RinoZ
patreon
B4C58 - Once Spilled, Never Forgotten
🕑 Added 2024-10-25 01:04:41 +0000 UTCNostas Jorlin strode through the streets of Kenmor like an avenging angel. Around him, the highest level Soldiers of his House were arrayed, and he dove into the depravity of the city every day, hunting. Yet despite his best efforts, the trail of the Necromancer was infuriatingly cold.
Kenmor had been turned upside down twice over with no result, so now it was time to start rattling the cages he hadn’t been allowed to touch up to this point.
At the head of his column, Nostas strode, barely aware of the public scattering out of his way, diving back into their homes or pressing themselves against the buildings lining the street. He was focused entirely on his purpose, the magnificent, multi-story building in the centre of the Arcanist district.
Master Willhem’s Arcanist Emporium.
Faces paled as he moved directly to the famed store, dozens of armoured men and women in his wake. When he reached the door, he was met by an attendant who had clearly seen them coming.
“Welcome, my Lord,” she said, bowing deeply at the waist. “How may we serve you today?”
She wore a crisp, well-tailored uniform, as did all the store attendants at Willhem’s. Professional to the last, she didn’t even appear all that afraid—at least, to someone less observant than a Lord she didn’t. The slight trembling of her hands, the ever so slightly pale complexion of her face. She was afraid, as she should be.
“I have come to conduct an inspection of the premises and question any and all persons associated with this establishment,” he announced. The Lord held a hand to the side and a rolled piece of parchment was placed there by a nearby Soldier. Nostas held it out to the attendant. “Our writ, signed by the Duke.”
The attendant took it, trying to maintain her calm.
“I will bring this to Master Willhem immediately,” she said, her voice wavering. “He will be with you as soon as he can, my Lord.”
“That’s not necessary. We’ll start now.”
Without another word, Nostas brushed the attendant aside and shoved open the door, his Soldiers piling in behind him as the attendant cried out. The interior of the store was immaculate, filled with polished marble displays, gold inlays and intricate lighting arrays powered by enchantments hidden on the underside of tables and within the columns. Male and female attendants were placed at intervals all around the floor, some positioned next to certain displays, but all recoiled as the fully armed and armoured Soldiers poured in through the door.
“Question everyone,” Nostas barked, eyes hard. “Go through the books, I want to know everything.”
“My Lord.”
A man appeared at his elbow, a pinch-nosed, narrow-featured figure in a Marshal Lieutenant uniform.
“Officer Meechin.”
“With your permission, I’ll handle the documents personally. It’s my speciality, after all.”
It was quite interesting, just how versatile the Marshal Class could be. Someone like Meechin, ill-suited for bringing down toughs in the street, had found another way to specialise his progression.
“No,” Nostas said and then cut off the impending protest, “I need you in the next building. We aren’t here for financial crimes.”
Meechin hesitated, then nodded. He’d probably never get another chance to inspect Master Willhems books in his entire life, but he couldn’t disagree with Lord Jorlin, not if he wanted to live.
“Six to remain here. Turn this place upside down and squeeze the staff until they squeak. The rest with me.”
The Emporium itself was only one of the buildings that made up Magister Willhems little compound. There were two others; the dormitory and the workshop. It was to the latter that Nostas went next.
“You can’t come in here,” a young man said, barring their way as his legs trembled within his apprentice robe.
“GET ON THE GROUND,” Nostas commanded, drawing on the Divine Authority he possessed.
Unable to resist his command, the apprentice was forced to his knees and then flat on the ground where he writhed like a worm. Upper lip curled with distaste, Nostas stepped over the man and shoved open the door. Inside, Arcanist benches in neat rows filled the open space, the students of Willhem themselves gathered together in a huddle, muttering amongst themselves. At his arrival, they turned toward the door fearfully.
“Against the wall,” he ordered them. When they were slow to obey, he gestured to the Soldiers behind him and they leapt forward, seizing the Arcanists and forcing them up against the wall with ease. Many shouted protests or cried out in pain or fear, others claimed their Noble heritage, outraged by this treatment.
“Those of Noble blood will be separated shortly,” Nostas assured them. “For now, do as you’re told.”
He turned to the rest of his group, still filing into the building through the door, including Officer Meechin.
“I want you to go through every document relating to apprentices for the last twenty years, but especially focus on the last five. I don’t care how briefly they were here, I want to know everything.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“What in the name of the gods is going on here?”
