Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I last updated, sorry. I hope that this will make up for it. As always GW owns Warhammer and Fantasy Flight may own some of things I use. WARNING: Some language.
As the Spawn lunged towards Karl he continued to back up as quickly as he could. His progress was hindered by the uneven ground as well as the litter of bodies and other debris of battle. The creature must have gotten his scent and identified him as its tormentor and continued steadily after him, ignoring all that was going on around it. Karl did not have time to reload his pistol and his swords were still stuck in the Spawn's back, leaving only his bare hands. He could not win like this, if he was to prevail over the creature then he would have to find to change the situation. Just then he tripped on something and nearly fell. The Spawn took advantage of the situation to lunge forward to land several blows on Karl with its mutated limbs. Fortunately, the blows landed as Karl was falling backwards and they were only glancing.
As he struggled to get back on his feet his eyes fell on what he had tripped over. It was a spear which had been dropped in the confusion of the battle. As Karl scrambled to his feet he snatched up the spear. To stab with it he would have to get uncomfortably close to the Spawn. Instead, he hurled the spear like a javelin at what he thought might be the creature's brain. Though the blow failed to kill the creature, who issued a piercing shriek of pain and rage and continued to attack, it appeared to have done some damage. It looked as if it was moving slower, less coordinated. It appeared that the attack had been a good strategy and he looked about for another spear. Unfortunately, though there were many weapons, including spears, lying about the battlefield the ebb and flow of the fighting made it difficult to reach any of them and the Spawn was clearly not willing to wait for him to find one and it continued its pursuit of him.
Karl continued in his efforts to escape the Spawn when an idea struck him. The Spawn was chasing him, trampling all who got in its way, be they human or Beastmen. That gave Karl an idea. He shifted his course, making sure to stay ahead, but not too far ahead, of the Spawn so that he headed into a group of Beastmen. As he had hoped it followed him into the group, trampling and maiming any of them which got in its way. This caused the Beastmen to attack it in an attempt to drive it away from them. What this mostly accomplished was to provoke the Spawn to appear to forget about Karl and turn its attention to them instead. It killed at least a dozen of them until at last the rest of them succeeded in bringing it down. This gave the humans who they had been fighting a chance to break off and reform their formation and pull away those of their wounded whom they could reach. For the most part Karl only saw this in passing. He had other matters to concern him once he saw that the Spawn was no longer a threat he took the opportunity to look around.
Beastmen were still charging into the camp and the defenders were unable to come together. Karl had thought that the enemy had weakened themselves from the previous attack, yet they kept coming. Had more come to join the original attackers? Karl did not know and it did not matter. A far more pressing matter presented itself. In one of the knots of combatants the humans began to fall to the ground, sliced to pieces. From the carnage emerged the Chaos Warrior.
His blade slashed back and forth with his blade. He carried his staff as well. For a moment Karl feared that Lady von Dorchener's wards had failed, that the Warrior was about to unleash his formidable magic, but he did not. Instead he used it as if it were a mere staff, spinning and striking at all who came within reach of it, dangerous yes, but far less so than if he were using it as intended. Karl looked about hoping to see the Baron, Sir Fernando or Sir Felipe, yet he did not see any of them. That meant that he would have to kill the Warrior himself. He wished that he had the use of his pistol, but he did not have time to reload it and he might not have been able to make use of it if he had. The Warrior was beginning to advance and more and more Beastmen were swarming around him. Even if Karl had been able to shoot the shots would likely have struck some of the creatures around the Warrior, rather than the Warrior himself.
Well, Karl thought grimly; There is only one thing to do. Before he could stop to consider what he was doing he dashed to the Spawn's corpse and with some effort succeeded in freeing his blades. This done, he headed in the direction of the Warrior. As he did so a thought occurred to him. He remembered what Lady von Dorchener had said earlier, how the previous defeat would have lowered the Warrior's standing amongst the Beastmen and so force him to both attack at once and participate in the battle himself. That appeared to indeed be the case and if that were so; how would the Warrior's standing with the Beastmen be affected if he were to be challenged and refuse that challenge? From what he had seen and of Beastmen it would not be in the Warrior's favor. Thus, as he neared and several Beastmen spotted him and moved towards him he raided his longsword to point at the Warrior and shouted as loudly as he could in what he hoped was a commanding and intimidating voice.
