Tales of the Amber Vipers Chapter 315

Ryneon looked upon the body with ambivalence. On the one hand a Howling Griffon had died, that was a most serious matter. On the other hand it was the least of their company who had died, one Ryneon held in low regard. The Captain did not feel immense sorrow, but neither could he brush it off. Duty expected he mourn this loss, and avenge it, and so he would, but he could not shed salt tears over this death. Nyoir death was simply a fact, one that had to be faced.

"Where was the body?" Ryneon asked coldly.

"In the upper levels," Regulam answered, "We were sweeping for possible counterattacks and found the corpse."

"There is no reason Nyoir should be up there," Ryneon noted, "This is troubling."

Regulam pointed to the gaping wound on the chest, "That wound was inflicted by an energy blade. The Amber Vipers have few such examples and the ones we have seen do not match the shape or length required. This was done by a long blade, two-handed, and of excellent quality, given the clean edges of the wound."

"I know the sword that dealt the wound," Ryneon stated, "This was the work of Captain Toran."

"The... the Storm Heralds?" Regulam gulped, "But why?"

"Unknown, and we have insufficient data to speculate. Why did Nyoir intercept them, what words passed between them? What insults were given to provoke a fight and how did Toran beat so skilled a blade as Nyoir? Questions that demand answers."

Regulam looked worried, "Brother-Captain, you suggest our allies turned upon us?"

Ryneon was unmoved, "The evidence is compelling. The Storm Heralds should have returned by now, they have not. They fail to respond to vox calls, as if making their intentions plain. They do not even try to hide their treason behind false promises and feeble excuses, they may as well have run up a flag to declare their parting from us."

Regulam sounded concerned, "A Battle-Company is a serious foe, if they join our enemies we will bleed."

"Their numbers are considerable but their experience is the greater danger. They are no lax braggarts, like the Vipers, the battle is shifting against us."

"Perhaps we should reconsider our plan?"

"I have sworn a Sacred Oath, I cannot turn aside now. We must reclaim the relics or die in the attempt. There is no retreat, there is no other way. Return to your duties, we attack the Forges in five minutes."

Regulam bowed and retreated, returning to his squad. Ryneon looked over the Company and saw they were ready. Seventh stood proud, eagerness for combat radiating from every eye lens. Their fighting spirit was keen, redoubled by the sight of Nyoir's cold corpse. They would avenge their fallen, all they waited for was their Captain's word to attack. Ryneon did not give it, he had promised Auriga he would wait, though it grated on his soul.

As if summoned Auriga appeared, making his way past the Howling Griffons and Blood Ravens. The Librarian seemed pleased with himself, stepping lightly as his book-topped staff swayed. His smile lessened though as he saw Nyoir's body, surprise edging his eyes. He had not expected this, Ryneon noted, so much for precognition.

"Nyoir is dead?" Auriga asked.

"Killed by the Storm Heralds," Ryneon stated.

"That is... unexpected," Auriga remarked.

Ryneon turned to face him directly, "You failed to predict this."

"Foresight is not a crystal ball," Auriga retorted, "The future is ever-shifting, always changing. To chart a path through the mountains of destiny is a feat only the Emperor can claim."

"So what use are you?" Ryneon spat.

"I cannot see from the mountain top, but I can slip through cracks in the rockface. That is my gift, to find the weak spots in fate and lever them to my advantage."

Ryneon stepped back as a white-clad Apothecary slipped by, tending to the corpse. A Narthecium extended and went to work retrieving the Progenoids. Nyoir may be dead but his genic legacy was the Chapter's Due and it must live on. Ryneon trusted those who received this boon would prove worthier than Nyoir had been.

Ryneon declared, "Your bleating is irrelevant. Your time has expired, we attack at once."

"You need to reconsider that," Auriga urged.

"I will not turn from my course!"

"I am not asking you to," Auriga replied, "Merely to adjust the angle of your attack."

Ryneon glared, "Explain."

Auriga elaborated, "The assault on the Forge is too predictable, which is why it will fail. We need another avenue, an unpredictable one. I have scouted another location, a high-value asset the Amber Vipers cannot afford to lose. The Gates of Perdition, guarded by their darkest guardians. Within lie relics of dread power, artefacts from the Dark Age of Technology. Coluber cannot allow those weapons to fall into our hands. Lay claim to that vault and he will accede to anything you demand. He will give over the Howling Griffon's due without protest."

"You propose blackmail!" Ryneon spat.

"No, not at all... I propose extortion," Auriga corrected, "An effective tactic."

"That is a dishonourable course."

