It was just over a week before the first Inquisitor arrived from the capital, escorted by a small army of capital guards. By that time, the poison lake in front of the silverwood had soaked into the ground, which left Drake with concerns. After a vero reported the court’s arrival, Drake asked the silverwood to retract the branches blocking the normal road to the manor.

This was his manor, and he was still its manor lord. He had no obligation to meet the noble court’s delegation at the gate. Instead, he met them in the lobby of his manor like he’d greet any other guest. Lydia and Valentia stood with him, the latter still favoring her arm.

At least she still had her arm. Valentia continued to have difficulty moving her fingers, and even with Darion’s efforts, she spent time with Raylan each day in hopes of regenerating her damaged nerves. Still, it was a miracle she still had an arm at all. Many rarities still pissed him off, but a few, like Raylan and Darion’s, were rather wonderful.

The inquisitor leading the group wore black and blue silverweave in addition to light armor, which suggested she was high up in the ranks. She was a severe-looking woman with graying hair, and the capital guards who escorted her looked ill at ease. Had the capital guards all been part of the secret Korhaurbauten blood pact? Had the inquisitors?

Drake didn’t know how large the capital’s secret pact extended, and asking anyone would reveal he knew it had existed. So he’d simply play dumb and answer questions without revealing he knew why anything had changed. Because everything had changed.

His people had quickly figured out their blood pact was gone. Even though they’d been compulsion free for months, people had noticed, tested, and discussed the difference. Yet while the gossip remained rampant, no one knew for certain how it had happened.

Sachi had passed out after she fired her last arrow at Prince Varnath, saving his life in their last battle. She had no recollection of what occurred after. Learning that had been a relief, because otherwise, he would have had to send her away with the inquisitor arrived. He’d given her grief about tracking him down in the forest, but not too much. She had saved his life.

Drake had kept the truth from everyone else as well, including Lydia. It felt dishonest to do so, yet no matter how dirty it made him feel to lie to someone he cared about so deeply, he had to put their manor’s safety first. He was the only one who could lie, and he knew if he asked Lydia whether he should tell her or not, she would insist he keep quiet about it.

“Lord Gloomwood.” The gaze of the gray-haired inquisitor bored into him so firmly he was worried she knew everything he’d done. “I am Inquisitor Tenara, and I speak on behalf of the Judge and noble court. We heard grave news, so it is a relief to see you looking well.”

“We had some problems,” Drake agreed. “You heard about our visitors?”

“We did. Given the forces arrayed against you, it is a relief to see your manor stands. I bring news from the capital that I will hope will raise your spirits, and I have many questions for you and your thralls. I will need to interview everyone in your manor over the next few days.”

“Why would you do that?” Drake played the part of the aggrieved manor lord as best he could. “I already put up with enough of your bullshit during the cabal.”

“The Judge continues to regret the trouble you encountered,” Tenara said patiently. “Yet with the realm in open war, we can leave no stone unturned.”

“And what stones are you looking for here? After the capital was attacked, we helped take it back, and you’ll recall my blood thrall singlehandedly took down a kraken. I don’t know why an army of kromians came after my silverwood, but we took care of them on our own. During the battle I even defeated Lord Redbow and Prince Varnath, the kromian prince. You should be thanking me!”

“Your contributions to the war effort have not gone unnoticed,” Tenara assured him.

“My people have been through hell this past month, and we’re still cleaning up the mess from the kromian invasion. Many remain injured and others are grieving their dead friends. Why do you need to put them through another interrogation?”

“Our needs would be best discussed in your private chambers,” Tenara said. “May we adjourn? My soldiers and I have completed a long journey in great haste.”

Drake considered her just long enough to make her sweat. “Fine. We’ll talk about this in private.” He looked to Lydia. “Can you get the capital guards some food and anything else they need? And order up some tea and snacks for me and the inquisitor?”

“At once, lord,” Lydia said. “Valentia, will you stay with Lord Gloomwood?”

“Yes, mistress.”

Drake looked down at Tenara. “We’ll speak in my sitting room. Will any of your guards be joining you?”

“I have your assurance you will not harm me?” Tenara asked.

Drake frowned. “Of course I won’t harm you. Why would I harm you?”

Tenara shifted her stance uneasily. “I apologize if my question seems rude. I ask that you defer judgment on my caution until we can speak in private.”

