Psody gritted his teeth, expecting the Sword to fall on the Elf, but the sacred blade did nothing of the sort. Sister Weiseneule also twitched, and counter-attacked:
- So, what's changed? Before, you were a jester, now you're accused of heresy, that's no mean feat! How did you become an agent of the Purple Hand? And a high-ranking one moreover! We want to know!
Heike remembered the story Brisingr Steadyhand had told her when he had driven out the Daemonette who had taken up residence in the showman's mind. She wondered, with a curiosity she immediately judged to be unhealthy, if he was about to use scurrilous details?
- Everything changed the day my comrades in misfortune, led by Ludviksson and Steadyhand, finally found themselves in front of Katarine's master in Nuln. He was a powerful sorcerer from Tzeentch. As it happened, I wasn't with them, even though we'd agreed to travel together to the site of the third Xathrodox's artefact, the Chalice of Wrath. I should have gone with them, but I didn't, because that morning Katarine kept me in her bed. She claimed my companions could do without me for the last stage, and she preferred me to stay with her to protect her. From who? From what? I didn't ask myself. I was too dazzled.
- So, you preferred to stay in the arms of this woman rather than do your duty and protect the Empire? What an admirable sense of priorities, Master Palebough!
The masked Elf nodded calmly with an ironic pout.
- Sister Weiseneule, I sincerely hope you experience what I experienced with Katarine. I'm sure you would understand my actions, even if you don't approve them. I had the choice between almost certain death under the fangs and claws of Khorne Demons, and staying with the woman who had relegated the princess of my dreams to the rank of putrid toad. I obeyed her instruction. Just as my friends destroyed the Chalice of Wrath, the backlash of magic opened a small portal to the Chaos wastes, where Ludviksson, Steadyhand and their comrades were sucked in. At the same time, I was sharing a whole ecstasy with Katarine. I was too far away to be absorbed into the vortex myself, but as Katarine was linked to the sorcerer of Tzeentch, she was affected. She disintegrated in front of me.
- She disintegrated in front of you? Are you sure about that? It's not in any report!
- You're right, but it happened, that's why she was never found.
- You knew Katarine Braun was no longer among us, and you still haven't been able to grieve after all these years?
- Some people suffer terrible tragedies from which they can never recover. But my case was different: my memory was erroneous. I was certain Katarine had abandoned me in my sleep, when she was nothing but gold dust.
- You mean you weren't aware Katarine Braun had been out of this world for all those years when she vanished it in front of you?
- I'm afraid I have no other explanation to offer the Court, Sister Weiseneule. My subconscious has blocked out that terrible moment. Or was it under the influence of the Daemonette who broke into my skull? I didn't remember until I was freed from Ari's grip. Either she released the lock she'd put on my head, or I stopped repressing the memory and accepted reality.
- A rather convenient circumstance, but never mind. Let's get back to Nuln. What happened after this disappearance?
- The magical backlash was so violent I lost consciousness and part of the Nuln district collapsed. When I woke up, I was all alone in the rubble. I looked for my love for hours, but I couldn't find her. I was in such a state of shock that when the Nuln guard arrested me, I didn't even realise it. They sent me to an asylum for mentally ill people, from which I was released a few months later, with the help of Prince Steiner. I stayed with him for a while at his estate in Altdorf. Lady Heike helped me to come to my senses. Her good mood, her smiles, her compassion were all bandages on the gaping wounds that scarred my heart. For that, she has my heartfelt gratitude.
- So, you eventually recovered enough strength and lucidity.
