Warp Token 2 Word Update

3k words

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Her eyes flicked as a sliver of metal was brandished by one of the others. He took the axe to the tree beside hers, the sound of it chopping against the wood making her ears flick in agitation. Once it crashed to the ground, the Skaven began hacking it into carriable chunks.

Her arms and legs begged out of tiredness as she watched in stillness. Skyseeker watched, more frightened than she’d ever been, as the ratmen took their firewood and muttered what kinds of horrible things they’d do to her once they found her.

She was confident that she could take the three of them, but she dared not risk even a victory. There was safety in uncertainty, and one of them would raise the alarm before she could kill all three. If that happened, she was finished.

She had taken care to dress her wound properly, and all that remained of the bullet was a thin pink line on her ribcage. She had a theory that her scent was betraying her passage, but there was little she could do about that.

They left with their firewood, but Skyseeker let twenty minutes pass before she dared to leave the tree. Her pink feet and hands were aching to death, but it was a small price to pay for safety.

These close encounters harried her as she ventured into the hills, the ground continuing to rise up as it rolled to the east. Jagged peaks created towering teeth on the far horizon, misting into the cloud layer, and since they were about as far removed from the ocean as possible, she made them her destination. The Skaven would never find her up there.

She made sure to curse this incessant vermintide right before every power nap. Whoever was leading it was giving her a run for her warpstone, putting hundreds of Skaven out here on patrol strictly for her sake. She vowed to make him suffer for his aptitude once day.

It was four days after the shipwreck when she came upon a patrol that was not Skaven. She had come upon a road that morning, the cobbles cleaving a path through the roiling woods. She picked a direction at random and followed it, her soft feet scampering quickly over the stones.

The road hooked round a lake of lilies and reeds, and twenty-odd man-things were camped by its shore, huddled around tents and campfires. She was almost glad to see them, but then she saw the beasts.

They had long muzzles filled with carnivorous teeth that bubbled with slaver, their lean bodies covered in mangy dark fur. Long, floppy ears dangled stupidly from the tops of their skulls, and from their short torso’s sprouted four thin limbs ending in paws, though they were far more animistic compared to Skaven feet.

The beasts were curled up by the feet of the man-things, six or seven in total. They chowed on leftovers tossed to the ground by the humans, dangling ear perking up as they feasted. When one turned, she noted they had short tails sprouting from their backs.

Skyseeker leapt into the bushes and took cover, approaching slowly. She almost thought these were her allies from the wolfship, but those hopes were quickly dashed. Far from sailors, these men were armed for war, sporting silvered mail and colourful hauberks, their tents striped with flamboyant patterns. She could hear them conversing, but the words were mumbled and useless.

She tried to draw nearer to catch their words, but one of the beasts was smarter than it looked, and its head perked in her direction. It made the most horrid growl, and so Skyseeker couldn’t have gotten out of there faster if she tried, tactically falling over a log in her retreat.

She’d been looking forward to walking upon solid ground, but these man-things had headed her off. Brettonians, was that what Roderick had called the locals? Why had he not told her they had horrible beasts in this place?

Skaven behind, and now monsters in front. She would have to forgo the road… or did she? A scheme began to take form inside her large brain. If she could lure these two forces to battle, they would grind one another down, allowing her safe passage, and perhaps some more interesting developments as well, if she played her paw right. There was no doubt no finer plan had ever been hatched in such short time.

It didn’t take long to double back and locate her pursuers. A band of Skaven were skulking along the very same road as she, some of them dropping to all fours to snivel at the cobbles. It was one the bigger patrols she’d seen thus far, mostly armed with shields and spears. They would do nicely.

Skyseeker squatted behind a tree out of sight, preparing her master plan. She would have to make this good, what could capture a group of Skaven’s attention long enough, so they didn’t realise they were being tricked?

“Yooooo-hoooo!” Skyseeker called, jumping out onto the path. She turned her rump on the rats, wiggling her hips side to side in enticement. “Breeder is over here-here! Prime broodmother booty, get it while it’s hot-hot!”

