Dark Heresy - Wisdom is the beginning of fear.

[Besyanteo]

He grinned. It was nice to see that they accomplished something good now and again. Still, this was neither the time nor place.

"You should keep moving, now. No telling what's going to happen here in a few minutes."

He went back in, to rejoin his fellow acolytes.

[Jak Snide]

Crisis' footsteps fell without sound as he traversed the foyer, stummers still in operation. The room he peered into was unlit, though he noted the inactive glow lamps that lined the walls, their machine spirits deprived of electricity. Rows of stone benches covered the floor, save for an empty area at the end which he stood and a raised pedestal to the rear. Given the absence of the Imperial Aquila he guessed the hall must have been used by the owners for speaking to the masses. Save for the three bodies that lay around the doorway, the place was deserted.

Gunner returned in time to watch Crisis finish his little scouting mission with his head still attached, a discarded clip lying on the floor nearby. The family had taken his advice and put distance between the Alms House and themselves. Anyone who looked out the front door would note that a crowd had gathered, watching the acolytes from afar.

"Reckon we should keep moving." Julius stated. "Waitin' jus' gives them time to get ready for us all over again."

(Map updated again to show the lecture hall.)

[Kelne]

Cryvus had resumed muttering to himself, possibly contemplating his next move. The idea of wearing the armour of dead heretics wasn't a particularly appealing one. But he did check to see if there were any left not too badly stained with gore.

[Jak Snide]

Cryvus noted the corpse of the enforcer Julius had shot the leg off. The armour on it was identical to that of it's fellows; a flak jacket sewn into a dark green coat. One arm had a hole seared in it, but by and large it was functional and free of gore. He'd have to put himself near the bottom of the stairs leading up to retrieve it, though.

[Kelne]

"One lurks," Cryvus said, pointing above and to the right, "Three wait," pointing almost straight up, "And soon, all shall stand before the Emperor's judgement."

So saying, he headed over to the foot of the stairs and began depriving the body there of its armour. He didn't seem that worried about somebody springing a trap on him just yet.

[Jak Snide]

Cryvus found the jacket a little big for his build, but it'd do. The fact he hadn't been ventilated by someone watching from the top of the stairs did alot to boost the confidence of the thugs, who started to make their way over to join him. Julius followed as well, casting a cautious glance towards the old man before busying himself with looking at something else.

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes follows as well, scooping up a sidearm if he can along the way (stub automatic preferred). "What I would give fer a gren-chucker right about now..." he audibly murmurs to himself.

[Jak Snide]

Xerxes stopped momentarily to pry a fully loaded stub auto from the holster of a dead man before joining those who'd advanced to the bottom of the stairs. A quick glance up left him assured that all was clear; anyone waiting up there would have had plenty of opportunities to take a shot by now.

[Jak Snide]

The acolytes moved towards the stairs, whatever loot they took safely stashed in packs and pockets, Julius moving to take the lead. The guardsman moved upstairs cautiously, weapon raised, the two thugs following a little behind him. He reached the top without incident and, after taking a look around, called back down to the others.

"All clear. Looks like we got us a whole lot of doors and some stairs up."

Those who moved upstairs found themselves in an environment poorly lit by overhead glow-lamps. The wooden floor beyond the marble landing looking worn and, as Julius said, there appeared to be many rooms lining each side of the room, the contents of each concealed by wooden doors. A set of stairs to their left lead up to the top floor of the Alms House.

(2nd Floor Map is now available. If you wanted to do any looting from the bodies downstairs send me a PM about it.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes continued to slowly climb the stairs, sweeping his shotgun across the visible area, ready for the first sign of danger. "Ya think we'll find any hidin' here, or are they all bunkerin' up top?" he says quietly, almost rhetorically.

[Jak Snide]

"Could be waitin' to catch us 'tween two groups." the lead thug commented.

"You reckon they got the numbers up here to do that, boy?" responded Julius.

"They...ah, they might jus' be hidin', waitin' ta slip out behind us." added the twitcher.

[Kelne]

"They await the eversor," Cryvus said grimly,advancing to the top of the stairs and leveling his weapon at the farthest door. It was very clear where he expected trouble to hit them from.

