I guess you can say part one is up and running.
I should have the second half done by tomorrow.
Now sleep... =~=
I should have the second half done by tomorrow.
Now sleep... =~=
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Spending the majority of the morning hours studying though seemingly endless amounts of text, Sergei own drive towards his goal has pushed him through his body's draining limitations. He was dreadfully tired as his eyes burned in feeble attempts remain open and focused and his mind drifted in and out, conflicted with mixed desires. The Monastery archive attendants had supplied him with sting caffeine induced tea on his orders so he would actively override the temptations of rest, despite their caring protests given a man of his age. Then again it was hard enough talking down a determined Inquisitor due to their zealous-lie devotion and duty.
The Zaphere monastery library was not overly impressive unlike other monasteries located in much massive and wealthier cities, it did provide enough information for Sergei to utilize. However each book and tome had often referred to another volume of the series that contained further information just before labeling another reference. An annoying procedure by far but Sergei had to push through the literature nonsense as he tip of his investigation was drawing near. The evidence pertaining to the lich's phylactery and the paralleling facts needed to connect, at lest just enough so he would have the means of officially questioning the Mage's Guild.
Awhile longer after studying enough text, Sergei was soon lead into what he was looking for. The next volume itself was a detailed record of cursed items and the accounts of their practical uses in the art of magic, regardless of the purpose whether it be for common good or the selfish evil. The Inquisitor's frown curved, feeling somewhat naive that his objective was this very volume all a long. But the previous source material tied in with the contents that backed up the origins of such relics and the beings that maintained them, even born from them. Sergei gave the volume the benefit of the doubt and allowed it to humor him.
One chapter was exclusively dedicated to the lich's phylactery, detailing its purposes and uses. As the book described and cross referencing it with Sergei's own knowledge, a lich's phylactery is created usually with the sole purpose of guaranteeing a lich's existence, even when slain. The lich's phylactery itself stores the fiend's soul, creating a return point to where the physical body of the lich is reformed, utilizing almost any nearby organic resource if claimable through the reconstruction process. A list of text confirmed though rather thorough report on verified lich resurrections, some awfully gruesome in their descriptions.
Eventually the chapter covered what he was looking for with the section illustrating the phylactery as more of a feasible power source. Given a lich's rather massive well of magical power, it was theorized and apparently confirmed that its use to fueling an array of powerful spells, incantations, and even summoning rituals. The wretch's soul would literally become the battery of a near limitless dark potential, utilizing the negative energy and aura of the lich to influence the intensity of spell casting to a high degree, giving rise to a much more formidable variation of the spell. The early observation of it initial use had detailed an attempted demon summoning ritual using a captures lich's phylactery to magnified negative harmonics of the ritual, leading into the summoning of a Greater Balor that soon killed the cultists too foolish to contain its power. A detachment of Paladins and Clerics dealt with the demon only after losing three quarters of their original man power.
Sergei was taken back, astonished and horrified of such heinous applications; and the Mages Guild wanted this thing? For what unholy purpose? He then remembered the poor guard's dying voice, mentioning a Hellhound as his attacker, a monster of notable power and ferocity as well that was no simple task for a minor experienced summoner. The dots then began to connect with this new piece of information now present and made aware to him. The Mages Guild in Zaphere has had troublesome knowledge and experiences with the dark artes in the past that the Order on numerous occasions demanded the guild to cease all activities pertaining to the heretical field to the boiling point where the Order would no longer suffer further mishaps anymore from the guild.
Now that the Mages Guild was planning something with a lich's phylactery that likely involved demon summoning and demonic possessions, it was clear that the Guild had drawn the final straw that made up the Order's now depleted tolerance. With the accounts of heretical activities and the murder of town guardsman currently weighing heavily against the Guild, it was now time to expel such foul corruption from this city before it spreads and harms the local populace. A purge was now in order, and the Inquisitor was going see it through, ignited by his hands and the righteous follows of the Order at his beaconed call.
==========
Convincing the Bishop about the coming interrogation raid was simple enough; most of the Order personnel were understandably shocked about the evidence Sergei had laid on the table before them. With recent events and the Guild's intentions ever present, action had to be taken and the Inquisitor received the full support he required. With the local guardsman still affected by the loss of their own, a large squad had joined in on orders from the city officials once the reports of the slayings reached them; they had their personal reason now to get involved.
