Day 1 of my first mission. The Brazen Sky.
At last we have completed our training. No more grueling physical training and endless indoctrination. I must confess a mounting excitement at the prospect of venturing out on my first mission. For posterity’s sake I have decided to keep a journal to chronicle my future voyages.
Currently I am aboard the freighter “Brazen Sky”, bound for Iocanthos. Inquisitor Graves has personally assigned the group and me to investigate some strange occurrences that have be reported at the building site for a new cathedral dedicated to the great saint Drusus. It will be interesting to visit another world, especially one that shares such unique ties with my home world. Legend has it that Drusus himself walked on this backwater world during his crusade of the sector, personally bringing it into the Empire.
My fellow acolytes are a rather odd assortment. We interacted some during training but in a primarily professional manner. I don’t know which of them stands out the most. I don’t say “stand out” in a positive since however. Perhaps I should start with the one called Thanatos. He hails from the cursed world Dusk and his appearance lends further credence to the frightful reputation of that world. He is a burly, middle aged man, covered in scars (self afflicted?) and he has apparently filed his teeth to fangs. He doesn’t speak much, which I am rather thankful for since that cuts down visual exposure to the aforementioned teeth. He also has a skull in his possession, which he is currently muttering to while he cleans his weaponry. I believe that the man is illiterate since, after we received data-slates with orders from Graves, he reacted by starring at it briefly and then returning to his skull. Despite his unusual qualities, he seems very competent in the ways of soldiery and I am sure his years of experience will be valuable to us.
The Tech-priest should be discussed next I should think. I have had only limited exposure to those of the Adeptus Machincus before and I had certainly never spoken to one of that order before meeting this Siskon. He is an odd sight, as these people tend to be and I am thankful for the large robes he wears as they hide the hints of machinery that are concealed by them. His voice is ever mechanical due to the faceplate he wears. That metallic voice makes me wonder how much of the man has been unnaturally modified as well. Having a full blown Tech-priest with us should prove very useful and I am thankful for his presence due to my own ineptitude with understanding machines. His occasional discourses about the Machine God and the Omnissiah are somewhat unsettling though. I know that the beliefs of his Adeptus are permitted under the Imperial Creed but I cannot help but feel like those beliefs are irreconcilably different with the religion of the Imperium.
Next, we have the towering psyker Dar. He shares the same home world as Thanatos and on occasion they will rattle on in Duskite together. He is incredibly tall, compared to myself at least. He also has cybernetic eyes. I haven’t asked why he has them but perhaps it was due to his psyker sanctioning as I have read that the sanctioning can have adverse physical effects. The psykers of the Astropath have all reportedly suffered a similar lose of their eyes. I have never had any contact with a psyker (that I am aware of) before Dar and I cannot help but feel odd around him. I know that the Emperor himself is evidence of the immense potential of the psyker but I wonder what this large man is capable of? He certainly has an imposing persona at the least.
Our latest arrival is a somewhat shabby looking man named Thicus. He is said to be gifted in the area of “less than legal” activities. He seems a decent fellow though he has said little thus far (we seem to have a plethora of the strong-silents) and he had the misfortune of falling ill before we boarded this ship. He has been sleeping a great amount, only awakening to eat or rush off to the nearest available lavatory (this later action happens quite often in fact). I have been maintaining a safe distance from him lest I catch whatever foul humor has gripped his bowels so.
The final member of our group seems an odd addition. I find that I often forget that she is with us as she is ever silent. Her name is Theta and to be honest that is all I know of her. She carries with her a large rifle such a hunter or Imperial Guardsman sniper might possibly use so I assume she has the training to use the weapon well. She is rather plainish of face and body unfortunately. She remains an unknown quantity though I hope she will be a worthwhile addition to the group.
That is the sum of us. A mixed bag for sure. I feel even more excited now after having made my first journal entry. What wonders await me on the surface of Iocanthos? What great deeds await my doing? What ancient mysteries lay dormant for me to uncover?
Third night, Port Suffering.
