Author: Jeffrey Tabrum

Journal Entry – Inquisition

The Inquisition is here, and they are here in force. They hold the Owl’s nest. People could not keep their mouths shut and they know if not everything, then close enough to it to damn us all. If we do nothing about them, then the best we can hope for is horror and watching friends and family murdered after we have defeated Chiropoler. I don’t see a good way out. At least with Chiropoler our choice is simple, we destroy the monstrosity or we die. So let’s take a look at our options.

Throw ourselves on the Mercy of the Inquisition, and repent for our so called sins.
If we do this, we might be able to save the most devout Benalians. There is a chance that doing this would save myself, Sophie and Julienne. Doing this would also doom any of the Circle who couldn’t flee, including Pascal. Not to mention that Sophie would never stand for it. Doing this is a Cowards option.

Flee the inquisition before Chiropoler is defeated.
If we delay until the inquisition is fully engaged fighting Chiropoler, we will have our best chance. To flee. If they are hurt enough in the fighting they might not even be able to properly pursue us. That could give us enough of a head start to separate and get to some kind of safety. The only upside is that this present a reasonable short term chance for most of Louisant to survive.

I have concerns about this option. The inquisition defeating Chiropoler is by no means certain without our aid. While they are no doubt capable warriors, they do not have the experience we do in fighting our way through Chiropoler’s body. We cannot leave until we know that an awake Chiropoler is not left behind us. If the inquisition does win, I suspect they would come after us all the harder for letting them fight it alone while we ran. This also feels like a cowards choice.

Flee the inquisition after Chiropoler is defeated.
It is possible that the fight against Chiropoler might do enough damage to the inquisition, that we stand a chance of escaping afterwards. With sufficient preparation, we might be able to flee to safety. Fleeing gives us a chance to preserve life without sacrificing inquisition lives.

The problem with this plan is that a focused inquisition would have a much easier time running us down. We must assume that they have the advantage in terms of logistics and communication. We also only have a vague idea of where we can flee safely. There is no guarantee that waiting to flee will work. Of the available plans this has one of the lowest chances of working. However, it is ethically acceptable, and is one we can at least attempt.

Convince the inquisition that we are right.
This is possible in theory. Anything is possible in theory. If this was to work, it would be the best option both from a moral and a practical standpoint. Practically speaking, our chances of pulling this off are nonexistent, laughable really. Even trying is likely to bring about the worst response from the inquisitors.

Fight the Inquisition.
We could fight, even being significantly outnumbered. We have potential allies they would not be prepared for and we know the land. We also have capabilities they will not be prepared for. Mages, the rites of the circle, recovered ancient weapons, newly designed weapons and whatever capabilities are still hidden from me. I think we would have a chance against what they have in Luisant.

But this is a bad plan. People would die on both sides, and I find the very concept of killing Benalians for our own benefit repugnant. Even if it would be self defense. I also know Sophie would hate it. Worse than that, I don’t think it would do any good. Even a clear victory would just bring more and more people hunting for us. Eventually we would lose. This should only be a last resort, and only to buy time to implement a better plan.

Throw the Inquisition after a better target.

If we could convince the Inquisition that there is a better target, they might leave us alone, at least for a time. This plan has many problems. First, the inquisition will not be easily fooled. Any target we send them after will need to be real. The only viable targets I can think of are Chriopoler, the Werewolves, the Spider Vecatrans and the Vecatran traders. Beyond Chrioploler and the werewolves, I don’t believe revealing any of those groups would be practical or ethical.

To an extent this is what we are already doing with Chriopoler, as they have to prioritize a resurrected Witch King over anything else. Most other plans will take time to implement and will benefit from distracting and delaying the Inquisition. So if we need to buy time beyond focussing on Chiropoler we should let them know about the werewolves.

Restore the Mists.

This is probably the best overall solution, especially if we can manage any control of the mists. It preserves our way of life, holding the community together. Of course I have no idea how we can accomplish this. We know very little about the original creation of the mists, beyond the fact that it involved both Benalian priests and a Vecatran circle.

Even given our ignorance, I think we need to pursue this goal while also expecting to need to follow another plan.