- Yes, and I left Steiner estate. It was then an "it" from another reality appeared to me. First, in a dream. I dreamt of a small, but with big eyes face, with sharp quenches under a bundle of orange hair. It was Ari. She introduced herself to me under that name. Several nights in a row, she wanted to talk to me. When I finally agreed to listen to her, she showed up in person in front of me, while I was alone in the room of a seedy brothel. We waited until we were out of sight to have a long conversation, at the end of which we agreed to cooperate: if I helped her in her business, she would make me rich and powerful. I hoped I would be able to live like a prince, if not the happiest of men. I have been a poor fool, I chose to trust her, without the slightest idea of the consequences. A few months later, I finally understood the true nature of my new mistress. She was a remnant of Katarine Braun's soul, but with all the features of Tzeentch horribly stretched up to a grimace. It was nothing more than a web of deceit, betrayal and manipulation. By the time she explained her plan to me, it was already too late. She had so tainted my character with her ideas I approved everything. The emptiness in my heart caused by Katarine's absence was filled with bitterness, greed and then a desire for revenge.
The clerk took note of the statement. Sister Weiseneule asked:
- Your feelings for this Katarine Braun were clearly intense. Can you affirm with certainty this love was returned?
- No, Sister Weiseneule. I've never known whether Katarine was sincerely in love with me and wanted to protect me from her master the day she disappeared, or whether she was already manipulating me with Ari's perversion. I'd like it to be the first possibility. But what I'm sure of is that in the form of Daemonette, she became a real viper, a violent poison that suffocated my heart and twisted my mind. Since then, people I care deeply about have suffered because of me. Today, I wish to pay for my sins.
The Sword of Justice had still not moved. Sister Weiseneule seemed satisfied.
- Your Honour, for the moment, I have no more questions.
- In that case, Brother Merthin, it's your turn to question the accused, under Verena's benevolent wisdom.
- Thank you, your Honour. Master Palebough, were you in love with Katarine Braun?
- To the point of damnation, Brother Merthin, and that's not just idle talk.
- This is the first point to remember: my client nourished an inordinate passion for Katarine Braun. When she disappeared, his spirit was shattered. So, when he was summoned by a small creature who held within her a parcel of the soul of the woman he loved so dearly, he was quick to agree to her deal, as it would give him a little hold on the memory of his lost love. The Daemonette who called herself Ari used the same tricks as a cult guru; she targeted a desperate, weak person, whose judgement had been impaired by tragic events, to do what she wanted with, and to make her target serve her interests by promising a reward commensurate with its commitment. She convinced him to dance to a venomous tune: lies and promises she had no intention of honouring. Can you tell us exactly what Ari wanted?
- With the help of Brother Cazarras, Sire Alcibiades and all the members of the sect, our instructions were to bring down Vereinbarung and get all its inhabitants to fight each other.
- How exactly did you intend to do this?
- Firstly, we had to eliminate the Master Mage Prospero Steiner, the main architect of the construction of the Rat Kingdom. Secondly, we had to undermine the principality's external and internal forces. I pushed the Bretonnian lord Horace de Vaucanson to invade Vereinbarung, and I supported the Grey Seer Karhi by buying his warpstone in exchange of the sacred mask of the Master Mage.
- Were Vaucanson and Karhi aware of your whereabouts?
- I kept up a close correspondence with Lord Horace de Vaucanson through the innkeeper Herbert Lorne, proprietor of the Proud Sigmarite, an infamous inn in the Mousetrap. Vaucanson wrote to me under the pseudonym "Mister Vay", and to him I was "Mister Olafsson", he didn't know my real name.
Brother Merthin then spoke to the audience.
- Honest citizens of Vereinbarung, as you have seen, the Sword of Truth has still not moved, which proves my client has always told us the truth up to now. However, I must give you one more explanation. The Master Mage was "poisoned" in front of dozens of witnesses, but this was a ruse designed to encourage the members of the Purple Hand to continue with their plan, so that they could be identified and then trapped. This daring move was devised by the Prince, the Master Mage, the Prior and the Vigilant Magister. All the time Master Palebough thought he was following the instructions of Vaucanson, who called himself "Mister Vay", he was in fact obeying the orders of the Prince and relatives. In doing so, he didn't cause as many victims as he might have. Can the finger of guilt be really pointed at my client?
