Hey team, so here we go!

New idea! I'm going to set the stage every so often, and I'll check regularly and keep it on track and advance it every 48 or so hours, we will post in any order (it is moving too slowly at the moment) and when it comes to combat we'll get into order. If you don't post in the window for that section, you are assumed to have walked through it quietly, without having bothered anyone or said anything. Lets give it a go...

Rules; 1) This thread is only for the people who are a part of this group please. Sorry.

Posting order is as in the other thread,
1. nimblejack (assassin)
2. redkommando (psyker)
3. Mel (dialogous)
4. JMZ (scum)
5. Inquisitor Lord Bane (cleric)
6. Doombread (Guardsman)
7. LoganWolfborn (Arbitrator)

Mission Details
Acolytes, your briefing commences now. I, Inquisitor Tyburn Graves, charge you with the following task. The settlement of Stern Hope, on the world of Iaconthos, has formally requested the assistance of the Inquisition. The report, while vague, suggests suspicious disturbances, possibly psychic or warp-based, occurring in the area of a new cathedral raised to honour Saint Drusus. The cathedral lies at the heart of the remote outpost and its successful completion will do much to further the Imperial faith on this troubled world, a laudable goal and one that the Holy Ordos shares.
You are requested and required to proceed to the planet Iaconthos where you will assist a Senior Inquisitorial Agent, Aristarchus the Seer, in investigating the incidents and ensuring that the consecration of the cathedral goes as planned. Your principal tasks are to gather data about any phenomena encountered and, where needed, eliminate any threats that you find. For the duration of the mission, Aristarchus has the honour of command over you in my name. Assist him and afford him the same loyalty as you would give me, in the God-Emperor's name.
Passage for you has been arranged on the trade-hauler Brazen Sky for immediate departure to Iocanthos. Make yourself known and familiarise yourself with your fellow Acolytes on board using the codes you have learned during your training.
Landing close to the site of the incident is impractical due to its geographical location in a mountain range and the potential hostility of the natives. Instead you will make planetfall at Port Suffering (Iocanthos' primary Imperial outpost) and meet Aristarchus there. From Port Suffering arrangements have been made for your journey to Stern Hope. You will receive a 50 Throne stipend each to fund your mission, anything beyond that must be sourced by your own abilities.

Addendum: The Cathedral Mission


Addendum: Reported Phenomena


Addendum: Planetary Briefing


You shut off the data slate and enter the shuttle. It ascends into the heavens before docking with the trade-hauler Brazen Sky. Shuddering and groaning, the bulky starship leaps forwards into the warp towards Iocanthos.

You are met by a fawning purser, who directs you to your berths. He makes it known that he can...see to your needs. At this he shoots a glance at Kiern, Gaius and Varn, as if he had more to say to them that he felt nervous about in front of the more upright members of the group. He informs you that you have access to the mess gallery and your berth and that is all. He then makes his leave, telling you to simply call him on the ship's intercom if you require his services.

And...go!

Gaius looks up from sharpening a knife, and notices the new face. He is wearing a faded black body-glove, with much newer-looking flak splints mounted on it. His hair is dark and greasy-looking, and his face is pale and sunken.

"Oh! Y-y-y-you're coming with us as well?"

"No, I am merely a purser, charged with easing your voyage through the stars on the Brazen Sky. Ignavus Insindi is my name, sirs and madam, and any questions about what you are allowed to do on this fine ship should be directed at me." He replied to Gaius

Varn looked up into Ignavus' eyes "I'm sure we will contact you, if we require assisstance. But since you are here, What parts of the ship are restricted to us?"
Varn prepared to extend his "gift" if anything suspect was said

"You and your team are restricted to the mess gallery and your berth. You are not permitted access to the bridge, engineering, or the crews' berths. Such are the restrictions placed upon passengers by the Captain himself."

GM's Note; An Easy Inquiry test will get Ignavus show you his wares, and if certain members can choose to instead make a Challenging Inquiry or Barter test for a different result.

The Sister gave the man a somewhat reproachful look, and responded in the easy, well-spoken manner of the linguist that she is. "You would not grant us access to the ship's chapel?" Her iconography clearly displayed signifying her as a member of the Order of the Ivory Quill, the Sister's name was Ailessa Engelhart-- a tiny woman of five foot two, whose features were mostly hidden under her hooded Sororitas Shield Robes-- and she appeared to be expecting to be granted access to a chapel as a matter of course.

Which may be more reasonable than it might seem at fist glance. After all, she is an Adepta Sororitas, even if she's more of a mathematician, linguist, and general scholar than a Battle Sister. She belongs in an Imperial chapel like metal belongs on a Techpriest.

[OOC: I don't have Inquiry, so I'm gonna have to pass on that.]

The purser wrung his hands nervously, "Ahh, of course Sister, my humble apologies, I will bring the request to the Executive Officer in the most emphatic terms, and we shall see what we can do." He shuffled over to the wall and accessed the intercom, requesting permission for access to the chapel. After a short wait, the Executive Officer replies with an affirmative, and the purser returns to the group. "You are permitted access to the chapel for the appropriate masses, Sister, but you will be escorted to and fro by a crew member, so that you don't get lost."

[OOC: It is a basic skill, so you could make a roll for it but with half of your characteristic (rounding up). But I don't think his...services are the kind of thing that a fine, upstanding Sister Dialogous would approve of anyway.]

From the rear of the group, a fairly short and thin built man in well worn clothing steps up. His bizarre black and white striped hair that is divided into braids and dreads hangs down around him, the strands swinging in different directions with each step. He tilts his head to the side ever so slightly as he steps up alongside the sister. He steps in near the purser, his stance that of the youthfully stand-offish, thumbs looped over his belts, with a bit of a sneer on his face.
"So now that we're on this hauler as 'guests', what bits of scrap, crap, and flea trap might you have for us there mister Insidi,....?"
(the word guests is spoken in a tone which denotes his discomfort with the limitations imposed on the party, and the question is denoted by the open hands awaiting response)

(Roll result: I rolled for the easy inquiry and failed the test, so it's likely he's using a bit too much hive scum slang for the purser to be comfortable with, or to understand his request.)

"I'm not sure I understand you sir, my apologies, but make yourselves at home, it should be a swift trip."

In the corner of the room sits Legius the Wall. He is a tall man covered in muscle and scars, with a short black mohawk. He's wearing priests robes stitched to custom flak armor, covered in religious symbols. Looking up with piercing steel grey eyes, "Thank you, I'm sure we will be in need of your assistance in the near future", and promptly goes back to his book, seemingly ignoring everything else in the room.

"Ah of course sir, I will take my leave of you now, You can reach me through the intercom." And with a bow, Ignavus backed out of the hatch which irised closed behind him, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves.

"So, we've got to investigate some sorcery-weirdness on this planet and then we're done? Based on my past experiences, that's either the kind of mission that's real easy, or the kind that sounds real easy, but you don't come back. Unfortunately, that sounds more and more like the latter the more I think about it."

"If it is too easy, then you probably missed some detail or other." Ailessa recites one of the various Schola Progenium teachings, as she adjusts her robes.

[ooc: just participating in conversation, since it's been a while since anyone posted I hope you guys don't mind my posting this.]

And with that hanging in the air, the acolytes passed the journey in relative unease, apart from Ailessa who was calmed by her learnings in the Schola. After weeks of continuous shuddering motion, you feel a sudden lurch and a sickening wrenching sensation that can only mean that the Brazen Sky has dropped out of warp. After a few minutes, the pale-faced purser appears in the hatchway with a flourish and advises you that you must "pack your gear and present yourselves in Forward hold 2/DZ015 for debarkation to Iocanthos". He waits, smiling to lead the way.

