Secret War: The Annihilation Plague (Part 2)

Chapter 6

 Now with his re-breather firmly on his face and his camoleoline cloak wrapped around him, Attelus knelt on a tree branch, a good twenty metres above the forest floor and watched the Sororitas Coven through his scope. It was about two kilometres away and sat atop a man-made plateau raised four hundred and fifty metres high, which loomed over the forest around like some god towering above its peons and a fitting metaphor for humanity's foolish belief that it is above nature. It seemed fitting for the arrogance of those in the Ecclesiarchy.

On the edges of the vertical elevation was a thick stone wall, or what seemed like a stone wall; Attelus couldn't help feel it was reinforced with adamantium rods and rockcrete. That was about five metres high, but he couldn't make out how thick they were at this low angle, but he could at tomes glimpse the three Sisters of Battle patrolling its top in their iconic crimson with white lining armour. The place was run by the Order of the Sacred Journey, an order dedicated to Saint Drusus, a fact that'd been easy as frig to find in his research, but anything else about the damned place was tough to get. Attelus didn't know whether that had been by design or not; Jelcine Enandra was a member of the Ordo Hereticus, so such information should've been in her databanks.

Towering behind that wall wasn't what Attelus would describe as a convent but a frigging cathedral. Standing at least thirty metres tall, the Gothic building was so large it must've left very little room for the space between the building and the wall, leaving its defences much to be desired. That, and the stained glass windows which rose above the wall for another seven metres at least. Attelus supposed their "faith" would allow them to have such windows without worry.

And the shear as frig cliff faces leading up to it, Attelus wasn't looking forward to frigging climbing up that at all. That was the only was of egress he could see from here, at least.

But there was, running up to the plateau from the west, was a thin, winding road that was about twenty degrees steep. Attelus didn't dare try that; the frigging over-zealous Sisters would be watching that like it was a road leading to the Eye of Terror itself.

Attelus sighed and lowered his scope. He couldn't help feel the plateau would likely have some secret entrance to a passage that'd lead up to the convent itself, but even with his enhanced senses, it could take days to find it, and days he didn't have, assuming there was one, anyway. He also wondered if that secret passage might connect to those strange, classified tunnels underground as well.

In all honesty, he hadn't met a member of the Adepta Sororitas before despite working for the Ordo Hereticus. He dreaded interacting with them even more than he dreaded having to climb that cliff.

That's assuming he wasn't shot on sight the split-second he gets caught, of course. Attelus would be deemed a heretic in their eyes even if he wasn't just an intruder.

Even if he was a Throne Agent of the Ordo Hereticus.

His thoughts whirled back to his communication with Arlathan and wondered if the Interrogator's decision not to call the Inquisitor was a good idea, in all honesty. Arlathan said it was because the evidence wasn't strong enough yet, and paranoia for their call being detected by the local authorities. Attelus thought it was also a pride thing for Arlathan; he was afraid Enandra would take over the investigation.

If it weren't for the visor of his re-breather, Attelus would've rubbed his tired eyes. After his encounter with the damned Bark Snake a day ago, his sleep had been fitful. He could sleep and keep his wits about him, but the dreams still plagued him. The faces of the men and women of the Elbyran contingent, both those he'd killed and those who died battling through Kelitia at the whim of him and the Inquisition. Attelus always had a terrible memory for names, but faces he remembered will. Too well, perhaps. At times, in the corner of his eye, he'd catch the rotting corpse of Inquisitor Edracian watching him, but when he tried to turn to it, it'd disappear. Attelus