Chapter 5.3 A Snake Amongst The Wolves

Russ growled as he stalked down the hallways of the Hrafnkel. He had grown tired responding to the summons of the Chaplains and Wardens that now plagued his Legion. He couldn't kill them and defy the will of the Warmaster. He couldn't really ignore them as they threatened to report him both to the Warmaster and the Sigilite on Terra if he refused to see them as they demanded. And so he had been forced to run like a dog called by its master every time the interlopers had a concern they wished raised.

What added to the Wolf King's frustrations was the inability to track down Curze. The Night Haunter had reportedly attacked the Warmaster unprovoked during the events on some backwater world. Russ gruffly thought to himself he was beginning to sympathize with the Night Haunter a little more every day.

None the less, word had gotten back to the High Lords of Terra, and the Regent Malcador had ordered Leman and the Vlka Fenryka out to bring the wayward Eighth son back to Terra for trial. Unfortunately for Russ the Night Haunter had not returned to Nostramo which had been his first port of call. The Wolf King had no intention of punishing the populace of Konrad Curze's homeworld for the Primarch's sins, and no one had commanded him otherwise. Instead, after leaving a small detachment on the world he had continued out into the void, picking up on any sightings of the Eight Legion and visiting previous compliances to see if the Night Haunter had gone to ground on any of them. It has been a fruitless search.

Zardu Layak had become the foremost Word Bearer leading the Chaplains within the Sixth Legion, and he seemed to enjoy provoking the Primarch knowing Russ could do little to hold him accountable. Moments like this were frequent where he would summon the Wolf King to show trumped up charges on a member of the Vlka Fenryka which Russ would easily dismiss, only to be summoned again days or weeks later with another of his sons being falsely accused. The Warden of the Sons of Sanguinius did not actively bring their own accusations, but were more than happy to be passive observers.

None of the accusations made it to trial, Russ knew for certain the Word Bearers would never get a majority conviction so it pleased them to waste time on meaningless staged events. The one time Russ had refused to attend these farces, Zardu Layak had sent a message to the Warmaster claiming the Wolf King was obstructing investigations, which resulted in a swift rebuke by Sanguinius.

And so Leman Russ resigned himself to the beck and call of the Word Bearers. He wondered who would be on trial this time. He tried to recall any arguments or slights that might have irritated Zardu enough to bring this about. More than half of the false accusations were levelled against individuals who the Word Bearer felt personally slighted by.

The Great Wolf rounded the corner and entered the room which had been altered for the purposes of the makeshift court. For some reason it was dark on this occasion, a small handful of lights highlighting the faces of the accusers, their faces hidden beneath their grey helms. Interestingly enough no Wardens were present, Russ noticed, which immediately put the Primarch on guard. Something was wrong.

"I am here, Lorgar-son," called the Wolf King as he advanced towards the dais where Word Bearers stood, "I do not know which of my sons you seek to humiliate today, but let us have done with it so I might return to performing the All-Father's work."

"Welcome, Primarch of the Sixth," cackled Zardu Layak, "I'm afraid it is not one of your sons who is on trial… Today we sit in judgement of YOU, Dog of the Emperor."

"What, you come to accuse me of witchcraft?" asked Russ with a chuckle, "You must be desperate, if I have become the victim of your childish games."

"You ARE guilty, Dog," said Zardu with an accusatory tone, "You stand guilty of the crime of failing in your loyalty to the Warmaster."

"I have served the Baal-son faithfully for many years. I have even tolerated your presence, choir boy," replied Leman in an exhausted tone.

"You will treat your betters with more respect, mongrel!" shrieked the Word Bearer, "But it does not matter, there is sufficient evidence against you to bring sentencing."

"Sentencing? What happened to a trial? Or does the Warmaster no longer believe in fair justice?" asked the Wolf King, tapping his hand on the hilt of his blade.

"We bestow justice on behalf of the Warmaster," crowed Zardu, "He leaves this job to us for you are not worthy of his attention."

"I sincerely doubt that," replied Russ, "The fact you have no sons of Baal-son present makes it plain you have no authority here at all."

"Their presence is irrelevant to the crimes!" proclaimed Zardu, "We render judgement on you, Dog of the Emperor. The sentence is DEATH!"

"…have you gone mad, Lorgar-son?" asked Russ calmly, "You would never leave this room alive. Even if somehow you managed to bring me harm you are aboard my ship. You are surrounded by the Vlka Fenryka. Even suggesting harm to me will ensure you have marked yourself for death. The Regent on Terra would not stand for a lowly child of the Word Bearers to kill a Primarch, regardless of the Warmaster's commands which you carry no prove of."

"The Regent is an old fool, much like the Emperor himself," hissed the Word Bearer, "The future lies with the Warmaster. He shall supplant the Emperor and bring a new age for us! One where your kind are wiped from the Imperium!"

"Funny, I do not see the Baal-son's representatives here to give such a speech," said the Wolf King, looking around the room, "They must not have got the message that their Father is to overthrow the Emperor."

"SILENCE!" screamed Zardu, "Enough of this charade! Come my brothers, dispense the judgement!"

With his final words, the Word Bearers stepped down from their places of judgement and advanced on the Wolf King. Russ saw in their hands each held a simple blade, no guns or chainswords. Something was definitely wrong, even with their madness the confidence of which they held such crude weapons made it clear they were a threat to the Primarch, even if he did not understand why.

The Wolf King drew his blade and stepped back, considering whether there was a necessity to call for aid. The Primarch was more than capable of slaying the entire troupe of Word Bearers with ease, but without understanding the nature of the weapons they bore it would be foolish to rush in. Retreat would leave him open. He had to press the attack, but guard himself well from any strikes the Grey clad warriors might make on him.