Master Willhem was neither loud, nor was he an imposing figure, yet somehow he managed to command attention anyway. His voice was thin, age wearing heavily on him, yet his demeanour was like a king in his throne room. The old master stood on the stairway, halfway down, one hand on the rail to steady himself, the other grasping the head of a bejewelled cane on which he leaned for balance.
Although his tone was measured, his expression was furious.
“I am Lord Nostas Jorlin and we are searching these premises.” The Lord turned to his people, who had stopped in their tracks at the appearance of the Master. “Move. Now.”
They did, not looking at Willhem as his face twisted in anger.
“On whose authority are you conducting this inspection, Lord Jorlin?” Willhem forced out from between clenched teeth. “This is extremely—”
“The Duke himself signed the writ.”
“The Duke?” Willhem spluttered as he reached the bottom of the staircase and made his way toward the Lord. “He and I have worked together for many years—”
“Divine Blood has been spilled. My family’s blood, has been spilled.” Nostas turned his glare directly on the old Arcanist, his fury bearing down on the Master. “I don’t care if I have to gut every person in this building, Master Willhem, I will have my answers.”
He turned and reached to his aid, who placed another parchment in his hand, which he unrolled and handed to Willhem.
“This is an Artist’s rendition of what was found at the Jorlin Estate. Do you recognise anything?”
Still furious, but in no position to refuse, Master Willhem held the page close to his eyes so he could see.
“There are… fragments of some sort of array. It’s hard to tell what the medium used to create it was…. Or even its function. These sigils could relate to energy, though I can’t say how.”
“These fragments were found in the ruins of the Jorlin estate. The killer appears to have some knowledge of Enchanting, wouldn’t you say?”
The old man's face darkened.
“And on the basis of that you storm into my building and terrorise my staff? They could have been trained anywhere! They could have been self taught! You don’t need to be an expert to create an array like that!”
It wasn’t much of a lead, but it was all Nostas had right now. Wherever Tyron Steelarm was hiding, he’d done a good job of covering his tracks. Without the assurance of the Oracles, he would never have believed the man was still in the city.
“If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. We have swept through every major Arcanist’s in the city and this is the last stop.”
It was clear Willhem wanted to complain, but he restrained himself. Even he wouldn’t escape without consequence if he said too much in front of the vengeful Lord. After all, despite all his success, the Divine Blood didn’t flow in his veins.
Which meant he was disposable.
“Of course I have nothing to hide,” Master Willhem muttered bitterly. “I’ve been an Arcanist in this city for over half a century. I’ve worked hard for my reputation.”
“We aren’t here to accuse you of murder,” Nostas rebuked him, “but to see if the killer ever worked or trained here.”
“I don’t train murderers, I train Arcanists.”
“You say that now. We will see what we find.”
The following two hours were the longest of Master Willhems life. The old man seemed to age visibly as time wore on and he was forced to watch Nostas Jorlin ransack every inch of his workshop. House Mages, Magisters, Officers of the law, all paraded through the building, rifling through the draws, pawing through every cabinet, questioning his apprentices and examining all of his records. Even his precious library wasn’t safe. Uneducated idiots walked through and took all of the rare volumes, going through every page without any care for the delicate nature of the old documents.
All the while, Nostas Jorlin or one of his higher ranked followers peppered him with endless questions. How many apprentices had he taken in? What were their names? Did he notice anything odd about their behaviour? Was there anyone he suspected of foul play?
They were especially interested in anyone who had trained only for a short amount of time, or had been expelled from the workshop.
Growing increasingly irritable, Willhem answered their damned questions without fail, his memory as sharp as it had ever been. All the while he thought of the thousands of commissions and favours he’d done for the Noble Houses of Kenmor over the decades. This was how they repaid him in his twilight years? The disrespect was almost more than he could bear.
Eventually they were joined by Officer Meechin, the weasel-ish lawman clutching his notebook to his chest.
“There are a few candidates, my Lord,” the Marshal reported.
Furious at the lack of progress, Nostas turned an intense stare on the man, who shrank back immediately.
“Who?” the Lord demanded.
“There were t-three apprentices who started around the time we would expect the… uh… the killer to arrive in the city. Hunt Filtner, Lukas Almsfield and Victor Tarkyn.”
“Those three?” Master Willhem snorted. “Only one of them was worth a damn.”
