by Andy Hoare
And then he fired. The cannonball was powered not by gunpowder but by the pent-up force of steam drawn off from the vessel’s engine, which Karra had kicked into full output the second she had boarded. It was far, far more lethal than any other weapon of its size. The solid cannonball exploded from the muzzle at impossible velocity and struck the rearing beast straight in its ridged palate. In a shower of bone and blood, the creature’s head was atomised, the entire deck of Khargrim’s boat instantly covered in a thick layer of dripping, steaming gore.
Almost in slow motion, the headless, primordial body sank beneath the waves of the boiling river, and at the last, all was still.
Hours later, Khargrim stood by the railing at the prow, gazing absently into the deep green waters as his vessel steamed along the river at full speed. The skies overhead churned with magical flux and the distant forms of terradon-mounted hunting parties were visible over the jungle. Khargrim had decided he was done with this part of Lustria, and none of his companions disagreed.
‘Where to now, engineer?’ asked Verdandi as she joined Khargrim at the railing.
Glancing up, Khargrim saw that it wasn’t just the Graeling sea-maiden who had joined him, but the Slayer Ghurni, the Amazon Karra, the Varg Ovar, the Bjornling Thorkell and the Baersonling Yngv too. Every one of the rag tag, mismatched company was looking to him for an answer.
‘Hmph!’ Khargrim snorted as he turned to regard his fellows. ‘Have you not had your fill of tomb raiding and treasure hunting?’
‘You forget,’ Thorkell spoke up, his grizzled old face looking straight down into the dwarf’s. ‘We got away from the Tomb of Destiny with our lives, but not with any treasure. Some of us have debts to pay, and you made us a promise.’
Khargrim smiled as he considered Thorkell’s words. The wooden-legged Bjornling marauder was correct. He had made them a promise that he would make them all rich, but it wasn’t entirely true that they had escaped with no treasure.
‘Well,’ Khargrim replied, his hand drawn protectively towards the small leather bag at his belt, which following the encounter in the idol chamber of the Tomb of Destiny had become surprisingly heavy. As heavy as the large jewel that the golden idol had cupped in its webbed hands… ‘Karra here told me some time ago that the stretch of coast to the north of here is host to at least a dozen sacred sites, any one of which might yield a dwarf king’s ransom in gold, and that’s a lot of gold, right, Karra?’
‘Hmm? said the Amazon, her gaze suddenly fixated on the leather bag Khargrim was trying so unsubtly to hide. ‘Yes,’ she said, fixing Khargrim with a dark glare. ‘There’s plenty of treasure to go around.’
‘Well then,’ said Khargrim. ‘How about we all go get filthy rich?’
‘Again,’ muttered Ghurni, as Karra continued to glare sullenly at the engineer, her arms crossed over her chest.
‘Again,’ said Khargrim, and turned for the wheelhouse of his beloved boat, and whatever fortunes Lustria had in store for him and his companions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ANDY HOARE worked for eight years in Games Workshop’s design studio, producing and developing new game rules and background material. Now working freelance writing novels, roleplaying game material and gaming-related magazine articles, Andy lives in Nottingham with his partner Sarah.
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Published in 2013 by Black Library, Games Workshop Ltd., Willow Road, Nottingham, NG7 2WS, UK
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Table of Contents
Cover
Tomb of the Golden Idol - Part Two
About the Author
Legal
eBook license