[X] Refuse to abandon the cult with Euphrati
-[X] Still help her escape
Hopefully it doesn't go horribly wrong, but yeah, at the very least, she has to get out of here, since we probably aren't going to. Who knows? Maybe Hopefully we'll see her on the other side.
I'm not sure I see the mental state where Cyrene helps her friend escape but doesn't try herself.
[X] (Scrutiny) Call her out on her lie and demand she come clean
Knowing already that escape probably isn't actually in the cards yet, this seems like the more narratively interesting thing to go wrong? I can imagine Cyrene focusing on this lie, whatever it is, to discount the genuine warning until it is too late.
I often still ponder if perhaps my attempted escape with Euphrati was a decision born from my own moral conviction and the guidance of the God-Emperor or merely a selfish and heretical desire to avoid the cost of duty. I would like to believe that the Emperor always intended for me to walk this path in order to forge me into a weapon against the enemies of Humanity, but, sometimes, I wondered if perhaps my subsequent acts in His service were actually penitence for my choice that night. Long have I prayed to the Emperor and pondered that moment in time, conferred with Ecclesiarchal scholars, Cardinals of Shrine Worlds and even the Living Saint herself on occasion, but never have I reached a conclusion that satisfied me with any reasonable certainty.
The Saint told me that my decision demonstrated the purity of my soul and the nobility of my heart, that I had the strength of will to follow my convictions, even if it directly contradicted the authority of a group I believed to be the physical embodiment of the Emperor's will. She pointed to Saint Sebastian Thor and told me that true loyalty to the Imperial Creed is not blind obedience to authority, but having the strength to fight back against those seeking to misrepresent His will for their personal gain. The Emperor's light is within all of us, she told me, and He enacts His miracles through the untold trillions in His service.
On the other hand, more than one of my colleagues belonging to the Monodominate ideology have expressed the belief, often quite vocally, that my decision to abandon the cult was a sign of poor discipline at best and an act of heresy in all likelihood, regardless of the fact that I would be proven right in retrospect. Not that I would ever accept such an excuse, of course, because despite our extensive disagreements and personal grievances, I do acknowledge without hesitation that such a line of thinking and rationalization is the path of the Radical and the first step on the road to damnation. I have seen many of my once most esteemed and loyal colleagues succumb to the insidious whispers of the Ruinous Powers by degree, believing the salvation of the Imperium and the resurrection of the God-Emperor to always be just one final act of heresy beyond their grasp, lured by the false promise of vindication step by step into damnation.
Regardless of whatever the truth may be, if there is even one to be found, knowing what I know now, I would still make the same choice I did then every time, because the years that followed from that fateful moment would ripple far beyond the walls of that decaying Hive-City.
≡][≡
I will never forget the look of pure, genuine joy on Euphrati's face when I finally gave her a stiff nod of acknowledgment, in part because it contrasted so starkly with my emotions at that moment that I felt physically sick. I barely even felt my friend envelope me in a desperate embrace and, for a moment, I actually started to question my own sanity or if this entire nightmarish sequence of events was just a continuation of my earlier dream. I followed behind Euphrati in a daze as she led me toward the door leading from the common room out into the wider compound. We only made it a few steps before I finally managed to return partially to my senses as my still bare feet shuffled across the freezing metallic floor and a small breeze from air filtration system blew through the thin fabric of my nightgown, but I was still so lost in my mental turmoil that I barely noticed.
When we reached the rusting metal door, Euphrati gave my hand one last reassuring squeeze before she leaned forward and pressed her ear against the barrier, probably in order to hear if any members of the cult were outside. My senses were already quite sharp back then and I could already tell that the corridor beyond was clear of the handful of exhausted night sentries making their rounds, but my paranoia and uncertainty made me question everything from my dulled senses to my questionable sanity.
"Sounds clear," Euphrati whispered to me nervously, while her emaciated face contorted into what I believe was an attempt at false reassurance. "We'll have to move quickly before people awaken for the morning rituals," she informed me nervously before she forced herself to take a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. "Are you ready?" She asked, though I suspected it was for her own sake as well.
