Eisenhorn

Warhammer 40,000: Tales of the Inquisition

It is the 41st Millenium, and there is only War.

The God Emperor sits upon the Golden Throne, as his armies march forward to defeat the enemies of Man. From the numberless Imperial Guard, where a hundred thousand dead is meaningless so long as victory is claimed, to the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines that provide the tip of the spear for the Imperium of Man. But their deeds and tales, many times, pale in comparison to those of the Inquisition, the hidden heroes of the Imperium of Man. These hidden enforcers of the Imperial rule, from the hunters of the Xenos to those that purge the Heretic and deal swift defeat to the Daemons that invade the real space. Such agents are varied in origin and creed, and just as varied, if not more so, are those that are sworn to follow them.

Loyal men and women from all walks of life can find themselves within the employ of an Inquisitor in a heartbeat. From the lowliest Guardsmen to the most illustrious Adeptus Arbites enforcer of the law, and most men and women in between, the retinue of an Inquisitor defines the methods and resources available to the Inquisitor. For a well equipped, loyal retinue indicates a well to do Inquisitor, while poor equipment or renegade thoughts indicate far darker methods are employed. Some Inquisitors that have no qualms with employing more radical means can find the likes of Xenos and chaos corrupted tools and weapons within their armaments and Retinue, all for the Emperor in their defense, although far too many are corrupted by their own means. But such varied Retinues, and so many varied Inquisitors, methods, and ideologies, that there is no feasable means to control how Inquisitors act, assuming they would allow such a burden and restriction to be placed upon them.

A more recent note of a Retinue defining the Inquisitor, in his later years, is that of Inquisitor Lord Xersus, of the Ordo Malleus, banisher of daemons and bane of the heretical, acted far more through his Retinue in his later years, as his reputation grew and would often preceed him, while his retinue would be faceless and often nameless in records and prior annals of history. So it would be this band of peculiar characters, warriors, and specialists that would define the later years of the operations and procedures of the Inquisitor Lord Xersus, and from this, we have the records and annals that are presented here today. A tale that is not released outside the Inquisition, but should be known to other members, as to never underestimate what a well prepared Retinue can accomplish.

So, this is an idea lurking in my head that I have tried before, but circumstances forced it to end prematurely. The overall idea, however, I think can be done, so would anyone be interested in the above? Details such as which Ordos is used, the inquisitor himself, and such can be changed easily enough to fit interest, but as an overall idea, would anyone be interested? Feel free to post any questions ya'll might have, and I'll do my level best to answer them.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 High Seas Adventure!)

Well, the good Captain has his reasons for putting his foot down on slavery, which he considers more than valid. So take that for what you will. Such things will probably come up in due time, of course.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 High Seas Adventure!)

Gerald was quiet as the various people discussed matters among themselves, while taking note of several key moments, well, more note than he would have taken of other events that he was keeping track of, mainly, who opposed his position of Captain, or at the very least did not support it. The female elf flat out cast her vote in his favor, keeping short and to the point. An interesting, if blunt, thing. Short an to the point he could work with, as could the others he would hope. The man who spoke next was human, like himself, though it appeared he took a far different path in life than himself, which was respectable enough. His offer to support, in return for the role of Navigator, made him think, rather than just blindly accept the extra support and move on. The man seemed capable and level headed, but his talents as a navigator were unknown. Then again, so were his as a captain, so it was only fair to trust in return. He nodded after those moments of quiet thought, before the next person spoke. "A fair offer, and if you desire the role of Navigator, I will assume you have some skill in the art. I would see to it you assume the role as navigator, aye."

The half naked elf was going to be a problem, sounding like a religious fanatic of his clan of elves. Other than as fellow crew aboard vessels, such as Ragbeard's own ship at one point, did he deal with them, and he did not terribly like their culture. The will of their god to make this woman, who did not want the role, captain? He did not betray anything on his face, still seated as the elf bellowed out his thing, probably thinking himself clever or the like. He tried not to dislike such beings, of any sort, but he suspected he and this elf may not get along very well. He spoke quietly, in notable contrast to the bellowing, not a man to raise his voice unless circumstance demanded it. "I respect your belief as much as the next man's, but I do not personally feel letting the interpretation of the will of a god, which generally, by their nature, is rarely knowable, decide. If this Jayros would truly make it so, then it will become apparent, despite any actions made by ourselves. Simply my opinion, of course."

Gerald personally put his faith in another being, but he did not go about madly claiming all the others were wrong and would burn in the pits of whatever hellscape they deserved. He didn't like bringing religion into decision making needlessly, zeal could be blinding, after all. A half orc spoke next, casting his vote in his favor as well, granted, he did not seem terribly pleased with the situation. That was something he would have to inquire about in due time, in case it would prove to be a problem of some sort or another to the ship and crew. The next man to speak also cast his vote in Gerald's favor, offering his talents as a book keep and mage, both of which would be welcome additions. He inclined his head to both the half orc and mage as they had spoke in turn, replying to them as well. "The addition of a mage, and one versed in the care of books, would be welcome. And I am sure your ferocity in battle will be most welcome as well." The latter half of his sentence was clearly directed at the half orc, he was simply being polite by not calling him a half blood or some such issue.