Exiting the monastery's main gates came the Inquisitor with a small legion of holy warriors, devoted to fighting and exterminating evil coming up on the rear. Surrounding the holy force was a boxed formation of Paladins, their shields facing the outside of the formation to dissuade others from getting close and their swords drawn to punish those who get the picture. Within the armored wall was a collection of Clerics and Witch Hunters whose specialties where to the support of their brethren and the cleaving of anyone foolish enough to face them. The sudden show of force gave surprise to the populace as they hurried themselves out of the way as the Inquisitor pushed through, leading his assembled force toward their goal.
The city streets near the Mages Guild had since been cleared out by the Zaphere guardsman, leaving some civilians and even few magicians outside of the confused and worried, even for the mages that were barricade didn't know what to make of the of the town soldiers surrounding them. Some took to cautious arms, observing and ready to defend if necessary. That was before Sergei stepped into the scene with Paladins and few Witch Hunters moving in past him, enforcing the perimeter and containing the mages outside. Some that struggled against them were quickly subdued, raising further concern to the observing crowd. A number of the Order Clerics positioned themselves near their allies, readying to provide magic based support should any of the outside mages got out of hand.
So far the mages have been caught completely by surprise by the unison of the town guard and the Order working against them. Sergei could see some of the mages and staff inside looking out the through the guild's windows and portholes, faces of distress and anger being the more common to peer out at him. Intuition spoke to the Inquisitor that some of the mages may not part of or even aware with the guild's hierarchy and briefly pitied them for being involved with something that may turn violent. While his gaze was set on the guild's mansion-sized structure, something possibly caught the corner of his eye, causing him to naturally tilt his head to investigate. The Inquisitor found himself staring at the rooftop of a nearby tower over looking scene. Nothing about it seemed odd or suspicious; he though he saw someone up staring at him but then again, some of the other building contained residences eyeing over the developing situation. Sergei gave it little thought and approached the guild's entrance.
"Its locked on the inside." said a female Witch Hunter who had been investigating the doors with a team of large shielded Clerics beside her and a compliment of Paladins and official guardsman on either side as a breach force.
"Open it." the Inquisitor simply ordered.
So much for the easy way...
Upon his command, the two Clerics began to cast their spells, channeling the magical energies through to the base of their shields, the build-up of power expanded and blew down the doors, scattering dust inwards. The Paladins quickly rushed in and restrained the mages whom were nearly knocked out or dazed. It was then someone in the room casted a cold-based spell, frosting over the wooden floor in a thick layer of ice before mutating, shooting sharp stalagmites of frozen water particles into the air. The two Clerics from before intervened with their own fire magic.
A battle had erupted inside the guild between the Order and the mages, causing the outside guards to scatter the civilian populace now that things had heated up. Sergei on the other hand pushed through the exploding havoc by himself, neutralizing any magic user that got in his way with relative ease. He had a mandate to follow through with; having a little chit-chat with whoever organised the quest for a lich's phylactery. If that meant burning half the Guild down, so be it.
The Zaphere monastery library was not overly impressive unlike other monasteries located in much massive and wealthier cities, it did provide enough information for Sergei to utilize. However each book and tome had often referred to another volume of the series that contained further information just before labeling another reference. An annoying procedure by far but Sergei had to push through the literature nonsense as he tip of his investigation was drawing near. The evidence pertaining to the lich's phylactery and the paralleling facts needed to connect, at lest just enough so he would have the means of officially questioning the Mage's Guild.
Awhile longer after studying enough text, Sergei was soon lead into what he was looking for. The next volume itself was a detailed record of cursed items and the accounts of their practical uses in the art of magic, regardless of the purpose whether it be for common good or the selfish evil. The Inquisitor's frown curved, feeling somewhat naive that his objective was this very volume all a long. But the previous source material tied in with the contents that backed up the origins of such relics and the beings that maintained them, even born from them. Sergei gave the volume the benefit of the doubt and allowed it to humor him.
