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Witch Hunter Tyrus lifted the sprawled body of Kesselfrom the cell floor, unable to mask the relish he felt atfinally having the rogue inquisitor within his grasp.Kessel’s features were bruised and battered, testament tothe ministrations of Bravus and Stone. They had workedhim over brutally and the only reason he had notallowed Malicant near him was the fact that the zealotwould have killed him without thinking. No, Kessel wasgoing to be made to face his crimes, and his accusers, faceto face. His foe was shackled with a null-collar, a goldand silver artefact with bands of chased ormulite thatnegated Kessel’s psychic abilities and kept him docile.

“Time to go Kessel,” said Tyrus.

Kessel looked up and the Witch Hunter was pleased to seethe defeated look in his eyes. He knew now the folly ofbreaking faith with the Emperor and his servants.

“You are strong and have resisted well, but that ends now.My ship is equipped with those who have had some of thegreatest excruciations of all time implanted in theirheads. You will break, and you will beg for death.”

“Never…” spat Kessel, a defiant spark still burning withinhim.

“A shame that such strength is to be found in a hereticsuch as you,” lamented Tyrus.

“You do not understand,” gasped Kessel. “The Angel… youmust not stand in my way.”

“So like a heretic to feel he knows better than one who hasbeen divinely appointed to enact the God-Emperor’swill.” sneered Tyrus. “I have broken thousands of hereticswho thought they knew better than I, who thought theyalone knew the true path. All were proven wrong and allare now dead. Do you see now where your heresy has ledyou?”

“You don’t understand,” continued Kessel, but Tyrusbackhanded a blow across his chin.

“Silence!” he roared. “The words of a heretic meannothing to me! The only sounds I shall enjoy hearingfrom your mouth are yourcries for absolution whenyou are a screaming,broken mass of fleshin theexcruciationchambers.”

Tyrus turnedfrom thebleedingKessel andsaid, “The gun-cutter awaits totake us from thisdamnableplanet. Come, itis time to go.”

Escape from

CephalonA bombastic battle report by Graham McNeill, Rowland Cox, Gavin Thorpe,

Phil Kelly and Humpy the Servo-skull

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Graham: Welcome to thisissue’s battle report, a clashbetween rival Inquisitors as theyfight to achieve their disparategoals on the bedevilled world ofKaris Cephalon. Those of youwith good memories mightrecognise the characters in thisgame from the battle reports we

ran in White Dwarf at the release of the Inquisitor game.The last battle report we played saw Inquisitor Kesselbanish the Daemon Prince, Pharaa’gueotla, only to betaken into captivity by the Monodominant Witch HunterTyrus. We always planned to come back to this storylineand play out more of the events surrounding them, butsomehow never got round to it, what with things like theStudio campaigns rearing their time-consuming heads…

But not any more…

Last season on Inquisitor…Obsessively searching for the Librarium Hereticus,Inquisitor Lichtenstein followed the words of the hereticTech-Adept, Corteswain, to the world of Karis Cephalon,where he sought to question a bound Daemon Princenamed Pharaa’gueotla. Following rumours of a hauntedmine workings, he discovered its prison and, after fightingoff the warband of Witch Hunter Tyrus, succeeded ininterrogating a fragment of its consciousness. Using hisbound Daemonhost, Ghaustos, Lichtenstein was able tolearn the location of a warp portal that apparently led tothe Librarium, housed in a forgotten temple known as theParaelix Configuration.

Lichtenstein immediately set off, little realising thatPharaa’gueotla had lied to him and had escaped theshackles of its ancient imprisonment. The ParaelixConfiguration was in fact a dimensional plug, set in placethousands of years ago to prevent the Immaterium frompouring into real space. Inquisitor Kessel also knew of the

Paraelix Configuration and was able to preventLichtenstein from unleashing hell on the

planet’s surface. The twoInquisitors were tomeet again in thecapital city ofCephalon andformed an uneasy

alliance, despitethe violent

interventionof Tyrus.

