Author's Notes: Hey everyone, thanks for reading, as always I own nothing.
Theobald went over to where it appeared that Silver was attempting to strangle Hob, the man was struggling in her grip, but it did not appear to be doing him any good. Theobald walked up to them and thrust the bounty poster in the man's face, grabbing the man's chin and forcing him to look at it. He wanted to shout at the man like Silver was doing, but from her lack of success, he guessed that that would not work. Thus, he forced himself to be calm and keep his voice level when he spoke, while at the same time he motioned for Silver to cease her tirade.
"Who posted the bounty on me?" Hob, clearly rattled by the firefight and Silver's rage, turned with an almost grateful look towards Theobald.
"I don't know!" He declared in a voice which managed to be both high and whining, in truth the man sounded on the verge of breaking.
"All I know is that it were the Guilders that did it. Them posters just started appearing." Theobald looked at the man and then Silver in confusion.
"The Guilders? Who are they and why would they put a bounty on me? I haven't done anything to them that I know of." Silver looked at him as if he was some kind of half-wit.
"You don't know who the Guilders are?! They pretty much control all the trade in the Underhive, even the Houses don't dare to mess with them. They want you dead, you're dead." Rolf spoke up.
"But like the chief said, we haven't done anything to warrant their wrath." As was speaking Longwood was looking at the pamphlet. After a moment he pointed to some writing at the bottom of the poster.
"Payment to be made by Guild Magistrate Donat Romanovros." At the name Silver spat.
"Romanovros! Should have known that damned Sump-rat would be involved!" Theobald, becoming annoyed at this constant stream of people whom he knew nothing about demanded to know who Romanovros was.
"He's the Guild Magistrate over at Prosperity Wells, a settlement not far from here. It's an open secret that he is corrupt and for a few creds he'll put out a bounty from the Guild on anyone. The rest of the Guild doesn't care as long as he doesn't do it to anyone of importance.
"The good thing is the Guild won't come after you, as it is not an official Guild bounty, but every two-bit bounty hunter in the Hive is going to be gunning for you."
"All of them?" Longwood asked, sounding half-skeptical and half-fearful that she was telling the truth. She nodded glumly.
"The money's good and since we just showed that we're a threat taking us down will boost the rep of anyone who does it." Theobald cursed and kicked a shot-up chair. Feeling a little better he turned his attention back to Hob, the picture of Homsey in his hand.
"Have you seen this man?" Seeing that the man was still having difficulty focusing he changed tactic.
"The sooner we know where he has gone the sooner we're gone." That seemed to focus the man and after a moment he spoke again.
"Further down. I heard he was going farther down. That's all I know! I swear on the Aquila! The second half of his statement was almost shouted as his panic returned. Seeing that they would not learn any more from the man Theobald signaled for them to leave the bar. As soon as they were outside Silver began to move away from them.
"See ya boss-man, I didn't sign up to be in the sights of a Guilder Magistrate and his hired thugs." Rolf spluttered with outrage, but before he could say anything Longwood cut him off.
"Let her go, if she wants to take on the bounty hunters by herself then let her, she'll make a good distraction for us." She stopped and stared at him.
"What are you talking about? Their after the boss-man, not me!" Longwood nodded in a judicious manner.
"Yes, but the ones who got away may have seen you with us and you did kill most of them they may get the impression that you are still with us and come looking for you. Perhaps the rest of these…Eschar will take a marked girl in and risk any potential trouble." Silver had stopped in her tracks and had a worried look on her face, Theobald guessed that she was less than certain that their generosity would extend to taking in someone with a target on her back. After a moment she seemed to make up her mind and made her way back to them. Rolf smirked, while Theobald did not comment. He chose instead to focus on the matter at hand.
"Hob said that Homsey went further down. What do you think that means?"
"Could mean several things. He could have gone somewhere in the Underhive, or he could have gone to the Sump below the Underhive." Longwood made a sound of disgust and frustration.
"He could be anywhere in this hole." He declared. Rolf looked thoughtful for a moment and then he spoke.
"This magistrate, it is likely that it was this Homsey who bribed him to place the bounty. Could we not try to force him to tell us where he went?" Silver was already shaking her head.
"Not a good idea big man. He's a Guilder, you mess with them and they all come after you."
"Aren't they already after us?" Theobald asked archly.
"Nah, the bounty is not, but not enough to bring all the really good bounty hunters from far off and the ones who work exclusively for the Guilds aren't gunning for you now, but they will be if you mess with the Guild.
