Daemon Gates Trilogy 01 [Day of the Daemon]

by Warhammer

  'Nothing here that leads deeper than a few feet,' he told the others. 'It has to be out there somewhere.'

  'All right.' Alaric kicked his horse into motion, walking it towards the passage entrance. 'Let's go.'

  The others followed him and they eased their way out into the pass. Once they were a few feet out, Adelrich slipped out behind them and began searching the cliff on that side. He examined every opening he found, ducking his head in when necessary and twice disappearing inside before returning. Each time he shook his head. The others stayed as close behind him as they could, skirting the larger battle and picking off any orcs who ventured near them.

  A short way beyond the battle, back the way the orcs had come, Adelrich was heading towards a crack when he saw an orc emerging from another gap a little farther down. Quickly the scout pulled his bow, strung it, nocked an arrow and fired, taking the orc in the throat. Before the body had fallen, Adelrich raced towards it and disappeared into the rocks where it had emerged. A moment later he reappeared and waved the others over.

  'It's a cave,' he told them when they reached him, standing half inside a wide crack. 'It goes down and around, probably beneath the valley floor.' He grinned. 'Signs of something heavy being dragged along.'

  'Let's go.' Alaric hopped down from his horse and slapped its flank, sending it racing down the pass past the cave. He hoped all the orcs were already here, leaving none to molest his poor mount as it fled. The others followed suit, their horses eagerly taking the opportunity to flee the battle so close behind them.

  The passage was so narrow that Kleiber and Fastred had difficulty squeezing through in places, though Dietz pointed out orcs would have the same problem.

  Once inside, they lit the torches Adelrich pulled from his pack, and followed the scout as he led them down a twisting path. The marks along the floor were clear in the flickering torchlight - something large and heavy had scraped through here. They passed several branching passages, but kept to the marks, and finally emerged in an oblong cavern well below the ground.

  The first thing Dietz noticed as he stepped in was the height. Along much of the tunnel he had been forced to crouch to keep from banging his head against the ceiling. Here, he could straighten up and even reach above him without touching rock. The second thing he noticed was the size of the cavern. It could fit all of them easily along one side, making it larger than Haas's command tent by a significant margin. The third thing he noticed was the protrusions. This cavern was the size of a large room, but it was not empty. It had its own furniture, rock spurs jutting out along the wall, springing up from the floor and hanging from the ceiling, as if someone had festooned the place with ribbons, garlands and drapes, and then transformed them all to stone.

  The fourth thing he noticed was the statue.

  It was right in front of them, perhaps forty feet away -and nearly ten feet up. The centre of the room was thick with those strange rock projections, jutting every which way, and somehow the statue had been placed in their midst. It was held well above the ground, supported by several loops of stone from both ceiling and floor, and only the faint reddish tint distinguished it from the grey stone around it. He could only see its base, besides - the head and shoulders had been inserted in a crack in the ceiling, wedging it firmly in place. Drops of blood dripped down it, raising oddly bright streaks along its surfaces. Clearly the centre of the depression was just above that crack.

  'We've found it!' Alaric had eyes only for the statue, as did Kristoff. Fortunately, Adelrich was peering around the chamber, raising his torch high to see the other side. His quiet hiss alerted them, as did the sound of his sword sliding from its scabbard.

  'Show yourself!' Kleiber shouted, raising his pistol, but the command proved unnecessary. They heard a barked order even as the witch hunter issued his demand. A moment later they all saw what Adelrich had seen, as a dozen orc warriors stomped into view on the far side of the cavern. They had their own weapons at the ready and hurled themselves at the party with harsh cries. Kleiber leaped to meet them, Kristoff and Dietz right behind him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  'Sigmar!' Kleiber's battle-cry rang out as he charged the orcs, his pistol levelled at the frontmost warrior. A loud crack resounded through the chamber as he fired, the orc collapsing in a spray of blood and bone, but the sound echoed on, shaking the rock all around and blinding them with rock dust.

  'We have to get that statue!' Alaric tugged Fastred and Adelrich back as they moved to help their friends. 'Leave them! They'll handle the orcs. We have to deal with that!' He jabbed a finger towards the statue, and the other two reluctantly let themselves be dragged towards the room's centre and the statue embedded there.

