Tertius examines the bodies of the thralls, both torn into two from the barrage of bullets and internal explosions, looking for clues. As he ponders what it would take such a heretical being the arbiter vox is active with details about attacks around the city.
Garbled reports start to come through of an attack on an Enforcer column moving through the commercia ambushed by an unknown force. Rapidly, things worsen: some reports claim that the Khan himself has been killed in the attack, others suggest that he is critically injured or even taken captive.
Tertius, Servius, and Theta regroup outside of the manse as certain facts begin to become clear: A chimera carrying the Enforcer General to oversee the purging of District XIII by Sanctum Forces was struck and disabled by a missile, and the Enforcers guarding the column were gunned down in droves by heady weapons fire. The vox traffic becomes a flood of contradictory reports on the Enforcers channels; some claim that the Undertow was responsible, while others say that the Adeptus Arbites themselves led the attack. Still, others claim that the attackers are walking dead men.
While the acolytes question what to do next a call comes in from Fihad. “I’m coming to assist with the attack on House Amorite. Have you been able to secure the area?”
Tertius
Thumb off the mic switch, Tertius looks back at Fihad and Theta. “Hereticus?” He quickly thinks through the possibilities of another Inquisition team being here and accepts that there is little reason to doubt what he is being told. “I can’t think what point they would have in lying.”
He thumbs the mic switch “Well met and praise be to the Emperor for your aid. Let us secure that Chimera together and then we can confer.” (Tertius will exit the transport and motion for Servius to back him up in checking the interior of the APC. Need to see if there is anyone alive in there.)
Theta
Theta climbs on top of our vehicle in order to have clear line of site on whoever comes from behind the wall, the enemy chimera, and to assess the rest of our surroundings.
GM
Tertius and Servius disembark with weapons at the ready and cross the blood-soaked street. The wharf area has become eerily silent with few others in the vicinity. The sounds of gunfire can be heard in the distance but based on the sound it is likely many kilometers away. The Arbites forces that engaged the acolytes lie on the ground almost expressionless their milky white eyes and grey hued skin becoming apparent upon approach.
From the opposite side of the street, the assistance comes from behind cover. Pulling the cloak down from covering her head the acolytes see a woman with a scar across one eye and a bolt carbine in her hand. She appears nimble as she crosses the street with her partner, a man covered from the head down in thin black armor wielding a blade in his right hand.
She nods at Tertius as the acolytes round the back of the APC and peer inside with a quick movement and readied weapons. The empty vehicle hums with the sound of the engine with a sole headless Arbiter lying in the main compartment.
“You look unharmed.” The women says looking back and forth between Tertius and Servius. “I am Arkadia and this is Thorn.”
Thorn
Having deftly reloaded his weapon and quickly scanned the perimeter for further threats and removed his helmet you see deep, intense green eyes, golden skin and shockingly white hair. “Praise be to the emperor. Well met.”
Tertius
Tertius, ornate bolt pistol still in hand, gives a quick and courtly bow. “Tertius Kabakes at your service.” Tertius is a touch shorter than normal and, even though covered by a dark grey cloak, he looks very frail. Under his solid black flak helmet you see mousy brown hair, a thin and pallid face with round rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. He also is wearing a full back pack that is almost comically large on him.
He gestures to the man beside him “My colleagues Servius and Theta.” He then points behind him at a heavily armored feminine form with a large sniper rifle trained on them.
Over microbead (concealed in ear comms) to Theta. “Stand down Theta. The APC is secure. Tell Fihad to see if he recognizes these Arbiters. Some sort of corruption has taken hold of them.”
To Arkadia and Thorn. “Forgive me if this question is impertinent: Have you been following us? From the first day we arrived we have known someone was observing us. It would give me some peace of mind to know it was you.”
Thorn
As Thorn gets closer you notice that he has a tall lean well muscled build. He stands about 1.88 meters tall. He gives a quick contemplative glance at Arkadia and nods. “Yes, we have been… watching from a distance.”
