Vasyl's shot went wide, but the others were on target. The creature simply moved out of the way of the first shot from Lazerus, with a liquid motion that was disturbing to look at. Someone Jene's shot passed through the thing like it really was a shadow.
The creature moved to the heavy chamber and stopped, looking confused by the metal. Your commlink clicked. "The thing is a Mandrake. Living darkness. It can travel through the shadows. I've turned all the lights on in here, but the power is flickering. It was never designed to have everything on at full power."
For a few seconds, Callidia simply stares as the shadowy being and its unnatural actions.
Callidia can feel the natural revulsion to the unholy thing's movement eroding the foundation of her rational mind. As always in times such as these, she turns to the strength of her faith in the Emperor to bolster her, "Emperor guide us. Emperor teach us. Emperor protect us. In your light we thrive! In your mercy we are sheltered! In your wisdom we are humbled! We live only to serve! Our lives are yours!"
With no knowledge of how to fight this thing, Sister Callidia keys her combead even as she pursues the shadow and squeezes off a bolt round at it, <<And how do we kill something made of shadow?>>
"Quick, turn every lumen you can find against it! Fire too, real fire!"
Well... that sucks. Rolling for shock.
Good Game Guys...
...RUN!!!!
Vasyl stops talking about fire, and bolts in the opposite direction from the shadowy thing, clearly desperate to get away from it!
Lothar runs away...
The bulk of the acolytes begin to withdraw from the unholy creature that seemed to absorb the Emperor's own light. Jene and Callidia were the only ones whose mettle wasn't shaken. The bolt shell exploded near the thing, but it ignored the attack and continued hunting for a way in. It clearly didn't consider the door a viable choice.
Callidia takes aim with her bolt pistol from a range she considers to be child's play and squeezes off another bolt shell. One more and she would close to melee with the creature.
Some moments later...
Vasyl is panting, crouching behind a crate.
It has...been...a long...time...since...I felt...like this...biological...response...Focus.
Over the microbead, Vasyl speaks:
"Get...lumens...big ones...rig them...up...point them...at...IT. NOW."
Vasyl is already looking about, eager to find huge fracking lumens to light up that shadowy fracker.
Get a grip on yourselves gentlemen... and find some lighting, while those who can face the thing... do!
Once he composes himself a little more Lothar starts grabbing lumens to banish the shadow fiend.
Continues to go slightly mad.
Once more Lazerus' shot phased through the thing, and the bolter shell sails past the thing. Jene's round hits it, but it doesn't do much and the shadow thing ignores the attacks, tapping the metal with its sword.
It does pay significantly more attention as the light is aimed at it, saying something in it's own tongue before vanishing. Simply disappearing.
Damned thing vanished, but it seemed affected by the lights... can anyone see it? Listen for the tapping!
Callidia looks around, trying to spot the creature with no success.
Where is it?
Vasyl looks about, planning to spin a large lumen to dazzle the thing.
There!
Vasyl spins his industrial-grade lumen to point directly at the creature!
Lazerus hunts around looking for the creature
Vasyl illuminates it once more, allowing the others to target it - and causing it to recoil, glaring in irritation at the light.
Vasyl keeps adjusting the light direction as needed.
A little left.
With the powerful light focusing attention on the creature, Callidia levels her bolt pistol once more, praying to Him that this time the shell would not be wasted.
There you are, miasmic vermin. Hold still...
Lothar also keeps his weapon focused on the fiend to his allies could destroy it.
Lazerus continues shooting the creature
Once again the bolter round simply phased through the creature. But Lazerus finally landed a blow. What looked like liquid shadows began to flow down the things torso where bright blood should be, but it was clear that it had been wounded.
It could be hit. It could be killed.
It snarled and vanished again.
Lothar whirls around and shines his lumen onto the creature as it tried to sneak up behind them. "There it is! Purge the xenos!"
Unable to spot the creature at first, Callidia whirls around at Lothar's call, spotting the fiend in the beam of light.
Shoot.
Once Vasyl hears Lothar's words, the hiver whips out his carnodon and blasts!
Lazerus panics and misses his shots
Bolter coming to bear, Callidia walks forward until she is nearly on top of the wraithlike abomination and squeezes off another shot.
Gonna have to reload...
Shockingly, the creature's strange ability doesn't kick in and they are unable to dodge. The barrage hits home as they charge in, the same long blade heading for Callidia.
Time to engage in melee.
In a blur of motion, Vasyl charges, his smoking Carnodon swiftly replaced with his brutal, machete-like blade, and then swinging at the figure!
Still panicking Lazerus misses again
Lothar keeps the torch fixed on the foul creature. "Die Xenos! Purge the abomination!"
Twisting aside with desperate effort, Callidia knows it will not be enough. Emperor! If this is my hour, I come to you willingly! At the last moment, Callidia finds a reserve she did not know she had and twists aside. The xenos blade actually piercing through her Ecclesiastical robe and missing her leg by mere centimeters.
Callidia retaliates with a swing of her flail, her strikes coordinated with Vasyl.
The shadowed thing snarled at the impacts and...dissipated. It didn't seem to have died under the onslaught - it's hate-filled eyes showed neither pain no fear - but had withdrawn for now.
Finally!
"Is it definitely gone? Does anyone see movement?"
Vasyl, breathing more heavily, contacts Samanor.
"Lex here. The mandrake has...dissipated. Looks gone. Confirming now."
Vasyl adjusts his auspex and tries to seek any sign of the creature.
Some kind of warp interference clogged the Auspex, making it hard to determine where the thing was. It didn't seem to be within line of sight, although the Emperor alone knew what warp-tainted witchery it might be able to call upon.
Afan, after quietly clearing his head, starts scanning around for the creature.
Lothar swung the light around trying to find the xenos. "It can not stand before the righteous!"
Jene reloads... looking around. Look for nothing, the absence of anything.
Callidia sweeps the room, trying to find any trace of the unholy thing.
Lazerus will gaze into the warp to see if that creature is still around
The shadows seem normal enough, the usual patches of darkness which hold few secrets and almost no horrors for someone in the Inquisition's service. Lazerus is able to feel something slinking away, a mind so utterly alien it's difficult to take more than a feeling of anger.
Vasyl tries sweeping the lumen about the room, hoping to damage the creature by chance.
Long shot.
"It has fled before our wrath... but it will likely return. This location is no longer secure."