The second of two Warhammer Chronicles short stories written before the End Times happened and eventually featured in Inferno! Volume 1, Josh Reynolds’ How Vido Learned the Trick is a Zavant Konniger story featuring characters originally created by Gordon Rennie. Returning from an errand for his master, the halfling Vido finds an assassin in Zavant’s study, but no sign of the sage himself. With his own life on the line, Vido must put into practice everything he’s learned from working with Zavant and figure out where his master can be found. All without allowing the assassin to complete his mission.
It’s really quite a short story (18 pages in paperback) but very good fun nonetheless, an entertaining little mini-adventure which shines a light on Vido’s side of the Holmes and Watson-esque relationship he has with Zavant. There’s no need to have read the previous Zavant stories, as this draws from familiar influences both in terms of its setting in Altdorf and its literary detective stylings, so you can just kick back and enjoy something a touch more light-hearted than the usual Old World fare. With a little bit of mystery, some snappy dialogue and a fun protagonist, it’s a great standalone story – but as with so many Old World series, it’s just a shame we won’t see more like this.
