Imperial Glory

by Richard Williams

  He tossed the stalk away and took the enemy’s weapon as his own. It was then that he realised he was being watched. Another creature, this one like his enemy but far smaller, was looking at him. Was this one of the others that his enemy had called? Without hesitation, Choppa turned in the small one’s direction.

  The small one darted away from him into the shadows beneath the tall fungus canopy and Choppa chased after him. The creature scampered through knots and tendrils attempting to escape, but Choppa merely knocked them aside and his longer strides quickly brought him close. Then the small one ran out from the cover and into a clearing. There were more creatures here. These did not resemble anything that Choppa had seen before. Their bodies were bulbous and they had no arms, merely large mouths that they were using to chomp up the shoots and knobs of fungus at their feet. The small one scurried through their midst, leaping nimbly away when their mouths snapped at him.

  Choppa followed, but as he approached they all turned on him. He used his weapon and struck the first of them in between its eyes. It keeled over and the rest of its kind flew into a panic and jumped away in every direction. Choppa thought of continuing after the small one, but now the animal carcass at his feet caught his interest. He was feeling weak again, but this time the weakness was not in his arms but in his centre. He felt hollow, drained.

  Instinctively, he put his hand upon the carcass’s flank and tore a wodge of meat from it. The meat and his hand were covered in the liquid, but this time it did not feel like victory. Instead, he had another impulse. He shoved the meat into his mouth and tried to chew and swallow at the same time. He choked and coughed and nearly spat it out, but this taste he liked. He chewed for a while first this time and only then tried to swallow. Each piece sliding down his gullet filled his centre with its warmth. This was good.

  While he was eating he saw that the small one had returned and was watching him again from a greater distance. Choppa thought of chasing him, but he was enjoying the meat too much to bother. The small one was gone by the time he’d finished. His head felt heavy now and so he returned to the blackened toadstool from whence he had emerged and dug himself back into his hole to sleep.

  Choppa slept and rested, and then dug himself up once more. It did not take long before he saw the small one again. He chased after him and again he led him to where the meat-beasts were. For the first few days, the two of them followed the same pattern and the small one left him while he ate, but on the fourth day he stayed. That day, once Choppa had eaten his fill, the small one approached and took a bite of the remains. Once he had swallowed it, he stood before Choppa, pressed his tiny hand to his pigeon chest and said something:

  ‘Knobkerrie,’ he said.

  Choppa looked at him blankly. He repeated himself, but Choppa did not know what he meant. He walked away as though disappointed, but then he looked back and beckoned for Choppa to come with him. Choppa was no longer hungry, but he did not tire as he had before after eating, and so he followed.

  Knobkerrie led him a distance, further from his hole than he had ever been. He finally brought him to the edge of another clearing. In this clearing there were mounds. Not fungus mounds, but shapes made of the earth. Choppa saw gaps in them and realised that they were hollow inside. Creatures that looked like his enemy, that looked like him, were sitting around and walking amongst them. Knobkerrie pointed at them.

  ‘Boyz,’ he said. Then he pointed at Choppa.

  ‘Boyz,’ he repeated, gesturing emphatically. Choppa did not respond. Knobkerrie set out towards the village and wanted Choppa to come as well, but he refused. He could see that there were many of them, and only one of him. These boyz together were strong, far stronger than he, and so he would not face them. Instead he disappeared back into the lands he knew.

  Over the days that followed, however, he returned to the village many times to watch these boyz. He told himself at first he did so in order to determine how to beat them, but as he watched them more and more he realised that there was another yearning he felt inside of him besides anger, hunger and fatigue. He wanted to be amongst them and yet he denied himself the company he desired.

  That changed the day that Knobkerrie appeared before him, telling him to follow. This time Knobkerrie took him neither to the meat-beasts, which Choppa could now find himself, nor to the village, but to somewhere, something, else.

