Chapter Text
When they made it back to camp, the others had already broken it down and were loading up the horses with baggage and themselves.
Someone had already kindly packed up their bedrolls and slung them over the grey horse they rode together. Curran did a quick last-minute check before turning to help Heinwald onto the horse and then mounting himself.
Ranzal came by on his horse and announced cheerfully, “If everyone is okay with it, we’re gonna just ride through the night and into the morning and make the straight shot back home.”
Curran nodded, then led the horse up to the front of the group. As he did so, he felt curious fingers groping into his pocket. He chuckled and teased, “Hands to yourself, honey.”
“Unfortunately, you have something much more interesting in your pocket,” Heinwald whispered into his ear. He pulled out the missive and opened it up.
“...Well.”
“Mmm. Looks pretty official, don’t you think?”
Heinwald said nothing as he folded back up the letter and tucked it back into Curran’s pocket. He then sighed and leaned forward, resting his face against Curran’s back.
After a few minutes, his hands loosened their grip around Curran’s waist. He set one hand on Heinwald’s, holding on so he could catch him if he fell.
Ahead of them, he saw Ranzal slowing down his horse, and soon he was riding alongside the two of them. Curran cast him a sidelong glance but otherwise said nothing.
Ranzal’s first question, however, was not the one he was expecting.
"...Is the sex freaky?"
Curran screwed up his face and gave Ranzal a weird look. "I don't think...stuff like that is determined by...er, species."
"I was thinking...tentacles."
"Oh. Ohhh.” Curran was thinking about, like, kinks. And stuff. “No, he doesn't have...tentacles."
“Oh,” Ranzal echoed. After a minute of silence, he said, “But you didn't say no. To the...freaky-sex question."
"Oh. Yeah.” Curran chuckled. “Yeah, that's not a no."
They rode on in silence for a long while.
"...Wait. Why are you asking about our sex life?"
"Why did you answer it?" Ranzal countered.
Curran shrugged. “Heinwald’s been rubbing off on me, I guess.” Then all the blood rushed into his face when he realized what he said.
Ranzal roared with laughter loudly enough that Laranoa nearly fell off her horse ahead of them. “Yeah. Yeah, I reckon he has been.”
Curran nearly fell off his horse trying to punch him, but it was worth it. Any further sex-related banter was put on hold because two other horses slowed down to ride on Curran’s other side: Euden’s white horse, and Elisanne’s brown stallion, holding both the Paladyn and her shadow.
Euden frowned when he glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, Heinwald’s asleep? I was hoping to ask him some questions.”
“I could wake him up for you,” Curran offered.
“No, it’s--”
“I’ve been awake this whole time.” Heinwald’s grip tightened again around his waist, and Curran did his best to shoot a glare at him over his shoulder. He should have known--Heinwald often used that tactic to eavesdrop on the castle denizens, as he was often seen genuinely passed out in odd positions around the castle after an all-nighter or two.
“Oh!” Euden smiled at the space behind Curran. “I hope you don’t--”
“You were planning on asking me what exactly is the nature of my existence?” Euden nodded. “Well, truthfully, I don’t know.”
Curran wished that Heinwald was sitting in front. It was hard to read his body language just by his arms. They were tense around his waist, but he couldn’t tell if that was discomfort with the questions or just because their horse was heading up a slight incline. He could read Euden’s, Elisanne’s, and Alex’s expressions, though, and they ranged from sympathetic (Euden) to confused (Elisanne) to skeptical (Alex).
Heinwald continued, “I suspect I am at least partially something abyssal, as Nyarlathotep was the one who first recognized the lie about my nature. I have consulted with Sophie, and while my mana is somewhat akin to both Nyarlathotep’s and somewhat human, she cannot recognize the exact expression of mana as she has never seen it before. However, all of my research into both generally accessible accounts of various non-organic creatures and my research into the archive that we unlocked have returned no creatures that fit my description.” He laughed loudly in Curran’s ear. “The irony is not lost on me that the one mystery I find myself unable to solve is one near and dear to my heart. Though, given the state of the archive, I believe I have figured out why I am compelled to solve mysteries and discover truths: because it is in my non-human nature.”
“That’s...thanks for the thorough response.” Euden seemed a little overwhelmed. But he always looked like that when he spoke to the two of them.
“Wait, Sophie knew?” asked Elisanne.
