The Noble’s vice was surprised as he said, “Really? I haven’t seen Obbst’s shade since I killed Albrecht and Rayosh, he was there and seemingly satisfied.”

She shrugged and said, “There’s been a few times I’ve found myself doing things unconsciously, things I know I don’t know how to do also I knew with utmost certainty that they were going to attack. But I don’t know how I knew, I’ve never dealt with these creatures in my life and I can’t read them at all… yet I did.”

“Interesting. No wonder the Royals commanded me to accompany you and keep you safe, this is amazing information and new information because I don’t think there has ever been a case like yours. You have taken over what was a corpse yet it seems as though instincts and knowledge have remained, fascinating.”

Veldt frowned, “Your Royals commanded you?”

“Yes, I was commanded to protect you and watch you, learning all I could. They truly wanted to assign an older, more experienced Noble but I was able to convince them that there was already a connection between us, you as well as Obbst. Besides I want to see justice done, I did quite like Obbst and how he died was fundamentally wrong. By the way as I am sure you would assume anyway I’m reporting everything I learn back to the warrens and they are ecstatic, you have no idea how rare something actually new and unknown is. Or perhaps you do since you yourself revel in Chaos.”

The body shuddered as her feelings triggered it’s automatic responses, “I could only wish, this body is so saturated with Order that I find it uncomfortable. So, I’m some sort of interesting experiment?”

Noble Trad’s voice was matter of fact as he said, “Partially yes but your aims and the aims of the Iaernide intersect at this time so we will do our best to support you in them.”

“As long as Folscach’s life is destroyed and I have my vengeance I have little to no care what you learn or report about me. I don’t expect to exist for long after he is gone, this world does not like my presence.”

A note of curiosity coloured Trad’s tone, “What do you mean?”

“I can barely hang on within this body, the Realm itself rejects me and all I am. I believe it to be some form of lingering curse aimed at the Fae Chanar by that witch.”

Sounding excited he said, “A curse that long lasting? And powerful? I would like to bring in an expert to study that if you would allow it?”

“Like I said as long as Folscach gets what’s coming to him you can study whatever you like.”

“Excellent.” Turning to the servant he said, “Hd search the bodies, maybe they were extremely stupid and had something linking them to someone. Doubt it but you never know.”

As expected there was nothing of interest on the bodies.

Shortly after they’d set off again Veldt said, “Do you know who might have sent them after us?”

The Noble shook his head and said, “I have no idea. Cadogan politics are murky at the best of times and currently with Folscach in charge of both major groups among the Confederacy’s leaders we Iaernide have very little information on the backroom dealings. He doesn’t like Iaernide at all and does not trust us in any positions where we might overhear anything of value, but as hypocritical as he is he’s still entirely willing to use Iaernide warriors as a major part of his armies. We were contacted by Obbst’s Herdkeeper, who it appears is no longer among us nor is his herd.”

Veldt felt a pulse of that rage again and said, “Trad! I know I’m not alone in here! I felt rage when you said that and it wasn’t mine, it shunted my control aside entirely but there was no mind behind it. I don’t think anyway?”

The Noble was looking at her with intent eyes and said, “I can see that, there’s another spirit overlying yours but very faintly. It’s supported by an Order framework, faint and shifting as it is but even as we speak I can see it growing in strength drawing on the body’s stores of Order magic. I doubt you will be in control of that body for long, some spirit is being drawn in and attached more and more strongly to it.”

Her voice sounded odd, high and squeaky with panic as she said, “Some spirit? You don’t know who or what it is?”

“I don’t know for certain but it’s Obbst or some remnant of him because of the Order, only a spirit with an existing affinity for this body would be drawn in with Order and as far as I am aware that could only be Obbst himself.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Even if I’m destroyed by him returning, promise me you and he will continue and make Folscach’s life as enjoyable as being in the Realm of the Unmentioned under the tender ministrations of an Unmentioned Lord. I’m certain he has just as much stake in this fight as I do, if not more and I doubt there’ll be a problem convincing him.”

Trad tilted his head and said, “Your race’s tenacity in hanging on has long been held as the epitome of insane survival, why are you so unworried by your possible imminent destruction?”

She shrugged, “This body is not my own, this world is not my own, and this world hates me. I can feel it pushing at me every hour of every day, I would already have been forced into the spirit realm to go wherever spirits do after death if I was not hidden in this body. My vow is all that keeps me here, capriciously as always Chaos decided to honour it but it could have just as easily sent me away. The one thing I am certain of is my race’s time in this world is done, the Witch won that fight fifteen thousand turnings ago. Maybe if I hadn’t died it would be different, maybe having my own body would protect me from the pressure, but maybe not. I find I don’t care about myself, as long as Folscach is ruined.”

“As stated earlier our aims intersect in that so it will be done.”

*******

Three days of boring travel later Veldt abruptly stumbled as the body turned toward a small path only briefly visible as they ran past, the white buildings of Chelavis City could be seen just ahead.

Stopping Veldt pointed at the path and said, “Hold on Trad. There’s something down that way, the body wants to go there but isn’t taking over.”

