Necromunda folk tales
The wretched masses toiling in mills, foundries and manufactoria also have needs. Food. Shelter. Entertainment.
The sanctioned products of communal kitchens feed the hungry. A little something on the side of the plate or in the bowl, eaten on the way to or from work. For the picky ones there are street vendors providing a wide selection of nourishment, some of it maybe only a few times recycled. They cater for every taste. As long as that taste belongs to a worker in the underhive.
Shelter is provided by the clan. Control of territory means control of production and
workforce. As long as they pay their tithes and fulfill their contracts very little supervision is
exercised over their dealings. In the underhive a clan is everything. Family, home, security,
employment, identity. Humans breed. They can outbreed any xenos, except maybe orks.
Especially in good times. In the underhive clans own every offspring, they are the potential new workforce, recruits and in hard times even provide excellent sources of protein for survival.
After the end of the back breaking shift people need entertainment. Some seek relief in
many drinking establishments, gamble their time away or listen to storytellers. Nobody, well almost nobody can read or write in the underhive. There is no time for education, training is provided on the job.
This harsh life breeds hard people. Or sometimes mutated ones when areas become overly polluted. The following folk tales have been collected in the clan territories of the underhive, where only the faith in the Emperor keeps the darkness at bay. And there is plenty of darkness both outside in the tunnels and in people who walk them. The Emperor protects.
1
Deep down in the Underhive,
beyond the darkest tunnels lies,
beyond any ratkins reaches,
beyond seven airlocks sealed,
deep in the Vault of Arrival,
there lies an old terminal.
I saw this story on its screen
in flickering poison green,
after paying for the code
with my own precious blood.
In times when the Emperor was still walking the surface of the thrice blessed Terra, the were two brothers living in Mount Ire. One was Wartour Pendulum and the other was his cursed brother Gremlin. This abomination Gremlin in his weakness succumbed to the darkness and tried to sacrifice his own brother to his twisted masters. But his clumsy plot has failed and he fled Mount Ire to hide deep in his underhive.
Wartour Pendulum in his righteous fury prayed for the Emperor's help. In his vision the Emperor ordered him to find the purest potato in Mount Ire and updated his manufactorum's
mainframe to allow Wartour to produce moonshine. Wartour scoured Mount Ire's underhive for scraps of potato but couldn't find any. But he found his traitorous brothers hideout. Gremlin built himself a tower in the middle of a quicksilver lake. Wartour marked down the place but kept quiet about it. The tunnels to that forsaken place had been all flooded with quicksilver.
After his return Wartour sent out his loyal followers to find potato scraps. One day a young lad called Leprehaun reported to Wartour. He found a full lump of potato. Wartour greatly rewarded him.
After melting down the potato produced the finest moonshine. Nobody before laid eyes on a blade made of pure moonshine. It was glowing with white and silver light, able to cut through the deepest darkness.
Wartour took the moonshine sword and went to Gremlins hideout. He touched the quicksilver with the blade and it evaporated instantly. His way to the forsaken tower laid open. No foul sorcery was able to harm Wartour as he praising the Emperor slew his traitorous brother. He burnt his body and dissolved the ashes in acid, so cleansing the corruption.
After the Emperor heard of Wartour Pendulum's vengeance he elevated him into the high lords of Terra. Wartour family was one of the first colonists in our world, Necromunda. After his death he was laid to rest with his moonshine sword and awaits the Emperor's call to rise again in protection of humankind.
I told you this tale as i saw it myself, may the Emperor have mercy on your unbelieving
souls.
2
Deep down in the Underhive,
beyond the darkest tunnels lies,
beyond any ratkins reaches,
beyond seven airlocks sealed,
deep in the Vault of Arrival,
there lies an old terminal.
I saw this story on its screen
in flickering poison green,
after paying for the code
with my own precious blood.
In the times of ancient, 33 years after the towering Secundus had been built. Parri of Tram was a young nobleman, hard working, pious, but a little bit vain. He fell in love with Lenni Orenthal, who was the favorite wife of Argus, the head of the Orenthal Industries. Lenni was weak and succumbed to Parri's advances. The two lovers eloped to a newly discovered habzone.
Argus Orenthal in his righteous fury called on his men and allies to rescue his wife and
rectify his damaged honor. The allies assembled a big raiding party, with scouts and heavies, to show they mean business.
