Крип / Kryp: Отряд_3.13

Part 3

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:07

Purifying fire

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:07

Chapter 13

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:07

The march into the darkness of the deep dungeons was not so terrifying as it was dreary and boring. Of course, it is scary to walk on the concrete, slippery with mold, on paths that have not been walked for decades. But the fear does not last long, because if there is no obvious threat, hunger, fatigue and heavy ammunition for the flamethrower on the back quickly come to the fore. At least the flasks with water were hanging on their belts. At the very least, as Olga estimated, she could lick the damp walls, where condensation gathered in large drops.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:13

They were saving batteries. They walked by the light of one lantern and two chemistry sticks. Despite the narrowness of the tunnel, every sound echoed muffled, rolling far ahead. The servitor was especially loud, stomping his feet in knee-high lace-up boots, but there was no way to get the mechanized corpse to no so noisy.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:16

Every twenty minutes they took a break, and Olga felt sorry for the Holy Man. After all, while the others were at least symbolically 'resting,' the radio operator tried to establish communication. To a reasonable objection about an obstacle, he answered something about metal structures and old relay outputs. However, it was impossible to communicate all the same.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:19

" Wires are important," the Holy One muttered, twisting the cogs of the settings. "You can make the Gretchin work at a remote location, but in the central hubs, where several relay lines converge. People refuse. Come to think of it, you're sitting at a location where you have several points reaching you, and five or six stations on the same frequency are coming out. Somewhere they broadcast 'unit destroyed,' and when the message reached the receiver in the node, he from several sides synchronously so 'UNIT DESTROYED! And due to the craftiness of the stations, they croak and speak differently, so that the whole chorus is screaming directly into the ears. It's unpleasant in and of itself, and if it's an otherworldly whisper, you might as well put a diaper in your pants."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:24

Olga didn't understand anything, and the radio operator didn't need to. He just needed a silent listener.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:27

"Nothing, silence," muttered the Holy Man. The five minutes of rest were over, and the squad moved on in another march.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:29

The strange journey seemed endless. Olga quickly fell into a heavy, agonizing trance, filled with pain in her back and strained legs. All the time she wished that the straps of the cylinder would finally rip, relieving her of her burden. On the other hand, Bertha could be expected to haul the ammunition by hand anyway. The extreme monotony all around made the sense of time as well as space confused. At times it seemed that many kilometers were left behind and salvation awaited literally in a couple of steps. Then, on the contrary, when we thought that we had probably covered a hundred or two meters, no more.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:31

"And on machinery, it's mandatory to wire communication, like in tanks, when you don't know how to get on the radio. It works, it's proven," the Holy Man kept muttering.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:34

The tunnel went down a slight but noticeable slope the whole time. In the middle there was a chute with a single rusty rail. Olga walked and remembered the terrifying roar with which the volley of 'Radial' hit the house. Fortunately at that moment the purifiers had already descended quite deeply. They had only gotten away with ringing in their ears, fear, and a feeling of staggering helplessness. Above, fiery arrows scorched everything, crushing the concrete slabs, and below ground a handful of deathly frightened people fled from imminent death.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:36

Olga felt very cold, the girl shook her skinny shoulders, despite the weight of the straps.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:38

Fuck the adventures.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:38

Bertha, the Priest, and Kryp were talking about what might have happened in the house, despite the weight. They had to speak in time with their steps, with pauses for breathing in and out. In addition, everyone listened regularly to the underground noise, so the conversation didn't go fast. Fidus quite authoritatively repeated and supplemented the earlier version. Olga did not understand much, because the inquisitor spoke in some professional jargon, well understood by his companions. But the basis was more or less understood.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:45

According to Kryp, some cultists had decided to set up an astral gateway to Immaterialium. Here Bertha argued; in her opinion, it was a teleport to some point on the planet. But Fidus was quick to refute the opinion, referring to some very confusing precedents and nuances, so the mentor agreed, albeit with obvious reluctance.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:47

In order to make it work, the villains organized something like a Faraday cage in reverse. They treated the entire house from bottom to top with unholy spells, 'weakening' its anchoring in Materium. And then they used a three-dimensional antenna, filling the plumbing of the house with some kind of substance. It was essentially the same teleport, only it threw everyone in the house not to some other place, but straight into the local hell, beyond reality.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:49

Oh, my God, thought Olga, in the rhythm of her steps and the bouts of pain in the muscles of her thighs. How do they even have the strength and desire to talk about anything... It would be better if they dragged the heavy burden for the poor weak girl, chatterboxes, and lazy people. The servitor stomped behind her, turning his head as usual with the mechanical precision of a radar.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:50

"All right, the fire won't follow us," said the Wretched Man. "There's nothing to burn here. And the tunnel is long, a draught to the other side."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:53

The disputants, meanwhile, were again polarized. This time the Priest was Fidus' opponent. The monk believed that the purpose of the ritual was to release some kind of energy, some kind of compensation in the style of 'abyss take, abyss give in return. Crip, on the other hand, insisted that it was a sacrifice. What was the difference Olga did not understand. To her mind, it was all the same whether it was a shovel of coal or an offering. The result was the same - some useful (for the cultists) output. But the inquisitor and the monk saw the difference, so they argued heatedly. The argument, protracted, interrupted by heavy breathing and sniffling, looked rather pathetic, like a duel of the crippled. But the disputants were adamant, each on his own opinion.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 07:58

"And everyone also asks why I have knitted doormats with Saint Sororitas on them." The Holy Man muttered softly to himself. "And I said to them, 'hang around the walls'. And they said, 'What for?' And I say to them, 'Echo, you fools, in an empty room or vehicle - an echo'. And imagine three radios for three voices, with echo and fading. The Larsen effect, fuck it. You can't tell who's whispering in your ears, if it's alive or if it's not... That's why I've been doing vox alone for the third year. The replacements don't fit in... Do you want to try?"

