The goblet was full of a rich red wine, shimmering like ruby under the silvery magical lighting, scattering a few crimson rays about the room. Errant accepted it smoothly, and took a drink without hesitation after briefly tinking the crystal goblet against that held by the cowled man before him.

They swallowed together, smacked their lips, and lo, nothing could be held against them for what might be said while under the power of the grape. Errant really had to appreciate the practical side of working for a god of Justice.

“Those family and friends of yours have been extremely busy,” Inquisitor Master Divez, one of the most feared men in the city, murmured in an off-handed manner, fully able to play this part to the hilt. He numbered many, many Valusar among his acquaintances, as well as Aethrans, Tiirithar, and Nuavans, and his ‘loose lips’ had been the downfall of many, many people who needed to fall down, and who he was largely powerless to move against openly.

“They are industrious,” Errant agreed. “There is half a dozen goldweight a night vanishing in my house as they Burn away the proof of having done anything. That is a horrifying sum of wealth, and they are always happy to see more added to the funnel.”

“That is indeed a lot of coin... and gems, and magic,” the Inquisitor agreed. “However, they don’t burn dwarves. How are you spiriting them away? There are over a hundred of them missing now, and don’t think we haven’t noticed some bonded hyn families have been vanishing, too...”

“The Starsister gets their permission to petrify the lot of them, Summoning in a Celestial Gorgon to do the job. Then she Itemizes all of them, Teleports off to their final destination, revokes the Itemization, and then Breaks the Enchantment to restore them to flesh. She only needs to move out of the city’s Wards to complete the task, which as you imagine isn’t all that difficult.”

“Clever. Their destination is either far away or wards away Divinations, foiling any trackers,” the Inquisitor mused. “Well done on that Hellbound fool, by the way...”

“Heavenbound aren’t the only Warlocks with a short shelf life in some places,” Errant smiled thinly, and then his face fell slightly. “I’ve run into three Madbound in various places in the depths. That is an extremely high incidence rate of them. There is something very, very bad going down. I would wager that different elements are converging at different times in different places, making it very hard to stop. The final touches will be made only when the time is wrong...”

“Yes, the number of shapechangers is troubling. We believe both the South and the East are in motion, in different ways and overlapping boundaries...”

Errant frowned. The brutal lands of the East were long fallen to savagery and brutal rule by ancient powers, where Ferals and Old races rubbed shoulders together and fought with great enthusiasm over the ruins of ancestors long, long fallen. The old Empires of the South, teeming with repression and lives bent under the lash, looked at Rosencrux as an upstart that needed to be brought low, and its riches and members subjugated to the rule of the Rajahs of those old and decaying nations. The Church of Imprus, seeking to stratify and subjugate all beneath the onus of the Church, was a mighty proponent of a more active stance, fully happy to spend the lives of lesser beings for its own goals.

That was, in the end, all they were good for, after all...

“So, how many assassination attempts have you had to deal with?” the Inquisitor inquired in mild curiosity.

“Six since last we spoke,” Errant replied calmly. “There’s been a couple others that my associates decided to deal with out of sheer irritation. I understand one fellow from Vicklerston was really surprised when Veis gutted him after he ‘captured’ her...”

“They are a remarkably dangerous bunch,” Divez agreed, without judgement. “And remarkably discreet about what they do. I understand you’ve been delving rather deep into the foundations.”

“The depths are riddled with tunnels and passageways like rotten cheese, dug out by magic and metal over centuries, as I’m sure you know. Things have been coming up from the Felldeep, and there has been virtually no way to stop them. It’s not like we can collapse the city above to block the tunnels for a short time...”

“If they are below the water table...” Divez offered meaningfully, but Errant just shook his head.

“Water is a resource in the Felldeep. The tunnels may have taken time to dig out, but waters can be held back easily with the right magic, the flooded tunnels sealed, and new ones dug out parallel to the old ones. Unless we dump a good bit of the River Crowned into those tunnels abruptly, we won’t accomplish anything more than a short-term advantage.

“The proper solution is armed slaughter, but no surface dweller with brains wants to go fighting in the Felldeep... and the Empire has successfully managed to offend all the races with the greatest proficiency in this area.”

“Almost as if someone has been planning this for a very long time,” the Inquisitor sighed.

“Playing the long game against Eternals and Immortals is a very difficult thing for mortals,” Errant agreed, and they both took another drink of scarlet comfort.

“You don’t seem particularly discomfited by that fact,” Divez observed, swirling his wine.

Errant only smiled. “Eternals and Immortals playing the long game against Mithar also find things very difficult.”

The Inquisitor slowly smiled. “This is true, on many levels. It is simply too difficult to see all the things He puts into motion here and there.” He looked at Errant with a new light in his eyes. “Do you think that you are one of those stratagems?” he asked, intrigued at the idea.

“I am a very dangerous Heavenbound for my age, meaning I am being underestimated. Usually, a Heavenbound Pact is offered to an older individual, who has accrued great experience in the world, and thus can endure the almost immediate conflict they are thrust into. Coming in underneath the view of many... there must be some greater plan.” Leaving off the fact that he was a reincarnate from a video game player in another world...

