Incantator Congressus Chapter 33

Water streamed off his armour as he climbed out of the river. Rivulets of freezing liquid pouring from the edges of his plate and making the many spikes glitter in the wan light. His face was pinched by cold and blue in hue, frosted by the glacial chill and numbness bit deep into his nerves. Yet Jubila endured this discomfort, his senses ignored for once as frustration mounted. He and his Chosen had been swept downstream for kilometres and worse had lost the trail again.

Jubila stomped out of the water, his mood sour. Behind him arose a dozen bulky forms, his Chosen retinue climbing out of the river with equal bitterness. Jubila ignored them as he turned his attention to the horizon. It was unappealing, low hills and boring crags as far as the eye could see. Further upstream jagged slopes mocked him with their many folds. Somewhere back there the small band of Librarians lurked, laughing in scorn at Jubila's frustration. They must have doubled back at some point, it was the only explanation, not that it brought Jubila any comfort. A wild ride down the churning rapids had beaten any humour out of him, the rocks impacting his plate telling him that this had been a rash mistake. He had been carried far downstream before he found a bank smooth enough to climb out, compounding his error.

Behind the Chosen sloped out of the river, heads low and eyes sullen. Jubila felt accusatory glares boring into his back and turned to face them. Unsurprisingly none of them looked happy, they had been battered in the wild current, as he had, and all knew the prey had been lost. Failure hung heavy upon them and as always the first thing Chaos Marines did when events conspired against them was to find someone to blame. Jubila saw fingers tightening on triggers and drifted his hand closer to his sabre. This did not have the intended effect of cowing them and he sensed a confrontation brewing. He was confident he could best three or four in a straight fight, but a dozen, that would be testing even his limits.

From the mob stepped forth Salmacis and the duelist growled, "We lost them."

"I can see that," Jubila retorted, "We need to regroup and get after them, cast a net over these lands before they slip away."

"You think we'd follow you to another failure?!"

Jubila spat back, "Didn't you learn your lesson last time?!"

To his surprise Baeghost rumbled from the crowd, "That was when you led us to victory, now we see only failure set before us."

Jubila blinked in surprise and gasped, "Baeghost, you too?"

"I followed you willingly for a long time, but that was then. You have led us to the wilderness and tasted defeat, and I do not care for it one bit."

Salmacis' hand grasped the twisted hilt of his Daemonsword and spat, "Even your most devoted turn against you. Face it, you have lost your chance and doomed yourself. Lord Fulgrim will rip your atoms apart one by one for this shameful episode!"

"I am not defeated yet," Jubila snapped, "I have faced worse odds than this and emerged triumphant. I have danced through the fires of hell and pissed in the face of gods and devils alike. The universe loves me, it always provides a way for my victory. This is not my end, I will win through once more and Lord Fulgrim will reward us all!"

"Empty words," Salmacis spat, "Rebre saw this coming and was smart enough to flee while she could, we should have heeded her example."

"Errr… Salmacis," Baeghost muttered.

"Prepare to pay for…," Salmacis growled.

But Baeghost shouted, "Salmacis look!"

Jubila saw all eyes turn to the side and could not help but look himself. To one side appeared an apparition. A man, a lowly mortal, standing on the bank. He was weathered and hardened by harsh training, but nothing that could compare to the gene-forging of an Astartes. The self-righteous stink of the Imperium hung over him, but his eyes bore the shame who had seen that conviction laid low. In his hands was a glowing orb but those hands were pale and translucent, indicating a sending from far away. A strange thing to suddenly appear, but Jubila had seen stranger and spat, "I don't have time for this."

The man frowned as he replied, "A mysterious ghost appears before you and you don't want to know how or why?"

Jubila sniffed, "Once you've seen one ghostly manifestation you've seen them all. Doubtless you come with dire warnings and a

fateful mission but I haven't the time for side-quests."

"But you need to hear this!" the ghost cried, "Dark forces conspire to enact terrible fates!"

"Here we go," came the gruff snort of Baeghost, "Always the same with apparitions."

"Let's get on with the killing," agreed Salmacis.

"I hate to agree with them, but seriously we don't care about whatever you have to say."

"Ozymandias plans to kill you!" the ghost cried.

"Yes I know," Jubila mocked, "Anything else?"

"He's united with the Daemon Harbinger, they are working together to overthrow the Imperium and kill you to boot."

That brought a sudden silence as all processed the news. Daemons committing treachery was par for the course, but two rival kinds forming a common cause was rare indeed. Rare enough to grab even the attention of the Chosen, when the gods aligned their purposes the galaxy itself shook. Jubila sensed a chance to wrest back leadership of his warband and pressed, "You have the smallest morsel of my attention, go on."

