Turn 1 Thread

[The GM]

The Makuu la Dhahabu Kiti leers and preens from its post on the hill, its smooth, sandstone rock belying its rockrete skeleton and the years of ignorance and despair that has truly given its walls strength. Its gargoyles, grotesque mimicries of toppled, tortured gods, cast long shadows about the wilds of Swaadi. Heavy weaponry lines the battlements, patrolled by young fanatics that do not realise that they rape their own country and cast their brethren into darkness and poverty. To the north, east and south are the tithe villages, broken settlements filled with slaves and beggars. To the west is the Villa von Klossner, an imported decaying, stately manse from Juno.

You have come a long way to witness this cathedral: dodged patrols and braved hunger to look upon this monument to intolerance. You will bring the established order crashing down - for the Swaad, for your warband, and for the gods. Your task is no easy one, but the compact is struck and the time is ripe. Where do you begin?

[To remind you, you can only complete one Secondary Objective this week, and should avoid working towards other Secondary Objectives (though there may be overlap). Included in your response, can you state which Objective you work towards?]

[Stonebreath]

Callum will begin by approaching the Makuu itself, alone. He intends to pose as a pilgrim, weary from travel and infiltrate the compound as best he can.

He intends to do this using his charm and knowledge of the ecclesiarchy to blend in.

Should he get inside he will keep an ear to the ground and, using his Inquiry skills, attempt to find any doubts amongst the so-called faithful in the area.

While Callum attends to this, he sends his trusty retainer to stealthily scout out the Villa von Klossner, looking for areas where infiltration might be possible, as well as assessing (if possible) the number of guards posted about the Villa.

The Sgt. is ordered not to engage. If pressed, he is to slink back to a meeting point in the Swaadi wilds with what information he has gained.

[The GM]

A single figure, his flak armour worn by the wilds, his cloak torn and tattered, makes his way towards the grand Makuu. A foreboding organ peels from the sandstone walls, grand and terrible, as the dark-skinned Swaad march towards the cathedral. The man walks among them, but he is alone. His skin betrays his foreign heritage, and a young trooper halts him at the portcullis gates.

"Starry blessings upon ye, trooper," the stranger smiles. The soldier, her skin unmarked by war but pockmarked by sickness, frowns. This is a greeting unknown to her, an allusion to old heresies of the children of stars. The stranger quickly corrects and tells her how far he has come, how grand the Makuu stands and how glorious the armies of the faithful war across the world. He placates the soldier, and passes through, a snake among the weeds.

The stranger takes his place among the pews, swallowed up by the masses that roar their devotions to a false god. A young preacher from Juno, Elias Hasek, screams in a thin, weedy voice, stretched to breaking point by his enthusiasm and hateful spirit. An elderly Swaad woman is brought forward, and the young preacher takes her hands, murmuring to her. He whispers to her hands, the volume of his voice steadily rising before he is screaming for the devil to leave this woman's hands, that the light of the Golden Throne burns its flesh, that he will curse and beat and bite the monster to his dying breath. He strides down the full length of the nave, an invisible nothingness in his hands that is thrown out to the sky, "OUT!" he screams, "OUT, YOU DAEMON, OUT!"

"AND LO, IT LEFT!"

The nave erupts in a frenzy of prayers and devotions, and Callum shifts as he recognises another talent before him. He bides his time, and takes questions from the curious locals. They are worried about the war, worried about the harvest, worried about the sicknesses. They come to the Church because they think it will save them, but there is something in their desperation that can be seized upon: that can preyed upon. No miracles relieve their plight, no Ecclesiastical mission saves them. No white-skinned preacher from the Makuu comes to help them: instead, they take refuge in their walls and leave the masses to their plight. It is rare to see the Deacon (Alfred Brauer) or the Drill Abbot (Gerlinde Forst) even give a sermon in the nave. There is not accusation in the eyes of the people, but there is doubt.

That is not to say that the Church does not have representatives in the villages. A Preacher Miriam Jung preaches in Imani, a recent arrival and a relative unknown. Meanwhile, a Swaad preacher, Nia Upendo, gives sermons in Kifodini, where the lynchings grow more common day by day. The villagers you speak to from Sadaka and Imani fear these mobs, for they are monstrous and frenzied - though many from Kifodini smile on their wicked works.