"Do you have a plan on how to escape?" I asked apprehensively, desperate for any distraction from the whirlwind of emotions and guilt as my soul warred with itself over my decision. I knew if I gave myself time to think and debate, I would quickly find some reason to change my mind, but I did not know if that is a sign of my own mental weakness or purely reasonable reaction to the utterly irrational and heretical decision I made without fully considering the consequences.
Euphrati visibly cringed at my simple question and averted her eyes, which is never a good sign when you are asking someone what the plan is to some utterly insane scheme they managed to talk you into taking part in. I could feel my heart almost skip a beat when I realized just how ill-conceived this entire scheme was and I had to fight back the immediate urge to tell her that I had changed my mind. At that moment, I felt genuine anger and hatred, not at the cultists for the abuse they inflicted on my friend or what they planned for me as well, but at Euphrati herself for leading me astray into uncharted space with no plan on how to get us back out.
To this day, I still feel shame at my behavior at that moment, when I lashed out at my friend, who risked everything in order to try to save me.
"Do you not have a plan?" I hissed accusingly as all my pent-up frustration and fear suddenly found a convenient target and, before I could contain myself, my face had contorted into an angry snare. "How are we to sneak past the sentries? What do we do once we escape?" I demanded almost desperately, my voice rising as though a pressure valve had sudden been released and my emotions rowed off me in violent waves in a way that I had never experienced before. I could smell the stench of ozone in the air and tasted ash on my tongue, while a growing pressure burned through my veins, pounded against my skull and pushed against the back of my eyes. I did not even notice or care as something illuminated Euphrati's face and a loud shrieking buzz filled my head, but I did see her eyes widened in fear as she flinched away from me as though I was a rabid animal poised to attack her.
That reaction felt like a having a tank of liquid coolant dumped on me and I snapped back to my senses with just enough time for my own eyes to widen in horror at what I said and almost did. At the time, I thought that I had been on the verge of physically lashing out at her, but the truth is that was the first time I managed to manifest my telekinetic abilities. If I had actually failed to control myself and lashed out, I likely would have atomized her body and a good chunk of the compound as well before the predators of the Warp, attracted by the raw surge of emotional and psychic energy, swarmed and ripped my soul apart.
I staggered back as an intense wave of vertigo caused by the psychic resonance of my emotions hit me like a Raid Raider and I almost emptied the contents of my stomach right there, but, through some miracle, I managed to merely stagger back and slump against the wall for support. I closed my eyes as the world spun around and I believe I actually either fell asleep or lost consciousness for a moment, before I felt a gentle prodding against my bare shoulder.
"Tavi…?" Euphrati hesitantly whispered and flinched back the instant I opened my eyes as though I was a dangerous animal, which, in an ease, was actually underestimating the danger I poised at the time. The look of fear in her eyes filled me with shame as my processed how I must have appeared to my friend and how I wanted to hurt her for trying to help me.
"I-I-I didn't…," I stammered and looked away with tears in my eyes, "…that…I mean, I…" With a choking sob, I sunk down to the cold floor and hugged my knees to my chest so I could bury my face in my legs and avoid having to see the pain I inflicted on someone I loved. I could hear Euphrati fidgeting nearby, too afraid to come near me, but still refusing to leave behind, which only made me feel even worse.
I do not know how much time my outburst and breakdown cost us or if we actually could have successfully escaped if not for me, but after my sobbing finally started to die down, I felt Euphrati's arm around me as she kneeled down beside me and gently pulled me into a comforting embrace. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…," I repeated like a mantra as I desperately clang to a friend I thought I had pushed away. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
"I know," Euphrati murmured softly as she pulled me close and allowed me to rest my head on her shoulder. "We'll figure something out," she whispered gently as we simply sat there, resting against each other, a throwback to happier times before she received her name. "We'll get through this, together," she promised, and while we both knew even back then that the words were hollow, it did give us both a small measure of comfort, which is practically a gift from the God-Emperor Himself, considering how bleak and hopeless everything appeared at the time.
