The contingent led by Sigmund continued relentlessly its way through the depths of Ysibos. The Black Skaven was followed by Himmelstoss and Van Habron, his two most faithful warriors, as well as a dozen Humans and Skaven on horseback. The second row consisted of the fifteen Dwarves workers, their hammers and other tools brandished firmly. Finally, back, forty soldiers closed the walk.
Sigmund stopped Okapia and raised his hand.
- Halt!
Everyone stopped in front of a huge, cubic building, which was a hundred feet high, and just as wide. Colossal statues framed a double door, whose wood was adorned with intricate designs directly carved across its full height. The statue on the right represented a female Dwarf wearing armour, axe and shield, while the one on the left was the effigy of the same woman, but who clutched a baby against her apron with one hand, and brandished a mug of beer in the other. Round stained glass windows decorated the walls at regular intervals, and a lighting inside which revealed their colours from time to time could be made out.
Captain Steiner looked down at the Dwarves.
- Tell me, what building is this?
- It's a temple dedicated to Valaya, Captain! replied Gunnar.
- Who is that?
- The Goddess of the Hearth of our people. You can contemplate her face of warrior and her aspect of guardian of the hearth.
- Oh, I see. Please forgive my lack of culture.
- You are forgiven, Captain. At first glance, indeed, it is not a sacred place, the temples of our karaks are much more massive and tasteful than that. Karak Helliglys was not a decisive place, the Dwarves who built it didn't take the time to make a very elaborate temple.
- However, it seems to me so refined for something built in a hurry
- Amateur work! spat the workman. Go to Karak Azgaraz or Zhufbar one day, Captain. You'll get the difference, I guarantee!
Sigmund didn't want to get bogged down in arguing about the quality of Dwarven architecture. He watched for an opportunity to change the subject, and quickly found it when he saw the workman's bride.
- Is there a problem, Lady Gandolfsdöttir?
The round face of the red Dwarf woman creased in anxiety.
- I sense something is wrong.
- In a burrow full of Feral Skaven? Is it surprising?
- Don't forget we are in a Dwarven outpost, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw things done at this temple!
Gunnar Simensson felt in turn an unpleasant cramp in his stomach.
- Say, Captain, how long have these Thaggoraki been in the place?
- No more than a few months, otherwise we would have spotted them earlier.
A workman raised his hammer toward the statues.
- Hey, look!
Immediately, the fifteen Dwarves ran as one man right in front of the statue on the left of the door, then the one on the right. A succession of angry exclamations rang out.
- They soiled Valaya!
- May Grungni crush them under his hammer!
- And let Grimnir smash them with his fists!
Sigmund dismounted Okapia and approached. He noted with bitterness that the statues had indeed been vandalized, and were smudged with dark stains that mingled with unpleasant odours: rotten vegetables, spoiled meat, and various particularly dirty bodily fluids.
Another worker pointed to the entrance.
- Chief, the door is ajar!
Without saying a word, Gunnar grabbed the huge bronze ring of one of the heavy doors, and pulled with all his might. The wooden panel moved. Captain Steiner approached the workman.
- Master Simensson, perhaps this is not the best time to…
But the Dwarf wasn't listening to the Black Skaven. Understanding that he wouldn't be able to dissuade him from going all the way, Sigmund gestured to the horsemen.
- Riders, dismount! Himmelstoss, take four people and keep the horses. The others, follow me.
Once the door was opened wide enough, the Dwarves rushed inside the building. Sigmund and Van Habron quickly followed them, so much so that they almost ran into them in the back. The Dwarves were rooted to the spot, at the entrance to the nave of the temple, surprised and shocked beyond measure.
Although he had never set foot in a Dwarf temple, Sigmund had no trouble getting his bearings, the design of the building was very close to that of a temple built by Humans.
The stone tiling that covered the floor was too stained with multiple more or less fresh dark stains, as well as all kinds of rubbish. It was easy to see, for the benches on which the Dwarves who once inhabited the city had prayed had been shattered. The Feral Skaven had used the pieces of wood to build a large platform at the back of the nave, platform on which they had placed a cauldron on a tripod. And behind the platform stood a huge construction, a giant Skaven with two pairs of horns.
