“We ain’t got all day.”


“Never been here before,” Hef whispered, his voice echoing away down the long stretch of corridor.

“Never want to come here again,” Spider added, rubbing the blue arachnid tattoo on his cheek. For once Felix was forced to agree with them. Even by the standards of Nuln sewers, this was a dismal place. The walls had a crumbled, rotten look to them. The little gargoyles on the support arches had been blurred by age until their features were no longer visible. The stew bubbled and tiny wisps of vapour rose when the bubbles burst. The air was close, foetid and hot.

And there was something else — the place had an even more oppressive atmosphere than usual. The hair on the back of Felix’s neck prickled, as it sometimes did when he sensed the undercurrents of sorcery nearby.

“Doesn’t look safe,” Rudi said, looking at a support arch dubiously. Gotrek’s face twisted as if this were a personal insult.

“Nonsense,” he said. “These tunnels were dwarf-built a thousand years ago. This is Khazalid workmanship. It’ll last an eternity.”

To prove his point he banged the arch with his fist. Perhaps it was just bad luck, but the gargoyle chose that moment to fall forward from its perch. The Slayer had to leap to one side to avoid being hit on the head and narrowly avoided skidding into the stew.

“Of course,” Gotrek added, “Some of the labour was done by human artisans. That gargoyle, for instance — typical shoddy manling workmanship.”

No one laughed. Only Felix dared even smile. Gant stared up at the ceiling. The lamp set down at his feet underlit his face, making him look eerie and daemonic.

“We must be below the Old Quarter,” he said wistfully. Felix could see he was contemplating the district of palaces. A strange melancholy expression transfigured his gaunt, bony features. Felix wondered whether he was pondering the difference between his life and the gilded existence of those above, contemplating the splendours he would never know and the opportunities he would never have. Momentarily he felt a certain sympathy for the man.

“There must be a fortune up there,” Gant said. “Wish I could climb up and get it. Well, no sense in wasting time. Let’s get on with it.”

“What was that?” Gotrek asked suddenly. The others looked around, startled.

“What was what?” Hef asked.

“And where was what?” added Spider.

“I heard something. Down that way.” All their gazes followed the direction indicated by the Trollslayer’s pointing finger.

“You’re imagining things,” Rudi said.

“Dwarfs don’t imagine things.”

“Aw sarge, do we have to look into this?” Rudi whined. “I want to get home.”

Gant rubbed his left eye with the knuckles of his right fist. He seemed to be concentrating. Felix could see he was wavering.