A House Divided
Act 1 - The Gates of the Abyss
Chapter 3 - The Price of a Life, continued...
-Having rested and refitted after their trials at Freeport, the party has arrived at Port Wander and rendezvoused with Marius Oba. He congratulates them on a job well done, though he wishes they had been able to assist Kaenen Kel with the mutiny in progress when they left. Regardless, the primary objective had been complete, and that was all that mattered to Roa Mahaka. In light of their recent achievement, Mahaka decided to allow the team more flexibility in choosing their assignments.
-Marius explained that with the acquisition of the Saturnine Gypsy, and the star maps from Kaenen Kel, the fleet was poised to make its way into the Koronus Expanse. The only matter now, was how they would equip, repair, fuel, and provision their vessels when they were in that tumultuous pocket of the galaxy. Mahaka's advanced agents on Port Wander had identified three organizations with the resources or connections to assist Mahaka with these matters: the Kasballica Mission, the Archeo-Exhumators, and the Serrated Querry. It would be the party's job to determine which group they attempted to approach first.
-Option 1: Kasballica Mission. The Kasballica Mission is a loose, but powerful, alliance of criminal families and organizations that run a host of activities (legal and otherwise) off of the planet of Footfall inside the Expanse. They are known to fight amongst themselves, but will unite against external threats with vicious speed and certainty. They have all of the logistical assets Mahaka may require, but their criminal nature makes them a less reliable and trustworthy source. If the party chose them, it would require a trip to Footfall to negotiate a deal directly with an agent.
-Option 2: Archeo-Exhumators. A group of Imperial noble families from a Hive World that is closely aligned with the Mechanicum and nearby Forge Worlds. They sponsor expeditions and salvage missions into the Expanse to recover lost technologies and resource-rich planets for industry. They have sent word that one of their expeditions has had...difficulties...at an archaeological dig site. They would have everything Mahaka desired for raw materials and resupply, but would be a poor resource for information or help with less-than-honorable pursuits or objectives.
-Option 3: Serrated Querry. The most enigmatic of the options available. The only thing known about the Querry is that they are the most well-paid and knowledgeable information brokers in the Koronus Expanse, if not the Calixis Sector. They are almost impossible to find, but are capable of finding out almost anything one might desire to know if they can be located. Luckily for Mahaka, one of their agents has been captured by a pirate who is selling him at an impromptu auction to the highest bidder. Recovering this agent would give Mahaka a direct line to anything she would want to know inside the Expanse, even if it would do little to help her service or maintain her fleet.
-After long and decisive conversation the party settled on attempting to retrieve the Serrated Querry agent. Marius informs the group that the agent, Crassus, being held by the pirate Skalla is one of the few people that is known to be a public face to the Serrated Querry. How the pirate captured him is anyone's guess, but he provided video and gen-coded evidence of Crassus and has arranged an auction at a partially abandoned space station in the Expanse known as the Hermitage. Several groups want Crassus, and Mahaka arguably wants him more than all the rest. The party's job will be to travel to the Hermitage and recover Crassus. They have been provided a copious amount of valuable trade goods to use as credit at the negotiation table, but are authorized to use whatever means they think necessary to ensure that Crassus leaves the Hermitage with them.
-After finalizing their load-outs the party boarded the Gypsy and, using Kel's maps, charted a coarse through the single safe tunnel of real-space that connected the Koronus Expanse to the galaxy - the Maw. Every Rogue Trader had a different route to traverse the Maw, and Kel's took the party several days of harrowing travel to complete as they warped from planet in a staggered sequence of jumps meant to avoid the worst of the tides and eddies of Warp energy. The party soon came to realize why sailors of the Expanse called these planets in the Maw the "Stations of the Passage" in hushed and reverent tones.
