The Faceless Master

[Exthalion]

"If we are going to survive, I am going to need clear plas of some sort. How we produce this is a mater of conjecture, but it is the only way I can think that we will get any water."

[huyche]

Ethan observed the horizon through his magnoculars for a good deal of hour, but the picture was rather monotone: just sandy dunes and not a single sighting of their enemies. He grew dreadfully bored.
Finally, he spotted Urpna coming back.
The underhiver descended from the roof to meet him and learn of his findings.

[Miraqariftsky]

"Fer theh Emp'rer!" comes Adti's warcry as he walks his fire in towards the where the heretics were last seen, where flames and smoke still lick up from the corpses Stane had made. He crests the dune and charges in, barrel blazing and blade bared...

...only to stop short in shock and consternation. There was a charred husk in the cover of the dune, yes, but enough for only one body. There was no trace of the second kill, nor of the third hand to drag them away.

The feral's brow furrows and he crouches low, bending his wisdom of the wilds towards finding these fiends that bedevil their path. With eye and ear and hand, he searches. Even his wide-nostriled nose flares and twitches as he seeks... and fails to find.

He turns... and stumbles back in shock, his jaw dropping. The body has disappeared, from the acrid scent of smoke to the faintest fleck of fused flesh and fabric. The only tracks he could find are his own. Thinking that they may have burrowed beneath the sand and could simply be lying in wait under the surface, he empties his magazine into the dune and into the sands around him.

When the smoke settles and he stops to reload, he realizes what was missing... he had so long been using autoguns that he does not at first ascertain what it is that is niggling at the back of his mind. And then it dawns on him--- the magazine in his hand should be lighter and empty of bullets, and yet its inside still gleams with its full complement of projectiles.

Urpna checks behind him along his trail and then goggles at the sight--- simply his own footprints in the sand, bereft of a breadcrumb trail of spent cartridges. "The Emperor protects... Emp'rer pertects... p'tects..." Makng the sign of the Aquila over his chest with a frenzied hand, he takes a single swig from his canteen, then jogs back to the bunker.

When he arrives there, he calls the others together and reports his findings. "Comma 'ere y'all an' hark well. There ain't nuthin' there. NUTHIN. No tracks, no killteam, no heretics, no corpses, nothin'. I went right there, did cunferm ONE very crispy burnt body--- too crispy, though. Couldn't loot NUTHIN. I turned ta look fer tracks of 'is teammates, but NUTHIN, an' then that husk of a corpse disappeared right unner me nose."

This report he caps off by showing the others his unspent magazine. "'Ere, y'all. Y'all all saw that I went a-shootin', earlier? Emptied this thing, I was SURE of it, then when I stopped ta reload, was 'sif this thing was fresh from the man'factorium's belts"

Slapping the magazine back in and pulling back the slide, Urpna mutters while crossing himself, "I be the last ta complain that I ain't usin' up 'ny bullets as I shoot, but that there? Warpcraft, methinks" Glaring, he spits virulently, "But sure as th'Emp'rer pertects, just lemme get a hand on them buggers an' there be sure a reck'ning"