The other half orc spoke next, calling for a final vote and tally and be done with the event, so they could go about drinking and being merry. Well, they would, if he made Captain, Gerald would be retiring early to investigate what had changed since he last served upon that old ship, but the half naked elf was seemingly oblivious to the current of events still, blowing them off and focusing on the elf woman who was clearly unhappy with crossing paths with this other elf again, and the very end of his rant caught his clear attention. Slavers, he knew which tribe they hailed from, if his name spouting hadn't given that away. A twitch of his eye, ever so brief, was the only betrayal of his inner thoughts, and his voice remained quiet, but had hardened in tone a bit. "Well, allow me to point out that I shall not be engaging in slave trade of any sort. But I digress." He stood, arms linked behind his back as he faced the other owners of the ship, in agreement with the half orc, though his reasons differed. "If we all have voiced our opinions, a final tally can be made, and those who wish it, may get drunk on ale and be merry. I would request each person give their final opinion, and vote, should no other nominations be made." It would fall in his favor, but once the issue was decided, they would all go about their business for the evening.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 High Seas Adventure!)

That was more intended that the high risk, high reward job would be risking steady, albeit still dangerous, work running Chinaworth cargo, versus running the risk of not making a good profit off the pirate hunting, for whatever reason, even with free repairs thrown in.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 High Seas Adventure!)

Hmm, I'm cool with either, though I can't really decide between whether to vote high risk high reward, or go for the more reliable work with Chinatown, or go for the big bucks with Ashur. My only thoughts about the latter are logistics, mainly, but I would be happy to work with either.

A Hunt of Blood and Gears { Eisenhorn and Fairy Tale Dreamer }

Adrian listened to the Vampiress Victoria speak, and as she spoke, he finished up with his rifle, letting it rest in his lap while she finished speaking her bit, and he shrugged a bit. "I'm not really prepared to discuss my past with vampire kind, they ended my service in the Commonwealth Army, that should suffice for the moment. I can't speak on not knowing your past, but it sounds like a terrible burden, to put it mildly." Not knowing where one came from was practically as bad, if not worse, than not knowing where one was going. They went hand in hand, so it was simple enough to see how not knowing one could make the other difficult. "I imagine you have at least attempted to figure out your past at some point or another?"

Adrian listened to her response to his rifle, how it was fascinating and impressive, and Adrian nodded, although he did not necessarily wish such weapons needed to exist. But they did, so here he carried one of the finer examples of such tools. "Aye, its only one part of a new generation of weapons brought on by this revolution of Steam. I do not know how effective it shall be against your King, the rounds are based on the blood of the vampire itself, and it might require a more potent sample to ruin a more potent being, such as the King." Her talk of the doctor and his night hours was a quiet relief, if a small one at the moment, and he nodded while drawing his revolver, breaking it open to make sure everything worked properly with it as well. "That is good to hear, I can feel my leg just isn't right, even if I couldn't tell otherwise. Apologies about your dress, by the way, didn't intend to see it ruined." He gave her a chance to respond in kind, keeping the tidbit about the factories in mind, clearly thinking about such things now, debating how it was probably going to be some place he paid a visit to, in time, when he was recovered more thoroughly.

World of Darkness (Boston)

The Tremere watched as the Camarilla vampires gathered, all walks of such beings of various standing and power gathering to hear the grim news, if their own crude imitations of information networks, barring a few skilled amongst them, had already informed them of the news. He observed two such beings, one he had personally instructed a ghoul to inform, the other, probably a side effect of that. The Seneschal Eriko Nishimura, a fascinating example of her clan, that much was certain. Information was scarce, hardly surprising as she probably kept such things out of sight, and he hardly dug too deep. Such things would be noticed enough to attract her ire, and such a thing he could ill afford, especially a time like this. His musing on her were kept short and to the point, only concerned with the fact that, with the Prince dead in a permanent sort of way, she was the de facto ruler of the Camarilla operations in Boston. That meant she was THE boss above him now, for the present, rather than one of the higher ones. And knowing how she acted in the past, she probably had all sorts of agents and operations already in action, all to cover for this assault and other such shadowy goals that lurked in her mind.

