Chapter Twenty One
Flight of the Revenants
Trottinghamshire, Equestria Minor
Hidden deep within the rolling hills in the vast expanse of the Trottingham countryside the Equestrian resistance’s camp clung to a sandstone rock face. The natural cave system served as the perfect hideout for the ponies during their campaign against the griffon occupiers. After the initial skirmishes they had been driven further into the countryside to the north by an increasingly aggressive griffon presence. From the two hundred or so who had begun their resistance half a dozen were gone, not all killed in action though, two were dead, three captured and one desertion.
Within the cave the leaders of the resistance were gathered. A few rough tables were arrayed around the cavern they used as their headquarters. The chamber itself was roughly spherical in shape with a low ceiling and structural supports in the centre to account for the widening of the cave. Posted up on the walls were newspaper articles from both Equestria Minor and Major with stories about the progression of the war. To the right of these a large map hung down portraying the island and all the settlements within, known troop locations, bases and points of interest were marked by pins with corresponding indices on a board beside the map.
Sergeant Swift Wind sat at the head of the central table, his fellow sergeants and a number of corporals were arrayed around him. There were ten of them in total; all were wore their armour and were intently focused on the papers that had just been provided for them by a guardspony. The two guardsponies who had just finished handing out the papers returned to their post at the cavern’s entrance. They had barely settled in before a volunteer careered into the back of one of them looking startled.
The resistance leaders looked up from the reports at the newcomer in various expressions of confusion and annoyance. The mare that had approached the guards folded her ears back and backed away from their fierce expressions.
Swift Wind called out at the mare, beckoning her forward under the oppressive silence prevalent in the chamber.
“Is there a problem?” he asked the impatience in his voice evident to all present.
“Sergeant Wind, there’s been an incident. One of our patrols ran into three unarmed griffons but they were different, I didn’t hear much of what the survivors said but they’re being brought up here sergeant I thought it best to warn you, it’s a mess.” The haunted look in her eyes spoke volumes for the extent of the problem. “Casualties were heavy, eight pony squad and two wounded survivors’ sergeant, everypony else is KIA.”
The assembled guards gasped in unison. They could not afford that number of casualties to three unarmed griffons, it was senseless, abhorrent. Something the mare had said though caught Swift’s attention.
“You said these griffons were different, different how?” he asked.
“I don’t know, the wounded ponies are on their way though. They were cleared to report to you by the medic.”
The leadership waited in tense silence for the survivors to arrive, the mare that had brought the news was dismissed leaving just the Royal Guard leaders in the chamber. Before long the muffled sounds of panicked voices echoed down the tunnel. Swift could make out the sound of their head medic shouting at the two injured ponies but the exact words were unclear.
The crunch and clop of hooves on scattered stone increased until a small group of ponies entered past the two guards. A guardspony and volunteer led the way with a cluster of concerned ponies and medics in tow. The two lead ponies were clearly wounded. The guard’s armour was gashed, ripped like paper. Blood dripped down his fur, most noticeably half the stallion’s right ear was missing. The other pony, a mare from the mainland with a bright orange mane, peach coat and wearing rudimentary chainmail seemed better off. For her part she walked with a limp, bandages and a sling held her left fore hoof off the ground but besides but beside that she was unharmed.
“Guardspony Steel Will, report” ordered Swift.
Steel Will in turn walked steadily up to the table and made an admiral attempt to stand at attention. He spoke in the typical guardspony standard, slipping into the thousand yard stare, looking just up and to the left of Swift Wind while speaking in a monotone. “Sergeant, myself and Guardspony Gladius were on patrol with six volunteers by Brimstone Rocks. We had eyes on three griffons travelling alone and heading west. No armour, no weapons, no escort, it seemed way too easy and for all we know they were just civvies. That in mind we rushed them from behind and moved to surrounded them, it was then we found out those things were monsters.”
“Monsters?” Questioned one guard, but a severe glare from Swift stopped him and prompted Steel to continue.
“It was disgusting, they were griffons or at least they had been. Something had been done to them. Their skin was ripped off and there were wires in their muscles. Their eyes glowed with a blue flame and most of their bones were replaced with steel.”
A series of shocked gasps exploded across the room and the horrified ponies shared unbelieving looks with each other.
