Alberich and I did not move from our corner of the ballroom as we awaited the governor's announcement. I remained sitting in my chair as the beastman stood beside me, his head feathers ruffled as he stood guard. We were somewhat far away from the mezzanine area where the important announcement would presumably be made. "Do you think the announcement is about you?" Alberich quietly asked me as he glanced down at me with worry.
I shook my head, and said, "I'm actually sensing that the Family of Liberty did something terrible. Pretty sure they organized some kind of terrorist attack on the city. I just had visions of smoke, fire, and violence. It is so bad that daemons in the Warp are having feast over it."
Nearby, concerned partygoers shuffled on their feet as they glanced at both me and the military guard standing on the mezzanine. As I continued to wait, I noted that someone was making their way through the crowd to my location. After a few moments, I could now see that it was the "black and white" older husband and wife duo that I had sat with at dinner. Their eyes were very concerned behind their horned masks. "Excuse me," the older man in black began, his expression perturbed under his goat mask. Unexpectedly, he then politely bowed before me.
"What?" I asked, not really in the mood to talk.
"My wife, she has a question to ask you. Go ahead, sweetheart."
The older woman in the white gown then nervously walked to stand before me, and she also bowed. "My dear, my husband and I sat at the same table at dinner with you. To introduce ourselves formally, my name is Irgle, and this is my husband Engywook. We both devote ourselves to the study of the Warp. Our son is..."
She paused, and did not say anything immediately. Her husband then touched her shoulder, and said, "She'll know if you lie. Just tell her the truth."
The wife braced herself, and then, continued in a very quiet voice. "Our son is what they call a sorcerer in one of the Space Marine legions that... did not follow the Emperor. We are devoted so to the truth of our studies that we offered him to those of that legion so that he could expand his mind as well, and he even visits us once in a great while. He now advises us to follow our dreams and omens, and they have led us, we believe, to seeing you here. You see, we are both somewhat sensitive, but not to the degree you must be. At first, I presumed you to simply be wearing a costume, but now, thinking on after all the dreams I have experienced, and putting together what my son has said of his visions, I have come to a realization."
"I'm an Emperor-person. I'm for real," I quietly confirmed to them with a nod, nervously watching the mezzanine and not currently paying attention to this couple. I caused my halo and eyes to briefly glow as I waved my lightning talon around. "But, this isn't real armor or anything. Or real weapons. All this is just a costume. But, I'm actually the real deal. The halo is real, and so are the eyes."
The couple began to whisper to themselves, and then, they both quietly fell to their knees. This caused more attention to be drawn to me.
"You don't have to do that," I quietly instructed.
They both stood. "I've been experiencing dreams of your coming for months, God-Empress!" the wife said with tears in her eyes. "The gold ship that flew over the city days ago. The gold eagle. That is your ship, isn't it?"
"Are they troubling you, my leader?" Alberich asked. I shook my head, not wanting to escalate this situation.
I didn't respond to the woman's question, but I did feel like repeating my warning to leave this world was probably a good idea. These two boomers looked like nice people, despite apparently having a Chaos Marine son. I could not sense any Warp taint within them, and their souls simply gleamed with genuine reverence and respect. "Okay, so, we probably don't have a lot of time to talk, but I'm going to give you folks a warning, and please, listen to me. Something terrible just happened in Evna, and while I know this might seem unlikely, the Family of Liberty was the culprit. They're a Chaos cult. I have foreseen a lot of bad shit happening. And on top of Evian Chaos cults, there's a fleet of vicious aliens on their way here. My suggestion to you is that you should leave this planet immediately. I'm sorry, but you two don't look like fighters, so whenever you can, get out of here!"
The couple glanced at one another. "Do we have time to enjoy the rest of the party?" Irgle asked.
"I don't know. Just get out of here if you can! This planet is in big trouble!" I pleaded as I spied the familiar form of Langwidere in her sparkling Glinda dress. She was making her way through the crowd, which parted before her. "There's also something up with the governor. I can't put my finger on it, but her soul is dark," I whispered. "If you can, go! Get the fuck out of here!"