  Choppa and Knobkerrie watched the new-spawned ork struggle along the ground. Its knee was turned inwards at an unhealthy angle and so it could not find its footing. It was weak. Choppa would need no weapons for this. He advanced towards it, preparing for the kill. The new-spawn pushed itself up from the ground as it saw Choppa approach and then scrambled backwards in fear. Choppa caught it with ease and tossed it onto its back. It flailed with its hands to keep its attacker at bay, but Choppa knocked them aside and took a grip around its neck, readying to rip its throat out. Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement in front of him and he felt tiny scratches on his face. Knobkerrie was attacking him. Choppa grunted in indignation and swatted the gretchin away with his free hand. Knobkerrie dodged away and started to screech.

  ‘No kill! No kill! No kill!’

  Choppa turned back to the new-spawn in his grasp who was trying unsuccessfully to pull Choppa’s fingers away. Choppa readied to make the kill when Knobkerrie flew at him again.

  ‘No kill da boyz! Boss no kill da boyz!’

  Choppa paused, comprehension beginning to seep into his well-insulated brain. Knobkerrie now turned his attention to the new-spawn, scratching its face.

  ‘Da boss! Da boss!’ Knobkerrie shouted at the new-spawn and pointed a tiny green finger at Choppa. The new-spawn mewled in pain at the treatment, but eventually Knobkerrie began to get through to it.

  ‘Da boss… Da boss…’ the new-spawn began to say along.

  ‘Da boyz,’ Knobkerrie said, pointing at the new-spawn, then pointed at Choppa. ‘Da boss!’

  ‘Da boss,’ the new-spawn agreed, and Knobkerrie batted at Choppa to have him stand up off the new recruit. Choppa did so and, as he did, Knobkerrie’s demeanour shifted abruptly. The frantic peace-maker switched in a flash to the cautious horse-trader. Knobkerrie walked around the prone greenskin, checking everything about it. He peered in its ears, pinched at its skin, prodded at its paltry belly. He rolled back its upper lip to check its teeth and the new-spawn snapped at him only to receive an irate scolding from the gretchin before he returned to his inspection. Knobkerrie finally focused on the new-spawn’s knee as his particular concern. He probed it thoughtfully and then brought Choppa over.

  ‘Dok it,’ he said.

  Choppa did not understand.

  ‘Dok it! Dok it!’ Knobkerrie began to rant, and he mimed what he meant. Choppa followed what he thought the gretchin was demonstrating, took a hold on the knee and the calf, and then wrenched and twisted as hard as he could. The new-spawn howled this time, but Knobkerrie was ready. He grabbed a certain piece of fungus from his belt and jammed it into the new-spawn’s mouth. It bit down and swallowed, and then it stopped shouting. The look on its face showed it was still in pain, but it could no longer make a noise. Knobkerrie returned to Choppa and seemed pleased with what the ork had done. Choppa dropped the leg and the new-spawn rolled onto its side.

  Choppa understood what Knobkerrie had done, but he did not yet understand why the gretchin had bothered. The new-spawn was weak. The weak got killed. If one happened upon someone stronger than you, you found something that made you stronger still and then you killed them. He wandered off to find another meat-beast and then return to watch the village.

  Knobkerrie found him a few days later and took him back to the new-spawn. It was walking properly now and it was stronger. Knobkerrie had obviously been showing it where the meat-beasts were, for it had killed one of them and was beginning to eat. Choppa emerged, ready to fight for it, but as soon as the new-spawn saw him he ducked his head su
bserviently and moved aside, allowing Choppa to eat first. Choppa did so, eyeing the new-spawn suspiciously and left nothing for him.

  When he had finished, Knobkerrie had them both follow him and took them to a new place where Choppa saw the largest meat-beast he had ever seen. As they approached, this one did not flee, but rather pawed the ground with its three-toed foot and lowered its head to charge. Choppa and the new-spawn threw themselves to either side out of the way of its attack. The meat-beast turned to chase after Choppa, but then found the new-spawn clinging onto its back. It spun around to try to shake the new-spawn off and Choppa launched himself at it. The two of them together brought it to the ground and got the kill. Once again the new-spawn let Choppa eat first, but this time Choppa only ate a fraction and then allowed the new-spawn to eat the rest.