"FACE ME! MUTANT SCUM!" The second part being a deliberate effort to provoke the Warrior and ensure that he would fight. The Beastmen may, or may not, have understood what Karl was saying, but the clearly recognized an insult and a challenge when they heard one.
With some shoving and jostling they came to a halt. The fighting around them had died down so they all moved to the side to give the Warrior and opening. The Warrior, for his part, looked less than pleased at this development, but was also clearly aware that he could not refuse. With a dramatic motion with his arms he signaled for the others to move to the side and allow him to advance towards Karl. This seemed rather unnecessary as the Beastmen had already done so and were keenly watching the Warrior's reaction. The Warrior appeared to have surrounded himself with the largest of the Beastmen and Karl saw several watching the upcoming battle with more than just the bloodlust of their fellows. There were gleams of ambition and cunning in the eyes of some and Karl was certain that even should the Warrior triumph, he would soon find himself challenged.
That thought made Karl smile to himself as he continued to advance towards the Warrior. While killing the Warrior and surviving was the best outcome it was not entirely necessary. He just had to injure the Warrior enough that any challenger could take him down. While they were strong Karl doubted that any of the Beastmen were as intelligent as the Warrior and would hopefully pose less of a threat to the Baron and his people. He put all those thoughts aside as the Warrior drew close. The mutant halted about ten from Karl. He stared at Karl and his eyes began to glow with a multiple-colored light. Karl tensed, expected some form of attack, but nothing happened. After a moment the Warrior stopped whatever it was he was doing and looked at Karl in confusion.
"What is this?
"I see you, the true you. You are blessed by the Raven God, yet you serve the weakling southerners." He sounded legitimately confused.
"My reasons are my own." Karl replied. To his surprise the Warrior smiled.
"I see now. Our master has set you in my path to test me. The changer values those who can change their plans to meet unforeseen obstacles. It is also ironic that he would send one who resembles the mythical children of their weak southern gods. Thus, your death will show them their gods powerlessness before the true gods of the North. This is another step on my path to divinity. I shall slay you and send your soul to him." With that he lunged forward.
Despite his size he was fast and Karl barely had time to block the overhead chop which came down threatening to split his skull open, but block it he did. He used his own blade to move his opponent's aside and thrust out with his short sword. The staff appeared blocked it. Karl lashed out with a kick to the Warrior's right knee. The blow landed and Karl yelled in pain, it felt like he had just kicked a stone wall, in fact, he was sure two of his toes were broken.
The Warrior took advantage of this and lunged forward and headbutted Karl. This forced him to back up and when he unthinkingly put weight on his still healing toes it caused him to stumble. As he fell the Warrior advanced and Karl kicked with his uninjured foot landing it squarely in the mutant's face. His face proved more yielding than his knee and the mutant stumbled back, blood flowing form his nose. Karl rolled back and sprang to his feet, his toes no longer hurting. He found himself grinning for some reason, though he could not understand why. In truth he did, the Wolf inside him was thrilled at the fight and he had to admit that he was enjoying it too. This apparently did not go unnoticed by the Warrior, who made a derisive sound.
"Now I see why you were chosen as my enemy. You are a corruption, a perversion of the Changer's gifts.
"You have been blessed with such gifts, yet you possess a mind as low and brutish as a follower of the Skull Lord. Yes, slaying you will earn my much favor from my lord." His insults made Karl snarl.
"If you are going to kill me then shut up and do it. Or do you intend to talk me to death?" With that he lunged at the Warrior.