The two nodded, their eyes filled with fear. The wife had been entirely convinced, and she began to hastily pull her husband away, making her way to exit the ballroom. The woman turned around and mouthed a "Thank you" as the couple then vanished through a large door at the side of the ballroom.
The governor was now approaching the raised mezzanine, and she walked with a high, pinched expression that indicated both anger and arrogance. I noted that she was now being escorted by at six black-clad military guards. Langwidere now appeared somewhat disheveled, and not as perfectly put together from her grand ceiling entrance earlier. I noted that her hair was partially undone, her pale curls now broken and falling messily over her shoulders. She was pulling at the hems of her dress, and smoothing out sections of its pink fabric. Something was definitely wrong.
Langwidere walked to the center of the mezzanine, followed by her guards and both Evring and Justinian Sinclair. The two brothers stood directly beside her, and each wore uncertain expressions beneath their masks. Evring kept lightly shaking his head, and even appeared to be on the verge of tears. This was, as expected, not good news.
The governor raised her hands, indicating that she was about to speak. Once the hall was quiet, she began to project her voice across the large space. "Greetings, my beautiful honored guests. I have an announcement to make. It is with a heavy heart that I need to report that the mutant forces of the Blue Architects have once again caused Tar Vigaz great pain."
Frightened murmurs washed through this room like waves. Are you serious? Here they go blaming that one Tzeentch cult for things again, I thought as I shook my head. The people that had overheard my earlier warnings were now whispering with one another and glancing my way. Only a small minority of the people here had a positive opinion of me, but despite that, I sensed that popular opinion was slowly shifting my way. Many people were now even thinking of me as the "Empress" woman, or "Rikka", which caused me satisfaction to hear.
Langwidere did not wait for the crowd to cease its nervous murmuring. The pink governor glanced my way before speaking again.
"Our complacency in tolerating degeneracy in our ranks has allowed for these foul individuals to proliferate within our borders, and now, it has come to this." Langwidere shook her head and made a dramatic expression of sadness before lifting her lightning claw hand. My eye was drawn to a glint of red light shimming off something that clung to her wrist. It seemed to be a red key, and it was similar to the one that Mombi had worn on her wrist. "As your governor, I have, over these many years, brought protective initiatives to the table to address the threat of the mutant population within our borders, and-"
A psychic shiver then passed over me, causing my halo to slightly brighten. Incredibly, Langwidere then proceeded to speak about herself, and not what the incident had been, so I decided to open myself up to whoever was psychically "calling" me.
Inheritor! Librarian Rezel's voice rang loudly in my mind! There seemed to be a desperate edge to his telepathic pitch.
I responded to the Fallen Librarian in mind. I'm in public at the ball and Langwidere is making some kind of announcement. I think something bad happened in Evna, I replied quickly. She hasn't announced it yet and she's talking about how great her reign has been right now. Sorry, but I haven't been able to get her alone yet.
Terrorist attacks have struck the city! Rezel informed me in distressed tones. I can barely get through to Angel's Respite. We are also experiencing electronic interference, but from what I know now, nine separate and coordinated attacks have hit Evna!
Woah, I replied, my jaw dropping. My Corona had slightly brightened in my surprise, and I was now beginning to feel the pleasant sensation of quiet awe from the closest partygoers. I'm pretty sure that the Family of Liberty was the culprit. I have a sense on it. They're bad people!
As I telepathically spoke to Rezel, Langwidere continued to bloviate about Evna's "greatness" as the partygoers stood worried and waiting for further news. Was this fucking woman for real? I wasn't really listening to her, but I caught a few words. "...good people! Despite mutants such as Tzaangors making up 1.6% of our population, they commit 67% of..."
Rezel responded to me again. My intuition is similar. Whoever the culprit is seems to wish to cripple the Wheeler defensive network, or perhaps even hijack it. The signaling tower here at Port Aubergine has been destroyed, along with the terminal it stood upon! Paladin Lian is now in the ruined terminal helping the surviving humans. There are many casualties, but your vessel is unharmed.
"Holy shit, someone blew up Port Aubergine," I whispered to Alberich. The beastman blanched beside me.
"Port Aubergine! The gold witch says the terrorists struck Port Aubergine!" someone hissed nearby, clearly overhearing me. The rumor raced like fire in a dry forest through the crowd, and many people turned my way. One person audibly cried out, "Oh no, my yacht!"
