gsteelwraith wrote:
Brother Leveticus starts to closely study the image of the figurine, as it reminded him rather disturbingly of the icon of the xenos death-god he'd encounter on Icanthos. The Warp essence that was spoken of was enough to tell him these were works connected to the Ruinous Powers, rather than some sort of Xenos origin.
OOC: Is there anything in his studies he's come across that looks even remotely like this object?
helvorn wrote:When Kara sees the cleric get up to look at the items she abruptly stops her soft chanting in mid sentence and watches for a moment. Then she rises herself and moves forward next to Leveticus. Initially she stands behind him on tip toes, looking over his shoulder almost as if afraid of what she might see. After a moment or two she steps to the side and moves up to stand almost shoulder to shoulder with him.
helvorn wrote:Kara shudders as she gazes at the figurine. She speaks, seemingly to the thin air; "Snakes or worms or ribbons, probably snakes..."
Softly whispering the Litanies of Protection again, she steps to the side and gazes carefully at the markings on the rude sphere.
gsteelwraith wrote:
Brother Leveticus will glance toward her and say quietly, "You do know that I don't bite, right?" He will give her a slight smile and chuckle.
gsteelwraith wrote:
<Kara shudders as she gazes at the figurine. She speaks, seemingly to the thin air; "Snakes or worms or ribbons, probably snakes...">
Brother Leveticus will say quietly, "I'm thinking worms, myself, and I doubt the extra arms are an improvement." As Kara begins uttering her Litanies, the young cleric will reflexively make the Sign of the Aquila and begin a few brief prayers asking for His protection.
Jak Snide wrote:Jim stood up and moved up to inspect the images as well. "Nasty bit of work." he muttered as he looked at the statue.
ChristianC wrote:
"Can we expect those who found these props to be trusted? If they are artifact of the great maelstrom, perhaps its vile magics are already corrupting their performance..."
Jak Snide wrote:"I sure hope the governor had enough sense to put those men under watch. I reckon the ones who brought it to his attention wouldn't have been in contact for long, unless some pagans suddenly developed a guilty conscience."
Jak Snide wrote:
Jim stood up and moved up to inspect the images as well. "Nasty bit of work." he muttered as he looked at the statue.
gsteelwraith wrote:
Leveticus will pick up on Kara's train of thought. "Lines and lines and twisty paths...." he will mutter, almost mimicking Kara's intonations. " Lines and lines and twisty paths, indeed...I wonder...Is there anyway we can see this sphere in a different format? Can we have the surface displayed, using the assumed top and bottom as the 'poles', in a Mercator projection? I'm wondering is this sphere is a map of some sort."
InquisitorChris wrote:The sphere warps into a flat plane. Those who could not see before can now tell that it is criss-crossed by sharp ridges at apparently random intervals. They twist back on themselves and intersect with each other with what seems little logic.
helvorn wrote:
Kara steps back a little bit as the image zooms in size. As she examines the image her body language and demeanor change; she seems more focused and 'present'.
"Lord, how large are these three items in actual size?"
She thinks for a bit; "Sharp ridges, the influence of the Ruinous Powers in the pattern perhaps." She looks up at the inquisitor for a moment as if mustering her courage; "My Lord, do you or your staff have any speculation as to the meaning of these items? Any theories would aid us in our mission to uncover the truth."
Jak Snide wrote:Jim arched an eyebrow at that last piece of information.
"Beg your pardon, sir, but I don't recall a six armed saint from my lessons. What is that thing supposed to be parodying?"
InquisitorChris wrote:"Theories. Well. There are two issues here."
"On one hand, as you can see, these items are of very barbaric manufacture, something you might see made by a truly backwards tribe on a planet like Iochanthus or Dusk, and Famine, even before the Emperor's Light was brought by Saint Drusus and it was brought back to humanity, never fell to this sort of primitivity -- no offense meant to anyone from such a planet here present."
"Also, they are not done according to any manufacturing technique or style known in the history of Famine art. Orks do not make such things. That leads us to believe they must have been made offworld."
He scratches the Cherubim on the back of the neck and it coos with pleasure, or simulated pleasure, arching its wings.
