The tunnel they had devised was spacious, thanks to Lucius' bulk. Evidently safe as well, we passed through without incident, all the while hoping this cavernous entryway not be the only mark I made on Havenos before an ignominious end. I received and even more dire sense of foreboding when Selencia directed my attention to the inside of the wall. 

"Hadrian..." The Ordo Biologis said, approaching the structure. I followed her, placing a finger upon one of the print. My long-time friend examined them, albeit in a different method than I had done. I was merely checking to see how old the prints were, and though it was hard to ascertain, my guess was within the last few weeks. Selencia was deciphering a more esoteric mystery. 

"The blood did not come from their hands." She said, stepping away. "It's...mixed between arterial and venous. Whoever put these here were the erm, perpetrators and not cultists who maimed themselves, I would imagine."

"Cultists..." I said, mulling over the word. Selencia shrugged, and placed her hands on her hips. 

"Perhaps they weren't, but I've been in the yours and Inquisitor Kronus' service long enough to know where you go, there's likely worshipers of the ruinous gods. Sometimes, I think I'm not payed well enough." 

A ghost of a smile appeared on my face, and I turned back to Emmaline and the others. I gave a gesture of my head to my psyker and lover. "Very well, let's hurry. There's very little to be gained here." I took a quick scan of our surroundings, almost expecting lurking figures rising over the crags, but there was nothing. 

Our group moved from the wall and deeper into the bed of the valley. The sun remained as hot as ever, yet I felt a chill run down my spine. Something elusive skulked just at the edge of my senses. I wasn't half as powerful as Emmaline in psychic prowess, but I was a bit older and had longer, formal training. I could almost smell something unnerving in the air, but as we overtook our second mile, I could still see nothing. 

Absolutely nothing. No insects or one of the strange rock lizards I saw before the wall. Not even any reptilian avian creatures gliding high above us. The planet itself seemed to withdraw from this barren route. It wasn't until we heard a blood curdling scream from behind that I felt I wasn't completely alone, even with my companions all around me. 

We turned, brandishing weapons, but saw nothing. A few of the locals still accompanying us had scrambled over to our position, but when questioned, they shook their heads, clueless as us. 

"Where's Galda?" Kelden asked, the one eyed tracker hefting his hunting auto-rifle readily. He seemed nervous, but the big man kept himself from showing it in all but his eyes. I unholstered my large caliber handgun and approached the area while Emmaline feigned granting me an aristocratic order to see what had transpired. As I passed a mound of rocks as tall as a man, I noticed a strange inscription upon one of the stones, this one oblong and clearly shaped by something with a purposeful design. I could not read the script, but it hit me at that moment. 

"These are cairns." I said, and the group was given only a moment to consider the implications of that pronouncement. My words were as the trigger of a gun, for no sooner had I uttered them that a wild, keen screech erupted from the opposite side of the valley, followed by a return scream very close to my position. The stones rumbled and fell, and mounds we had initially thought were simple imperfections in the slopes burst forth and raised human-like hands as their warped bodies moved with lightning speed. I put three rounds into a mutant that had evidently been hiding behind the cairn before I even had a good look at the thing. 

Its eyes were bloodshot red and it's body was both bloated and sinuous in equal measure, giving it the look of a boa that had engorged itself of some large megafauna, and yet it walked on two, very human legs. It's maw was unnaturally long and gaping with razors teeth, and I could see three arms on it, though others looked to have a random assortment of limbs. I spun, gunning down another mutant that loped towards Selencia. My shells and her needle shots brought it down, though it died hard. My eyes caught sight of Emmaline pulling out her Helix 2 and ripping through a towering mutant moments before it reached her. As it fell, I gave a grin that likely seemed crazy in the midst of this sudden, hellish melee. My thoughts drifted to my first shooting lesson with her. She might not be a marksman, but she can hit something huge right in front of her better than any.