Between the Darkness/Session 17

Atella: (so where were we... mistreating some poor girl, right?)

tylorva: Yah, you had just captured poor Purple if I recall.

Mercution_Hastus: That I did, didn't I?..

Mercution_Hastus: "Something's wrong here." Mercution answers quickly, then adresses the girl. "Keep quiet. No one is going to hurt you, if you explain what's going on." He takes away the knife, but still holds her close.

tylorva: She blinks at Mercution for a moment. "You left1" she says, spitting.

Clavis_Morden: just watches, all too aware that she doesn't grasp the whole situation yet

Atella: quickly pats the girl down for other weapons, then quirks an eyebrow

Atella: "You two know each other?"

Fatespinner: Atella rolled a 89 on a d100 for 4 degrees of failure.

tylorva: "Don't touch me!" she yelps, wriggling away from Atella. "You got cop hands!"

Atella: (that's what I thought)

tylorva: (( *pats* ))

Atella: (so yeah, she could have a howitzer somewhere, Atella didn't notice anything ;)

Atella: shrugs

tylorva: "Not exactly the friendly welcome," says Sand cheerfully to Clavis.

Mercution_Hastus: "...And you've already managed to get yourself into trouble." He replies, not exactly humorous, yet trying to ease the situation. "I was led to believe, the whole Underhive wants Cleaners dead. I am to remedy that - if you just tell me, what the hell happened."

Clavis_Morden: "I'm sure there is a good reason," Clavis replies.

Atella: alternates between keeping an eye on the girl and their surroundings

Atella: "Want me to see what I can find out?"

Fatespinner: Mercution_Hastus rolled a 69 on a d100 for 1 degrees of failure.

Atella: asks nonchalantly

Mercution_Hastus: (FP)

Fatespinner: Mercution_Hastus rolled a 91 on a d100 for 3 degrees of failure.

tylorva: "Get lost!"

Clavis_Morden: "Look, we only want to help everybody!" Clavis points out.

Atella: shakes her head, stalks over and grabs the girl's chin, making her look her in the eye

Fatespinner: Atella rolled a 69 on a d100 for 4 degrees of failure.

Atella: (intimidate failed)

Atella: "Why don't you tell us what we want to know? Make it easier on yourself."

tylorva: "You brought cops here, Mercution?" says the girl defiantly.

Fatespinner: Atella rolled a 42 on a d100 for 0 degrees of success.

Atella: (inquiry)

Atella: "I'm a nice cop though"

Clavis_Morden: "We really aren't bad people," Clavis agrees, trying a smile.

Clavis_Morden: ((aid other to give +10))

Mercution_Hastus: "I brought help. To get the Inquisitions out of here and to get the gangs off your back, I need to know just a couple of things." He looks back, at the hideout entrance. "You're doing piss-poor job of a sentry duty. Who's and what's there?"

tylorva: She loks between everyone and sighs. "Gang's under new leadership now," she says. "Not so many of us left. Horatio's in charge now." Mercution knows Horatio - he's a fellow gang member with delusions of graduer - always complaining and offering 'suggestions' for what could be improved. Definitely not a prime candidate for gang leader. Things must be desperate.

Atella: smiles at her

Atella: "see? that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Mercution_Hastus: "Horatio. Not Custorlan? Eh, I see." Mercution paces back and forth for a couple of moments. "And how is he? Why he put you in there - and why are you in this state? An ogryn could've slipped by you. If he wasn't over-relying on this damn thing..." He smacks himself lightly on the pocket on the coat, where he kept the stummer.

tylorva: "Custorlan's gone. Inquisitors took him."

tylorva: She sighs. "I ain't doing guard duty. Just didn't want to be in there. Horatio went and done a deal with these cultists, saying we were all against the Inquisition now. They got witches in there, watching everything."

tylorva: (( Give me a psyniscience roll Clavis. ))

Atella: 's eyes narrow

Fatespinner: Clavis_Morden rolled a 36 on a d100 for 1 degrees of success.

Atella: "What cult?"

tylorva: (( Now she mentions it, you can feel a slight tingle of nearby warpcraft. But it's very minor. ))

Clavis_Morden: Clavis' eyes narrow. "Yes, I see."

Mercution_Hastus: turns suddenly, baring teeth in astonishment and disgust. "The *#%*&'er..."

Mercution_Hastus: "Where is Kirian?"

Clavis_Morden: With carefully applied effort she reaches out to smooth out the unfathomable boiling of the warp, hiding the shadows thrown by their souls.

