For a mont, a thousand possibilities raced through Enkidu's mind. He could ask for the warband's most guarded secrets, trade for a guaranteed priority on dical treatnt, or even request to study the Apothecary's dark craft...
But none of those were what he truly wanted.
Information and dical priority were short-term boons, and with Morpheus, every gift likely ca with a hidden barb. As for the Apothecary's trade? The III and XII Legions had fallen into the abyss largely due to the "help" of their Apothecaries; Enkidu had no desire to touch that forbidden knowledge yet.
"Considering I am an initiate of your own cultivation, I require your advice."
"Advice?" Morpheus raised his head, intrigued, though he didn't turn away from his vials. "No one has ever asked for sothing so... epheral. You are the first."
"Is it a request I cannot make?"
"Of course you can, my brother." Morpheus swirled a test tube; a violet-blue solution bubbled within, releasing wisps of brownish-red toxic gas. "You are clever. You know that sotis the things given for 'free' are the most valuable. I have a piece of benevolent advice and a piece of malicious advice. Which would you prefer first?"
"The benevolent, naturally."
Morpheus curled his lip, his expression saying I knew it.
"The benevolent advice is this: ignore Telax. Ignore Varex. Ignore it all. Simply drift with the tide of this life. Only then will you be free of the burden of worry. Look at ," he spread his arms as if embracing his laboratory of horrors. "I need no Legion. I am bound by no rules. As long as I follow the path set by Lord Fabius, I can achieve the results I crave. It is a beautiful life, is it not?"
Enkidu followed the Apothecary's gaze. Beyond the neat rows of jars and beakers, things stirred in the shadows beneath the lab floor—creatures locked in cages, let out high-pitched, frantic shrieks and scratching at the grates.
Horrific, Enkidu thought.
"Perhaps that advice does not suit ," Enkidu said, his voice hardening. "I wish to hear your malicious advice."
"The malicious?" Morpheus's brow arched. "I have already told you: in this place, sanity is the greatest 'cri.' If you choose the path of the clear-eyed, I shall look forward to seeing how you break."
"But... perhaps there will be a miracle?" Enkidu offered a thin, forced smile and turned to leave. "Regardless, thank you for the counsel, Morpheus."
"Don't let the door hit you."
Six minutes after the doors to the Apothecarion sealed, they hissed open again.
An armored Astartes stepped through the pink-hued mists, wandering through the lab with a casual, predatory air. He reached out to touch one of the biological specins floating in a jar.
"Don't touch my work, Virsuto."
The Apothecary's warning was sharp and imdiate, stopping Virsuto's hand an inch from the glass.
"Don't be so stingy, Morpheus," Virsuto said, pulling his hand back with an indifferent shrug. "After all, haven't we supported your research for centuries? Surely a sample or two wouldn't be missed."
"It would. If you want sothing, bring materials to trade."
"Telax has already given you materials." Virsuto stopped his aimless wandering and leaned over the workbench, gesturing toward the xenos flesh. "That's what the initiate just delivered, isn't it?"
"That is Telax's property. Not yours."
Morpheus was unmoved. A chanical limb extended from his back and rapped sharply against Virsuto's power armor, shredding a section of the fresh, flayed skin that had been draped over the ceramite.
"Fine, fine. I see you're in a mood." Virsuto stared at the ruined trophy with a pained expression before composing himself. "Actually, I'm here to ask if you're open to a private commission once you've finished Telax's specins."
"What commission?" Morpheus asked, his voice dripping with annoyance as he shielded his workspace with a plasteel shutter. "Don't tell you want more stimulants brewed from mortal slaves. I'm tired of juicing consumables. Give a challenge or get out."
"Of course it's a challenge, my dear brother," Virsuto said softly, his eyes fixed on the shutter. "Develop a superior combat stimm for us. Telax needs the edge. Use the new xenos material for the base."
Morpheus froze. Two seconds later, he turned and stared Virsuto down with a lethal intensity.
"I can develop new drugs, but I develop them for the warband. If you're asking to work exclusively for Telax's faction... the answer is no. Don't think I don't know about the gas you're playing with Varex. If you want to restore the Legion's 'glory,' then go out and kill him like a man. Don't co crawling into my lab to drag into your sewer."
"Apothecaries are never out of work, Virsuto. If I leave this ship, a dozen warbands would kill for my services. And if they don't, I can always return to Lord Fabius as an apprentice."
The Apothecary spoke with cold arrogance, gesturing for Virsuto to leave.
The air in the room chilled. Virsuto stared at him, his fingers twitching toward his sidearm, but he ultimately suppressed the urge to ignite a firefight. He hissed through his teeth, his voice a venomous rasp.
"Careful, brother Morpheus. I am rely looking for a way to lead us to a more... illustrious path. Telax is the only one strong enough to change our current state."
"Liar. Telax barely uses stimms. You want the drugs for yourself and you're using his na as a shield. In terms of honesty, you aren't even equal to Lord Fabius's newest initiate!" The Apothecary reached for a plasma pistol on the rack and pointed it directly at Virsuto's chest. "Out. Now."
Virsuto's usually "gentle" face twisted into a mask of pure malice. He glared at the Apothecary one last ti before stepping back into the mists.
"I will rember this, Apothecary."
The Hangar of The Velvet Abyss.
Enkidu stood in the center of the empty landing bay, stunned.
Where was the shuttle? He had seen it docked just a short while ago. How could it vanish in the ti it took to make a delivery? Had Telax recalled it on a whim, or was sothing else happening?
Regardless, he was stranded. He needed to reach the bridge and use the ship's vox-relays to contact the Lash of Agony.
As he stood there, the heavy, rhythmic thud of power armor boots broke the silence of the hangar.
"Enkidu? What are you still doing here?"
He turned toward the voice. Virsuto was standing a few dozen paces away, watching him with a look of feigned confusion.
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