From: Intios, Adeptus Administratum & Acolyte of the Holy Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus

We departed the PDF barracks and returned to Haarlock’s Folly. We had appointments to meet with the Quorum and Enforcer General Khan the next day. In the meantime, we decided to go back to Worm’s End to look for further clues. We were able to get an Arbites sedan to take us to the edge of the District XIII, where we walked the rest of the way.

Upon arriving at Worm’s End, we did notice some possible movement two buildings away. Neither my auspex nor Kensong’s servo skull were able to discover any further information. We entered the bar and looked for any clues about the names we had uncovered earlier. We found large stacks of papers dealing with the bar’s business. With Arion’s help, we sifted through the papers looking for names and possibly addresses. We finally found the names Sev Mcand and Luc Cisen. These matched the initial bar tab we found. Associated with Mcand, we found, “Under the Water stairs” and “Staying with Luc?”

We needed to find what Under the Water stairs meant. We canvassed the area near the bar to see if anyone would talk to us. Most of the locals did not want to come to the door as we passed by. We were able to finally get an old woman to open the door. She asked for some sort of local food that we did not have but we did offer a bottle of amesec. She took the bottle gladly and told us that the Water Stairs referred to the local areas where water was dispensed.

We travelled a few blocks to where the old woman told us the Water stairs were. We entered the building and went down one flight of stairs. Underneath the stairs we found a pile of junk with signs of movement underneath. We dragged out a person, whom we finally identified as Luc Cisen. After some convincing, Cisen detailed how three green hooded figures came into the bar looking for Mcand. These three wanted something from Mcand but when he was not able to produce anything, they killed him using blunt force and then turned their attention to the bar. Unable to find what they were looking for, the three left everyone for dead, except for Cisen, who was hiding under one of the booths. Cisen did say that one of the figures seemed to have a hole in his face. Similar to what happened at Viscount Hiram Sur’Seculo’s manse, the video pict recorder stopped working during the attack and resumed operation once the attack was over.

With this information, we traveled back to the Folly, where I seeked out Scrivener Anneliese Courtois again. We wanted to ask about the mirror that shows the future. She referred us to find Eupheme Tassel who is the Keeper of the Rolls. Her official title is the Sagacity. Courtois told us that Tassel could be found within the Clockwork Court. With our appointment with the Clockwork Court in the morning, we decided to leave earlier in order to seek out Tassel.

Upon arriving at the Court, we were stopped by security, where they asked us to identify ourselves. This process seemed longer than usual when we heard up ahead, the voice of Arbites Precinct Marshal Colchis Skarmen. He was screaming at some of the internal security workers. I could discern something to the effect of, “These were the honored guests of the Inquisition we are here to meet.” Then the lights go dim with the sound of explosions coming from the rooms ahead.

We all charge forward inside the Court. Arion takes a smaller door to the right and I end up taking the larger door towards the center. I enter a large antechamber where I see a few servitors and a long hallway ending with large brass doors. The servitors seem to be malfunctioning so Kensong decides to look closer. Before getting to the desk in front of the brass doors, I can hear more screaming up ahead. As I pull open the brass door, there is one guard behind the desk. He yells, what I am doing here and my quick response is, “We are the Inquisition, here doing your job!” As I step into the large circular room past the antechamber, I make eye contact with a green hooded figure. At this point, I see what looks like a grenade flying in my direction. I immediately dive for cover and was able to avoid the blast of the grenade.

Karpath is now at to the large door with his lasgun in hand. I take a position behind the desk. The green hooded figure is now in the door way and we are able to clearly see that this person is not a person at all. This creature looks to be already dead but still possesses unusual strength and speed. Karpath unloads a semi-auto burst which seems to hit square on. Not noticeably affected by the las hit, this undead creature takes a swing at Karpath and connects. While Karpath remains standing, I can tell that I would not want to be hit by this creature’s fist.

I take aim with my longlas and take off the creature’s right arm. It’s still standing so I call to Karpath, “It’s already dead, move back!” I don’t think Karpath or anyone else could hear me through the micro-beads because all I was getting was static. I begin my tactical retreat all the while yelling at Karpath to move back. Kensong is now by my side and has his own visual of the undead creature. Karpath is then hit again by the creature but this time is knocked down and drops his lasgun.

I then see the same guard by the desk raise his weapon and starts to fire at the creature. This seemed to be just the distraction that was needed. Karpath picks himself and his weapon up and is starting to make his way back. As I am covering Karpath, I am thinking that we need more firepower.