“They stopped when we cut them off. It was like they didn’t know we were there until we blocked their path. Kept muttering names under their breath, I heard Valkyrie and Markus, whatever kind of name that is, anything else was just mumbling. Then they saw us, oh Celestia.” The guard’s stoic expression broke for a second and a tremor of fear passed through his body. “We didn’t, urgh, they just charged us. They shredded our armour like it was nothing, their talons were made of steel and they were so fast and strong. I tried to fight them, bought time for Sunny to get away. Everypony else went down, I’m only alive because I got knocked out and they didn’t care enough to finish me off. Not sure what happened past that Sergeant Wind, Sunny said they just carried on west like nothing happened.”
“Will you be ok soldier?” Swift asked in a heavy tone.
“I, I don’t know.”
“And you Militiapony Sunny?” followed up Swift at the young mare. The mere fact she was addressed caused the mare to start, visibly wilting under the attention of so many guards. All she did was glance forlornly at the ground then clench her eyes shut.
“Ok, get to the medical tent. Look after yourselves, the medics will; you can be sure of that.” With a solemn nod he allowed the two ponies to leave. In the stunned silence that followed the assembled corporals and sergeants for the most part were left staring at the cavern entrance.
“Celestia help us” exclaimed a corporal at the bottom of the table.
“Well if those things just kept heading west then they obviously weren’t here for us. I’d wager they were heading for the mainland” suggested Sergeant Whirlwind from Swift’s right.
“Makes sense” agreed Swift Wind giving his comrade a nod of assent. “Wait did what did Steel say the things were mumbling?”
A particularly distressed corporal, too new for Sergeant Swift to have learnt his name glared angrily at him. “What? Who cares? We just lost six ponies damn it. Gladius is dead! The ramblings of those abominations doesn’t matter.”
“Watch your tongue corporal. It matters because whatever they are they certainly aren’t natural, that’s some evil magic right there and the things they say may shed some light on their intention. Yes ponies have died, but right now we have a war to fight. Mourning comes later, for now we save the living.” Fixing the guardspony with his own fierce look he simply waited until somepony answered his question.
Another corporal spoke up in lieu of anypony else wanting to be the centre of Swift’s furious attention. With a tentative clearing of his throat the guard spoke out. “They said erm, Valkyrie and Markus and some other words too.”
“Aye, I thought so” replied the sergeant. “Anyone big on their mythical creatures?”
Again the same corporal answered him. “Er, the Valkyrie were supposed to be a spirit host of female griffons who claimed the souls of slain soldiers. But they’re not real, at least whatever they’re calling the Valkyrie isn’t an actual one from legend, they never existed, just a story from old soldiers. Hay I even know where the idea originated from.”
“Well thank you corporal for that, definitely of use. But Markus, that’s a name I recognise. Anypony else following the papers? You know the humans from another world who fought alongside my son in the Everfree?” A number of nods spread around the room in response, some in realisation and others just following his train of thought. “Well their leader’s name was Markus, he’s the Valkyrie’s target and he’s one of those flayed griffon’s targets.”
“Do you have a plan in mind Swift?” asked Whirlwind.
“They have at least an hour head start. Send our fastest flier to deliver a warning and just hope this Markus and anyone else those griffons find are up to the challenge.”
Canterlot, Equestria (two days later)
Twilight sat at her old desk in her old room and stared down at the five pieces of parchment laid next to each other in a perfectly parallel row. One inkwell and five quills were likewise placed in a row above the assembled parchment. Taking a breath in preparation she picked up all five quills and poised their tips over the parchment. She cast a spell on four of the quills, binding their movements to the central one.
Lowering her primary quill and watching in satisfaction as the other four instantly mirrored her movements she began to scratch the ink onto parchment.
‘To my dearest friends,
Hi girls, it’s me Twilight. During my visit to Canterlot a number of events and circumstances have come to my attention and to the princesses’. Some of what I will tell you is confidential, I therefore have to ask that you keep these letters private and destroy them once you have them memorised.
Firstly Celestia has confided in me that she has lost contact with her agents in the griffon court and that Chrysalis is likely using counter-subterfuge to catch them. If Chrysalis is resorting to this then she will likely be putting her own agents to work in Equestria, deception being a particular skill of hers.
