Hello again - my mates and I after playing a lot of 40K decided we wanted to get round to doing another =][= campaign. Like the Webway Campaign last year I am also going to be following this one online, so if you want Fenix and Laara’s autographs then please line up in an orderly fashion hereAs you can probably guess from the title, this will follow on from last year’s Webway Campaign, but before I do so I’d better explain what has happened in the meantime.
Although my part in the campaign ended when Fenix and Laara escaped from Mar Sara with their prophesised autarch Suriyana, the others went ahead with one more game to tie up their respective storylines. From what I hear, the Phoenix and his wych acolyte Selket cornered Inquisitor Skaarn while he tried to escape the scene, but Skaarn was able to stay their hands with a revelation regarding the Webway portal that the Phoenix’s kabal were using to raid Mar Sara:
"Wait! Before you take me, consider this."
"You're in no position to ask me for anything, prey-thing."
"The two other inquisitors have obtained a webway controller, and right now they're decloaking your portal and preparing to seal it forever. If losing a prisoner will make you look bad, imagine also losing your kabal their easiest raiding route on this planet. But if you were to safeguard it, and eliminate the only ones who know where it is...two inquisitors instead of one will look very good to your masters indeed."
This led to an uneasy truce, both sides hoping to buy just enough time to complete their objective before double-crossing the other. Skaarn and his Dark Eldar “allies” proceeded to ambush Linklatorvitch and Rodriguez at the webway portal, where Rodriguez was using both the book he’d picked up half a campaign ago and the knowledge of a friend off-world as relayed by the Astropath they’d rescued to try and disable the webway portal. The Astropath went down straight away, one of Selket’s venom-coated throwing knives finding its way into his eye socket with a critical hit. Though Linlatorvitch immediately sent deathwatch Brother Silas rampaging into the fray, the Phoenix cemented his Villainous Legend status and squared his grudge with Silas by taking out the marine who had scarred his face with a freakishly lucky Punisher hit. Despite being set on fire by Linklatorvitch’s pyromancy, Skaarn joined Selket in ganging up on the Monodominant inquisitor and taking him OOA. With his allies gone, sanctioned psyker Sarah Harker cowering in the bushes and acolyte Damien Brax injured by repeated firing of his plasma pistol causing it to explode in his hand, Rodriguez decided to cut and run, shouting something about how he was going to get his Inquisitor Lord big brother on Skaarn the minute he got offworld.
Skaarn had other things on his mind than charges of heresy and colluding with aliens. The minute Rodriguez turned tail Skaarn turned his guns on Selket, knocking her down stunned. The Phoenix however had been expecting this and drew a special knife of his own, which he hurled into Skaarn’s back with perfect accuracy as he tried to sprint away. Helping Selket to her feet, he strolled over to the temporarily stunned inquisitor Skaarn and treated him to his best evil laugh.
“Betrayal is an art we have honed over millenia, mon-keigh, did you really think you could outwit one such as me? Still, I find your pitiful attempts amusing. You may go free, for now. The poison coating the blade in your back is a subtle one. The paralysis will wear off momentarily, but you will take several years to feel its true effects. Over time, you will find it slowly destroying your body and mind. And when it has run its course we will come for you, and the true amusements shall begin.”
The two Dark Eldar left a horrified Skaarn lying there, picked up the unconscious inquisitor Linklatorvitch and Brother Silas, and disappeared along with their previous prize (Guardsman Leingod) through the Webway portal. When he found himself able to move again, Skaarn stumbled away through the forest where he met his one surviving henchman (tech-priest Stead, formerly a prisoner of Linklatorvitch) and together they headed for the spaceport as fast as they could.
And that’s the story so far. In the wake of this final battle, Rodriguez immediately attempted to have charges brought against Skaarn, but a combination of red tape and the fact that Skaarn himself was nowhere to be found complicated things, and an impatient Rodriguez decided to track down Skaarn and bring him in himself. Skaarn meanwhile had only one thing on his mind - finding a cure for the Dark Eldar poison. With tech-priest Stead in tow, he set course for the rogue trader moon of xxxxxx. The planet below contained an Adeptus Mechanicus research facility who specialised in the study of xenos, and was also hopefully enough of a backwater to keep him under the radar of that over-zealous git Rodriguez until he could explain his side of the story to the Ordo.
Meanwhile, a long way away on Craftworld Reia-Hal, Fenix and Laara are suffering the after-effects of their mission to Commorragh:
Fenix stood with his hands resting on the cool crystal that formed the banister of the tower balcony, still as a statue as he gazed out over the tranquil forest standing a stone’s throw beyond the towers and arches of the wraithbone city. His dark, piercing eyes took in the birds circling above the treeline, and the pastel blossoms of the iolar trees that were just beginning to fall, blown into vibrant airborne ribbons and waves by the wind. The same wind tugged at Fenix’s robes as his keen eyes picked out the arboreal creatures darting amongst the trees; survivors, like the Reia-Hal themselves, of a homeworld long since lost to the Eye.
Fenix blinked. He had explored all of the many forests and nature preserves of his Craftworld in his youth. It was partly the sense of belonging that he felt there, away from the soaring pearl-hued architecture of the cities, that had led him to the Path of Wandering. But this time the sight of his favourite part of the Craftworld brought him no comfort.
