Damned Cities

From Lexicanum

Arrival on Sinophia

The ship the Acolytes were travelling to on a routine assignment was suddenly diverted to the ill-omened planet of Sinophia. The astrotelepathic communication advised only that they would be met at the spaceport and sealed orders from Inquisitor Gaius awaited.

On arrival in-system the Acolytes were hustled on to  a shuttle which dropped them unceremoniously on the landing field and then departed with what seemed like indecent haste.

It was raining on Sinophia – heavily. As the Acolytes looked around they could see clear signs of decay, some of the spaceport buildings looked like they had been abandoned and were falling into ruin through disuse. Sheltering under a lean-to across the field, Plax spotted three figures standing looking at them. For lack of anythin better to do, she headed in their direction - Mercutio and Rabalius wandered along behind her trying to keep  as dry as they could.

The three turned out to be their welcoming party. The first, a lanky feral-born carried himself with a military air and identified himself as Phrenz. He passed over a box, carved with the seal of the Inquisition. The other two, an assassin called Carie and a void-born Adept, Marla, introduced themselves. Plax pressed her palm against the seal and waited while the machine spirits within confirmed her identity. Once identification was complete, the lid opened to reveal their orders.

It transpired that there had been a series of murders of prominent citizens recently, the most recent being of Viscount Aliram Sur’Seulo at his home. The local Adeptus Arbites believed there to be a malefic component in the murders,primarily due to the apparent superhuman strength displayed in the attacks, and had summoned the Ordos for assistance with the investigation. The request was signed  by the Arbites Adjuntant Filiad Constantine, and they decided that a visit to him would be the first order of business.

After (eventually) securing some transportation from the spaceport Adminstratum office,  they made their way along the coast to Sinophia Magna. They were directed to the Arbites barracks, located in a building known as Haarlock’s Folly. On arrival, they were met by Constantine himself, who ushered into a meeting room, offered refreshments and gave them a brief rundown of the recent events.

There had been three previous murders -  in each of which the victim, and anyone with him, had been assaulted and rent asunder. The assailant showed signs of superhuman strength and any security devices nearby had mysteriously failed during the attacks. Three of the attacks, including the most recent, had been in District VII known as The Shadow Manses while one had been in District V – The Sinks. The Arbiters basically had no clues other than the bodies themselves.

Marla asked whether the Arbiters could provide them with some transport and Constantine assigned them an unmarked ground-car. He also gave Rabalius a vox keyed to the Arbites com-channel and instructed them to contact him direct if they needed any further assistance.

Without further ado the Acolytes headed off to The Shadow Manses. Although this district was obviously the richest part of the city, it showed the same signs of decay and neglect as the spaceport. Many of the once-grand houses were now empty and falling into disrepair. They set up base in an abandoned manse near to House Sur’Seula and discussed ad nauseum what to do next.

Eventually Rabalius and Marla went round to the front of House Sur’Seula, while the others decided to scale the wall at the back of the compound. Rabalius used his psychic abilities to get the gatekeeper to allow them entry and they made their way up to the front door. The door showed signs of some attempts to hastily repair it to protect the interior against the inclement weather, but it was not locked. Primarily as the lock appeared to be missing. Entering, they found much blood-spatter and devastation in the hallway.

Round the back, the others found their efforts frustrated by the fact the back door was locked. Carie’s attempt to break-in only resulted in seting off an alarm. An Arbites patrol soon arrived to investigate what was happening at the crime scene!

They explained themselves to the Arbiters' offices who confirmed their bona fides with Constantine, and left. They commenced a search of the building while Marla and Rabalius went to interview the gatekeeper. The search of the house found little. As the rest of the house appeared untouched including many valuables – robbery was unlikely to be the motive. The interview with the gatekeeper was equally unforthcoming as he had apparently been asleep throughout the whole affair even though he was unable to explain why he was asleep when his master had returned and then why he had not awoken.

Another Victim

Next morning, Marla and Phrenz decided to head to the Administratum building in the city to try and find out more background information about the victims, while Plax and Mercutio decided to do the same with the records at the Arbiters barracks. Rabalius meanwhile stared moodily out into the lashing rain from the window in their camp in the abandoned manse, while Carie watched him carefully, sharpening her knives all the while.