From: Intios, Adeptus Administratum & Acolyte of the Holy Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus

Biologis Adept Talanis’s medical report confirmed what we discovered earlier. The unidentified body was deceased for three days and wounds were postmortem. The exam did discover small carvings on the skin that formed a small sigil. The exam could not confirm any xenos DNA within this body.

We went over our leads and decided to use public information to take a closer look at the list of victims.

• Mam’sel Zamura Rolart. Rolart’s body was discovered torn apart in her dressing room. There is information that shows Rolart was connected with Nida Sasser and a woman named Etsuko Lobue. Lobue’s family is a minor nobel family but well positioned and the same level as Rolart. Nida Sasser may have had issues with the Seculo family due to a bad business transaction.

• Legate Senh-Ar Dole was an offworld trader and moneylender. He disappeared and his entire family was found dismembered. His estate now seems to be in trouble.

• Viscount Hiram Sur’Seculo murder is what triggered Arbitrator Adjutant Constantine Fihad to send the astropathic message for the Inquisition’s aid. We came upon a photo of Sur’Seculo shaking hands with Ar Dole. This photo also shows Judiciary Evandus Idrani in the background. Idrani is the head of the Quarum and planetary governor.

• Related to these nobels, we find the name Eugenio Rolart, who seems to be the front person of the family. We also find the name, Carmelos Seculo, who is the viscount’s brother and possible next in line in the family.

• Callisto was a Rag King that was murdered. Other known Undertow rag king/queen are Hesul and Scorn. Callisto’s body was destroyed before the murder pattern was discovered.

• In an attempt to learn more about Haarlock’s Folly, we discovered this structure was built by Erasmus Haarlock. He disappeared after his own family was killed and exacted his revenge.

We were told by one of the Arbitrators that the Administratum Adept in the Folly was the local historian. We were directed to sub-level two where we met Scrivener Anneliese Courtois. She was surrounded by paperwork and the distinct pattern of her candlelight was clearly of prescribed Administratum protocol. After her initial surprise to see our group in her working area but also in sub-level two at all, she greeted us openly after introductions. She was able to speak of many rumors of the Folly involving xenos artefacts. She distinctly mentioned the Statue of Thiry, which was said to bestow blessings. She also mentioned a mirror that may have been used to see the future.

We asked Constantine for an audience with the Arbites Marshal. We were able to meet the Precinct Marshal Colchis Skarmen. Skarmen’s office on the third floor was playing tricks on my auspex. Seems to be some sort of electrical jamming that I am not getting anywhere else in the Folly. Skarmen told us that he took over recently after his predecessor Precinct Marshal Denarus Broad was killed during the Empty Men incident. Skarmen did give us the name of PDF Commander Georga Gottay. He said the Arbites would be glad to setup an introduction for a possible meeting.

With our equipment checked out and Carrus Nazal released into our custody, we were ready to set off in search of Juvinal Priator. Nazal stated that he did not know Priator directly but knew that he worked out of a fish factory in Celestine Wharf within district XIII. Since we were to travel by waterway, we called on Ardite once again to pilot our skiff.

The trip took roughly five hours when Ardite told us we were at our destination. We then set off on foot to find this factory. Nazal directed us to one of the larger intact buildings within the area. After going through the gate and into the front door, the distinct smell of rotten fish hit us immediately. Near the center of a large room, we discover three dead bodies lying near a barrel that looked like it was used for a pit fire. A few seconds later, we hear a voice saying, “You’re surrounded, what business do you have here?” We simply replied that we were looking to speak with Priator. The voice told us to drop our weapons and to step outside. My auspex confirmed that there were at least 7 life signs in the area.

We dropped our weapons and were met by 5 ganger types. Barabbas confirmed that they were probably Undertow. We were briefly searched and could see two gangers go into the warehouse with large sacks to gather up our equipment. I saw one of the gangers start to search Barabbas and then quickly stops once Barabbas whispers something to him in a low voice. It was at this moment that purple embers exploded into the air around Barabbas and everyone in the vicinity starts to catch fire.

I took some initial damage from the fire but was able to roll onto the ground and put it out. I looked up to see some of my fellow acolytes still on fire. I helped Kaunitzer put himself out and then we helped Barabbas. While all of our cell were finally extinguished and standing, some of the gangers did not fare so well. The gangers all seemed a bit stunned. Maybe even surprised that we did not run away. Hopefully the Undertow will not look at this incident with too much apprehension.

