I left the room and made sure to seal the door shut. From what I could tell the other Imperium avoided the area. Even for them the torture was probably too much to stomach. The problem was what to do now. Master Jasper's information didn't help with a solution. I could head to the great hall and find the others or try the sanctuary. While thinking what to do I began to head to the main corridor.
"You there!" the voice called out to me suddenly as I passed by the passage to the sanctuary. It was a golden masked Imperium and one I had met before. The same man who had taken hold of Lara and watched us die in the Imperial Palace. Just my luck, I could get my revenge. Closer now I could see he was quite aged. His hollow eyes emitted decades of experience but also the method to which he obtained it.
"Yes Master?" I turned to him with a respecting bow, though inside I held back a livid hate. The knife hidden in my robes seemed to poke into my side.
"Come with me," he gestured and began to head towards the sanctuary.
I followed hastily to avoid his ire and suspicion, "Um Master what is it you needed?"
His eyes penetrated me from beneath his mask, "I said to follow not ask questions whelp."
"Sorry Master," I bowed and walked behind him. For now at least it didn't seem he suspected me. As for what I was going to do, that was decided for me.
The passage passed by many rooms, some small offices, others large enough to teach a class or do experiments. Most were empty but a few had Imperium members searching through them. They were throwing documents and books around haphazardly, looking for anything of interest. We didn't stop however and proceeded in the direction of the sanctuary. The further we went the stronger the pulses of mana became. The small hope I had that we wouldn't go there was destroyed as the golden masked man pushed me through a pair of large ornate doors.
The sanctuary. It was where the crux of the Magicians Guild did their work. Only those Master and above could enter and for good reason. The knowledge within these walls could destroy countries if used incorrectly, of course one was more likely to destroy themselves first. That's what kind of place it was. The Archmage's office was incorporated into the section and it was her duty to ensure the safekeeping of it. Now however as I could see with my own eyes, that duty was under threat.
The foyer to the sanctuary was a large room with a tall ceiling showing the multiple floors around it. There were many times more books here than in all of Axel and each of them worthy to be called treasures. As much as I would have wanted to take a look around, the sight of the golden translucent sphere in the centre of the room took that thought away. Energy in the form of mana sprang from its surface as several beams of light pointed against it from multiple pillars. Inside where eight figures, four stood keeping up the barrier, while the other four rested meditating on the floor. I recognised one immediately as Ardent. His face was drained and pale as he held his hands out against the barrier. Beside him was a young women, or really I should say looked young. Despite her appearance I could feel her experience and power purely from sight. The Archmage. Her golden hair was matted with sweat and her brow crinkled in concentration.
A portly figure noticed us enter and called out, "Good you brought another one." He wasn't an Imperium and wore the colours of the Guild. Aside from him there were three others in matching clothes. The traitors to the guild.
The gold masked Imperium stared back at him, "Watch your tone Kelt. You may be Master of your guild but I am Master of the Imperium."
"And you would think them equals?" the man named Kelt scoffed. "Remember this opportunity is only because of us." He was acting quite haughty as if ignoring the other golden masked Imperium in the room. In total there were six of them. If I messed up here I really would die.
"What would you have me do Master?" I bowed my head to them while carefully eyeing the room for any potential opportunities. At the sound of my voice Ardent within the barrier eyes lit up. He quickly hid his expression.
"Stand here," Kelt commanded me. He pointed to a magic circuit drawn on the ground beside one of the pillars. I noticed low ranking Imperium like the one I was disguised as beside the other pillars. This wasn't good at all. From what I could tell the pillars were artefacts being used to not only break down the Archmage's barrier but also seal them inside. Worse still I could tell what the circuit would do. They were planning to sacrifice me to overcharge the pillars and attempt to break their stalemate. Disregarding that I would die, the Archmage and Ardent had a distinct disadvantage.
"Don't just stare at it, go," the golden masked Imperium pushed me forwards.
I didn't budge, "With all due respect sir I would prefer not to be sacrificed."
"Excuse me?" he looked at me with incredulous anger. The other low ranking Imperium hearing me began to panic and flinched.
"I have studied enough to know what you plan to do. My intellect is better served not dying," I politely but blatantly declined.
"You will do as you're told," Kelt pointed towards me, staff in hand. His portly figure wobbled.