The congregation begins to quieten, led back to the villages by a Swaad fanatic, Mchumba Jengo. A middle-aged, Swaad organist, who Callum learns is named Kuvunjwa, sidles from his box behind the great organ. A young Ministorum scribe tells Callum that Kuvunjwa is a strange fellow, distant, and (in the scribe's hateful opinion) with no passion for the Throne in his heart. Callum has the opportunity to approach this curious man if he chooses, or else pursue another strategy.

*****

Elsewhere, a crouched figure in heavy carapace spies out his target. The Sergeant is knowledgeable in the ways of war, and knows just where to look to find weakness in the Villa von Klossner. There are a number of guards, numbering approximately a dozen. They have expensive equipment, but that is not always matched by skill, and Graves finds no hint as to their ability from their lethargic patrols. What he does see, however, is an opening.

The patrols are regular, and the manse is large with many windows and doors, some of which are left open to help regulate the dry heat of the arid wilds. The Sergeant is confident that he can lead his master there - though, as in all important things, there is risk.

[The Sergeant will grant a +10 Test to Stealth Tests to enter the Villa von Klossner by this method. He can also lead Callum, such that only Graves must take the Test, but at a -10 modifier due to having to guide his master.]

[Stonebreath]

Callum attempts to approach Kuvunjwa, in private as possible, using his charm and social graces to attempt to pinpoint the weaknesses in this man's worldview.

Callum's attempts to subvert are subtle. Of course Callum is a devout follower of the Emperor and of course he's pious, but maybe Kuvunjwa shares his concerns about the lynchings and the fear?

If this proves to be a dead end and/or once Callum feels he has planted sufficient seeds of doubt, he will seek out Nia Upendo and see if their lust for violence might not be turned to more Chaotic ends.

Again this would be done in an subtle fashion, and would simply entail Callum trying to gauge if the extent of Upendo's bloodlust might present an avenue for the Darker Powers later on down the line.

[The GM]

Kuvunjwa is guarded and almost hostile to Callum. He wears heavy robes that are too big for his lean body, partially concealing his face. It is only through Callum's polite insistence and pleasant eloquence that he begins to relent. On the other hand, the organist seems unmoved by Callum's insistence of piety, nor the plight of those lynched by the angry mobs. If there is a darkness in Kuvunjwa, it is more personal than that.

"You seem well enough, stranger, but I don't think much of Kifodini, nor the piety of others. Let us all go to hell our own way, eh?"

Kuvunjwa shrinks back slightly as Preacher Elias Hasek appears, coming forward to greet his newest pilgrim. "I saw you in the aisles, my child," the preacher, many years Callum's junior, begins. "I saw a soul in need of guidance, the soul of a man who seems to have travelled far. Pray tell, my child, where are you from?"

The organist slinks away, heading deeper into the Makuu. If Callum wants to press him further, then he will have to extricate himself from the insistent preacher and his thousands of questions.

[Stonebreath]

Callum will attempt to charm the priest and get into his good graces.

If this works, he will then ask the priest if he can meet others of his ilk, in an effort to ingratiate himself with more of their number.

If it doesn't he will attempt to leave the conversation as swiftly and graciously as possible, with the goal of finding the organist and leveraging obvious tensions between the organist and the priest to fan the flames of doubt.

[The GM]

Callum patiently answers the incessant questions of the young preacher, explaining where he is from, offering believable lies about his travels and slowly driving the conversation towards Elias himself. The preacher is possessed with an extraordinary self-confidence and surety of his own future, and it is easy for Callum to see why Elias has been successful as a preacher to the masses of Swaadi. By praising the preacher, and encouraging him in his lofty ambitions for a dioceses of his own, it is easy enough to win Elias' affections.

"If you wish to learn more about our church, I shall instruct the adepts to guide you, brother," he explains, "But the Drill Abbot is aged in years, and the Deacon busy on important financial matters. They should not be disturbed."

