Inquisitor - Johan Justoň

8/13/2019 Inquisitor - Johan Justo

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I.

Winter ame muh ooner than uual that year.Te moon o eantelia, meauring time withage-long auray, wa till high in the ky,but the ide o the Moonhine Mountain

were overed with now already. Shepherd and herdmen,whoe live were or the mot part o year wedded to the

wild ountry o bloodthirty beat, roky peak and re-quent torm up there, were lowly returning to the low-land. Only or winter they moved to parely populatedregion in the oothill to tall herd o their lord in mall,mierable village and town, and to urvive the mot heavi-et o rot there that oen aued the death even o thelarge blak bear. Tey bided their time motly in tavern,drinking and boating with torie in whih there want aingle pek o truth. Suh a time wa at hand jut now andthe town o Werthem wa lowly oming to lie. It wa anabhorrent bakwater hole, ink o the deepet human dirtever to ee the light o the world. Walled with tokade, itonealed within the hapele luter o old houe that in

their miery reminded o ruin rumbling away.From a ompletely different direion than the hillmen

with their herd were oming to the town, a prie on a almsotted ha entered Werthem on one autumn evening.Sluhy now and mud wa slahing all around when he wariding through the oade gate. He wagged hi hand to theoldier on guard and bleed the men viewing him bewil-dered. When they reognized a arlet loak with bla trim-ming in the twilight, they bowed deeply and with their headhumbly down they let the rider through. When he aded bain the mazy reet and they were ure he ouldnt hear them,

they excanged a ew grumbling omment. Worrie mixedwith disleaure in them, or an inquiitor ha ju ome tothe town.

I would expe them to end omeone ele, uttered one othem and sit down rom the wall.

Yeah, omeone a bit older, agreed the other and a aglane to the dark behind to make ure that no one lienedto them.

Fine time are ahead o u, with lord rom the outh

ending inquiitor to u. I heard that they wae no timethey ju carge omeone and torture him until he oneehimel and ay even what he doent know!

Te other guard nodded, but made no omment to it. Itwa wie to keep quiet about uc thing. Inead he turnedhi eye to a nearby hil l, on whic gallow rom the reent ex-eution loomed darkly again the grey ky. Te guard wouldwear even at that diane that the hanged were miling athim ornully.

Tat little bitc i to blame, he aid finally. We houldhave let her hang a long time ago and it would have beenolved!

Te prie wa lowly riding through the reet, areullyviewing hi urrounding. He didnt like thi town at all. Itmelled o mildew and exrement and mo o all it remindedhim o a lair ull o orniation and in a portrayed by il-luration in liturgial book. He hook hi houlder in aneffort to get rid o the old and the unpleaant eeling that ellon him. rueat Glatzburg, a large town in the outh, romwhere the prie ame and where he had attended eminary,were lum a well. But not even there reigned uc mieryand poverty a here, ar in the north o the Realm.

Hi unt leone, he whisered quietly, but cided himel


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or uc an ironi remark immediately. Aer all, he thoughtto himel, I wa entrued with a ae and I have to invei-gate it even i my path would lead me to hell itel!

He wa riding through the town at hi own pae, all loand depreed, until he got out o the dark urved reeteventually and opped at a large quare, lined with oneburge houe. It wa the mo impoing part o the town,where the wealthie townmen and noblemen lived, but de-site that it brought an impreion o evere poverty. Inead

o paving, a deep layer o mud wa overing the quare arowhic a ew belated walker toiled.Where would I find the offie o the loal heriff, my good

man? aked the prie to one o the men paing by. Te manaddreed looked up and epped ba earully when he real-ized who ood in ront o him. But ear prevented him romturning hi ba on the rider and running away. He pointedhi haky hand to one o the rumbling houe inead.

Tere, Father, he uttered and turned hi eye aide othat he didnt have to look upon the arlet loak o the In-quiitor again, ine it wa the ymbol o torture and death.

Tank you, my good man, the prie anwered and madehimel mile kindly. He surred hi hore and roed the

quare in the given direion. He got down in ront o theheriff offie and watced with dilike hi high hoe van-ihing ankle-deep in a bla mud. He tried to lean them onthe one ep leading to the gate, but to no ue.

Sin i hard to wah off one it take to the oul, the priethought while riking the gate with a ruy knoer everaltime. He earned a satter o wet now or it that ell romthe roo down on hi houlder and quily eeped into thearlet loth o hi loak.

What the hell do you want? narled the voie o a gate-keeper rom behind the door. When he opened gruffly, a oul

breath oaked with ceap liquor hit the prie noe. An olderoldier in a dirty uniorm o a royal guard ood in ront ohim and waddled rom ide to ide notieably. With a blankare he dully eyed the prie and wa trying to gras who hewa. A oon a a flah o underanding paed through hidrunken mind, he immediately bent at the wai a i ut andbowed down to the ground.

Forgive me, Your Honour, I ahemTe prie opped him unompromiingly with hi raied

hand. Im going to ee Sheriff Olek, oldier. Lead me to him.Now!O oure, ir, a you wih. Follow meahemthi way,

resonded the oldier in a coked voie. Hi throat wa emptya i rangled with a hangman rope. Aually, he wantthat ar rom it. A ingle word rom the man in ront o himwould uffie.

Te heriff offie wa a repulive a the whole town.Narrow one orridor and room without window werehrouded with evening gloom that only here and there wadiselled with the himmering o a ew torce. Te oldierwa leading the Inquiitor through a long paage to the air

riing up to the fir floor. On their way, they paed an en-trane loaked in dark leading to the underground dungeonrom where a woman muffled obbing, ull o pain and de-peration, ounded. Te prie turned to the oldier queion-ingly, but he moved hi ight away and miled nervouly.

Te town dungeon, he aid eventually hrugging hihoulder and et orth again. Te prie gave the dark or-ridor one la thoughtul look and ollowed the gatekeeper.He huddered a bit at the idea that he would have to viitthoe plae oon. At lea that wa what hi direion aid.o ome, inveigate and punih. Hard wa the lie o an in-


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quiitorial inveigator. But it wa alo hi holy miion andthe prie honoured it and loved it.

Tey made it to the fir floor meanwhile, where the oldieropped at a maive wooden door. He knoed on it firm-ly and epped aide when the heriff gruff voie soke uprom behind it. Te prie entered determinedly, but in doingo he managed to throw a rutinizing look at the gatekeeper,guaranteeing him a leeple night.

Te inide o the room elt omortable beaue o a heart-

ening warmth radiating rom a large fireplae. Sheriff Olekjumped up rom the table o quily that he nearly knoedover a heavy cair he wa itting on. He wa a thin and in-ewy man who had experiened meale in the cildhood thathad le many tiny ar behind. Hi eye hone everihly andhi lower lip trembled lightly when he soke.

Your Honour, we werent expeing you o oon!My journey paed more quily than I thought, an-

wered the Inquiitor. I that a problem or you?Nono, not at all, no problem, Your Honour. We ju

werent expeing you o early.Te prie nodded hi head and pointed to the door where

he had le the drunken oldier.

Tat probably explain why your oldier are drinking onduty, am I right? he aked.

Te heriff turned red and hi hand arted to hake.Im orry, Your Honour. I will enquire into it immediately

and the guilty will be punihed!Te Inquiitor gave a oniliatory nod. I think that twenty

day o harp penal ervitude will be enough or him.Te heriff muttered omething indeipherable and mo-

tioned the young man to have a eat. Here it i, he thought tohimel. We have an inquiitor on our houlder and headwill art to all in no time!

Allow me to introdue myel to you fir, aid the prie.My name i Maxmilian Conti. Im an inveigator o theHoly Offie and I wa ent by the inquiitorial uria at Glatz-burg to inveigate loalahemevent. I believe you havereeived my aompanying doument already, havent you?

Ye, Your Honour, I have, nodded the heriff. He walowly gathering hi lo peae. He wa expeing omeoneele, omeone older. More experiened. But the prie in ronto him looked young, o young. It eem they have ent here

a prie that only reently got out o eminary, he thought.But better be autioua young inquiitor an hang peoplea quily a an old and trained one!

We detained the aued woman two week ago, Father,he aid. During her ay here, he ha tried to ummon dev-il and to edue our guard everal time. She a downrightimp, you an bet on that!

Te prie knit hi brow diapprovingly. Tank you oryour onluion, ir, but i you allow that i what I am here or.

Ahemo oure, Father. Would you like to interrogatethat lut right now? aked the heriff. I will have the torturecamber prepared or you.

Te prie throat onried at that idea or a moment.

He knew that he would probably have to do o, but he wauboniouly putting it off until the very late. Hi handininively lutced the bead that were hanging around hinea uual when he had to make a deiion a a a po-ible and wa eeking a bleing or hi coie.

Ye, I will ee the aued right now, he aid eventually.I will interrogate her later on, however, he added immedi-ately. He elt tired aer the journey, hi whole body aced andhe didnt want to jeopardize the inveigation with an even-tual relene o hi mind.

Tey le the heriff workroom and rom the ground floor


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they deended a narrow et o one air down to the un-derground dungeon that erved a the town jail. Te oulenc o exrement and vomit hit Maxmilian noe oharply that he pulled ba or a moment.

Ti way, Father, urged the heriff. We are almo there.Hi eye glared maliiouly at that.

Maxmilian uppreed hi urge to throw up and madehimel walk on. He had never experiened uc a digu-ing thing beore. From omewhere in the dimne o the long

prion orridor, a woman muffled rie and moan ecoed.Maxmilian urmied that they were oming rom the laell, whoe door wa ajar and the key were hanging romthe lo. He ent an enquiring look at the heriff who wawalking beide him and wa trying to idetra trile oexrement.

She ba there, that little vixen, Father! aid the heriffloudly and the reonane o hi word flew off in all dire-tion. From ome o the loe ell ound o bodie hovingaway were heard, a the prioner were trying to get a araway a poible rom the light hed by heriff lantern. Be-ore they reaced the end o the orridor, a at guard ruhedout o the opened ell and aened hi trouer with hae.

When he notied Maxmilian and heriff, he roze and aredat them unable to move.

