Two Sides of the Warp Token

2.4k words

***

It felt like it took a lifetime for Roderick to summon up the strength to move, crawling out of the shrub on his hands and knees. Looking up, he found himself in a small clearing, walled on all sides by trees and ferns, some of the tallest leaves bathed in yellow light. Sunrise was almost over.

To his left, his mare was sprawled out on its side, saddle still attached, its lifeless eyes confirming it hadn’t gotten off as lucky as Roderick had. His armour had kept him from falling unconscious, but the fall had done hell on his limbs, particularly his shoulder, which sent fresh stabs of agony down his body whenever he moved it.

To his right, the leaves of another bush began to rustle, and after a moment, the Skaven flung itself to the ground, its eyes shut tight as it squirmed in the graSS. He had hoped the little creature would have died in the fall, but it seemed he’d have to finish it off.

Roderick fumbled for his sword, spotting it laying discarded on the ground nearby, driving the point into the ground to help him stand. Every movement sent white-hot pain though his chest, something was definitely broken.

He leaned on his sword, even getting to one knee was a horrendous task, his vision blurring as he sucked in a gasp of air. The Skaven was fairing no better, flailing around like a fish out of water as it pawed at fresh scars on its arms and sides. He noticed it was coated in a fine layer of black fur, its shade almost the same as the poncho secured around its neck.

“My head-face!” the Skaven mumbled, rubbing its eyes with one hand and nursing its temple with the other. It seemed to momentarily forget it was wearing a pair of green, tinted goggles, lifting the lenses away to press the palm of its hand into its sockets.

With an annoyed chitter, it dragged its claws down its face, blinking as it turned in Roderick’s direction. For a few moments the Skaven stared blankly at him, like it had forgotten he was there or that they’d been fighting a minute ago. “Man-thing!” it suddenly began. Its tone of voice was soft, slightly on the higher pitch side. “You give four-leg-thing to me-me! Or I cut-stab you!”

“W-What?” Roderick asked, dumbfounded at the fact a Skaven had just strung more than two words together in the same breath. “No idea what you’re talking about.”

The Skaven thrust a claw towards the horse. “Stupid deaf man-thing!” it snarled, jabbing its claw for emphasis. “That four-leg-thing! I have-take, ride through bright lands quick-quick!”

“You... want my horse?” he asked, raising a brow. “You just killed it, you dense little rodent!”

“Lies!” the Skaven replied. “Four-leg-thing is sleep-sleeping!”

“You’ll be ‘sleeping’ in a minute once I’m through with you,” Roderick growled, supporting himself on his sword. He tried to get to one knee again, and this time he succeeded, the muscles in his wounded shoulder throbbing as he prepared to lift the other leg.

The Skaven’s eyes went wide as it watched him struggle, fighting its own war with its body as it attempted to rise off the ground. It was groaning and snarling louder than Roderick was, but it eventually succeded in clambering to its feet, putting its stature at around five feet tall, maybe a little less.

As Roderick rose to his full height, towering over the little Skaven, he examined the rodent in a little more detail. That poncho it was wearing draped over its chest and belly, but calling it clothing would be insulting every tailor in existence. The sleeves that covered its muscular shoulders were frayed and ragged, and there were holes all over it, dark fur spilling out of numerous slashes and cuts.

His gaze trailed upwards, and from beneath its hood, a pair of dark, crimson eyes peered back at him, the black irises large and oddly expressive. Its face was akin to that of an everyday rat, a muzzle tipped with a dark nose flanked by tufts of whiskers.

Its short torso was lean and streamlined, a narrow waist tapering into a very womanish set of hips. It wore a simple loincloth to preserve its modesty, along with a belt that was brimming with an absurd number of knives and pouches. Its thighs were easily the largest part of its body, as wide as the breadth of its shoulders, powerful with muscle, the legs ending in four, clawed toes.

From the tips of its ears to its feet, it was covered in that dark fur covered it, the coat so thin that he could make out every curve in its body, every shifting muscle. Its hide might have rivelled those of the finest Imperial warhorses, if the rodent wasn’t in such a horrific state.

