POOHEAD189

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

Within minutes, the warriors of this village surrounded my crew and I, spears and lasguns fitted with bayonets bristling. I had ordered everyone accompanying me to holster their weapons and try to appear as nonthreatening as possible. For the women it was easy. This hamlet was likely misogynistic and had antiquated ideas of sex, but for Lucius I had to tell him to lay his weapon down at his feet. He did so begrudgingly, even if he likely did not need it to kill everyone here.

"Uha fon eya," The chief said, roughly translating to greeting a foreigner. I responded with a local handsign of greeting, allowing him to continue. "Mahi mani tal mahi spekka soona an loona."

In fact, perhaps it would be prudent to merely translate what they were saying in their entirety in the essence of expedience. He asked me if I spoke for the gods. It was a tricky gamble on my part, as I felt almost borderline sacrilege to portray myself as such, even if it was a very crude portrayal of the divine emperor.

"Yes, I am their herald. I have come from beyond the sun to speak to the men of the swamps, but I had thought there would be more of you." I told him.

"That is why you bring such a champion," The chief remarked, stroking his chin, idly fingering one of the many piercings along his jaw. "But why did you bring the women? Are they gifts."

"I have not come to bring any gifts save the safeguarding of your home. My companions each play a part in the divine plan. But you did not answer my question." I reminded him.

The chief looked thoughtful, and I could tell he was weighing his options on if believing me would serve his purposes. Eventually he replied: "If you are who you say you are, then you are welcome. If not, we will eat you. But as for your question, a man from the sky, much like you, came many months ago and began speaking to the tribes of the forest and the swamp. Nagrip was his name, and he took my people from their sacred rituals and gave them weapons of controlled fire and boats that moved without paddles. I took what people listened to me to this small village, and here we have lay hidden."

"Nagrip," I said, pondering. No one looked at me any more thoughtfully save Emmaline, as the name sounded much like a colloquial word and her psychic abilities likely granting her some insight into my broad thoughts. "Where is this man? I would see if he is a messenger of darkness."

The chief nodded, eager to help. Like as not he was anxious to see us away, if not to solve his problems than at least to keep ourselves from becoming one. "Less than a day across the water, to the west, he makes his dwelling with our fallen kinsmen. I hear he also has foul beasts lurking near, but beware the plague. Only fire can cure it, and if you are infected, it would be best to die rather than infect your friends. We will provide you with two boats. Use them as you will."

Beasts and plague? I did not wish to believe it, but perhaps this was land had the mark of the Lord of Rot. Swamps were a breeding ground for disease regardless, and any vehicle might look like a beast to this man, so I believed I was letting my worries get to me. However, it paid to be prepared. "Thank you, we shall perform our divine duty and rid your waters of this foulness. But we do not have the power to cure the plague. It would be best if you were to move eastward as soon as possible."

"Pick up and leave?" He asked, aghast. I nodded.

"Yes, as you once did months ago. I can slay, but I cannot cure." I informed him, and got to my feet. If my hunch was correct, this swamp would remain tainted for centuries. I only hoped I was wrong, and I turned to my companions. "We're heading west."

Tricksters and Theives: A Warhammer RP

Neil was elbowed in the jaw by what he had initially thought was an imperial soldier, until he hit the ground and realized that bristling hair had covered the arm. He rubbed his face and gathered his wits as the city erupted in pandemonium around him. Screaming children and horrified men wailed. Vaguely he heard Emmaline calling for him, and that brought him back to reality. He shook his head like a dog and hopped to his feet, looking left and seeing the wall of halberdiers holding fast against the charging gors and ungors. To his right-

Neil ducked under a swinging axe, feeling the wind of the swing as the blade passed through tufts of his hair. He shoved a knife in the lone beastman's back and twisted the blade, causing it to let out a cry a pained donkey might make. Slinging his belongings over his shoulder, he ran forward across the street before it could turn to attack again, leaping over bodies and wrestling forms, smelling gunsmoke and hearing the thundering retorts of blackpowder muskets and cannons in the distance. He needed only make it another dozen feet, Emmaline's fiery head a beacon in the haze. He saw her crying out to him, holding her arm out to take. He found it was one of those moments you never forgot. He would remember her lips parted, her eyes pleading, her bosom bouncing. It was at that moment as all went slow, that a wagon being commanded by a desperate merchant with wide, insane eyes barreled between them.

