by ich du
'I have nothing to fear from the judgement of Sigmar.' said Ursula, breaking her silence.
'Such confidence.' smiled Fenster. 'Of course, judging by your revelation of yesterday, Sigmar will guide you and give you his strength.'
'He will.' Ursula replied.
'This is nonsense!' snapped Marius. 'This is just another attempt to confuse this trial, stall any progress that may be made, and hinder our efforts to locate and punish the real perpetrators of the hideous crimes that have been committed in this town.'
'You refuse to acknowledge the right of Ursula to undertake the trial by strength?' asked Fenster, returning the witch hunter's icy stare.
Before Marius could reply, he found that Ruprecht was standing next to him. The big man motioned the witch hunter to step aside and bent down to whisper in his ear.
'Koln has gone,' Ruprecht said. 'For a fat man he can move quietly.'
'Find him!' hissed Marius, glancing at the now empty pew where the burgomeister had been seated. 'I'll handle whatever Kirche is up to, you find out where he's gone.'
'There can't be too many nooks and crannies he'd fit into,' said Ruprecht as he turned to leave. 'We'll find him.'
Watching Ruprecht leave, Marius's mind was racing. Kirche was trying to trap Ursula into accepting the trial by strength, knowing that the chance to prove her faith in Sigmar would be almost irresistible to the young woman. The question was how Marius could persuade her otherwise. And once he did that, how was he going to get the trial finished so that he could concentrate his efforts on the burgomeister and guildmaster?
BORROWING A HORSE, it did not take Ruprecht long to find the wagon Koln had used to leave. As he had said to Ursula the week before, if they were patient enough, their prey would slip up sooner or later. It looked like the waiting was over. It was no surprise to Ruprecht that he found the wagon concealed amongst the storehouses and abandoned sheds of the Bergmund district, next to the Stein warehouses. Initially, they had watched this part of town day and night, but after the first week, it seemed that whatever had taken place with Stein was in the past, and Marius had told them to move on to other leads.
Ruprecht dismounted and approached cautiously. Scouting around for a while, he spotted two guards trying to hide in the shadows of doorways, near to the wagon. Fortunately for him, they were not positioned well. They could not see each other, and both had at least two approaches to their positions that they could not watch at the same time. Ruprecht paused to consider whether he should go back for more men, but decided against it. He was here to observe, not to fight. Marius had been quite specific in their regular talks that to move against the enemy before they were sure would invite resistance from the local populace.
Ruprecht skirted around the corner of a building towards the closest sentry. Climbing through an open window, he found himself inside a warehouse that was empty except for a few sagging sacks. Crossing the floor quickly, he stood next to the side door, on the other side from the guard outside. He could hear the man's boots scraping on the stone step. Choosing his moment, he flung open the door. The man's back was to Ruprecht and as he turned, a swinging right hook connected with the guard's jaw and flung him to the ground. Stooping, Ruprecht confirmed that the sentry was out cold, and dragged his unconscious form back through the door. Wrapping the man in sacks, he left him there before exiting the building.
The other guard was positioned on the far side of the warehouse, standing next to Koln's wagon. He was pacing back and forth by the horses and it was an easy matter for Ruprecht to sneak up on the blind side when the sentry's back was turned. Just as before, a solid punch from Ruprecht silenced the man, who he bundled into the back of the wagon.
The door to the Stein store was latched shut with a knotted rope around a nail. The whole building was dilapidated and bore the marks of neglect across the wooden boards of the walls. The hinges were rusted and Ruprecht decided against trying to gain entry that way; it was unlikely that he could open the door with any kind of stealth. Looking for another means of access, Ruprecht found a set of doors leading down to a cellar. To his experienced eye, there were signs of recent use: the hinges were oiled, and the mud showed scrape marks and footprints. Easing open one of the doors, he found a set of wooden steps leading down into the dark. Taking a couple of steps, he peered into the gloom and could make out the flickering red light of a flame in the depths of the cellar.