However,Lichtenstein wasstill furious at having beenfooled by Pharaa’gueotla and bent hisevery effort to hunting and destroying the DaemonPrince. He was to get his chance in the remote miningtown of Paganus Reach, where Kaludram the Deceiver, aChaos Magus in the service of the Daemon Prince, haddiscovered a nascent psyker of frightening potential toutilise as a host body for Pharaa’gueotla. Kessel andLichtenstein tracked the Daemon Prince to PaganusReach, and in a titanic battle, Kessel was able to destroythe daemon’s host body and banish the fiend back to theWarp. In the confused aftermath of this struggle, WitchHunter Tyrus, with his trademark bombast, entered thefray with his guns blazing and downed Kessel with a shotto the head. Lichtenstein escaped, but Kessel was not sofortunate…

85

Phil – InquisitorLichtensteinAfter the daemon-slaying battle atPaganus Reach, you watched asKessel’s words of conciliation toTyrus fell on deaf ears and theWitch Hunter shot him in thehead. The daemon had beendefeated, banished back to the

Warp by Kessel’s own hand, but regrettably, unseen by thenotorious Tyrus. With the Daemon gone, you and yourwarband made your escape back to Cephalon, learningthat Kessel had been taken to an Arbites Precinct House,where he was no doubt forced to endure hours of painfulexcruciation and ordeals – much like the ones youyourself endured at the hands of Tyrus. Soon after, youwatched him being taken to Cephalon Spaceport,shackled by a null-field collar to dampen his psychicabilities. Kessel, while not an ally, has helped you in yourquest for the Librarium Hereticus (notably by preventingthe opening of a warp gate below the southernmountains). The Witch Hunter’s gun-cutter waits to takeKessel into orbit and to his starship and as you infiltratethe spaceport’s perimeter, you feel the unmistakablepresence of another daemonhost. Might Loa Gorg and theremainder of Kessel’s warband be attempting a rescue?Freeing Kessel is your goal, but remember, he is merelysomeone you owe, not a friend, and it is likely he may stilltry to thwart your ultimate quest...

Rowland – WitchHunter TyrusAfter the battle at Paganus Reach,you watched as the hereticsLichtenstein and Kesselconsorted with daemons andfilthy traitors to the God-Emperor. The daemon wasdefeated, banished back to theWarp by your divine purity, but

regrettably, Lichtenstein escaped, though you were able todown Kessel with an expertly placed bolt round. Dragginghim in chains to Cephalon, you subjected Kessel to manyhours of painful excruciation, though the heretic refusedto break and confess his evil. No matter, the facilities andExcruciator Specialists on your starship will break himbefore long. Shackled by a null-field collar to prevent thetraitor’s psychic abilities from swaying your followers inthe same way as they were controlled at Paganus Reach,his daemonsword (as well as his other equipment) iscarried in a pentagrammically warded stasis locker borneby Enforcer Bravus. Marching out into the hanger, yourgun-cutter awaits to take you into orbit and to yourstarship. It is possible, probably even likely, that there willbe some attempt to rescue the heretic, so you must be onyour guard...

Inquisitor Lichtenstein’s Warband

Witch Hunter Tyrus’s Warband

Hunt Leader Lucretia Bravusand cyber-mastiff

Witch Hunter Tyrusand Pariah Jeremiah

MagosDimitri Inquisitor Lichtenstein Daemonhost

GhaustosSniper Dante

Devotee Malicant

Sergent Stone

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Gav – InquisitorKesselAfter the terrible battle atPaganus Reach, your words ofconciliation to Tyrus fell on deafears and the Witch Hunter shotyou in the head. The daemonhad been defeated, banishedback to the Warp by your own

hand, but regrettably, unseen by the zealot Tyrus. Takenback to Cephalon, you were forced to endure hours ofpainful excruciation before being taken to CephalonSpaceport. Shackled by a null-field collar, your psychicabilities are held in check and your daemonsword (as wellas your other equipment) is carried in a pentagrammicallywarded stasis locker carried by one of Tyrus’s goons. Asyou are marched out into the hanger, where the WitchHunter’s gun-cutter awaits to take you into orbit and hisstarship, you feel the unmistakable presence of Loa Gorg.Too close a connection exists between you and theDaemonhost for you to not register its presence; evenwith a null-field collar. You must be ready to act whenyour would-be rescuers make their move...