The golden masked Imperium however paused, "To be able to read the circuit… hmm it would be a waste indeed." Relief spread through me. "But my question is now, why would a plebeian like you understand it?" Before I could stop him, his hand whipped out stripping me of my mask and throwing apart my robe. I blanched but did nothing as the Imperium held me towards the traitors, "Who is this boy?"
Kelt shrugged, "He's not part of the Guild."
He turned back to me, pointing a finger towards my eye, "Who are you?"
Time to lie, "I-I just joined recently Master! I'm an apothecary and was told I could be of use to the Imperium." I gestured to the potions hidden in the cases on my sides and belt. My knife and dagger were also in clear sight but I hoped he would forgive that much.
He dropped me and looked towards the traitors once more, "So he's not of the Guild?"
"If I don't recognise him, he's not anyone worthy," Kelt sneered.
"A shame," the Imperium sighed. A flash of danger flooded through my system. He was going to kill me. From all the times I had died, I could tell. The lust for blood this man had.
Well now was a better time than any to get him back for last time. I acted first and cut into his side with my knife. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden attack. The problem with people like them, they sat too high on their horses to notice the desperation of others. His mana began to gather immediately but once more I was faster using my dagger to pierce his throat. No matter how much of a Master he was, a magician relied on preparation while an assassin's blade was much faster, and damn did it feel good. With that I just had to kill General Elroy, though he would be a harder target.
Shock resonated through the sanctuary breaking me from my brief satisfaction. I had a few seconds at most to cause as much chaos as possible. Step one activate my own mana. Step two throw dead body into closest pillar. It crashed against the structure causing it to tip ever so slightly. In that instant the four resting magicians within the barrier acted. The burst of energy was enough to cause the pillar to fall completely.
"You!" Kelt screamed but his eyes couldn't follow my movements, ignoring me he went to strengthen the seal on the Archmage. Step three, kill. I lit up the powder bag on my waist and threw it towards him. It exploded, smashing through whatever defence he had mustered, knocking him down. I lit another and threw it at the nearest pillar. As I did so a pair of blue arrows flew towards me. As expected of Masters I couldn't hide from them for long. I blocked one with my dagger and the other with my free arm. The arrow continued to shoot forwards digging through my muscle and into my shoulder. The force pushed me back and pinned me to the wall.
I looked up to see a bombardment heading towards me. Shit. There was no way I could survive that. Lances of ice, streams of fire, glowing orbs… any one of them could kill me and I wasn't coming back this time.
"Caius!" I screamed for help. Someone knocked into me from the side, dislodging me from the wall and out of the way of the barrage of magic. The explosion of mana rippled past us as they covered me.
"At least scream my name before you die," Taylor coughed above me. Her eyes flicked back. "Move!" She kicked me away and slid across the floor as a hail of arrows pierced through the wooden boards.
I jumped to my feet and ran through the shelves of books for protection as they were torn apart by the waves of spells. My heart spiked in pain as I expelled more mana and changed directions to escape the onslaught. The Imperium members who had fired at me once again lost sight.
"Ardent get out and help now!" I yelled and tackled the closest pillar that was still working. With more than half of them gone now, the seal broke apart. From there hell broke loose in the sanctuary.
A wave of power spread from the centre of the room, pushing apart the shelves, desks and any other object not tied down. The magicians and Imperium on the outside held their ground, their barriers protecting them from the debris. Taylor and I on the other hand had a harder time.
"Oh damn, shit, why, why, why!?" I ran away from the concussive force as fast as I could but could do nothing as I was caught up in the magic. Taylor was further away and made it behind a wall. Her eyes glued to mine stretched wide as I flew through the air and landed roughly onto the floor. For a brief moment I thought I'd be fine, that was until the bookshelves fell on top of me.
It actually wasn't too bad being covered by the heavy pile of books and wood. Sure I could hardly breath, was being crushed, and probably had a concussion but it beat being out in the open of what was happening outside. I couldn't see but the sound and vibrations still reached me. Screams of rage and desperation were being flung around the room as the floors and walls shook to their very core. Regardless of how well the sanctuary was built, it truly was facing the full brunt of a battle among magicians and taking the toll.
Minutes passed as my breathing became more strained from the weight pressing down on me. The impact of magic began to die down and I had to wonder who won the fight. The Archmage and the Guild's magicians including Ardent were outnumbered and hadn't had time to rest, while the Imperium had plenty of reinforcements. I could only hope that the tides had been tipped by the others.
