"No."
And that was that. The Saintess slumped over and began to complain, but Edith could not let her do whatever she wanted. Because while his companions may have thought he was simply the leader of their team dispatched to deal with the Abominations, he had another task. A secret one. And it was simple:
Don’t let the Saintess escape.
And as annoying of a job it was, he was not going to let that happen, no matter what.
The Inquisitors spent a night to rest in Boleria before heading off to Bys. They were given luxurious accommodations, sleeping in the best rooms and dining on the best foods the city had to offer. Edith had a little too much to drink, so he went to bed early, and was woken up by a light rapping on his door.
"Ugh, who’s there?" the Inquisitor asked with a groan.
"It’s Hadi," a female voice said. "I need to speak with you, Sir. It’s urgent."
Edith got up out of bed, grabbing his weapon just in case. He opened the door, and was faced with the only Elf in their group. Her pale blue skin would have made her blend in with the darkness of the night, if not for the lamp she held in her hand.
"What happened, Hadi? Is it about the Saintess?"
"Yes, Sir. You asked me to keep an eye out for her tonight— in case she decides to sneak out. And I tried, but—"
Edith snapped. "You let her escape?!"
"No! She was just there one second, and the next…" the Elf woman trailed off. "It’s my fault, Sir. I don’t know where she went."
The man pinched the bridge of his nose. "I— it’s fine. Go back to bed. I’ll find her."
"You will, Sir? She could be anywhere in the city. How will you…?"
Edith shook his head, turning around as he did. "That’s an order, Hadi. I will handle this."
"I— yes, sir." Hadi said, saluting him as she did. Then she left.
Edith shut the door to his room, and rummaged through his bag. There, he found what he was looking for. The Inquisitor pulled out a round object the size of his hands. It looked like a compass at first glance, but when he opened it, it was quite clearly not a compass.
It was a tracking device. Not one that showed the exact location of the person it was tracking, like some sort of radar. And it certainly could not find someone more than a hundred miles away. That level of sophistication required a machine that spanned the size of multiple rooms— something which only the disgraced Scientist Bertrand of the Holy Xan Empire could build. And even then, its range was not limitless and it only gave a general vicinity of its target. Only good for finding where escaped criminals were hiding.
This tracking device simply pointed in the direction of its target. Even more vague, perhaps. But it was useful when you were finding someone close by. And Saintess Lilith could not have gotten too far.
So Edith left his lodging, and began scouring through the streets of Boleria. It was empty. Dark. And very few people were out and about. He saw some refugees, some criminals, and a few patrols of guards. But no Saintess.
He continued heading in the direction his tracking device was pointing him in. Getting further and further away from the center of the city, although the Grand Market of Boleria still hung in the background behind him, too large to simply disappear from view.
The streets did not exactly get poorer the further away he went from the rich palatials that was the domed building. But he noticed a decrease in guard patrols, and an increase in both suspicious looking individuals and beggars sleeping on the side of the roads. Eventually, Edith found himself walking down a dark alleyway, where even the moonlight could not reach.
He heard whisperings. Hushed voices. And when he finally turned around the corner, he saw—
The Saintess talking to a burly man. The juxtaposition between the young, beautiful woman, and the thug dressed in rough clothing, would have made any random person seeing this panic and fear for the girl’s life. But Edith knew better.
"Saintess Lilith, what are you doing?"
The woman jumped. She spun around with a panicked look in her face, as the thug grunted and folded his arms. "Oh, hey Edith. Fancy seeing you here."
"Saintess Lilith, I must ask, who is this unkemptly man and why are you speaking with him in the middle of the night?" The Inquisitor drew his blade, pointing it at the thug.
"Unkempt— you have a lot of nerve, pretty boy."
"Guys, guys, calm down. I don’t want to start a fight here, ok? Please?" Saintess Lilith clasped her hands together, and bowed her head apologetically. "I’m sorry for sneaking out, Edith. Let’s just go back. I’m sorry!"
"Hmph, whatever." The thug whirled around to leave, but Edith did not let that happen.
"I said, stop. Explain yourself. What were you discussing with the Saintess, tell me now."
The thug growled. "Why don’t you make me."
Edith hesitated. He was certain he could take on a thousand men like him without breaking a sweat, but he warily eyed the Saintess. If she turned on him— no, she wouldn’t. Even as much of a troublemaker she was for the Church, she would not attack him. The consequences would have been too severe. She has never done it before, so there was no way she would do it now.
So Edith took a step forward, and the thug tensed. But Saintess Lilith jumped in between the two of them, wrapping her arms around Edith’s hands.
"Don’t— I was just bothering him! I wanted to… I wanted to go and have some fun, you know? I was disturbing that man, he didn’t do
