Martin Hengst - The Darkest Hour

The cavern was empty, as was much of the Warrens since the failed attack on the Human Imperium. The heavy weight of the blame placed on him by the majority of the Chosen settled over his shoulders like a shroud. He deserved every bit of that blame, he knew.

The intervening years had done nothing to lessen the anger and shame that their defeat had brought. If anything, his need to go back and even the score had grown with each passing day. His leg itched abominably. He wanted nothing more than to give it a long, hard scratch. A feat that would have been considerably easier had it not been the leg he had lost to infection after the battle.

His crutch leaned up against the wall beside him, mocking him. He eyed it, growling softly, ears twitching in agitation. He knew the others viewed it as a sign of weakness. Without a leg, he had very limited mobility. Without his mobility, he was vulnerable. Though he was crippled, he was still a formidable opponent, which was why no one had challenged his decision to remain in the Warrens, even though he had been stripped of his customary duties.

There was a scrabbling of claws on the rock behind him and a pup appeared from the doorway. She was one of the recent litters, the Chosen born after the attack. The younger generation were the ones more likely to ignore his shunning. While the youngsters recognized the authority of the pack council, they also bridled against the heavy restrictions the elders had placed them under.

The pup was a thin thing, slight and gaunt from malnutrition. Her voice was a high pitched whine that went right to the base of the High Priest’s skull.

“Your Holiness?”

“Yes, whelp?”

“The technician is here. He wishes to see you.”

Zarfensis growled deep in his throat, his ears flattening back against his head. The whelp took a step back and he quickly controlled his agitation. It wasn’t her fault he had lost his leg. Nor was it her fault that he was desperate enough to call this thieving, hairless vermin into the Warren and guarantee his safety.

“Very well,” Zarfensis said. “Bring him to me, quickly.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The pup bowed deeply and disappeared, reappearing a moment later with a creature no more than two feet tall. Its skin was dark as sackcloth and its eyes were enormous black pools that seemed to drink in the slightest light and trap it forever.

The hands, Zarfensis thought. These were the hands that would make him whole again. The fingers were long and slender, tapering to pointed tips. They were ideal for working on all manner of machinery. The gnome’s ears disturbed the High Priest, almost to the point of revulsion. Naked skin, they stuck out from the sides of the head, tilted forward to catch the minutest sound. All in all a repugnant creature.

To be beholden to such a creature would be a shame of its own, but if the technician could make him whole again, perhaps he could lead the Xarundi back from their teetering existence.

The gnome slipped the pack off his shoulder, dropping it to the floor with a metallic clatter.

“I am to be called Greneks,” the gnome said, pointing a long slender finger at his own chest.

“Very well, Greneks,” Zarfensis replied. “Have you brought what I’ve asked for?”

“No, no. Nothing to bring.” The gnome nodded vigorously. “First there is work to be done. Measurements to take. Drawings to make. All manner of things to discover before the making, yes?”

Zarfensis’s dug his claws into the palms of his hands. He had thought that the gnome would bring him a device ready to be fitted. This only served to compound his frustration.

“How long will the making take?” Zarfensis’s growl would have been a dire warning to any other creature, but the gnome seemed unfazed.

“Not long, not long,” the gnome replied with more nodding. “There is the finding and gathering to do, then the making. A day or two, maybe less. The device must fit perfectly. Otherwise, you are vulnerable. The High Priest cannot be vulnerable. This is the reason for the device, yes?”

That this lowly creature could so easily see Zarfensis’s urgent need to be whole raised the Xarundi’s ire. His eyes blazed with blue fire as he contemplated killing the technician and finding another way to attain his goal. He slowly regained control of his temper. The technician came highly recommended. Bringing him to the Warrens and sneaking him inside had cost a small fortune. He could put up with the aggravation for a time.

“Proceed,” the High Priest growled through clenched jaws.

The gnome steepled his long fingers under his chin and looked at the Xarundi, cocking his head this way and that, murmuring to himself. Without another word, he unrolled his tool roll and selected implements unfamiliar to Zarfensis. The tape was for measuring he knew, but the High Priest was wary of the object that appeared to be a curved metal wishbone. It reminded him of the pincers that, heated red hot, they sometimes used to extract information from the vermin.

Stretching the tape between his hands, the gnome approached Zarfensis, whose ears flicked back against his head. A warning snarl curled his lips. The gnome clucked his tongue.

“Now, now,” he said. “The measurements must be taken and must be precise. You want your device, yes?”

Without waiting for permission, or even acknowledgment, the gnome climbed up on the bench next to Zarfensis. He wrapped the tape around the stump, muttering to himself. The calipers he used to measure the distance to the center of the limb. He took a thin book from his back pocket, produced a stylus from another, and began scratching out his notations.

The measurement process continued. The gnome had him stand up, sit down, kneel, crouch, and bend. Every new set of measurements grating more against the High Priest’s already taught nerves until he felt as if he were ready to explode. The entire process took far too long.

Finally, when Zarfensis was sure he could bear no more, the gnome announced that the measurements were finished. He hopped down off the bench and tucked his tools back in the roll. The roll was then quickly bound and thrown over the technician’s shoulder.

The gnome steepled his fingers under his chin again, giving Zarfensis such a long and measured look that the High Priest’s patience finally snapped.

“Well?” he demanded. “You have your measurements! Speak!”

“I have the measurements,” Greneks replied, unperturbed by the outburst. “Now comes the finding. You’ll take me to your workshop now?”

A cold surge of dread crept out from the base of Zarfensis’s spine. The Xarundi had workshops, true, but they were utilitarian things and raw materials were exceedingly difficult to come by. Especially these days, as the elders had forbidden trading with anyone outside the Warrens, even the other races of the Shadow Assembly.

“We have a workshop,” he replied, his tongue snaking out to lick his muzzle. A nervous habit. “But we have no materials.”

“Nonsense,” Greneks replied. “Every people have materials, they just haven’t been found yet. Lead on, please.”

Zarfensis had grave doubts that the gnome would find anything of use in the Xarundi’s workshops. While some of the younger Chosen had slowly accepted the encroachment of technology that seemed to be creeping across Solendrea, most of the elders still held to the belief that claw and fang couldn’t be improved upon by gears and springs. Even so, to give up now would be to admit defeat. He might as well throw himself into the darkness under the cathedral.

With some effort he got to his foot, shoving the crutch under his arm. Every step he took fueled the fire of his rage. He hated having to rely on the crutch. He hated feeling vulnerable and weak. He hesitated and the gnome gestured impatiently for the High Priest to lead the way.