From the records held in the Administratum (birth certificates, death certificates, tax records etc.) they discovered that  Mam’sel Zamura Rolart was a comfortably-off scion of one of the minor noble houses, and her estate had gone to a cousin; Legate Senh-Art Dole, was an off-world merchant -  his considerable estate had gone to his family back on Scintilla. Viscount Hiram Sur’ Secula, a noble grandee and member of the ruling council’s estate had been inherited by his eldest son. On the final victim, Callisto there was very little information other than that he had apparently been born at one point some 48 years ago.

Maral and Phrenz made their way to Haarlock’s Folly meeting up with Plax and Mercutio - in the canteen at Phrenz’s insistence! They shared the information from the records the Arbites held, where they had ascertained the Callisto was in fact a local crime lord, or Rag-King, although as few of his activities seemed to have touched on Imperial crimes there was not a huge amount of information there. It was suggested they investigate what the local law, The Enforcers, might have on him. 

While they ate Rabalius got a call from Constantine informing them that there had been another killing. They left Haarlock's Folly, collected Rabalius and Carie, they headed off to the crime scene in The Sinks.
The Arbites at the scene were more than happy to cede the responsibilty to them, informing them there was one body in the hab on the fourth floor and another in the alleyway round the back.

They went to see the body in the alleyway first, which had two gaping wounds in the chest that Mercutio observed were shotgun wounds, although he commented he was surprised the victim had made it this far with such serious wounds and also how little blood there was at the scene. Phrenz also noted that the body was already starting to bloat and that there were various stitched wounds on the corpse.

They headed up to the fourth floor. The victim was apparently named Bal Grey, and like the previous victims had been variously rent asunder. Bal had obviously made some attempt to defend himself ad they found a mangled shotgun and several spent cartridges. As well as locating some dog-tags that identified Bal as a former member of the PDF, they found some hidden vials of liquid, and in an old ammunition box under the bed some money and a strangely incongruous piece of high-quality red cloth, which Marla speculated may have once wrapped something precious. Through all their investigations at the scene Rabalius had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, but was unable to actually see anyone.

Plax and Marla interviewed some of the neighbours and determined that  Grey had been a Rag-Baron, or minor crime lord. One of his neighbours in the hab below said that he was aware that Grey had received something wrapped in red cloth as “payment” from a rival Rag-King. According to the witness, whatever it was was flat and not very big.

The locals confirmed that cloaked and hooded  four men had entered the building prior to the disturbance, and on exiting three of them had walked off into the rain towards the river, igoring the fourth who had collapsed in the alleyway. After arranging for the bodies to be collected by the meat-wagon they headed back to Haarlock’s Folly.

At the Arbites headquarters, after taking advantage of the canteen again, they headed to see the Adept in charge of forensics -  Biologist-Adept Talanis, who dispassionately showed them the bodies of the previous victims and confirmed no weapons had been used in dealing the terrible wounds. He agreed to examine the body found in the alleyway and also the substance in the vials and give them a report in the morning.

Next morning Talanis gave them a report by vox that confirmed the substance in the vials was Ghostfire Pollen Extract and that the body in the alleyway had been deceased for at least 3 days.

The Rag-Court

The next day the Acolytes began delving into the murky depths of the Sinophain undertow.

Marla headed back to the Enforcer headquarters to see what was in the records there about Juvinal Priator and the Rag-Court. Plax and Phrenz decided to hit the streets, attempting to disguise themselves as locals - somewhat unsuccessfully due to the fact they were bristling with weapons and armour! Rabalius and the others remained at their base camp.
 
From the records held by the Enforcers, Marla was able to work out the Juvinal had been a major player in the slave trade at that his last known headquarters was in an abandoned fish-gutting plant on the Celestine Wharf. He also discovered that the Rag-Court was essentially a triad of the most powerful crime-lords on the planet – Hesul, Tiber and Scorn.
 
Phrenz and Plax’s expedition to The Sinks proved fruitless, serving only to attract the attention of some local thugs who assaulted them. The thugs were quickly despatched and one they took prisoner revealed that they had been attacked as their assailants had feared them to be a rival gang scoping out the territory before moving in.
 