"Besides, the man you are after would not have to tell Romanovros where he was going and he would not have cared. He would just have sure that Homsey, or whatever, had give him enough money to place the bounty on you." After that they all stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to do. At last Longwood spoke.
"Well Boss, I doubt that Homsey would stay in Prosperity Wells and he doesn't appear to be here either. So we have to ask ourselves where he would go." Silver looked at him.
"You talk like a bounty hunter Shorty." He growled at the name, but otherwise ignored it and continued talking.
"Since it sounds as if Homsey is new to this world it is unlikely that he would go to this Sump. It is more likely that he will stay in the various settlements." He turned to look at Silver.
"Do you think that he might stay in Prosperity Wells? If he has the local magistrate in his pocket he might feel safe there." Silver was again shaking her head, a doubtful look on her face.
"I doubt it. Romanovros might take the occasional bribe, but he doesn't tolerate any potential troublemakers in the settlement. He'd have taken the bribe and placed the bounty on you and then he would have this Homsey fellow leave Prosperity Wells and stay away."
"Alright, then where would he go?" Theobald asked, as much to himself as to those around him.
"If he is afraid of us enough to attempt to hire killers to come after us then he would likely hire men to protect him." Rolf said, he then too addressed Silver.
"Where would he go to hire such men?" She just laughed at him, an incredulous look on her face.
"This is the Underhive Big Man, every man, woman and child down here has a weapon of some kind and if you don't know how to use it you're dead. All he would have to do would be to flash a few creds anywhere and he can have all the hired guns he wants." Theobald sighed.
"Well that's not very helpful." There followed another short period of silence before Theobald spoke again.
"If the magistrate won't let him stay in Prosperity Wells, what is the closest settlement to it?"
"Deadman's Pit."
"Charming." Longwood said. Silver ignored him and kept talking.
"It's along a trade route between Prosperity Wells and several other settlements. Because whoever controls it can tax the caravans various gangs are always fighting over control of the settlement."
"Sounds like the sort of place which someone wanting to lay low would go." Rolf commented.
"Actually it's not that bad an idea." Longwood said.
"If you want to be unnoticed, then you go where everyone is too busy dogging bullets to care about a strange face. Plus, he might figure that even if someone knew he had gone there they might be hesitant to go into such a dangerous place." Silver appeared to agree and gave Theobald a look of clear displeasure.
"We are going there aren't we Boss-man?" Theobald nodded, his mind going to a certain inquisitor.
"Trust me," he said addressing all of them; "It would be far more dangerous not to try to find the man."
They made their way through the settlement, the guards at the gate making no effort to halt their progress.
Once outside of the settlement they found themselves once again in a maze of tunnels, ruins and empty spaces so wide that Theobald had to remind himself that he was still inside a city. The light emitters were poorly maintained and infrequent and they were often in total darkness save for the lights which they had brought themselves. Though they saw no one else they were assaulted by constant sounds which echoed up and down the tunnels and was impossible to trace where the sounds came from. These sounds ranged from vermin moving about to what Theobald suspected were humans, or things which had once been human. While he spent some time in similar environments while fighting in the Ruins and Silver was, naturally, quite at home in it; Rolf and Longwood were not. They were visibly on edge, jumping at shadows and sudden noises and Theobald had to stop them several times from firing at nothing, much to Silver's amusement.
At last the tunnel that they were moving through, all of them slightly damp from fluids, whose source Theobald did not want to contemplate, dripping down on them. Before them lay another settlement, one which appeared quite a bit larger than the one that they had left behind. It too boasted walls and above the gate Theobald could see that a heavy stubber had been set up to cover the approach to the gates. Theobald half expected to be fired on as they approached, but the gun remained silent and they were permitted, after paying a fee to be allowed in.
After hearing what the town was like from Silver Theobald had expected to walk into a firefight, but the streets were quiet and there were few people on the street. Indeed, the town seemed almost abandoned. He was not the only one made nervous by the silence. Silver was looking around, hands on her weapons. Her nervousness was picked up on by Rolf and Longwood, who were soon mimicking her motions with their weapons. Theobald turned to talk to Silver.
"What is going on? Has the place been abandoned?" She shook her head.
"No. It gets like this when they know that two or more of the gangs are about to go at it. Everyone not involved get off the street till the shooting stops." Longwood sighed.