-Once through the Maw and into the Expanse itself the Gypsy made good time towards the Hermitage. It was a gigantic station, originally built to be the Imperium's primary base of operations in the Expanse itself. The dangers of the Expanse, and the frequent loss of ships attempting to access it through the Maw, led the Administratum to abandon it in favor of Port Wander. While most of the station is abandoned, a skeleton crew of inhabitants keep the primary life support, defensive, and power systems on-line. The station is now a haunt for Rogue Traders, pirates, and others looking for a place to meet, bargain, deal, or engage in other illicit practices in a place where there would be few eyes and loose ethics.
-The party chose to leave the Gypsy flying silent in nearby space and make their approach in the Queen of Diamonds. Landing in a spare hangar they were greeted by one of the station's gruff inhabitants. He charged them an exorbitant docking fee, but in exchange for their generosity he provided them a details layout of the station leading to the site of the auction (a former church of the Ecclesiarchy called "The Cathedral"). The party made their way there cautiously, and were greeted by a bizarre sight.
-The Cathedral had been a massive circular amphitheater consecrated to the God-Emperor with a raised central platform close to 50 meters in diameter. A veritable arena of tiered seating had surrounded it, with space for most of the stations thousands of occupants to attend services. It was practically deserted now, except for a series of fighting positions which had been erected with a variety of stubbers, las turrets, and menacing pirates cautiously watching the spectacle on the central platform. There tables had been erected around the perimeter, surrounding a void field generator in which a human figure could be discerned hooked to multiple life support systems. Was this Crassus, though?
-Various servitors shuttled food and drink between the tables, while even more engaged in bloody duels in the center of the ring around the void field. The entire thing had an air of spectacle, like a carnival of violence. To one side a group of independent pirates not affiliated with Skalla drank and fought amongst themselves raucously, reveling in the event. The other tables were occupied by representatives from other factions interested in the Querry agent. As the party chose and empty table, they spoke briefly about how they would proceed. They needed information, so they would split up and begin to approach the groups looking to glean whatever they could.
-Merrick and Vadik cut a line for the pirates, figuring they could leverage their combined experience with the criminal element to get the violent scum to divulge what they knew. And they weren't wrong. Despite having to bluff their way into a face-to-face with a psychopathic woman named Hex, who had taken the role of spokesperson for herself, they discovered quite a bit.
-Various servitors shuttled food and drink between the tables, while even more engaged in bloody duels in the center of the ring around the void field. The entire thing had an air of spectacle, like a carnival of violence. To one side a group of independent pirates not affiliated with Skalla drank and fought amongst themselves raucously, reveling in the event. The other tables were occupied by representatives from other factions interested in the Querry agent. As the party chose and empty table, they spoke briefly about how they would proceed. They needed information, so they would split up and begin to approach the groups looking to glean whatever they could.
-Merrick and Vadik cut a line for the pirates, figuring they could leverage their combined experience with the criminal element to get the violent scum to divulge what they knew. And they weren't wrong. Despite having to bluff their way into a face-to-face with a psychopathic woman named Hex, who had taken the role of spokesperson for herself, they discovered quite a bit.
- Skalla, the pirate who organized the auction, was very recently the commander of a Grand Cruiser in a battlefleet sent into the Expanse to hunt out some vague threat at the whim of an Inquisitor. The fleet had disappeared, only to surface over two years later with less than a fifth of their ships remaining, under the command of Skalla from his cruiser, and hellbent on raiding and destroying every Imperial shipyard, cargo hauler, or settlement they could find. He was a violent and unpredictable man, whom even Hex would not cross.
- That did not mean, however, that Hex would not cross anyone else present. She made less than subtle allusions to her intent to turn her blades on anyone who did get off the station with Crassus as soon as she could do so without angering Skalla.
