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Da 'Ole Of Death Chapta 7 | |
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Chapta 7 |
Hazug wanted to get to the source of the mysterious energy blast as soon as he could, and was relieved that when he woke the next morning Ratish had seen to it that the gretchin had already loaded up the squiggoths ready for departure. “All done master, Ratish tell others proper way to do stuff,” Ratish said while Hazug inspected the work, seeing that the gretchin had indeed packed everything in a satisfactory manner. “Where is we goin’ boss?” Gobnok asked, the Blood Axes had been somewhat surprised to discover most of their belongings packed when they awoke. “Somethin’ made one our spaceships blow up and killed all da lads on it,” Hazug explained, “and da weirdoes reckon dat its somethin’ dat we ought to do somethin’ about, so we is goin’ to where it is.” “So we is goin’ to fight somethin’?” another of the orks asked with a smile on his face. “I reckon so,” Hazug replied, “I don’t think dat wotever we is lookin’ for is just goin’ to give up and leave.” “We is goin’ to fight!” Gobnok yelled, waving his axe in the air, “Yeah!” “No!” Hazug shouted, giving Gobnok a slap, “Ya don’t do it like dat. When ya is goin’ to fight ya do it like dis,” and Hazug raised his own blade into the air, drew in a deep breath and let out a mighty roar of “Waarrgh!” As Hazug yelled Gobnok also raised his axe again and joined in. “Waarrgh!” As Hazug and Gobnok shouted together something came over the other Blood Axes, a primal instinct telling them that this was why they existed, to do battle until death and to spread their warring nature across the entire galaxy. Now they too lifted weapons above their heads and cried out in one voice, “Waarrgh!” “Not bad,” Drazzok said from behind Hazug as he made sure his staff was planted firmly in the ground while the orks were excited, “I expects dey’ll all be sneakin’ about just like you do in a couple of days. Dem dat don’t wind up dead anyway.” When the orks finally finished their war cry all that remained was to decide which of the Blood Axes would get guns. Including Hazug’s, there were enough pistols for just under half of them, plus the machine gun and Hazug’s new rifle. Hazug had no intention of giving up his rifle, so just handed out the other weapons to the largest of the Blood Axes starting with the machine gun, or big shoota as orks called it, being given to Feggit who as the largest of them Hazug supposed would best handle the weight of the automatic weapon. Hazug had brought his entire stockpile of ammunition for his pistol, but with so many guns to be supplied there were only enough bullets for two full magazines per pistol plus a handful of spare rounds, which he gave to Ratish for his crude gun. “Keep ‘em safe, just in case,” Hazug told the gretchin. Ratish grinned and turned to Sophie. “Master gives Ratish bullets,” he boasted, “not git.” Sophie responded by tapping her own gun. “He’s already given me more than you stupid,” she said, and Ratish’s face fell as he realised that she in fact had more ammunition than anyone else. Drazzok reclaimed his place in the front of the truck for the journey so that he could direct Hazug towards their destination. Hazug kept the speed of the truck down so that the orks on the squiggoths could keep up with him, and whenever he caught sight of anything that appeared to be vegetation or an oasis in the desert he would steer towards it so that they could take a break. Aside from these slight detours Hazug continued to drive in a roughly straight line as directed by Drazzok. As nightfall approached Hazug believed that they were getting close to their destination and he stopped and gathered the orks together so that he could give them orders. “Make sure dat dare’s someone up top watchin’ out,” he said, “it’ll be dark soon and I don’t want anyone sneakin’ up on us. We is Blood Axes, so if dare’s sneakin’ to be done its us wot’ll do it, alright?” The orks signalled their compliance, but Feggit had a question. “Wot ‘appens if we do see somethin’ boss?” he asked. “Give out a yell and point at it den we’ll ‘ave to charge straight at wotever it is, dem squiggoths aint fast enough for us to outrun any trouble.” Again the orks indicated their agreement, almost eager for there to be something for them to fight ahead. “We aint stoppin’ for da night den?” Drazzok asked when Hazug returned to the truck. “Nah, we is almost dare, and I aint stoppin’ out in da open anyhow.” Setting off once more, Hazug became increasingly aware that the growing darkness was making it harder to keep track of exactly where the two squiggoths were. Normally ork convoys would light burning torches to mark their positions, but Hazug was reluctant to take any action that would give away their position. He knew that at least the noise of his truck’s engine would keep the squiggoth riders aware of his position, so he just had to concentrate on keeping his speed low enough to keep them within earshot. Hazug was soon forced to halt once more when they reached a cliff. He looked to either side, but in both directions the sheer face of the cliff extended into the darkness. “Okay den