To scotus:
I hate stained glass windows...
Scotus' eyes narrow as he scans the area, hand still resting on his sidearm...
As Scotus watches, the cloud separates into two ragged, black shapes; one of which seems to roll, purposely, back towards the private chambers. The other cloud seems to lazily pool towards the center of the entrance hall.
That is not right, and Scotus is sure he sees the Ruinous Powers in this.
Scotus scowls, the motions for the others to come close, then makes sure he has their attention.
"That ... Scotus growls, pointing at the dark form in the entrance hall, " and that..." he continues, turning to point at the dark form rolling towards the private chambers, " do not belong."
He looks aside at Vector, "What does yer evil eye tell you?"
Baron Oberstein unsheathes his sword and takes up a guard position
Binerith takes his las gun out of it's compartment, and begins inching forward.
The sweeper-cart sputters, and then begins rolling forward again in its long ambit of the entrance hall's perimeter; its servitor placidly following.
A few of the closer guild-members are looking closely at you, more bemused than alarmed at this point.
The dark forms are fairly faint and indistinct, and tend to disappear in the darkness of the House's vast spaces: unless you're looking directly at them, they're not plainly visible.
From close by, the heavily armed and armoured form of a former Guardsman watched as the strange darkness vanished. His orders had been simple - make sure the mission was a success. Whatever those things were, they were clearly a threat to the mission and therefore to his Master's order, and that simply would not do.
.
So, there's one dim,tattered form, hovering nearing the vaulted ceiling of the entrance hall, some 40 meters away.
The other one has sped back to the stair-cases that are the hub of the guest chambers.
So, there's one dim,tattered form, hovering nearing the vaulted ceiling of the entrance hall, some 40 meters away.
Oberstein peers in that direction hoping to see who is there
Per 33, +10 heightened senses (sight+hearing)
Dust fills Obersteins eyes as he peers out and his eyes tear up as he rubs them.
Watching the cloud, Fadil tries to work out what it is, first with his eyes and the with his special senses.
1dof
5dof
"I can't see anything and I do not know what it could be. I will see if it lives or is something else."
Reacting to the others he draws his pistol and draws on his powers to sense the presences around them.
Binerith approaches Baron, seeing him rub his eyes. He then trys to peer through the dust himself
Seeing a form in the shadows , Binerith speaks
Hello there, may I ask, why are you here?
Fadil: You sense life, foul and purulent, in both sooty forms.
"F*&# this s%!*, the locals don't seem to care, lets get on with exploring this place"
The Baron points with his sword "Onward"
He rests his sword on his shoulder as he marches on
"Wait Baron, I sense the sooty forms are alive, foul and purulent, but alive. I would suggest we investigate further to keep our benefactor happy. But be ready."
Investigating sounds like a good idea, but I think we should keep on going. I wish to see what that place marked Haarlock looks like
Emerik followed. Not a naturally gifted liar, he assumed one of the others would come up with a plausible cover if they were caught - such as being lost in the maze of corridors the House of Dust and Ash seemed to be made of.
Following the Barons lead, Binerith begins to move forward
Seeing the look that the Baron gives him, Fadil bows deeply before him, as if a menial that will be reprimanded later. "Forgive me master, I merely mean that we must know who we face in this auction or they may affect the auction itself or the bidders. Plus I admit personal interest in their abilities."
Baron Oberstein laughs derisively at Fadil "Your kind and your ways ...come! Let us see something worthwhile, I will see what this place has to offer before we bid"
He smacks Sister Jasmine on the butt and leers at her behind as he says:
"If I wanted to stay in my room I would have"
Oberstein loathes the role he plays, but he does not shy away from it, he plays it with his heart, mind and body. If he needs to play the part of the fop to get the job done he will. He'd rather be up to his elbows in blood than pretend to be all he loathes, but The Emperor asks and you obey.
Only occasionally glancing upwards, where the ashen pall hangs, you march across the echoing space of the great hall.
.
There is a single, massive black crypt, at the rear of the hall. The scholar Cisten is there ahead of you, gaping, open-mouthed at its dark immensity.
Seeing you, he throws off his trance.
Cisten: To think, the great Eramus Haarlock's mortal remains are immured within those dark walls!