Skadia, shocked beyond measure, pointed to the feet of the statue. Her cheeks flushed.
- Wretched! How dare they!
The Horned Rat idol had been erected on a pedestal on which were written words in a language Sigmund couldn't decipher.
- It's not Queekish, is it?
- It isn't, Captain, Gunnar replied through gritted teeth. It is indeed Khazalid.
- Can you read these words for me, please?
- "Gromthi Rinn".
At these words, all the Dwarves turned to the idol. Some passed behind the statue to inspect the alcove. The mumbles turned into growls of anger.
- What does it mean? Van Habron wondered. Why are you all freaking out like this?
Skadia swivelled towards the Black Skaven. Her eyes burned with a blinding fire of anger.
- These words, Gromthi Rinn, can be translated by "Ancestor Queen" in your language! That's how we call our Goddess of Hearth. It means those wicked Thaggoraki destroyed a statue dedicated to Valaya in order to replace it by this trash!
Looking closer, Sigmund noticed that indeed, the top of the cut stone was not regular, and included some granite broken blocks, undoubtedly the remains of the statue dedicated to the divinity of the Dwarves. No doubt she had been completely dislocated by the inhabitants of the Under-Empire. And to add a layer of blasphemy, the inscription had obviously been deliberately defaced by Feral Skaven cutlasses.
- By Grungni's trunnion, this is the supreme insult, the one that makes the heart of every Dwarf bleed, without exception! Skadia exclaimed.
Gunnar's words turned out to be much less poetic, but just as sincere.
- Goddammit fucking rats!
It was like an attack order. The workers threw themselves on the statue of the Horned Rat with angry cries, and began to beat on it with all their might.
Sigmund didn't want to lose control of the situation.
- Hey! Stop, stop this immediately, I order you to!
A waste of time, the Dwarves remained deaf to his injunctions, and continued to demolish the idol. Gunnar climbed onto the pedestal and went behind to push it forward, while his comrades kicked its legs. The splinters of wood were flying in all directions, and the din shook the nave.
Van Habron suddenly felt his hair stand on end, under the effect of a brutal instinct.
- My Captain?
- Yes, Van Habron, something is coming. These hammerheads must be stopped!
Sigmund approached the Dwarves, and shouted louder:
- I'm telling you to stop! We're wasting time, and you will attract...
Gunnar Simensson was suddenly thrown to the side with a violent blow on his head. He fell from the pedestal, rolled on the marble slabs, and didn't move anymore. Immediately, the other workers stopped their demolition. Skadia knelt beside the Dwarf, and let out a heartrending cry. She lifted her fiancé's head, and Sigmund felt an icy shiver run down his spine when he saw a four-inch-diameter iron star embedded deep in his neck, with such force that it had been partially severed.
The Black Skaven's ears swivelled. His heart leapt in her chest. He gripped Heart of Unicorn's handle with his both hands and bellowed:
- ESHIN!
A terrible concert of furious squeals and angry yelps resounded above the heads. Skaven, Humans and Dwarves looked up to be struck by a nightmarish sight.
About twenty Gutter Runners of Clan Eshin, well hidden in the darkness, dropped from the ceiling, daggers first. Each of them held one in each hand, and a third by the tail. They fell on the regiment. Each Eshin absorbed its fall on a Vereinbarung soldier. Twenty of the fighters under Sigmund's responsibility were immediately slaughtered and disembowelled in the same movement.
Some of the soldiers were completely taken aback, and didn't have the reflex to raise their weapon. It took little more than a few seconds to put an end to their existence with a stab. The Dwarves, for their part, threw themselves into the fray, all driven mad with anger. Skadia, in particular, twirled her mallet and screamed to split her vocal cords of invocations to Valaya and Grungni.