"Get into town just as a firefight breaks out. You sure have great timing Boss." Before he could respond a lasbolt struck the wall next to Theobald's head.
As Theobald and the others dove for cover the UCSs began tracking, attempting to locate the source of the shot, they did not have to look far. Coming around a corner and heading down the street towards them was a gaggle of people, mostly men but also a few women. They all wore robes of various shades of red, cut in a manner which made Theobald think of those worn by some monastic orders and they also wore masks which made their faces seem sinister, almost demonic in some ways. Many of the hoods had yellow flames sown on them, while some of the hoods were tall and pointed. Of more immediate concern were the weapons in their hands.
Some wielded lasguns while others carried flamers and other heat-based weapons. Several forwent ranged weapons, instead wielding either large two-handed chainswords or normal chainswords in one hand while holding burning brands in the other. At the head of the group was a large man in more elaborate robes. He held a torch in a brazier in one hand and in the other a whip which crackled with electricity. His mask, unlike the others which looked leather, was made of black metal with devotional signs worked in gold across its surface. His beard, which was long, wild and a mixture of black and white, had burning rags tied in it. His hood was one of the tall pointed ones and on the front was a golden Aquila. He pointed ahead with the torch, his eyes wide and wild. He then screamed out in voice hors and full of fanaticism.
"THERE THEY ARE MY FLOCK! KILL THE HEATHEN MUTANTS IN THE EMPEROR'S NAME!"
"SCOURGE AND PURGE!" Those behind him cried out in one voice.
"Who in the name of the gods are these people?!" Rolf yelled out.
"Redemptionists!" Silver yelled back.
"Religious fanatics from House Cawdor!"
"Are they after us?" Rolf asked.
"No," Longwood, who was looking in the opposite direction said; "I think that their here for them." Following his gaze Theobald looked in the other direction. Coming down the street from the opposite direction was another group of people.
They were all male and were so large that for a moment he thought that they were Ogryns. They wore tight black pants, steel-toed boots, no shirts and numerous chains and shoulder pads and bracers with large spikes. They all sported mohawks and many had spikes driven into their heads and faces. Their weapons were as oversized as they were and many of them appeared to be tools which they had converted into weapons. Indeed, several of them looked like some form of construction equipment. Their leader was easy to identify as he stood at the head of the group and was even larger than the others. He was armed with a large revolver and a massive chainsword, the latter of which he pointed at the Redemptionists and bellowed.
"Who are they?!" Theobald demanded. Silver spat in disgust.
"Goliaths. A bunch of stem-addled morons. All men are stupid, but these louts make the rest of you look smart." Theobald was offended by that, but as the two groups were charging towards each other he had other things on his mind.
"Great job Boss," Longwood called to him; "You got us right in the middle of a gang-war!" In irritation Theobald turned to him.
"Do you have any helpful suggestions, or just criticism?!" Rolf answered for Longwood.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" This struck the others as quite sensible and they hurried to get out off of the street and out of the path of the two gangs.
Fortunately, while a few shots were aimed at them, the two groups seemed far more interested in each other than in Theobald and His group and they were able to make their way through a side passage and out immediate vicinity of the battle. Theobald ordered the party to move further on in an effort to move beyond the battle, which he was sure would not remain on that one street. Indeed, as they moved away the sound of battle continued to follow them. However; they had not gotten far when they heard the sounds of a third group approaching them. Cursing Theobald cast about looking for some place to avoid further confrontation, too late and a third group appeared. Some of them were on the street while other
It was a small group, maybe a dozen or so, and they were, if anything, even more bizarre than the first two groups. They were normal-sized and their clothing was far different. One woman was wearing what appeared to be a ball gown of blue silk, puffed sleeves and laces cut off at the knees to reveal a pair of thigh boots. She sported an elaborate wig and elaborate makeup. Of more concern was a lasrifle held in her arms.
Another one, this one a man, was clad in black books, purple silk pants, a sleeveless scarlet and gold doublet and an elaborate hat which sported several feathers. He was armed with a heavy stubber which he was using to spray the area in front of him without even attempting to aim his weapon. From the look on his face he appeared to be on some sort of drugs. The others were also richly, if bizarrely dressed, most of them were also showing signs of drug use.
"Oh, for the love of…" Theobald exclaimed before he was forced to dive for cover to avoid a hail of bullets from the stubber.
"WHO ARE THESE?!" He screamed at Silver.
"BRATS! RICH NOBS FROM THE SPIRE COME DOWN FOR A BIT OF FUN!"
