Warp Token Update

2k words

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“Looks like you’ll need a wash-clean now, man-thing,” she chuckled. “Come-Come, get in.”

“If I do that, we’ll be going another round. Or ten,” he added. “We both know how you get when there’s bathing involved.”

“In that case, give me few minutes to prepare.”

“Didn’t you just say you could handle anything?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, splashing him with water and making him laugh.

“Hey, watch the armour!” he chuckled. “You’ll get it rusty.”

She pinched her chin between two claws, pondering for a moment.

“While ploughing man-thing ten more times would be nice, having the relic would be… nicerer,” she mused as she walked out of the pool, her fur dripping with moisture. “We breed after mission is accomplished, yes-yes?”

“Skyseeker denies another lay? I must be dreaming,” Roderick joked. “But you have a point, we are only a few hours walk from the pyramid, and ther may yet be orc survivors lingering nearby. Let’s grab this weapon and get out of here. After I wash this mess away.”

“Good luck trying to remove breeder musk,” she chuckled, Roderick quirking an eyebrow as he moved towards the water’s edge.

-xXx-

After traversing the wide streets temple district, they finally arrived at the pyramid. The mountain of sandstone blocks was even more impressive up close, each one almost the size of the housings they’d seen just inside the city walls. While it didn’t match the heights the Bell of the Horned Rat reached, it was a very close second.

“How do you suppose the builders of this place made that?” Roderick asked, gesturing to it. The two were mounting the steps of a vast staircase leading up to the base of the structure, the pyramid built on an elevated plateau that overlooked the city. “Those blocks must weigh hundreds of pounds each.”

“Hmm. Skavenslaves,” Skyseeker answered after a little deductive reasoning. “Under-empire always growing bigger thanks to slave dedications.”

“I would guess it was magic,” Roderick said. “I once saw a wizard lift a giant boulder and use it to crush a horde of beastmen. These skeletons must have some equivalent of mages.”

At the top of the stairs lay more orc bodies, further confirming her suspicions that the pyramid had been their goal. Her warp-sight confirmed the relic was nearby, but the fact the greenskins had failed to retrieve it from the city got her thinking. All evidence suggested the city had been wiped out during the siege, so what had stopped the orcs from stealing the relic away? Maybe the Horned Rat had manifested to help her in her mission? That seemed to be the most exciting explanation, so surely it must be the correct one?

There was another staircase on the far side of the platform, this one leading down to the pyramid’s base. From this height, she could see that the pyramid was built partially submerged into the plateau, with a long crevasse creating a channel leading towards the middle of the near face. The walls of the channel stretched a little higher than the ground level, made from reinforced bricks to keep the sand from filling it in.

At each of the four corners of this long entryway were ornate pylons, the same design as those they’d seen back in the first region of the city. While the channel was longer than it was wide, the breadth between the walls was spacious enough that five doom wheels could roll through side by side with room to spare. Was the relic paraded through this place before being sealed away inside? She’d be surprised if it hadn’t been.

“I see more orcs down there,” Roderick muttered, shielding his eyes from the glare.

“Alive?” she asked, using her goggles to zoom in on where he was looking.

“No, but there’s at least two piles of them down in that crevasse. Perhaps the city inhabitants left their worst traps and defences for last.”

They proceeded down the steps, the walls tall enough to block out the sun as they reclined below ground. She felt physically colder as she stepped into the shadow, a feeling so unnatural after days of walking in the hot climes of this strange world.

As was becoming the custom, the walls here were painted over with elaborate markings, column after column of them stretching on towards the pyramid. They passed by pedestals mounted to either side of the crevasse, some mounted with tall monuments like the ones in the city, but smaller in scale. Others sported statues of figures that were larger than life, and it was here Skyseeker got a proper look at what the inhabitants of the city looked like.

They were humanoid, much like Roderick, but different in many other ways. The statues were clad in white limestone that resembled clothing, leaving only their five-fingered hands visible. Its arms were crossed over its chest, its hands a muted yellow material that was caked with dust. As her gaze wondered to its face, she flinched, meeting the empty sockets of a large golden skull. The visage was carved into an eternal grin, the skull’s head tilted slightly down, as though the statue was tracking the pair of interlopers on their way passed.

There was another statue of its likeness on the opposite side, its stone figure chipped in places, an orc corpse laying by its feet. It almost seemed to be gloating over the dead greenskin, the way its tilted head was angled towards the body.

The next pair of pedestals sported more monuments, perhaps serving as decorations, or some ceremonial purpose, it was impossible to tell. After a bit more walking, they were halfway through the crevasse, the walls flaring out a little further to create a sort of courtyard, a fountain that had long since dried up occupying the middle of the space.

Another two more pedestals flanked the courtyards sides, one of which was occupied by something Skyseeker hadn’t seen so far. Leaning against the wall was a statue, not made from the stones like the others, but chiselled from some sort of dark material, like ebony or onyx. It stood on a pair of digitigrade legs, much like her own, only the three tows were long and fat, tipped with dull claws made from metal. The giant legs were as tall as Roderick, tapering into a lean torso that was obscured slightly behind a skirt, fastened to the statue by gold belts that hung loosely on its hips.

