Evan Dicken’s Age of Sigmar short story Fangs of the Rustwood continues his approach of exploring the lesser visited corners of the Mortal Realms, this time featuring the sinister dangers of Chamon’s grot-infested Rustwood. Seeing opportunities for advancement in his future, witch hunter Kantus Vallo escorts a trio of prisoners, each a suspect in a high-profile murder, to face the judgement of his superiors in the Order of Azyr. As the forest’s lethal flora and fauna take their toll, however, he’s forced to free the prisoners and put his trust in them in order to survive and escape the Rustwood.
If any confirmation was needed that Age of Sigmar fiction has fully embraced a darker, less hopeful tone than it first took, this story should seal the deal. While not a horror story per se, it’s nonetheless a grim tale of desperate survival with the odds stacked badly against Kantus, and a bleak fate awaiting those who fall while in the Rustwood. It’s not a long story, and might have benefited from a little more time to ramp up the tension, expand upon the characters and develop the whodunnit element, but if it’s a touch abrupt in places it’s no less entertaining for that. As a standalone tale of darkness and futility it’s gritty, bloody and enjoyable.
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Sounds like assault on precinct 13