-While Merrick and Vadik engaged the pirates, Aurora and Cassius contacted the nobles present representing the Krin faction. Using the mastery of etiquette and protocol they had both acquired on Terra, they managed to gain a brief audience with the woman sent to head Krin's interests. Lady Lucretia Krin was barely more than a teenager, but had a fierce intellect and sly cunning which belied her years. Impressed as she was with Cassius and Aurora's manners and pedigree, she would only part with a few bits of information
- The House of Krin had lost its patriarch to assassination several years earlier, and had never been able to discern the identity of the assassin or the plotters behind the act. It was a black mark on their House, which they intended to eradicate by liberating Crassus and selling him back to the Querry for the identity of the assassin.
- The House of Winterscale, though wealthy beyond most people's imagining, had sent his primary military commander to the negotiation with a warship and some of his most hardened soldiers. Lucretia feared that he had no intention other than to attempt to take Crassus by brute force once he had surveyed the pirate's defenses.
-While Cassius met with the Krin representatives Manus noticed that a member of one of the fringe groups, a trio of Rogue Traders who had apparently pooled their resources in an attempt to better their odds, seemed to be intent upon him. Locking eyes across the space between them he suddenly felt the psychic presence of another minds attempting to push its way into his subconscious. He lashed out psychically, rebuffing the invasion and making it clear he would not tolerate it again. Impressed, the other psyker, one of the three Rogue Traders, more formally introduced himself as Shen. They spoke briefly through an odd flashes of images and signs, each seeking to pry something useful from the other, both frustrated that there was nothing to be found. All Shen would allow is that he was a servant of the Throne, enigmatic of an answer as it was.
-Before further introductions could be made a thunderous voice called out for attention across the cavernous space. Skalla, revealing himself, lept over the table and strode towards the center of the circles the tables had been arranged in as a suspensor generator lifted the void field which held Crassus above them. He was a towering man, easily seven feet tall and made of solid muscle. Things seemed out of proportion in his frame, though. His muscles seemed almost disproportionate in places, and the bones in others seemed warped or bent in undefinable ways which made looking on the man a disconcerting experience. He wore eight bands of bronze open his bare arms, four on each arm from the wrist to the shoulder, and a pair of chain axes hung at his hips. He declared that for the auction to begin he needed proof of the attendees conviction. Proof that had to be earned, not bought. He dropped his chain axes in the center and then pointed at two parties, Shen's and the envoys of the Kasballica Mission, and told them to send a champion forward. The loser would leave, the winner could stay and bid.
-After only a few moments each party sent forward a member to the ring, a bodyguard from Shen and a thug from the Kasballica, who grabbed the axes and circled each other warily. Skalla settled into a throne set to the side of the circles formed by the tables and called out for them to begin. They were evenly balanced to start, and the engagement wore on for long seconds as they tested each other. In the end, though, it was apparent that Shen's bodyguard would lose. As the Kasballica fighter knocked him to the floor and prepared to finish it, he seemed to freeze strangely. Manus noticed that Shen was psychically interfering with the man, freezing his motor functions just long enough for his man to recover. He could have stopped him, and thus eliminated Shen from the auction, but he chose to allow Shen's bodyguard to recover and disembowel the Kasballican thug instead. Shen may prove to be a valuable ally.
-Concluding the first day's events, Skalla promised that more blood awaited them on the second. Anyone who did not have the stomach to kill for Crassus should use the evening wisely to leave the station before the bidding continued. Over half of the assorted parties in attendance began to excuse themselves. Either they did not have the conviction to kill, or be killed, in the pursuit of the prize or they had taken stock of their odds at winning the prize and found themselves wanting. Either way, the first day of the auction had ended.
-Arriving back at their rented docking bay, the party was surprised to find a data pad lying in front of the access doors. A short note, which deleted itself within seconds of opening, simply said that someone had been inside of their ship. It was followed by a short vid clip of a slender person in full-body synth-leathers hacking the access controls to the bay, and then the ship, before slipping inside for several moments. Paying a little extra on the side to the station representative seemed to have paid off.
