by Nathan Long
‘Stop her!’ called Reiner.
Only Franz, Hals and Pavel had recovered enough to respond. They started forward with Reiner, but Erich jumped in front of them, brandishing his sword.
‘You’ll go through me first,’ he said.
Franz tried to dart around him, but Erich kicked the boy in the hip and sent him sprawling into the clutter of treasures. Pavel and Hals shifted left and right, feinting with their daggers. Reiner grunted, annoyed. Was there ever a more thick-headed knight? He picked up a book from a chest and threw it at Erich’s head. The knight blocked it easily, but the century of dust that covered it exploded in his face and he doubled up, choking and cursing. Reiner shouldered him to the floor and ran with Pavel and Hals for the steps.
Lady Magda stood just outside the chamber, mumbling and motioning with her free hand.
Dread dragged at Reiner’s guts. She was closing the crypt door. She meant to trap them in there forever, like the poor dead nuns. He bellowed over his shoulder. ‘Franz! Ostini! Cut her down.’
It was too late. Before the boy or the mercenary could ready their weapons, the door began to grind closed and Lady Magda ran away toward the spiral stair.
Reiner cursed and redoubled his speed, bounding up the stairs three at a time. Hals and Pavel were right behind him. They put their shoulders to the closing door and pushed, but their combined weight had no effect. Their boots skidded back through a gravel of crushed bone and marble.
‘Urquart!’ called Reiner. ‘Bring a chest! Something big and bound in iron.’
Gustaf, Franz and Giano reached the door and pushed as well. The six of them slowed it a little, but it continued to close. Reiner looked over his shoulder. Ulf was waddling forward carrying a heavy oaken chest, his face beet red with strain.
‘Hurry, you great ox!’ Reiner looked to Franz, who was pushing mightily, but pointlessly. ‘Leave off, lad. Go after her. Warn Oskar. Tell him to gun her down.’
‘Aye,’ said the boy, and dashed through the narrowing gap. But almost instantly Erich ran out after him, sword in hand.
‘Deserter!’ shouted Reiner after the lancer. ‘Will you leave us to die?’ He cursed. ‘He’ll kill the boy.’
‘Go on. Catch him up,’ said Pavel. ‘We’ll hold this. Don’t you worry.’
Reiner looked back. Ulf was humping the chest up the broad stairs, one agonising step at a time. He bit his lip. ‘You’d better.’
Reiner ran through the closing door and down the passage to the spiral stair, expecting at any moment to trip over Franz’s body. He stumbled up the uneven, wedge-shaped steps and burst out into the ruined chapel.
Lady Magda, surprisingly, was still in sight. She had only just reached the great arched door that led to the garden. Must have had some trouble getting the unwieldy standard up the twisting stairs, thought Reiner.
In the centre of the chapel Erich had caught up to Franz, who was dodging and ducking to avoid the knight’s slashing sword, and shouting at the top of his voice. ‘Oskar! Stop her! Stop the lady!’
Reiner ran for Erich, drawing his sabre. ‘Coward!’ he cried. ‘Picking on boys again? Face me if you want a fight.’
Erich looked up, but unfortunately so did Franz, and Erich, trained in close combat, took advantage. His blade caught the boy a glancing blow on the top of the head and he hit the floor in a jumble of limbs.
Reiner cursed and slashed at the blond knight, but kept running for the door, yelling as Franz had. ‘Oskar! Stop her!’
Erich caught up to him in the huge open doorway, stabbing at his back. Reiner squirmed to the side and fell across one of the massive bronze doors that lay twisted on the ground. He rolled aside as Erich’s greatsword slashed down at him, then hacked at the knight’s knees.
Erich leapt back and Reiner jumped up. They squared off, each too wary of the other to run after the sister.
Oskar was trotting across the garden from his post at the plaza stairs, long gun in his hands. Lady Magda was running right for him.
‘Oskar!’ Reiner called. ‘Stop her! Gun her down!’
‘Hey?’ said the artilleryman, confused.
‘Stop her! She’s betrayed us all.’
Oskar looked at the oncoming woman, a puzzled frown on his face. ‘Lady?’
The holy woman raised the banner and he stepped back, confusion becoming fear as he stared at it.
‘Back away!’ she cried. ‘Bow down!’