The GamesmasterI’ve been meaning to get back to thestory of Inquisitor Lichtenstein andhis fellow Inquisitors at some time,and the launch of Fanatic Magazinewas a perfect excuse to get everyonetogether again for another bloodyromp around the streets of KarisCephalon. Given where we left off

last time, the obvious next step of the campaign was tohave Lichtenstein attempting to rescue the capturedInquisitor Kessel while Tyrus is transporting him to hisship. Rather than just a simple rescue, I planned to havesome little twists along the way that would add a littlespice to the game. Seeds of suspicion were planted inLichtenstein’s mind after the inconsistencies in hisdaemonhost’s behaviour in the last few months, and LoaGorg, Kessel’s Daemonhost, has its own agenda afterbasking in the Immaterial energies of the ParaelixConfiguration. All this, combined with the rules forvehicles and unbound daemons that I’d written forExterminatus Magazine (and now appear in the InquisitorAnnual 2004), should also prove to be interesting…

Inquisitor Kessel’s Warband

Logan Storm

Inquisitor Kessel

Mechsimus Oirelius

Daemonhost Loa Gorg

87

Deployment

88

The hangar was noisy, echoing to the sound ofconveyors, working servitors and the whine of thegun-cutter’s engines spooling up. Tyrus scanned the busyhangar, alert for any signs of danger, knowing that this wasthe most dangerous phase of his operation. He glancedround to ensure Enforcer Bravus and Sergeant Stone hadthe bound Kessel secured and that the warded containerwith the heretic’s daemon weapon was safe. Satisfied,Tyrus waved his hand forward, stepping into the hangartowards his ship with the gamine Jeremiah behind him.The presence of the untouchable unsettled Tyrus, but heknew that the repulsive little wretch was his best defenceagainst the heretical powers that Lichtenstein and thedaemon creatures possessed. Malicant, pushed Kesselforward and, despite the zealot’s often bumblingincompetence, Tyrus was forced to admire his purity ofhatred. Soon Kessel would be shackled within the fully-equipped penitence chambers of his vessel and beggingfor mercy at the hands of mono-tasked Excruciators.

Further back, amidst the clanking machineries of thehangar, a lone figure clambered up an iron tower, a long-las slung over his shoulder. Below, Inquisitor Lichtenstein,his Mechanicus henchman, Dimitri, and the DaemonhostGhaustos advanced through the flickering light of thehangar. Dimitri paused at the edge of the tower the sniper,Dante, was climbing, and focussed his mind to communewith the Machine Spirit of a nearby ore-transporter truck.Lichtenstein was troubled. Should he even be here? Afoolish sense of obligation to Kessel had brought himhere, but a dark prescience whispered at the back of hismind that this mission reeked of trouble. He could sensethe presence of others here and could not shake thesuspicion that he was walking to his doom.

The Daemonhost Loa Gorg, former servant of Kessel,smiled to itself as it felt the gnawing doubts worm theirway into the other Inquisitor’s mind, knowing that even amoment’s hesitation would be all it needed. It flexed itsmind, smiling as it felt the bonds that Kessel had placedupon it to hold it in this cage of flesh weaken yet again.But without the sword it was yet bound to Kessel anddoomed to endless service. The sword was the key and itwould allow nothing to get in the way of its desires. Thegladiator creature known as Mechsimus ambled alongsideit, his chainblade arms whirring as they idled, ready toroar into life when battle called. Alongside the cyber-warrior, the pitiful Logan Storm, whose body was nowmore machine than flesh, rolled forward on the track unitthat had replaced the legs that had been seared away in adeadly conflagration below the surface of the world. Bothwere foolish creatures, easily swayed to aid Loa Gorg in itsambitions, but useful nonetheless.

Tyrus advances with his loyal retinue

Dante takes position over the tower...

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Lichtenstein ghosted his way through the hangar, pistoldrawn and looking to secure a vantage point to betterplan his strategy. Ghaustos floated alongside him and hecraned his neck upwards, spotting a ladder leading to theroof of a nearby structure. He gestured for Ghaustos tocontinue round the building and nodded to Dimitri. TheMechanicus lumbered towards the truck as Lichtensteinheaded for the ladder, but pulled up short as a man infilthy overalls at the corner of the building looked up tosee him and the hideous form of Ghaustos. Too far awayto reach in time. The man’s eyes bulged in terror and heshouted, “Intruders! Intruders in the hangar!” beforepressing himself flat against the building’s wall.Lichtenstein cursed, knowing it would do no good to killthe man, everyone in the hangar would have heard hiscries by now. Instead, he forged onwards, climbing to theroof of the building and running to its edge.

