(Adventure) Greene Lament

Dark Heresy: Malice

The Curious Case of Elias Greene

Intro

A scheme is set in motion. A prefect of the adeptus administratum lies dead and the suspect's case looks to be open and shut. However, it is but one step of a terrible plan. A Slaaneshi cult in Desoleum works with depraved gangers and treacherous guardsmen to steal a mass of heavy weapons to fuel the flames of heresy throughout the world. It is only the quick wit and swift trigger fingers of the acolytes of the inquisition of man to discover the plot and stop the perpetrators. An investigation with multiple pathways awaits. 

Summary

The acolytes show up in hive Desoleum Primus at the behest of their handler/inquisitor. After being briefed at the popular establishment, the worker's house, the first of three suspects, a red cloaked nobleman with a murky past and a fervent zeal, presents himself. Moving to a sanctionary station and interrogating the main suspect of the murder reveals a nervous man that looks like he couldn't have killed a fly. He points to a bar called the Galloping Aethexe which he and the first man frequented. A suspicious bartender muddies the investigation more, and the three paths of investigation open up. After twists and turns, the whole thing can become clear. The whole thing is a conspiracy and set up. Using mind control via powerful sorceries and xenos technology, the main suspect was set up, the red cloaked nobleman is a red herring, and the bartender is one of the true conspirators. Depending on the acolytes' actions, they may be too late to stop the weapons theft or just in time.

Begin:

The Worker's House

Through a series of couriers and agents the acolytes were all found and given a message:

“The Emperor's Holy Ordos asks you to join your comrades once again. There is a darkness stirring and His light must shine bright through the embers of service. A thought for the day, 'Duty Prevails'!” The message provides the address to the Worker's House. 

The adventure starts a little after noon a week after Emperor's Day. The famed tavern and has a golden facade upon rockcrete walls. The bartender has a noticeable belly underneath his brown suit. He is wearing a top hat, and brown mustache. The gambling tables are being run and the people drink and are merry.

Awareness (+20):

1 Degrees: You notice that foremen and workers are still segregated from each other, the badges of the foremen clearly displayed on their clothes. A sense of resentment lingers in the air.

3 Degrees: (Delayed) While talking with your handler, you notice a peculiar sight. A young man with long black hair wearing a crimson red coat and a cracked crimson half mask at his belt walks in. The man looks handsome, and seems to be of noble stock. You notice him taking an order from the bar and then sitting in a booth by himself, and drinks alone. He is carrying a stack of pamphlets hidden in his coat and a revolver. He will leave a short time after.

Their handler/inquisitor will be sitting at one of the booths. He tells them why they're here and what they're needed for. Elias Greene, and administratum scribe, is imprisoned in a Sanctionary station. He is awaiting imminent removal to an Arbites fortress. He is charged with the murder of prefect Augustus Koreo, an administrator of port Gyre. There is clear pict footage of the murder outside of an administratum center. It shows the scribe's face and his voice is heard. The party's handler has a feeling in his gut that there's more to this story than what has been shown. He will pull out a dataslate with the video on it, and will zoom in on the scribe's eyes that look glazed. He doesn't know why, and that is what is troubling him. The Arbitrators assigned to this case are supposed to pick up the prisoner in two weeks. He suggests talking to him. He also gives them a vox-line number and says they can contact him with one of the public vox booths around the hive. He dismisses the group, tells them to be careful, and a thought for the day, “Sorrow awaits the foolhardy”*

He pay for his drinks and will leave first.

A few moments later three men will walk in with fine clothes and beautifully sculpted masks at their belts. They will call to the bartender for a round of drinks, before a nobleman in a scarlet red coat and a cracked red half-mask catches their attention. They sit with him uninvited and he clearly looks uncomfortable. In the ruckus and talk of the Worker's Den it is hard to hear what they are saying to each other.

(Stealth/Deceive +0) to sneak up or walk up and pretend to not listen in

Success: Walking with your fellow group, you are able to convincingly stand near enough to the conversation to hear it and pretend to be talking together.

Failure: You try to sneak up to the conversation but it's obvious that you moved nearer to eavesdrop, and the nobles take issue.

(Awareness +0)

Success: You are able to hear all of what they are saying

      The head one, Lothos, mentions that the red one, Davrus, hasn't been in their Baby Faces gang for a while and invites him for another go. They found a new boss (note: These babyfaces are related to the ones from the beginner's adventure in the DH2E core rulebook) that is offering them more than just money. Davrus says no. They mention his cracked half mask and taunt him. Davrus will say he's found a true family. He will mention the Children of the Blood, the group he has joined, before being laughed off.

Failure: Unfortunately, you are distracted by the other voices and noise in this large house of drunkards and gamblers. You can't make out what they are saying.

They will laugh at him and then he will leave while being angry. After taking a few steps, the gangers will pick up the pamphlets he accidentally left behind and throw them in his direction. The pages will go everywhere, and Davrus starts to pick them up and then runs in an embarrassed puff. The bartender will be pissed and the babyfaces will leave like jackasses.