Tertius
“Was it your team that Theta encountered in Baal Grey’s territory then?”
Servius
Servius is a brawny former arbiter wearing Imperial Flak Armor from head to toe. He looks at the 2 newcomers with curious intent but with some reservations (las pistol still in hand but, pointed down and in a relax position). He waits for an answer to Tertius’s question.
GM
Arkadia raises an eyebrow, “Ah, well yes Jonas told us that he had a run in with one of your team. Quite the feat spotting him.”
Tertius
With a smile, “Yes, that’s our Theta. I hope your man Jonas is alright. That answers one of the questions that has flustered me. Now a more pressing query: do you know who is behind all of this? Is it Haarlock by his own hand or only his agents?”
Theta
On top of the vehicle you see Theta. She is 5'4", slender, and wears a thin cloak covering most of her head and body. What you can see of her armor looks like metal plate mail but it is too form fitting and and she moves with far too much ease than anyone should be able to with tradition plate mail armor. She is also wearing a combat vest and has a short shotgun slung around her back.
Theta lowers her sniper rifle and turns to continue scanning our surroundings for potential threats.
GM
Arkadia looks to Theta for a moment before responding to Tertius, “Us? No. We have been following as a bit of an… insurance policy. But still unsure of who is behind these attacks. Haarlock’s presence is obvious but which forces he had corrupted into his influence were questionable. This attack has made it a bit more clear that the Adeptus Arbites need cleansing.”
Servius
Servius holsters his gun. “Indeed. I am in complete agreement with that last statement.”
Tertius
“Yes, but not all of them. Adjutant Constantine is a credit to his Adeptus (referring to the Adeptus Arbites).” He says loud enough for Fihad to hear as he approaches.
Tertius approaches the enemy corpse nearest himself and Fihad and kneels down to get a closer look. “Two questions Adjutant. Do you recognize these men and is your assessment that Marshall Skarmen led us directly into this ambush?”
GM
Arkadia nods to Tertius as Fihad heads to the APC. “It might be true that some have not been tainted but the Arbites will likely need to be purged immediately or risk the rest of the planet fall into ruin.”
Fihad kneels to look at the dead Arbites forces and gently lays a hand across the chest of one of the fallen. “Yes. I know them.” He pauses for a moment. “I had wondered why I was sent to rendevous with you before meeting with the rest of the forces. It appears your suspicions about Skarmen have come to fruition. Praise the Emporer that I did not come immediately but acquired a Chimera and an escort. I suppose that somewhere deep I have had concerns.” His gaze falls on his dead comrade and his eyes seem to stare through the body as he becomes lost in thought.
Tertius observes the bodies attempting to ascertain what could have caused their betrayal. There is something odd about the amount of blood that has pooled. He has experienced many bloody scenes and realizes that there is not enough for a normal human. Perhaps they were already dead… That would correspond to what they have fought in the corpse thralls although the lack of neck sigils gives him pause.
A drizzle of rain begins as clouds roll in for the evening. Holstering her weapon Arkadia looks at the vicinity. “We should move. Does your team have a plan for containing this? It appears the timeline has escalated.”
Thorn
Eyeing the clouds, Thorn sheathes his sword and nods, “Agreed.”
Tertius
Tertius stands, still eyeing the dead Arbiter. “These men may have already been deceased. The amount of blood here is not enough to sustain human life. How Haarlock is able to reinvigorate and control the dead to do his will is troubling.” Looking around to the group now. “What is even more troubling is what I found in the Judiciary’s office today. Seven men, four of them guards, all felled from a las shot to the head. There was no sign that they tried to defend themselves, it is obvious they weren’t able, possibly due to the use of psykana or something even more sinister. With difficulty we can fell Haarlocks undead minions. What power he or Skarmen possesses is still unknown. I pray to the Emperor and all his saints we can overcome what awaits us at Haarlock’s Folly.”