One chapter was exclusively dedicated to the lich's phylactery, detailing its purposes and uses. As the book described and cross referencing it with Sergei's own knowledge, a lich's phylactery is created usually with the sole purpose of guaranteeing a lich's existence, even when slain. The lich's phylactery itself stores the fiend's soul, creating a return point to where the physical body of the lich is reformed, utilizing almost any nearby organic resource if claimable through the reconstruction process. A list of text confirmed though rather thorough report on verified lich resurrections, some awfully gruesome in their descriptions.
Eventually the chapter covered what he was looking for with the section illustrating the phylactery as more of a feasible power source. Given a lich's rather massive well of magical power, it was theorized and apparently confirmed that its use to fueling an array of powerful spells, incantations, and even summoning rituals. The wretch's soul would literally become the battery of a near limitless dark potential, utilizing the negative energy and aura of the lich to influence the intensity of spell casting to a high degree, giving rise to a much more formidable variation of the spell. The early observation of it initial use had detailed an attempted demon summoning ritual using a captures lich's phylactery to magnified negative harmonics of the ritual, leading into the summoning of a Greater Balor that soon killed the cultists too foolish to contain its power. A detachment of Paladins and Clerics dealt with the demon only after losing three quarters of their original man power.
Sergei was taken back, astonished and horrified of such heinous applications; and the Mages Guild wanted this thing? For what unholy purpose? He then remembered the poor guard's dying voice, mentioning a Hellhound as his attacker, a monster of notable power and ferocity as well that was no simple task for a minor experienced summoner. The dots then began to connect with this new piece of information now present and made aware to him. The Mages Guild in Zaphere has had troublesome knowledge and experiences with the dark artes in the past that the Order on numerous occasions demanded the guild to cease all activities pertaining to the heretical field to the boiling point where the Order would no longer suffer further mishaps anymore from the guild.
Now that the Mages Guild was planning something with a lich's phylactery that likely involved demon summoning and demonic possessions, it was clear that the Guild had drawn the final straw that made up the Order's now depleted tolerance. With the accounts of heretical activities and the murder of town guardsman currently weighing heavily against the Guild, it was now time to expel such foul corruption from this city before it spreads and harms the local populace. A purge was now in order, and the Inquisitor was going see it through, ignited by his hands and the righteous follows of the Order at his beaconed call.
==========
Convincing the Bishop about the coming interrogation raid was simple enough; most of the Order personnel were understandably shocked about the evidence Sergei had laid on the table before them. With recent events and the Guild's intentions ever present, action had to be taken and the Inquisitor received the full support he required. With the local guardsman still affected by the loss of their own, a large squad had joined in on orders from the city officials once the reports of the slayings reached them; they had their personal reason now to get involved.
Exiting the monastery's main gates came the Inquisitor with a small legion of holy warriors, devoted to fighting and exterminating evil coming up on the rear. Surrounding the holy force was a boxed formation of Paladins, their shields facing the outside of the formation to dissuade others from getting close and their swords drawn to punish those who get the picture. Within the armored wall was a collection of Clerics and Witch Hunters whose specialties where to the support of their brethren and the cleaving of anyone foolish enough to face them. The sudden show of force gave surprise to the populace as they hurried themselves out of the way as the Inquisitor pushed through, leading his assembled force toward their goal.
The city streets near the Mages Guild had since been cleared out by the Zaphere guardsman, leaving some civilians and even few magicians outside of the confused and worried, even for the mages that were barricade didn't know what to make of the of the town soldiers surrounding them. Some took to cautious arms, observing and ready to defend if necessary. That was before Sergei stepped into the scene with Paladins and few Witch Hunters moving in past him, enforcing the perimeter and containing the mages outside. Some that struggled against them were quickly subdued, raising further concern to the observing crowd. A number of the Order Clerics positioned themselves near their allies, readying to provide magic based support should any of the outside mages got out of hand.
