|
Chapta 21 | |
|
Da Raiders From Da Shadows Chapta 21 |
Along with three of his wrack assistants, Varian was waiting in the vehicle hangar when Lord Shraycht returned to the underground fortress. Word had been sent that the archon was returning, but no detailed information had been given regarding how the battle had gone. But as soon as Varian saw Lord Shraycht clutching the stump of his right arm he knew that it had not gone well. “Lord Archon,” Varian said, “you require attention.” “I do.” Lord Shraycht responded as he leapt down from the raider and he held out what remained of his right arm for the haemonculus to inspect. The chemicals injected into Lord Shraycht’s bloodstream had done their job and the stump was now a mass clotted blood. “A clean wound Lord.” Varian said as he looked closely at the wound, “I see no signs of the bone having splintered. How was this inflicted upon you?” “One of the beasts wielded a weapon of the y’ngr, even my shadow field was useless against such power. It would seem there may be much more to this world than we first thought.” “You will require a graft.” Varian said. “Of course I will!” Lord Shraycht snapped back, then he remembered that he was talking to the being he was about to trust with providing him with a replacement hand, “I wish you to arrange it immediately.” He added in a more conciliatory tone. “Of course lord.” And as Varian snapped his fingers one of the wracks stepped forwards, “Arush, bring a suitable donor to my workshop immediately.” The wrack clicked her heels together and nodded before she strode away. Varian did not look at her at any point; instead he lifted his gaze back towards Lord Shraycht’s face. He smiled, exposing his discoloured and sharpened teeth. Then he lifted a hand in the direction of his workshop. Nodding, Lord Shraycht began to walk in this direction with the haemonculus beside him. “What of the rest of the warriors my lord?” Varian asked. “Many are dead.” Lord Shraycht said, “But that was always expected given the beasts’ numbers. I have not doubt that some will have escaped and will return here however.” “Escaped?” Varian said, noticing the word that the archon had used. More evidence that things had gone badly. Lord Shraycht growled softly as he realised what he had given away. “The beasts fought well.” He said, “Too well. There is something at the heart of their force that instilled discipline upon what should have been a chaotic hoard. We must prepare to defend this place. If they continue on the path they were on when we engaged them they will find us here.” “What do you wish of me lord?” Varian asked. “You still have troops. Your wracks, your grotesques and the pain engine you brought with you.” “I do my lord, but will they be enough to take on the beasts?” “We will not meet them for open battle again my haemonculus.” Lord Shraycht replied, “We will allow them to find this place and let them inside and then-“ “It become their tomb my lord.” Varian said, finishing off the archon’s sentence for him and then he smiled again. Only a small part of the warband stood with Hazug. About half were nobs, the leaders of several of the ork mobs but there were also a number of oddboys, the term used to described those orks with specialist talents such as the meks, runtherds and weirdboys. “So den,” Hazug said, “wot we got?” “I reckon we’re down to less dan an ‘undred lads.” One of Two Heads replied, “Dem pansies got some good shootas. Even if ya don’t die right away dey can still kill ya.” “Dey is poisoned.” A painboy added. “Is dare a
cure?” a nob asked. ”Wot about weapons?” Hazug asked, “Wot we got left?” “Loads.” Mek Batrug told him, “Ya can see da stuff scattered all around. But its mainly small stuff. A lot of da rokkits and big shoota belts got shot off. But we got in close pretty quick so dare’s plenty of ammo for da sluggas and shootas.” “But who’s gonna carry it all?” Drazzok said, interrupting Batrug just for the sake of disagreeing with him, “Where’s all da grots gone? I only Ratish over dare with dat squig sittin’ on ‘im. Wot ‘appened to all da rest.” “Da pansies must ‘ave got ‘em.” Gorgoga suggested. “Nah.” A runtherd replied, “Dey is off scavengin’ for food. A lot of lads is ‘ungry after da fightin’. Da runts went to find food before dey became it. I told some