Callum senses that Elias could assist more, but that he must first offer a legitimate reason for why he would be seen by higher members of the Makuu - or else offer Elias a tangible reason to make a special exception.

[As a note, peppering your posts with direct quotations from your character can earn positive modifiers for their Tests.]

[Stonebreath]

[Gotcha ]

Callum is going to cut right to the point. He is going to ostensibly offer the services of his bodyguard as a bargaining trip.

"I am an offworlder with connections, and I would like to see the Church flourish," he begins, wearing an easy smile with well-honed confidence.

"I have subordinates who would be very willing to assist the Church and help purge unhelpful elements," he continues, his stomach twisting with contempt for the preacher and his dogma.

"Allow me to discuss these matters with your superiors and I am sure we can come to a concord."

If this line of speech works, he will attempt to find out everything he can about perceived threats to the church, with the aim of working with them later.

If not, he will back down, as gracefully as possible, and seek out the organist.

[The GM]

Though the deceit is a sickening one for the principled Callum, it is with a well-practised hypocrisy that he sells it. Preacher Hasek's eyes gleam slightly with barely contained lust for power, and he smiles, licking his thin lips.

"Perhaps you should come with me, my child," he suggests, "We can meet with the Drill Abbot. Perhaps do not mention your man, however: she is very old and should not be troubled with organisational matters, the poor thing. We will discuss it after, you and I."

He leads Callum through the halls of the Makuu, out from the nave into the cloisters behind the altar. The halls are dark, barely lit by the odd, fluttering candle. Elderly portraits line the walls, stern, white-skinned figures looking cruelly downwards at those who interrupt their sacred rest. Callum, something of an expert of Ecclesiastical art, has little time to inspect them before he is hastened into a small, comfortable tea-room by Preacher Elias. Within, is the Drill Abbot and second-in-command of the cathedral, Gerlinde Frost.

"Do not her mind her sharp tongue," Preacher Elias whispers in Callum's ear. "She barely knows what she says."

"Why have you brought me this strange, overdressed fool, you barely pubescent boy-preacher?" Frost demands. Her body is all but crippled by age, a long scar interrupting the mass of wrinkles across her wizened cheek. Her hair is patchy clumps of purest white, her eyes sharp and cruel, and the medals on the wall behind her illustrate her long service of hatred and violence in the name of the Imperial Church.

What approach does Callum take to this insulting, elderly woman in order to uncover the information he desires?

[Stonebreath]

Callum chuckles politely. "I have travelled far to get here, m'am and I wished to assist the Church with the resources I have available".

His approach is respectful, but quick. He reminds the assembled company of the "tenuous position of the Makuu" with regard to unrest in nearby tribal settlements and how "enemies of his Divine Majesty might seek to exploit them."

He is trying to find out which individuals or groups within the tribal settlements there are that the Church here see as a direct threat, as well as how worried the Church leaders *really* are about dissent.

If this approach does not work, he will politely excuse himself and seek out the organist.

[The GM]

The old Drill Abbot is merciless, and bombards her guest with every conceivable insult under the sun. She curses like an old guardsman, but when Callum inquires about it in an effort to engage with her, she shuts him down with an impatient snap of her barbed tongue.

Ultimately, it is Callum's quick, respectful approach that makes headway. Withstanding the verbal assault and keeping his composure wins the old woman's grudging, resentful respect, and some half an hour later, she is getting closer to answering a direct question.

"Bah!" she scoffs, when Callum warns her about the state of the Makuu. "This place has stood for hundreds of years. I saw it built, and I won't see it fall. Not to these unwashed savages with their 'unrest' and 'exploited', addled brains."

"The Drill Abbot truly is a wonder," Preacher Elias smiles apologetically. "She is almost three-hundred and fifty years old, and indeed saw the Makuu's construction when -"

"- I just told him that, you pretentious ass," the Drill Abbot complains, "You deaf as well as dumb, you spotty fuckwit boy?"

Elias bristles with resentment, but says nothing. Victorious, the Drill Abbot continues her rant. She genuinely does not seem to worry about the locals, and seems to have built up a long hatred and contempt for the locals over the years. She is very set in her ways, and cannot even envision the Swaad posing a threat to her or the cathedral. When directed towards the Deacon's opinion, she is similarly dismissive, even going as far as to note that "The old coot thinks less of them than me!"

