There are few things in your life – possibly all of existence – that have been more awkward than walking with the Aeldari. For one thing they clearly don't like looking at you, but also try to keep a close eye on you, a balancing act that somehow manages to be more annoying than if they'd just held you at gunpoint the whole way. Like you can't tell that they're expecting treachery at every step.
Part of you wants to mess with them in turn, but with Dalnim walking a few steps behind, you decide against it. Mocking and teasing your friend is one thing, but no one needs to get more trigger happy.
Especially since you're certain you can hear
something beyond the bone walls. The rumble of a beast swimming through the sea. Cannon blasts, heard from underwater. The mournful song of a dying whale. Laughter. Choral music-
"Ignore them," Bel says suddenly. "They cannot reach us so long as the walls hold."
"They?" you ask, your hand falling to your sword. Something tells you it would be completely ineffective, but it brings you comfort anyway.
"They," She says, her tone suggesting she just confirmed anything even though you're still confused.
Delai looks around at the walls. "So, what is this place? I remember we went through some kind of gate. Are we still there?"
"This is the webway. You do not know the words to describe it, but think of it as… tunnels, beneath the skin of reality. Beyond these walls is the Immaterium." Bel glanced back at Delai. "Do not attempt to breach the walls. You will only hurt yourself."
"Is that because of 'they' out there, or because the wall is too hard for us to dig through?"
"Both." She growls as if it were obvious. "Is it not enough to know digging into wraithbone is foolish beyond compare?!"
Wraithbone. You make a mental note of the term. "It is for me. Dalnim is a bit more curious."
"I do not wish to hear that from someone who dug into an ancient alien tomb because he was bored."
Bel sighs as she rubs her temples. "Mon'keigh…"
"I hope that means 'men'." Dalnim mutters.
"You wish. At the very least it explains why you are here," Bel mutters. "The Necron have many abilities some consider unnatural. Including but not limited to penetrating the webway. Albeit momentarily, in this case."
"Oh?" you tilt your head. "And are you always here?"
Bel shakes her head. "We were waiting for you."
"Why?"
"Our people need what you will bring."
"What I bring?"
"Salvation through destruction."
You stare blankly at her. "It's kind of amazing how little sense that made and how little it answered the question."
She scowls, still doggedly leading you through the tunnels. "That is as plain as I can be. The point is that you will save many Eldar. Far more than you kill."
"… more than I kill," you say. "implies that I'm going to kill. And from your tone, it'd be a lot."
"Yes." She says, impatient. "But it has purpose."
Well that's… you're not sure how to feel about that. Bel seems to have accepted already that you're going to kill a lot of her kind, even if more of them will survive. And it rubs against you to a surprising degree. You have no reason to care about the lives of some random Aeldari you've never met; hells, maybe you'd get lucky and only get the spiky ones. Everybody'd win there.
"So, what's the end goal then? Just the species surviving?"
She glances back at you, and for a moment, you
see the weight behind her eyes. She is exhausted. Not like someone who's worked hard or gone without sleep, but like she has all but forgotten what it's like to rest. In those eyes you see more pain and sorrow than you believed any creature capable of.
And then it's gone.
"Survival isn't the goal, it is the dream." She sighs. "In the end, without miracle upon miracle upon miracle, we will perish. At best it will be a long and slow death, taking a million years before the last of my kind draws their final breath. At worst, we will not last two millennia. Even if we do we will never rise to the heights we once had."
Millennia sounds like a decent chunk of time to you, but you see the unease both in her steps and in the other Eldar. It's subtle – they have a tighter control over their emotions than any humans you've encountered – but it's undeniable. And in retrospect, two millennia to the end of your
species is probably heavy no matter how long you live.
"So, what can you do about it then?" You ask.
"Simple," she says, regaining her confident stride. "We find a path loaded with miracle upon miracle upon miracle. And the first step," she turned to look at him, "is saving you."
"… Me?" you point to yourself. "From what? The Necrons?"
"And more. More than you could ever know," She says quietly.
"Killing off some of your own so that others survive doesn't sound like a popular move to make."
"… I am alone in this," she admits. "Few among my kind – and fewer still among the Seers – believe working with the mon'keigh is a good long-term strategy. But these warriors will heed me."
You frown and glance at the other armored warriors, trying to be subtle about weighing your chances if they all try for your head.
"One of our gates is held as a…" Bel hisses through her teeth. "Trophy, among your people's nobility. We will guide you there."
You stop suddenly. Though you gave no indication of it, Bel stops at the same moment you do.
"Wait." You feel your blood boiling. "What about my crew?"