Spotting Stane, he fixes him with a glare and asks, "'Ey shooter. Check yer 'cell. See if'n tis spent at all, eh?"

~~~~

Urpna passes the hours by lending his strength to helping the others however way he can... though every so often he casts suspicious stares at their charge, Ash. Maybe she's a witch and bringing her to where she is to be properly purged is what our test is? Or... Burnt Rose, Ash... and las-shot bodies that burn like they were hit by a Flamer or a Melta-blast? Sumfink ain't right here...

When the group gets up to leave their bunker, the feral growls at the others, "Prince Falls-on-Is-Ass, on point. I'll be twenny paces ahind o' ye, lefflank. Padre Uriel, take th'right. Ethan-King-of-Harmlessness, guard the girl. Maak ye certain no ill comes to her... or of her. Spesh'Tane, rearguard. Stay sharp y'all, don't frak nuthin' up. Emp'rer pertects"

[DaedalusMkV]

Stane blinks in confusion at Urpna's statement, then quickly turns back to where the corpses were. "Frak me... What in th'name of Holy Terra could dispose of a corpse that quickly? Warpcraft? Er, my ammo expenditure's still what it was; Charge is down 5%."

---
Stane nods at Urpna's statement. "A good marchin' order. I'll watch your backs." He packs up all of his gear and his balled-up Camo Cloak, stowing it quickly around his person, then sets out after the rest. Warpcraft... What could that mean?

[huyche]

'****ing psyker sorcery, thats what it is.' he expressed his opinion on the matter with unconcealed disgust, spitting on the floor.
'But why go such long ways of deceiving you?'
'Have you seen anything unusual on your way here, Ash?'


'Tell me, priest, how would your 'Akan's razor' explain us having heard the shots fired by Adti's autogun, yet all of its ammo is unspent?'

----


'Alright, its time.'
With that Ethan shouldered his backpack and leaned against the wall near the entrance, waiting for others to prepare for departure.

Upon receiving the order from Urpna to guard Ash, he mockingly salutes.

When Ash was ready to leave with them, he asked, staring intently in her eyes: 'You are not going to cause trouble, are you?'

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Added a remark for Uriel

[Exthalion]

Why must the explanation be supernatural? If we can arrive at the same conclusion via purely material means then the Razor will tend to remove the dross element.

Those looks were somewhat quizzical. Did they teach these people nothing?!

"Occam's Razor, the philosophical principle of parsimony? I believe the High Gothic is lex parsimoniae."

[profitofrage]

Everyone

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Which direction does everyone want to move in.

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Bear in mind where you are, Ethan. I'd rather fear a witch that wasn't there, than allow one that is to keep working. As to the techpriest, I have no idea what you are talking about, so I shall assume that I will agree. I agree," Nicolo shrugged, and shouldered his autogun.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a witch on your side, said a small voice in the back of his head. Save it's life, tell the others it was dead, keep it hidden, eternally grateful for saving it's pitious life. You could have power, Nicolo. Power.
He brushed the thoughts aside.

OOC:

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Fun with corruption points.

...


"Okay, I am ready to go," Nicolo said, holstering the ripper pistol.
"Would anyone care to take point?"

[Exthalion]

"Would you say that to a priest? If you do not understand the Emperor's commands, how can you be expected to know how to apply them?

Through understanding faith is made stronger. It is written, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for."

To simply agree, without understanding is blasphemy against your God... Emperor given mind and sense. To have in your possession a human mind and faculty for reason and discernment, yet not to use it, it to possess a weapon and to give it over to your enemy."

All this was said on the march, which might not have been fair to the dry mouths of the others.

[profitofrage]

Ash had said very little while the rest of the group discussed and got ready for there journey.
When the topic of witch craft came up she seemed to withdraw obviously sheepish on the subject.
"I didn't see anything myself Ethan...i dont like this one bit though..." She said before smiling at the notion that it would be Ethan guarding her.
"I promise i wont be to much trouble." she said keeping close by.


Everyone

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Ok so were heading North, the total distance is 40km which is a full days journey at regular speed..due to the heat and rough terraign of the desert it will give everyone a single level of fatigue.
Am i to assume that Nicolo will be scouting ahead with Stane as was discussed? with Urpna leading point with everyone else?

[DaedalusMkV]