Emerik looked at the walls, impressed. It was Haarlocks who had brought the sector under the Emperor's Light, after all, although he didn't especially recall which one it was. Still, they were meant to be great and noble, and the monolith of black seemed a fitting resting place for a Rogue Trader of such a lineage. "He rests well in the Emperor's Grace, I am sure."
The crypt is a vast, forbidding pile, covered in low relief carving that depict the usual imperial iconography: skulls (of course), the Imperial Aquila, and Haarlock, as the heroic and intrepid Rogue Trader; visiting his wrath upon Xenos and heathens.
Cisten is walking around the massive structure, gazing in awe upon the edifice; which, appears to be about the only dust-free structure in the place.
On entering the crypt, Fadil spends a moment admiring the skill of the work. He then reaches out with his senses to see if the Immaterium has been touched in this place.
5 dof!
Ah, Haarlock. He lived a good life. With that, Binerith begins to look around the tomb shrine.
Fadil still feels the corrupt touch of the entities that had just minutes ago made their polluting entrance into this realm; and has to yet recover his psychic equilibrium.
On the right side there is a black sun etched into the marble, with the legend chiselled above: "Death is but a door ".
On the opposite site there is a congeries of aberrant, distorted faces.
The inscription on that side reads: "Here Dwell the Children of the Kingdom."
Binerith, you sense a machine spirit, ancient and asleep, deep within the crypt.
The phrase "Death is but a door" does not sit well with Oberstein, when Binerith mutters about a sleeping machine spirit the Baron focuses his attention to the marble, particularly the black sun.
Noticing the machine spirit, Binerith begins to mutter. Hello... creation of the great Omnissiah
Glancing at the muttering tech-priest without too much concern, Emerik scanned the area for anything interesting. And by 'interesting' he was mostly thinking of things that could kill him.
Of course, there was a reason he wasn't typically assigned look-out...
Oberstein: Yes. A door. Perhaps... You see the slightest of hairline gaps, that might indicate a door.
Binerith: The sleeping machine spirit doesn't answer.
This "door" might be something we need to keep in mind. I think we might not want to be seen working too hard on investigating.
"Shall we continue the tour? Lead on to the next place of interest engiseer"
You are wandering, somewhat aimlessly, around the perimeter of the vast Entrance Hall, when you see a figure, in the shadows of an alcove, beckoning frantically.
Approaching the figure, Fadil leaves Scotus to do the talking and surreptitiously looks behind them all.
3dos
Emerik glanced around, looking to see if any other parties were interested in what was happening. It wouldn't do to take the bait in an ambush. Which was always possible when the Inquisition was looking into a situation, whether the bait knew it or not.
Not really interested in the dusty, dark nuances of the funereal structure, Scotus nonetheless accompanies the others in the tour around Haalock's tomb.
His interest is piqued by the discovery of the door, but nods to the Baron that they need to keep up thier act.
In the spirit of this act, when the individual begins to wave at the group, he turns to his 'employer' , the Baron, "Shall I see what they want, m'Lord?" he inquires.
"Let's"
If we must she says with exaggeration, but her body leading the way, arms locked with the Baron, clearly interested in this new development, but still trying to play bored and spoiled for anyone watching. To her credit, it didn't take much effort, being born a noble, she was accustomed to seeing many girls and women become toys of the rich and powerful. She despised weakness in women and in the weak men who took advantage of them.
Awareness +10, Per 37, (47) vs 3 DOS
Binerith begins to follow the rest of the party, solemnly gazing at the machine spirit behind him. In his mind, he remembers the Skitarii he fought beside.
Scotus is about to walk over to the shadowy figure, when he spies Fadil doing his usual squint when he sees something of interest.
"Watcha see, Fad?" he murmurs, looking himself in the same direction.
Fadil: No one seems to be paying you any attention. The figure in the shadows is clumsily making the signals you were told by Marr that his 'man' would provide. His fear is palpable; he clearly on the verge of out and out panic.
After Fadil tells us about the man we signal him back and head over to him
Seeing no one appears to be paying attention, Fadil heads in towards the man, showing the counter-signs they were shown.
Keeping his voice low. "All clear for now."