  'We can hack it to bits,' Adelrich suggested, sword raised, but Alaric shook his head.

  Too high up,' he pointed out. 'Even if we can climb up there, we'd be easy targets for those orcs.' All three of them glanced back towards the battle and then resolutely turned away.

  'We could shoot it,' Fastred offered, raising his crossbow. Again Alaric disagreed.

  'It's wedged in place/ he said, gesturing towards it. 'That crack is holding it together, and we can't get a clear shot anyway, not with all that rock in the way'

  'We have another problem' Adelrich pointed out, brushing rock dust from his hair. 'Kleiber's shot was enough to create small cracks throughout this chamber. That's what caused the dust. If we fire again we could bring the roof crashing down' He shook his head. 'It might destroy the statue, but it would certainly take us with it.'

  Alaric frowned. 'We have to risk that - we can't leave it here, and the longer it sits the more blood it absorbs. We'd need a clean shot, or several shots close together.' He tapped his chin. 'We don't have time to waste.'

  Alaric forced himself to think, ignoring the sounds of battle behind them. Blackpowder would definitely be more effective than steel, but the statue was well shielded by the rock, and held in place as well. They needed to hit it hard all at once and blow it apart: a concentrated strike. This reminded him of his early firearms instruction, and something his instructor had said about proper care and storage, and he slapped his thigh.

  'Got it!' he announced, turning towards their embattled companions. 'Kleiber, I need your pistol and supplies!' The witch hunter was tugging his sword free of an orc corpse, parrying another's blow with his dagger, but he heard and nodded. A quick thrust killed the second orc, and then he stepped back to where he'd dropped the empty pistol. A quick kick sent it skittering towards Alaric, and Kleiber tossed his pouch of bullets and his powder horn after it. Adelrich caught the horn and Fastred fumbled, but managed to hold onto the pouch. Then Kleiber returned to the fray, pariying a blow that would have removed Dietz's arm, and carving off the offending ore's hand in return.

  'We're shooting it?' Adelrich asked as Alaric quickly prepared the pistol. 'Despite the risk?'

  'Shooting, yes/ Alaric replied, 'but not the statue itself.' He finished loading the pistol and then emptied the remaining bullets into his own belt pouch. Next he poured the powder horn's contents into the bullet pouch and tied it tight. Finally he turned back towards the fight. 'Dietz!'

  Between them Kleiber, Dietz and Kristoff had finished off five of the orcs. At Alaric's shout Dietz hacked again at his current opponent, lopping off its right leg and then slashing its throat as it fell. Then he turned and trotted over to Alaric, sidestepping another orc who darted past him. 'What?'

  'I need Glouste.'

  The others stared at him, but Alaric ignored them, concentrating on Dietz whose face had set in a familiar stubborn glare. 'Don't, Dietz,' Alaric warned him. 'There isn't time.' He pointed up at the statue. 'We need to destroy that right away.' He showed Dietz the pistol he held in one hand and the pouch in the other. 'I need Glouste to climb up there and set this bag against the statue. Then I can shoot it. The bag has the rest of Kleiber's blackpowder. When it's hit it will explode, shattering the statue.'

  That's all you need from Glouste
?' Dietz asked, still frowning. To climb up there and deposit that bag?'

  'That's it.'

  'All right.' He made a strange chittering sound and a furry head poked from his jacket. 'Come on, Glouste.' The tree-monkey - no, Alaric corrected himself, tree-fox -climbed from her warm nesting place up onto his shoulder, rubbing her forehead against his cheek. 'Yes, I know.' Dietz held out his hand and Alaric handed him the bag, which he then held towards his pet. 'See this bag, Glouste? I need you to take this bag up there.' He pointed up towards the statue, and the tree-fox chittered rapidly, tail puffing out. 'Yes, I know - it's ugly. I don't like it either, but I need you to take this bag up to the top and leave it there. Will you do that?' Glouste was still chirruping at him, practically vibrating with anger, excitement or fear, Alaric couldn't tell which.

  'Glouste!' Dietz's tone sharpened, and his pet froze, watching him intently. He held the pouch right in front of her face. Take this up there. Please?' As if she'd been waiting for him to ask politely, the tree-fox finally leaned out and clamped her small, sharp teeth onto the bag. Then she bumped his chin once more and leaped from his shoulder to the nearest rock formation. She began scampering up, her claws finding ready footholds, and in a moment she was high above their heads.

