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[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.