"Armsman Cain. Under normal circumstances, yes, the sorcerer should have been put out of his misery. But three things mitigate that norm." She held up three fingers, lowering each as she counted off her justifications.<br/><br/>"First, he was conduit to the Warp and yet still survived. It's likely he picked... something... up during the deluge, and killing him could release it. The Cadian Incident should be proof of that. Second, because he was the epicenter the sorcerer is acting as a stabilizing element for the veil. Moving him too far from this point will be akin to ripping a bead from an embroidery, at least until he can disentangle himself. Third, my master ordered me to hold the sorcerer here. You may have heard of Inquisitor Zaranchek Xanthus?" the legionnaire punctuating the Inquisitor's name with a clutched fist.<br/><br/>Absolom stiffened at the name. He didn't know if Titus recognized the it, but the Skeleton certainly did. The Inquisitors were best described as secret police, bearing the mark of the Emperor and answerable only to him. They were tasked with hunting down any and all of the myriad threats to the stability of the Emperor's realm, from rogue spellcaster to hostile humanoids to horrors from other planes. Several organizations such as the Mage's guild and the Ecclesiarchy maintained their independence and secrecy, but only because of the clout their respective organizations possessed.  It was comforting that the Inquisition Orders were few in number - although some were reputed to loath spell casters as desecrators of the dead- but that made the attention of one all the more ominous. Xanthus was one of the more well-known Inquisitors, a demon-hunter rumored to have unhealthy interests involving the other side of the Veil. Even if Absolom didn't socialize with people, spell casters tended to share information. And word on the street was that casters approached by Zaranchek Xanthus' agents either disappeared or overloaded. Neither option seemed pleasant.<br/><br/>"Any reason the Inquisition wants to see me?" the Skeleton rasped, slowly lowering himself so that the pain of taut muscles receded. The throbbing was beginning to impede his cognitive abilities.<br/><br/>Cain reached out to tap his mask.<br/><br/>"Foci. Outside of the Mage's Guild they are in short supply, and my master has need of as many as he can acquire. Rumor has it that you aren't affiliated with the Guild, and are a skilled craftsman when you can be persuaded to actually focus on the job. He's willing to relocate your whole company for a special assignment--" Here she glanced over at Titus, indicating that the offer would take the Optio's opinion into account. "-- that, while serving his own purposes, should resonate quite well with your experiences. Xanthus wants to use regents that are supposed to have powerful properties, but are most abundant in Deep One-controlled tunnels. The foci must be able to amplify nearly twice as much as the standard construct, while being as durable as possible. The current regents we have access to are... insufficient for that task."<br/><br/>Absolom let his flensed head rest again the cool stone, staring up at the ceiling in wonder. He had never see fit to join the Mage's Guild -a mired bureaucracy that made it difficult for a spellcaster to make a living anywhere other than their employ or in the Legions- but he knew full well why they were cautious with the manufacture and distribution of foci. Such items, in the wrong hands, could result in destruction far worse than what he had accidentally wreaked across the battlefield here. Absolom was not a particularly powerful spellcaster, he simply had access to a steady supply of power thanks to his profession. Someone with a true bastion of personal power and nothing to lose could potentially level a whole city when equipped with a good foci. And now an Inquisitor was looking to make foci even more powerful than the standard pattern, and in large quantities.<br/><br/>On the one hand, the Skeleton felt oddly eager to experiment with magic, an interest he had had far less time to pursue in recent years. Pushing the borders of science and magic was a fascinating endeavor, albeit often fraught with maimings and early deaths. Or heresy charges. Plus, the only good Deep One was a salmon steak. On the other hand, who knew what kind of plans the Inquisitor had in store. It seemed unlikely, but a coup was always a possibility. Inquisitors were chosen for their loyalty, but no one was beyond corruption.<br/><br/>"I'm sure the Inquisition has far better troops than us, why not send them to get your supplies?"<br/><br/>Absolom wasn't quite sure, but he thought Cain's mouth had drawn up in a grin. Even in deathsight it seemed creepy; like a mannequin had imitated the muscle contractions that made up a human's expression.<br/><br/>"There are worse things in the deep than walking fillets. Things that would be attracted to large groups. Small teams would be able to get in and out without notice. We think."