Idyll Heresies [IC]

[LCP]

Pius stopped. There was no way of knowing if this woman was a heretic who had slipped his net, or simply incapacitated by some mundane intoxicant.

Drawing his pistol in readiness, he walked over to her, crouching down onto his haunches in an attempt to hear what she was mumbling.

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Roll, if it's required: (1d100)[20]

[Saldre]

Pius:

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As you approach her, she seems dazed and confused, shivering on the floor.

"Where are we going?" She seems to ask Pius when he comes. Before he gets a chance to answer, she replies herself:

"But the Imperial Arms is closed..."

Loken:

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You locate a ladder that leads to large pipe that overlooks the zone, several meters high on a nearby wall. You could sneak in there and crouch: it would probably give you line of sight of the entire central area, but it would take some time to crawl back out if you need to leave in a hurry.

[LCP]

Pius hesitated. The woman was clearly far gone.

"The party's moved on," he said. "Who are you with?"

[Saldre]

Pius:

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The woman seems more in shock then anything else as she still responds to Pius's question and does not ignore him, pointing towards the lift.

[LCP]

Pius glanced over to the lift. Xanthia would surely have gone that way - with her heretical acquaintance.

"You're with Kensington?" he asked. Perhaps the woman was capable of giving a sensible answer after all. "What happened to you?"

[Saldre]

Pius:

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Though she tries to answer, clearly exhausted: simply pointing to the lift was enough to drain what little energy she had left. She faints, unable to cope with the stress of what happened.

[LCP]

Pius frowned to himself. He was still unsure as to the exact effects of the warp-drug, but it seemed the clear culprit for the grisly madness that had taken place in the suite behind him: the girl, however, showed no sign of self-harm. If she had taken part in the morbid insanities of Kensington's party, one would expect it to show.

She seemed to know Kensington. Kensington, who might already be dead - and if he wasn't, would soon realise the fate in store for him once a full confession had been extracted from him, and most likely become less than cooperative. He had already shot twenty-nine witnesses - preserving one couldn't hurt.

Picking her up, he slung the woman's unconscious form over his shoulder, making for the elevator.

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A roll for carrying her, if it's required: (1d100)[62]

[Saldre]

Pius:

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You catch up to Xanthia without any trouble, the woman at the desk ignores you: accustomed to seeing couples leaving together after the festivities. The guards at the door as well don't seem to mind you leaving.

Moments after you see her, waiting by a street: a black car drives by a nd stops in front of her. The driver door opens and a stern looking old man with graying hair and blue eyes walks out and walks towards her.

"Are you all right?" He immediately asks, as he hurries to Xanthia's side, ignoring Pius and the other Girl.

[Wiz]

Xanthia nods, "I'm okay, you can check my wounds out later... I'd like you to take a look at him. I can drive us back to your office while you give him some first aid, and then we can see what can be done." She points to Pius, "This Commisioner Pius, carrying someone else from Kensington's party, Liam Kensington is the patient. I'd be careful about what drugs you give him... he's on some kind of serious drug already." She looks at the car, "Is there room for all of us?"

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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The car is large enough to seat at least six people: two at the front, and four more in the back on seats that face each other. The doctor is obviously doing quite well for himself.

He looks over the Patient, then the hotel, then sighs loudly as if himself.

"What did i tell you about..." He mumbles to himself, then turns his attention to Kensington. "Help me move him to the back-seat, I will see what I can do." He says, going over to the trunk: he opens it and takes out a medi-kit.

Laying Kensington on the backseat, he hands Xanthia the keys, then mumbles something about the leather and the things he does, and gets to work.

[Wiz]

Xanthia gets behind the wheel and starts up the car, idling it til Pius and his aquaintance get in.

[LCP]

Depositing the unconscious woman on one of the vacant seats, Pius got into the passenger seat, closing the door behind him.

"Good thinking," he said to Xanthia. "It might be wise for us to make a swift departure."
He looked over his shoulder at the doctor.

"How far to your surgery, sir?"

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OOC: It's Commissar, not Commissioner .

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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"Its at least minutes away: if you hurry. Safety usually counts, but this man is in a terrible state: step on it- I can't do much from here" He answers.

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Xanthia: Throw me down a Drive test, and tell whether your going quickly, driving regularly, or driving safely.

