Plague Dæmon

Home

Novels

Collections

Translations

Non-Fiction

Short Stories

Anthologies

The dire magician stood back, and it was one of his unhuman companions who stepped forward, bearing a heavy halberd ready to make a solitary charge.

The three remaining monstrosities spread out, two with longbows at the ready, the third with a massive spear.

The halberdier was the one with the scaly skin and snake-like tongue; he was the most powerfully muscled of the beastmen. When he charged the door, it seemed as though he would cover the thirty yards in a matter of seconds.

But the snake-tongued monster had covered no more than half the distance when something reached out of the water and caught his ankle, bringing him down at the narrowest part of the causeway. It was a long, black tentacle, smooth and leech-like...

Thus was Harmis Detz, soldier of the Border Princes, plunged into a desperate struggle against the plague-bearing forces of Chaos. The story is told by Orfeo, first introduced in Brian Craig's Zaragoz.

Cover by Les Edwards

Published in 1990 by Games Workshop Ltd (as by Brian Craig)
ISBN:1 872372 05 8

'Do you think it's easy to be a hero?' Averil said to him. 'Do you think you can carry daemon-slaying knives without cost? Do you think that the curse with which the Lazarite tried to damn your soul is an untroublesome thing to bear, to be shrugged off like a little scratch? Harmis Detz, this entire nation is under a curse, and will fall to the forces of Chaos and the foul breath of plague unless we can save it.'

In the wildest reaches of the Border Princes, the kingdom of Khypris is thrown into turmoil when barbarian tribes descend upon its rich, fertile lands. Soldier of fortune Harmis Detz finds himself fighting more than mere human enemies when a cruel twist of fate sucks him into a far more desperate endeavour - to find the real source of the evil that threatens Khypris.

Can Harmis and his companions possibly triumph against such a foul and unnatural adversary as a servant of Nurgle, lord of pestilence?

Published in August 2002 by Games Workshop Publishing (as by Brian Craig)
ISBN:0-743-44317-9

Published in 1994 by Boxtree (as by Brian Craig).

Translated into Japanese.

Review by Ian Braidwood

Cast of Characters:
Orfeo, Marcantonio 'Maro' Giraldi, Caliph of Mahabbah and Lord of the Twin Seas Alkadi Nasreen, Harmis Detz, Lavarock Detz, Sable, Astyanax of Violtis, Ritandyr, Averil, Nicodemus, Ystareth, Rolf Humbold, Burkin, Tarik, Sanya, Minorca, Rosola, Cavel, Garin Sarkar, Malo Hauser, Gotthard Meriden, Asmunda, Captain Byrin, Medard Detz.

The second Orfeo fantasy finds our friend and Maro trying to escape Arjijil, but being caught when he tries to steal a donkey. The caliph is offended by the attempt to flee and Orfeo forces him to grant his freedom in return for another tale.

Now it's the turn of Harmis Detz, a lowly guard, who swears revenge when his brother is killed in a border raid. However, he runs into more trouble than he can cope with when he manages to kill an evil magician and finds himself subject to a terrible curse.

Along with Averil and Nicodemus - apprentices to the late magician Astyanax - Harmis sets out to find the magician Ritandyr, so that they can help mount a final defence against the Zani hordes. None of the travellers realise that they are carrying their most dangerous enemy with them and when Astyanax's instructions are not followed to the letter, it nearly brings disaster upon the whole kingdom.

Another lightweight fantasy; although this time there is a nice touch, when a modern understanding of disease would have helped Harmis and the others combat the main threat posed by the plague daemon.

The Brian Stableford Website