It was time for my monthly Adelbern visit, it seemed. The white-haired Inquisitor was waiting outside of my lodgings when I returned. He turned to face me with a knowing look. He must have had his eye on what John and the others were doing.
"Hello Adel."
"You certainly gave John a pretty black eye."
I couldn't stop the smirk from spreading across my lips, "I did."
"Well, that's what he gets for 'disobeying orders.' I see he didn't cause you too much trouble."
"It was a joke. Those guys don't have their armour or weapons. I don't think that guy could kill me even if he landed a strike. He had to concuss me using a catalyst to get away. I didn't even know high-ranking Inquisitors used gimmicks like that."
"They usually don't."
"What's the occasion? Inquisitor family reunion?"
He rolled his eyes, "John was left in a compromising position thanks to your previous antics. Forester is dead, and he is left looking the fool. A singular man kills his contact with the Sull nobility and makes away with seemingly no effort at all. He has decided to make matters personal and kill you back. The officers he is with are his personal entourage."
"Not my problem."
"No, not particularly. I know it's a difficult thing for me to request, but if you could – keeping John alive would be for the best."
I frowned, "Why?"
"John's a leading figure in the militant faction, and the Absolver's favourite useful idiot. Nothing significant will come of the Inquisition's support of Sull while he's around. Unlike some of the others he sides with, he still believes somewhat in his ultimate authority as the Inquisition's leader."
"So, if I kill him…"
Adel waved his hand in a circular motion; "Some other raving lunatic takes his place, rallies the men on their side, and throws their weight behind Sull and the war effort. The Federation would not like to be in that situation, nor would the Absolver."
I wouldn't either. Killing John would be satisfying for sure, but if it meant there was a chance of more Inquisitors poking around and making my life harder, I could let it pass. John was just another cog in that grand old machine. They all wanted me dead the same way. What I needed to decide was if Adelbern was telling the truth. Was the Absolver's relationship with John as adversarial as he implied? But there was another angle to this. If that replacement leader decided to do as Adel suggested they would, it would rip the Inquisition in two. I could only imagine the kind of damage that would cause to them.
I leaned back against the wall and bit my lip, "I don't know. Making those guys march to their deaths sounds good to me."
Adel crossed his arms, "If the Absolver goes, so does your ready supply of formerly confiscated cursed items. You can kiss goodbye to breaking Stigma's curse in that scenario."
He had me there. The Absolver was playing some messed-up long game with me and Stigma. Completing the collection was the only way I could imagine breaking the curse she held over me. Or she'd become so powerful that I'd completely lose control. Either way, I wasn't long for the world. We were both holding the barrel of a loaded gun to the other's head. This standoff would require some serious guile to resolve.
I sighed, "That's a tough proposition, Adel."
"Sometimes it is wiser not to rock the boat. Killing Forester had already paralyzed them. John has had to bring his own retinue because he cannot be granted a division of knights with which to complete the task. The Absolver is calling for him to return as we speak."
If he left, the choice wasn't much of a choice anymore. But if I had to weigh between killing a Petty-King and keeping on track with solving my ghost problem, the ghost came first. As he was now, John couldn't do much to me. Stigma, on the other hand, had the irritating ability to freeze me in place on demand.
"A word of warning. John isn't going to back down just yet. Maritan has suggested that they 'find' a legendary sword of their own to fight you with."
I scoffed, "Where the hell are they going to find another legendary…" It was only as I finished my sentence that I remembered a certain one-armed vagabond who was presently in possession of one such weapon. Given some of the stories I had heard about what it could do, I did not want to be on the receiving end of it.
Adelbern had one last thing to share, "I know nothing of the other sword bearers myself. But if you do, might I suggest ensuring that they are not ambushed, robbed or killed by them."
"I didn't need you to tell me that."
"Just making sure. If you do that favour for me, I will have something new for you in due time."
"Another stupid treasure hunt more like."
"Hm. We shall see, after the last game went awry, he has been considering his options. Regardless, we shall come to that when the time arrives."
"Yeah, whatever."
Adelbern waved and left me on the step. It didn't give me any sense of ease knowing that he was always watching over my shoulder. He knew everything I was doing. Always in the right place at the right times. He had given me a lot to think about though. Was it worth killing John if it meant that I ran the risk of losing my access to the other cursed items? That would mean locating and stealing them myself. Even with my excellent thieving skills, the Inquisition's Vault was still the single-most heavily guarded location in the world.
I'd need a few more levels before attempting something like that.
My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Cali. I instantly noticed that she was limping on one of her legs; not to mention the blood and dirt that had been kicked up around the offending area. All at once I recalled that I might not have been the only target for John's idiotic assassination attempt.
"You okay?"
