Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Dark Heresy - Agents of the Inquisition
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Lothred" data-source="post: 4220974" data-attributes="member: 41722"><p><strong>Bad part of town</strong></p><p></p><p>As the rickety rail car slowed in an ear-piercing squeal of poorly-maintained brakes, the five occupants pulled themselves to their feet, shouldering packs and weapons. The car shuddered to a stop at a wide raised platform, devoid of life but for a single rag-shrouded figure. As the party exits the rail car, to a man grateful that the journey had finally ended without incident, the waiting figure darts quickly onto the car, flashing a pass at the door sensor. The doors closed once again, more jerking than sliding, the car emitting a mournful shriek as the tortured brakes released and its eternal journey continued. The four men and one woman stretched, relieving cramped muscles and restoring circulation to tingling extremities. Finally, each removed the earplugs that had protected their hearing up to this point, working their jaws to restore normal fluid levels to their inner ears.</p><p></p><p>“By the Throne I’m glad to be off of that, that, that DEATHTRAP!” exclaimed Ophelia.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know,” Lazerus replied, “I’ve been on worse. You should see some of the rail cars on Malfi. At least this one had a solid floor.”</p><p></p><p>Ishmael watched the car pull off with a saddened look. “Yet another gift of the Machine God left to fall into decay. The local priesthood should be censured for failing so in their duty.”</p><p></p><p>“Tha loc’ls oughta be shot’s whatcha mean,” opined Tauron. “Mebbe drawn ‘n quart’rd.”</p><p></p><p>Eli looked vaguely troubled. “Does anyone know why Ave’ isn’t here? I thought she would be joining us, but I haven’t seen her since Miocanthus separated us to begin our initiations.”</p><p></p><p>Three negative replies quickly followed the young Guardsman’s question, but Lazerus remained silent.</p><p></p><p>“Lazerus? Do you know something?”</p><p></p><p>The Arbitrator stared into the younger man’s face. “Ave’ is otherwise occupied right now. I have faith that we will see her again, but not on this mission. Speaking of this mission, I’d like to make sure everyone remembers it.”</p><p></p><p>The group moved to a corner of the rail car platform, sitting in a circle on the filthy permacrete. The Arbitrator pointed to Eli. “Why are we here?”</p><p></p><p>Eli thought back, remembering the events of the past several weeks. First, after the capture of Harris Glaut and his tainted drug business, the party had been separated, housed in anonymous hab-blocks under false names. Daily indoctrination and training had followed, seemingly interminably, until he could no longer remember what day it was without referencing his wrist chrono. Day after day after day of lectures given in vast, empty auditoriums by lecture servitors, hypno-doctriation, and reams of codes and ciphers that were memorized and then erased. Finally, a note had been slipped under his door, giving a time and place, and signed “The Emperor Protects.”</p><p></p><p>At the appointed time, Eli had presented himself to a door servitor at a small door set into the side of an enormously imposing structure in the Administratum district. The building was covered in carvings of skulls, urns, and other symbols of death. A ten-meter high statue of a weeping saint crowned the edifice. As the servitor allowed the Guardsman to pass, he entered a room where he was met by the other four now seated on this platform with him. No sooner had greetings been exchanged, then another servitor had led the group through a thoroughly confusing labyrinth of corridors and chambers, until finally they had been deposited in a small room with dusty metal crates along one wall. The upper half of the wall opposite the door was one huge mirror, which had slowly cleared to transparency, revealing another chamber, this one of gleaming steel, beyond.</p><p></p><p>Within this other chamber stood a tall man, thin of face, wearing white medicae robes covered with a red leather coat. Two medicae servo-skulls hovered behind the man, while a frame held what was obviously some sort of body under a sheet. The man gestured for the Acolytes to approach the glass, then his voice had sounded from a grill in the ceiling. The man had introduced himself as Medicae-Interrogator Sand, Miocanthus’ superior in the retinue of their Inquisitor. Then Sand had begun the briefing.</p><p></p><p>“Eli? Why are we here?” Lazerus’ voice intruded on Eli’s memory.</p><p></p><p>“According to Sand…” began the young man, only to be cut off by the Arbitrator.</p><p></p><p>“Medicae-Interrogator Sand, you mean. The man has earned the right to his title.”