The furthest Callum gets is on the subject of Kifodini. The Drill Abbot complains that Preacher Elias has done a "fine, bloody job" of encouraging redemptionist madness among them, but notes that it'll blow over when they "all eat each other in some primitive do-hicky." Elias quickly objects that the threat of Sadaka is the true menace, noting that the shadows of corruption and heresy still linger, but the Drill Abbot is less than impressed by such portends of doom. Frankly, she seems to care very little about anything, leaving Preacher Elias to oversee the spiritual needs of the local Swaad.

"I am sorry about her," Elias notes afterwards. "But the Church is in need of assistance. In the damned village of Sadaka there is an old washer-woman, Sauda Mbegu. The people there say she is a wych. If holy wrath is brought to her in the name of the church, I would be greatly indebted to you, my child."

He goes on to explain the plight of Sadaka - the village once occupied by the terrors of Kind Peter. Mbegu is said to have been visited by Kind Peter, but (most uncharacteristically for Kind Peter) survived the encounter. She is ostracised and feared, and even the fanatics of Kifodini dare not root her out.

[Stonebreath]

[May I make some sort of Lore check to find out more about Kind Peter, if any apply?]

Callum is pleased to have extricated this lead. His politeness and social graces are buoyed by this.

"I shall see what I can do about the wych, m'am," says Callum bluntly as he moves to leave.

He thanks the preachers politely for their time before making his exit.

His plan is to rendezvous with the Sgt. before heading to meet the so-called Wych in Sadaka. His plan is to approach her cautiously, scoping out the village's social environment first, before engaging with her properly.

[The GM]

[You would need Forbidden Lore (Heretics) for more information, but Callum knows that he was the leader of a warband that terrorised the village of Sadaka. The cruel attentions of his warband are responsible for the state Sadaka is in now.]

Callum leaves the great Makuu, receiving another apology from Preacher Elias at the portcullis gates. The preacher seems eager to please, or perhaps is simply trying to save face after the humiliating insults levelled at him from the elderly Drill Abbot.

He finds the Sergeant waiting for him at the bottom of the hill, who tells him of the weaknesses to the Villa von Klossner. Pleased with their progress, they make their way to the village of Sadaka.

It is a gloomy place, and (as Graves comments) just the place for wyches to frequent. Dark, half-burned out huts lie dormant, shunned by the locals who go out of their way to avoid the pair's gaze. The people are painfully thin, nervous-looking and gloomy, and entire causeways are actively avoided for no apparent reason. Imperial Aquilas, painted in blood, hang from creaking, wooden signs. They cover darker sigils, but these dark marks cannot help but be seen, through the blood and through the ash of flames that burned them away but left their dark essence behind. This is a cursed place, and the Sergeant is notably nervous.

[Sergeant Graves is at -10 to all Tests for his first encounter in Sadaka. Both Callum and Graves gain 1 Corruption point (updated).]

The wych's house is in the centre of the village. It is covered in occultist charms that neither of the pair recognise, a tiny, mud hovel roofed with ashy grass reeds. There is a low dirge of a hymn emanating from the place, and shadows seem longer about the place.

Graves taps Callum on the shoulder as a group approaches. A large, Swaad man, clothed in a faded suit and covered in gaudy gold necklaces, rings and watches, is backed by a larger man wearing a flak vest and little else. They are armed with expensive weapons (the suited man boasts a bolt pistol and power sword, his heavy a chainaxe) and they swagger with the strut of men who are used to being feared.

"New to town?" the suited man grins evilly. "Got to pay the tax to the taxman. This here is my boy Nzito. He's the taxman."

The heavy reaches out with an outstretched hand, expecting something in the way of payment. What does the pair do?

[Stonebreath]

Callum responds calmly in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for trouble," he smiles, disarmingly amicably.

"I understand that the two of you have an arrangement with the rest of this settlement and I don't want to get in the way of that, however..."

Callum resists the urge to smirk.

