The trouble beneath the volcano had been dealt with, and a group of Dark Angels headed deeper into the Ghoul Stars, murmuring prayers to the God-Emperor. Underground elsewhere, things were getting lively.
When those unlucky Adamantium Warriors missed the evacuation and hid underground, Yvraine's Reaper Host squad had also withdrawn into the same subterranean mine.
The Adamantium Warriors still knew nothing of the Aeldari's presence. Their captain was considering how to conceal his squad.
Huge spiral steps led all the way down to the bottom of the pit. A massive mineral hoist should have stood there, but in its place stood a statue symbolizing Aeldari enslavement.
"Has the brother searching for the Webway returned?"
"Not yet, captain. This place seems to have served only for sacrifices. That's not normal. The Drukhari received their offerings and simply sent them back? Something that normal feels abnormal."
The Drukhari enslaving an entire xenos race rather than immediately slaughtering them for pleasure was abnormal in itself. On human worlds raided by the Drukhari, at least most of a hive city's population would be massacred.
Since when did they erect statues and accept offerings over the long term?
"Perhaps this was a mine. They needed these xenos to supply materials difficult to find in the Webway."
The captain circled the statue several times but found nothing unusual on its surface. "That's possible. Let's go through this again. When the war began, we noticed nothing unusual about the xenos. During our escape, we found that this place had been sealed very securely. Judging by the dust, no one had come here for a long time. The Xenos Authorities wanted to conceal its history and erase this humiliating past."
The captain placed a hand against the statue and pushed hard. "Then why didn't they destroy these statues