Stories > Cletus

Chapter I - Freedom?

by Jason Curtin

The Rieksguard champion bust into his room at the inn. It was dark
but he did not care. He and his two companions had arrived the day
before. Official Imperial business, classified of course. He did not
care much for ‘official business’. Whilst he didn’t like being away
from Altdorf, his wife, his children there were certain advantages to
being away from. He had met the young girl in the bar earlier. Five
Gold crowns! That’s all she was asking. He was almost hoping for more
business out of the city. But then again at least you knew where you
were in a city. It was so easy to see who would cause trouble and who
wouldn’t. Here everyone and everything seemed so nice. There had to
be a hidden agenda.
He glanced around dark room. There was a convenient double beg a
small oak table and an oak chair. Upon the chair was his armour,
shield and sword still held within its black golden trimmed scabbard.
The blade had not seen much blood other than his own when he had
accidentally cut himself on the razor sharp steel. Other than that
room's yellow mouldy walls were featureless. He was not a suitable
victim. But nether a less he needed to be granted freedom like her.
There was a short sharp knock at the door. He smiled to himself.
“Well Wolfgang you’re going to enjoy tonight because tomorrow the
manhunt begins,” he mumbled to himself.
Wolfgang reached down to his belt to remove his dagger. It had gone.
“Curse Sigmar. One of those little bastard slave boys must have taken
it.”
Something to do before work tomorrow. He proceeded towards the door.
He gripped the handle eh was sweating slightly out of anticipation.
As he pulled the door open it made a homely creak. He looked straight
into her blue eyes. The look was one of terror. There was someone
behind her. Whoever it was he had a strong grip on her at the
shoulder. As Wolfgang’s attention was drawn to this his own dagger
came from behind her. The hand that bore it curved around her neck
bringing the shining blade to her throat. It dug into the soft flesh
as if it were bread. The blood steamed out of her throat in a
fountain. The blood stuck full in the face causing excruciating pain
as it hit his eyes at high pressure. The whole thing had lasted only
a few seconds. As Wolfgang fell to his knees struggling to regain his
sight he felt her body slump onto his shoulder. He quickly pushed her
away and withdrew in fear. He continued to wipe away the remaining
blood from his face. Through a haze of pain and terror he looked up
at the open door way to see… nothing. Wolfgang did not know which was
more terrifying the events that had just transpired or the fact that
the culprit remained a mystery.
“Wolfgang,” a almost mocking voice met his ears.
He sun around. His eyes met a thin week look human male. He had
ginger hair, point nose and a almost pointed chin. His eyes bore a
evil look and he held a mocking grin upon his face, which caused
wrinkles and dimple upon it, which look almost unnatural. He wore a
blood stained blue jerkin and an equally stained pair of brown
trousers. The blood wasn’t all fresh. It obvious that when stood to
full length he was very tall due to his long legs but now he sat.
Some how in the short period of time in which Wolfgang had been
blinded he had skilfully and silently removed the armour from the
seat an replaced it upon the bed.
Wolfgang’s fear had turned to hatred.
“Cletus!”
“So after all these years you still recognise me,” his voice was calm
and almost jolly.
“You!”
“Yes me. So you became one of the Empires finest did you, hmmm? Well
since our college years I’ve become a philosopher”
“If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be here now.”
“Yes if I hadn’t have run here from Altdorf then you wouldn’t have
been sent here.”
“You plagued me during college you forced me to take action. You
psychologically damaged me day after day non-stop”
“Yes I remember. So you did this,” Cletus lifted his jerkin to reveal
a scar across his stomach. “Because of this you kicked out of the
college and obviously ended up in the reiksguard. But you brought
your way in didn’t you. You’ve had no combat experience the two you
command were hard to get to and kill than you were or will be.”
“You ruined my future.”
“And you created mine.”
“What?”
“Well you see after you I was stereotyped as a victim. I could do no
wrong. Eventually I was allowed access to the oldest tomes in all of
Altdorf. The oldest lies!”
Cletus stood up to his full length and his face took on a more
serious posture.
“There all lies. There is no chaos there are no Gods, no Sigmar, no
orcs or goblins or skaven or daemons. There all lies to keep us here
within this prison. To trap our souls.”
“You are mad,” Wolfgang said with nothing but total disgust in voice.
“So I killed them. All the fools who believed they were doing good
for their Sigmar or Ulric. I set their souls free. I granted them
freedom.”
“It’s called breaking Imperial law.”
“Laws are just words which make the bars that bind us. In this world
you’ll never be truly free without leaving it until you realise this.
But enough talk.”
Cletus shifted his weight and looked down upon the still kneeling
Wolfgang.
“Now I will grant you your freedom,” the malevolent smile returned to
his face.
Wolfgang rose to his feet and began to turn away from Cletus. At this
moment Cletus reached out and grabbed him by the neck. Wolfgang felt
himself spun around as he came around he eyes met his dagger. This
stopped him dead in more ways than one. Cletus withdrew the blade
spilling the jelly like substance from Wolfgang’s eye on the floor.
“Enjoy your freedom my friend.”