Two Sides of the Warp Token Update

2k words

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They marched on until the sun began to retreat below the horizon, Skyseeker always maintaining a helathy distance behind the man-thing, as it gave her enough breathing room to ponder the heavens without worry of an attack. Ever so slowly, those little points of light began to appear in the sky, hundreds upon hundreds, their prettiness never ceasing to amaze her. Why did they only appear at night, and what made them flitter like they did? She needed to know more.

As the sun began to lower, so too did the air temperature, her fur cool to the touch. She preferred this feeling compared to the boiling heat of the day, but the reprieve was short lived. With the rising moon came the chill of the night, the wind taking on a freezing quality as it brushed over the empty landscape, her cloak doing little to shield her from the biting gale. Her fur would keep her from freezing, but before long she was shivering with every step, and she longed for the shelter of a burrow, tree, anything.

Fortunately, the man-thing was also ready to stop for the night, combing the lands in search of a place to rest. After a bit of searching, he found a suitable shelter of overhanging rock, nestled between two of the great hills dotting the plains. The formation of rock formed a very shallow dugout, but at least the slanting rock provided some measure of a roof that should shield them from the wind.

Skyseeker wasn’t as pensive about using the man-thing’s shelter like last time, as she was certain any flying monsters that lived in this world would be more active at night, where they could swoop down on unsuspecting prey under the cover of darkness. Her quarry did give her an odd look as she came slinking up to the rockface, but he didn’t try to chase her off at least.

“You stay on that side of camp, got it?” he warned, drawing a line over the ground with a pointed finger. “I want you right where I can see you.”

She watched curiously as the man-thing began to gather up a couple dozen small rocks, placing them in a circle. When he was done with that, he lifted the dagger from his belt, Skyseeker answering by raising her own weapons in preparation for a fight, the glowing blades driving back the darkness. He gave her an odd look, as though she was being stupid, then bent over, slicing off a tuft of nearby wildgrass and placing it between the rocks.

“What man-thing doing?” she eventually asked, sliding her weapons away when the man-thing did the same.

“Making fire,” he explained. “What’s it look like?”

“Red, very hot-hot.”

“Not literally what’s it look like, you idiot.” He moved off into the night a ways, stealing glances back at her as he began collecting dead twigs. When he’d gathered a small bundle of them, he returned, dropping them on top of the ring of stones.

“Why make fire?” she asked, jumping back a little when he produced two pieces of stone.

“Not everyone’s a rodent covered in fur, gotta keep warm somehow.” He began striking the stones together, and after a couple of attempts, there was a spark, the twigs slowly beginning to smoke.

“Man-thing has fur!” she said, jabbing a claw at the top of his head, where it was crowned in dusky strands of fur, each one long enough to reach his shoulders.

“That’s hair,” he explained. “I swear, I’ve met street urchins smarter than you.”

“If Skyseeker is stupid,” she began. “then man-thing is stupid-er! Lost fight to me-me, only let you live because you beg-begged!”

“Perhaps,” he said. “but then who ended up running away with their tail literally between their legs?”

“Man-thing cheated! Said no tricks, then tricked!”

“Thought a Skaven of all people would appreciate a bit of deception,” he smirked, spreading his pack out and sitting down on it. “But if you’re so bitter about it, we can finish what we started, just say the word.”

“Tempting,” she grumbled, her tail slapping at the ground behind her. “Ask later, after nap-nap.”

She turned away, stuffing herself into the wedge of rock at the base of their sloping shelter, resting her head on her forearm. She closed her eyes, but sleep never came easy on an empty stomach, and Skyseeker had eaten nothing all day save for the strip of meat the man-thing had given her earlier. As if on cue, the smells of food leaking from his pack made themselves known to her nostrils, her mouth watering as she remembered the odd taste of salt and meat. If she wanted to survive this journey across these plains, she had no choice but to indulge the man-thing and his schemes…

“Ask question, do offer-deal again,” she mumbled, the man-thing turning his gaze from the fire to her.

“What are you on about, rodent?”

“Ask question, and give food-meat,” she elaborated. Was the man-thing mentally impaired? He seemed to forget everything in no small amount of time.

“What’s the point?” he asked, raising his hands towards the flames. “Said so yourself that you lied last time.”

“Won’t speak-talk lies,” she added, grinding her teeth together. “Give question now! Bones sucking against skin, yes-yes.”

“Oh, very well,” the man-thing replied, his reluctance as palpable as the smell of food. “Here’s something that’s been bothering me. When we fought, you spared my life after disarming me, when any other Skaven would have cut me down without a second thought. Why is that?”

“Need four-leg-thing for journey-mission,” she explained. “Need man-thing to teach Skyseeker how to tame, can’t teach if dead-slain. How many-many times must I say-say?”

“I gathered that much,” he continued, holding a hand out. “But I don’t understand why. What’s with you and making deals and pacts?”

“Better get lots-many treats for all these stupid questions,” Skyseeker mumbled under her breath, glancing up at the man-thing. “Ran trade-store in Skavenblight, made many deals. Self taught!”

“Truly?” he asked, blinking as though he’d never heard of the concept. “What would rats sell to each other? Besides scraps of carrion for trash, that is.”