"Nuh-uh," Neil muttered, running headlong into it. He tossed the sack with half of their gold, food, and clothes over the wagon moments before he slid low, right foot out and left foot in, skidding over the blessedly smooth stones of the street. Emmaline gasped as the wheels scythed across her vision of Neil, but just before the final spokes whisked by, he shot out from under it and slid to an easy stop, planting his elbow against the stone wall she clung to like he was trying to convince her of something uncouth. "Hey baby," he said with a grin.

The sack hitting him from above broke his attempt of a joke. Damn, could have sworn I tossed it with enough force so it would go passed the both of us. Well, I can practice that later, he thought. She shook her head and yanked on his shirt, Neil absently grasping the sack as they hurried down the alleyway, before they found themselves right in front of an iron grate under the shadows of the buildings, leading into the sewers.

"Now what do we do?" She asked, panting from the exertion of all the screaming and running.

"That's all you. Your magic is with metal, right?" He asked her.

"Right, right..." She said, rubbing her hands together and squatting down. In the mouth of the alleyway, man and beast fought and pushed. The two thieves almost had the view one might from a painting or mural. Neil shook his head, hoping Sigmar watched over the footmen, even if he was fully prepared to skip town regardless. He heard the culmination of her spell, and he glanced back to see iron running like liquid as the portal was suddenly open.

"Go, go!" He told her.

"No, I can't see!" She complained. He cursed, knelt down beside her, and slid in, yanking her leg so she flew in with him, squealing in fright with the belongings tumbling in with the the both of them just as the iron reset, and the grate was barred once more as if it had always been.

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

Further in, the swamp lived up to its name. The forest and small isles of soft earth dotted the landscape, and small mammals with six limbs scurried along the branches and shimmied up gnarled trees as we trudged through what we hoped was the most shallow of pathways through the mire. Lucius had volunteered to go first, to keep the depth of the swamp in mind. However I countermanded that and sent him to the back. Even if his height was a good gauge of testing water levels, his bulk would create holes in and of themselves, and we wished to move as stealthily as we could in the murk.

Bugs plagued us incessantly and sweat clung to our skin, but I was surprised to hear only a modicum of complaining from Emmaline and a smidgen of griping from Selencia. Clara did grouse once, but she was only concerned our current trajectory might have us be caught in a compromising position. I led us as best I could across what passed for solid ground, however, and it took another two hours before we saw another living being that was not insect or critter. If I had to guess, we were a days walk to the river and two days away from reaching any real hard ground on the opposite shore.

At first, I thought the crude boat was a part of the landscape, but at the corner of my eye I saw it lazily detached from a small tree infested piece of land, and I signaled for the group to hide as best they could. With some sloshing accompanying us, we managed to kneel behind what logs and large fungal growths we could. Lucius had to lay almost flat in the water to even scratch the surface of what I might call 'hiding,' though like an astartes, he could hold his breath far longer than a normal man and so ceased to move, his armored bulk looking like a fallen craft more than any being.

The boat's arrival was announced by the sound of a juttering engine, and from my vantage point I could see three men atop a flat surface. Their fatigues were dirties beyond excuse, even in such a locale, and two of them held lasguns in their hands, watching the ruined landscape with a lazy interest. I was too far to tell if they were mutant or merely ugly, their faces mangled from some attack or cursed to them by inbred genetics. Two minutes slid by, and the boat disappeared beyond the last vestiges of sight. I breathed a sigh of relief, and picked myself up, helping Emmaline to her feet before my lover gasped.

I turned, and swiftly approaching us were three boats, motorless and made of twine, riding low in the water and easily passing as bundles, I still cursed myself for not paying my surroundings as much attention as I could. There had to be nine of them, three to each boat, each with lasguns slung over their backs and brutally simple bits of metal curtained around them for armor. They looked like normal men as far as I could ascertain, which was fortunate. Clara popped from behind a tree, carbine at the ready. Emmaline hastily armed herself and Lucius Raj rose from the depths like a sunken god, but I held my hands out, pointing at the captain and thunder warrior specifically. "Hold! Org Hake! Org Hake!"