But Auriga sneered, "You are the one who said a Sacred Oath demands questionable decisions. Your first attempt to fulfil your oath fell short, and now you propose to do it again, faster and stronger. To change your method is not to abandon your oath, it is using your brain!"

Ryneon was not convinced, "This strategy is risky, especially if our enemies have increased their numbers."

"If the Storm Heralds have betrayed us then they stand between you and the Forge. Even combined the Howling Griffons and Blood Ravens cannot break through their united defence. You cannot headbutt your way through this problem like an Ork, you must think your way around it."

Ryneon glared, "What makes you think this stratagem will work?"

Auriga grinned, "I have turned the Amber Viper's Chief Librarian to my cause. He works for me. Even now he paints a picture of our coming attack, luring Coluber away to the Forge. The Gates of Perdition are exposed and vulnerable. We should hit them now."

"That places a lot of trust in a turncoat," Ryneon observed.

"I may not be able to tell which way down a tossed coin will land, but that it will spin in the air is clear. Maru's hearts are filled with weakness, his isolation is a faultline in his soul. Even indecision works in our favour, so long he is torn between past and future he is mine to steer. Trust me, Maru Kysoto is firmly in my pocket."

Ryneon considered the variables and did not like the result. The Storm Herald's treason had shifted the odds against him and made an assault on the Forge perilous. Ryneon's brain was a Transhuman cogitator and ran stratagems faster than any logic engine. The numbers of the Vipers, combined with Storm Herald experience, made a deadly combination. Shock and surprise were potent force multipliers, but without them the probability of success was harrowingly low. A different vector offered greater chance of success, but it meant trusting Auriga, a source already proven unsound.

Ryneon set his jaw, "Convince me to trust you."

"The Blood Ravens..."

"Not your Chapter," Ryneon admonished, "Why should I trust your precognition, when you failed to foresee Nyoir's death?"

Auriga nodded, "Because Gabriel Angelos does."

"He is your Chapter Master?" Ryneon pressed.

"He is, and the first who is not also a Librarian."

"Why does that matter?"

Auriga drew in a breath and explained, "Gabriel Angelos saved the Blood Ravens from the machinations of the traitor Azariah Kyras and was hailed a hero. He led us well against the forces of Chaos, Orks and Daemons, but his most insidious enemy has ever been the Eldar. That capricious race oft interferes with the Blood Raven's fate, sometimes as a fickle ally, sometimes as cunning deceivers. Angelos has navigated a perilous course in his dealings with them, oft to the benefit of both races, but never has he trusted them. The Eldar weave plots across millennia, using their psychic gifts to set in motion schemes that will ensure their race survives, no matter the cost to others. Angelos is no fool, he knows the Eldar may present a friendly face, but they always hide a knife behind their backs. To fight those who see the future he turns to the Librarians."

Ryneon refused to guess what role Auriga played in this so stated a fact, "The Eldar are not to be trusted."

Auriga nodded, "Indeed. Their precognition is far-reaching and subtle, but not the only kind of clairvoyance. My gifts are blunter, destructive, but perfect to counter their elaborate schemes. I foresaw a Space Hulk, the Carrion Drift, coasting through Segmentum Ultima without rhyme or reason. What role the Eldar intended for this flotsam I could not discern, but that it brought calamity for hundreds of human worlds was revealed to me. With Gabriel Angelos' leave my Company was dispatched to destroy this Space Hulk."

"You succeeded," Ryneon concluded.

"The Eldar tried to interfere, weaving spells of misdirection and confusion in the corridors and passageways, turning the interior into a maze none could escape. A supremely cunning and deadly trap, but my gifts broke it, as a sledgehammer would a stained-glass window. I found the flaw in their ambush, by avoiding it entirely. We refused to enter the hulk and space-walked over the surface, to blow out an engine quadrant and send the Carrion Drift into a star. The Eldar had no response for so brute a tactic, their subtle schemes proving gossamer thin against my talents. Whatever their goal was, I smashed it."

Ryneon accepted this, "You argue that a swift action, at an unexpected point, defeats long-term plans."

"I am glad you grasp the metaphor," Auriga grinned.

"I do indeed," Ryneon affirmed, "Your strategy will take several hours for us to get into position, but it shall be done. We shall break the Gates of Perdition and end this conflict in one blow."

"And then we force the Amber Vipers to give us what we want," Auriga agreed.

"For starters," Ryneon declared, "Before this is over, I will obliterate this entire base. The Amber Vipers will be destroyed, as will all who stand with them. Thus shall we claim justice for Nyoir's death. Though he was the least of us he remained a Howling Griffon, and by the stones of the Proud Eyrie, he shall be avenged."