Skavenslayer

Skavenslayer by William King is the second volume in the Gotrek and Felix series in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. It was first published in 1999^[1] and a second edition^[2] was released in 2003. It was also included in Gotrek & Felix: The First Omnibus, released in 2006.^[3]

It is notable for introducing the character of Grey Seer Thanquol, who becomes a recurring antagonist in subsequent volumes of the series, and also inspired a series of his own, written by Clint Werner.

In his introduction to the 2013 edition of Trollslayer, William King revealed that he wrote Skaven's Claw as one of three novella-length stories, after being commissioned to write a full-length novel featuring Gotrek and Felix. The other two, The Mark of Slaanesh and Blood and Darkness were eventually published as part of Trollslayer, while Skaven's Claw became the first chapter of Skavenslayer.^[4]

Plot Summary

Skaven's Claw

Having reached Nuln, Gotrek and Felix are broke. Since they are still wanted men in the city of Altdorf, the only employment they can find is - literally - at the bottom: as "sewerjacks," watchmen who patrol the city sewers for goblins and other threats. During a patrol they encounter a band of skaven and kill several, but Felix sees their leader meeting with a man, who flees the scene.

Above ground, Felix is invited to dinner by his older brother Otto, who runs the Nuln branch of the Jaeger family's business. Felix is surprised to be offered a job with the family, and is sorely tempted, even though accepting would mean renouncing his oath to stay with Gotrek. In the restaurant, Felix recognizes another diner as the man from the sewers; Otto says he must be mistaken: the man is Fritz von Halstadt, the head of Nuln's secret police force, renowned for his fanatic devotion to Nuln's ruler, Grand Countess Emmanuelle (the Elector of Wissenland) and his equally fanatic hatred of heretics, mutants, and non-humans in general - the last person who would be consorting with Skaven.

However, von Halstadt is indeed working secretly with the Skaven, regarding them as useful tools, and the lesser of two evils, in his never-ending hunt for threats to his beloved Countess. Worried that he might have been recognized in the sewers, he persuades the skaven leader, Grey Seer Thanquol, to track down the sewerjacks and eliminate them.

The other members of the watch are killed by skaven assassins, but this only convinces Felix that he is right, and he and Gotrek find a hidden entrance in the sewers to the basement of von Halstadt's mansion. While Felix is rifling through von Halstadt's office, he is confronted by the man himself; in the hallway, Gotrek is confronted by Thanquol and his monstrous rat-ogre bodyguard, Boneripper. They are formidable opponents, but Felix kills von Halstadt in a duel, while Gotrek splits Boneripper's skull with his axe. Thanquol flees in terror, but vows revenge against the pair.

Gotrek and Felix escape the house ahead of the watchmen, but not before Felix burns von Halstadt's secret dossiers on Nuln's citizens. Fleeing through the sewer, Felix reflects that he and Gotrek will have to lay low for a while, and accepting Otto's job offer is now out of the question. Felix finds himself oddly comforted to be remaining with Gotrek.

Gutter Runners

After quitting the sewer watch, Gotrek and Felix now work as bouncers in a seedy tavern, a job only marginally more salubrious.

Beneath Nuln, a skaven army is massing to invade the city. Its temporary commander, Thanquol, is furious to receive orders from the Council of Thirteen to turn over command to the warlord bringing his reinforcements, and resolves to lead the army and claim all the glory for himself, no matter what. Already vengeful against Gotrek and Felix, Thanquol is alarmed by a soothsayer who claims the dwarf and his magic axe will be Thanquol's doom. He sends elite Skaven assassins to kill the pair in the tavern, but luck allows Gotrek and Felix to evade and ambush them. The assassins' leader, Chang Squik, escapes, trying to think of the best way to blame the failure on his subordinates.

Night Raid

Thanquol arranges his planned replacement's "accidental" death, and takes permanent command of the army. However, in his paranoia, he fears that his three subordinate commanders - Heskit One-Eye, Vilebroth Null, and Izak Grottle - will try to replace him in the same fashion, or else make some contribution to the war effort that will steal some of Thanquol's glory.

When a lowly soldier, Lurk Snitchtongue, reports to Thanquol that he overheard the other commanders plotting, Thanquol has the idea of tipping off Gotrek and Felix, allowing one problem to take care of another, with Thanquol safely free of suspicion.

Thanquol's note, in badly-spelled Reikspiel, reaches Gotrek and Felix at the tavern, warning that Heskit One-Eye is planning a raid on Nuln's College of Engineering. Though they are suspicious of the note, they agree they must check it out.

Their appearance, combined with Heskit's overenthusiasm at the controls of an experimental steam tank, pitches the Skaven force into chaos, and they begin firing on each other, convinced they are under attack by a much larger force. Heskit barely escapes into the sewer as the steam tank explodes, wiping out his rats.

Plague Monks of Pestilens

A plague sweeps through Nuln that is fatal to those it afflicts. Thanquol receives word from Lurk that the plague is the work of Vilebroth Null, and again, he sends an anonymous note to Gotrek and Felix. The problem is, none of them know from where in the city Null is operating.

When a barmaid at the tavern, Elissa, whom Felix is enamored with, begins displaying symptoms, Felix takes her to a doctor recommended by his brother, Otto. Dr. Drexler, a learned man, diagnoses Elissa with a mild cough, not the plague, and gives Felix some useful hints about tracking the spread of diseases, especially how to distinguish between real illness and the psychosomatic ailments that always accompany outbreaks of plague.