Could that woman be any more rude? Another random thought drifted though the air around me. Some of these folks were absolutely insufferable, and their queen was still standing up on the mezzanine talking about dumb bullshit when she should be helping her people. Langwidere was now detailing how "good" and "clean" Evna had been before they started tolerating mutants. This was pretty funny considering that her last speech at dinner went on and on about how enlightened and tolerant Tar Vigaz was.
I still wasn't listening to the useless governor, and Rezel continued to speak to me in mind. Angel's Respite now reports a large explosion beside the Tower of Reason. We cannot get through at this time to speak to the adepts within, and we pray they are unharmed. The Tower still stands, as I can see it along the horizon from here, but the buildings around it are engulfed in fire. Your Tech-priest is currently at that location.
Null?! I asked in surprise.
I could tell that the Librarian was groaning. Somehow, I knew that he had been injured, but he continued to speak. I have just been informed that one of our shuttles is on its way to investigate. Unlike many of the destroyed signaling towers in the city, the master signaling tower atop the Tower of Reason appears to be blessedly unharmed. We believe that this structure was a target. The tentative theory I now hear from our resident Tech-marine is that the bomb being transported in a shuttle or missile prematurely detonated. This has unfortunately decimated the nearby neighborhood, but it has left the Tower of Reason intact.
I was concerned about Rezel's apparent injuries, and he responded to me with, Yes, I've been injured. The signal tower is pinning me. Help will arrive soon. Worry not about me, Inheritor.
"-and now, we come to some more very unpleasant and tragic news. It is with a heavy-"
Be careful, Rezel, I replied with sincere concern. Langwidere is about to lie to us about something serious, I think. I'll do whatever I can to fix her.
The Librarian responded gravely to me with: You might not be able to fix her at this point since this crime has taken place, I'm afraid. If she knew of and then allowed this disgusting act, more drastic actions may be necessary. My suggestion is that if an alternative solution presents itself, you will probably have to enact that, the Librarian replied seriously. It is also my suggestion that you take care of the disease in the palace in any way that you can!
I then felt Rezel's psychic eye pass from me, and I was now watching the governor talk again. She had been watching me, and I flinched as we made eye contact. Langwidere then turned away again. The Librarian's words left little doubt on what the Fallen wanted me to do with the governor now, I thought as I continued to watch her speak.
"-and because of that, I sadly report that Evna has suffered multiple coordinated terrorist attacks this evening."
The partygoers gasped in horror. Alberich turned to me, a concerned look on his gold-beaked face. You were right!
I nodded. Alberich wasn't the only person to have this opinion, as I now heard the thoughts of many people in this hall immediately remember what I had called out in warning earlier during the intermission of the Harlequin performance. I finally decided to stand up. The people in my immediate area actually flinched and backed away from me, intimidated. Yeah, that's right...
"Damn right, I told you all so," I quietly said.
The Empress was right! Little Sister warned us so! stray thoughts echoed somewhere in this hall.
Langwidere, from atop the mezzanine, then shot me a look of utter hatred before going back to her speech. "Because of these unforeseen events, law enforcement is encouraging everyone to remain calm and to shelter in place as we keep this city safe for you, honored guests. And because of this, and for your own safety, we will not be permitting anyone to depart or enter the palace grounds, effective immediately."
Frightened gasps sounded through the hall, and even worse, I heard numerous clicking and locking sounds echoing through the space as Langwidere raised her lightning claw. Were they locking us in? "There is no need to worry, dear guests. You will all be safe here as we hunt down the perpetrators of this vile crime. No one can get inside, and no foul mutant will be permitted to harm any of my guests!"
A handful of angry suspicious masked faces turned to look at Alberich, who bristled at the attention. Holy shit, these fucking people!
Langwidere just locked down the palace! I think she locked us all in! I telepathically shouted out to Rezel. He responded in a weak affirmation, and said nothing else.
Do what you must, the Librarian weakly replied to me. I have faith in you. Ave Imperatrix.