My thoughts were still a chaotic mess of conflicting desires and emotions, but the comforting and reassuring presence of Euphrati beside me cut through that choking cloud blanketing my every thought and I realized I could finally muster enough concentration simply to think for a moment. To my surprise, I realized that I was no longer concerned with whether or not I should or would attempt to escape with Euphrati, but rather how to make that happen and to keep both of us safe.
"We could use the cargo lifter," I suggested idly, while Euphrati shifted around to give a confused look. "I remember the code sequence for the door," I clarified as Euphrati's eyes lit up with genuine hope for the first time since I reunion, before it froze as realization and understanding dawned on her. "We have no idea what will be on the lower levels and the noise of the lifter will wake up everyone in the compound," I gave voice to our dilemma as we both glanced at the ancient cargo lifer and we weighted our options. "We will not be able to return without being caught and we will be stuck in the Lower-Hive," I pointed out apprehensively and felt Euphrati shudder slightly beside me. The local enforcers regularly patrolled the Upper-Hive, where the cult compound is located, but as with most Hive-Cities, the Lower-Hive of Ostia Primus was not a kind place to two vulnerable teenage girls with nowhere to go and no way to survive. I once reviewed an Arbites report regarding a Hive comparable to Ostia Primus, which stated that the estimated timeframe in the Lower-Hive between a teenage girl separating from her guardians and being either enslaved, pressganged or murdered was less than eight hours.
Needless to say, Euphrati and I had cause enough to hesitate and perhaps seek a more risky alternative that would not see us exchange the metaphorical shackles of the cult for the more physical shackles of slavers or worse.
"P-Perhaps we should attempt to find another way out?" Euphrati nervously suggested in a way that still fills me with shame whenever I think of it. I could see the way she avoided looking at me when she made that request, because she still felt as though she was to blame for our lack of options. "Surely there must some window or maintenance tunnel we can use?"
I searched my memories of what little areas of the compound I accessed as part of my duties assisting members of the cult in whatever menial task they did not wish to sully their tainted hands with as well as the few previous times I snuck out of the dormitorium after curfew to pilfer the kitchens. The only windows I could recall were the skylights over the atrium, where the Day of Choosing ceremonies took place, but I had no idea how we could possibly reach the multistory ceiling from there. That said, the fact that the compound has a skylight suggested that it had a roof that was likely accessible from the upper levels of the structure reserved for senior cult leaders.
"Tia, have you ever…visited the upper levels of the compound?" I asked my friend as gently as I could, but I still felt her body go rigid against me and the arm she had wrapped across my shoulders began to tremble at the painful memories my words stirred up. A part of me did not want to have to burden her any more than she has been really, but her status as one of the 'chosen' afforded her much more freedom to move through the compound than I could and we needed that knowledge now if we wanted to escape. "Have you ever noticed any way we might get from there onto the roof?" I quickly clarified to spare her from as many painful memories as I could.
Euphrati remained silent for a moment and I was not sure whether I should repeat my query or drop the subject entirely, but before I could suggest a potential attentive, she nodded dejectedly. "I-I believe there might be a second set of stairs on the far end of the second level, but I can't be sure," Euphrati explained with a hesitant shrug before her face lit up with a wild look that combined terror and determination. I have come to recognize the expression on her as the kind found on those desperately seeking to absolve themselves of some perceived sin in the most direct and recklessly suicidal manner conceivable. "It is not uncommon for Novitiates to travel through the upper levels of the Ordained Quarters after curfew," she informed me confidently, even though her barely masked look of pain and the trembling of her arm around me betrayed her true feelings. "I-I could go and look around for a way up to the roof."
