by Graeme Lyon
Gerhardt’s vision turned multi-coloured, then went back to normal, just in time to see a goblin in a battered metal helmet flying towards his stomach at immense speed. Not for the first time that day, he screamed.
Kurt woke up lying on his back. He blinked and tried to look around, but couldn’t move his head. Above him was a high wooden ceiling, arched and criss-crossed with ornate beams carved with doves. The last thing he remembered was spinning in the air and flying towards the crowd, then… pain. Pain. It came flooding back, and he screamed. A face swam into view above him. It was Juliana. He tried to speak, but she shushed him.
‘It’s okay, Kurt. You’re in the Temple of Shallya,’ she said. ‘You – well, your body – got hurt really badly. The sisters think it’ll take months for you to heal.’ She grimaced. ‘And you might never play again. I just wanted to say, before I headed off to play in the Lustria League, that if you recover enough, there’ll be a place for you as a cheerleader for my new team. Maybe. I’m sure Johann will put in a good word for you anyway. He’s nice like that.’
And then she was gone. Kurt lay in silence – not that he had much choice – until another voice broke his reverie. A very familiar voice, one he’d last heard speaking in his own voice.
‘Hello, roomie!’ it said. ‘This is amazing. I can’t believe I get to share a room with my favourite Blood Bowl player ever. And since most of my ribs were broken, I might be here for months. This is going to be great!’
Jim Johnson looked up at his ogre companion, glad to be comfortably back in his own undead body.
‘Well, that did turn out to be quite a match, didn’t it, Bob?’ he asked brightly, grinning into the camra-warlock’s glowing eyes.
‘I dunno, Jim. It’s not like we were really paying attention,’ Bob shrugged. ‘We were a bit busy getting to know each other better.’
‘Please don’t phrase it like that, Bob. It’s very distasteful,’ Jim said through his grimace.
‘Well, one good thing came from all this, Jim.’
‘Oh, and what’s that?’
‘Well, you know that saying that if you want to understand someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes?’
‘Yes, Bob.’
‘Well, now that I’ve been you, I know why you’re such an uptight, humourless git, Jim.’
‘Oh, and why is that?’
‘Your shoes are far too tight. I don’t think I even could walk a mile in them.’
Jim sighed.
‘Thanks, Bob. And thanks to you viewers at home for sticking with us through the drama in this match between… some team and some other team. We’ll see you again soon.
‘From the Light’s Hope Stadium in Talabheim, good night.’
About the Author
Graeme Lyon is the author of the Space Marine Battles novella Armour of Faith and a host of Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer short stories including ‘The Carnac Campaign: Sky Hunter’, ‘Kor’sarro Khan: Huntmaster’, ‘Black Iron’, ‘The Eighth Victory’, ‘The Sacrifice’ and ‘Bride of Khaine’. He hails from East Kilbride in Scotland, but lives and works in Nottingham.
In a fantasy world where violence is a way of life, the number one sport is Blood Bowl - Gridiron where anything goes. Dirk ‘Dunk’ Hoffnung, once a barbarian swordsman, is now a rookie quarterback in the toughest football league you’ve ever seen. Follow his career as he goes from Most Promising Newcomer to MVP!
A Black Library Publication
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd, Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK.
Produced by Games Workshop in Nottingham.
Cover illustration by Wayne England.
Mazlocke’s Cantrip of Superior Substitution © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2017. Mazlocke’s Cantrip of Superior Substitution, GW, Games Workshop, Black Library, Blood Bowl, Warhammer, Warhammer Age of Sigmar, Stormcast Eternals, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likenesses thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world.
All Rights Reserved.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-1-78572-641-5
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