As the Inquisitor’s commandeered hotel came into view, Miles eyed the patrolled walls of the property and took a turn, keeping a whole block between himself and the Prince’s Rest as he peered at it through the different alleyways. Naturally, he wasn’t about to walk through the main doors. There were still plenty of agents around and the less his presence was noted, the better it’d be for him. Though while the hotel was much larger than most inns and taverns in the city, it still wasn’t that massive when compared to the hotels of his old world. It occupied only a block of the district, which, while still large, meant he was able to circle the whole thing in a matter of minutes, after which he climbed up a haberdashery and in the shade of a high chimney, he examined his destination.
The property was basically a compound. The rooms and administrative sections were located at the front, divided over two levels and probably a basement, while the back was a well-manicured garden with outdoor tables and walkways. There was even a training ground, which, coincidentally, was currently being used by the Inquisitor himself.
That would make things easier for him, he thought before he jumped back down to the ground-level and crept up the alley until the wall of the property was only a street away. Miles waited for the patrol to pass him and as he watched for their arrival in the darkness, he worked on his Veil. Earlier today, he had put up a somewhat flimsy thing that the Inquisitor could easily peer through, identifying him as a tier-20. For that meeting, it was plenty. He just needed to prove himself capable, but not so capable that the Registry’s agent would become suspicious.
Tonight was different. The goals were different. This was about getting the Inquisitor—and by extension, the Registry—off of his back, and for that, subtlety wouldn’t get him anywhere. There was, of course, a possibility that the Inquisitor wasn’t here for him, but between Lott being held and the girls, Miles was 99.9% this was about him. On the off-chance he was wrong… well. A quick, private check-in with the Registry wouldn’t do him much harm.
Miles started by taking the masking layer off, and only kept two layers. One to prevent his core from taking control of the surrounding mana, and one to hide him until he was ready to present himself. In contrast with the Veil he had used earlier in the day, this one was the best he could manage so hopefully, the difference in technique and proficiency would help widen the gulf between his two identities.
With his preparations ready, Miles activated his dormant elixir and turned invisible as soon as the patrol passed him. With a quick run up and vault, he cleared the wall, and the Ghostshade Draught allowed him to pass through the life-sensing enchantments undetected.
Once he landed, he stayed still for a couple of minutes, just to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. The elixir still had at least a few more minutes of efficacy, and he could spare them to make sure everything was still under control. While life-sensing enchantments were the standard, one never knew when a formation expert would get creative. The Ghostshade Draught countered plenty of detection methods, but better be safe than sorry.
As he crouched and waited, ears peeled, his thoughts wandered, and a bit of annoyance slipped through at the events of the day. Taking those assignments and leaning on the guildmaster would have been fine in any other setting, but he hadn’t known the jobs had been made available by the Inquisitor. It was less than ideal, especially if the latter decided to snoop on who had picked up his assignments, but between his confirmed passage through the Dungeon Gate and the differences in tiers, he had enough of an alibi. Plus, Torchbearers tended to stick together. While he wouldn’t generally rely on that alone, as an extra layer of security, it helped, however thin of a protection professional solidarity could be.
For now though, he banished those worries. He’d come back to that some other time. Enough time had passed in his mostly quiet corner of the garden, and he felt confident enough his entry hadn’t been detected, so it was time to get moving.
With the invisibility active, Miles left the well-trimmed lawn and following the stone path, he silently approached the familiar silhouette. Soon enough, the voices of the Inquisitor and Brie reached his ears as the two came into view. Brie was hovering a foot or so off the ground, but her levitation was… well. It needed work. She looked like a drunk toddler walking on the deck of a swaying ship. As for Talon, he was eyeing her spell casting, a bowl of something in his hand. He finished chewing, then picking up something from the bowl, he threw and beaned Brie on the side of her head, at which point she fell down to the ground and barely caught herself from tumbling as she cursed the man out.
“Your mana flow is—to put it bluntly—shit. That’s why you’re struggling with [Levitation]. It’s almost as if you’ve never heard of mana control exercises. You know those aren’t optional, right?”
Miles paused, and glanced around for a moment before focusing back on the peculiar scene ahead of him. He had been so concerned with the Inquisitor and the whole situation that he hadn’t stopped to pay attention to one teeny-tiny detail.
The two were awfully familiar with each other and now that he was seeing them together, he could see the similarities, especially in the nose and jaw.
These two are siblings, huh? And where’s Thalia?
Brie cursed the Inquisitor out as she carefully activated the spell again, slowly rising off of the ground while the man circled her, munching on what looked like roasted nuts.
“I do them whenever I have time for them. I can cast my other spells just fine,” she grumbled, which caused her to start swaying mid-air.
The Inquisitor held one of the nuts between two fingers, lifting his hand up in the air as he eyed the snack which had the unfortunate consequence of destabilizing Brie’s focus further. “Well, you need to work on it. Maybe that level of skill is enough for small spells but if you ever find yourself using something that requires channeling, you’re toast. You can’t levitate in calm conditions so forget using this when you’re Delving. Do you have burn cards? Those would help you get better though with this level of control, you ought to get the tier-1 decks and start from there,” he casually spoke before throwing another nut at her, which she dodged by falling down to the ground.