Watched over by Mercutio and Casie,  Rabalius stared moodily out into the constant rain that seemed to plague this planet – till suddenly he realised what had been bothering him for the last few days. The Arbites were headquartered in a building known as Haarlock’s Folly and he, somewhat belated, wondered about a connection to the events on Quaddis they had experienced some months ago. Then, as the others arrived back with information and a prisoner in tow, it seemed to go out of his mind once more.
 
They decided to investigate Juvinal’s base, breaching the perimeter with ridiculous ease as their appeared to be no guards. Inside the main building was a maze of broken machinery and trash, gantry-ways and hoists, lit only by the weak light and rain coming in from the roof. At the centre of the building was what was obviously the dwelling place and work quarters of Priator’s slaver crew. This area, based around a now-cold drum fire, was strewn with old mattresses, drug paraphernalia, worthless trinkets, mismatched and damaged furniture, spoiled food, empty bottles, vandalised statues, and other random junk. Three twisted corpses lay around the fire drum, all long dead by their level of putrefaction. Around them lay broken blades and spent shell casings—but no guns. One corpse, despite its condition, was clearly singled out for worse treatment than the others, each limb having been snapped at distorted angles. Looped silver chains around this corpse’s neck were heavy with finger bones, runic talismans, and other signs of petty warpcraft.

Nearby, two large slurry tanks had been converted to slave cages by the addition of crude wire mesh panels and chained manacles. The cages were open and empty but showed signs of recent occupancy. Opposite from them, hidden by a hanging tarpaulin, was a large cargo container -  Priator’s private domain, it had been ransacked but strewn with scribbled notes, a damaged data-slate, a shattered oil lamp, and scattered collections of crude fetishes, knives, and branding irons.

Most of the documents seemed to relate to Juvinal’s business dealings, however Rabalius identified some of the documents as being low-level warp-tainted ramblings – mostly insane gibberish but with a core of truth in them. Marla gathered up the data-slate to give to the Arbites techs to see if they could salvage anything from it. As their search was winding up, and Phrenz was calling in the meat-wagon to remove the bodies, a voice suddenly called out to them from outside asking to speak to "the gaffer”!

After some initial confusion on behalf of the Acolytes, Plax was nominated as "the gaffer",  and was informed the Rag-Court wanted to meet them under Truce. A meeting was agreed at a nearby warehouse the following night.

The meeting with the Rag-Court went better than expected and the Acolytes learned several things – at least two of the victims, Callisto and Sen-har Dole had been in possession of strange mirrors, both of which were missing. Juvinal had also been a collector of all sorts of odds and ends, and Rabelius speculated that whatever Juvinal had used to pay-off Bal Grey might be a similar artefact. The Rag Court left open a line of communication for them, telling them to ask for Georg Lussk at The Turning Hand,a meeting house in the city at the edge of the Commercia. They also revealed that there had been another attack, the Arbites seemed unaware of, at a run-down chop-shop called Worms’ End.
 

The Clockwork Court

After a brief discussion the Acolytes  decided to follow up on the information they had received from the Rag Court about another attack. It didn’t take them long, to locate the location of the  Worm’s End. Like the pervious crime scenes it was clear the attack had been swift and brutal, the interior of the building standing broken and gore-spattered. It was clear that several people had died badly here, but in exploring the alleyway beyond, Phrenz and Plax saw signs of a pursuit and the possibility that someone escaped and they had a witness.

Asking round the local shops they discovered that a local man, Yantra, had been a regular patron, and although his body hadn’t been recovered from the building, he hadn’t been seen since the attack. After a bit of shopping, where Plax obtained a wide-brimmed hat, Phrenz a tolerably nice pasty, and Rabalius a splendid iridescent rain-cape, the Acolytes set out to try and find their missing witness., Carie eventually located him hiding out near the river.

Yantra confirmed that the attack had been made by undead as one of the attacked had half his head blown off and that they had been after something the proprietor, Sokken had in his possession. He also confirmed that Sokken had not been the most stable of characters and was given to wandering the streets, always holding something wrapped in red velvet and muttering and ranting that he was “returning from the dark cold” and “the sun will burn black”.

The reference to the sun burning black triggered a memory in Rabalius of a giant painting he had seen on Quaddis. Entitled “The Death of Tanis” it featured a warship bearing the Haarlock’s golden spider heraldry beside a world dying in the light of a burning black sun. With the evidence of another seeming connection to the events on Quaddis and the Haarlock family, they decided to take a closer look at the Arbiters temporary barrack in Haarlocks Folly.