What wa that guard doing in that ell? aked Maxmil-ian angrily. Are you not amiliar with the arciepiopal de-ree on treating the aued? Do you know what the punih-ment or it violation i?

Death, thought the heriff. A or the mo o other o-ene again lerial regulation and law. Tat ju how itworked thoe day.

She wa trying to ummon a devil, Father! blurted the atguard out and hi weaty greay ceek were trembling like

hideou red uler. I had to prevent her rom that, or ele hewould have poeed all o u here!

Maxmilian, digued, ilened him with a wave o hihand. Wait or me here, I will ee the aued!

Te heriff eyed him queioningly. Are you ure you wantto enter her ell, Father? A hint o doubt flahed in hi voie.Maxmilian glimped at him and hoped that hi look wamore peruaive than doubt that were haking him in thiabhorrent plae.

I am abolutely ureleave the door open and wait orme here!Sheriff Olek hrugged hi houlder and epped aide

along with the guard. Te oldier wa haily tuing hidirty weaty hirt in the trouer.

Stand by me, my Lord, thought Maxmilian and enteredthe ell. Oppreive gloom dominated the mall vault, but hedierned a rouced girl in it orner neverthele. Whenhe notied him, he lased her hand around her leg andneled up. Her naked body wa overed with dirt that mixedwith rimon blotce in many plae. Her hair wa mattedin everal lot and blood wa flowing rom an open woundon her temple.

Maxmilian opped hort a i turned to a one. He wantready or thi. Not or thi. He wa expeing an old womanpoeed by the devil with her eye blazing, or a carmingbeauty lying with demon at night. But he wa not expeinga battered girl, hardly to be alled a woman, that wa di-honoured a moment ago by that diguing bloke wearing theuniorm o a royal guard.

But the devil ha thouand o hape, Maxmilian remind-ed himel o the leuring o hi maer, and tried to getany hay onluion out o hi head. He didnt ueed om-pletely though.


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He made a ew ep toward the girl to be able to look inher ae. She gave out a ew alarmed ound and tried to moveoff.

Do not be araid, I wont do you any harm, aid the prielabouring or hi voie not to tremble. ell me, are you Mir-iam Flander?

She looked at him earully and Maxmilian barely aw theae o a girl in hero muc wa it beaten-up. A lip haltorn off wa revealing her tiny teeth meared with dry blood.

She looked a i neering at omething repulive. Her eyewere ontued and her ceek were blue rom the beating andthe old. She looked into hi eye or a moment, but then heright lid down to the arlet loak o the Inquiitor and herexpreion canged. Maxmilian ouldnt tell how beaue hehad never looked into eye like her. He epped aide.

Te girl arted to produe ilent ound, garbled by injuredlip. She wa waying rom ide to ide at that and wringingher hand mounted with heavy cain to the wall o the ell.Maxmilian hook hi head aonihingly. Te girl in ront ohim, that wa uppoed to onort with devil, wa praying.

I everything all right, Father? aked the heriff who hadju appeared in the ell. You look rather pale!

Maxmilian looked away rom the girl, drew a deep breathand with a hardly onealed anger he inveighed again theheriff.

No one will enter her ell anymore, do you underand?Not you, nor that overweight guard, nor anyone ele untilI ay otherwie. Tat girl wa probably defiled and abuedmany time and I intend to find out what i going on here!

I thought you were here to let her burn to death, Father,aid the heriff hrugging hi houlder. But a you wihIwill let no one near her.

Maxmilian nodded hortly and le the ell. He hurried

aro a old obble-one to the airae that took him outo that diguing hole. Te heriff wa watcing him with amild neer that wa lowly growing larger. Suc a uer, hethought. Who doe he think he i?


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II.

Maxmilian tood with hi ae turned toward thedark night ky rom whih heavy rain with nowwa alling. Te hill wa penetrating to the mar-row o the young priet bone, but he didnt

turn away. He needed to eel pain o that he didnt have tothink about what he had jut experiened. At what repulive

plae wa he? Everything he had learnt and had been expet-ing didnt fit thi filthy hollow at all. Where wa a human po-eed by dark ore, renetially hanting orbidden prayero the devil? And where wa the jutie embodied by theRealm and God? It didnt make ene.

Maxmilian needed to find hi lo peae. Ti wa hi firae and uddenly he didnt know what to do. He longed toone and to onult omeone experiened who would beable to give ene to all thi. He looked about the night townand eeing the curc o the loal abbey nearby he headed orit. A view o a ared building alone raied a ene o aetyin Maxmilian. Wall o the abbey hrouded in dark ood orthe rontier between the urrounding inul world and the

holy ground where everything abided by the eular law othe Lord. Only there ould a torn oul find re and mery.Tat wa why Maxmilian made or it by the neare way,ounting every ep.

Tat wa the reaon he had entered the eminary all thoeyear ago. Te curc o Ulther knew anwer to hi que-tion and wa able to grant him peae in hi oul he hadntbeen able to find or uc a long time. It gave him a newname, uture and firm onfidene about anything he wa ableto think o. He knew that hi ervie to God would expoehim a an inquiitorial inveigator to many trial, but he

had never expeed it would be o during hi very fir ae.O oure, hed ood ae to ae with hereti everal timealready, but they had never had the ae o a battered girl.He hadnt realized to what ituation he might get during himiion and what thing he would have to overome. Wherewa the truth? How deep below the urae o the orruptworld wa it hiding rom the ight o God ervant?

Te monumental arciteure o the curc emerged romthe darkne in ront o Maxmilian and the young prie

made toward a building o a not too large abbey anding init loe neighbourhood. He had to talk to the loal abbot, no-tiy him o hi arrival and ak him or a ell or hi ay here,in thi inul lair o hereti and outa. But mo o all heneeded to one and find hi lo peae.

Mo window o the abbey were darkened, but a dim lightwa oming to the reet out o one o them desite it loedhutter. Tene Maxmilian knoed at the door and waited.

A young deaon, an overgrown boy with pomarked aeand unken ceek, ame to let him in. He had deep irleunder hi eye rom a long-laing atigue. He a a blanklook at Maxmilian that promptly filled with urprie though.He lo hi seec entirely and only opened hi mouth idly

everal time. Eventually he dived or Maxmilian hand andkied it dearly.

Your Honour, what a happine or our ommunity that alegate o the Holy Inquiition avoured u with hi preene.My name i Toma and with all my heart I welome you onthe holy ground o the Werthem abbey!

Stand up, boy, bid Maxmilian to the deaon and had totake him by hi arm or him to and up aually. He lookedin hi ae, but the young man avoided hi ight and with thedowna eye he wa looking in vain or alvation at the tipo hi hoe.


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Let the abbot kindly know that the envoy o the Glatz-burg inquiitorial uria arrived and that he wihe to talk tohim, aid Maxmilian. Deaon old brown ro wept mudrom the door yard a he bowed down reseully, and heinvited Maxmilian to ollow him. At the ourt he ummonedanother deaon and let him ee to Maxmilian hore. Teprie wa led aro a muddy ourtyard and taken up to thefir floor o the one building o the abbey. Te deaon apol-ogized to the young prie in a saiou hall with window

opening to the yard, le him waiting and et out to look orthe abbot.Maxmilian, le alone, wa mindlely walking aro the

hall drowning in the dark. For a reaon pa omprehen-ion an uneay eeling o ear and doubt wa ill ayingwith him even though he wa already anding on the aredground, whic wa omething that had never happened tohim beore. He onidered devoting a hort time to prayerand to look or rength and omort in them at fir, buthe made himel inse the dark hall inead. Hi ep re-ounded aro the one paving and an eco whisered indiant orner. He wa lowly paing by a erie o atueo aint prophet that were anding around the perimeter o

the hall, trying to diinguih eature o their ae in thedark o the night. He wa alway ainated by their expre-ion refleing uffering all o them had gone through intheir earthly live. Every time he elt a i they were tryingto tell him omething and their blank are were looking athim with a ilent meage. But here, at the Werthem abbey,he didnt have that eeling. Te atue o aint were ort olooking through him omewhere out to the yard.

Maxmilian hivered with a udden ene o old and he rath-er epped ba rom the atue. He looked about or a light,but didnt find anything. Tereore he approaced the window

through whic at lea a bit o pale night light wa leaking intothe room. An idea o anding urrounded by the murk had-ow o atue horrified him or a reaon only God would know.

He glimped a motion at the yard below. A hape hroud-ed with dark wa lowly reeping along the ba wing o theabbey, oming to a halt at a mall ide entrane. Maxmilianwant paying muc attention to it at fir, or he onidered itone o the parihioner, but then hi urioity prevailed andhe leant loer to ee better. Trough the gla o a poor qual-

ity, the outline o the figure were eathered in piurequehape. Yet he had a eeling that he had een the ae o thenight-time viitor at the moment the door opened and thelight o a mall lantern eaped. It wa the ae o Sheriff Olek.

Maxmilian ininively drew a ew ep ba. Te peronthat let the heriff in looked nervouly out o the door and ora moment ood ill in the torrent o rain and now. Whenthe peron made ure there wa no one around, the doorloed haily and the muddy yard elt ilent again. Maxmil-ian waited or a while and then dared to looked into the yardagain. It wa ompletely empty though.

He epped ba rom the window and arted to walkabout the room without purpoe. He liened now and then to

ee i the ound o the approacing ep ouldnt be heard.ime trudged. He want ure about who he had een downthere. But i it wa Sheriff Olek, it wa extremely usiiouwhy he wa viiting the abbey o late. And what Maxmilianouldnt gras at all wa why it took o long or the abbot toreeive him. He wa lowly getting a eeling that nothing inthi town wa a it hould be. He tried to alm down with ahort prayer to the Mother o God, but he want able to on-entrate on the text even though he knew it by heart. He watoo buy waiting or anything that even uc a imple litur-gial text wa beyond hi power. Maxmilian wa tene and


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that wa making him nervou and unonentrated.It might have taken orever beore the ound o nearing

ep reounded in the orridor. Light poured into the roomand diselled the night hadow inantly.

Your Honour, the abbot in a age green ro wa wring-ing hi hand while loing in to Maxmilian in a hay pae.Pleae, orgive me that undignified delay you were expoedto. We were not expeing you in the middle o the night!