“You are, in fact, the most powerful Warlock Heavenbound I have ever met personally,” the Inquisitor admitted. “I’ve met no more than a score in all my years, and including you, there are less than five currently operating in the Empire... and Heavenbound rarely come to Zynozure.”

“For good reason,” Errant agreed. “I will admit that no one with serious chops has made a move against me. I was given enough time to build up my Pact to a truly useful level. It’s much more difficult for someone to do so who already has some achievements... and who has to be wary of getting into a fight at any time. Heavenbound work best when given some time to grow, like anything else.”

“Indeed? And how long have you had your Pact, Sir Errant?”

“Almost five years now.”

The Inquisitor blinked in surprise. “You swore a Pact... very young,” he murmured.

“Yes, specifically so that I had time to grow it.”

“And yet you concealed it for so long?”

“As long as you do not make active use of the Pact, Sign does not manifest. It is how the Heart and Kiss Dark Pacts get away with what they do, you know.”

“Indeed. Vile things, those...”

“Yes, and there’s probably at least a couple more of them in the city, waiting for an opportunity. They do stay hidden, however...”

“We cannot intrude on everyone’s privacy, unfortunately.” The Inquisitor sounded more amused than regretful, as they regularly violated personal privacy for the safety of the city and empire... and generally were correct to do so, and did not take advantage if they were not. Which didn’t mean they wouldn’t fob off the job to some individuals who weren’t squeamish about violating the privacy of those who violated others...

“That being said, your little band of trouble-makers is both doing a good job clearing our slate, and drawing us pictures of connections we’d rather not existed. Exactly how long are they going to stay around and grant us all manner of deniability?”

“I don’t speak for them, nor give them orders. I only offer opportunities and they decide to take them or not. They’ve been happy to test themselves against some of the worst the city has to offer, but still...” He took a deep breath. “I’ve also been handling some Void Brother items of interest in the city. Did you know there’s an Angelus Excorciate under the city?”

Divez’s unseen eyes popped open. “You are not serious.”

“I am.”

“And they did not deal with it... why?”

“I don’t presume to judge the Brotherhood’s motivations. I gather that just because it has Fallen is no reason for the Light and the Scepter to judge it, and magically it’s kept its nose clean, so the Firesword doesn’t care about it.”

Forbidden the sun, never to fly again... an Angelus Excorciate was a rebel against Heaven’s very nature, punished for arrogance and twisting what was Good to their own meanings, yet not seeing that Good was not reliant on any individual’s view, Good simply Was.

They still had power, and could still repent and return to the Light, but the sheer amount of pride involved made that unlikely. Most of them historically set up cults to compete with Heaven, and acted as Patrons of Dark and twisted Pacts of various sorts... making them as legitimate in their own way as demons and devils. Being fallen from Heaven, they were essentially bound to the mortal plane until they repented or died... meaning they weren’t Soulbound Outsiders, strictly speaking.

Getting rid of them was a job for mortals and the faithful of the Churches of Good, not the Void Brothers.

“I’ve a feeling I’m not going to like this revelation. What details?” Divez asked with a knowing sigh.

“As far as I can determine, it is the dominating force behind the Fraternity of the Sunken Stars. It is the primary maker behind cutting and charging the shadow-tchazty stones the dops have been using to hide themselves.”

Divez’ fingers drummed the table at Errant’s words. “The Sunken Stars have been around more than three hundred years...” he murmured softly. It was a fraternal organization of extremely wealthy men, dominated by the Jeweler’s Guild, expanding to whitesmiths, lenders, and moneychangers. While elitist and snobbish, there’d never been problems with its reputation or doings, any problems coming from individuals with too much money and ambition, and not enough common sense. “Should I be thankful they’ve not infiltrated the High Guild?” he mused aloud.

“I’ve reason to believe that at least three Tens in the High Guild are Mad Theurges.”

Inquisitor Divez resisted an urge to reach for his gavel and beat something flat. He instead poured them both more wine.

“Well, that would certainly explain the plentitude of Aberrant influence recently,” he sighed, clinking his goblet to Errant’s again. “Geniuses who couldn’t advance Up, so they chose Sideways, and Patrons all too willing to take them.”

“Well, at least they didn’t become Warlocks,” Errant mused aloud, and both of them laughed together.

“Are you going to move on the Angelus?” the Inquisitor asked softly. He had been on several Inquiries with this young man, and learned very quickly that underestimating him was not wise.

Errant frowned, looking into the wine for a moment. “The fact it is Fallen is no reason to simply kill it. I have no proof that it has been acting against Heaven. That being said... it would not surprise me at all if the Angelus were at the very center of everything that is going on, using the funds of his mortal influence to manipulate, pulling strings this way and that, and setting up something suitably grand to spit in the face of Heaven.”

“Not proving himself right?” The Inquisitor’s voice fell. There was a great distinction between proving oneself right and someone else wrong, in this circumstance.

“I don’t believe so...”

“This is going to be bad, isn’t it?” Inquisitor Divez asked rhetorically, picking up the bottle of wine they’d emptied. “I think I need a drink...”