Unlike the figure, these belts were made from actual silks, not stone, the decorative red ribbons contrasting against the yellows and golds. The stomach was bare, every ab and muscle carved with such perfection it was almost lifelike, each contour visible if one looked at just the right angle.

The torso rose into a pair of broad shoulders, a barrel chest obscured behind a decorative poncho, clipped together at the front by an ornate clamp that resembled the winged skull that was prevalent in this city – perhaps that was the coat of arms symbolising this place. Atop its shoulders sat a skull, but the bones didn’t resemble a human face. The visage was pointy, elongated like an animal’s, with thick teeth jutting from the upper lip.

Clutched in its massive hands was a pair of curved swords, the yellow blades stained and eroded, but still wickedly sharp. Its arms were crossed over its chest, standing to attention like the stormvermin who guarded Gnawdwell’s tower.

“These skeletons enjoy their decorative flare,” Roderick said as he eyed the statue. “I’ve never seen so much ebony carved into one statue.”

“Those swords are bigger than I am!” Skyseeker added, noting that the statue was thrice Roderick’s size if one didn’t include its crown.

They circled the fountain, Skyseeker peering into the bowl just in case there was any water left behind, but the recess was as dry as the sand. If one didn’t count the orc keeled over the lip, his lifeblood staining the stone brown.

Just as Roderick had noted, there were many more orcs in this courtyard, clustered around another of those battering rams. They must have brought it to breach the pyramid. The siege equipment lay destroyed, however, caved in as though someone had dropped a boulder on it from high above.

“Here’s hoping we don’t need a ram to get inside,” Roderick mused as he crossed to the far side of the courtyard. “You coming lass?” he asked, when he noticed she was lagging behind.

“R-Rick rod?” she whispered. “Look!”

He turned, following her pointed arm back to the statue.

The head had turned.

For a horrific moment she stared into those empty sockets of the animal skull, and then the rest of the statue slid into motion. It lifted those bent legs off the pedestal with a sound like two stones scraping together, turning its dark body in their direction.

“Gods,” Roderick muttered, reaching over his shoulder and grabbing the hilt of his greatsword. “Moving stone – what nightmare could create such a thing?”

She saw him swallow a visible lump down in his throat, but he bit his trepidation back as he drew his weapon, the long blade sliding against its leather scabbard. While the man-thing weapon was huge, it dwarfed in the face of the statue’s dual blades, but Roderick’s faith in Imperial steel was steadfast.

The greatsword glinted in the light as Roderick took up a stance, Skyseeker following suit as she drew her weeping blades. Her confidence faltered when she noted how woefully inadequate her daggers were compared to her two counterparts, but she had to remember she had the advantage of warp-power.

“Stay behind me, Skyseeker,” Roderick warned, flipping the visor of his helmet down.

“Screw you and not in a good way-way!” she shot back, scurrying beside him. “We fight stone-thing together! Attack-Charge!”

She struggled to remain steady as the statue rumbled the ground with each of its strides, approaching the pair with a kind of slow caution. The statue turned about, peering down its long, bone muzzle at Roderick, its massive feet cracking the tiles as it moved towards him. Only now did she see that the stains on its weapons wasn’t a result of wear or erosion, but blood. Orc blood if she wasn’t mistaken.

On its next step, it raised a one golden sword above its head, the way its movements so fluid it seemed unnatural to Skyseeker. The fur on her arms ruffled as it brought its blade down towards Roderick, her partner stepping out of the arc in the nick of time. The statue remained gyroscopically stable from the waist down, only its torso moving as it bent its massive body down to reach him. 

The construct cocked its bony head, then brought its second sword to bear, thrusting it towards Roderick’s chest. Rather than step aside, Roderick raised his greatsword, knocking the strike aside using the flat side of his blade. The sudden change in momentum caused the construct to overreach, opening it up to a counter that Roderick took advantage of.

He chopped the statue across its giant forearm, but his blade bounced off its shining hide, the statue turning its head again as it pulled away, returning its arms to its chest. It seemed to be considering him, as though it was confused by his retaliation. Perhaps the Orcs hadn’t put up much of a fight to it.

Roderick had to crane his neck to meet its eyeless gaze, gripping his weapon tightly in his gauntlets as he began to walk over the tiles. The construct sidestepped to the right, mirroring his movements, the two drawing a circle between each other as they searched for openings.

The construct was the first to move, stepping in to slice its blade from right to left, throwing its considerable weight behind the blow. Not wanting to meet the attack, Roderick stepped out of the arc, but this time the construct followed through. It turned on its bent legs, bringing its two blades together as it whirled around, even Skyseeker’s sharp gaze struggling to keep track of the weapons. At the end of its spin, it brought down its offhand blade in an upward strike, catching Roderick in the arm. The blow sent him tumbling backwards, his armour clanking as he fell to one knee.