Cautiously navigating the steps, Ruprecht came into a long, low room filled with broken shelving. Heading towards the flame, he eased his way between the shelves and quietly slipped his hammer from his belt. A few yards closer and Ruprecht could hear the sound of voices, in particular the voice of Koln. Ruprecht worked his way around the end of a collapsed shelf for a better vantage point. Koln was stood holding a burning torch and talking to a shadowy figure, though Ruprecht could not make out the actual words spoken. As Koln shifted, Ruprecht saw something that caused his heart to miss a beat. Talking to the burgomeister was a short, hunched figure swathed in a robe. A twitching rat-like nose protruded from its hood and thin, clawed hands reached forward, holding something that glittered in the firelight. Beady red eyes reflected the torchlight in the depths of the hood. It was unmistakeably a skaven.
A scratching sound caused Ruprecht to turn quickly, and he just managed to raise his hammer in time to deflect a dagger arcing down towards his neck. The skaven was wrapped in black rags, and it held a notched blade in each hand. Ruprecht rammed the head of the hammer into its face, sending it sprawling into the shelf behind it in a shower of splinters. There was a shout from Koln and a hiss, and Ruprecht glanced over to see a blade that glowed with a faint green light appear. Koln gave a gurgled scream as the skaven sliced open his throat and leapt towards Ruprecht. With no thought other than to get out, Ruprecht turned and ran. He barrelled past another skaven who jumped in his way, leaving it squirming on the floor with a knife sticking from its chest.
Bursting out into the light, Ruprecht leapt onto the driver's board of Koln's wagon and whipped at the horses. The wagon clattered onto the main street, almost throwing him from his place, as a handful of furred creatures raced from the cellar.
'Oh, bugger!' Ruprecht cursed as he steered the wagon towards the shrine.
MARIUS WATCHED DISCONSOLATELY as the crowd parted to allow Brother Theobald to lead the horses through the gates of the shrine and into the gardens surrounding the outhouses. It was sheer folly, but he had been unable to persuade Ursula not to take part. It mattered not that she risked being torn apart by the two powerful stallions. The crowd were waiting in excited silence, and Marius had been alarmed to see Kirche walking amongst them, talking to a number of his men. The witch hunter was certain that whatever happened, the guildmaster would make sure he had the result he wanted.
Ursula was kneeling on the steps up to the church doors behind Marius, her head bowed in prayer. She had argued vehemently with Marius, and as far as he could tell, she honestly believed that Sigmar would grant her the strength she needed. Although once a priest of Sigmar, and still a believer in his heart, Marius had seen too much to have the fervent, unwavering faith that she possessed. There had been a slight change in the strategy of Kirche and Koln. They had moved from trying to procrastinate and delay the trial to focus attention away from themselves. Now Kirche had tried to coerce Marius into offering up Ursula as a sacrifice, and had presented a way for the trial to be quickly and unquestionably ended. Of course, Kirche wanted Ursula to fail so that suspicion would be allayed and the town could return to some semblance of normality. To Marius, this could only mean that the secretive cartel operating within Badenhof had all but completed whatever it was they were doing and would disappear again, far from the reach of any retribution he might want to visit upon them.
Winckler approached from across the gardens, now reduced to a churned mire by the feet of hundreds of onlookers.
'The trial by strength is ready to begin.' he announced. Ursula looked up and gazed out ove
r the crowd. Most of them had been cleared out of the church grounds, and were now packed into the Sigmarstrasse, or sitting and standing atop the surrounding wall to get a good view of the proceedings. She strode down the steps, erect and dignified. Marius fell in a few paces behind her. The sombre procession made its way along the path towards Brother Theobald, who stood by the carthorses procured for the trial by strength. Holding their reins with one hand, the priest was reading from a book held by one of his lay assistants. They stopped just short of the priest and Ursula stepped forward.
'Are you ready to undergo this trial?' asked Theobald when Ursula knelt before him.
A distant shout interrupted proceedings and an angry murmur spread through the crowd. There was a great deal of commotion and part of the crowd surged forward, trampling each other in their efforts to get out of the way of something. As space cleared, Ruprecht crashed the wagon into one of the gate posts, knocking splinters of stone flying in all directions.