Tat i all right, brother, replied Maxmilian and exam-

ined the abbot hortly. He wa an unuually tall man withdeep ettled eye that a a harp and penetrating look. Inthe light o the lantern he wa arrying, hi eye were glint-ing everihly like a pair o bla diamond. Te tuni, he hadon, wa impereptibly damp on hi houlder and it bottomhem were ained with everal droplet o a reh mud, a ithe abbot had run in rom outide a moment ago.

I wreed you rom your leep, didnt I? aked Maxmil-ian. Exaly, miled the abbot kindly, revealing thu a rowo yellowih teeth, blaened with arie here and there. Weolder people need to re more than anything ele, he addedoniliatory.

Maxmilian wa at a lo or word uddenly. Originally,

he ame here to talk to the abbot about the ituation in townand to find peae and upport in him. But that man wa lyingto him in hi eye and a ar a Maxmilian ould judge, hewa very good at that. Unle he had hi bedroom omewhereunder the ky, o oure.

We reeived your aompanying doument everal dayago already, but we were expeing you to be delayed beaueo the weather, aid the abbot and a a glane at Maxmil-ian. Te young prie remained ilent though.

It eem winter ame unuually early thi year, added theabbot with a light heitation. He wa probably unettled by

Maxmilian ilene.Ye, winter ame very early, aid Maxmilian finally while

trying to think up quily how to a. Dire manner hehad beome auomed to during hi ay in the eminaryprompted him to ak the abbot openly and let him explaineverything. Tere urely wa a reaon why thing looked di-erent rom what they hould look like. Tat man ha been inthe ervie o the Lord or at lea three time longer than me,realized Maxmilian. Why do I have doubt about hi behav-

iour then?Father Maxmilian, interrupted the abbot hi thought,would you like to talk about the miion that bring you herenow, or would you rather wait until morning? I have had yourell and a warm upper prepared or you. Aer allbetter toleep on it, they ay, dont they?

Ye, you are right, agreed Maxmilian aer a hort heitation.He definitely want in the mood to open a debate about that mi-erable reature down in the town prion. He needed to thinkover hi next ep, and or that night prayer were the be.

Te abbot led him through the dark orridor o the oldabbey to the wing where the dormitory wa ituated. In thela ell in the row, Maxmilian ound everything he needed

bed, meal and a prayer benc.Will you join me or the morning ervie, Father? aked

the abbot while turning to leave. It would be a great honouror me, hould you do o.

But o oure, replied Maxmilian wily. I will do ogladlyalong with your brother and novie.

Te abbot leared hi throat lightly. Im orry, but exeptor my two deaon there i no one ele here. Te re o ourbrother are viiting the urrounding mountain village now,giving extreme union to thoe who will probably not liveto ee the sring.


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Maxmilian huddered. You give extreme union herebeore death aually ome?

Te abbot a a thoughtul look at Maxmilian. Deathtake a bitter toll in thee part, Father. Im ure you will learnthat or yourel oon. Hi voie had omething urgent in it.

And urely you would not want the departed to have to waituntil sring beaue o the now beore their oul ould et offon the la journey, would you? Tat would be barbarou!

Maxmilian had nothing to add to that. He aually didnt

marvel at itthi region wa beginning to give him the reepwith it roughne and odd uom.I wih you a good night then, Father, took the abbot hi

leave. You are alone in thi wing, thu there hould be noth-ing to diurb you at night. And dont orget to eat omeanempty omac bring bad dream!

With thee word he went away and le Maxmilian alone.An ominou mile appeared on hi ae while leaving, butit wa impoible or Maxmilian to ee it. Te young priewa examining hi room or a hort time, but then hungerounded in hi omac and o he got down to the preparedmeal. It taed range, he learly elt the flavour o a sie init that he had never taed beore. But he oon eaed to give

heed to it attributing it to the loal uiine that wa probablya seifi at Werthem a wa the whole region. And that wawhy he didnt even realize that the wooden soon droppedout o hi hand and hi body inertly toppled on the bed. Hieye turned heavenward looking blankly to the eiling.

Te door o hi ell reaked on it hinge and two figureentered the room. It wa the abbot and the heriff, both inlong bla loak. Tey were anding above liele Maxmil-ian like two vulture above a ara.

What hall we do with him? aked Sheriff Olek. Tatnooper ame early. I they had ent old Kilian or Revor we

would have had at lea one more week beore one o thoe oldart got here.

It i too late to do omething about that, brother, aid theabbot. We ju have to deal with it, and I mean right now!

Olek paled impereptibly. I hope you do not want to killhim, Stean? We would have rope around our ne oonerthan you ould one your in!

No, I do not intend to do anything like that, you ool. Irather plan to ettle thing o that our young inquiitor would

learn by himel that hi job an be a pleaure a well. Or evenan obeion!Te heriff looked at the abbot, rowning. But the abbot

wa waiting patiently until a wide, evil mile ound plae onthe heriff ae.

Tat a great idea, Stean. Im looking orward to himuing that little bitc niely tomorrow!

Te abbot bent down to Maxmilian and lied hi leg upon the bed. He areed hi moothly haved ae with hirough allued hand and miled uneemly. Dont worry, myriend, you will wake up a a brand new man tomorrow!

He kied the prie on hi ceek then and rom hi nehe took the bead, onealing them wily under hi loak.

Ti hould be enough or ulet go!Tey le Maxmilian ell and headed through the ilent

abbey or the dungeon under the Werthem curc.


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III.

Awild torm raged over Werthem that night.Heavy wet now wa alling on oaked thathedroo and wa getting into houe through everypoible intertie. Severe wind wa pounding

the looe hutter againt the wall and wa howlingly wailingin himney rom whih it wa tearing dene loud o oot,

throwing them through fireplae into room. It wa one othoe night people would wear that they aw demon romp-ing about the kie, and thereore they rather owered homein their bed in ear. I they jut knew how loe to the truththeir talking would be that night!

Maxmilian had a dream. It had to be a dream beaueomething like that ould never happen in the real lie. Inthe middle o the night, when in everih leep he wa to-ing about in hi bed, a oul sirit entered hi room. He elt itpreene rom the very moment it ethereal hadowy bodyqueezed under the door o hi ell in the orm o a eammi. It wa lowly gliding toward Maxmilian bed while

taking a hape. wo rag o mi turned to a pair o lenderhand with a tranluent ae between them, ramed withthi rimp alling down to the bare boom. Te demonrept up to Maxmilian bed, lipping under hi blanket thatarted to well with ull urve o the demon emale body.Maxmilian uttered a ilent groan rom hi dream. Fornia-tion i the mo ommon in o all men. And he who u-umb to it, be it only one, i lo orever!

Te demon roked Maxmilian hot ceek.My poor little boy, you are o muc worried with your

doubt, arent you? You dont know i what you do in the

ervie or that Lord o your i right or not. I am not ur-priedthat ju Him. He wont how you a way or give youa ign, but at the ame time He want you to find what i whatand not heitate one. And when you do, He threaten youwith an eternal damnation.

You know what? It i not that horrible to be damned or-ever. Beaue then you an do thing you have only dreamtabout beore. And that i why I am hereI will make youhappy. I will enter you, beome part o your oul and will

never leave you in doubt again!Te demon roked Maxmilian ae one more, her ethe-real lip drew near to ki the young prie and a long, orkednake tongue le her mouth.

I wouldnt do that, Aaeala! soke a ilent voie that waburning and reezing at the ame time. It wa a voie that waued to give ommand and hear no prote. Te demon oorniation turned to ee the owner o that voie and her aeturned to an expreion o pure hatred.

Azrael! he houted in site.Ye, it i me. And you better get down rom that prie

beaue he doent belong to you!Te demon grinned. Well, that i where you are wrong,

you ugly baard. I wa ummoned beaue o him. Tereorehe belong to me and I hall do with him whatever I like!

I dont think o, Aaeala. I have other plan or that one!Go to hell, Azrael. Find omeone ele with whom you wil l

play thoe razy game o your. Ti one i mine. And by thewayyou have no buine here, i Im not miaken. Yourtime hant ome yet beaue the thirteenth viim i yet tobe ound.

Azrael reared up in all o hi horriying mightine and higaze wa filled with anger.

Im ed up with thi gabble. Who are you to tell me what


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I hall and hall not do? Get lo to wherever you have omerom, Aaeala, you louy wretc. Do you think that your lui a key to all the gate?

Tere are thing you have never dreamt about. You are buta se in a great game that ha been played or a thouando year, and now i the time or the grand finale, in whicthere i no plae or you though. And i I ever find you or anyother uubu meddling in my affair, I will turn your liveinto true hell!

Aaeala howled in rage and her ae canged to that o ahideou wrinkled hag. From her hal-opened mouth, a long,diguing tongue hot toward Azrael, twiing defiantly likea venomou nake. Te uubu hovered indeiively in theair or a while beore her hape arted to diolve and hele a he ame.

Maxmilian toed about in hi bed everal time. Az-rael ent hi piering look toward him and rubbed hi cinthoughtully.

It time to wake up, my riend. Now, in the mid o agodle night, it i neeary to ommene that whic i toome. Open your eye, Maxmilian. Open your eye!

Maxmilian eye beame ully opened abruptly and acoked ry ound it way through hi throat.

I omeone here? he alled loudly and at up. Hi headsun around a i in ever. He touced hi orehead and wipedoff it the old weat that wa running down hi ae and ne.

I omeone here? he aked again, but he wa already urethat he wa the only one in the ell. Eye, one auomedto darkne, oon ound a lantern and aer a moment e-ort Maxmilian lit it. A fliering flame et a warm o wildhadow daning on the wall that reminded Maxmilian oa terrible dream that he had had and that had wreed him

rom hi leep. He huddered at the memory o a weird rea-ture hanging above hi bed and with hi hand he ound thebead hanging around hi ne. He wa araid he wouldntfind them there, but they were at their plae. He gripped themfirmly.

Ten he roe up, ound a prayer book among hi thingand le hi ell. What trial do I have to ae in thi auredtown, aked Maxmilian to himel when heading through theempty orridor o the abbey toward the athedral. He need-

ed to find hi lo peae, rengthen hi aith again and leanhi mind o inul dream and memorie that had agitated it.He longed to re in prayer and ay o until the dawn thatwould urely bring light even to the event around here.