"Chief!" Rolf called out. "I hate this place!"
"What he said!" Longwood said, as he drew his pistols and fired, dropping one of the Brats.
At that moment members of both the Goliaths and Redemptionists appeared, their battle having spilled out from the street where it had begun. At first Theobald thought that things were about to get worse, but he soon so that this could be to their advantage. The two groups were focused totally on one another and ignoring Theobald and the others. As for the Brats, they did not seem to care who they were shooting at as long as they had someone to shoot at. Thusly, they blasted away at the combatants, which had the wonderful effect of distracting them from Theobald and his party as well. At least for the most part.
Inevitably, some of the various groups saw them and attacked them. Rolf parried a blow from a Goliath's chainsword with his chainaxe, his muscles straining with the effort. Longwood was firing and reloading his pistols as fast as he could at knot of Redemptionists as they tried to take him down. He was, at least for the moment, managing to force them to keep their heads down. Silver, her face locked into an expression of contempt, fired her pistol and sliced with her sword at any Goliath which came near her. The UCSs moved around them in an effort to maintain a defensive perimeter.
Just then a bolt of blue energy shot past Theobald's head and struck UCS 2 full in the chest. Its chest simply dissolved and it collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Whipping his head around, attempting to track the source of the shot. Emerging from an alleyway was a Brat which Theobald had not seen before. He was of medium height and running to fat. His clothing looked as if it was intended to mimic the uniforms of the Imperial Navy and his face was covered with paint in bizarre patterns. Of more pressing concern to Theobald was the plasma pistol in the man's hand which he was aiming at Longwood's back.
Theobald snapped off a shot of his own at the man. It went wide, but it was close enough to force the man to take cover and abandon his efforts to shoot Longwood. Theobald took cover in anticipation of the man's counter-attack, which was not long in coming. A bolt of plasma shot past him to demolish the wall behind him. It was only a matter of time before the man simply used his superior weapon to destroy Theobald's cover and dispatch him, meaning that Theobald could not allow the firefight to drag on. He had to end the fight as quickly as possible.
Seeing that the plasma pistol took some time between each shot to recharge Theobald dashed forward, firing as he went to force the man to take cover himself and be unable to take aim. Theobald threw himself against a building as another bolt of plasma flew by him, feeling his skin singe from the heat as it passed. Theobald broke from cover and dashed forward, shooting as he went. Incredibly the man appeared to be charging towards Theobald himself, Theobald suspected that the man was, like some of his fellows, on some sort of drug which was clearly affecting his judgment. In addition to this it appeared that the man was becoming increasingly angry at his inability to hit Theobald and this too was affecting his aim.
As Theobald broke from cover again he found that he had made a mistake. The Brat had moved further than Theobald had realized and the distance had been significantly reduced. The man grinned, his bloodshot eyes wide giving him a crazed look. He brought his weapon up and aimed at Theobald's head. Before he could fire; however, UCS 1 opened up with its heavy bolter, tearing the man in half. His death seemed to dampen the others in his group's enthusiasm for continuing the fight and they began to break off from the fight, an act eased by the fact that they had been on the fringe of the fight. With them gone Theobald and his group were able to withdraw as well. However; before they left, Theobald stayed long enough to retrieve the Brat's plasma pistol, as well as the tooled leather holster and belt which he strapped to his own waist.
They quickly made their away from battle, the combatants losing interest int hem as soon as they left the vicinity. They moved through the deserted streets till they could no longer see the battle, though they could still hear it. They collapsed against the walls of the buildings around them, gasping for air and fighting down the shakes as the adrenalin wore off. After a few minutes Longwood spoke.
"In retrospect, deciding to come here might not have been such a good idea. I believe that Homsey did not come here." Rolf jerked his head towards Longwood.
"What he said. I think he would find too many distractions here for any pursuers to be safe."
"Your argument seems to be valid." Rolf chimed in. Neither Theobald nor Silver were inclined to argue and they quickly made their way to the nearest gate which Silver knew of, making sure that they kept several streets between them and the still-raging battle.