"And one more thing, this astropathic message arrived for you," he says, handing Gaius a data slate, "It was unencrypted. Feel free to keep the data slate as well sirs."

The message reads: "Scythe bids Hounds, Animus awaits by a blasted field, welcome into pack."

Gaius glances over the data slate, and stows it away in his pack along with the rest of his gear. Hefting the duffel bag onto his shoulder and standing up from his bunk, he crosses the room past the others to where the purser is waiting.

"R-r-ready to go."

Varn pulls himself to his feet, and starts to walk towards the hatchway then stops.
"Should be ask the Emperor for his blessing?" he asks, with the slightest of grins on his face as he turns looking at the Sister and then the rest of the group

The purser guides you to the forward hold, a long, narrow and high-vaulted room that holds a modest-sized lighter - a multi-purpose transport designed to move goods and people from orbit down to the planet's surface. The access hatch is already open and waiting for the Acolytes while workers finish loading supplies and other cargo onto the vessel. A deck officer takes a data-slate from the purser, who bids you farewell with a fawning bow.

Once he has left, the deck officer asks "Have any of you ever been on a drop before? If not, would you like a sedative to ease the journey?"

"Thank you for the offer, but making a drop is something I'm quite used to by now. I'm rather fond of the experience actually, it gives us time to reflect on the seriousness of our duty to the Emperor." Legius proceeds to find a seat, strap in, and start looking through his prayer book for a fitting passage, then looks to the other acolytes to join in.

"Of course sir, would you need a sedative sister?"

[GM's Note: Tssk tssk no cue jumping Bane. Play nice. Ok, I take it back in this instance, everyone gets a free out of sync post to keep it rolling, just answer the question so we can go on. Cheers]

"No sedative for me, thanks. I can't even count all the times I've been on a drop."

Kiern steps up near Ignavus and nods his head with a small, appreciative smile on his face.

"I've lived through hivequakes, explosions, and all manner of filth, and I would happily deal with them all just to have some solid ground underfoot again."

After gladly accepting the sedative he steps over to the entry door of the transport. Anyone paying close attention would notice him stop and reach inside his vest, his hand clasps over something on a chain around his neck for a moment while his lips move seemingly soundlessly. Tucking the object back into his vest he boards the craft and searches for a seat.

"Yes, I believe I would." She shrugs. Not being a battle sister means being humble enough to realize she isn't the most combat-capable or fit person in the group.

Gaius moved around the deck officer beyond his reach, slipping by and entering the dropship, "N-no, I haven't experienced a drop before, but I don't t-t-take sedatives, thank you"

Varn, at the end of the line, walked straight up to the deck officer, "No, I have never participated in a drop before, and I would gladly accept a sedative. Thank you." Popping it into his mouth, he made his way on board and sat near Mordecai, the two beginning to smile as the effects of the drug took hold.

The lighter's interior is cramped and uncomfortable, with hard metal seats and heavy padded straps to keep a passenger from flying around during the bumpy descent. Once the characters are seated, a cold mechanical voice comes over the vox-comm and counts down until descent. The bay doors seal shut with a hissing noise, and finally, with a gut-wrenching lurch, the lighter falls into the void of space. Zero-G asserts itself and any loose objects float through the air. Gaius retches and his last meal hangs in the air for a few moments before sloshing to the floor as the lighter hits the atmosphere, roaring through its descent.

After what seems like an interminable amount of time, the shuddering slows and conversation becomes possible as the roaring noise recedes. Bright day can be seen out of the viewports. After a short wait, the lighter bumps sharply and the pilot announces their successful landing on one of the landing pads of Port Suffering.

Through the hatch, you see a scorched landing field, broken ground blackened from innumerable shuttle and lighter engines. Encircling the landing area is a high wire fence and looming above that, the brooding metal-clad walls of the settlement of Port Suffering.

The air smells foul, of chemicals, propellants and cleaning agents, but beneath the odours one would expect of such a place, there's a faint and sweet smell of iron.

Upon leaving the lighter, you see a a man approaching from the left and, further in the distance, a blotchy faced official wearing dusty and once-fine navy-blue robes trimmed in gaudy chains, flanked by large men wearing re-breathers and cradling shotguns.

The lone man, in a mesh vest with a shotgun slung across his back, reaches the group first. He seems relaxed, almost excited to meet the group, and he is not giving any regard to the official who is approaching from behind him, so he doesn't seem to be related to that group.

The official is harder to read.

"Hello boys and girls," says the lone figure, his arbitrator badge flashing in his hand, "I'm Animus, here to join the hounds' pack." He looks each member of the group in the eye.

Having rushed off the transport to get away from the smell of Gaius' returned meal, Kiern is one of the first to put his feet on solid ground. Still slightly 'stoned' from the sedative, his smile stretches wide as he wiggles his feet on firm non-moving footing. It takes him a moment to notice the incoming official with escort, and his smile shrinks a bit. He then notices the loner approaching. Instinctively one of his hands slowly lowers, resting on his hip just above a very large handgun.

As the loner approaches,
"Hey there fella, I guess welcome to the pack,... Animus is it?,... and who're yer friends over there?"
(juts his chin in the direction of the officials, as he settles into his stance)

[GM's note; its already there, just uncensor it, everybody gets one]

Yeah. I'm Animus. And those aren't my friends. I don't like, em, I don't trust em, and their not my friends. And my real name is SIlvanus. Why do we need this (in a dumb sounding voice) "I would like to join the hounds! I'm Animus! Doo dee doo da!" (This isn't what I actually think. This is just what my character is like. He's sort of the disdainful, arrogant type) But who are you guys? I mean, yeah, you're all acolytes, but What do you call each other? The guy's I worked with called me cutter. You don't wanna know why. And what's going on here? What are we doing? I didn't get the briefing.

The Sister's vague smile doesn't really reveal much about her intentions or interpretations-- passively happy, or perhaps actively hiding her feelings. Or perhaps she just doesn't care.

"Sister Engelhart will do."

[ ooc: Mind using quotes to indicate where your character is talking? ]

"My name is Varn" he said, barly suppressing a grin, as he felt the discomfort of the group at the late arrival of a new member to the group

That's great, but what's the mission? Like I told you, I don't know what we're doin here. And are there any more of ya? I would think an inquisitor would think, even for a man of my talents, would sned more backup to get shot up well i'm doin all the work!

[GM's note; Assume you have been briefed before meeting the group to the extent you know what you are investigating, and who your first point of contact is. Lets keep it moving.]

After these introductions, the acolytes turn and regard the official who is just reaching them. "Hello, sirs and madam," begins the official, "I am Kerred Smyke and I welcome you to Port Suffering. As master of the port, I formally request your identities, your reason for landfall and your length of stay." As he listed his requests, the none-too-bright guards stared menacingly at Wolfe and Silvanus, identifying them as the largest and therefore the biggest dangers to their charge.

[GM's note; No, you don't. You follow the posting order. You are number 7. If nimblejack doesn't respond in 24 hours, THEN you can post. Delete your reply and just put a fullstop or something please.]

I think it's been 24 hours since my last post, so here I go:
Wolfe Zarkov makes a point of appearing callously indifferent to their threatening gazes, as he himself threateningly draws his huge-bore shotgun.

[GM's note; Edited that first post for a new attempt at fluidity. Post whenever you want, and I'll advance the story every day or 2, and we'll get into order when it comes to combat with initiative. So yeah...post away ]

(OOC: Woot!)
"Now now fellas, ain't no need to be whippin em out, these here officials just don't know who we are yet".

Kiern steps over to Zarkov and gently lays his hand on Zarkov's arm, lowering the shotgun to point toward the ground. A sly smile and a wink to Zarkov with the intent of setting him at ease.