For a moment he had a eeling he got lo ompletely, butin the end he ound the orridor leading to the curc. Ahe wa lowly oming near a mall entrane to the very, heaught ound rom the inide. He got iff hene, lieningbreathlely. He didnt have the lea mood to meet anyone othe inhabitant o the abbey at thi godle hour, let alone theabbot himel. He oon beame ure that hi ear werent de-eiving hima range ound wa oming rom omewherein the curc, aompanied by a hort painul moaning.

At fir, Maxmilian wanted to turn ba and return to hiell, but unanny irumane o that evening made himto ilently ep near the door and open it a ra. He elt aamiliar, ared mell o inene and old unventilated saethat filled every tabernale o God. Te nave wa hrouded indark, only in ront o the altar there wa a irle o dim lightilluminating a horrible ene.

Deaon Toma wa kneeling in ront o the altar. He waully naked and gripping a long belt in hi hand with whiche wa lahing hi ba with all hi might. He had to be do-ing thi or a long time already beaue hi ba wa ju one


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huge bloody ar rom whic urrent o blood were ream-ing down on the marble floor. Maxmilian didnt ee Tomaae, but he wa onvined that it wa tightened with tremen-dou pain.

God, orgive me my in! the deaon wa obbing, re-peating thi entene over and over with eac ra o thebelt. Maxmilian wa watcing the whole ene with an un-seakable horror in hi eye, but at the ame time he wa oainated by it that he ouldnt pull himel away. What mu

be the a that led the young deaon to uc a el-torment?Maxmilian want able to imagine them. Naturally, he hadalo been in doubt in the oure o the eminary and he hadalo been looking or orgivene in the ight o God, buthe would never had done omething o dreadul. He lowlyloed the door and ilently retreated to hi ell. He wa urehe wouldnt be able to loe hi eye or the re o the night.And doubt were moving hi mind more than ever beore.

IV.

The dawn wa to bring relie to Maxmilian oul,aording to hi expetation, but it didnt hap-pen o. Hi whole body wa numb rom the lako leep and everal hour o long prayer to

whih he had devoted himel in hi ell. At other time hehad a eeling that God wa talking to him during hi prayer,

but it want uh thi time. All the more ullen wa Maxmil-ian. At leat Im quite ure about what to do today. Or, in anyae, in what order, he wa omorting himel. I have to di-u that girl with the abbot, find the term o her guilt andinterrogate her then.

Abbot Stean ame to wake him up when the pitc darkreigned ill out there. Te lie o monk arted beore day-break and ended aer unet. Te abbot looked well-reedand wa miling.

I hope you lept well, Your Honour, he aid.Better than ever beore, Maxmilian gave him a old mile

and epped out to the abbot waiting in the orridor. He walooking at him ealthily.

Are you eeling all right, Father? he aked while theywere walking toward the curc. You are omewhat pale!

It the weather, brother. It i very old today, anweredMaxmilian.

Oh, ye, it that orm rom yeerday. I ould wear I awdemon daning in the kie, Father! aid the abbot and arail neer flahed aro hi lip.

Tey reaced the curc, where the regular morning er-vie wa to take plae. Maxmilian wa waiting tenely to eethe trae o blood on the floor in ront o the altar. But therewa no reminder o the yeerday event and Maxmilian wa


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thu looking around to ee Deaon Toma omewhere. Buthe ould only ee the other deaon that had put hi hore tothe able la night.

Deaon Toma will not join u or the ervie? akedMaxmilian thereore. He wa loely watcing to find a hinto anything in the abbot reply.

Im araid that Toma yielded to a dieae and i lyingabed, anwered the abbot and looked to Maxmilian eyewith alm.

Maybe Im ju too usiiou, admonihed Maxmilianhimel. Why would the abbot have to know about every-thing that happen in the abbey?

A oon a the morning ervie wa over, Maxmilian head-ed with the abbot to the me where aer a hort prayer theyate ome oatmeal. Tey were the only one itting at a longtable or twenty peron. An unomortable unre droppedonto Maxmilian at that.

Aer the meal, they departed or the abbot private abi-net. So, how an I be o ervie to you, Your Honour? akedthe abbot, wiping hi greay lip with hi hand. Hi eye werelooking pieringly at Maxmilian when doing o.

I would need you to deribe all irumane regard-

ing that girl, Miriam Flander, aid Maxmilian. Te reorday that he wa carged with hereydirely by youorher godle rime, ommitted on the ared ground o theloal athedral. It i aid there were lot o witnee therebeaue it all took plae during the veser. I that o?

Te abbot nodded hi head adly. Ye, Your Honour, it i ayou have ju aid. Poor girl. I knew her a a litt le newborn al-ready, I baptized her myel right at that plae where he gaveherel to the demon in the ight o all ourteen year later.

How did that happen? aked Maxmilian. He wa oringthe abbot every word areully in hi memory.

I wa urrently aying veser when Miriam entered theathedral. I expeed her to it omewhere at the ba beauehe ame late, but he marced direly under the pulpit andtook her loak off. She ood there all naked with her mindpoeed by demon and began to hout that I wa the deviland that I hould take her and do whatever I want to with her.It wa a veille diaboli luioune to whic he expoedme in ront o the whole town. Tat i why I alled the guardin immediately and had her put in jail. Everyone who wa

there will urely onfirm thi to youand almo the wholetown wa in!Maxmilian nodded hi head trying to imagine that young

trembling girl doing what the abbot had ju aid. But i thewhole town had een it

Do you have any idea why the girl did that? he aked.Why? laughed the abbot grimly. Beaue he a her-

eti, Father. It beaue o people like her that our realm wathrown down to the ate it i in. Only beaue o mibelieverand apoate who deal with demon, the Lord ae turnedaway rom u and le u in the law o hell angel and theirminion. With God above my head, only by death o thoeheathen an we puriy our realm again!

Te abbot wiped away aliva that flew out o hi mouthduring hi seec and miled kindly at Maxmilian. We areluy there are ervant uc a you, Father. I believe that youwill inveigate the whole matter and by etting the ake onfire you will grant Werthem at lea ome o the peae thathad reigned here beore the Sourge o God beell u.

Ye, that i what I intend to do, aid Maxmilian. Andabove all that fir part, he added to himel. He wa thinkingor a while whether he hould ak the abbot another queion,but then he deided again it. He roe up to leave inead.

Will you interrogate that inner? aked the abbot.


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Maxmilian turned ba to him. O oure, I have to findout i your carge i baed on truth. Eseially when the api-tal punihment loom above her head!

Te abbot turned hort at fir, but then he miled imper-eptibly. In that ae, I wih you good lu, Father. You hallee that queioning her wont be o ruitle in the end a youould think.

Maxmilian le the building o the abbey and almoheaved a igh o relie at that. He had a eeling that i he had

taken lodging in ome verminou tavern he would had donemuc better. But on the other hand, he aid to himel, it iexpeed rom me to inveigate the ituation at Werthemand I eel that it omehow relate to the abbey. Tereore Iwill ay there until the inveigation end.

Te morning wa veiled with thi og, a wa the re othat day. It opped raining, but it beame palpably older.Maxmilian wa rolling through the town and in the aintdaylight he ould finally ee the miery o Werthem well.Many houe were deerted and their knoed out or hut-tered window ared into the reet like blind leprou beg-gar. Tat wa urely the reult o a evere plague that had hit

the Realm o Ulther everal year ago. Moreover, the wholenorthern ide o Werthem wa burnt and razed to the grounda a ad reolleion o the Night o alling ar when fire hadbeen raining rom the kie inead o water, canging theae o the Realm beyond reognition. How many Sourgeo God will ome, aked Maxmilian to himel, beore orderwill be reored to Ulther and everything wil l return to itoriginal ate? But even aer that thing wont be the ame abeore.

When the prie took a view o the whole town, he head-ed or the heriff offie. Te entrane guard wa greeting

him with deep bow rom aar and a ar a the young prieould tell he wa even ober. Or at lea more ober than thepreviou day. He took him to Sheriff Olek immediately. Butnot even by day wa the offie more appealing than the laevening.

I think I mentioned yeerday a diiplinary punihmentor drunkenne on duty, heriff! aid Maxmilian reproac-ully upon entering the heriff muy workroom. Te airthere melled o thi tobao moke and weat.

I had to popone hi punihment, Your Honour, aidthe heriff in an apologeti tone and Maxmilian would wearthat he wa inseing him with urioity. Another numer-ou group o herdmen arrived to the town yeerday and mymen are imply not able to manage them. A kirmih brokeout in the outhern diri at night and we had a hard timeto atter them.

So you were on duty la night? aked Maxmilian.Ye, Your Honour. We beat thoe groom a muc a they

ould take. Why do you ak?Maxmilian hook hi head and canged the ubje o their

onveration. I would like to interrogate that girl, MiriamFlander, today.

Sheriff Olek laughed, but immediately turned eriouagain. O oure, Your Honourthe ra and the torturecamber are prepared already!

Maxmilian put on an indeterminate look and let the her-iff take him to the underground, where the torture camberwa ituated. He didnt have a pleaant eeling about it. Eventhough he had witneed the ue o the torture law repeatedlybeore and had alo aied the inveigator everal time, hepreerred more humane method. And on the top o it, thiwa the fir t ime when he himel wa uppoed to deide onthe proedure during the interrogation. He hated thatese-


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ially at the prose o uing the torture law again that girldown in the dungeon. Faith require arifie though, a itwa aid in the Holy Sripture.

When they entered, that diguing mell o death and u-ering that ould be ound in every prion hit him in the noeagain. A hundred time ould Maxmilian reaon to himelthat prioner deerve that or their in, but one he eppedinide he aw only miery beore hi eye. He alway had tohield himel with aith to be able to perorm that or whic

he had been coen. It wa the ame today.So, what do you think about that? aked the heriff, aerMaxmilian eye kimmed aro a saiou undergroundroom. In vain wa he thinking i it wa a hint o pride heaught in the heriff voie. It probably wa beaue he wamiling openly.

I know that we dont have a muc a you are ued to,he aid a i apologetially, but I do believe that it will beenough or you to reacahema truthul teimony!