-A detailed examination of the ship revealed that there had not been any deliberate attempts at sabotage or traps, but a subtle tap had been applied to the Queen's communication systems. Someone present on the station wanted to know more about the party, and were willing to take risks to find out. Vadik and Merrick, both skilled at tracking their way through industrial sprawls, decided to attempt to follow the spy.
-Two things revealed themselves during their track. First, that the agent sent to their ship had been a professional that tried to plant a false trail leading to Hex's pirate gang. Second, that the real trail led to the docking bays where Winterscale's agents had berthed. Despite having to kill three pirates who managed to stumble across them during their hunt, it was a successful endeavor. Cassius, in disgust, tore out the tap in his precious ship's comms after calling the birth status of Calligos Winterscale into question.
-While the track was underway, the party members back at the Queen discussed the first days events. The circus atmosphere belied the seriousness of the affair, and they had doubts that Skalla was being honest about his intention to sell Crassus. Manus and Aurora, both having extensive knowledge on the subject, expressed their secret concern that this wasn't an auction at all.
-During the final moments of the duel that ended the first day Manus had felt a palpable shudder run through the psychic fabric around them, and a distant voiced roared in wordless fury as the killing blow was struck. Aurora had taken note of the changes that had begun to apparently overtake Skalla, changes that seemed to indicate that he followed the Eighfold Path. Both were convinced that the auction was the cover for a ritual to Khorne. To what end, though, they could not say.
-They decided to have a detailed scan of Skalla's ship performed by the Gypsy, in an effort to determine if the man Skalla was presenting as Crassus really was the Querry agent they sought. They knew Skalla had him from gene-coded proof he provided, but had no clue if the person in the void field at the Cathedral was him. Hannibal Hastur reported to them, several hours later, that he had not found sign of Crassus amidst the noise of Skalla's titanic ship. He did, however, find that one of the central docking facilities was void shielded as well. What Skalla was hiding there, he could not tell. He would need more time to decipher the strange readings that the Gypsy's precise instruments had given him.
-Whatever else they wished for would have to wait, their comms rang out sharply. Skalla was ready to host the second day's events. Vadik, fearing someone would attempt to tamper with the ship again, chose to stay behind at the Queen and guard it.
-Arriving at the cathedral the group split briefly. Merrick, alone, contacted Hex's pirates and planted the idea that Winterscale's agents had been responsible for the death of the pirates Vadik and Merrick slain in their hunt for the spy that infiltrated their ship. It was a hard sell, but he pulled it off. Hex was livid, and swore bloody vengeance on the Winterscale faction before the auction was over.
-The other group, headed by Cassius, attempted to broker an agreement with the Krin party. Neither one of them had the funds to outbid the alliance of Rogue Traders headed by Shen, but if they pooled their resources the could afford it. Krin would agree, but Lucretia insisted that THEY be allowed to take Crassus at the end of the auction. Mahaka's orders had been cleared, she wished Crassus for herself, so the deal with Krin fell through.
-While Cassius spoke with Lucretia, Manus and Shen conversed psychically. Manus aksed if Shen knew if the man in the void field really was Crassus. Shen, out of gratitude for Manus not interfering with the duel the previous day, answered that he was not absolutely certain, but did believe that it was Crassus in the Cathedral. He knew that Crassus was a moderately powerful psyker, and that the being in the shield was a psyker as well.
-The next day's negotiations started with a grim offer from Skalla. Any party which volunteered for the blood games would be given free credit at Skalla's expense during the first round of bidding. He asked for volunteers, and Wu-10 decided to act. Winterscale's agent had insulted the machine spirits of the station and his comrade's ship through his clumsy hacking attempts. Their party, so far, had presented itself as the most direct threat to the outcome of the auction. They needed to be sent a message. He cast back his crimson cloak, strode resolutely into the center of the circle beneath Crassus, and called for Winterscale to send forth their best fighter.
