Things went badly with the guards. Many skaven dead.”

“But my servants—”

“Worry not, foolish man-thing — they snoresleep. A simple spell.”

Von Halstadt laid down his file. He marked the place with an uninked quill and closed it gently. He let his hand fall near the hilt of his blade. The touch of it reassured him somewhat. He met the skaven’s stare and dared it to look away. “I’m unused to being called ‘foolish’. Do not do so again.”

The skaven smiled. It was not calming. For a second the magistrate felt as if it might leap forward and bite him. He kept his hand on his weapon. With an almost imperceptible shake of its head the skaven stopped smiling. It twitched its tail.

“Of course. So-sorry. Many apologies, yes. Grieve for the loss of kin. Cost many warptokens to replace.”

“I accept your apology.” Von Halstadt was reassured. It was obscurely pleasing that even so monstrous seeming a creature as the rat-man felt a sense of loss at the death of its relatives. Still, he found himself longing for the day when he would no longer have to deal with the skaven and could have them destroyed. He picked up the file and returned it to its precise place in the proper cabinet.

“The man-things are dangerous to our association. Know your appearance and can pickchoose you from others. They must not be allowed to threaten you or us.”

“True.” The thought was worrying. Von Halstadt’s enemies were legion and the slightest hint of scandal would be used against him. The treacherous sewerjacks would sell that information to the highest bidder, he felt sure. Their lack of loyalty to the cause of humanity sickened him. They deserved to die. And to think he had once felt sorry for them. “They must die.”

“Yes-yes, and you must show us where to find them.”

“That is straightforward enough. I had their watch captain interviewed today.” he opened a new cabinet and pulled out a slim dossier.