One of the military men hastily walked up to governor, and said something to her. She nodded, and then glanced at me again. Okay, what now, you shady lady? Langwidere then waved her arms in a wide gesture, and spoke again to the (increasingly afraid) crowd. "For everyone's safety, we will be distributing your numbers to various points of the palace as to not have everyone concentrated in one place. I have my officers here to attend to this. Listen to their lawful orders, and you will be safe."
Wow, this was awful, and-
Another psychic chill came over me, and I opened myself up again. Tsarina, Rasputin's voice purred through my mind. My attention was drawn to a dark Malcador-shaped shadow standing at the end of the mezzanine. I could tell that the old reincarnated mad Russian monk was looking at me. Langwidere is coming for you specifically. I know this looks suspicious, but just go where she wishes to take you. I have convinced her to take you to one of the suites instead of a dungeon. You will be separated from your mutant, unfortunately. When you are alone with her, you can do what you wish, whatever it is.
Why should I trust you? I angrily asked. You would just immediately go against the governor like this?
I helped save your life earlier, and now I want to save your life again. In another universe, I made an oath to the House of Romanov, and to me, that includes you. Perhaps if I help you now, you can return the favor later?
Two military men began to make their way through the whispering fearful crowd.
"My leader?" Alberich asked nervously, bracing himself before me.
"Don't worry. I'll figure it out," I quickly whispered. Might be going to kill the governor, so just relax. Everything is cool, but I've got to stop this shit with her.
Alberich gasped, but said nothing.
The two men now stood before me, each wearing severe expressions. "Evanora of the East, Erika, or whatever name you call yourself. You have been requested to come along with us. Governor Langwidere wishes to speak to you alone. Leave your mutant behind, as no mutants are permitted in the private suites of the palace. He will not be harmed."
"I have an oath to protect my charge," Alberich then replied angrily as the men walked forward.
"Look dude, don't worry about it. I'll catch up with you later. I'm sure it's nothing." I said to Alberich. Telepathically, I whispered, Need to get her alone to kill her, man. Don't make a scene. I'll find you later.
Very well, Alberich psychically replied, still very unhappy as I stepped forward.
"So, are you actually taking me to see Langwidere this time? I thought she was going to ask for me earlier?" I asked as each man now stood beside me. These were two different guards than the ones I had seen before.
"Just keep quiet, ma'am," one of them said as he hooked his right arm through mine, pulling me along and somewhat manhandling me as we began to stride out of the ballroom, and toward another door. Are these guys for real, I wondered as I saw the frightened eyes of the partygoers. I felt trepidation and fear continue to worm through many hearts as they witnessed me being marched through the ballroom. Seeing this public display of intimidation was definitely getting through to some of them, so I vindictively decided to make things worse for the governor. With a slight brightening of my halo and a powerful reach of my Sight, I snaked into as many minds as I could in this local proximity. Within the souls of those who were now feeling suspicion concerning Langwidere's behavior, I then implanted a psychic suggestion:
Langwidere is lying to you, and is in league with dark powers. The Family of Liberty caused the attacks! Do not trust the governor Langwidere or Raula White! You are being lied to!
I grinned fearlessly as I was marched forward by the guards, and I was satisfied to hear distressed whispering from the partygoers. A frightful hiss of "Are we being lied to?" confirmed the effectiveness of my actions. My psychic abilities were now definitely growing stronger, and on top of my always useful setting-daemons-on-fire ability, and tornado manipulation, I could now bend minds around to my will. This really was getting easier. Subjugating the minds of others was a very Emperor-specific skill, and it was taking less and less effort.
I was taken to a wide bronze door in the opposite corner of the ballroom, and with a swipe of a keycard, the door opened to a long curved stairwell. A thick emerald green carpet covered the floor, and gaudy reflective gold fixtures lined the interior of this area of the palace.
"So, are you guys secret robots too?" I asked my guards, trying to make awkward small talk. With a swipe of my Sight, I realized that these guys were normal men, but very psychically inert. Not quite Blanks, but still uncomfortable to be around. They would be very difficult to influence, I realized.
"Quiet," one of the men said. The three of us began to climb the stairs.