Maxmilian nodded hortly and looked around uneaily.Mo tool and piee o equipment were overed with ruand dried blood. Te ew torture tool hereheaded by arawere reated in a primitive way and were looking ue-

le, but Maxmilian knew that they ulfilled their purpoe awell a thoe made by maer o thi repulive ra.

Shall we etc that bitc? aked one o the raer ai-tant. Maxmilian flipped hi eye at him, but then ju wavedhi hand in approval. It a human ink, thi town, he remind-ed himel the ad a. But it ill ha hope or redemption!

When the varlet dragged in the girl toing around,Maxmilian ordered the heriff to it her down onto a mallwooden benc. She wa rightened and learly out o herel.Maxmilian had to rerain himel o that he didnt art toregret her.

Are you Miriam Flander? opened Maxmilian hi que-tioning. He tried or hi voie to ound firm and deiive, butwith hi ight he enouraged the girl to anwer him on herown and willingly. He didnt want to have her tortured.

Te girl turned her evaive eye to him and leant her headlightly aide a when a little cild examine omeone uri-ouly. Maxmilian had a eeling he wanted to talk, but beorehe managed to open her mouth, the heriff hit her in her aewith hi fi.

Speak, you damned whore!Maxmilian twitced a i it wa him who wa hit. Heepped in the heriff way and puhed him aide.

I think I wi ll hear her out alone or a art, heriff! he aidunompromiingly. Hi voie wa raing with anger.

A you wih, Your Honour, aid the heriff and looked atthe terrified girl with a ly mile. He lied hi lip.

I you needed to lend a hand, ju all, he added. Dontorget that he the devil mire!

Maxmilian waited patiently until the door behind theheriff and hi varlet loed and turned ba to the girl. Shewa owering on the ground in terror. Fourteen year, Max-milian remembered. Ti girl i ourteen year old!

Dont be araid, Miriam, no one will do you any harm,he soke to her trying or hi voie to ound aual. Miriamlooked around bewildered and Maxmilian elt the biggeool uddenly. What wa that girl uppoed to think aerbeing dragged to the torture camber or an inquiitorialinterrogation?

All I want i to hear rom you what really happened, heaid. I talked to Abbot Stean who

He didnt finih the entene. At the mention o the abbotname, the girl produed an animal ream rom her throatand began to pound with her tiny fi again the old floor.


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Sharp edge o bri oon tore her kin and blood glienedin her wound. For a moment, Maxmilian being hoedwatced the girl thrahing around and then epped to her.He wanted to take her by the houlder in an effort to almher. But Miriam yanked up unexpeedly and hit Maxmilianhard in hi ae. She had to do o in a tremendou hatred be-aue the power o the roke threw the young prie ba andknoed him down. Beore he managed to get up, Miriam

jumped at one o the table and pied a big knie rom it.

He will never have me again, he ried out. He will nevertake me a he took my brother. Never, you hear me? Never!Hold on, Miriam, aid Maxmilian with a onried

throat. Fear or hi own lie wa fighting with a deire to learna muc a poible rom the girl.

Calm down and tell me everythingI want to hear the truthrom you. What happened? What happened to your brother?

Teir eye met or a hort moment and Maxmilian wihedto be able to ay with that ingle look everything that wa onhi heart. Varlet and the heriff broke into the room at thatinant though. Te girl looked around earully and then ina udden ruh o ear preed the knie again her ce. Butthe raer varlet diarmed her eaily and bahed her with a

wooden aff in her ae, knoing her down. Tere, he be-gan to ki her brutally, taking her breath away, aer whiche heed her and haled her to the benc o the ra. Heripped off what wa le rom her dirty lothe o her at thatand along with heriff they amued themelve looking at thegirl utile attempt to over her nudity.

Tat wa airly arele, Your Honour, aid the heriffand threw a usiiou glane over at Maxmilian. I thoughtthat your private interrogation would takeahema differ-ent direion.

Maxmilian hook hi head with diapproval, but there wa

nothing to ay in hi deene. He broke a rule by whic ome-one with an arm, who ould in ae o neeity interere inthe deene o an inquiitor, hould be preent at the inter-rogation at any time.

I better ay here and keep an eye on everything, aid theheriff and ent a viiou mile toward the girl. He lappedher ruelly over her outretced thigh.

Look at that body, Father. She only ourteen year oldbut he an have a bang with demon already!

Maxmilian purpled in rage. You dare too muc, youwretc! You make lecerou talk in the preene o a prieand in the oure o an inquiitorial interrogation on the topo it. One more word and Ill have you whipped!

Te heriff pulled ba rowning. He wa evidently ur-pried by the Inquiitor dimiive reaion.

Maxmilian approaced the cained girl and overed hernaked body with hi loak. He areed her matted hair andwiped blood rom her ae.

Miriam, tell me what happened then. Where i yourbrother and why hould anyone take himand you a well?

Te girl toed around in hale and threw a look ull ouffering at Maxmilian. She heitated or a while, a i ponder-

ing what all hould he ay to the man with the arlet loak.My brother he whisered ilently in the end.Ye, what happened to your brother? What doe he have

to do with thi? aked Maxmilian tened.He he wa they took him away!Where did they take him, Miriam?o hell, Father! obbed the girl and arted to hake all

over. Tey ame or him and took him away, right in ronto my eye!

Sheriff Olek laughed. Well, want I aying that? She aier to a inner who had old hi oul to devil whic took


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him then. And they will take thi bitc ju a well!When aying o, he turned the wheel o the ra, rope

tightened and joint in the girl body raed lightly. Miri-am ried out in pain.

Stop that right now! houted Maxmilian at Olek wholet the wheel go with an apologeti mile. Maxmilian turnedba to the girl again.

Did you ee who wa taking your brother away, Miriam?Did you ee him? Could you ay who that wa?

Te girl aid nothing or a moment, rapt in her own pain,but eventually he whisered ilently: Ye, I aw them.Wolve in heep lothing!

So who wa that, Miriam? Who took your brother away?Her ad eye ared at him like on a alvation. I I tell you

that, Father, they will ki ll me. You will kill me. You will t ie meto the ake and let me burn a a witc!

I would never do that, Miriami you are innoent! aidMaxmilian.

A ob ull o horror eaped her throat. It doent matteri Im innoent. I I tell that, you will burn me alive. I knowthat!

Dont be araid, Miriami you tell me the whole truth,

I will not allow anything to happen to you. I wear by every-thing ared to me!

Her look reed on Maxmilian arlet loak. She heitatedor the la time and then whisered: It wa Abbot Stean. Itwa he who took my brother away. He not a human beingbut a bea in a man body!

Sheriff Olek arted to laugh loudly with tear pouringrom hi eye. I ant believe my own ear, Your Honour.Tat witc dare to aue our Father Stean o herey! Shedoent know what to whiser to you to ave that kinny neo her. Soon, he will laim that it wa Arcbihop Lauren-

iu himel who took her brother away!By the way, no one kidnapped her brotherhe wa murdered

by ome rogue that broke into their houe a ew week go.Maxmilian looked at the girl whoe eye were ull o tear.

She wa haking her head diapprovingly.Abbot Stean and hi minion took himI wa at that,

he obbed. Tey took u bothto the hell beneath thecurc, rom where all o them had ome. Tey le him inthere and tortured me or everal day. Tey poeed me

again and again. Tey are not human being but demon inmen bodie. I beeec you, Father, you mu tru me!Maxmilian nodded hi head ombrely. Her auation

wa more than eriou, but it ould alo fit in all thoe weirdevent the prie had witneed ine hi arrival. Someonelied to him and Maxmilian want a bit ure who did. Tegirl might have been telling the truth, but he ould be razya well, or poeed even. And o ould Abbot Stean andSheriff Olek.

Te girl wa hanging on Maxmilian lip, waiting or hiword. But at the very moment the prie began to rie, heturned her look painully away and arted to ry heartbreak-ingly. She knew the Inquiitor didnt believe her.

I will have to inveigate that, Maxmilian told her. Youpronouned a very eriou auation pertaining to the high-e repreentative o the Holy Churc in thi town. Neverthe-le, that whic I promied to you, hold true ill. I you havesoken the truth, no one will do you any harm!

You dont believe me, the girl wa obbing oundlely. Iknew that. You will let me burn. You are the ame a them.You are devil in a man body!

Te heriff arted to laugh. Can you ee that, Father?Here we are againhe aued you o herey. Leave her tome and I will make her reant thoe iening lie!


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But Maxmilian prevented him rom that. Do not orgetthat my reriion on approacing the aued hold ill. Hewho will not obey itthough led by a noble thought to makeher talk truth by violenewill be hung in the age rom thetown wall or the whole week. I that lear to you, heriff?

Aer that without glaning ba he walked out and didntop until anding in ront o the heriff offie and eelingthe old o the oming winter on hi ae.

So thi wa my fir interrogation, miled Maxmilian griev-

ouly. I aed like the bigge ool under the un and madepoibly all the miake an inveigator an make! But therei omething I learnt aer all

Ahemorgive me, Your Honour, are you all right? thevoie o a guard broke in. He turned to him and looked athim blankly. Te guard beame unertain and arted to lookaround nervouly. He want ure i he hadnt ommited an o-ene when addreing an inquiitor without being prompted.

ell me, oldier, aked Maxmilian, were you on duty lanight?

I ertainly wa, Your Honour, agreed the oldier.And did you have to deal with any inident during your

duty?

Any what? wondered the oldier haking hi head un-omprehendingly. Maxmilian ighed. Did anything happenla night? Wa there a brawl omewhere?

Oh, a brawl, grinned the oldier, revealing thu hi teeth,mo o whic were miing. Tere wa a brawl in the outh-ern diri la night. It had sarkled in the Hadrian tavernand beore we got there, the whole reet wa ull o it!

And tell me, oldier, wa Sheriff Olek there?O oure he warom the beginning to the end. He ee

to everything that happen in the town!Maxmilian hook hi head, thanked him and headed

aro the muddy quare or the town. I he had turned ba,he would had een Sheriff Olek quietly loing a window inthe fir floor.


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V.