- Objection! intervened Sister Weiseneule. That's a laughable defence! Even if the Master Mage wasn't murdered, many people died, and Palebough's intentions were still heretical!
- Rejected. Brother Merthin, I'm curious to know what you're getting at?
- Your Honour, Master Palebough is not guilty of the blood crimes of which he is accused, since he himself was manipulated. You cannot condemn him for crimes he didn't commit. What's more, I'd like to check the credibility of one of the players in this drama. I would like to question Prior Romulus.
- So be it. Prior Romulus, please come to the witness box.
The princely chaplain took his seat.
- I promise to answer your questions with the Truth, under Verena's gaze and with Shallya's agreement.
- Perfect, Prior. You've been at the heart of quite a sophisticated plot game, over the last few weeks. When the murderer of the Master Mage was searched, a piece of evidence was found in your chambers, namely a vial of Jabberwocky blood. This was enough for us to arrest you and have you locked up.
- That's exactly right. In fact, it was all part of the plan. Under the name of Mister Vay, we asked Palebough to find a vial of Jabberwocky blood and leave it where it could be got back. Master Palebough obtained this poison from Herbert Lorne.
- Is this poison vial the one on the evidence table?
- Yes, Brother Merthin. Once we had this bottle, we poured some of its contents into the wine, and I left it in my stuff.
- Wait, I think I misunderstood you; you poured Jabberwocky blood into the wine intended for the Prince's guests?
- It was a calculated risk, Brother Merthin. Jabberwocky blood has a strange taste, but is harmless if taken in small quantities and without any other ingredient that would make it react. Only the Master Mage had drunk Unicorn milk before the meal, which caused him to become unconscious. The plan worked, everyone believed it. I was accused of murder and imprisoned. That's when Master Palebough came to pick me. As I had become anathema to the Rat Kingdom, according to his point of view, I had little choice but to follow him – In any case, he forced me to do so with a hand crossbow. It was at the end of this journey I learned several things.
- What were they, Prior?
- Firstly, the identity of the mysterious "Mister Olafsson", who was Master Yavandir Palebough. Secondly, who his own collaborators were.
- Please enlighten us.
- During our journey, the accused stopped to hand over the mask of Cuelepok he had stolen to two Feral Skaven who obeyed Grey Seer Karhi. They gave him a warpstone purse in exchange, an initial "token of friendship" pending the production of all the warpstone that would be needed to summon the Archdemon.
- Did you witness the exchange?
- Only verbally, as I had a bonnet on my head. But I heard everything. Master Palebough wasn't alone, during the conversation, a new protagonist appeared. It was Ari.
- Are you sure?
- When we forced her to materialise in front of us, I recognised her voice. That's how she appeared out of nowhere and left just as suddenly. As she was linked to Palebough, she could appear and disappear at will in his vicinity.
Verena's priest pouted thoughtfully.
- So, your abduction has given us a clearer picture, if I believe your own words.
- Several of these words have been confirmed by trustworthy people, Brother Merthin.
- No doubt, but I'd like to clarify a still nebulous point. In this plan, you were the guilty party. Everything was done to get you back to Horace de Vaucanson. What I'd like to know is why this Bretonnian lord went to such lengths to imprison you, in particular?
- He needed someone to blame.
- Of course, but he could have left you to rot in your gaol in Steinerburg. Or, Palebough could have sent someone to murder you in your cell, as was the case with Initiate Rupert Kramer, to which we shall return later. Horace de Vaucanson really wanted to have you brought before him. I repeat the question, Prior Romulus: do you know why Yavandir Palebough handed you over to Horace de Vaucanson? Remember, you swore an oath of truth to Verena.
The Prior frowned and sighed in annoyance. He gave Brother Merthin an angry look and articulated:
- Palebough handed me over in exchange for the reward Lord Horace de Vaucanson had put on my head.
- A reward on your head? How much?
- Two thousand crowns.
