Da Portal of Darkness

Chapta 14

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  Da Portal Of Darkness

Prologue

Chapta 1

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Chapta 6 

Chapta 7 

Chapta 8 

Chapta 9 

Chapta 10 

Chapta 11 

Chapta 12 

Chapta 13 

Chapta 14 

Chapta 15 

Chapta 16 

Chapta 17 

Chapta 18 

Chapta 19 

Chapta 20 

Chapta 21 

Chapta 22 

Epilogue 


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“Look at da ‘air,” Drazzok said, and Hazug glanced across form the road ahead of him to study the hair that Drazzok was using to guide them. While eh watched he saw the hair gradually turn aside.

“Dat prove’s it den,” Hazug said, “dey is definitely on da move,” and he stopped his truck.

“Wot is ya doin’?” Drazzok asked him as he clambered down from his seat, leaving the engine running, “ya’ll never catch ‘em on foot, or is dey not da only mad ones around ‘ere?” and he waved in the direction of the madboys sat behind him.

“I is just goin’ to let Two Heads wot’s goin’ on,” Hazug answered, I’ll be back in a mo. Nobody move.”

Drazzok watched Hazug run towards the battlewagon waving for it to stop. There was a screech of brakes and the armoured vehicle halted in front of Hazug. The Drazzok noticed what the madboys were doing, or rather how they were not doing anything at all, each of them was completely motionless and it appeared that they were even holding their breaths.

“Wot is ay doin’?” Drazzok asked the nearest madboy.

“Not movin’,” the madboy said, doing his best to speak without moving his lips or jaw.

Drazzok just shook his head and focused on Hazug again, wondering if he would return before any of the madboys passed out.

“Wot is it now?” Two Heads yelled at Hazug through one of the openings provided for the occupants to see and, more importantly to the orks shoot out of.

“Dem humans wot’s got Sophie ‘ave got a bunch of wagons an’ all,” Hazug said when he reached the slit that both of Two Heads were looking through, “I may ‘ave to go a bit faster, just do ya best to follow us. Goddit?”

Both of Two Heads nodded.

“Don’t worry Hazug,” one of him said while the other continued to nod, “we’ll keep up.”

Satisfied, Hazug dashed back to his truck and clambered back into the driver’s seat, a sound like a collective expelling of air from the lungs of an entire mob attracted his attention for a moment and he looked behind him to see the madboys now all gasping for breath. Not bothering to ask what they had been doing while he had been gone, Hazug instead grabbed hold of the steering wheel, put the truck into gear and set off once more.

The empty streets on this side of the river did not limit the speed of Hazug’s truck in the same way that the crowded ones occupied by the orks did, and the limiting factor had instead been Hazug’s wish to make sure that the more powerful battlewagon could keep up with him. The last thing he wanted was to find himself driving up to a camp full of human troops without the back up of Two Heads and his armoured vehicle. But now Hazug was more concerned about letting the humans who had taken Sophie from him get too far ahead of him. The further away they were, the less likely it became that he would get his servant back. Now though, Hazug put his foot down on the accelerator and let the truck race through the empty city streets. The lightweight vehicle bounced and lurched violently as Hazug took one corner after another at high speed, and with his free hand Drazzok grasped the truck tightly.

“Ya know Hazug,” Drazzok said watching the buildings pass by in a flash, “if ya crash and get us all killed, I aint ‘elpin’ ya again,” but Hazug ignored him.

Moving at speed, the dense network of empty streets soon gave way to more open terrain where the wilderness had begun to encroach on the city and the decay of the remaining buildings was more noticeable.

“Is we still ‘eadin’ in da right direction?” Hazug said to Drazzok, unwilling to take his eyes off the road.

“Ya is goin’ da right way alright,” Drazzok said, “da ‘air aint twitchin’ no more, so maybe dey’ve stopped now.”

“Either dat or we is followin’ right behind ‘em,” Hazug suggested, “either way I reckon dat we should be seein’ ‘em soon enough.”

 

As Hazug sped onwards the ruined city gave way to open wilderness and the length of air guiding the warband towards Sophie began to swing back and forth once more.