Heinwald nodded. “All of the researchers in the castle knew. They assisted me in analyzing samples, as well as helped me maintain an objective stance on my research.”
Curran finally spoke up. “What did I tell you about collecting samples from yourself?” Curran said, annoyed.
“ I did not collect the samples. Kleimann did.”
“We can argue schematics all you like, I’m still disappointed in you.”
“Though currently I believe Sinoa is the head researcher, so if we ever get enough results to publish we can restore her reputation and perhaps increase the chances that she is welcomed back to school. So perhaps you can blame her.”
“Heinwald!”
“Could you two stop arguing?” That was a familiar refrain. Elisanne closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. “Do you two have a plan for the whole...the Church wants to arrest you business?”
“I have a working plan,” Curran replied. Euden’s eyebrows rise, and Curran slowly begins to explain. “Seven inquisitors is a bit overkill for one heretic; we don’t have the resources to send more than one or two attend a mission at a time, and if the threat is too great for one or two inquisitors to handle, then at that point it’s big enough for the Paladyns to assemble. My guess is that this mission wasn’t officially sanctioned by the Church, it was one bishop who decided to take matters into his own hands. So...my plan is to take Heinwald, go to the Church, talk to the highest-ranking guy or gal we can meet with, explain the situation and the fact that Heinwald, despite his non-human...ness, is a Goddess-fearing citizen, and ask them to launch an investigation into the fact that seven inquisitors were sent after two suspected heretics.”
The others were struck silent at the end of Curran’s whale of a speech.
Except for one man.
The arms around his waist tightened yet again, but in tension or fear, but in a hug. He felt a cool cheek pressed against his back. “Hmph. You have a plan, hmm?” His voice was a low, pleased purr, like a cat that had just knocked a plant out of an open window.
“Is that Heinwald’s version of, ‘I love it when you talk dirty to me?’” Curran heard Ranzal mutter, followed by a quiet thud and an, “Ow.”
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Elisanne said, louder than normal, “Could I see the missive?”
“...Sure.”
No one seemed to notice his split second’s worth of hesitation. Except for probably Heinwald, but he said nothing as Curran pulled the folded note out of his front pocket and leaned over to hand it to Elisanne.
“Could you read it out?” Euden asked.
She scanned it. “It seems to be a fairly normal order, but I’m afraid Paladyns don’t receive written orders like this so I can’t say for certain…‘By the order of Bishop Jean-Paul of Amarllwood, arrest Erich Heinwald von Artz for the crimes as follows: being a monstrous otherworldly entity. And, the Inquisitor Curran, for the crimes as follows: knowingly harboring a monstrous otherworldly entity and failing to destroy it or report its existence to the Church.’”
“Have either of you been to this...Amarllwood before?” Euden asked.
Heinwald and Curran simultaneously nod. “We were there only a few weeks ago, maybe?”
“Curran brought me a lovely murder case,” Heinwald added.
“What have I told you about calling murders ‘lovely’?” Curran grumbled.
“Only do it when no one is around to hear us,” Heinwald droned.
“Ahem. While you were there, did you have a chance to speak with this Bishop?” Cleo asked.
“Unfortunately not.” Heinwald said. Truthfully.
“I see...then, how did he know of your...origin?”
“I have a few theories, but none that are worth voicing.” Heinwald closed his eyes again.
“Either way, it’s not a question we can answer on horseback,” Curran said. He shook his head, and then changed the subject. “Sorry about the trouble...you all have to get up and back on the road far too soon cuz of us.”
“It’s no trouble,” Euden said kindly. “We’re just glad that we were able to prevent you from getting arrested.”
“Yeah. Thanks for the timely save, too.” Curran gave Euden a half-smile. “Don’t worry about us, though--I’ll get this mess sorted out.”
One way or another.
***
Curran extracted himself out from underneath Heinwald. In the dim moonlight, he quietly slung his pack over one shoulder and picked up his clothes and shoes. Then he tiptoed back to the bed, pressed a light kiss to Heinwald’s forehead, and slipped out.
In the hallway, he stopped to put on his uniform and his overcoat, certain that no one would be awake at this hour to inadvertently stumble upon him changing in the middle of the hallway. He then took the side staircase down to the armory, picking up his axe and hanging it on his belt, before heading for the closest exit.
He made it all the way to the main hall before he paused.
Facing the grand entrance, he called out, voice echoing in the large, empty room, “Say your piece.”
