Dark Tides: the Cult of Luxury

The session started off at the marketplace, with the agents preparing for their trek into the underhive wastelands. The cult was to be found in a nice sounding place called the Sump Pits.

Unwilling to risk the road by themselves[1], the agents looked for their now well-fed guides[2]. One Persuasion check later[3], the hapless workers found themselves leading the party through the abandoned tunnels.

Ah, one more thing. Warder chose to specialize in Biomancy, and quickly replenished his wounds. He rolled on Perils of the Warp, causing his companions to see red. But they passed their checks and did not assault each other.

In the end, the initial check was good enough for the guides to lead the part almost all the way, leaving them alone for just the final leg of the journey. This meant a single environmental hazard: weak piping cracked in the wall, flooding their tunnel with brackish water. Ancient machine spirits awoke, closing off armored bulkheads in front and behind.

Palmulata, Thrakus and Warder rushed towards the far exit. Warder failed miserably, walking at a slightly hurried pace with his force rod as a walking stick. The others reached the end[4] and tried to hold the doors open. All the while, Tass communed with the machine spirits, asking for a delay. His Tech test was bolstered by the help received blocking the doors, and the machines obeyed. So the encounter itself turned out to be pretty chill.[5]

Afterwards, they reached the Sump Pits, which turned out to be a rather large opening containing abandoned algae silos.

One silo had fallen on its side, and it was now used as some sort of building. Underhivers flocked to it from all directions. It was also well guarded, even with emplaced heavy stubbers on its top. The agents decided to split the party[6]: Warder and Tass disguised themselves as underhivers and went in with the throng, while the others stayed behind.

As the two blended into the crowd, Palmulata and Thrakus looked around the place, trying to find weak points. A complication meant Palmulata slipping and landing face-first unto the oily floor, causing enough of a ruckus to have a group of underhivers come investigate. Thrakus quickly pulled her behind a huge machine wreck, and the two climbed up to find cover. Or, tried to. Thrakus ascended and took shelter behind a broken cog, but Palmulata slipped again[7] and fell into the wreck, taking falling damage. Then the two laid still, and waited for the inquisitive crowd to go away. They did, but in the end, Ivill was also nowhere to be found.

Why yes, they did drag him all the way through the underhive.

That embarrassing scene over, we shifted over to the infiltrators. They bypassed the security at the entrance, but then proved to be way to conspicuous, attracting the attention of the guards inside. They frisked down Warder, who produced his knife along with a convincing story. The guards left them alone, but kept a watch, so they couldn't get close to the raised dais at the end, where the main villain soon made his appearance.

The prophet Gerrit whipped the crowd into a frenzy, inflating their hate of the upperhive elite. His attendants handed out luxury items to sample - among them, things taken from the murder scenes. As people cried and exalted in sensations never before experienced, Gerrit pulled out the head of Governor Veneratio from his bag, announcing his next victim: Prefect Orrilus. 

At this point, Warder tried something, but caused a ruckus. Fearing the crowd turning into a mob, he caused a distraction by throwing his ornate Psykana Mercy Blade unto the ground. As some scrambled to fight over the treasure, the two agents made their way out, voxing what they heard to the rest of the team. In the throng, Tass lost his autopistol.

The agents reunited to see Gerrit and his companions move towards a nearby railway station, and caught up to them just as the train was pulling away. Cue a convoluted combat scene aboard a fast moving cargo train! Which I spiced up even more by adding a rogue psyker.

The autoguns pinged off armor, while the return fire was brutal. Tass' critical hit blew apart the second carriage, while Thrakus turned the second squad to charred remains. Warder dueled with the rogue psyker, denying most of what I threw at the party. Only Thrakus managed to gain his second Corruption point. Seeing his chances growing ever slimmer, Gerrit jumped unto the train! Thrakus followed, a hair's breadth from dying - but made it.

With Thrakus grabbing Gerrit by the neck, we ended the combat scene and the gaming session as well. Next up: conclusion.

[1] A sensible choice.

[2] The workmen from the previous session, whom they bought some Worldfish stew for. Yumm.

[3] Conversational Cogitator to the rescue.

[4] Palmulata with an extra exalted icon.

[5] Unlike my initial alarm, as I read through the module. First fight: servitors. Then scum. Cultists. Then you pass a check or you die drowning. Wait, what?

[6] Always a good choice.

[7] No wonder, after she was pulled across the oil slick flooring.