“I reckon dey is followin’ da road,” Hazug said, nodding towards the dirt track teat lay ahead of the truck and that wound its way through the hills and plains beyond the city, “Dat’s good for us.”

“’Ow come?” Drazzok asked, pursuit not being his string point in spite of his excellent ability to point the way.

“Co we can do dis instead,” Hazug replied, and he turned the truck’s steering wheel sharply, taking the vehicle off the road in the direction pointed to by the piece of Sophie’s hair instead, the rugged wheels kicking up a cloud of dirt behind it, “while dey is goin’ back and forth all da time, we can just go in a straight line. Dat way we’ll get to ‘em sooner.”

“Well at least Two Heads will be able to follow us,” Drazzok commented, looking at the cloud behind them, but Hazug didn’t reply.

The truck slowed down when it was forced to do so by the terrain, which in this area meant the hills that the humans were most likely steering around by following the road. It was at the peak of one such hill that Hazug suddenly stopped the truck. He looked back over his shoulder behind the truck and reversed a short distance back down the hill.

“Wotcha doin’?” Drazzok asked when Hazug then turned off the engine and jumped down from the truck.
”Wasn’t ya watchin’?” he shouted as he raced on foot now towards the top of the hill, and lay down on the ground looking over it.

“I was watchin’ da ‘air,” Drazzok said as he too disembarked from the truck and followed Hazug up the hill. Behind him in turn Ratish and the madboys also disembarked and followed him.

“Get down,” Hazug said when Drazzok reached him, “dey’ll se ya.”

Drazzok did as Hazug had instructed, as did the madboys even though they were still far enough down the hill as to be invisible to anyone looking from the other side. Lying on the ground beside Hazug, Drazzok noticed that he was looking through the lens of an alien device he had obtained the previous year, given to him by Ratish who had taken it from an ork killed by tau invaders. Drazzok had seen Hazug use the alien device enough to know that it gave him the ability to see great distances in great detail even in near darkness. Drazzok turned his head to look at whatever had caught Hazug’s attention, and there in the valley below he saw it. A line of human built vehicles driving along the dirt track road. Drazzok held up the length of hair and saw that it pointed directly at the convoy.

“Dat’s dem, “ he said he, “Ya git is down dare.”

Behind them, Ratish let out a disappointed sigh.

“Soddit,” the gretchin muttered.

“Get ready to charge lads,” Thuggrim said loudly, and to emphasis his point he pulled back the bolt of his rifle to chamber a round, the round that had already been chambered ejecting as he did so, “Oh soddit,” he said, standing up and looking around on the ground, “Did anyone see where dat bullet went?” and immediately all of the madboys got onto their hands and knees and began searching for the missing bullet.

Hazug returned the alien viewing device to his belt pouch and pointed towards the top of the next hill along.

“Dat’s where we needs to get to,” he said to Drazzok, “when dey goes behind it we needs to drive straight to da top and den charge down da other side at ‘em. Dat way we’ll ‘ave ‘em caught between dat ‘ill and dem buildin’s over dare,” and Hazug moved his finger to point towards the dark outline of what looked like the remains of a human farm that had been severely damaged and empty for some time.

“Wot just us against all of dem gits?” Drazzok asked, “In case ya didn’t notice dare was a couple of tanks in dat lot of wagons, and dat little rokkit launcher on ya shoota ‘as only got one shot before ya needs to stop and reload it.”

“We’ll wait ‘ere for Two Heads,” Hazug replied, “den we’ll rush to dat next ‘ill and down it together.”

“Won’t we just leave Two Heads’ wagon behind again?”

“We needs to Drazzok.”
”’Ow come?”

“Because we needs to drive alongside da humans without shootin’ at ‘em so we can finds out wot wagon dey got Sophie in usin’ dat bit of ‘air ya is still ‘oldin’ on to. Den Two Heads can come up behind us and shoot up da other wagons wot we ‘as just driven past.”

“So wot does we do when we finds da wagon with ya git inside it?” Drazzok asked, “I don’t reckon dat dey is just goin’ to pull over and stop.”

“Of course dey won’t,” Hazug answered, “But we got a plank in da truck wot we can tie one end of to da chassis. Den, when we is alongside da wagon wot Sophie’s inside, we can board ‘em and take ‘er back from ‘em,” and Hazug grinned. Drazzok, on the other hand, didn’t.

