A5G

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"It is retribution, not vengeance." Mirielle curtly answered, huffing as she tenderly pulled the corpses to lay them side by side. Up close the signs of abuse were so much worse even through weeks of rot, and the stench enough to knock out regular people. To her part, she only wrinkled her nose and continued on the grim task.

"You got shot just a few minutes ago, mister Ludvig, and powered through despite. Do not sell yourself short." She placed the last body, one hand halfway rising to wipe her brows before realizing the presence of sodden pulp of corpse-fluid smeared all over the gloves. Clicking her tongue, Mirielle settled for clasping her hands together and out of the way. Might as well check the bodies, cant get any filthier than this. "I will not demand you to join me regardless, but be aware that you are already involved for travelling in this group. I doubt whoever came after Sir Thomas' entourage will make any distinction between you and I."

Kneeling down yet again, she took a closer look at the bodies. Muttered a small prayer for forgiveness before touching at the facial orifices. It's already clear that they've been left out here for quite some time, they should've long since cooled. What caused the smoke to continue waft out?

They're near-completely blind right now. Any clues may be indispensable for the coming days, for Mirielle sensed bloody conflicts in the horizon.

"Spread out, seek more information!" She hollered to the rest of the group. This macabre display was a warning. To who or for what purpose, hopefully it'll come clear. "You there, peasant. Explain who those soldiers are, and who they're fighting so desperately."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"Hells and damnation, I agree with you-" Mirielle hissed through gritted teeth, slowly turning to the penitent. "...Amaris. Anyone capable of such cruelty are better off dead, you do not need to rub it in."

The dull thuds of objects hitting the ground rang in the background, interspaced with the metallic scrape of Carmen's saber. Amaris was before her, dangerously available as a target to lash out to. Mirielle closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and counting to ten. By the time she reopened her eyes, her slipping self-control had reasserted and all the anger bottled within.

Ready to burst when, and only when, she met the devils responsible over the deaths.

"I- I apologize. I should not take this out on you." She coughed awkwardly, averting her eyes and shuffling away to help Carmen with the remaining corpses. "Yes, you have a good point. Even if they're not directly involved they must know something, this spot is too close to their outpost for them to be completely unrelated... little Lin, is there anyone you recognize among these folks?"

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Ludvig left, whether scared off by Amaris or did so on his own whim, but not before dropping one last infuriating remark. Mirielle could only let out an offended "Huh?!" before he's too far off for normal conversation, leaving her to fume by her lonesome.

"Ignore him." She turned to glare at the penitent on her side. "You definitely did not."

*****

After a short ride away, they finally reached the spot the peasant led them to. The stench hits Mirielle long before it came to view, and although that was enough for her mood to drop into the lowest today the actual sight of it was enough to drive her into unbridled rage.

"This... Sacrilege!" She yelled, almost spooking her own horse. The ex-inquisitor was quick to dismount, even Amaris temporarily forgotten as she briskly closed the distance to the macabre site. The ground already long since cooled, yet none of it seemed to match the chill that gripped her chest.

They were too late, and the congregation paid the price.

"...may the Creator safeguard your souls, in the journey beyond to His hallowed halls." She stopped before the closest corpse, kneeling into a prayer. Save for the initial outburst, Mirielle's outward reaction was rather muted as opposed to their team captain though it said nothing of the cold fury blazing within. "Rest now, brothers and sisters. This injustice will be righted. On this I swear."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

It didnt take long for a newcomer to join the little bubble that inadvertently formed between the ex-inquisitor and the penitent, Ludvig showing a frankly impressive feat of acrobatic by treating moving horse like it was flat ground. Apparently he'd been paying attention to their conversation, or at least enough that he could chip in.

With a rather concerning opinion. Why did it sounds like it was backed by experience?

"That... doesnt sounds feasible." She subconsciously glanced at Amaris, as if to gauge the latter's reaction. "Just like cancer, mister Ludvig, excising evil must be done thoroughly. Otherwise the scattered remnant will simply break apart and rebuild in different places." She ignored the jab about cursed robes. No one gets punished for fighting evil. At least, that's how it should be... bah, she shouldn't be doubting her Order in the first place. "Besides, evil contaminates. Those who light great pyres of blood come to love its warmth, and no other heat can chase away the chill. If the leader is guilty as a source of evil then the followers too are guilty of perpetuating it. When it comes the time for judgment, neither must be spared lest the smaller evil eventually grow into a greater one."

If there's any irony in her statement, Mirielle was seeing none of it.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Well, there's the call for departure. Mirielle paused long enough for the penitent to catch up, lightly jogging back to where their horses remained cool as cucumber despite the gunshots. Eyebrows creased at the suggestion, of course a witch wouldn't bat an eye at wanton killing. It had to be dissuaded, to prevent further issues down the line.

"The righteous path is seldom an easy one." She proclaimed, gravel crunching under her confident gait. "Misguided and blind as they may be, they had their order as we had ours. We could either constantly butt heads at every turn or let the matter rest, the latter being much easier when they're alive."

Reaching the rest of the group, Mirielle would stop to briskly help whoever left on foot up their horse before mounting herself. She spared one last glance at the pathetic gaggle of soldiers in red stripes, all soundly beaten and wouldn't get up anytime soon. With one last shake of the head, the ex-inquisitor urged her horse forward to depart from the scene of scuffle. With some luck, this would be the end of it.

But if they insist on being a hindrance... Mirielle wouldn't take pleasure in it, but obstacles in the way of their holy purpose will be removed. One way or another.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Mirielle had gritted her teeth and set off after the runner, only for Ludvig to appear before the fleeing soldier and cracked the man's head with another soldier's head with a resounding thump that made her wince. Slowing into a jog, she eventually halted next to the trio with a bit of concern over their well-being. Head injuries were no joke, while Ludvig... somehow still running around just fine with a bullet wound.