Stane takes to his role as rearguard with alacrity, carafully watching the group's flanks and occasionally checking the rear. Roughly once an hour, but at random, hard to predict intervals he drops back and waits for a few minutes to see if any enemies are pursuing, then hustles back to his normal position.
Stane's response to the Tech-Priest comes slowly and reluctantly, the soldier clearly unwilling to criticize. "I don't undertand, Keeper of the Spirits. I follow the Creed, 'cause to do otherwise would be to deny all that the Emp'rer does for us. I do my best to follow His Will, but I don't see why I need to know 'bout philos'phy to do it. That's why we have the 'Cclesiarchy, and your own Holy Order, isn't it?"

[Miraqariftsky]

Sable savage seeing prince unmoving
Growls at craven cur a-fidgeting
Takes vanguard. Striding first 'cross sand
Says naught. Beckons with his hand
Flags not, through waning might
Silent stalks the night
Come to great rock
Simp' sip, bit of bite
Prays to Emp'rer's starlight
From his belt whips out, stone strand
"Once was wielded by Ohk-Aam's hand
Slew my first-betrothed. He died screaming."
At one end of the outcrop sits, settling...

...saying to the others, "So... How y'all a-want ta do tha watches?"

[Kiranvonstrom]

Nicolo shrugs and follows the large and somewhat agressive feral, keeping an eye on the surrounding area. It would probably be better to allow the man-mountain to continue snorting and posturing. It wasn't any different from what everyone else seemed to be doing anyway.
"Lead on, Adti,"

[huyche]

Ethan had no clue what the **** the priest was talking about, so decided to ignore his speech.

'Right behind you.'

He kept observing the horizon with magnoculars periodically, until it was too dark to tell a thing.

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Ethan will be keeping the pace with Ash and following Adti.

[profitofrage]

It was a long and hard journey. With the aid of the map and the direction of the scorching sun they made there way up and down the sandy slopes and dunes. Indeed the sand seemed to go on forever, yet still they marched.
They seemed to be alone, nothing to be seen for miles. Now and then they would pass strange tracks in the sand...tracks none could recognise.

After 10 long hard hours of marching the rock formation could be seen on the horizon. It was a large rocky mountain, bent around like a half circle. The natural formation seemed to break out of the sand itself.
It seemed to curve around providing a long shade from the blaring heat. A perfect place to rest.

The party made there way to the base, the top being unclimbable. Setting up behind a series of fallen crumbled rocks. It would be a fine defensive position should there be an attack....it was rather strange in fact. Could these rocks have been moved to these positions? they surrounded the site almost perfectly...could this be a well known stopping ground?...perhaps other tests had occured here?

Everyone

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map of the location

[Kiranvonstrom]

"Does this strike anyone else as odd? A nice, defensible position out of the way of the sunlight, while we are being hunted through a throne-cursed dessert?" Nicolo's voice is curiously emotionless, as though the trek through the dessert drained any emotion from him, rather than any energy. His posture still seems the same: arrogant, proud and somewhat catlike, but the look in his eyes is different, like he was somewhere else.
This isn't safe, Nicolo, the voice in the back of his head said. Let the guardsman, that feral one go in first. Let him fall victim to any traps there.
That might reflect badly on me, Nicolo countered. If he dies, while I have assumed leadership of our little band, it could be blamed on me.
This is the inquisition, they don't care about casualties if they are sending you here, the voice in the back of his head whispered. It won't matter.
It will reflect better on me if they all live. Perhaps there is a future here. There's no telling how far I could go if I show competance here.
Nicolo smiled.
"Shall we make camp here for the night?"

[DaedalusMkV]

"Might want to check it out first, friend. That looks like a very good place for the enemy to lay an ambush, and this'd be the time t'do it." Stane sounds tired, but he still moves quickly. This sort of long-distance trek is nothing new to him. "Ethan, maybe grab those Magnos of yours and take a look from a diff'rent angle. Can't be too careful." With that, the Specialist heads a few feet away from the group and drops to one knee, then uses his rifle's scope to survey the rock formation. This whole thing's been goin' too well. The hammer's gotta drop soon, and to the Warp if I won't be glad when it does... "Never was good at waitin'..." The Guardsman whispers under his breath as he continues to search for any hint of an enemy presence.

[profitofrage]

everyone

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been looking over the marching distances....anyone with an AG bonus of 2 has a level of fatigue.

DaedalusMkV