From: Intios, Adeptus Administratum & Acolyte of the Holy Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus

After finally finding Barabbas and leaving the Denita Corp building, we started our way toward District I. We could see a large fire of sorts coming from the near center of Sinophia Prime. It was at this point that Arion returned to the spot of the mysterious glyph in the wall. He told us to proceed but he would have to stay at least a day to perform a personal errand. He disappeared into a high rise hab across the street from the glyph. The rest of us decided that we would hole up for the night about a block away. About the same time we found a place to rest was when Barabbas went off on his own. Maybe curiosity got the best of him and he wanted to be near Arion. I wouldn’t know for sure because I didn’t bother asking when the two of them returned the next day.

With a simple inquisitive look towards Arion, his response was, “Let’s proceed and go back towards the city center.” As we got closer to District I, I tuned my microbead to the frequency given to me by the Aribites driver that dropped us off. There was chatter about another crime scene, this time in District XIII. I was able to use the microbead to call out for Arbites assistance. We radioed in that we needed an extraction point. Within an hour or so, we were picked up on the edge of District I. The driver said that he was given instructions by Arbitrator Constantine to take us directly to a new crime scene in District XIII.

Upon arrival, we spot an armored Arbites vehicle in front of a non-descript hab block. One of the investigators on scene tells us that there is a dead body upstairs. When we entered the room, there were a couple more Arbites officers guarding a body on the floor. We noticed forced entry on the door and a pool of blood had formed a halo around the body. We could clearly see blunt trauma blows to the head and chest and one of his limbs was torn off. There were dog tags with the name of Bal Grey on it. The contents of the room looked like there may have been a hasty search. We told the officer to prepare to take the body back to Haarlock’s Folly for further examination. We were then told that there was another body spotted in the alleyway next to this hab block.

The body in the alleyway had multiple shotgun wounds in him. There was a greenish tinge to his skin and the body seemed to have started bloating. At this moment, it was Barabbas who said he spotted someone on the roof wearing a large black brimmed rain hat and seemed to be watching us. Arion and Karpath immediately took off into the building across the street. I followed their lead and told Kaunitizer and Barabbas to stay with the bodies.

We all ran up the stairs towards the top of the building where Barabbas says he saw the black brimmed hat. Karpath was first to get to the top of the building. He spotted a large cable running across the rooftops. He decided that he would forgo equipment and traversed the cable hand over hand. When I got to the roof, I see Karpath on the opposite building already and Arion preparing his grapnel and hook. I follow his lead and pull out my harness. Arion and I make it across to the first building without incident. Karpath tells us that he spotted a closing door on another building across the one we are on.

Karpath has made it to the third building while both Arion and I had some issues traversing this second cable. Upon getting to the third building, Karpath says he is running towards the ground floor. I pull out my auspex and find life readings on the fourth floor but am unsuccessful finding readings for the third floor. I see Arion waiting for me on the second floor and tell him that there are life readings in one room and a non-human form in another. Upon discovering that the non-human life form is some sort of native four legged creature, we decide to join Karpath on the first floor.

Asking brief questions of the inhabitants in the lobby and just outside the door, it does not seem the locals are very friendly towards strangers. Not being able discover where the black brimmed hat person fled to, we decided to go back to the crime scene and take the bodies back to Haarlock’s Folly for further examination. On the way back to the Folly, we were told that an Administratum building was set on fire near Prime in a possible retaliation to Bal Grey’s death.

Bal Grey was local muscle to the undertow prior to his death and also former PDF. It took a bit more time for the bodies to arrive but we were eager to get started with an autopsy. Constantine told us to meet with Biologis Adept Lecto Talanis on the 3rd floor of the cellar. The third floor cellar was a cold and dark open space that had been transformed to their morgue and medical examination facility.

The examination of Bal Grey seemed consistent with what we saw at the crime scene. Blunt force trauma and limbs torn off just a day ago. Examining the second body was a bit more peculiar. We discovered that the body had been dead for three days and the shotgun wounds were created post-mortem. There were splinter and bloodless scars all over his arms and something that we did not notice at the crime scene. An entry wound in his chest that was stitched back up. We removed the stitches to find that the cause of death was probably a sharp blade of some sort to his chest. But why would someone stitch him back up and put shotgun blasts into his body?

