Black Crusade IC

[Donan]

Her eyes lit up and she took it revenately, nodding and fastening it to the armour she wore beneath her cloak. "You'll always protect me grandfather, always." She nods. "This'll just help even more." She clasps her hands together. "I promise, I'll always keep it with me, and I'll look after it."

[Lucretia]

"Good!" he roared jovially, moving back to the task at hand. "Now, if you'll sling the armour over my shoulders, nestle it against what's already there. We'll get more rope and secure it shortly, unless we find someone who might wish to take it off of our hands before then. Now, let's see, while you do that... is there anything else that needs doing in this particular situation... I have consumed the flesh, taken the spoils, destroyed the dangerous artifacts..."

[Henry the 57th]

The Word Bearer suddenly seems to be speaking to his comm. "What?" he waits for a second. "Right away!" He and the others head back towards the briefing area at a rapid pace, leaving the trio alone in the hallway.

[Donan]

Katria points at Setesh. "Hello." She smiles as she begins roping parts of the armour to Zasz's back. "Maybe you'd like something? Grandpa might give it to you if you're good."

[Lucretia]

"Who is that, little Katria? I don't want to turn and undo your darling work," he said, his back towards Setesh at the present.

[watupwithdat]

Spoiler

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(If allowed, considering this seems to be coming after the latest post Henry made)
Walking to the location Setesh had taken out and activated his Comm Leach, as to try to find out if there was any chatter regarding the seeming battle going on in the hallways.

(Is the Comm Leach integrated into Setesh's vox system and thus have the option to be always active if he wanted to listen in on chatter all the time? He hasn't had it on until now though, due to the speech, in that case.)

"Destroyed what artifacts, Zasz?" Setesh said with a somewhat serious tone. He was not one for liking such things, unless they were artifacts which his patron god did not see fit for existing. But artifacts could be powerful arcane artifacts still, and such things were important. The bloody husk of an armour the human girl was helping him with was obviously that of the Scourged he had sensed. So they were having a duel? Or a random battle? Evidently Zasz had come out victoriously. Such a disgrace to Tzeentch, that sorcerer. he thought.

[Donan]

"Oh! It's that old friend of yours, Setesh!"

[Lucretia]

"Ah! It is Setesh! The dangerous artifacts, brother. Most likely daemons bound within, trying to possess whoever touched it. I have done away with them. Would you care to sample some of this sorcerer's flesh? I wasn't able to discern much at all! And perhaps a trip to the apothecarium again. Setesh, did you know they're remarkably keen on their service? They sacrificed scores of lives to ensure my operations went properly. Can you imagine!" Zasz gave a boisterous chuckle.

[Henry the 57th]

Setesh did not pick up any chatter from the Word Bearers on the battle. He did pick up something about reporting back to the briefing room right away to break up some World Eaters and Sons of Hekesh, but that's it.

He does however, sense a powerful and all too familiar presence near the entrance to the hall, coming this way and making no effort to hide it.

[watupwithdat]

"I can assure you dear Zasz, that is not really how it works. I would advice you would refrain from needlessly destroying artifacts in the future as they are valuable. As tradable items they would be quite... good to have, even for you. Because as far as I can remember, you do have a liking for the material things." As it was a sorcerer of the Scourged, it would likely have been artifacts of Tzeentch. This fact almost infuriated Setesh, as he would himself have wanted to get his hands on whatever they might have been. He had seen a few of them with books of lore or arcane knowledge, he had assumed, before. The comments about sacrifices he did not pay much attention to at this point, but it did sound strange for a surgery of sorts.

"I take it this was a duel? As the Word Bearers have not cracked down on you yet, and you seem to be... looting." He wondered what Zasz had gotten his hands on. Evidently not artifacts. Setesh, who was walking a little towards them as he was talking, suddently stopped as he felt the familiar presence of the insane sorcerer - the leader of the warband the dead sorcerer belonged to. "It would seem this sorcerer's leader is approaching this locale as we speak." He was unsure as to what would happen. Considering the seemingly insanity, anything was a possibility. He refrained from being too close to the follower of the Plague Lord, as to avoid being collateral in the event of any overt hostility.

[Lucretia]

"There are some risks that are not worth the reward, Setesh. If there are artifacts I encounter in the future that pose a risk to myself or Katria, I will obliterate them. And yes, this was a duel! Katria can attest to the challenge -- although those Word Bearers you just saw weren't particualrly keen on waiting for her side of the story. It seemed they were convinced by my simple argument -- why would you believe a follower of Tzeentch over a follower of Nurgle?" A great laugh.

"As for the Scourged's leader, he may wish some sort of retribution. If that is the case, Katria, you must remove yourself. I won't have you come to harm for my little duel."

[watupwithdat]

"I would rather you removed youself from the artifact in that case, so I could collect it for safety purposes. That way we both get what we want. You protect yourself and the little girl, and I can investigate the artifact." He was not surprised about the statement of destroying anything like that. He would not have the knowledge to conceive what it was he was destroying, he was not learned about such things as Setesh was.

Setesh chuckled a little. He somewhat agreed with Zasz regarding the level of trust you could put in an unknown Tzeentchian, but they were still his far-related kin you could say. "Yes, who wouldn't?" His twisting of words was more than intentional. He assumed Zasz would appreciate the sentiment. "But I would advice not to unnecessarily combat this foe, if you see worth in your existance. He is much more powerful than even I, I am afraid." Zasz was still an old compatriot from times past, and he could almost feel a little nostalgic around him - whatever little of those times he can still remember. It would be a pity if he would perish so soon after meeting again after this long.