If one of the party picks up a pamphlet, the will read “Weary of this wicked world and looking for solidarity? Has the catalyst shaken your faith? Join the Children of the Blood, a family of faith.” After that there seems to be some strings of sentences that sound like gibberish non sequiturs. (Look at the end of this post to figure out what it means)

If the acolytes follow: Roll challenging (+0) stealth vs challenging (+0) awareness.

Success: The acolytes will follow the babyfaces to an autocarriage that will drive to an abandoned manufactorum with a defunct tunnel to port Gyre. The tunnels are a maze and require a (-10) stealth vs (+0) awareness or a (-20) navigate to traverse the tunnels and a challenging (+0) survival to track them if they lose them.

If they succeed, then they will find the babyfaces meeting up with slaaneshi cultists. It looks to be a meetup for pleasure but then one will hand the other scrip and the babyfaces will go off.

The babyfaces don't know exactly what is going on with Elias. They are hired muscle for the cult and possible initiates. 

((+0) Stealth vs (+0)Awareness check for Babyfaces to see if they noticed the acolytes.)

Success: They set someone on following them all day.

Failure: They don't notice more faces in this crowded place

The Sanctionary Station

The station is a miniature fortress with a large banner of the Sanctionary Bondsmen of the Oaths Involute, the enforcers of Desoleum and its hives. There is a pathway to an underground garage, a parking lot, and a gate at the front. A vox comm with a red button underneath it lies to the side of the gate. (The players press it and get greeted by a deskman)  Use the sanctionary profile in the DH2E core rulebook for all tests with the sanctionaries. Definitely include their dispassionate special trait.

(Suggestion: They can pretend to be the arbitrator that was supposed to pick the prisoner up, raising their subtlety (Challenging (-20) deceive vs challenging (+0) scrutiny). They can use their authority to take the prisoner away, lowering their subtlety [A rossette will get them in automatically. An arbitrator in the party can convince (challenging [-20] (w/ dispassionate) charm vs challenging [+0] willpower)

As the gate opens, inside there is a clean reception room with a desk and a sanctionary working on a cogitator. He will be stern and introduce himself as Sgt. Arkady. Other sanctionaries go about their work day. There are wooden benches and hallways to inner offices. Down the hall there is a sign marked with “Holding Cells” directing sanctionaries and visitors to it. If the party has gotten in using their authority or by successful trickery, the man behind the desk stands up and asks the party to follow him. First, he tells the acolytes about the situation and will let them watch the tape of the murder of prefect Augustus Koreo. 

*From a pict feed, they see a man who must be the prefect walking away from his office in the port. He approaches an autocarriage, when a man walks behind him with a hooded robe on and a laspistol in his hand. Augustus looks surprised and he speaks a name 'Elias' and from the audio feed you can hear a high pitched stuttering voice speak. The hooded one pulls the trigger and Augustus falls down dead, while the murderer stumbles away*.

He leads the acolytes to the holding cells, a hallway of stone walls and metal pylons keeping the prisoners in. He will say he feels bad for the scribe, and mentions that this falls under Arbitrator jurisdiction. A prefect being murdered counts as an offense against an adeptus organization. On the way they see a factory worker sitting in a corner with his head down on his knees, a woman (painted throng ganger) with tattoos all over her body in a leather jacket and jeans standing and taunting the sanctionary, and a group of strange pale men that stand silently near the bars of their cell. The last group wordlessly follows the party with their eyes in shadow.

Finally at a cell near the end of the hallway is a man in scribe robes sitting silently on a hanging cot. He looks to be a balding, pale, skinny man in his 30s, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. If anyone approaches, especially if they have an arbitrator with him, he will be terrified.

Challenging (+0) social skill (depending on their approach) to calm him down and/or get him to cooperate

Success: He calms down and submissively goes with the party.

Failure: He gets more scared and wild and starts breathing heavily and sweating.

The sanctionary suggests taking him to an interrogation room with a pict-capturer, a one way window, and audiocapture for the sanctionary and anyone else to listen in on the interrogation. A small metal stable and two chairs lie in the middle of the room. Elias will be nervous but will spill out whatever he can. (GM note: Play him like he really doesn't think he did it and someone is setting him up.)

(Interrogating Elias):

Suggested Subjects:

Who he is (Elias Greene, Administratum Scribe)

Why is he scared (He's scared they're going to torture him for something he didn't do)

What he did (They say he killed the prefect but he doesn't believe it)

What he remembers from that night (He remembers going out on Emperor's day to the same pub he always goes to on his one day off, blacking out, and woke up in his administratum barracks cot. He was later apprehended)

Where he was (Galloping Athexe, a pub in sub-district Tripitz a few kilometers away near port Gyre. Owned by a guard veteran named Finn Greely).
The party at this point could leave Elias or bring him. If they bring him, they will have to convince Sgt. Arkady's superior, captain Enoch, to allow them to take him away. He will be waiting in an office on the second floor. If they convinced the station that they are arbitrators, they will leave without being challenged. Otherwise, depending on how they go about it, they will have to use a social skill versus willpower or scrutiny (challenging [-20] for all versus [+0] for their dispassionate trait).