We returned to Constantine to ask if he knew of any current associates of Bal Grey. He told us just by chance, the Arbites at the request of the Enforcers had recently picked up a Carrus Nazal. Constantine told us that Nazal is known to have been connected to Grey in the past. The Enforcers wanted Nazal picked up for possible Lho stick bootlegging. We expressed our desire to question Nazal and to also have the Arbites send a skilled interrogator to aid us.

We went to the first floor of the cellar and were directed to the cell of Carrus Nazal. An Arbite by the name of Myrn Mordi introduced himself and said that he would help conduct the interrogation. Nazal was resistant at first but Mordi’s less than deft touch had him singing in no time. The use of stimm on the detainee seemed to help as well.

Under questioning, Nazal gave us the name of Juvinal Priator. In the end, he also blamed Xiabius Khan, Enforcer General for most of the troubles between the Undertow and Quarum. At this point, Karpath reminded us of the Empty Men that Inquisitor Karkalla debriefed us about. These Empty Men were transformed by the tech heretics, the Logicians, by adding xenos DNA into humans. This made me go back to Tech Adept Talanis to run a DNA test on the second subject.

We had dropped off some of our equipment to the Arbites tech priest for repair or examination. Those of us that had equipment suffer water damage may need repairs and those of us that suffered the high explosive wanted routine maintenance. Barabbas, after tinkering with his data slate for hours, told us that he just saw the dark wide-brimmed hat figure enter the main Enforcer precinct. So either the Enforcers had something to do with the crime scene or maybe we are simply being followed. I believe it is inevitable that we will have to meet with Enforcer General Khan in the near future. Now if we can only get the DNA results and our equipment back.

From: Intios; Adeptus Administratum & Acolyte of the Holy Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus

When the firefight at the barge was over, both Karpath and Kaunitzer were down. I rushed to where our skiff had docked. The skiff had taken multiple hits from shotgun and heavy weapon’s fire. Kaunitzer’s motionless body was barely afloat with his arm caught on the remaining floating portion of the battered skiff. My eyes then immediately caught sight of the hover cart floating on its side in the canal about 7-8 meters from the edge.

Was it Kaunitzer’s voice in my head that told me to pull him out of the water? I quickly dismissed that voice as I pulled out my grapnel and hook to try to retrieve the hover cart. I couldn’t get it to hook on. As I stared at the cart, I wondered if I should use the gantry crane to pull it out of the water or should I just drop my backpack and dive into the canal. A few moments later, I see Arion with the help of one of the local dock workers driving the small gunboat towards me. As Arion gets near, it is obvious that his micro-bead is not working so I start to frantically point at the hover cart so that he picks it up first.

With the hover cart taken care of, we put both Karpath and Kaunitzer’s bodies onto the gunboat. We make it to Haarlock’s Folly by waterway. Upon arriving at the tower that is Haarlock’s Folly, we finally meet Adjutant Fihad Constantine. We told him that our cell is in need of immediate medical attention. Constantine directed one of the Arbites officers to drive us to the Commercia district, where the best med-lab was. We also ask where we may be able to get resupplied. We are told that the Turning Hand, at the edge of the Commercia district would be best.

My wounds seem to heal much faster this time around. Now with some quiet time on my hands, I reflect upon being in Sinophia. I know that Sinophia was once a world of pivotal destiny and economic power, but now is little more than a forlorn and forgotten relic of the past. This frontier world is situated on the furthest reaches of the Ixaniad Sector. My family, prior to the Inquisition, would have nothing to do with it, for fear of tarnishing its reputation.

Now that I’m on my feet, Arion seems eager to salvage what equipment he lost in the canal battle. I am also eager to see if we can find anything that was originally on the hover cart. We needed to get underwater gear so we had an Arbites driver take us to the Turning Hand. While in transit on the Fortune’s Path, I was able to do some research on Sinophia and its capital Sinophia Magna.

