The Barrowland Slayers

Chapter 1: One Week Later

 Chief Inquisitor Varus Tallyx strode through the center of the massive Temple of Judgment. Enormous carved statues of the Founding Monarchs of Altia towered on both sides: King Appolonius the Untiring and Queen Hezraba the Merciful. Together they instilled Varus with the iron sense of justice that had brought him from a simple jail guard to a watch commander, then to provincial hangman, then to Inquisitor-at-Large, and finally to Chief Inquisitor of Altia.

Flanked between the Founding Monarchs was the strangest group he'd ever seen assembled. Two Elves stood stiffly, faces purpled and bruised after the beating they'd been given overnight. Slumped over beside them was a tall frontiersman, his snoring echoing through the Temple of Judgment. The woman beside him shook him awake, brushing back a tangled mass of black hair. The frontier witch had entered the kingdom wearing a black plague doctor's mask, but it had been torn away from her, as well as the rest of the party's weapons and armor.

Stripped of their armor, the two Dwarves who made up the accused were an odd sight indeed. One matched Varus' gaze with a steely-eyed stare of his own. The Dwarf's left eyebrow was cut through with an old scar, and his ginger-brown beard was twisted into an elaborate braid, though his hair was a scraggly mess. The Dwarf beside him was bright-eyed and clean shaven, though she also bore a prominent bruise on the side of his face. Whether that had come from Varus' handlers or before was of no particular interest to him.

The Chief Inquisitor let the silence build as he approached his lectern. He shuffled through the stack of notes, as if he hadn't done so all of last night, before finally expunging the candle light not long before the Hour of the Rooster. Still, he felt refreshed and ready to dive in, despite the novelty of the case.

"You six stand accused of human trafficking and trespassing in the Sacred Grove of the Founding Monarchs. Be advised a guilty sentence could include an honorable death, a dishonorable death, or removal of limbs and banishment given extenuating circumstances." He paused and watched for a reaction from the others. They simply glowered at him in silence.

Varus steepled his fingers and thought for a moment. "I want to underst—"

"We were saving human lives, you moron," one of the Elves spat out, evidently unable to resist any longer. The Dwarf soldier brandished his middle finger as the frontier folk chimed in, yammering in their peculiar accents about maltreatment. "You should be thanking us!"

"Get stuffed," the Dwarf lady added, the group finally falling quiet as guards pushed forward, clubs raised. It was a sullen silence, however, and from the way they clustered together in a semicircle with their backs to the wall it seemed they had some experience in fighting together. The Chief Inquisitor studied them for a long moment.

"Bailiff, pull your men back."

The guard nodded, gesturing for the others to return to their positions. The accused relaxed slightly.

"I have a thousand questions for you all," Varus admitted, "but I'll start with the most obvious. You Elves, what were you doing in human lands?"

"We were looking into reports of a plague," the Elf sorceress declared. "And I'll have you know we were sent by the Watchful Tower. If they get word of our mistreatment, I assure you, the consequences—"

Varus snorted. "They do not rule in these lands. And neither do you." His gaze drifted to the male Elf. He seemed in no particular rush to start.

Perhaps I'll get at the truth of it, then, if I put pressure on him.

"You. What's your name?"

"Er... Barnabus Kastebar. I am a physiker employed with the Watchful Tower."