Published in Grimdark Magazine issue 34, Guy Haley’s short story The Cure is a short, sharp blast of mud-splattered action and black humour that blends fantasy and science fiction into an intriguing whole. When Velth and his companions set out on their latest contract – escorting a priest and an unwell priestess to a remote temple in search of a cure to her ailment – their mercenary company numbers ten, under the leadership of their captain, Arnolli. The further they travel though, through rotten forest and stinking marsh, the harder their journey becomes, and as they begin to fall through accident, illness and battle, Velth has his work cut out to protect their charges and keep faith with the contract.
Velth’s pragmatic, no-nonsense first person narration works well, emphasising the cutthroat nature of life as a mercenary (the fewer the survivors, the more money for each), and if none of his fellows are particularly likeable well that’s clearly intentional, and appropriate – they are mercenaries, after all. There’s an interesting mix of styles at play here, playing with that idea of where the line is drawn between magic and technology with a classic fantasy vibe – spears, arrows, a carriage drawn by a bizarre pack animal – combined with ancient technology and hints of a more obviously sci-fi setting. With a fairly large cast of characters in a fairly short story it needs a little time for the names to click and the setting to come to life, but a patient reading reaps considerable rewards.
For readers largely familiar with Haley from his Warhammer writing, this is a valuable reminder that there’s a lot more to his writing than Space Marines, with its bad-mouthed mercenaries and strange creatures lurking in the marsh. 40k may be where the ‘grimdark’ appellation started, but this feels much more suited to the name than most Warhammer fiction these days. As a standalone tale of bad things happening to bad people this is strangely satisfying, but it’s the mix of elements that really makes it stand out, and suggests that this is a world with plenty of scope for further development – here’s hoping for more along these lines from Haley in the near future.
For more about Guy Haley’s non-Warhammer work, check out Spotlight On Guy Haley’s Original Fiction
See also: all the Guy Haley reviews and interviews on Track of Words
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