Tyrus heard the shout and drew his bolt pistol, knowinghe had been right to trust his instinct for danger. Theshout had come from the right, but further to the left hesaw a mechanised figure rolling into sight. He relaxed fora second until he realised that this figure was no servitor,but one of Kessel’s damned acolytes, a gun-carriage with afearsomely powerful weapon. Tyrus shouted, “Get him tothe cutter!” and raised his pistol as his enemy aimed hisweapon. But Tyrus was faster and squeezed off a burst ofshells before the machine man could fire.

Loa Gorg watched with faint amusement as Logan Storm’schest was ripped apart by heavy calibre shells. Each rounddetonated within his body, leaving giant craters in his fleshand spraying blood into the air. Loa Gorg could taste theman’s blood and savoured its bitter tang. If Stormsurvived this latest wounding, the Daemonhost would bevery surprised, but the man had proved his resilience

before. Blood was power and together with his ownpsychic energies, Loa Gorg summoned a cracklingfirestorm of electrical energy and hurled it towards Tyrusand his warband. Kessel was sure to be hurt in the ensuingblast, but that was a price Loa Gorg was only too willingto pay.

Gav on Logan Storm: “Poor bastard doesn’t have much luck…”

“Damn you!” Lichtenstein cursed...

90

Kessel’s senses were dulled, his vision grey andcolourless. The null-collar Tyrus had fitted him withdimming his psychic awareness and rendering him muzzyand thick-headed. He had not realised how much hisabilities had enhanced his perceptions until now. Dimlyhe could hear the sound of gunshots and looked up intime to see a blazing corona of fire hurtling towards him.He opened his mouth to scream, but the pellucid blue fireswept over him. He heard Tyrus roar in pain and smelt thestench of scorched flesh. Pain wracked him as lightningarced from the bodies around him and a bolt struck himon the side of the head. Coils of electrical dischargewreathed his head and he gasped as though suddenlyimmersed in ice-cold water as the full spectrum of hissenses returned to him and he knew the null-collar hadbeen damaged in Loa Gorg’s attack…

Another shot rang out, the distinctive crack of a long-lassaw Sergeant Stone ducked as he felt the hot snap of a lasround graze his cheek. Bravus scattered, running towardsthe cutter and taking aim at the floating daemon creaturethat had attacked them. Malicant charged towards thecreature and Stone could see blood pouring from aterrible wound in the Fanatic’s side. The man would bleedto death before long and Stone ran to join him, breakingout his medi-pack as he heard the unmistakable roar ofchainblades powering up.

With Lichtenstein having ascended, Ghaustos driftedtowards the cowering worker and lifted him from theground, the mass of waving tentacles that surrounded theDaemonhost writhing in obscene hunger as they pressedagainst the man’s flesh and wormed their way into hisbody. He tried to scream, but a thick, slug-like tentacleslithered into his mouth and down his gullet. Withinmoments, the man’s body was little more than a shrivelledsack of bones wrapped in desiccated, leathery skin. TheDaemonhost tossed aside the corpse, feeling a murderoussense of purpose fill it as it moved towards the ship in thecentre of the hangar and the gunning roar of a truck’sengine sounded from behind it.

Tyrus picked himself up from the ground, sparks stilldancing before his eyes. The holy symbols etched on hisarmour were little more than smeared scorch marks now,but they had done their job, protecting him from theworst of the hell-beast’s attack. Lichtenstein wasinsensible, also suffering from the attack and Tyrus’s lipcurled in a sneer, “Is there no end to your follower’sblasphemies, that they would see you dead too?”. Theheretic didn’t answer, but Tyrus didn’t expect him to, thenull-collar would be keeping him largely insensible to theoutside world. He turned as he heard fresh screaming andsaw Malicant fall before Kessel’s frothing maniac who hadtwin chainswords where his hands ought to have been.Blood sprayed from the whirring teeth of the swords asthe warrior leapt the prone Malicant and ran towardsTyrus. Seeing the danger, Bravus shifted her aim and fired

This worker has a têtê-a-têtê with a late night visitor

91

at the gladiator-warrior, a bullet from her stubber takinghim in the leg, but failing to slow him.