'Marius!' he bellowed, leaping down from the driver's position. He crashed like a bull through the mob who were between him and the witch hunter, sending guildsmen, children and housewives sprawling to the ground. Marius saw that he held his hammer in his hand, and there was blood on it. The big man was panting hard and his eyes were wide with fear.
'Koln's dead!' said Ruprecht, trying to catch his breath. There was a shocked gasp from those within earshot and the news spread out through the mob.
'What is this?' demanded Kirche, pushing through the crowd that had gathered around the witch hunter.
'Your allies have betrayed you!' hissed Ruprecht, grabbing hold of Kirche's coat. 'They slit his throat.'
'Betrayed?' said Kirche, aghast.
'This sham trial ends now,' said Marius, pulling Ruprecht away and confronting the guildmaster.
'The witch hunter is a traitor!' Kirche called out. 'He's an agent of Ostland! He wants the trial to end!'
Screams and cries of panic cut through the air, from further up the Sigmarstrasse.
'What devilry is this?' demanded Marius, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword. The crowd was surging forward even further. Marius pushed past Theobald, bullied his way through the crowd and leapt up onto the back of the wagon. Looking out over the heaving crowd, he saw a carpet of brown moving down the road. It was a moment before he realised that it was a tide of rats, thousands of them, pouring towards the churchyard from every cellar and alley, sweeping over everything in its path.
'She's summoned a daemon swarm to save her!' someone shouted out.
'Burn the witch!' a voice called out from the crowd, to be taken up by dozens of other throats.
The mob surged forward, clambering over the walls and pressing in around Marius, who jumped clear and battered his way back towards Ursula. She shrieked as hands grabbed at her. Marius pulled out his sword and the blade swept downwards, cutting into a man's arm. Ruprecht leapt in, swinging his hammer, and everything descended into chaos.
CHAPTER TEN
Saviour
Badenhof, Winter early 1709
AS THEIR HORSES trotted through the gate along the Bechafenstrasse, Kurt and Jakob gazed around in horrified astonishment. They had seen the haze of smoke from a few miles away and ridden swiftly and the scene that greeted them was not at all the homecoming Kurt had imagined. The buildings showed the scars of burning and looting, even here on the outskirts. For a moment he thought he saw someone looking furtively at the pair of them from a shattered window, but the figure scuttled out of sight. Jakob pointed out a charred body in the ruins of one burnt-out shell of a warehouse and Kurt quickened the pace.
The town was strangely quiet and as they progressed the signs of the violence that had engulfed Badenhof became more evident. It was not long though before the eerie silence was broken by the distant sound of shouting. Spurring Heldred into gallop, Kurt raced out onto the Sigmarstrasse where he was confronted by a scene from a nightmare.
Hundreds of people were running in all directions and the streets swarmed with rats, some of them as large as dogs. The vermin were biting and clawing at everything in their way, and Kurt watched in horror as people fell and disappeared beneath the tide of rodents. He tried to ride through the mayhem, but the press of bodies was too much for Heldred and he dismounted, slapping the horse's rump to make him run clear. Jakob appeared beside him, a bow in his hands. They exchanged glances.
'What's happening?' Jakob shouted over the din of the shouting mob.
'I have no idea!' Kurt bellowed back, drawing his sword. 'We must find Ursula!'
The two of them pushed against the throng that was now moving down the Sigmarstrasse towards the outskirts of the town. A rat scurried over Kurt's foot and he kicked it away. He was being buffeted left and right by the fleeing crowd, and someone made a grab for his sword. He smashed his fist into the face of the bearded man responsible and flung him aside. They pushed their way towards the side of the road where there was a little more space. The panicked townsfolk were making no attempt to hide, they were simply fleeing down the road as fast as they could.
'Ursula might be at the shrine,' Kurt said to Jakob. 'It's a little further up this way.'