Clavis_Morden: ((using White Noise, imposing a -20 penalty to all attempts as psychic (or technological) perception within 6 meters of Clavis))

Fatespinner: Clavis_Morden rolled [7] for a total of 7

tylorva: "Yeah," agrees Purple. "It's that Wanton Spiral cult. You know the ones who kept messin' up the steam tunnels with their rituals?"

Clavis_Morden: "Those witches ... how many of them are there? How many with you right now?"

Clavis_Morden: Clavis suddenly seems very focused and determined.

Mercution_Hastus: "I always thought they were just babbling morons, psychos and a couple of wyrds. Should've put them in one list with the mutants, when we had the chance."

Atella: (I assume wanton spiral cult doesn't ring any belts for Atella?)

Mercution_Hastus: ((So, Kiriran? And anything else about Spirals?))

Clavis_Morden: ((Would Scholastic Lore: Occult or Forbidden Lore: Psykers be able to tell me anything?))

tylorva: (( @Clavis and Atella. Nah, needs Forbidden Lore Cults or Area knowledge of the underhive. @Mercution Pretty much as you said - you always thought they were babbling wierdos. No idea about Kirian, he wasn't a member, that's for sure. ))

Mercution_Hastus: ((I mean, 00:11Mercution_Hastus"Where is Kirian?"))

tylorva: (( @Atella You know various wacky cults do operate out of the underhive, but they're not really the jurisdiction of the Arbites. The Inquisition tends to handle it. ))

tylorva: "Kirian? Dunno, not seen him for ages," she says. "He disappeared about when Horatio took charge. He was well mad about that." She turns to Clavis and shudders. "They got three witches in there. Powerful ones."

Mercution_Hastus: ((To clarify. Horation was mad at Kirian's disappearance or Kiriran was mad at Horation taking control?))

tylorva: (( Her words are ambiguous. ;) ))

Clavis_Morden: "Powerful ... how do you know? What have you seen them do?" Clavis' tone is serious and and somehow carries the tone of a well-practiced interrogation.

Mercution_Hastus: "Wait. Who was mad at whom?" Mercution clenches the bridge of his nose, the wording being unclear. Horation either disliked the psyker slipping out of his control, or Kirian wasn't to keen on serving under the new leader. Did he suspect something?

tylorva: "Powerful witch stuff!" she says to Clavis. "They make things blow up and can read minds and..." she starts babbling nonsensically in the manner of one who has no idea of what psykers are and aren't capable of. Eventually she turns to Mercution. "Kirian was mad at Horatio for joining up with the Spiral guys. Then he vanished. I think they might have sacrificed him, or something."

Clavis_Morden: ((Can Clavis piece together what Disciplines and Powers they might be capable of from the girl's babblings?))

Mercution_Hastus: "Better and better." Mercution is lost in thoughts, allowing Clavis to continue her inquiry uninterrupted.

Clavis_Morden: asks a few more questions to give structure to the girl's confused recollections

tylorva: (( Hmmm... Give me a Forbidden Lore Warp roll. Or Forbidden Lore Psykers. Whichever you are better at. ))

Fatespinner: Clavis_Morden rolled a 29 on a d100 for 3 degrees of success.

Atella: (nice)

Clavis_Morden: "Also, where are those three witches right now at this moment?"

Clavis_Morden: "Mercution, I assume you know the layout of this ... hideout?"

Mercution_Hastus: ((I assume, I do?))

tylorva: (( Judging by what she is describing and the weakness of the warp tingle you sensedm you think they are pretty minor psykers pretending to be way more powerful than they actually are through a load of showy effects. ))

tylorva: "Two are inside," she says. "I dunno where the other one went."

Clavis_Morden: nods. "Our course is clear then," she says. "We must neutralize those witches, and if possible interrogate them. About their cult as well as what happened to Kirian."

Clavis_Morden: "Atella, as an arbites you have experience with raids, right? You should lead us." She turns to Mercution. "And you know the terrain and the people, you can show us the way and tell us what we're up against."

Clavis_Morden: "Do you think you can turn the Cleaners back to our side?"

Atella: blinks "Who, me?"

Atella: shrugs

Atella: looks at Mercution and Purple "What can you tell me about the layout?"

Clavis_Morden: "Whenever we discovered rogue psykers in my ... earlier line of work we always relied on the Adeptus Arbites to storm their hideouts." Clavis smiles. "I thought we might stick with what works."

Atella: "There's usually... more of us for a raid tho"

Clavis_Morden: "You're the expert. If you say it can't be done we'll have to think of something else ..."