"On the other hand -- and this is what brought the Ordo Hereticus into the affair, and what drove the Famine Ecclesiarchy into paroxysms, which is why they contacted us in the first place -- is that the statue appears to be a parody or satire on Famine's version of the Imperial Creed. Which would imply that it is local."
"Hence the conundrum."
"That, and the Warp signature on the statue, and also there are residual traces of human tissue on the knife."
The Cherubim on Sholmes' shoulder looks at you with its empty, dead eyes.
helvorn wrote:Kara's eyes narrowed at the mention of human flesh on the knife. That implied cannibalism or sacrifice or even worse...
"I would guess that the artifacts are fairly recent, made by off world cultists come to Famine to cause trouble or locals influenced by off world methods." She pauses; "Are the traces of human flesh recent Lord?"
gsteelwraith wrote:Leveticus will speak up, "The knife is a sort of butcher's implement, the kind one might find in a kitchen. I've used some of a similar variety before. We should need to have the items tested to determine their age, and whether they were made with local materials. One way or another we can start narrowing down the origin of these items."
"If it is at possible, my Lord," he'll add. "I should like to avail myself of any materials you might have on Famine and it's people, and their take on the Imperial Creed. Any information on Saint Altheria would be great value."
InquisitorChris wrote:
OOC: Hah! And the scoffers mocked Trade (Cook) as useless! :)
"A butcher's tool it seems to be, albeit a very crude one."
"The items are made of stone, black granite, found both on Famine and many other places. There are no tests that can be done to determine the age of stone artifacts (the material being millions of years old and appropriated for incorporation into the item). All we can say, based on the chips on the rock, is that they are not brand-new."
"You will be able to make use of all the materials in the open section of my libraries. In addition, I have prepared for you a sheaf of materials on the planet, which I will give you after the briefing."
"The basis of the local Imperial Cult, though, is this: supposedly Saint Altheria, if such a person ever existed, was an Imperial missionary who came to Famine at the time of the Crusade. As fate would have it, this coincided with one of the solar outbursts and corresponding widespread hunger. Altheria is said to have given her life to save a village. Miraculously, by the Emperor's will, the town of hundreds of people was able to consume her inexhaustible flesh for months and so survived. So convinced of the Emperor's power, the planet's people entered the Imperium en masse."
"It may or may not be the case that this is a modification of a pre-Imperial religion introduced by the Ecclesiarchy to make the worship of the God-Emperor more, ahem, palatable to the natives. We do know that cannibalism was practiced on Famine long ago, as you might expect given its situation. Such modification of local beliefs is a common practice when bringing new worlds into the fold."
Jak Snide wrote:Jim looked more than a little uncomfortable with this revelation. He'd wasn't a particularly religious man. Too many cast-iron commandments getting in the way of doing what was right, just like the endless laws of the Lex Imperialis, but you didn't need some officious weasel trying to pass for a priest to tell you that chowing down on human flesh wasn't right.
"Nothing right can come from harbouring beliefs like that. Case in damn point." he scowled, waving an arm at the collection of heretical objects in front of them.
ChristianC wrote:
"Shall we procure the garments of the stage, or shall we appear the strangers?"
helvorn wrote:Kara pipes up; "There are many types of humans in the Emperor's realm. Will our skin colors and physiques match the locals? If we are dramatically different do you have access to artificial means of altering our appearances Lord? Even subtle changes of hair, skin or eye color can help. Dies or contact lenses may be sufficient." She tosses her hair; "We may need to shorten or lengthen or straighten or curl our hair."
Kara stops and thinks of one last point; "If their version of Gothic is unusually accented any available primers would be helpful for study during the voyage to Famine."
InquisitorChris wrote:
"I suppose that you could pass off unusual accents as being the result of being from the southern continent or some obscure corner of the northern, as long as you do not meet anybody with too much experience in these areas. Or you could invent some kind of reason for having arrived from offworld. Famine is rarely visited by any but those who take away the tithe of Guardsmen, but it does happen.""
OOC: This is why Mimic and Disguise are very usefull skills...
"Posing as pilgrims come to see the saint might be a good idea when you interact with those who are unaware of your nature."
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