The pair punched and barged their way through the mob, who seemed more interested in getting clear than fighting. The rats were everywhere, crawling across bloodied corpses, in people's hair, clawing at faces and causing mayhem. They scurried underfoot, making Kurt stumble on more than one occasion, and their keening squeaks drowned out the cries of distress and pain that surrounded the knight.
Further up the street, the crowd suddenly thinned and Kurt got his first view of the shrine and the churchyard. There were still a sizeable number of men standing at the walls of the church. Many of them were fighting off the rats with sticks and other improvised weapons, but others were intent on something or someone inside the shrine itself. He saw the tall guildmaster, Kirche, striding back and forth, shouting out instructions, directing the armed mob. Pointing back to the church, he called something out and then disappeared through the gateway. The street was littered with corpses of rats and people, and the shouts and noise of fighting rang from the walls of the houses nearby.
MARIUS WAS ON the shrine's steps with Ursula behind him, swiping at the mob with his sword.
'Get back!' he roared, smashing a man from his feet and kicking him down the steps. The majority of the men were followers of Kirche, and it was now evident by the number of clubs, hammers and other weapons they carried that they had come prepared for a fight. The guildmaster himself disappeared once the fray had started, and Ruprecht had gone after him. Marius and a handful of his men were holding the steps, but unless Ruprecht returned with more help, they would be overwhelmed before long.
A man with a short black beard and an eye patch ran yelling up the steps, brandishing a wood cutter's axe. Marius easily parried his clumsy attack and ran his sword through the man's arm, making him drop the weapon.
'Cease this stupidity!' bellowed Marius, shoving the screaming man aside. 'There are more dangerous foes in this town than this woman!'
'She's the spawn of the dark gods!' a man yelled.
'She's brought plague to the town!' came another accusation.
The crowd surged forward again and Marius's men charged, their swords cutting through the untrained guildsmen and hurling them back.
Suddenly the shouts of anger turned to cries of fear. From his vantage point on the steps, Marius saw black-furred bodies moving out of the houses along the Sigmarstrasse and attacking the men at the wall of the shrine's grounds. The skaven were attacking in force! The verminous creatures leapt forward with astounding speed, a tide of rats around them, and hacked into the men around the church with serrated daggers and crude spears. Unaware of the peril behind them, the guildsmen inside the garden rushed the steps again, taking Marius by surprise. He hastily blocked a cudgel swung at his head and was bowled over by the impetus of the man's attack. As he scrabbled around trying to free himself, Ursula lo
omed over the pair of them and kicked the guildsman square in the face, sending him tumbling into the legs of those that followed.
'Get inside, you impetuous girl!' snarled Marius, clambering to his feet.
His men were outnumbered and falling back when something else caught his eye. One of the corpses in the grass had a black-feathered arrow sticking out from its back. Looking around, Marius caught sight of a man who had climbed onto one of the statues for a better vantage point and was now loosing arrows into the crowd. His targets were not random though, and Marius watched as a man clad in full armour cut his way through the guildsmen with swift and strong sword strokes.
'Kurt!' Ursula shrieked with joy.
'Kurt?' Marius asked, turning to Ursula with a questioning look.
'Yes, it must be him!' she laughed.
Just then someone came out of the doors behind them and Marius spun quickly, sword raised. He relaxed slightly when he saw that it was Ruprecht.
'The other doors are barricaded. Kirche is dead,' the burly man reported.
'How?' asked Marius, to which Ruprecht just grinned and hefted his hammer meaningfully.
With the other dozen men accompanying Ruprecht, the witch hunter and his band were able to fight their way down the steps and push the mob back into the gardens. As he chopped through the neck of a man wielding a rusting sword, Marius came face to face with Kurt. Marius halted as if struck. The man in front of him was a vision from his past. His eyes, his nose, his chin: it was unmistakeably Baron Leitzig, who Marius had put to death many years before.
'Bastard!' the knight shouted, smashing a gauntleted fist into the witch hunter's face and knocking him down. Kurt raised his sword for the finishing blow, but Ruprecht intervened, causing the knight to step back with a swing of his hammer.
Ursula threw herself between the two men and Kurt grabbed her around the waist.