Sigmund swept the air with Heart of Unicorn. He knew how to deal with assassins of Clan Eshin, and their ability to wield three weapons at the same time. The trick was not to let them get too close, but also not to leave too much of a distance, and thus allow the use of their fearsome forged stars. Moreover, he was perfectly capable of putting aside any notion of "fair fighting" when he faced opponents whose reputation for cowardice was no longer to be proven. Also, he didn't hesitate to throw himself on one of the assassins who had its back to him, and to skewer it on his sword. The Eshin squealed in pain. Sigmund didn't give it time to try anything. He spun around, and used the Feral Skaven as a shield to avoid three iron stars thrown by another. The three projectiles punctured the skin of the assassin. The Feral Skaven who had thought to liquidate a treacherous Stormvermin opened its eyes wide in amazement. Sigmund took the opportunity to retrieve one of the Eshin's daggers that it still held at arm's length, and threw it directly into the heart of his target.
The soldiers of the regiment, once the first surprise was over, defended themselves fiercely. They outnumbered the Gutter Runners, but the latters were much faster and more formidable in close combat. The struggle was fierce, blood spurted on both sides.
Joop van Habron felt pain in his arms. His shield and mace became heavier and heavier. He was facing no less than three Gutter Runners. These perceived the musk of bitterness, and it stimulated them. With hateful sneers, they tormented the tall Black Skaven. Van Habron was not exhausted, but he felt that his blows were becoming less and less sharp, less and less accurate. His vision blurred. He thought of all the suffering the Feral Skaven had caused in villages like Friedrichsdorf. He saw again the corpse of little Mikkel, whose murderer was perhaps one of his three harassers.
He stopped thinking as a red veil suddenly obscured his vision.
All the hairs of his black fur stood up in a heartbeat, the drool rose to his lips, the fatigue and the pain flew away. With an animal bellow, he bounded forward. With a swing of his shield, he pushed back one of the three Gutter Runners. Simultaneously, his mace crushed the second's ribs. Then he twirled to the third, and his mace shattered its muzzle in the movement.
The assassins of Clan Eshin still standing, about ten individuals, heard and smelled the Black Hunger that had just broken out in Van Habron. Its scent, usually emitted by the Stormvermin, had the effect of overexciting them in turn. They immediately lost interest in their respective targets and coordinated their deadly moves towards the most dangerous opponent. Gutter Runners fled at the slightest real danger, but they knew how to fight together to quickly dispose of a threat they deemed less than their attack strength.
Van Habron therefore found himself assailed by the ten Gutter Runners. He swept through the air furiously, swinging mace and shield, not slowing down or feeling anything but the inferno of anger that fuelled his body. From time to time, he experienced a slight resistance at either end of his arm, and his ear dimly caught the sound of broken bones or crushed flesh from one of his opponents.
These did not seem to weaken, however, they continued to circle around the Black Guard, and to stab him with their daggers.
Sigmund rushed at the assassins, quickly mimicked by the other soldiers still able to fight. It was difficult to aim precisely at anyone amid this infamous ballet of cloaks and claws.
The spear of Himmelstoss then passed through an Eshin's breastbone. The five warriors left outside the temple had joined their comrades to lend a hand. Finally, after an interminable minute, Heart of Unicorn mowed down the last Gutter Runner.
Silence returned to the profaned temple. Everyone got to their feet, examined their wounds, and watched the surroundings, looking for possible new targets. No one left except for the Vereinbarung fighters.
Sigmund sheathed his sword and approached Van Habron.
- Well done, Private Van Habron! Audacious, even reckless, but effective!
The Black Skaven chuckled weakly, then he collapsed on the tiled floor.
- Van Habron? Shit!
Sigmund knelt beside his comrade, and hissed in concern. Van Habron wore a cuirass, but the assassins of Clan Eshin, trained to strike in the weak spots, had cruelly lacerated the Black Skaven on his sides, in his neck, under his arms, and in his thighs. The unfortunate ratman was bleeding out, and breathing more and more difficult. The backlash of Black Hunger bruising his organs probably didn't help matters.
- We're losing him! cried a Dwarf.
Sigmund grabbed the Black Guard under his armpits with both hands, and pulled him up. He barked at him:
- Private Joop Van Habron, I order you to hold your ground, go home and hug your parents before you live a long life in which you'll have made a carrier switch!
But the young Black Skaven no longer heard his superior distinctly. His mouth overflowing with blood, he only muttered:
- I am the last bulwark of Vereinbarung. I…any sacrifices.
He vomited a last gulp of blood, his head fell back, and he didn't move.
Sigmund stroke his forehead with his clenched fist.