"You know what I am, right? Not just who, but what. Look at my halo, and my eyes. Maybe deep down you know, you just don't want to believe it," I dared as I was marched up the stairs. The men did not answer, and now even refused to look at me. Despite their natures, I could probably burn both these men to death without too much difficulty, or even punch their heads off, but I wanted to finally see the governor alone. I sincerely hoped that Rasputin was telling the truth, but honestly, I was still feeling pretty confident after that Harlequin performance. Heck, punching Mombi's head off had been great for my self-esteem after the shock of the event had worn off, I thought with a smile as I was led along another long ornate hall lined in perfect gold and silver mirrors and pieces of art. Again, I noted that the wealth in this palace was astonishing, and I wondered what sort of renovations Am'Erika would inflict upon this city once she found a way to get called into realspace again by the actions of the Family of Liberty.
My smile dropped at realizing that, and I was pulled down the hall. Am'Erika, fuck no.
After a long line of more paintings and mirrors, one of the guards unlocked a large (and heavy) gold door with a small silver key, and I was escorted inside.
This appeared to be an ornate set of living quarters. We were currently standing in a small living room with Victorian-styled green velvet sofas and a fireplace. Aside from the door I had come in from, there were three closed doors in here. One door on the far right of the suite actually appeared to be sculpted or cast from solid metal, and it was was taller and appeared more secure than the others, which made me immediately curious as to what was on the other side. On the far left wall, a large glass window was partially ajar to let the evening air in. Peering at it, I then realized that it was barred. Not a good sign, I thought...
The guards removed their arms with a shove, and turned to me, their expressions stone. "You will stay in here. Governor Langwidere will attend to you shortly. These chambers have been fitted with wards that will prevent any wandering impulse you may experience."
"Thanks, boys. You really know how to treat a lady!" I grinned nastily.
"We do not listen to the corruptive nonsense spouted by the Wicked Witch of the East," one of the guards spoke.
"Good thing I'm not her then, right?" I continued to smile, and allowed my halo to brighten. These humorless men did not flinch. The guards then turned, and locked the door behind them with a heavy click. Immediately, I went to summon my abilities against the supposed wards ringing this room, and found that the guards had told the truth. These chambers were absolutely locked down, and while I could still use my abilities inside this suite, I knew I could not pass the boundaries that shut me inside. The wards that ringed this suite were actually quite substantial. I was genuinely stuck in here.
I still wanted to examine one of the doors anyway, and I walked to the heavy metal door on the far right of the living space. To my Sight, I could see that the door was indeed warded, and that there was some kind of heat rippling off of it. I quickly realized that this door was warded to severely burn anyone who touched it. I shrugged, and then walked back to the sofa, and sat down.
Too bad there was no television, I thought. The fire was out in the fireplace, and again, I realized that this room must have some soundproofing too, as it was very quiet. Closing my eyes, I decided to see how Rezel was doing.
Without much surprise, I realized that I could not get through to the Librarian. The wards along the walls and doors even prevented me from remote viewing!
"Well, shit," I said, lounging on the sofa. A clock ticked somewhere nearby, and wind blew in from the open (but barred) window. Since I can't go one second without getting myself into trouble in this universe, I reached into my cloak pocket, and produced Word Bear's skeleton key. Did the wards affect this whole suite, or just this room? Maybe I could unlock the other doors? My fingers also found the silver compact, and I removed that too. Curiously, I also wondered if the compact could be used to bypass the wards? Word Bear said that it magnifies power, and that it can be used to scry through mirrors.
Couldn't hurt to try, I thought as I opened the compact. Inside, it contained two flawless surfaces. One surface was a silver mirror, and the other was almost supernaturally black, and even hurt my eyes to look upon. I turned away from that, and put my psychic attention on the mirror window. I didn't quite know how this worked, so I just experimented with visualizing different mirrors that I had seen in the palace while feeding energy into the artifact.
I visualized the mirror I had seen in the small study where I had punched Mombi's head off, and with a warm flash of my halo, the artifact was now showing me the interior of the study! It had worked! I could now scry through the palace mirrors with this little compact, wards or no wards.
Curiously, I examined the small room from the compact, and realized immediately that Mombi's body and decapitated head were both nowhere to be seen! They knew what had happened with the advisor, I realized with a gasp!
