Two Sides of the Warp Token Update

2k words

***

Roderick was roused awake by the call of a bird, his mind momentarily overwhelmed with alarm, but why that was the case completely slipped his grasp as he regained his faculties, rubbing his vision clear as he sat up, surveyed his surroundings though itchy eyes.

The campfire had petered out at some point in the night, the clearing illuminated by golden rays of sunshine spilling in through the forest canopy in places, Roderick holding up a hand as a ray of light shone directly in his face.

He turned, flipping open a pouch in search of some breakfast, listening to the sounds of chirping birds and creaking branches, but it took him a second to realise there was one other strange noise that didn’t quite fit the atmosphere. He’d almost forgotten about the Skaven, still slumbering away up there in its hiding place, its snoring reaching an unpleasant octave.

Roderick reconsidered having a meal, the rodent had told him the smell of food had drawn it to his camp, and it would very likely wake if he produced food now. This was his chance to give the vermin the slip, if he could put enough distance between him and it, he wouldn’t have to resort to using his bullets.

Collecting his bags and pistol, he crept away from the camp, staying as quiet as a man wearing plate armour could manage. He cringed when at one point his foot landed on a twig, snapping it in twain with a loud crack, but the Skaven ust be a heavy sleeper, for it did not wake.

When he felt confident he was far enough away to walk normally, Roderick turned his back on his former campsite, casting his eyes to the heavens. The rolling expanse of the woods made seeing the sun difficult, but not impossible. It was still morning, so as long as he kept it to his left, he could orient himself in a southerly direction. It would be easier once he reached the edge of this damned forest, and then he could find some landmarks to better guide his way.

He set off into the woods, welcoming the newfound solitude.

-xXx-

Roderick wound his way between the trees, the sheer density of the vegetation making his progress a slog. In his homeland, the forests were far less frequent and oppressive, the space between the trees wide enough to let a carriage pass through unhindered, but Tilea was another story. The lush landscape spread over the province uncontested, perhaps all the blood from all the countless warring mercenaries had made the land more fertile. He once read about wood elves using the corpses of their enemies to fertilize the roots of their great trees, perhaps something similar had happened here.

His thoughts briefly wondered back to the band of mercenaries. Even though he’d put some distance between him and their camp, the sounds of warfare should still carry over many leagues, and the lack of them meant that the battle must have concluded, but who had prevailed? It wasn’t that he cared for the Commander’s life, but Roderick had gained the loyalty of the men during his brief time leading the cavalry, and he wondered if he’d done the right thing, leaving them in their hour of need. They were despicable men who fought for gold, not glory, but still men…

Trying to drive these dark thoughts away, he sat down on a fallen log, sating his appetite with a slice of cured meat. He would trade his armour for a piece of fresh venison right now, but the forest seemed to be the home of nothing but squirrels and birds, and the amount of food he’d get for hunting one didn’t seem worth all the effort.

As he gave his legs some much needed rest, he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, the familiar sensation of being watched making him tense up. He turned back the way he’d come, spying a hint of movement between two outcrops of rock nestled in the undergrowth, Roderick watching the tip of a pink tail disappear around the rock, ten or so paces away.

“I warned you what would happen if I saw you again,” Roderick sighed, hearing the Skaven yelp as though he’d startled it. For a few moments it didn’t respond, as though expecting him to forget about it if it stayed silent, but eventually he heard it call back a reply.

“Man-thing can’t see me-me.”

“Yes I can.”

“No it can’t!” He saw the tips of its ears swivel as it slowly peered over the rock. “Man-thing should stop testing my patience, big mistake to chase assassin tail.”

Roderick cradled his temple with a glove. “Listen, ice-brain, how many times must I tell you: you are following me. What reason would I have to chase a rodent around, anyway?”

“What is ‘rodent’?” the Skaven asked.

“Perhaps we’re both simply heading in the same direction,” he said, ignoring its question. “If that’s the case, why don’t you just overtake me? Surely a master assassin would have no trouble losing me in this forest. I’ll even give you a head start, how’s that sound?”

When the Skaven didn’t reply for a full minute, Roderick started to think it had finally gone. The prospect was shattered as he heard the crunching of leaves to his left, Roderick turning to see parts of the undergrowth shake and move as though something large was navigating through them. The Skaven was giving him a wide birth, gently circling its way round him until it stopped on the opposite side of his resting place.

It poked its head out from the top of a shrub, its pink nose twitching as it took in its surroundings. As it turned on the spot, Roderick got a look at its front, noticing its chest was pronounced, the sizeable bust contained within a sling of dark material that extended from its hood. It was definitely female.

When it completed a full spin, she turned to glare at him. “Which way south-south?” she demanded

So her heading was the same as his, how curious. He pointed an armoured finger behind her. “That way.”

The Skaven looked in the incorrect direction for a moment, then raised a claw at him in return.