"What about them?" She asks.
"The tomb. If it's waking up-"
"If the tomb were waking up you'd need to worry about the entire planet, not a mere few dozen humans." She says bluntly.
Dalnim has taken to poking and prodding at one of the Aeldari warriors. His expressionless helmet somehow conveys more disgust than his normal face would have.
"Even were I concerned for their safety, and rest assured I am not, we cannot return to them directly in any case."
"Then where, exactly, are we going?" You snap.
Bel shrugs without answering, and the sight infuriates you.
"You don't bloody
know?!"
"Your cities all look like the same stone huts to me!" She yells. "Your species has no architectural skill AT ALL!!"
Dalnim scowls. "You're the moon-kai."
Bel rolls her eyes but doesn't respond.
-
When you emerge from the tunnels, you find yourself in a dark room, filled with glass cases holding everything from old maps to glowing tablets. It takes you a few moments to fully take in your surroundings, but you eventually realize that you're in an opulent museum, or perhaps someone's treasure room.
"… well it's better than weird space tunnels. Thanks, B-" you begin, before realizing she's already gone. "Huh. Fast little buggers."
Dalnim exhales with audible awe. "Incredible…"
You don't personally see it, but you can believe it. Half of the objects in the room look like they were pulled directly out of a tech monk monastery, with all sorts of bits and buttons and display cases. There's some kind of vambrace at the far end of the room with a large display panel and several smaller dials, though for what you're unsure. There's a metal tube about the size of a pen with a transparent green bulb at the end. And a number of other treasures besides, most of which you don't recognize and doubt you'd have any real use for anyway. Maybe some curiosities for the Tech Monks, but nothing you'd want for yourself… at least, not until you spot the sword.
The blade is formed from a near void black material run through with depressed, slightly emerald lines. The blade is in the vaguely curved shape of a scimitar, and though you know it rests on the pedestal without vibration, you cannot shake the feeling that it is in near-constant motion. You didn't have any real examples of it before today, but you're pretty sure it's Necron tech.
You reach out to the sword for a moment, before pausing. You were just in a tomb where everything nearly blew up in your face because your fingers got grubby. Perhaps…
… Eh, you already broke into the place and wrecked their stuff, in for a penny. You pluck it off its display case.
… And nothing happens.
"… Huh." You mutter, looking the large blade over approvingly. "Guess whoever runs this place has shit security."
As if on cue, the door opens behind you, and you turn and hide the sword behind your back. You're almost ready to start a poorly-conceived comedy routine just for the fun of it, but the moment your eyes land on the entrant you stand stock-still.
One of the forbidden city's noblewomen staggers into what she probably thought was an abandoned room, once-immaculate scarlet dress ruffled, torn and entirely out of order. It's covered in wet splotches that you assume come from the bottle in her hand, and as she pulls it back again you see more splash all over her.
The woman pauses, then glances at you, eyes bleary for a moment, then grumbles and takes a swig from her bottle before going into a corner. "Idun care. Whats one mo' servant tha hates me…"
You've seen women drunk. You've seen men drunk. You've seen men and women get so drunk that the people around them get tipsy from the smell of their sweat.
But more than that, you've seen different ways to get drunk. You drink to celebrate. Some drink to mourn, others to forget. This woman is drinking sake like she's hoping it will drown her. Which is about as bad as it gets in your experience.
"Din't used to be like this," the woman rasps as she pulls her bottle back, sake staining her dress. "Used to b'respected. But nah, ain't nothin' in this place anymore. Nobles and their stupid war and their idiot pride and…"
You are trying not to look conspicuous carrying your stolen sword, even though in all likelihood she's too drunk to see anything.
"Mebbe they
should jus… just fokkin blow everyfing up!" She yells suddenly, throwing the sake bottle against the wall.
"… Blow everything up, milady?" you ask hesitantly.
"Wha? Nah, that'd be stoopid." The woman laughs, waving her hand in a direction she probably thinks was towards you. "Tha dumb big ol machine fing… cain't even do nothin' anyhows. Dunno why the tech loverhs are all worried. Them and their… tech…"
Dalnim blinks and looks at you, eyebrow raised, before looking back at the lady. "Um, ma'am, if I might ask-"
"The impress is a dumb fokkin shitbrain wit… wit no soul!!" The woman yells, trying and failing to keep herself from sobbing. "She makes a buncha bad shit deals and all wez can do is watch it go on. Prob'ly killed her dad and fucked him, too! Stupid bitch, hope she drowns in… in a bucket o… whale… who da fok are you two? Y'stay outta my stash!"