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes looked over at Cryvus. "Is anyone else startin' to find that he's makin' more an' more sense? I'm worried that maybe I'm just gettin' crazier." But as he says this, he follows Cryvus' lead, setting his sights on the far doors.

[Capntastic]

"Right... "

Mik made walked up to take a spot between the two thigs, and aimed his gun at the darkness. He was ready to back his associates up with his new acquisition, should the need arise.

(Move to F7)

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis could only nod in Xerxes' direction as a response. In fact, his ramblings seemed to become less and less of the such, and almost as if he knew a lot--his last significant utterances had to do with what seemed to be enemy numbers and positions...and while he wasn't there to note the accuracy of the first such, this was seeming to get more and moreso every minute...

...but that could wait for the debriefing. If he was useful and loyal, despite knowling too much to be anything but a double-agent, a traitor, or one of THOSE...he could at least stay--for the remainder of this mission.


Snapping back to the present situation, he opted to, using his newly-reloaded rifle as a 'pointer', motion Mik and the two thugs onward--while the twitching one seemed okay, it was really hard to point at any of the Point group separately...two of the three were particularly suitable for the front lines anyway, even if it were more for their shortcomings than their good points...

Crisis, on the other hand, remained behind, closer to the back of the current squad--though he'd have motioned to one of the other Guardsmen to stay behind him...

Whether any of them got the idea and went along may be a different question entirely...

[Besyanteo]

Gunner advanced with the rest of the group, lasgun at the ready. He intended to shoot anything that moved too quickly. It wasn't much of a plan, but there wasn't much else planning to do just yet.

[Jak Snide]

Julius vaulted over the railing and moved forward, the two remaining thugs following after him once they'd at Cryvus with a mixture of distrust and fear.

"Eyes forward." the guardsman muttered. "Any of you ladies back there goin' join us?"

(Julius and the two thugs are moving forward to the door indicated by Cryvus with the intent of storming it, unless someone voices a better idea. If you plan to go along with this then say where you're taking up positions, otherwise say what you'll be doing instead. Current positions are here.)

[Kelne]

Cryvus headed towards the edge of the room, taking cover in one of the doorways. His aim never wavered from the far doors. It was very possible one of the things was in there. Not that he was going to mention that; the hired help were twitchy enough already.

"Have we grenades?" he asked. Why kick in the door when you could blast it open?

(Moving to M5)

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis himself headed up against the railing, checking to see how much cover it would provide...would it not provide enough, or if it looked as if his aim would be interfered with, he would head down..assuming more people did first.


...it's not a matter of cowardice, after all, as much as simply trying to do your job and get the hell out alive. The God-Emperor, after all, wouldn't want him to die when he could still serve much better living...

[Tentative move to G7. If there is no cover or aim would be interfered with, move to I9 pending ally actions.]

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes follows Julius over the railing, but moves to the side, to provide covering fire. Ah aint leavin' my back open for some punk to light up.

(Move to L10)

[Capntastic]

Seeing no immediate barrage, Mik made to leap the railing and advance as well.

"Naw, no 'nades on me, just the burnbottles. An' only one of 'em left. You can have it, I guess. But we ought'a clear these rooms proper first, eh?"

(Movin' on up to K-7)

[Jak Snide]

(Bes has withdrawn from the game, and Gunner is on NPC status)

The group moved forward to their positions, guns leveled at the end of the hall. Just as Crisis got into position he noticed the door there open a crack and fired without hesitation. His shot hit the wall, though Xerxes snapped off a blast of buckshot that ripped a hole in the door and flung it open. What followed next was a hail of bullets at the center of the group, too high to hit anything, but enough to send the thugs and Mikolas running for cover. What emerged from the door next was not entirely unexpected, though that did little to help.

Two horrifically distorted "men" charged out the door, clad in bloody aprons and medicae robes. Their flesh was emaciated and cancerous in appearance, cataract-white eyes staring at the acolytes above cloth masks literally grafted onto their faces. Transparent pipes filled with gurgling liquid looped in and out of the flesh, occasionally terminating in some metal implant. Xerxes and Crisis, thoroughly unnerved, found their hands shaking at the prospect of dealing with the things. Cryvus just froze, eyes wide in horror and bottom lip trembling.