After an uneventful voyage aboard the Brazen Sky we have finally made it to Iocanthos. If only our first day on this world would have been as safely devoid of trouble. Today was my first ever lighter landing. It was recommended that I take a motion sickness pill, which I did. I ended up light headed during the re-entry process but Theta ended up projectile vomiting. How embarrassing.
Shortly after arriving at the town of Port Suffering, a group of ruffians attempted to assault us. It was then that I witnessed another first, the power of the Psyker. Dar suddenly become terrifying to behold. It is hard to describe, there was nothing physically different about him, you just couldn’t look upon him without your mind screaming terror. The thugs all ran away in fear as did Siskon and Theta!
We linked up our contact, a senior Inquisitorial agent by the name of Aristarchus. He is an impressive man to be sure and he is a psyker gifted with the powers of the seer. What a power it must be to glimpse the future. I am thankful that we will be working under him for in addition to his abilities he is also a follower of Saint Drusus, the patron saint of my own homeworld. He told us that we would be heading out to the town of Stern Hope, the location of the cathedral, on the morrow
After meeting Aristarchus we took a stroll about town. Thanatos helped me pick out a new pistol and Theta was kind enough to lend me a knife. I had the opportunity to stop by an alms house in town that had a small library. I read about a curious local creature called a Shale Crow. Apparently it has no eyes and the presence of one of these bird-like beasts is seen as a very ill omen. I should very much like to see one of these curious creatures for myself.
I think we are going to have an early start so I had best head off to bed.
Morning, day 7, Stern Hope
What a horrid turn of events. I feel so exhausted, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Dar is dead. We found his body, cut to pieces in the hills last night. What is happening? If someone as powerful as that man can be drawn out from amongst us and slaughtered what hope do I have on this cruel world? I draw no comfort from the rest of the group. Upon finding his body their first reaction was to begin looting the man as if he was a chest of treasure or a tree with it’s fruit ripened. I am a stranger to this type of death. Old age or sickness have been the only takers of life I had ever witnessed before this mission. Perhaps the others have seen so much of such savagery that the dead no longer affect them. Would they be as callous were it my corpse they had come across out there. I cannot think otherwise. God Emperor guide his soul to rest.
Little had transpired until yesterday. It took us a whole three days of hot, dusty travel to arrive at this secluded area. It isn’t a wholly unpleasant land to behold but it seems odd to have built a cathedral this far from civilization. I did eye the shale crows I had read about. They followed us during our journey in fact and I understand why the locals have no love for these ominous birds. Something else was following us according to those with better eyesight than mine own. Once, when this thing was spotted, we stopped to investigate. After a difficult climb, in which Theta stumbled and cracked her head against a boulder, we arrived at a spot that held a curious stone. The stone was engraved with the sigil of St. Drusus. This sigil is most likely ancient. Oddly, it was hot to the touch. Aristarchus took it as a sign from the God Emperor. I myself know not to make of it nor do I know of what to make of the dead man that walked into our camp two nights ago while I was on watch. The man had clearly been dead for some time as he was in an advanced state of decay. He was also missing both of his eyes. Aristarchus was un-phased by the ghastly event and merely said that such things had been reported. Thanatos saw to a burial for the man at least.
Yesterday afternoon we arrived at our destination. Then everything went wrong. We ended up splitting apart once we arrived in town, talking to locals and trying to get an idea of what had been happening in the area. It wasn’t until late that night that we realized that Dar was missing. Theta was able to get him to respond on the vox communicators but by then it was too late. Someone or something was already engaging him and he had only time to make one reply. By the time we came across him he was long gone. His death has shaken me and last night I found myself on my knees beseeching the God Emperor for protection and wisdom. I have never considered myself a very religious man even though mother and father most certainly tried to influence me to be so. I have always thought of religion as being mostly for the superstitious and uneducated. How quickly I have returned to the prayers I learned as a child.
Aristarchus is joining us now and we must go visit the Abbot of the cathedral. God Emperor cast your light upon our path.