The other notable presence, to the Tremere at least, was a Kindred that most of the others avoided, one who spoke with rats and held the information network that, he suspected, outclassed his or, at the very worse level, provided a rather potent rival. A strange specimen of their kind, which was saying something, the sewer dwelling information broker was probably the single Kindred in Boston that could treat information as a deadlier weapon than himself, and he could respect that, if nothing else. He, with his own strange habits, hardly cared or was bothered by the sewer Kindred's habits and company, although they rarely crossed paths personally, he was sure proxies and such in each of their networks had crossed paths consistently, and made deals and such as part of their own work as well as their master's. He approved of the information that Tosh, if memory served him, would potentially bring to the table, especially augmented with what his own report had, should Eriko decide to share.

Speaking of the illustrious Senseschal, Inigo calmly approached her, black folder tucked under one arm, leaning heavily as usual on his cane, inclining his head as he paused a respectful distance from her, well aware of her body guards presence in this place. After the Prince's death, of course they would be even more heavily aware of their surroundings and charge than usual, which was impressive considering their natural talent to begin with. But, such idle thoughts were irrelevant, and he spoke to her directly, before it was time to address the Camarilla. "I apologize for the disruption, Seneschal, but I suspect you will forgive such intrusions this eve. Enemies escaped with the life of our esteemed Prince, endeavoring to end our esteemed estate of Boston, though that ever endearing ghoul most likely eagerly elaborated as such." Probably not eagerly, but the poor creature had little choice in the matter, after all, Inigo was hardly one that could be blown off when he got on a roll. With her here, he was inclined to let her take the spotlight, hand out orders, and such, and passed her the black folder, speaking as he had before, hardly direct and apparently wasting breath for those unfamiliar with the Tremere.

"A specially structured script, storing select sources upon sometimes stressful souls against us, Sabbat and their seekers." It would contain the report meant for the Prince, so it would lack his normally maddening manner of speech, and in plain speak, it was an intelligence report on the most recent discoverable activities between the Sabbat, Garou on the outskirts, Human hunters, and other things of note. The Sabbat were the focus this time, however, and he figured that they had a hand in the death of the Prince, direct or otherwise. He resumed speaking while she either leafed through the report or not, adding onto what the ghoul would not have. "Speaking of Sabbat, this humble Tremere has called the meeting of the Camarilla, but is hardly one to be opening with speeches of venomous words and fiery orders, nor is he one to be in the open of such foreboding motions. The bulk of the bolstered body of the Camarilla appears bodily present, and it would bode well, in this one's opinion, to begin with the berating of some, the bolstering of others, and a beginning of new page in Boston history."

Inigo knew his manner of speech was not conducive to leadership, most Kindred couldn't follow or stand his manner of speaking for extended periods of time, for he spoke fast, and never directly stating manners. After all, one could summarize what he had stated as simply it would be, in his opinion, prudent to begin. But he spoke as such for his own amusement, and for his own uses, and so he would simply fall in behind the Seneschal, having both called the meeting, found the Prince's abode the way it was, and of course carried much knowledge of the report she now held, as well as additional information and such that would be analyzed further, he had a natural reason to be present. He stuck to the shadows around her, of course, keeping that respectful distance while waiting to be called upon, her presence would no doubt gather attention and silence the Camarilla that was gathered here, after all, many were confused as to why they had been summoned away from their duties. Let Eriko deal with explaining that, it was hardly his place to do such things with higher authority present now. Let her deal with the shock and backlash that would arrive from such things becoming known to the main populace of Camarilla Kindred.

A Hunt of Blood and Gears { Eisenhorn and Fairy Tale Dreamer }

Well, I feel like a major heel.

I'm terribly sorry about forgetting to post here, got a bit busy and it slipped my mind. I can have a post up today if your still even interested, if not, I'm sorry about letting it die like that.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 High Seas Adventure!)

Gerald listened to the others, his own arms folded across his chest, leaning back in his chair as they spoke in turn. This Captain Ragbeard's offer had piqued his interest, and he had more cause than most to get off the land again for awhile. Captaining wasn't something he had considered before, but from what the folks have said so far, he figured it was at least worth the offer. He didn't know their past experience at sea, if any, so he might as well offer his own services in such a role, even if it proved to be merely advisory. He politely waited for each person to finish that had spoken so far before breaking his own silence, keeping polite until he got a grasp on who each of these people were, in turn.

"I am in agreement with our friend here, we can hardly afford having an ill equipped captain in charge, I've seen that happen once too many times. I've spent most of my life at sea, done a variety of jobs. Its certainly not a sterling record, but if no one else here desires such a position, I can take up such a mantle of Captain, in transit, until either proven or someone else proves themselves a better fit to the mold." No lies, only omissions of his past there, but that was many a tale for another day, another drunken night mayhaps. But he spoke truth, having spent only a scant few years in total on the land, more familiar with a scrap at sea than at land, though he could handle both, and he left his offer alone at that, not attempting to push the matter or force it, letting it naturally work itself out, however it might become, for good or ill.

Sailing the Seas of Aquarianus! (A D&D 3.5 high seas adventure!)

Hmm, it does look interesting, count me in.