</p><p></p><p>“Very well, <em>Medicae-Interrogator </em> Sand showed the corpse to us, identifying it as one Saul Arbest, resident of chamber 6/23 stack 7-17 in Coscarla, Hive Sibellus. This,” he indicated the area surrounding the platform with a wave of his hand, “is, I presume, Coscarla. And a lovely area it is, I am sure. At any rate. Saul had been found dead on a transit rail, apparently of an overdose of some kind. Further investigation revealed, however, that he had been…altered. I believe the phrase he used was ‘total system failure due to rejection of tissue graft’ or something like that. Heretical and forbidden implants had been inserted into his body, and had, in a nutshell, killed him. We are to find out why he had these implants, who put them in him, and how they got them. I think that about covers it.”</p><p></p><p>Lazerus nodded, satisfied, then turned to Ishmael. “And of the gear we were given?”</p><p></p><p>The Tech-Priest opened his pack and began identifying items, lifting each as it was referenced. “First, tokens to allow us free passage to and within Coscarla. Next, cognomen identifying us as agents of a mercantile firm and allowing us to carry arms for self-defense. Hand vox sets, short range, encrypted. Overcoats and chem lamps, apparently to allow us to blend in and to work at night. A data-slate containing our basic mission and some miscellaneous data on the area. It is capable of short-range audio and visual recording and playback. A bio-sample kit, in case we encounter any other…anomalous tissue. Finally, a money pouch for, as the Interrogator put it, ‘sundries and bribes’.”</p><p></p><p>Next the Arbitrator turned to Tauron. “What’s our course of action?”</p><p></p><p>“Fuhst, we go to th’ boy’s stack ‘n check it fer ennythin’ serspicious-like. Then we talk to his sistah, Lili.”</p><p></p><p>“Right. And after that?” Lazerus asked Ophelia.</p><p></p><p>The assassin thought for a moment then replied “We investigate. Quietly.”</p><p></p><p>“Right. In that case, let’s get to it.”</p><p></p><p>With that, the party left the rail car platform and entered Coscarla. The first impression that each acolyte received was one of hopeless depression. Taking in the buildings nearest the railhead, it was obvious that most were burned-out hulks, with the occasional intact building still showing signs of life. The alleys between buildings were choked with refuse, indeterminate shapes moving in the darkness. The few locals in sight moved quickly, heads down, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible, as though trying to avoid someone’s attention. Lazerus frowned, some feeling tickling the back of his mind.</p><p></p><p>Consulting the data-slate, Ishmael pointed ahead. “Come, the hab-stack is this way.”</p><p></p><p>Ishmael led the way through the streets, the rest of the party separating and following from a distance, each within sight of at least two others. Several minutes later, they arrived at yet another anonymous blank-faced building, identified by the data-slate as Stack 7-17. The main entrance doors were open, the left-hand door hanging by one hinge and the right-hand door lying on the floor within. The lobby was obviously once cheerfully decorated, but everything of value has been either vandalized or stolen. Across the lobby, the doors to the hab lift stand open, a gaping entrance to a black void. Tauron looked over to Eli, the two Guardsmen bringing up the rear of the party. </p><p></p><p>“Ah guess we take th’ steers, huh?”</p><p></p><p>“I guess so. Six floors up. Great.”</p><p></p><p>The party quickly sorted out their order of advance, Ophelia silently stalking up the stairs ahead of the others, Ishmael sandwiched between Lazerus and Tauron, and Eli bringing up the rear. Upon reaching the landing for the sixth floor, the party entered the hallway cautiously, working their way to chamber 6/23. The chamber’s door stood ajar, the lock broken. Ophelia and Lazerus drew their weapons and entered, sweeping the interior. The chamber was a simple low-hab dwelling, approximately an 8x8 meter square with a water closet off to one side and a single window looking out over the main street in front of the hab stack. A noise behind the bed caught Ophelia’s ear and she leapt over the frame, grabbing the person hiding behind the bed, whose scream was quickly stifled when the assassin shoved the bedsheet in their mouth. Ophelia pulled the struggling figure out from behind the bed and shoved the, now apparent, woman to the middle of the room. She quickly scrambled back across the floor until her back was against the wall, looking at the assassin fearfully, spitting the sheet from her mouth. Lazerus quickly slung his shotgun and knelt down next to the woman.</p><p></p><p>“Shhh, quiet now. It’s all right. Calm down.” Mumering quietly to try to calm the panicked woman, Lazerus turned and glared daggers at the assassin, who simply shrugged in return. Lazerus nodded his head toward the door. Ophelia shrugged again, spun in place and walked out, only to be replaced by Tauron, poking his head in. Lazerus motioned the Feral Worlder to approach, all the while continuing to try and calm down the woman. As he returned his gaze to her, he noticed a couple of things about her. First, she looked positively haggard, as though she had not slept in weeks. Next, she was clutching an overcoat at least two sizes too big around her. Finally, she held a rucksack pressed against her chest. Eventually, the Arbitrator’s soothing words calmed the woman down, and she managed a weak smile.