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You see nothing in the clearing, in fact the 'proposed' camp site has a rock base rather then it being just sand. i.e theres sand blowing across it e.t.c...but its ultimatly part of teh rock face.

EDIT:
Upon closer inspection, there is a small ridge above the proposed campsite. big enough for one ..maybe two people. However getting to it is impossible without dedicated climbing equipment or experience. The heght of the ridge is 10 meters up. climb test is +20 to those who have equipment. you may make a full action climb test to scale half your moverate upwards. I.e takes on average 4 tests + 4 rounds to scale it.
argh :P climbing rules annoy me. if you have equipment you can climb it with no test needed assuming you take your time.

[huyche]

Specialist's proposal made sense. This whole place seemed unnatural, perhaps even too convenient.

Regardless, someone has to take a look at the encompassing territory. Though it might've been hilarious to watch one of them slip and plummet down, right now he needed all of them intact to survive himself. Plus, he could score a few bonus points for risking his own life and thus earning their trust.

Ethan threw back his head to observe what he was up against and whistled in uncertainty. That was one hazardous hell of a climb.
He fell prey to doubt and to instinct of self-preservation at once. This enterprise was probably too damn reckless even for someone like him. After all, he wasn't THAT suicidal.

Eventually, firm in his resolve, Ethan put an end to this quandary. 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained' - he had concluded.
The man took out the grapnel from the backpack, aimed it several meters above the ledge he was going to ascend to and proceeded to scale the ridge.

'Watch the girl in my absence.'

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Missed a typo somehow.

He is going to climb up the ledge and observe their immediate surroundings first, the panorama with magnoculars second.

Ethan stays lying in position, observing the surrounding sands, cause the odd tracks they've seen earlier worry him.

He will leave the post when it becomes too dark to see anything.

[profitofrage]

Ethan moved past the various rock formations and fired his grapple up to the ridge. The ascent wasnt easy but with time he found himself on the small rock outcropping giving him a good view of the area. He couldnt spot anything out of the ordinary. Indeed when he passed and climbed over the rocky ground to get to the ridge he noticed little of importance either. Could this strange position simply be coincidence?


EDIT:
Also everyone, it is only JUST starting to get dark. consider this Twilight hour. It was fairly obvious as you were marchng that this planets day/night cycle must be a long one clearly not 24 hours long.

[Exthalion]

"The possibility that this environment was designed or converted into an Inquisitorial testing ground appear to be approaching one. If we are being appropriately paranoid there may be some form of trap or ambush to be expected during the night. I suggest we sleep with our weapons close at hand."

[Miraqariftsky]

The feral Guardsman breathes easily through his wide nostrils, but already his uniform, though not as soaked as would that of someone from a temperate climate, is still rank with sweat. His long legs and sure stride carry him far on an easy gait, surging through the sand like some inexorable juggernaut.

On arriving at the northern outcropping, his legs throb from the exertion, but not to a too discomfiting a degree. To Uriel's pronouncement, Adti answers, "When do we not, Padre? Huh. An' a-speakin' o' weapons, do ye
have a piece? Got some spare guns if ye be needin'" And if the Tech-Adept does ask, he will hand over one of his secondary weapons, just so that nobody among them is unarmed.

As the others scout upward and inward, he calls out, "Makin' th' round, patrollin' the per'metre" Fitting deed to word, he strides out over sand and stone, scouring their prospective campsite from the outer reaches, slowly spiraling his course inwards, his scrabbling hands and feet recalling the rocks of his homeland and indeed, the mountain on which he had taken his vision-rite like all the tribal champions before him. There, at every stretch of sand, and every swerve of stone, he hones his hunter's senses, looking out for anything that should be out of the ordinary, anything that might point to any pursuers or ambushers, or anything at all of use that may have been left there by previous travelers.

Along the way to the summit, in the deepening darkness of the young night, he hears a sudden scraping on the stone. He flattens himself against the rock wall, readying his rifle...
...then relaxes when he realizes it is only Ethan.

And then he realizes something, concern and trepidation colouring his voice... "Hey Harmless. If yer here... who's guarding the girl?"

With that, he takes off down the ridge for where the Techpriest and the girl were left, rifle ready just in case there might not be enough of a defense around their charge.

