The Blood of a Heretic

by ArmOfSorrow

His Departure

"Aston? Aston!"

"Hmm?" I looked up from my daydream, across the mahogany desk, to my superior, known to me only by his rank; Supreme Counselor.

"This is your final assignment before your advancement to Inquisitor General, you do not have the luxury of sodding off. Explain to me what I have just ordered you to do."

"You've ordered me to travel to travel to Chester, and eliminate the Heretic known as Frey." I said, quickly, to avoid a potential chastising.

"Why? What is his heresy?"

"He and the Orphites have deemed themselves righteous enough to open a gate to the Black Realm, and summon the Astarothians to purge the Humans from our Earth."

"And how do you know what he looks like?"

"In addition to having his appearance magically burned into my memory, sire, he has been known to wear a set of blood red robes whenever he is around his little cult."
The Supreme Counselor grunted from under his hood, which obstructed my view of his face, and leaned back in his chair.

"Very well then, Aston. Take supplies for an elimination and disposal assignment, and be on your way. Hurry now, he can't be allowed to have more than two days to himself."

I bowed from where I was standing and turned to the door, leaving without saying another word. They would've been pointless anyway, the Supreme Counselor was clearly no longer paying attention. I quickly made my way through the castle to our supply depot, on the ground floor, and gathered my personal supplies as well as the several vials of solutions and powders that would allow me to properly dispose of such a heretical being.

The fact that he most likely has Astarothian magic coursing through his veins was also a large factor; once he was dead, his body would become unstable, and too much jostling would carry the risk of an incineration of both his body and mine.

My supplies consisted of a thick, padded, black leather jerkin and trousers, gloves to match, and insulated climbing boots, standard for an Inquisitor of my rank. To cover it all was a midnight blue cloak, mottled with grey, that marked me as an official under employment of the King and hid my armour and weapons from the commoner's eye. They were quick to suspect murderers in this kingdom, and since the Inquisitors were a secret service, I could very easily be tried and executed as a criminal, and my masters wouldn't say a word, save damning my stupidity at being caught.

Lastly, tucked into various sheathes on my belt, were a set of rarely used throwing knives, a short sword of steel, and a long stiletto knife, intended for more personal back-stabs.

I made my way to Chester on a commoner's road, riding Mary the Horse, a gift from a noble that I had accidentally saved some years prior. Now she served me faithfully and expertly, and was more of a companion than I had ever had.

I am an Inquisitor, an agent of the King. I work alone.

My target was a man named Frey, from what our subterfuge division could uncover. He led the Orphites, a group of heretics that had recently gained power, and discovered the tempting sins of the Black Realm's magical temptations. From what I knew, they had been bribed and coerced by the inhabitants of the Black Realm, the Astarothians, into opening a gate connecting our worlds, so that they could exterminate us for pleasure and entertainment. Naturally, this was not to be allowed, so it had been deemed my job to silence the lies he spread and close the portal we knew he would soon be opening.

Specifically for scenarios like this, I had even received a small amount of Mage's training, enough to be able to close a portal to another realm, which was not something that was particularly difficult, contrary to most commoner's assumptions.

My trip to Chester was quick, only a day's travel, and I settled into an inn just outside of the bustling town of Chester, on the opposite side of the town, mentally preparing myself for the danger I would face later on that night. It was roughly noon that day, so I took a small nap, resting myself for the fighting that might also take place that night, were I to be discovered as I was closing the portal. Closing a portal might've been easy, but it was loud.

I am an Inquisitor, an agent of the King. I work efficiently and knowledgeably.

_________

While it may have been a bustling town, it was astonishing how quickly Chester shut down after eleven at night. There was silence, and I was able to move through with absolutely no disruptions. If someone was out, I doubt they would have been able to see me anyway.

It was some time before I completed my trek to a cave in the mountains just North of Chester, making sure I had made absolutely no noise in arriving. I hiked, since Mary wouldn't have been a viable option for stealth across the shale that covered the majority of the mountain range.

Upon viewing the entrance, I could tell immediately that there were inhabitants inside- while it was unobservable to the untrained eye, there were faint hand prints, footprints, and smudges in the dust around the cave, and the mouth radiated an uncomfortable warmth that left me sweating in my cloak after just a few moments of observation. Sighing quietly to myself, I made my way inside.

