49


    <span style="font-weight:400">A horned bear rampaged through the basement. The basement under the annex. The Annex of the Graf’s Repose. The basement under the official basement and cer of the annex. The basement used by Tzeentch’s cultists. Taal arrived here in the manner he would call a “masterful infiltration”. Not one guard of the Graf’s Repose knows he’s here. But mostly because he pped anyone unconscious, be they guards and not-guards that saw him. He almost decided to kill his way through at first but Rhya reminds him that as the oldest human god, he must show a bit of restraint and show a good example for the other gods. Truthfully he didn’t care that much about showing a good example but finally conceding as a little restraint is not that hard.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Another cultist savaged and three others cast pink me spells. One hit the horned bear shoulder but the two others were easily evaded. The horned bear charged, mauling one of the cultists as the two others jumped away. Onended safely away while the other was caught by the giant snake that is the horned bear’s tail. The leader of the cultist has snorted some warpstone and powered the giant summoning circle, attempting to summon a daemon. A stomp from a beary paw shatters the circle to smithereens. The magic rebounds from the shattered magic circle to the cultist leader as she immediately explodes into thousands gory bits. Thest cultist ran his fastest to the stairs. Reaching it only to be pulled back and mauled swiftly.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Returning to human form, Taal searched the ce while covering his nose. The ce fucking reeks of chaos. There are plenty of herbs, bones, other materials, bottled reagents and ubeled potions in the many shelves. The artifacts that induce instant mutations are also found. He broke them with his bare hand. Taal then throws all of them to the middle of the basement. Took a torch and threw it into the mix. They all burn nicely.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Climbing up the stairs, Taal exits the cer and the basement of the annex. Only to hear an alert signal has been sounded. Looks like he’s been found out. With a confident walk he exits the annex through the front door. He looks at the guards that followed the trails of unconscious bodies to where he is now. Taal notices that none of them have magical weapons. In a line the guard charges at him. The guard’s sword shed harmlessly on his body. Then Taal ps him unconscious in one p. Standing still Taal began pping. p! p! p! Backp! Double p! Another p! Then p some more! Eventually he is surrounded by the bodies of unconscious and pped guards.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I appreciate you didn’t kill any of my men, shaman. Now why are you here?” Boris Todbringer himself now arrived with his personal bodyguards and unsheathing his Runefang. Taal begins to think, then an ideaes to mind.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“An Inquisitor sent me here. Or a Witch Hunter. Kostner is his name.” Taal then answered.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“On what grounds?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“On this ground.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No! For what reason!?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There’s a Tzeentch Cultist hideout under your basement and under your cer. Don’t worry, I have taken care of everything.” Taal said confidently.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Then the annex building explodes behind him. Two bad things have urred. One, the cultist’s potions and reagents are very mmable and the fire spread to the wine cer just above it making a huge explosion. Second, Taal just burned all evidence and now that the entire annex explodes, he has effectively erased all evidence.


    <span style="font-weight:400">—


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You don’t seem corrupted.” A voice speaks from behind and Denfather Leibnitz immediately unsheathes his sword and battleaxe then turns in one swift trained motion.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Who are yess?” Leibnitz asks without dropping his guard as he assesses the young woman.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I work with Inquisitor Kotner. Or is he a witch hunter? Nevermind, I am here regarding that.” Rhya points at the hiddenpartment where Leibnitz stores the Tzeentch’s artifact. <span style="font-weight:400">


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I did not sense that you are corrupted, I am curious as to why you have that.” Rhya then continues.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, if ye want to know.” Leibnitz sheathed his sword, took out an alcohol bottle and two sses. He poured one of the sses before throwing its content to Rhya.


    <span style="font-weight:400">To this action, Rhya just closes her eyes and let the alcohol stter to her face. She had sensed faint divine power from the alcohol and knew from whom it was.


    <span style="font-weight:400">Leibnitz waits for a while, raises his eyebrow then finally sheathes all his weapons.<span style="font-weight:400">


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, either it works as intended or it’s not working at all.” Leibnitz then pours the alcohol to the two sses and hands one to Rhya.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Got em as a gift from a high priestess of Verena in Nuln. Suppose they can show the truth to lies, disguised form, or corruption.” Leibnitz exins and sits down on the chair.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I think she means that is when you get drunk from it.” Rhya epts the offering and drinks along with Leibnitz. He chuckled at the joke. He won’t even ask how she got into his room now.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“You don’t n to use it then?” Rhya asks casually.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I don’t appreciate this one joke.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Apologies, but I sense that you are dissatisfied.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“epted. And yes I did. I was supposed to be the current Al-Ulric but Valgeir was promoted instead. But I have to admit, Valgeir is good at politics. Even when he is dumb as shit on everything else.” Leibnitz poured more alcohol into his ss but then drank directly from the bottle.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Sorry, never get visited quite often.” Leibnitz said when he realized what he just did.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“epted. So with Valgeir handling the Empire’s politics, you take care of the domestic problems?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Something like that.” Leibnitz just shrugs. It did be this way even without him and Valgeir seeing face to face.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“How much ye know?” Leibnitz then starts as understanding has been met.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There are two more, Kostner handles the one within the knight quarters and my husband handles the one within the Graf’s Repose.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“An attack on Ulricans.” Leibnitz''s tone is level but still some growls of anger pierces through. He is no fool that he can’t piece through what is happening and how the Sigmarites are unscathed.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Got that one from a recently rising Ulric priest.” Leibnitz looks towards the hiddenpartment.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Where is he now?”


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Thrown from the walls. We have our own way of solving things.” Leibnitz finally put down his ss and picked up the artifact.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“So I’ve heard.” Rhya said before snatching the Tzeentchian dagger and snaps it in half with her bare hands to Leibnitz surprise. “We have our own too.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">However as soon as she finished saying that, a massive explosion sounded from the northwest. The direction to Graf''s Repose.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“That be yer husband?” Leibnitz asks as he startsughing. Rhya did not answer but she just had that disappointed look.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Well, our short time is quite pleasant. But I guess ye will be busy. If you need anything, tell me. I will see if I can help.” Leibnitz rises from his seat and offers to walk Rhya outside.


    <span style="font-weight:400">—


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Why am I the only one in prison?” Taal asks behind bars


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Let’s see, assaulting the Graf’s Repose, assaulting the guards, oh and don’t forget the destruction of an entire building.” Kostner exins calmly while Rhya just looks at Taal with disappointment.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“Yeah? How about you? Did you do your part against that knight?” Taal tries to defend himself


    <span style="font-weight:400">“As a matter of fact I did. He is arrested and in personal custody of the Inquisitor.” Kostner tly replies. “Why must you destroy an entire building?” Kostner then asks.<span style="font-weight:400">


    <span style="font-weight:400">“There’s plenty more of the chaos artifact. More than one dagger. Plenty of potions too. And all of it is tainted with chaos. So I burn all of them.” Taal answers as a matter of factly. Destroying chaos artifacts is always the best method. Rhya wholeheartedly agrees about this but she can’t find herself to agree with the oue.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“I suppose the thought of securing some evidence and the wine cer just above the basement you mentioned did note to mind?” Kostner tries to find a silver lining to alleviate the problem.


    <span style="font-weight:400">“No.”


    <span style="font-weight:400">Then an inaudible but deafening sound reached Middenheim. Rhya and Taal immediately look southwest to the source even when they are inside the prison. Someone just uses divine power and they don’t know who.