The Lost (30k Primarch Quest)

XVII. A New Beginning

"…Here's how things are going to go." You say. "You're going to gather up all of your icons, your banners, everything you've got for that cult of yours. We're gonna pile it all up here in front of your temple, and you all are going to burn it. Then every single one of you is going to get on your knees and swear to renounce your old gods and your old ways. From the child sacrifice down to the last weirdo prayer. When each of you swear that oath, I'm going to shave your hair with my sword.

"And if you have a problem with any of it, I'll leave you here in the hell you've made. Any questions?"

One of the kids raises his hand. "Do we need to throw our hair into the fire too?"

You pause. "… couldn't hurt, but optional."

The cultists, it seems, had kept bits of memorabilia and icons from their time in the storm. Most burn their icons and even previous belongings without much issue, though one or two have icons sewn into the rags they count as clothes. You burn those, too. Some of the people are left naked or very nearly, and are clearly humiliated. Tough shit.

As the burning continues, you turn to the Tech Monks. "Virtuous Whim. You said you owed me, right?"

The Tech Monk turns to you, his visor conveying little. "I take it from your tone you have an idea in mind already."

You nod, holding out one of the Aeldari pistols that he takes from your hand. "I'd like you to figure out how to get these alien weapons working for humans."

Virtuous Whim taps the side of his visor as he looks the weapon over, and you notice his grimace. You're unsure if it's because the job looks like a pain, or because he can tell what the weapons is for and what you'll use it for.

"They're very painful and debilitating, but they're also not very lethal. Ping, Amaya and I all got hit and none of us died, but everyone other than me went down. If we can get them working for human sized fighters, we'll be able to make our raids more effective and less lethal." You add.

Whim glances at you, eyes dark. The lay sister and Paradise look at each other, both apprehensive.

"… We owe you." Whim says quietly. "We will do this. We might need tools, however; bring us back to our temple and we can better aid you."

You nod. Seems a simple enough request.

Ping shudders. "Shanwei… those things shouldn't be modified or used by anyone. At least with blade or pistol it's done."

Amaya doesn't state her assent aloud, but you can see her clutching herself. She agrees with him.

You look between the two, then sigh. "I'll… think on it."

And you will. You have time.

"Stinky face."

"Uggo."

"Dumbnose."

"Poopy breath!"

"What's wrong with puppies? I like puppies."

Fan and Son have spent the entire time glaring at each other and trading childish barbs they think you can't hear. You're glad for it, it was getting annoying covering her eyes constantly.

Xiulan is the first to have her hair cut. She throws a wooden effigy of a strange, eight-pointed star onto the flame. "I hereby renounce the Three and all they stand for. Never again will their rituals rule my life, their prayers pass my lips, their icons grace my eyes, or their thoughts rule my actions." She turns to you, a smile spreading across her face as she kneels before you. "I instead pledge all that I am to the Stormbreaker, his whims, and his majesty." She kisses your boot.

Her glowing, adoring smile would've been nice in less horrid circumstances. Not for the first time you wonder if this was the best idea. You'll be able to guide these people, but they're still fanatics.

You push down your distaste for the moment and go down the line. It's going to be a long day.

About two dozen people choose to follow through and go with you. The rest stay behind, but none of them are children. You're glad; if anyone can be saved, it's them.

-

As you come out of the jungle, for the first time since you arrived, the rain starts to let up. It doesn't quite stop, but it does fall less heavily. You lead your new charges, many of them shaking and huddling together, out onto the beach and towards the Cutting Dagger.

The ship has been fortified as a base camp since you left, and as you draw closer, you see some of your crew siting you down. You roll your eyes for a moment before lifting up your hat to wave to them. Probably are spooked by the crowd of slaves and former cultists (that are keeping away from each other as well) coming up behind you.

Caihong jumps from the ship and makes her away over to you. She stares at the cultists, eyebrow above her one good eye cocked. "What are those?"

"We got extra clothes on board?" You ask, gesturing to the nude and bald cultists behind you.

"Not enough for all of that." She says. "Or rations for them, for that matter."

"Enough to cover up the naked?"

"I mean I guess, but-" She begins.

"That'll do. They'll last 'till we get back to Shang and if they don't, fuck 'em." You say.

"They're standing right next to you."

"I know."

Xiulan bows her head. "We require no sustenance, our faith in the Stormbreaker shall sustain us."

Caihong looks at you as if the cultists being brainwashed insane idiots is your fault.

"Speak for yourself, cultist." Shen mutters, stepping forward. "The captain saved us, we'll help how we can."

"How are we on repairs?" you ask.

"Not great." Caihong admits, gesturing. "We've been fortifying and Maia's still out of it, but I've had some time to look the Dagger over. There's damage to the keel. She'll need proper drydocking once we return to Shang. What sort of treasure did you find?"

Right. Maia's your shipwright. That's… less than ideal. Your crew can affect some repairs but they'll be patch jobs at best without her. And with the storm, it'd probably be a risk.

"We have a number of alien weapons that we can sell to the Tech monks, as well as several rescued tech monks, psyker slaves, and a redeemed group of mad cultists."

Whim steps forward. "If you have the material available, the lay-sister, Paradise and I can all affect repairs. It will last until we return a proper dock."

