cradling it like a child, he gently put it in his bag. Nine Hells he will need to set up an actual account with the guild if that’s what he will be making. Abigial made it worse by continuing speaking “Oh any extra expenses will be covered by the guild. Just have to get it approved by me first.”

Thomas finally got his mouth working and spoke “That’s… this... that’s just too much.”

She answered “The work we will be doing is dangerous, so the pay is generous. It’s really not that much in the grand scheme of things.”

The mention of the dangers instantly cleared the thought of gold and lavish purchases out of his mind. Speaking up again he said, “What was this about a Demon Cult and Hell Gates.”

Abigail turned serious again and explained “Now that we are officially a team, I can tell you exactly what we will be doing. So, the investigation we are working on is looking for evidence that the Demon Cults are active again. There are signs appearing in the corrupted lands, which does happen from time to time. Normally it indicates that there is a new cult that has appeared, and when that happens the Inquisitors find them, and the Enforcers eliminate them. This time it’s different, they seem coordinated, more organized than ever before.” She paused, pulling out a piece of cloth covered in runes and opened it. The symbol that they found with the shaman and in the goblins lord tower was wrapped around it. She didn’t let it touch her skin or anything other than the cloth at all.

She continued speaking saying “This symbol we believe belongs to the Demon Prince of the ninth ring of hell. This one isn’t but the one in the goblin lord tower had been infused with chaos mana. I will explain all of that as we travel south. Back to the main point, what the guild and the Council of Kings are worried about is why is this symbol appearing in the southern region. It’s no longer isolated in the northern corrupted lands. We will be finding out why it’s down here. We will travel through the southern frontier finding clues. So far all I have gathered is the cults are making the mana beasts become more active. That’s what we tell people we are doing by the way, that we are investigating the movements of mana beasts and monster’s movements when asked. We keep the mention of demon cults out of it.”

Thomas tried to absorb all of that information but the only thing that he blurted out was “No way in Nine Hells am I fighting a Demon Prince.”

Abigail chuckled again “Oh we aren’t that’s for the S-ranks and whatever the higher ups have planned. Well, that’s if the worst happens and a gate is opened which would mean the demons are invading. Hopefully they are stopped before it gets to that point.”

Some of the fear left him as she said that. He muttered a “Oh thank the Holy Mother.”

With a sigh Thomas trying to clarify all that information he said, “So we are going to the traveling across the southern frontier looking for clues and signs that the cult is active? What are Hell Gates?”

Abigail shrugged “That’s basically what we will be doing, and Hell Gates are exactly what the name implies. Up north in the corrupted lands there were actual physical gates before they were destroyed except for one. It couldn’t be destroyed no matter who tried to break it, it is completely inert though. The empire has an active military post around it. Technically the cults could build new ones, we need to keep an eye out for them. It’s already late or early depending on how you look at it. Now I want to get some sleep. You probably do as well, let’s pick this up tomorrow. The guild has some rooms here we can use. Anything else?”

Thinking for a second, he asked “What happened to Morgan?”

She smiled at him and said “I took her to the temple; they have people that can help her heal from the trauma she suffered. I also contacted her family. Now follow me let’s get some rest.”

She got up and left the room with Thomas following. They entered the door that was marked Staff Only. It opened up to a hall with even more doors in it. Walking down the hall Abigail stopped and pushed one open. It was a plain room with a bed and desk. She said “You can sleep here. I will find you tomorrow.”

He just nodded, walked in and closed the door. Dropping off his gear and getting comfortable before he laid down in bed. Everything Abigail told him was still flowing through his head as sleep finally overtook him.

The knocking on the door is what roused Thomas from his deep sleep. Rolling out of bed he managed to only tripping once in the relatively dark room, before he opened the door. Only to see Abigail standing there. Looking like she was ready to go on a stroll through the town wearing clearly expensive but comfortable clothing. She just raised an eyebrow and with a smirk on her face as she looked at him up and down. Looking down at himself he realized he was shirtless and just wearing underwear.

Normally he would be a bit embarrassed but if they were going to work together, he decided it was time to get some payback for all the teasing. With a yawn and a half smile broke across his face, he said “Ah its rude to stare at a gentlemen Miss Thorn.” Not waiting for her to reply he closed the door.

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He heard a muffled laugh through the door. Getting dressed as quickly as he could, he walked out and was met by Abigail. This time he said in a sheepish tone, “Good morning. Umm where is a bathroom.” He couldn’t remember where Liz showed him the previous night.

She again just raised an eyebrow at him and said, “It’s almost noon and it’s that door over there.” She pointed to a door in the hallway.

Going and taking care of business and his morning hygiene routine he was finally ready to actually start his day. Stepping out he looked at Abigail and said “Let’s eat? I still have things I want to talk to you about.”

She nodded and said “That was my plan from the start. I figured we can look into getting you some armor today too. The sooner we get an order put in the quicker it can be made or resized. I know of a good restaurant we can eat at.”

With that they headed out, leaving the guild they stepped on the busy streets of Les. Abigail led him towards the center of the city. It was starting to make him nervous since this is where the wealthy merchants and the few noble families live.

Sure enough, they entered the wealthy district. There wasn’t any sort of wall or anything separating it from the rest of the town. There were more guards though, eyeing anyone who looked like they didn’t belong. Thomas assumed he was safe since the clothing that Abigail was wearing clearly meant she had money.

She ended up taking him to a richly decorated two story building. It was clearly an establishment Thomas couldn’t afford; well, he could afford now but never before. Abigail chuckled a bit at seeing how nervous he was and said, “You’re not paying so come on.”

Following her inside it was a richly adorned interior. The entry way had sculptures of people he didn’t recognize, from the floors to the walls everything just reeked of wealth. The older man that greeted him had a wide smile on his face as he spoke “Ah, Miss Thorn it’s great to see you again.” Then he looked at Thomas and the smile faltered a bit.