As they came together he tried to change up his strategy with his swordsmanship. Instead of using one blade at a time he thrust both of them at the same time. He aimed his longsword at the Warrior's throat while he thrust his shortsword at his opponent's groin. Because of the differences in length Karl had to angle his body and he could not put as much strength into either thrust. Still, he hoped that it would take the Warrior off-guard and that at least one of the blows would land. Neither did.
The Warrior took a step back and then swung his staff to knock both of Karl's blades away. The way open he thrust with his own blade.
"As I said. A whi…" That was as far as he got.
Rather than try to fight the Warrior strength to strength Karl let the blow force his blades to the side. Knowing that a counterattack was coming he pivoted one foot and bent backwards, causing the incoming blade to miss him. This resulted in the Warrior overextending and taking an involuntary step forward. Before he could recover Karl slid his blades away from the Warrior's staff and, righting himself, he slammed his elbow into the Warriors face, striking it a second time. The Warrior cursed as he backed away. Karl lunged after him, hoping to land another blow before the Warrior could recover.
Unfortunately, the Warrior was clearly a veteran of more than one fight and knew what was coming. He lashed out with both of his weapons in an effort to keep Karl at bay. Seeing that frontal attacks were not working Karl tried to come at his opponent from the side. He also aimed several blows at the Warrior's legs, thinking that such blows would be harder to defend against. One blow did land on the Warrior's leg and though it still felt like striking a stone wall. It did succeed in drawing blood from the Warrior's leg.
Immediately afterwards Karl had to block a powerful blow from his opponent's sword. While this held Karl's attention the Warrior changed tactics. He kicked out with one of his misshaped legs. It was as strong as it was hard and tipped with claws which racked Karl's chest and stomach. Though it caused Karl to scream in pain he had been far enough away so that no organs were damaged and he avoided disembowelment. However; he was losing a lot of blood and his movements were slowed, both by his injuries and by his own body's efforts to regenerate. Instinctively his left arm went to his wounds in an effort to hold his wounds closed. The Warrior did not give him the chance to recover and pressed his attack.
Karl barely was able to block another strike by the enemy's sword with his own and had no defense against another blow from the staff, which struck the side of his skull, making his head ring and causing his vision to go white from the pain and he swam on the edge of consciousness. As he fell to his knees the Warrior stood over him, a gloating look on his face. Before he could say anything Karl moved.
Shooting his feet he lunged at the Warrior, his longsword going back for another attack. The Warrior moved to block the attack with his sword while countering with his staff, just as Karl knew that he would. As the Warrior's blade connected Karl let the blow take the blade to the side. He then released his blade, causing the Warrior's blade to go even further than anticipated. Karl then used his free hand to reach out and grab the antlers growing from the mutant's head. Feeding strength into his arms and legs he jerked down and to the side, ripping the surprised mutant off its feet. It crashed to the ground and before the mutant could recover Karl threw himself on top of it.
As the Warrior attempted to shove Karl off Karl grabbed the breastplate, the Warrior wearing no gorget, with his right hand while with his left hand he began to work his shortsword towards the Warrior's throat. As he did so he found himself grinning. The Warrior was perhaps the strongest opponent that he had ever fought and he had won and he had won through skill and cunning rather than just brute force. Despite the Warrior's best efforts, the blade met his flesh and began to bite into it. Karl was not sure what caused him to do so Karl found himself leaning down to whisper.
"Not bad for a whittles oaf, eh?
"It seems that without your magic you are not quite so formidable." Despite his predicament the Warrior remained defiant. Indeed he smiled in return.
"My lord loves to humble the prideful." As he said this Karl yelped in pain as the Warrior's armor seemed to grow white hot. In surprise Karl let go and jerked back. His left hand clutching at his right.
The Warrior took advantage of this to slam a fist into Karl's face, breaking his nose and nocking him off the Warrior. Karl fell off the Warrior and hit the ground. Both fighters scrambled away from each other, both gathering their weapons and scrambling to their feet, now with several feet between them. The Warrior was still smiling, though it now had a malicious quality to it.
"And who said I cannot use my magic?" With that he pointed his staff a Karl and unleased a blast of black fire towards him.