“Sure, let’s do that.” Drake knew exactly why she was worried he might harm her. She was terrified of life without the blood pacts. “Please, follow me.”

After Tenara walked up the steps to the second floor, he led her to the nearest sitting room with Valentia shadowing him. It was the same room in which Lydia had explained to him how blood pacts worked months ago. He had good memories in this room.

Valentia opened the door for them. “I’ll remain outside, lord.”

She was putting on her full blood thrall act in the presence of an inquisitor. Instead of thanking her, as he would have otherwise, Drake merely nodded as if that was expected and motioned for Tenara to precede him inside. They took seats, the door closed, and Tenara took one more nervous look around the room before she spoke again.

“Lord Gloomwood, I must begin with a question. Has your blood pact changed of late?”

Drake frowned. “Changed how?”

“Do your thralls still follow your decrees? Have any of them tried to harm you?”

“No to both,” Drake said. “And if that’s what this is about, then I’ll tell you what you want to know and stop wasting our time. Whatever you’ve heard from your spies is true. I changed my blood pact when I arrived. I’m not going to hide that any longer.”

Tenara blinked. “You did what?”

“I made a decree that none of my blood thralls had to follow my decrees or any compulsions provided by the blood pact. They choose to follow my orders. That’s how I lead my manor, and if anyone manages to steal my blood pact, they’ll have to lead that way as well.”

Tenara’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Why would you commit such a reckless act?”

“Because blood pacts are slavery.”

“They are a sacred pact gifted to us by the Eidolons.”

Since Tenara couldn’t lie, she must still be buying the noble court’s bullshit. “I don’t know anything about your gods, but where I come from, the ability to force people to do things against their will is slavery. The former lords abused, terrorized, and murdered my people using your blood pact, and I wasn’t about to let that happen after I took over. So I changed it.”

“That was foolish, and it was not your right.”

“Wasn’t it?” Drake stared her down. “I might have come here from another world, but I’ve done my research on your courts and legal system since I arrived. Manor lords have ultimate authority as to how they run their manors. That extends to our blood pacts.”

“Yet you cannot—”

“I did,” Drake interrupted. “I altered my blood pact to remove the compulsions of my blood thralls, and the Eidolons didn’t stop me. I’m still here, and my manor is thriving. We just defeated an entire kromian army. So have you considered you people might have it wrong?”

“When did you do this?” Tenara demanded.

“The day I arrived. About two months ago.”

Tenara visibly considered. “So... you have been running your manor without a blood pact for two months?”

“I have, and it’s worked out fine. I pay my people well, I take care of them, and I don’t mistreat them, so they serve me willingly. Since you’re going to interview them anyway, I’d like you to ask them just how many times they watched their friends tormented, abused, or murdered by the assholes that came before me. You’ll understand why I changed things.”

“It is wrong for manor lords to abuse their thralls,” Tenara said patiently.

“Right, but it’s not illegal,” Drake reminded her. He didn’t even have to fake being upset about this, because he was getting upset all over again. “So I put a stop to it. My manor, my rules. I’ll also remind you I have not one, but two tokens of the noble court’s favor, and the Judge considers me a friend. I accomplished all that without blood pact slavery.”

“But... how?” Tenara looked genuinely perplexed.

Drake snorted. “Why? Do you need tips?”

Tenara simply stared at him.

 “Wait, are you asking because you actually need tips?” Drake pretended like he hadn’t expected that reaction. “I thought you had everything locked down in the capital?”

“There have been... changes.” Tenara cleared her throat. “You said you fought Prince Varnath in the battle. You believe he intended to attack the silverwood?”

“He tried to flood it with sea water multiple times, yes, and even came after the tree itself in the last battle. I don’t know what he was after, but I stopped him.”

“But where did you fight him?” Tenara asked plaintively. “How did you defeat him?”

Drake then gave her an abbreviated account of the entire battle, from the moment he laid out the battle plan for his people to the moment he passed out beneath the elder silverwood tree. Everyone who had been in the room or in his party would verify these details when Tenara interviewed them. There was only one part he changed.

When he arrived in the chamber beneath the silverwood, Prince Varnath was already on his way out. They fought, Varnath got a lucky hit with his icicles, Sachi shot him, and then Drake killed him with rend soul. After that, he reversed the sea gate and carried Sachi to safety.