The enormity of the sum surprised those present. Shouts of astonishment rang out. Provost Tomas called the assembly to order with several gavel strikes. Once silence had returned, the priest of Verena resumed his argument.
- Two thousand crowns? Well, that's quite a sum! I'd be curious to know what you could have done to Horace de Vaucanson to make him so angry with you? No doubt a very serious crime!
- Objection! Sister Weiseneule exclaimed. Brother Merthin is treating the witness like an accused person, and this has been going on for too long already!
- Granted, replied Provost Tomas. Prior Romulus, this is not your trial, the Sword of Truth is not hanging over you. If the answer to this question could be prejudicial to you, you are not obliged to answer it.
The Prior looked round the room. He thought for a few long seconds and then had a light smile.
- Your Honour, to remain silent would be tantamount to fuelling suspicion. I swore an oath to Verena. I'm a Guardian of Truth. Even though we know that certain truths must remain hidden, I've always believed in preferring the truth that kills to the lie that poisons. A long time ago, I had a different name and fed different aspirations. I was a member of a gang of bandits specialised in extortion. Our targets were mainly people with a lot of money. We also made a living by selling drugs of all kinds. One day, a customer, a young nobleman from Bretonnia named Ignace de Vaucanson, refused to pay in full for some merchandise we had sold him. To set an example, the chief of my gang ordered me to capture Ignace de Vaucanson, then to torture him copiously to death before returning the corpse to his father, Horace de Vaucanson. I obeyed.
Bianka couldn't tell whether the sweat that flooded her wheat-coloured fur was scalding hot or freezing cold. The Prior had discreetly told her the whole truth about Vaucanson, but that didn't lessen the emotion she felt at the scene. As she had done before, a thousand terrifying images raced through her overheated mind. She saw Prior Romulus driven from the temple of Shallya, pursued by a rampaging mob, condemned to death and executed...
He's putting his career and his life on the scale!
She barely heard Brother Merthin's voice.
- You were a bandit, and Lord de Vaucanson was in pursuit of that bandit. You've changed in twenty years, for the better, I admit. But alas, that doesn't make it any less true: you have a responsibility towards all the people who have suffered as a result of Vaucanson's presence within our borders.
- That's right, Brother Merthin. If my Shallean peers deem it necessary, I will submit to their judgement.
- But that's another story we won't go into here. Thank you for your sincerity, Prior Romulus. Provost Tomas, I have finished with this witness.
- Sister Weiseneule, do you have any questions for the Prior?
- It won't be necessary, the priestess replied with a pinched voice. The Prior's deeds speak for themselves. Unlike Horace de Vaucanson – may the Lady of the Lake granted him rest – we are not interested in the mistakes of youth, but in the deeds of the present. Anyone you know will tell you how perfectly Prior Romulus embodies the values laid down by Shallya.
- On the other hand, I have something to say, announced Prince Steiner. Provost Tomas, I request the floor.
- You have, your Majesty, Tomas replied.
The Prince stood up, faced the audience and declared in a loud voice:
- Remember we all have our flaws, and we've all committed mistakes in our lives, including myself. Prior Romulus here made a fault, a long time ago. It was in another life, in another country. He hasn't forgotten or denied it; on the contrary, he has the courage to face up to it publicly, something that few of us would be capable of doing. Shallya's vow allows a proven criminal to repent and be absolved by the representatives of our laws, if he does his duty in the name of the Goddess of Compassion with sincerity. I've known him since he was born, and in the more than twenty years that we've all appreciated his services as a servant of Shallya, we know how much he accomplishes above and beyond his duty every day. Sister Weiseneule has just rightly reminded us of this. Everyone deserves a second chance. Romulus was given that chance, and he was able to seize it and redeem his youthful transgression. As a result, I would ask the citizens present in this courtroom not to treat him any differently to the way you treated him yesterday. Listen carefully and repeat it around you if you hear any gossip about the Prior: I will not hesitate to severely punish anyone who tries to compromise him for acts committed in a distant past from which he has brilliantly freed himself. So spoke the Prince!