The Turning Hand is equivalent to an ancient meeting house – a very fancy one that has seen better days. It’s the oldest meeting house on Sinophia, said to have existed for more than a millennia and has succumbed by inches to the Sinophian malaise. During the centuries of prosperity, merchants, traders, information gleaners and other fortune-seekers would meet in the Turning Hand’s golden halls to exchange information, eat, drink and mingle in the incense-fogged atmosphere. People still come to trade and deal in whispers, but the bustle of the place is long gone. The alcove tables are not filled & one does not need to make reservations for private dining. The Hand has now become the ill-lit haunt of what few off-worlders come to Sinophia. Here, one is likely to find agents of foreign cartels, far travelers and silent strangers sipping spiced amasec and muttering discussions amid the empty spaces and echoing salons. The Hand’s great central chamber, is a richly decorated (but long-faded) domed room dominated by seven great pillars, each ten times the height of a man and glittering with tarnished golden fume pipes pumping incense into the air. Meanwhile, faces of cards from the Emperor’s Tarot – enameled on brass sheets – rotate on chains dangling from the painted ceiling. Designed to hold hundreds, the chamber seems now oppressively silent and ill-lit, it’s high stained-glass windows shrouded in grime and rainwater. A circular bar fills the center of the crimson carpeted floor and decrepit-looking servitors see to patrons’ needs under the watchful eye of the plump elderly owner.

We approach one of the alcoves and discover a trader by the name of Mateo Pinto. We ask for underwater gear and he said that he should be able to get one within a day. As we exit the Turning Hand, I realize that it has not stopped raining since we landed on Sinophia. A day later, while the others are still healing, Arion and I return to pick up what Mateo Pinto refers to as a survival suit. On our way out, Mateo says to stop by anytime. With a simple wink, I tell him that we will surely see him soon.

Back at the canal where our firefight took place, Arion donned the survival suit and jumped into the murky water. He was able find his pack and some of the items on the hover cart. Unfortunately, most of the electronic equipment was not operational and any clothing was unusable. We waited for the rest of the cell to recuperate before making another stop at the Turning Hand.

I warmly greeted Pinto by saying, “Master Mateo, I know that you are the one that can help me and my associates resupply. Here is a long list of what we are looking for.” Pinto seemed eager to trade. Sciscitatio was able to get a majority of the items we were looking for. I thanked him for his help and he said, “It looks like I will need to resupply before we meet again.”

Before leaving, Karpath asked Mateo if the image or phrase “a pack of Lho sticks with 13 doketh” meant anything. Mateo said that it sounded familiar but being an off worlder, he wasn’t sure. It seems the search for our new Inquisitorial acolyte has begun in earnest.

TO: Inquisitor Nazauth Karkalla, Ordo Xenos
FROM: Acolyte Intios; Adeptus Administratum & Acolyte of the Holy Inquisition, Ordo Hereticus
SUBJECT: Mission Update
PRIORITY: Moderate

My wounds from Three Stakes’ Rest did not heal as fast as the others. I was able to see the Inquisitorial Memorandum that was put together after receiving the clues that our cell found. At the bottom was a note from Inquisitor Karkalla stating that we will be meeting once we are all healed up.

Within seven days our cell was summoned to the offices of Hyplion Trading at the base of Endecott Spire in the upper hive. Inquisitor Karkalla was seated and to our surprise, so were Salucci and Kaunitzer. I give my debriefing to Karkalla and he tells us that he is in system for a couple of reasons. He is here to personally meet with Inquisitor Silas Marr to try to get his support for the Sciscitatio task force. Karkalla also states that he received an Astropathic message from our Inquisitor Globus Vaarak. Varaak’s message spoke of the planet of Sinophia and specifically a young bandana wearing male with grimy skin and a pack of Lho sticks with 13 doketh. Karkalla states that this vision of Vaarak’s is fairly strong and both Inquisitors believe that may be the next recruit into the Inquisition.

Karkalla then says, “Since Sciscitatio cannot be in multiple places at once, I am temporarily dividing this cell. Salucci and Kaunitzer having survived Three Stake’s Rest and being exposed to the Warp have now been seconded into the Inquisition, under my command. Odessa will be the prime of one group and have Salucci’s help in further investigating the cold trade here on Solomon. The rest of you will take Kaunitzer and head to Sinophia to look into Vaarak’s vision as well as this most recent communique I received from the Adeptus Arbites on the planet.” He hands us the data slate with a message from Arbitrator Constantine.

As we all sit in shock of the recent split of the team, we have no choice but to proceed. I hear Karpath shrug and say under his breath, “We got the whinny one?!” Arion is making some sort of claim about getting badges signaling that we are with the Inquisition. By this point, it is clear that Karkalla is not paying attention to any of our objections so I just say thank you and we will make do with the resources he has provided. Karkalla tells us that the void ship Fortune’s Path will be leaving in a matter of days to take us to Sinophia.