His sense of unease among his fellow Eldar had been growing ever since he and Laara had returned to Reia-Hal. Oh yes, he had felt both relieved and comforted when they had first arrived, put at ease by the familiar spires of glittering crystal and the soothing, ever-present psychic resonance of the wraithbone welcoming him home. He had been overwhelmed when they had been met by Farseer Velora himself, who upon seeing Suriyana had inclined his head to the three of them and made the First Aspect of the gesture of revenance - a genuflection made only to honour an Eldar the host considered worthy of the highest respect. Fenix and Laara had been so awed at receiving such a rare and honoured welcome, and from a Farseer no less, that they had almost fumbled the corresponding gesture of acceptance.
Suriyana had now been placed in the care of two foster parents, an Eldar couple who had been about to embark on the Path of Maternity. Very few among the Reia-Hal had been told the full story of Suriyana’s origins, and even Farseer Velora did not know everything that had befallen Fenix and Laara. It was the memories that Fenix had not confided in the Farseer that he suspected were troubling him now. The Healers had mended his physical scars without so much as a mark remaining, but the mental aftereffects were as raw as ever, manifesting themselves as a constant sense of restlessness.
It was not the thought of the Phoenix that troubled him, haunting though the Dark Eldar’s promise of revenge had been. It was certainly not the thought of the human inquisitor, Devoran Skaarn. Fenix and Laara had abandoned Skaarn in the battle that had erupted as soon as they had exited the webway, and Fenix saw it merely as a thing done. Useful though he had been for a time, their mission had been to protect Suriyana; it was Eldar lives that mattered, and Fenix wasted no time in wondering what the inquisitor’s ultimate fate had been. Maybe he had fallen to the rival inquisitors, maybe the Dark Kin had recaptured him, or maybe he had escaped. None of these outcomes concerned Fenix.
No, it was the other memories which vexed him.
He had not thought himself capable of lying to a Farseer, but Fenix could not bring himself to admit his true feelings about his time with the Phoenix in Commorragh - the small hateful part of him that, despite its revulsion, had secretly revelled in the freedom of the Dark Kin. If Velora had sensed anything of Fenix’s internal conflict he had said nothing.
Laara however was a different matter. Since they were children he had never been able to lie to her. In Commorragh they had argued over their methods; an Exodite prisoner, forcibly stripped of all Eldar restraint by the vile narcotics of his captors, had attacked Laara in a mindless rage and Fenix had killed him. Laara had been appalled at what she had seen as an unnecessary death. Fenix, slightly shocked himself at what he had done, had argued that to maintain cover among the Dark Eldar they would have to act as the Dark Kin did until they had completed their mission. Laara’s reply haunted him even now.
“They took your waystone, Fenix. Have they taken your soul too?”
That desperate plea, and the discovery of Suriyana shortly after had focussed his mind considerably, but now the dark thoughts were back. The exhilaration of total freedom. The thrill of mastery over another creature. The savage joy of killing.
Fenix felt a familiar presence touch the back of his mind, and he turned to see Laara step out through the arch onto the balcony, her bare feet silent on the wraithbone underfoot. The fine gossamer material of her gown rippled around her like liquid, flowing over the slender curves of her body as she padded forward to stand next to Fenix. Settling into the easy body stances of close friends, they looked at each other for a long moment. Laara’s face was framed by the long tresses of her raven-black hair, which was held back from her eyes by a silver circlet. Her skin, like Fenix’s own, was slightly darker than the alabaster white of their fellow Reia-Hal as testament to their long travels together on many different worlds, and her delicate features belied an inner strength that Fenix both admired and trusted. They had been friends for nearly two centuries, but this time when Fenix looked into the deep blue pools of her almond-shaped eyes something made him turn away.
Laara shifted, indicating with her subtle change of posture that she knew something was troubling her friend. Fenix sighed inwardly - once again he found himself unable to lie to her.
“Memories of the Dark City,” he said in mind-speech.
“They trouble me also,” Laara replied, placing her hand over his.
“I think you are dealing with them rather better than me.”
Laara cocked her head.
“What makes you think that?” she asked aloud.
“Doubts still cling on to me. I cannot focus my mind as an Eldar should.”
“They will pass, with time. The Healers can help council you.”
“No,” Fenix gestured, a little more forcefully than he intended, “They cannot understand.”
Laara stepped back, her body stance reproachful, “I understand.”
“I know.” Fenix said, his gesture of contrition heartfelt, “Forgive me, Laara. I know I should feel supported among my kin, but instead I just feel isolated. I have to leave.”
“Are you sure that’s wise, Fenix?”
“The Path of Wandering was created so that we could confront our dark passions, just as the Warrior Path confronts our bloodlust. I feel it is the only way that I can purge my soul of what happened in Commorragh. A pilgrimage, an exploration, another mission…anything. Either way, I have to get off the Craftworld.”
Laara turned her face towards him and held his gaze as a gentle breeze rustled through the trees below and swirled up to tug at their robes and hair. Fenix suspected that she understood more than his words had revealed. He also knew that she would not try to change his mind. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm and assertive.
“Then I’m coming with you."
“As always,” smiled Fenix, pulling her into an embrace.
<
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by FarseerMatt
That's one night of my life I'm not getting back... 