Evening, day 7, Stern Hope
Tomorrow is the consecration of the cathedral and I feel that we are no closer to finding the meaning behind all of the strange events that have been witnessed. Abbot Skae, who we met today, was unable to provide us with any solid leads. He seems more concerned with tomorrow’s consecration than anything else and we had precious little time to speak with him. He seems a true holy man however and we were able to visit a young girl in town today that he personally spent the night in prayer over. She was suffering a terrible illness but the prayers of this righteous man on her behalf were answered. The people of this town are truly fortunate to have such a devote man among them.
We sought to gather more information in town today but little that we learned seemed reliable or of any real relevance to what we are trying to find out. We did find out about some local warlords and their deeds but little else beyond that.
Later in the day we finally faced that which we had been avoiding, traveling into the hills where Dar was murdered. After awhile our truck could go no further amongst the difficult terrain and we had to hike up the rocky slopes. It was then that we were set upon by a horrid beast. It was a four legged creature that was covered in gore and decay. We were blessed to have one of the clerics from the cathedral with us as a guide, a brother Lamark. With his help we brought the monster low. He was able to tell us that it was a local creature known as a hexalid. No hexalid he had ever heard tale of was such a ghastly sight though. How such a beast attacked us without the use of eyes is also a wonder for when we first beheld it we saw that its eyes were ruins. Thanatos cut the wicked barbed tongue out of the beast as evidence of may very well be warp corruption. The hills held no further clues for us and we went back to Stern Hope to consult Aristarchus.
Aristarchus, who has been acting oddly lately (though this may be due only to some physical frailties he has been suffering), seemed only slightly concerned at our account of the hexalid and it wasn’t until Thanatos revealed the barbed tongue of the beast did the seer take what we had encountered seriously. We relayed what we had learned today to him. His only response was that he would consult the Imperial Tarot tonight for guidance and at that he bid us good evening. The team has little confidence in Aristarchus and though we dare only to whisper what we are thinking, our doubts about him grow.
I feel restless as I lay here waiting for sleep to come. The new day comes and I am sure of only one thing: we have not put a stop to whatever evil threatens this land.
Afternoon, day 10, Stern Hope
There is a rugged beauty about this place that finds its way into one over time. As I look past the ruined cathedral of Drusus to the solemn hills beyond, I must admit that part of me will miss this place once we leave on the morrow. The people have so surprised me with their kindness; even after all they have been through. May the Emperor bless them.
So much has happened I do not know if I can adequately recount the events of the day of the consecration. That day began with a warning from Aristarchus. He said that the tarot had warned him of danger and his consultations were correct. In the middle of the service we heard the sound of gunfire. A warband was attacking the town. We later found out that these warriors were followers of a warlord named Seth the Voice. Whether or not he had commanded them to attack remains uncertain. In light of what I will relay latter I think their actions were not wholly of their own volition. They came armed with bombs, seeking to destroy important structures in the town as well as the cathedral itself. We fought against numerous of these men at the steps of the cathedral. At one point a man charged the cathedral intent on detonating his bomb within it no doubt. From a rooftop, Theta shot the bomb the man was carrying. What an astonishing seen it was when the man simply ceased to exist in a whole form. Smoke, bits of gore, and red mist were all that remained at the spot the man had occupied a second before. After we had beat back the attackers at the front door we responded to screams coming from the back side of the building. Three of the Voicers (as they are called) were attacking a local woman who was defending a group of infants. They cut down the poor woman and were making their way towards the children when we intervened. I shot one of the men right between the shoulder blades and he crumpled instantly. The others were quickly felled before the children could come to any further harm. I find it odd that I feel nothing after taking a man’s life with my own hands. I had always thought that some strong emotion would come after killing someone but the only response I have is just the simple knowledge that I have killed. Perhaps it was just the urgency of the situation and the obvious rightness of the action I took. Still, I never imagined that I would actually kill someone.