Gunner let out a scream and blasted away at one of them, two las-bolts connecting. The first staggered it, the second punched a hole in it's chest and dropped it. The old man to his side felt a little relief at this spectacle, given how Julius' own shots completely missed their mark, but enough to snap him out of his terror.

(Surprise turn, of sorts, over. The two thugs and Mikolas are pinned, Crisis and Xerxes are shaken and take -10 till all tests till they snap out of it. Cryvus was petrified this turn, but now just operates at -10 till the combat is over. Declare your actions, and map updated.)

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes screams "Concentrated fire on the abomination!" and blasts off another round at the one surviving creature. There's an edge of fear in his voice, but he attempts to hide it with volume.

(Half-action aim, then shoot)

[Kelne]

Though his entire body trembled, Cryvus knew his course. The world had assumed that awful clarity of the heightened reality one perceives in the worst of nightmares. Abandoning the still not fully trusted firearm, Cryvus closed his fingers upon the familiar weight of his staff. Carved with the names of those who had given their lives for the Throne, it was with this that he would face his death.

Retaining just enough presence of mind to avoid blocking his allies' fire lanes, Cryvus stepped forward and swung his staff with all his strength at the abomination's head.

[Capntastic]

Mik couldn't figure out why these horrible things scared him so; mainly because his brain simply froze when they stumbled forth. He did his best to steady his gun towards the one, though.

(Half action Aimin at H2)

[Jak Snide]

Crisis hurled the door next to him open, reminding himself that the things before him were simple flesh and bone. A mockery of life, maybe, but still of this reality. He slid into cover instinctively, snapping off a shot that clipped the remaining horror in the head, stunning it momentarily. Xerxes was quick to capitalise on this and, despite his hands shaking, blew a foot clean off. The monster collapsed, screaming out in an inhuman voice. Gunner simply leveled his lasgun and blew the remainder of the thing's leg off. But that was nothing compared to what came next.

Cryvus hurried over to the thing, his staff gripped tightly in his hands. Without a single utterance he drove the base of his weapon down into the skull of the prone thing. And then again, and again. He continued to bludgeon away silently as Julius ran forward, two bullets clipping him but barely slowing him down. Just as he moved up next to the door, though, a pair of shots rang out. Mikolas saw their results clearly; both the thugs had fired their newly acquired carbines and, while the lead one had missed, the other had caught the enforcer who'd popped out of cover to shoot in the right leg, pitching him off his feet. He lay inside the room now, gun fallen from his grasp and cursing.

(Combat over already. The second monster was utterly destroyed, the final blow being a massive 23 damage from Cryvus. The enforcer is alive, but won't be getting up any time soon. Map updated.)

Crisis, giving the room he'd entered a quick glance, noticed it was surprisingly well kept, being in almost pristine condition. A large mural of the Tantalus Combine's symbol dominated the room, emblazoned on the wall behind a marble topped desk. A number of parchments and data slates lay atop it.

[Justice Augustus]

"Julius!" snaps Xerxes, "Cover the downed traitor. Don't let him touch his weapon." Xerxes started to walk forward slowly, reloading his shotgun as he went. "There's a few tings I gotta ask him."

[Jak Snide]

Julius gave the arbitrator a sharp nod as he moved over to the downed man, lasgun leveled at his head. "Don't go tryin' anythin' smart now, boy."

Cryvus, meanwhile, finally finished mashing the head of the second abomination into a bloody pulp. Mikolas noticed the twitchy thug next to him was now looking at the old man with a mixture of shock and fear.

[Kelne]

Cryvus stood looking down on the fallen abomination. It was still now; that horrible semblance of life now departed. It would still have to be burned, of course, but that would be a task for someone else, later.

Producing a scrap of cloth, he began to carefully clean his staff. Then he stopped, turning to regard the surviving enforcer. Those haunted eyes were difficult to read just now, but it could be that he was deciding whether to bludgeon anyone else to death before cleaning the staff.

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis was shocked at first--those defied normalcy, but not reality--they weren't like THEM...his mind easily snapped back to normal as he recalled the bullets flying by...thankfully, those bastards were dead now--and from the sounds of things, their mystery firer was incapacitated, at least...

He then, off of his mental tangent, noted the varied data-slates and parchments...was this data regarding what this group's been intending to do? What they have been doing? Possibly financial or other inciminating data? Needless to say, he moved over to acquire and read these interesting materials...