Karl yelled and threw himself to the side just in time to avoid the flames, his mind reeling. How had this happened? Lady von Dorchener's wards should have stopped the Warrior from using his magic! Yet here the Warrior was, casting spells as if the wards were not present! His surprise must have shown on his face for the Warrior grinned. A grin filled with triumphant malice. With a hiss that might have been a laugh the Warrior lunge forward and slammed into Karl before he could recover himself. The blow nocked Karl to the ground. The Warrior raised one of its feet, which Karl now saw ended in long, sharp-looking claws. These the Warrior drove into Karl's stomach. As Karl screamed in pain the Warrior laughed.
"Surprised?" It asked in a mocking tone of voice.
"Did you think that your little cantrips would be enough to stop me? A devotee of the god of magic? I would find it insulting, if the results were not so amusing." As he spoke Karl took the pain and turned it into rage.
With a hate-filled roar he grabbed the leg and jerked on it with all of his might. He succeeded in not only pulling the claws out, but also in causing the Warrior to lose its footing. As it stumbled backwards Karl surged forwards and tackled it to the ground and quickly straddled its chest. All thought of strategy and how it was working its magic within the wards were gone. All Karl was thinking of was beating the thing that had hurt him to death with his bare hands. Inside him the Wolf savagely howled in agreement. Again grabbing the antlers Karl jerked the head up and slammed it down as hard as he could on the ground. The Warrior cursed, but continued to struggle, not appearing to have suffered any serious effects from the blow. In his anger Karl was not deterred and he made to repeat his action. Before he could; however, the Warrior counter-attacked.
Displaying a remarkable agility it arched its back, which pushed Karl forward and caused him to loosen his grip on the Warrior's antlers. The Warrior took advantage of this by shaking its head, breaking free of Karl completely. It then drove one of its fists into Karl's face, breaking his nose again. As Karl instinctively grabbed at his nose the second fist crashed into his stomach. The air rushed out of his lungs and he doubled over. The Warrior rocked again and Karl was thrown off and fell to the ground next to the Warrior. The Warrior scrambled to its feet and landed another kick to Karl's side, tearing skin and rolling Karl over. It cast about and found its sword. Recovering it the Warrior moved back towards Karl. Karl; however, had recovered by then and had also regained his feet.
Backpedaling rapidly Karl cast his gaze about frantically for a means of defending himself. He suddenly spied his longsword lying on the ground. Diving for it he felt the Warrior's sword pass over him and heard it hiss through the air. As Karl regain his feet he squared off against the Warrior. Karl had slightly longer reach and he was sure that he was at least as strong as the Warrior. The Warrior; however, was likely the better swordsman. It had doubtless fought many opponents, as had Karl, if not more. Furthermore, whereas Karl usually simply relied on his strength to secure victory the Warrior had doubtless fought others of its ilk, giving it far more experience. Karl cursed his lack of formal training. Then the fight was on and there was no time for anything but attempting to stay alive. As he had only one blade this time Karl wielded it with both hands, where the Warrior wielded his weapon with only one hand while the other crackled with magical energy.
In an effort to prevent the Warrior from using its magic Karl feinted an overhead strike and when the Warrior moved to block it Karl changed the trajectory, aiming for his opponent's side. He must have given away his intention, as the Warrior was able to bring its own blade up to intercept the attack. The Warrior then counter-attacked by raising its other hand and sending a blast of dark energy towards Karl. Karl deftly sprang aside, noting that the attack had not been overly powerful. It appeared that while the Warrior could work magic without its staff, it could not work magic as powerful as it could with it. Karl decided to change his plan of attack. The Warrior could match him for strength and surpass him in skill, but could it match him for speed?
Karl launched into series of attacks, aiming at different parts of the Warrior's body. Some of the attacks Karl ended or tried to turn into further feints. In truth he did not really know what he was doing. He had the vague hope that the Warrior would be confused by his attacks and some would get through by sheer chance. He also hoped that his efforts would keep the Warrior from using its magic against him. It appeared to be working, with the Warrior being forded backward and it making no further attempt to use its magic. Then the Warrior paused and smiled, an act which surprised Karl into immobility.
