I like to write, and most of all I like to write short stories... however, the language barrier is no small difficulty, the need to polish the pieces, the doubts, Real Life that asks for attention: all those things are not easy to deal with.

Anyway, every once in a while, I write something.
So, waiting for some inspiration for new stories, I would like to present to you not only [FONT=Arial]the first story I’ve ever written for warhammer, but the first story I’ve ever written in english.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]I wrote it for a story competition on Lustria online, the theme was "anti-hero".[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]hope you will enjoy it![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]THE COWARD[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]“You are a coward! You bring shame upon our blood! Shame upon me!”[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]The Inner Hall was lit by just some torches; the flickering light was casting bizarre shadows and reflections on the ancient banners and the adorned shields, decorating the massive stone walls. It was dark and cold… appropriate for the time being. Thordek Connarsson was used to his brother’s tirades. Nonetheless, they hurt him just the same.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]“The Granite Barrier was not salvageable. There wasn’t only clanrats, it was already filled with jezzails and a couple of Warp Cannons. What should I have done?”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“For a starter, obey my orders! The Barrier is of vital importance! We cannot afford its loss…”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Well, we cannot either afford the loss of one quarter of our troops, charging into a deathtrap. We don’t have warriors to spare, and they would have all died in the assault…”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Or you would have died, leading the combat, as a Thane should do! And the Irondrakes would have charged on the breach, breaking their line of defense, to save the Clan’s banner and avenge your death!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Sweet Grimnir… It has already been epic to bring them back into our lines. The rats were prepared, and they were waiting for us. It. Was. A. Trap. They were already closing the way behind us, and we had to break through rat ogres. All I did it was to bring back our troops for the battles to come.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Ah, you’re so a heroic fighter, Thordek! Don’t tell me your fairytales, you’d just run to save your worthless life, and all you brought back, are dwarfs with broken pride. They know far better than you that they failed their duty toward their liege. Are you satisfied? Do you think they are grateful that they are not feasting in Grungni’s Halls? Do I really need to remind you of the Chasm’s Keep?”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]No, it was not necessary. It was still an open wound. The Keep was swarmed by rats… wave after wave, an endless sea of furry scum. They were drowning in slaves. After three days, without a single hour of rest, when they run out of gunpowder, Thordek gave the withdrawal order, leading personally the young warriors, dwarfs with beards too short to die so soon. Those lads needed to return safe home.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The longbeards simply gave him a stern look, and stood behind the walls, without following. The sound of the longbeards’ warhorn haunted them for miles, and then there was silence. The warriors didn’t say a word… but within a month, they all took the Slayers’ tattoos and threw themselves in the carnage of the battle that cost them the Southern Outposts.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]Thordek lowered his head. This act of apparent submission, seemed to appease the Lord.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Listen, Thordek, the life of our Clan is at stake, I cannot take the field all by myself… I need you, but the warriors start calling you names. They still follow you out of respect for me and because they’re all honorable dwarfs, but their loyalty won’t last for long…”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek raised his eyes. He knew this wasn’t the right moment, but time was running short.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“We won’t last for long! Blame me if this pleases you, but we must face the truth. We have no more lines of defense, and the mines are gone for good. There’s nothing left between the rats and this place. We’re talking about our families, about our bloodlines. We cannot stop them.”[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]Lord Alerick Connarsson, Third of his Name, Bearer of the WeepingWidow Greataxe and with-so-many-other-titles-that-a-beardling-would-become-a-ranger-before-hearing-them-all, took a deep and dangerous breath.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“What are you suggesting, Thordek?”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“We need help. We have plenty of gold, and magical objects that we cannot use. There are wood elves in the northern forest, we could aid each other. Probably we won’t even have to give ‘em the gold, they are in our same boat and they know it. We cannot do it all by ourselves, Alerick, we need allies.”[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]Alerick clenched his fist, and gave a hammering blow to his desk.