Elisanne stepped out of the shadows. She had her lance slung across her back. “Curran? Where are you going at this hour?” Curran noticed that she was fully dressed in her Paladyn gear.
He didn’t beat around the bush. “You know my plan,” he said blandly. “You wouldn’t be standing there if you didn’t.”
“You’re going to kill the Bishop.” It wasn’t a question.
Curran raised a brow. “Are you hoping to stop me?"
Elisanne was quiet for a moment. “I...am still a Paladyn of the Church. I cannot allow you to leave with the intention of killing a man of the cloth without at least asking you to stand down.”
He inclined his head. “Go on. Ask.”
She slowly reached back, resting one hand on her lance. “Could I...persuade you to stop this impulsive act and consider a less-violent route?”
He chuckled humorlessly. “Thanks for asking. But I’m afraid I’m not going to listen to reason.”
“Listening is not what I had in mind for you.” And she finally unsheathed her lance.
Curran cast aside his bag and pulled his axe out of his belt. His voice steady, he offered up the familiar words. “May the Goddess have mercy on your soul…”
“...for I have none to spare,” she finished. Then they leaped at each other.
Elisanne immediately opened up with a quick jab with the blunted end of the spear, aiming to end the fight quickly using her speed and her reach. But Curran was faster than most people thought, and he evaded her easily, closing the distance between them and swinging his axe, trying to send her flying by hitting her with the flat side of the blade. She leaped back, coming in with her lance, forcing him to catch it with his off-hand to redirect it away from him. Before he could try and twist it out of her hands, she attempted to kick him, which missed but succeeded in forcing him to let go of the lance and disengage. They circled each other warily for a moment, sizing each other up.
They had sparred many times before, often to a standstill. But tonight, Curran was confident about the outcome.
Elisanne, taking advantage of the distance once more, swung her lance down. Curran caught the lance, feeling the force of her strike reverberate down his arm.
Once again, before he could try and disarm her, something interrupted him.
This time, it was a dagger whizzing by his ear.
He ducked automatically, but it went wide, intended as a warning shot. Both he and Elisanne glanced over at the direction from which it came.
Alex glared at him, flipping a dagger up and down in the air.
Curran scowled back. “Two against one? What the hell. I can take both of you on.”
Elisanne took the chance to rip her lance out of his hand, taking a step back and falling into a fighting stance. Curran readjusted his grip on his axe. And Alex took a step forward towards him--
And stumbled in place.
All three of them look at her foot. Which is now rooted in place, covered in dark mana.
Heinwald stepped out of the shadows of the hallway. He said coolly, “You will not do it alone.”
Curran took advantage of Elisanne’s distraction to charge at her.
She brought up her lance just in time, but she took Curran’s follow-up punch to the abdomen. She absorbed it with practiced grace, pushing up against his axe with her lance and succeeding in throwing him off her. He could hear Alex grunt in pain, but he didn’t look over in her direction, focused on disarming Elisanne.
Elisanne’s head turned when she heard Alex a second time, not emitting a grunt but a full-on yelp. Curran took his chance.
He hooked the curve of his axe head under the lance. Then he yanked, sending it flying out of her grip and sailing through the air. He and Elisanne both reached for the lance--
“What the heck is going on here!?”
The lance clattered to the ground. Elisanne and Curran both turned to look.
Alex and Heinwald were facing each other from opposite ends of the room. They, too, were both looking at the person who just spoke.
Euden. Ranzal. Cleo. Luca, cowering behind Ranzal.
Elisanne was quick to speak. “Curran is--”
Not going to let Elisanne put words in his mouth.
“I am going to go kill the Bishop.” Curran said. Deadly still. “You are standing in my way. And you--” He finally moved, to turn and shoot Heinwald a glare. “--are staying home.”
“Like
hell
I’m not,” Heinwald snapped. “Your foolish plan was doomed from the start--”
“It’s plainly you he’s after, and with a massive fucking tell like that, no doubt--”
“You cannot do it alone, no matter how vigilant--”
“What the hell?” Ranzal interrupted their burgeoning fight. “You’re going to fucking kill the Bishop? ”
“Well, whoever or whatever is disguised as him, anyways.”
Silence. One could hear a pin drop.
“What the fuck…?” Luca croaked softly. “What the fuck?”
Out came the missive from Curran’s back pocket. Handed over to Euden.