"How do you see this going? We'd come to blows, you'd kill me trivially, of course. My associate, however, would put up more of a fight. Perhaps you'd kill him too, but you'd be badly injured - easily injured enough to be severely weakened and, well, your line of work is quite competitive is it not?"

If Callum is scared, he is doing the best job he can to hide it.

"So, how do you really want to play this?"

If the gambit succeeds, Callum enters the hut to meet the presumed Wych.

If the gambit fails, Callum will see about coughing up "tax money." He doesn't *actually* want to come to blows.

[The GM]

With confidence he doesn't quite feel, Callum tries reason and a sprinkling of intimidation in dealing with these individuals. There is an awkward pause for a few seconds as the suited man smiles, flashing bejwelled teeth. Graves is tense, ready for anything.

"He's got spirit, eh, Nzito?" the man laughs. "I like spirit. My name is Sefu Nguvu. I run this village - don't believe those that say different. What do you want with Sauda Mbegu? You know that this is her hut?"

[Stonebreath]

"It's... personal," he says after a pause.

"I need her help with something," he adds, not entirely dishonestly. "It's a private matter, but I'm not here to cause any trouble, like you said, you run this village. I'm not here to get on your bad side."

Callum attempts to ply these individuals with vague charm. He doesn't reveal exactly what he wants, but he does his best to come across as non-threatening and agreeable as possible.

[The GM]

Callum engages in a brief back and forth with Sefu, and, though the crimelord is dissatisfied with Callum's evasive answers, he is mollified by Callum's vague charm. Eventually tiring of the lack of progress, and not inclined to use force against the stranger, the two criminals saunter off:

"Good luck with her," Sefu advises darkly. "They say she steals souls."

Callum and Graves make their way to the supposed wych's hut. An unnatural breeze jangles dozens of occultist charms, a strange chill making its way down their spines. Before Graves can place his hand on the door, a lilting voice greets them from within.

"I am a prince, but lower than beggars. I seek power, but give it to others. I am a liar, but I seek truth. What am I?"

The door opens with a creak. Within the hut is darkness and shadow, where the wisps of candles, recently extinguished, float across the room. The pair cannot see the woman. If they thought there were many charms outside the hut, there are dozens within: strange, twisting symbols that neither Callum nor the sergeant recognises. There is the smell of incense and unguents hanging in the stale air, and the darkness seems to clutch oppressively at the walls.

[Stonebreath]

"You're a psyker," replies Callum, authoritatively but amicably, "and there are some very rude and disrespectful people who want you dead."

"I've come to help."

[Can Callum make a Forbidden Lore: Psykers test to figure out more about the powers this Psyker might posses?]

[The GM]

Callum searches his mind for tales of wyches and sorcerers, but, without more information, it is hard to determine what powers this individual might possess. The strange riddle is suggestive of madness, but doesn't obviously point to anything else, whilst the strange, arcane charms could do any manner of things.

Entering into the strange hut, the woman Sauda appears from the shadows in the corner. She has long, black hair, wild and unkempt, and seems a savage figure as she skips and hops towards the pair. The woman seems satisfied with Callum's assurances of assistance, and directs him and the sergeant to two, blood-stained stools in the centre, while she cooks bizarre-smelling liquids in a primitive cauldron. She does not engage with the pair, but hums an unsettling tune as she prepares animal skeletons across the ground. Talking to her receives no answer, and after twenty minutes Callum has all but given up, before her long fingers clutch at his scalp and wipes away a bead of sweat. As if nothing strange has occurred, Sauda wipes the sweat on the charm of an animal skull.

Do either of the pair intervene?

[Stonebreath]

Graves is uneasy, and no doubt glances anxiously to his master in concern.

Callum, however, is fascinated and is quite happy to let the ritual play out.

He gives Graves a reassuring glance.

[The GM]

Sauda begins to more than hum, she begins to chant. Her mouth twists as she produces dark, guttural sounds. From her throat is torn more than one voice, and if there was any doubts as to the legitimacy of her wychcraft, it is all but extinguished. Worse yet, she chants in a language forgotten by many, an ancient, daemonic tongue of the Old Ways that are best left in the abandoned recesses of the human mind. Things start to coil from about the mystical charms, things incorporeal and ghostly, howling in terrible pain as if their souls are wrenched from beyond their torture-chamber tombs. Graves, his nerves already shot by the occultist trappings of the wych, freezes up in terror.