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“We had allies! Then they took our gold, and our beards, and then King Gotrek gave ‘em our steel! We won’t bow to some pointy ears, only because you fear to die as a dwarf. You won’t humiliate my people. High King Thorgrim would spit on this nonsense.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Probably yes, but King Thorgrim is no more, the Book of Grudges is no more, and even our land is no more… we’re stuck in this chunk of our old empire, floating into the void. There are no other Clans to help us, there are only we, the elves and the endless rats. I would like to have other options, but our duty is to protect our people… “[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Alerick’s face was hard as a stone. Thordek knew he was losing also this battle.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Please cousin, help me! Tell something!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]A third dwarf had remained on the sidelines. He shared many of Thordek’s worries, but when he spoke, he sealed Thordek’s last hope.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Here I am as the Clan’s Runelord, Thordek, not as your cousin. I appreciate your concerns, but, as you say, we must protect our people: we must protect their honor. If you don’t live by traditions, then what’s the point of living at all? Our Lord’s will is crystal clear, and I’m fully with him.”[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]“This meeting ends here. I suggest to go back to your duty.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]____________________________________________________[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial]The final assault was beginning.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]For almost a week, the rats tested their defenses all across the main stonewall, and they knew there wasn’t an unbreakable opposition. Rats were dying in spades, but they had reserves, while each fallen dwarf was irreplaceable.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]It was a sunny day, the roaring of organ cannons reverberated gracefully against the rocky cliffs and the musicians were giving the right mood to the army… but the lines were thin, and the faces were tired.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]That morning, his brother came to see him, bringing a large object, draped in blue velvet with golden embroidery. Thordek knew it was his death sentence.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“This is our Oathstone. I’m giving it to you. You are going to join the Ironbreakers and you will guard the entrance of the fortress: if our lines crumble, you will be our last line of defense, all the remaining troops will rally around you. If this happens, I will probably be already dead. Don’t fail me.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]And so he was standing there, within the ranks of the prideful Ironbreakers, nailed to that little personal pedestal, which at least was giving him the advantage of a good sight of the battlefield. Squeaks of pain sounded every time an engraved stone landed in the packed hordes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Then it happened. With a rumble, half of the eastern tower collapsed on itself, probably undermined by some tunnel work. Loads of stormvermin, flanked by a couple of Abominations, erupted within the ruins, murdering the remnants of the quarrelers in a matter of seconds.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The King’s banner moved toward the breach, Thordek heard his brother war cry, echoed by his personal Hammerers’ guard following closely as they joined the fray. For some long minutes, it seemed the vermin would be repelled, then a dozen of stormfiends emerged, and the royal banner fell.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]The beating drums were ordering to fall back and reform, and the secondary cannon batteries were already aimed at point-blank. And Thordek knew he would have failed his brother.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Ironbeard. To me!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The massive warrior suddenly came to Thordek’s side “Yes, my lord?”.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek stepped down from the Stone. “We need reinforcements. I entrust you the Oathstone, form the Steel Wall and don’t let them pass.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Bewildered eyes looked at him “Sir, you aren’t supposed to…”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“I’ll be back as soon as possible.”.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek left the formation, hurrying toward the inside of the mountain. But he had the time to hear someone say “Let him go. We’ll die better without him”.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial]Thordek proceeded toward the inner sanctum of the fortress.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“Of course they despise me, I’m fleeing. I lied to them and they know it. Well, if this is my burden, then be it… I’ve always done the best for my Clan, I’ve always tried to save the lives of the dwarfs under my command. What do you think? That dying on the walls will save the lives of your beloved ones? There are almost a thousand women and beardlings in the Great Hall, all waiting for their fate. To die in battle is just the easy way out, you don’t hear their screams, when the rats will find ‘em!