Maxmilian had an unortunate eeling that thewhole ae had tarted to get too ompliated.I everything involved that aued girl only,it wouldnt be uh a big problem perhap. He

would find out i the aued wa poeed by impure pow-er and i o, he would end her to the take. I not, he would

diharge her. But now there wa muh more that weighedMaxmilian.Everything would be muc eaier i he admitted that he

had been wrong yeerday and that it hadnt been Sheriff Olekwho he had een entering the abbey through the ba en-trane la night. Aer all, the oldier onfirmed that he hadbeen in the outhern diri the whole night. But what aboutAbbot Stean? Hi behaviour ha alo been mighty usiiouine the very fir moment. He aid that Maxmilian had wo-ken him up with hi arrival, while hi tuni wa damp romrain a i he had ju taken off hi loak. And now that aua-tion raied by Miriam Flander. She laimed her brother hadbeen taken by a devil in the abbot body.

Neverthele, Maxmilian had to take into aount a wellthat it ould have been her who liedhe ould have beenpoeed by an unlean sirit! And i Sheriff Olek aid thather brother had been killed during a houebreaking, he ure-ly re peaeully in hi grave now.

Maxmilian opped in the middle o a reet. O ourei what Sheriff Olek laimed wa true, to ondu an exhu-mation o Flander orpe would uffie. By examining hibody, Maxmilian would obtain a onvining proo about theway o hi death and would hed a new light on the ae.

Maxmilian looked around the reet and realized that he

had unintentionally epped into the way o a large art drawnby a pair o hore. Hi owner wanted to hout omething atMaxmilian, but he thought better o it immediately when herealized who wa anding in ront o him. He arted to turnaround with an apology to find another way, but Maxmilianhalted him.

Come here, my good man!With ear in hi eye, the man drew the ribbon and looked

at Maxmilian timidly.

Your Honour, Im o orry, I didnt notie you I didntwant toIt all right, Maxmilian waved hi hand. Rather take me

to your emeteryi you have time, o oure.Te man wallowed idly, but motioned the prie to get up

eventually.It way out o the town, Your Honour. We probably wont

arrive there beore the dark!Well, it will have to do, hrugged Maxmilian. And tell

me where to find the gravedigger there.

Te road to the emetery trailed over everal hill and warutted to a great extent, whic wa a ad effe o time a ew

year ba when the plague had been raging hereimilarlyto other part o the Realm. Te art owner drove hi geldinga quily a poible, desite that it wa lowly getting darkwhen they reaced the emetery. It wa ituated in a mall val-ley enloed with low roy hill a ew mile beyond the town.Ti wa the neare ground uitable or a emetery beauethe whole town and it urrounding ood in the middle oa ony region where graving to the grounda wa uual atUltherwa impoible.

Maxmilian jumped down off the art and wihed it ownera pleaant journey ba. He intended to ay and find out how


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the brother o the aued girl had died aually. He headedalong a narrow pathway among grave or a mall ony lodgeo the gravedigger anding on the top o one o low mound.Werthem had a long and rather violent hiory behind, re-fleed in the ize o the emetery. Even member o the nobleamily that had ounded the town everal enturie ago hadbeen buried in it ground and the emetery ha ine been on-antly growing ever larger. Te olde tomb one with adedlettering and ornament in deay mixed with tomb o people

who had died not o long ago. Mi wa alway preent in thevalley, rawling in hred around grave like a veil o death en-hrouding it kingdom. Maxmilian didnt like emeterie, jua he didnt like death. Even though he wa reoniled with itand knew that ooner or later the Lord take everyone to Him,he didnt like it. Beaue death brought uffering and that wentagain Maxmilian reed. I it want a ju punihment, ooure. Divine providene had many orm and Maxmilianwa proud that he a an inquiitor had beome her diserer.Te Holy Inquiition wa ummoned by the Lord Himel toperorm divine juie and everyone onvied o herey de-erved to pay or in ommitted. Hereti were thereore veryluy when the Inquiition earced them out and helped them

to puriy their oul rom the eternal damnation with an ex-eution. Te curc wa a mediator between the Lord and Hiheep, ju a the Holy Inquiition wa a mediator between inand redemption.

Te light wa on in the ground-floor houe o the grave-digger and thu Maxmilian knoed reolutely on the roughdoor. A man canged almo beyond reognition due to theexe o alohol ame to open or him. Inead o a noe, hehad a raed red uler interwoven with an abundane o vio-leent vein. From under a hairy eyebrow unken eye werelooking at Maxmilian, giving an impreion that omeone had

puhed them ba deep into the kull by ore. Skinny figurewa waggling rom ide to ide in a utile attempt to and ill.

What do you wih? aid a roaky voie.Are you a gravedigger, my good man? aked Maxmilian

trying to keep down hi diae.Tat i oand who are you?Maxmilian ood aring at the man inapprehenively or a

moment beaue ine he ha begun to wear the arlet loakhe want ued to anwer thi queion muc.

My name i Maxmilian Conti and I am an inquiitorialinveigator, he introdued himel eventually.And o what? aked the man. I omeone died you will

have to wait until tomorrow beore I dig a grave or you!Te man wa about to loe the door whic inflamed Max-

milian a bit. He want ued to people behaving like thi to him.I need to ak you omething, he aid.About what? Im not here to anwer anything. Tat what

you prie are good at.I want to ak you i you buried the brother o the girl a-

ued o herey a ew week ago.You mean Milton Flander? Ye, I did bury him. He had

a very ad atehe wa killed right in hi own bedroom. At

lea, that i what people were aying.And did you ee hi orpe? aked Maxmilian.Te man blinked at him in a quily waning light. Lien,

i I wa to look at every dead body I bury, I wouldnt loe myeye or the re o my lie any more!

So did you or did you not ee it? aked Maxmilian again.Didnt, grunted the man a i useing it would mean

impending trouble or him.So take your hovel, my good man, and how me where

hi grave i! aid Maxmilian and gave the gravedigger aceerle mile.


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VI.

In a murky underground ell omewhere deepbeneath the Werthem abbey at Abbot Stean ina tony hair thrumming nervouly on the oldarmret with hi finger. Te whole ituation wa

getting too ompliated or him to tay alm. And there i olittle we mi, he thought. All that remain i to find an appro-

priate thirteenth vitim!Upon hearing ootep loing in rom the airae, hemaered hi nervoune and waited or the arrival o a vii-tor he wa expeing. It wa Sheriff Olek. Disleaure and an-ger emanated rom the expreion o hi ae.

He le or the emetery, he aid hortly aer ittingdown next to the abbot. I dont know hi intention but Idont like it at all. How o he a abolutely normal? Didntwe perorm that ritual orrely? Maybe we made a miakeomewhere

We made no miake and you know it well, napped theabbot. He too wa ill-tempered that their dark ceme didnthal work a they had imagined. By all appearane, the In-

quiitor oul hould have been devoured by a demon o urgeand viiou lu whic hould have ompletely influened theoure o the interrogation o Miriam Flander. Te prie,torn by longing and remore hould have had the girl burntright aer he would have orniated with her influened bythe uubu. With that he would have violated hi holy oatho elibay and to get rid o the only witne he hould have apreumed ound the girl guilty o aoiation with devil andhad her burnt. But a it eemed, the demon o urge had nopower over Maxmilian at all.

Someone ha to and by hi ide, the abbot thought, but

it definitely int God. Tat old bungler had anty power inWerthem and hi time wa almo up!

So what are we going to do? aked the heriff biting hilower lip exitedly. We ant poibly let that damned noop-er find out the truth!

I dont intend to let that happen under any iruman-e, anwered the abbot ba. I wont allow anyone to pry inmy buine beore I beome the Choen one!

Olek looked at him akane and huddered lightly when

he beheld the mad glane in hi eye. He doubted ometimei he had done the right thing banding together with thiman. But what the abbot wa offering to him wa ju impo-ible to reue.

So what are we going to do? aked the heriff unertainly.I we kill him, trouble will arieinveigation, arre, tor-turing a lot o unwelome attention.

You are right, aid the abbot, but only in ae our dearMaxmilian would be killed by the hand o a wilul murderer.

Te heriff knit hi brow. So how do you imagine we willput him away?

You aid he wa urrently at the emetery, right? Te ab-bot laughed grimly and a monrou idea flahed in hi eye.

In that ae, we will take are that he end up in one o themany grave.

Eh, and how do you want to arrange or that? aked theheriff nervouly. When the abbot et hi eye on him, hehuddered in revulion.

Dark power have sread to all the plae thee time,havent they?! aid the abbot. Te heriff underood. It wagiving him the reep but he didnt ay a thing. Aer that,both o them le the room to prepare or the orthomingritual.


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Te whole diuion wa overheard rom a diane bytwo being. One o them wa Aaeala, on whoe diguingold woman ae a maliiou mile wa sreading. When theabbot and heriff le, he arted to laugh ruelly.

You ee, Azrael? Your oerling will weat like hell to-night. And it wont be a pleaurable a what I wanted to offerhim. I would even bet my oul he will never ome ba romthe Werthem emetery. And i he will, he definitely wontbe alive!

Azrael want anwering but rather ontemplating hioption. It wa abolutely unthinkable to leave the uredground o the deerated abbey until the ritual. But he need-ed to ave Maxmilianat whatever o. For o long wa hewaiting or hi opportunity and he didnt intend to wae itbeaue o aimle plan o a ew lunati minion o inernalpower.

Tereore he flew hi mind away aro the night ountry-ide, earcing. He needed an ally or thi night, even thoughhe would and on the other ide. He wa wandering aim-lely through the dark or a long time until he heard a ridergalloping in the cill o the night. He looked in that direionand had to mile or hi lu.

Strange deal will be ealed tonight, he aid and glanedat Aaeala ominouly. She flouned and tried to eape but inthe end he wa bound to ubmit to Azrael will. Shortly aerthat, he wa flying with oul word on her lip over the nightlandape toward the lonely rider.

VII.

When the hovel hit the wooden lid o the offin,the old gravedigger traightened up with a i-lent ure, trething hi trained bak. It gotutterly dark in the meantime and the gloomy

ene on the Werthem emetery wa illuminated only by thelight oming rom a mall lantern Maxmilian lit up.