Kiern steps gently toward the official, hands open and unthreateningly.
"Now, Mr Smyke, do you mind if I call you Kerred?
(without waiting for a response, and starting to speak a little faster)
My good sir Kerred,... Ker, is Ker alright?
(again, without waiting for response, and still speaking a little faster to not allow responses)
Ker, my name is Kiern, and my associates and I are here at the request of the local Imperial faith. We're here to check out how things are a going with the recent chapel of yer fair little city, and my is it a pret' one at that, this here landin pad an' all, but ya see, you do see don'tcha?
(continues talking without waiting, now speaking at a speed that will only just allow the official to nod in response, talking over him if he tries to speak)
Now the Chapel, Saint Drusus' chapel as I recall, is supposed to send an escort our way, a fine man if I ever did know, and he's s'posed to clear up all the hubbub on the where we be stayin, and a how long that be goin fer as well. I'm surprised that these fine fellas of yours didnt bring em down here with ya, fellas you been doing a great job around here from what I hear
(acknowledging both of the guards, if they hadn't already started paying attention he tries to draw them in with this)
So if you could just point us toward where ma good friend Mr Aristarchus would be waiting, we'll be on our ways, y'do know where he is right Ker?
(still at a quick talk pace, not waiting for response)
being the master of port and all I'd imagine you know where any citizen of such repute would be in your port, so lead on good sir and we shall follow, thank you Ker, you're a heckuva guy, lead on, lead on."

As he closes out the last words Kiern takes a deep breath, clapping the official on the back and pointing him back the direction he'd come from.

(I attempted to use my fellowship to give the official some details without dropping our names and intent, while confuzling him a bit, so I rolled for the skill Blather: basically Kiern continues talking, and if he succeeds, the people it is directed at are confused and distracted by it, as they think he may be drunk, crazy, or both. Also says they may do nothing for a round, but not sure if this will do anything aside from stall for the moment. It does have an opposed roll for them to resist, but since I am giving them info, not sure what negatives this could bring)

(I rolled on my Fel which is 37 + 3 fel bonus for skill use, so 40 was my target, my roll was a 38, so under by only 2 points, eep.)

If I did anything the wrong way, lemme know. Thanks

"I, err, pardon? I, umm, well," Kerred stumbled over his words, confused by the smooth talking gunslinger, "well, there is a cherub awaiting the arrival of certain persons, just over there. The chapel you say? I'll, umm, log this as a pilgrimage to the chapel then."

The party quickly moves on, knowing if they stay very long at all then the official will start to decipher the fact that Kiern just blathered incessantly to him rather than give him the answers he desired. They reach a tiny, battered-looking cherubim servitor fluttering in a small circle. It mutely hands the Acolytes a parchment adorned with a seal of the Acolyte's Inquisitor. The parchment instructs them "Hounds. Hold to a child's shadow, the third eye awaits. A darkness stirs. Scythe." When they look up from the parchment, the cherub has begun to flutter away, urging them on with a pudgy waving hand. Leading out of the space port, the cherub lead the way into the Pits.

[GM's note, you did fine, 2 points is enough, but if your team doesn't get moving from the area pretty quick, or if they draw the attention of the authorities...]

The walk toward the cherub and then following it from the spaceport, kiern keeps his head up, eyes ahead, (acting like he's one of those upper hive pomps who heads off like they own the place).
Once outside of the spaceport, he starts cracking up.
Between laughs while walking he manages to get out,
"now that, friends, is how you handle any of them badge wearing prats. No offense to present company."
Winks at our new friend Mr Animus.

"A series of shotgun shells works just as well in my personal experience, and is heaps more fun."

"You guys betta take a hike! Next time I sees ya face, I'll blow it off!" (I turn away from the creeps and look at the group) "Oooooooh, I just remembered what we need to do! Some weird warp planet, right?"

(OOC: As part of Motyak's new ruleset, we can post out of order between plot points, but he'll only let us advance (ie, leave an area, story continuation) once a day. Gives everyone a chance to react to things, and has more interaction, rather than waiting days at a time for each person to act.
We will be sticking to initiative order for combat's however, so keep an eye on it when the bad stuff starts happening.)

First @Doombread:
Kiern nods, and a wicked smile spreads across his face.
"I'm fond of these myself"
Runs a hand across the large bore revolver shells spaced along his gunbelt.

(player question @Logan:
Does the Arbiter say this while we are still within range of the guards and officials, or after we've walked away? Because if while still there, Kiern will attempt to muffle him, be it by singing some Imperial faith hymn loudly over the threats to blot em out so the official doesn't hear as we walk away, or by blathering over Animus' to confuzle and silence him.)
Softly, and slowly, simply to get him to pay attention, Kiern speaks toward Animus (when out of sight of the officials).
"This is not your world, you hold no legal power over these men, nor are they worth the trouble, we are here under the command of greater powers than our own needs and pride. If you jeopardize things before they have begun, I will retire you from what I'm sure was a most productive service... "
Then with a friendly smile.
"Or at least just wait until there's someone worth shooting."
Kiern winks and pats the handle of the large revolver hanging at his side, then turns and walks off to follow the cherub with the rest of the party.

The cherub continues to flit through the crowd, dodging left and right through the press of humanity in The Works. Out of the corners of their eyes, Ailessa, Legius and Wolfe notice individuals in local garb staring at them through the breaks in the crowd, what they can see of their faces heavily daubed with gaudy blue and white dye flame patterns.

They quickly inform the rest of the group, and after asking the locals, learn that these symbols follow the "old ways", although no one will be drawn further than that.

Feeling comfortable in these crowds, Kiern leads the party, enjoying the feel of people around him after the emptiness of space. Suddenly, a bedraggled man leaps in front of him, grabbing onto his right forearm and shouting a string of wild phrases and obscenities at him. Legius clearly hears him cry "He's here, he's here again, the Crow Father come to drown us in lies." Wolfe makes out a cry of "False, false, the two faces he has! First of three has two!". He lets go of Kiern's arm, but doesn't move out of the acolyte's path. The cherub flits over the man, pausing at the next corner and waving urgently at the acolytes to proceed with it.

[GM's note; so there is a raving man in front of you, he's not moving, can't be charmed or intimidated...go!]

[ooc: My browser and my antivirus gave me a warning when I tried to go to the diceroll site today. So I'm delaying my post until I talk with Motyak about an alternative, cause I think I'm gonna trust the two...]

(GM question. Does Kiern hear any of that or was it just a string of obscenities to his ears?)

If all he heard was a string of vulgarities, he'd return in kind, pushing the man's hands away from him and the stepping around him toward the cherub. (also patting his gear quickly to make certain nothing was lifted during the distraction)

Ailessa did not want to be kept from the mission. The Inquisition's orders, after all, were paramount-- beyond any other need. Thankfully she prepared for this.

Taking a moment to watch the man's pattern of movement, the Sister waits until a good moment, then draws her magnum and shoots at the man, a good clean shot hopefully to center of mass-- and silenced, at that. A silencer feels somehow unclean and dirty, for isn't a Sister supposed to be shouting the Emperor's blessings above a hail of bolter fire?

But following the Inquisition's commands was more important than that. Pride corrupts. Better to serve than to seek glory.

"Well, that was a simple and quick solution, wasn't it?"

Also, Mel, I think the point-blank bonus is 30.

The old man's eyes flew open, the madness lost in the seconds before his death. "His eyes..." Kiern heard him breath, before the man's arms extending out in front of him as he crumpled along his centre. His crumpled body, lost in his robes, fell at the feet of the acolytes.

Wolfe's glib quip died on his lips as a shout erupted from in the crowd, the party's watchers, their blue and white faces contorted with anger, began to push through the rapidly thinning press of people, weapons bared.