I knew the smart decision would have been to split up and send Euphrati to scout out the upper levels of the compound, while I searched for another way out, but, as I hugged her tighter against me, I desperately sought a way to protect my friend from her traumas as well as the very real dangers of discovery. The cult did little to hide the punishments for 'heresy' and, in fact, actively preached their profane mockeries of sacred Imperial immolation of the unclean by burning anyone, from troublesome new wards to even an abbot once for stealing gelts from the cult. Euphrati and I both knew that discovery would mean a fiery sermon in the morning with her as the kindling and, as I noted the unmasked fear in her eyes and the slight trembling of her lips, I immediately knew it would be almost impossible for her to bluff her way out if a cultist found her wondering the halls.
"We could also try to find a way into the maintenance tunnels from the lower levels of the compound," I suggested in an attempt to offer her a likely safer alternative, if only because, at least there, she would not have to deal with the constant remember of her traumas. The lower levels of the compound held most the utilities that kept the compound running, from rumbling generatorums to steaming heat exchangers, but it also held the Penitent's Block, a small detention area with barred cells just large enough for a group of abbots to beat the occupant without getting in each other's way. Neither Euphrati or I had ever had reason to enter the lower levels and the few wards I know who did either never returned or spoke of their experiences in only the vaguest terms, so I had no way to know if my suggestion was true, but it seemed a reasonable assumption at the time.
Euphrati did not respond beyond a stiff nod, so I glanced over at the battered old chronometer mounted on the wall and immediately had to clamp down on the curse already at the tip of my tongue when I saw how much time we had wasted already. The cult adhered to the standard daily schedule of morning prayers at first light of dawn, so the halls of the compound began to fill with people as early as an hour before as people began their early morning routines and relieve the sentries working the night shift to allow them to freshen up before the morning sermon.
I paused as an idea as utterly insane and reckless as the rest of what we have been planning all night began to form in my head. The night shift sentries had been duty for over twelve hours already, so most of them must be on the verge of complete exhaustion by now and either half-asleep already or might have even deserted their posts early. I also know from the idle chatter I managed to gleam from scattered conversations in the mess hall and while performing my duties revealed that the night shift comprises mainly of the youngest sentries or those who displeased the cult leaders in some way, so their alertness and discipline were likely substandard. Euphrati and I were both essentially still children at the time and my friend was already weak from her ordeal, so I had no illusions about our chances in a fair fight against a fully grown opponent, but perhaps if the God-Emperor laughed upon us, we might be able to sneak by undetected or perhaps catch one unaware.
The thought of actually hurting what I thought were loyal servants of the God-Emperor at the time made me nauseous, so I quickly turned my attention elsewhere, before I descended into a another mental breakdown and wasted even more of our already precious time. "We'll need supplies or throne gelt if we want to survive outside," I pointed out nervously and whispered up a soft prayer to the God-Emperor to beg His forgiveness for stealing from His followers, which Euphrati softly echoed beside me. "We still need a plan if we wish to avoid living on the streets," I pointed out with a weary sigh, too emotionally drained by that point to despair more over our future.
"Everything will be fine as long as we have each other, Tia," Euphrati tried to cheer us up, but while her words mostly fell flat, we did manage to gain a small measure of comfort as I felt her embrace tighten slightly. "Trust in the Emperor and-"
Inspiration suddenly struck me like lightning as though the God-Emperor Himself heard my prayers and offered me His blessing as my expression shifted into a genuine smile of joy and hope. "Of course, the Emperor protects! One of the sanitotoria told me there is a convent of the blessed Sororitas in our district," I intercepted Euphrati excitedly, causing her to flinch in surprise, as I leapt to my feet and all but dragged her up in my naïve eagerness. "If we can find it, surely they will take us in?"
Of course, I now know that is not the case at all, but in my defense, I was but a child and a surprisingly large percentage of the Imperial population seem not to realize the sacred Orders recruit new sisters almost entirely from the Schola Progenium. Still, if Euphrati and I had successfully found the fortress-convent, based on what I later learned, the Palatine would have likely taken pity on us and given us positions as servants and caretakers until our majority. I had yet to awaken my powers fully at the time, so I am not quite sure how I would interact with Liviana, but I doubt our relationship would have been as contentious as it turned out in actuality. There is a good chance she would immediately out me as a witch and the Sisters might gun me down on the spot or hand me to the Black Ships, which is a fate I sometimes contemplate. Given my abilities, there is a decent chance with the Emperor's blessing that I would have become an agent of the throne regardless, but my journey to Holy Terra and subsequent training would necessitate that I miss several vital operations that could have failed with disastrous consequences had I not been present. Just another example of the moral and spiritual quandary that has clouded my mind ever since I began my service.
