The smokescreen seemed to have worked for the Inquisitor as no one had followed him into one of the alleyways. Traces of the powder stained his robes and armor due to being at the epicenter of the smoke bomb's detonation. Though normally he would find his attire being ruined as irritable sort of thing but now it had its benefits. For one thing, the soot had darkened the bright red and gold colors of his outfit making conveniently unrecognizable until closely inspected. The magic dampening effects of the powder also would have made tracking extremely difficult for the time being. Not that it mattered so much as he was capable of establishing the same hindrance but for the most part, this would make him less obvious.

Now that his efforts were being purposely interrupted, Sergei needed to rethink his approach with the investigation. With the warehouse evidence literally burnt up, he was sure the secured stock the guards he had transporting was next. Obviously this painted a bad picture, especially for the unaware guards. The Inquisitor hurried through the back alleys, hoping it was not too late; but he was sure he already was.

---

Navigating the less populated pathways and corridors proved more of a challenge than Sergei had expected. Much of the areas were not very well developed with construction plywood and stone littered on the ground left unattended, years even. [i]If I was a master carpenter, I would be furious with such lack of progress or maintenance[/i] thought Sergei as he made his way through the rubble. If he had any more power, he would have re-order the continued development of the entire neighborhood. Well technically he did but it was through intimidation which didn't really look good on an executive request form. 

After he making his way out and stepping into the shortcut road, the Inquisitor came upon a grisly scene before him. In front of him were four guards lying on the ground and terribly burned. The wares they had been transporting on his orders had been destroyed with the smoldering remains scattered everywhere on the ground. He had hoped the local monastery would have been able help determine a lead in his investigation before the eventual purification of the idols but that too had gone up in flames. Sergei looked over the bodies one by one, curing and wishing they could have taken a more open route that would have made such an attack seem less likely due to so many potential witnesses in the way. Then again with all things considered, the guards may have forced to head this way due to high civilian traffic or probably road blocks given the amount of organization involved he has been seeing thus far.

Three of the men were dead, burned by demonic fire beyond all recognition but one fellow was still holding on but soon that would change very soon. The man's injuries were dire with evident signs of harsh burns everywhere but not in the exact intensity as with the others as if the intent was to keep him barely alive. Sergei's natural frown contorted into anger; this was a message directed towards him. Sergei growled as he slammed his meaty fist into the ground, knowing he was responsible for this. Had he been the escort, the attackers would have stood little chance but his decision to split the tasks up into someone's else's hands as he perused his personal agenda had costed the live of three soldiers with a forth soon to mark the tally. The guilt nagged at him but even he knew what was done was done and he'll have to simply own up to that.

The man was noticeably breathing heavily and probably not even conscious; he probably did't even realize an Inquisitor was right beside him. Sergei pressed his left palm into the soldier's chest, channeling his healing magic through the man's burned and warped body. Given the damage that was done to him, the patrol guard was beyond saving through healing artes. It was possibly to resurrect him but the magic required to not only heal him but to sew his soul back into his body was at an immense cost, one that would require the trading of positions. The man clearly deserved it but the Inquisitor could not comply with such an act. It was not out of greed for retaining his own life but it was the necessity to avenge these fallen men of duty and personally burn the ones responsible for their deaths at the stake, preferably in public to make their demises and example.

"Do not mistake this act of mine to save you." Sergei said to the man whom was regaining some consciousness, "You are beyond my power as you have faced the full blunt of evil's edge. You have not long to live...I am going to hunt the ones who did this to you and make them accept the full payment of their actions. Tell me what you saw."

The guard stared back with despair in his face and his mouth shuddering as he took in the Inquisitor's words. Tears poured from the man's scarred face knowing his fate had been decided without his consent but eventually he spoke, "M-m'Lord...It w-w-was a hound, ah, Hellhound...The b-beast murdered ever-r-ryone...Burned everything...A...Avenge..."

Sergei was a tad surprised the guard was able to muster all the physical strength he had to grasp the Inquisitor's shoulder. With the man's last breath, he slowly became limb and motionless, his face frozen in place and his skin finally cold. The Inquisitor looked down briefly, murmuring a prayer for the guard and his comrade's safe passing. After a sigh he took to his feet and observed the carnage one more time before raising his warhammer to the evening sky. Channeling his magic though weapon, he casted a small ball of fire into the evening sky that eventually detonated into a mild pop. It was a makeshift signal to the other patrolmen to converge on his position. He preferred to have the men properly dealt with with by their own; he had done enough as is.

Once again he had come across yet another setback, this time at the cost of lives other than his own. This further proved how serious and viscous this organization were willing to take things, especially with the summoning of a Hellhound...Perhaps more. But now the Inquisitor was steamed and filled with guilt fueled rage now converting into a boiling surge of righteous wrath. To many times has this group interfered with his own designs and now he was taking this personal. Whether it had been intentional or not, Sergei was handed the ammunition he needed to wage an all out war. A purge was coming and he was sure to be the one leading the mobs into eventual hunt.