Next day they explored the building for the first time, noting for the first time in the high-roofed hall on the first floor inlaid in brass on a grating in the centre of the floor the device of a black sun and golden spider! Rabalius, for the first time in the building, opened his senses to the Warp, feeling a cold darkness to the place that weighed heavily on his mind.

Talking to some of the Arbiters, they discovered that prior to occupation by them the building had been abandoned for years, and also that several months  ago on another dark and storm-lashed night, Haarlock’s Folly had seemed to come alive; baleful lights crackled across the tower’s upper reaches and the Arbiters rose to arms against what they thought was a sudden attack, as noises like the screaming of a tormented souls were heard on the wind. Throughout the city, thousands awoke choked by fearful nightmares they could not remember. That night, Haarlock's Folly was struck thirteen times by lightning.  Plax worked out that these events had occurred almost exactly when the Steel Clock on Quaddis had struck thirteen and all hell had broken loose!

Mercutio spent some time browsing through the books in storage that had been removed from the library that now served as a control centre for the Arbiters, but the books were in poor condition from the long  years when the Folly was abandoned and proved of little interest save in discovering that the planet Tanis (and it’s fate)  appeared to have been expunged from the records.

As they went to leave that evening, Constantine informed them they had been summoned by the Quorum to appear before them at 15:00 the next day. Constantine wasn’t sure how the nobles had discovered the presence of the Inquisition, but he assured them that his commander, Marshal Skarmen would be attending to provide support if required.

Next afternoon they duly turned up at the Clockwork Court only to be denied entry – primarily due to their disreputable appearance and considerable amounts of ordnance they were carrying. Eventually Marshall Skarmen appeared and confirmed their identity.  At which point things took a decided turn for the worse as gunfire, explosions and screams could be heard coming from within the building!

The Acolytes, accompanied by Skarmen and the guards ( who seemed panicked and generally got in the way), ran towards the sounds of combat, only to discover the huge double-doors had been blocked. Eventually after much effort they forced them open to reveal a scene of carnage, as three of the Risen Dead were slaughtering their way through Sinophia’s nobility!

Battle was joined though the Risen proved formidable foes indeed with both Carie and Phrenz being nearly slain before the three undead were sent to their final rest.

The Bloody Tide of Disorder

As the acolytes surveyed the carnage of Quorum as emergency response teams finally arrived on the scene, Skarmen reappeared, smoking bolt pistol in his hand, bruised and bloody from a wound to the head, saying he had “Killed one of the damned things” in a side chamber. Harding over there to investigate they found another burning corpse as well as three more victims, who one of the Enforcers identified as Judiciary Evandus Idrani: the de-facto ruler of Sinophia.

Something about the scene bothered Plax, till eventually it dawned on her that where the other victims  of the Risen had all suffered major trauma injuries, each of the victims here had been slain by a single las-bolt to the forehead. Phrenz removed a las-pistol from under the burning corpse. As the clean-up began hey questioned various Court functionaries, discovering that the Risen had been announced into the Quorum as the “honoured agents of the Inquisition”, before launching into a frenzy of violence. Phrenz discovered that no-one knew how the false Acolytes had got there  as there was no record of them arriving in a vehicle. Asking about Idrani they discovered that he had been a jaded fop, and more significantly perhaps had a mirror set in a silver hand frame which he liked to carry around to admire his complexion. A search of the area and the Judiciary’s belongings found nothing.

As they went to leave much later that evening they were told that the Enforcer General, Xiabius Khan, had declared a State of Emergency, essentially placing the city under martial law. Evidence that this had not gone down smoothly good be seen as they drove thought deserted streets lit by the angry red glow of fires in the slum areas and the distant sound of sporadic gunfire and he dull thump of explosions. Arriving back at Haarlock’s Folly, they discovered the Arbiters barracks virtually empty, the duty officer telling them that the majority of the Arbiters had been deployed by Marshal Skarmen to protect key Imperial locations throughout the city. Checking-in at the control centre they discovered that the Arbiters were relatively untroubled by the events unfolding of the city as most of the violence and rioting were in the slum areas of the city. The did discover a message from Constantine, who was out as the Spaceport, that following the events of the afternoon, Eupheme Tassel, the Keeper of the Rolls had left a message and invited the Acolytes to call on hear at their earliest convenience.