"Well done, using a random style to confuse and misdirect. Truly a style appropriate for the Changer of Ways. The one employing it; however, should be in control of it. Perhaps then you would be able to use it more effectively." With that the mutant lunged at Karl, its sword passing through Karl's defense. Karl, for his part, was able to just throw himself to the side, though not quick enough to avoid having the blade scrape against his side.
Even as he hissed in pain a thought began to form in his mind. His attempts at complicated strategy had failed, perhaps a more direct approach would work. It would hurt, but it would count on something that, as far as Karl knew, is opponent could not match him in. The plan solidifying in his mind, Karl launched another attack. As he did so he intentionally overextended himself, one side exposed. As he expected the Warrior aimed a blow at it. Knowing that the blade was coming Karl moved slightly to the side and allowed the blow to land. The pain was as bad as he had feared, but he was ready for it. He stepped back, the blade still stuck in his side, dragging the Warrior's arm along with it.
Twisting to the side, ripping the blade free and causing a fresh wave of pain to pass through him, Karl grabbed the Warrior's arm and held it out. With his other arm he thrust his sword straight into the gap in its armor at the armpit. As the blade sank in the Warrior went rigid. For a moment its eyes blazed with hatred and then the life left them as Karl allowed the body to slide to the ground. The sound of its body hitting the ground seemed to reverberate throughout the battlefield, heard even over the sounds of fighting. The Beastmen who had been watching the battle between Karl and their leader looked aghast and some of the smaller ones appeared to be on the edge of flight.
Yes! Karl thought eagerly. Run back to your forests!
In truth Karl was quite eager for the Beastmen to retreat. After finally finishing with the Warrior the pain of all his wounds and injuries assaulted Karl in full force. With the fury of battle receding Karl felt cold and drained, as he often did in such situations. He had fallen down to one knee and he found that he was having trouble regaining his feet. If the Beastmen did not break, he was not sure that he would have the strength to fight them. So, it was with great relief, that he saw more and more of the creatures beginning to waver.
Then a roar was heard. Emerging from the throng was a truly monstrous specimen of the beasts. It was a giant among its kind, nigh on eight feet tall. In addtiont to its height it also was an unusual color. While most of the Beastmen were a either brown or black, this one was completely white, it coat being contrasted by its blood-red eyes. To Karl its color, the traditional color of purity, seemed obscene on such an impure monster. It sported four arms and a tail which ended with a stinger on the end. It wielded two cleaver-like swords in its top hands and two short swords in its lower ones. Unlike many of its kind, it sported a near full suit of armor. Plates of crudely hammered steel covered its chest and much of its legs. A metal collar encircled its neck and a mask of beaten metal covered its face. It advanced slightly and then turned to face the rest.
It raised its arms and bellowed in its own crude language. Though Karl could not understand the words, if there were indeed words in its grunting and bellowing, he could all to clearly see the results. The wavering among the beasts ceased and they all began to chant along with the large one, who had clearly taken up the mantel of leadership from the Warrior. Karl felt despair flood through him. It seemed that all his efforts had been for nothing. No sooner had the Warrior fallen, then it had been replaced and the Beastmen seemed ready to attack again. He cursed. It simply was not fair! Just as he attempted to rise and the Beastmen began to advance towards him a horn sounded behind him. Turning to look behind him Karl nearly wept with joy.
The Baron was advancing and with him were both of his sons. Behind them came a body of many, Karl did not know how many there were, but there were many. A great number of them sported wounds, but they all appeared undaunted and determined. While the sight of them raised Karl's spirits, they had the exact opposite on those of the beasts. Even those who had appeared eager to continue the attack now appeared to be leery. It was clear that they had believed that the battle all but won and now that it was clear that there was another hard fight in front of them their spirits failed them and they began to break and flee. The new leader attempted to rally them, cutting down several close to it, but it was in vain. The panic was rapidly spreading to the rest of the beasts and soon it seemed that the whole of the enemy was in panicked flight. The leader cut down two men who charged it. It then gave a roar of frustration and range. It then turned and joined the others in their flight. Some of the men made to pursue, but the Baron called them to a halt.