Lichtenstein saw Tyrus wreathed in the after-image of apsychic attack and snapped off a quick, but well-aimed,shot. The round clipped Tyrus on the side of the head andhe staggered. The Witch Hunter reeled from the powerfulimpact and crashed to the ground. Lichtenstein knew thatwith a wound to the head and his followers scattered,there would never be a better chance to get Tyrus awayfrom the prone Kessel. He drew his psychic power into afocussed lance of energy and stood, ready to hurl a bolt ofpure force towards the Witch Hunter. Almost immediately,he knew something was wrong as he felt the power wellup inside him, blocked from release by some incrediblebarrier. He caught a glimpse of a small, blurred figurebehind Tyrus and instantly recognised him for what hewas; an untouchable, a psychic blank. Anathema topsykers, Lichtenstein desperately attempted to drain thepower from his mind, but it was already too late and hefelt the psychic feedback ravage his mind with agonisingfury. He collapsed, blood pouring from his eyes andmouth, clutching his head as though his very skull mightexplode.

Despite wounds that would have felled a normal man,Malicant stood, his chest a ravaged ruin thanks to thenone too tender attentions of a chainsword. He saw afloating creature, wrapped in glistening tentacles driftingtowards him and lifted his massive eviscerator, though theeffort of even holding the weapon was almost too muchfor him. Bravus’s Cyber-mastiff stood beside him, ready tofight this abomination, but even as he shouted a prayer of

thanks to the God-Emperor, a ball of incandescent lightexploded before him, blinding him suddenly, and heyelled in frustration. He swung his eviscerator wildly, butcould see nothing to hit as a chill seized his heart and hefelt a numbing lethargy sweep over him. He cried out inpain, dropping his sword and clutching his chest as hisheart began to freeze within his chest and ice-crystalsstarted forming in his bloodstream. His vision dimmedand he collapsed, cursing the fates that had damned himto such an ignominious end.

Edward Scissorhand’s brother was not amused

92

Lichtenstein felt a tremor shiver up his arm, a snakinginvasion of his flesh from the sword in his hand. The bladeleapt with fire and he could feel the daemon bound withinits steel surge into his mind, its fury at its enforcedcaptivity a terrible thing. He fought its malign influence,but already weakened by the psychic backlash, he lackedthe strength and moaned as he felt the daemon claim hisflesh for its own. His eyes blazed with daemonic powerand he leapt from the roof of thebuilding, the daemon now incontrol of his body revelling in itssudden freedom and sensing thehateful presence of anotherdaemonic creature. The fragmentsof Lichtenstein’s will that remainedfought the daemon’s possession,but he was too weak and couldonly watch as he ran towardsGhaustos and swung his blade atthe Daemonhost. Ghaustos was adenizen of the Warp and powerful,but the creature within him was ascion of the god of battle andblood and knew exactly where tostrike, driving the blade deepwithin his chest. A truck roaredpast, with Dimitri at the wheel,heading towards the gun-cutter,but the daemon-Lichtenstein carednot. It could feel Ghaustos’s fury atthis attack, and laughed, sweepingthe sword around and hacking its

head from its body. Ghaustos dropped, its flesh destroyedand its daemonic essence hurled back to the Immaterium.But there was another… and daemon-Lichtensteincharged towards yet another Daemonhost.

Towards the rear of the gun-cutter a furious battle ragedbetween Sergeant Stone, Mechsimus and Bravus. Stoneand Bravus were courageous, but Mechsimus had been

Ghaustos bites the dust but Lichtenstein doesn’t seem to be worried...

Who’s gonna be the first to stand up?

93

bred and trained for battle, and avoided every strike,hammering one of his lethal arms into Stone’s head. Theman screamed and fell, blood pouring from a deepwound in his face. Bravus struck at Mechsimus, but couldnot penetrate his defences and the two leapt back andforth, attacking, counter-attacking, parrying and dodgingin a dazzling display of skill and fury. But such a contestcould end only one way, and Mechsimus smashed theshock-maul from Bravus’s hand before ramming hischainsword through her head.