Done, whimpered the gravedigger, lambering hard outo the unearthed grave. Maxmilian raied the lantern to eebetter down there. At the bottom o the grave, a offin lidloomed bla.

ell me, my good man, who wa Milton Flander? heaked to popone the moment when he would deend intothe grave and dihonour the ared peae o the dead byopening hi offin.

Te old gravedigger hrugged. He wa an orphan. Sinethe death o hi parent, he wa living with hi older ier ina houe in the town preparing to enter the eminary. He waa very piou young boyand o wa hi ier.

Maxmilian ound thi new intereing. He want aware

thi wa the ate o affair. He believed he had been a violentrebelliou young man that had been ru by a ate he haddeerved.

And whic o your prie guided him during hi prepara-tion to enter the eminary? he aked. I would like to talkto him.

Te gravedigger hrugged hi houlder impaively. Iyou need to know that, Your Honour, it wa Father Stean.

A cill ran along Maxmilian sine at that name. For amoment, he wanted to ak i he hadnt miheard. So AbbotStean wa preparing young Milton Flander or the entrane


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to the eminary. What a range oinidene, he realized.Could it be that during that time ome disaritie betweenthe abbot and Miriam oured that would lead to the girlbelie o the abbot bad nature? But that alone would notexplain that mad behaviour o the young girl. Unle butthere will be time to ponder thing aer Ill have looked athow Milton Flander died.

With a great el-renuniation, Maxmilian jumped downinto the open grave. He took the hovel rom the gravedigger

and u it under the offin lid. Ten, with a ingle puh othe handle, he lied it off and looked into the open offin, hibreath held. It wa empty.

Tat offin i empty, aid Maxmilian to the gravedigger.Tere wa a relie in hi voie.

Te old man looked down in dibelie and rowned. Tatnot poible, Your Honour. I wa burying the offin myeland I an wear beore the Mother o God that the grave habeen loed ever ine!

Maxmilian put the offin lid ba to it original plae andlimbed up. Te empty grave o Milton Flander explainedmuc. Maxmilian ju want ure about what exaly.

Fir o all, it mean that the body o Milton Flander

want put to the grave, Maxmilian realized the imple truth.But why would omeone eal a dead body? O oure, inethe time o the Sourge o God, the Holy Inquiition ha en-ountered many godle deed about whic it wa better notto even think, but in thi ae it wa definitely omething ele.It might or inane be that Milton Flander int dead at all!

Te prie wa pulled rom hi thought by the old grave-digger nervouly looking around.

Forgive me, Your Honour, but I have a eeling there iomeone here. I heard ome range noie, aid the old man.Maxmilian looked around the dark but aw nothing.

It wa ju an illuion, my good man. Who would go tothe emetery at uc an unholy hour?

A muffled ound ame rom omewhere in the dark at thatmoment, a i a one lab wa moving aro the floor. Andthe ound o ootep loing in wa heard right aer that.Tey ounded weird, a i omeone limped dragging one legbehind. Cold weat poured over Maxmilian and cill ranalong hi ba. Tere really wa omeone at the emetery.

Who i there? alled the gravedigger in a haky voie,

ininively gripping the handle o hi hovel, hi old-ageknule whitening.But there wa no anwer. Inead, the emetery revived

with groaning and roaring that mixed with the ound o dirtbeing thrown away. Te dead were getting out o their grave.

A being entered the illuminated irle and it ouldnt be aliving peron in any ae. Grey adaverou kin and deom-poing meat ell apart at many plae, revealing diguingwhity bone. Te rotten remnant o lothing were hangingdown in hred rom the deormed body and the ae wa amixture o terror and dread. A pair o empty eye oet walooking oldly at Maxmilian rom it. Te being produed agrim rattling ound and with outretced law et orth to-

ward Maxmilian in a waying movement.Father o all aint, prote u rom thi terrible evil!

whisered the prie, unable to move. He wa ju watcinghorrified the figure o the animated orpe oming near, ol-lowed by many other. Te gravedigger next to him tried torun away reaming and he almo bumped to one o thedead bodie that had ju emerged on the other ide.

Maxmilian knelt down in horror and lased hi hand e-verihly or a prayer. With hi finger he gripped the bead ohi roary.

God Almighty, orgive u our in and dont let u all. Repel


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thi rightul evil rom u and put the dead ba to the eternal re!Dead bodie around the prie aggered a i ru by an

inviible ore. Tey uddenly opped attending to the prieand their empty ae turned toward the gravedigger. One othe orpe jumped at hi throat and the old man managedonly to ry in terror beore the iily old law preed aroundhi ne. A nay ra ounded and the mell o blood ouldbe elt in the night dark, sraying rom the torn throat o thegravedigger down onto the ared ground o the Werthem

emetery.Unable to move a mule, Maxmilian watced the grue-ome enery o animated orpe ripping the gravediggerbody to piee. Tat look rippled the prie o muc that theword o prayer vanihed rom hi lip. Fear entened himto death a quily a a holy tribunal entene a hereti. Teorpe opped onerning themelve in the gravediggerbody and lowly looked up at the prie who watced themrozen. Tey roe up and were loing to Maxmilian in a tightirle. Teir law were aimed at hi onried throat.

Teir heinou guttural ound were interrupted by thethundering o hoove that uddenly reounded at the em-

etery, oming quily loe. Te thundering wa joined by adeep male voie inging a liturgial ombat tune o ruader.Te irle o orpe bur open rom one ide when the mao undead being wa hit by the ce o a great warhore ar-rying a knight in white and red olour. He ru hi longword le and right to make hi way up to Maxmilian.

By the Holy Father and Hi righteou wrathbe-gone, devil, to hell! houted the knight, rearing hi horethreateningly.

Te orpe turned hi way and everal o them tried topull him down rom the addle. But inead o that, their ut

law ell to the ground. Te knight turned hi hore kilullyin the direion o the neare attaer and rode towardthem. With hi word flahing he rode through the orpelike an angel o divine wrath and ent three o them to theground, ut in hal. Te detaced trunk were ill beatingaround with their law though.

Die, you bea oming in the hour o the dark! houtedthe knight again and rode through the battleground onemore leaving everal allen orpe in hi wake. Te hore

wa breathing heavily a the mell o dead bodie wa enter-ing hi noril, but the rider tended it apparently well anddidnt allow it to urrender to ear. Maxmilian wa watcingthe whole fight breathlely. Never beore had he een a pala-din o the regular order o the Brotherhood o the Righteoufighting and only now he underood how earul tool o di-

vine juie he wa.Suddenly, omething burrowed deep into Maxmilian al

and the prie elt a inging pain. He twitced and ound outin horror that one o the underut orpe grased him tight-ly around hi ankle. He tried to break away, but the orpegripped him even more and the eond law wa trying toget to hi throat. With a violent punc, he hit the body in the

ae, hi knule raing. Te head unhinged in an unnatu-ral angle but the law didnt let him go.

In the udden ruh o pani he reaced or hi throat andgripped the roary firmly. He hit the orpe in it empty aeagain with all o hi ore. A rattle ounded and the trunktoppled inertly to the ground.

Maxmilian roed himel and aid ilently: Lord, or-give u our in!

Upon raiing hi ight, he aw the knight dimountingrom hi hore. Dead bodie were attered around the em-etery, toing about in vain effort to and up on the ump


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o ut limb. Te paladin lahed hi word le and right ev-eral time, but then he pitced the word firmly to the groundand knelt down on one knee. Plume o eam were omingrom hi mouth a he wa breathing hardly.

Come, Fatherjoin me in my prayer or the peae o theedead that were ummoned rom their grave to do the will ohell itel!

Maxmilian wreed himel rom the rippling grip o earand haily knelt down in ront o the knight word ymbol-

izing the ro. Teir hared prayer wa oon riing up to-ward the dark ky.Our Father, orgive u our in a well a in o thoe who

went aray and le the flo o Your and the ight o theShepherd, etting orward through the darkne toward theeternal damnation.

Oh, our Lord, do not let your heep wander and howthem ba to the light o orgivene.

In the name o our Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,Amen!

Bodie o the dead flouned or the la time and thenturned rigid a their impure oul ound the lo peae oneagain. Te paladin ood up, leaned hi word, kied it hilt

and heathed it. Ten he turned to Maxmilian ill kneeling.Rie up, Father, there i no danger le around.Maxmilian ood up even though hi leg were trembling

ill. He raied hi hand toward the paladin, embarraed.He heitated but aepted it eventually and wrung it. Severalmonth ago, the highe tribunal o the Holy Offie had a-ued the leader o the knightly order o the Brotherhoodo the Righteou o herey. And even though the trial hantarted yet beaue the knight had appealed to the king, ananimoity between the curc and the knightly order erupted,deepening more with eac paing day. But Maxmilian had

no doubt that deed thi man had ju aomplihed were ledby idea no le noble than wa the oul o thi knight.

My name i Frederi de Glavieraux, Father, introduedthe knight himel to interrupt the huhed ilene. May I akwhat an inveigator o the Holy Inquiition doe at uc aGod orgotten plae in uc a dark hour?

Im inveigating a rime here, anwered Maxmilianhortly. Ye, he wa inveigating a rime and had ju de-ided in what direion he would aim hi earc. He turned

to the knight.I know that relation between the curc and your orderare not quite riendly thee day, he aid. Neverthele, onaount o the ervie you rendered I would onider it a greathonour i you joined me or tonight and helped me to olve aae to whic thee irumane probably pertain. Hemotioned hi hand to the orpe attered around the opengrave o Milton Flander at that.

Te knight onidered that or a moment and then nodded.I originally intended to cae the demon that had roedmy path a while ago but when I ee what dark power enom-pa thi land, I agree. Where are we heading?

o Werthem, aid Maxmilian. Im about to ak Abbot

Stean a ew unpleaant queion regarding Milton Flander.