"Leave them!" He barked out.
"That was well fought men, but we are done in. If they were to turn on us they would have us, especially in those cursed forest." The men appeared to be more than willing to obey the Baron's orders, with many of them almost immediately slumping to the ground seemingly as weary as Karl felt.
The Baron and his sons; however, did not relax their guard and immediately set men to watch for any sign of the Beastmen's return. Karl was thankful when they failed to pick him for that duty. Someone came up beside him. Karl looked up and saw that it was Henri. Karl smiled, pleased to see that the old scout had survived. Henri came up to Karl and flopped down on the grass beside him. He looked at Karl and a grin split his face.
"Well, Lad, it seems that the gods chose to smile on us. We survived and a good many of the Chaos-loving bastards did not." He looked over at the corpse of the Chaos Warrior, Karl's sword still in its armpit.
"That was well done, Lad. Must have had Ranald's own luck to get it in like that." Karl shrugged wearily.
"It took some doing I will admit." He suddenly found that he did not want to talk very much. He wanted something to drink, followed by something to eat and finally something more to drink, preferably something very, very strong. Following that he wanted to curl up in his blanket and sleep for the better part of a week. Still, he wanted to know what had happened in the rest of the battle.
"How did we do elsewhere?" Henri smiled tiredly.
"It was a close thing Lad and I do not mind admitting that for I was certain that were done for. The beasts kept coming and coming and it seemed that no matter how many of them that we killed there were more. The Baron and his sons were fighting like heroes in an old story. Still, it looked for certain that we were done for. Then they just started to run, it was if they had all received some signal or other. At first we thought it might be a trap of some sort, but eventually we realized that they really were retreating and the Baron called on us to get after them and we did." Henri paused and a puzzled expression came over his face.
"Funny that they should run, just when they were on the brink of beating the lot of us. I wonder what made them do it." Karl felt uneasy as well. It was not like Beastmen, as far as he knew, to run just when victory was theirs. He thought of the albino Beastmen and how it had tried to rally its fellows, whatever had caused them to retreat it certainly had not been it. It was very out of character for them and Karl did not like it when things acted out of character.
"Yes," he agreed; "It is indeed funny." It was a mystery, but a mystery for another time. For now he wanted to enjoy the victory and it was quite clear that he was not the only one.
All around them men were cheering, slapping each other on the back and generally giving expression to their jubilation. Karl was sure that it was not just for the fact that they had unexpectedly triumphed and survived when they had not expected and surviving when they had thought that they were all dead. By their actions they had wiped away the disgrace that they had been under since their actions had incurred the wrath of the Baron from their failing to respond to the warring call. From the look on the Baron's face it was clear that they had been forgiven. Karl himself found himself feeling pleased at the thought of it. He had been greatly shamed by his actions and it felt good to know that that shame had been removed. The Baron allowed them a few minutes and then turned to his sons and began issuing orders to them.
"Fernando, I want you to place sentries. Make sure that we are not taken by surprise by a sudden counter-attack.
"Felipe, get some men together and have them start gathering the bodies. Unfortunately, we shall have to burn them and when we do I do not want them starting their journey to Morr's realm with these unholy monsters." He paused and seemed to think of something and then issued another order to Sir Felipe.
"While you are doing that I want to go to the wagon of Lady von Dorchener. I want to know where she was during the battle, her magic was sorely missed." Though it was restrained Karl heard some the anger there that had been directed at himself and the others before. In truth, he too wished to know where she had been and more.
Her wards had failed to prevent the Chaos Warrior from using his magic. Karl wanted to know how that had happened. True, the Warrior was dead, but that did not mean that there were no other magic users among the enemy. If they had somehow found away to circumvent the wards then that was something that they needed to know. There was; however, another possibility which also had to be considered.