Oskar shied away, throwing up his arms to shield his face from the banner. She swung it at him, knocking him flat, then disappeared down the steps.
Reiner cursed and moved to go after her, but Erich stepped in his way. ‘No, traitor,’ he said. ‘You will not pass me again.’
Reiner grunted angrily. Even if he could beat the knight, which was an open question, it would take too long. Lady Magda would be on horseback and away long before the fight was over. With a sigh, Reiner shrugged and backed away. ‘Very well. You win.’
He turned and ran back into the chapel. Franz was picking himself off the floor, clutching his bleeding head. ‘Did she get away?’ he asked.
‘We’ll get her later,’ muttered Reiner, helping the boy stand. ‘No woman can outpace me on horseback. Come on. Down to the vault.’
Erich came through the door. ‘Where are you going? Are you afraid to face me?’
Reiner sheathed his sword. ‘I am going to try to save my companions. The men you left to die.’
‘They are traitors.’
‘They didn’t turn on their captain.’
Reiner and Franz hurried down the stairs.
‘You all right?’ asked Reiner, looking at the gash in Franz’s scalp.
‘It’ll heal.’
A loud metallic groaning echoed around them as they exited the stairs. They raced for the crypt. Ulf had placed the iron-bound chest between the massive door and the wall, stopping it from closing, but it was slowly being crushed, the iron bands bending and the wood cracking.
Ulf and Gustaf stood outside the door, taking Veirt in their arms as Pavel and Hals, still inside, handed the stricken captain out to them. ‘Bring him upstairs,’ said Gustaf. ‘I’ll need more light.’
Pavel, Hals and Giano climbed out over the splintering chest and joined them. Reiner heard footsteps coming down the hall and looked back.
Erich approached, sheathing his sword. ‘Does he live?’
‘As if you care,’ said Reiner.
‘I do care,’ said the knight. ‘He is a good man. Just confused in his thinking.’ He seemed calmer, almost contrite.
‘Stand aside,’ said Gustaf, and he started for the spiral stair with Ulf behind him, carrying Captain Veirt. The rest followed.
Erich brought up the rear, behind Reiner. ‘I have no wish to fight fellow soldiers of the Empire, but you must see that you are in the wrong.’
Reiner rolled his eyes. Halfway up the stairs there was a horrendous crack from below and a deep echoing boom as the crypt door at last crushed the chest and slammed shut. It gave Reiner the shivers.
As the party entered the chapel they heard a faint high screaming, inhuman and frightened.
‘Lady Magda,’ said Erich, alarmed. He drew his sword and hurried for the door.
‘If that’s the lady,’ said Reiner. ‘I’m a Kossar.’
He followed Erich out of the chapel and ran with him through the garden, then across the plaza to the forecourt. The screaming, which had trailed away into whistling sighs of pain, was further on. Erich and Reiner paused at the broken gates, then stepped out of the convent cautiously, looking all around. The horrible sound was coming from the hidden ravine where they had tethered the horses. They crept forward.
As they edged around the entrance to the ravine, Reiner jerked back, shocked. There was a lot of blood. The mule and the horses had been ripped to pieces, as if by some giant beast. Limbs and torsos were strewn about. One or two horses were still alive, lying on their sides with their entrails spilling out, weakly lifting their heads and wai
ling in animal agony.
‘The lady,’ gasped Erich. ‘Some horror has slain her and all the horses.’
‘Don’t bet on it,’ said Reiner. ‘Her palfrey’s missing.’
He turned and ran for the cliff face. Erich followed. ‘Where are you going? We must find her.’
‘That’s what I’m doing.’
Reiner looked out over the cliff. The winding path that had brought them up to the convent zig-zagged away below him. Rounding one of its switchbacks was a figure on a palfrey, hair flying in the wind, and deep red banner fluttering above her.
Reiner groaned. ‘Sigmar curse all sisters of Shallya.’
SEVEN
The Right Thing To Do
WHEN REINER AND Erich returned to the convent garden, they found the others clustered around Veirt, whom Ulf had laid upon a stone bench. Gustaf had taken the captain’s breast-and-back off and was kneeling over him, unbuckling his leather jerkin, which was soaked in blood.
‘What was it?’ asked Franz, looking up at Reiner.
