Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer or Games Workshop and am making no financial profits from writing this story.
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"Who goes there?" The guard raised his crossbow till it was level with his chin, eyes scanning the dark forest.
There was no response to his challenge, only the occasional rustle that marked the passage of some tiny woodland creature could be discerned above the gentle whistle of the wind. For a few moments more he remained on the alert, all senses strained, before slowly lowering the weapon.
Crack.
There it was again! The faint sharp crack, just like that of a twig being snapped underfoot. "Who goes there?" This time he was certain he was not hearing things. He flipped the safety catch off and trained the weapon in the direction of the sound. Again there was no response.
He considered calling for help but quickly decided against it. He was not yet sure what had made the sound and the others would not appreciate being disturbed for a false alarm. After a moment's hesitation he made up his mind and began to advance in the direction the sound had come from.
He moved slowly, taking care where he placed his feet, trying to avoid snapping twigs and giving himself away. It was no use, the thick soles of his boots made it difficult to feel the dry pieces of wood before they had snapped. It was certainly impossible to avoid rustling the thick blanket of leaves that had fallen earlier that autumn.
His eyes were everywhere, his ears strained for the slightest sound. Nothing.
He had not gone far when he heard a faint rustling to his left. He whipped round. "Who goes there?" Again there was no response. "I'm warning you, come out now or I fire!"
A dark shape stirred in the undergrowth barely three feet from him. With a gasp he lowered the crossbow and fired.
The fox leapt in to air with a loud bark and sped off into the night.
The guard watched it go, heart hammering in his chest. Just a fox. Nothing else. He leant back against a tree trunk, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"What was that noise?" the voice rang out from the direction of the camp.
"Just a fox it's all right." Heaving a sigh of relief he replaced the safety catch, retrieved the bolt and returned to his post.
From the branches of a nearby tree Joseph watched him leave.
--
Joseph had expected the raiders to camp at dusk. No one would risk travelling through a forest at night at the best of times, especially with wagons in tow. In truth he had been a little surprised to discover their choice of route. In one respect it made sense as it removed the risk of running into the local patrol. However it brought with it the new dangers of what that lurked within the forest.
Throughout his long stay in the Old World Joseph had moved through the Drakwald forest many times and had long come to regard it as a place of evil. While it lacked the true sinister feel of some forests, namely those within the province of Sylvania to the south of Ostland, it was virtually infested with bands of orcs, beastmen and brigands; all of which had been increasing in number as the civil unrest spread through the empire. Even if you could avoid these there was also the danger of the forest animals-wolves, bears and wild cats had all been known to make raids on camps.
And of course there were more terrible creatures lurking in the darker depths of the forest.
Joseph pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind. Focus on one thing at a time.
Once certain he was only half a mile behind the group he had dismounted and advanced cautiously, waiting till full darkness had descended before sneaking up on the camp. Although the moons were shining brightly much of their light was filtered out by the trees. In the dim light his elven night vision would give him a telling advantage over the raiders, who would be virtually blind without torches.
Moving slowly, hugging tree trunks and bushes for cover, he had slowly homed in on the camp. After a few minutes he had managed to detect the sentry. Deciding to survey the camp he had climbed into the branches of a nearby tree, almost giving himself away in the process. This fact irked him but there was nothing to be done about it.
Joseph waited until he was sure the sentry had returned to his post, withdrew the spy glass he had taken from the dead raider and focussed it in the direction of the camp.
With the branches long since stripped of their leaves it was possible to discern a rough picture of the camp. As he had suspected the wagons were on the outside, with about a dozen raiders scattered around the campfires. The rest must be serving as sentries. The prisoners would probably still be in the wagons to minimise the risk of an escape.
Replacing the glass, Joseph leaned back against the tree trunk. The question now was how on earth am I to proceed?
He would rate himself against a few of these raiders, but the prospect of taking on twenty was a daunting one. If he could pick off the sentries then there was a chance he could sneak into the camp, grab Kurzwiel and slip back into the night. With a decent head-start it was doubtful the raiders would be able to find them. But even if he could get in and locate Kurzwiel, what about the other prisoners? He could hardly get them out without raising the alarm and if he attempted to leave them they might well alert the raiders with their calls for help. Leaving them behind to their fate would be regrettable but there was nothing else for it. They were not his problem.
Better take a closer look I suppose.
Swinging one leg over the branch, he carefully lowered himself to the ground, jumping the last few feet. He froze upon landing, waiting for any sign that the sentry had heard him. There was none. Hugging the trees he began to creep closer to the camp, his moccasins brushing twigs and leaves aside almost soundlessly. It was a good thing he had changed his footwear before leaving his horse, the soft leather shoes were much better suited for stealth than his boots would have been.
And tonight he was going to need every advantage he could get.
--
Kurzwiel fell back, gasping as his injured shoulder hit the ground. Everywhere on his body hurt. The Norseman, it turned out, knew how to make people talk. He could feel the darkness tugging at his mind, pulsing gently behind his eyes. It was tempting, so very tempting to surrender to that darkness, to let it take away the pain.
No!
Raven Helm stared down at him, gently cracking his knuckles. "That will do for tonight I think Thork. Now that he has been good enough to tell us what we want I think we can retire for the night. Have his wounds tended and put him in the wagon. Perhaps he'll serve as a deterrent to the others."
"Vy not just kill him now zir? Von less mouth to feed."
"Patience Thork. It's possible he may have lied, in which case I'll need you to have another word with him tomorrow."
Thork grinned at this, "Aye sir."
"Right everyone," Raven Helm turned to the rest of the group, "change the sentries round, they can use a rest. And now I think we can retire for the night. I want everyone ready to resume the journey tomorrow."
One of the raiders to his left raised a hand to get his attention, "Sir, do you want us to go and look for this object tonight?"
"In this forest? No we'll wait till first light. If it's where he claims then we can be on our way; if not then we may have a slight delay but I'm sure Thork can get through to him if that's the case. Any other questions?"
"Just one sir," this time it was Angus who spoke, "I've had requests from some of the men with regard to possible...activities."
"Activities, what do you mean exactly?" Raven Helm asked, although he knew full well.
"Well it seems they've taken a shine to some of the women sir, and it has been a long time since they've enjoyed a woman's company."
"You know my answer Angus, and I expect you to make the penalty for disobedience very clear. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. We've made a good profit on this raid. The goods we've seized will make a tidy sum on the black market and those captives will certainly turn a good profit once we reach the slaver. I will not permit anything to change that. Anything else?"
No one else spoke and with that the group dispersed, making preparations to turn in for the night. They all wanted to be out of the forest as soon as possible.
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