If the party completely fails to get into the station, they can try to contact their handler/inquisitor to ask for advice. Try to ask them if they saw anyone suspicious lately. If they bring him up, or the inquisitor has to throw them a bone, the inquisitor has seen that red coated man around the subdistrict a couple times. He thinks he's a nobleman, so asking in sub Tripitz or maybe in the apex could help. (GM note: Davrus has nothing to do with the murder. He does however visit the Galloping Aethexe, the bar that the scribe visited on Emperor's day. He is also a literal red herring for your party. Use him to get back on track or, if they follow him for too long, have him be a distraction from the larger crime that's about to be committed.)

The Galloping Aethexe

The pub is located near an industrial district that leads to port gyre. The industries around mainly make autocarriages and war machines. The Galloping Aethexe is built into the basement of a hab block building and can be accessed by a set of stairs leading down from the back. The front door is made of wood and has a fogged glass window with "The Galloping Aethexe" printed upon it. Inside the Aethexe is a small simple layout. Four walls form a rectangle around the room. There are two rows of booths, one on the left, and one on the back wall. There is a bathroom at the back left with a small sign. A neon sign in fancy writing saying "The Galloping Aethexe" lays at the back near the roof. A bar lies at the right with a set of bar stools. There is a door to a kitchen and stockroom in the back on the right wall on its right side.

There are a few people drinking here. The red coated nobleman the acolytes saw at the worker's house is sitting near the back with a drink (Challenging +0 Awareness to see the revolver and pamphlets). A bartender cleans a glass at the bar. He is a man in his forties, with a large black beard and medium length black hair. He is wearing an apron over a dark green shirt and a dark brown pants. He is sizable, not overweight but not toned. His name is Finn Greely. He will greet the acolytes cordially and ask what he can do for them. 

Davrus will soon leave with his drink paid and will tell Greely he will see him later. Greely, once Davrus leaves, will start to give some comments about Davrus mixing with the wrong people. Greely will try to answer the acolyte's questions.

Interrogating Finn Greely:

Did Finn see Elias on Emperor's day? Yes, he was drinking here like he has been on Emperor's day the last five years

Did Finn hear about Elias? He will say no and ask what happened. He will say that Davrus was talking to Elias (Challenging (+0) Scrutiny vs (+10) Deceive).

Does Finn know Elias well? Somewhat. The scribe is lightweight and opens up after a few drinks.

Does Finn know any of Elias's associates? Finn will tell them that they would be better off trying the Administratum.

If Greely catches that they are part of the inquisition or are going to continue to investigate Elias's case, he will get someone to spy on them and give him updates. 

(GM Note: Greely is part of the conspiracy and the prefect's murder. He specifically told the scribe's kidnappers when he would be at the bar and the way he get there and back to the administratum headquarters. He will actively lie to the acolytes and try to get them to trail Davrus.)

Also in the Aethexe in the kitchen is a secret trap door (use challenging [+0] scrutiny to find) that goes to a small room with a bed, desk, obscura, and letters from Greely. Greely is smart enough not to keep anything incriminating but he does save correspondence from his war buddy Siman Mehl. Mehl owns a barbershop downhive in sub-Manaan. Mehl doesn't know anything and think's Greely's a hero. The letters have Greely's address on them.

At this point, the acolytes have two suspects to follow. The administratum headquarters are an option.

Administratum

       Adept presence is kept uphive. The administratum owns a large complex in sub-Tripitz about twenty kilometers away from port Gyre. The building is gigantic and cube shaped. It looks like a colossal bunker. Here multitudes of information is logged by countless scribes. The air inside smells of ink and dust. The Administratum loves its secrets. The acolytes will need to win the approval of the prefect that manages port records, prefect Karpath. 

      If the acolytes access prefect Koreo's prior files, they will find that he changed the involute cadre troopers that were to accompany the convoy. His notes say that the administratum, munitorum, and house Surena were working close to make sure this shipment happened after prior thefts. A number of names will be listed, but the important one is at the top of the list, one lieutenant Zariel. Koreo's notes say that that Zariel approached him in the past and suggested he change the line-up for the convoy. Zariel claimed the old line-up had questionable, inexperienced troopers. At the end of Koreo's report on the change, the military base "Drusus Gamma" will be mentioned.

(GM note: Koreo's mind was puppeted by the Mother's Brood to change the records. The device they used to serve as a psychic beacon for their sorceror ally was destroyed prematurely, hence Greene's involvement.)

