Blackstone Fortress short story The Last of the Longhorns sees Nick Kyme revisit the cheeky ratling twins Rein and Raus from his previous story Motherlode, and explore some unexpected details from their backstory. In the depths of the Fortress, the twins find themselves at the mercy of malicious Traitor Guardsmen, whose sinister leader seeks an item in the ratlings’ possession. When physical interrogation tactics fail, the traitors employ psychic means to try and ascertain where their prize is hidden, dredging Raus’ mind for information and bringing to light painful memories of a time before the Blackstone Fortress.
At first it looks like this will be another irreverent story with the bickering twins talking themselves in and out of trouble…and to a certain extent it is. However, as things progress the tone gets increasingly dark, and for all the ratlings’ puerile humour there’s a genuine sense of sadness to Raus’ recollections of their final days in the Astra Militarum. The psychic interrogation is a clever way of looking back in time, allowing Kyme to weave heartstring-pulling memories into a neatly plotted present-day story, and it all ties together into a satisfying whole that’s part tragic war story and part snarky con. It’s a tale that could only really work as a Blackstone Fortress story, and which shows once again just how enjoyable this setting can be.
Currently this story is only available in the Vaults of Obsidian anthology.
