When Emmaline stepped in, she had nearly caught me in a state of undress. I had just slid my trousers on, and she just saw a glimpse of my hardened abdomen as I slid on my dark dress shirt. I rolled the sleeves up stylishly, looking in the mirror as I fixed my collar. I knew she was in the room, but I didn't focus on her until I saw the woman in the mirror. Immediately my heart skipped a beat and I wondered how she was always so immaculate looking. She was smiling, and I couldn't help but return with one of my own. 

I turned and walked up to her, holding my arms out for her to examine. My clothing was dark in order to keep a low profile, but it handsomely fit my form and looked fashionable enough to keep anyone from thinking I was doing something other than taking a casual stroll. 

"Very handsome," she said as she smoothed one of my sleeves and tugged at my collar. I was about to speak before she pulled me down for a hungry kiss. It made me not want to leave. 

"With that seal of approval, I believe I'll take my chances," I said, and we held each other's gazes for a few seconds longer than mere comrades would before I pulled myself away and stepped out into the central room. The two barbarians were in the midst of their game, but Urien had known me long enough to know the various ways I carried myself. He granted me a salute and I returned the gesture before walking out into the corridors of the Ignatius manor. 

The house was large, but I had a fine memory and retraced our steps from the tour we had been given just a few hours ago. I passed by two dinner guests and made pleasantries as they each made their way back to their respective rooms, and gave a greeting to one of the servants, but as I descended stairs, the rooms were less filled with light. Some were entirely dark whilst others were dimmed, though the foyer and main halls were likely perpetually lit. I felt it in the air and grew more cautious, finally finding my way back to the hall where I knew the door lay. As I approached it, I heard a voice behind me tell me to stop. I turned and saw one of Julius's militiamen eyeing me curiously. 

"What do you do here, my lord?" He asked. 

"Oh, I'm just a curious sort. I figured there was a gaming room down here. I'm a betting man, you see." I said shamelessly. He did not seem convinced. 

"Sir, the upstairs is for guests or those who are about to leave." 

"You did not see me," I said to him firmly, using my will. His face crumpled up as his mind was twisted into my point of view, and he nodded in agreement. He turned around and walked away. I reverted my gaze back to the door until I heard a bland 'I didn't see him,' from his mouth and whipped around to see another man in uniform step into the hall, looking between his comrade and myself. 

This man was smarter. He would not say anything to me without his weapon out. I didn't let him get that far. As his posture shifted, I lunged at him. He reached for his gun and pulled it clear of his holster, but he never got a shot off. I pushed against his hand that went for the gun with my offhand as I used my left hand to chop him in his exposed neck. The man's eyes popped out like he was thrown into the void of space, and with a quick tug at his shirt, he sent his head down to crack into the hallway table, knocking him out cold. With Emmaline and the two feral worlders backing me up, if he remembered what happened to him, my alibi should be sufficient, at least at face value. The Lord and Lady admittedly knew I wasn't to be trusted. 

I searched the militia's pockets, finding a half empty bottle of amasec. I popped the top and poured the rest out in a potted plant before placing the empty bottle in his hand as added insurance. With that done, I could proceed.

I picked the lock on the door swiftly, opening the small gateway to show a long stairway descending down a hall of stone. I looked behind me, and then moved downwards cautiously. The air smelled somewhat dank, but not wholly unfresh. The stairway was used often enough, it seemed. No lights above me, the only source was at the bottom. I wanted to draw my pistol, having left my staff with Urien and my sword with Lazarus, but no. I needed to be as discreet as possible. Once I reached the bottom, I swiftly changed my opinion. 

To many it would have the look of a storage facility, a wide hall with varying industrial rooms with no doors to close between areas. Boxes of unknown contents, likely items the Ignatius family shipped filled at least four of the relatively spacious rooms. The building had the feeling of being just the tip of its potential area, the corridor ending in large doors that were built for a hangar or a high end warehouse facility. As I made my way further in, every opening had a marking on the wall spread in blood. The same terrible marking I had found on that heretic on Tallarn. I curled my lip in disgust, and nearly stumbled into the planning room. I would have if Ignatius hadn't spoken up. 

"-will have it before the week is out." He said. "There's little to worry about. Even the Imperial Navy couldn't halt us now." 

The next voice was a voice that was filled with malice and unreal power. I had heard it before as well. Every word was a promise. Every pause was a weight you would hold forever. I had never heard such hatred from anything save a true daemon. 

"There will be no paltry navy. Tzeentch has shown me the true ending of these matters. The key will find us as I have told you, Julius," Bahometus said. I could barely keep my rage from taking over. Bahometus had not killed my mentor, but without him, Hykophan would never have been there to pull that trigger. It was all the sorcerer's plot.

"How fortuitous it is, then, that we have found a few peculiars to-" 

I stepped out into the doorway, my gun aimed at the two. Tall Ignatius and Bahometus swathed in robes of purple felcloth, feathers, and what I imagined human skin stood over a hologram of the Segmentun Tempestus, Moldar on display with red highlights around the ring-like city walls across the beautiful world. I didn't speak, instead shooting the power supply to the hologram. It sputtered to nothing. Ignatius seemed surprised, but he quickly took stock of himself. Bahometus was unreadable behind his warp-spawn mask.

"Officer, how nice of you to join us," Julius said theatrically. He looked at me with his usual arrogance, but when his companion did nothing to me, he glanced at Bahometus. 

"This one has more than bullets to use," The sorcerer warned. I smiled ruefully. 

"Holding heretical meetings at your place of residence, Ignatius. How stupid can one be?" I asked him, no humor in my voice. My eyes held death. 

"Speak for yourself, officer. I knew young men often have a weakness for a pair of tits, but you did not catch me as the type of man to be blinded by a woman, as delectacle as yours is. She isn't what you seem to think." 

I grinned, about to tell him she wasn't what he believed either. But instead, I felt an intense flash of pain, and darkness took me. Vaguely I was aware of falling, and it wasnt until later I realized I had been knocked out for several hours. I had a few more bruises when I woke up, and during interrogation days later I was informed I had awoken briefly as they were moving me and I managed to break a leg and dislocate an arm before I was beaten into submission. 

[hr] 

I was aware or shackles on my hands, my arms feeling pulled into aching tautness and my body felt wholly unwell. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the light of the room, a very large room that held a strange device in the center. A device that looked partway between an energy pylon and a plasma generator, and something else that felt wholly alien. Next to me, I was chained with Urien and Bolskar, both looking worse for wear and bruised. 

"Ah, you're finally awake, along with these thieves here," I heard. Standing before me were various people, including Bahometus and Julius along with his sister. I looked around for Emmaline...