I felt a presence then reach through the dark mirror toward me, and I recognized Word Bear's psychic eye. Getting into trouble, are we? I sense that they have placed you in one of Langwidere's warded suites, the polite Chaos Marine transmitted to me in his dark mental voice. There was an angry edge to his words, and I could somehow tell that he was greatly upset over something, but was masking his emotions. Faint alarms and traffic noises were sounding around wherever he was. So, it appears that we will both be getting into some entertaining hijinks this evening, my Empress. I have just learned that my shop was targeted with an explosive. My manservant managed to escape with my most precious artifacts, but now... I sensed a dark rage pushing through the normally-genial Word Bearer. Now, it appears that someone wishes to play a different and dangerous game with me! And, this is a game that they will lose!
Oh shit, they blew up your shop? I reflexively responded to the mirror. Wow, that was a really bad move! Not only was Word Bear dangerous by himself, but his friends were on their way into the city! He was (to my knowledge) a Chaos Undivided Sorcerer who originated from before the goddamn Horus Heresy, and he was Kor Phaeron's fucking grandson! These terrorists had no idea what they had done by pissing him off! I even started to laugh, and Word Bear, sensing that I was nervously laughing through the compact, also began to darkly chuckle.
Affirmative. They are, as you are thinking, 'totally fucked', Word Bear said to me.
Did you manage to leave the palace before they locked it? I asked the Chaos Marine.
They locked the palace? How delightfully funny! Like a few locked doors would stop you! And, yes. A messenger delivered a note to me after the Aeldari performance. My Brothers expressed a wish to meet me at Port Ruby after they landed, and I wanted to see them to assure that they were appropriately behaved here. Right now, I am standing beside the wreckage of my shuttle a few kilometers outside of Port Ruby, as some sort of electronic interference caused the servitor piloting it to crash. Shortly afterward, my manservant contacted me, and informed me of the explosion at my shop.
Yeah, Langwidere announced that there were terrorist attacks all over the city. She's blaming the Blue Architects, but it was actually the Family of Liberty cult, if you feel like killing those people, I informed Word Bear.
Yes, I agree with you. And I look forward to that, the Chaos Marine replied darkly. I also witness the Wheelers malfunctioning on the street. It appears to me that someone wished to hijack the Wheeler defense grid in this chaos. The servitors keep screaming nonsense akin to "Glory to Am'Erika!" but, whoever attempted the takeover wasn't entirely successful. The Wheelers are not effectively functioning, so that means that whatever plan was enacted to take over the city at least partially failed.
Family of Liberty more like Family of Stupidity, I replied. Word Bear began to laugh again. Anyway, uh, nice talking to you and all, but I have to figure out these wards and see if I can break them, please contact me if-
A crushing headache then caused me to drop the compact, which closed as it fell, and I cried out! My connection to the artifact immediately ceased. The feeling was extraordinarily unpleasant, but very familiar at the same time.
After a few agonizing moments, I gathered my strength and opened my eyes. This felt like some kind of explosive migraine, and it had struck out of nowhere. I took a few deep breaths, and realized that that this felt somewhat familiar. Was this Warp or Sight related? When had I felt this sort of pain before, I dimly wondered. Fuck, being this way was not easy!
Thinking back, I had my answer. I had felt this very distinctive brain-on-fire pain when Levant's pylons were activated!
If what I was sensing was true, then someone had just activated the anti-Warp blackstone pylon inside the Tower of Reason! I stood on shaking legs as I gripped my temple. Hah, as if this day can't get any crazier, I thought with a weak laugh. That probably put a serious dampener on the Family of Liberty's plans, and any daemons that happened to be running around were now probably either weakened or gone, I thought thankfully. I remembered that Null was over at that tower, and I wondered if this was his doing? If it was, good for him.
With a quick test of my abilities, I realized that the Warp was now indeed "muffled" in here, its connection dampened but not completely severed. My halo emerged in a weak thin line around my head and shoulders. At least it was something.