-Skalla roared his approval and strode back to his throne, calling for Winterscale to answer. It did not take long for a tall and powerfully built man to stride forward. He shed his greatcoat from his shoulders, and met Wu-10's gaze directly. He was a brutal specimen of a man without the whirring augmetic arms which had replaced his natural ones years ago. Electricity crackled off of the knuckles as he assumed a fighting stance. Wu-10, unimpressed, unsheathed his chain sword muttered a binary prayer to the Omnissiah.
-As soon as Skalla called for them to begin the shock boxer leaped forward, and the deadly dance of the arena began again. They were an evenly matched pair, striking and flowing around and into each other with brutal finesse and skill. The shock boxer's discharges shorted Wu-10's circuits briefly, and the Skitarii suffered under the mercenary's brutal assault for long seconds while his systems recalibrated. In time, however, the will of the Machine God proved indomitable. This man was still a thing of flesh and bone, despite his arms; fatigue and frustration wore him down like the howling winds of Mars scoured the red stone of Wu-10's home. Shearing off first one arm, then the other, Wu-10 finally split the mercenary's skull in two.
-A sudden chill took the air, and a strange muttering seemed to fill the ears of everyone present as the mercenaries blood pumped out onto the floor. Another distant howl of raucous rage and hatred seemed to fill the souls of those present, though few could comprehend what had happened as they peered around in disbelief. Manus and Shen had more difficulty hiding their reactions, a ripple in the wall between the Immaterium and real-space hammered at their minds.
-As soon as the odd sensation subsided, Skalla clapped and announced that Wu-10 had earned the credit with his thanks. With little of the ceremony or theatrics that had accompanied the first day, Skalla began the first round of the auction. In short time it became obvious that no one would be able to keep pace with Shen's resources. He matched, or exceeded, every bid put forward. First to withdraw were Hex's pirates, followed shortly by the House of Krin. Cassius, seeing that they had no hope of winning if the bid went into another round, put their entire reserve on the line. Skalla, seeing that all but the three most intent of interested parties had pulled out, called for an end to the second day.
-Before they could adjourn though, there was the matter of the third day. Skalla explained that the final day's auction was reserved for TWO parties, not three. So instead of drawing out the talking and bidding any further, he would allow martial skill to determine which two of the three would remain. He called for a champion from each of them, the last two standing of the three would be allowed to bid on the final day to take Crassus.
-For this round of Skalla's twisted games a series of lectern pillars emerged from the floor and rose over 10 feet into the air. They had been meant to elevate speakers of the Ecclesiarchy during rituals and sermons. This time he would allow the combatants to choose their own weaponry, they just had to pick who they would send forward.
-With Wu-10 still recovering from his bout, Merrick volunteered to represent them for the round. As he strode into the make-shift arena alongside two gunmen from Shen and Winterscale (the former armed with a sleek sub-machinegun, the latter with a heavy stubber), a separate shimmering void field surrounded the circular fighting area like a cage.
-Shen and Manus, conferring mentally, agreed that Winterscale had to be taken out of the running. They each psychically instructed their combatant o focus their efforts on Winterscale's commando. Despite his outrage at the sudden intrusion into his mind, Merrick saw the merit in the plan and immediately began to coordinate fire with Shen's soldier as soon as the shield had fallen into place. It was a brutal and fast-paced gunfight, a thing of kinetic chess where they each maneuvered ceaselessly for the angle necessary to eliminate their opponent. Winterscale's representative was a skilled soldier and proficient marksman; but a firearm was not a tool to Merrick, he had LIVED the way of the gun on Necromunda. It took little time for him to corner his prey, and a well-placed shot to the head ended the affair.
-As soon as the echoes of the final shot had died down, all hell broke loose...
-Arriving back at their rented docking bay, the party was surprised to find a data pad lying in front of the access doors. A short note, which deleted itself within seconds of opening, simply said that someone had been inside of their ship. It was followed by a short vid clip of a slender person in full-body synth-leathers hacking the access controls to the bay, and then the ship, before slipping inside for several moments. Paying a little extra on the side to the station representative seemed to have paid off.