[DaedalusMkV]

After scouting out the rock outcropping, Stane rejoins the group and goes with them to take shelter in the defensible position. "Well, if you two are takin' first watch, I'll take the opportunity to get some shuteye." With that said, he approaches the robed Tech-Priest and bows, his weapon held out in two hands. "Keeper of the Spirits, would you do me the honour of reconsecratin' my weapon?"

[Exthalion]

"Indeed, I would be glad to, for the spirit of this weapon is potent."

Carefully he lifts the long laz and raised it level with his head. Before each phrase he utters it in Binary then translates into low gothic for the benifit of the specialist.

"Blessed be thy secret name, hidden from the eyes of the unworthy.
Revered be thy make and pattern which you have brought honor this day.
Hallowed be thy function, from the STC derived.
Honored be thy working, which you carry out without fail.
Venerated be thy purpose, service to mankind and its Emperor."

He looked down at Stane,

"Guard this weapon well, for it is your life.
Uphold this weapons honor and increase it.
Respect this weapons needs for they are your own.
In proper devotion to this weapon you show proper devotion to mankind.

Together strike down the enemies of mankind.
Together uphold the honor of mankind.
Together do your duty to mankind.
Together be exalted, or together you shall fall."

Carefully he places the rifle back on the guardsman's upraised hands.

"It is done."

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Here is the prayer in binary for those who speak it.

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01000111 01110101 01100001 01110010 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100101 01100001 01110000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110111 01100101 01101100 01101100 00101100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101100 01101001 01100110 01100101 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010101 01110000 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100101 01100001 01110000 01101111 01101110 01110011 00100000 01101000 01101111 01101110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101001 01101110 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110011 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010010 01100101 01110011 01110000 01100101 01100011 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100101 01100001 01110000 01101111 01101110 01110011 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101111 01110111 01101110 00101110 00001101 00001010 01001001 01101110 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01110000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110110 01101111 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01100101 01100001 01110000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01110000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100100 01100101 01110110 01101111 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100100 00101110

01010100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110011 01110100 01110010 01101001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01101110 01100101 01101101 01101001 01100101 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110101 01110000 01101000 01101111 01101100 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101111 01101110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100100 01110101 01110100 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101101 01100001 01101110 01101011 01101001 01101110 01100100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100101 01111000 01100001 01101100 01110100 01100101 01100100 00101100 00100000 01101111 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101111 01100111 01100101 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100110 01100001 01101100 01101100 00101110

[profitofrage]

everyone

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You guys rock, im loving how everyone roleplays so well

The acolytes poured over the surrounding terraign carefully and well prepared. There fatigue did not stop them, nor keep them from keeping catious.
The Girl, Ash was indeed minding her own buisness when Adti came running back, halting and watching her closely. She did not feel welcomed here....they didnt trust her.
The tech priest consecrated the weapon, the Lasgun letting out a hum of approval when the rights were finished. Stane watching diligently over the entire procedure.
Ethan stayed on the ridge looking out over the entire perimeter...nothing to be seen....

"I think ill get some rest...im awefully tired..." the girl said before finding a spot away from the others, nestling down and trying to rest on the harsh rockface.

[DaedalusMkV]

