Chapter Text
"Well, I'll be. Sigmar really is listening!"
"Look at that, wutelgi. Seems you were wrong about Sigmar!"
"A little light does not prove the divinity of some long-dead barbarian."
The witch hunter ignored his companions' babbling as he continued his prayer. "Grant me the clarity of purpose so that I may better serve your cause and bring deliverance to those under your protection..."
"Darlings, get back!" the bright wizard's voice called out urgently, finally breaking his concentration.
Saltzpyre hesitantly opened his eyes, only to find darkness.
'What foul trick is this!?' the witch hunter thought with dread, worrying if he had somehow perished or if his soul had been dragged into The Realms of Chaos, a punishment for the heresy of enacting the pilgrimage. Even more worrying was the thought of his companions. Had they been taken into this realm just as he had? Did he, in his foolishness, lead them to damnation?
Before he could continue down that line of thought, Victor caught a glimpse of something. It was his hand, raised right in front of his face.
The witch hunter breathed a small sigh of relief upon realizing his predicament. The darkness he was surrounded by was just an ordinary one, and his good eye was already beginning to adapt.
Now less panicked, Victor became aware of the sound of movement and breathing around him, which soon turned into a sinister cackling. Striking a match, the witch hunter lit the candles on his hat.
As the wick of the candles came alight, his surroundings were illuminated, revealing a horde of vile, snickering greenskins.
The witch hunter wasted no time; he quickly drew his heavy pistol and fired upon the crowd of goblins, shredding through them with a hail of shrapnel. But that was only one side of the horde; there were still the other ones on his flanks and behind him.
While the greenskins were still disoriented by the chaos caused by the shot, Saltzpyre quickly turned around and struck the goblins to his flanks with a flurry of blows, but with every one he cut down, there was another to take its place immediately after.
The witch hunter fought ferociously, tearing through the green horde in a bloody storm, but as the battle carried on, his body began to exhaust itself. One lucky strike from the goblins turned into two, then a third, and so on. Eventually, the old man was overwhelmed, drowned out by the green tide.
"Hey, gramps!"
The sound of the child's voice brought the former witch hunter out of his thoughts. His mind had been occupied by memories of his first day in this new era. It had been many months since then. He didn't even remember how he managed to drag himself out of that dark cave; he only recalled a long crawl as he barely made it to the outskirts of the village before he fell unconscious right after.
Looking down from where he sat, Saltzpyre saw the young, black-haired girl who had called out to him.
"Can I borrow your cane?" the girl asked.
The man looked at the old wooden cane that rested beside his seat. The village carpenter had made it for him as a gesture of goodwill during his recovery; it had been long since he had stopped needing it, but he kept it with him as a sign of respect.
"And what exactly do you intend to use it for, girl?" the former witch hunter questioned.
"Me and the others are gonna play knights and monsters!" the child answered. "Today, I get to be the knight captain! So I need a legendary weapon!"
"And you believe my cane would serve as such?" Saltzpyre asked.
"Well, I was gonna ask for your sword," the girl admitted. "But I then I thought, the abbess would be really mad if I had it."
"As she rightfully would be," the former witch hunter said chidingly. "A templar's blade is not a toy and should not be treated as such."
"Yeah, I know, I know," the girl responded.
"I suppose I could lend you my cane for your game," Saltzpyre said relentingly. "But you must return it to me by the end of the day."
"Of course, my lord! I swear it on my knight's honor!" the young girl said as she bowed before the former witch hunter.
"Do not play too roughly," the old man said as he bestowed his cane to the girl.
"Aw, yes! You're the best, gramps!" the girl shouted enthusiastically as she ran off to play with her friends.
No longer in the mood to be idle, the former witch hunter got up from his seat and walked out of the temple. As he did so, he did so, he overheard the children playing.
"Is that gramps' cane?" one of the children asked.
"No, it's not a cane!" the girl replied. "It's the warhammer of Sigmar!"
Though he couldn't describe the feeling himself, Saltzpyre couldn't help but give a wry smile at the girl's remark.
"There's goblins! Goblins in the woods!" one of the woodsmen shouted as he ran into the village.
A crowd of villagers gathered to hear the woodsman as he caught his breath.
"Goblins?" one villager said worriedly. "How many?"
"We have to send someone to the Adventurer's Guild!" another villager said urgently.
"But do we even have enough money to hire a party?" a villager asked concernedly.
Among the villagers was Saltzpyre, who quickly pushed his way to the front of the crowd.
"Everyone, remain calm!" the former witch hunter shouted, causing most of the villagers to settle down, before turning to the woodsman. "Speak, what did you see?"