During the brief exchange, the locals had raised their weapons to fire, but they kept their fingers off the trigger as I called in their native tongue.

"What?" Emmaline whispered nervously.

Lazarus rose beside us, his limbs whirring and sputtering water as they began to move again. "He is speaking savage-lingua. A curious dialect of it, and if my records are correct, he would need to use utilize a few local flourishes, but it is common language on feral worlds." He explained, helpfully.

"Ock mok en oteppa!" One of the men called back, gesturing with his gun. Once more did I thank Inquisitor Kronus for a lesson that I in my youth had called useless. I could not guess if this was Kator Talon and Son’s of the Fen, but whoever they were, they had not been mutated as of yet. I gathered the one speaking was asking us for an introduction, albeit in a very threatening fashion. I complied. As I did so, Lazarus was good enough to translate.

"We have come at the behest of the moon god. We are heralds in the wake of its sleep. Have we arrived too late?... No, you have not. If you are truly a messenger, what do you seek to give us?...We wish to cure the blight on this land."

"How come you never taught this to me?" Emmaline asked softly, downtrodden. Despite myself, disappointing her did pull at my emotions, though I was a bit too happy to be conversing at the moment to be truly effected.

"I did not know if we were going to need us," I told her simply, self satisfied. "If you would like, every new locale we visit, I will demand a crash course in linguistics and any other small aspect we might need. They will be graded reports."

Despite the joke, she took my meaning. "Point taken."

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

"We usually do," I said, checking my sidearm to make certain it had a fully loaded magazine in it.

"Vel zen, let us git a moof on." Emmaline advocated in her borrowed accent. She did not know it, but I found myself impressed by her more often than not. She had once said she felt her accents went through her nose a bit too much, but I felt they were quite good, as someone who's had to use a few myself.

The melee had been quick and brutal, but it seemed like other than two of the locals, there had been no casualties. Lucius Raj had not even given in to his bloodlust, though it seemed to have him on edge, stomping around and smashing the corpses of the mutants in more of a tantrum than a rage. Lazarus had nearly lost one of his seven arms, but when prompted on if he was fine he screeched in a binary I was all too familiar with. Sometimes he was like a dog with an attitude, unable or unwilling to converse in our tongue and so blithely barked at you if you wished to question him of something.

With the two inhuman members of my entourage fine but not speaking, we moved forward. Our path ahead was much the same as behind. More crags and little cover, save for the occasional cloud or rock face that happened to overhang. As the sun set that night, we were attacked again. Apparently a few of the more bold mutants had kept pace with us, but Lucius had kept the rear and brutalized six of the eight that had tried to kill us, and both I and Clara dispatched the last two with well placed shots.

We had no real kindling for a fire, but Selencia had brought a Calixian Auto-light that served as a light and heat source for the night as we took a rest.

"I knew we were going to have to go on a long jaunt, though I had not thought anyone but me would use it." She said, igniting the ingenious little device. It was an expensive item, using a small load of plasma and a plate atop it to create an artificial heat source that flickered like a flame.

"I know my resources are not small, but where did you get this, exactly?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

"At an auction on Helios II." She said, then playfully rolled her eyes. She was usually all business, but it seemed she still saw me as a junior, if not a peer, when were were conversing socially. I wouldn't have it any other way in private, but it wasn't a good look otherwise. "It's in the same system as Pacitus, don't give me that look."

I shook my head and changed the subject. "Tomorrow, if we make good time we'll arrive at the swamps by nightfall. I'll take first watch."

"I can do that, commander." Lucius rumbled. Everyone shared a look. They knew he needed almost no sleep, but it was the small fact he might accidentally meet with an enemy and stomp on the party in rage that had us thinking he needed a 'partner.'

"There are two sides to watch. Ahead and behind-"

"I will. We're old friends." Emmaline said, and nudged me. "Vyat do you tink?"

I accepted it, and we did our best to rest for the night.

Pax Astra

"As much as I'd like to see your green thumb in action, I've got a more traditional idea." Tiber said, lifting his shirt and checking the small wound he had.