Perhaps the Lady von Dorchener's magic was not as strong as she claimed that it was. Perhaps it might be failing. She was advancing in years and for all Karl knew magic was like muscle, it declined with age. If that was true, or her magic was declining for another reason, that also cause for concern. The Baron clearly depended upon his aunt's magic and if it was becoming unreliable of otherwise irrelevant then his strategy was fatally flowed. Karl's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone screaming. Most of the cheering had died down by that point, the men going to whatever task had been assigned to them, but it still took Karl a moment to decipher what the voice was screaming.
"HELP! HELP!" A hysterical voice cried out, attracting the attention of all who heard it.
"MURDER! MURDER!" After a moment the crier came into view. It was Ebbo.
The apprentice ran as fast as he could towards the Baron, who had also heard the uproar and was waiting impatiently for the man to reach him. As Ebbo drew near the Baron started towards him.
"What is this?!" He demanded in a loud, firm voice. Ebbo reached him and began to explain. Or rather, he tried to explain.
He was out of breath and in shock. So, when he at last stopped before the Baron and tried to explain, all that came out were gasps for air and incompressible gibberish. The Baron was clearly annoyed by this. All the good humor he had displayed at the unexpected victory had evaporated and he seized Ebbo by the arm and gave him a good shake.
"By the gods man get ahold of yourself!
"Calm down and tell me what you are screeching about!" The words and the shake appeared to have had the desired result. Ebbo nodded and took sever deep breaths and when he spoke again, though his voice was still shaken and trembling, it was now understandable.
"My lord, it is terrible! A great tragedy! Yes! A great tragedy!" It appeared that while he had calmed somewhat, he was still on the verge of hysteria. The Baron clearly sensed this as, though he looked as if he would like to give the man another shake, or possibly even strike him, he made his voice calm.
"What is a great tragedy Ebbo? Please, tell me what has happened." Ebbo nodded and took several more deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. At last he spoke again and this time he forced himself to speak calmly and tell the Baron what had gotten him so upset.
"It is my mistress, my lord. She has been murdered!" For a moment all who heard him were stunned into silence. The Baron looked as if he were on the brink of collapsing before Sir Fernando rushed up to him and supported him. The Baron quickly shrugged him off and grabbed Ebbo again, this time by both arms and pulled him in close
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! SPEAK!" This last he shouted especially loud because Ebbo had once again been frightened by into an inaudible state. After being shaken by the Baron several times, even as his sons tried to restrain him, the apprentice wizard again was able to speak.
"It is just as I said, my lord, the Lady von Dorchener is dead.
"She sent me to fetch something and when I returned to her wagon, she was dead. Stabbed in the back." This announcement sent ripples of shocked murmurs among all who heard it. Many wondered how such a powerful wizard could be slain and Karl heard theories ranging from a Beastmen assassin to treachery. The Baron made a motion with his hand.
"Enough! We shall not compound this tragedy with wild speculation!" He turned back to Ebbo.
"Fetch Doctor Cusher and have him meet me at my aunt's wagon." The apprentice nodded obsequiously and ran off. The Baron turned to his sons.
"See to the tasks I gave you and then join me there." They both silently nodded, grief and rage clear on their faces.
As they moved about shouting orders the men began to break up and go to where they had been assigned. While this was going on Karl surreptitiously followed the Baron. Keeping his distance from the nobleman Karl tried to wrap his mind around what he had just heard. It seemed impossible, yet it had happened. Who had done this and how? Questions threatened to overwhelm him. He took a deep breath and forced himself think them through logically. He remembered his time with Brother Wener and tried to think like him and ask the same questions. He started by going over what he knew for a fact.
The Lady von Dorchener had been killed. They were under attack by Beastmen and her magic had unexpectedly failed. Her death greatly helped the attackers and weakened the defenders. More facts could reveal themselves later, but for now Karl began to build on what he knew.