So far the mages have been caught completely by surprise by the unison of the town guard and the Order working against them. Sergei could see some of the mages and staff inside looking out the through the guild's windows and portholes, faces of distress and anger being the more common to peer out at him. Intuition spoke to the Inquisitor that some of the mages may not part of or even aware with the guild's hierarchy and briefly pitied them for being involved with something that may turn violent. While his gaze was set on the guild's mansion-sized structure, something possibly caught the corner of his eye, causing him to naturally tilt his head to investigate. The Inquisitor found himself staring at the rooftop of a nearby tower over looking scene. Nothing about it seemed odd or suspicious; he though he saw someone up staring at him but then again, some of the other building contained residences eyeing over the developing situation. Sergei gave it little thought and approached the guild's entrance.
"Its locked on the inside." said a female Witch Hunter who had been investigating the doors with a team of large shielded Clerics beside her and a compliment of Paladins and official guardsman on either side as a breach force.
"Open it." the Inquisitor simply ordered.
So much for the easy way...
Upon his command, the two Clerics began to cast their spells, channeling the magical energies through to the base of their shields, the build-up of power expanded and blew down the doors, scattering dust inwards. The Paladins quickly rushed in and restrained the mages whom were nearly knocked out or dazed. It was then someone in the room casted a cold-based spell, frosting over the wooden floor in a thick layer of ice before mutating, shooting sharp stalagmites of frozen water particles into the air. The two Clerics from before intervened with their own fire magic.
A battle had erupted inside the guild between the Order and the mages, causing the outside guards to scatter the civilian populace now that things had heated up. Sergei on the other hand pushed through the exploding havoc by himself, neutralizing any magic user that got in his way with relative ease. He had a mandate to follow through with; having a little chit-chat with whoever organised the quest for a lich's phylactery. If that meant burning half the Guild down, so be it.
its not much work for Sergei to work on but.. eh just do what Sergei would do next. OH Eliphas is a very powerful Balor incase anyone was curious.
I can work with this...Basically going to be a rude house call for the Mage's Guild once Sergei has rounded up a posse of other Order Clerics and Paladins...Possibly some of the guards too now they are aware with whats going on.
I'm also getting bad vibes for the party once they arrive back in Zaphere. Either getting caught up in the eventually conflict...Oooorrrr getting caught and put into yet another dungeon once the clergy and the guardsman are aware of the party's quest.
My piece is now finally up, no thanks to my inability to stay awake.
Hopefully Sergei fairs better than I did.
Hopefully Sergei fairs better than I did.
The talks with the city officials had gone as expected; with several town guardsman killed in the line of duty and the mercantile distributing of possessed goods now made aware, the local patrols would be likely increase following an eventual curfew to be set in place. With the Inquisitor's reports and testimonies concerning the recent events having reached the largest of ears, Sergei's righteous and influencing grips had begun to squeeze around the city, narrowing the wiggle room around these supposed demon summons had been tunneling through for so long until their operations flat-line. As much it appeared appealing to him, this only created a restriction in their movement, at least it would seem.
Aside from the facts presented to him, he really had no leads, no real motives to identify and exploit. Nothing. The best he could do was to maintain order and minimizing any further damage. It was not the best course of action he would like to take but it was the only one...Perhaps it was the right one to avoid any more casualties. He was always the bearer of bad news and he was used to it; but that doesn't mean it wouldn't leave any moral scars.
Sergei left the guardsman headquarters feeling rather drowsy and fatigued from such a long and unfortunately eventful day. Age had hardly slowed down his righteous zealotry infused willpower that kept him running and determined to continuing pushing forward. But even he had physical limitations eventually he would need to submit to. Alone in the waning darkness of early morning, Sergei made his way back to the monastery to finally recuperate. The monetary itself was located conveniently near the center of the city so it was not too far away from where he was. However even given the distance it would still take time nonetheless.
The journey back to the monastery was pleasantly tranquil without the constant bustling of common intrigue and economic enterprising. With no civilian congestion in the way, Sergei had a path to which he could move at his own pace with. If there was at least once thing that could create a bothersome disturbance, it would be the local homeless eyeing everyone that comes by, sometimes approaching with the ill-est of intentions. Few times has Sergei encountered a betrodden lot skeptically observing him to which he paid little to mind to. They posed no threat of course and they were clearly aware of there disadvantage though soon they would have another thing to think about very soon is the plans settle in with the rest of the officials in the coming morning.