Cali was unperturbed, "I am. Unfortunately, this injury does not speak as to the challenge presented by my attackers. The other fled by using their friend as a sacrifice."
Grim stuff. Not even the Inquisitors were loyal enough to trust one another. Moments ago I had considered following Adel's advice and keeping John alive – but he was making it seriously hard for me to follow through with things like this.
"What a rat bastard," I complained, "Those Inquisitors are all about honour until it doesn't benefit 'em anymore."
"I was under little threat," she claimed. I trusted her word on the matter, but it was the intent more than the outcome that had earned my ire. John was confident that delegating two of his officers to Cali's murder would be appropriate. That was a hard lesson to learn with one of them dead. Cali tried to move right on from that serious matter. She hefted up a bag and waved it in my face, "I am prepared to leave when you are."
About as subtle as a brick through my living room window. Cali was starting to get bored with lazing around the city. But how could I ever hope to find something as crazy as that dragon? That was a once in a lifetime event. I had gotten too comfortable with how Cali ticked. A few months ago, I would have never even considered it, and now I was neglecting to remember that Cali herself had a psychological attraction to dangerous situations. Cali was too useful to piss off. Her magic had saved my ass more than a few times, and even more than that she was some of the only tolerable company I had ever experienced on the road.
Not that a stone-cold moron like me would ever share my feelings with someone. Despite Cali indications that she was interested in me romantically, I did not know how much tolerance that gave her for putting up with me and my whims. One day she could just decide to ditch me and move on to greener pastures without warning.
All of this consideration was starting to make my head hurt. This was why working solo was easier. Coincidentally, Jonell rounded the corner a few seconds later while calling my name. He locked eyes with me and jogged over. He looked ragged. Something must have happened.
"When did I get so popular?"
"You're not busy, I hope."
"No, not at the moment."
"I leave Ryan alone for two minutes and a bunch of people break into his house. Ryan says he chased them off using his sword."
I laughed, "See, even with one arm it's no problem."
"I'd rather not have him take that risk at all," Jonell worried, "I thought they were a band of robbers, but Ryan said otherwise. Told me to come and find you."
"Why? Want me to identify them? I don't know every two-bit thief and criminal in the city."
"Older bloke with a beard, a young blonde lad, and two women. Does that ring a bell?"
It did. Had John broken into his house before finding me? I exhaled and ran a hand through my hair, "Well – in that case. I do know who it is."
Jonell nearly bowled me over, "You do?!"
"Yeah. But I'm not sure what you want me to do about it – sounds like Ryan's got a good handle on the situation already."
"I'm worried about him. What if they turn up again, stab him in the back or burn his house down while he's inside?"
I failed to see how that was my problem specifically. Ryan could handle himself. He had already scared them off once – in what I presumed was an attempt to dig up dirt on me. This was why I didn't have friends, I told myself. I shrugged, unable to offer any answer that would satisfy him. Jonell bit his lip and paced back and forth in front of me like a paranoid wreck.
"What's your problem?"
"Problem?"
"Yeah. You're driving yourself crazy over it. Sounds like the problem's settled to me."
"Why wouldn't I be concerned for a friend?"
I got it. He was the one who was meant to be watching Ryan's back before he got his body chewed up. Accidents happen, and even the best of intentions aren't good enough to achieve success sometimes. Now he was starting to run himself in circles trying to pay him 'back' for the incident. Suddenly it wasn't the monster's fault for attacking Ryan, it was his for not stopping it in time. That was a stupid line of reasoning to go down. Injuries happened.
"I get it."
"Get what?"
"Nothing. You said that Ryan asked for me?"
"Ah. Well, he thought that they were looking for you. He tends to keep his nose clean, you know?"
That really made me laugh. I shook my head in disbelief, "Little late for that now. I just beat two of them away, and Cali killed one of 'em."
Jonell blinked as his brain tried to catch up; "T-That's good, I suppose. Ryan said that you'd be able to handle it but he just wanted to give you some advance warning."
The wind had been firmly taken from his sails now. I patted him on the shoulder and tried to give him a reassuring smile. Unfortunately, the muscles in my face had not contorted into such a position for decades, so instead I gave him a pained, constipated grin that was more condescending than helpful. He seemed extremely nervous and it was entirely my fault. I covered my ass and expressed myself verbally instead; "Okay, thanks. I guess we should swing by and see him since we're all together."
I glanced back at Cali, who was downing a healing draught while she thought I wasn't looking. She hopped up and down on her injured leg before grabbing her halberd from its resting place against the wall.
"You good?"
"Yes."
"Let's go visit Ryan then. My inside man said he might have something exciting for us in a few days."
"Inside man?" Jonell repeated.
"Ren has made friends with a high-ranking member of the-"
My tone was frantic, "Too much information Cali."
Jonell gave me the stink-eye. I shouldn't have said anything.