[Wiz]

Xanthia nods, picking up the pace and driving quickly.

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Driving Roll: (1d100)[21] versus 31

[Saldre]

Xanthia & Pius:

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An experienced driver, you make it to the doctor's office in a mere twenty minutes as Xanthia takes various short-cuts that lead to a nearby lift to the upper hive.

Unloading the passengers, you head inside the doctor's office. Leading the patients into the surgery room, the doctor shuts the door behind him and changes into his sanitized clothing, then gets to work quickly, attempting to rescue Kensington.

Meanwhile, you are left in the waiting room. The woman, laying on a couch, is still knocked out cold and unresponsive.

From behind the doors of the surgery room, you hear loud screams of agony: it seems the doctor could not anesthetize the patient (or did not have time to, as he per Xanthia's warning).

Another half hour passes before the doctor exists the operating room: his apron stained with dark blood and puss.

"What in the world have you gotten yourself into this time?" He says, as he exits the room. "I told you not to..." He begins, before trailing off into a loud sigh.

"The Patient was infected with the eggs of some sort of parasitic creature: it wasn't quite natural, that much is certain and I have never seen anything like it before. I was able to remove the few that were left, luckily enough it seems to have used his body mostly to gestate: his internal organs are not heavily damaged, and he will pull trough." He tells them, before turning his attention to the other patients.

"Who's next?" He asks, as he removes the plastic gloves and throws them in a nearby receptacle with a large skull etched on it.

"Any of you might be infected."

[LCP]

"Xanthia and myself are clean, doctor," said Pius, raising a hand in deferral. "This young lady here, however, may have been exposed. I'd appreciate it if you could examine her - and if she isn't carrying the creatures, to bring her round. There are some questions that she and Mr Kensington need to answer."

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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"Ahh, the young man is a Kensington!?" He says, surprised. "What kind of trouble did he get Xanthia into... " He mumbles to himself.

He looks over the young woman, then leans down and examines her quickly.

"We have to get her to the examination room" He says.

As you help him carry her, he continues:

"I did not anesthetize the Kensington boy: He's suffered considerably from the the operation. I would suggest letting him rest, so that he can recover his strengths."

[LCP]

"Is he conscious?" asked Pius, flatly.

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia

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"He's probably fallen asleep." The doctor answers as he shuts the door to the examination room.

[LCP]

"But he has not been drugged," said Pius. "Thank you for your advice, doctor, but we don't have time to waste. The man spreading those creatures is still at large."

He nodded towards the recumbent girl.

"Please send word when she comes to."

With that, he strode out of the examination room, making for the surgery...

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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The doctor's surgery reflects his considerable talent: it will furnished with the latest in medical advancements, a medicae servitor standing at the ready besides the operating table: white walls all around, various tools and operating instruments neatly aligned on nearby tables.

Kensington had been moved from the operating table into a nearby recovery and observation bed. He slumbers quietly on it.

[LCP]

Approaching the bed, Pius looked down at the sleeping man, one hand resting on the butt of his holstered pistol. Reaching out with his free hand, he shook him sharply by the shoulder.

[Saldre]

Pius:

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Kensington doubles over in pain as Pius forcefully wakes him. Cursing loudly, he moves his hand to his stomach as if to hold out his entrails: this only causes his more pain as he falls back over onto the bed, staring pleadingly at Pius.

[LCP]

The Commissar's face betrayed no hint of sympathy.

"Good morning, Mr Kensington. I imagine you're going to ask to be left alone, so I'll make this quick."

"I saw what was happening at your party. You and your friends were using the daemon-drug Idyll, and your souls may be irredeemably damned for it. Your friend Xanthia and I are tracking the drug, and a Chaos witch who is either seeking or supplying it, to bring him the Emperor's justice."

"As such, every second you waste here aids the Enemy. You will answer my questions directly and in full, or I will put a lasbolt through your gut. Despite his formidable skills, I doubt the doctor can fix that."

He met the helpless nobleman's eyes.

"Do I make myself clear?"

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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Kensington nods repeatedly.

"It... it was never meant to go that far... it was just some harmless fun, i swear it! You can't tell me you have never wanted to experiment?" he asks, as he attempts to justify his actions.

"I never believed in those rumors about it: it was just supposed to be for a bit of fun, I could not expect the rumors about the Idyll to be real... Ask me anything, I will answer all of your questions" He continues, before looking over Pius's shoulder, trying to find Xanthia.