"Are you... alright?" Eyes flickering around, taking in the abrupt silence that ensued. Save for the officer still screaming profanities some distance away, but looked like the suppression was over. Her grim countenance eased to a more neutral profile, disliking how the entire debacle happened at all but acknowledgin the necessity of it. Reining her aura in, the ex-inquisitor gingerly returned the fist bump though again it looked like the injury wasn't even worth mentioning. Hardy man, this one. Unexpected from his look.

"It is no spell, it's the power of faith." Came the answer, completely serious. "Uh, did I burned you? It shouldn't happen. My bad?"

Hard to tell with how resistant to pain he was. Ludvig moved his hand and... she blinked slowly. The wound's gone. Huh, potent healing too. Good to have him around.

The two naturally drifted off, one to tend to the wounded musketeer while the other checked the other downed two. Looked like the soldiers' hard head saved them, not even a fracture. Probably concussed somewhat bad though, shouldn't move them yet.

"All in all, that went pretty well." Yellow eyes flickered to the lone sarkaz standing nearby, so carefree. Mirielle offered a nod. "I had it covered, but... ,good job. Watch over these two please."

With that, she start trundling back to where what must be the noisiest man in the region laid on the ground, spewing nonsense without the slightest hint of intelligence in his behavior. Her scowl returned yet again.

This could've went so much better.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

The divine armor scattered into a million motes of light, rapidly dissipating as it trailed away in Mirielle's wake like the tail of a comet. It had done its job, allowing her to close in to the marksmen unharmed, and between her aura and combat expertise... they're not getting another shot.

Even if the burning sensation was relatively muted on these misguided fools, the full-body searing pain should be crippling enough that most people could only drop and writhe. Should they still stand she'd aim to debilitate, steel gauntlet and greaves striking the hands and shins. Her sword was the distraction, flickering forward in seemingly fatal feint only to create gaps in their defenses.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"So be it."

Mirielle charged, soft glimmer of gold materializing over her person, fully trusting her divine armor against any maneuver the poleaxe could bring. Letting Carmen and the rest to deal with the sergeant, she bypassed him in favor of running straight at the musketeers with sword drawn. Between the phantom heat that would soon take effect and her own formidable approach, better if they panic and try to shoot her than anyone else.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Mirielle had almost thought that a supernatural phenomenon had befallen the entire territory and whisked everyone else away, what's with two entire weeks went by without meeting a single living person. She had expected to at least run into someone coming out, but nothing. Odd, just like that barkeep had said.

Thankfully it turned out to not being a completely deserted land after all, though the circumstances of the encounter could've been better. Urging her horse after Carmen, they soon ran into a small group of uniformed men surrounding a ragged sixth.

The former preparing to execute the latter.

Scowling at the sight, Mirielle dismounted and followed closely behind the captain who tried to talk to the men, not like he's making much headway - the fools had more bluster than sense, lots of good those muskets would do when outnumbered at this distance even if her companions were but mundane soldiers.

Her scowl deepened as Carmen's speech made little progress in front of the near-suicidal idiocy of the fools before her, bringing back to the little conversation they've had at their last rest stop. To think that it came to relevance so soon after meeting the locals...

"Indeed. We are not always afforded the chance to be kind. Try avoid unnecessary harm if you can, but do not hesitate to take action for both your own well-being and the mission itself."

And it looked like the time to take action was now. The hanging started, though by her experience such method wasn't immediately fatal. Enough time to subdue these fools and mount a rescue.

"The Order of The Golden Sun does not recognize your authority over this land." Mirielle stated, stepping past the captain as her burning aura flared. "We will be taking custody of that man. Stand aside, or be made to."

She hoped that this much was sufficient show of force. Best if she didn't have to expend the holy power to power through musket shots, though if necessary she wouldn't shy away from drastic measures. Would need to break some limbs for it though, just to ensure they didn't try again. Wouldn't that be such a shame?

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Mirielle's mind wandered into less wholesome stuff, the manifold cooking steps reminded her of her last job as an inquisitor. An entire village taken by insanity after landslide rendered them cut off for two years, with only a handful of crazed husks left in there. The state of the missing travellers when she and her team found them...

...well, let's just say she wasn't a fan of entering the kitchen for a while after that.

Past the morbid thought, her straying attention landed onto the subject of close monitoring for the past month. The penitent - no, she wouldn't be one for that much longer now, would she? It was difficult to imagine her as anything else, at least until the sarkaz started stumbling like a village maiden. A crack in the facade? It's so easy to see Amaris the witch, that Amaris the person was lost inbetween.

Mirielle clicked her tongue, shaking awake from her reverie. Tch, do not sympathize with the sinners. Doing so will only expose one's weakness. Her absence from the inquisition must've clouded her judgment.

...but Amaris would've absolved her sin soon, wouldn't she? Then she's just another person.

The arrival of the food saved Mirielle from the logic spiral, where the difficult thoughts sank into the background. Right, one step at a time. Future problem was something for future Mirielle to deal with. For now, breakfast. The sausage rolls actually looked like a serious contender for "the best sausage rolls in the east".

She saw the troublesome penitent's lips curling into a now familiar smirk followed by anothet tease. Mirielle, for her part, recalled the interesting shade of bashful red Amaris had turned just mere seconds earlier and immediately felt better.

So she simply returned a smirk of her own, saying nothing as she bit into her sausage rolls.

"Heh."

Yep, best sausage rolls in the east.