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- Sep 25, 2012
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- 29,851
Be a hell of a morale buster though
-
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vazha
Arcane
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2013
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- 2,069
Style over substance, brother. Always. Far be it from us to go for the most reasonable choice.
Chapter 3: Corridors of the Mortis Ex Astra
You flick your maul to remove the worst of the gore covering it, making sure the origin of the weapon is clearly visible, before clipping it to your armour. As a crude mace built from a shattered crozius arcanum, the sight of such weapon always had a potent impact on the rabble of the false Emperor. You remember quite well how you had won it, during the misguided Abyssal Crusade that had sent entire chapters barreling straight into the Eye. You had won much infamy in those days, culminating with your duel with the chaplain on the crippled Battle Barge of the Azure Swords, though it had cost you your previous weapon, a deamon-possessed vouge.
"Allies or sacrifices, either will do. Lead the way, Zephus."
"May the Changer guide our steps." he answers, before starting down the battered corridors of the ship.
The way is slow-going, having to frequently use Frax's chainsword to cut away obstructions, across the crushed corridors and collapsed chambers, with the added difficulty that the ship had stopped on its side, forcing you to walk on what were the walls of the ship and to avoid corridors transformed in yawning chasms lit by flickering glow-globes. You see along the way a few humans survivors, all crippled and dying from the extreme forces they were subjected to during the crash. You take the time to finish them off, better a quick death offered to the True Gods than a slow agony or the tender mercies of the Imperium.
Finally, close to the central temple-shrine where you had attempted to preach the Word of Lorgar to your warband in the past, Zephus point to a door, stuck fast by the crash. After some efforts with your group, you manage to push open the door, stumbling into a wrecked room and facing a brandished force staff made of dark crystal, topped with an eight-pointed star, held by a sorcerer, his other hand glowing with the fell powers of the Warp.
"Here comes our esteem captain, still bumbling around like a drunk ork."
Of all the members of your warband to meet, it is one you would have preferred if he had not survived the crash: Burias, formerly of the Black Legion, hired in the Screaming Vortex to guide your ship in the Warp, in exchange for sorcerous knowledge and a few trinkets in your possession (mostly collected from the witch previously in charge of that). And a true bastard in his own right, but a competent one you have had need of to take part in the Black Crusade. But now that you don't have a ship anymore...
"I see that grubs die hard." you snarl in response. "What were you doing here? Waiting to get rescued by your betters?" Glancing around, you recognize the room where Burias was plying his trade, but the braziers are upturned, spreading burning coals everywhere and the decoration of baubles and dreamcatchers is dispersed all over the room, though the sorcerer has retrieved the few pieces which have any value.
"No, I was preparing to use my gifts to open up a way, when I was interrupted by brutes trudging carelessly around. Because I can do more than just hitting things with a stick until they break." Behind his horned helmet, you know he's sneering. "For example I could have told you it was time to leave, avoiding the Imperial ships in orbit"
"You weren't down there. And from what I recall, you refused, by your own words of 'going stomping on a worthless mudball and getting shot, just so that the top-knotted in chief could play at being Warmaster'. No wonder you got kicked out of the Black Legion, with such a disrespect of your leader."
"Says the Word Bearer who's been cast out of his host. And after that last brilliant display of captaincy, I would have though you'd choose down with your ramshackle ship. Now let me pass."
If the sorcerer died there, you wouldn't need to pay the rest of what he is due... Though killing contracted allies usually made harder to find new ones.
A) Sacrifice him!
1) To Khorne! The Blood God despises psykers, so one would be a worthy offering.
2) To Slaanesh! Send him to the God of Excess screaming in pain.
3) To Nurgle! The Plague God is opposed to Tzeench, so the soul of a sorcerer should be rightly valued
4) To Tzeentch! Betrayal, just another move in the Great Game.
5) To the Chaos Undivided. Make him another step on the path to glory.
6) To Malal.
B) Burias is a powerful sorcerer, as annoying he is, so he still could be useful in getting off this planet. Tell him to shut up and get in line with the others.
AN: I didn't really plan giving the choice of killing Burias, but since some wanted something to sacrifice, here's the option.
B.
Allies or sacrifices, not and :D. We're not quite at the point we need to do something like that I think.
Allies or sacrifices, not and :D. We're not quite at the point we need to do something like that I think.
- Joined
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- 4,241
What's all this about escaping RPGWatch then?
A. Suffer not the magefag. Throw Nurgle a bone.
A. Suffer not the magefag. Throw Nurgle a bone.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
- Messages
- 29,851
Yeah, and Khorne a skull.
well, you could try a sacrifice to Gork and/or Mork, but it will be refused because you're not green enough
hello friend
Arcane
A4>A5
hello friend
Arcane
Wait can we do that instead? What if we paint ourselves green?
there's not enough green paint on the ship for that (and your character wouldn't do it, because he's devoted to the Dark Gods)
hello friend
Arcane
: (
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
- Messages
- 29,851
Fine we can paint it red and go faster.
A5
hello friend
Arcane
Works for me. Red is readily available. Mayhaps if we could consult with Khorne as an independent contractor.