The cave turned into a tunnel that twisted and turned through the mountain, heading deeper toward the core of the Earth. After roughly twenty minutes of painstakingly tiptoeing around stalagmites, I came to a cave mouth on the other side of the mountain, at ground level, that opened to a clearing and a sight that immediately determined my target's guilt.

There in a circle stood a group of robed figures, chanting around an ash outline of a pentagram in the dirt. Before my eyes, a struggling child was forced to lay in the center, and hastily gutted, his innards strewn to the five corners of the star, leading back to his twitching corpse. I shifted uncomfortable; despite my occupation of assassination and subterfuge, a child's murder was still a harrowing sight. The one who had committed this atrocity was my target, identifiable by his robes unique from the others; his were blood red while the others' were black.

I watched for several hours, off to the side of the cave, as the cult continuously chanted. My target was standing in the middle, over the body, scribbling symbols into the dirt. Unfortunately, I saw several weapons on the belts of his followers, so simply jumping out and attacking him would surely be detrimental to my health.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a small shimmer, similar to a heat wave, form at each of the corners. Noticing this, I cautiously put my hand to my sword. I would have to end this very soon, I realized, or I may be fighting Astarothians in addition to heretic scum. That's a fight I probably wouldn't win.

In seemingly no time at all, there was a flash of bright white light, and a rainbow colored plane of light replaced the ground inside of the star, set about three feet into the ground.

But the portal was the wrong color. It was supposed to be black, or purple or red, wasn't it? It was a portal to the plane of undead, home to Astarothians, Minotaurs, hordes of undead, and God knows how many other breeds of evil.

Luckily, the Orphites seemed just as confused, muttering amongst themselves as Frey ran around the outside, checking his symbols before screaming in a fit of frustration.

"Idiot." I muttered to myself. "He must have created the wrong portal. Now it's just a matter of... getting Frey."

I cautiously snuck around the edge of the clearing, keeping well back from the treeline, trying to decide on the angle of which I could approach an unsettled heretic. Alas, luck was clearly not on my side, because my foot came down on a dead twig, snapping it, and in my unprofessional scramble to move away from the sound, I slipped on a patch of wet moss and came tumbling down past the treeline, in clear view of the startled Orphites.

Before I could react, I was charged and dragged to the edge of the portal, my hood pulled back and a knife held to my throat.

"Ah.. who might this one be? A curious traveler, a commoner seeking to join us, or..." Frey spoke as he waltzed toward me. "An agent of the king?" He let out a maniacal giggle, fit for someone who could murder a child to bring about the end of his species. "Remove the dagger from his throat. I know a better way to dispose of him."

Frey danced around me, his earlier frustration completely gone. "These portals to the Black Realm are one way, as you know. Only Astarothians can travel through them. We pitiful humans can't enter them, the gate's essence tear's our flesh from our bones and incinerates our very soul. This one may be a bit different, but I'm sure the experience will be QUITE similar."

I spit at his feet at he traipsed through my field of vision, disgusted with the turn of events.

"Now now, no need to be quite so uncivil. You're only about to experience the flames of hell!" Frey let our a joyous laugh before somberly muttering "Throw him in." and standing to the side.

As I was tipped forward, I desperately threw out my arms to grab hold of Frey, who was idiotically standing close by to watch my violent death. Latching one hand onto his robes, and another onto the Ophite who had pushed me. Glancing up, I saw that it was a woman.

I gave each of my handholds a firm pull as I fell, and smiled to myself as I saw each of them fall with me, carelessly pulling even more of their comrades down with them. My head and torso impacted the essence of the portal, and I closed my eyes, hoping that another, better prepared and less foolish Inquisitor than myself would be able to close the portal and finish my mission for me.

________

I opened my eyes a few seconds later, and looked around. I seemed to be in a forest unlike the one from before. This one was bright (even thought it was the middle of the night), colorful, and calm. And, it didn't have a rainbow colored portal anywhere that I could see. The Orphites were nowhere to be found, either.

I rose to my feet and checked myself- no burns, no missing limbs, even my weapons were still on my belt, which the Orphites had idiotically forgotten to take away from me. From there, I decided to explore around, to try and find my way to a town or some other form of civilization.