Despite the loss of life and damage to the town, the real destruction began after the attack. One of the Voicers was undergoing an impromptu interrogation from Aristarchus at the entrance to the cathedral. The man was clearly mad, gibbering intelligibly. A woman named Esha Raine, who we had heard was a leader among the Ashleen people of the area, said that the man was being driven insane by some evil spirit of the land. Aristarchus replied killing the man. Harsh words were exchanged and the woman Raine and her escort, a local warlord named Kos’ke and his men, left the town. As we were surveying the aftermath of the attack and having our wounded attended to another surprising event took place. Abbot Skae stumbled out the cathedral covered in blood claiming to have been attacked by some shadowing female form. Aristarchus took this to mean that Raine had attacked the Abbot by means of witchery and he immediately charged us to go after her. We obediently got into our truck and went after the woman. Once we arrived at her cottage and called out for her an ill wind blew upon us. The wind brought forth flocks of those accursed Shale Crows. The little beasts proceeded to attack us all, Raine and Kos’ke as well as our group. A knot of them dived upon me, peeking and clawing away like mad. Thankfully Theta and Thanatos had shotguns with which to blast the blighters out of the sky with.
We were stunned at this odd turn of events enough to listen to the woman Raine. She explained to us that an ancient evil spirit which they call the Crow Father had reawakened. She blamed this spirit for what was happening around the land and she seemed certain that it was at work in Stern Hope. She gave me a small old book called “the Widow’s Book” that was written in High Gothic. The book said that Drusus, during his crusade, had defeated a possessed man upon the very spot the cathedral was now built on. It further detailed the workings of this warp spirit. An ancient saying Raine told us led me to believe that this spirit was vulnerable to attack in the area of it’s eyes, if immaterial spirits have eyes or not is still debatable but regardless it turns out that I was correct.
Theta and Siskon had managed to “acquire” Aristarchus’ dataslate during the confusion of the battle. In it the seer spoke of having witnessed some strange visions with the Abbot. Having just learned about this Crow Father and his ability to deceive men made us all the more concerned. The book also said that after turning brother against brother in slaughter, this Crow Father was known to lead some unholy ritual at dusk. With that in mind we made haste back to the cathedral.
When arrived back at Stern Hope it became immediately obvious that what Raine had told us was true. We drove right up to the doors of the cathedral and beheld a terrible sight. All the townsfolk were setting in the dark cathedral as if in a trance, Aristarchus was floating above the altar muttering something in an odd form of High Gothic, and a mass of twisting darkness flowed about at the ceiling. Thanatos responded immediately by shooting at Aristarchus. This earned the ire of a much changed Abbot Skae. The man was possessed by the Crow Father it seems. The sight of this warped Skae was horrifying. Thicus ran out of the front doors in terror and Thanatos and Siskon were enchanted by this daemon’s evil power. All seemed lost as the creature approached us. It was then that his fiery white eyes brought back what Raine had told us to my mind and I aimed my gunfire for his eyes. One of my shots struck home and the impact it made was immediate. It was so effective that the daemon rushed headlong at me and struck with me such a blow that I thought I was to die on that very spot. I attribute my survival to the holy Saint whose very cathedral was being desecrated by this foul spirit. Had it not been for his beseeching the Emperor to shield me I do not believe that I would be alive to write this account. Thanatos realized that striking the eyes of Skae was the key to defeating it and thus he thrust his sword through the eye remaining to the former Abbot. What happened next was beyond anything I would have ever dreamed up. Dark energy began to pour out through the eye sockets of Skae until the body of the man ceased to exist. That energy gathered up with that energy waiting in the ceiling and then ripped the roof right off of the building. Unfortunately this energy consumed Aristarchus as it surged out of the cathedral.
We found a single card from his tarot deck where he was consumed: the faceless Magus. The card itself was not merely what it appeared to be however. Part of the card was burned away and some sort of technology that was outside of any our realms of knowledge lay beneath the exterior covering. A most curious find but I still do not know what to make of it. The bodies of Brother Lamark and the other clerics were found in the rear chambers of the cathedral. What a tragedy that these pious men were slain by this deceiving spirit. The next time I visit a proper church I be certain to light altar candles for them.
