The trip back to the Refectory is uneventful. As the sun begins its descent towards the reinforced walls to the west, the people of Port Suffering are packing up and turning in. Flickering candlelight shines from within shuttered windows and the more substantial buildings hint at the constant light of a glow lamp around their tightly fitted window covers. The largest danger the group faces is the oppressive, lingering smell of a couple of million people in too small a space. That and iron. Always the sickly sweet smell of iron.
The servants at the Refectory inform you that the Seer has retired for the night and lead you to your rooms on the west side of the compound. While Gabriel has already seen the acolytes' rooms, the others are greeted by the sparsely furnished rooms. For some it is a reminder of home, for others it is a reminder of the sacrifices that must be made for the good of the Imperium.
Gabriel, his room situated in the north side of the building (Roth having taken the southernmost room) would have slept soundly that night had he not been awoken when two unseen men grabbed him and held him down. Something is stuffed into his mouth before he can cry out.
"Sir?" says a muffled voice to his right.
A voice speaks from somewhere in front of him, seemingly through a vox, "Sedate him and then apply the device."
He struggles but it's of no use. There is a small stabbing pain in the side of his neck and it slowly becomes harder for him to move. Something cold wraps around his neck and he hears a beep, though it appears to be somewhere far off. Something lights up, revealing grey uniforms and gas masks. In front of him sits a stormtrooper, though unlike the elite soldiers he had seen on the front line, this one wore gilded grey armour with an elaborate Inquisitorial symbol on the chest plate. In an unusually metallic hand he holds something. Something glowing. He notices that his bandages are gone. Then sleep ensures he does not witness what comes next.
In the night, Alba finds herself lying in bed listening to the sound of a blowtorch and some kind of hissing. She dismisses it as a dream, nothing but the familiar noises of a Tech-Priests dormitory, and goes back to sleep.
Part Three: Into The Barren Lands
The servants wake the acolytes the next morning with a knock on each of their doors, just as they were instructed. There is no light coming though the shutters and the din of the crowds is thankfully absent.
Gabriel, however, wakes to find his bandages reapplied and something cold around his neck. There is a note on the table, next to his belongings. He grabs it and reads it.
Subtlety.
You don't appear to speak the language, so allow me to speak yours.
I have the detonator. Be subtle.
Author
Topic: Dark Heresy: Illumination IC - Faith Betrayed (Read 40015 times)