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 08:06

Olga did not immediately realize that the radio operator had spoken to her. And when she did, she twisted her head in mute denial. On the one hand, the radio was lighter than the cylinder. On the other hand, she was sure that at the critical moment she would be sure to mistake the levers so that later she would certainly be shot for sabotage. And there was not enough voice to shout into the talker constantly and intelligibly in the course of the operation.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 08:24

"No one wants to," the Holy Man sighed dejectedly. "Well, if you change your mind, just ask."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 08:27

Here Olga thought that if Kryp was right, and all the inhabitants of the house had passed into the other world, then the toys would no longer find their old masters. How bad! And sad... The unknown, incomprehensible evil in the form of cultists who revere the non-Emperor suddenly became very apparent, took on a real incarnation. A cultist is not an abstraction, but one who drags children to hell. Accordingly, a cultist is very, very bad!

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 08:56

"Someone walked here," Crybaby suddenly interrupted the debate and Olga's sadness. He took a few more steps, then added. "And dragged."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 08:59

"Take a break," Bertha announced, a minute and a half ahead of schedule. "Show me what you've spotted."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:01

"Here," the flamethrower pointed with his hand in a black, darned glove. "Scratches. And marks."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:02

Indeed, if you looked closely, you could see faint traces on the time-darkened floor. It was as if something heavy had been dragged over the edge, or even angled. And if you looked even more closely, which Berta immediately did by turning on her strongest flashlight. A certain irregularity was apparent. Over the years of desertion, water and mold had left a distinctive film on the floor, but in some places, it seemed smudged, scuffed.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:04

Bertha stepped back ten meters, just in case, to look over the untouched area and compare. The group somehow picked up at once, shrugging off the tired relaxation that had clouded their minds.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:07

"Yes, they did," Berta summarized as she rose from her squat. "Not often, but pretty regularly. A whole trail of footsteps. Or the opposite, a big group of them walked at once."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:09

She turned off the lantern and with a long, wicked look looked on, to where everything lurked in the inky darkness.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:09

"At first they tried to use..." Fidus pointed to the rail. A close look made it clear that a section three meters long had rusted off and exposed dull metal.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:10

"But something must have gone wrong," Kryp stretched thoughtfully, looking up for a change as if he were trying to find a clue there. "Then they dragged it by hand, dropping it occasionally."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:20

"Well, it looks like we know how the heretics got in," the Priest thought aloud, rubbing his throat.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:27

"They didn't break into it," said Fidus, and then, upon coming to his senses, added more executive deference to his voice. As befits an ordinary novice. "It would take months of work to paint the floors like that. So heretics lived in the house, and the other inhabitants apparently averted their eyes. But all sorts of unseemly things seemed to be delivered to them that way, yes. That's why we opened the hatch easily enough."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:37

"Well, let's go," said Bertha.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:46

And everyone moved on, silently, pulling up. Trying to make less noise and listen very carefully. Olga stared at the cylinder of the Plax flamethrower looming ahead. And, to somehow concentrate, began to imagine in her mind how the ammunition should be changed, step by step. First with a complete change, then a simplified version, when there was no time, with a flip of the hose to a spare cylinder.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:48

Step-by-step. And a little bit more.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:49

The tunnel began to expand noticeably. The ceiling rose to five meters, and then even higher. From time to time there were branches along the sides, fringed by old rusted shoals of brown rust. All of them were carefully piled so that the stones and rubble formed long 'tongues' crawling out of the empty doors.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:50

"Exploded," Kryp reported confidently as he surveyed several such rubbles.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:51

"Obviously," the monk agreed. He wasn't treading as lightly as before. Apparently, the heavy chemical cannon was wearing out even the square and strong man.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:54

"Halt," Bertha ordered again.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:55

Crybaby again emerged as the herald of the new. He slobbered his finger and raised it above his head, then twirled his head, closing his eyes and exposing his face to the intangible streams of air.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 09:55

"The draft. There's water ahead," he said. "Salt."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:01

"Interesting," muttered the Priest. "A way out to the sea?"

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:01

"No," Bertha shook her head. "It's too far. More like an exit to some deep caves that communicate with the ocean. Or even."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:02

She didn't finish, and no one asked. Olga felt sad. She wondered what it could be, if not a cave. But asking directly was somehow... a rather scary thing to ask directly. What if everyone here was supposed to know it? And the hell with it, in any case, she'd have to see it anyway.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:04

"Let's eat," Bertha ordered. "Plus two minutes to break for a snack. And everyone shut up."

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:07

An eloquent glance in the direction of the Holy Man clearly showed whom the order referred to.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:08

Everyone hurriedly occupied themselves with the food concentrate - the already familiar to Olga cubes, similar to pressed sugar with the taste of glucose pills. As she finished chewing the solid mass, she noticed that the wind, cold and damp, seemed to have caught her breath. Barely noticeable, but still... Some variety was both intriguing and unsettling.

Camrad_RIP 21.11.21 в 10:09