Drusus Gamma

        Drusus Gamma is much like any other military base. It is separated from the mainhive by walls and fences. VTOL aircraft land and take off inside. War machines rumble, men march, and lasguns snap. The base is not open to outsiders, and the acolytes will need to find proper authorization to enter.

      If they make it inside, they will find Lieutenant Zariel in his barracks. He will be cleaning a lasgun lens when the acolytes show up. Zariel is a heretic, and he is not a performancer by any means, but he will attempt to put up a front. (Use Involute Cadre Officer profile modified with Deceive +0 to represent him). Zariel if found out will run. He will fight when cornered. He has corrupted troopers on his side. A flight may actually be an opportunity to ambush the acolytes. If he is captured and interrogated, Zariel will tell his side of the conspiracy to steal the weapons. If the acolytes alert house Surena, the munitorum, or the administratum then his cohorts will be detained and executed. The weapons shipment will stay in safe hands. At this point, following Greely or the red herring Gotrek Eorring is about finding the cult, the Mother's Brood. Greely is a contact of theirs, although he is no Slaanesh cultist.

Following Davrus Eorring

Apex Checkpoint

A large ceramite gate stands at the entrance to the apex. A sizeable retinue of sanctionaries guard of very few ground-based entrances into the upper hive. Snipers, machine gunners, chimeras, and even Leman Russ tanks are placed around the checkpoint. A squad of sanctionaries check out anyone entering or leaving. They will ask for proof of noble heritage or an apex work oath permit and will not allow anyone else in without being bribed or through other means. Past the gate lies a tunnel to the apex.

Upper Hive

The first thing that will hit the party is the brightness of the clear sky at the end of the tunnel. There are gardens, parks, and more green than one would hope to see in the lower levels of Desoleum. Grand manses along with shops, galleries, and other establishments offering luxurious amenities are all around. Noblemen, rich merchants, and guild magnates deign to walk, or ride on ancient grav palanquin devices or are driven in excessively expensive autocarriages. The acolytes will have to ask around for Davrus (Challenging (+0) Inquiry). He is found in a specific neighborhood of manses called "Old Blood Avenue" where those who boast an ancient lineage live in opulent surroundings. He is known to be staying with the son of a family that owns many breweries on the planet, Leo Aldermann.

Aldermann Manse

Outside

The manse is almost modest for a nobleman. The outside of the manse is well maintained and shines white with its marble walls and columns. There are several large windows draped with velvet. A large front door of fine Tanithian wood is at the entrance. There are gates and walls that surround the manse. A doorman in a suit will meet anyone who knocks at the door. He is not armed.

The Side

A garden of flowers and meticulously trimmed hedges and trees stand at the side of the manse. Statues of kin long dead and saints short-lived dot the place. The side of the house has a long series of large windows that peer into a very comfortable and lavish looking hall. A very short servant, a ratling, with hedge clippers and a variety of other tools in a wheelbarrel, maintains the garden. (Awareness +0 Perception 25).

(Challenging (+0) Stealth) The gardener goes on its way and continues his duties on another side of the manse.

Inside

Looking inside, one finds rooms full of beautiful and masterly crafted furniture, ostentatious works of art, and exotic furs and trophies of hunts. Inside the main parlor, two men are talking, One is Davrus and the other is a man in his thirties with raven black hair short hair and a widow's peak. He wears a beautiful blue soft frock coat and a black vest underneath. A bodyguard dressed in down-hive leathers with a hand cannon and chainsword stands near them.

They are talking casually. Then, Leo brings up the rumors he's been hearing about Davrus, and how he needs to get a legitimate job at an Aldermann factory. Davrusis refuses and says his place is with the Children of the Blood. At the end of the argument Davrusgoes out in a puff. An autocarriage drives up next to him, he recognizes the people inside and gets in. They drive out of the apex and start to go downhive.

Shadowing: (Stealth +0) vs (Awareness +0).

Tracking Davrus

(Challenging (+0) Stealth test to trail Gotrek)

Succeed: The acolytes and Davrus travel for about half an hour. The autocarriage stops in a hab block district located centrally in the hive near what appears to be some ruins. Davrus gets out with a group of other people in white masquerade masks and starts walking into an abandoned guildhall with warning signs with the words "quarantine" on them.

Failure: Davrus's group is alerted to the acolytes and they will try to lose them. They will submit if the chase becomes violent.

If at either points the acolytes fail, they have one more chance to figure out where Gotrek is going via the pamphlet. If they can figure out that the code corresponds to the way oathcogs are adjusted, they get a +20 to the test (See Pamphlet section at the very end of the post).

The Guildhouse

A dusty, smokey air fills the nostrils as one walks on remains of rockcrete and glass. Inside is detritus and rubble around the halls of the merchant house. These walls once held banners and rich tapestries are stripped and bare. These tables hold dust and ash. Voices are heard as one walks inside. The further on one goes in these tarnished halls, the voices start to sound clearer.