</p><p></p><p>Lazerus smiled back. “I apologize for the rude entrance. Our companion is occasionally less than patient in stressful situations. Can you tell us your name?”</p><p></p><p>“Lili Arbest,” the woman replied.</p><p></p><p>“Saul’s sister?” Tauron asked.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, do you know my brother? Is he all right? Who are you?”</p><p></p><p>The two men looked at each other, then the Guardsman nodded to Lazerus, who turned back to Lili. “Well, I would have said that we were friends of his, but I guess that won’t work now.” A wry grin crossed his face. “We’re actually looking for Saul. He’s not in any trouble, at least from us, but he may be in danger. Caught up in something too big for him, you know. Could you tell us where he may…Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve completely forgotten my manners. Allow me to introduce us. I am Ranald, and my friend here is Cort. Our impetuous ally in the hall is Leefe. It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Lili.”</p><p></p><p>The Arbitrator’s pleasant manner, combined with the release of weeks of pent-up stress and sleepless nights led to the woman opening up quickly, divulging much of what she knew to the kind man. Unfortunately for the Acolytes, she knew little of use. After several minutes of talking, Lili mentioned that she was on her way out of Coscarla. When asked where she was going and why, Lili grew sad again.</p><p></p><p>“Saul’s gone. I’ve been holding out hope, but in my heart I know he’s gone. Dead or just gone, I don’t know, but I feel that I’ll never see my brother again. So, I’m going too. I’ve got a friend in the Porphyry district, a scrivener. Not much, sure, but better than waiting around here to be taken too.”</p><p></p><p>After a few more minutes of talk, Lazerus and Tauron felt that they had received as much useful information as they would be able to glean from the poor girl. Tauron headed out to the hall to get the others out of sight, while Lazerus took down the contact information for the friends’ hab, promising to contact Lili if they found any information about Saul. Finally, he escorted Lili to the front of the building, wishing her luck in her future. As she walked in the direction of the rail car platform, Tauron asked Ophelia to trail the girl discreetly to ensure that she made it onto the rail car safely. Ophelia smiled nastily and quickly moved off.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lothred, post: 4220974, member: 41722"] [b]Bad part of town[/b] As the rickety rail car slowed in an ear-piercing squeal of poorly-maintained brakes, the five occupants pulled themselves to their feet, shouldering packs and weapons. The car shuddered to a stop at a wide raised platform, devoid of life but for a single rag-shrouded figure. As the party exits the rail car, to a man grateful that the journey had finally ended without incident, the waiting figure darts quickly onto the car, flashing a pass at the door sensor. The doors closed once again, more jerking than sliding, the car emitting a mournful shriek as the tortured brakes released and its eternal journey continued. The four men and one woman stretched, relieving cramped muscles and restoring circulation to tingling extremities. Finally, each removed the earplugs that had protected their hearing up to this point, working their jaws to restore normal fluid levels to their inner ears. “By the Throne I’m glad to be off of that, that, that DEATHTRAP!” exclaimed Ophelia. “I don’t know,” Lazerus replied, “I’ve been on worse. You should see some of the rail cars on Malfi. At least this one had a solid floor.” Ishmael watched the car pull off with a saddened look. “Yet another gift of the Machine God left to fall into decay. The local priesthood should be censured for failing so in their duty.” “Tha loc’ls oughta be shot’s whatcha mean,” opined Tauron. “Mebbe drawn ‘n quart’rd.” Eli looked vaguely troubled. “Does anyone know why Ave’ isn’t here? I thought she would be joining us, but I haven’t seen her since Miocanthus separated us to begin our initiations.” Three negative replies quickly followed the young Guardsman’s question, but Lazerus remained silent. “Lazerus? Do you know something?” The Arbitrator stared into the younger man’s face. “Ave’ is otherwise occupied right now. I have faith that we will see her again, but not on this mission. Speaking of this mission, I’d like to make sure everyone remembers it.” The group moved to a corner of the rail car platform, sitting in a circle on the filthy permacrete. The Arbitrator pointed to Eli. “Why are we here?” Eli