“Master, I’m right here,” Victor complained.
Nostas turned his glare at the young man against the wall. “Who is this?”
“That is Victor Tarkyn,” Willhem drawled. “A bright young man with a poor work ethic. Too busy trying to marry up to focus on his apprenticeship. An unlikely candidate for your vicious killer.”
Lord Jorlin didn’t care how likely it was, any lead would be chased down to the end.
“Take him. We’ll question him in the castle.”
Willhem ground his teeth as Victor was dragged away with an indignant squawk before being punched viciously in the gut, doubling him over and silencing his protests.
“I think he’s engaged to one of the Shans,” Willhem stated.
“Noted. Who are the other two?”
“Hunt Filtner gave up his apprenticeship after a year and a half. He wasn’t a bad lad, but he was easily intimidated. Couldn’t handle the pressure.”
“Where is he?”
“I have no idea. I don’t track my apprentices after they leave.”
“We’ll find him,” Nostas promised grimly. “What about the third one?”
“Lukas Almsfield? One of the best apprentices I’ve ever had,” Willhem said wistfully. “He had a mind like a steel trap and the work ethic of a demon. A good lad. Very polite. Not much for conversation, very dedicated to his craft.”
“You sound as if you’re fond of him.”
After listening to Master Willhem complain about the various failings of hundreds of apprentices over the past hours, it was almost odd to hear compliments out of the man.
“I have his papers here, my Lord,” Officer Meechin said, passing them over. “I encourage you to look at the registered primary Class.”
Nostas frowned, his pupils dilating the moment they found the entry.
Curse Mage.
A plausible cover for a Necromancer, but he would have been required to provide evidence of the Class in order to become an apprentice. Had Tyron found a way to fool the status ritual? It would make sense, how else could he hide in the city for this long?
“Tell me about this apprentice,” Nostas demanded, turning toward Willhem once more.
The old Master frowned.
“He was a lad who took on Enchanting as a sub-class since he didn’t want to be a Slayer with his primary. Like I said, very sharp, very dedicated. He progressed quickly and completed his apprenticeship in half the time. A good kid. He opened a shop in Shadetown, does bitwork for the people out there,” Willhem sniffed, as if disappointed, “but it's still high quality enchanting.”
A brilliant, driven young man who became apprenticed to the Master Willhem within a year of Magnin and Beory being killed. That primary Class, Curse Mage, a legal plausible cover for a Necromancer. It made so much sense. It had to be him.
“Arrest Master Willhem and take him back to the castle. The apprentices too. I want anyone who worked with Lukas Almsfield in a cell.”
“What?!” Willhem bellowed, but Nostas wasn’t listening.
The young Lord of House Jorlin turned on his heel and marched out the door, anger boiling in his gut and a smile on his face.
“Let the Duke know we’re headed straight to Shadetown. Send someone ahead and get eyes on Lukas Almsfield’s shop. The bastard will be on the rack by nightfall.”
Tyron Steelarm was going to suffer for a long, long time for what he’d done. By the Gods he would regret the day he spilled Divine Blood.
Comments
lenkite
If he is captured, he will be fully disabled (look ma - no skills/arms/legs), tortured and then interrogated with [Divine Authority]. A [Necromancer] is not a [Hero] class with 10k luck stat that can twist fate.
Mark
Obviously Nostas and the Noble Class he is a part of reperesent a horrible, ruthless and tyrannical regime, but it IS a pleasant surprise to see well-written, smart and capable villains in fiction, not just bumbling, mustache-twirling caricatures.
Suastes Jiménez Miguel Angel
wonder how Tyron will get out of this situation. Will it be with violence, cunning, or both?
Rahsheem Reid
No… ;-[
spartac 1212
Am i the only one still hoping for a late night chapter release?
Shimelton
Except, Tyron’s really not going to suffer is he? Not more than he already has at least.
Rahsheem Reid
Hard agree with Greyg
Rahsheem Reid
I just don’t see that happening in Ty’s favor for him to have anytime left to his own devices. He will either be gone by the time they get there or a trap to royally fuck the rest of that family. His first action was to kill that whole line who had a hand in killing his parents.
Rahsheem Reid
Last week he said we would get the gold status sheet today Friday.
Rahsheem Reid
He said last week we would get the gold status sheet today Friday.