The Children of the Blood Congregation

“Ave, Ollani. Homo nihil potest offere vitae.”

(High Gothic +20) “Hail, Ollanius. Even a man with nothing can offer his life.”

“Ave, Sanguini. Non effundatur sanguis frustra”

(If pass) “Hail, Sanguinius. Your blood is not shed in vain.”

“Ave, Imperator. Luceat lux vestra in tenebris.”

(If pass) “Hail, Emperor. Let your light shine in darkness.”

In a great hall a group of people in robes wearing concealing face masks congregate around a central figure. The group numbers in the dozens. Behind the group lies a table with arranged cups and chalices, and containers of liquid.

(Challenging (+0) Stealth vs Challenging (+0) Awareness) (Use nobleman profile in DH2E CRB)

In the middle a figure unmasks herself (Lady Aspira). She introduces herself and welcomes her congregation. She calls Davrus forward. He kneels before her, and she places her hands on him and asks him to recite after her. She then raises him up and the rest of the group rejoices. She then leads the group in prayer. Then they go to the set tables, and they all take a cup filled with an amber liquid

“For the lowly, even a man with nothing can still offer his life.” Everyone drinks.

They then all take a cup with a dark red liquid.

“For the saintly, as the blood of martyrs raises all.” Everyone drinks.

They then all kneel

“For the most high, we will obey and spread His truth.”

“For through His truth we are saved from Chaos.”
The liquor is just beer and wine. (GM note: One could try to play it like they are drinking blood and some other fluid)

If the acolytes interfere, none of the attendees fight back but some panic. Lady Aspira tries to explain what they're doing there means no harm and they are just a cult dedicated to sacrifice and repentance as they see that as being close to Sanguinius and Ollanius Pius, two of the Emperor's retinue that died trying to defend him against Horus. They do charitable work. They're just a prayer-group cult of the Emperor. They maintain secrecy because they don't want other nobles or anyone trying to do them harm to know who they are. They are distrustful of nobles. They formed with the news of the Pandaemonium (A local warp storm that has been a major problem in Askellon almost forever) rising again. They believe in the rumors that the sins of noblemen are to blame and that the warpstorm is the judgement of the Emperor. If the acolytes press on, they will find out that lady Aspira is the great grand daughter of the planetary governor Lady Auld Killian, Lady Fausta Killian. Gotrek will be upset and if the acolytes don't play it right he'll pull out his revolver.

The Acolytes will receive the ambush and bad ending for following the red herring all the way through.

The acolytes, if they travel in the direction of the port back to the spots they have been investigating, will find Involute Cadre and sanctionaries are in a state of emergency as one of their weapon shipments has disappeared from the Balthazar Surena convoy.

At this point, the acolytes course of action can be to go to the bartender, go get Elias, or meet up with Johanne to search for the shipment.

Following Finn Greely

Outside the tavern

Returning to the Aethexe or waiting outside for it a while, the acolytes would find Finn Greely walking out of his bar with a sanctionary. He looks annoyed and the sanctionary is holding up a writing pad and taking notes from the bartender. He is being asked about Elias and if he knew anything about the prefect's murder. Greely will seem annoyed that he's being asked about the prefect's murder. The interview ends, and the sanctionary walks away to an enforcer outfitted autocarriage. Finn then walks away to his own vehicle, a hectin autocarriage. He takes off. The bar is closed for the night for “renovations” a sign reads. A challenging (+0) strength test or security test is needed to get the door open. One could also shoot the lock with a (-20) called shot. There are consequences to breaking the lock apart however.

Galloping Aethexe

The air is comfortably cool and smells faintly of lho stick smoke.

Restroom

The restroom is clean and has the same rockcrete floor that the rest of the tavern has.

Kitchen

An assortment of cooking utensils and barrels of draft beers lie in this kitchen. A cleaned stove lies in the corner, a grate lies on the ground, and a furnace burns.

Challenging (+0) Scrutiny to find the trap door

1 DoS finds them the grate

2 DoS finds the screamer set up to warn the owner about intruders.

Success: A trap door is found hiding as one of the floor panels and opens up to show a ladder.

The Secret Room

In the room is a bed, a table with a revolver, an obscura set with an injector, and a vox-caster. On another table lies the taverns bills and receipts along with a scrip cheque book. Drawers: In the drawers of the table there are more papers, a few writing instruments, and bullets for the revolver. There are also several letters, some of which are addressed to a Finn Greely at a hab block Rowdy Yates at apartment 313.

(Scrutiny +0): 
Success: You find you are able to lift the floor off of one of the drawers, and inside, you find what seems to be the deed to the tavern. The adjustments to the owners oathcog are also on record here.