Drazzok, which way now?” “Its straight on,” the weirdboy replied. “Well if wos in somethin’ dat could fly maybe we could go straight on, but we aint. Do we go left or right?” Drazzok peered along the cliff himself, also seeing nothing but darkness ahead. As Hazug grew impatient waiting for Drazzok to direct him, he instead turned to Feggit sat in the back if the truck. “’Ere Feggit lad,” Hazug said, “’ave ya ever been out ‘ere before?” “Nah boss,” Feggit replied, “we reckoned we ‘ad everythin’ we needed where we wos so we stayed put.” “We is goin’ right,” Hazug announced, and he turned the steering wheel hard. “’Ow do ya know dis is da way?” Drazzok shouted. “I don’t but its quicker dan waitin' for you to figure it out.” As Hazug continued to drive along the top of the cliff he kept watch for a way down, and he did not notice anything out of the ordinary until Sophie called out to him. “Look!” she yelled, pointing out over the cliff. Hazug glanced over the cliff and braked sharply when he saw what Sophie had seen. There in the distance was a light. It was white and steady; unlike any that Hazug had seen produced either by natural means or ork technology. Hazug got out the truck, followed its other occupants, and walked to the cliff edge to look at the light. “What is it?” Sophie asked from beside him. Rather than reply, Hazug went back to the truck before returning with an object that was not of orkish construction. The object was made by the tau and was designed to record images for future use. Mek Batrug had explained to Hazug how to operate the device properly, though it was designed for use by aliens with hands much smaller than Hazug’s. Lifting the device up to his eyes, Hazug activated it. Through it he saw the landscape ahead as though it were in daylight, according to Mek Batrug some part of the device amplified light to allow vision in near total darkness. Hazug pointed the device in the direction of the light which stood out as a bright blur against the background, then he turned a dial on the side of the device, taking care not to disturb any of the other controls near it. As the dial turned the picture changed, zooming in on the light and revealing a small cluster of structures in the desert, the structures were laid out in a regular pattern, with a mixture of smooth lines and straight lines in their design. No ork constructed buildings in this way, in fact Hazug knew of only one species that did. “Well wot is den?” Drazzok asked. “Humans,” Hazug said as he lowered the device. “Humans?” Sophie repeated, “Did they shoot down the cruiser?” “Dey built da buildings down dare, but I didn’t see anythin’ dat could shoot down anythin’, let alone a kroozer. But we better take a look anyway.” They found a trail running down the cliff just after dawn. At the bottom of the trail Hazug used the tau device once more to observe the human built structures in the daylight. The angle of his view was not as good from here, but he could still make out the distinctive shapes of the individual buildings clearly. “I still don’t see anyone movin’ about,” he said, “but I reckon dare must be someone dare to ‘ave turned dat light on last night.” “So are we going there now?” Sophie asked. “I am, but you aint.” “Yeah git, ya is stayin’ ‘ere,” Ratish said. “Ya is stayin’ ‘ere too,” Hazug said. “But master…” “But nothin’, I is only taking a couple of lads so we can sneak up on whoever’s dare.” The two orks that Hazug selected to go with him, Roggot and Nizz were two Blood Axes that had not been given guns. Hazug regarded searching the structures as a stealthy reconnaissance mission rather than an attack and he did not ammunition wasted by novice troops, he would have his rifle and some grenades in any case so they would not be entirely without modern weaponry. “Stay low, and stay behind me,” Hazug told the two orks, “Dem buildings is quite away from ‘ere, but we is goin’ to run dare so whoever’s dare won’t ‘ere us comin.” “Wot about da rest of us den?” Drazzok asked. “Stay ‘ere. If we aint back by night den ya will ‘ave to go on without us, Feggit can lead da other lads but I’ll remind ‘im dat you is in charge. If he gets out of line just ‘it ‘im with ya staff until ‘e sees sense. Right?” “Right,” Drazzok said, tapping his staff, “I’ll keep ‘im in ‘is place.” Hazug and the other two orks set off on foot soon after, with Hazug leading. He was impressed at the ability of the younger Blood Axes to move stealthily. This behaviour was instinctive to most of his clan, but there were exceptions. For most of the morning they moved towards the human structures without any indication that they were being observed at all. Then, as the sun was almost overhead in the sky the structures lay immediately ahead of them Hazug took cover behind a rock and the other two orks joined him. “Wot now boss?” Roggot whispered as Hazug studied the structures. From this distance the building appeared somewhat dishevelled, exposed metal was rusting and there were signs of damage such as broken windows and missing doors. This was all minor however, more indicative of neglect than damage from combat. Hazug thought for a moment and then spoke. “I wants ya to
split up. One take cover there and da other over there,” he said