Tertius then quickly explains to Arkadia and Thorn about the witch mirror fragments and that, of the 13 that are known to exist, 2 are currently in their possession. The mirror fragments were part of a heretical artifact of Haarlock’s that had been stolen. It is used for scrying, farsight, and possibly for the control of a daemonic entity. Recovering these fragments seems to be Haarlock’s primary objective. He also explains how, when recovering a mirror fragment, it showed him a vision of Haarlock and that there is some connection between him and the Tyrant Star.
GM
Arkadia ponders your tale of the Judiciaries murder. “Is it possible that they were caught unaware? It is possible they trusted the murderers although psykana cannot be ruled out.” She adjusts her armor. “We are aware of the connections you speak of and will do whatever the Emporer requires to prevent the Tyrant Star’s return to Calixis.”
“What do you plan to do next? We cannot sit idle here and be caught unawares.”
Tertius
“I’m certain the Judiciary and his men were caught unaware by someone they knew, Skarmen seems the logical conclusion at this point. However, given that there was no fight at all and all of the them were killed by a lasgun, I believe witchery was at play.”
Tertius takes stock of what their combinded forces now include: Himself, Theta, an injured Servius, two Aribter troopers, Fihad, the second in command of the Aribters and badly wounded, Thorn, Arkadia, a lightly damaged Chimera with a multilas turret, a moderatly damaged Chimera with an autocannon, and two witch mirror fragments.
He motions for Servius and receives the box with the mirrors in it, openly displaying it for Thorn and Arkadia. “The witch mirrors are in here. Let us hope that having these in our possession will slow or, Emperor will it, prevent whatever foul plan Haarlock is concocting from coming to fruition. For now I suggest we commandeer this Chimera to increase our firepower. Then we can either advance on the Folly now or try to gather whatever assistance we can and then assault it. We have made some allies with the Undertow, there may be some uncorrupted Arbiters left, and the Mundato enforcers and the Planetary Defense Force can all be pressed into service providing we have enough time and they are able to link up with us.”
Looking to the gathered Inquisitorial team and Fihad. “What say you all? Do we make haste and attack now or attempt to bolster our forces first?”
Servius
While the other acolytes talk, Servius inspects the bodies of the dead arbiters for anything out of the ordinary.
He hears Tertius’s question but, doesn’t answer while he examines.
Tertius
Looking back at Servius busying himself with the corpses, Tertius is reminded of the former Arbiters insatisable desire to loot.
He then turns his attention to Thorn. A most unusual specicim. From his knowledge of the Xeno, Tertius briefly ponders that this Thorn resembles the physical description of an Aeldari. No time for such flights of fancy. He focuses back on the task at hand. “Sir Thorn. What is your recommendation given the current situation?”
Thorn
“My unit has been tasked with resolving this matter at any cost. But we have many other things to do as well. You all seem to be on the right trail here and I may be able to join and assist. The rest of my unit has other things to attend to presently. But, if you need time to prepare I can rejoin you when you are ready. But, do not dally long. I will complete this assignment one way or the other and will let nothing stand in the way.”
Tertius
“It seems the Ordo Hereticus feels that time is of the essence. Let me propose a course of action. We take both of these vehicles and advance on the Folly, intervening in any engagements we come across to gather more to fight with us. We also put an open channel call to denounce Marshall Skarmen as an agent of Haarlock and demand that all available forces loyal to the Emperor make their way to the Folly to bring him to justice. Any additions or objections to this plan?”
Thorn
“No objections.”
Tertius
Tertius waits for further input. Receiving none he proceeds. “Let us remove the body from this Chimera then and appoint a crew for it. I will stay in the other vehicle and see if I can make better use of the autocannon than Fihad’s man did.” He shuffles slightly. “This is rather embarrassing but I fear I need a minute before we carry on. Please prepare to leave. I will be back momentarily.”
He jogs away behind a building, leaving the team to get ready.
Thorn
Thorn, glances after Tertius perplexed and then shrugs and begins removing the lifeless body from the Chimera.