[LCP]

Pius’ face remained hard and set.

“I was raised in the Schola Progeniam on Valon. The temptation to ‘experiment’ has never crossed my mind, and never will.”

Pulling up a chair next to the bed, Pius began to snap off questions.

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My list of questions:

• Who supplied the Idyll?
• Who paid for the Idyll?
• Did any of the Idyll that Kensington was aware of leave the premises of the party?
• Does he recognise Prim’s name? If so, what does he know about him?
• Does he recognise Gagne’s name? If so, what does he know about him?
• How did he get infected with the swarm?
• Did he take any of the Idyll himself?
• Who is the girl in the examination room? Pius will describe her & the circumstances in which she was found if necessary.
• Could she be infected?
• Could she have taken any of the Idyll?

[Wiz]

Xanthia looks at Dr. Fremde, "Check the girl first, and then me... I took none of the drug which might be related to the creatures, nor did I have contact with the sorcerer who might be their other vector, but the swarm did inflict some damage on me and I'm not sure if they can propogate their eggs through their bites. Meanwhile, I'd better check and see how Commisar Pius is doing questioning Liam." She goes to the surgery and enters, seeing Liam Kensington on the bed. "Save me what you are no doubt about to tell me in regards to experimenting and breaking away from your father's authority - things that I might be tempted to sympathize with... those people were killing and eating each other, and you are responsible. Tell the Commisar whatever he wants to know, and you might be allowed to live long enough for a trial... that, however, is entirely up to him... so you should impress him with your regrets and newfound piety, not me."

[Saldre]

Pius and Xanthia:

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"I have repented, I swear!" He says, looking over to Pius.

"Its true: I was the one to request the Idyll from Prim. He is my supplier, and he'd told me about this... product... once... I wanted to try it: means to unbridled pleasure, who could resist? I didn't believe in all that hocus-pocus: what sane man would? I payed for it... but i am a victim here: i was born weak willed, but I do my best to change!" He pleads.

"Gagne? Yes, I recognize the name. I was surprised when I saw he was the courier sent to deliver the... package... not because I recognized him but because Esthe did: she called him by his full name." He continues.

"I asked him if he wanted to stay and partake... manners and all... but he declined, and left. I was glad: he looked sickly and smelled bad: despite his heavy clothing. It wasn't until... it happened... that he came back..." His voice begins to quiver.

"It was terrible, it was horrifying: it was unimaginable. After the bag had made its rounds... Gagne came back... I... was slightly busy... By the time I noticed him, I found myself unable to move: completely frozen. He opened to the doors to my room and showed me what was going on: I could not understand, I thought it was the drugs messing with my mind..." He says.

"He sat right there besides me, as the music became more absurd: I tried reasoning with him, offered to pay him to let me go... I even threatened him: but he would not listen... that's when... that's when he pulled out a knife and cut me... it was agonizing: reaching into his robes, he pulled out something: squirming larvae... and stuffed them in my wound..." Kensington Shudders as he speaks.

"I could see him, despite the pain, walk out... He Took Esthe... the Twins... and Katriona... Katriona!? Where she is? I remember seeing her again... a faint memory... Outside? she is fine then? that's good... I am relieved... She may have tried it... I don't remember. What About Esthe and the Twins? You haven't found them?" He asks.

[Wiz]

Xanthia listens to the story and sighs, "I doubt anyone who was left behind in the party suites is still alive - and if they are, I would pray that they are dead before the drug wears off and they are left with the memories of what happened. However, if they were taken by the sorcerer... well, again, I would pray they are dead in the suite rather than that fate." She turns to Pius, frowning, "I'd better check on the doctor... if the sorcerer took Katronia... who knows what's going on with her." She takes out her consecrator as she opens the door and walks over to the examination room, opening it without knocking. "Dr. Fremde?"

[Saldre]

Xanthia:

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You enter as the doctor finished up his examination.

"She's just a bit... dazed... other then that, she's fine" He says as he moves away. "I don't think she's going to be of much help. Its your turn to take a seat then?" He says "I swear, sometimes..." He begins, before trailing off.

After a quick examination, he gives you a clean bill of health.

"Other then a few cuts and bites, your fine. You weren't infected, that much is certain."