Once they were out of the town they paused to consider their options. For his part Theobald was becoming discouraged with a seemingly endless array of setbacks. For every step forward that they took they took two steps back. The Underhive was vast and it seemed that Homsey could be anywhere, if he was even still in the Underhive. He could have gone to another hive, or he could have left the planet for all Theobald knew. Even if he had done neither there were far too many places which the man could go inside the Underhive, or the Sump if the man wished to risk going there. Finally, no matter where they went there seemed to be nothing but peril, they had just lost one of their UCSs and they had gained nothing for that lose. If things continued this way then they would likely lose the others and then the people with him. Their supplies of food, ammunitions and the other essentials were not infinite and resupply could be difficult if things went on for a prolonged period of time. If something did not change soon he might have to decide either to continue to risk his life on a likely unobtainable goal, or depart and face the wrath of the Inquisition. Just as he was trying to consider what course of action to take next Rolf and Silver tensed reaching for their weapons. Theobald and all the others turned to face in the same direction.
Two men were approaching and they were the most bizarrely dressed men that Theobald had ever seen. They wore trousers and boots of some soft material and neither of them were wearing shirts. What stood out the most; however, was their headgear. Both of them were wearing what appeared to be the skins of giants rats. The heads serving as headgear while the rest of the skins fell down their backs.
One of the men was clearly older, he was also shorter and slighter of build. His bare chest was covered in paint in strange patterns and around his neck were numerous charms and fetishes made of an assortment of materials. The second man was taller and broader. He bore numerous tattoos and charms and slung across his back were a pair of blades. The material was clearly salvaged and it could not compare to the craftsmanship of weapons from the forges of the Mechanicus. However; from the symbols carved onto it and the way the man's hand seemed to be constantly subconsciously reaching for them that the blades were of great value to the man. While Theobald and the other men looked at the two newcomers with wary curiosity Silver snorted in derision.
"Who are you?" Theobald asked, making sure that his weapons were within easy reach. Silver snorted in contempt.
"I can tell you who they are, Ratskins. Weirdiess who live like scavvies and run like Sump rats whenever anyone comes near them." The larger of the two growled and made as if to draw his weapons, but his companion placed a hand on his wrist. The man then turned to address Theobald.
"I am Bruda Speaks-to-the-Spirits. My companion is the Totem Warrior Shakara-Seeks-the-Truth. We come as my visions demand."
"Visions?" Asked Theobald, beginning to wonder if this Bruda was as insane as the Redemptionists that they had faced earlier. Either missing this or choosing to ignore it Bruda continued to speak.
"I am being," he paused as if considering how to say what he wanted to say; "Trained in the ways of the shaman of the Kuloq."
"The Kuloq?" Longwood asked.
"The Kuloq is our name for ourselves. Ratskins is a name which others in their ignorance choice to give to us." Silver looked as if she was going to say something and Theobald was prepared to bet that it would not be terribly flattering. To prevent that he quickly interjected himself back into the conversation.
"You spoke of visions." The man took the implied invitation and continued.
"As one of the shamans the Spirits of the Hive speak to me. They bring me warnings of doom. They speak of a fallen shaman. He will bring evil which will harm the creations of Ku, the creator of all things. In my visions the spirits spoke to me and told me that I have a part to play in stopping this bringer of evil and so do you. Thus I wish to join with you and guide you to where he can be found." Silver gave him a disdainful look.
"So we're taking the advice of a fungus-chewing wyrd? Brilliant." Rolf turned towards her, a ferocious glare on his face.
"Do not speak that way of the wise one! He is like the Speakers of the clans of my home, ones blessed by the gods with wisdom and powers which we cannot understand."
"Oh yes, the knowledge of wyrds is always so reliable. If they manage to not blow themselves and those around them up first." Rolf looked as if he might say or do something which Theobald would rather he not do and so the Rogue Trader found himself interposing again.
"Rolf, that is enough. Silver, do you have any other suggestions as to how to locate our target?" She did not look happy, neither did Longwood, but neither spoke.
In truth Theobald was not quite as at ease as he was making himself sound. These two were clearly heathens, possibly heretics and he was not eager to associate with them. Also, Bruda was clearly a pysker, though nothing like the astropaths which had worked with in the past and he remembered well the warnings of the Ecclesiarchy against such people. Still, he needed help and Bruda seemed more like Speaker Ortiz than the raving madmen that the clergy had always warned him of. At last he made a decision and nodded to Bruda.
"We have an agreement."
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope that you liked it. For the Redemptionists I was going for their old look rather than the new one, which makes them look more like homeless hobos who scream at passersby. Theobald is having all sorts of fun isn't he? Don't worry, it's going to get worse. Till then please pray for the victims of flooding in the US and the severe weather in Africa and all who need prayer. Bye and may Jesus bless you.