DH: Of Thrones and Void - Act 1: Strange Bedfellows

[ArcturusV]

The call to crusade. That was a call that Rat felt stirring in her heart. She had been in the thick of it most of her life, after all. Had gone toe to toe, eye to eye with the worst of Heresies, winning with flamer and chainswords as had her ancestors. She felt her heart stirring, and her hand reaching for her chainsword, forcing herself to try to pull herself from running out to join the crusade, and deal with the greater good here at the table, with the other acolytes.

"So you think these Xenos are around, kicking, and feeding the mutant dregs weapons and arms as some sort of peasant conscript army?" Rat asked, a bit skeptical of the whole thing, but it seemed to be the point she was driving for. "Or did they just find the old Heretical Weaponry left behind from the war? ... can't imagine any good guardsman didn't destroy every last sign of Heresy... but stranger things have happened."

"If it's done by the mutants, why is this strange witchcraft limited to the Arbiters? The local hivers we talked to didn't seem to be doing the same thing. Heavily concerned with the mutants, knew it was the mutants, on the run from them sure... but... different? Sounds different though. Not quite this ignoring thing." Rat frowned, trying to figure out how to come around to what she was pondering. Trying to ignore the call to war that sang in her soul. Duty to the Emperor took many forms, dammit!

"And these Gangers... most of them are fighting against the mutants, right? But these Grey Warriors are fighting against Gangers instead? Maybe they're the focus of whatever corruption links the Arbiters and the Mutants?"

[Implodio]

The slow rumble of crowds passing increases. Foot-traffic comes to the conveyancers in what sounds like thousands; either responding to the call to crusade or using the opportunity to head down to Sub-Gamma for their own purposes. Someone has set up a grand kettle drum, and beats it into the laud-hailer just beneath the sound of the throng like the heartbeat of all mankind.

[Ionbound]

Scythia frowns as she listens to the beat of the drum, and asks, "So...What's the plan? Track down these Grey Warriors? Or follow the Crusade?"

[Donan]

"If the Interrogator's anywhere, it's likely Sub-Gamma. This could be our only chance to get there."

[ArcturusV]

Rat gave a glance to Felicia as she squeaked up about the Interrogator, "I don't know if you're quite ready for it. I mean yes, you handled yourself well enough in the alley. But a bar brawl is a far cry from a right and proper warzone. It's the most chaotic mess you can imagine. Particularly for a Call to Crusade like this. No uniforms. No overall strategy. Violence everywhere. Smoke, noise, blood, death, you can't go anywhere without something demanding your immediate attention. Everything on a razor's edge. Finding someone during a mess like that is not just a matter of looking around or calling out a name. It's a specialist skill that people train for years, to not just be able to read a battlefield, but actually distinguish something that minute among the crush of bodies."

It was delivered blunt and to the point. Not making it personal, but with the heavy facts as she saw them.

"She probably is avoiding the battle, if she's smart. But the flood of crusaders means there won't be much down there not marked out with battle. Before we decide to go down there, just consider if you're ready for it."