Session 9: The Dark Side of the Cathedral

Our trip to Barsapine was an uneasy one. Braxton and I weren't able to resolve our disagreement on the nature of Goldie. Though, to be honest, that isn't very surprising as Braxton has had it out for me since the moment we met. That's probably my fault though as I did address him as "the disgraced noble from a heretical family". Yes it wasn't one of my best moments but I was still in the middle of evaluating Veck to see his programing directives and how easily he was manipulated. Braxton unfortunately walked in when I was pretending to have a bit of a temper tantrum, as some young teenage girls do, so he was the target of my "aggression" thus I probably deserve this ire. But that is a story for another time and place, this is the journal of our trials and tribulations as acolytes of the Inquisition.
 
Oh there was another interesting development with the aptly named "backpack of heresy". Arathus happened to look into it and discovered an ancient bottle of amasec within it. I recognized the bottle but was hoping that it was not what I thought it was. No it was, it was a reproduction or a reconstructed bottle exactly the same as the one I had destroyed on Scintilla. I tried to convince everyone that the bottle was following Braxton, and I think they believed it; however it may be following me. The de Languille family will always haunt me. I dread the day that I must face them again but hopefully that day will never come, but only the Emperor knows.
 
The rest of the trip to Barsapine was filled with an awkward silence, but uneventful all the same. We arrived at the Gilded Cathedral and were greeted by Abbott Jaretas. I played the part of the dutiful and faithful Ecclisiarchial follower as to not arise suspicion. I hate this part I have to play. They're dirty, all of them are dirty heretical monsters praying on the innocent people of the Imperium. But that again is a story for another time.
 
Abbot Jaretas escorted us to a banquet hall filled with fine wines and foods for us to eat. I drank water and partook of nothing. I reminded me of my childhood and I wished no further connection to it. Though it was rather funny to see Yarn's reaction when Veck began to eat with his feeding tube, at least I think that's what it was. Veck, clueless as always was trying to be the sociable creature that he always tries. It took all my willpower to not begin laughing. Yes this would normally be a grotesque scene for the average person, but I've experienced far worse and I found it more entertaining than anything else. Another reason I didn't feel the need to eat was that the "good" Abbot was not at the table with us so I could get away with not eating.
 
After the banquet was finished, the Abbot returned and escorted us to our quarters which were adjacent to the Library. Arathus and I decided to hit the books and see if we could discover any connections to the data pad language that we found on Scintilla. We were able to discover that there is a noble family by the name of Hekate, a direct reference in the data pad. The line was "... Hekate’s champion rises from the brine!" We looked further and discovered a holy building by the name of the Haematite Cathedral that is in the care of the Hekate family and happens to predate the Gilded Cathedral. The other haunting coincidence is that this cathedral is on the coast, nest to "the brine". This was enough to warrant a visit to the Cathedral. I also wonder if this cathedral's name is literal, but that may or may not be important
 
I stayed in the library while Arathus went exploring with the help of Braxton and Veck. There was one area in the Cathedral we were not allowed to go, so of course that's the first place Braxton wanted to go. They had to wait until the guard left as they were diligent in their service to the Emperor and by extension, the Ecclesiarchy. For something so valuable, the Ecclesiarchy didn't see the need to have around the clock guards. Luck for us though. We would soon discover the reason guards weren't necessary.
 
Below the shroud of the black sepulchre was a wonder of the past. It looked like a heavily modified volcano cannon, whatever that is, protected by a void shield. There appeared to be a control panel for the shield on the inside of the shield. Arathus threw something at the shield to see what would happen. This was a smart move as that thing no longer exist, thus the guard aren't necessary at night. This discovery was an unnerving one as this find predates this cathedral, but not the other. This solidified our decision to visit the Haematite Cathedral.
 
We set in for the night and in the morning we spoke with the Abbot. He provided us with transportation. I didn't want to tell him where we were going, but my hands were tied as we didn't know how to get there and how long it would take. With our transportation settled, we decided to head out for the Haematite Cathedral. But as fate would have it, we weren't going to leave right away. Apparently we would have to dispatch a group of mutant cultist first.