A silence hung over the audience. Steiner returned to his seat.
- Prior, we've finished with you, you may stand down.
Romulus bowed and left the witness box. The judge continued:
- Master Palebough, I'd now like to talk about your colleagues from the Purple Hand. Admittedly, you are a clever person, and you have benefited from the assistance of a supernatural entity, but there were other people involved in this sinister plot. Earlier, you gave us two names: Brother Cazarras and Sir Alcibiades. Before he was so brutally murdered, Initiate Rupert Kramer entrusted us they were the other two members of the triumvirate that ran this Purple Hand enclave. Let's talk about Brother Cazarras first. What can you tell us about him? Sister Weiseneule, please ask your questions.
- Thank you, your Honour. So, Master Palebough, who was really Brother Cazarras?
The jester cleared his throat and took a breath.
- Pietro-Jan Cazarras was a professor at the University of Altdorf. He was well-educated and rather intelligent, but he was also a frustrated man, dissatisfied with his position. He used to feed an obsession for knowledge. According to his words, knowledge gives power – which is pretty real, you'll agree, your Honour – but for him the proportions were out of whack. He wanted to know everything about everything. Mind you, I'm not talking about the gossip and other chit-chat you might hear in a public square on a market day. No, he wanted to know all the sciences in their entirety.
- What did he hope to gain from such a wealth of knowledge?
- Power, your Honour. A man who can create anything he wants can become very rich very quickly, if he does it right. Or very powerful, if he manages to manipulate magical or physical forces untamed by ordinary mortals. The possibilities are endless.
- So, he went from being a university professor to a priest of a Chaos God?
- I don't know how he did. I suppose his frustrations and his research finally brought him into contact with the Purple Hand. They contacted him, or he managed to discover one of their hideouts, whatever the case, the result was there. I've been told he was a member of the cult for about fifteen years. It was Ari who put me in touch with him last year. The Rat Kingdom was the perfect place to launch a portal invasion attempt.
- What happened next?
- Brother Cazarras needed some warpstone to bring in the Archdemon. I had the idea of finding some among the Feral Skaven. Ari then told me where the burrow of Grey Seer Karhi was located. He himself was in Vereinbarung to put down Master Mage Prospero – I guess you're already aware of it, but all the Feral Skaven of the whole Under-Empire would like to bring his head to their chiefs, the Council of Thirteen, in order to obtain a chair among them. I made a deal with this Feral White Skaven: the life of the Blasphemous One in exchange for bags of warpstone. The mask of Cuelepok was proof of my crime. Karhi knew the Master Mage possessed a magical mask in tune with the Ghyran wind. He ordered me to bring it to him.
- This Grey Seer was well informed.
- He was. I don't know if everyone in the Under-Empire knows about it, or if he knew things that few of his peers do. By taking it to Skavenblight, Karhi could have claimed to be the Master Mage's murderer and obtain the reward in exchange, as well as having in his possession a powerful artefact.
Brother Merthin turned to the judge.
- Your Honour, I would like to have the opinion of Master Mage Prospero Steiner.
- So be it. Master Mage?
Psody got up and sat down on the bench reserved for witnesses. Even though they had been friends for a long time since their expedition to Lustria, Tomas and Psody both respected protocols, and called each other by their title in the courtroom.
- Master Mage, I ask you to tell the whole truth in front of Verena. We know your trust is limited to a God who is forbidden to us, but for the investigation to run smoothly, your word is necessary.
- My God is not interested in Human justice, your Honour. He is therefore indifferent to anything I might say-do for Verena. I give my word I will answer your questions-questions with the Truth.
- Very well, then. Thank you, Master Mage. Brother Merthin, you may question the witness.
Brother Merthin readjusted his glasses.
- Master Mage, the accused has just told us he exchanged your mask for warpstone in order to summon the Archdemon. What can you tell us about this deal?
- It was a scam-swindle. Neither side made any real benefit out of it.
