Secrets and Lies

The fleet above the corrupted world was divided into two groups. One side was led by Kirk over the Slaanesh fortress, while Sabes' group went toward the Tzeentch location. While they were heading to their own locations, Baldur took his Drake to head to the Undivided Cult. 

As his Drake descended from the atmosphere and landed outside the fortress, Baldur was not met with heavy resistance or any resistance at all. He was able to land without trouble under the watchful eyes of the cultists and warriors atop the walls. 

Baldur walked down the ramp of his Drake and stood on the grass outside the fortress before kneeling down and touching it. 

"This level of corruption is completely beyond saving," Baldur commented as his hands swept across the pinkish-red grass. He could feel energy from the Warp seeping through the plant life, though it did not seem to go more than a few meters deep. That meant that although the planet was corrupted, it wasn't completely ruined. 

'But that's the issue,' Baldur stood up while feeling frustrated. Even if the planet could be cleansed of its corruption, that would be a process that would take at least 50 years on its own. Even if Baldur used his Witches and Sorcerers to speed up the process, it would still take over 10 years. 

The former was something that the Emperor would not allow in fear that some brave or foolish enough to defy his orders would try to settle there while the latter would require for Baldur to spread out his forces even more than he already was doing for the Crusade. The other issue would be hunting down and killing the rest of the individuals that lived on the planet.

Any cultists that was not at the main fortresses or hidden away doing their own experiments meant that they could continue corrupting the planet. Even those that weren't cultists were dangerous, since they could be influenced by the Warp energy that lingered and become cultists later on. 

Baldur walked through the giant gates of the fort and was greeted to the sight of lesser daemons from the various Ruinous Powers as well as a few hundred cultists. Each of the cultists was corrupted in some way, all of them having one or two physical mutations with untold mental ones as well. 

Baldur's eyes swept over all of them before landing on two large figures in the center. One of those figures was a giant red being with cloven hooves instead of feet, leathery bat-like wings and horned canine head. The other was a large, winged bipedal creature with a snake-like neck and an avian head. Both were slightly taller than Baldur, meaning that they there was not enough Warp energy to summon them in larger bodies. Which also meant that the cultist in command was not as powerful as Baldur had feared. 

Sitting between the pair of Greater Daemons who were acting as his guards as a lone, shirtless man. At least he originally was. To the uninformed, he would be what they called a daemon. 

He had 3 heads, with each head's normal looks being replaced by a flaming skull. The rest of the skin on his body was transparent, revealing all the organs or muscle underneath. A scorpion tail was sitting behind his back, looking ready to strike at any moment. 

"Welcome, Lord Baldur," the three heads spoke at the same time, their voices deep with a hint of evil in them. Even if one were to close their eyes, they would naturally be able to tell that the figure that was speaking to them was wrong on a spiritual level. "The Great Ones have told us that you would come."

"Have they?" Baldur asked, his spear and sword materialized from the void and appeared in his hands. "Did they warn you that you should have run?"

"My Masters do not fear you so neither should I," the man spoke again, no fear in his mind. "They have blessed me with 4 of their greatest champions to protect this planet from your divided forces." 

"That is foolish of them. I plan on killing them for what they have done to me and my brothers," Baldur spoke slowly and calmly while analyzing how to best attack and waiting for the perfect opening. "Any who serve them shall also be killed by my blades."

The skull and feathered daemon began to laugh when they heard Baldur. The latter's eyes turned to the Lord of Change warily, knowing that this creatures were knowledgeable but also the lackies of the Tzeentch. They were the most cunning of Greater Daemons and the one that Baldur knew would bring the most trouble in the fight that would soon occur. 

"Do you think that my Masters would do that without reason? It is because you Father broke his promise," the skull explained. "He was supposed to..."

"Give them 300 planets," Baldur finished the sentence. "I know. But the one who spoke those words is one of the greatest liars to ever exist. Do you think I would believe the words of the Great Deceiver?"

He remembered the time they were captured well. Even if he did not know words then, Baldur could recall what they said later in life and knew of the Emperor's broken promise. 

Baldur had been reading from the various lore that he could get about the 4 powers, though the ones with Slaanesh were the fewest, and learned all he could about his greatest enemies. He knew better than to trust anything that Tzeentch or his followers said. 

It was also due to this knowledge that Baldur knew not to trust the Emperor. Out of all the Ruinous Powers, while Tzeentch and Slaanesh were liars and traitors, Nurgle and Khorne were not. The former made promises with hidden conditions or unknown consequences, while the latter were very open and honest. They held true to their words and never went back on them. 

The duo also hated the others, as they were each directly opposed to the beliefs and philosophies of them. 

That meant for the pair to join with the other two in separating the Primarchs from the Emperor, it was the latter that had truly done something wrong. But the question of what their original deal was and how the Emperor broke it remained a mystery in Baldur's mind that he was still investigating. 

But either way, he knew better than to trust those close with the Emperor or the Ruinous Powers. 

"So what did they tell you to promise me in return for my silence or loyalty?" Baldur asked, probing for any information that he could get on the mindsets of the 4

"Hmm. You are exactly as Lord Tzeentch described," the Lord of Change commented. "They offer what the thing you need most yet the thing you know nothing about. What has been taken yet bought. Tortured yet spared."

"I need no riddles in my life," Baldur warned as frost appeared beneath his feet, slowly spreading out and cooling the surrounding air. "If you refuse to answer me, then there is no reason to let you stay. I shall send you back to the Warp myself."

"Let us see you try!" The Bloodthirster yelled and charged toward Baldur, officially beginning the battle