The wind was breezy and cutting, and smelled as if there were a storm on the way as Alberich and I walked down the old road. Clouds were rolling in above us, and we found ourselves walking against a blustery north wind, which certainly wasn't comfortable. There was a silent tension in the air that spoke of unspoken memories from last night's brush with Hell, and we found our steps hastened by foreboding. The tall, bluish-leaved trees swayed like skeletal arms in the air over us as the farmland became light woodland, and we walked in the wild shade of this unfamiliar forest. The landscape had a sort of uncanny valley to it. The nature here was almost earthlike, but not quite, I observed. Alien ferns wore thorns and would catch on clothes if one wasn't careful walking on the decrepit path, with the Tzaangor entangling his ankles with a swear at one point during our walk. We stopped near a babbling brook for a bite to eat after a few rushed hours.
Alberich placed his pack down on a tree stump, and reached inside, removing a shank of meat.
"This land, no one is here now," he said, a hint of sadness in his German voice. "We do not see people. No civilization."
"Probably good for you, honestly. No offense," I said to him, also finding a place to sit nearby. "Normal people would probably be afraid of you, so it is good we haven't run into anyone."
"None taken," Alberich said with a smile, tearing off a chunk of meat in his sharp beak. "I am not a stranger to having others fear me." I could spy that although he had a beak, he also appeared to have sharp teeth, which made him even more intimidating when close.
There was a dark edge to the last words he said, hinting at the fury I had already witnessed, but I was more curious at how much he actually knew about the reality were in. He had said he had come here from another place, and on top of what Tzeentch said about Travelers, it piqued my curiosity. Alberich could also be a displaced person from another universe, but there were plenty of feral worlds out there with only limited knowledge of the greater galaxy that he could've been dragged from via Warp fuckery. Not many people from from my home dimension had knowledge on how to expertly use a glaive to smite daemons. Halberd daemon melee combat was a rather niche skill to this universe, I admitted.
"Alberich, back at the farmhouse, you mentioned that you came from another place. What was it like?" I asked. I cut a few slices of meat for myself, and drank from the flask.
"A world with very little magic, different than this one," he answered curtly. "This is not the world I came from, but I find myself here. It is of little importance now." I got the sense that he didn't really want to talk about it, hearing his beak snap at the conclusion of his answer. "What about you and your world? What was it like?" he asked in return.
"Same," I said, unwrapping the other half of a food bar I had saved from yesterday. "I lived outside a big city, all humans. Compared to this reality, it was really primitive."
The Tzaangor chuckled. "Did you live in a mud hut? By my observations, you cannot get much more primitive than this world." He tapped the base of his glaive against the broken road. Maybe he had indeed come from a more feral world that wasn't all that familiar with space travel?
"I think I have some interesting news for you, then," I said brightly. Alberich's feathers ruffled in interest as I watched him reach into his pack for a new improvised cloth bandage for his arm.
"Do go on," he encouraged, changing the wrappings on his wound.
"So, hear me out, and don't think I'm crazy. I'm pretty sure we're on a fringe planet of a huge human-controlled galactic empire."
Alberich nodded, his eyes bright with interest as he tied his bandages. "How do you know this? Did the body you wear hold these secrets?"
"No, I just know about it. See, this is wild, but this universe in my home world is just part of a series of tabletop games and stories. I thought it was all fiction, but I guess it isn't, because now, I'm in it. A lot of the things we are seeing are actually in stories I read, like that pylon we are walking to."
"Truly?" the Tzaangor intoned. He wasn't calling me bonkers just yet, so I continued as he listened with interest as we both ate.
I went into general detail about what I knew about the Warhammer 40k universe, about the Emperor of Mankind, the Horus Heresy, daemons, the four Chaos Gods. I went into more detail about Slaanesh and described the daemons we had fought last night, and the Warp rift they had come from. This sort of talk back home would make 99% of my friends glaze over and walk away from me, since it was exceedingly geeky, but at least Alberich here was interested. Not surprisingly, he was particularly interested in Tzeentch and his alignment when I started talking about him. I mentioned the Warp-nullifying pylons that existed on other planets, like this one, and how they use unknown alien technology to sever a local area from the Warp. I didn't go into the whole Wizard of Oz and Tzeentch "planning" all these circumstances because that was a whole other mess. That son of a bitch set this whole awful thing in motion for laughs, and I would find it difficult to explain just why that god was interested in me in particular, and how he expressed that interest. Being a point of fascination to such a fickle chaos entity felt incredibly dangerous.
"So, would this tower we go to, would it hurt someone with psychic powers?" my traveling companion asked me as he finished off the rest of his meal and straightened up again to continue our walk through the forest.
I stood up, placing my pack on my shoulders. "No, I don't think so. The pylons won't specifically hurt psykers, but they do sever the connection of magic to the real world. Daemons can't walk if those pylons are active. You remember that black dog we saw last night?" Alberich nodded. "That's Wolfie, and he's an astral hound, a Warp entity. He can only manifest here when the Warp is connected to the Materium, which is why he isn't here now. But, when the pylons are active, he isn't hurt; he just can't exist here. The nullifying pylon shuts them out, but it doesn't, like, actually hurt them. And since we are creatures of the Materium, having an area shut off from the Warp won't hurt us, no matter what our abilities." This was my best guess here.
"How did you make an ally out of such a beast?"
"Not sure. I have a feeling that he's a friend, if that makes sense. He looks a bit like a dog I used to have when I was a kid. In my mind, he's the ghost of the little black terrier I once owned, but I don't know if that's true."
Just then, there was a distant metal whine coming from ahead of us. Both of our heads turned, and Alberich was instantly on guard with his scary spear. "Did you hear that?" he asked me, his ears forward.