Deaon Toma wa praying, kneeling in ront o the al-tar o the Werthem athedral. Tere were everal hour leuntil the dawn and he knew that at thi unholy time no onewould diurb him here. Abbot Stean urely praie hi ab-horrent ritual omewhere in the underground dungeon andthere i no one ele in the abbey. Tat i why Toma devotedhimel ully to prayer in whic he aked God or orgive-ne. Tere wa o muc o what blaened Toma oul thathe almo didnt believe in hi alvation any more. He wa


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inerely regretting hi in he had ommitted with FatherStean and other hereti during ritual, invoking dark pow-er and demon. Tere wa blood o arified animal on hihand, imbuing altar in the underground rypt down therebeneath the abbey. He had thought that with that he wouldgain power he had never dreamt o beore. Tat he would be-ome omeone great. But when Father Stean had begun toprepare the Ritual o Invoation, gathering human arifieor thi purpoe, the la remnant o aith had driven Tom-

a to dire remore and he had arted to ak God heartilyor orgivene. He knew that he would have to redeem hiin by el-torment and he didnt heitate to do o. For manytime already, he had willingly flagellated himel a the igno repentane and he intended to ontinue in that or a longuntil he get the abolution.

Toma wa wrapped up in hi prayer o deeply that hedidnt notie a mall ide door leading to the abbey openingilently. Te figure o the abbot and the eond deaon ap-peared in it. Tey were walking direly to Toma.

My deare brother, aid Abbot Stean oniliating, whenhe opped a ep rom kneeling Toma, who wined terri-fied and with horror in hi eye wa viewing the new arrival.

Hi heart began to thump wildly.I an ee that your aith i ronger than everything I o-

ered to you, soke the abbot again and miled kindly. Anevil flame blazed up in hi deep-et eye though.

I orgive me, Father! blurted the young deaon,throwing himel at hi eet. I ouldnt I want able to bearthat burden, Father. I ommitted a in beaue I am weak, oweak. I wih o muc to be a rong a you are!

Abbot Stean roked the lean-haven head o the youngnovie ompaionately. You are not weak at all, Toma.Quite on the ontraryyour aith i muc ronger than I

wa able to realize. And that all right!Toma looked at the abbot onued. He didnt know how

to interpret hi word. He wa glaring at him or a while untilhi eye widened in horror.

No, Father, that not how it i. I wa ju I wouldnever

Do not whimper, you weakling! laughed the abbot ru-elly. You proved that your aith i muc ronger than thethir or your own lie. How oen have you been flagellating

yourel, tell me? And how many prayer have you gabbledoff or Him to take you to Hi plae when it all over here?Toma wa le kneeling breathlely on the old floor,

aying nothing.So you ee, you ool. You have sared me my work! He

turned to the other novie and nodded hi head lightly. Teyoung man raied a heavy wooden hammer and hit Tomain the ba o hi ne. He dropped down oundlely andremained there laying in ilene.

Exellent, miled the abbot. We have ound the thir-teenth viim. Gather our brother, or tonight we hall per-orm the Ritual o Invoation!


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VIII.

Pounding on the town gate yanked the guardout o leepine. Gruffly, they limbed up to thetokade gallery and looked to the dark belowwith their torhe lit.

Open the gate, now! soke the paladin rom the addleo hi hore and pounded again. Te emiarie o God that

bear no delay are oming!Guard at the gallery ured ilently and paled notablyupon eeing that unuual ouple. Inquiitor and paladin, ideby ide. Tey moved the maive bar away haily and let thearrival in.

Te paladin a a queioning glane at Maxmilian.Where are we going now, Father?

Te Inquiitor ontemplated that and made up hi mindeventually. o the outhern diri at fir. We have to findthe Hadrian tavern.

Te paladin raied hi eyebrow but didnt ak. He knewthat the path o the Lord are inrutable and they lead eventhrough direputable part o uninviting hole uc a the

town o Werthem.

Te outhern diri wa a plae ull o tavern, brotheland empty ruinou houe. Over the winter, many o themwere oupied by hepherd and herdmen oming to thetown to urvive the ro, and it want any different thiyear. Desite the late night hour, the yellowih light o lan-tern were hining through loed hutter and loud yellwith drunkard inging were heard. Maxmilian wa lookingat that plae o in with a oniderable disleaure, thinkingabout how many o thoe people were ever at a oneion.

Tey rode through a maze o twiy reet beore they gotto the plae they were looking or. Tey reognized it unerr-ingly, or there were everal ulprit rom the previou eve-ning cained at rong wooden pole unk to the ground.Tey had moery metal mak with donkey ear put on theirheadan oen ued tool o the torture law exeried by roy-al oldier. Te tresaer themelve werent muc amuedthough beaue the bottom edge o mak were fitted withharp teeth that rased their ne and nape to blood at every

movement. Maxmilian approaced one o them who tried tounhale, terrified. He thought that the preene o an in-quiitor would ju make hi uffering wore.

ell me, my good man, i thi the Hadrian tavern?aked Maxmilian pointing to the orner houe with a ign inthe hape o a pitcer. Te man nodded haily moaning inpain a the mak burrowed in hi throat.

Exellent, went Maxmilian on. I I aume orrely, youare one o the offender o the yeerday riot, am I right?

Te eye under the mak wandered rom the Inquiitor tothe paladin and the man fidgeted nervouly.

Speak, you oundrel, or I will have your punihmentprolonged by three day! barked Frederi out at the onvi,

ued to reeive all anwer promptly. Maxmilian waved hihand at him o that he le the queioning to him alone, andturned ba to the man.

Do not ear anything, my good man, he aid. I you an-wer my ew queion truthully, I will waive your penalty bythe end o tonight, all right?

Te man nodded hi head. Ak your queion, Father. Imall veraiou!

In that ae tell me, do you know Sheriff Olek? akedMaxmilian.

Ye, I know him wellwho wouldnt know him in thi


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town? anwered the man.And did you ee the heriff la night when the kirmih

broke out in the Hadrian tavern?Te man wa thinking ba or a while and then hook hi

head. No, I dont remember him being here. He arrived onlywhen it wa all over and put thi thing on my head!

I thought a muc, aid Maxmilian in a low voie and hiorehead beame overed with wrinkle o outrage over thelie that the heriff and hi men a direly in hi eye.

He wily turned toward the heriff offie, ollowed byFrederi. Te time ha ome to learn the truth, aid Max-milian to himel inwardly. No one ele hall lie in my eyein thi aured town! Fired with ju anger, Maxmilian etorth toward hi deination by the neare road, arrivingthere within a hort t ime. Now he knew that it had been Sher-iff Olek who had entered the abbey eretly la night. And hewa alo ure that it had been Abbot Stean who had openedthe door or himthat damp tuni he had had under hiloak had proved him guilty. Tey had mo ertainly beendiuing how to get rid o Maxmilian or how to lead himaray. And today atta at the emetery had no doubt beentheir abominable doing a well. Now he knew that Miriam

Flander had been telling him the truth. Abbot Stean ha tobe queioned on the ra thi very day, along with SheriffOlek.

Upon arriving to the heriff offie, Maxmilian arted topound on the door and hant opped until it opened. A ol-dier that ame to open the door or them wa looking at themrightened.

I Sheriff Olek in? aked Maxmilian harply. Te oldierhook hi head dimiively.

He i not, Your Honourhe le to ce on the prionerin the outhern diri.

I bet he did, narled Frederi. We were ju at that plaeand no one ha een the heriff there ine yeerday.

Te oldier paled even more and hi hand arted to hake.But he did ay he wa going there!

Maxmilian sun around without aying another word andet out through the night town toward the abbey. Freder-i wanted to ay omething more to the oldier, but beauehe didnt have a lue a to what wa going on in thi matter,he deided to get on hi hore again and ollow Maxmilian

inead.Father, ould you explain to me what i the matter here?aked the knight aer he had aught up with the Inquiitor.

Te matter i, aid Maxmilian, that Abbot Stean andSheriff Olek lied in my eye. And their lie have muc to dowith Miriam and Milton Flander whic i exaly what Ineed to find out now!

Tat the girl carged o herey, right? aked Frederi.Maxmilian nodded. Im not ure at all i her guilt i that

eriou, he aid. I rather think that Abbot Stean and SheriffOlek are entangled in the whole ae. And i o, I will drawonequene o it!

In the meantime, they arrived at the curc, next to whic

the building o the abbey wa owering in the night dark-ne. It arted to now heavily and the weighty damp nowwa linging to their long oat. Maxmilian grabbed theknoer and battered at the door. He repeated that everaltime over but with no resone whatoever.

Break that door down, Frederi! ordered Maxmilian.Quily, the live o innoent people are probably at ake!

He made a ew ep aide to give plae to the paladin. Helooked at him urpried but then ened the urgeny o theituation and surred hi hore on. It hoove thudded ev-eral time again the door and the raing o the bar wa


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heard rom the inide. Te door flew open eventually andMaxmilian ran inward in a hurry.

What are we looking or, Father? aked Frederi.We are looking or Milton Flander, anwered Maxmil-

ian. He will be omewhere beneath the curcju a hiier aid!

Tey roed the muddy ourtyard o the abbey andthrough the mall ide entrane walked into the ilene othe curc. Te building wa drowned in darkne diurbed

only by the light o a ew andle Maxmilian lit during themorning ervie. Te air melled o a hrill ent o inenethe young prie ouldnt plae.

I we are looking or a rypt entrane, it will be ome-where in the ariy, aid Frederi and Maxmilian noddedapprovingly. Tey were earcing that plae or a momentbeore they managed to find a mall door et deep into theenloure wall o the curc. When Maxmilian opened it, aharp pungent mell hit both men in their noe. From thedepth o the underground, a diant ritual canting oundedthat definitely didnt belong to the liturgial tune o the HolyChurc. Frederi gripped the hilt o hi word but didntdraw it. He wa on the ared ground and the regular rule

prohibited him rom uing a weapon here.We have to go down, aid Maxmilian. We have to find

out what happening here!With thoe word he began to deend a eep irular air.

He immediately reognized that thi part o the abbey hadbeen built muc ooner than the curc itel. Originally, arypt had probably been ituated here belonging to a rotundaounded in the early day o the Realm by the fir miion-arie that had ome to the wild oothill o the MoonhineMountain to sread the word o God. But it wa alo po-ible that thee sae had erved entirely different purpoe

ormerly and were ound only aer the tabernale o the HolyChurc had been ereed here.

Te wall were built rom rough hewn one, overed witha thi layer o datele web. But thoe were rubbed down atmany plae wh

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Inquisitor - Johan Justoň