He had crouched into a striking stance, when the door opened behind him and a pair of Astartes entered the room. Bolter fire rang out across the chamber and within moments several of the Word Bearers were down. A trio of others including Zardu Layak snarled at the interruption and lunged for the Wolf King.

The first was brought down by another wave of bolter fire. The second reached Russ, only to be cleaved in two by the mighty strikes of the Wolf Lord. The final assailant, Zardu Layak himself, charged at Russ as he attempted to recover from the previous attack into a defensive stance, only to stagger and fall, a bolt round buried deep within his back.

Behind the body of Zardu Layak stood a Word Bearer, lowering a bolt pistol he had concealed but a moment prior. Russ roared and lunged for the Word Bearer, his blade held high to perform another killing stroke.

"Wait! My Lord Leman Russ!" called one of the Space Wolf warriors behind him as he rushed forward to grab the arm of the Wolf King.

Russ turned to look at the pair of Astartes, both wearing the armour of the Sixth Legion. His Legion.

"Who gave you leave to interfere?!" roared Russ at the warrior, who was methodically removing his helm before the Wolf King.

And then Russ paused. The face beneath the helm was not one of his sons, he knew them all by sight. It was the same face held by the other Space Wolf stood a few paces behind. And now as he looked forward, the Word Bearer as well with his helmet removed had the same face also.

"What damn trickery is this?" growled the Wolf King, tightening his grip on his blade, "You are not my sons, or the treacherous sons of Lorgar… I should kill you all for this deception!"

"We would not advise it, My Lord Russ," said the former Word Bearer, "I am Thias Herzog, Second Company Captain of the Alpha Legion. My Lord Alpharius sends his greetings and asks you overlook our actions in aiding you."

"Sons of Alpharius," rumbled Russ, "You sneak around with your false armour. Your Father condones this action? To pose as my sons under my very roof?! I may have to purge my Legion of any more of your false faced warriors…"

"Again, we beg you do not, Lord Russ," replied Thias, "Our presence here was a protection. We knew the Word Bearers would eventually seek to eliminate you. The weapons they possess are of the same make as the ones that slew Horus. They would be a danger to any Primarch. My Lord Alpharius has uncovered a truth that several of the Emperor's sons will turn against him and pledge allegiance to a power the Emperor has been battling against for almost his entire existence. You are one of his greatest warriors and thus you are a threat to their plans."

"Aye, am I now?" said Russ, slowly softening his stance but retaining his icy vigil, "And how would Alpharius and his sons come to know all of this? Why did you not come to me at once with this death threat?"

"Our Lord retains many secrets," continued Thias, "Plots and information are his stock in trade. This is why the Regent Malcador had Alpharius hunt for Horus' killer, and not the Vlka Fenryka. You are the Emperor's most trusted and loyal blade, but we are the Emperor's eyes and ears where none but we can hear. If we had come to you before the plot was revealed you might not have believed us. To suggest one of the Emperor's sons would turn against him could be considered high treason. Only now, having seen the events with your own eyes are you open to the truth we bring."

"There might be a grain of truth in that," grumbled the Wolf King, eyeing the trio suspiciously, "But I still do not understand the truth of this all. They claimed to act on behalf of the Warmaster, but the sons of the Baal-son are not here! Where are they?"

"The Wardens are all dead, slain by the Word Bearers," answered Thais with some remorse, "We could not save them and ensure we were present to protect you. We had to make a tactical decision."

"But WHY?!" growled Russ, "This makes no sense! They proclaim the Warmaster as their champion yet kill his own sons?! Is this a treachery of the Warmaster or the Seventeenth alone?!"

"It is possible the Warmaster has been turned… but we do not yet know for certain," said Thais with some hesistation, "We can confirm that Lorgar defies the Emperor again, and perhaps his sons seek to sow discord amongst the rest of the Primarchs. And we know there will be others. The War Hawk was likely from last I heard. Mortarion's Legion may be in open rebellion unless our First Captain has succeeded in his mission. Magnus is also a significant possibility."

"Hrmph… Magnus," muttered the Wolf King.

"We cannot say if this is done in the Warmaster's name or not," continued Thais, "But we do know the rebellion will be widespread. You will be one of the loyal sons that will need to stand with the Emperor to prevent the downfall of the Imperium."

"Then we must act," rumbled Russ, "No more hunting for Curze. We must find and crush these traitors as I have done before in the All-Father's name."

"Then if it pleases you, My Lord, we shall restore our armour to our Legion's colours," said the Alpha Legionary, "With the end of the Word Bearers the risk to your life has passed."

"Yes… do that," growled the Primarch, "And know that if I should find one of your kind amongst my sons again, I personally remove his head."

"You won't, I can assure you," replied Thais, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Russ, "We would depart your Legion now our mission is complete, but the warp storms are making travel much more difficult than before. We had foreseen this a possibility and so my orders are to submit myself and my subordinates to your command until such time we reconnect with my elements of my Legion."

"Fine…" said Russ, "We shall make for Terra with this news, and learn where we should best fight the enemy."

For a long moment, Russ studied the 3 Alpha Legion Astartes, reading their body language, their stance, considering their actions and motives. They were hard to read, much like the deceptive nature of their features. However, the Wolf King sighed and finally came to a conclusion.

"Know that I do not trust you… sons of Alpharius… but I know there is some treachery afoot by the Seventeenth Legion. Lorgar has had worlds burned for far less. I do not know what has happened with Baal-son, but I fear there is a foul scent of treason in the air. I only hope we can ride the currents to Terra swiftly, or I fear all will be lost before I even draw my blade..."