As much as I want to think that Camille is now at peace, I am almost certain she is not. Julienne sought me out during Market on Saturday evening. She has continued to have dreams about her Mother. I would like to dismiss this as lingering trauma from her kidnapping by Camille’s ghost, but that would be no better than lying to myself. Julienne is deeply afraid for me, worried that I will get myself killed and make her an orphan. I reassured her as best I could, telling her I take every precaution possible. What risks I take are for the good of Luisant and as minimal as they can be. I did not lie to her, but I certainly misled her. She must never know how close it has come in our continued explorations of the old laboratories. She certainly does not need to know about the time I was shot and healed in the gravity laboratory. Or about the fact that we went out mere hours later to confront an elf. She would just worry, when nothing she can do will change the circumstances. As much as I don’t want to risk her being orphaned, what I do must be done for the good of Luisant.

But the question remains, what do I do about Camille’s ghost. This shard of my wife that is so filled with spitefulness and twisted love. This shadow of the woman I loved with all my heart, whose appearance twists the knife every time I see her. It is clear that Friar Henri finding and burying her body did not resolve the problem. I cannot just ignore this problem and hope for the best. I need to find a solution. I need to protect Julienne.

So, what do I know? Her essence as a ghost indicates that her becoming Malefic is tied to something of a spiritual or mental nature. If it was simply her death or desecration of her body, her form would be something more corporeal. Second, her appearances have all centered around Julienne. Warning me about the danger presented by Truth. Kidnapping my daughter when she was sick. Julienne’s persistent dreams about her mother. Third, in each major encounter with her, the spirit Truth has made an appearance. Fourth, Truth appears to have some linkage to the Veneaux family and by extension to my wife and daughter.

So what can I do about any of this? In short, I need more information. I need to understand the nature of Truth and how it ties into the Veneaux family. I need to learn how Camille died, and what involvement she personally had with Truth. I also should figure out what is motivating her now, what she wants as a ghost. If I can put the pieces together I might just be able to fix all of this.

Of course it is not enough that I need to solve my own problem. Pascal Rocheaux shows every sign of being similarly haunted by his dead wife. Pascal is encountering early signs very similar to what I encountered with Camille. Objects being left places, glimpses out of the corner of his eyes. He believes it might be some sort of sick joke, but I have seen too much to believe the easy explanation. Given the circumstances of his wife’s death, she is almost a ghost and not some more corporeal form. Which means that we must work together to understand her state of mind and decisions before her death. I will not let Pascal down.

The Malefic are a puzzle to be solved, and if there is one thing I am good at, it is puzzles. With the right help I can solve this. Or at least I pray that I can before something tragic happens.

I had previously considered the pervasive Mist throughout Luisant to be a threat or at best a neutral entity. It provided some degree of protection against those who would threaten us, but at a great cost. Those who wandered off the path in the Mist, lost so much. Their Memories, time with their loved ones, and even in some instances their lives. I had some hopes that with time and effort, it might be possible to remove or at least somewhat lessen the effects of the Mist. I can lay much blame for my troubles on the Mist, and I have always feared it would take the rest of my family to me.

After the events of this last Market, I need to reverse my opinion. As much as it pains me to say, the Mist must be preserved. While it has taken much, it has at least returned Pascal to me, and that matters. Of greater concern is the fact that the Mist seems to be protecting us from grave dangers. If what we learned from Saint Arbor is true, the Mist is part of the prison holding the Feasting King. If it was to weaken it is entirely possible that his influence could spread throughout the town. Naturally this cannot be allowed.

Beyond the issues with the Feasting King, which I honestly cannot believe I just wrote. The Feasting King is at least the most direct problem we are facing. The Mist might be preserving us from an even greater problem, which is the Church of Benalus as a whole. I cannot deny the truth that Saint Arbor told us about the original nature of Heresy. And this is a truth that I have no intention of trying to hide. In the eyes of the majority of Faithful, spreading that truth might just make us Heretics ourselves. I am worried that if other Benalians were to learn of this, that the Church might attempt to purge our home. I wonder if inquisitors would view us as no different than the Vecatrans.

I can only conclude that while it brings difficulties, the Mist must be preserved. Of course protecting the mist brings with it a plethora of questions. If it was in fact created through the combined efforts of Benalians and Vecatrans, do we need to work with Vectrans to have any impact? Will the Spider Wedding strengthen the Mist? What other actions will either strengthen or weaken it? And those are just the critical questions, there are in fact many others. And I have answers to none of them. Every question I get an answer too, just leads me to more questions.