With a long trip ahead of us, we decide to meet the trader Aexel Essing one more time to stock up on any equipment we may have lost. Upon re-stocking our equipment, we were ready to board the Fortune’s Path. The ship was captained by Joyhall Bizzerat. We were asked to join the captain at his table for dinner the first night on board. He told us his Astropath, Ga Samarase, has estimated a 138 day trip in the Void. We still needed about a week to get to the proper jump point. The captain did mention that it was unusual for ships to travel to Sinophia. Not only is Sinophia suffering a slow decay, the Periphery subsector has seen a buildup of Imperial forces in the nearby system of Kulth. While information is scarce, there are possible rumors of Orks, Sessionists or something even more sinister.

On the eighth day, the Fortune’s Path was ready for translation into the Warp. All of the crew members were on deck in anticipation of their translation ritual. With a loud hum that filled the corridors and a barely noticeable lurch, the crew members all standup and run back to their original stations. I realized this was the moment of translation into the Warp because I saw a vision of my old Administratum superior, Frangeeso. A strange and disturbing sight. I found out later that both Karpath and Kaunitzer had visions of their own. Visions that were very specific to each of them.

While attending dinner at the captain’s table, I thanked him again for taking us on our journey. I was able to pick up on conversations with the other passengers about the nature of the ship’s journey. Crew and passengers openly wondered why we were traveling to Sinophia. It offers no Warp Routes & takes us into the Imperium-forsaken Periphery. We’re chancing luck & just might end up between the forces of Lord General Ghanzorik and Warlord Ghenghiz Grimtoof. With Kulth being buried in war for decades, why would the Fortune’s Path be traveling so close to these hotspots?

While most of my downtime is spent on my study materials, the others have taken on different activities of their own. Arion has spent most of his time mapping out the ship, while Karpath has taken it upon himself to whip our new acolyte, Kaunitzer, into shape. Everyday sessions of PT for Kaunitzer has led him to avoid Karpath at all other times of the day. I tried my own hand at Karpath’s PT but an hour later, my still recovering wounds made me stop.

As I was taking part in PT with Karpath andKaunitzer, I started to notice what looked like a growth on Kaunitzer’s side. Not knowing what it was, I told Karpath to keep a look out while training. Karpath said that he didn’t notice anything odd. By the third day, the growth looked pronounced to me so I confronted Kaunitzer forced him to agree to a physical. It should be noted that the force came from Karpath, who was happy to oblige my request. When Medical Officer Leena Bodelson did not find anything wrong with Kaunitzer, I immediately told her to examine me as well. She found no ailments on either of us.

Nearly at wits end and ready to shoot Kaunitzer on site, I calledArion to explain the situation. Arion came into the med bay and simply said, “Disrobe now, and that’s not a request.” Kaunitzer wide eyed did not have any recourse and simply complied. Arion took the flat part of his knife and pressed against the protrusion I saw on Kaunitzer. When his knife disappeared when pressed against the outgrowth, Arion said that there was nothing there. Various thoughts ran through my mind. I stepped back and told the medical officer that the Warp travel must be affecting my mind. She said she understood and prescribed some sedatives. I give both Arion and Karpath a disheartened nod and said, “I will be in my room.” I then pointed in the direction of Kaunitzer and said, “I will be staying away from him.”

The next day or so were uneventful. Arion never seemed to be in his room and was always around and about the ship. Karpath keep insisting that Kaunitzer continue with his PT regimen. Then one morning I was abruptly awoken by an alarm in the corridor. Half awake, I reached for my micro-bead and asked Arion and Karpath, “Is it just me or do you guys hear an alarm?” Karpath quickly responded, “I hear it too.” I told him I would meet him outside once my gear was on. Karpath was waiting outside and Arion soon quickly joined us. Kaunitzer was nowhere in sight. I asked a crewman what the alarm was for and he stated that there was a fire in the kitchen.

When we arrived at the kitchen, we saw the remnants of some burned out equipment. Kaunitzer said he was prepping some food with Dessert Chef Sergio Lamartina. After leaving, the kitchen caught on fire and Lamartina perished in the flames. Kaunitzer was the first one on the scene. The crew told us the fire may have been worse if he didn’t arrive on the scene so quickly. I shook my head and said to the others, “A real fraking hero we have here.”

