“Whole bunch of them lurking just outside the privy. Too stupid to know dwarfs have good ears.”

Heinz moved over to stand by the Trollslayer. He looked down at the pool of rot with a peculiar mixture of fascination and distaste written on his features.

“That’s a skaven alright.”

Gotrek looked up at him in surprise “Of course it was a bloody skaven! I’ve killed enough of them in my time to know what they look like by now.”

Heinz shrugged apologetically. Then he swivelled on his heels as a scream emerged from the top of the stairwell. Heinz looked up in surprise at the partially clad form of Elissa appearing at the head of the stairs. The girl looked pale with terror.

“Felix!” she shouted.

“What has Felix done, girl?” he asked soothingly. She threw herself at him. He enfolded her shivering form with his brawny arms.

“No. They’re trying to kill him. Monsters are trying to kill Felix. They’re in his room!”

“Has that girl been taking weirdroot?” a bouncer asked placidly.

Heinz looked over at Gotrek and the rest of the bouncers. All his earlier forebodings returned. He remembered the scrabbling in the cellars. He could see that the dwarf was having the same thought as he was.

“What are we doing standing here?” Heinz roared. “Follow me, lads!”

This was better. This was more like the old days.


Felix knew that he was doomed. There was no way he could fight all these skaven. There were too many of them and they were too fast. If he had been wearing his chainmail shirt perhaps he would have some chance of surviving all those stabbing blades. But he wasn’t.

His foes sensed victory and advanced. Felix danced in the centre of a whirlwind of stabbing blades. Somehow he managed to survive with only a few nicks and scratches. He found himself standing beside his bed. Thinking quickly, he kicked the lantern over. Oil spilled out onto the straw and lit it. In an instant, a wall of flame separated him from the rat-men. He reached out and grabbed the nearest one, hurling it into the flames. The skaven shrieked in agony as its fur caught fire. It began to roll around on the floor, howling and squeaking. Its fellows leapt back to avoid its blazing form.

Felix knew he had bought himself only a moment’s breathing space.