Illumination: Part 2 & 3

The acolytes arrived at the cathedral, Stern Hope, shortly after local nightfall. They were escorted to a room that had been set aside at the common house, the Crying Clota, and waited for morning to meet with Abbot Skae. They were introduced to the cathedral's architect, who informed them of the numerous mysterious phenomena plaguing the settlement since the cathedral began to near completion. Investigation amongst the locals seemed to stir up rumors of an old cult that operated on this spot before the arrival of the crusade and the conquering of this world for the Emperor. Brother Lamark, one of the local priests and a former Imperial Guardsman, escorted them to one site where a group of bandits had been found stripped to their bones. During the investigation of the site, they were attacked by what was later identified as a local predator, a Hexalid. To their surprise, once the creature was killed, it appeared to have been dead for some time and, apparently, had had its eyes removed. This lead to suspicion that a cult or powerful witch was acting within the area.

The next day, they awoke for the beginning of the cathedral's commemoration ceremony. During the Abbot's sermon, however, the settlement was attacked by the troops of one of the planetary Warlords, Seth the Voice. The Voicers fought fanatically and the acolytes managed to head off the attack from destroying the local Generatoria before turning their attention to finding and stopping the leader of the attack. After a brief firefight, the Voicers were turned back, but Drake had fallen to multiple gun shots and a warp mishap. Medicae personnel rushed to save the priest while the acolytes went back to the cathedral and bore witness to a tense scene, a showdown between Abbot Skae and a native religious leader, a death singer known as Esha Raine. Eventually the Acolytes' superior, Aristarchus, settled the issue by executing a Voicer who had been captured and declaring that anyone who stood in the way of the commemoration was a heretic. Esha and her people left in a huff, vowing never to return to Stern Hope.