This means a number of things for us girls. I’m afraid Celestia has asked me to inform you all that you are needed in Canterlot for both your own safety and for the protection of Equestria. I know this puts you all in a difficult position, that you all have commitments at home just as I do but this is for the fate of Equestria. We’re fighting a war we may not win and we have to rise to the challenge and accept the responsibilities that being Bearers demands. For now she has asked nothing more and has asked me to promise on her behalf that you will be well cared for and protected as will your families and duties in Ponyville.’
Twilight set down the quills. She selected just one then and carried on writing. Each paragraph she wrote, one for each individual letter, was aimed at each of her friends in turn. Once she had finished the parchment was folded and each letter was deposited into a corresponding envelope.
Satisfied with her work she got up from her chair and delicately placed her letters inside waiting saddlebags. Bidding goodbye to Spike and her parents, Twilight set off into Canterlot. She worked her way through the streets, taking the back roots as usual to avoid any public meetings. She was not avoiding the average pony by any means, well nobles slightly if she was honest, but just as in Ponyville she wanted to dodge any pressponies that happened to be lurking about. She headed straight for the Canterlot Royal Barracks where Pieter and the rest of the Empire camp were billeted.
She dropped off the letters on her way and within minutes she’d ascended the next level of Canterlot, moving out of the city proper and further up the mountain to where the government buildings could be found, the castle, ministerial institutions and the barracks.
Twilight navigated her way through the grand rows of official looking office buildings, a curious mixture of the spiral towers of the castle decked in the traditional white and blue and the more modern office buildings in silvered steel and plate glass. The two architectural presences meshed surprisingly well. Twilight was always overcome with a sense of awe when she made the walk through the government district although this time she turned left instead of right and headed towards the pristine white walls of the barracks.
There were guards at every corner of the walls and two stood directly before the gates of the barracks. A unicorn and pegasus, the former with a grey coat the latter white, stood guard giving Twilight a quick glance of recognition before returning to the customary thousand yard stare.
Upon reaching the post she stopped as the two stallions decided to recognise her presence.
“Hello, my name’s Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to meet Captain von Grunberg and Magistrate Rekthofen.”
“We know who you are ms” chuckled the unicorn. “Yeh you’re fine to go through but we need to test you first.”
“A test?” questioned Twilight, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead already at the prospect of undergoing an unrevised exam.
“Yes, nothing big, just to check you’re not a changeling you know?”
“Oh ok then, what do I need to do?” she asked, twiddling her fore hooves uncertainly.
“Nothing at all Ms Sparkle it’s a simple dispel, if you’re a changeling then it will undo the disguise.” She found the guard to be surprisingly nonchalant about the possibility she was a changeling but then she supposed they had been on guard for quite some time.
In a matter of moments the stallion checked her over and waved her through with a smile and a nod. Twilight travelled through the barracks which looked considerably more crowded now that well in excess of one hundred and forty humans had set up camp. Their tents took up the large parade ground pretty neatly and several more were lined up against the white stone walls that surrounded the barracks.
“Twilight Sparkle!” called a familiar voice. Pieter von Grunberg strode across to her having just left the officer’s mess; she recognised the building from when she had visited her brother a few years back. The man strode up to her with a big smile on his face and a shade of stubble on his cheeks. He was back in his grey tunic and trousers with the customary leather belt, two holstered pistols and short sword included.
She bounded across to the captain smiling all the while and greeted the human with a hug, taking Pieter somewhat by surprise but with a happy acceptance all the same.
“Hey Pieter, how have you been?” she asked.
“Excellent Sparkle, it has been a busy few days but this is what I was born to do. I live for times like these.”
His comment left Twilight a little uneasy but she put it down to the unique circumstances of his world and shrugged it off. “Really? Why, what have you been up to?” she wondered, her curiosity piqued.
“I recently finished writing a handbook for the Stalliongrad jaegers or hunters as you call them. Their city is first in line for the Khanine advance and they are the only pseudo military force in the region now that the Royal Guard have been rallied in Canterlot. My own experience should hopefully prove useful and they have been advised on siege tactics. I was surprised to find out your species would use hunters but you ponies are full of surprises.”