The pair spent a good hour checking their wounds and moving the bodies. Tiber's suggestion was met with surprise at first, but Sabatine quickly accepted the pragmatism in it. Before nightfall, the bodies had been piled high along a patch of grass just outside of Tiber's property. All save their heads, having been cut off and stuck in aluminum poles along the ruined flowerbed. As disappointed as his grand sire would be on Tiber working for the Empire, he would approve of this at least. Out of the rough dozen that had attacked, seven heads had been planted and gifted to Mars.

The pair returned to Sabatine's home as the sun began to set, taking all of Tiber's ammunition and explosive stockpile with them, but not before setting a small trap inside Tiber's workshop. The commando had set a wire trip just beyond the entrance, and if the heads did not dissuade anyone from snooping within, the falling mecha he had unchained before the firefight would solve the problem.

They arrived at Sabatine's place as darkness descended, and Tiber stumbled off the bike, Sabatine catching with with both hands, nearly tumbling over with the man. He had gotten off with such confidence, but now that his mind had redirected itself to a somewhat 'civilian' rest state, he felt every ache and had realized he was dizzy. It was nothing to worry about, just annoying.

"Sorry, bloodloss," He said, oddly embarrassed. He pulled himself back up. "I just need something to eat, I'll be good. And we need to talk on what our next play is." He added as an after thought. Tiber was tall and built like a commando, but the fact he let himself feel so tired after just a few days of activity showed how rusty he was, at least in his mind. He recalled back on the moon of Orlan IV, he had gone two weeks with almost no sleep and complete vigilance, cutting a swathe through the enemy lines from behind with his squad of nine. He'd be damned if he let Sabatine down simply because he had gotten comfortable the past year.

At The Edge of The World

Beren watched the...thing, burst through the wall and scatter men about like a child kicking over toys. Faintly, he felt his pendant brimming beneath his shirt. He pulled at the silver chain and saw the artifact glowing softly in the gloom, before sliding it back under his top.

"What was that?" Emmaline asked, the question sounding snippy, though the accompanying look of guilt showed she hadn't meant it as such. Beren had forget he had never shown it to her, other than when they were making out on the couch, and that was not the time he wanted to talk about heirlooms.

"I'll tell you later, but that means it's... well 'demon' might be a strong word-"

"DEMON!?" She balked.

Beren's blessed necklace had been handed down to him from his father, who had consecrated it personally. It had merely been meant as a kind gift from father to son, but it protected him from evil spirits and was very handy in warning when such entities were near. It did the same with demons or anything preternaturally malevolent, but it wasn't useful at categorizing something beyond that. Whatever this thing was, it was made of rain as well as whatever spiritual force that powered it.

"Just stay here," He told her, leaping out into the rain. It likely looked like foolhardy bravado, but Beren never backed down from a fight if he felt it necessary to engage in it, even if it was against what looked to be sentient water. Immediately the downpour drenched him, flattening his thick head of hair and running down the definition of his muscled arms. Beren reflexively ducked under a flying legionnaire, grabbing at a fallen pilum and tossing it in one, smooth motion at the roiling abomination.

The throw was perfect. If it had been a creature of flesh and blood, it would have skewered the thing dead center. Even as it flew through the bulk of it, it's iron head sinking into the palisade wall was satisfying to watch. Unfortunately, it was only nice to look at. Suddenly a large blob of water coalesced and swung at Beren, who tried to twist out of the way but was caught and swept into the air. The herculean form of the warrior was sent flying back at the central tower, rolling through the mud.

"Beren, get in here!" Emmaline cried, desperation in her voice.

Suddenly there was a keen wailing, and a bolt of lightning streaked across the encampment as men retreated, their shields and spears up, eyes wild with fear. The mad spirit convulsed as it was struck, and a battle-mage strode across the spattered ground in heavy war-boots and an imperial mage cloak over his armor. He whispered another incantation, and a concussive force billowed out like an explosive wave, sending the rain scattering. The men cheered as the monster seemingly disappeared into nothingness, the rain now harmless as it drenched the landscape.

Beren picked himself up, but he didn't see what happened next, like Emmaline, who had a good vantage point to watch. She observed in awe and horror as the seemingly harmless rain now gathered just above the mage, and as the fellow began another chant, with a mind of its own the water sinuously whipped about and flew straight within the man's moving lips. His words now gurgled and his eyes widened, and men cried out as their camp's magister began to drown from living water, desperately clawing at his face.

