He turned, his ears picking up Atar's sharp whisper. Felix doubted the mage was being as quiet as he thought he was, as Atar looked cautiously at the others before motioning for Felix to come closer. Felix sighed and walked over. They had things to discuss anyway.
Atar retreated to the back area of the open warehouse, where somone had converted it into a sort of lounge-slash-cafeteria set up. Two long tables were laid out, along with benches and a few rickety chairs padded with overstuffed cushions. A stove had been built in the corner, a pot-bellied metal one that looked like something from the turn of the 19th century. Felix eyed it curiously and noticed that there were several sigils inscribed along its top and base.
Fascinating. They use magic to cook? I mean, why not? It's useful as hell, I think. He craned his neck and saw a small round panel built into the side of the stove. Is that the control point? Like on a manaship. I wonder if--
"Felix!"
He turned back toward Atar, who had been calling his name for the last thirty seconds. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I get caught up sometimes in--Sorry. What's up?"
Atar's annoyed face relaxed. "Listen, about earlier. I said that I wasn't going to be able to get anyone into the Domain, and I mean it. Not even you. The layers of security the Guild is putting on the thing, not to mention the Inquistion...I don't see how it's possible without an authorization from an Elder."
"And you can't get one? Why not ask your patron, Elder Teine?"
"It-it's not that easy, I'm afraid." Atar sighed and a trace of bitterness flavored his words. "The Elder is quite similar to my Master in that he believes in self-sufficiency. No handouts. He offers great resources to us, but only if we earn them. That usually means following his orders."
"And he ordered you to find the Butcher." Felix said, thinking. "So if we find the Butcher, does that get us into the Domain?"
"It's possible, I suppose. But like I said before, I believe the Butcher is hiding in the Domain itself."
"You've brought that up to Teine?" Felix asked. "What'd he say?"
"Of course I haven't!" Atar was aghast. "It's a theory, barely better than wishing for Siva to change my fate. He would shoot down anything without proof."
Felix considered his next words carefully. "I might not have the proof you need, but I saw another victim today."
"What! Where?" Atar's attention sharpened so fast Felix was surprised he wasn't cut. "Why leave this til now? Is it close? We could go now and--"
"No. Guilders and the Inquisition showed up a bit after me." Felix shook his head. "Probably crawling with those Redcloaks by now."
"Spirits forbid," Atar cursed. "Why were they there? Can you tell me what you saw?"
"Easily. My Born Trait is all about memory, if you recall."
"Oh right," Atar looked excited. Felix laid it out, describing the scene and the grisly sigils. He recounted the Guild's and Inquisition's arrival, though he left out the ghost stuff.
"He claimed Sorcery had been done there?" Atar asked, rubbing his fingers against his baby smooth chin. Felix doubted he'd grown even a patch of stubble yet.
"That's what he said."
"Strange. Nothing like that has been picked up before." Atar started pacing, and his expensive seeming black and maroon robes billowed.
"I've heard it thrown around a few times. What exactly does the Inquisition consider Sorcery?" Felix had an idea, but needed to know if it was true. Or if he was missing another aspect of the picture.
"Mm? Oh, as far as I can tell it's nonsense," Atar said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He kept pacing. "I've heard it described in colorful terms, but mostly as 'dark song' that 'corrupts all it touches' and other such bunk. In Te'thys we have no Inquisition stepping on our necks. I've never heard of this Sorcery they tout up here."
A song. The Grand Harmony? But no. He used the Grand Harmony to cast that ghost replay spell. I'm not discounting hypocrisy, but if it's not Harmony, then what could it be? A thought flashed through his mind, the memory of a buzzing unpleasantness as he faced against the Maw.
What about its opposite? Not Harmony, but Dissonance.
The power of the Maw.
"And they were similar to the notes?"
Felix was drawn back into the conversation by Atar's question, and he fought to hide his suddenly queasy stomach. "Extremely. Not the same symbols, but the same language definitely."
"And do you...have those notes with you?" Atar asked, hopefully.
"I do. And no, you can't have them back." Felix rolled his eyes, though his left hand carefully clutched at his satchel. "I gave you that book from the Elder Crown, wasn't that enough?"
"Ugh, I wanted that for reference into script writing. It is not my area of expertise. If you're not going to give me your notes, then take it back. You might find it useful." Atar fished the book from his own bag and handed it to Felix. Felix took it and resolved to peruse it later.
"Where'd you get that bag, by the by? It boasts impressive enchantments. Like Harn mentioned, Rank II enchantments are hard to come by out here in the outskirts."
Felix shrugged. "System Quest reward for defeating the Risi."
Deception is level 10!
"You got credit for that? I guess you did your part, true enough." Atar sighed. "I'd like to go see that body, but if the Inquisition has it in their grips they're not likely to part with it."
"They do seem...confrontational and possessive," Felix agreed.
"You don't know the half of it. Living in the Eyrie means I get to experience the questionable joy of constant conflicts between the Guilders and lower ranked Inquisitors. Minor stuff, simple arguments and the like. But any chance to put Guilders 'in their place,' they take it." Atar sat in a chair opposite Felix with a definite huff.
"What's their deal?"
"Their 'deal?' They follow their High Laws, mostly to the letter. They're the investigational arm of the Heirocracy. A Master Inquisitor was sent here, you know? Not some nobody. Hand picked by the Grand Inquisitor herself, I've heard."
That all meant little to Felix, other than that whatever they were doing here was considered important. He said as much.
Atar laughed. "You've probably heard by now. Dispatched when the Foglands stopped being foggy and started producing erratic monster variants. They got here awful quick though. Which means someone tipped them off. The capital is far, far away."
"Who would do that? And why?" Felix asked. They were moving farther afield of his questions, but he hadn't heard this. More information on his pursuers was always good. "What would they benefit from having an obviously zealot organization shut down the entire city?"
"Perhaps they didn't know the Inquisition would shut it down? Or perhaps they didn't care. Hard to tell." Atar leaned forward and pointed to the west. "But what happens when an entire region full of rare raw materials is suddenly made available?"
Felix nodded, recalling their conversations in the Geists' Tower. "Right. There's money to be made."
"And where there's money, there's power. That, at least, we had plenty of in Te'thys."
A sudden shout and flash of prismatic light caught their attention. Felix leaped to his feet and saw Rory standing triumphantly by one of the thicker posts they had carried in. "There we go! Time to test yerselves!"
Without another word, the wooden posts began to shimmer with Mana vapor before pulling themselves up from the ground.