Callum, however, is too interested to be afraid.

Sauda slams her hand down on the animal skeleton with a loud bang, snapping the vertebrae of the thing and drawing blood on her palm. Her eyes roll back into her head, exposing the whites, and she falls backwards against the floor, silent. There is a sudden stillness, and after a few minutes of silence, Callum begins to worry that the woman is dead. But, just as he rises to check, her eyes bolt open.

She laughs harshly. "The Doom is me. I see flesh beneath circular saws, a torture that we all shall suffer. I see a dark mist between us, that coils in the backs of her mind. But I see also the Grand Aquila, its wings reinforced with skeletal rockrete. It is drowned in blood or water, but, either way, it spreads its wings wider. The fires are in its eyes, the eyes of the young."

Sauda sighs. "The Salvation is me. And you, twisted together like rope knots." She giggles. "Do not choke!"

[The GM]

[Callum has gained 1 Corruption Point for recognising the language. It may be used to establish or build upon common ground with Sauda, but too much of its use can further stain the soul.]

[Stonebreath]

Callum will continue to use the Old Tongue to establish common ground with Sauda.

"The Aquilla is drowned in blood, my friend," he says after a while, his charm mixed with morbid fascination.

Oddly, he seems to find the supernatural happenings compelling rather than even remotely frightening.

"I would like for us to be The Salvation of this place, I would like for us to work together... tell me what you see."

As an afterthought, he adds:

"Graves, you may leave if you wish."

Graves bows, but rapidly makes his exit. If possible, he stands guard at the entrance to the hut, pleased to serve his master, but still unsettled by the happenings within.

[The GM]

The wych is exhausted by her efforts, and with a soft sigh, staggers over to a rickety, wooden rocking chair. Every movement sends half a dozen charms rustling and chiming, and she takes out an old pipe by which to smoke some foul smelling herbs.

Callum attempts to coax more out of Sauda's vision, but she herself is confused, and can offer little more than the riddle she has already presented. However, Callum is educated in the ways of divination (though not, of course, a practitioner) and can begin to pull apart some of the mysteries.

What Sauda seems to have done is an occultist form of a personal augury. Typically, these auguries determine the doom of a project, negative influences upon that project, and positive influences on that project.

With a few, patient questions and the workings of Callum's extraordinary mind, he begins to build on this skeleton to fill in some of the metaphors. Callum has come here to win Preacher Elias' approval, either through direct action or deceit. Perhaps the personal augury applies to that project. In this context, the talk of circular saws brings to mind the chainswords of Sergeant Graves, and the danger posed by the wych's defence could well spell Doom: depending on how well the sergeant fought.

Meanwhile, the Grand Aquila may well be the Makuu itself. Callum remembers that the Makuu, though built of local sandstone, has a rockrete skeleton, and so the Aquila is likely to be the cathedral. It spreading its wings wider might represent more power, and the young fire in its eyes may well refer to Preacher Elias. Blood or water... that is a metaphor that evades the heretic at this time.

Using the daemon-tongue, Callum quickly builds a powerful report with Sauda Mbegu. Not many come here simply to chat, and at a point in the conversation, the wych laughs and tells Callum that he reminds her of Kind Peter ("Though perhaps a little smarter."). Though she may have her own agenda, Sauda seems willing to assist Callum within limits. Does Callum ask her to do anything for him?

[Callum gains 1 Corruption point for continuing to use a corrupt tongue.]

Graves waits outside, glad to be away from the wych. His nerves are shot, but are slowly recovering away from the threat.

[Stonebreath]

Callum speaks up after a moment of reverent silence.

"The Grand Aquilla is sending slaves to come and kill you," he says, clearly disappointed at the idea that anyone would want to kill such a talented practitioner of the Eldritch Arts.

"I can protect you. I can help you, but you must be willing to leave this place, come with me, and trust me."

"If you do this, I can make sure that nobody here will be put in danger ever again."

It is clear from Callum's tone that he has complete conviction in his words.

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