"I command you get in here now!" Emmaline cried to Beren, and while he wasn't entirely used to being told what to do, the need in her voice brought strength to his limbs and he clambered to his feet.

The mage fell dead to the mud, and the water sought its next prey, slinking around the air like a great serpent. Gradually it became apparent its next target was Beren, or perhaps Emmaline, and it dove towards their position just as Beren stepped back under the archway of the central keep.

"Beren!" Emmaline screamed, realizing distantly she was yelling his name too much but unable to really find fault in it at the moment. He turned and saw the water arcing towards him, and he moved to grab Emmaline, stepping defensively in front of her with his muscled form and steading himself from the blow that was to come. Fortunately for them, the water crashed against what looked like an invisible barrier just at the foot of the arch, scattering droplets across the floor.

Beren opened one eye, looking down at Emmaline, then at the spirit that seemed unable to enter. He looked down at his new girlfriend. "Did you do that?"

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

The tunnel they had devised was spacious, thanks to Lucius' bulk. Evidently safe as well, we passed through without incident, all the while hoping this cavernous entryway not be the only mark I made on Havenos before an ignominious end. I received and even more dire sense of foreboding when Selencia directed my attention to the inside of the wall.

"Hadrian..." The Ordo Biologis said, approaching the structure. I followed her, placing a finger upon one of the print. My long-time friend examined them, albeit in a different method than I had done. I was merely checking to see how old the prints were, and though it was hard to ascertain, my guess was within the last few weeks. Selencia was deciphering a more esoteric mystery.

"The blood did not come from their hands." She said, stepping away. "It's...mixed between arterial and venous. Whoever put these here were the erm, perpetrators and not cultists who maimed themselves, I would imagine."

"Cultists..." I said, mulling over the word. Selencia shrugged, and placed her hands on her hips.

"Perhaps they weren't, but I've been in the yours and Inquisitor Kronus' service long enough to know where you go, there's likely worshipers of the ruinous gods. Sometimes, I think I'm not payed well enough."

A ghost of a smile appeared on my face, and I turned back to Emmaline and the others. I gave a gesture of my head to my psyker and lover. "Very well, let's hurry. There's very little to be gained here." I took a quick scan of our surroundings, almost expecting lurking figures rising over the crags, but there was nothing.

Our group moved from the wall and deeper into the bed of the valley. The sun remained as hot as ever, yet I felt a chill run down my spine. Something elusive skulked just at the edge of my senses. I wasn't half as powerful as Emmaline in psychic prowess, but I was a bit older and had longer, formal training. I could almost smell something unnerving in the air, but as we overtook our second mile, I could still see nothing.

Absolutely nothing. No insects or one of the strange rock lizards I saw before the wall. Not even any reptilian avian creatures gliding high above us. The planet itself seemed to withdraw from this barren route. It wasn't until we heard a blood curdling scream from behind that I felt I wasn't completely alone, even with my companions all around me.

We turned, brandishing weapons, but saw nothing. A few of the locals still accompanying us had scrambled over to our position, but when questioned, they shook their heads, clueless as us.

"Where's Galda?" Kelden asked, the one eyed tracker hefting his hunting auto-rifle readily. He seemed nervous, but the big man kept himself from showing it in all but his eyes. I unholstered my large caliber handgun and approached the area while Emmaline feigned granting me an aristocratic order to see what had transpired. As I passed a mound of rocks as tall as a man, I noticed a strange inscription upon one of the stones, this one oblong and clearly shaped by something with a purposeful design. I could not read the script, but it hit me at that moment.

"These are cairns." I said, and the group was given only a moment to consider the implications of that pronouncement. My words were as the trigger of a gun, for no sooner had I uttered them that a wild, keen screech erupted from the opposite side of the valley, followed by a return scream very close to my position. The stones rumbled and fell, and mounds we had initially thought were simple imperfections in the slopes burst forth and raised human-like hands as their warped bodies moved with lightning speed. I put three rounds into a mutant that had evidently been hiding behind the cairn before I even had a good look at the thing.