-A detailed examination of the ship revealed that there had not been any deliberate attempts at sabotage or traps, but a subtle tap had been applied to the Queen's communication systems. Someone present on the station wanted to know more about the party, and were willing to take risks to find out. Vadik and Merrick, both skilled at tracking their way through industrial sprawls, decided to attempt to follow the spy.
-Two things revealed themselves during their track. First, that the agent sent to their ship had been a professional that tried to plant a false trail leading to Hex's pirate gang. Second, that the real trail led to the docking bays where Winterscale's agents had berthed. Despite having to kill three pirates who managed to stumble across them during their hunt, it was a successful endeavor. Cassius, in disgust, tore out the tap in his precious ship's comms after calling the birth status of Calligos Winterscale into question.
-While the track was underway, the party members back at the Queen discussed the first days events. The circus atmosphere belied the seriousness of the affair, and they had doubts that Skalla was being honest about his intention to sell Crassus. Manus and Aurora, both having extensive knowledge on the subject, expressed their secret concern that this wasn't an auction at all.
-During the final moments of the duel that ended the first day Manus had felt a palpable shudder run through the psychic fabric around them, and a distant voiced roared in wordless fury as the killing blow was struck. Aurora had taken note of the changes that had begun to apparently overtake Skalla, changes that seemed to indicate that he followed the Eighfold Path. Both were convinced that the auction was the cover for a ritual to Khorne. To what end, though, they could not say.
-They decided to have a detailed scan of Skalla's ship performed by the Gypsy, in an effort to determine if the man Skalla was presenting as Crassus really was the Querry agent they sought. They knew Skalla had him from gene-coded proof he provided, but had no clue if the person in the void field at the Cathedral was him. Hannibal Hastur reported to them, several hours later, that he had not found sign of Crassus amidst the noise of Skalla's titanic ship. He did, however, find that one of the central docking facilities was void shielded as well. What Skalla was hiding there, he could not tell. He would need more time to decipher the strange readings that the Gypsy's precise instruments had given him.
-Whatever else they wished for would have to wait, their comms rang out sharply. Skalla was ready to host the second day's events. Vadik, fearing someone would attempt to tamper with the ship again, chose to stay behind at the Queen and guard it.
-Arriving at the cathedral the group split briefly. Merrick, alone, contacted Hex's pirates and planted the idea that Winterscale's agents had been responsible for the death of the pirates Vadik and Merrick slain in their hunt for the spy that infiltrated their ship. It was a hard sell, but he pulled it off. Hex was livid, and swore bloody vengeance on the Winterscale faction before the auction was over.
-The other group, headed by Cassius, attempted to broker an agreement with the Krin party. Neither one of them had the funds to outbid the alliance of Rogue Traders headed by Shen, but if they pooled their resources the could afford it. Krin would agree, but Lucretia insisted that THEY be allowed to take Crassus at the end of the auction. Mahaka's orders had been cleared, she wished Crassus for herself, so the deal with Krin fell through.
-While Cassius spoke with Lucretia, Manus and Shen conversed psychically. Manus aksed if Shen knew if the man in the void field really was Crassus. Shen, out of gratitude for Manus not interfering with the duel the previous day, answered that he was not absolutely certain, but did believe that it was Crassus in the Cathedral. He knew that Crassus was a moderately powerful psyker, and that the being in the shield was a psyker as well.
-The next day's negotiations started with a grim offer from Skalla. Any party which volunteered for the blood games would be given free credit at Skalla's expense during the first round of bidding. He asked for volunteers, and Wu-10 decided to act. Winterscale's agent had insulted the machine spirits of the station and his comrade's ship through his clumsy hacking attempts. Their party, so far, had presented itself as the most direct threat to the outcome of the auction. They needed to be sent a message. He cast back his crimson cloak, strode resolutely into the center of the circle beneath Crassus, and called for Winterscale to send forth their best fighter.
