Secret War: The Annihilation Plague (Part1)

Chapter 7

Tathe followed Karmen inside, but his attention was sparely on Attelus and the little pretty boy turned his gaze away and seemed to squirm under the scrutiny.

Good, thought Tathe. It was quite pathetic; actually, Tathe had never met such a potent warrior who could be so damnably timid.

'Karmen Kons,' said Tathe, still looking at Attelus. 'I hope you didn't look into my head to know-'

The psyker snorted. 'Do not be so ridiculous, I merely sensed your presence, then went into my ethereal form to check and heard some of your conversation with Adelana. Also, I felt your anger. Now, Commissar, for what reason did you come here for.'

Tathe looked at her, then back to Attelus. 'I heard that you're a bit of a historian, Kaltos.'

Attelus frowned, seeming bemused at Tathe addressing him by his last name, but it only lasted a second. 'Yes, but emphasis on "a bit", in all honesty.'

'It's probably more that I know. I was taught in the Schola Progenium military history, the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. The Macharius Crusade and the Angevin Crusade, of course. But not much on Velrosian history.'

'Velrosian history?' said Attelus.

'Yes,' said Tathe, letting the silence hand for a few seconds. 'Tell me, what do you know about Adrassil?'

'The legendary mercenary? The one hired to be Royd's bodyguard? Uhh, a bit? The records on him are brief and vague, in all honesty, and it's been a frig of a long time since I've looked over those books, so I can't say what I tell you is completely accurate. And who knows if anything more has been found about him since I left-'

'Just try, please.'

Attelus shrugged and stroked his thin chin. 'Hmm, okay. Well, his first appearance is one hell of one. When Royd and 1st Regiment was surrounded by the Marangerian army in the Hills of the Windmills about to be wiped out, it's rumoured that Adrassil single-handedly slaughtered a gap for them to escape through.'

'How?' said Tathe.

Attelus shrugged again. 'They don't know, exactly, could've been through trickery. That's what historians believe most likely.

Attelus snorted and exchanged a glance with Karmen. 'No one man could do that. Unless they're a Primarch or the Emperor of Mankind himself.'

'Maybe,' said Tathe. 'Then what?'

'Royd travelled back to Velrosia with the small remnant of the shattered 1st regiment. Along with the spy and his later wife, Captain Saria Rotasia and the scout-sergeant Mkoria. The older brother of Royd's rival Veltross Mkoria and Adrassil, of course. Royd was in bad shape after the battle slipping in and out of unconsciousness during the entire exfiltration as King Voltarin himself almost killed him in single combat during the battle. Thanks to Mkoria's guidance, they managed to dodge enemy patrols and escape Maranger undetected.'

'Yes, yes, some of this I know,' said Tathe. 'The young prince wanted to end the inevitable chance of war by destroying Maranger's main food source, the Hills of the Windmills. I can see the strategic viability of it.'

'Yup. But no one in the regiment was prepared to find the Marangerians had fortified the entirety of it. Miles and miles of five-metre tall stone walls. It turned out that Voltarin had used slaves to do it. All it did, in the end, was give Voltarin a frigging good excuse to invade Velrosia enforce, and because of the terms of the peace treaty Royd broke, no other nation could intervene to aid us, so Maranger conquered us.'

'Then what happened?'

'Then when Attelus woke up, General Veltrain, who was standing in as steward sent Royd with Adrassil to Despasia for Royd to receive training.'