Loa Gorg desperatelydodged another strokefrom the possessedmortal, knowing thatthe daemon within theman’s flesh would notstop until it haddestroyed all otherdaemonic creatures inthe vicinity. The manwas fighting itspossession, but LoaGorg could not yet tellwhose will was thestronger. The manscreamed and droppedto his knees and LoaGorg took advantage ofthe struggle within hisskull to break away andhead towards its goal,the case containing its

former master’s sword. Even as it slipped away from itsopponent, it saw a pair of trucks careening through thehangar. A red-robed figure leapt from one, aimed towardsthe gun-cutter, and a servitor controlled the other. Thefirst truck hammered into the nose of the cutter andexploded, crumpling its front and showering the area withburning fuel and red-hot fragments of metal. Stray shots,Loa Gorg couldn’t tell from where, struck a collection ofbarrels and a blinding explosion filled the hangar as theyexploded. Burning fuel sprayed through the hangar and abillowing mushroom cloud of smoke rose from the centreof the blast. Dazed by the blast, Loa Gorg didn’t see thesecond truck as it veered wildly out of control, narrowlyavoiding the supine Malicant and slamming him into theside of the gun-cutter. The Daemonhost screamed in painas the augmented servitor hurtled through the truckswindscreen and splattered itself against the side of thenow crippled gun-cutter.

Lichtenstein felt the daemon’s grip loosen a fraction andpushed harder to expel it from his body and back into thesword. He felt its rage at his resistance, but summonedevery discipline he had been taught to ward out thedaemonic, screaming in pain as he forced it from hismind. His flesh was ravaged and exhausted, but he was anInquisitor of the Emperor and he was no weakling psykerto be dominated so easily. He felt the daemon’s screamingfrustration as he forced it back into the sword and hurledthe weapon away from him, clattering towards Dimitri.“Secure the weapon, but for the Emperor’s sake do nottouch it with flesh!” he shouted. Even as he felt his bodybecome his own once more, he saw Tyrus stand, his facea mask of blood and rage.

Another victim for the cyber-psycho!

“You join us here at the Monster truck Arena”

94

Kessel watched as Tyrus drewhimself to his full height. Drippingin blood and silhouetted in theflames of his cutter’s destruction,Tyrus was a fearsome sight, a fieryavatar of death and unthinkingdestruction. Kessel was stillbound, but he had been capturedbefore and shackled by morecomplex fetters than these. Withhis training and the full power ofhis psychic abilities at his disposal,it was a simple matter to cast themoff then reach up to pull of thebroken null-collar. Though he wasno slouch in unarmed combat, heknew that were he to stand achance against Tyrus, he wouldneed his weapons. He could seethe case where his guns and swordhad been stowed and set off toretrieve them, when he saw Loa Gorg heading for thesame objective. His blood ran cold as he realised that LoaGorg had not come to rescue him at all, but to retrieve thesword…

A sniper shot rang out, grazing Tyrus’s armour, andthough he could see no shooter, he ducked back, seeingLichtenstein climbing to his feet and run towards the wallsof the hanger and a conveyor track as his damnedMechanicus stooped to retrieve a brazen sword with hisswaying mechadendrites. The sword secured, theMechanicus turned and ran off. Lichtenstein… he should

have known. Now more than ever was there proof thatthese two heretics were in league with one another. Heheard movement behind him and saw to his amazement,that Kessel was free. Tyrus paused, unsure as he tried tochoose which enemy to kill first. Both his foes were withinreach, but which to attack? He directed his gun-skull tofire on Kessel as the choice was suddenly taken from him.The cyber-warrior who had felled Stone and Bravus leapttowards him, a blade scoring a bloody gash across his leg.This warrior may have felled his followers, but he hadbitten of more than he could chew here. Tyrus activatedhis power fist and blocked a downward sweep of the

Finally free, Kessel take his chance!

Meschimus Oirelius charges the Witchunter...

95

gladiator’s chainswords, the deadly energies destroyingboth blades in a bright explosion. The warrior stooddumbfounded for a second and Tyrus did not give hisopponent time to recover, slamming his fist into his faceand virtually pulverising his skull with one blow.