The Interruption

Once the acolytes start to leave the secret room, the sound of foot steps and laughter coming near the tavern's front door is heard. If the door was locked again, the strangers will unlock it using their own key. If the door was unlocked, they will shrug and just go in. If the lock was broken, then they will become suspicious and draw weapons. If not alarmed, the strangers yell for Finn Greely and ask for a drink. If the acolytes catch sight of them, they are the baby faces from the workers house plus about six more men. They will make themselves at home and take liquor from the cabinets. They will also eventually move to the kitchen. The acolytes will be discovered if they do not hide themselves well. Challenging (+0) stealth vs challenging (+0) awareness. 
If the acolytes start a fight, use the baby faces profile in the NPC section of the DH2E CRB's adventure. The acolytes can talk them down with some charm. If they interrogate them
Challenging +0 Interrogation vs WP 32)

They can get out of them that they were supposed to meet Finn Greely to tell him “It's happening”. If they dig deep enough, they can get the name of the cult they work for, the Matron's Brood.

If they don't confront the gangers, they can actually follow them to the closed Ignaius Arms factory tunnel where the climax can occur. They can fail this and get into a fight, and depending on where they are, they can alert the Brood.

Finn Greely's Hab Apartment

The hab is a slum. Rusted metal bars hang on windows. Graffiti stains the walls. The foundation outside of the hab block is cracked, as is the building itself in places. The walls are scraped and lined with bullet holes. The front has a door with vox speaker with a list of names beside buttons to talk to residents or the landlord.

(Challenging +0 deceive to get in)

(Challenging +0 strength, WS, or BS to break down the door)

The inside of the hab is not much better. The building has ripped wall paper, bare floors, and inconsistent lighting from glow globes. An elevator still works. There is a set of buttons that go up to thirty. Greely's apartment is on the thirteenth floor. On the way there is a clunking noise and it comes to a sudden stop. Then the elevator starts up again.

You finally arrive on the twelfth floor, and walk up to Greely's apartment, 1204. He asks who it is. He will let the acolytes in to ask him questions and search around freely. He has nothing incriminating in his building. When you enter, you find a calm Greely standing near the door. His apartment is small, yet clean, almost spartan in a way. He doesn't have much except necessities. Hanged guardsmen medals lay upon a wooden stand, and an older guardsman dress uniform hangs from a closet door. They notice it is not an Involute Cadre Grenadier uniform. (Challenging + 0 Knowledge: Astra Militarum) If pass: They know this is actually a Cadian dress uniform. On a table lies a pict of two women, one older than the other. His wife and his daughter. Also on the table lies a radio for entertainment. Greely will keep tight lipped about his involvement in the cult. They will have to interrogate him to get anywhere. He will lie his way around questions. They will not get him to crack about his ties to the Brood and the other cults around Desoleum, nor his involvement in the weapon shipment theft conspiracy. They cannot get this out of him using intimidation, deceive, charm, or any other social skills. They have to interrogate him to get to the full truth.

(Interrogation +0 vs WP +10)

1 Degrees: Finn will tell them that a weapons shipment is going to be stolen from Balthazar Surena, a nobleman that has major investments in the imperial guard and navy of Askellon. He is bringing in crates of heavy weapons.

2 Degrees: Finn will tell them that he had set it up with corrupt troopers in the Involute Cadre and that the prefect was involved. He will tell them the route their taking. He will also say that Elias Greene was put up to killing Augustus Koreo on pain of death.

3 Degrees: Finn will spill it all. Tell them about the Slaaneshi cult, the Matron's Brood, the matriarch of the cult lady Bella Donna, why they used a Dark Eldar device on Elias Greene to take care of Augustus Koreo who was starting to break free from his mind control. The devices have a limited use, psyker energy burns them out. A Chaos Space Marine sorcerer has been helping the cult control their victims. The sorcerer comes from a group called the “Tarot”. Finn will tell him he was happy to do it. He was a slave to the Imperium no longer. He no longer served the carrion corpse lord that is the Emperor, and he wanted payback for all the Imperium had done to him. After years of service and loss of friends, he was mustered out and stranded on a “backwater” world in a doomed subsector with a terrible pension. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his wife and child when they were killed in a bombing of their kasr during a Black Crusade. He tells them to go fuck themselves and kill him if they're going to.

 After leaving the hab, they will be contacted by their handler  to tell them that the sanctionaries and the Involute Cadre are in a panic because they have lost three logistics trucks full of equipment.

