>>5956637As the horses pull the carriage through the damp streets of the capital under an overcast sky you find yourself brimming with questions. Like how trains are demontech, or strangetech, knowledge taken from Earth and put into use in the real world. Or about perhaps signaling early that you have a friend- no an ally- up in Ivern that you’d like to meet but first, you decide to play things a bit more standard and ask about your upcoming mission. As you do so the inquisitor nods and talks like he has been expecting you to ask.
“Unlike what we went through last night this technically isn’t a Stranger hunt, since there’s no straight evidence of one. We’re going off of rumors.”
“Then why are we being sent all the way from the capital if there’s no confirmed Stranger?”
“Because that’s what most Inquisition missions are like. Strangers are rare, it’s uncommon there are more than two active in the country at any given time. So most of the time inquisitors are sent to places where strange happening are in order to deduce if it’s an otherworldly phenomenon or not.”
“And what happens if it isn’t Stranger related?”
“Depends on the problem, if it’s just a monster or something of the sort then usually the Inquisition lets the Adventurer’s Guild know about it then leaves it at that. If it’s something that needs to be solved immediately the inquisitor will do the best in their power to do so.”
“What could be so bad an inquisitor needs to deal with it?”
The inquisitor brings up his hand and starts using his fingers to make a list, “Heretics, normal serial killers, crime syndicates, things that threaten the stability of the realm. It also helps that Strangers usually end up involved in those messes if they happen to be around.”
“I see, that makes sense but wouldn’t that be overreach of the church’s authority? Would the Crown or a local ruling noble not be sufficient to deal with these threats?” You ask, curious and a bit perturbed about how much authority this organization might have in your family's kingdom that you didn’t know about.
It seems the inquisitor might of forgotten who he was talking to as he’s a bit caught off guard, “Ah- well, we do if they’re available. But usually, we work in places that don’t have much in the way of central government. Like now, while Ivern is a big city, where we’re investigating is past that and in the Highlands. And you know how little the Clans like to be governed by the Crown.” He’s not subtle when he deflects. He wouldn’t last a week in high society.
But he does have a point about the Highland Clans, your family is technically their overlord but they hate to admit it. They’ll still happily receive support and infrastructure paid for by the tax of other regions though, “I understand now. But the Highlands? What exactly will we be investigating?” You ask, going with the change. Never say that you aren’t a merciful princess.