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek’s plan was simple. He needed to save that thousand dwarfs, the future of the Clan. Firstly, he would have took all the unused magical gear that was lying in the Inner Vault. Dwarfs were too proud to use items without dwarves runes carved on them, but elves are not so choosy. Then he would have guided the women and children toward the elves, through the northern tunnel (since there were no reports about skaven in that one), collapsing the tunnel behind them. Within two days, he would have find the rangers and the border garrison… this way, he would bring also more than 50 fighters and couple of cannons with him. More important than fighting, the rangers could help forage given all the mouths he had to feed.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The Inner Vault was huge. Thordek took an Arabyan Carpet, crafted by human wizards and therefore unusable by proper Dwarfs. Next he began to amass all the items he could find, flying from one chest to the other.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The echo of a distant explosion stopped his search. A Rune of Immolation… time was running short.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]It was at that point that something leapt on the carpet, and a blade tried to cut its way right into Thordek’s kidney, just to be stopped by the gromril armor.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek turned to face his assailant… a couple of malevolent little eyes, a pointed snout and a fierce grin, bordered by a black cape, an Eshin Assassin.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The poisoned blade tried to find an opening between the full plate joints, so Thordek closed the gap, clenching his armored fist upon the skaven’s wrist. A satisfying noise of broken bones.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The grappled skaven tried to bite away Thodeks face, without much luck; the Thane grabbed firmly the head’s pelt, turning it away… and then he dropped his axe on the neck.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The decapitated assassin fell upon the treasury, spilling blood all across the carpet; disgusted, Thordek kicked the body out and gained some height, keeping his eyes on his kill. “It’s just a drop in the bucket, but you at least, you won’t feast this night.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]At that point, he noticed the glowing light.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]It was coming from something in the stack of the magical items; it was a red light, almost purple. The source was a strange, golden plaque, with bizarre symbols engraved on it; looking closely, the pattern resembled a sort of pyramid, with huge snakes around it. The snakes' red ruby eyes, veiled by skaven’s blood, were pulsing, in an almost hypnotic way… and the Plaque itself was absorbing the blood. Thordek was feeling a strange sense of hunger, and cannot help but to add some drop of blood, from the severed head. The pulsing become brighter.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Something hisssssed, breaking the enchantment.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thordek raised his eyes; he was surrounded by many strange, blue lizard-things, with a red crest, and they were all threatening him with blowpipes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]In the middle of the hall, a sort of.. portal? was floating mid-air, a white, luminescent oval, growing larger each second. From it, a dozen warbeasts were coming, follo[/FONT][FONT=arial]wed by other lizard-things with spears, prodding them forward, when they tried to stop to smell the dead rat.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“This cannot be… I know what this things are. These should be the Lizardmen, I remember them from my Grandfather’s stories, but… but…”.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The lizards with blowpipes didn’t care about his confusion and remained hostile; for once, Thordek didn’t knew what to do.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Then the portal become even larger, and something impossible emerged from it. It was a huge beast, bigger than a steamtank, with a massive, three horned armored head. Upon it, there was a sort of palanquin, with a large banner, made entirely of… fur? “it isn’t simple fur”, realized Thordek “those are skaven pelts”.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]On the palanquin, there was another red-crested lizard, stouter than the other ones, armed with a serpentine blade, and with a golden plaque on its chest, very similar to the one that was at Thordek’s feet… and that now was levitating, at a gesture of the lizardchief’s hand, floating toward him.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]He finally took the plaque, caressing it, then he looked at Thordek, which was still holding the severed head of the skaven. The lizardchief hissed something, and the blowpipers relaxed, diverting their attention from Thordek.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]The whole lizardmen army started moving across the Inner Vault and into the tunnel, toward the sounds of battle. Other lizardmen were emerging from the portal: another three-horned beast with a ballista on it, then more red-crested little ones, accompanied by large crocodile-like beings; a seemingly endless river of troops.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]And Thordek realized that the Ironbreakers were in its path.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]“For the Ancestors, someone must tell them that reinforcements are arriving!”[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]He moved the carpet at full speed, heading for the light of the day.[/FONT]