A cheer suddenly went up form the madboys, not because of Hazug’s plan, which they dad not been paying any attention to, but instead because they had found his missing bullet.

“Da ‘ead’s missin’,” Hazug pointed out as Thuggrim held up the bullet case to him while he walked back towards the truck, “and I’ll bet all da power’s dropped out an all.”

Thuggrim’s face fell as he took a look inside the empty brass tube.

“Soddin’ grot built crap,” he said in disgust, and he threw the case that his orks had all spent time searching for over his shoulder.

The deep rumbling of a powerful engine heralded the arrival of Two Heads’ battlewagon, and the large vehicle pulled up beside Hazug’s truck. A doorway opened in the side and Two Heads himself jumped down, followed by more of his orks.

“Wots up Hazug?” he asked, “’Ow come ya’ve stopped ‘ere?”
”Take a look over da ‘ill,” Hazug answered, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the hilltop behind him, “But keep low cos dare’s loads of humans over dare.”

The reaction of the orks was instant and easy to see. Two Heads himself broke into a pair of large grins and paced up to the top of the hill while the other Evil Suns instead remained where they were and checked that their weapons were ready for battle.

“Aw, dey is way off,” one of Two Heads complained when he returned.

“I knows dat,” Hazug told him, “I  ‘ad to stop ‘ere and wait for ya to catch up. But I reckon dat we can catch up with dem just over dat next ‘ill and get ‘em between us and wots left of da buildin’s further on.”

Should be a good scrap,” one of Two Heads said to Hazug, and the other one instead faced the dismounted Evil Suns and shouted out, “Dey got loads of wagons lads!” and the Evil Suns, both those within the battlewagon and outside gave out a cheer. One of them raised his rifle into the air and fired off a celebratory burst of gunfire.

“Shut ‘im up!” Hazug shouted, pointing at the shooting ork, “Da humans’ll ‘ear da shootin’.”

Gorrid stepped forwards from behind the ork and punched him.

“Ah, wot d’ya do dat for?” the ork asked, rubbing the side of his face where Gorrid had hit him. He was one of the younger members of Two Heads’ force, having been taken on to replace one of the orks killed the last time that Two Heads had gone into battle with Hazug.

“Cos ya got a squig brain in ya ‘ead Pogrut, when we works with Hazug we keeps quiet until ‘e says so,” Gorrid said, and Hazug smiled, impressed at how the Evil Sun had learned how Hazug wanted things done even though it was not in his clan’s nature.

“But sneakin’ about bein’ all quiet like is for git lovin’ Blood Axes,” Pogrut complained. Then he remembered that Hazug was standing right in front of him and he noticed that the other Evil Suns orks had all taken one or two steps away from him, clearing a path between him and Hazug.

Pogrut turned and ran off down the hill.

“Dat lad can sure move,” Hazug said to Two Heads, watching the ork getting further and further away, “even without a wagon to ride in.”

“Yeah ‘e’s fast all right,” one of two Heads said, then the other added, “But ‘e aint workin’ out so I reckon dat I’ll ‘ave to let ‘im go.”

“I reckon ‘e’s already gone boss,” one of the Evil Suns commented, “or at least ‘e nearly ‘as.”

 

Chaplain Krixus placed his hand to the vox unit in his ear that provided him with a link to all of the other Word Bearers in the convoy.

“Can you confirm that Jerile?” he said, and then he paused as the marine replied.

“What is it chaplain?” Highbalt asked him.

“One of my men towards the rear of the column reports hearing gunfire governor,” Krixus told him, “a single automatic burst from behind us.”

“I didn’t hear anything, are we under attack?” Highbalt said his voice becoming somewhat more stressful than usual and he turned around, looking out of the windows of his personal transport. He had always sought to keep away from battle, and had always let others take the risks of combat in his place. He had happily sent many men to their deaths rather than risk his own, and he was loath to be put in danger now that his moment of glory seemed to be at hand. Of course he was in the presence of two of the most deadly warriors that the galaxy had ever seen, but accidents could always happen when the shooting began.