The host recovered and continued speaking saying “Is it a table for two this time?”

She answered, “Yes please and somewhere with privacy please.”

“Of course,” the man led Abigail and Thomas to a room on the second floor. Opening the door, he spoke again. “This room has Silencing Runes placed around it. No one can hear anything spoken here. Your waitress will let you know when she is here when this lights up.” He showed them a mana light inside the room. “Would you prefer if she waits five seconds before coming in or wait until the door is opened?”

Abigail responded by saying “The five second wait is fine.”

“Very well Miss Thorn. If you need anything, please inform any of the staff.” With a bow he left.

As the two talked Thomas felt more and more out of place, with his simple clothes, backpack and sword. While everything around them screamed wealth. It didn’t stop Thomas from stepping into the room. It was in his opinion garishly decorated. On all the walls there were paintings depicting landscapes and ocean views with. The colors around the room were all gold and red, even the table that looked like it could seat four was gold trimmed. It didn’t seem to deter Abigail though, she walked in and sat down at the table.

With a weary sigh he followed, closing the sliding door behind him. The seats at least were extremely comfortable. Noticing that the table had a menu he gave it a quick glance. As he was about to open his mouth Abigail held a hand up stopping him, she pulled out the same plate of metal she used before. It took him a second to remember what it was, it was the Silencing rune she used when they were out before. Activating it she spoke, “Never trust an establishment when they say you have complete privacy. Unless it’s one you have personally verified that it’s safe. Most expensive places try and get blackmail on any well to do clients for protection. It probably isn’t a problem for a place like Les. You should get used to these types of places anyways; I like good food and nice places to sleep. It’s all covered by the guild anyway, it’s one of the perks. So, what questions do you have for me today?”

Thomas just sat still for a second, letting it sink in that he really will be in these types of places a lot more. A part of him felt like a fraud for even being here, not even a week ago he would only be able to afford the scraps from a place like this. On the other hand, it was one of his goals, to be able to have enough wealth to spend on lavish places. With another sigh he looked at her and started speaking, “So correct me if I’m wrong, okay? So, we will be traveling across the southern frontier, checking into the towns to see if there has been anything abnormal happening. Then we go check it out? Is that it? Then what?”

“Well that makes it sound easy but there will be a lot of actual work to do either way that is what we will be doing. We will be looking for proof that the activity related to mana beast and monsters are linked to the Demon Prince. Not just that either we will look into any abnormalities just in case. If we do find proof, we will try and find out who is involved. If we do find anything that seems too dangerous for us to handle, we will request for Enforcers from them guild.” She answered.

Thinking about what else to ask, he finally had another question. “Are we the only team investigating this? Also is it just me and you so far in this team? And I just want to be sure, but Enforcers are people or teams that work for the guild to be attack teams?”

She chuckled as she answered, “There is only one other team that I know of working in the south. Most Inquisitors are working in the Empire trying to snuff out cultist there. We are responsible for the Balmar kingdom and the Rathian Kingdom. Maybe more, depends on what we find. We are currently in the western most part of Balmar so…”

She was cut off as the light next to the door turned on. She reached out and turned off the Silencing plate she had and stored it from sight. The door slid open, and a beautiful woman walked in, she curtsied and asked, “Miss Thorn and guest what can I get for you.”

Thomas realized he hadn’t even truly read the menu and had no idea what to order. Abigail came to the rescue saying “Could we get a full lunch spread. Enough for both of us please.”

“Of course, Miss Thorn.” She curtsied and left closing the door behind her.

Abigail pulled her Silencing rune back out and activated it. “So, we need to clear this kingdom’s southern frontier, then keep heading east into the Rathian kingdom. The other team is working from East to West starting in the Valarus Queendom and Keller Kingdom.” She paused for a moment like she just remembered something and continued saying “Oh you are right about Enforcers they are the hit teams we send to fix or take out problems. The only other thing is that I just want you to know up front that this will take months at the quickest, realistically years. Cults like the one we are dealing with move slowly and cautiously. They will react to what we are doing and adjust plans. Are you still in this?”

Sitting back, he thought about is goals he wanted to achieve. Glory and prestige isn’t something he cares about. She was offering one of the biggest things he wanted, freedom. Traveling across this kingdom and others to see the world and getting to help people. The more selfish part of him knew the gold was a part of his choice.

An even deeper part of him knew most of that was a lie. The face of the only true friend he had growing up flashed in his mind, he knew because of her was why he started on this path. He just started on it so why would he give up now.

Staring deep into Abigail’s he felt something inside of him awaken as he asked, “If this cult achieves what they want how many people would die?”

Her eyes widened, Thomas didn’t know if it was from the question or something else. She answered either way saying “Millions would die, cities would burn. A demon invasion with a Prince of Hell leading the charge would cause destruction we haven’t seen since Theodore Kingsley’s time.”

With a deep breath he realized what the feeling that was burning in his chest was. It was a purpose. Something he could put his life on the line for. A true purpose for him to follow. He smiled broadly and said “I already agreed to join you, didn’t I? Just wanted to know what we are actually up against. I am not going to act like I’m some hero but if I can help, even a little I will.” Pausing for a second to think, he continued saying “I still refused to fight a demon prince. So, what are our next steps then?”

She matched his smile but laughed at what he said at the end. She replied, saying “I am on board with that, no fighting Demon Princes. Either way the guild, Empire and the Kingdoms have people for that. Hopefully it never comes to that though.” She seemed to settle in and fully relax she continued speaking saying “Well for our next steps we get you some proper clothing and armor, if we are going to be traveling together, we have to make sure you are ready. After we eat of course!”