“Many things!” Skyseeker explained, propping herself up on her elbows, glad to be talking about something exciting for a change. “Weapons and wargear, surface-dweller shiny-things, accessories. Plunder from rubbish piles make us much profits!”

“What currency do you Skaven use?” he asked, turning so that he was properly facing her. “Gold?”

“Stupid man-thing, gold worthless scrap! Warpstonegreatest value!” she proudly announced. “Can spend, melt, shoot, and eatprecious Warpstone! Man-thing not know food until it eat-taste Warpstone! Mm-mm!” She licked her teeth as she reminisced about its taste. It had been so long since she’d consumed refined warp-power, perhaps that was what she needed to complete this mission.

“You eat your money?” the man-thing asked. “That… can’t be healthy, not for you or your economy.”

“Warpstone very nutritious!” she said, wagging a claw at the ignorant man-thing. “Pivotal for diet!”

“So you ran this store, did you?” he asked, steering the conversation back on topic. “All by yourself?”

“Three others!” she explained, holding up four fingers. “two plundered trash pits for trinkets, one protect-guard shop. I took charge of deal-making. Failed only nine times before first bargaining!” she added, puffing her chest out.

“You seem rather fond of this shop,” he noted, no doubt seeing the wide smile splitting her muzzle.

“Made first enemies trading Warpstone,” she said, staring wistfully into the distance. “much better than skulking warrens. Got to scheme and stab all day! Good times…”

“This mission must be pretty important, then,” he added, Skyseeker turning her head to glare at him. “You gave up the life of a clerk to become a scout? Sounds like quite the leap.”

“Shop not there anymore,” she explained. “Guard wanted all Warpstone for himself. Tried to kill-slay us one day, so I set shop on fire and lock him in! Not many bargains after that,” she added, her head drooping.

“I’d imagine not,” the man-thing replied. “Here,” he added, a chunk of meat landing in front of her. “Not sure if you’re telling the truth, but you at least answered my question.”

“Man-thing ask a thousand questions!” Skyseeker pouted. “Should give a thousand treats, not ONE!”

“I’ll give you two,” he replied.

“Three, and no tiny-small pieces!”

“Perhaps you weren’t lying after all,” he chuckled. He tossed her another two slices of meat, Skyseeker gobbling them up before he changed his mind. The man-thing seemed susceptible to persistence, that was good to know. She’d need to find all his weaknesses when he decided to break their truce.

“What about man-thing?” Skyseeker asked between mouthfuls. “Did it always ride four-leg-things into Skaven?”

He considered her question for a few moments, prodding the flames with a stick as she watched him impatiently. “I was a farmhand for most of my younger years,” he explained. “Tilled these lands till I was of age, then signed on with one of the mercenary bands.”

“Man-thing lies,” Skyseeker accused. “Can’t fool Skyseeker! It is not local-thing!”

“Yeah? How’d you figure that?”

“Look at it!” she answered, daring to skitter a little closer to him. She began listing off her reasons, pointing at various parts of his body as she did. “Man-thing skin is pink, Tilee-place man-things skin darker. Man-thing hair is dusty-sand colour, not like Tilee-man-things. Speech-talk sound different too! You as different as an Eshin from a Moulder!”

He probably didn’t know what an Eshin or Moulder was, but her words drove home the point of his alienness to the man-things she’d seen so far.

“Alright, alright, I’ll admit I’m not a Tilean,” he relented, Skyseeker clenching her fists in victory. “I’m from Reikland, a place far to the north of here, beyond the mountains.” He pointed back towards the edge of the plains, where the distant mountaintops lined the horizon.

“Man-thing make journey of its own?” she wondered. “Must come here for special reason. What else is man-thing hiding?” She knew better than anyone that the length of a journey reflected the importance of a task, and if the man-thing had come from over the mountains…

“Tell you what,” he began, interrupting her train of thought. “I’ll give you my reasons, if you give me yours. How’s that for a bargain?”

“Bad bargain!” she replied, shaking her head and making her hood flutter. “My Lord put great trust in me-me, no betrayal!”

“Then, we are just two simple foreigners in these lands,” he said, spreading his hands out wide. “Let’s leave it at that, shall we?”

Skyseeker crossed her arms, moving her head in a way that wasn’t quite a nod, but not quite a shake either. He was picking and prodding her for information, while avoiding giving up any details about himself. Just as she was, the sneaky creature. She’d have to be careful she didn’t start lagging behind in this little game they were playing.

“I’m turning in for the night,” he announced, settling in on his side, his metal armour reflecting the firelight. “I trust there won’t be any sneaking around this time? You’ve been fed, and we’ve still got a deal, correct?”

“Yes-Yes…” she muttered, her eyes flicking to his pistol as he placed it beside him.

“Good, cause if you place a finger on me or my stuff…”

He left the rest of the threat implied, narrowing his eyes at her before closing them altogether. After returning his stare, Skyseeker shuffled back to her nook, squeezing herself into the craggy rock until she was comfortable. Resting with a man-thing so close was unnerving, but if she had to pick sleeping near a man-thing, or sleeping near a burrow full of depraved Skryre clanrats, she’d chose the former every time.