“No governor we are not under attack,” Krixus replied, “and it is not surprising that it you heard nothing, my men’s hearing is beyond anything your men possess.”

“Then what’s going on?” Highbalt asked, his voice still showing signs of nervousness, “You said it was a burst, automatic firearms are military weapons, it seem unlikely that any farmers left out here would have them. Is it that assassin?”

“There are no farmers left here governor. You informed me of that yourself,” Krixus said, making it sound like an accusation, “and the assassin was a sharpshooter. He would not use an automatic weapon.”

“Then who is it?” Highbalt demanded.

“Orks,” Nillotep said without any trace of emotion, “the planet is infested with them after all.”

“Orks?” Highbalt repeated, “Then we must send men to engage them, they must not be allowed to harm me.”
”Be calm governor,” Krixus told the man, “I doubt that it is a large force, or we would have been aware of them long before now. I am certain that we can withstand a small raid, and in any event what reason would they have to approach us?”

“Yes of course,” Highbalt said, restoring some composure to his voice, “its just that after so long of leading an underground war I am unused to facing the greenskins from a position of strength.”

“Indeed,” Krixus said, well aware of how Venris Highbalt had let his men do everything necessary to run the fighting here while he just sat in his bunker sipping wine and wondering how such a worthless little man had risen to a position of power.

Another example of the False Emperor’s weakness, he thought to himself and Nillotep grinned as he psychically picked up on the thought.

 

“So den Hazug,” Two Heads began as he and Hazug watched the column of human vehicles disappear behind the hill and the other orks clambered back into their vehicles, “’ow d’ya want to ‘andle dis den?”

“Dead easy,” answered Hazug, “I’ll go first and ‘ead towards da humans. Drazzok’ll tell me where dey is keepin’ Sophie, and dat’s where I’ll ‘ead. I needs ya and ya lads to keep da rest away from us. Just watch where we is ‘eadin’ and don’t shoot dat wagon cause ya may ‘it Sophie.”

“Gotcha,” Two Heads said before he too joined his orks in the battlewagon.

Hazug took his seat in his truck and attempted to start it but the engine failed to start. Having seen Hazug have trouble starting the truck before, Drazzok slammed his staff against the dashboard in front of him.

“Try it now,” the weirdboy said.

“Nice one,” Hazug said, and he attempted to start the engine again, once more without success.

From behind the truck there was a deep rumble as the battlewagon’s engine started on the first attempt.

“Wot’s goin’ on?” one of Two Heads shouted from a hatchway.

“Da engine won’t start,” Hazug shouted back.

“Its dat bloody Batrug’s doin’!” Drazzok added, “’E’s da one wot built dis crap.”

“Ya probably just need a push,” Two Heads shouted at them, “’Ang on and we’ll get ya to da top of da ‘ill, den try startin’ it again on da way down,” and he disappeared inside his own vehicle, slamming the hatch shut behind him.

“Ya ‘eard ‘im lads,” Hazug said to his passengers as he took of the hand brake, “’Ang on.”

The truck lurched as Two Heads battlewagon was driven into the back of it. Unusually for orks, the contact was made not as an attack, but merely to assist Hazug so the battlewagon kept its speed low as it pushed the truck up to the top of the hill and then over it.

As soon as it began to roll down the hill the truck began to pull ahead of the battlewagon, and Hazug attempted to start the engine once more. This time he was rewarded with a roar as the engine started up, and Hazug slammed the truck into gear. He raised his fist in gratitude towards the battlewagon.

“Nice one!” he shouted, and he pressed his foot down on the accelerator as hard as he could, once again sending mud flying up from beneath the wheels as the vehicle accelerated. Behind the truck, the larger battlewagon also began to accelerate, but the gap between the two vehicles grew.

The truck lurched again when it reached the bottom of the hill and Hazug began to drive up the next one.

“Get ready lads,” he said, “no shootin’ at any wagons until we knows dat Sophie aint in ‘em, and be ready with dat plank.”

At the top of the hill the human vehicles came into view below the orks. The road turned away from the hill, and because the humans were following it the orks were now directly behind the column.

“’Ere we go lads!” Hazug shouted, “Waaargh!” and he sped towards the humans in front of him as the madboys repeated his war cry.

 

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