[GM's note; I'm at uni at the moment, so I'll roll initiative order and what not when I get home this arvo, so no posting till then, sorry guys]

[GM's note; Initiative Order for the coming scuffle

Kiern - 13
Gaius - 11
Thug 1 - 10
Legius - 9
Wolfe - 7
Silvanus - 7
Varn - 6
Thug 2 - 5
Ailessa - 4
Thug 3 - 3

Lets not break the posting order until its over. Good luck]



The crazed man remains in a ball on the ground, unmoving and bleeding heavily. The three thugs are 20 metres away, the crowd having dispersed almost completely. They are approaching the group spaced about 5 metres apart, stub revolvers drawn and pointed at the party. Kiern was leading the party through the crowd, and is therefore about 30m from the thugs. The rest of the group is relatively bunched up, Silvanus on the far side of the group from the thugs watching that flank, Gaius on the close side to the thugs (so he's 20m away) and Wolfe, unable to shake the habits of his time in the military, was ass end arnold and is about 30m from the thugs.

At the sound of the shot sounding behind him (Thanks Mel) Kiern instinctively dives toward the nearest cover, unsure if he is the target or not (life in the hives makes ya a bit jumpy). Once behind something that seems to be able to stop a bullet, he draws both of his pistols, thumbing the autopistol to full auto, and cocking back the hammer on the heavy handcannon.

Kiern leans out from cover with the autogun at the ready, sees that the crowd is dispersing and notices the three armed men approaching.

Bracing himself for a full spray of lead, he focuses his attention on the nearest of the three. (thug 3 according to Motyak) and sets him carefully in his crosshairs.

(Taking an aim as full round on this one, so +20 for next round attack, and will be firing a full auto burst so an additional +20 next round)
(OOC, sorry for the delay, had to look up the combat rules again for full auto fire)

Gaius whips his head around at the sound of the muffled gunshot and pushes his way from the group to the nearest cover, intending to get behind something solid before the shooting starts again.

[GM's note; Ailessa can reach the column to her back right, and the two stalls to her front with a half action. All other cover is a full action.
Silvanus can reach the column and stall to his left, and the stall to his front right with a half action. All other cover is a full action.
Legius can reach the stall to his front, and the stall and column to his rear with a half action, all other cover is a full action.
Wolfe can reach the stall to his front and his right with a half action, all other cover is a full action.
Varn can reach the stall to his front, and the column to his back right with a half action, all other is a full action.

That should help]

Gaius squirms lower behind a pilliar, catching his breath in heaving gasps.

Thug 1 slides to the pillar to his right, ripping of a shot at Silvanus. It spends itself on the mesh armour covering his chest, causing no damage.

[GM's note; Hit, hit chest, 6 damage, that is absorbed by his armour on that part (4) and his TB. And I tried to update my photobucket so I can show where people are at the moment, but it isn't working...so hopefully after Bane has his go, it'll work]

Upon hearing the commotion of the fight unfolding, Legius immediately draws his sidearm and points it at the man standing in the open (Thug 2), snapping off a quick shot and roaring a challenge to his enemies...


EDIT: Grammar

EDIT #2: I did 9 damage, apparently it didn't show in the spoiler

Okay, my turn.

Wolfe goes for cover behind the nearest market stall as a half action, and shoots Thug 2 with the (conveniently already drawn) shotgun as another half action.

And, I roll a 54. Unless there was a modifier or something, he biffs his shot.
EDIT: Third person.

[ooc: You do? Or your character does? We haven't posted enough for me to recognize your character's name being attached to yours, so if it's the latter, I don't know who is doing that anyway...]

I dodge for cover with varn and yell "Next time, I suggest you NOT shoot the tough guy, ya piece a s###!!!!!!! I fired, rolled a 53, and therefore missed!
ps, the guys I yelled at did hear me.

Varn slides into the cover of the market stall in front of him, shouting to the Sister "Well done SIster, now you've pissed em off."
Varn draws and aims his Revolver at Thug 3

The second thug, his body in agony from the slug buried in the flesh of his arm, blood pouring from the grievous wound, found his eyes drawn to the roaring preacher who was brandishing a pistol at him. He raised the stub revolver in his hand and snapped off a shot at the man who had shot him, the round flying wide. He then stumbled towards Thug 1, almost reaching the cover just infront of him.

Deciding that discretion is the better part of not being shot in the face, the Sister Dialogous ducks behind cover and fires off a shot at the wounded thug, missing due to her moving while shooting.

The third Thug, shocked to see his friend bleeding heavily from his arm, runs behind the pillar to his left (the top right one on the image) and snaps off a shot at Kiern who is hiding behind the nearby stall, the bullet flying wide.

[GM's note; End of the Round, this is where we stand



And on we go! Round 2 begin, edit: derpy derp derp Kiern is the one I was going for]

Squeezing the trigger gently to maintain focus on thug 3 even while the thug is shooting in his direction, Kiern sends a blast of rounds hurtling at the man as he ducks behind the column.
As the rounds start flying, Kiern blinks his eyes as the last round crashes against the stone, sending shards flying off. He did however notice as two rounds caught the thug, a round deflecting off of the leg armor, and a second round catching him high in the arm and sending out a small spurt of blood.

Disappointed that the man is still standing, but pleased to have drawn blood, Kiern yells in his direction, "Throw down your arms or I'll blast you out with a boom-rock ya nit."

Ducking back into full cover Kiern readies himself to pop up again and smoke whoever is visible.

 motyak wrote:
The second thug, his body in agony from the slug buried in the flesh of his arm, blood pouring from the grievous wound, found his eyes drawn to the roaring preacher who was brandishing a pistol at him. He raised the stub revolver in his hand and snapped off two shots at the man who had shot him, one of them slamming into the cleric's right arm, a spray of blood shooting from the wound.

Spoiler:

First shot missed (nearly jammed), second hit, did 13 damage to Legius' right arm, -3 for TB, -3 for flak jacket, so 7 wounds all up. Gulp. I'm kinda hoping you did kill him

Motyak, my apologies for posting out of order, but you can't do 2 standard attacks in a turn.

[GM's note; Each square is a metre. It is a little off, but his combat shouldn't be much longer, and I'll work out a better one for the next encounter, sorry. Thanks to Jack for the idea of a grid.]

Gaius rummages through his bag for one of the grenades he brought along, and throws it at the shooters.

Again, my apologies for posting out of order, but NimbleJack, could you tell us the damage?

(Double Post)

The blast of shrapnel goes off low, heading for the gunman's legs.


It hits, scything his legs out from under him and leaving him to bleed to death.

[GMs Note; First Blood to Jack! Thug 2 is dooown]

Thug 1 takes aim at Silvanus before cracking a shot off, the round flying past Silvanus' head and off into the distance.

Seeing his target drop, Legius moves into cover behind Wolfe and draws his sword, switching his pistol into his off hand as he prepares to bring his wrath down on those who stand before him.

(Half action into cover, half action to draw the sword)

Wolfe moves ahead 3m (half action) towards Thug 1, and shotguns Thug 1 (half action)

I'm pretty sure I'm at point-blank, but correct me if i'm wrong, motyak.

30 to hit, success with 4 degrees, that's 3 hits (the shotgun is scatter). Reversed is 3- I think that's a headshot, but I'm not sure.
1st hit-5+4=9 dmg.
2nd hit-8+4=12 dmg
3rd hit-9+4= 13 dmg
Unless I'm really not at point-blank, I think Thug 1 is dead.
Also, if I remember my DH crits correctly, Thug 3 now has to make a Willpower test to not run away, given how brutally Thug 1 got killed.

[GM's note; I'm just letting the thugs die as they lose their wounds, I don't think they need the level of detail that you and important enemies will have in terms of wounds taken. But I liked your idea, sadly Thug 3 seems to have serious guts. He passed his test.

Here is a revised initiative list.