“Man-thing take new deal-pact,” she began. “Man-thing bring me to south-way, and I don’t eat-eat it. Lucrative for both of us, no-yes?”

“Seems to me we were doing that already,” Roderick noted. “What business does a rat have in southern Tilea anyway?”

“No details!” she barked, hitting Roderick’s helmet with a tossed stick. “Mission is secret!”

“What makes you think I’d even consider making a deal with you?” Roderick asked. To say he was baffled by this turn of events would be an understatement. “You knifed my horse and tried to kill me yesterday.”

“Man-thing started it!” she replied, reaching down to pull part of her hood aside, exposing a bloodied bandage on her shoulder. It was difficult to identify the wound, but the Skaven was quick to explain. “Man-thing shot me with gun-thing, kill-killed many clanrats, but not Skyseeker.”

It declared that last part with a gleeful chuckle, Roderick raising a brow in response. He could hardly be expected to remember every rat he’d killed or wounded, but this Skaven seemed the type to hold a grudge. She pulled her cloak back over her shoulder, glaring at him as she waited for his response. The thought he should just risk the bullet and kill the rodent crossed his mind, but if he failed to hit it, he might not wake up the next time he went to sleep with a vengeful assassin on his heels.

“I’m not going to baby you across the whole country,” he finally said. “I have business of my own here. How far south are you going?”

“… Yes,” she replied after hesitating.

“What do you mean, ‘yes’? How many leagues?” When she just stared blankly at him he threw his hands up in exasperation. “Never mind. Do what you will, rodent, just stay out of my way, and we wont have a problem.”

He got to his feet, the Skaven ducking out of sight when he grabbed his pistol, Roderick just able to make out the pitter patter of her feet as she fled. She had made a show of offering him a deal rather than attack him outright, so he was a little less worried about her being a threat.

He stooped to pick up his saddlebags, feeling the eyes of the Skaven watching him as he readied to press on. “Come along, then,” he called out. “Seeker of Mors or whatever your name was.”

-xXx-

Skyseeker had to abandon her perches up in the trees in order to keep pace with the man-thing, always keeping him just within her sight, always staying at his rear so she had enough time to react if he dared to attack her.

He had not reached for his handgun since she’d offered him the deal a short while ago, but that didn’t mean she was about to let her guard down. He was a tricksy creature, and equally strange, Skyseeker finding herself letting her curiosity get the better of her as she evaluated her newest rival.

He was a tall thing, enough so that Skyseeker’s eyes barely met his chest when they’d fought in the clearing. He still wore that steel suit from back at the ambush at the river, with the red brush protruding from a full-faced helmet. She wasn’t sure if he was truly that bulky underneath all the armour, but she imagined it took a lot of strength to lug all that metal around.

Her eyes wondered down his torso. No matter how hard she looked, it appeared the man-thing possessed no tail of any kind. How could that be? How did it stop itself from falling over? The body plans of these surface dwellers were so odd. Perhaps it was stuffed inside the armour?

After an hour or so of following the man-thing, the cover of the forest began to dwindle. Skyseeker found it increasingly difficult to stay out of sight as the shrubs and undergrowth gave way to flat stretches of grass, the trees becoming so thin she could wrap her arms around them twice over. The canopy was likewise affected, the clouds of leaves parting to expose blinding rays of sunshine, the primal fear of an overhead attack making Skyseeker squirm beneath her hood.

The man-thing didn’t seem all that bothered, striding confidently onward toward the edge of the forest, the border of the woodlands ending in a visible line just ahead of him. He paused in the shade of a tree, nearly motionless as he surveyed the world beyond, Skyseeker dragging herself ten or so paces to his left, perching atop a low-hanging branch so she could see what he was looking at.

A rolling plain of grass and dirt stretched out beyond and below her, boxed in by the mountains lining the horizon to her left, but extending on forever in all other directions. While most of the land was flat, it wasn’t without its features. Gentle bumps in the earth swept the countryside, as though a hundred gigantic Skaven were in the middle of burrowing up from the underways, the fields of green seemingly untouched by structures of any kind.

While she could see small clusters of woodland growing between the hills, the sheer amount of open ground looming before her filled her heart with dread. To cross this land would be to let herself be exposed from every angle, which went against every instinct in Skyseeker’s body, the sight making her paws sweat.

Ruffling parchment drew her out of her wallowing, and she looked to the man-thing, seeing he was unfurling a scroll from his pack. What was it reading? Instructions on how to kill her, perhaps? She couldn’t get a good look at the scroll from this angle, and when she tried to edge closer, he noticed her approach, quickly stashing the mysterious parchment away.

“Giving up already, eh?” he asked her. “So much for deals. Not that I’m complaining.”

It took her a second to realise what he’d meant. The man-thing was already halfway down the slope, delving into the plains, while she was still perched in the treeline. She tried to jump down after him, but the moment she looked out over the horribly open ground, her paws froze, her body refusing her commands to press on.