Next morning, they headed out early. The air was tinged with the smell of smoke and burning fuel, and gunfire could occasionally be heard through the blare of sirens. Buildings still burned here and there as they drove across the city, many roads were blocked by wrecked vehicles in places. The thick smoke drifted across the rooftops. They were informed by the Arbiters that a curfew has been imposed in Prime and the Commercia, and in the nearly deserted streets, black-clad Enforcers could be seen bundling figures into cargo haulers.

Arriving back at the Quorum they were taken to the Hall of Records. Eupheme told them that on returning to her quarters after the attack, she had found another smoking corpse there.  She told them that she believed  the objective of the attack had apparently been something her grandfather had left – a mirror fragment. Her  Grandfather had used it for scrying and seeing glimpses of the ancient past and distant worlds reflected in its surface. As his mastery of the fragment increased, he came to understand that the mirror fragments were cursed and held in them daemonic forces that Haarlock alone could control. Her grandfather believed that the fragments were part of a pair of identical mirrors fashioned to bind and control a summoned entity of the warp between them, and that daemon was imprisoned there still, whispering to him in his dreams so long as he used the mirror. Fearing for his sanity and soul, he put aside his shard and sealed it within a lacquered box guarded with secret wards. He did not touch it again once he suspected its true nature. His papers also indicated Eupheme’s grandfather knew of the locations of three other fragments, including two incorporated into paired gilded hand mirrors in possession of the Judiciary’s office. One of these mirrors was still kept as part of the accoutrements of state, and the other was given to Lady Amorite by one of the previous Judiciaries some fifty years ago. The third fragment he saw once at a private ball given by the now-murdered Viscount Hiram Sur’Seculo and recognised it for what it was immediately. Shae handed the acolytes a box with a scorched handprint still smoking on it’s surface – the wards her grandfather put in place clearly enough. After a brief discussion the acolytes decided they needed to urgently visit Lady Amorite.

Making their way to Lady Amorite’s manor, which sats on the edge of the cliff above the water of the Saint’s Mouth in The Shadow Manses. Within a high stone wall, it was  a grand, three-story house built of pale stone and roofed in black slate amidst a tangle of undergrowth; its windows sealed by shutters, and its surface crawling with thick vines. As they drove up Carie noted the double iron gates had been forced open. Climbing over the twisted metal (Phrenz with some difficulty), they saw the driveway was churned with heavy footprints. The slip gates and main doors to the manse had also both been broken in by brute force and two ancient guardian servitors lay in pieces; their tarnished brass components still twitching.

As they approached the building Plax noticed smoke beginning to pour out from the roof, just as one of the Risen attacked from the undergrowth. Learning from their previous encounters they focussed their attacks on the head and body of the abomination, but even so it proved a formidable foe. By the time they had dealt with it the manse was well-ablaze and they spotted another of the Risen emerge from the door, itself blazing on fire – a clutching a mirror in it’s hand!

They gave pursuit as it fled through the tangled undergrowth of what had once been formal gardens, before destroying the foul creature and recovering the mirror.

Through A Glass Darkly

Retiring to their base in the abandoned manse, Phrenz handed-off the mirror and the sealed box to Rabalius who spent the next several hours staring at, trying to work out how to open it. The box was fade of some kind of ebony material and covered in purity seals. In the centre a handprint burned into the wood still smoked hours later. The others, bereft of any other ideas, decided the most effective course of action for them  would be to stand around watching the psyker watch the box, except for Carie who decided to watch the rain, until suddenly shockingly, for the first time since they mad planetfall, it stopped! Eventually, hours later, seemingly having made little progress, he handed the box to Plax only to recoil in shock as it burst into eldritch flames!

Plax, sensibly, dropped the box and Rabalius examined it to see no apparent damage - other than to Plax!

Rabalius then moved on to examine the other mirror, sensing to be bound in Warp energy, he looked into it cautiously. For a second he thought he heard an insidious whispering which he quickly shrugged off and looking into the mirror he saw a vision of the ship on  which he had been born exploding in a fiery conflagration. That night his dreams were troubled.

