Fighting his way through the ranks of mages that stood against him was hardly worth his time. Sergei's personal experiences with magic users, especially the heretical warlocks, witches, and occasion lich's that delved in the dark artes was very expansive. His training against black magic had been tedious but thorough and to the point. He knew what to look out for such as spells, auras and spiritual energy, and even enchanted items; all of which he could trace and detect, knowing what his opponent had in planned and actively preparing a countermeasure of his own.
Three fire mages, apparently to have foreseen his arrival ambushed the Inquisitor through one of the hall ways on the forth floor. With their combined efforts, they amassed a huge torrent of flames and directing the artificial back-draft violently towards Sergei. But unfortunately for them, the mages had engaged the Inquisitor in his own element. With this own aura and fire based magic, he channeled the mystic energies into his palm before the gout of fire divided harmlessly against him, leaving the surrounding walls torched beyond recognition. The three men looked on in horrors as the Inquisitor walk out of the smoke unfazed. Having the advantage with him, he raised his warhammer and channeled his own spell and pointed the mass of steel at the fools who opposed him.
An orb a bright light and boiling heat suddenly appeared in front of the mages before they could run or cast another spell. The miniature sun quickly grew until into an expanding loud banging flash. The three adept magic users appeared from the subsiding glare sprawled out on the floor unconscious, steam radiating from the burnt robes. Sergei gave a disappointed grunt before moving forward, walking over their numb bodies unopposed. Several other engagements passed by without slowing down the Inquisitor one bit, showing his magical dominance and experience over the feeble mages that got in his way. If there was anything that they were successful at, it was testing his patience. But through their stubbornness in obstructing his approach, Sergei was finding it odd that none of the foes he had dispatch had used any dark magic or carried any demonic auras. Could he have been mistaken? A possibility, though the quest documents were genuine however and the item in question could only bring bad news. But just how severe was the objective?
After dealing with the last bit of resistance against him, Sergei had reached the Headmaster's chambers and before him were the overly large gates that lead into the private room. Just he he could even lay a finger on the gate handle, the Inquisitor felt the sudden surge of magic; dark magic, pressing against the gates. Sergei quickly sidestepped from the archway as the gates were blown down by demonic fire. It became apparent the Headmaster was expecting him.
"One too many times has your damned Order of over-sensitive and closed-minded zealots has been a utter annoyance and a thorn in our enlightening progress!" shouted a frantic Headmaster within the chamber. "But no more! It seems you've lost what mere pitiful tolerance you had left and seek our destruction and we will answer in kind!"
He's not so far off, thought Sergei with his back against the wall adjacent to the archway as he readied his shield, pouring a vial of sacred water onto the steel frame and sanctifying it to battle against the unholy force before him. "You are correct that you presence here in Zaphere is hardly tolerated, but your string of blunders in controlling the dark artes has ruined your credibility and risked the local population on more than one occasion."
"D-don't you dare claim that our mistakes were of any threat to the city's people! We have learn from our errors, the darkness must be understood if we are ever to overcome it. You are not the only ones capable of fighting such evil!" the Headmaster countered.
I recall the Guild summoning a demon before...
"As noble as a claim as that sounds, I must ask what you had in mind once you get you hands on a lich's phylactery." said Sergei has he crept closer to the chamber entrance, his warhammer at the ready, "Even you should know how the item functions so what heretical desires do you have planned for?"
The Headmaster didn't reply at first and Sergei could sense the momentary hesitancy from the Guild leader, "H-how did you...? That is personal business with the Guild and-"
"Such objects and magic are my business, Headmaster." Sergei leaned forward, spreading his feet apart in preparations for rushing the room; he had little desire to duke it out with a Master Mage and only sought to end this, "I will give this one and only warning, lay down your staff and surrender to the judgement of the order. You have no where to run."
"No! I've come too far to be stopped by a lowly wretch! Years of research will not be wasted! I will-"
Sergei could not longer stand the Headmaster's babbling any further and quickly rushed the chamber, his light endowed shield raised. The tactic worked as in the moment he made his profile was made known, another burst of dark hurdled in his direction but dispersed upon impact against the holy aura the shield gave off. Preventing the Headmaster another follow up, the Inquisitor pointed his warhammer forward and casted his own spell. Like before, another small sun-like orb materialized into reality and expanded close to the Headmaster; it was the Sergei attempt to quickly subdue the Master Mage. But the Headmaster didn't receive his title for nothing as the moment the ball of fire and light came into being, the head mage quickly developed a ward that protected him from the eventual blast. The explosion's kinetic energy and enough force to blow out all the windows in the room, spraying shards of glass everywhere. But with the Inquisitor and the Headmaster's defenses in place, no one received any damage.