of ‘em to keep an eye for any of da lads wot ran off after da pansies an’ all.” “Good idea.” Hazug said, “We is goin’ to need all da lads we got.” “Wot-“ a nob began. “No! Don’t ask ‘im!” Drazzok warned. “-for boss?” the nob finished and Drazzok’s shoulders slumped. “Cos I wants to find where da eldar is ‘idin’.” Hazug said. “But dey all run off. We’s won.” The nob replied. “Dare’s still a bunch of ‘em out dare,” Hazug explained, “includin’ dat warboss I chopped an ‘and off of. Plus I wants to know wot ‘appened to all da lads and humans dey taken. Now all get back to ya mobs. As soon as we ‘as eaten we needs to get movin’. Any lads not back by den get left behind.” The group began to disperse. A sit did so Drazzok walked up the nob that had questioned Hazug about his plans. “Come ‘ere a mo.” The weirdboy said. “Wotcha want?” the nob asked and Drazzok poked a finger into his eye. “Stop askin’ questions grot brain.” He replied before, still followed closely by Thuggrim he walked off in the direction of Sophie, “Oi git!” he shouted, “Got any of dem pies still?” Lord Shraycht gasped as Varian worked on his arm while he was still fully conscious. The extra limbs that the haemonculus possessed speeding up the work considerably by reducing the need for an assistant to hold the replacement arm steady while he attached it to Lord Shraycht. In the corner of the room stood one of the haemonculous’ grotesques, a deformed creature created through the use of extensive and invariably painful surgery. Only some of the grotesque’s facial features remained after Varian had completed his work, but Lord Shraycht still recognised them as belonging to his predecessor as archon the Kabal of the Flame. Now the grotesque was missing it’s right arm from below the eldar while Varian grafted it onto Lord Shraycht instead. “Was he chosen especially?” Lord Shraycht asked, nodding towards the grotesque. Varian looked around briefly before turning back to his work. “Ah the great and terrible Lord Illastrus. No, it is just a coincidence. He did curse your name so as I worked on him. I doubt he’s at all happy to be giving you a hand so to say.” Lord Shraycht smiled. “Then perhaps he shouldn’t have been so careless as to let me take his position from him.” “Indeed. How is that lord archon?” Lord Shraycht extended his new limb and flexed its fingers. They responded correctly when he commanded them to move, though there was a stinging sensation. “It will suffice.” He said, “There is some pain.” “That will subside my lord.” Varian replied and he stood aside so that the archon could stand up. They were not alone in the haemonculus’ workshop. Varian’s wrack assistants moved from bed to bed to inspect the occupants. Earlier in the day these had been an assortment of human and ork captives that the wracks were practising their arts upon, but now the beds were filled with dark eldar warriors that had returned to the fortress with injuries that needed treating. Each of these now bartered souls from their share of the plunder in exchange for the assistance they needed. Even as Lord Shraycht went to the doorway two more dark eldar arrived. Both of these were incubi; their armoured suits splattered with blood the colour of both eldar and orks’. One of the incubi appeared uninjured, while the second depended upon her to help him walk to the haemonculus’ workshop. “How many of your unit remain?” Lord Shraycht asked when he saw them. “Just us lord archon.” The uninjured female replied with her head bowed. “Only two?” Lord Shraycht said in amazement. The incubi were the pinnacle of the warriors of Commorragh, and to see their force reduced to only two warriors, one of who was injured was a shock to the archon. “The beasts were many my lord,” The injured incubi said slowly, “and strong as well.” “Yes,” Lord Shraycht agreed, his voice low as he looked down at where he now possessed someone else’s hand. Then he looked back at the incubi and in a forceful tone he spoke, “When you are finished here report to me immediately. With my sslyth dead I require your services as bodyguards.” “Yes my lord.” Both of the incubi answered, only slightly out of synch. Then the archon marched past them and to his quarters. As soon as the door closed behind him the air grew cold. “Mandrakes.” Lord Shraycht said as the creatures materialised from the shadows, “I expected you sooner.” “We conferred with those you left in the webway.” Their leader replied. Lord Shraycht sat down. Right now the forces he had left in the webway as a reserve would have made welcome reinforcements. But without either the ancient gateway or the portable device they could not be brought here. However, they could still be used to rescue what remained of eh dark eldar force on the planets itself. “I will need you to go to them again.” Lord Shraycht said, “Tell them to return to Commorragh. We need a starship to retrieve us from this world. They will be rewarded-“ “That will not