Kiern - 13
Gaius - 11
Legius - 9
Wolfe - 7
Silvanus - 7
Varn - 6
Ailessa - 4
Thug 3 - 3]

[ooc: Bump . Should I post, since I've been waiting for a certain other player for a while now...]

[ooc: go on with out me for a bit, as i'm away from Base-plate]

[GM's note; We will proceed, just skip Varn's go, I'll play for him in a very passive sense and see if that works. Sorry for the long waits, I understand your issues red. Can't wait to have you back on board. So next up will be Ailessa]

Ailessa attempted to take out the wounded thug so her companions could fire at the rest, and took careful aim before putting the necessary pressure on the trigger and releasing the near-silent wrath of her revolver.

Blood fountaining from the terrible wound, the last thug falls dead to the ground, the stub revolver slipping from his dead hand. Kiern's sharp ears pick up the sound of sirens tearing through the sudden quiet, only a few minutes away. The cherub returns to the party, its protocols registering that it was in no immediate danger now. It began to urge them to follow it again away from the scene of the crime, and on towards their goal

[GM's note; Normally I would, but he's dead as a doornail, so there is no real point this time. Kiern was the only one to pass his awareness test to hear the sirens. They were going to show up at the end of round 5. Its now up to you guys if you try and loot the bodies before the enforcers get there, or just leg it with the cherub. There is probably time to quickly riffle over one or two bodies (Perception test, degrees of success will determine just what you find), if you want a more in depth look you are more likely to get caught. You can just pick up the weapons they dropped without a test though.

Now we return to the cycle of me updating it about once a day, post as you please, Varn will be following dumbly along, I'll still post for him, but he won't be doing anything game changing, else that'd be cheating.]

Upon realization that the third thug has dropped, Kiern will call out to the others,
"Time to get movin', I can hear the local law on it's way in".

This is stated while he makes his way quickly to the nearest corpse (thug 3), snatching up the gun and any obvious ammo. He quickly pats down the still warm body, taking an extra moment on any pockets or blatantly over padded or double seamed clothing. To anyone observing, it appears that Kiern is rolling the dead guy with the expert skill of someone who has lived their life as a scavenger, patting down and checking areas most unceremoniously.



Kiern tucks a few things into various pockets, and slips the stubber into his belt at the back. Stands up and makes his way over toward the cherub.
"C'mon, let's get movin'."

He also pops the clip out of his autogun and replaces the 6 rounds fired off before returning the clip to the gun.

[GM's note; Kiern, you found a knife, a stub revolver and 11 rounds. Your 2 degrees of success let you see this as well.]

While he was riffling through the clothes of the dead thug, Kiern found the flame tattoo repeated on their now bared chests. The flame over his heart is different however, it incorporates a black crow's eye into its design.

".......The Crow king's eyes......?" Kiern mutters under his breath.

He'll keep this information to himself for now, he wants to get away from the scene before the local officials show up.

Gaius cautiously emerges from his cover, zipping his bag back up.
"Th-the arbites? We n-need to go!"
He trots after the cherub, making sure that both their paths lead away from the sirens.

[GM's note; I'll give you guys another day, so those who haven't posted or checked in a bit can have a go at looting and then tomorrow evening I'll push it on.]

I'm not going to loot, nor do I have anything to really add to the dialogue. This doubles as my OoC indicator, btw

The cherub eventually leads you out of the crowded streets and into an imposing walled compound, through doors embossed with the Imperial Eagle. Inside, a functionary shows you into a high-vaulted dark room, your footsteps echoing as you follow him. Some effort has been made to make the chamber comfortable, you notice the cool, refreshing, relatively clean air, as well as the real wooden furniture and beautiful tapestries. Seated at one of the tables, Aristarchus sits at a table, examining the local feeds on his data-slate.

Wearing charcoal grey robes, a small smile pulling at his lean, handsome face, he replaces the ivory cards he was handling prior to your arrival in a wrought silver case, which he returns to his pockets. "Welcome, I am the Seer Aristarchus. I trust the trip passed quickly?" he asks. He stands, skirting the table and offering each of you his hand in greeting, before insisting that you sit with him.

From this close, you can see his curious gold-grey eyes, as well as the sanctioning electoo of the Scholastica Psykana imprinted on his left cheek. You can see that his bag is made of expensive emdar silk, and is decorated with several lead purity symbols. He claps his hands and servitors arrive with refreshments, and request the excess baggage of the party members.

"Once you have all made yourselves comfortable, I will explain the mission further." He says, the little smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Having nothing resembling baggage, Kiern settles himself into a seat, shifting his rear a bit as he sinks gently into the fine cushion. He reaches up and graciously accepts a drink off of the servitor's tray, and grabs a handful of whatever food happens to be around as well. With a swig and a bite he nods appreciatively toward the host.
After an appropriate amount of time to chew and swallow, he ask Aristarchus,
"Would you be up fer a game when and if we've got a moment of leisure later?"
Kiern's eyes and hand gesture toward the pocket with the cards,

Ailessa nods, and sits down. Closing her eyes, she begins to chant a prayer to the Emperor-- no noise, just mouthed words.

Waiting patiently, she extolled the virtues of the Emperor in her mind.

Awed by the presence of actual wooden furnishings and the psyker sitting across the table, Gaius resolved to keep his mouth shut.
He swatted away the hand of the baggage servitor as it dumbly moved to take his duffel and picked the bag up into his lap.

Legius unconsciously makes the sign of the aquila as he breathes a quick prayer of thankfulness that everyone lived to continue their holy mission. Then grabbing a snack and a drink he sat down, uncomfortably shifting. As much as he was around them in the Guard, psykers still made him slightly on edge.

[GM's note; I'll be updating tonight at some point]

Aristarchus rose from the table and cleared his throat. "While I'm certain that the mission briefing you received from our honoured master describes in some detail the nature of our purpose here, I have had the benefit of spending a few weeks in this... unfortunate...outpost, and I have not been idle. You see, Iocanthos, for all its squalor, is near to y heart. The venerated Saint Drusus himself, to whom I have the very great honour of being distant kin, claimed this world for the Imperium, sweeping over the savages and bringing them into the light and glory of the God-Emperor. As yo know, the cathedral of Stern Hope is due to be consecrated to this great hero, and I would not see the memory off this Saint diminished by heresy and such a holy purpose thwarted by a backwoods witch or some such." He looked around, making sure that everyone was listening, before continuing.

"So, Stern Hope...the information I have been able to discover does not seem to suggest some psychic phenomena occurring there. While I cannot say, based on the muddled reports we have received, whether this is the result of some reckless, preciously undetected psyker or of something far darker, the evidence suggests that all such strangeness has occurred in or around the new cathedral. As you are aware, there have been bleeding statues, manifestations, haunting noises, sounds of scratching from the walls..." he trails off and stares distractedly a moment into space before picking his dataslate up from the smooth wood of the table, reviewing a point of data, and continuing.

"Ah yes, Stern Hope lies to the north, high in those mountains you may have seen on your way here. On a more civilized world, we would have gone directly to the outpost by air, but that's not possible here, so we have to travel by the Pilgrims' Road as they call it, a rutted dirt path would be more accurate. I've managed to secure us transport, an all-terrain flatbed, and I'm hoping one of you drives, as I've never had cause to learn. We must pass through the barren shale wastes first though, and this is not a journey to be taken lightly. The locals claim that the wastes have witnessed all of the greatest battles of Iocanthos' long and bloody past and remain to this day a favoured battlefield of the clans. No one knows for certain, but rumours claim that all manner of terrible things lurk out there, although bandits and marauders are the most likely threat, so we ought to be prepared for any eventuality. Now, any questions?" He moves to sit himself back down, but then remembers another point.

"Oh, and Varn, our lord and master has requested that you return to his side, he has need of you for another mission. You will make your way immediately to the space port and board the soon to be departing troop ship Emperor's Grace. Good luck." Then Aristarchus seats himself back down, gesturing for the party to speak freely.