"It's like I said, there's goblins in the woods," the woodsman answered. "I counted about five. I don't think they saw me, but they'll probably find out about the village soon, if they haven't already."
"That is concerning," Saltzpyre remarked. "Greenskins are hardly in such short numbers. What you found could have been just a scouting party. There may be more of them."
"Wait a moment, you used to be an adventurer, right?" one of the villagers asked. "Can't you deal with those goblins?"
"Don't be ridiculous," another villager retorted. "How's he going to fight off a group of goblins with only one hand!?"
The villager's remark struck a sour note for the former witch hunter. He never liked to be reminded of his loss. It was a miracle that he had managed to survive that night, but he had been horribly wounded, far beyond the capabilities of what the locals could heal.
"You are right, I may not be capable of fending off these greenskins," Saltzpyre admitted. "But I will do what I can to help ensure they do not raze this village! I will contribute funding to hire an adventurer. Until help arrives, we have work to do. We must organize a watch for the nights to come."
The other villagers mumbled amongst themselves, but agreed with the old man, and they began to organize themselves.
"So, you are the one who answered the quest?" Saltzpyre asked, looking at the adventurer before him.
"Yes," the adventurer responded.
His equipment was crude and unkempt, and his figure seemed still adolescent. His appearance alone made the former witch hunter doubt his capabilities.
"For your sake and ours, I hope you are more competent than you seem," the old man stated.
"So why are you sharpening those sticks?" the girl asked as she watched the adventurer work.
"It's to put spikes in the canal," the adventurer explained. "To discourage the goblins from crossing it."
"Oh, wow," the child remarked.
"Girl! What do you think you are doing!?" Saltzpyre called out. "The abbess is worried about your whereabouts!"
"Oh, yikes! It's gramps!" the girl yelped as she ran away. "I'm going back to the temple. Good luck, Mr. Adventurer!"
"By Sigmar, that child can be quite a burden at times," the former witch hunter remarked before turning to the adventurer. "I've been hearing from the other villagers, you're making quite a lot of preparations. I believe I misjudged you earlier."
"Is that so?" the adventurer asked.
"Indeed, you clearly know what you're doing," the old man stated. "Is there anything I can do to assist you?"
"I need to sharpen these for the village's defences," the adventurer responded.
"I'm not much of a carpenter, but you don't need an expert now, do you?" the former witch hunter said as he sat down and began sharpening the spikes.
The adventurer lay collapsed on the village grounds as a group of goblins whaled upon his body. He had put up a good fight against the horde, but a lucky hit with a sling had sent him falling to the floor.
It was then that one goblin approached, dragging a heavy stone.
But as the greenskins lifted the stone, readying to crush the adventurer's helmet and his head along with it. A loud boom pierced through the stormy night, and one of the goblins carrying the stone exploded into a red mist of blood and viscera. Knocked off balance, the greenskins dropped their weapon inches from their intended target.
Taking the opportunity, the adventurer got up, taking a hunting knife from one of the staggered goblins and stabbing them as he got his second wind. He expected to fight more of them, but as he turned around, he saw that they were already dispatched by a tall figure.
"You appeared to need some assistance," Saltzpyre said with a bloody rapier in his hand.
"You have my thanks," the adventurer responded as he counted the bodies. "That should be all of them."
As the adventurer finished speaking, he fell to one knee and began to breathe heavily. Throwing off his helmet, the adventurer vomited onto the floor.
"You must be exhausted and injured," Saltzpyre said as he offered the adventurer his shoulder. "Lean on me, I have a healing draught in the temple."
"Thank you," the adventurer said as he and the old man made their way back to the temple.
"So you guys beat all the goblins, right?" the young girl asked curiously.
"Yes," the adventurer responded as he and Saltzpyre entered the temple. "They're dead."
"Sit here, I will retrieve my healing draught," the former witch hunter said as he went to his room.
"So, are you going to be resting here for a bit?" the girl asked. "Or will you be going home?"
The adventurer stayed silent for a moment, seemingly processing the question.
"Home," the adventurer answered. "Yes, I will go home. There's someone waiting for me."
"Oh, okay," the girl said with a nod.
It was then that Saltzpyre returned with a bottle of green fluid in hand.
"Here, drink this," the former witch hunter said, offering the healing draught to the adventurer.
The adventurer complied, drinking the draught quickly before handing back the bottle.
"Thank you," the adventurer said as he got up from his seat and made his way to the door. "The quest is complete, I'll be leaving now."
"It was an honor to fight alongside you," Saltzpyre stated with a bow.
"Bye," the girl said, waving her hand. "Thanks for helping us."
"Don't mention it," the adventurer said as he disappeared into the night.