“Well let us go that way then and see.”

She shrugged and said, “Why not? It’s not as if we were going anywhere in particular were we? We haven't even talked about it.”

They headed down the overgrown path and Trad said, “No, we haven’t. I wasn’t going to plan anything until I’d reported to the Royals and received any updated information. Much better than walking in blind.”

“I defer to your much greater knowledge of how things work around here, I know almost nothing of the factions and the politics.”

The fields they were now running past were burned black, in some places the humped stubble still smoked and the post and rail fencing sagged drunkenly where scattered posts had burned through just above ground level.

Veldt could feel the heat of rage and hatred building within the body but worse she could also feel the stomach clenching chill of terror. Terror of what she didn’t know but it grew worse the closer they got to what looked like a white marble Villa just ahead. Closer now she could see blackened scorchmarks and smoke staining on the red tiled roof, the body’s gut clenched, she suddenly found it hard to breathe and the body’s heartrate increased insanely, beating so incredibly fast the huge pectorals were quivering in time with it.

Walking around the corner of the villa the shifting wind blew toward her and suddenly the unappetising smell of burned meat and hair filled her nostrils. She soon saw the reason for it, a pile of swollen stiff legged carcasses blackened by fire’s touch. They’d been sliced deeply and doused in something before being burned, a tracery of still pungent lines in the soil led to the pile where the liquid had fallen. More than the deep slashes scoring the hides and slashing deeply into the flesh they’d been mutilated. This wasn’t just a slaughter these corpses had been deliberately despoiled.

The body stopped cold and she felt it’s turmoil become so much worse. She could barely stand it, let alone whoever was in here with her.

Out of her control the body ran forward and dropped to it’s knees near the pile, throwing it’s head back a raw primal scream of pain echoed off the scorched walls of the villa, and something moved in the blackened interior.

A vision of nightmares walked out of the ruin, it was a flayed Centaur. His raw muscles had dried blood and soot smeared over them, his eyes rolled crazily in their sockets, one arm hung by a single thread of gristle and chunks of flesh had been removed from his body, large chunks.

Teeth clattering a mangled voice came from his lipless and cheekless face, “You return, too late. Far to late. Where were you when they slaughtered your herd? Where were you when they killed your Herdkeeper and gave him to us? Herdsprotector Obbst. Failure Obbst, your herd lies despoiled and wasted because you weren’t here. Now you die, joining them and knowing your failure is total.”

The flayed Centaur erupted into black flames and tendrils of pure darkness lashed out of it’s shadow toward the kneeling body, Veldt tried to throw herself backwards out of their range but she had no control.

They wrapped around the body and she felt lines of burning cold twist around it freezing it’s hide and constricting it’s movement. Behind her she could hear the whining hiss and feel the radiating cold from a wall of blackened flames that had cut her off from the Noble.

Veldt attempted to do something, anything, but the body was utterly out of her control.

She saw a cruel glitter in the Centaur’s eyes as a dull grey Death energy covered his fists forming into a long, heavy, and sharp looking poleaxe.

He swung it back and she screamed in the mind she shared with Obbst, “Unless you move we will both die, get up Protector and protect yourself!”

She felt a confused response, anger, grief, self-loathing, shame, and fear.

But as the poleaxe slammed down a shield of golden order stopped it.

It shattered into falling shards of dull grey energy that crumbled like sand and faded away.

Golden tipped flames roared up around them as he jolted to his hooves with a broken and hopeless sounding scream of rage and pain.

The Centaur recoiled as his tendrils were torn apart by the gold tipped flames, the black flames over his body guttering low before they regained their strength.

They shifted into the bull form and charged forward going from dead still to flat out in an instant, the Centaur stood no chance as a few tons of angry Bull moving almost too fast to see crashed into him.

The sound as they hit was a damp sounding squelch with added cracks of breaking bone, Obbst’s body flowed back into two leg shape throwing a whistling punch.

A barrier of darkness and ice harder than iron intercepted the blow, stepping back with the recoil Obbst grinned as the Poleaxe of Death energy reformed and swung through where he’d been standing only moments before. He taunted, “You’ll have to be quicker than that Haunted, your master must be pathetic. Was he too weak to actually make you powerful?”

The Centaur howled an eerie unsettling sound that had no right to come from any creature of flesh and blood and rushed forward swinging the Poleaxe in a flat arc. Obbst took half a step back, that was all he needed to let it pass and once it had passed he lashed out with a fist.

This time when the barrier formed the inlaid engraving on his bracer glowed with white fire and his fist smashed through it.

The power of the strike was enough that the Haunted’s humanoid upper torso was very nearly torn from his lower body. The Huanted screamed and a cloud of grey shot black smoke boiled out of the now stiff corpse as it fell to the ground. The smoke faded abruptly disappeared as soon as it was all gathered in one place.

Obbst stood there breathing deeply and glaring at the corpse where it lay then regaining his senses and glancing around he said, “What in the name of Gorgorot is going on? Where am I?”