- Yet you had a front-row seat as Brother Cazarras called the Archdemon and summoned him? The threat was very real, the Purple Hand could have triumphed!
- There were failures-weaknesses in this plan, Brother Merthin.
- Were there? That could be important! Keep explaining, would be kindly.
- The warpstone used by the cult of the Purple Hand was of very poor-mediocre quality. My son Gabriel explored Grey Seer Karhi's laboratory and noticed this sorcerer wasn't the kind to appreciate neat-meticulous work. When I saw the warpstone produced by his burrow up close, I immediately spotted-agreed this fact: his warpstone was a real shame. I easily neutralised it to close the gate.
- Despite everything the witnesses to this scene reported? You must have rested for many hours after your life-saving effort.
- You're right, Brother Merthin, but it wasn't because of Karhi's warpstone. The real danger came from the Archdemon who fought back. It gave me a hard time. But I assure you, we were lucky-lucky. If Cazarras had used pure warpstone, refined by a skilled technomage under the eye of an expert Grey Seer, the portal would have opened immediately, and with such force I wouldn't have been able to contain the Warp energy as I did to send it back to Morrslieb. I'd have been toasted-toasted like a Nuln sausage!
- That brings us to the first important point, your Honour: the invocation was not carried out in the best of conditions. I have a second point to put to you, concerning Grey Seer Karhi. Master Mage, can you remind us what happened to this White Skaven when it put its hands on your golden mask?
- He wanted to impress-frighten my son by using his unclean magic, combined with the power of the Mask of Cuelepok.
- And what happened?
- Decay-rot magic mixed with Ghyran magic... now that's a recipe to avoid-avoid! It carbonized his head. It was to be expected, only this Grey Seer was too dumb-stupid to think of it!
- So, your mask, the object he'd bought to increase his power, killed him. It really was a fool's bargain, indeed. Perhaps Master Palebough isn't so diabolical after all? Sure, it was twisted, but he weakened the leaders of both threats.
- Objection, this is completely ridiculous! Sister Weiseneule intervened.
- Rejected. Brother Merthin, are you sure you're not just making this up?
- Your Honour, Master Palebough's actions harmed the Feral Skaven and the Purple Hand. Even if it was completely unintentional, even if it was calculated in his own self-interest, with no thought for the lives of Vereinbarung, he helped us defeat them. We have to take that into account.
- The best thing to do would be to ask the main person involved, Brother Merthin. Sister Weiseneule?
The priestess approached Palebough.
- Master Palebough, you bought some low-grade warpstone from a Grey Seer. This Grey Seer was slain with your payment. The warpstone worked, but not as well as it might have if it had been purer. Your decisions may, and I stress the word "may", have enabled our brave fighters to prevail in the lair and at the sawmill. But were you aware of all this? Did you knowingly put obstacles in the way of Chaos and the Feral Skaven? Remember that Verena herself is waiting for your answer, right above your head.
The Elf looked up and bit his lip. He gathered his thoughts, and pondered a response. He thought he perceived a slight oscillation making the blade of the Sword vibrate. He turned his head away, and looked at Sister Weiseneule with a sidelong glance and an angry twinkle in his eye.
- I was obsessed with the success of Brother Cazarras' plan. I hoped the White Skaven would destroy itself. I suspected that warpstone wasn't the best on the market. But I'd be lying if I said I wanted to sabotage the Purple Hand's plan. I wanted to bring this monster into our reality to change it. Tzeentch embodies change, and as I was under Ari's hold, I couldn't think of anything else. Now, if my selfishness and blindness allowed my true friends to prevent a disaster that would have tainted the whole world, I won't be angry with them.
The Blade of Truth did not move either.
- Thank you for your sincerity, Master Palebough. Thanks also to the Master Mage for his explanations. I don't have any more questions for them at the moment on this subject.
- Thank you, Sister Weiseneule. Master Mage, you may take your place.
While the White Skaven obeyed obediently, the Provost consulted his notes.