After he finished, Tenara looked visibly disturbed.

“Does that tell you anything useful?” Drake asked. “Do you know why he attacked my silverwood? Is that why you’re here?”

“We have our suspicions,” she said quietly.

“What suspicions?”

“I am not able to say. Not until I have completed my investigation.”

“Well, that’s just perfect.” Drake scowled. “Anyway, to answer your question about if we’ve noticed changes, I have heard thralls say they feel like something was different. And actually...” He paused for effect. “Shortly before the battle with Varnath, I felt something odd.”

“What was odd?” Tenara asked hopefully.

“It was like... something went out. Almost like a tiny warmth inside me. I didn’t really notice it until it vanished, and I did feel something.” Drake looked visibly unsure of himself. “But that’s just battle nerves, right? None of my healers have found anything wrong with me.”

Tenara was definitely spooked now. “You felt this directly before the battle with Prince Varnath? Before you discovered him attempting to leave the chamber?”

She was buying it. She was buying his bullshit.

“I did,” Drake said. “Did you feel that warmth fade out too? Do you know something?”

The inquisitor didn’t answer. He let her chew on all this for a bit. Finally, he decided to push her down another route.

“Inquisitor Tenara, you said you had news from the capital for me. What is it?”

She hesitated before she spoke. “The kromians now sue for peace.”

“Seriously?” Drake grinned. “That’s good news, right?”

“Perhaps, but we do not understand why they would sue for peace. Other than your victory over the kromians here, we have handed them no true defeats.”

“Maybe without Varnath, they came to their senses.”

“Perhaps. The letters requesting a parlay came from Prince Lorel. They bear the seal of all the kromian noble houses. That suggests Prince Lorel is now in charge of the empire. Yet last we knew, the Judge charged you with hosting Lorel here at your manor. When did he leave?”

“He fucked off before the battle,” Drake said. “Fled right through his sea gate.”

Tenara gasped. “He fled before Varnath attacked the silverwood?”

“No, this was a few days earlier. The kromians tried to poison the silverwood twice, and the first time was when I was still returning from the capital. I asked for Lorel’s help to reverse the sea gates the kromians were using, but he fled instead. We only found out he’d fled when we opened his carriage to find his tank empty, with him and all his kromian bodyguards gone.”

“So he abandoned you,” Tenara said thoughtfully.

“Yes, he did, which still pisses me off. But that’s the last time anyone saw him.”

“And your thralls can verify what you’ve told me.”

“Ask them whatever you like about the journey from the capital, the battle to close those sea gates, and the battle to save the silverwood. But keep in mind they’re still recovering from major trauma.” He huffed. “Can you at least approach this gently?”

“You care deeply for your thralls.” Tenara sounded surprised.

“Of course I do. That’s why they follow me. We take care of each other.”

“That is good to hear.” Tenara frowned. “I must relay other news as well.”

“And this is bad news?”

“Your blood pact may not be the only one that has changed.”

“How so?” This might actually be great news... or a damage report.

“Skybreak Manor and Proudglade Manor remain more or less functional. Blackmane Manor is now paralyzed by infighting, and Mistvale has suffered significant unrest. Brightwater is also suffering trouble in its outer reaches, and Ashwind refuses to allow any visitors at all. After Lord Proudglade’s golden knights rescued and returned his son, he closed his manor.”

“So Lord Proudglade actually pulled that off.” Despite how they’d started off, Drake couldn’t help but be a bit proud of his... uncle. “Good for him.”

“Yet that is not all. Other troubles have arisen across the land.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Not all thralls... obey their lords.”

Drake stared just long enough to spook her. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“What is it you think I’m saying?” Tenara asked evenly.

“Are you telling me my blood pact isn’t the only one that’s changed since the battle?”

“As I said, I must finish my investigation here. I will expect your full cooperation. You must see now why this matter is so urgent, why it cannot wait.”

“Because you’re worried you’ve lost the ability to enslave people.”

Her gaze sharpened. “We do not know if Prince Lorel’s entreaties of peace are genuine, and with the manors and the capital now in disarray—”

“So what happened in the capital? Is their unrest there as well?”

Tenara straightened as she realized she’d said more than she meant to. “I cannot speak to you about that.”