Going for Elias

If they try to get Elias's help, and they bring him back to the Galloping Aethexe, he will start to remember. Before he can tell them this however, he will clutch at his stomach, his eyes will glaze over, and he'll try to take a gun from one of the acolytes. He'll say “Help me” before trying to shoot one of them or himself (50-50 1d100 roll). If Elias survives, it will be seen that he is hemorrhaging internally. A medicae test by the acolytes or a medicae templar (using one of the medical care profiles in the DH2E CRB) will have to be undertaken. They have just long enough for a surgery to be undertaken at a hospital nearby. It will reveal that he had a strange black almost beetle shaped device that clasped to the inside of his stomach. The device ruptured his insides. If he survives he will say what happened to him. He will tell them that corrupt guardsmen and what looked like a white haired woman wearing a terrible symbol (The symbol of Slaanesh) put him under their control with a black psyker device (A device like Inquisitor Ravenor's that allowed him to control his acolytes. This one is of Dark Eldar construction and suggests increased action by Dark Eldar in Askellon). He also remembers what he was helping the dead prefect with: making preparations for the weapons shipment by the Surena family of rogue traders. The shipment involves hundreds of autocannons, hundreds of heavy bolters, and hundreds of rocket launchers and ammo that are disassembled and loaded in boxes. They are transported via a series of trucks and arvus flighters to various munitorum depots and astra militarum bases around the hive. He thinks that maybe there is a plot to steal them by corrupt guardsmen. He says this because he remembers back that he was working with Augustus on general port work, but he remembers Koreo one day suddenly asking for a change of which troopers were to drive and guard the shipment.

 PATHWAYS

If they go back to Elias as their first action, they can go alert Johanne Carlstein and make sure the corrupt guardsmen are stopped before they make off with the shipment.

If they go down Finn Greely's path, then they could stop the theft in route.

If they do this after following the Gotrek Eorring path, they lose the chance to stop the cult.

If they don't go back for Elias

They will find that he killed himself by smashing his head against the walls of his cell. Internal hemorrhaging was found as well. An autopsy will be performed and find the Dark Eldar device which they will be alerted to.

If they followed Gotrek Eorring to the End

The acolytes will have one more chance to find the route of the theft, however, they will have to interrogate Greely, and if they do, the cult will have the weapons being loaded onto an arvus flighter about to take off from an abandoned landing pad found after a path through the tunnels. The acolytes will be ambushed by corrupt guardsmen, babyfaces, and cultists along with grenade and fire traps in the magrail tunnels.

If they interrogated Greely first

By the time they are done with Greely, the weapons shipment will be moving through the tunnels. If they go down this path, they can stop the shipment through the tunnels.

The Abandoned Factory

A manufactorum stands near port-side. A worn sign reading “Ignaius Arms” hangs from its side. The factory has been abandoned for years, and was rumored to be shut down after a disastrous visit by a higher Imperial delegation. Broken windows and silent machines, their parts having been salvaged, are all that remain. Further into the factory grounds, a street leading to a tunnel can be seen. The tunnel is quite large, and was known to have been used to ferry equipment and materials from the port to the manufactorum through the hiveway tunnels. These tunnels connect to the series of forgotten labyrinths that are the Deeps.

The Tunnel

The heretics are going through an abandoned magrail track. The tunnel is black (-20 to sight based tests). The rail tracks have been picked for metal. The place is a maze. Maintenance tunnels and side passages can be seen. There is raised concrete ground that one could walk on besides the lowered ground that holds the tracks. The equivalent of four hectin autocarriages side by side can fit. The roof is raised to about twenty meters. The ground has given way to rubble, and its foundation is cracked and dirt has risen.

(Challenging +0 Survival to track) Pass: You find that the heavy trucks have made tracks in the dirt, and one can follow them.

The Trucks

If followed Elias to the end: The trucks will have found their way inside the closed down Ignaius Arms factory, holed up in on of the smaller rooms with their arsenal. Sanctionaries, alerted by your handler, will have chased them and cornered them. The corrupt guardsmen can have assembled at least one or more of the missile launchers, autocannons, or heavybolters,

If followed Greely to the end: The acolytes will catch up to the trucks in the middle of the tunnels. A chase will ensue, and the trucks can lead the acolytes to the landing pad.
If followed Eorring to the end: The trucks are found after a few moments. Their engines are turned off. An ambush will ensue. Corrupt guardsmen (use the Trooper profile in the DH2E CRB), officers, and baby faces will stream out to kill the acolytes. Use of mines and planted krak grenades is recommended. The trucks will have been laid in such a way that the troopers could use them as cover and block any vehicle the acolytes own from just ramming straight through. The trucks will be empty at the end.

Followed  Greely Part 2

If the trucks get away, or the acolytes take their time, they will find themselves at an abandoned runway where the trucks will be unloading the weaponry to the arvus lighter under the supervision of corrupt guardsmen

Followed Eorring Part 2

The path is unsure, but the trucks must have gone somewhere. The ground has given way to dirt and dripping of pipes from the walls has built up mud in some places. The area behind the parked trucks and garbage truck are marked with tracks.

(Challenging +0 Survival)

Success: You are able to follow the tracks, and find yourself in an area where the rockcrete ground has not been as worn down. There's a faint smell of promethium in the air, and you think you can hear faint echoes of discharge from vessels at the port.

Failure: Try as you might, you are unable to follow where the trucks went, their ultimate destinaton eluding you.

Failure 3 Degrees: You think you found the right path. However, after a few minutes of traveling, you are now assuredly lost in the dark of the hiveway tunnels.