[Jak Snide]

Crisis took in the full array of paraphernalia that lay atop the desk as he moved closer. A small, nickel plated device lay near one corner, it's function a mystery to him, with an autoquill and a neat stack of blank parchment sitting nearby. A handful of data-slates lay scattered about, apparently having been recently used. Simple enough for the sniper to use, a quick scan of their indexes revealed a receipt acknowledging that the director of this Alms House had asked to suspend normal food shipments from the Tantalus Combine some 30 days ago. The rest were records of those the Alms House had fed for the last few years, including the last, apparently foodless, month.

Having moved around the desk to grab one of the data slates, Crisis' eyes spotted a drawer in the desk. A quick check revealed that it was locked by a simple key and, try as he might, he wasn't strong enough to force it open.

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes pulls out his Arbites maul, and crouches down in front of the downed Enforcer. He uses the maul to raise the man's face to his own, keeping his gaze stone cold and emotionless. He then shakes his head once, and brings the maul down as hard as he can on the man's left hand.

[Jak Snide]

Blood had begun to pool around the injured man's wound, the bleeding dulling the man's senses. He had looked at Xerxes with confusion before the maul shattered his left hand. "What do you want?!" the enforcer managed to yell after a few seconds of screaming and cursing. "I'll talk!"

[NamagomiMk0]

Crisis stepped back from the drawer...frustrated from trying to unsuccessfully force open the damnable container--however, logic came back to him--he didn't need brute strength like others. What he had was ultimately more than enough...


The laspistol--the heat alone from that would cause some unnecessary collateral damage to the contents of the drawer, more likely than not. However, one of his newer acquisitions was feasible for what he felt was a simple task. Setting aside his rifle for a second, and pulling out his newly-acquired stub automatic, the voidborn crouched, carefully aligning the barrel of the sidearm well under where the lock's mechanism rested in the drawer within the desk...before firing a point-blank shot into the desk, in an attempt to destroy the lock and allow him access...

[Jak Snide]

The others heard a single gunshot ring out from the room Crisis had ducked into. The man heard this himself, of course, along with a short, electric buzz and the sound of something shattering.

When he opened the drawer he found a shattered data-slate within, the bullet embedded within the display window of the device. All was not lost, however: several bound parchments were also contained within, though a quick examination showed Crisis that they were in some code unknown to him. Finally, a laspistol of sleek design lay near the back of the compartment, a spare power pack next to it.

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes just stares at the pitiful wretch, and blinks slowly. He says nothing. He merely shifts his grip on his maul slightly, and then starts to hover it over the man's right hand.

[Jak Snide]

"Throne, I said I'll talk!" the man yelled, anger creeping into his voice. Julius raises his lasgun slightly in response, reminding the enforcer of his presence alongside Xerxes. Gunner watches from a few meters away, doing his best to keep his expression neutral.

The lead thug had gone to look into the room that Crisis had entered after he'd heard the gunshot. "What the fak are you doin' in there?" he asked the sniper.

The other thug, still next to Mikolas, had leaned over to whisper in his ear. Well, had tried to lean over, before finding that he had to stand on tip toes to get his own mouth anywhere near the giant man's ear. "Ah...what's the deal wit' the ol' guy?" he asked, eyes fixed firmly on Cryvus.

Cryvus, meanwhile, noted with a touch of satisfaction that his staff was clean now, though his mind quickly found itself drawn back to the thoughts he was trying to ignore.

[Justice Augustus]

"Then talk, and talk fast," says Xerxes with a deadpan, "or my grip might slip again."

[Jak Snide]

The man hesitated for but a moment before starting to run his mouth off, voice strained due to the pain of his injuries. "You've got us already! She's the only one left now, upstairs in the operating theater. Sibas' key will let you in, though you'll regret it! You don't disturb her while she's working, not even when you're all under bloody attack! Who are you people?!"

[Justice Augustus]

Xerxes just kept staring at the man. He slowly began to rotate the maul within his grip, and with his free hand ran a thumb over his chin. "Holding back on me...that aint a good idea." He leaned closer, until his could see deep into the man's eyes. "Ya see, we're the instruments of the Emperor's Wrath."