Investigation of the Droyamor Tomb World

Investigation of Droyamor Tomb World

The Ork occupation of the Droyamor Tomb was considered by all Adeptus Mechanicus analysts, as a great loss. WAAAGH! Morzzag had gutted the entire Tomb World turning it into a “Forgeworld.” But there were still questions that needed answering. Why were there no Orks on this final bastion after the Warp Storm had tore through the Hades Sub-Sector? What was the status of War-Mek Morzzag Skyburna?

All orbital scans had shown nothing. No Orks or fauna of any kind. Cautious of an ambush, Ostraxos deployed in force. It wasnt until Ryzan forces entered the Tomb complexes unearthed by the Orks; did they see any signs of Orkish occupation. Still no sign of the occupants, however.

It wasn’t until Ostraxos’ expedition got closer to the core of the world. They had found the Orks they were looking for. The tunnels and chambers were choked with remains. The Ordo Xenos Inquisitor observed that, this was not caused by infighting, as Orks were prone to do. These Orks were trying to repel something. The Inquisitor proposed the idea that it might be the Necrons; this would explain the complete lack of corpses of a force the Orks were clearly fighting. Ostraxos, didnt think so, because the Orks would have been the ones attacking the Tomb Complexes, not the defenders.

As they progressed, they encountered more and more signs of battle, but still no signs of who was attacking. Evidence that the Orks were becoming more desperate became apparent. Signs that they had rigged their “forges” to explode or had dumped molten metal into the path of the attackers. Their progress was slowed by passages that were so choked with charred bodies; that explosives were needed to clear a stable path.

Outside of the central chamber, Ostraxos was shocked to find the defiled remains of a blessed Stormlord tank. Covered in Orkish pictographs and a great molten hole in its side; Ostraxos was dismayed to find that the Machine Spirit was gone. And as shocked as he was at seeing the broken Stormlord, nothing would prepare him for what was in the chamber.

A macabre scene awaited them as they entered the former Throne room of a now forgotten Phaerakh. Ostraxos found himself thinking that after this he would need to erase the ability to feel shock or fear because what he saw was beyond his depth.

In the center of the room, were nine Weird boys, suspended in their last torturous moments. Many of their heads were in the process of exploding. The fragments of skull, chunks of brain, and droplets of blood, caught in the air; shining like gemstones in the room as the headlamps of the expedition took in the room. Ostraxos touched one of the blood drops, it didnt move or react in anyway blood should. Grasping his hand around it he tried to move it, but it was like was like trying to remove a Titan's Armor with a blade of grass. Ostraxos’ gaze was drawn next to the edges of the room, where corpses burned. The flames rose like crystals from the bodies hanging suspended in the air, in the same maddening fashions as the bits of Ork.

The Inquisitor called out to Ostraxos who turned and saw him standing in the center of the ring of tortured orks. As Ostraxos approached the Inquisitor gestured to a broken object on the ground. Compared to the madness of the room, this broken piece of Ork weaponry looked mundane. Ostraxos felt a spark of delight when he recognized what it was, it was Morzzag’s Big Choppa. He had dodged, parried, and even been bitten by this weapon; in a twisted way it was the familiarity of this weapon with the backdrop of insanity that gave him the brief feeling of comfort. Dread rapidly drowned the spark of comfort. As his logic matrixes and cogitators kicked into high gear, more questions rose in his mind. Where was Morzzag? Who or what had been able to best the War-Mek and an entire planets worth of Orks? He wracked his mind, and none of the combatants in Hades had left this kind of wake behind them.

The Inquisitor broke Ostraxos train of thought, when he placed his hands on the head of the only Weirdboy who still had a complete skull. If not for Ostraxos’ enhancements he would not have seen the spark of energy before the blinding flash, he snatched the Inquisitor from the air as he flew back away from the still unmoving Ork.

The Inquisitor straightened himself up and turned to Ostraxos.

“I order you to destroy this entire place.”

“Why?”

“Because the warp is thick upon this place.” Said the Inquisitor, glaring at the still unexploded Ork.

“This does not meet with Death Guard methodology.”

“I did not say, this was the Death Guard. Do not ask any more questions and do as I command.” Snapped, the Inquisitor. Ostraxos noticed that there was a trickle of blood oozing from his ears.

The tension between the two was palpable. Ostraxos did not in fact destroy the Tomb. Nor did the Inquisitor ever formally reprimanded Ostraxos for refusing his orders, because in the next engagement against a sudden Genestealer Cult uprising. The Inquisitor was assassinated by a Sanctus belonging to the the Children of the Jade Serpent.