The ghost drew in a breath and explained, "My name is Dago I am… was… an Inquisitor. Tricked by the wiles of Harbinger…"

"Boring!" Jubila snapped, "Skip to the good bit."

Dago glared but continued, "The Daemon Harbinger plots to assassinate Roboute Guilliman from afar. I know you don't care for that, you'd probably applaud, but he's receiving assistance from another Daemon. Ozymandias approached him with a woman, they have ways to accelerate the scheme and in return Harbinger helps kill you."

"So that's where Rebre ran off to," Salmacis muttered.

"Ozymandias turned her, or she was working for him all along," Baeghost added.

Jubila sniffed, "So you came to warn me, I offer my insincere thanks. But what's in it for you?"

"I want you to come and stop the ritual. Harbinger seeks the Gladius Incandor to complete his spell but Ozymandias has a way to circumvent that need. They can cast the spell without it, I can't let that happen. I need you to come to my location and defeat them."

Jubila laughed aloud, "And I'm supposed to help you out of the tainted shards of compassion that pass for my soul?! You seem to have forgotten that I'm evil!"

"I know what you are," Dago hissed, "But I also know you have no wish to see your rivals triumph. Your Daemon friends are about to seize the ultimate glory and cast you into obscurity. Who will remember the name Jubila when they can boast of killing a Primarch? Jubila the nobody you will be, a short-lived nobody, when they turn their attention on you."

"Not impressed," Jubila sniffed, "I've been manipulated by better liars than you, this is feeble."

Dago lowered his eyes and sighed, "I am no great schemer, merely a soldier who lost his cause, But I'm trying to find it again. I stole this relic to call you to the fight, you are the only one who can change the outcome. Ozymandias hates you, but he fears you too. He thinks you are too slippery by half."

"That sounds right," Salmacis snorted.

Jubila however tapped his chin thoughtfully and mused, "I may bring myself to intervene, simply to humiliate my rivals, not to help you naturally. Yet before I do so I have a mission of my own, I must acquire the Gladius Incandor first."

Dago hissed, "I told you, it no longer matters! The spell works without it."

Jubila sneered, "I have my own reasons for snatching the blade, not everything in the galaxy is about that Ultramarian blowhard. Unless you hesitate at the thought of sacrificing noble Librarians for your sordid little scheme… Inquisitor."

Dago spat back, "I burn off another year of my life to send this message, you think I'd hesitate to expend a handful of Astartes mystics?!"

"Then get on with it."

Dago faltered as he looked at the ball and admitted, "I'm not sure how to use this thing. Harbinger said it only sends messages, not seek locations."

"And you believed him?!" Jubila laughed, "Just focus on your targets, see them in your mind's eye and…"

Dago abruptly disappeared, leaving the sentence hanging. Everybody glanced at each other and Baeghost mused, "Think he will find them?"

Jubila crowed, "I told you the universe always provides a way. Sometimes I think I must be so beautiful that the world longs to lift its skirts for me. It could be a little more subtle to be honest; sometimes it's a little clingy."

"I should have shot him when I had the chance," Salmacis muttered.

Moments later Dago reappeared and cried, "I found the Librarians, they're ten klicks hubward of your location, heading that way in a straight line. If you move immediately you can intercept them near that low hill."

"Excellent," Jubila cried, "Let's be off, I have people to kill and swords to claim! Busy, busy, busy."

"Remember, you have to thwart the Daemons too. Halfway to the rim, due west of the great gate of the Fortress-Mountain. There you will find the Fulcrum."

"I won't forget," Jubila agreed as they set off.

The man vanished as the Chosen tore off, bounding over the landscape with great strides of their boots. The moment of discord was forgotten now that the prospect of victory hung so close, the taste of blood and carnage burying all resentments in the eager thrill of imminent killing. They moved with alacrity and yet Salmacis growled, "You're not really going to help him are you?"

"Help him, of course not," Jubila snorted, "But confronting Ozymandias… that I'm definitely going to do. This fight has been brewing for a long time and I am as eager to face him as he is me. He thinks he's clever but I knew this day would come and I prepared well, he's going to find I am more than ready to face him."

"Sounds pretty much the same to me," Baeghost sneered, keeping pace despite his bulk.

But Jubila elaborated, "The difference is, I'm not holding back. Summon my chariot and all our forces to converge on the location Dago gave us. I am going to level that place and deal with Ozymandias once and for all. But first our mission must be completed. Come, let us dispose of those annoying loyalist scum and claim the Gladius Incandor for Fulgrim and Slaanesh!"