Nearly every inch of its body was covered in filth, the likes of which even the most pathetic of beggars wouldn’t dare be caught wearing. There was slop, flecks of dirt, and what even appeared to be a few kernels of burnt corn glued to its hide. The strands of fur were angled the wrong way in places, like it had brushed itself incorrectly. Witnessing the muck made him acutely aware of its stench, and he had to pinch his nose between his fingers to hold back a gag.

When Roderick was ready, he held his sword arm at the ready, stepping forward and bringing it down in a chopping motion. The rodent looked as winded as he felt, but seeing his oncoming blade forced it into action. Like coiled springs, its legs propelled its dirty body out of the way, the Skaven landing on all fours like a cat a short distance away.

“Man-thing fights greatest assassin,” the rat said, placing a hand in its clock as Roderick advanced. “Man-thing should reconsider deal-bargain.”

It threw its arm out in a swiping motion, a pair of objects whistling through the air towards him. They were small, metallic objects, shaped into the approximation of a star, the arms sharped to curved points, the spinning weapons glinting as they crossed through a dappled beam of light.

Roderick crossed his blade over his front, intercepting one of the throwing-stars and slicing it out of the air. The second star went wide, imbedding itself in the trunk of a tree, splinters of wood flying.

“Greatest horseassassin, sure,” Roderick replied. He mustered up his strength and advanced on the Skaven, intending to drive his sword through its chest, but it reacted too quickly. It stepped clear, the missed swing causing Roderick to stumble, the Skaven tilting its wide hips like it was starting to dance. A pink, scaley tail protruding from its rump curled round its flank and into view, coiling around his ankle like a striking snake. It pulled with a surprising amount of strength, sending Roderick crashing to the ground with a grunt.

Roderick lifted himself up just in time to see the Skaven aiming its dagger at his chest. Still on his back, he threw his sword out, slashing the rodent across its forearm. The creature screeched, clutching its forearm to its chest as it stumbled away.

Picking himself up, Roderick brought his sword to bear, the Skaven beginning to circle him, careful to stay out of his reach. It reached down to pull its second dagger out of its many belts, the Skaven smacking its large lips together as though it couldn’t wait to taste his flesh.

“Man-thing can’t run-flee on four-leg-thing anymore,” it taunted, Roderick turning on the spot so he was always facing it. “Man-thing has no man-things to help it, it is alone.”

“As are you,” Roderick replied. “In numbers you lot are a pain to deal with, but single a rat out, and it’s toast.”

“I am not ‘toast,” the rodent exclaimed as though he’d offended it. “I am Skyseeker! Champion of Great-Great Clan Mors! Master assassin, too!”

“Yeah you mentioned that already,” he muttered. “Well come on then, Champion, show me what you got.”

The Skaven was quick, closing the distance between them in less than a second, Roderick raising his sword just in time to block a jab aimed at his stomach. He stepped back as the creature lashed out with its second dagger, countering with a slice across its exposed chest. He could feel his weapon make contact, shredding some of its cloak to ribbons, but it hadn’t cut deep enough to make it a mortal wound, the Skaven leaping clear, glaring up at him as the two squared off.

He could see the rodent was panting, its short torso expanding and contracting. It seemed to be lacking the energy reserves for a prolonged duel. As an assassin, it was probably trained to kill its enemies quickly and quietly, and he was putting it far out of its comfort zone engaging it like this. He just needed to keep it busy for a little bit longer, and he might be able to wear it down, assuming he didn’t pass out first.

Despite its obvious exertion, the Skaven wasn’t ready to give up. It came at him again, tree branches cracking beneath its feet. Roderick braced his weapon against his shoulder, ready to cut its head clean off its shoulders. Rather than duck out of the way, it brought one of its daggers up, the two blades clashing with a loud, hollow report. Momentum carried Roderick through the swing as though it hadn’t been intercepted, but his sword felt a touch lighter than before, the Skaven dropping into a low crouch with a big smile on its muzzle.