B. He'll probably betray us eventually, but he can help us reach our goals until then. Besides, we bear the word, and we cannot spread the Glory of Chaos if we cannot leave the world.
thanks for all the votes, bros.
I should have told earlier, but for the vote, I'm first counting how many were for attempting to off Burias (regardless of who it is dedicated to) vs having him join your party. It's the first option that's winning and it seems it's for Chaos Undivided (unless Hello Friend wanted to switch to Khorne, giving us a three ways split)
A
1
ERYFKRAD
3
Strange Fellow, vazha
4>5
hello friend
5
oscar, Azira
B
Kalarion, Endemic, Major_Blackhart
Edit: if you want to change your vote, you can until Friday
I should have told earlier, but for the vote, I'm first counting how many were for attempting to off Burias (regardless of who it is dedicated to) vs having him join your party. It's the first option that's winning and it seems it's for Chaos Undivided (unless Hello Friend wanted to switch to Khorne, giving us a three ways split)
A
1
ERYFKRAD
3
Strange Fellow, vazha
4>5
hello friend
5
oscar, Azira
B
Kalarion, Endemic, Major_Blackhart
Edit: if you want to change your vote, you can until Friday
Last edited:
Andnjord
Arcane
There is much
happening in this thread.
I vote for B, we will need as much help as we can escaping from this wretched place.
I vote for B, we will need as much help as we can escaping from this wretched place.
Burias could have been an ally (or at least stand between you and danger) in your escape from this planet, but you decide this foolish sorcerer would serve you better as an offering to curry favor with the True Gods. And you could never stand him anyway.
"If you're so powerful, use your mighty powers and divine us a way out of this wreck then." You order him. In a straight up fight, especially this close, you'd likely win, but you were never above a spot or two of treachery to make your life easier.
Burias grunts in assent, before exiting the wrecked room, barging his shoulder against you when as he passes. Once in the corridor, the sorcerer calls again on the powers of the Warp, coruscating lights appearing around his fingers and staff.
"I think that..." you starts, standing behind him.
"You can think? Don't strain yourself, you're not used to it." Even while focusing his powers, the sorcerer still can't stop taunting you. But that should be the last time.
"I think that it's time that our collaboration came to an end." you snarl, before jumping into action.
Your maul wouldn't be efficient in such tight quarters against an opponent in power armour, so instead you grab your bolter and shoot Burias in the back of the knee, the bolts penetrating deeply in the weak point between the armor plates before detonating, ripping apart his leg and sending him stumbling.
With the shock, Burias visibly loses control of the powers of the warp and you feel your body and soul flensed by the uncontrolled energies, while visions of deamons cavorting inside the Materium fill your eyes for a split second.
But as much as both of you suffer from the psychic backlash, he's still missing a knee and you recover first, nearly slipping on a thick layer of frost that had appeared all around him. You throw him to the ground, tearing away his helmet in the same movement and hammering his face until he stops moving, blood and bone fragments flying of his quickly tumefying face. Then you quickly daub on his forehead the eight-pointed star using his blood, anointing him as a sacrifice of Chaos Undivided.
"Now I won't have to bear your infuriating babbling anymore. Go into the Ether and witness the Glory of the True Gods." you says, before continuing with verses from the enumeration of Erebus, beseeching the Dark Gods to accept the sacrifice and reward you with their gifts.
"Without me... die on this... planet, boorish... cretin." rasps Burias, blood foaming on his lips, but you continue undaunted and his mutterings are drowned by your entreaties.
You feel the barrier between Materium and Immanterium grows thin, as you hear a mix of hisses, groans and muffled screams on the edge of your hearing. Good, you think, daemons are flocking to witness the passing of Burias' soul into the Warp. Then, you draw your maul and end the wretch in a single blow to the head and you feel the favor of the Dark Gods suffusing through you, whispered words of power and dark secrets, more intoxicating than any heady wine and you relish into the sensation. The power is just within your reach, endless possibilities crystalizing into two distinct visions, one of enemies shattered in front of you, of a singular victory delivered by the Dark Powers, the other of strength and vitality given to you, improving you beyond the limits of your transhuman body across a thousand battlefields. But as you move towards one, the other starts dissipating, so you realize you're only able to seize one of those visions. So you reach towards
A) Vision of a victory
B) Vision of strength
Suffused in your newly acquired power, you come back to your senses and see Zephus and Frax standing to the side, looking at you expectantly, having let the fight and sacrifice play out without intervening. Well, now they'll see that the Gods are with you, you think, while energies of the Warp still cling to you like a multi-hued corona.
Zephus is the first to break the silence "Well, never liked that pompous nitwit anyway. We split the spoils as usual?"
AN: Vision of victory would be a one-use buff for a single fight encounter, vision of strength is a permanent buff, but much less powerful. If you choose vision of victory, I'll give you the option of using it before a fight.
Last edited:
Andnjord
Arcane
Vision of a victory sounds as close to a 'Get out of jail free' card as we're gonna get, so my vote goes to A.
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