Next morning, taking advantage of the break in the weather Rabalius wandered into the town, the others following along in a line led by Mercutio. They passed the wreckage and detritus of the previous night’s rioting and could still hear the sound of gunfire echoing though the city. He  purchased a silvered hand-mirror in an un-looted jewellery store. As they headed back, he could see storm clouds gathering over the city, flecked with strange green lighting. Just before they arrived back at base, the rain started again with a vengeance. 

Returning to his observations on the box, suddenly Rabalius had a brainwave and began reciting the prayers and litanies inscribed on the Purity Seals. As he completed each invocation he removed the associated seal. As the final seal was removed, the lid of the box slid open, to reveal a mirror fragment within. As he looked at the mirror again he heard the sibilant whispering, which once again he shook off. Suddenly getting to his feet, he picked up both the mirrors and strode out of the room. A few minutes later the others heard their ground vehicle start up and as they dashed out could see it vanishing into the rain.

The others chased after him while Plax tried to get him on the vox, to no avail. Eventually, deciding chasing on foot was no good, especially as the storm was worsening considerably, they “requisitioned” an abandoned car, which Plax hot-wired and they took off in pursuit, realising he was heading for Haarlock’s Folly!

As Rabalius arrived, he was so focused on his intent, that he failed to notice the normal guards were absent from their posts and also that the main doors of the Folly were wide-open, and also that the Folly seemed to be that the centre of the storm over the city! He strode up to the desk sergeant, also failing to notice that the  desk sergeant was  actually one of the Risen – at least until he attacked him with his shock-baton. As Rabalius defended himself with his psychic powers, two more Risen dressed in Arbiter uniforms emerged from one of the elevators and began firing shotguns at him.  Rabalius’s psychic weapons seemed very effective against the undead, and he was more than holding his own until two more of the Risen appeared and attacked! Fortunately at that point, the rest of the Acolytes arrived and battle was joined.

After the Risen Arbiters were despatched to their final rest, they began exploring the Folly, Rabalius finally noting the intense psychic pressure of Warp energy in play throughout the building. It was mostly empty as more of the Arbiters were still deployed at Imperial facilities throughout the city.  In the control room they found three bodies of the duty officers. Plax could hear one of the deployed Arbiter units in the city trying to contact the control centre. She responded to the call discovering it was Constantine at the spaceport. She gave him a report on what was happening, and he said he would come immediately with a squad and requested that they find Marshall Skarman and ensure his safety. Plax and Phrenz said they would locate the Marshall while Carie and Mercutio decided to follow Rabalius’s lead and headed down to the sub basements.

As Phrenz led the way up to the Marshall’s office they were met by a challenge -  “give me the fragments and I‘ll let you live”! The3 Marshall appeared to have been compromised, they retreated back down the stairs to consider their next action, Plax desperately trying to raise the others on the vox through the intense static generated by the warp energy.

Down in the sub-basement the others found the Arbiter in charge of the cell-blocks still at his post. Rabalius was trying to explain what was happening to the guard who was wondering where his relief was when Plax’s garbled message came though and they dashed back to the elevators.

Upstairs, Phrenz, in the finest tradition of the Imperial Guards, decided to charge in, only to be met by an oncoming bolter round. The bolt slammed into his left leg shearing it clean off! Phrenz hit the ground in a welter of blood, but somehow, perhaps the Emperor was with him, he survived the awful wound. At that point the others arrived and deployed into the room, Rabalius stopping to heal his downed colleague. There was much exchange of gunfire, but the Marshall was finally slain when Rabalius, summoning his psychic blade, leaped over the desk and  cut the Marshall’s throat.

They searched the office as Constantine and his reinforcements arrived to complete the clean-up. While Phrenz was taken to the medi-bay, the others found a hidden room in the spire wherein stood two mirrors, one of which was incomplete. Bound into the mirrors was a daemon, Plax and Mercutio managed to resist the daemon’s entreaties to free it until Rabalius arrived and, acting on instinct, smashed the mirror returning it once-more into the thirteen shards. At that precise instant the storm broke. With the breaking of the storm the insanity and violence that had filled the city also abated.

Several days later at a ceremony in the Clockwork Court the Acolytes were awarded the highest honour the planet of Sinophia could present and also a gift of 1000 Throne Gelt each.