Vacation and Crisis

"So, you really want to take me to visit the Imperial Museum of Law and Order?"

Xia Lin stood before a solemn white marble building, the corner of his mouth twitching as he looked at Sky.

It was the morning of Sky's second day investigating him.

"Yes." Sky answered with a straight face. "As an adventurer, it is very important to understand the Empire's legal system. It will help you better understand the order of Talos, and thus—"

"And better cooperate with your Inquisition's work?" Xia Lin finished helplessly.

"Exactly." Sky nodded, apparently pleased with Xia Lin's comprehension. "And the museum has detailed case exhibits, including famous historical trials of cultists, punishments for heresy, as well as—"

"Stop, stop, stop." Xia Lin raised his hands in surrender. "I'll go."

And so, for the next two hours, Xia Lin was forced to listen to Sky explain in her utterly flat voice "the penalties for unauthorized spellcasting under Article 327 of the Imperial Code," "the anti-heresy achievements of the Grand Inquisitors throughout the ages," and "the organizational evolution of the Inquisition over its twelve-hundred-year history."

Xia Lin felt himself about to fall asleep. He yawned and asked, "Sky, you've been investigating me for two days now. Don't you have any—more worthwhile questions to ask? Like what I did in Brevor?"

"Your file is very clear." Sky turned toward him. "An adventurer from Brevor. You assisted the Gold-rank adventurer Leon in Orlando, performed well during the Defense of Changhe City, and your most recent record was assisting in resolving the pirate threat at Iceport. There are no suspicious points in the file."

This isn't right. Xia Lin calculated inwardly. *An Evilbane Eye inquisitor from the Imperial Tribunal can't possibly be unaware of the details of the Battle of New Stefan. That was a