Phineas was frustrated. He had grown complacent in his old age. He used to sweep for Inquisitors every week. Those he couldn’t lead in the opposite direction he had forced into taxing battles without revealing what direction he had came from. They were usually too tired to continue their journeys and had to return to their fortress in the east. But that was when he was younger. And to add onto his old age, the Inquisition had gotten lax in their undisputed victory. Only the most loyal of their order still roamed the countryside. So the weekly excursions had slowed to monthly, then bi-monthly. Then only twice a year. Oh how his hubris loved to remind him of itself. Only a roamer would be able to respond in this short of a timeframe.

The aged soldier grunted in frustration and crushed the mud sculpture he was working on. He had gotten distracted and made a War Golem. He needed Porters, not a weapon capable of wiping out an entire platoon. They were running here, not waging total war. Now giving the mud his whole attention, he expertly crafted a small horse. He didn’t bother with a tail, but the mane was needed so the children had something to hold on to. He set it aside four nearly identical earthen horses. This would be good enough. Phineas unsheathed his small hunting knife and made a careful incision on the back of his hand. After giving the blood a moment to pool, he carefully placed a drop of blood on each of the Porters.

They would take about half an hour to be fully grown. He still needed more time. So he decided to buy some. Quill was busy preparing the saddlebags and his bird had already summoned the other two back. Phineas absentmindedly scratched his chin and walked back inside. He wrapped his cut hand and grabbed his good walking staff as well as his small bag of reagents. After a moment of hesitation he pushed one of the tables out of the way. He pulled up a loose floorboard and brought out two shortswords. Their bone white handles shone softly in the firelight, and both had a slight glimmer to them. Had it already been a hundred years since he last used these? Phineas sighed and shook his head. He slid the twin blades into hidden sheathes sewn into the sides of his cloak. It was time to meet some unwanted guests.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the village. It was barely a ten minute walk, and the Inquisitors hadn’t left. They must still be interrogating the villagers about the spike in magic. They wouldn’t take much longer to connect the incident with the “reclusive herbalist” on the outskirts of the village. After that it was just a matter of time before they stumbled into his defensive wards. Best to delay them before then. Phineas made sure to be seen tending to his usual customers. They seemed a little surprised by his evening visit, but this wasn’t really new behavior. He usually did it before his “long trips to collect rare ingredients.” It was during one of his casual chats with a customer when he first noticed someone eavesdropping with magic. Finally.

He bid goodnight to the young woman, and reminded her to take the Erdroot twice a day while her symptoms lasted. Then he stepped outside and pretended to be surprised by the sudden appearance of a grizzled looking man and a younger girl. He estimated them to be around 30-40 and 18-20 respectively. So a Master and Apprentice pair, huh? This might be annoying.

“What can I do for the two of you? If you need some treatment for your daughter sir, I only have my travelling kit with me now, but if you describe her symptoms I can return home and grab something to help. Don’t worry, I can cure anything for cheap.”

The man grunted and shook his head. “We’re not here for your tricks charlatan. This is official Inquisition business.” He pulled open his travelling cloak and revealed a softly glowing golden pendant shaped like an hourglass. Phineas gulped before immediately looking at the ground.

“Terribly sorry about that sir, I meant no disrespect sir. I really mean it sir, if there’s anything I can do sir just say the word sir.” His words practically tumbled out of his mouth, and he even shook a slight amount in the hopes of selling the performance. I’m just an old man making his living off some old herbs. Promise.

The Inquisitor made a quiet noise and pushed his apprentice in front of him. “She’s my apprentice. We’re conducting an investigation on something that happened recently. She’s going to question you.”

Shit. He’s going to look elsewhere meanwhile. It’s still too early for everything to be ready. Fine.

“Something recent? Hmm… Do you mean the rockslide that happened on Fifpeak almost two weeks ago now?” Phineas stroked his beard and pretended to think long and hard about something. “I do think there was something strange about that, unless…” His eyes went wide. “Was that person a Demon? Is that why you’re here? Did I… Did I accidentally help a Demon?” Take the bait, please.

This actually caused the Inquisitor to stop walking away. The man slowly turned around and the man truly looked at Phineas.

“Explain. Now.”

Phineas bobbed his head quickly. Good. I can stall indefinitely now. “Well sir, you see sir, there was this wanderer who came into the valley a while back sir, but he didn't seem like much. He avoided the village but tried to take some of the herbs in my garden one night. Unfortunately sir he tried to eat some of the deadlier things I keep in my garden, due to them occasionally being necessary to put down a hurt cow or the likes sir. So I took him in to care for him sir. Ask the other villagers, a while ago I started buying up more food than usual sir. The man seemed to be fine after a few days but he refused to tell me anything sir.” Phineas knew that he had the Inquisitors full attention now. He just had to hope he could keep the story up.

“I took him for a hedge wizard of some sorts I did. Normally pretty nice folk, but I thought he had run afoul of a mercenary band or the like. It helped explain the secrecy it did. Especially after he had left and that big landslide happened. I weren’t brave enough to check and see if it was him burying the mercs chasing him. I’m not that kinda healer sir, I only deal with illnesses sir. No dabbling in the healing or dark arts for me. Just herbalism sir. Never quite had the smarts for magics. I can show ya to the landslide if you’se wants it sir. I’d even do it for free, you know. Demons are known to bring plague and curses with them, so maybe afterwards you could check out my house? If it were a demon I’d sleep sounder if you’se checked it for anything… unnatural.”

The apprentice looked to her master, waiting for him to speak. The man stared hard at Phineas, studying him with predatory eyes.

“Take us to the house first. Wouldn’t want an honest citizen like you to lose too much sleep now, would we.”

Phineas nodded and checked his internal clock. Damn. This is going to cut it a bit close. “Sure thing sir! I’ll make sure to leave the church my donations sir, wouldn’t want a blessing like this be for nothing sir. But… much as I hate to say it sir… I still have deliveries to complete sir. Would you mind waiting to look over my home while I complete these sir? Some of these are a bit time sensitive sir, and I can give you more information on the way to my house. It shouldn’t take more than a half hour sir. I promise.”

The Inquisitor thought for a moment, then nodded. “We need to get our horses tended to anyways. Where’s a good inn?”

Phineas fought to contain the relief he felt. “Oh, that’d be the Watered Dog. You can’t miss it, just down the main road from here sir. Should I meet you there to guide you’se to my house?”

“No. We’ll find you. You have fifteen minutes. Be fast.”