By day 24 of the ships calendar, the journey was going smoothly until all of a sudden, the entire ship turned sideways. Everyone on board was thrown around but there did not seem to be any major injuries. Captain Bizzerat told us that the ship had hit a Warp rift. There didn’t seem to be much concern on the captain’s face when he informed us of this occurrence. By day 29, the ship reset itself and everything was back to normal operations.

On day 32 at the captain’s dinner, Bizzerat informed us that we were coming out of the warp but close to the Zater III system. It will take about 2 ½ weeks intra system to get to Sinophia. On day 33, we were out of the Warp.

As the Fortune’s Path approached Sinophia, our cell packed up our equipment and thanked the captain for getting us here before schedule. We boarded a shuttle that took us towards Orbital Zega platform. We could see one other orbital platform teaming with Imperial Navy activity. Zega on the other hand was quite sparse and seemed like a half functional way station. As we headed towards the terminal that would take us planet side, it was odd to see that the disassembled shuttles don’t seem to have enough parts to make up a whole shuttle.

There was only one pilot, Epifano, who was flying down to Flavius Starport, near Sinophia Magnus. The shuttle flight down was anything but smooth but we did make it in one piece. At the landing pad, a scribe by the name of Charon greets us in the pouring rain and said that he did not expect any visitors today. We told him we could clarify things inside. My Fenksworld cover did not seem to hold up so I showed the Administratum clerk our Inquisitorial Sciscitatio letter. We told the clerk not to mention this to anyone and then asked for directions to Haarlock’s Folly in Sinophia Magnus. We were told that since the major bridge into town was down and impassable, the easiest way would be by waterway. The clerk gave us a map and directed us to a small pier, where we were able to make use of one of the skiffs.

The water ride was to take no more than 30 minutes. Approximately 10 minutes into the trip, we began to pass a working manufactorum. This active factory was producing enough sound and billowing smoke to drown out activity for blocks. As we passed the factory, we began to near sounds of gun shots from both solid projectile and las fire. As we got further along the waterway, we could clearly see a large barge being blocked by a downed crane in the water. There were at least three small boats surrounding the front of the barge.

We hear the sounds of a heavy solid projectile weapon. I see on one of the small boats, a mounted weapon. I ask Karpath, “Is that what I think it is?” His simple nod and response was, “Yes, possibly a modified heavy stubber.” We can see on the large barge, various people running about wearing blue vests. The others on the small boats are not uniformed and in various disheveled dress. Kaunitzer is asking if we can go around in a different direction. The shortest way to Sinophia Magna was being blocked by the barge. As we get closer, I see the heavy mounted weapon start to point in our direction. Kaunitzer yells out, “We can’t go that way, that weapon has range on us.” At this moment, my longlas was already in hand and I say, “They don’t have range on me.” As soon as I saw the heavy weapon stop rotating and pointed directly at us, I called out, “I’m taking the shot!”

With the pull of the trigger, the gunman’s right arm disappears. Karpath starts to speed up the skiff towards to barge. We start to take fire from the small boats. Karpath then makes evasive maneuvers and almost loses control but was able to rein things back in. A second gunman takes up the position of the heavy gun pointed at us. Another pull of the trigger and his left arm disappears. By this time, our skiff begins to travel underneath a gantry crane approximately 40 meters high. I see Arion look up and knew exactly what was coming next. He shoots his grapnel and line at the gantry. Once it connects, he swings up and out towards the bank of the canal all the while barking something to the effect, “I’m getting off of this death trap.” Arion swings to the left bank and starts sprinting towards the nearest building.

Karpath realizes that the skiff is not made to take more hits. He quickly steers left toward the bank. As soon as the skiff touches solid land, Karpath and I are on our feet and running off. Unfortunately, Kaunitzer takes a hit that momentarily disables his arm. Knowing that he cannot easily disembark, Kaunitzer stays on the skiff and continues to shoot suppressive fire towards the barge and heavy weapon boat.

Karpath and I start running towards the same building Arion entered. With gunfire all around us and from the rooftops, we are both hit but Karpath is able to remain on his feet. I am hit in the leg with what I believe to be a hunting rifle bullet. Unable to stay upright, I fall forward and become momentarily dazed. The next moment I’m on Karpath’s shoulder as he’s running towards the building. I tap him and quickly say that I’m ok. He drops me on my feet in front of the building and then he dives into the doorway.

Now it’s time to get to the roof in order to get a higher vantage point and return fire.