"Oh!" I happily vocalized as I realized something very convenient. With the activation of an anti-Warp pylon, this meant that the nasty confining wards in here were now either deactivated, or greatly lessened in strength! Escape might now be possible, but I still really wanted to confront the governor alone, so I decided to slake my curiosity concerning the hot metal door instead. Putting away Word Bear's silver compact, and wasting no time (but still dizzy on my feet), I quickly walked over to the tall important-looking metal door in this suite. With a cautious finger, I touched its surface. Instead of getting burned or electrified, it now only felt slightly warm. The door was still locked, but with Word Bear's skeleton key, the way was opened! Honestly, despite him being a damned Chaos Marine, that guy had really come through for me. Having this skeleton key had been immensely useful.
A heavy click, and I was now facing a mysterious metal hallway that stretched ominously ahead. This hall seemed to be crafted out of flawless silver, and a black carpet lined the floor. Above, frosted crystal lanterns flickered, sending ghostly shadows through the reflective mirrored space. Curious, I walked forward, and reached into my cloak to retrieve the Nemeses Argentum, which felt strangely warm.
The hall went on for about ten meters before terminating in another solid metal door that appeared to be absolutely covered in fearsome wards that caused a great sense of unease when I studied them. This door was even more heavily warded than the previous one, and some of the protective runes were still visibly glimmering on the surface, despite the pylon's interference. This would probably be a very dangerous thing to touch if the Warp wasn't partially shut out right now. The governor had obviously put a lot of effort into shielding this portal from prying eyes. That, of course, made me want to see what was beyond it.
Intuitively, I knew that touching this door with my hand would still probably be a bad idea. Instead, I cautiously prodded the barrier with the Nemeses Argentum. This contact with the artifact against the warded door caused a painful shock to race up my arm, and I pulled the weapon back. At the same time, I saw the flickering dangerous runes brighten, and with an electric crackle, I watched as the strange writing began to sizzle and shower the area in sparks, filling the air with the smell of gunpowder. Stepping back, I watched as the runes burnt away like fuses against the door. With another loud pop, all the runes were now black, and I felt a slight change in air pressure. The door then creaked open inwardly, and I could feel a cold wind from within the dark space.
I stepped cautiously forward, my right hand outstretched and brandishing the Nemeses Argentum. My head still ached, so thankfully, the pylon was still "on". This was probably dangerous, but I was too curious and too reckless right now to listen to any reason. If anything, me blundering into Langwidere's secret occult wizard chambers would definitely get her attention.
The room beyond the heavily warded door was dark when I walked within, and as soon as I took my first step on the stone floor, a crystal chandelier guttered to life above me, scattering eerie light across a disturbing scene.
This space was very tall and round, with a high gently domed ceiling that had to be at least three times my height. The air in here was oddly chilly, which made the contents of this room even more disturbing.
Lining the gently curved silver wall, small alcoves of named and numbered mannequin heads watched me as I ventured forward into this strange room. Each head was of an attractive woman, each with varying features and with slightly different expressions. Each wore jeweled chokers around their necks, and stood upon gold stands that displayed their beauty.
Exploring further, I observed a luxurious emerald velvet chaise lounge at the far end of this room, and before it, a few tall mirrors ringed the seating area. It reminded me of the mirrored setup Silk-Hand had used to fit me for costumes. A finely crafted lute lay upon the cushions. Making the scene even creepier, small notes that appeared to be affirmations were affixed to the mirrors. They all said little things like, "You are the most beautiful creature in existence!" and "Through the power of my thoughts and words, incredible transformations are happening in me and within my life right now!" I couldn't help but laugh when I read one note that said , "Live, Laugh, Love!" in a cutesy cursive font. Langwidere was apparently a 40k "Karen", I guessed. Further beyond the chaise and on the far right wall, there was another closed metal door. This one didn't seem to be warded, at least.
I decided to further observe the bizarre wall of staring heads. It appeared that there were around thirty alcoves here lining the wall. Each alcove contained a single mannequin's head with the exception of four spaces, which were empty. Below the row of heads, I could now see what appeared to be a long blinking console that lay flush against the wall. Curious, I examined it. It was a long waist high display that was now showing numerous flashing warnings, most of which said, "Warning! Preservation Enchantments Failing! Warning! Unauthorized person in the Hall of Heads!" across the length of the wall.
I looked up again at the strange mannequin busts, and found, chillingly, that the nearest one was looking down at me, and right in the eye!