Parri of Tram heard the anger of Argus and he fortified their habzone, turning it into a
fortress, mining the tunnels, trapping the vents and sealing the shafts. Lenni bore him a child, they called him Neas.
When Argus saw the fortress of Tram, he besieged it. They fought nine days and nine nights, but the defences held out.
Then, an ally of Argus, Disos Redbart came up with a plan. Argus men withdrew. Disos
cunningly acquired arbiter uniforms, full riot gear and dressed his men up. He sent a
messenger to Parri to ask for safe passage. Parri fell for the ruse. Once Disos' team was inside they fought the defenders. Disos switched off the tunnel defences but Parri slew him.
Seeing that Argus has breached his fortress Parri and Lenni committed suicide. They gave
Neas to their best scout and he managed to escape with the child. Argus razed the habzone fortress in his fury and grief over the loss of his ally Disos. He burned every building and platform, demolished the tunnels and filled in the shafts, poisoned the vents so that no one ever will be able to live at that place of his shame.
Young Neas was brought up to avenge his parents. He learned and trained hard, worked the scrap heaps, foundries and manufactorums. After coming to age he sought Argus Orenthal. He gained employment with Orenthal Industries and rose through the ranks.
One day, out of shadows he made his move. The ageing Argus was no match for the
cunning infiltrator and soon lay dead.
His parents avenged, Neas of Tram took over the Orenthal Industries and worked hard to
fulfill the Emperor's tithes and orders.
I told you this tale as i saw it myself, may the Emperor have mercy on your unbelieving
souls.
3
Deep down in the Underhive,
beyond the darkest tunnels lies,
beyond any ratkins reaches,
beyond seven airlocks sealed,
deep in the Vault of Arrival,
there lies an old terminal.
I saw this story on its screen
in flickering poison green,
after paying for the code
with my own precious blood.
In times of ancient Terra, in times when the Emperor himself was walking his blessed
tunnels, there was a city spire called Landis. In this spire the nobility was benevolent and
pious, paying their tithes always full and on time, praising the Emperor far and wide.
Down in the forges, mills and manufactoriums the people worked hard and prayed to the
Emperor. All but one, the cursed and traitorous Bespinere, who abandoned the Emperor and
succumbed to the ruinous powers. He started his poisonous talks about liberty, equality,
fraternity and slowly spread these spiteful ideas among the unsuspecting workers.
The ruination came when a mob, saturated with Bespinere's poison, stormed Landis's Officio Administorium building and freed his abominable accomplice, the wretched Bonapol. In the riots many died and the misguided masses took over the city.
The mutated Bespinere took on the nobility and committed unspeakable atrocities against them, leaving many martyrs behind. But the evil powers competing for the city divided and the abomination Bonapol took the life of this Bespinere.
Bonapol's reign was short and bloody. He abolished the work schedules, refused to pay
tithes and fulfill righteous orders of production. He invoked the Emperor's wrath on himself.
Bonapol led his mutant followers out to conquer other cities but the faith in the Emperor was strong and without the poison of Bespinere the other cities stood against the tide of evil.
Countless souls perished in the fights, the people cried out for the Emperor's help.
The Emperor descended on Landis and led a glorious campaign against Bonapol's forces.
The abomination Bonapol was captured and led before the Emperor himself to receive
judgement on his misdeeds. The mercyful Emperor tried to save Bonapol's soul from
ruination and sentenced him to be turned into a servitor and cast down into the deepest
sludge pit of Landis's underhive.
After the Emperor's mercy Bonapol's husk was transferred to the depths of Landis and
supposed to remain there for eternity. But the ruination ran deep in Bonapol. His husk
corrupted the code of other servitors and led an insurrection against the righteous people of Landis and the mercyful Emperor.
The wrath of the Emperor was righteous fury, descending on Bonapol's servitor army and
cleansing the corruption with flame, once and for all. The good people of Landis praised the
Emperor for their salvation as we shall all do.
I told you this tale as i saw it myself, may the Emperor have mercy on your unbelieving
souls.
4
Deep down in the Underhive,
beyond the darkest tunnels lies,
beyond any ratkins reaches,
beyond seven airlocks sealed,
deep in the Vault of Arrival,
there lies an old terminal.
I saw this story on its screen
in flickering poison green,
after paying for the code
with my own precious blood.
Listen closely, hold your breath and pray to the Emperor to strengthen your souls, because
I'm here to tell you about a vile beast, a real monster of dark, the Abominable Spiderman.