“These are the orders…” Euden said slowly. He was looking at Curran and Heinwald, awaiting an explanation.
“They’re fake,” Curran said.
“How did you know…?”
“You can tell it’s a forgery, if you look closely enough,” Heinwald began to explain. “If you look at the letters, especially visible in the signature at the bottom, the lines tremble in a way that they wouldn’t if it were a person’s natural signature.”
Heinwald was playing good cop. Made sense. They did catch him trying to sneak out at night. “But, more damningly…” Curran said. “We were in Amarllwood recently.”
“For a murder case, right?” Euden asked.
“Yeah. It was a murder case for me, not for Hein.” He paused. “The murder of a bishop.”
“...Bishop Jean-Paul,” Heinwald finished.
There was a collective gasp, one that had Curran smirking. Nothing made him feel cooler than when he was standing by his partner’s side, laying out all the little chess pieces onto the board for the people to see, finally showing them the game he and his partner have been playing the whole time while they were unable to see it until the grand reveal of checkmate .
“So...someone impersonated the bishop…” Elly said slowly, “To pretend to have the authority to go after Heinwald and you…? But...what of the inquisitors? Wouldn’t they have known that the bishop was dead?”
Curran gave an exaggerated shrug. “We’re supposed to always check who are marching orders are from. But, the fact of the matter is, lotta inquisitors are lazy. They just wanna bash heads and arrest heretics. Get the heretics, toss them in prison, and ask questions later. No doubt Peter and the other guys were so excited with the prospect of catching a big one--a fucking abyssal creature--that they just ran off without doing any research at all.”
“Not all inquisitors are as principled as my partner.” Heinwald’s voice was deadpan, and only Curran could have detected the hints of pride and smugness contained therein. “Which you no doubt know, Miss Elisanne. Given how wary you were when Curran first showed up on this front door, it is easy to believe that the reputation of inquisitors precedes them--and, in this case, that reputation turned out true.”
“Yep. I’m clearly licensed to say that most inquisitors are stubborn, glory-seeking blockheads.” To punctuate his point, Curran hoisted and rested his axe upon his shoulder.
“Present company included, of course.” Heinwald smirked at Curran.
“Hey! It’s not too late to clap you in irons and turn you in myself, you know!” It was almost comical, the contrast between his playful jibe and the way he carried himself. Tension still in every inch of his body. Axe held aloft, ready to throw or smash or slice. His heartbeat was still thrumming in his ears.
In contrast, his partner was loose and languid. His hand was loose on his staff, his nose wrinkled, projecting an air of disdain. “Yes, well, you can do that later.”
“Wait, hang on, I’m still confused,” Luca interrupted their flirting, while Ranzal mouthed at Curran, Kinky . “So...Curran was sneaking out in the middle of the night to find this Bishop dude?”
Heinwald frowned at Curran, who nodded shortly and said, “Here’s the thing. We were the ones to investigate the Bishop’s death. And when any clergy members die, their deaths and cause of death gotta be reported, recorded, and re--er, signed off on, along with a request for a new clergy member to be sent to their town. In this case...as the investigating inquisitor, my signature is in the book next to Jean-Paul’s name.”
“So anyone who checked the records and discovered that the Bishop had died probably also knows that you were the one who investigated his murder…” Euden said slowly.
“And that we would one hundred percent know that the guy who supposedly have a missive on our heads is dead.” Curran gestured with his free hand. “Seems a bit too obvious, right?”
“So you feared it was a trap…” Alex, who hadn’t spoken the entire time, finally had something to say. Her eyes were narrow, almost completely dark slits in the low midnight lighting.
“And you decided to investigate it alone in case it was.” Heinwald’s voice skirted the edge of disappointed, disapproving, and dis--angry. To anyone else, it sounded like he spoke in his usual cadence, but Curran could pick up the slight inflection changes--emphasis on the “you,” a sharpness in the “t’s”--that meant he was in the doghouse.
He refused to be cowed.
"’Course. You would only get in the way."
Heinwald frowned at him. There was a blush of a scowl in his brow. "Humph. Don't throw my words back at me."
"Hey, it's true. I would have been too concerned with keeping an eye on you and preventing you from wandering away to focus on watching my own back." Curran was still tense. So much so that he didn’t self-censor his sappiness.