Runway

The tunnel ramps up towards the surface. Ahead will be an open gate with an arch over it. The polluted sky can be seen. The gate opens to a rockcrete runway and landing pad. It looks infrequently used. The metal has been blackened from being subject to blasts of the jets of aerocapable vehicles. There is something curious about the marks.

(Scrutiny +20)

Success: You notice that the marks look fresh, and the smell of exhaust lingers in the air. This landing pad must have been used very recently

Failure: You can't gleam anything from the pad.

Followed Eorring Part 3

The traitors are gone. The weapons are gone. Once out of the tunnels their handler will require the acolytes to give a debriefing. He tells them to meet with him at the medicae station Saint Arabella's the prefect's autopsy took place at. They have chilling news. While on the road the acolytes will pas checkpoints set up by the involute cadres and the sanctionaries. They arrive after twenty minutes.

Saint Arabella's
(This visit will occur for all paths)

The station looks to be of a decent size. A large prominent symbol of the medicae guild can be seen on the outside, two snakes circling around a staff bearing the aquila. The party is directed toward the morgue. The inside is clean and sterile. The walls white, adorned with picts of the founders and various saints dedicated to medicae work. After going down a hallway there is a sign for the morgue.

The Morgue

The morgue is dim than the hospital above it. Steel tables and steel doors where bodies lie give the area a grim feeling. There is a washing sink and cabinets on the walls. The party's handler will be waiting there. The coroner is a techpriest. He introduces himself as Audun Jonson, Biologis Magos and chief physician of the morgue. The magos has medical mechandrites. On a steel operating table lies the prefect, shirtless with his torso sewn up underneath a set of operating light. A data slate with the cadaver's details lay near him on a nearby steel table.

Data Slate Notes: Augustus Koreo; Medium Build; 200 Pounds; Brown hair; Blood Type O. Died from las wounds to chest. DoA M42.844.1

The biologis beckons them to an inner room of the morgue. He brings out a locked metal box and opens it. Inside, pushed inside a mesh, looks to be a black device that resembles a scarab. The magos says that this was found in the esophageal tract of the prefect. The magos turns it over, and you see a set of monomolecular hooks. They look to be moveable and angled in such a way like it was grabbing on to something. The model looks burnt out. A series of inlaid circuits, strange alien symbols and curious miniature gem like fixtures can be seen on the model. The party's handler describes it as a psychic beacon and magnifying device. One can also take control of the body of the wearer, at least temporarily, from a distance away. The device was to be placed on flesh and anchor itself in via the hooks. The device has built in obsolescence. Miniature packages are inlaid into it, either carrying acid or explosives. The design is Dark Eldar. All xenos-make technologies are proscribed, and something with the potency of this device must have a cost a high price to get it on Desoleum. 

If Success through Elias or Greely paths: End Adventure here
If followed Eorring's path the whole way through: The psyker that controlled Elias ties up his loose end. Routine (+20) Willpower of the psyker vs Challenging (+0) Willpower of Elias
1 DoS: Elias has smashed his head against the wall and put himself into a self induced coma.
3 DoS: Elias kills himself via smashing his head against the wall into a bloody pulp.
1 DoF: If Elias wins, he passes out. He then begins to convulse, and an internal hemorrhage can be seen. Go back up to his path.

Ending:

The corrupt troopers are caught, the weapons are saved, and the acolytes have earned the respect of the local sanctionaries and guardsmen. The cult that set the conspiracy in motion is still out there. The Matron's Brood scheme again. There may be more perfidious hearts in the cadres. One cult does not need that many weapons, so who were they getting it for? There is one investigation after another in Dark Heresy.

END

+500 XP
+2 Ifl

The Pamphlet

Logic (+0):

1 Degree: You can see a sort of pattern to the sentences. If you swap words in a specific way there is a puzzle of words that can be fitted together. They seem to indicate a place but you don't know exactly where it could be. You do make out the words “Ruins” “Temple” but that's it.

2 Degrees: You start to piece the words together and it becomes clearer what the code is. The words start to fit together when the sentences' cadences and meter are matched, and you can gleam more of the code. The words, “Ruin” “Shaken” “Core” “Temple” “Broken” “Eagle” are made out

3 Degrees: Not only do cadences and meter have to be matched, but there is a specific code that none of you would be intimately familiar with that the residents of Desoleum would be, Oathcogs. If you were to cross the two, then you can figure out that oaths written on the devices worn by almost every man, woman, and child on Desoleum can be used as ciphers to the message, and it tells, “Come to ruins shaken at the core, where the temple of greed was broken by the eagle.”

If they were to ask what “Broken by the eagle” meant, and asked someone, they would tell them of ruins in the midhive of an old merchant house that was destroyed by a hive quake. Some superstitious individuals believe this happened because Desoleum PDF troopers were performing exercises in defensive positions built on the side of the hive with Earthshaker artillery cannons. The core means the midhive, not actually in the middle of the city and a good number of people know where this merchant house was.