- I'd like to talk about your other accomplice, Alcibiades. Sister Weiseneule, the floor is yours.
- Thank you, your Honour. So, Master Palebough, who was Sire Alcibiades? According to the testimonies of the people who met him, he wasn't an ordinary man!
- To say the least, Sister Weiseneule. Alcibiades was a Champion of Chaos, and as such, his God had bestowed upon him a few "gifts", notably his magical mother-of-pearl armour, his roaring sword, and the ability to teleport in a heartbeat. He killed Herbert Lorne, Rupert Kramer, and that poor beggar from the Other Strygos with this weapon, and it was thanks to his gift of teleportation he escaped detection.
- Very powerful magical powers, true. With something like that, it's very easy to eliminate someone and get away. Incidentally, why didn't Sir Alcibiades teleport to the Prince's room and assassinate him in the same way? Wouldn't that have been the simplest solution?
- Not so simple, Sister. Alcibiades could use powers, but these had their limits: he couldn't teleport more than a few dozen yards from his initial position, and could only reappear in a place he had seen with his own eyes at least once. It was impossible for him to infiltrate the Steiner Estate, where he had never been.
- How did he manage to eliminate the initiate Rupert Kramer? The guards posted around the building saw nothing.
- Kramer's cell had a basement window opening onto the street. Alcibiades was hidden in an alley opposite, so he could see inside.
- Clever, and vicious in the same time... Why didn't he murder Master Brisingr Steadyhand as he was there?
- The anti-magic scrolls affixed to the walls of his cell were too powerful, he couldn't cross them. What's more, the sound of his weapon hitting Kramer had already alerted the whole barracks, so he obviously had to disappear as soon as possible. Besides, I understood Master Steadyhand was never really locked up anyway?
- Let's not digress: we're talking about your accomplice. He must have visited the cellar of the Proud Sigmarite to take care of Lorne? Yet that establishment is frequented by a large clientele, day and night. A big lad like him would have been seen by everyone, but no one reported him!
- You're right, Sister Weiseneule, but it turns out that there was something else going on that day: when I went to the Mousetrap and then to the Other Strygos to "cover my tracks" on the orders of Mister Vay – well, the person I thought was Mister Vay – I knew there would be at least one murder to carry out, Herbert Lorne's in this case. To cover my tracks, I asked Sire Alcibiades to accompany me. No one would have been able to work out what would kill this innkeeper, and everyone would have been bloody scared. And so, we performed a ritual of spiritual bonding. So, for a few hours, our spirits were linked, and Sire Alcibiades could see what I could see, and therefore appear where I was. However, he had to stay close by, so he followed me from the sewers. Once Herbert Lorne had been eliminated, we left for the abandoned building of the Other Strygos. I lit the fire with my own powers, left the building and waited for the locals to extinguish the fire before depositing Steadyhand's false list of ingredients.
- Steadyhand's false list of ingredients? repeated Sister Weiseneule. Are you talking about the third piece of evidence?
- Exactly, Sister. I left it on the spot. Sire Alcibiades joined me at this point, eager to leave the damp tunnel where he had been hiding. That's when the one-armed veteran arrived. Sire Alcibiades quenched his murder thirst once more, and left the mark of the Purple Hand on the wall.
- Why didn't you take advantage of the magic of this ritual to disguise yourself as a guard or valet, in order to bring your accomplice to the Prince once this sinister deed was done?
- The effects of the ritual ceased less than a quarter of an hour after the death of the veteran. Even if I'd run, I wouldn't have been able to get to the Libra Quarter in time. Alcibiades could no longer join me in places he couldn't see live, even if I'd been there before.
- And wasn't it enough to repeat the same ritual, then infiltrate the princely mansion? After all, you did manage to break into the Steiner Estate to get hold of the Master Mage's mask, as well as sending a Demon to attack the High Archivist.