  'Sigmar! Sigmar!' Kleiber's battle-cry resounded again, and the others glanced towards him, surprised he and Kristoff had not finished off the remaining orcs yet. They quickly saw why.

  Apparently the orc that had moved past Dietz a moment ago had not been charging; it had been fleeing, but not far. Now it returned with a dozen orcs behind it. They had already surrounded Kleiber, and Dietz, and Adelrich and Fastred quickly joined the fray, adding their blades and bolts to the fight. Alaric drew his rapier and skewered the nearest orc, but kept the pistol ready and turned so that he could keep an eye on Glouste's progress. The nimble tree-fox was negotiating a cluster of rock halfway between them and the statue. She needed more time.

  'We need more time,' he shouted to the others, who nodded. Unfortunately, the orcs must have understood as well, because one towards the rear drew a large horn from his belt and blasted out a resounding note upon it. Almost immediately they heard a second horn blare in reply, and the distant sound of more footsteps growing rapidly closer.

  'They've got another way in!' Adelrich called, narrowly avoiding an axe blow and slashing the orc across the chest in return. 'If that horn blast reached the valley we could have the entire warband down upon us!'

  'I know!' Alaric stabbed at another orc, who wisely retreated. He glanced over his shoulder. 'She's almost there!' It was true - Glouste was mere feet from the statue. She had hesitated when the orc horn had sounded, frightened by the almost deafening noise in that small space, and by the vibrations it had created in the rock, but she quickly gathered herself and started moving again.

  'She needs time to get clear!' Dietz hollered back, clubbing an orc with the side of his axe and then slicing its face as it reeled back from the blow.

  'No time!' Fastred shouted, firing at an orc and narrowly missing Kristoffs arm. 'We need to end this now!'

  Dietz paused and glanced at Alaric, their eyes locking. Finally he nodded. 'Do it.' He looked up to where Glouste had reached the statue, and then turned away, unable to watch.

  'Run, Glouste,' Alaric whispered, knowing it wouldn't help. Either the tree-fox would escape or she wouldn't. The same was true for the rest of them. The statue was more important than any of their lives. Dietz knew that. Alaric suspected his pet did as well. That didn't make the pistol any less heavy as he raised it, took careful aim, and fired.

  Glouste had done her job well. She had tucked the pouch into a nook halfway up the statue, what would have been a crooked arm on a man. Alaric had a clean shot at it through a stone loop, and he hit it perfectly. The pistol ball smashed into the statue, striking the pouch first, and the heat and impact ignited the rest of the blackpowder.

  BOOM!

  The crash was deafening. The entire chamber shook, throwing them from their feet, and rock fragments flew -Alaric saw one orc fall with a stone shard through its eye and felt a similar chunk soar past his head, narrowly missing his cheek.

  'Get out!' he shouted at his friends, climbing to his feet and running back towards the tunnel that had led them down here. They couldn't hear him in the din, but they saw his motion or simply guessed the safest course for themselves, and all of them scrambled towards the exit. Several of the orcs proved smart enough to understand what was happening and they retreated as well, disappearing back down the passage they had used. Larger fragments fell, and then with a resounding crash the ceiling collapsed, filling the space with dust and rock.

  HI

  Alaric had just reached the tunnel, having paused to help Fastred to his feet after the heavier man had tripped over a rock, when they were thrown forward by the impact behind them. Dietz helped Fastred back to his feet and they all stared back at the jumble of rocks blocking the exit, and completely filling the underground chamber.

  'Is everyone all right?' Alaric asked, glancing around. Amazingly enough he and his friends had escaped with only bruises and battered bones.

  'It collapsed the entire chamber,' Kleiber commented in what sounded almost like awe. Alaric nodded.

  'The blast split the ceiling,' he explained, remembering what old Professor Haedilick had taught them about geology and fault lines. 'There was already a crack there and so the blast could reach much further into the rock and widen that gap.' He glanced back. 'I expect it's completely filled in.' He smiled. 'The statue is demolished, just more rubble mixed with the rest. The orcs won't be able to get back down here, either, I'm sure their passage must be choked up as well.'

