Disclaimer: I do not own Warhammer or the Games Workshop products and I am not gaining any financial benefits from this story.

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Dawn was just beginning to break as Kurzwiel finally reached the village. The pale light began to slowly encroach upon the ruined scene. It illuminating the lone figure as he ran across the clearing, casting nervous glances in all direction as he entered through the open gates. Up ahead he could make out the blackened rubble of the White Hart and beyond it the still intact forms of the huts.

There was no sign of life as he entered, nor were there any dead bodies to be seen, despite the smell of death that hung heavily in the air. A number of black birds watched him from various perches atop one of the huts to his left. As he approached something leapt out from behind the hut and darted away. Squinting after it he made out the russet fur and bushy tail of a fox.

The smell of death was very strong around this hut, but he had no time to investigate the reason. Making his way through the village as quickly as possible, Kurzwiel headed directly for the barn. As he entered he spotted a dark stain upon the floor just inside the doorway, most likely blood, although there was no body to be seen.

No time for that, now where did I put it?"

Moving along the right hand side he ducked into the third stall and went to the back right corner. Brushing the straw aside he proceeded to dig with his fingers, sifting through the earth until he felt his fingertips make contact with something hard. With great care he dug out the wooden box, heaving a sigh of relief when he saw that the seal he had placed across its opening was unbroken.

My thanks to the gods!

Swiftly exiting the stall he turned his mind to his next course of action. First he had to get away from here, the bandits and bounty hunters were bound to look for him here once it was discovered he had escaped. Somehow he had to get hold of a horse and get as far away from this place as possible. The burgomaster had spies everywhere and he could not chance being discovered again. He must make his way to one of the neighbouring provinces and turn the stone over to a priest. The church of Sigmar would know what to do with this blasphemous relic.

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Some distance away two more people were riding in his direction. Katarina rode ahead, a scimitar fastened to one side of her saddle, a crossbow and quiver to the other. Her fight axe, which had been salvaged from the goods wagon, was strapped to her side. Gerard rode behind her, a sword strapped to his side and his crossbow slung over the saddle.

"Are you sure we should start looking in the village?"

Katarina glanced back at him, "we cannot tell his trail from any of the others and we know he is most likely to head there. It is the logical place to begin out search. And there will be other matters to attend to there."

Gerard nodded grimly; he knew what she was referring to. They had discussed their plans the previous night as she attended to his leg, which had begun to bleed again. At his insistence Katarina had used a heated knife to seal the wound. It had been extremely painful but the wound had held up well since then.

It was agreed they would begin their trek to the village at dawn and commence searching from there. After snatching a couple of hours sleep they had saddled two of the horses left in the camp, and had now been riding for half an hour. But their pace was slow, too slow. Kurzwiel had a sizeable head start on them and to have any chance of finding him they had to go faster than this. With a gentle tap of his feet Gerard urged his mount into a trot. Katarina glanced back at him, urging her own mount to do likewise.

"You sure you should be riding at that pace in your condition?"

"I'll be fine," Gerard gritted his teeth against the stinging in his leg, "let's just focus on getting there."

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Joseph reached the village shortly after dawn had broken. Unlike Kurzwiel he'd had little difficulty in finding the route, having been able to retrace his own path in the dark and therefore save valuable time. Raising his telescope he studied the stockade but could see no signs of life.

May as well begin I suppose.

Nudging his mount into a trot he advanced on the village.

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TBC.

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OOC: As always please read and review.