Just as the monastery came into view, the Inquisitor sensed someone close by, walking casually towards his direction. He stopped and turned left towards the interloper, his hands cautiously grasping his warhammer hidden under his robe. The new figure stopped under a street lantern only a couple a meters apart from the Inquisitor, their arms folded as if they were hiding something under their cloak. Sergei looked at the individual suspiciously, eyes narrowed and contemplating the stranger's intent.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Inquisitor demanded in a raspy voice.
"M'Lord Inquisitor..."the stranger began, "I have information that may be of service to you."
"...What sort of information? Who are you?" Sergei's tone became more threatening as his suspicion of man grew.
"I cannot reveal myself now...I suspect the Mage's Guild is planning something big." the man explained, "Recently, a representative of the Mage's Guild had posted a request for the retrieval of an ancient artifact; a chalice."
The Inquisitor was slightly amused where this conversation was going, but he remained dubious to the stranger he was now affirming to be a mage; the aura he was picking appeared off somehow."A chalice, eh? What is this relic's importance to the Mage's Guild?"
"...I believe the chalice is not of the sacred kind, in fact the object I am speaking of may be a lich's phylactery."
If the Inquisitor was not intrigued or interested, he was now as seen through his eye popping expression of surprise and concern. It took much self control to prevent himself from grabbing the man by his collar and lifting him into the air and demanding answers. "Do you know why the Guild would have need of such an item?"
"I'm afraid I can't say for sure..." the man explained with a now noticeable tone of worry and possible dread, "...I've spoken too much. Here, take these documents, they explain the details of the quest. I must be going."
The man literally came up and nearly shoved large portfolio into the Inquisitor's chest, causing him to naturally take hold of the documents frantically before they left his clutches. With the paperwork secured, he looked at the folder itself, noting the official seal of the Mage's Guild wrapped around the folder itself.
"If I may inquire, how did-"
Sergei found that the man that was standing before him just a moment ago had up and vanished without a trace. There were no sounds nearby that indicated that the stranger had ran off. He soon suspected it was a teleportation spell or potion of some sorts that allowed the man to quickly disappear. It was odd that the Mage began to act so weary all of a sudden; was it do them perhaps being followed or maybe it was the Inquisitor's own presence? The latter did have that naturally effect on people but given how private these documents were, he suspected that the stranger may have fallen under someone else's suspicion. Regardless though, he now has a lead with his investigation; whether it was a related element or not, he was soon about to find out. Investigating the uses of a lich's phylactery now became his immediate priority.
So much for resting.
Aside from the facts presented to him, he really had no leads, no real motives to identify and exploit. Nothing. The best he could do was to maintain order and minimizing any further damage. It was not the best course of action he would like to take but it was the only one...Perhaps it was the right one to avoid any more casualties. He was always the bearer of bad news and he was used to it; but that doesn't mean it wouldn't leave any moral scars.
Sergei left the guardsman headquarters feeling rather drowsy and fatigued from such a long and unfortunately eventful day. Age had hardly slowed down his righteous zealotry infused willpower that kept him running and determined to continuing pushing forward. But even he had physical limitations eventually he would need to submit to. Alone in the waning darkness of early morning, Sergei made his way back to the monastery to finally recuperate. The monetary itself was located conveniently near the center of the city so it was not too far away from where he was. However even given the distance it would still take time nonetheless.
The journey back to the monastery was pleasantly tranquil without the constant bustling of common intrigue and economic enterprising. With no civilian congestion in the way, Sergei had a path to which he could move at his own pace with. If there was at least once thing that could create a bothersome disturbance, it would be the local homeless eyeing everyone that comes by, sometimes approaching with the ill-est of intentions. Few times has Sergei encountered a betrodden lot skeptically observing him to which he paid little to mind to. They posed no threat of course and they were clearly aware of there disadvantage though soon they would have another thing to think about very soon is the plans settle in with the rest of the officials in the coming morning.
Just as the monastery came into view, the Inquisitor sensed someone close by, walking casually towards his direction. He stopped and turned left towards the interloper, his hands cautiously grasping his warhammer hidden under his robe. The new figure stopped under a street lantern only a couple a meters apart from the Inquisitor, their arms folded as if they were hiding something under their cloak. Sergei looked at the individual suspiciously, eyes narrowed and contemplating the stranger's intent.