“Yes Stalliongrad is right on Equestria’s frontier, there are a lot of nasty creatures in the mountains and it’s an inescapable fact that we’ve needed leather and furs in some capacity. There’s a lot about us you don’t know Pieter. I know for instance that you’ve all been trying to hide the fact you eat meat for one since you think we’re herbivores.” Twilight finished her statement with a smirk at the uncharacteristic look of shock on Pieter’s face. “Pieter we’re omnivores, we choose to be vegetarian” she elaborated.
“Oh, well yes. I, er, I suppose that should have been obvious really.” Pieter gave an exasperated sigh, “Sweet Shallya I feel stupid.” He slapped a hand to his forehead and laughed under his breath. Twilight could not help but laugh along at the embarrassed captain.
“So, why are you here Twilight? Besides mocking me that is” added Pieter with a chuckle.
“Oh I came to check up on you actually, haven’t seen you in a while. I also wanted to find out just how the war was heading, the papers have been a bit erm extravagant with their information. Well and I wanted to get some one on one tutelage from Willhelm, I’ve been practicing a lot lately and I wanted a review of my progress.”
“A productive visit then” commented Pieter. “Why are you here to find out about how the war goes? You are Celestia’s disciple after all.” At this Twilight awkwardly scraped her hoof in a circle, looking sheepish all the while.
“Well, it’s just she’s so busy and I kinda got distracted and asked her a different question about Equestrian history and forgot. After that she had work to do, some of her agents are missing and that has her worried and if Celestia’s worried then so am I. But yeah, I’m here to find out what’s going on and how I can help.”
Pieter looked over his shoulder towards where he knew Willhelm’s tent was. “I shall take you to Willhelm and fill you in on the way, I myself am expected in the camp at the base of Canterlot for drills within the hour so I am short on time. That and Forlorn is busy on earth pony training and I planned to give him a kicking in front of that mare” Pieter said barking a harsh laugh.
“That’s a bit mean Pieter, especially in front of his recruits. I mean you could undermine his authority” replied Twilight raising an eyebrow.
“True, but after the diamond dog escapade and the Battle of the Everfree he’s earned quite the reputation. Besides taking a hit shows he is not invulnerable, that he is as much a pony as the rest of them. The mare will like that, Rose something her name was, makes him look relatable.”
Quashing her brief moment of outrage, something which was becoming increasingly easy the longer she spent with Pieter, she shot him a despairing look. “Please Pieter aren’t there more important things to do?”
“All work and no play makes Forlorn a dull pony.”
He did not expect her to understand, it was necessary, to remind oneself why they fight, for a world beyond blood, death and violence. Besides if she ended up in the fight, she would understand the need for an escape soon enough. With that Pieter quickly turned to Twilight’s initial request glossing over her query.
It turned out the dogs to the north were five days away from Stalliongrad. The griffons were prepared for their two day journey across the ocean and simply waited for the dogs’ arrival to coincide with their own schedule. In anticipation the ponies of Stalliongrad had stockpiles of material, weapons, armour, food and water. Their giant stone walls were reinforced and a militia was formed with their huntsmen taking a central role.
Pieter then told her of the army itself camped at the mountain’s base. So far the Equestrians’ had some fifty one thousand under arms with more incoming. Just short of three thousand of the fifty one were guards, two thousand crystal ponies and three hundred minotaur mercenaries. It was a sizeable army, nowhere near large enough to face well in excess of a hundred thousand invaders.
The numbers among the ponies themselves were odd. Marginally over twenty thousand earth ponies, ten thousand unicorns and eighteen thousand pegasi made up the pony volunteers; this was counting the bat ponies among the pegasi numbers. Just two hundred nobles were under arms.
One thing that worried her was the number of nobles who had volunteered. Pieter seemed to spit the word whenever he referenced them, his displeasure very clear to her. Of the many thousands living in Canterlot alone barely a hundred had joined the cause. She resolved to have something done about this, while there was still time. Pieter left Twilight by the officer’s building, the memorable flag of the Light Order hung from its walls, a circle with eight spokes and an arrow sprouting from the top, pointing towards the sky.