The head appeared terrifyingly lifelike as it watched me with impassive dark eyes. It even blinked as it made eye contact with me. The uncanny thing stared at me from behind a layer of glass, and below, a small plaque in gold displayed the name, "#9: Azelle" in fancy gold cursive. This head, I noticed, was a familiar woman with long dark brown hair, and around her neck, she wore a thick jeweled choker like the other heads. This mannequin head continued to hold my gaze, even as I moved from side to side! This was exceedingly creepy, but then, I realized something even more disturbing.
I had seen this woman before!
I flashed back to my first visit to Port Aubergine a few days ago, directly after I had landed. A woman wearing a jeweled choker had chased after her tiny cute son, and she had briefly spoken with me before turning around and leaving with her boy. Thinking back, I remembered that she had seemed strangely cold, even when I had tried to be friendly. While I had blamed my social awkwardness for the chilly reception I had received, it currently appeared that there was something insidious with that entire confrontation. I had really thought that this small encounter was innocent and sweet, but now, I stood watching the staring animated head of the very woman I had seen at the airport!
I began to slowly walk down the line of heads, and I also noted that it had to be at least ten degrees cooler in here than in the rest of the palace. A few spaces down, I felt my blood run cold when I noticed that there was an alcove named "#12: Mombi", but it was empty. And it was empty, I knew immediately, because I had destroyed it when I had punched Mombi's head clean off her shoulders!
Worrying, I then quickly then walked to the other empty alcoves. Had I met any of these women somewhere? What the hell was going on here?! The very first alcove on the wall was empty, and it said, "#1: Langwidere mk3". This space was empty, I deduced, because that head was currently on the governor's shoulders! Another empty alcove down the line was labeled with "#4: Zeta", and it had a paper note stuck to its plaque that said "in refurbishment". I walked to the last empty alcove at the very end of the wall of heads. Its glass door was open, and I was stunned to see what the plaque said below it!
"#33: Evanora"
Was Langwidere actually interested in stealing my fucking head? I recoiled, clutching my neck. I remembered that when Mombi had attacked me, she had very specifically lunged at my neck until I had decapitated her! So, that's why the advisor had been going on and on about "figureheads"! She didn't want me to actually help with a coup or anything. Whatever sort of unholy animated creature Mombi appeared to be was under thrall of Langwidere, and the governor wanted to literally take my head after cutting it off for her own purposes!
No, wait, it was even worse than that!
Catching my breath in this terrible revelation, I then remembered the distinctive red key that both Mombi and Langwidere both wore upon their wrists. I also remembered the lute that Mombi had been playing near the pool area with the Sinclair brothers. That same lute sat upon the chaise lounge at the far end of the room! Could it really be that the governor herself had the ability to physically swap heads as well as change her features?! If that was true, then I had actually already met the governor in person multiple times when she was wearing the Mombi head, and I had decapitated her! Holy shit! No wonder Langwidere had glared at me in the ballroom earlier!
I began to nervously laugh. Well, that's what you get when you go after me, lady. My keen intuition continued to point me toward what I knew was the truth, and I stepped away from the wall of staring heads as I silenced my urge to cry out in utter revulsion. These weren't creepy mannequin heads, or even robotic ones, I now understood. These were all real heads that Langwidere had taken from other people! And, she had intended to take my head too!
"So, now you know governor Langwidere's greatest secret," a familiar Russian-accented voice called out behind me. I whirled around as I brandished the Nemeses Argentum ahead of me.
Rasputin smiled evilly from under a shadowed hood, and tapped his eagle staff twice against the stone floor as he stood near the open entryway. Beside him, two hulking servitors advanced before him defensively. Each was about the size of Null's 77-X battle servitor, and each looked fearsome enough to easily kill me now that I did not have the full disposal of my Warp strength! Both had numerous appendages snaking from their torsos that resembled heavy firearms, and they were all pointed at me! Each of their arms ended in giant sharp metal claws, and two sets of red laser eyes aimed their sights at my heart!
"Don't worry, dearest Romanov daughter. As I said before, I have no ill will against you. But, now that you're just so coincidentally up here, and the governor is now slightly preoccupied, let's have a little chat, shall we?" the Mad Monk said a wide smile that didn't reach his fiery pale blue eyes.