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.