"Barely. What do you hear?"
A few moments passed as Alberich listened, turning his head. "Something metal. It makes a buzzing sound. I do not know what it is. It is ahead of us, very close. It travels south on the road, heading toward us."
Something that was metal? Could this be our Tin Man, or perhaps the messenger that was sent?
I took out my dagger again. Without my psyker rage, I still wasn't very confident that I could do much of anything. I remembered the Key, which still stood under my shirt, cold and unresponsive since the mass suicide at the settlement. I briefly wondered why the daemons wanted it so badly, but my distraction was diverted when ahead of me, I saw a flash of silver quickly approaching us from a darker part of the forest.
The small thing was struggling in the wind, it was easy enough to see. It looked almost like a bumbling fairy creature, dipping and diving as it buzzed with a mad beating of metal wings. Alberich held his glaive out threateningly, but this did nothing to dissuade the fey creature, who, as it buzzed closer, only seemed to be only a little bit bigger than my hand.
"A metal insect?" Alberich marveled as it flew near to him clumsily. The Tzaangor relaxed a little, and reached out with a hand as if to touch it. Deftly, the insect evaded him, and flew straight to me. It landed gracefully on my drawn dagger, fluttering its gossamer wings before settling.
In wonder, I was able to see that it was a mechanical praying mantis! It was beautifully crafted, and I marveled as I saw it adjust its grip on my blade with four slender legs. It had two spiny forearms that it kept tucked against itself, and a ruby-eyed head regarded me curiously with chittering metal mandibles. Two long antennae curved elegantly over its head, which it moved nervously as it watched me.
"Salutations to you, Traveler!" The squeaky voice that came from the little machine was comically high, like a cartoon chipmunk. "I shall briefly introduce myself, but we have little time for pleasantries. My name is Null, and I am the keeper of Adler tower. This drone you see and speak to is Jiminy, my trusty mechanical homunculus, a masterwork of spirit and technology. I speak through him using my genius!"
The bug bowed dramatically, sliding precariously on my dagger. I held out my left arm and let "Jiminy" perch there instead. The breeze was picking up, and I hoped we wouldn't get rained on.
"A kind thanks! There is a wind about today!"
Alberich was studying the drone, tilting his head and swiveling his ears again like a curious goat. "So you're the messenger that was sent?" he asked, finally relaxing his stance. He leaned on his glaive like a staff after stepping closer.
"You wished for something more substantial, no?" the metal beastie sassed back, crossing his two toothed front legs. "I assure you that I am larger and of a more intimidating appearance in person."
"Are you the one making the dead speak?" the Tzaangor questioned, walking adjacent to me to get a better look at the insect that clutched my forearm.
"I do not make the dead speak. I only have access to the technology in their bodies, and that speaks," Jiminy cheeped indignantly. "The people in this land, they live a hard life, so they come to me to facilitate their lives. Is that so wrong?" The mantis turned his head north, and pointed a sharp foreleg. "I answer more questions in depth when you arrive. You are 3.67 hours away on foot at your current pace if you begin walking in ten seconds. You are in danger. You must make haste. I can help. I can fill in the empty pages of your knowledge."
My curiosity was killing me, and I really needed to ask another question. I was beginning to worry that our Tin Man would be some kind of Necron. Tzeentch had a sick sense of humor, and I could actually see him sending me to Trazyn the Infinite for his own fun while lying to me the whole time. "One more question," I said as the drone tapped a claw in irritation. "Are you... a Necron?" I dared.
The mantis seemed upset at that, and pinched a little bit of my flesh to let me know. "The knowledge I hold of the Necrons dictates that they are a soulless un-species incapable of artistry and heart. I have a heart! Look at this metal drone and tell me that I am not an artist with a soul as wide as the horizon!" Jiminy raised his forelegs and unfurled his wings, appearing to show off his grand majesty. "I am insulted at the comparison! But, you are to be forgiven. Fleshlings often make illogical mistakes, such as standing around talking when you should be walking!"
"He's right," Alberich said, grabbing his pack and his weapon. "I don't want to face creatures from Hell for at least a few more hours." The Tzaangor stepped back out onto the road with a big stretch, and began walking again.
"You will need me as a guide as we get closer. As you approach the outer periphery of Adler tower, Jiminy here will be needed to deactivate some of the security measures I have in place. And no more questions! Questions deplete battery power! We must go!"
Jiminy fluttered his wings again, and crawled up onto my shoulder with squawk. His insect legs felt sharp through the fabric of my shirt. "Let's go!" he demanded, tapping my collar with a foreleg. Little guy probably wanted a ride after being blown around in the wind for miles. I fell in behind Alberich, and we continued on our merry way.
None of us wanted to fight more daemonettes, steeds, and other nasties.
"Rather demanding little insect, isn't he?" Alberich said ahead of me with a smile without turning around.
Jiminy scoffed. "My goal is to help you, you ridiculous fools. This doomed planet currently sits at the cusp of a fracture in realspace, so there is very little time for frivolous snark unless you enjoy swimming naked in the Immaterium. I'm cutting the remote feed from Jiminy now. Conserving power! Will reactivate when you are closer!" The drone sounded three tones, and then, a brief sound of static before it was silent. It remained clinging to my shoulder as we began walking once again, balancing himself like a natural insect would.
The last few sentences caused my blood to run cold. This planet was actually entirely doomed? Were the pylons keeping some big Warp problem in check, and now, they were completely failing? Would there be a new Eye of Terror blowing up the Ghoul Stars at any minute? Oh no... And here I was thinking we might almost be to the Emerald City part of the story.
I walked up past Alberich in a hustle. We really did need to move quickly.