The British Museum Reading Room, May 1907

Charles Meryon

Tourelle, Rue de l'École de Médecine, 22, Paris

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

The Round Tower, etching

ÉRIK DESMAZIÈRES

Terres Inconnues

Last weekend I spent a day in the wonderful company of 2 old gaming buddies my old inq28 gaming buddy Peter Hudson aka PDH and the Literal art Legend John Blanche. Peter had organized the game and John kindly invited us to his house to play, no small thing during this time of covid worries.. so once I Tested NOT positive I managed to cobble together a bunch of escapee Pyskers - the game was set in the Dalthus sector or at least that's where peter and I envisaged it, on a world we created together years ago called Barauch and steampunky type world rife with madness. i have written about it before when i created the red baron of baruach here on this blog in the lost years post of those interested.

Peter rote out a quick synopsis and did all the leg work regarding the rules , which ere nercomunda btw.

John envisaged a two board type game - one set in a industrial complex and the other in the wilderness for those that succeeded on the first board.

The boards were stunning .. as a lover of scenery I was definitely envious, John told us that the industrial\ type board had been commissioned by him but i forget by whom now so apologies for that-the exterior wilderness board he picked up privately and then extensively converted using resin for water effects and resin ruins which were beautiful.

I had built some custom industrial steampunk 40k type scatter terrain but it wasn't really required but still looked good on the wilderness board.

I built some escapee psykers - peter build some inq28 types along with a wonderful scout and null warden. John had previously commissioned two really evocative gangs that he used in both games as agitators and defender's respectively

peter wrote out our introductions in thematic style:

Decima Ebonite followed Finir up to the ridge line. Their stolen boat long abandoned and hidden on the far side of Foula Isle, it would take a master tracker to find their boat and track their path across is baron rock Ilse. He was convinced he had seen the last of the Bethlam orderlies.

At the top Finir crouched behind a large boulder, Ebonite indicated to the others to wait. Finir and Ebonite scanned the valley beyond and it didn't take them long to spot the ruin of stone and red brick. Ebonite was relieved that Octavian's divinations had accurately led them to this place. Still he had no idea how this location was going to help them get off Barauch and away from the Imperium but at least the madman's dreams were coming true.

Octavian stumbled up behind them, chattering away to himself. A moment of clarity cast across his troubled features. "We must go to the centre, there we'll be welcomed. Quickly before the eclipse"

Ebonite looked at the sky, no sun penetrated these grey clouds anyway. Against his better judgement he was beginning to trust this lunatics shadow sight.

***

Leting was unhappy. Initially when asked to take the men to Foula he'd been happy at the thought of returning home and being rescued from penal duty. Then he'd met the Inquisitor who'd asked him hundreds of questions about places he'd been warned never to visit from childhood. He'd told this ancient man of the long abandoned ruins. Of marsh lights and ghost lights in the valley. No one went there, there were rumours of Daemons. The Inquisitor was unreadable but Leting was sure he'd briefly smiled at that. After the questions the Inquisitor said that is exactly where they were to be taken, even though no one had been there for generations. The Inquisitor had ordered him to help them arrive by the solar eclipse.

The eight day journey by steam ferry had been hard too, the Drill Abbot had put him through a hard training regime, gun practice too. Hinds, the servitor-man, sparred with him and always won. The medic had treated him too for malnourishment, the elixers had made him feel better than ever. The Inquisitor spent the majority of his time alone, but of course that was to be expected for a man working directly for the Emperor. Two days hard journey on foot and they had reached the southern pass, rim of the valley. Leting thought his job would be over, he'd never gone further so couldn't guide them anymore, but the Inquisitor informed him it was now his duty as a loyal Imperial servant to join the fight against the intrusion of darkness into the God Emperor's rightful domain. The Abbott blessed them all with holy water and benedictions to the God Emperor. They all checked their weapons and equipment. Leting was unhappy. But he led them through the dry gorge as it started to rain.

***

The temple waited. It was nearly time. Ancient memories stirred and these thoughts started to coalesce into reality.