Its eyes were bloodshot red and it's body was both bloated and sinuous in equal measure, giving it the look of a boa that had engorged itself of some large megafauna, and yet it walked on two, very human legs. It's maw was unnaturally long and gaping with razors teeth, and I could see three arms on it, though others looked to have a random assortment of limbs. I spun, gunning down another mutant that loped towards Selencia. My shells and her needle shots brought it down, though it died hard. My eyes caught sight of Emmaline pulling out her Helix 2 and ripping through a towering mutant moments before it reached her. As it fell, I gave a grin that likely seemed crazy in the midst of this sudden, hellish melee. My thoughts drifted to my first shooting lesson with her. She might not be a marksman, but she can hit something huge right in front of her better than any.

Gold & Glory: AU thread

"Rifle!" Markus cried, sheathing his accursed sword and racing across the deck, ragged cloak flying. He called for it again, and Sketti came out of the hold with an old flintlock in hand. Markus lifted his hand even as the dwarf chucked it at Markus. They had no doubt confiscated and taken most arms, but a few had been kept hidden by the meticulous quartermaster. If you wanted something hidden or found, you got a dwarf. Their eyes could see imperfections in stone impeccably, but they could use their eyes in a similar vein when it came to timber and steel, though perhaps to a lesser extent.

Markus raced up the aft-castle as the Hammer rocked from the virulent waves, the barrel of the rifle flipping into his other waiting hand as he hefted the weapon.

"Loaded and ready!" The dwarf bellow from the deck, but Markus didn't need to be informed. A wind rushed by him, spraying droplets of water across hid dark mane of hair. His body nor his aim were moved, closing one eye as he lowered the other to level with the iron sights. The dark sorceress was swiftly fading away, though he could tell she wished to catch up even without her steed. Thunder rumbled across the turbulent seascape, and Markus waited with bated patience as the ship rocked from another wave. A fell voice rose in the air, and men wailed as they heard another spell about to be unleashed. Markus merely breathed out and in, still as stone.

Lightning raked across the sky, and as the thunder followed, so did the rifle shot. Smoke mingled with the smell of sweat and sea water, and as the light faded across the sky, Markus saw the figure of the sorceress suddenly plummet towards the waves. He kept his eye on the horizon for another moment, but he could see naught but darkness and the silhouette of the jagged, druchii spires that threatened to pierce the clouds.

Emmaline had climbed the steps, blowing bits of her golden hair out of her face, looking at him in bewilderment. "The spell...did you hit her? From this dista-aaaOOMMM"

Markus had thrown the rifle to the floor of the deck, grabbed Emmaline and pulled her in to a kiss that was filled with the celebratory energy of a man that had escaped desperation. He pulled away from her, but still held her in his arms. He didn't specify, but he was thinking of her work on the chain and the death of the pegasus. "I knew I kept you around for some reason." He said with a fierce grin, and then his eyes went down to her heaving chest. "One of the reasons, anyway. Good job, Emma."

"What now, Captain!?" Sketti called up, and Markus, holding Emmaline, was now overlooking the whole crew on the deck, watching him fervently. The pirate squeezed his woman to him with one arm, and in the other he unsheathed his black sword as lightning wreathed the sky.

"Onto to the orient, lads! We'll stop at the next isle and forage for food, then to Ind and all the plunder of their forgotten gods!"

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

The next day...

A small rock tumbled down the slope, clattering against the stones. Lucius, Selencia, and some of the survivors gazed up to the source, and whilst my head didn't move, my gaze flicked in that direction. Emmaline had not bothered herself to turn, trying to leap over a small crevasse and balancing, using her hefty front side as a ballast. Luckily, it seemed to be some odd, vaguely reptilian critter scampering out of a hiding place.

The sun beat down on us, which I was not very keen on. The valley was far too wide open, and though some of it was covered in the dense foliage of the planet's subtropical forest, much of it was bare rock raised high above on both sides. Anyone with a weapon that could lob a projectile could hit us and we would be at a severe disadvantage. I felt my team was prepared in most situations, but it was times like this I could ascertain just where I had missed on my conditioning of them. Emmaline and Selencia were both unused to the field, and Lucius had the iron confidence of a post-human, unaccustomed to finding the flaw in letting a potential sniper know you might have spotted their location. I walked casually, but careful eyes could see I moved from shadow to shadow when I could, always keeping the sun at my back and keeping whatever foliage there was between me and a potential vantage point for a rifleman. Clara moved much the way I did, but I felt it was more for her role of protection than camouflage on her part.