Kessel grunted in pain and stumbled, dropping to oneknee as a lasbolt blew out his kneecap. He could onlywatch as Loa Gorg approached the container with thedaemonsword inside, and agonisingly dragged himselftowards the Daemonhost. He watched as Loa Gorg tookhold of the container and then roared in pain, floatingrapidly away from it as though it stung. Only then didKessel notice the mystical warding symbols on thecontainer, realising that it had been pentagrammicallywarded against the daemonic. Gritting his teeth againstthe pain, he limped towards the container and begandragging it towards the exit on the far side of the hangar.Tyrus was occupied with some other foe and he was nevergoing to get a better chance than this to escape.

Lichtenstein saw the cyber-warrior fall and Tyrus marchtowards him, furious and vengeful. The hangar was abroken, flaming ruin, pillars of smoke billowing towardsthe roof fans and pools of burning fuel flickering like avision of hell itself. Tyrus said, “No mercy for you,Lichtenstein. No capture, no interrogation. This time I willkill you.”

Lichtenstein knew that Tyrus meant every word; he wouldforego the pleasure of his disgrace for the simple pleasureof killing him right now, and Lichtenstein knew he could

do it. Without his sword, there was no way he could standbefore the hulking figure of the Witch Hunter. Beside himwas one of the railcarts used to ferry fuel canisters fromthe blast-shielded stores and Lichtenstein knew there wasbut one way out of this. Kessel had already made hisescape and it was now time to get the hell out of here. Heclambered painfully into the rail cart and hauled the brasslever on the control panel, sketching a mocking salute toTyrus as he was carried away into the darkness.

... just to find that Tyrus ready to fight back!

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ESCALATIONMy dear friend, Jens,I am afraid it is bad news thatthis message brings you. Myattempts to quell the instabilityon Karis Cephalon have run intoserious obstacles that I can nolonger overcome with mycurrent resources. The meddlingof Lichtenstein has incurred the

ire of Tyrus, and the bombastic, blinkered fool has failedto see reason. My allies have recently informed me thathe is moving for me to be declared TraitorisExcommunicate. Despite my centuries of dedicatedservice and sacrifice, and the influence of those whobelieve in my cause, I am aware that my enemies holdthe trump hand at the moment. I expect Tyrus to moveagainst me in force in the near future.

As you may have now guessed, dear Jens, it is time foryou to fulfil your end of our bargain. First, I appeal toyou as a comrade-in-arms, who requires your assistancenow more than ever. Secondly, I require your co-operation as an Inquisitor of the Emperor. Thirdly, Idemand this return of favour, under threat of disclosingcertain facts that we are both aware of. As I am sure youunderstand, your current vaunted position wouldperhaps not survive if the less than salubrious activitiesof your youth were made aware to your colleagues andsuperiors.I await your arrival with anticipation.

Addendum – The Sisters Sanguis will meet you beforedeparture, do not fail me.

NO MERCY

Following my report to theGrand Masters of my Ordo, ofthe escape of the heretic Kesseland his accomplice, theaccursed Lichtenstein, it isnecessary to inform all high-ranking Imperial servants of theoutcome.

The Grand Masters of the Inquisition will not toleraterogue Inquisitors. Following an Inquisitorial conclave,Inquisitors Kessel and Lichtenstein have had theirInquisitorial status revoked, their absence merelyconvicting them more. Currently, a force of Grey Knightshas been dispatched to exterminate Kessel and hisdeluded followers. Given our convoluted histories, I willpersonally lead the effort to hunt down Lichtenstein. TheGovernor of Karis Cephalon will assist in this effort withanything I require. The Adepta Sororitas and AdeptusAstartes have pledged warriors should they be needed,and the Adeptus Arbites and Officio Assassinorum haveoffered their best agents in the pursuit andextermination of the heretic Lichtenstein. The ImperialNavy has blockaded the system – escape is impossible.

No Imperial organisation will grant them succour; noperson will go unpunished for failing to follow leads thatmight lead to their capture. The Imperium of Man isfocused on Karis Cephalon. Its will; the termination ofthe vile heretics Lichtenstein and Kessel.

The noose tightens and soon both heretics will be hangingby rope of my making.

Thought for the day: The rewards of tolerance aretreachery and betrayal.

97

TO EQUINOX!

My task upon Cephalon isfinished; we can continue ourworks unhindered by anyobligation. It irks me that I

found myself pandering to the dictates of honour, butKessel has aided me in the past. Besides, I would not seesuch a talented and... open-minded ally reduced to amewling wretch by Tyrus’s excruciators. Now that debt ispaid in full, though, in truth, I would have consideredcoming to Kessel’s aid merely to rob the short-sightedbuffoon of his ill-gained victory.

