NPCAflame with a plethora of colours, the distorted celestial disc trembles slightly beyond the endless windows on the captain's bridge as the Rogue Trader's ship approaches its centre. An otherworldly voice, cold and enveloping, enters your mind. What could this puny wretch possibly offer a King?
NPCThe officers on the bridge look around, perplexed. Their eyes are full of terror and confusion. Many clutch their heads and let out long howls of pain. Some empty their stomachs. But most, pale and exhausted though they are, have joined the Lord Captain in resisting the entity's influence.
YOUAsk who you are talking to.
NPCAn endless flow of images fills your consciousness. You see horrifying scenes of millions of tortured souls. Their screams rend your mind. Their pain pierces you with a thousand red-hot needles. King. Ruler. The One Who Is Obeyed. That's all you can make sense of, although you see much more.
YOUAsk who you are talking to.continues where this line first appears above
YOUCommand the entity to release the minds of the Amberworlders from its grip.
NPCThe King's mocking laughter rings in your ears, and a deep-red trickle runs slowly from your nose and over your lips, leaving an aftertaste of salt and metal.
YOUSwear fealty to the King and promise to fulfil his request.
NPCAcerbic laughter fills your head as the enormous distorted disc vanishes from the voidship's augurs as if it had never been there.
end of branch
YOUAttack the entity with every cannon on board.
NPCHow dare you disturb the King with trifles? The entity is furious, and you feel a gust of invisible wind blow a thousand blades right through your ship. Officers are collapsing at your feet, choking, and hundreds of casualties are being reported from every deck. A resonant silence descends on the ship, and a bright flash stuns you for what could be any length of time.
end of branch
YOUOrder a ship-wide, thousand-voice prayer service over holy relics for the protection of Amberworld, the Imperium, and your own souls.
NPCDeafening gong strikes are heard across hundreds of decks. Your eyes are misted with red and your gums bleed as your subjects fall to their knees all at once, in a shared prayer to the God-Emperor. The holy relics from the ship's temples melt from the ardour of your speech, and the entity screams and writhes inside your brain, struggling to break out.
NPCMany drop dead during the first minutes of the prayer, unable to resist the corruption; however, others immediately take their place, unfazed by the sight of their fellows turning to dust in seconds. Then a nauseating stench engulfs the ship's decks like a wave, causing people to retch forth their innards. Finally, every deck is plunged into darkness. Ghosts of the past walk among the living, stealing breath from those weak of spirit. And still the prayer is not extinguished.
NPCIt is hard to tell if the prayer service has lasted several hours or several days. At some point, you feel your very essence overflow with heat and power, and then... the intruding will falters. The distorted disc vanishes from the voidship's augurs, as if it had never been there, and at long last, everything is quiet. As everyone slowly recovers from what just happened, reports begin to come in to the captain's bridge. You've lost a third of your crew in the unequal fight, and the fortunate survivors are going to take quite some time to come round. All hail the Rogue Trader!
end of branch
YOULeave the entity alone.
NPCHow dare you disturb the King with trifles? The entity is furious, and you feel a gust of invisible wind blow a thousand blades right through your ship. Officers are collapsing at your feet, choking, and hundreds of casualties are being reported from every deck. A resonant silence descends on the ship, and a bright flash stuns you for what could be any length of time.continues where this line first appears above
YOUSay you wish to become the herald of the King of Distortion.
NPCThe King is intrigued: never before has a mortal sought to obtain his divine blessing. All you have to do is claim ownership of Amberworld and not interfere with the events unfolding on the planet. If the King is pleased with you, he may even let you collect tribute from his playthings.
YOUSwear fealty to the King and promise to fulfil his request.continues where this line first appears above
YOUAttack the entity with every cannon on board.continues where this line first appears above
YOUOrder a ship-wide, thousand-voice prayer service over holy relics for the protection of Amberworld, the Imperium, and your own souls.continues where this line first appears above
YOULeave the entity alone.continues where this line first appears above
NPCInterrogator van Calox coldly reminds you of the Archenemy's schemes... and the laws of the Imperium under which even Rogue Traders, heralds of the Emperor Himself, can be punished, should they descend into heresy.
YOUSwear fealty to the King and promise to fulfil his request.continues where this line first appears above
YOUAttack the entity with every cannon on board.continues where this line first appears above
YOUOrder a ship-wide, thousand-voice prayer service over holy relics for the protection of Amberworld, the Imperium, and your own souls.continues where this line first appears above
YOULeave the entity alone.continues where this line first appears above
YOULeave the entity alone.continues where this line first appears above
YOUCommand the entity to release the minds of the Amberworlders from its grip.continues where this line first appears above
YOUSay you wish to become the herald of the King of Distortion.continues where this line first appears above
YOULeave the entity alone.continues where this line first appears above