Twilight smiled at the symbol. Turning to the human she thanked him and walked into the building. Pieter in turn strode off towards the entrance, setting a path for the army so far below.
Canterlot, Equestria (later that day)
Markus walked out of the castle grounds after a long day of work, he gave the guards on duty a nod of recognition to which they saluted in return. ‘Strange, they are not required to salute me’ he thought. He put it down to his increased status amongst the Equestrian military and strode down the road taking the faster route through the back alleys in the maze of administrative facilities behind the gleaming facade of the Equestrian Revenue and Tax Services building.
Night was beginning to fall; he had known this since Luna herself had attended the meeting between the Equestrian war council, having recently returned from escorting the mercenaries. He followed the wall surrounding the castle grounds, keeping it on his right hand side until he reached the shadowed alleyways.
Canterlot had been scheduled for a heavy, dark, overcast sky with intermittent rain throughout the night. As a result with the sun down and a moon blotted out by blackened cloud the shadows cast by the silvery ministry building were dark. All that lit the way were a few lamps interspersed down the alley casting a pale orange glow. He set off down the path, the only noise being that of his plate armour clanking.
Something about this walk, a path he had become accustomed to seemed wrong to him. Nothing was out of place; the same neat bags lined the exits as always and not a single piece of refuse in sight. Canterlot with its clean white walls, elegant towers and clinically ordered streets was a stark contrast to the dank, dirty and dangerous Altdorf.
Just then movement caught his eye from high up. A head was quickly withdrawn from sight behind the top level of a building. ‘Must be a pegasus. That must be it, I was being watched. Not a surprise really, lots of ponies must work late and I am a curious sight.’ He dismissed the shadowy figure, exiting the alleyway and heading behind the cafes and restaurants. They were all guild owned, it was how they had prime position in Canterlot. The system was similar to how it worked in the Empire. The guild always won, if your business wanted to make its own way then it was not going to go far.
Markus’ train of thought carried him across the street and down the next alleyway. Again it was lit by those amazing little lamps, the extent of the Equestrian’s technology never ceased to impress him.
A shadow passed over him, a pegasus flying on silent wings. Now Markus felt a rising bile in the back of his throat, he did not like being followed.
“Who is that?!” he called, keeping his voice at the right volume to carry to the top levels and not to draw undue attention. Although the streets seemed unusually dead tonight, he put it down to troubled times.
No pony answered him however.
“Hello? You are welcome to talk to me, it is no intrusion.” All he got in return was the sound of his gruff accented voice. So they were shy, it was not all that alien an idea, he was after all wearing full armour and had his hammer strapped across his back. Celestia had said he did not need to wear the armour and carry the weapon. But his hammer was the sign of his office and faith. The armour was a sacred relic of the Empire and Markus always wore armour, it became a second skin, a burden to carry in reverence.
He heard a tell-tale flutter of wings, almost inaudible. Markus spun around on the spot with a speed that belied his size.
Behind him was a griffon’s silhouette. The griffon was completely enshrouded in blackness thanks to the dark night. However three points of light cast a dull blue glow across its front. Two pinpricks where its eyes were and a fainter one in the chest; it illuminated with a soft glow the steel bands that had replaced the ribs.
Markus had seen it coming. It was already mid charge when he had turned. It moved fast, too fast. With steel talons outstretched it went straight for his throat. Markus swung his armoured forearm up, sweeping it across to parry. He sidestepped and bought the time and space to dodge the charge. Still the griffon’s arms barely shifted, the creature that had come for Markus was precisely what he feared it was, a Revenant.
He did not have the equipment for a fight like this.
His enemy turned its failed attack into another. With a flick of its wings it leapt off the alleyway wall and came back at him. Markus was already muttering a prayer under his breath. The golden light which seeped from his skin gave Markus a little more light to see by.
The griffon darted back for him, this time Markus could not dodge in time and a raking blow scraped his left pauldron. The priest answered with an elbow to the skull. It clanged noisily, the sound of metal on metal ringing out in the night. The blow did little; his prayers of smiting were almost useless against a creature such as this.
Markus made use of his time to accelerate towards the end of the alley, heading straight for the barracks. A hellish squawk signalled the griffon was back on him. He underestimated its speed. He barely got a look at it before the sight of steel rending talons filled his vision.