Between Drexler's advice, and some patient investigation of the pattern of victims in the city, Felix deduces that the plague is originating from a hiding place in the city cemetery. He and Gotrek investigate at night, and discover Vilebroth and his plague monks "cooking up" their latest strain of plague. A vicious battle ensues, where Gotrek and Felix kill the monks and smash Vilebroth's magic cauldron. Vilebroth escapes back to the main skaven lair, unwittingly carrying the plague into the skaven ranks.

After their encounter with the plague carriers, Gotrek and Felix burn their clothes and undergo a rigorous cleansing under Dr. Drexler's supervision. Felix is amused to see Gotrek - who had previously boasted about the invincibility of Dwarfs' immune systems - wearing one of Drexler's herbal amulets around his neck. Gotrek sourly says he is only being prudent, since dying of disease would be no death for a Slayer.

Beasts of Moulder

Underneath Nuln, the skaven army is beginning to crumble, as more of their soldiers are felled by plague. Thanquol is even more desperate to attack as soon as possible, and proportionately more paranoid about his subordinates' plotting.

Felix is surprised to be summoned by Heironymous Ostwald, Countess Emannuelle's personal secretary. Ostwald has assumed the role left vacant by Fritz von Halstadt, though he is not as paranoid, nor as brutal in his methods. Word has reached him of Felix' activities (excluding his role in von Halstadt's death), and led him to conclude that Felix is also a secret agent of some kind. Felix lets him run with the assumption, which allows him to learn that Ostwald is also suspicious that an invasion is coming.

The next ploy in the skaven campaign is by Packmaster Izak Grottle, who has created a new breed of rats that are both proliferative and insatiable eaters. A few of these rats, introduced into Nuln's grain silos, will consume the city's food reserves overnight, and make them easy pickings for the skaven. Again, Thanquol gets word of the plot from Lurk, and again, sends an anonymous note to Gotrek and Felix. The only difference is, after delivering the note, Lurk is caught in the act by the three commanders.

Gotrek and Felix are not sure what to expect while they are keeping watch on the grain silos, but see a black-painted barge creeping up the river, and attack. The city's grain supplies are saved, and Grottle escapes, accidentally losing the new rats into the skaven's own supplies.

The Battle For Nuln

After several weeks, things are close to breaking point for both sides. Although Gotrek and Felix' actions prevented any new outbreaks of the plague, it is still spreading throughout the city; the recent bizarre events have also upset the townspeople, who are afraid that something terrible is coming, though they don't know from where.

Part of the reason why Felix has been unable to tell anyone the truth about his and Gotrek's encounters with the skaven is that no one will believe him, since the majority of the Empire's citizens believe the skaven are mythical, or else became extinct centuries ago. Nevertheless, Felix shares the whole truth with his brother, Otto - including his and Gotrek's role in von Halstadt's death - and urges Otto to leave the city with his family before the invasion Felix feels sure is coming. Otto believes Felix absolutely, but decides to remain in Nuln.

At the same time, the skaven army is close to disintegrating, with their ranks decimated by plague and their supplies being devoured by Grottle's unstoppable rats. Thanquol decides that they must attack immediately. Meanwhile, Heskit, Vilebroth, and Grottle are planning revenge on Thanquol for sabotaging their schemes. At first they demand that Lurk assassinate Thanquol, but Lurk, thinking desperately, suggests that they use Thanquol's own trick on him, and tip off Gotrek and Felix. They approve.

On the night when the Countess Emmannuelle is hosting a masquerade ball at her palace, the skaven army boils up from the underground. The note that reaches Gotrek and Felix warns them that Thanquol is leading the small party that will infiltrate the palace and kidnap the Countess, forcing the rest of the city to surrender. The problem is, they cannot reach the palace in time, when there is an army of skaven between them and it. After Gotrek and Felix fight off the force attacking the tavern, Felix takes an idea from the melodrama plays popular in the Empire, and calls for the mob to "rise up!" against their skaven enemies. Unskilled fighters though they are, the townspeople are angry enough to take revenge on their unseen tormentors, and the fighting clears Gotrek and Felix' path to the palace. In the melee, Heskit and Vilebroth are both killed, but Izak Grottle escapes underground, as does Lurk.

At the palace, Gotrek, Felix, and their makeshift army fall upon Thanquol's party, and Thanquol urges his rats to charge forward to inevitable victory - while himself scuttling in terror to the nearest exit.

Epilogue

While the city is slowly recovering from the invasion, Gotrek is approached by a dwarf messenger, carrying a message summoning him on a reckless, doomed venture. Gotrek does not share the details of the message with Felix, but declares they will be leaving immediately.

Footnotes

1. ↑ "Skavenslayer (1999 edition) on The Black Library's web site". www.blacklibrary.com. The Black Library. Retrieved 2014-03-27. 
2. ↑ "Skavenslayer (2003 edition) on The Black Library's web site". www.blacklibrary.com. The Black Library. Retrieved 2014-03-27. 
3. ↑ "Gotrek & Felix: The First Omnibus on The Black Library's web site". www.blacklibrary.com. The Black Library. Retrieved 2007-01-12. 
4. ↑ "Trollslayer (Black Library Classics) on The Black Library's web site". www.blacklibrary.com. The Black Library. Retrieved 2013-03-10.