[GM's note; Thank you very much for bearing with me over the course of my assignments, I'll reward you by getting you all gruesomely killed. Red won't be coming back to play this for a while, so instead of me playing Varn until he gets back, his character will be leaving us here.]

"We will find this witch and stake it. If anyone else stands in our way, may the Emperor have mercy on them, for we surely will not."
Standing, Legius shifts his pack and looks at it for a second. "I'm going to need a new crossbow"


Yay for getting gruesomely killed!!!

[How are we dealing with XP gains?]

"Very well. Will we be receiving equipment for that purpose? I am not certain how much help I will be in battling bandits and witches with my little pistol."

[GM's note; Next update tonight. Also in regards to the XP question Mel, at the end of the mission, I'll figure out how much XP you guys get. I think its better to do it at the end rather than in bits and pieces throughout the mission. Unless you have experience to the contrary?

Edit: Apologies, my brother wants to go out tonight for his birthday, so I'll update it tomorrow during the day.]

Kiern simply nods between mouthfuls of food and drink through the conversations. Then following the sister's requisition of equipment.
"New shooters could be a great benefit, but I'd greatly appreciate whatever specialty ammo you have available for my gals here. "
Pats the two weapons holstered on his hips, and then proceeds to eat more.

'Kiern. For you, and any of your fellows who wish, I have a selection of rounds. 30 'Dumdum' rounds, and 30 Manstopper shells. I also have 10 Inferno shells, blessed by a wandering Ayatani, a priest, on the ship which brought me to this planet. I bought these at my personal expense for the party, so in the Emperor's name, don't miss.' He rummaged in his pouch and it emerged clutching a handful of heavy coins.

'For those of you not willing to take me up on my offer, here are 100 Thrones. Discuss it amongst yourselves as to who will spend what, feel free to venture out into the city and then return to me in the morning so that we can set out to the plains.'

[GM's note; PM me with what you guys want from his stockpile, or what you decide on that you want to buy, and then you can head out to buy/steal it. If you want to try to nick it, talk to me. No one really seems like that sort of character, but just giving you the option. Its a very poor town, so don't expect hot-shots or power weapons or anything fancy like that.]

[ooc in spoiler.]



"I have my own supply of manstopper rounds, so I would not want to be greedy and take what another member might need. I would take a portion of the thrones, and make a tithe to the Emperor at the next possible chance."

She bows her head and looks to the others, and with a smile, suggests: "I would suggest we set aside ten thrones for the tithe collectively, then split the rest. It is always good to remember the Emperor in all of your dealings."

'Of course sister, how remiss of us to not first honour the Emperor before helping ourselves.'

Having passed the night in various states of sleep, the party awakes in the morning to find Aristarchus waiting for them, already keen to get on the move.

'My cherub overheard that there is trouble in the wastes to the north, war clans on the move apparently, they seem to be fighting each other far more often than normal. More pertinent to our mission are the reports of more evil spirits emerging. We had best be on our way.' With that, Aristarchus chivvies them out of bed, adroitly dodging the waving hands of Kiern as he flicks his pillow out from under him in an attempt to wake him, and pinching his nose at the poignant aroma of Wolfe's morning breath. Soon the party is ready to travel, having retrieved their items from their hosts, and set out to the city gate.

[OOC; I'll finish this tomorrow, sorry, its late here. Post if you want, talking about the barren-ness of the barrens or bantering or what have you]

Shortly after waking from his exceptionally restful sleep (not used to beds so fine), Kiern can briefly be seen rubbing his eyes and wiping his face into his sleeves. Followed by wrapping his gunbelts around his waist, and checking the clip, slide, hammers and chambers on his collection of pistols, a quick and well practiced process.
Once suited up and sure of his gear, Kiern steps up near Aristarchus,
"Scuse me, but I was wondering if you might have any knowhow about a fella the locals here seem to refer ta as the Crow King, overheard something about his eyes being ever-watching and wanted to see what you might know about it?"

Leading them out of the building and towards the motor yard near the gate, Aristarchus responded to Kiern's question.

"Of course Kiern, as is evident by your question, it is impossible to avoid learning something about this Crow King. Sadly, this learning tends to be limited to his name, and his eyes. One thing I have learnt beyond this, however, is that he is linked in some way to the Shale Crows. They are local carrion eaters, vile things more feathered reptile than bird if you get close to them, sharp-beaked too. Local myth has all sorts of unpleasant legends surrounding them. Hardly surprising really. They're not just scavengers either - they'll attack wounded and weak creatures. There are even reports of them attacking lost travellers. They key link between them and the crow king is that they have developed without eyes. No eyes at all. But our group is sizeable and not without defences. We will be able to cross unmolested by them." He bangs on the roof of the cab Now hurry on, there is a lot of ground we have to cover before we make camp for the night."

Reaching the motor yard, he crossed to an old, rackety, 4-wheeled flatbed truck. Pale legs flashing beneath his robe, he agilely leaped up into the back of the truck.

"Wolfe, I believe that you have experience in vehicles of this kind. If you would be so kind as to get in the cab with the good sister, we'll be on our way. Sister, I'll transmit the directions to your dataslate from mine and we can be on our way. Everyone else, lets get up and get going. We haven't the time to waste, our Lord, and through him the Emperor, commands us."

Making the sign of the aquila over his chest, the seer sits with his back to the cab and waits for Wolfe to pull the truck out. After a nervous wait while the engine coughed and spluttered, it wouldn't start. Getting out of the cab, Wolfe approached the engine block, reciting the Articles of Ignition that he had learned as part of his driving experience. Delivering a sanctioned kick to the bumper, he was rewarded with a throaty roar as the engine came to life. Returning to the cab, he pulled the truck out quite smoothly, and the party was on their way through the plains.

Gaius threw his duffel bag onto the truck's bed, climbed up after it and scooted over to the back wall. He stretched out his legs in front of him and opened the duffel, taking out the new suppressor and his unloaded autogun to mount the former onto the latter while the truck pulled out and away.

Kiern siddles up along the sidewall of the truck bed on the passenger side. Tucks a light bedroll under his rear, and attempts to find a comfortable position to endure the ride. He appears a little pale at the prospect of so much open space ahead of them. Murmuring softly to himself under his breath and keeping one hand settled loosely across the back of the grip on his revolver for comfort.

The Sister Dialogous nods, and takes out her dataslate to receive the transmission, reciting the rite of data purity that was drilled in to her at the convent. With that, she sits closer to the driver, to help him with directions to where they need to go.

"I do hope we can get through this without shooting anyone..." Ailessa says, almost as if oblivious to the fact that she was the one that opened fire first.

OOC: I'm saving this xp for now. I have something specific in mind.

Bouncing and rattling, the old truck made its way across the burning flats. A thin tarp erected over the back tray protected those in the rear from the direct sunlight, but not from the general heat of the day. Ailessa and Wolfe suffered in the cab, as without air conditioning all they had to ease the sauna like situation was to wind down the windows and flap their hands to circulate the air.

Aristarchus sighed with relief as the sun finally started to set, and banged twice on the top of the cab, signalling a stop.

The party disembarked and began to set up camp, with Wolfe and Silvanus providing security. As they bedded down for the night in the shadow of their vehicle, Gaius was lucky enough to draw first watch. It passed uneventfully, and he woke Ailessa for her shift. The night dragged on with no disturbances apart from some shale crows advancing, who shied away after Ailessa flicked a stone at them. She shook Kiern by the shoulder, the scum waking bleary eyed from his sleep and trudging to the sentry post. Just after reaching his post, his keen eyes glimpse movement in the distance, approaching the camp. He tugs the line connected to the man on last watch, Silvanus, who immediately awoke from his light sleep and woke the other members of the party silently. They fanned out into a circular security pattern, Wolfe and Legius moving towards the sentry post and the contact. Dropping down beside him, they discuss between each other what to do, calmly weighing up the situation despite the threat to the party. Do they advance on the walker, who was by now 50 metres away and could be seen to be man-sized and apparently unarmed? Or do they simply engage at range, assuming it to be hostile?