A flash of golden light filled his vision, forcing the Revenant to rebound off. His prayers held it off but Sigmar would only preserve him as long as he fought, to run was not endearing to a warrior god.
He kicked in a back door. It might have been a bakery for all he knew but one kick was all it took. Entering the building he bought enough time to draw his hammer, it was next to useless in the confines of the bakery and the Revenant would barely feel its bite.
He got through the shop with all the elegance of a raging ogre. It was all on purpose though. He smashed bags of flour and toppled rows of shelves behind him. He could hear it behind him tearing apart the metal shelving with a noise that made even Markus flinch.
By vaulting the display case and leaping towards the shop front window he smashed through and back into the open. Markus rose with hammer in hand and turned to face the entrance. He timed it well, anticipating the griffon’s speed this time. Finally the Revenant emerged into the light. It was precisely what he expected. Steel plated skull and beak, serrated talons and exposed muscle which glistened under street light, the wan orange glow highlighting the steel coils that were wound into its flesh.
Markus swung with the hammer, it was not a heavy blow, it was controlled. The Revenant reacted quickly, flaring its wings and almost stopping completely mid-air. It countered with a swipe as Markus’ responded. The talon attempted to hook under his armour, to go for the exposed gaps in his armour around the arm pit.
It came dangerously close to its target, only experience saved him from the strike and he swayed back. Down came the hammer once more, Markus went for the missed sweep while the griffon was overstretched. The blow shuddered down Markus’ arm but the airborne griffon tumbled to the ground to the sound of crumpled glass. He followed up the strike with an over the head attack which smashed down on the griffon’s spine. Again more metal on metal accompanied by a scream of fury from the Revenant, the assault was enough to shatter even an ogre’s spine but for the Revenant it only cost it time.
Shouts of alarm echoed down the darkened street, they came from the barracks. Markus knew the guards would come, he prayed they did not; they could not fight this monster. Once more he sprinted down the street, making straight for the barracks and throwing caution to the wind.
The pegasus guard got to him first. The stallion visibly paused upon seeing Markus running towards him and away from the quickly recovering griffon.
“Get back!” yelled Markus, pumping his arms and legs hard to gain some distance on the Revenant.
“Lector Holstein, what in Equestria is going on?” asked the pegasus guard, his blue eyes alighting on the monster who had just taken wing and was scraping up the cobblestone floor to launch itself forward.
“Get to the camp! Do not try to fight it.” Markus hurtled past, only twenty seconds from the white walls of the barracks. But the pegasus hesitated, the Revenant did not. In one movement it spiralled over the guard, trailing a single talon the bladed member cut neatly with the precision of a surgeon through the stallion’s wing tendons. With a scream the guard fell to the floor and the chase continued.
‘The Revenant does not even care about the guard, it has one target, me.’ The thought flashed briefly across his mind. In that time Markus was beside the unicorn shoving the stallion forward. A sudden force barrelled into his back, another explosion of gold light and his head rocked forward. He felt cold steel on his neck before an unseen force threw it back. Markus stumbled and fell. He threw himself to the ground while turning to make sure the Revenant took the impact.
Shrieks of rage rang out and Markus’ ears wrung under the racket. The holy and sacred armour was burning, runes glowed orange and burning the Revenant on impact. The damage was superficial; more purpose built items were required to really kill the beast. Markus rolled up on to his feet and resumed his sprint but the unicorn made the mistake of capitalising on the Revenant’s apparent moment of weakness.
A grey glow coalesced on the tip of the guard’s horn before shooting into the grounded griffon. The blue fire in its chest flashed and the guard’s beam fell apart.
Markus was still running and was well past the stallion. He did not see what happened next but heard a scream and a blood splatter, the unicorn was already dead. The griffon was seconds behind but Markus was through into the barracks and tearing towards his tent. Ponies and humans were milling about; they must have heard the shouts and screams. None of them could stop it but there was no chance of getting them to back off.
With a scream like a wailing banshee the Revenant tore into the barracks, blood dripping from a steel beak. The barracks was well lit making it plain for all to see. A lot of the ponies recoiled or froze in abject horror, to Markus’ distain so did some of the men. A pistol shot sailed past him to strike the griffon’s chest, then a second and a third. ‘Otto’. Sure enough the engineer strode forward repeater pistol in hand. The Revenant would come for him next, unless Markus could draw its attention back.