It didn't take long to find a path, and after following it, I came upon the outskirts of a town that was currently in the middle of a festival. There were paper streamers everywhere, carved pumpkins, and a lot of movement. To my left, there was a sign that read "Welcome to Ponyville! Population- 3650".

"What a strange name for a Mercian city..." I muttered. Figuring that such a large town (at least, compared to the other towns I've visited) should have government officials somewhere, I decided to make my way toward it and seek out the Inquisitor's station. In towns of a larger population, the code dictated that it should have been disguised as an... apple stand, if I remembered correctly. So, I wandered into town, examining the strange decorations closely. These would nearly all have to be reported, the decorations sporting strange designs and odd creatures was highly reminiscent of the Pagan smut that plagued our nation only a few years ago.

Stopping in surprise, I did a double take at a small... horse, standing on the path in front of me, staring at me. It had the strangest appearance. Yellow, with a red mane and a bright pink bow tied on its head. It's height barely reached up to my mid thigh.

"Uh... What in..." I began, before the small horse interrupted me.

"Wow! Cool costume, mister! Are ya one of them minotaurs that sometimes comes through Ponyville?

I flustered at the sight and sound of this horse talking to me. "You... can speak?"

"Uh course ah can! Granny Smith and Applejack taught me jus' fine." She gave a childish laugh at my expression before giving me a look of confusion. "What are ya doin' in Equestria if yer surprised that a pony can speak?

'So they're ponies...' I thought, while trying to form a reply to what I assumed was a foal. "It.. doesn't matter. This place is called Ponyville, right? Can you take me to an apple stall?"

"Mah sister is running an apple stall in th' town square! Candy apples for Nightmare Night!" The foal beamed after saying this, and began to trot into town, expectantly looking back at me and motioning for me to follow her. "Ah'm Applebloom, by th' way."

A few minutes later, I was sitting on the ground in shock from the sheer amount of multi-colored ponies that carelessly clip-clopped around me, wearing pagan costumes of various creatures of the wild.

'Ponies... colors... English?...' I thought, trying to comprehend what was happening. 'The Orphites must have drugged me. They must have knocked me out and drugged me, and this town and my fall through the portal was just a dream.'

"Uh.. Are ya okay, mister?"

A voice sounding very similar to the foal's drifted toward me from my right. Walking toward me was an orange pony with a blonde mane, and, as if this place wasn't already so strange, an apple on her flank. Her height reached up to roughly my chest.

I struggled to my feet as she approached me. "I'm... I'm alright. Um.. Where am I? Who are you?"
Before she had a chance to answer, I felt a movement at my belt, where my coinpurse hung by a small hook and string. Suspecting a pickpocket, I yanked my stiletto off of my belt and spun around, grabbing the offender by the wrist. It was the smaller pony from before -Applebloom, I remembered-, with her... hoof... suspiciously close to where my coinpurse was just moments before.

"You filthy pickpocket!" I shouted, and backhanded the foal away from me. She gave a small squeal of pain, and I was about to leap forward and kick her when the orange pony shoved me.

"What in the hay is wrong with ye', hittin' my sister like that? She ain't done nothing to you!"

I was ready to hit this pony as well, but she saw the knife in my hand, and took a step back. Grunting, I took a step toward her, to grab her and force her to witness me take my coinpurse back from the thief. I was out of line, as I would soon learn, and the orange pony, Applejack, quickly taught me so by spinning around and bucking my square in the chest. Winded, I was going to attempt to tackle the pony, but just as fast as before, she bucked my again, this time hitting me on the head, and I was instantly out cold.

Comments

[Hallucination]

this shows promise, though i'm reluctant with judging a story on the first chapter

[ArmOfSorrow]

3355033 'Merican? I'm confused..

[Hallucination]

3355037 people trying to type "merica" on their phones will often have it autocorrected to Mercia

[Hallucination]

3355111 well to be honest i pronounce it as "mershan" when i read it and i keep thinking of Marvin the Martian

[ArmOfSorrow]

3355130
3355111 Oh, I understand the confusion. No, it is Mercian; I got the name from an Anglo-Saxon country in the 400s.