The townsfolk began to stir then but they had no recollection of what had happened. I think that their ignorance is for the better. I doubt that the terrible voice and horrific figure of the possessed Abbot will ever fully leave my mind. I felt led to offer up a prayer of thankfulness to Saint Drusus for all our sakes once the people roused. I don’t know if it gave them much comfort but I know that it was the Saint’s intervention that saved us that night. The skepticism and doubts that I have so long harbored seem foolish to me now. Never would have I imagined that I would find my faith on this harsh world.
Day 41, aboard Inquisitor Graves’s private ship
It has been a considerable amount of time since I wrote in this journal I know. The truth is there hasn’t been much to report. We returned to Port Suffering on Iocanthos the day after my last entry. I had expected to depart immediately but instead we stayed in that town for nearly a month. The stay was uneventful to the point of boring I’m afraid. At least the populace was much kinder this go round and there were no further muggings attempted upon us. When the time actually did come to leave the world we ended up leaving with one less member of our cell group. Thanatos has been tasked with staying on Iocanthos and to help rebuild. He is also to develop a good working relationship with the warlords of the area so that the Inquisition can have a firmer foothold on that planet. I had many doubts about Thanatos at the first it is true. After my experiences with him I must say that our whole group was most fortunate to have him with us. I do not know what pains lay in his past but I hope that he will be able to find some measure of peace on that world that seems to remind him a bit of his own home.
After decontamination tests and debriefings I had hoped that we would be able to visit with Inquisitor Graves. I was to be disappointed again however. Graves was attending to other matters and the only communication we were to receive from him was in the form of a holo-recording. He had received our reports and seemed satisfied with our actions. We were then directed to investigate a series of disturbing murders on the feudal world of Acreage, which we are to arrive at tomorrow if all goes well.
Oh yes. I forgot to mention our new additions. Due to the shifting around of personnel within our cell group, namely Thantos and Thicus (the latter of which has been reassigned to parts unknown), we have received an influx of new acolytes. The first of the new acolytes I met was a Tacitus Gath. He seems rather young, though probably not much younger than myself, and has a somewhat effeminate demeanor. On second thought that isn’t exactly what I mean. He still looks very much a youth and he is slender, fair skinned, and noble born. Those attributes all combine to form that “genteel” air that the nobility often carries with them. These are all first impressions of course and hopefully he will not turn out to be “that type” of noble born. I showed him proper deference of course and while he did not tell me I didn’t have to address him as noble born, which he has the right to demand due to his station, he did not demand it either. Anyway, he is a cleric of the Ecclesiarchy hailing from the sector capital. He claims that his family estate holds a vast librarium and that if our travels permit it I might be able to visit it. He did have a little cutting remark about my having to find better robes if I was to visit it though. Not all of us have the luck to be born with a silver spoon shoved into our wailing maws.
The next of the new men I met was Servius Flavion. The man is the picture of what one expects of one of the Adeptus Arbites. He had recently been working on Scintilla as well though he is not from that world. It seems that he was raised in the Schola Progenium, a prestigious way to grow up if but for the misfortune of having to be an orphan to be accepted. I felt bad at having brought up his past as it required him to relay to us that his parents had been slain when he was but a child. While he does seem a touch brusque, I am sure having an Arbiter with us will prove highly beneficial.
The last of the new blood is one Alaric Adranus, an Imperial Psyker. He wasn’t very loquacious upon our first meeting though I did find out that he was born and raised in the sector fleet. This man does not strike me as impressive as the two other psykers I have met. Those two are now both dead though and one even betrayed the Imperium. Inquisitor Graves must have felt that we had need of a psyker and assigned him with us. We will see how powerful he is, though I have to comment that my respect for his kind is counterbalanced by an equal amount of fear.
On the whole these new recruits seem a goodly lot and it is refreshing to have a greater infusion of education and culture among us than what we had in our previous group composition.
Day 43, evening, Olverkan
What an odd place I find myself to be as I write this. I am in a warehouse in the town of Olverkan, a piteous backwater, and I’m currently surrounded by corpses! They are all in enclosed bundles but they are there nonetheless. Thankfully, the stink of this whole side of town is such that the smell of the nearby bodies is indistinct from the rest the area’s odors.