"… Okay." She nods, rubbing her chin in thought. "Depending on how well the monks pay, that should be a good haul. The nearest Kuji-Nan temple we could trade the alien tech at would be the Temple of Perpetual Devotion."

You shake your head. "I want to keep the weapons."

Caihong looks at you for a moment, then slowly says, "Sir… can I speak to you in private?"

-

Caihong paces the floor of your quarters, and while you can hear her simmering and muttering to herself as you approach, she shuts up the moment you open the door.

Whatever.

"Shanwei… how long do you intend to keep playing hero instead of pirate?"

You raise an eyebrow at that. "I'm not playing, I'm being a pirate."

"A pirate with no treasure is no pirate at all."

"You have a problem with helping people?"

"That's not the point. We didn't get any plunder out of this venture and we lost half our men for it. We've got crewmen with debts, goals, some of 'em even have family they need to buy back before the war gets 'em."

You raise an eyebrow. "You're not talking about Ping, are you?"

"Amaya, actually. I don't want to belittle your actions or discount what you've done, shanwei," Caihong says, keeping her tone neutral, "but our crew works for a cut of the spoils, and no spoils means no income. Couple that with the fact that about half of the crew died on the way here, and, well…"

Part of you want to slap her, but… she has a point. Half the crew died getting to this place in exchange for a group of cultists, some tech monks, and former slaves. Not exactly chests overflowing with gold.

"What about the Rude Awakening?"

She shrugs. "It sold well, but given we only had the one buyer to choose from and we also had to pay for its repair, not as well as we'd like."

You nod. Mother's a bit of a cheapskate, but she can afford to be when no one else would dare buy the thing. "Has anyone brought this up to you?"

"Not directly, but there was grumbling while you were gone," she says. "I think it'll hold for now if you really want to keep being the storybook hero, but if you want to lock down the crew's loyalty I think it would help to either stay and farm up something good from the Storm, or get some easy treasure on the way home."

You fold your arms. "Do you agree with them?"

She looked down, one good eye dark. "Not even a little bit. This was worth them all."

You remember Maia's words back at Shang; Caihong had been a slave once. She wouldn't object. Speaking of…

"What about Maia? And Han."

"Under control for now. Maia's sick, she's been in and out of consciousness ever since you left. Han's holding together, but, well..." She shrugs.

You don't need to ask more. Han and Maia were- are close. He's unlikely to leave her side any time soon unless you make him. Which unfortunately puts him at risk of infection as well if she's ill.

"What about the slaves?" You ask.

"We'll ration our food and water." Caihong says, folding her arms. "We've gathered some up from the surrounding jungle as well as we fortified. We'll need to double our efforts, but the repairs will take some time anyway. Long as we have the time to stock up, it should be enough."

"Thank you, Caihong." You say. "I'll take that under advisement."

-

Voting

You have crippled the Cult of the Drowned. Most have pledged loyalty to you, and what remains are no threat. You will still be on the island for a time to affect repairs to your vessel.

Select three to chat with before you go back out to have the Kuji-nan modify and/or sell your new Eldar weapons.

[] – Fan

She's grown very attached to you, and perhaps that's a problem. You can easily keep her safe from anything mundane, but this is no life for a little girl. And she's taken a disturbing glee in watching you kill…

[] – Han and Maia

Maia has been ill ever since the zombie attack, and Han has been by her side. This venture was your call, and you should probably check in on them both, if only to care for your subordinate and console a friend.

[] – Caihong

Caihong performs her duties as your first mate well enough, but there's a level of personal hostility that the two of you need to get past if you're going to work together. Either that, or you need to get her off your ship. Maybe mother will let her captain the Rude Awakening or something.

[] – The Kuji-Nan

You haven't had many opportunities to speak with the reclusive tech monks, least of all these three, and while they'll do what you ask it would also behoove you to check in on them on a personal level.

[] – Xiulan and her cultists

These people say they're loyal to you for saving them from the storm, and maybe they are. But either way, you need to evaluate them and the potential danger they pose.

[] – Eun

She didn't tell you Fan had snuck on board, and so she's still in the brig of the Cutting Dagger. But you've had time to calm down, and she is your friend as well as subordinate. It may be worth your time to speak with her, get a feeling on where you both stand.

[] – Ping

Ping was paying close attention to Bel. Maybe he saw something you didn't. He and Amaya also seemed rather apprehensive about the dark eldar weaponry.

[] – Amaya

Amaya rarely speaks to anyone, including you. You barely know her, and perhaps you should fix that. Caihong claims she has family that she needs to 'buy back'.

[] – Delai

Delai's warning, it seems, was truth. You're still not sure you trust her, but you can at least chat with her, figure out what she really wants. Assuming she decides to visit you in your dreams again.

[] – Shen

Shen seems to be the spokesperson for the slaves that you gathered up. If his people need anything, then you need to make sure they get served first.

[] – Write-in

Anyone else you want to speak to or anything you feel needs doing while the ship gets repaired and gathers supplies for the trip out of the storm. If there's any questions you feel need to be asked of the crew, the cult, or anyone else, feel free to list them and I'll try to work them in one place or another.