The griffon sprung towards Otto, that was how they worked, whatever threatened them became the target, a mockery of the self-defence instinct. Markus flung his arm out, his hammer an extension of himself.
He missed.
The Revenant dodged the attack and got to Otto before he could get his guard up. His sword waved pitifully as he could not raise it in time and the griffon stabbed its outstretched talons into the man’s throat. He went down without barely a twitch.
A roar of hate erupted from the on-looking men. They charged the griffon while it was still preoccupied with Otto.
‘Damn, I do not have time for this.’ With a snarl Markus had to lead the men, buy them their lives and maybe him some time.
“For Sigmar!” he cried, his yell echoed by the men. They were not even all armed for Sigmar’s sake. Even some of the ponies were charging now, the fear was evident but they came nonetheless.
The Revenant rose in time to block Markus’ first swing, rebounding it back almost contemptuously. It countered with a low swipe to hook around the gap behind his knee. His step back meant it only grasped the leg, a blow from his hammer bashed the skull. Then the soldiers closed in, they pinned the magically and surgically enhanced limbs down. It took three men for each taloned foreleg, they piled on like making a foul in Bloodbowl. Their swords clanged off the steel bound chest, the mesh in between ribs holding off stab strokes.
“Pin it, I need to retrieve the Hammer of Judgement.” The advancing unicorns among the roused soldiers began casting spells, restraints appeared pinning limbs to the floor. Markus knew they were useless, conventional magic was almost always ineffective, but if it made them feel better then fine. “Keep your wits about you, it’s out to kill. Just buy time men.”
He got away from the maelstrom, the griffon squawked as men and ponies stamped, slashed and pinned it in place. Markus passed more men and stallions on his sprint towards his tent at the camp’s centre. He tore the tent flap clean from the fabric of the main. A scream of pain rang out, the griffon had caught someone. He had laid out the tent the same as in Ponyville the chest was exactly where it always was.
Markus dropped to his knees before it and jammed the key into the lock, flinging open the lid all care and reverence forgotten. He dropped his hammer and took up the Hammer of Judgement; he went from kneeling to sprint on reflex and was back out in the night air. There was another shout of pain and Markus pumped his burning legs harder.
Within moments he was back at the barracks entrance. By now half the camp was crowding around, hacking and pounding the Revenant into the ground. It was like watching flagellants in the apex of their ritual penance, a wild fury overtook the men. One man, a halberdier lay dead on the floor pulled away by the men, another was some way away a deep gash down his arm but alive at least.
“Move aside” Markus commanded, shoving through the crowd to get at the Revenant
Soldiers scattered on instinct, pony and human alike. The golden hammer was glowing in the Revenant’s presence; it knew there was work to be done. Markus manoeuvred so that he was above the griffon, it was spread eagle on the floor, fitting really. It thrashed wildly when it saw him standing above it, its target was in sight and yet just out of reach. The beak never stopped moving, Markus could not make out what the retched thing was saying but it did not matter.
He watched the way its bulging muscles went taught, lifting men off the ground briefly as they fought to pin it down. The blue flame in its chest pulsed with each effort to escape, the remaining flesh and steel was scarred by the soldier’s attempts to kill it without success. A flick of a talon scraped down a man’s chest, he recoiled but succeeded in pinning the limb to the floor.
Markus loved his men, the golden halo of light shined anew and he brought the hammer down on the steel bound chest, holy fire erupted from the impact, kindling on the corrupted flesh. The ponies recoiled but the men knew better, the fire would not hurt them. Markus’ prayers enveloped the men around him and he struck again, the wounded soldier’s gash closed. The light in the Revenant’s eyes deadened visibly, the limbs went limp. Again and again the hammer came crushing down, the steel rib cage crumpled and shattered.
The impact sent shrapnel flying, splinters of bone, shards of metal and blood turned to dust scattered into the air. The holy hammer quenched the blue fire in the Revenant’s heart, “Valkyrie” it muttered. The voice was male.
The fire in its eyes went dark.