She passes out and starts snoring.
You look at Dalnim. She looks at you.
"Okay so we're definitely in the empress' palace, right?"
"Most likely."
"Which mans we are surrounded by guards who want me dead for being a pirate, who want you dead for being part of the 'wrong temple', and both of us dead because we're intruding, stole their cool sword, and/or saw a noblewoman who hates the Empress drinking herself into a stupor.
"Yes."
You pick up the noblelady. "If anyone asks, we're taking her back to her chambers after a night of drinking too much and passing out."
"Agreed."
"And if anyone shoots at us we use her as a human shield until we can take her out to sea."
"Is that truly necessary?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Trust me, she'll thank us later, and if not we can just ransom her back," You muse. "Now, we need to get back to your temple as soon as possible. So let's find us a ship."
-
You're in the Empress' palace. You do not actually know the layout of the place – few do – so you get a bit lost on the way to find transport out. Where do you end up?
[] – The docking chamber for the
Staff of the Azure Sky
The largest and most powerful Knight on all of Tabgach, the Staff is a true wonder of technology and machinery. Unfortunately, it's launching, which means you are going to have to fight another one. But surely it can't be
that difficult, right?
[] – The chamber of the lords, in a meeting about the civil war
In a bit more of a hurry than you'd intended, you burst into the middle of a room full of noblemen and women, carrying one of their own unconscious on your shoulder. Surely they will hear your completely reasonable explanation of walking through a tunnel in space and finding an unconscious woman on the floor!
[] – The chapel
You find your way into a chapel just as a nobleman's wedding is ending. This wouldn't have been all that bad if the noblewoman on your shoulder hadn't woken up and assumed the worst possible outcome (she thinks you're trying to wed her).
[] - A ritual to summon Delai
A group of noblemen/cultists are summoning a demon. One you're already familiar with, in fact. (thank you, *name*, for the idea)
[] – Write in
Suggested by
@w34v3r
[] – Write in
-[] The Imperial chocolate stash.
You know from spending time with mother that ruling even rational well adjusted pirates is stressful and draining. The empress has got to have entire rooms of the good stuff you can abscond with given that she has to deal with freaking nobles all the times
Suggested by
@AnotherPerson
[] - A seemingly-abandoned meeting room. Unfortunately, it turns out it's still occupied, with an ongoing negotiation between some important-looking nobles and...are those more Drukhari?
[] - The middle of a banquet hall, in which several nobles are celebrating news of a 'great victory' over the rebels. Perhaps a bit too much. They're drunk, think you're someone with ties to the Empress, and insist on you staying for the entire party.
Suggested by
@SpacePaladin
[] – Write in
-[] The Imperial Harem.
The rulers of Tabgach have had long traditions of maintaining large harems to service them. The actual reality of said harems is often lost amid the many tales of intrigue, bawdy songs and claims of pirates who had snuck in to ravish underserviced concubines. On the other hand, coming here you might find that truth is stranger than fiction.
Suggested by
@*name* (yes, all of these)
[] Write in: even if you have no use for them, Steal the items anyways, cause PIRATE. you could just ask the very suggestable shoulder hostage what each thing is and what they do
[] – Write in: the armory? nice, you might take a "heavy" weapon or two for a hand weapon. and a guard outfit . . hope you can find one that fits you (probably steals an Ogryn outfit)
[] – Write in: the medical wing holds many strange substances & concoctions, you can probably find something here to help you out. from actual medical tools and equipment to poisons, venoms and drugs, there's got to be something to
steal Borrow
[] – Write in: the Imperial menagerie contains many fantastic creatures, from those that where found planet side but some specimens of creatures that can from the heavens long ago; some of them have collars that seem to block psychic powers (Xeno Zoo, with the rare species from distant planets moved here before the long night.) oh there's an Ork there, and an orange monkey, a . . . human? why is there a human in a zoo? a school fish swimming in the air, a bird that is controlling the elements, a dog that teleports, a mutating humanoid creature thing that has many mouths, eyes and limbs, everchanging . . . pretty sure they're a girl and now she's staring at you . . . awkward
[] – Write in: the kitchen, maybe you can pretend to be a new chef here? maybe sneak a bi
[] – Write in: the Library, steal books & Scrolls, maybe read some secrets hidden away from everyone else, there's a chance we can find some "Forbidden Knowledge"
[] – Write in: you somehow actually found your way to the noble lady's changer/bedroom, and no one actually questioned you . . . these guards are shit, but anyways you might as well lock the doors and start looking around for her stuff.
Jesus man (not that that's a bad thing)