  Once more a new concept was diffusing into Choppa’s mind. He had thought that a weapon could only be something inanimate, a rock or a club, something he could hold. But a weapon could be another creature as well. Having others made him stronger, but only if they were under his control.

  Off to one side, Knobkerrie grinned in satisfaction as he saw Choppa motion for the new-spawn to follow him, then he knuckled over to the carcass and started to chew fast before the other scavengers arrived.

  With Knobkerrie’s help, Choppa added a dozen more new-spawns to his burgeoning warband. Many of them, he found, emerged close to where he had done and then later, nearabouts to where he had killed his first enemy. The same process worked on each. He would prove his strength to them by besting them in combat. Then, as soon as he had his hand around their throats, he would demand they recognise him as boss. Hunting together, they could take any meat-beast they wished, but Choppa knew a far greater challenge awaited them. He returned to the village often to count the number of warriors they had, and each time he did so he realised that, even with his warband, together they were still weak.

  The time came when one of the new-spawns came running up to Choppa. There were so many new-spawns now that Choppa had found himself having to create names to tell them apart. The first new-spawn he called Badrukken after his knee, then there was Noshgobber after his appetite and increasing girth, Gruffdreggen after his destructive tendencies and so forth. He needed no name to refer to himself, of course, and to the rest he was always simply Da boss.

  This one he’d called Krumpkopperd for the great smack to the head Choppa had had to use to subdue him when they first fought. Krumpkopperd had news. He’d seen more boyz, the boyz from the village. A whole bunch of them were coming out together.

  Choppa’s first thought was that they knew about him. They knew he was growing stronger and so had set out to finish him off before he could threaten them. Well, he would not wait to be attacked. He would find them first. Krumpkopperd had seen them heading towards one of the meat-beast clearings and so Choppa gathered the new-spawns together and went after them.

  They tracked them down not far from the clearing. They were moving quietly and carefully, but they were on Choppa’s home turf and his new-spawns merged amongst the shadows cast by the toadstool canopies. It was not all the village boyz, only about the same number as Choppa had new-spawns. It was good enough, though, and Choppa was about to give the signal to attack when he noticed that Knobkerrie was amongst their gretchin slaves. As though he could sense his gaze, Knobkerrie stared straight at where Choppa was concealed and shook his head, making a motion for patience.

  Choppa was ready for battle, but still he paused. Knobkerrie was amongst them, and that meant he was an enemy, and yet Knobkerrie was still helping him. So perhaps one could pretend to be an enemy and yet still be a friend. Choppa found this thought too confusing. Instead he and his new-spawns followed the village boyz to the clearing and watched them catch the meat-beasts. They used spears and nets, but Choppa saw they were still not as good as he and his new-spawns were at catching the meat-beasts. He took pleasure in that.

  The village boyz ran after the meat-beasts for some time before they had finally caught all they wished. Some they had killed, others they had tethered and were dragging away. The gretchin scampered behind the tethered meat-beasts, trying to prod them forwards and avoid their sharp tails. The village boyz and their trophies gathered themselves together and then started back. They were going slower, Choppa realised, they were laden down and tired now. One or two of them were even sporting injuries incurred from the meat-beasts. They were weaker than they had been before. Now was the time to strike.

  As the party approached the path where Choppa was waiting, Knobkerrie suddenly jumped onto the largest meat-beast’s back and bit it hard between its eyes. The meat-beast went mad, bucking and tearing at its leash. The other gretchin swarmed over it, while Knobkerrie slipped down and bit through the meat-beast’s leash. Its bucking turned into full-fledged spasms as it found itself free and it spun to try to knock the gretchin away. The village boyz turned to see the commotion and that was the moment that Choppa bellowed the charge.