‘Some terrible beast has slain all the horses,’ said Erich. ‘Fortunately, Lady Magda has escaped unharmed with the banner.’
‘Or,’ said Reiner dryly, ‘Lady Magda has slaughtered all the horses so we can’t follow her, and escaped with the banner.’
Erich glared at him. ‘Are you mad? Whatever killed the horses ripped them limb from limb. Lady Magda could never do that.’
‘Don’t be so sure,’ said Gustaf. ‘Look here.’ He pulled open Veirt’s jerkin to reveal his chest. The men hissed in surprise. A tremor of superstitious fear shivered through Reiner for, though Veirt’s back-and-breast was without a dent or scratch, and his jerkin unmarked, deep gashes had opened his chest to the bone and shattered his ribs. It looked like some monstrous animal with enormous claws had mauled him. The wound bubbled with each of Veirt’s shallow trembling breaths. Franz choked and looked away.
‘Surely you can’t be suggesting that Lady Magda did this?’ said Erich as Gustaf began determining the extent of the damage.
‘She barely touched him. This looks like the work of a… mountain lion, or a…’
‘A manticore!’ said Hals with superstitious awe. ‘Like the one on the banner.’
‘Yes,’ said Erich. ‘A manticore.’ Then, ‘No! If you are suggesting…’
Reiner raised an eyebrow at Hals. ‘That she killed the horses and cut down the captain with unnatural strength given her by the banner? I’d believe that before a mountain lion.’
Erich’s face was turning red. ‘And… and if she did, can you blame her? Veirt turned against her. You all did. You were sworn to bring her here, protect her, and return with her and the banner to Baron Valdenheim, and instead, the moment she finds what we came for, you, a motley collection of peasants and gallows trash, decide you know more of the lore of Shallya and the Empire than a noble lady of learning. You doubt her word, and when Veirt lays hands on her, do you jump to her defence? No. You…’
A wet gasp returned their attention to Veirt. With a hacking cough that sprayed blood across Gustaf’s knees, the captain’s eyes opened. He looked around at them all without any sign of recognition, then saw his chest. His eyes focused. ‘Damn the woman. And damn Albrecht too, for listening…’
Reiner knelt beside him. ‘What are you trying to say, captain?’
Veirt turned glazed eyes to him. He seemed to be looking at him from a far shore. ‘Count… Manfred. Tell him his brother…’ He coughed again, spraying Reiner with red spittle, then forced another word out. ‘Tre… tre… treachery!’ Blood welled up from his mouth like a spring. His head sank back until it touched the marble bench, but his eyes never closed.
The men stared down at him for a long moment, as if unable to comprehend what they were seeing. Pavel and Hals made the sign of the hammer and touched their hearts. Only Gustaf seemed unmoved, cleaning and putting away his knives and supplies like a scribe tidying his desk at the end of his day.
At last Ulf broke the silence. ‘So, what now?’ he asked.
They all exchanged wary glances. It was a simple question, but a dangerous one. What did they do?
More importantly, Reiner wondered, what did he do. Where did self-interest lie? What course of action was most likely to keep his skin intact? Did he go back to Albrecht? Did he follow Vein’s last order and look for Albrecht’s brother, the count? Did he try to hunt down Lady Magda and stop her? Did he go it alone? Or did he stick with his newfound companions?
‘We must follow our duty, of course,’ said Erich. ‘We must do our best to catch up with Lady Magda and escort her back to Baron Valdenheim as we were ordered to do.’
‘Yer off your head, jagger,’ said Hals. ‘She’d do for us in an eye-blink. The captain’s dead. She got her precious banner. I say our job’s done, and there ain’t nothing waiting for us but the hangman’s noose when we get back. I say we go our separate ways and every man for himself.’
There were many nods and grunts of assent from the others.
‘Suits me,’ said Gustaf.
But Erich was having none of it. ‘Do you abandon your duty so easily? You pledged to see this mission through. You cannot just walk away with it half done.’
Hals pulled off his right glove and showed Erich the brand—still red—on the back of his hand. ‘I made no pledge. I submitted to blackmail is all. I’m off.’ He turned to Pavel. ‘What you think, boyo? Marienburg? I hear they pay honest gold for steady pikes.’
‘Sounds as good a place as any,’ said Pavel.
