The yet unnamed fortress, decrepit and dusty, held many secrets. It's extensive libraries, long abandoned, held knowledge that was lost or destroyed by the paladins, ancient maps and spellbooks. Armories full to the brim with now rusted equipment. All of it abandoned when Eternal Kingdom surrendered - the kingdom which belonged to the Eternus bloodline. This was one of their major hubs. But at the very least, it was not touched by the ravages of war much.
There are many secrets of old buried within and throughout Altea. Powerful artifacts of ancient making, vaults lost to history, tombs of powerful mages. This was the official occupation for Covenant of Scholars. The main goal - spreading dissent through the land, as there is a bustling underworld, one that manages to avoid the Inquisition for as long as they existed, and they don't really like their reign. After all, many nobles lost their lands, or more. Either way, both duties are equally important, and it was up to the new freedom fighters to decide their course of action.
The survivors manage to escape their reanimated brethren, fleeing back to the capital. Tired, scared and angry, nevertheless they reach Liria. After quickly explaining their situation and clearing up the suspicions of desertion, they are given a day's rest, as a high-ranking inquisitor will be coming for a debriefing.
A day of rest and a night of nightmares. At the very least Alicia knew that her father was OK. According to the paladins, he never left the mansion. Revin, the man called Azure - how was he so powerful? Mages of such caliber existed only 300 years ago, before the Paladins were founded. And his underling - the little girl was just as capable, Though no one really saw the powers of Mimel, Azure displayed a clear show of force. Light - considered to be the ultimate bane of magic, simply was not enough. Even an experienced inquisitor failed to even touch Azure.
Alicia's thoughts were interrupted by a guard calling her to go to the War Room, as not just any Inquisitor arrived, but Sebastian Arman himself - The High Inquisitor, second only to Grand Master Grinnoc himself. The others were there too. Relaying their story one more time, the group awaited Sebastian's response.
"It is regrettable about what happened, so many loyal and brave paladins were slaughtered. But now we know who we are dealing with. You must be wandering: what does Class 5 mean? Classification 5 for short, we rank mages according to their power. The lowest is class 1. Class one and two are what you deal with most of the time. Class threes are now rare and require a group of paladins to deal with. For all we knew, there was nothing above class three for a long time."
Out of pure curiosity, Alicia asked how many classes are there total. "Seven. Though there were only three known class sevens in existence. They were one of the main reasons the paladins were founded. They could destroy entire kingdoms if they wanted to, and they did try, but the other two made sure to counter such attempts. All three at different sides of war, they almost made armies obsolete. Their struggles of power were tearing our land apart, and we did not know how much more can it take. But out of nowhere, Grinnoc appeared with his power, taught others to use it, and saved Altea.
And now we learn why we couldn't get rid of Azure. Scrying and teleportation are very advanced spells, and very powerful. This way beyond the capabilities of any paladin, no matter the number. And as such, we will have to hasten your initiation."
A lot of this did not made much sense to Alicia just yet. Drifting in her thoughts, in the memories of the slaughter, she suddenly remember one crucial detail: "Grand Inquisitor, I forgot to tell you something! After Azure killed everyone, he and his lieutenant talked about some kind of key located within dwarven vaults, and that they should look for tunnels below the barrier to gain entry." In a mere moment, the eternally blank Sebastian's face turned into something resembling worry. "Oh shit! Alright, no time for small talk! Zander Parliah and Varkasan Trenact - with me to the Inquisitorial Fortress. Alicia - report to the fortress as soon as you are able, and make sure all of your affairs are taken care of."
With the Grand Inquisitor rushing out, dragging Zander & Varkasan along with him, the girl was left confused. Alicia decided to visit her father one last time, as she did not know what would happen next - either of them could perish. Waving goodbye to the other paladins, she set off home, for one last time.
The Grand Inquisitor wasted no time and the trio were riding towards the plateau upon which the fortress of Inquisitors was built. The dwarven tunnels were below, and where the majority of them lived. "You must be wondering why I chose you to come with me. It's simple really. Inquisitors are valued for their unbiased thinking, sight of the big picture, analytical and strategic skills, not zealotry. Unless... you would want to become a Witch Hunter. Witch Hunters are our elite, above the limits of their mortal body. However... to receive that power, you will have to undergo special training. It lasts only a month, but that month will be your personal hell. Your body and mind will be pushed to and beyond their limits. On average, during that month you will get about six hours of sleep, and 3 days worth of food. And that's not counting what exercises you will have to go through.
Why all this? Receiving that great power is easy, but since your body will not be able to handle it, you will just explode, as your mind is also overwhelmed. There is no other way. And that's where your traits come in. Sure, Alicia's pure skill and talent dwarf most paladins, including yours. But, she lacks that pure willpower, that zeal that is needed for a Witch Hunter to endure. Witch Hunters are only known to very few. Majority of paladins and inquisition have no knowledge of their existence. Mostly because we had no need for them anymore, the only Witch Hunters so far were the fifty original ones that fought with Grinnoc. Only 4 out of those 50 got to reach old age, however.
And now, we are in need of Witch Hunters once again. Alicia is not meant to be on the front lines, it would be a waste of her talents. She would be an assassin, an infiltrator - she would never endure this training. You however, have a chance. That's why I personally chose you two. You can always say no, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime for you. And a chance for us to stop Azure before his power grows out of control. And now let's just hope we're not too late to save that damn dwarf."
A wealthy looking fellow with several bodyguards approached Idron, and sat by his table. "People like yourself are harder and harder to find with each passing day. Mr Idron, you may have no heard of me, but I have heard of you. You can call me... The Collector. And I have a proposition, just for you." Motioning his bodyguards, who pulled out an old looking map, he unfurls it at the table. It seemed like a map of a small area, some kind of burial tomb. "This is a long lost tomb of Archmage Romerus. Back in their day, it was a tradition to bury them with all of their belongings in various maze-like crypts or dungeons. I am looking for a sword called Void Blade, which was a rather noteworthy weapon wielded by Romerus. Anything else you can keep. You would get a quarter of the payment right now, and the rest upon the delivery of the sword. Of course, you can expect many traps in there, sealed doors and maybe even various guardian creatures, but I am sure there is nothing you can handle."
Plopping down a large back of gold coins on the table, The Collector stood up from the table, and was preparing to leave. "If you take this gold, I'll assume you accepted the job. In case of success, I will find you myself. If you decide to run away with the money or otherwise break my trust, I will find you too. But meeting that way won't be pleasant for you. So how about it, Mr. Idron Boje?"