indicating what looked like two piles of broken down machinery that would
give anyone behind them a clear view of the central building, the largest
in the cluster, “I is goin’ straight in. Ya is to stay put until I calls
ya.” There was a door on the near wall and Hazug headed straight for it, keeping his rifle ready. He paused at the doorway and looked around again. He could see Roggot and Nizz peering around their respective hiding places, but aside from that there were no signs of life. Hazug tried the door; it was unlocked and he opened it slowly before peering inside. The interior of the building was in a similar state of disrepair to the outside and Hazug was about to write it off as abandoned when he caught sight of footprints in the dust on the floor. Hazug had seen tracks like this before, Sophie left tracks the same except for their size. There was at least one human here, and whoever it was they were larger than Sophie. Hazug waved to Roggot and Nizz and the two orks ran over to him. “I think dare’s someone in ‘ere,” he told them and showed them the footprints, “dose are human footprints. We’re goin’ to ‘ave to search da entire place for whoever left ‘em. Watch out, humans break easy but dey is cunnin’ fighters and dey’ll surprise ya if ya aint careful. Now follow me and keep quiet.” Hazug did not consider his rifle suitable for use in such a confined space as the inside of the building so he slung it over his shoulder and drew his blade before making his way slowly inside. The floor creaked as Hazug put his weight on it, and in response he slowed his movement to try and lessen the noise, behind him Roggot and Nizz duplicated the way Hazug was moving and peering into places that looked like they could be used to hide in. There was only one other exit from the room and it lacked a door, so as Hazug crept up to the doorway he moved to one side and pressed himself up against the wall beside it, beckoning for the other orks to keep behind him and away from the door. Hazug leant through the doorway and quickly looked into the hallway beyond. Like the first room the hallway was in a state of disrepair, but showed signs of having someone moving through it recently. “Its clear,” Hazug whispered and he moved into the hallway ahead of Roggot and Nizz. The hallway offered a choice of direction for the orks. “Shall we split up?” Nizz asked in a low voice. “Nah lad,” whispered Hazug, “I don’t want ya goin’ off on ya own just yet, I know wot I’m doin’ ‘ere so stay with me and lets follow dese tracks.” “Right boss,” the other two orks replied. As Hazug lead the way down the hall there was a noise from elsewhere in the building, a crash followed by what sounded like cursing. The orks stopped dead in their tracks. “Wot’s dat boss?” said Roggot. “Sounded like human speech, but its ‘ard to tell from dis distance. Let’s keep goin’, I think it came from dis way.” Hazug continued to lead the other orks through the building, following what appeared to be the most recent set of tracks in the dust on the floor. As they approached a doorway leading to a room that looked to be full of shelves Hazug spotted something move. He signalled for the others to stop. “Oof, careful,” said Roggot as Nizz bumped into him when he stopped suddenly. Hazug glared at him for making too much noise. “Hello?” came a voice from the room ahead, a voice that called out in Gothic, the language of humans, “Hello, is someone there?” Hazug sheaved his blade and un-slung his rifle. “Wait ‘ere lads,” he whispered before moving slowly into the room, his rifle raised ahead of him, “Get ya ‘ands up!” he shouted out in Gothic. Before him Hazug saw an elderly human male dressed in ragged clothing, who supported himself with a wooden staff. “Don’t shoot!” the man shouted, raising one of hands into the air while the other retained a grip on his staff. “Who are ya?” Hazug demanded as he advanced on the human, “And are dare any more of ya around ‘ere?” Clearly terrified at the sight of Hazug, who towered over him, and also the other two orks now entering the room the man took some time to reply. “You s-s-speak? B-b-but you’re an alien,” he stammered. “I know ya language, now answer me.” “My name is Castus, and there is no one else here. You’re an ork aren’t you? Are you going to kill me?” “Not if ya behave ya self. Now wot is ya doin’ ‘ere anyway?” “May I sit down?” “Huh? Yeah okay, sit down.” “Thank you,” Castus said as he pulled a chair towards himself and sat down, “I am the only survivor,” he began to explain, “many years ago my masters found something here beneath the sands and built this place so that they could recover it.” “So dare’s somethin’ hidden right ‘ere den?” “No, there’s a well here that still supplies me with water, it’s the closest one to the dig site and my masters wanted to make use of it.” Glancing over his shoulder Hazug spoke to Roggot and Nizz. “Check out da rest of dese buildings,” he said, “den come back ‘ere and let me know wot ya find,” and the orks nodded and left the room. Hazug lowered his rifle and began to look around the room. Its shelves were filled with various pieces of human machinery that Hazug did not understand. “So wot ‘appened to these