‘In Tilea is summer now.’ Giano said wistfully.
‘They’d never find me in Nuln.’ Gustaf muttered under his breath.
‘I’ve relatives in Kislev,’ said Ulf. ‘Somewhere.’
Reiner shook his head, coming to a decision at last. ‘You’re making a mistake, lads. I think we’re better off sticking together.’ Or rather, he thought to himself, I’m better off if all of you protect me.
The others turned to him.
Erich smiled, smug. ‘Come to your senses, have you, Hetzau?’
‘This is wild country,’ said Reiner, ignoring him. ‘Raiders everywhere, wild beasts, unnatural things. I don’t fancy going it alone. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t last a night. Until we’re back in civilised lands, I think we need each other.’
‘Makes sense,’ said Hals.
‘As to where we go,’ continued Reiner, ‘that’s another question. I am inclined to believe Captain Veirt was right in thinking that the banner is tainted. I think…’
‘You have no proof of that,’ said Erich.
Reiner paid him no mind. ‘Whether or not Lady Magda knew so before we found it, she certainly didn’t think twice about using it once she knew its true nature.’ He scratched his head. ‘The real question is, what will Baron Valdenheim do with it once she brings it to him? Will he burn it as any sane man would, or will he let her convince him to use it to further his ambitions?’
‘What makes you think she’ll bring the banner to Valdenheim at all?’ asked Franz. ‘She might head straight north and deliver it into the hands of some daemon-worshipping chieftain.’
Reiner shook his head. ‘That woman owes fealty to no one. She worships none but herself. I saw it in her eyes. She wants power in the realms of men, not in some deathless otherworld. Did you not see Albrecht with her when we started this journey? The way he looked at her. He may rule his army with an iron fist, but she has him wrapped around her little finger. Whatever his ambitions are, you can be sure they were hers first, and my guess is that Lady Magda’s ambition is to be the wife of Baron Albrecht Valdenheim, and for Baron Albrecht Valdenheim to become Count Albrecht Valdenheim, and that she means to use the banner to accomplish these things.’
Ulf frowned. ‘But Albrecht’s older brother is already Count Vald… Oh. Oh, I see.’
‘This is the merest conjecture,’ complained Erich. ‘You build castles out of air. Even if Lady Magda intends to use the banner for some unjust pu
rpose, which I don’t for a second suggest is the truth, you have no evidence that Baron Albrecht has any malicious intent.’
‘Don’t I?’ asked Reiner. ‘Then tell me this. If this banner is so important, and is meant to be used in the defence of the Empire, why didn’t Albrecht send a battalion of pike and a squadron of lancers to accompany Lady Magda here? Why didn’t he send handgunners and greatswords instead of a tiny band of condemned men?’ Reiner smirked. ‘Because he didn’t want anyone to know what he was about. Because he intends to murder us all when we complete the mission in order to ensure our silence.’
‘You speak treason, sir,’ said Erich.
‘Fluently,’ said Reiner. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. ‘My fear is, that if Baron Albrecht and Lady Magda suspect we live, and that we know what they intend, it will not matter how far we run, or where we hide. They will hunt us down and kill us wherever we go. And with the hammer brands on our hands, we will be that much easier to find. We will never be safe.’
‘There’s still Marienburg,’ said Hals. ‘Like I said before. And Tilea, and the Border Princes. The hammer brand means nothing there.’
‘Aye,’ said Reiner. ‘That’s true. But how long would it be before you were longing for home? Before you were homesick for Hochland ale and Carolsburg sausages? How long before you wanted to hear your mother’s voice?’
‘That’s all lost to us, y’torturer,’ said Hals bitterly. ‘We’re branded men.’
‘Perhaps not,’ said Reiner. ‘There is one way I can see that we might get out of this with our skins and maybe even win the reward that was promised us.’
Giano’s ears perked up at that. ‘And how is this?’
Reiner shrugged. ‘Follow Veirt’s last order and warn Count Valdenheim of his brother’s intrigue.’
There was a murmur of approval at this, but Hals laughed. ‘And what makes you think Count Manfred is going to take the word of a bunch of murderers and deserters—for you know that’s what they’ll name us—over that of his brother and a reverend priestess of Shallya? What if he has us killed? Or throws us back into the brig?’