Miles moved once more, slowly approaching. He wasn’t sure if she had intended on that or if the anxiety broke her focus, but he had to admit, the Inquisitor had a point. Her control needed work. Thankfully, it shouldn’t be too hard to get her up to speed.
“I can’t afford it,” she gritted out between clenched teeth as she rubbed the side of her head. “Rivergate doesn’t pay trainees that well. And if—”
Brie’s voice cut off when the Inquisitor’s hand shot up and slowly, he shifted his head to the left.
Huh. Sharp senses, Miles thought. Not wanting to cause incidents, he tapped his foot twice on the stone path to announce his presence. Having found his target without any incidents, he didn’t need to keep the stealth up as much.
The Inquisitor twitched at the soft sound for a second before he slowly looked behind him. Miles was twenty yards or so away, invisible, but the Inquisitor seemed to have gotten the message.
“Let’s continue this later, Brie. Go check on your friend.”
“But—”
“Nope,” he firmly cut off without looking back at her, eyes roaming in Miles’s direction. “I got something to do. Now, please.”
Brie frowned at him, then peered over his shoulder to where Miles was standing. He was pretty sure she couldn’t see him, but she still nodded, and left. When the door of the garden clicked shut, Miles dismissed his invisibility and stood silently in the garden, facing the Registry’s Inquisitor whose eyes widened for a moment before he smiled and dipped his head.
“Ashen Wanderer, I presume? I didn’t expect you to show up on my first day.”
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That was a quick recovery, but it didn’t surprise Miles much. To reach the high twenties in tier meant the man in front of him was quick on his feet, and certainly not as young as he seemed. He looked to be only in his mid-twenties, but by the weight he was getting out of the man’s core, he’d put him easily above tier-25, which should make him at least 40 years old. Most likely higher, but with the longevity provided by tiering-up, approximating age was really tough.
Still, whatever the man’s age was, his tiers weren’t for show. The Inquisitor’s Veil was nearly perfect, and the mana around his body was completely smooth, with nary a ripple, displaying a pretty impressive control over mana. Miles could peer past it, but that would require him unleashing his own core and suppressing the man’s Veil, and that would not do for what he hoped to be a peaceful conversation. Still, considering the quality of its construction and the man’s bearings, Miles was tempted to classify him as a Seeker. But he wasn’t willing to bet on it.
Nodding toward a nearby vine-covered pavilion, Miles drifted toward it and pulled a chair before sitting down at the picnic table. The area was tastefully lit up with lanterns arranged in the style of fairy-lights and as the man pulled his own seat, Miles rested his wrist on the edge of the table.
“I didn’t expect my exit to warrant an Inquisitor’s attention either, but here we are. Am I right to assume that you come all this way for me, then?” Miles asked, his voice a little deeper thanks to the Mask of Ember’s magic, and when the Inquisitor nodded, he continued. “I know my exit was pretty noisy, but I do hope you’re not here to take inventory of what I brought out, are you? You don’t strike me as one of the Gate Warden’s Surveyors.”
The Inquisitor’s lips quirked, eyes glinting mirthfully and if it wasn’t for decorum, Miles was pretty sure the man would have barked out a laugh, but he kept his composure and just shook his head. “Ah, no. While the exit was certainly a bit of a spectacle and did rile some of your detractors a little, that’s not why I was sent up here. But let me start at the beginning.”
Getting up, the Inquisitor leaned forward in a polite bow and spoke up, voice smooth. “I am Inquisitor Talon Ironvault, and I’m here on the behalf of the Registry to renew our previous offer with what I hope are better terms. But before we get to that, would you like anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Something stronger?”
Miles took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. So this was what this was about? Another offer? Miles hadn’t appreciated it the last time. Back then, the one that made the offer had been talking as if the Registry was doing him a favor and it almost got ugly when he had refused. But it seemed the Registry—or at least their agents—had learned their lesson and chosen to take a softer approach. Or maybe it was just because the power-dynamics were flipped this time. This time, Miles was the higher-tiered individual, and a show of force would be completely useless, and both of them knew it. Still, he was a little curious on why they were so insistent.
“I’ll take some tea, if you don’t mind,” Miles said. It had been a long day and once this meeting was over and once the whole situation was dealt with, he was going to take a big nap. Still standing, Talon produced a tea set and a kettle of hot water, then began preparing the tea while Miles went on. “As I told the last agent your people sent, I’m not interested. I want to be left alone. But I’ll give you this. You’re definitely more polite than your predecessor.”
Talon grimaced at that then calmly sat down as he waited for the leaves to steep.
“Inquisitor Thorn certainly botched that assignment, if you don’t mind me speaking frankly. I’ve read the report and while it was certainly biased, knowing him, I could guess how that went. But I do hope you’ll hear me out. I’ve been… allowed to speak of a few delicate subjects along with my offer. I hope the transparency will help communicate how earnest our offer is.”
Miles eyed the delicate blue flowers that decorated the white teacup for a moment before he looked up at the man. He had to admit, he was a little intrigued. Picking up the cup, he smelled the delicate smoky aromas for a moment before he took a small sip of the powerfully fragrant brew.