[Lucretia]

Zasz beamed before putting his helmet back on. "Brother, your preference in how I treat artifacts is delightfully cute. But thank you for the information on the sorcerer who approaches. Katria, has the armour been secured?"

[watupwithdat]

Of course, Setesh was not expecting to persuade Zasz on the value of artifacts that easily. It would take time, if it was even possible, to prod him into the ranks of those who valued such items and lore often contained within.

Setesh kept quiet, still listening in on any chatter with his Comm Leach, which was connected to his helmet's vox sub-system. He moved to the side, distancing him a little from Zasz and the human girl, curious about what would happen. He had had an encounter with the insane sorcerer before, and he wondered how Zasz would handle such an odd personality.

[Donan]

Katria nods firmly. "Yes Grandpa, it's all settled in place. I'll leave then, just in case." She smiles and ducks away, quickly moving around a corner in the opposite direction from the approaching sounds.

As soon as she's there though, she triggers her stummer on, casts her cloak's hood over her head and vanishes. Unseen, she peeks around the corner, waiting to see what happens next and if she might be needed.

Spoiler

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Stealth test. Target 120. (1d100)[35]

[Henry the 57th]

The trio hears the sound of armored boots approaching from the way they came. An armored figure in a light blue robe appears. His armor is red and blue, with gold rims. Countless gently glowing sigils of Tzeentch are carved into it. The sorcerer's helmet features an elaborate headress, with a pair of golden horns curling, looping, and interlocking in bizarre and nonsensical patterns. On the sorcerer's right shoulder guard in the symbol of the Scourged. In his right hand, he clutches an impressive and elaborate staff formed of numerous twisting and interlocking golden rods. A symbol of Tzeentch forms the crest of the staff. A beautiful-looking sword is sheathed on his left side, along with a pair of pistols.

The figure walks up rather close to Zasz the body before abruptly stopping. He looks briefly at the body, then at the Zasz and Setesh. He tilts his head slightly to the side.

[Lucretia]

Zasz stands up, hoisting the additional armour with him. "Hello, brother," he says, before beginning to walk down the hallway.

[Henry the 57th]

He nods. "My cat likes to eat mincemeat porridge." he says in a philosophical tone. He seems to ponder that statement, as if it means something. Suddenly, his head snaps up. "Where are you going? And why are you leaving me?" he says in a rather dejected tone.

[Lucretia]

"No one said you couldn't come along, friend," Zasz added conversationally, continuing to move down the hallway opposite the Sorcerer.

[Henry the 57th]

"Nah, I gotta go back to my buddies." He looks down, before jerking his head up in seeming recognition. "Hey! That's my buddy's outfit! Did you steal it from him?"

[Lucretia]

"Nope," he replied, continuing down his path, probably some distance away from the sorcerer at this point.

[Donan]

Katria stretched as she settled into a combat crouch behind the sorceror, still concealed within her robe.

[Henry the 57th]

"YOU'RE LYING!!!" he booms in a much more serious voice. "Get back here right now or I'll break open your skull and eat your brain and make trophy of your jaw and use your eyes for spells and-" he pauses for a moment. "Write a poem about the day me and my buddies met some nice guys called the Grey Knights!"

[watupwithdat]

Setesh moves with the two, keeping about the same distance as from before Zasz had started moving away from them. The insane sorcerer seemed to be more aggressive than when Setesh had interacted with him. He seemed to more or less be trying to intimidate the nurgleim, in his own insane way.

Upon entering the hallway before, Setesh's warpsight had noticed that Zasz had actually been affected with a psychic effect all along. More specifically, a psychic effect which Setesh had identified as a Gift of the Plague Lord to make Zasz seemingly unremarkable and having his true form look "normal" to onlookers. His armour now looked a little more in disuse, not of the prestine condition Setesh had attributed to it before. Under the armour he imagined Zasz looking like a stereotypical Death Guard, covered in wounds, swimming in pus and fluids. Not that he really cared. It was quite a handy "mutation", if you would call it that. The insane sorcerer would probably have seen through this deception too, he assumed, but doubtful many more on the vessel would have been able to as you would need to have a capable warpsight to notice it.

[Lucretia]

Zasz moved to one of the walls, putting his chainfist against it. "A worse man than I might begin to be upset by these accusations of lying," he said softly, his peculiar voice carrying the distance of the hallway. "I do not lie."

He turns to look at the sorcerer before doing anything, though. "The body is there, with the progenoids within. Your champion accepted the challenge. I have claimed his wargear as my own, as per the rites of combat, but I have not claimed his body. That seemed too great an insult to your warband. So please, take our fallen brother and see to it he receives a fitting cremation, and create anew a Scourged from his innards."

[Henry the 57th]

"Get over here. I want to examine his armor."

[Lucretia]

"For what purpose?" Zasz asked, moving away from the wall and turning to face the sorcerer finally.

[Donan]

Katria bit her lip, fingers curling around the blade of the Shard she'd collected earlier. If the marine attacked her grandfather..

[Henry the 57th]

"A giant flaming magical floating head to me to do it."

[Lucretia]

"That isn't cause for me to surrender my prize to you. Is there anything in particular you search for -- a marking, perhaps?"