others den?” he asked. “Whatever they found was protected, its guardians emerged from the sands and killed everyone who stood in their way. At first my masters saw these guardians as divine and pure, but they attacked even those who bowed down in worship to them. Some of us ran into the desert to escape, but all of our supplies were here and we decided to come back in the hope that the guardians would have gone and that we could send for help.” “Ya said dare wos no one else ‘ere.” “There isn’t. We radioed to the capital for help, but the aircraft that came were full of the governor’s soldiers and they killed those that the guardians had not. Except for me, I ran when I saw the soldiers first open fire. I have been here alone ever since.” “Why did ya boss want ya dead den?” “I don’t know. I know that my masters did not ask his permission before they came to this world, but we didn’t think that he would be that angry about our being here.” “Ow long ago wos dis den?” “I was but a young man, newly inducted into the ways of the Omnissiah, my flesh was not yet blessed by his ways.” This meant little to Hazug; he only understood that the man had been here for a very long time, since well before the orks first arrived on the planet. “So wot’s all dis stuff den?” Hazug asked, waving at the shelves. “My masters used this equipment to search beneath the sand,” Castus told him. Then he noticed that Hazug didn’t appear to have been paying attention. “Are you alright?” he asked, but Hazug did not answer, instead he just stared at an object on one of the shelves. The object resembled a skull, but was much narrower than an ork’s and narrower even than a human’s it included what would have been a separate jaw on a real skull. Made of metal it appeared to be brand new, unlike the other objects in the room which all showed signs of aging. The eye sockets were nothing but black pits, while the mouth was a simple shallow pit with no sign of an opening behind it. Hazug picked it up and stared into the empty eyes, concentrating. Something about this was familiar to him, he knew he had never seen anything like it before, but still he knew it. One word summed up the skull in Hazug’s mind. Evil. An entire clan of orks had the word in their name, but this was different. The concept of evil itself had no place in ork society where casual violence and death occurred daily, but it was as if this thing that Hazug could pick up and hold in one hand was calling out to him and telling him that it had to be fought. Orks fought for any number of reasons, to relieve boredom if nothing else, but Hazug felt that fighting to destroy things like this skull was related to the purpose of his existence. “Wot’s dis?” demanded Hazug, thrusting the skull out towards Castus. “That lead us here, one of my masters found it in an ancient ruin. He discovered that it was communicating with something else and we followed the signal here.” There was the sound of footsteps as Roggot and Nizz returned. “Dare’s no one else ‘ere boss,” Roggot said. “Run back to da others,” Hazug ordered, “tell ‘em we is close to wot we is lookin’ for and dey should get ‘ere quick.” “Right boss,” the two young orks replied and they turned and ran from the building. Hazug turned back to Castus. “Right,” he said, “now ya is goin’ to tell me where I can find wot ya bosses found.” It was nightfall by the time Roggot and Nizz returned with the others, unable to drive Hazug’s truck the other orks had simply tied it to the back of one of the squiggoths and towed it. While they had waited for the arrival of the Blood Axes Castus had shown Hazug a series of charts that indicated the relative positions of the structures and the location of whatever his late masters had come here in search of. Hazug assumed that this was also what he was looking for. For there to be two different mysterious and deadly alien forces beneath the same patch of desert was far too unlikely for him to contemplate. Drazzok shoved Castus out of the way when he came to look at the maps for himself. The old man said something in gothic, but the weirdboy neither cared nor understood what it was and the old man left the room. “Ya thin dis is wot we is after den?” Drazzok asked when he saw the map. “I’m sure of it. Da humans who were ‘ere years ago ‘ad dis,” and Hazug held out the metal skull for Drazzok to see. The weirdboy’s reaction was much the same as Hazug’s had been when he first saw it, something deep inside him called out to him to destroy everything touched by this thing and its like. “So when is we goin’?” “Tomorrow mornin’, I aint ‘ad no sleep and I want a good night’s kip before I go huntin’ aliens.” Sophie appeared with two plates of food. “I’ve made you some dinner,” she said to the two orks. “Wot’s dis?” Drazzok said looking at the strange meal Sophie gave him. The mushrooms he recognised, but the meat was like none he’d seen before. “It’s called chicken,” Sophie said, “Castus keeps lots of them and he said we could have some to eat. Try it.” Hazug and Drazzok both picked up their chicken and sniffed it. Then Hazug took a bite. “Well,” asked Sophie, “how is it?” “Tastes like squig,” said Hazug.
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