When had she died? How had the killer been able to take her off guard? Could her death have been the reason that her wards had failed? Even as he thought of these another thought occurred to him. Sir Franka. She had been Lady von Dorchener's bodyguard. Where had she been during the assassination and how was it that she had not seen or heard anything? With these questions still buzzing in his head Karl drew near the late Lady von Dorchener's wagon. It suddenly occurred to him that he had not been invited and so had no business being there. He doubted that the Baron would welcome his company and interference at the moment. No, he would, at least at first, be surreptitious in his investigation. Thus he approached in a stealthy manner.
Hiding behind tents and whatever cover presented himself he approached the wagon. As he neared he observed Doctor Cusher entering the wagon with Sir Fernando, meanwhile Sir Felipe remained outside with Sir Franka and several men. While the two half-siblings glared at each other. Karl drew near the wagon. Moving to the side, blocking him from the view of those who remained outside, Karl moved to crouch underneath a small window on the side of the wagon. By changing his ears slightly he was able to listen to those who were within. At first there was nothing but the sound of people moving around. At last, the Baron spoke.
"Well Doctor?" Karl heard the sound of a man rising to his feet.
"As you can see, my lord, your aunt was stabbed in the back, suffering two wounds. One thrust penetrated her heart, while the other her lungs."
"How long has she been dead?"
"Her body has begun to cool, that and other factors suggests that she has been dead for some little while. If you were to force me to guess," his tone suggested that he disliked guessing immensely; "I would hazard that she did shortly after the battle began." There followed another period of silence. Then the Baron spoke again.
"Call Sir Franka in." Karl heard someone moving about and then the sound of the door opening and a voice speaking.
"His lordship wishes to speak to you, Sir Franka." She said nothing and Karl heard the sound of her going into the wagon.
"You wished to speak with me, my lord?"
"Sir Franka, you were charged with guarding the Lady von Dorchener and yet here she lies dead. Explain yourself." She answered in a flat tone of voice.
"Shortly after the battle began her ladyship called to me and ordered me to take the reserve contingent and head to the livestock pen. She believed that the beasts were preparing to attack them again. I was to prevent that from happening.
"As ordered I took the men and went to the livestock pens. We remained there for the duration of the battle, but we saw no sign of the enemy. I was there when I received word of what had happened and returned immediately." After a moment Sir Fernando spoke, his voice sounding slightly derisive.
"Did anyone actually hear you receive your orders?"
"I do not know." She answered coldly. There followed a silence and then the Baron spoke again.
"Very well, Sir Franka. Leave us. Return to your tent and await my commands.
"My lord." She replied. Karl then heard the sound of her leaving the wagon. Once she was gone Sir Fernando.
"Father, her story makes no sense. The Lady von Dorchener had little liking in Sir Franka. I doubt that she would have trusted her with such a task, at least not without informing one of us."
"If I may," Ebbo interjected in a timid tone of voice; "I do not recall my mistress giving Sir Franka any such orders, though I suppose that it is possible that I simply did not hear her."
"I know what she is to you, my lord." Sir Fernando spoke, his tone now one of caution.
"And I know that this is painful for you to contemplate, but I fear that you must. You know her temperament and you must consider the possibility that she kill the Lady von Dorchener in a fit of rage. You must think of the good of the who expedition and think as a lord and not as a father." At last the Baron spoke in a pained voice.
"We will make a complete inquiry. Until then…" There was another pause and when he spoke again his voice was firm and commanding.
"Sir Fernando. Sir Franka shall have free reign of the camp, as she had not been convicted, but you shall relieve her of her weapons and set men to watch her."
"At once, my lord." Sir Fernando responded followed immediately by the sound of him departing.
"May the gods forgive me if I misjudge her." The Baron said after his son had gone. His voice so quiet that Karl was sure that he spoke only to himself.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, sorry that it has been so long since I last updated. I know also that this was an adventure arch and that will continue. People have been saying that they want him to be more independent and this is working on that, it will make more sense later on. Till next time bye and may Jesus bless you.