thought back, remembering the events of the past several weeks. First, after the capture of Harris Glaut and his tainted drug business, the party had been separated, housed in anonymous hab-blocks under false names. Daily indoctrination and training had followed, seemingly interminably, until he could no longer remember what day it was without referencing his wrist chrono. Day after day after day of lectures given in vast, empty auditoriums by lecture servitors, hypno-doctriation, and reams of codes and ciphers that were memorized and then erased. Finally, a note had been slipped under his door, giving a time and place, and signed “The Emperor Protects.” At the appointed time, Eli had presented himself to a door servitor at a small door set into the side of an enormously imposing structure in the Administratum district. The building was covered in carvings of skulls, urns, and other symbols of death. A ten-meter high statue of a weeping saint crowned the edifice. As the servitor allowed the Guardsman to pass, he entered a room where he was met by the other four now seated on this platform with him. No sooner had greetings been exchanged, then another servitor had led the group through a thoroughly confusing labyrinth of corridors and chambers, until finally they had been deposited in a small room with dusty metal crates along one wall. The upper half of the wall opposite the door was one huge mirror, which had slowly cleared to transparency, revealing another chamber, this one of gleaming steel, beyond. Within this other chamber stood a tall man, thin of face, wearing white medicae robes covered with a red leather coat. Two medicae servo-skulls hovered behind the man, while a frame held what was obviously some sort of body under a sheet. The man gestured for the Acolytes to approach the glass, then his voice had sounded from a grill in the ceiling. The man had introduced himself as Medicae-Interrogator Sand, Miocanthus’ superior in the retinue of their Inquisitor. Then Sand had begun the briefing. “Eli? Why are we here?” Lazerus’ voice intruded on Eli’s memory. “According to Sand…” began the young man, only to be cut off by the Arbitrator. “Medicae-Interrogator Sand, you mean. The man has earned the right to his title.” “Very well, [I]Medicae-Interrogator [/I] Sand showed the corpse to us, identifying it as one Saul Arbest, resident of chamber 6/23 stack 7-17 in Coscarla, Hive Sibellus. This,” he indicated the area surrounding the platform with a wave of his hand, “is, I presume, Coscarla. And a lovely area it is, I am sure. At any rate. Saul had been found dead on a transit rail, apparently of an overdose of some kind. Further investigation revealed, however, that he had been…altered. I believe the phrase he used was ‘total system failure due to rejection of tissue graft’ or something like that. Heretical and forbidden implants had been inserted into his body, and had, in a nutshell, killed him. We are to find out why he had these implants, who put them in him, and how they got them. I think that about covers it.” Lazerus nodded, satisfied, then turned to Ishmael. “And of the gear we were given?” The Tech-Priest opened his pack and began identifying items, lifting each as it was referenced. “First, tokens to allow us free passage to and within Coscarla. Next, cognomen identifying us as agents of a mercantile firm and allowing us to carry arms for self-defense. Hand vox sets, short range, encrypted. Overcoats and chem lamps, apparently to allow us to blend in and to work at night. A data-slate containing our basic mission and some miscellaneous data on the area. It is capable of short-range audio and visual recording and playback. A bio-sample kit, in case we encounter any other…anomalous tissue. Finally, a money pouch for, as the Interrogator put it, ‘sundries and bribes’.” Next the Arbitrator turned to Tauron. “What’s our course of action?” “Fuhst, we go to th’ boy’s stack ‘n check it fer ennythin’ serspicious-like. Then we talk to his sistah, Lili.” “Right. And after that?” Lazerus asked Ophelia. The assassin thought for a moment then replied “We investigate. Quietly.” “Right. In that case, let’s get to it.” With that, the party left the rail car platform and entered Coscarla. The first impression that each acolyte received was one of hopeless depression. Taking in the buildings nearest the railhead, it was obvious that most were burned-out hulks, with the occasional intact building still showing signs of life. The alleys between buildings were choked with refuse, indeterminate shapes moving in the darkness. The few locals in sight moved quickly, heads down, trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible, as though trying to avoid someone’s attention. Lazerus frowned, some feeling tickling the back of his mind. Consulting the data-slate, Ishmael pointed ahead. “Come, the hab-stack is this way.” Ishmael led the way through the streets, the rest of the party separating and following from a distance, each within