Xzeno
The Divines have been providing some information in regards to Tyron, it’s likely they have given a few key bits of info and Lukas Almsfield ends up ticking all of the boxes. And if this is the last shop they are investigating then it’s likely one of the only people that they have to fit the profile
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
spartac 1212
What is the schedule ? Will their be a chapter tomorrow ?
Ignacio Fuentes Álvarez
NOOOOO, this can't be the last chapter of the week, I need moooreee
CentaureHeart
Yeah but at this point we're still at "may be fucked" while the alternative is "definitely fucked".
Brandon14754
didn't they say they were putting the prisoners in the castle? tyron wants the tower where the golds brands are not the castle where the duke is. I could see him getting captured after the tower maybe but that'd be very risky and maybe not necessary with a bunch of rampaging golds around
stubs
we don't really know the limits of glamour. If they can swap gender. But judging from the reactions of the noble that it's not something they took into consideration so maybe not possible. And not necessary in this case. Besides, the other prodigy started way before him
Greyg
A Necromancer by definition is powerless without their army, while he is capable of thunderous power solo getting captured is instant death a trap is far more likely he already emptied out his store and bat cave in the previous chapters
CentaureHeart
On one hand it would be a good way to infiltrate but on the other it's relying on a lot of unknowns. They could just beat him down without giving him an opening to escape. Maybe if he arranged for one of his Wights to create a distraction outside, like if they glamoured themselves into him with his help or something.
Greyg
She worked directly with him on 2 occasions if not more in the tower and side projects for nobles. Guilt by association during a genocidal purge doubt the nobles care how many die. Your thinking they mixed her up for a potential necromancer candidate no she would just be guilty for being in proximity of the necromancer again guilt by association same way master windhelm is finding out all his years of service mean nothing
Gonvas
Tyron may destroy the world, a doomed long term future is better than no future. But I expect him to change his way and offer the world a better future.
Bluesun Rise
Also master willhelm didn't mention that, nor did they ask all that much about what Lukas almsfield did after his apprenticeship not to mention that at this point no one of them would offer up that information of their own. So they probably will only realize fairly late that their main suspect worked on the magister tower, which is probably going to screw them over very soon.
Derek Zoolander
I think Tyron will get captured on purpose. Tyron working on the enchanting for the nobles was foreshadowing on how he will break himself and the Golds out. He knows the security probably.
LazyWizard
Tyron's right they're entitled pricks and hypocrites 🙄 dragging down even the innocent bystanders, poor master Wilhelm, hope they live
CentaureHeart
Damn! Well it was bound to happen. I like Master Wilhelm I hope he'll be fine. Also hope that Tyron finishes his Jorlin puppet collection.
Sean Hibbitt
Wouldn't they rule her out as she's female?
Sean Hibbitt
Ahh the cliff hanger... Noooo
CentaureHeart
It can't end up worse in the long term because we know if the 5 Divines stay in power that the rifts are just going to progress endlessly.
Gonvas
We can't say that yet. Tyron wants to destroy the empire and kill the new gods. And he doesn't care about collateral dmg. It's possible the world ends up worse. *btw, it's Tyron not Tyrone xD
BlackFlame Lord
Criminal cliffs
Runaway_Cactuar
So it begins.
Runaway_Cactuar
When you arrest anybody you see in the street, you'd eventually find the guy lol.
Wolve
Even in our world where you can hide behind the anonymity of the internet, you don't have oracles able to pin down which city someone is in, and we actually need evidence beyond simple logical deduction to capture someone, we still are able to find hackers of incredible ability. Our boy is good, but the moment the oracles captured a trace of him and he murdered those nobles his identity was going to get revealed. They know the approximate time he came here and with that 95% of suspects easily, then another 95% for the sheer skill needed to pull it off, and finally the specificity of his skills to one field will leave only him. It's reasonable to be confident here.
Wolve
Welcome to the reality of the world: where the vengeance seekers are often (but not always) the better of two. I'd go so far as to say our inherent desire for vengeance is an evolutionary trait to get rid of the people that do more harm than good for the group (though as with every evolutionary trait is imperfect at doing so).
Wolve
Him getting captured would be a risky plan, because the most likely odds are that they'd cripple, if not kill him, before he ever even entered any place he could work his magic. Honestly, the only logical conclusion to that plan that doesn't involve ridiculous amounts of plot armor is that he is captured, crippled or killed immediately, and if not killed then tortured while powerless for a very long time while on display.