  The fight was over quickly. The village boyz were distracted, several had waded amongst the meat-beasts to try to restore order and found themselves set upon as the attack drove the meat-beasts to even greater frenzy. Choppa caught one off-guard and brained it. The rest of his new-spawns launched themselves at the defenders, two on each one, fending away the village boyz’ blows and taking their legs out from under them. Once they were on the ground they quickly fell victim to the new-spawns’ kicks.

  Choppa knocked the last one down himself as it threw off the wounded meat-beast that had made a bloody ruin of its chest. Once the ork was on the ground, Choppa grabbed it round the throat and started once more demanding recognition as boss. This one, however, kept on fighting and would not relent, scrabbling for Choppa’s face, looking for purchase. Shocked at this, Choppa automatically dug in his nails, pulled and ripped the village boy’s throat clean out. These boyz would not acknowledge him; they would not make him stronger.

  He took his club and smashed in the brains of fully half their number before the remainder hastened to make signs of subservience. Choppa was unconvinced, now deeply suspicious of these orks. They each bore a mark, a blue circle, around their chin. It made them different from his new-spawns, separate from them. They would never be his weapon and that made them his enemy. He raised his club and slew the rest as they squirmed on the ground, held down by the new-spawns.

  Choppa slew them all bar the last, who Knobkerrie made to protect as he had done when they had first encountered Badrukken. This last one was the smallest, but it did not wear the same mark as the rest. Perhaps, Choppa reasoned, it could be his weapon after all. Solemnly, he slapped the last one’s head up, gripped its throat and said the incantation. The last one, wide-eyed, agreed quickly, but Choppa held it firm until its babbling stopped and it started repeating the word as slowly and deliberately as he did. He told the new-spawns to equip themselves with the clubs, nets and sharpened poles that the village boyz had dropped and, as he did so, he gave his latest recruit a name: Mugkileen.

  Choppa wasted no time. When he had killed his first enemy, no one had come looking for it, but these enemies were taking food. The other village boyz would be expecting them to return and would come looking for them soon. With these warriors dead, their numbers were fewer, they were weak, and they would not yet expect his attack.

  He led his small warband with its latest recruit straight to the spot from where he watched the village. Choppa was right; a few of the village boyz were outside of their mounds, but they were lying idle, leaving their weapons scattered around. Choppa did not announce their attack, but rather ran straight in without speaking. The bizarre spectacle caught the village boyz off-guard and they leaned up and stared at the sight rather than instantly reaching for their weapons. Choppa managed to knock one of them aside before they saw the rest of his new-spawns charging silently after him and realised they were under attack. Badrukken had chosen himself a spear and ran o
ne of the village boyz through while it struggled to its feet. Badrukken held it in place while Noshgobber caved its head in with a rock. Gruffdreggen threw a net over a fumbling village boy just as the hunters had thrown them over the meat-beasts. With his enemy entangled, he gave it a crack on the knee to knock it to the ground and then set about hammering it with his club.

  Those village boyz outside were nearly overwhelmed, but a couple of them were faster and managed to lay a hand on their weapons before they were assailed. The noise of the combat attracted more of the village boyz from inside the mounds and Choppa quickly ordered his new-spawns to the entrances so as to block others emerging from behind. A scream of agony to one side told him that they had not all been successful.

  Choppa looked up from the village boy he was bludgeoning to see Krumpkopperd fall away, his shoulder sliced from the rest of his torso. The severed limb, still holding its spear, lay on the ground as the new-spawn looked down at the gaping hole in his body and then slowly collapsed.

  Behind him stood the largest ork that Choppa had ever seen. It stood more upright, nearly a half a metre taller than Choppa. It had not only a blue circle on its chin, but also a far larger one emblazoned across its chest and its belly. It wore necklaces and bracelets made of greenskin teeth. It was the boss of the village boyz and it held in its hands a weapon that Choppa had coveted from the moment he had first laid eyes upon it. It was over a metre long, its shaft was not made from some tough fungus crop but from stout wood, and it had a blade of metal. The only weapon of such kind to exist in all of Choppa’s world. Choppa had seen him many times as he watched the village, each time anticipating the time when it would come to fight him.