Once the chamber was almost cleared of dust, the battle rapidly resumed with Sergei now casting his own spell, light suddenly beaming forth from his warhammer and into the Headmaster's magical barrier. The stream of slight quickly burned the ward away with shimmering spectacles pealing away from the disintegrating barrier. The Headmaster growled as he too casted his own magic with a torrent of wind gathering around his staff before unleashing it towards the Inquisitor. The floor was ripped to pieces by the raging cyclone direct intent of doing the same to Sergei but like his sense forewarned him, he actually dashed forward with his shield once more. The impact was much more devastating than it was with the demonic fire but Sergei pushed ahead, shredding winds breaking against his shield with deflected tunnels tearing away at the chamber's architecture as chucks of the surrounding walls giving way, showing glimpses the outside scenery into the room.
It wasn't before long that the rest of the room eventually collapsed with the constant storming winds destroying any structural support that held the chamber. The ceiling came first with it being split nearly in half with the stone falling down only to shatter against the violent wind tunnels. Most of the debris then caved into the surrounding walls and eventually exposing the entire chamber to the outside. Unaware to the situation on the city streets, Sergei continued his struggle until the light of the sun dawned on to him. With his frown literally morphing into grin, the Inquisitor raised his warhammer skyward, rays of fire and light gifted by the sun poured onto the bulking steel, radiating an incredible dominating ambience of heat until it mirrored the transparent image of the sun itself. The Headmaster looked on in horror and awe until he was consumed by the suddenly flashing beams of assaulting light. Blinded by endless white the head mage was completely unaware of Sergei's follow up attack as he felt a mass of steel slamming into his torso, sending the Headmaster crashing into one of the still remaining inward walls.
After the powerful spell had dissipated, Sergei, now triumphant against the now unconscious Headmaster, casually walked over the strewn about research articles and volumes that survived the fighting. Picking up a large tome that reeked of evil spiritual energy, despite the restricting magic already laid against it. He opened the book by the inserted page-mark and went over its content. The chapter was apparently about theories of immortality and the imbuing of powerful magic. It became more intriguing with the unexpected details of utilizing a lich's phylactery to generate the needed life energy to accomplish the feat of ever-preserving life and youth. Looking over some of the Headmaster's notes, it became obvious that the Headmaster was not interested in summoning demons like Sergei was hoping to be the case. He had confirmed that the Mage's Guild was guilty of forbidden magic, but not the kind he was looking for.
The need to vent his frustration over wasted effort grew heavily; his would-be lead to a cultist organization within the Guild's ranks evaporated. The facts no longer added up and separated from current logic. Nothing made sense now and he was back to square one. But then the sound of conflict reached his ears, originating from the city. Looking over the collapsed edge of the chamber, Sergei could see a battle a taken over the streets outside the Guild. Mages and the united front of Order champions and guardsman continued to rage on but the balance or fighting began to shift with the arrival of a third faction. He could feel the dark magic everywhere, demonic energy filling the atmosphere, but was worst was huge plume of smoke in the distance with its direction familiar. It was Monastery and it was burning and under attack.
Sergei eyes widened as he observed the scene in all of its carnage. Cultists and demons waged war against all contenders on the field, even against the mages as they tried to fight back against the holy and the unholy. It soon came to him that this was the intention the organization he had been hunting had in planned all along. The evidence against the Guild, the raid he started, and the attack on the Monastery with most of the Order's forces pulled elsewhere. He had been played as a fool, even when he made sure his actions were justly and right; he had caused this. Guilt was not alien to him and he knew he was rightly to blame for this, but duty was calling to him, in the form of a large demon in the thick of battle; a Marilith to be exact.
The snake-like creature was formidable indeed as her six arms cleaved through the unaware and gave most of the Order's forces enough trouble than they could take. With such raw attack power pit against them they weren't going to last long. Sergei was ready to storm the Guild's stairs downward but he realized how much time it took even traversing the complex building he had to fight though to even reach this point. There was simply not enough time. But Sergei was an Inquisitor, he was going to make time and he knew just how to do it and channel his rage at once.
Taking into account of the Marilith's position, the Inquisitor made his way unto the rooftop out from the gutted chamber and followed the demon's charge across the roof shingles. Once he saw the Marilith cease her advance to engage anther group of Paladins, Sergei increased his pace into a dashing run until the moment of truth came into being; he jumped off the roof once the demon was in his range. He could feel gravity pushing against him and pulling him down as he came into a free-fall with one hand wielding a now burning warhammer, radiating an already casted spell and the other hand eventually reaching out and grasping the Marilith's black hair. The demon shrieked in pain and surprised with the sudden weight clinging down on her skull, causing her to reel back in reflex. As foul at it was to him, the Inquisitor, still tugging to the demon's hair, swung forward due to the Marilith's natural reaction and eventually found himself looking at the demon's dismayed face which then turned to terror as she finally looked at the Inquisitor bringing down his warhammer onto her reptilian-like face in full burning swing.
