T

We are examining the door to the crypt. There is definitely something puzzling about it, or them, rather. A crypt with two entries? I guess it makes sense if you are a Haarlock. And there seems to be a machine spirit loose behind one of them, the 'death is but a door'-door. Riddles, riddles, riddles. I like riddles, but it seems I can get enough of them.

Concluding we are stumped, we move to the private chambers, to see if we can suss out something useful. We see three pdf-troopers at the gate, among dozens of bodies. They are examining the barrier. We hail them, and I requisition their aid, in the name of the Inquisition. They tell us that the bodies are mostly pdf-troopers, killed by Grel and a group of his mourners. Also, one of the pdf-troopers has been aided by a highly skilled sniper, in the main hall.

We proceed into the private chambers, checking every one of them. We find little of interest, except the case for a really powerful sniper rifle in Marshreks chamber, marking him as the sniper. We proceed to the administratum wing, dropping by the pdf-armoury along the way to stock up, again to look for information and find the control room for the pdf-servitors.

At the control room, Alpha again appeases the machine spirits, and talks to them. There seems to be several spirits in the machine, and that the original spirit has been replaced by another, much older spirit, that comes from an unknown place. The replacing will cause all servitors in the complex to go amok in 30 minutes. To be sure we disable all combat servitors.

Alpha and Holder-Smith examine the old spirit further, and find out that one of the crypt doors will open. They work on tricking the old spirits secrets from it but fail, until the time that the crypt door will open. We go to watch. Turns out it is the 'herein lie the children of the kingdom'-door that opens. From the maw horrid creatures with snake bodies and humanlike heads and arms pour. We withdraw, and then proceed to the auction room, only to turn on our heel and head to the lilbrary.

At the library we find two erratic-behaving servitors, Dar taunts them into running into our ambush, and we destroy them easily. Inside the library it looks like a bomb has gone of. I get no points for deducing that Grel and the mourners has killed Septimus and his retinue, and Miss Nile' ashen tear assassin. Two children of the kingdom arrive, up close they are terrifying. Both Holder-Smith and I panic and run, but Dar shows off some really magnificent swings, and kills the things.

Moving again, we proceed to the main hall, and we find Marshrek in the 'rafters' above it. He relays that Wymer and Quill are dead, and that Jerger is hiding in a crypt. He has also seen Nile with a few servitors heading in that direction. She knows what we think, and it is safe to assume that she is going to kill Jerger to get out of the house of ash and dust. At Jergers hiding place we find his bodyguards dead and Jerger gone. The logical place to go is the auction room and the gilded widow. Marshrek comes with us. We run into more children, but we kill them. Dar again kills with abandon, but is wounded.

We find Nile with Wymer and Quill, and quickly realize that we have to kill them. At least I realize; I am very sure that Nile is a Logican, and that we have to kill her sooner rather than later. If we kill her now we can get that done, and maybe find a way out without having to control her at the same time. I also don't want to kill Jerger if I don't think I have to. We fight them, and kill them, but Dar is again gravely wounded, and frankly I don't understand how he even survived. The emperor smiles at us.

Then more children appear, and the situation suddenly seems much graver. I deem that we must gain exit NOW, and so Jerger needs to die. I am sorry for this, but no one can expect to live forever. His blood is just gathered in thin air, and slides into the chalice, I am stunned to realize I have freed a demon host. I truly should have seen it coming, but it never crossed my mind. The demon host says that she will stay true to her word and lower the shield. We gather a few choice items, and run for our lives, and onto the Zygan Martyr.

The trip to (hive) is uneventful; we report to Mar, and Holder-Smith pict records the Grey Psalter and the Book Unbound. I read the Book Unbound, it is utterly fascinating: unknown worlds, new civilizations, endless mysteries. And another mystery, the book itself: it contains veiled references to another book. There is no description of how to get anywher, and this book is a travel account. Intriguing. The start of the book is Solomons discovery of Calixis Sector, written by his own hand. The end of the book is Erasmus story, his writing changes profoundly after the schisma in the family, and seems to descend into madness.

Silas Mar meets us at the dock. He thanks us for our effort, and says he is 'most impressed'. He wants the books and the staff. The rest we can keep. I volunteer for a mind scan, I pass, and he rips apart our contract, and says we are free to do as we please. We find a hotel, and a decent dinner, and decide it is time for some well earned R & R.