Deep down in the darkest recesses this beast still lives, who saw him, few survived. The
bravest scouts can tell the stories in hushed voices, how this mutated beast was born and
lives.
Once upon a time a young scout of a small clan ventured out to prove himself in service of the Emperor. Deep and dark he dared, deep and dark he feared. Down there, in tunnels
unknown, zones forgotten, he came across a shining pool and mushrooms all around it. He
marked down the location of the pool and ventured back to his clan with the good news of riches found.
In his vanity he did not notice the spiders on the tunnel walls. Daydreaming of fame and
riches he went on, until the tunnel walls closed on. His way was blocked by a silky wall, he let out a desperate call. A spider crawled on his face and bit his nose. Despair wailed in darkness, the youngster fell on his knees and cursed his luck. Out of the curses grew an abomination, half man, half spider.
Long this monster kept the company of the darkest tunnels, until one day a scouting party camped out in the deep vanished. Their dessicated corpses were found in silky cocoons.
A hunt was organised by the bravest of the clans to eradicate the threat of this abominable mutant. The hunters pursued the mutated beast down into his lair, where a little pond shone and mushrooms grew.
Mesmerised by the tainted beauty of the peaceful pond the hunters grew unwary, their
senses dulled. Then the Abominable Spiderman attacked. Half of their number laid poisoned or paralised in minutes, the grotesque mutated creature rejoiced.
A hunter named Fridd came forth and in furious melee he contested the beast. With the Emperor's guidance he punctured the soft belly of the mutant and it withdrew into the
darkness, never to be seen again.
He is still lurking in the darkest of tunnels, and scouts tell tales of a shiny pond with
mushrooms as the sign of impending doom, where only a prayer to the Emperor keeps one's soul safe.
I told you this tale as i saw it myself, may the Emperor have mercy on your unbelieving
souls.
5
Deep down in the Underhive,
beyond the darkest tunnels lies,
beyond any ratkins reaches,
beyond seven airlocks sealed,
deep in the Vault of Arrival,
there lies an old terminal.
I saw this story on its screen
in flickering poison green,
after paying for the code
with my own precious blood.
Before the Emperor came to Terra, in ancient times there have been prophets preaching the
glory of the coming Emperor. The most devout of them all, whose memory the Emperor
decided to preserve was Jesuis Charlie.
His life began as an orphan, abandoned in the darkness. But blessed he was by the
Emperor, who guided a noblewoman his way to save and raise the child as one of her own.
Pure and simple life Jesuis Charlie led, he was an example for his peers with the Emperor's
blessing upon him.
One day the forces of darkness rose and Jesuis Charlie had to flee his home. He gathered the servants, the household guards and all the allies and led them before the storm of darkness hit their home. They wandered in despair, the tunnels abandoned, the forces of evil in pursuit. They came across a collapsed tunnel and could hear the baying of pursuers.
Jesuis Charlie asked everybody to pray to the Emperor for protection and praising his name
he touched the debrits. The foul cave parted and let the righteous through only to collapse
on the vile abominations on their trail. The Emperor protects.
After their escape they arrived in a habzone where the damage was minimal so they decided to settle in there. Jesuis Charlie teached them on the Emperor's ways and praised the Emperor for their deliverance. The people listened and learned and prospered.
After a few years newcomers were discovered by the locals and they confronted them. A
local warlord called Golath demanded tribute. Jesuis Charlie spoke to him about the peace
of the Emperor and the righteous ways but Golath was proud and stubborn so he rejected the Emperor's blessing. Ha challenged Jesuis to a duel. His brute force was towering over
Jesuis Charlie but the Emperor was with him and he struck down the giant with a lightning
bolt.
When Jesuis Charlie grew old he collected all his followers and allies around and bid them
farewell. A young man named Jodas came to him in tears asking him to stay.
Jesuis Charlie was moved by the young man's devotion and decided to postpone his
departure. Little they know that Jodas was corrupted by the darkest forces and in his dark masters bidding he was prepared to slay Jesuis Charlie. The evildoer made his move in the darkest hour of the night but the Emperor protected Jesuis Charlie and made Jodas die by his own poisoned blade. The Emperor protects.
After this Jesuis Charlie ventured out into the darkest tunnels to preach the word of the
Emperor on Terra. Nobody ever saw him again, but the Emperor was with him forever.
I told you this tale as i saw it myself, may the Emperor have mercy on your unbelieving
souls.