I suppose that I should backtrack a bit and explain how I came to be in among the dead this evening. We landed on Acreage yesterday at a port called Emperor’s Island. Our reception there was much akin to the one we received at Port Suffering on Iocanthos. Shortly after arriving some ruffians attacked us in the street. I tried to reason with the brutes but the bark of Severius’ shotgun ended any further attempts at diplomacy. The man he shot was thrown several meters backwards and he was dead before he hit the ground. His fellows ran off after that but the local enforcers brought us in for questioning. Thankfully Severius’ status as an Arbitrator kept us out of any legal trouble and we managed to keep a lower profile for the rest of the evening.
This morning we arrived at our destination, Olverkan which I mentioned beforehand. We had to travel by way of a nautical vessel unfortunately. I hate to say it but sea travel does not agree with me. The town itself is built on a swamp and what a retched swamp it is! Swarms of biting flies constantly buzz about your face such that one is forced to buy one of the net masks the locals wear. What’s worse is that the town is currently under siege due to a civil war that has been going on for some time. While we were investigating the section of wall where some of the strange murders have occurred I had the ill luck to be struck by a cannonball! Praise the Emperor that the power of the firearms on this world are inferior and that I was only swept off my feet.
We did find a trail of blood leading into the town from the scene of the crime. Following it led to this putrid area. Tacitus bribed a local man into telling us what he knew about the murders and that man pointed us to this warehouse. I discovered the presence of the bodies shortly after we entered the building but we also caught the attention of the living occupants of the place. After being fired upon by one of the two men that were here, two winged Xeno creatures descended upon us. I have no idea what the vicious things were but one of the men we captured told us that the things had been given to him and his brother (who escaped, though we later let this man go as well) to protect them. The givers of these vile gifts come by most nights to collect the corpses of those slain in the siege that these two brothers have illegally collected. Who those other men are and what they are doing with the bodies of the slain is unknown to us still. We have set up an ambush in this fetid warehouse in hopes that they will come calling for their grizzly goods.
Day 44, back aboard Grave’s ship
The ambush turned out to be a bust since the mysterious men never showed. Our disappointment was short lived since another lead we came across that morning lead us to an old mill on the outskirts of the town. This mill was where we needed to be but I wish it were otherwise. The ground floor of the place was covered in literal heaps of human bodies. The number of intact corpses had to be in the hundreds. We found the remnants of other bodies cut open or apart or liquefied into a paste. God Emperor protect. The sight of it was such that I could not stop myself from quivering for some time. Severius passed out on the spot, knocking his head against the threshold. We were greeted by more of the flying Xeno creatures from yesterday as well as what I assume to be the mysterious men we were looking for. These “men” seemed to be composed of multitudes of maggots. Yes, maggots. When we shot them they seemed totally unaffected. Alaric used powers that I did not know psykers could use. He would randomly vanish from sight and at times he would cause apparitions of himself to appear where he was not. All of our efforts were proving useless however and I began to fear that these “maggot men” as I have dubbed them would do us in. It was then that a man named Eli, an Inquisitorial agent that Graves had told us of, came to our rescue. The man was a powerful psyker and he was quickly able to use his powers to sneak behind one of the maggot men and behead the abomination. The other maggot man in the mill fled after seeing his fellow vanquished.
After the battle Eli began examining the corpses. He was stunned at whatever it was he found had been done to the corpses and he commanded us to take one of the bodies to Graves as quick as we could. We came across several devices that we believe are Xeno in origin and brought those with us as well as the body. Tacitus insisted on burning the mill to the ground and that coupled with the knowledge that other maggot men were likely about, bade us beat a hasty retreat to the docks. We booked passage on the next ship out, which rode no smoother than the ship before it to my chagrin, and arrived back at Emperor’s Island before nightfall. A lighter was waiting for us and soon after we arrived back aboard this vessel. We turned in all the evidence we brought with us, though Graves is not currently onboard to personally receive it.
I do not think that any of us really know what is happening on Acreage. It looks as though we will not find out anytime soon either as Graves has ordered us to Scintilla. Personally, I hope I have seen the last of that miserable world.