sight of at least two others. Several minutes later, they arrived at yet another anonymous blank-faced building, identified by the data-slate as Stack 7-17. The main entrance doors were open, the left-hand door hanging by one hinge and the right-hand door lying on the floor within. The lobby was obviously once cheerfully decorated, but everything of value has been either vandalized or stolen. Across the lobby, the doors to the hab lift stand open, a gaping entrance to a black void. Tauron looked over to Eli, the two Guardsmen bringing up the rear of the party. “Ah guess we take th’ steers, huh?” “I guess so. Six floors up. Great.” The party quickly sorted out their order of advance, Ophelia silently stalking up the stairs ahead of the others, Ishmael sandwiched between Lazerus and Tauron, and Eli bringing up the rear. Upon reaching the landing for the sixth floor, the party entered the hallway cautiously, working their way to chamber 6/23. The chamber’s door stood ajar, the lock broken. Ophelia and Lazerus drew their weapons and entered, sweeping the interior. The chamber was a simple low-hab dwelling, approximately an 8x8 meter square with a water closet off to one side and a single window looking out over the main street in front of the hab stack. A noise behind the bed caught Ophelia’s ear and she leapt over the frame, grabbing the person hiding behind the bed, whose scream was quickly stifled when the assassin shoved the bedsheet in their mouth. Ophelia pulled the struggling figure out from behind the bed and shoved the, now apparent, woman to the middle of the room. She quickly scrambled back across the floor until her back was against the wall, looking at the assassin fearfully, spitting the sheet from her mouth. Lazerus quickly slung his shotgun and knelt down next to the woman. “Shhh, quiet now. It’s all right. Calm down.” Mumering quietly to try to calm the panicked woman, Lazerus turned and glared daggers at the assassin, who simply shrugged in return. Lazerus nodded his head toward the door. Ophelia shrugged again, spun in place and walked out, only to be replaced by Tauron, poking his head in. Lazerus motioned the Feral Worlder to approach, all the while continuing to try and calm down the woman. As he returned his gaze to her, he noticed a couple of things about her. First, she looked positively haggard, as though she had not slept in weeks. Next, she was clutching an overcoat at least two sizes too big around her. Finally, she held a rucksack pressed against her chest. Eventually, the Arbitrator’s soothing words calmed the woman down, and she managed a weak smile. Lazerus smiled back. “I apologize for the rude entrance. Our companion is occasionally less than patient in stressful situations. Can you tell us your name?” “Lili Arbest,” the woman replied. “Saul’s sister?” Tauron asked. “Yes, do you know my brother? Is he all right? Who are you?” The two men looked at each other, then the Guardsman nodded to Lazerus, who turned back to Lili. “Well, I would have said that we were friends of his, but I guess that won’t work now.” A wry grin crossed his face. “We’re actually looking for Saul. He’s not in any trouble, at least from us, but he may be in danger. Caught up in something too big for him, you know. Could you tell us where he may…Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve completely forgotten my manners. Allow me to introduce us. I am Ranald, and my friend here is Cort. Our impetuous ally in the hall is Leefe. It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Lili.” The Arbitrator’s pleasant manner, combined with the release of weeks of pent-up stress and sleepless nights led to the woman opening up quickly, divulging much of what she knew to the kind man. Unfortunately for the Acolytes, she knew little of use. After several minutes of talking, Lili mentioned that she was on her way out of Coscarla. When asked where she was going and why, Lili grew sad again. “Saul’s gone. I’ve been holding out hope, but in my heart I know he’s gone. Dead or just gone, I don’t know, but I feel that I’ll never see my brother again. So, I’m going too. I’ve got a friend in the Porphyry district, a scrivener. Not much, sure, but better than waiting around here to be taken too.” After a few more minutes of talk, Lazerus and Tauron felt that they had received as much useful information as they would be able to glean from the poor girl. Tauron headed out to the hall to get the others out of sight, while Lazerus took down the contact information for the friends’ hab, promising to contact Lili if they found any information about Saul. Finally, he escorted Lili to the front of the building, wishing her luck in her future. As she walked in the direction of the rail car platform, Tauron asked Ophelia to trail the girl discreetly to ensure that she made it onto the rail car safely. Ophelia smiled nastily and quickly moved off. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Dark Heresy - Agents of the Inquisition
Top