Stane bows again and respectfully takes back the Long-Las. "Thank you, Keeper. I'll do my best to honor this Trust." Stane slowly backs away from Uriel, bows a third time, and turns around. Now that he's cared for his weapon, Stane turns to his own needs. "When it's my turn to take up the Watch, wake me up. 'Till then, I'll take what sleep I can get." With that, the Specialist finds a crack or hollow in one of the rocks to shelter in, then wedges himself in and wraps himself in his camo-cloak, cradling his weapon in his arms. Within five minutes he closes his eyes and falls asleep almost instantly, a remarkably common skill in the Imperial Guard.

[Miraqariftsky]

Urpna bows his head and holds his peace while the priest performs the blessing.
Emp'rer's balls, dass sum good prayerin', that there is, right there...

When the others drift off to sleep, he, however settles into the sentinel's stride, keeping a close watch upon his sleeping comrades. Adti paces the perimeter of the camp, making the rounds at the outer edge of the ring of rocks that is their place of rest and respite, senses keen to any untoward rustle or flash or scent.

This he alternates with some good sitting down first at one boulder at the foot of the ridge, and then the other, all the while keeping watch on both the outside and the inside of their camp. By now, he has his rifle's strap cinched a tad tighter and his laspistol drawn, so that in case some intruders come a-raiding in the night, he can use the latter as a sort of shock tracer which he can follow up with his... miraculous [or is it accursed?] slug-spitter.

The third stage of his patrol is a good long sit-down at a rock near the sleeping Ash-girl. Urpna breathes the cold night air easily, but scowls deeply as he considers their charge... on the one hand how she had become shy and withdrawn when the subject of warpcraft was brought up earlier... and on the other hand how she is, [or appears to be] just a frightened girl, a lamb between the wolves' fangs and the shepherd's knives.

Young like... the... thing that was... my brother... Young like Udma, huh, wonder how they are, back home? Yet, could be a witch... or not? HAVE ta get 'er, alive to that other place... but...? If she's guilty, why would she hide, and indeed, have been brought to us so bound? But if she's not guilty, and is merely, indeed, a test... Ah, Emp'rer damn it all...

Succumbing to a moment of weakness, he swiftly doffs his trenchcoat--- still stained in some spots with mutant blood from his last engagement, but is still a large and thick garment nevertheless--- and with surprising gentleness, uses it as a blanket for their scared charge with it. [IF and IF she wakes while he does this, he growls at her ever so quietly, "Do. Not. Die. Of. Cold."]

Shaking his head at his lapse, he goes back to his vigilant patrolling. The walk... the wait... the watch... outer to inner then back again and around again he quietly walks the beat.

[huyche]

Taking one more glance at the surrounding panorama set alight by the last, miserly rays of crimson sun, Ethan started to scale down.

Unfortunately he had spotted absolutely nothing: the dunes were calm, the whole place looked uninhabited by fauna even. Or thankfully, depending on how one looked at it. Their ignorance of the past mysterious happenings annoyed him. Regardless, there will be time for contemplation later.

He picked a decent looking stone with a flat summit near their camp, providing the best field of vision, and sat on top of it. As hiver had concluded, someone or something could manage to pass unheeded and that is where he might be able to spot it before it reaches the camp.

Upon noticing an unexpected show of compassion on the feral's side Ethan realized that, of all of them, he can actually trust to this man.

[profitofrage]

The weak cold looking women did not wake when the large feral warrior placed the warm cloak around her, instead clinging to its blessed warmth. Time passed and the acolytes sleep seemed uninterupted. Nothing could be seen for miles.

It was time to change watches.

[Miraqariftsky]

Eventually, though, by the walking of the shadows and the slow stride of the stars and moon across the sky--- and the growing heaviness of his own eyelids and limbs--- Urpna feels the passing of the hour. Hours? Minutes? Emperor alone knows...

With a yawn, Adti proceeds about his patrol of the camp for about the twelveth time, yet with his old hunter's--- and trooper's--- senses still keen as they ever were, despite the fatigue. By that selfsame sense, born on the march and honed on countless battlefields, he walks up to the base of the rocky promontory that Ethan has taken to be his watchtower...

Whuuuu-eeet-eeeet!

...purses his lips and whistles low enough to not wake the others, but loud enough to call his attention. [And when that doesn't do the trick, some tossed pebbles assuredly will(?)]

When Ethan turns to look upon this disturbance, Adti jabs a finger up at him, then swipes his hand down to the ground. He then inclines his head towards his folded hands in a pantomime of sleep and then jabs a finger again up at him.

Once that is done, he stalks over to where Uriel lies and shakes the elderly cogboy... the cogfather? the elderdritch? ... and whispers, "Padre. Y'watch's up."