"Well...now we know," Euden said. As usual, he completely missed the glow of bashfulness that appeared on Heinwald’s face after Curran’s obvious declaration of love and care. "And we'll be happy to--no, we're pleading you to let us help investigate this...false Bishop. If either of you two are in danger, we have an obligation to step in."
Curran shook his head. Damn the prince and his nature...and damn himself, for choosing to confront Elisanne instead of just giving her the slip. "...Fine." he said begrudgingly. "Y'all can help me." They all knew by now that he had full intention of killing the probably-false bishop...if it meant protecting the holy role of Bishop and protecting Heinwald. There was no use playing coy anymore. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Alex straighten up out of her battle-stance, sheathing her daggers. In return, he lowered his axe, holding it loosely by his side.
"Thank you." Euden smiled at him. He and all the others were oblivious to the truce that had ended the silent cold war going on under their noses. "Now, let's all go to bed. We'll go to Amarllwood tomorrow and see what all this bishop stuff is all about."
“No, thank you.” Heinwald suddenly appeared at Curran’s side. Curran felt thin fingers brush his elbow. “We’ll be going now. If you hear footsteps in the night, Curran’s not making another escape attempt, he’ll merely be talking a walk while he considers my point of view.”
Curran rolled his eyes. What a very Heinwald way to say “taking a walk to cool down after batting verbally against the stubborn brick-and-mortar wall that is Heinwald.”
“Er...right.” Euden suddenly looked tired. Curran could relate. “Good night, everyone.”
“Good night,” everyone echoed as they all dispersed to their various bedrooms.
Curran allowed himself to be escorted to his and Heinwald’s bedroom by that ghost of a touch on his arm. Heinwald was silent the whole way there. Still, when they reached the door of their room, Curran took his chances.
“Hang on, I forgot to put away my axe.”
The sharpness in Heinwald’s eyes was amazing. Especially when he didn’t even move his head or alter his breathing or give any indication of his thoughts at all. “Go do so. If you don’t return in five minutes, I’ll show you the wrath of a ‘monstrous otherworldly entity.’”
Curran smirked. He knew who that warning was for. No doubt the message was received.
He let Heinwald’s hand slip out of his arm as his lover entered the bedroom, leaving Curran alone in the hall.
Not for long.
“Why?” The lone question seemed to echo from everywhere in the stone hallway. Impossible to locate the precise origin.
Curran turned around. Perhaps it would be more courteous to pretend that he didn’t know where she was hiding. But, hey, he wasn’t the one who stalked them all this way. “Why do you think?”
Alex stepped out from the darkness. “Because you knew you would be unable to sneak past our vigilance.”
“You don’t think that. You wouldn’t be asking me for the answer if you did.”
Alex’s lip curled. She was silent.
Curran crossed his arms. “It’s all about the could-haves. I could have snuck past her. I could have met up with her and explained to her what I thought. I could have gone to Amarllwood with her blessing. It could have been a different guy who happened to take the same name, and I could have killed an innocent Goddess-fearing man. Word could have gone out that the Grand Paladyn trusted an inquisitor-turned heretic.” He had gone through his plan in his mind. Calculating and recalculating the worse-case scenarios. He watched as that realization dawned on Alex’s stony face, even though her expression didn’t shift in the slightest. “What do you think would have happened then?”
Leave Heinwald behind so he was out of danger. Defeat the Grand Paladyn so no one could accuse her of being corrupted by heretics.
Let it never be said that Curran was a fool.
Her burning question answered, Alex turned to the true reason why she was standing here. “You proved that you’re willing to destroy your allies for the one that you trust.”
“Yeah.” He could have left it at that, but he didn’t. “Aren’t you?”
“...I don’t like that.” Alex’s eyes dropped from his. “But I understand it.”
Curran’s lip turned up in a half-sneer, half-snarl. “Of course you don’t like it. But if killing Hein would protect Elly, you’d have a knife in his back in a heartbreak.”
Inquisitor and assassin stared at each other.
But unlike inquisitors, assassins don’t deal in truths. Alex was the first to break the stare.
“...Very well. It’s good to know that you’re more dangerous than you like to let on.”
Curran barked a laugh. “C’mon. You had me marked from the very beginning. Only, now you know why.”
Alex had nothing to say in response. She only retreated back into the shadows. Curran watched her go. Waited until there was nothing in the hallway except still air.
He checked his pocket watch. Four minutes, on the dot. He chuckled, tucked his pocketwatch away, and then opened the door to join his fellow monster.