As Euphrati and I stretched our sore limbs with renowned determination and hope, I finally noticed the rather inadequate state of my dress and moved to rectify that minor oversight, but one final thought crossed my mind as I moved toward the door to the dormitorium and I froze right before I reached for the door handle. "Do…do you think we should…?" I whispered hesitantly as I glanced over at Euphrati, who appeared to have been in a similar state of indecision.
Euphrati and I had always possessed a bond far stronger than either of us had with any of the other girls and, while I considered them all my dear friends, the truth is that I found myself hesitant to fully trust them over such a critical decision, especially considering the outwardly heretical appearance and potentially true nature of our intent. I did feel a ping of guilt and shame for dismissing the other girls so casually and leaving them behind to suffer the punishment for our escape, but in addition to the time required to convince them, I also had to consider how much harder it would have been to sneak through the compound with half a dozen girls.
"Tia…?" I asked again, perhaps because I was truly unable to decide or perhaps because I did not wish to bear the burden of being the one to condemn our sisters alone. Euphrati's expression revealed a pained look of shame that matched my own, but neither of us appeared willing to be the one to voice our shared conclusion.
I glanced at the chronometer once again and realized that I had to make a decision now.
Main Objective
Escape the Cult Compound with Euphrati
Secondary Objective
Procure Supplies
Bonus Objective
Escape into the Upper-Hive
Escape the Cult Compound with the other Girls
Verified Information
-Cult Compound is a multilevel structure consisting of a residential tower overlooking an atrium.
-Two main entrances are the front door and the vehicle garage.
-Industry cargo lifter in the lower level of the tower leads downward to unknown location.
-Cargo lifer extremely loud when activated.
-Atrium roof lower than residential tower.
-Tower has a sublevel.
Unverified Information
-Main entrances are guarded.
-Cultist guards patrol the compound.
-Night shift guards are inexperienced and substandard.
-Cargo lifter leads into the Lower-Hive.
-Atrium roof accessible from tower.
-Compound escapable from atrium roof.
-Sublevel connects to Hive maintenance tunnels.
-Compound escapable through maintenance tunnels.
What should Cyrene do?
[ ][CYRENE] Investigate the front entrance
[ ][CYRENE] Investigate the vehicle garage
[ ][CYRENE] Investigate the sublevel
[ ][CYRENE] Investigate the residential tower
[ ][CYRENE] Wake up and brief other girls
[ ][CYRENE] Steal supplies from kitchen and storeroom
[ ][CYRENE] Remain in the dormitorium
[ ][CYRENE] (Eidetic Memory) Use the cargo lifter
-[ ] To escape
-[ ] As a distraction
[ ][CYRENE] (Write-In)
What should Euphrati do?
[ ][EUPHRATI] Investigate the front entrance
[ ][EUPHRATI] Investigate the vehicle garage
[ ][EUPHRATI] Investigate the sublevel
[ ][EUPHRATI] Investigate the residential tower
[ ][EUPHRATI] Wake up and brief other girls
[ ][EUPHRATI] Steal supplies from kitchen and storeroom
[ ][EUPHRATI] Remain in the dormitorium
[ ][EUPHRATI] (Cyrene - Eidetic Memory) Use the cargo lifter
-[ ] To escape
-[ ] As a distraction
[ ][EUPHRATI] (Write-In)
[X][CYRENE] Steal supplies from kitchen and storeroom
We are the resident assassin-to-be, so stealth matters should be our hat.
[X][EUPHRATI] Wake up and brief other girls
We might as well try to save whoever we can.