The bookshelves were removed from above me suddenly, releasing a cloud of dust. I coughed and immediately pushed the remaining rubble off me. My chest expanded painfully as fresh air was forced inside my lungs.
"Rain, are you still alive?" a very tired and beaten Ardent asked me.
"Somehow," I groaned. The injuries I had sustained from the arrows were still bleeding and it was only now I noticed the lack of blood in my system. "Where's Taylor?"
"I'm here," she came up from behind me. A stain of blood dripped down from her head and her clothes had been torn revealing cuts against her body.
"You're hurt," I pushed a potion towards her.
"So are you," she pushed it back.
"Please just drink it," I forced it to her. "I have more."
She took the vial and drained it, "There, now where's yours?" The shallow cuts and burns on her skin quickly began to fade.
"Oops they're all broken," I honestly hadn't done that on purpose as Taylor glared at me angrily. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not going to bleed to death this instant."
Ardent laughed tiredly, "You two seem even closer now. I'm glad that you had time to confirm your feelings."
I shook off the dust still sticking to me, "Yeah, we had some time. Though rescuing you cut into it."
"I appreciate it," he smiled. "Thank you Rain. We managed to get the upper hand thanks to you, but first a question." He pointed to where Caius stood at the doorway to the sanctuary, his eyes narrowed, "What is he doing here?"
I smirked, "He's friendly… mostly at least. For now let's tidy up. You have a lot to be caught up on and we're going to need your help."
The sanctuary was now a mess. The once decorated room had been pulled apart resembling a warzone. The bodies of dead Imperium laid at the feet of Caius and the traitors had been tied to the floor in glowing chains, the one named Kelt however had been killed. The Guild Masters stood above them with vehement gazes. I noticed now that two of them had joined the dead.
"It is truly heartbreaking," the voice came from the women standing close by us. Her presence surprised me. Despite the battle her golden hair did not lose its lustre, nor impact the mystical beauty about her. Her eyes however stared at the destruction with a powerful melancholy. "We all promised to seek out the secrets of magic together… why did it have to come to this?"
"Master…," Ardent looked at her, his eyes weak. "We must move on."
"I know Ardent," she sighed and nodded, placing a witch's hat on top her head. "The defences are already working, all that we need to do now is wipe out the Imperium. They'll regret the day they invaded our home." She stamped her foot as a wave of mana cleared through the floor, pushing the rubble and debris into neat piles creating a path to the door. "Send a message to the other Guilds, the Empire and the Imperium are now regarded as enemies of the Guild and should be treated as such till further notice. For those in Imperial lands, seal the entrances and await further instructions."
"Yes Master!" the remaining magicians including Ardent saluted her with their hand on their chests.
She turned to me and Taylor, "And to you two brave souls, I cannot thank you enough for coming when you did. A few hours longer and we would have had to give in."
"We're as much enemies of the Empire and Imperium as you are," I replied smoothly. "Though we do need your help."
"If it's within the Guild's power, we will assist you in every way," she smiled. "I assume you are Rain and Taylor. Ardent has spoken very highly of you both." She stepped closer, a bit too much for comfort. Though she looked young, her actual age was probably far greater than anyone here including my combined one. "Especially you Rain, I'd love to see what makes you tick."
I had to retreat, "Maybe later. Don't we have work to do now?"
"The Imperium's hold on the Guild ended the moment I was released." Her eyes glazed over, "Even now they run, however the swordsman you brought with you has been dealing with them quite easily. They have yet been able to escape and warn the Empire's soldiers outside." I nodded. I had been wondering where Earnest was. "About him however…, without him we may have been overpowered, he is interesting." She was talking about Caius who sat on a heap of rubble with an almost bored expression. "Why is a demon of the heart-stone tribe here?"
"Master, he is Caius Vel Barter, Demon Lord," Ardent answered.
"And a current friend," I added before sparks could fly.
Caius hearing us glided over, "Rain, are we done here?"
"Mostly," I winced as I tried to move. "We need to rest and discuss a few things before our next move. Also I'd really like to find Marley."
With Ardent and the Archmage our first goal in the Empire was complete. Now we just had to save Ronalt and somehow handle Lara…. There was still a lot to do.