[GM's note; that's fine Mel, I've just jotted it down as unspent XP, same as for everyone else until they get back to me). Kiern was the first to pass his -10 awareness check, so he noticed it. Kiern, Wolfe and Legius all passed their fear test (bummer). Now those three have to decide what they'll be doing...]

Kiern changes the load in his stormchild hand cannon to manstopper rounds (just in case). Then re-holsters the weapon, but keeps his hand resting on the grip as precaution. turning toward Legius and Wolfe, he says to the both of them,
"let's try a nice chat first, shall we fellas?". With that, Kiern starts walking toward the figure. Once within what seems a distance at which the 'person' could hear him, Kiern calls out toward it,
"Oi, how are ya tonight?" (let's say at about 15
20 meters or so, just enough that would be heard in that range)
If during the time approaching the figure he gets any indication of hostile intentions, he will open fire. If no hostilities detected, and the figure hasn't responded he's willing to get to 15 meters, to re-evaluate the situation. If friendly and responds, maybe about 10 meters to the figure. But will keep hand on grip and guard up.

There is no response from the figure, it simply continues to trudge forwards.

As it advances closer, Kiern can make out that the figure used to be a man. Used to be. A long diagonal slash runs along the once-man's collarbone and neck, a rotting mess of flesh hanging from a tearing wound to his stomach.

The smell is truly foul, and worst of all, where the walking-cadaver's eyes once were, there was now a mess of wounds and dried blood.

It continues to advance towards Kiern and the group, its arms by its side and still making no response to his greeting.

Gaius, on his edge of the perimeter, can see nothing moving on the broad plains ahead of him, Ailessa is presented with a similar vision of emptiness. This clears the area immediately around the campsite of any additional contacts.

[GM's note; At this point, everyone is awake, but everyone apart from Legius, Wolfe and Kiern are part of the camp's perimeter security and don't have eyes on the incident. They aren't aware that it is a walking corpse or anything like that, unless one of the three who can see it want to shout that out. But then would you really shout when there is something heading towards you on an otherwise dark night? when you don't know what else is out there? If they do want to find out, they'd have to move away from their position in the perimeter and see it, but then they'll be taking a fear test as well.

Gaius passed his Per test. Jack suggested it in a PM to me, and since Ailessa was on the opposite side (And between them they could see pretty much all around the rest of it), I took the liberty of testing on her Mel, and she passed as well.]

Once he realizes what he is looking at, Kiern immediately starts backing up. Once he's back within range of Legius and Wolfe,
"It's a walking corpse... Either of you wanna try the quieter approach on this? Rather not broadcast positions by opening fire if possible, but gimme a sec to see if anyone has better ideas, aight?"
Kiern then indicates with a hand gesture that he is heading back to the party, and walks directly over to Aristarchus,
"I know fer certain, that some of these terrible lurking things,... Yeah, some of em are dead fellas wit no eyes, who smell of rot and shuffle about yer wastelands. Any stories on these fellas Arrie, or should the peeps with daggers, bats, swords and weapon silencers just plug it up right quick?"

"Hmm? Oh, they are no threat Kiern. I can't detect any psychic activity about them. It is nothing to be worried about, just deal with it and get your rest. Shoot it, stab it, whatever you please. We'll need be up early in the morning and away from this place."

With that, Aristarchus returned to his sleeping roll, clearly expecting the party to deal with the corpse and return to their nighttime routine.

Kiern shivers uncomfortably at the indifference Aristarchus is showing toward a walking corpse. He then shrugs, walks back toward the two by the corpse, turns to Legius and asks,
"think you can drop that thing with yer crossbow? Prolly the quietest way to do it would be get up close and plug it in the face.I can step up with my gals alongside ya in case it don't drop and gets riley."

With that Kiern switches out the load in his Stormchild to dumdums, and changes the clip in his autogun to dumdums as well.

"Smells like it's rottin', and don't think I saw any armor, so prolly fairly squishy."

Legius grabs his sword and crossbow, and stands there muttering a prayer under his breath as he loads a bolt into it. Turning to Kiern, he replies "I could do it, or if you are feeling fun you could take the shot and I could run up and hack it to bits, make this quicker. Your choice, I just want to get rid of it quickly"

"Sorry, but I don't shoot anything but these lovely ladies.", as he pats his pistols.
"I will try these before the ladies though".
With that Kiern pulls out the two knives he has on him, and gets within throwing range. He then nods at Legius that he is ready.

[ooc: Who else here has a microbead?]

Ailessa tries to ignore the others, and focus on her own assigned area. This is her duty, and if an emergency pops up, they're disciplined enough to sound an alarm or something... right....?

Of course they are. There is no room for doubt.

[Gaius has one. I think everyone does, as well.]

I have a microbead

Legius lifts up his crossbow, takes a bit to line up the shot, and squeezed the trigger without even realizing what he was doing. It almost felt as if the Emperor was guiding his body, and the results of his shot showed. With a quiet thud, the bolt landed in the center of the things chest.

As soon as the bolt impacted on the corpse's chest, whatever other-power was driving it's motion left it, and it collapsed to the ground as a pile of rotten meat and skin. The bolt was wedged in its spine, and was easily retrieved.

Any further questions of Aristarchus will be met with repeated instructions to get to bed and rest for the following day, and admonishments for waking him again after his initial instruction to deal with it and return to bed.

As he retrieves the bolt from the creature, Legius says a prayer, not only of thanks and protection, but also for the soul of the corpse, hoping it made it to the Emperor. He then returns to standing watch, now that he has no chance of sleeping.

Gaius finally breaks the radio silence, desperate to know what the sounds behind him are.
"W-w-what's happening? Is it an animal?

Legius stops his praying for a moment to respond "It was an animated corpse. I didn't see more, but be vigilant". He then goes back to praying and watching in the darkness for more...

The rest of the night passes without incident, the party keeping a watchful eye until the sunrise. Remounting in the flatbed, they begin the bumpy ascent course.

From time to time the relic of a truck would break down, necessitating a brief stop, but apart from that it ran smoothly. By mid-afternoon the party was well into the hills.

All of a sudden, Wolfe pulls the truck over. A half second later, all of the acolytes are whispering to eachother about something they saw. Under a rocky outcrop about 100m to the right side of the trail, there is a shadowy figure. No details stand out at this distance, apart from one.

Its shadow is pointing directly towards the acolytes. And the outcrop above him? Its shadow is directed the opposite way...

Aristarchus' eyes flutter into the back of his head, one hand gripping his staff, the other slipping to the deck of cards concealed in his robes. "There is a psychic disturbance around that shadow. It is vitally important to whatever is happening on this planet. We must investigate."

Disembarking from the truck and drawing their weapons, the party approaches the psychic apparition. They scale a slope on the way, Ailessa falling down in an ungraceful tangle of robes, collecting Legius on the way down. Neither of them were injured however. They dusted themselves off and rejoined the group on the top of the hill, just beside the outcrop.

It was gone.

In short order Silvanus shouted the rest of the group over. He had discovered a large pictograph of a bird grasping a skull through its eye holes with its talons. Further investigation revealed that it hadn't been painted on, it had been burned.

Aristarchus fanned his hands into the sign of the Aquila as soon as he laid eyes on the symbol, whispering "Throne...". He would not be drawn on his reaction, however, and soon ordered the party back to the truck to complete their journey.