"What is the meaning of this?" the Inquisitor demanded in a raspy voice.
"M'Lord Inquisitor..."the stranger began, "I have information that may be of service to you."
"...What sort of information? Who are you?" Sergei's tone became more threatening as his suspicion of man grew.
"I cannot reveal myself now...I suspect the Mage's Guild is planning something big." the man explained, "Recently, a representative of the Mage's Guild had posted a request for the retrieval of an ancient artifact; a chalice."
The Inquisitor was slightly amused where this conversation was going, but he remained dubious to the stranger he was now affirming to be a mage; the aura he was picking appeared off somehow."A chalice, eh? What is this relic's importance to the Mage's Guild?"
"...I believe the chalice is not of the sacred kind, in fact the object I am speaking of may be a lich's phylactery."
If the Inquisitor was not intrigued or interested, he was now as seen through his eye popping expression of surprise and concern. It took much self control to prevent himself from grabbing the man by his collar and lifting him into the air and demanding answers. "Do you know why the Guild would have need of such an item?"
"I'm afraid I can't say for sure..." the man explained with a now noticeable tone of worry and possible dread, "...I've spoken too much. Here, take these documents, they explain the details of the quest. I must be going."
The man literally came up and nearly shoved large portfolio into the Inquisitor's chest, causing him to naturally take hold of the documents frantically before they left his clutches. With the paperwork secured, he looked at the folder itself, noting the official seal of the Mage's Guild wrapped around the folder itself.
"If I may inquire, how did-"
Sergei found that the man that was standing before him just a moment ago had up and vanished without a trace. There were no sounds nearby that indicated that the stranger had ran off. He soon suspected it was a teleportation spell or potion of some sorts that allowed the man to quickly disappear. It was odd that the Mage began to act so weary all of a sudden; was it do them perhaps being followed or maybe it was the Inquisitor's own presence? The latter did have that naturally effect on people but given how private these documents were, he suspected that the stranger may have fallen under someone else's suspicion. Regardless though, he now has a lead with his investigation; whether it was a related element or not, he was soon about to find out. Investigating the uses of a lich's phylactery now became his immediate priority.
So much for resting.
I'm still one just getting my piece wrapped up.
@ShiningSector The evidence the succubus is carrying will state information about the quest. A quest that required strangers to retrieve a chalice unknown to them to be a phylactery to a lich. Popping the question to Sergei.. What does the mages guild want with a phylactery?... What else could they be up to?.. Which will cause him to investigate the guild to see if maybe they are linked to the occurances. Shit like that. To which he may find books on demon summonings at guild.
That makes sense and I can definitely work on that.
The part though that I kinda find odd is the disguise choice for the succubus; appearing as the mage that set up the quest to which the evidence points to.
Not a huge deal really, just kinda awkward to me.
@EWillden
So the plan is to have the succubus, while in the form of the very mage that organized the quest, to spill (probably) documentation to the Inquisitor on said quest and it's objectives...Aaaaaaaannnnd the information on the requester who technically would be standing right of him...?
Apologies if I'm making this over complicated as I'm interpreting it. Just trying to get a fix on the intention.
So the plan is to have the succubus, while in the form of the very mage that organized the quest, to spill (probably) documentation to the Inquisitor on said quest and it's objectives...Aaaaaaaannnnd the information on the requester who technically would be standing right of him...?
Apologies if I'm making this over complicated as I'm interpreting it. Just trying to get a fix on the intention.
@ShiningSector
Hmm i should add to my post for your character...
In all honesty, given the situation at hand, Sergei almost has full rights to call upon an inquisitorial man hunt now that he has portion of evidence against the cultists and now that town guardsmen have been slain, the city may be up in arms at this point. Making the eventually arrival for the party kinda awkward.
Though thats my take on the situation anyway. =/
@ShiningSector
Sorry, I'll try working on something, :,(
@ShiningSector
Honestly I am a little lost. I am trying to figure out where I stand in the order and was sort of hoping for another player to post first so I could work off that entrance ^^;
Seems like I am going to have to post first if no one else is though.
Take your time, there is no order in things.
If need be I can add more into the latest post for you to work off of.
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