“So what can you tell me?” Drake glared at her with every ounce of indignation a manor lord who had been endlessly helpful, and endlessly screwed, would show. “I’ve answered every question you’ve put to me, no matter how accusatory, and now you won’t even tell me why my manor was assaulted by an army of kromians led by Prince Varnath himself?”

“I appreciate your open nature.” Tenara was now obviously looking to placate him. “I also appreciate your steadfast defense of the silverwood.”

“And?” Drake prompted.

She watched him for a moment before she spoke again. “I will be sure to tell the noble court you offered your full cooperation, in addition to, of course, confirming your heroism in defeating Prince Varnath and bringing justice to Lord Redbow. We owe you that and more.”

“You do.” Drake made himself look as frustrated as possible, like he was debating whether to press her some more, then sighed. “So is there anything else you need right now?”

“As my investigation unfurls, I will likely have more questions. But for the moment, I am rather tired from the road. Could I trouble you for the food and drink you mentioned?”

Someone knocked on the door to the study. “Lord?” Olivia called hopefully through the door. “I’ve brought refreshments.”

Her timing was perfect. Drake stood. “You’ve had a long journey. Get some rest and we’ll talk again soon. While you’re eating, I’ll have my steward arrange for boarding for you and your soldiers, since it seems you’ll be here a few days. Do you need a private room?”

“I do. My guards should be fine sharing a single room.”

“We’ll set it up for you. What else do you need to complete your investigation?”

“I need you to set up a schedule where I can interview your thralls, and I will need to tour the battlefield. I’ll also need to see the chamber where you fought Prince Varnath, and if you were able to recover Lord Redbow’s body, I’d like to see that too.”

“I can’t show you any bodies. My silverwood ate them.”

Tenara paled. “It... what?”

“My thralls can explain. We’ll get the interviews scheduled.” Drake sighed. “Some are still in the infirmary or recovering from battle, so if you want to interview them, you’ll need to go to them. I’m not hauling them out of bed to answer a bunch of questions.”

“That is acceptable.”

“As for the rest of it, you let me know when you’re ready for a tour and I’ll get someone to escort you. You understand it’s not a good idea for you and your people to traipse around my silverwood without an escort. The kromian army tried that, and they’re fertilizer now.”

“I understand, Lord Gloomwood,” Tenara agreed quietly.

The moment Drake opened the door, Olivia breezed inside balancing a silver platter with a steaming pitcher of tea in one hand and a plate of warm, soft-looking biscuits in the other. Drake grew legitimately hungry. Perhaps he’d stay and have some snacks as well... no. Better to give the inquisitor some privacy so she could digest the lies he’d woven into truths.

No one in his manor knew he had destroyed the jewels in that round disc. No one in his manor knew he had spoken to an Eidolon or that he knew that corrupt manor lords, not the Eidolons, had created the blood pacts hundreds of years ago. Also, short of speaking directly with an Eidolon, there was no way Drake could have known about the tablet... and it was unlikely Tenara would suspect him of being capable of speaking with a god.

He felt increasingly certain he would get away with his “crime”. Even if the inquisitor came out of here with suspicions he’d been involved in the destruction of the blood pacts, she couldn’t prove anything, and without the stone disc (which had been sucked into the sea) or direct testimony from anyone who’d been beneath the tree, she couldn’t find any.

There was always magic—hopefully, Tenara didn’t know anyone with a rarity that let them see past events—but other than some sort of bullshit superpower for which he hadn’t accounted, his plan to cover up his destruction of the blood pacts felt solid. Further worrying was pointless. No manor lord could prepare for every bullshit superpower.

Prince Varnath had been a clever strategist, a skilled warrior, and a ruthless leader, and he’d planned his campaign of attacks, ambushes, and countermoves well enough. Yet it had been impossible for him to anticipate that Emily could soul chop his kraken or that Drake could lie to his face. This victory felt good.

This wasn’t getting Westin beheaded. This was defeating a genocidal and megalomaniacal tyrant who’d enslaved his own people through a blood pact and then tricked his empire into going to war. Varnath had hoped to dominate the surface world as well as the seas, and Drake had both stopped him and ended magic slavery. And as a bonus, he’d also finally taken care of Lord Redbow... or ordered Nicole to do it.

He’d done good. His manor remained safe. So if any other challenges came his way, he’d deal with them the same way he dealt with everything else... forcefully.

He left Inquisitor Tenara to her thoughts and biscuits.