Putting the cup back down, Miles dipped his head. “I’m listening.”
Talon beamed at him, then nodded. “Thank you. Let me start with a question. What do you know about Oracles?”
Miles’s brows scrunched-up under his mask. Was that their angle? He had been suspected of being one in the past, but that was just because he had the loop in his back-pocket. Knowing what was about to take place thanks to it didn’t make him into an Oracle. At least not a real one. “A very rare sub-type of Seekers with an unfortunately high tendency of getting kidnapped or dying early?”
Talon nodded soberly as he rotated his cup. “It is sad. We keep this somewhat under-wraps, but we do hire most of those we can locate. I’m happy to say that we’re often fast enough. But not always. And while we do offer extremely generous terms, it isn’t without a little tension. People don’t tend to enjoy being uprooted from their homes, even if it’s for their protection. It’s still better than letting them fend for themselves, though. Their skillset is not enough to push back black-market operators and their traffickers. No matter how much they think themselves capable, they invariably exhaust themselves and burn out long before their pursuers run out of bodies to throw at them.”
Miles was aware of the darker corners of the Dungeon. It was why he didn’t mind crossing some families and had no compunction on giving them a bloody-nose, but even through his century in the Dungeon, he hadn’t had the opportunity to meet an Oracle. They were that rare. Still, that didn’t mean the Registry didn’t have an angle, here.
“I’m guessing the Registry doesn’t mind having them at their disposal,” Miles said after a few seconds of silence. While he didn’t think the Registry was a nefarious organization at its core, he was sure there was plenty of room for corruption and abuse, but Talon’s immediate reaction suggested that maybe he was a little off-base.
Talon vehemently shook his head. “Believe it or not, they might be the most protected group of people in the whole world. Everything is provided to them, and there are a bunch of iron-clad rules to both protect them and prevent anyone from trying to abuse their abilities. But when they do want to use them, there are frameworks in place. They are generously rewarded for every detail and information they provide, which then go through councils and are appraised for their value. It’s a whole thing and frankly, it’s pretty impressive what the Registry managed to do with them. The system was setup centuries ago and I’d love to learn more about it,” the Inquisitor animatedly went on, then realized what he was doing. “But it’s not…well… uhm. That’s a discussion for another day,” Talon said, coughing in his hand as he tried to recover, and Miles grinned under his mask. Either the man was a pretty amazing actor, or the Registry really did manage to send someone genuinely likable. Taking a sip from his tea, Talon straightened up, his composure regained. “We do suspect you of being one but clearly, you don’t need our help to stay safe. Still, that’s not why I’m here, either.”
Miles blinked and almost leaned forward. Now he was really intrigued. What was their angle?
“Around five or six years ago, we got our first instance of an Oracle’s… warning. It hadn’t been a prophecy or a foretelling or a vision. No. Instead, it was just this ominous… bout of anxiety that would come out of nowhere. A feel of dread. We don’t know when the first one had started. Apparently, it was small enough that many of them thought it was just in their heads. It was unnoticed for a while, until some of them got to talking. That was when we began suspecting there might be something to it, and by then, when new Oracles were found and recruited, they reported the same thing. It’s not life-disrupting. Just a moment here and there of dread, but it happening so consistently with Oracles, of all people, was an alarm bell in and of itself. The Registry is taking it seriously. And it so happen that we believe it ties into another matter. Another phenomenon and this one, we believe it might be related to you.”
Miles had to admit this, he was hooked. He was legitimately curious about what this was all about and of course, he didn’t miss that this thing with the Oracles might have something to do with why he had been given the Custodial Skill. Still, he didn’t let himself get too distracted and instead, he focused on the man in front of him. Talon leaned back, his cup in his hand, and a smile pulled on his lips.
“It was around that time that we also got our first report of individuals with unusual abilities.”
Uh-oh, Miles thought. He didn’t move, but it seemed that someone else had noticed that something was up.
“Most details about them are confidential, so I’m not at liberty of disclosing much. And just like you, they’re difficult to track down, but the Registry couldn’t help but connect the dots. It’s not unheard of for the Dungeon to alter its gifts, depending on what is to come and so in that spirit, the Registry wants to prepare. While not everyone is convinced something is coming, enough of the leadership believes there is a potential threat, and we want to be ready. For that, a new initiative has begun. One to find and negotiate with these individuals. To offer what we can offer and have them on our side. Which brings me to my offer.”
Straightening up, Talon put his cup back on the table with a soft clink before he interlaced his fingers.
“Ashen Wanderer, the Registry wishes to hire you. We do not want to pry in your secrets and identity, but we wish to have you on our side if a disaster were to strike. If we are facing a dark period, we want to be ready for it. Even if you aren’t one of these individuals, you already displayed enough talent to rival the most promising Delvers of our generation. I have been given a certain amount of leeway for this offer but before I get to it, tell me…”
A confident smile tugged on Talon Ironvault’s lips, and he dipped his head respectfully at Miles.
“Is there anything the Registry—and all the Guilds and Families it command—can do for you?”