- I can't believe it… Van Habron!
- Joop, hang on, my friend! Himmelstoss groaned.
- It's useless, murmured a soldier. It's the end for him.
Captain Steiner carefully set the Black Guard back on the tiled floor, then stood up. He put a hand on the arm of Himmelstoss, who already had tears in his eyes.
- Joop didn't act like a soldier, he behaved like a real hero. We shall say homage to him as we should when we return to Steinerburg, I give you my word, Himmelstoss.
- He wanted… he just wanted to save our kids, Captain.
- And we will honour him. Let's get back to the fight, and clear the way for those who find them and evacuate them.
Himmelstoss nodded, unable to say a word. His sobs mingled with Skadia Gandolfsdöttir's, who clutched Gunnar's corpse to her chest.
Marjan, Ickert and the others weren't dawdling. The young woman led the small group to the pit where the ratboys were locked up. Approaching the heavy circular grid, there were a few surprised comments.
- What happened to those guys? Ickert asked.
- Looks like the ceiling fell on their face?
Marjan had already noticed it when she left, but hadn't thought about it anymore. And yet, the facts were there: the two bright-eyed Skaven ordered to guard the pit were both dead, buried under quintals of stones and rubble. The young Human woman didn't want to waste any more time.
- Wake up, and think of the most urgent! The little ones are in there!
She approached the gate, and cried out into the darkness.
- Hey, kids? It's me! Courage, we will deliver you!
Balin's voice rose through the bars of the grate.
- Oh, thank you, thank you! You kept your word!
- A Lady of Kislev who worships Ulric always keeps her word, son. You guys, lift that gate!
Ickert reacted immediately. He threw himself on the crane, grabbed one of the steering wheels, and spun it with all his might, quickly helped by two soldiers who maneuvered the other. One of them sneezed.
- What's that crap? These steering wheels are covered in dirt and dust! Were they wielded by a golem, or something?
- Shut up, Stromberg, and push! retorted the other.
Within seconds, the huge circular grate was swinging on its chain six feet above the pit. The blonde human hurried down.
- Here we are! Come on, get together, the soldiers will help you out. Stay calm, do not rush, and everything will be fine. Whoa, up there? I need four or five people!
Ickert, Stromberg and three other soldiers dropped into the hole. The little prisoners lined up in front of them, and were carried out of the pit in turn. Marjan then spotted a small figure lying near the wall.
- Hey, you, what are you doing? Come on, wake up and come!
The little lying Skaven didn't react. Marjan frowned, and knelt beside him. Her heart sank when she recognized Ethan, the most weakened ratchild. She put her fingers on his shoulder, shook him, he didn't move any further. Finally, when she pressed her ear against his chest, and heard nothing, she had to face the facts, and endure the ice that crushed her guts.
- Poor Ethan… May Ulric accompany you in front of Morr.
The children who had not yet been evacuated had seen it all, and understood immediately. Some started crying. Marjan stood up.
- I know it's very sad, but alas, the Gods preferred to spare Ethan suffering.
- It's… it's our fault, Balin muttered. We should have given him more to eat.
- No, son. It's the fault of those cursed Feral Skaven bastards, and only them. Be brave, and show Ethan you're stronger than they think!
Pankraz Ickert advanced almost timidly towards the tall blonde Human.
- We won't leave him there, my Lady, will we?
- Of course we won't, Private Ickert. In any case, not definitively. Our guys have a good chance of winning. When the battle is over, we'll come back for him, and we bring him back with the others, that he may be decently buried. Come on, kids, let's get out of here!
In a few minutes, all the Skaven children were out, except for one.
Marjan knelt beside Ethan's small body, and leaned closer to him. She allowed herself to shed a tear, and whispered in the hollow of his ear:
- I'm not leaving you.
Then she looked up at the sky.
- Morr, I pray you, be generous to Ethan, and have a little patience.
She jumped up and ran towards the others.
Once everyone got out of the pit, one of the Skaven questioned the tall Human woman with a look.
- Where are we going now, Lady Gottlieb? Are we leaving this damn den?
- Not right away, we have to find the youngest. They are in another nursery, so the girls. They shouldn't be far away.
- Are you sure, my Lady?
- They keep the little pups in the same area, this was the case in all the burrows I visited. I need three of you!
Ickert stepped forward.
- I'm coming with you, my Lady, I must find Bassilus and Elsie!
Two Humans raised their hands in turn. Marjan regarded the three volunteers with a light pout.
- Right, that'll do. The others, stay here, defend these kids by all means, and wait for our return!
Gabriel was terrified. He repeated himself for the hundredth time he had had the worst idea of his whole life. But it was too late to back down. And then, he wanted to find Emil and snatch him personally from the clutches of the infamous White Skaven who had took him away of his parents.
So far, he had managed to avoid the bands of Feral Skaven, too busy fighting against the army of Vereinbarung. He had chosen a direction at random, then another. Now he was in the middle of a group of large, solid and austere stone buildings. And if the cries and sounds of battle echoed in the distance, over this square an eerie silence hovered.
The small light grey Skaven passed near an alcove. A tiny light appeared on his left. In reflex, he turned his head. In front of him, a kind of statue built with various and random materials occupied the reinforcement dug in the rock. The craftsman had used a Skaven skull for its head, and the light came from a globe stuck inside. The skull's empty eyes, nose and mouth lit up with a greenish glow, while a device hidden in the torso of the statue emitted a high-pitched squeal, in every way similar to the one that had scratched the ratboy's ears when he saw the Horned Rat in a nightmare. Distraught, Gabriel sped straight as fast as he could.
When he was far enough away from the horrible statue, he caught his breath.
What was that? An alarm? Heck, I've been spotted!
His ear twitched again.
He had just heard a small noise, in a building just a few yards from him.
He looked up at this large building, which looked even more solid than the others, and spotted a sign in the shape of an open chest above the door.
Hmm… A bank?
Then he remembered Lady Gottlieb's words.
An "an isolated and safe place"… Yes! The bank must be the strongest building!
He approached, and suddenly, his ears perked up, he stopped short.
Uh-oh!
No doubt this time. He heard screaming. Weak, but recognizable. The cries of a baby.
Emil!
Without hesitation, he passed through the large reinforced door, which heavy bolts had been dissolved with acid. He walked past the counters, continued to follow the weeping to a heavy door. He listened. The screams were coming from the room behind, but he heard nothing else. He put a trembling hand on the handle, lowered it very slowly, but the door remained closed.
Oh, dear! Wait a minute, I haven't said my last word!
Gabriel rummaged in one of the pockets of his waistcoat, and pulled out a keychain to which was attached a whole collection of hooks. It didn't take long for the opening mechanism to click, and the door opened with a long creak. His breathing became wheezy, his throat was parched. He finally dared to peek through the opening, and found to his great relief that there was no Feral Skaven in the room. He came in.
It was an office in which a kind of laboratory had been set up, a bit like his, but much smaller and less well equipped. In a corner was an old, mouldy, punctured mattress. A wrought-iron stove with the head of a long-bearded Dwarf warmed the room, crackling softly. In the centre, a work plan on which was piled whole bric-a-brac stood. The young engineer couldn't help but have a professional peek over Karhi's equipment, and gasped in indignation.
What a slob! Not able to take care of his tools! Dirty vials, rusty instruments... What does he hope for with this junk?
The formulas written on the parchments seemed illegible to him – he could not yet read Queekish, and only knew a few words orally. Besides, he spotted diagrams representing mechanisms that were unfamiliar to him. He carefully picked up the plans, began to read them, but he remembered what he had said to Jochen Gottlieb. He didn't want to take the risk of being tempted to use the Feral Skaven technology, so it was without the slightest hesitation he stuffed everything into the stove.
Now, you just have to start all over again, you charlatan!
Finally, he turned to the corner of the room where the moans were coming from. There was a large wooden crate with no lid, more than three feet high. He approached, and leant his head over the ledge. He couldn't say if he was relieved or sickened to see that it was really Emil. On the one hand, the tiny little boy looked pretty much unscathed, on the other he really wasn't happy at all to see him. Standing in his dark-stained shirt, clumsily wobbling on his legs, his nose was dripping and drool was smearing his chin, and he was screaming, screaming! So much so that Gabriel had to step back, without taking his eyes off him.
- Hush, hush! I'm coming to help you, Emil! Shut up, they'll hear you!
But the little White Skaven didn't stop crying. The young engineer yelped in a lamentable voice:
- No, no, no! You do not understand? I'm getting you out of here, you little moron, so stop!
He didn't want to approach, much less put his hands on the child, at the risk of seeing him scream louder. Suddenly, he had a revelation while looking at the crate: one of the sides was equipped with a lever. He rushed to the lever and pulled it. One side of the crate fell, leaving the path clear to Emil.
- Come on, get out! Now!
The little rat-toddler moaned a little less loudly, seemed intrigued for a few long seconds, but remained motionless.
- Get out, I tell you! Go outside! Come here!
Gabriel beckoned him closer with furious arm movements, but Emil still didn't move. Worse still, he began to cry even more. Gabriel clenched his fists in rage.
- I don't believe it! Why you dirty…
Suddenly he became aware of what he was about to say. His heart stopped short. Everything became blurry around him, he was seized with dizziness. Even Emil's screams no longer reached his ears.
So it's true... Master Finston was right! I'm just a miserable worm! I'm no better than those thugs!
He fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and began to cry softly in turn.
He remained a long minute without being able to stammer the slightest coherent word. Then he tried to catch his breath in large gulps, his tongue hanging out, his eyes burning with tears. Without taking his eyes off the dusty ground, he articulated in one go:
- You are right to be afraid, Emil. I really am a stray dog! If you're where you are, it's completely my fault! Opa Ludwig said the Horned Rat didn't grant my wish, but maybe another God did? I wished very hard that you would disappear, but I shouldn't have! I've been... stupid, foolish, naughty, all at once! I thought you were going to take my father away from me! But you have nothing to do with it! You're too young to be mean! It was I who thought these dreadful things, but it is you who suffer because of them today! Now, I want to catch up, Emil! I just want you to give me a chance to fix my mistake and get you out of here! Please, forgive me, and trust me just once! Even if you don't understand what I'm saying, I swear I want to help you!
He noticed with a new pang of heart that a long trickle of saliva was connecting his mouth to the dusty floor, and felt his muzzle wrinkle in disgust. Suddenly, he noticed the screaming had stopped. He looked up, and saw Emil was staring at him, without emitting a sound, with a strange expression of curiosity. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw the little rat-toddler waddling slowly towards him, and putting a hand on his arm. Gab got up gently, and finally gave a smile, which Emil returned.
- Yes, Emil! We're going back home! I'll take you back to your parents!
He took him with a thousand precautions in his arms and lifted him up. The baby made no protest. The young engineer grimaced.
- What a hideous smell! How many times have you peed on yourself?
It was by remembering his father's words that he understood such a smell couldn't be due to little Emil.
That disgusting Grey Seer marked him!
Too bad, he would have to get a little dirty, but it would be a lesser evil. Gabriel trotted towards the exit. It was then that he distinguished on a workbench in the corner partially hidden by the door a worm-eaten wooden crate, from which pulsed a strange greenish glow. This outburst suddenly left him speechless, as if hypnotized.
What is that?
He had seen a flash like this before. His coat bristled gradually. He approached cautiously, and finally he could see the contents of the box. He distinguished three stones inside, three large pebbles that burned with an intense green light, a fire that shone, captured his full attention, as if some sort of instinct was whispering to him to reach out his hand, and quickly pocket these stones. Suddenly he remembered.
The Horned Rat stained glass window!
Indeed, the gaze of the great Horned Rat in his father's chapel had the same colour, and the same intensity as this luminescence! A material with such properties, in the laboratory of a Grey Seer, could only be one thing:
WARPSTONE!
The little ratboy panicked. Except for his intrusion into Psody's chapel, Gabriel had never been in the presence of warpstone in his entire life. Should he throw this material into the fire as soon as possible? What if these pebbles exploded? So, take them away to hide them? Where to? And then, if someone else grabbed it, or if a Human touched those stones, it would create a Mutant! Besides, could he really grab those stones without any risk?
Emil's babbling brought him back to reality. The baby was grimacing, and clearly looked bothered and scared.
- You're right, Emil. Let's get the hell out of here!