I fear the Witch Hunter will pursue me yet, however, as tothwart him is merely to inflame his obsession further. Hewill do everything he can, pull in all the might of theImperium available to an Inquisitor of such highstanding, merely to see me burn. That I use the powers ofChaos to thwart the designs of the Yngir is as nothing tohim. Only the Librarium Hereticus and the artefactwithin it hold the key to our success, but with the fullmight of the Inquisition at my heels my passage toEquinox will be fraught with peril. It is imperative Tyrusis removed from the equation.

Therefore I ask you in turn to make good your debt – youwere ever a slave to such notions, and I cannot kill Tyrusmyself, or I would have done so thrice over already.Summon your fleet. Join me at the coordinates and timeencrypted in my last missive. For my part, I have yetinfluence within the armies of Mankind. Tyrus will findhis ‘prey’ a far more formidable foe than he could everrealise.

Pick up your sword and make ready for war. For thoughwe do not look for it, it will find us soon enough.

Tyrus surveyed the wreckage, knowing that his captivehad escaped him. But ahead of him, disappearing intothe depths of the storage facility was Lichtenstein. One ofhis prey had escaped him, but this one would not. Therewas no way out of the facility, and Lichtenstein hadunwittingly fled into a trap of his own making. None of hisfollowers still stood, either dead or out of action – he hadno way of knowing nor did he care. Lichtenstein was allthat mattered.

He limped towards the next railcart as it appeared from thefacility, laden with barrels of fuel. Angrily he lifted themout, his power armour easily granting him the strength todo so, and climbed in. Behind him, all he could hear wasthe crackle of flames and the moans of the wounded. Hespared neither a backwards glance as he pulled the leverand set off after Lichtenstein.

Only one of them would walk away from this day’sstruggle.

HIGH OCTANE THRILLSBlimey Charley! Well, therewasn’t much left in that hangarthat hadn’t been blown up,smashed beyond repair or had achainsword stabbed through it.That was a fantastic game andwas a fitting coda to the battlereports we played for WhiteDwarf – in fact, I think this onesurpassed them all. From the

insanity of Lichtenstein’s possession by thedaemonsword, to the explosion of the gun-cutter and theman of the match heroics of Mechsimus, I don’t think wecould have crammed any more cinematic moments intothe battle. Originally, I’d planned this as a final scenario,but, as is often the way with such in-character players,more plot threads came out of this game than expected.

Loa Gorg’s true agenda is now clear to Kessel and he willhave to ask himself how much he can trust the bindingshe placed upon his daemonic creation. Lichtenstein hasescaped into the darkness of the storage facility, but Tyrushas been pushed so far now, all thoughts of reason arebeyond him and stands ready to give pursuit. Matters havegone too far now for the enmities built up here to besolved by mere warbands and calls have gone out to theChambers Militant and the armed forces of Cephalon.Much blood remains to be spilled, that’s for certain.

After we finished this game, we headed off to Bugman’sfor a nice, relaxing pint to chew the fat over what had justhappened. Excited by the possibilities that had beenopened up, we knew we could keep this going for muchlonger. I plan for a game just involving Lichtenstein andTyrus as he hops onto the next railcar and followsLichtenstein. I can just picture it now, the two of thembeing carried along, Indiana Jones and the Temple ofDoom style as they careen along towards the storagefacility, then creeping around, cat and mouse as one triesto escape and the other to capture.

Beyond even that, we plan to play some Warhammer40,000 games as well. What with Codex: Daemonhuntersand the newly-released Codex: Witch Hunters, it would bea crime not to. Rowland already has his plans to add inunits from the Witch Hunters army list to add to hisexisting Imperial Guard army and Phil has a fully realisedDaemonhunters army ready to take him on. It’s things likethis that make Inquisitor such a joy to a Gamesmaster,because it allows you to vary the scale of a campaign easily,with the ongoing narrative developing as you see fit, withone-on-one games and battles of 40K merging back andforth. Who knows, matters may get so out of hand onKaris Cephalon that we may need to get some games ofEpic in…

Rest assured, that whatever happens, we’ll be sure to tellyou all about it!