Roderick quirked a brow, turning his sword so the flat of it faced him. The point of his sword was gone, the blade cutting off in a clean swipe near the middle of its length, the jagged metal glowing with a green fluid. Those damned daggers had finally weakened the steel enough to slag it through completely.

“Not bad,” he admitted, adjusting his hold on the damaged sword, wielding it like an oversized knife. “Never had my weapon sundered like that before.”

“Man-thing not face Skyseeker before,” the Skaven replied, reversing the grip on its daggers. “You surrender-stop, or I sunder fingers next.”

“I’m not out of this fight just yet,” he replied. He raised his weapon, as high as his wounded shoulder would allow, the Skaven crossing its daggers as it met his advance. He exchanged a flurry of quick blows with the rodent, doing his best not to meet its corrosive weapons head-on, but that was an unavoidable outcome in any swordfight.

Swirling its knives with all the finesse of an acrobat, the Skaven forced him onto the defensive, slicing off another few inches of the blade’s length, the Skaven clearly happy with itself as it watched the steel fall to the grass. He cut its small victory short with a savage backhand, the rodent leaping clear at the last moment. He swiped at it again, but the Skaven dropped to the ground, skittering out of his reach when he sliced the patch of grass where it had just been crawling.

The creature was fast, but all the jumping and dodging clear was making it tire, its coat starting to glisten with all the exertion. Its breaths were coming out in rasps now, it was tiring, but so was Roderick. The fight with the Commander’s men, the fall off the horse, and now this? It was more than his body could handle.

The Skaven came at him again, the two exchanging swipes, Roderick creating an opening to deliver a kick to the rodent’s belly, the creature so light the blow lifted it off its feet, ending its short flight against the trunk of a tree. It crumpled to the grass in a heap, Roderick moving in to finish it off, but the Skaven picked itself up before he could close in, baring its teeth in a snarl as it scraped one dagger against the other.

Taking the offensive, the Skaven launched a series of furious attacks, Roderick forced to hold out his blade defensively. He couldn’t afford to meet those enchanted daggers with plain steel, but it was only so long before the nimble rat forced him into holding his sword out sideways in a block. It gave the Skaven the perfect angle, thrusting a dagger towards him in an upward-facing strike, cleaving his sword just above the crossguard, leaving only an inch of the blade still connected.

“Well,” he said, looking at his ruined weapon in mild disbelief. “Don’t suppose that deal is still on the table, is it?”

It held a dagger an inch from his nose, Roderick raising his arms in surrender. The Skaven gestured the glowing tip at his ruined weapon, Roderick relaxing his fingers and letting it drop.

“You… give four-leg-thing to me-me,” the Skaven demanded through rasping breaths. “I should gut stupid man-thing for its stupidity! Made me go through rigmarole, only to take deal-bargain? Stupid!”

It was a wonder this thing hadn’t simply finished him off when his weapon was gone, Skaven would sooner enslave or devour their opponents rather than make deals, savages that they were, but this thing seemed to be obsessed over his dead mount.

“You want my horse? Fine,” he said, eyes flicking from the glowing blade to its owner. “Take it, she’s all yours.”

The Skaven’s beaming expression reminded him of a child about to unwrap a present, exposing its front buck teeth in a smile. “Another Skyseeker scheme fulfilled-complete, yes-yeees. Man-thing,” it added, waving the dagger at his face. “You teach me how to control-direct four-leg-thing, can keep fingers after.”

So that was why it hadn’t killed him, it wanted to know how to ride a horse? It still seemed under the impression that the mare was still usable, maybe he could use that to his advantage.

“Alright, you win,” he conceded. “I’ll teach you, just have to wake it up first, then we can start.”

He made to turn, but the Skaven sidled up to him, holding the point of its dagger an inch from his neck. “No trick-tricks?” it asked, its tail weaving back and forth behind it.

“No trick-tricks,” Roderick confirmed. It considered its next move for a few tense moments, then nodded as it made up its mind, gesturing for him to proceed.