Rahsheem Reid
I don’t see Ty being captured. Once they get him they will kill or incapacitate him asap. I can definitely see them walking into a trap.
Ian Levy
So nice to see the nobles walking into a death trap
Kain
Nah I’d bet he’s still there in his work shop when they come for him. he’ll put up a “fight” for sure kill as many as he can that come for him but I’m pretty sure he intends to lose that “fight” and “be captured” in the Tower you know the one where a couple dozen golds are currently being tortured into attack dogs conveniently the same building their leashes are held and their “Trainers” live. Would be a real shame if someone was brought inside who worked on maintaining the cages and could let the dogs out early.
Jac Onue
Yes, but like was mentioned: not a noble = disposable. This guy is looking for vengeance, and the duke is crapping his pants at the thought that they won't resolve the situation before the emperor loses patience. If a few innocents get killed, that's an acceptable price. Even if those innocent are valuable, like master Wilhelm or Lukas Almsfield.
Greyg
Like the direction for the enchanting master he will have deadly resentment i suspect maybe the students too. The purge likely wont spare even an expert their indifference to life and longterm societal productivity. The only other loose plot string or character in this city is the masters other enchanting prodigy maybe she’ll pop back up it seemed foreshadowed she was stagnating in her craft perfect for an introduction to necromancy no other character development past the enchanting focused on her craft still wonder why she fell out of favor with her master, as now the purge might target all of his enchanting students no matter the circumstances guilt by association.
Nathan Sto
It took you this long?
DrDankness
Damn. I felt that claiming himself as a curse mage was gonna come back and bite him in the ass. Either way he's 10 steps ahead already. Everyone important is gone and by the time you rip up his shop hes LONG gone.
Zebrababies
This is not a fair cliff!
Moonspike
Wouldn't the fact that he has passed through the upgraded security to work at the magistrate tower offer him some security from things like this?
McMax
Now I see Tyrone is the lesser evil. The big bad necromancer is the lesser evil. What a fucked up world
SlanneshSoldier69
No I get that, but the level of certainly the guy has.
Brandon14754
I wouldn't say enchanting is holding him back, it's what is allowing him to have so many minions. also while it's said your subclasses are locked at a certain tier and level only very rare slayers who are locked away, elite soldiers, and nobles ever get the chance to raise to gold or above so there's a chance subclasses will be able to go higher after the main one reaches high enough and it's just not known by the public
Brandon14754
yea they've been detaining anyone slightly suspicious and they said this is literally the last stop and he finds 1 genius disciple with a drive and a suspicious class who fits the time. basically they searched an entire city of what used to be millions and he's the most suspicious by far so is now being treated as the main suspect
Moosh7
My head canon is that they've been arbitrarily arresting a bunch of people everywhere they go on flimsy evidence but we're just seeing this time because he happened to finally guess right...
Theweird12345
You know how the one thing really holding Tyron back is enchanting? I feel like they basically handed him a key to the best resource he can have on this world. Arcanist Willhem. While I don't think he will become one of the skelly boys, I wouldn't be surprised if the man joined out of curiosity of what can happen
TPG
Guess i’m getting my wish. Maybe this is better than Tyron revealing himself early. Master Wilhelm sitting in a cell, contemplating his treatment after all his years of service… maybe even an order for his execution for training the Necromancer… it’s more than enough to turn him against the divines. I just hope Master Wilhelm manages to survive, rather than become an undead servant.
BlissForgotten
They ain't doing logical. This guy would murder the entire city if he thought he could get away with it and it would kill Tyron. He's not grabbing for strings, he's just pulling until it gives him what he wants
SlanneshSoldier69
I could understand them bringing everyone in to question, but the guy arbitrarily figures out the right one? Just assumes it? Just assumes he must be from that guys training?
Demented Liar
There's an accidentally magister willhelm in there. It's getting spicy out here
Dragon Commands
So generous of jorlin to present all these bodies to tyron on a silver platter.
Buck
I have a sneaking suspicion that Master Wilhelm is destined to become one of Tyron’s most valuable undead.
Lucas Gulick
The vigor of the inquisition, arrest and torture everyone rather than relying on genuine evidence or fact. Still, they did find the guy....
Andrew
Thank you!
braeden winstead
Thanks for the chapter!
Lucas Gulick
Tftc!