"How much further?" Emmaline called, and she cursed when she nearly stumbled. The blonde took off a shoe and hopped while she shook out a loose pebble.

"Don't yell," I said back as quietly as I could while reaching her ears. "Just a few more miles."

I did not want to be harsh. We would talk about it later, and her bright eyes showed she understood the need for discretion so she buttoned her lip and hustled over to my position at the fore.

"I thought we needn't worry here?" She asked me more softly. I felt she merely wanted to make conversation, but I wouldn't begrudge her that. It allowed me a small distraction from the heat.

"We shouldn't, but in my line of work it always pays to be careful." I told her, then smirked as our shoulders brushed. "Our line of work."

She flashed a smile. "I fear I'm much better in urban subterfuge, Lord Drakos."

We turned a corner, and were met by a sight that stilled the reply on my tongue. Emmaline gave a very dry "Oh," when she looked up. Before us, the path ended in a wall of stones and boulders that stacked up above us like a feudal world's wall. By my thoughts, it piled up slightly taller than Lucius, which made it well over 4 meters in height. It seemed recently fallen, as well, if the scratch marks and the lack of sediment were any indication.

"Well that is problematic," Emmaline said dryly, crossing her arms under her chest. Behind us, I heard Lucius Raj trudging up to our position. I heard his intake of breath, and he was so powerfully built I even felt a small breeze from the action. Selencia walked up to our position and eyed the obstacle with her keen eye.

"I can go through it, but it might take some time." Raj said. I glanced at Emmaline to see if the prospect worried her, and she shrugged. I felt for the hilt of my power sword, knowing it was fully capable of carving through ceramite, and so mere stone would be easy. However, I felt unless I were cutting through a completely stable surface, I could easily be crushed. An ignominious end to my career that, by most Inquisitorial standards, had just begun.

The Enemy Beyond: Warhammer 40,000 Inquisitor RP

"Yes, she is dead." I said, pronouncing the d's of the final word emphatically to show I was slightly irked. Perhaps not as petulant as Emmaline's final statement, but I think we all were a bit tired after a brutal melee we had not anticipated. I took a deep breath and reminded myself we were all lucky to still be here. I could have lost many more agents than the late Samara Bandir. I examined the Espair Pattern VII, and though my knowledge of the manufacturing of lasguns was rudimentary compared to Lazarus, I agreed and could find no flaw in his deduction.

"What I was doing was studying the moon patterns." I said, drawing Emmaline's gaze my way. There was an open question in her face, and I smiled. She might be a bit clumsy and prefer to laze about, but Emmaline was brilliant, in my mind. I don't fraternize with every pretty woman I happen to meet. Perhaps I should tell her that more often.

"Moon patterns?" Selencia prompted me, raising an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Yes. Emmaline is right. They will be in the southern swamps, but we need to move at first light tomorrow." I explained, placing the butt of the lasgun on the ground, Lazarus took it from me, almost cradling it in his arms as he placed it amongst our gear.

"Because of the tides?" Lazarus asked as he removed the item.

"Good guess, old friend, but no." I remarked, standing up and taking a professional poise. Emmaline stepped back, almost tripping over a stick. Luckily a log broke her fall and she fell onto a seat as if it were a deliberate choice. I would not tell if she didn't. "In the tribes crude understanding of the Emperor, they have devised he portrays himself in the guise of the sun and the moon. When there is no moon, they take it as the divine Emperor sleeping, and hold vigil all night, seeing anyone approaching as a demon sneaking past their God. No doubt a ritual made after some catastrophic attack years ago, supped up into a time of religious significance."

"And when there is no sun?" Emmaline asked, maintaining her position in the conversation.

"They see it as the highest of disfavor. Luckily there is not an eclipse for some time, but in a few days there will be a string of moonless nights. If we approach then, they'll attack us like rabid hounds. Even the ones not in the employ or influence of whatever ruinous agent we now face."

"And why did we not know this beforehand?" Selencia asked.

"Yes, why not?" Emmaline added, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Because I was hoping we needn't stay until that time, and it would not have sped us here any faster. Believe me, if I thought it prudent, you would have been told immediately."