happen.” The mandrake leader hissed. “We do not defy you archon. Not yet anyway. Your underlings in the webway know of the losses you have suffered and have already made to return to Commorragh. There will be no rescue sent by them.” “Then you go yourself.” Lord Shraycht snapped, “I will pay you to arrange-“ “No.” Lord Shraycht just looked on in stunned silence. “You have nothing with to pay us,” the mandrake went on, “whereas he who has assumed your mantle has already paid us well.” Lord Shraycht placed his new hand on the hilt of the sword that lay nearby. “We are here to kill you,” The mandrake said, though this did not persuade the archon to move his hand away from the weapon, “just to deliver a message from your successor.” “A message? What is it?” Lord Shraycht asked. “Enjoy your new realm lord archon. While it lasts.” Lord Shraycht screamed with anger. He lifted up the sword and swung it at the mandrake. The creature did not even flinch as the blade passed through him. Had the mandrake been human, or even a normal dark eldar for that matter, it would have cleaved it in two. But instead the as the blade passed through the unnatural matter of which the mandrake was composed the wound knitting itself closed instantly in the wake of the blade’s passage. For a moment Lord Shraycht expected the mandrakes to retaliate. He was alone here and they would undoubtedly kill him. But instead their leader just let out prolonged and cackling laughter as the creatures faded away. Lord Shraycht dropped to his knees and he looked around his quarters, realising that this crude human built structure may just wind up being a tomb to more than just the ork warband that was on its way. Sophie had fallen asleep next to one of the abandoned ork vehicles, but she awoke suddenly with the image of the young girl holding her hand on the night her parents were murdered still in her mind. All around her the warband was preparing to move out again. She could see Hazug waving at other nobs. With the losses suffered in the earlier battle there were now more of the larger orks than needed to take charge of the remaining ork troops and rather than have each of them commanding a smaller unit Hazug had gathered several of the larger orks together and formed a squad of elite shock troops under Gorgoga’s command. She had just come here to rest her ankle after her fall. Lifting her foot, she moved it back and forth and was relieved to find that the pain was now gone. “Wake up git!” a voice called out from beside Sophie. “I am awake Ratish.” She replied. “Well master says ya was sleepin’.” The gretchin said, “So ya must ‘ave been.” Sophie got up,
again relieved when there was no pain as she put weight on her injured
ankle. “We is goin’ now,” Ratish said to her, “and master says Ratish gets to lead da way again with da squig.” “You mean cuddles?” Sophie replied and Ratish frowned as she reminded him that Hazug had agreed to her name for the animal. “Don’t forget git,” Ratish shouted after her, “Ratish is at da front! Master says so.” “That’s alright.” Sophie called back, “I’ll just stay next to Hazug then.” Ratish frowned and looked about for something to throw. Spying a hand-sized rock he picked it up and took aim at the back of Sophie’s head. “Oi! Grot!” Hazug suddenly yelled at him, “Stop muckin’ about and get back down ‘ere!” “Yes master, Ratish is comin’!” Ratish shouted back, dropping the rock and running towards where Hazug waited with Cuddles’ leash in his hand. Unlike Sophie, the greenskins had not been won out by battle. Their biology meant that the excitement of combat resulted in the production of chemicals within their bodies intended