  Dietz stepped up to the exit and ran his hands over the rocks, as if checking to see if any could be pulled loose. They were wedged tight, though in some places he could stick his hand into the gap between two fragments. 'Glouste!' he called hoarsely, choking on the rock dust that had billowed out of the chamber. 'Glouste!'

  'I'm sorry,' Fastred told him, stepping up and clasping his shoulder. 'I fear the clever little thing made the ultimate sacrifice.'

  Dietz started to snarl a reply, and then stopped, his shoulders sagging. 'She knew,' he said softly, glancing up towards the spot where he had last seen her. 'She didn't want to do it. I made her do it.'

  'She gave her life to destroy that monstrosity,' Kleiber pointed out, sheathing his blade and accepting his pistol back from Alaric. 'Many men have not shown such bravery or such devotion.'

  Dietz only nodded and turned away.

  It took several more minutes to gather themselves, but they were finally ready to depart. Dietz glanced back one last time at the cavern entrance.

  'Goodbye, Glouste,' he said. He paused, sighed, and turned to go - and then turned back again.

  'Glouste?'

  'She's gone, Dietz,' Alaric told him gently, tugging at his arm, but Dietz pulled away.

  'No, I'm sure I just heard something. Glouste?' He stepped back to the entrance, head cocked to one side. 'Answer me?'

  The others followed him, loath to leave him alone, and it was Adelrich who nodded after a moment. 'I hear it too,' he assured Dietz. 'It's just a squeak, but it sounds like her.'

  'It is her!' Dietz insisted, scrambling at the rocks. 'Glouste, where are you?' The others joined in, shoving and tugging at the rocks, trying to find a way back in. Finally Adelrich managed to shove a smaller rock aside and Kleiber tugged out the rock behind it, creating a space large enough to see through to the chamber.

  Alaric had been right. The blast had collapsed the ceiling, filling the entire chamber with rock. They could barely see through the rock dust, but had an impression of large, jagged boulders piled everywhere. The statue was completely gone, as was the rock structure that had held it up.

  Dietz stuck his head through the gap, and pulled it back out, coughing. Alaric handed him a handkerchief and Dietz took it without a word, tying it around his head and over his nose and
mouth. Then he stuck his head back through. 'Glouste?' He could hear the squeaking more clearly now, and after a second he caught a glimpse of red-brown fur behind a rock. 'She's here!'

  The others waited, hardly daring to breathe, as Dietz called again. He saw the fur again, a little closer now. Then it disappeared. After a moment it flashed past another boulder much closer, and suddenly Glouste was clinging to a rock right in front of him. Her sides were streaked with blood, but she was still very much alive. She leaped forward and Dietz stepped back just in time as she scrabbled into the hole. Then she wriggled through and leaped onto his shoulders, where she curled around his neck and nuzzled him fiercely.

  'Yes yes, I'm happy to see you too,' he told her, reaching up to pet her gently. You did an excellent job. Good tree-fox.' She purred her thanks and head-butted him repeatedly.

  'I don't think she's seriously injured,' Fastred said after studying her as well as he could from her perch. 'The wounds look minor. She must have leaped away from the statue and found shelter just before the explosion.'

  'Smart,' Alaric admitted, eyeing the pet with surprise and a little wonder. 'Smarter than I thought.'

  'Of course she's smart,' Dietz replied, scratching her under her chin. 'She's mine.' The others laughed, and they were all in a good mood as they made their way back up the winding tunnel and out into the valley above.

  What they saw there only improved their mood. Neither side had expected the explosion or the resulting collapse, of course, but Haas had reacted quickly, pulling his men back to the valley edges and letting the unstable floor collapse beneath the orcs' combined weight. His archers had penned them in, keeping them atop the shattered stone, and his soldiers had killed any orc that broke free. Finally the tremors had subsided, the valley had settled to its new depth, and the orcs began to regroup. That was when Haas waded in, his men arrayed behind him, and made straight for the warband commander. It had been an impressive fight, Hoist told them afterwards, the short Empire leader with his gleaming longsword and the hulking orc with its massive warhammer. Haas had triumphed, using a dagger to pin one of his foe's hands and thus the hammer, and then lopping off the creature's head. That had demoralised the remaining orcs and they had fled.