- That's also true, but to repeat that ritual, we would have needed ingredients that would have taken a long time to obtain, and time was running out. And then, I remind you there was the problem of distance: Alcibiades had to be at most a few dozen yards from me. The Steiner Estate, which is usually well protected, was practically inviolable, including the sewers where his Majesty the Prince had posted guards. There was no way that fat lump could have followed me all the way to the garden without being spotted, even if he had kept a safe distance. In any case, the Prince was not to be assassinated like that, and become a martyr. No, discord had to erupt and the Prince had to be liquidated by his own people. The country had to be broken up from within. So were the orders given by Melefatebekoumambafiguilokoumametorakotelikome.
This name provoked an awkward silence. Judge Tomas asked:
- What did you say? Who ordered all this planning?
- Melefatebekoumambafiguilokoumametorakotelikome, your Honour. This is the name of the Archdemon who was finally summoned the night I was arrested.
- In that case, please refrain from saying it again! I have no desire to see him barge into my courtroom!
There were a few nervous murmurs. Yavandir shrugged his shoulders.
- Have no fear, your Honour; if the name of a being from the planes of Chaos only had to be uttered three times to summon him, the Empire would have disappeared long ago. As we've already said, this ceremony required a very large quantity of warpstone, among other ingredients that are just as difficult to obtain, and the expertise of a sworn priest of Tzeentch, which I am not.
- All right, then. Sister Weiseneule, could you continue?
- Certainly, your Honour. Master Palebough, I've heard the Archdemons of the Great Architect are particularly intelligent, and see the various possibilities of the future very well.
- That's what their worshippers think, Sister.
- So, this Melefou... well, this Archdemon could have known, or at least suspected, that you were in fact being manipulated by the Master Mage and his friends?
- I suppose so. To be able to fool an Archdemon of Tzeentch, you have to be an Archdemon of Tzeentch too, or Tzeentch himself.
- Yes, we've understood, there's no need to repeat the name of this unholy God. I don't understand this Archdemon's reaction: why didn't he say anything? If I were a war chief fighting against an opposing side, I'd try to warn my troops about this kind of danger!
- Because you think like an intelligent mortal, Sister Weiseneule. Melefatebekoumambafiguilokoumametorakotelikome is an Archdemon. For him, the game is as important as the victory, if not more so. His demonic agents think the same way. When the Prince's daughter asked Ari why she had orchestrated all this, she simply replied: "I had a good laugh". The main thing for this little Demoness was to have fun watching us kill each other. The same applied to this Archdemon of Tzeentch. His followers had organised a conspiracy in his honour, and it was vital that he didn't interfere. That would have been cheating, and the game would have immediately lost all interest.
- So, an Archdemon of the God of Change lets its opponents destroy its pawns without reacting?
- Yes, because it has to play by the directives. A Demon doesn't obey the same rules as mortals when they are in our world. The breaking of a word can be enough to send him straight back into the Warp at once. He had undertaken to let his followers do everything without the slightest intervention. If another Archdemon of a different God had disrupted the plot, Ari's master would have considered the rules flouted. He would so have had the right to act more personally. As none of the forces vying for the Rat Kingdom were clearly divine in essence, the Archdemon had no reason to do anything until opening of the portal that should have had allow him to materialise in Vereinbarung.
- Do you think there's any reason to fear revenge on its part?
- This time, he lost, but he felt that if his followers had not detected the counter-manoeuvres of the Prince and his friends, they were not worthy of him. He did not deign to warn them, preferring to let them take responsibility for their mistakes. He will not regret their loss, nor seek to avenge them. Mortals are just tools to be discarded once broken for these beings. Now he will wait patiently for the next attempt. His notion of time is different from ours: he can patient a thousand years without being upset more than if he had to wait an hour. Maybe one day, in I don't know how many centuries, he'll be able to take control of another naive fellow, and try to invite himself back into our reality. But I can guarantee you it won't be me! If only because I've become a traitor in his mind.
- Which is exactly why we must get rid of you as soon as possible!