[GM's note; Everyone noticed the shadow, and then Ailessa and Legius failed their Climb test, but passed the agility test to avoid damage. In the case of Ailessa, passed by 1. I had everyone test Per, and Silvanus passed the best so he found the clue. No one passed the test to quiz Aristarchus on what the symbol meant. If you want have some banter, I'll bring us to Stern Hope tomorrow evening real time]

"I am going to have to take some time to study heraldry and symbology later..." Ailessa muttered to herself, not recognizing the syjmbol. Still, it would be a while before she could study that, and so she focused on trying to not get separated from the group. Who knows what else lurked out here?

Somehow Kiern hadn't noticed these little earbug things before, but as he begins realizing there are conversations occurring between people who aren't within range of eachother, he catches on.
"Hey, where'd you all get those things?" He asks to no one inparticular.

OOC: Motyak, just a reminder when it comes up, Kiern is Hivebound and suffers -10 survival tests, and a -5 on INT testss when he's in open spaces with no walls and/or ceilings. Basically when he's not in an urban area, bit you may wish to judge the rule differently as it states 'when out of a proper hab'. Just so you are aware.

[Microbeads are pretty modern in the Imperium - I don't see why Kiern wouldn't have heard of one. It's basically a little radio that's so small it can sit in your ear.]

OOC: He knows what they are, he's just never had the thrones or the need for one, he's a gritty outlaw from the cesspool of humanity known as. a hive. Not sure if this was something given to us, or if we're all supposed to have bought them. His surprised reaction was simply because he didn't realize everyone else had them, as it would've been useful knowledge.

[You know what? Gaius doesn't even have a microbead. Neither Assassin nor Scum characters start with one. I don't know why I thought Gaius did. Disregard my actions that assume he does.]

[GM's note; Only Ailessa and Legius have them in the party, for whoever is interested]

As night fell over the plains, the battered old truck coughed its way towards the gates of Stern Hope. At last the party sees light glimmer ahead, growing brighter until you can make out some sort of settlement centred on a board hill. You continue until your path is barred by a wall of crudely piled up stone and black flint. Watch fires burn along the top of the wall and you see numerous weapon barrels along its length. As you get closer, a set of heavy wire-mesh and steel gates open a crack, allowing a tall cowled figure, rifle across his broad back and axe resting on his shoulder, to emerge and wave your vehicle to a stop. Urging compliance, Aristarchus orders a stop.

"No sudden moves acolytes, lest you wish for the journey to end here."

Once you are on the ground the cowled man approaches you and glares at the party members one by one. He seems to consider your faces for a time, before executing a deep, fluid bow and announcing "Welcome servants of the Emperor, you are free to enter this township of Stern Hope"

The gates swing fully open, and Wolfe urges the truck past the gate guard and on up what appears to be the main street of the township. Weaving through a mess of tents which roughly line the dirt trail, they make their way towards the cathedral.

A strong voice makes itself heard over the noise of the engine "Ho, Aristarchus. Welcome to Stern Hope." A shadow detaches itself from a deep pool of darkness beside one of the tents. A smiling, heavy set man in the dark robes of a monk approaches the now stopped vehicle with a shuttered lamp in his hand. Grinning at the acolytes and throwing them a wink, he introduces himself.

"Greetings pilgrims. Such faith and preparation is admirable to see. You are the help that the abbot has sent for, yes? Truly we are not forgotten. I'm Brother Lamark, one of the churchmen of this mission. Welcome to Stern Hope-the abbot awaits your pleasure at the priory in the morning. He sends his regrets that he cannot meet you sooner, but he is currently occupied by his flock. And a man of the Emperor must always tend to his flock, lest he allow his ministrations to fail to uphold the Emperor's light. Is that not correct, good sister?" He directs the truck to the side of the road, and the party dismounts.

He greets Ailessa with a bow to honour a fellow member of the Ecclesiarchy, before shaking the hands of each of the acolytes in turn. "Did you have any trouble on the way here?"

Returning the bow, Ailessa responds with a slight amusement in her voice: "No trouble worth worrying about. There will always be struggles in serving the Emperor for we are but mere mortals, but none of us were injured-- so our struggles have not yet truly begun, hm?"

"Well hoy there to you as well, when will the abbot be finishing up with his flock, or is it an open attendance kinda thing, maybe we could stop in and hear the good word? Person'ly I'm feeling like I could use a good word and some protection from the Emperor at the moment, fer I'm not too fond of the things that seem to be wandering yer desert out there."
Kiern makes a slightly fumbly sign of the aguila over his chest, and then puts a hand against his chest and briefly grasps something hanging inside his shirt.

[GM's note; An apology, I will update on Thursday. I have an exam today (Saturday), Monday, and Thursday, so I'm sure you can sympathise. But then I'm done uni for 3 months so....win.]

[GM's note; Now that exams are all done I will be updating this tomorrow evening, thank you for waiting. Sorry for the massive interrupt. I'll give you all a day to question townspeople and then we'll move on again and try and get momentum back. Again, I'm really sorry for exams getting in the way]


"I'm sorry sir, but the Abbot is attending a sick girl and her family. He asked me to greet your party in his stead when you all arrived. We arranged accommodations for you at the Crying Clota, our guest hall and an inn of sorts. Not much, but far and away better than a tent." Lamark replies. Leading the way, the party follows him to a rickety two story building. Taking his leave, he melts back into the shadows of the tents.

"Well, time to bed down for the night acolytes," says Aristarchus "Ailessa and Legius, Wolfe and Silvanus, and Kiern and Gaius. Two to a room, that is all this place can accommodate. If Abbot Skae arrives before dawn, send him my way if you please. Some of you may wish to have a talk with the locals, hmm? Be wary if you wish to walk about outside. Remember that there are no moons orbiting Iocanthos, so the nights are near pitch black.

Kiern attempts to locate a flashlight or lantern before stepping out to find some locals to chat with. He's not too keep on the surrounding dessert still, and far from restful at this point.

[GM's note; I'll let you explore if you want, a hint would be ask around the camp people (+10 Inquiry test) about information and rumours]

Ok I have a question, because of all my interruptions with uni this seems to have lost its momentum, with only JMZ and very occasionally Mel and Jack posting. Do we want to just call it? Or are you happy to keep going despite the so far lack of smoothness.

[ooc: Perhaps we could start over? I dunno honestly, I've kinda lost the mood for the game :/ same with alpharius' game, although he neverstarted.]

((I just don't think there's much Gaius can do, at the moment. He just quiety sits around, sharpens knives and cleans his gun. Posting that every time we move to a new place doesn't really do much. Gaius' strong suit is protecting the investiagation characters in combat.))

(ooc: been working a lot, sorry. I enjoy the game but it got a little stagnant with the long delays, maybe if we van get the vibe back now that you'll be around and updating more often)

((I've been working 60 hour weeks lately, and Legius is built more for combat then investigation, so I'm not doing a whole lot when we move from place to place to place for several posts in a row, like Jack))

Ok so we have 2 people who think its done (Mel and I) and 3 who want to try to pick it back up. I guess it is decided then, we'll try to get it going again....after I go away to an island for a week with no internet access. To be honest, I didn't expect the PbP to take as long as it does, so I thought it would be done before the crunch of exams and what not. Oh well, onwards (soon)

I'm not saying I want to continue in this fashon. PbP is far to slow a way to do it, especially for the combat-oriented PCs.

 Inquisitor Lord Bane wrote:
I'm not saying I want to continue in this fashon. PbP is far to slow a way to do it, especially for the combat-oriented PCs.

Ah. Then it swings the other way, to 3 vs 2 in favour of calling it. It is a shame, but I have to agree that PbP, especially when the GM (me) is unreliable, doesn't work. Sorry guys.

Well then, thanks for the attempt Motyak, was fun.