-Skalla roared his approval and strode back to his throne, calling for Winterscale to answer. It did not take long for a tall and powerfully built man to stride forward. He shed his greatcoat from his shoulders, and met Wu-10's gaze directly. He was a brutal specimen of a man without the whirring augmetic arms which had replaced his natural ones years ago. Electricity crackled off of the knuckles as he assumed a fighting stance. Wu-10, unimpressed, unsheathed his chain sword muttered a binary prayer to the Omnissiah.
-As soon as Skalla called for them to begin the shock boxer leaped forward, and the deadly dance of the arena began again. They were an evenly matched pair, striking and flowing around and into each other with brutal finesse and skill. The shock boxer's discharges shorted Wu-10's circuits briefly, and the Skitarii suffered under the mercenary's brutal assault for long seconds while his systems recalibrated. In time, however, the will of the Machine God proved indomitable. This man was still a thing of flesh and bone, despite his arms; fatigue and frustration wore him down like the howling winds of Mars scoured the red stone of Wu-10's home. Shearing off first one arm, then the other, Wu-10 finally split the mercenary's skull in two.
-A sudden chill took the air, and a strange muttering seemed to fill the ears of everyone present as the mercenaries blood pumped out onto the floor. Another distant howl of raucous rage and hatred seemed to fill the souls of those present, though few could comprehend what had happened as they peered around in disbelief. Manus and Shen had more difficulty hiding their reactions, a ripple in the wall between the Immaterium and real-space hammered at their minds.
-As soon as the odd sensation subsided, Skalla clapped and announced that Wu-10 had earned the credit with his thanks. With little of the ceremony or theatrics that had accompanied the first day, Skalla began the first round of the auction. In short time it became obvious that no one would be able to keep pace with Shen's resources. He matched, or exceeded, every bid put forward. First to withdraw were Hex's pirates, followed shortly by the House of Krin. Cassius, seeing that they had no hope of winning if the bid went into another round, put their entire reserve on the line. Skalla, seeing that all but the three most intent of interested parties had pulled out, called for an end to the second day.
-Before they could adjourn though, there was the matter of the third day. Skalla explained that the final day's auction was reserved for TWO parties, not three. So instead of drawing out the talking and bidding any further, he would allow martial skill to determine which two of the three would remain. He called for a champion from each of them, the last two standing of the three would be allowed to bid on the final day to take Crassus.
-For this round of Skalla's twisted games a series of lectern pillars emerged from the floor and rose over 10 feet into the air. They had been meant to elevate speakers of the Ecclesiarchy during rituals and sermons. This time he would allow the combatants to choose their own weaponry, they just had to pick who they would send forward.
-With Wu-10 still recovering from his bout, Merrick volunteered to represent them for the round. As he strode into the make-shift arena alongside two gunmen from Shen and Winterscale (the former armed with a sleek sub-machinegun, the latter with a heavy stubber), a separate shimmering void field surrounded the circular fighting area like a cage.
-Shen and Manus, conferring mentally, agreed that Winterscale had to be taken out of the running. They each psychically instructed their combatant o focus their efforts on Winterscale's commando. Despite his outrage at the sudden intrusion into his mind, Merrick saw the merit in the plan and immediately began to coordinate fire with Shen's soldier as soon as the shield had fallen into place. It was a brutal and fast-paced gunfight, a thing of kinetic chess where they each maneuvered ceaselessly for the angle necessary to eliminate their opponent. Winterscale's representative was a skilled soldier and proficient marksman; but a firearm was not a tool to Merrick, he had LIVED the way of the gun on Necromunda. It took little time for him to corner his prey, and a well-placed shot to the head ended the affair.
-As soon as the echoes of the final shot had died down, all hell broke loose...