to keep them awake and alert and now that they were fed as well they were eager to move on and finish the job they had started. Namely wiping gout the dark eldar. While Hazug also wanted to discover the fate of those who had vanished after dark eldar attacks this was of no consequence to the rest of the warband. Even with their numbers depleted, the warband was still a potent force of almost a hundred orks and more than that many gretchin carrying the supplies that the orks needed but could not be bothered to carry themselves. The force had also taken on a more grisly appearance. Though the eldar had little in the way of metal belongings for the orks to loot there had been plenty of belongings and bodies left behind on the battlefield to make into trophies and now almost every mob marched under a banner decorated either with dark eldar equipment or the body of one of the aliens themselves. There had been great disappointment in one mob when the eldar they had nailed to a wooden pole had suddenly died on them. Drazzok had given his expert opinion that the eldar had died because ‘Dare bodies is a load of crap aint dey?’ though a painboy had suggested that it was more to do with the long nail driven through his forehead. As before
Hazug and the rest of the warband followed Ratish and Cuddles as the squig
sniffed out the trail left behind by the fleeing eldar. There were in fact
many trails to be followed and Hazug doubted that they were following the
one left by Lyanil, but so long as it led them to wherever the dark eldar
were hiding he did not care. Along the way Hazug saw signs of the eldars’
passing without needing Cuddles sense of smell. The aliens had fled in
such a hurry they had made little effort to disguise their passage.
Footprints were left in the open and plants damaged in ways that could
only be caused by someone moving past them in a hurry. Then something
suddenly occurred to Hazug. “Is we done?” Drazzok asked, “Can we goes ‘ome now?” “Dis is too
easy.” Hazug said. “So wot if it’s easy?” one of Two Heads asked, “Yeah, dey is only pansies after all.” The other agreed. “So if we just go blunderin’ on like dis we may be walkin’ into a trap.” Hazug said, “Da eldar’ll know dey left dis trail for us, dey must be expectin’ us to follow it.” “Den wot do we do about it?” Gorgoga asked, “Ya says if we goes on we walks into a trap, but we goes another way we aint goin’ to find where da pansies went.” Hazug though about this, the Goff was right. Either they continued on their current path a risked an ambush that could see them all killed or they looked for an alternate route. Then he looked at Two Heads. “Two Heads, take command of da warband.” He said. “Wotcha gonna do?” one of Two Heads asked, a puzzled look on both faces. “I is goin’ on ahead while ya follows me.” Hazug said, “I’ll take Ratish and Cuddles to show us da way.” “Me lads won’t take orders from ‘im.” Gorgoga said, “I is in charge of dem.” “Ya is comin’ with me an’ all.” Hazug said, “Ya and da other nobs in ya mob. I wants Drazzok and Batrug and da burnas with us an’ all. If dare’s trouble dey can make enough noise to signal to da rest of da warband dat we needs more lads.” Thuggrim drew in breath to speak and Hazug guessed what the mad nob was about to say. “Yeah, ya is comin’ with us.” He said, “Everyone understand wot dey is doin’?” There were
nods of agreement from those to be included in the advance party while
many of those to be left further behind. “Ya is with me.” Hazug said, “I gots an idea dat ya may be good for.” And Ratish’s face fell as Sophie looked back at him and smiled, “Right den.” Hazug said to Two Heads, “Ya wait ‘ere until I fires a shot in da air and den follow us. I’ll leave ya a trail ya can follow easy enough. If ya ‘ears an ‘ole load of shootin’ an yellin’ den come runnin’ cos we needs da lads. Goddit.” “Yeah, I goddit.” One of Two Heads replied and both of him nodded in agreement. |
|
Copyright Notice The Warhammer 40,000 universe is the intellectual property of Games Workshop Ltd. The fiction presented here is a derived work. It is completely unofficial and Games Workshop Ltd has not endorsed any of it. |
Background image miniature design copyright Games Workshop Ltd
This Web Page Created with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor