The sounds of combat had decreased as the bellowing of war horns multiplied.
Sweating and panting, Gabriel forced himself to smile.
- We won, Emil! We will be able to leave this horrible place!
The little toddler didn't seem to hear these words. He kept screaming, whining so loudly that the light grey ratboy had the feeling to becoming deaf. However, Gabriel didn't lose his enthusiasm. Even if he had thought the opposite a hundred times during the last few hours, he was sure he had a good chance.
The Feral Skaven were becoming rarer in the streets of the old karak, but they continued to move in groups. They were fleeing the forces of Vereinbarung and no longer had the heart to fight. As they could trample him or knock him over in their path, Gabriel tried to hug the walls and preferred to slip through the small alleys instead of remaining in the open.
The caves seemed less dark to him. Indeed, daylight passed through crevices which punctured the cavernous vault in places. The atmosphere was also less heavy, a slight draft allowed the air from outside to circulate. Several bugles announced the victory with their copper tones which mingled with the clamour of the soldiers.
A few hundred yards more, and Gabriel would be saved. More importantly, Emil was with him.
A last regiment made up of around fifteen panicking Clanrats suddenly appeared. The Feral Skaven were running like crazy towards him. He jumped to hide under the entrance porch of a house.
Pinned near the door, Gabriel placed his hand over Emil's mouth.
- I beg you, shut up!
Fortunately, the Feral Skaven were too busy fleeing the pursuing infantry regiment to pay attention to the cries of a baby. They passed the house without slowing down. Gabriel let the Vereinbarung soldiers pass, then he eased the pressure.
- Sorry, Emil, just a reflex.
At the moment he was about to go on his way again, the door burst open, and a clawed, covered in white fur hand, grabbed his arm, and pulled him irresistibly inside.
- Well, well, where are you going, little cockroach? asked a squeaky, tainted with a heavy Queekish accent voice.
Karhi brutally pushed the little light grey Skaven into the main room of the cottage. Gabriel almost tripped, and jumped nervously to avoid falling or dropping down Emil. He heard the slam of the door, and the sinister click of a key firmly turned in a lock. He was locked up with the Grey Seer.
- Did you think you could escape me? Big mistake, I knew you would go over here! I've got-got you! You're not going anywhere!
- You… you…
For the first time in his life, Gabriel was in front of a Grey Seer. His entire family had described to him the role of these individuals, their responsibilities, and the powers they derived from. He was therefore facing the great chief of the burrow, alone against a messenger of the God of the Under-Empire. This one corresponded in every way to what he had imagined: larger than him, very fat, dirty, whitish fur stained in places, a pair of long and divergent horns, a grey dress soiled with disgusting matters, and a leather satchel slung over one shoulder, no doubt containing herbs and potions.
Gabriel should have been frozen on the spot in fear.
But…
He couldn't explain it, but instead of remaining silent, frozen by fear, a kind of inferno was gradually melting the ice that paralyzed his heart. Logic, perhaps?
- You're not going anywhere either! Our army is beating yours, you're stuck, you'll be found soon or later!
- I'm a Grey Seer! I will be able to escape, and reduce to a pile of snot anyone who tries to stop me! But first, I shall take back what's mine-mine!
Gabriel immediately guessed what the White Skaven meant.
- First of all, his name is Emil, and secondly, he's not yours!
- His name doesn't matter! And yes, he's already mine! How do you think I've found him? He already belongs to me, you little fool! I can smell this little chosen-chosen one of the Horned Rat wherever he goes! We are linked, he and I!
Gabriel understood something that made his fur stand on end in rage.
- That's why he's crying so! You're hurting him with your dirty magic!
- I call him, I tell him I'll watch over him... It's purely friendly-kindly!
- Indeed, you… you exude kindness!
Gabriel was stunned by his own audacity. How could he allow himself to stand up to a grown up, a Grey Seer at that? Anger really gave him wings. The fat White Skaven, oblivious to the tide of questions rising in the young light grey Skaven's brain, chuckled cruelly.
- Very soon, he will call me "Master"!
- Never!
- Yes-Yes ! He's mine, I shall teach him how to serve the Horned Rat! retorted the Grey Seer, humming.
Karhi shifted from one foot to the other and continued to whisper in a honeyed voice "he's mine-mine!". The little light grey Skaven wondered how to react to this distressing show.
It was at that moment something clicked in his head.
For years, Gabriel had been raised to fear and loathe Feral Skaven, which had been described to him as "degenerate, hungry for violence beings". He had never seen any before that day, and had done everything to lock his mind and move forward to save Emil. He had seen the Clanrats, the fearsome Stormvermins, and more than once, he had thought he saw an untimely end coming. The little White Skaven had been his beacon in this storm. Now he saw one of their leaders. And the only thing this leader inspired in him was just pity. This character was simply grotesque, he was not frightening at all. Better still, Gabriel found him so pitiful that he almost wanted to laugh out loud and make fun of him. After all the previous scares, it might even have been the healthiest thing to do.
He looked down, and thought he detected a pleading glint in Emil's eye. He responded with a small smile, and raised his head. Bravely, he declared:
- He will not serve the Horned Rat.
- Of course he will! I'm going to make this little rat my student-apprentice!
- No, because I'm leaving this hellhole, and I'm taking him with me!
Karhi stopped his odious behaviour, and his face tightened with vexation.
- You're arguing? Were you never taught not to be insolent towards a respectable elder?
- You are not respectable! You are a child thief!
- Me, a child thief? Karhi repeated, in an ironic tone. For six years, your kind has been the one entering our burrows to kidnap our pups! It is my people that yours is gnawing away! I'm just rebalancing things!
- "Rebalancing things"? A disgusting Feral White Skaven who can't even keep his lab clean hopes to "rebalance things"? You're making me laugh!
The vexation on Karhi's face gave way to anger.
- I what?
- Yes, you're making me laugh! The Magnificent Grey Seer who attacks young ones and hides behind his killers makes me laugh! The whole Rat Kingdom has been afraid of him for weeks, and I've been the first, but when I see the Magnificent Grey Seer's true face, I don't want to scream in fear, but in amusement, so he is ridiculous, then I'm laughing, ha ha!
- You little impertinent!
The little light grey Skaven burst out laughing, a laugh so loud and enthusiastic that Emil laughed too. Gabriel was so surprised that he felt touched tears well up in his eyes, but he didn't stop laughing. Karhi stomped his foot and covered his ears.
- Stop-stop, or you'll regret it!
Finally, Gabriel had to stop to catch his breath. Karhi took the opportunity to try to regain the upper hand. He held out his fingers towards Gabriel. The latter took a step back. The Grey Seer ordered:
- No more laughing-playing. Give me that White Skaven.
- No, I keep him!
- Give me that pup!
- Fuck off, weirdo!
- Will you give him to me, you little worm?!
Karhi jumped on the little ratboy and tried to snatch the baby from his hands. Without letting go off Emil, Gabriel dove his head forward and bit down with beautiful teeth the fat White Skaven's arm. The Grey Seer squeaked in pain, and felt tears stinging his eyes. Gabriel took advantage of the respite to quickly grab Master Barisson's whistle, still around his neck. He lifted it to his mouth and blew so hard that the shrill sound hurt his ears.
Karhi yelped again, and, furious, jumped on Gabriel and slapped him. Not very strong, an adult would have taken it without difficulty, but the little light grey Skaven fell backwards. One of the White Skaven's claws cut the whistle cord off, which tinkled on the ground. The little ratboy barely managed to fall on his back, and thus avoided crushing Emil.
- Too bad for you, you asked for it! I'm tired-tired of everyone resisting me, including a dirty little maggot!
The White Skaven raised his hands, and spat out a series of syllables made of hisses. Immediately, a spiral of green smoke with yellowish reflections rose from the Grey Seer's feet, and swirled all around him. A dull roar rang out, and a terrible stench suddenly invaded the room.
Gabriel dragged himself on the ground, and pressed himself against the wall, without taking his eyes off the Grey Seer. He hugged Emil to his heart, and turned in order to protect him.
Karhi burst into a demented sneer. He seemed to be getting taller and bigger. Was it real, or was it an optical illusion caused by the smoke and the flashes of light zigzagging between the wisps of smoke? The buzzing of flies echoed through the room. The air was unbreathable. Even the floor beneath his feet seemed to be covered in mould.
The Grey Seer was not pretty to look at before, but his magic made him ugly before Gabriel's eyes. One of his eyeballs bulged horribly, his lips retracted, revealing his rotten teeth, his eyebrows rose, reinforcing the malice in his gaze. His claws grew and turned black, his hands were covered with buboes, just like his face. His tail whipped nervously in the air and snapped on the wood. His grey dress twirled in the wind. He roared in a hoarse, weighed down by his evil power voice:
- So you're not laughing anymore, are you? You understand-understand who you are dealing with! The power of the Magic of the Under-Empire will annihilate-destroy you!
Gabriel almost regretted not fainting immediately, so as not to have to endure such an abominable exhibition any longer. But if he did, Emil would be in his clutches for good! But would it make a difference in the seconds to come? Anyway, given the amount of magic he was about to unleash, wouldn't Karhi risk killing them both?
The fat White Skaven stirred.
- No, wait! I have a better-better idea, little woodlice! You are going to have the very great privilege of contemplating-admiring my reinforced-improved power!
Still surrounded by the spiralling plague cloud, Karhi threw his satchel on the ground, opened it wide, and took out an object shining with a golden glow item. Despite the dazed state he was in, the little light grey Skaven immediately recognized the family's greatest treasure.
- Oh, my... my father's mask?
- "Your father's"? Karhi repeated. Oh, I see! You are one of the offspring of the Blasphemous One! Well, now it's my mask! It's mine-mine! And I shall use it to remind you who the Master is!
The White Skaven stuck the mask on his face, and adjusted the leather strap behind his head.
Over the past few hours, poor Gabriel had done everything he could, and had escaped all the Feral Skaven, but he was still young, and had reached the end of his limits. Against a wizard, he had no chance. He knew it. Even if someone came to his aid, the Grey Seer would tear him apart in the blink of an eye. Emil's cries finally petrified him.
- Contemplate the anger of the heir of the Horned Rat! Karhi, the New Overseer!
Karhi steeled himself, convinced that he could replace the entire Council of Thirteen with a snap. He raised his arms again, and resumed his invocations. Gabriel closed his eyes, waiting for the end which seemed to drag on.
Suddenly, he raised his eyelids.
His instinct had whispered him something was wrong.
Of course something is wrong, you moron! You are facing a Grey Seer who's about to make you rot on the spot!
However, his intelligence stalled, while a more visceral intuition whispered the obvious to him.
Karhi was still in front of him, surrounded by plumes of polluting smoke, but was no longer laughing. He no longer had either this victorious posture, ready to unleash incredible powers all around him. His arms dangling, he looked nervously to the right and left. Gabriel could almost sense a certain worry beneath the golden mask. The miasma-laden air cleared, the lightning stopped dazzling the room. Karhi groaned in surprise. Suddenly he froze. His muzzle pointed in a direction a few feet to Gabriel's left, it began to tremble all the way to the tip of his tail. Then he yelped something.
Gabriel barely spoke a few scraps of Queekish. But he had no trouble understanding the very simple words that the Grey Seer emitted.
- What… Who are you? Go away! No! Stop! Stop! Out-out! No! Stop-stop!
Karhi stepped back, tripped over a stool and had all four legs up in the air. He got up quickly and pressed himself against the wall, without stopping shouting:
- Leave me alone-alone!
Gabriel then heard a word he didn't understand, and that the White Skaven shouted and repeated:
- Chiri willakuq! Chiri willakuq! Aaaaah! Aaaah!
The little light grey Skaven then smelled the odour of burning hair. His eyes widened when he saw the mask glowing from the inside. The gold had heated red, and had become hot. Hysterical with pain, the Grey Seer ran around the room like a madman. He grabbed the mask with both hands to try to tear it off, but his hands caught fire on contact with the gold. He rolled on the ground, shook his head as hard as he could, nothing helped.
It was worse than a nightmare. Everything combined to make the picture as terrible as possible. Between the desperate screams, the smell of charred meat, the trembling of the enormous fatty mass, the pattering of the flesh bursting under the effect of the magic of Cuelepok's mask, Gabriel wondered by what miracle he didn't wasn't already passed out. Finally, after far too long, the cries stopped, the carcass of the Grey Seer stilled, and a heavy silence, disturbed only by the whining of the little White Skaven, fell in the house.
Carefully, Gabriel tensed down his face, inch by inch. His lungs relaxed, he was able to breathe. He turned his head towards the baby, still in his arms. He shouted less loudly, and seemed to calm down a little.
- All is well, Emil… This bad guy will never hurt you again.
Gabriel moved closer to the corpse. He thought of the enormous fright he had just suffered. As he regained control, anger replaced fear. When he was close enough, he spat on the remains of the Grey Seer, and yelped:
- A good lesson for you, false Overseer! When your heart is rotten with black magic, never play with touched by the sun artefacts!
The little White Skaven was no longer crying, but he still made a sulky face.
- At least you're not crying anymore. But you're right, we're not going to stay here, next to this big pile of manure!
Gabriel approached the exit door, and turned down the handle. It remained closed. He rolled his eyes.
- Remember, he locked it. Hold on…
Gabriel took a step back, carefully placed Emil on the ground, and reached into his pocket and snapped his fingers in annoyance.
- Damn! I forgot, I left my set of lockpicks in the meat of a Feral Skaven! Well, it's better to lose a bunch of hooks than your life! What do you think, Emil?
In response, the little rat-toddler sat on the ground and stuck his thumb in his mouth. Gabriel shrugged his shoulders and leaned towards the corpse.
The corpse! He realized he was looking at a corpse very closely! Another White Skaven, moreover! He had to try twice before he could stay close enough to search it. To avoid any unpleasant surprises, Gabriel first checked if Karhi was indeed dead by nudging his shoulder with his toes. No reaction. Gabriel avoided looking over the Grey Seer's shoulders, and focused on his smelly clothes.
Let's see, in which pocket did he put the key?
His ears suddenly perked up, as a very disturbing, loud, dry crack resounded through the room. He quickly looked for the source of this noise, and when he found it, his hairs stood up in fright, once again.
This creak came from the door. More precisely the lock. The wood of the door seemed to twist, contort itself all around the square of steel. Small branches grew and suddenly dislodged the entire mechanism from its support. Separated from the wooden panel, the lock fell to the floor.
Gabriel, hallucinated by this phenomenon, saw the door slowly open to reveal the silhouette of a bulky Skaven, huddled in a dark red robe. Impossible to see his face, hidden under a dented iron mask. The apparition entered the house, and held out its hand towards the baby. A muffled voice emerged painfully from the mouth breathing grid, and whispered in Reikspiel:
- Ah… There you are, small one!
The masked Skaven then spun towards the young ratboy. Gabriel panicked. He then noticed something he hadn't seen before, slipped in the Grey Seer's belt: a warplock pistol. Quick as lightning, he threw himself at the weapon, seizing it with his right hand. He rushed towards Emil, picked him up, pinned him against him with his left hand, and brandished the pistol towards his interlocutor. He shouted with all the little strength he had left:
- No! Leave me! Go away!
Emil started screaming again. The apparition was not offended.
- Calm down, Gabriel. Everything is fine. It's over, there is nothing more to fear-fear.
The little ratman felt his brain derail, and his lower jaw threatened to hit the ground. What had shocked him the most was the sudden change in the tune of the masked Skaven's voice, a tune he did not dare to recognize.
- Imp…impossible…
- Of course it's possible.
Emil's tears partially brought Gabriel back to his senses. And yet, he believed he was dreaming. The Skaven very slowly raised its hands, unscrewed the metal fasteners on its neck, opened the flaps, and removed its mask, revealing its face.
Which was none other than Psody Steiner's.
His fur had been dyed dark brown, he had lost a little weight, and his two horns had been sawed off at their base, but it was definitely him.
As if struck by lightning, the young light grey Skaven backed away, and collided with the wall.
- You… you're dead!
- No, I pretended-pretended
- It's… it's a trap! Who are you?
- I assure you it's me, Gab, replied the other.
The adult Skaven dropped the helmet on the ground, and took a step forward.
- Don't come any closer or I kill you! the little ratboy yelped, raising the gun.
Gabriel felt his face contort into a horrible grimace mixing terror and fury. The apparition articulated in a calm, but slightly nervous voice:
- Gabriel, I beg you, put down that gun.
- Let me go, you filthy imposter!
- I pray-beg you, trust me!
- No! My father died in front of me!
- You saw me lose consciousness under the influence of a powerful drug.
- Prospero Steiner has been poisoned!
- It wasn't poison, just a strong sleeping brewage.
The little light grey Skaven held his ground. There was a decisive element which supported his certainties:
- I attended his funeral! I kissed him, he was ad cold as a block of marble!
- I know-know, and you were scared, that's normal. It was an illusion spell that concealed all my vital functions that Pulcheria Brukenthal, the Grey Mage, had cast on me. When you left the temple, Romulus helped me get out of the coffin to hide before closing it and then calling the clerics.
Still very slowly, the Skaven undid the buttons of his red coat one by one, then let it slide onto the floorboards. He was able to reveal his slim body hidden by heavy padded fabrics. Then he spread his arms, as a sign of good faith.
Gabriel, however, was not convinced. Once again, he felt compressed between his logic and his instinct.
- I… I don't want to shoot.
- Then, don't shoot.
- But you're forcing me to, Feral Skaven!
His arm was trembling and starting to cramp. Emil shouted louder, panicked by the ambient tension which was at its height. Gabriel felt tears welling up in his eyes. He turned his head away, lowered his eyelids, preparing to squeeze the trigger. He heard the soft, slightly hoarse voice whisper:
- If that's what you want to do, go for it. But please, look at me. Me too, I just want for you to look at me.
Gab opened his eyes, stunned, Psody smiled and winked. Without letting go of the baby, the little light grey Skaven carefully put down the warplock gun, threw himself into his father's arms, and burst into emotional tears.
- Father! You're alive!
- I'm so sorry-sorry, my little one. It needed to be done.
- Forgive me, forgive me!
- It's nothing, Gab. Everything is fine.
- But why?
- When we get home, I'll tell you everything, I promise.
Gabriel calmed down a little, and stepped back, still with Emil on his arms. He then saw his father's features harden with anger, and shivered in panic. He was not out of the woods!
- Now, you shall explain to me why-why you went down that rat hole where you almost got yourself killed a dozen times instead of staying in your flying boat with your mother?
The little light grey Skaven was at the end of his strength. He was so tired that he no longer even felt the anxiety of being reprimanded or punished.
- The evening you were... well, when you pretended, I made the wish the Horned Rat to take Emil away. I was very scared, because you seemed to be more interested in him than in me! But I made a very big mistake! Emil was kidnapped by the Feral Skaven because of me! It was my duty to go get him! My duty, and my desire, too! I wanted to save his life!
The master mage's face gradually relaxed. He let out a sigh.
- I knew you had entered-entered my chapel, and why. It's true, you did a mistake. You wanted to fix it, it was noble-kind of you, Gab, but your wish to the Horned Rat was a little mistake, and to make up for it, you made one three times bigger! Well, at least you're alive, and so he is.
- He doesn't stop screaming, I'm exhausted... However, this awful wizard can't hurt him anymore!
Psody quickly examined the child.
- He doesn't look too sick or injured. He must be very scared. And who knows how long it's been since he last ate-ate? Don't worry, we'll get him to safety. I will lead the way. Can you carry him a little longer?
- Yes.
- Here, wait-wait. Hold him tight, and don't move.
The master mage made a quick gesture above Emil's head. His palm briefly radiated a golden glow. Emil stopped crying, and seemed more serene.
- What have you done to him?
- Don't worry, just a light, calming spell.
- Oh… I've never seen you do that to Isolde or Teresa?
- Magic should not interfere-interfere with children's education, Gab. But this time, it's an emergency, we won't tell his parents, right?
Gabriel pouted when his father winked at him. The latter headed towards Karhi's still smoking corpse.
- Sorry for arriving so late. I had lost sight of him. When he started using his magic, I felt him, and I ran as fast-fast as I could to stop him. What happened-happened?
- He wanted to curse us, and used your mask to reinforce the spell.
- What? Don't tell me he was stupid-idiot enough to put on the Cuelepok mask as he was casting an Under-Empire spell?
- Well… he was.
The White Skaven slapped his forehead, overwhelmed by such foolishness. He heard his son murmur in a faint voice:
- You… you were right, Father. The magic of the Horned Rat is evil. No one should practice it. Never!
- When you use it, the first thing it destroys is your soul. You quickly become its slave. You can see the result by yourself.
- Now… now… I understand.
- I have been very lucky. Thanks to his mask, Cuelepok freed me from its grip.
- You did it without Cuelepok, Father. You are the strongest.
The master mage replied with a small smile:
- Come on, let's quickly get out of this cesspool-cesspool! But before that…
The White Skaven felt his face twist in anger. He took a few steps to find himself alongside Karhi's remains. He considered the Grey Seer responsible for their latest misfortunes, and explained to his son:
- I had to behave like a Feral Skaven to get close enough to him.
Gabriel didn't dare ask anything, but he quickly imagined everything that this statement implied. With a firm hand, the master mage tore the mask from the head of the Grey Seer. The solid gold artefact covered nothing but ash. Psody leaned towards Karhi's now headless body, and whispered in a honeyed voice:
- It was a privilege-pleasure to serve you, oh sublime-wonderful Grey Seer!
Then he kicked the corpse hard with an angry cry.
A loud noise of flatulence echoed through the room. Psody suppressed a cry of pain.
- What the...?
The master mage rubbed his toes several times. He carefully placed his foot, patted Karhi's enormous belly with his fingertips, then pushed it more frankly. The paunch didn't move like flabby jelly, but remained abnormally rigid.
- This is weird-strange... Wait, move away, Gab.
He delicately grabbed the bottom of the White Skaven's grey dress, and rolled it up. He couldn't suppress a disgusted grimace when he revealed Karhi's stomach. His abdomen was enormous, puffy, the hair had fallen out, and the skin was blackish, streaked with large visible veins. The flesh in the open air seemed devoured by a blackish mould, which formed solid plaques.
- He's too!
- Wh… what?
- Iapoch's legs were eaten away by this rot. For him, it's his stomach.
- Disgusting! Awful!
- This gangue is as hard as the shell of a tortoise. Look!
Psody knocked three times on the cracked skin of Karhi's abdomen. They heard a hollow, clear sound. The master mage snapped his fingers.
- This is why Nedland failed to put him down, at Nichetti Estate! With such a belly, he could easily endure a shot! Maybe the bullet is still stuck in there?
He then sniffed loudly.
- But I smell something familiar down there. I do not know what. Yes, this smell reminds me of something.
- Warp magic?
- No, Gab. It's more surprising-surprising. Actually, I realize: he wasn't using Warp magic. His condition and what I could see makes me think more of the magic of the Plague Monks?
- The… the Plague Monks?
- Yes. A Plague Monk must have taught him his magic.
Gabriel then remembered a small detail that could be a clue?
- Just before he died, he said something I didn't understand.
- What was that?
- "Chiri willakuq".
The White Skaven froze. His pink eyes sparkled.
- Hmm… Weird.
- What does it mean? Is it the name of a Plague Monk? Did he call his master for help?
- No. It's a clever-smart, but wrong hypothesis. Basically, these words mean "Messenger of cold-things". A messenger of misfortune, a macabre-sinister individual, who announces death. Cold-things are what we Skaven fear the most, deep inside ourselves.
- Are the "cold-things" the Lizardmen?
- They are. I hope you never meet or see one. Maybe a deep fear would bubble up from your gut… and maybe not. Anyway, if the mask made him see a "messenger of cold-things", he must have been really terrified! Maybe he was scared to death before he got his head burnt!
Gabriel didn't answer. The terrible cries of pain stuck forever in a corner of his memory contradicted this eventuality, but the young Steiner didn't want to talk about it. Psody leaned towards Emil, and sighed:
- Ah, if only he could-could speak. I'm sure-sure he saw something.
- I hope... he won't have... any after-effects?
- We'll see. Come on, let's go!
Gabriel prepared to follow his father outside, but at the last moment, his attention was attracted by a small flash: the whistle that Master Barisson had given him. He put it back in his pocket with one hand before leaving the house.
When the three of them were outside, Gabriel took a deep breath. He had never been so happy to leave a building. But his joy was short-lived: at the end of the street, there were a dozen Clanrats, led by a Feral Skaven dressed in a pink cape. Psody recognized Clawleader Kirgarsh. The Feral Skaven quickly understood which side the three were on, and brandished a threatening fist in their direction.
- Traitors to the Horned Rat! The whole burrow is ruined because of you! You will pay-pay!
And the Clanrats rushed towards them, yelping.
- Oh no! We're doomed!
- That's what do you think, Gab! Now I don't have to hold back!
There were only a few seconds of distance between the Clanrats and the three fugitives. A few seconds were sufficient for the master mage. He quickly made a few gestures with both hands, while reciting a succession of syllables. When the Feral Skaven were only about ten feet away, a bramble bush burst out of the ground in a blink. The branches were very tall, very thick, and also very flexible and strong. The Clanrats dove into the middle of the pile of greenery. They uttered cries of surprise and pain in chorus, trapped, immobilized, lacerated on all sides by the thorns.
Gabriel whistled in admiration.
- Wow! How did you do?
- A simple magic formula for growing seeds.
- But… it's illogical! We are underground, where there are only mushrooms and moss! There can't be any bramble seeds!
- Unless someone has spent the last two nights discreetly-secretly placing bramble seeds everywhere, replied the master mage in an evasive tone.
- So many seeds?
- The advantage of a big coat is that it has big pockets.
Kirgarsh, like any good Clawleader, had taken care to stay behind. He had stopped just in time to avoid ending up in the bush with the others. He stood in front of the Steiners, twirled his weapon and growled in rage.
- I'm going to break your back, you dirty traitor-liar!
The White Skaven dropped to one knee and dug his claws into the dirt. Immediately, a rock stalagmite with a fist-shaped tip instantly grew right at Kirgarsh's feet, and hit him between his legs. The Clawleader rolled on the ground, groaning, his hands clenching in his pain. The Steiners laughed loudly and turned into a perpendicular alley without losing time.