Rise of the Inquisition (Arcs 7-9)

Chapter 168: Boiling Dragon Blood

Three weeks after the events at the Dragon Temple, and only a few days after the Lord Inquisitor, the Grand Wizard, and the Wolf King had returned to the Kingdom of Orion. All members of the Inquisition were in the House Athena dining room. Paladin was sitting down at the end of the table, with Messiah sitting down to his left and Alexon sitting to his right. Archer was sitting down next to Messiah, and Lady Diane was sitting next to Archer. While on the opposite side Omega was sitting next to Alexon, while Noxious was sitting down next to him. Jingks was standing on the right side of Paladin, while Highclere was standing on his left side. Lady Saber with two Saber Knights, Lord Demeter and two of his delegates, were all sitting back in their same respective seats. While Lady Athena is on the opposite side of the table, with Ava sitting on her right and Darius sitting on her left. Darius was not looking at Paladin, refusing to turn to him. To start the meeting, Paladin cleared his throat.

"Lady Saber, Lord Demeter, and assumably Lady Athena--"

As Paladin spoke he had his arms crossed, while he looked down at the table.

"I have been told by Jingks that your Houses wish to pledge their allegiance to the Inquisition, is this true?"

Lady Saber, Lord Demeter, and Lady Athena all nodded their heads, confirming it to be true.

"I believe I can speak for House Athena, and House Demeter Lord Inquisitor. But yes, that is the intentions that our three Houses have."

Paladin nodded his head.

"Wonderful--" Paladin turned and looked up at Lady Saber. "I have already spoken with a few of my other Inquisitors about it, and we have already come to a decision. Grand Wizard, do you care to explain?"

Alexon spoke as he nodded his head.

"Sure--Lady Saber, Lord Demeter, and Lady Athena, the Inquisition has already made a decision on this matter. While we have been open to the idea of Houses pledging allegiance to the Inquisition, there is a serious issue that would occur if your Houses did pledge allegiance."

Lady Athena crossed her arms and tilted her head.

"What would be the issue Grand Wizard?"

Paladin turned to look at Lady Athena. As he was looking at her, his eyes immediately lit up. Just by looking at her, he could feel a rise within his blood. A warm sensation rising within him. He was caught off guard by it, as it was not natural to him.

What is this sensation that I'm feeling?

"The issue is that the Inquisition is a separate organization from the Kingdom of Orion, an organization that doesn't follow the Kingdom of Orion's rules, and an organization that has somehow been able to exist without being given a cease and desist order. But, we have concluded that situation could very well change. We believe the Kingdom would take a serious issue with the Inquisition, if Houses started to pledge their allegiance to us over the Kingdom. Which would be an absolute political disaster for the Inquisition."

Paladin continued to stare at Lady Athena, as he continued to feel the warm sensation coming from within his own blood. He watched as she turned to look at him, and in response he turned to look away from her.

Lord Demeter crossed his arms and he tilted his head.

"Why would it be a political disaster for the Inquisition, Grand Wizard?"

"Lord Demeter, it would be a political disaster for the Inquisition, because the Inquisition wishes to have good relations with the Kingdom. Both politically, and militarily. Because of this, we would consider anything that would harm that relationship, or make it unlikely to happen, an absolute disaster for us. The Inquisition wants to do everything it can to build up the relationship between us and the Kingdom, and we want to do everything we can to maintain that built relationship."