Atella: "How many others are there "inside"?"

Mercution_Hastus: ((What was the name of the district or whatever-it-was, where the heretic's base was supposed to be? Wiki doesn't load for me for some reason.))

Mercution_Hastus: ((I've found it - "Sekaa".)

tylorva: (( Ahha. ))

Atella: checks available tools

Atella: "Also, uh... how lethal do we want to go? I'm assuming they won't like it when we come in..."

Mercution_Hastus: nods in agreement. "I know, we should be moving towards Sekaa, especially now, that Kirian may as well be dead, but I can't leave it like this. I certainly hope that this is all Horatio's idea and most people share Purple's feelings." He looks intently at the girl. "I'll try to get them back. Purple, can we hope for it?"

tylorva: She shrugs. "I dunno. Everyone's pretty scared of the Inquisition."

Clavis_Morden: "We will want at least one witch alive to question, but if we can't do it safely ..." Clavis grimaces. "Better safe than sorry, my teacher used to say."

Atella: sighs

Atella: "Right. So..."

Atella: she turns to Purple

Mercution_Hastus: "Those buggers, buggers *like* this Spiral - they are the reason Inquisition is here. By getting on their side, Cleaners are making it just a matter of time, until the stormtroopers find them and wipe them out."

Atella: "they going to start shooting at us the second we walk in?"

Clavis_Morden: gives Sand a meaningful look. "What I said about you *doing* something remains the same - just don't, don't even think about it. But if you sense something, like one of the other witches drawing upon the Empyrean, say something."

Clavis_Morden: "Most likely I will already know, of course, but again, better safe than sorry."

Mercution_Hastus: "We coming in guns blazing, that would be the case - and there is enough good shots in the gang's ranks. THere has to be another way."

Atella: "You know the layout. You tell me."

Clavis_Morden: "Can we approach openly? If you can assume leadership again, they can *help* us capture the witches."

Mercution_Hastus: "That would be an all-or-nothing approach... How many of ours still alive? And how many devoted cultists there are?"

tylorva: She rattles off half a dozen names of gang members who are currently in the hideout. Then she uses her fingers to count the cultists, eventually holding up seven fingers. "That's with the witches."

Clavis_Morden: ((I thought there were only three witches?))

Atella: (cultists)

Atella: (they're like cockroaches)

tylorva: (( Not all the cultists are witches. ))

Clavis_Morden: "Your people are outnumbered by the vipers they allowed into their midst," Clavis sighs.

tylorva: "Hey blame Horatio!"

Clavis_Morden: "Better to raid and hope you can rally the remaining Cleaners to our side, what do you think? If we make it clear that it's Cleaners against that cult, not an outside invader against the both of them ..."

Mercution_Hastus: "Well, ours are certainly better shots - and has better weapons. Unless this moron Horatio was distributing the armoury contents...Listen, Purple, think you can just call some people out? Horatio we can ambush and our people we will coordinate into a proper attack force and just wipe out everyone inside." Mercution asks, suddenly hopeful for a less-bloody solution for his people.

Atella: nods

Atella: "sounds good"

Clavis_Morden: "Okay then!"

tylorva: "I'm... not sure," she says dubiously. "No one seems to trust anyone any more. It's horrid."

Atella: "Every person that isn't in there shooting at us, is one less chance of dying"

Mercution_Hastus: nods in understanding and looks back at his companions. "Yeah, that's why I think just "rallying the forces" won't cut it. But I have to try. All of the other options are exhausted."

Clavis_Morden: "What sort of weapons do the Cleaners have, what sort do the cultists have?"

tylorva: "We got a few guns - las guns, autoguns, and sticks and swords. The cult has better gear - I dunno where they got it from. They got nice lasguns and a couple of chainswords. They say the leader has a boltgun." She looks awed.

Atella: "This is sounding... less and less like a good idea"

Clavis_Morden: Clavis gulps at the news that the cultists may have such a powerful weapon.

Clavis_Morden: "But there is at least one point of good news," she tries to rally. "Those witches may talk big but I'm certain they are actually rather small talents."

Clavis_Morden: "So the only reason they might be dangerous is that they're meddling with forces beyond their understanding." On second thought that isn't really comforting, it occurs to Clavis a little too late.

Mercution_Hastus: "Yeah, I think, that would only make chances of any screw-ups and weird happenings higher."

Atella: "So... what do we do?"

Clavis_Morden: "We don't have much of a choice ... and I can't think of anything better than Mercution's plan."