She reached pack a paw and slapped her cheek, and the Skaven band dropped their eyes to her ass as one. She knew the leader at once, as he was the first to break free of her spell. He was also the largest, at least a head taller than she, his fur the colour of bleached straw. He had an ugly scar that rose up from the corner of his buckteeth, trenching his cheek until it ended at a chip in his right ear, the wound so deep it had killed the roots of the fur in its path.

“It’s the breeder!” the ratman snarled, reaching for the axe on his belt.

“You have knack for stating obvious,” Skyseeker called back. “Come catch Skaven if you can, I promise it is not trap,” she clarified, just in case any of them had doubts.

Most of her words were drowned out as the leader shouted a challenge, the rest of his followers taking up the call. “Running away, rat bitch?” the leader called after. “You not know? Nothing escapes from Kretch Big-Squeak twice!”

She dashed into the brush, the latter of shifting metal rising up behind her as the band gave chase. Their long weapons and bulky armour worked against the Skaven as she led them off the road, and after a while she had to slow down on purpose so that they didn’t lose her. It made her plan somewhat less dramatic, but she could deal with that.

The beasts sensed her long before the man-things were aware of trouble, one of them releasing a shriek bark. She voiced a cry of her own, her heart skipping a beat as the creature launched to its feet and charged in her direction like a ball of hate.

Skyseeker launched bravely up the trunk of the closest tree, doubting the beast could chase her on its clawless paws. As it approached the tree, it cocked its head to the side, its ears prickign in interest.

“Where are you, breeder?” a shrilly voice called, its owner appearing through the underbrush a moment later. Kretch shifted in his armour, his nose wriggling as he breathed the air. “Kretch knows that you went this way-way. Fleeing will only make- What is that!”

Kretch lurched away upon noticing the beast, but his movements seemed to trigger some hunter instinct in the creature. It pounced into the air, fangs and paws extended, lines of drooling curling after it as it soared.

Kretch jammed his axe into its path, and the skull of the beast split in twain down to the neck. Blood sprayed as the ratman pulled his weapon free from the shrivelled corpse. He raised it in victory, then lowered it when the several other beasts from the nearby man-thing camp howled into the sky.

They came prowling into the clearing beneath her tree, slapping their jaws wetly as though they couldn’t wait to place rat meat in their mouths. These ones were collared, however, and man-things followed behind them, carrying their chains. Five of the beasts were stalking closer, and twice as many humans beside.

“To arms!” one of the man-things called. “To arms!”

Not a moment later, the rest of Kretch’s band entered the clearing, shouting their own calls for alarm as they noticed the gathering enemy. Dozens of weapons were drawn with licks of leather, and the two sides sprinted into a thunderous clash.

The men released their chained beasts, letting them sprint into the brunt of the Skaven. They were incredibly agile, darting between the man-thing ranks and leaping for the closest Skaven. Skyseeker watched three of the take Skaven throats into their jaws, and the sound of their bites was bloody and distinctly wet.

Several Skaven moved into the brunt of the man-thing force, the man-things answering with their own melee. The humans were dressed in regal suits of plate that must be inches thick, but not protection could withstand several halberds slamming into chest and visor, several of the humans dropping as their suits were battered apart.

The battle lines quickly blurred, and soon Skyseeker struggled to keep track of what was happening. She saw two rats stomping on a wounded beast, a man-thign skewer a clanrat on his pike, and a sudden explosion of green as someone threw a warpfire globe into the chest of a man-thing, the human wheezing as the poison ate into his lungs. Everyone was shouting, but the beasts were loudest of all, although their barks were turning to whimpers as the Skaven turned their attention on them.

She spied Kretch towards the middle of the brawl, and he was duelling with one man-thing after another. He lopped the head off one who had not been wearing a helmet, where it landed by his paw, which his summarily kicked out of his way before moving onto the next. He brandished a second axe, whirling from foe to foe as he told his minions to be more like him.

Kretch was the more competent of the Skaven present, but Skyseeker didn’t think that was a very high bar to set. From her vantage she could see the Skaven were losing the numbers game, and they had outnumbered the man-things two-to-one initially. If she was ever to make her move, now was the time.

“Sneaky attack!” she cried, holding her warp dagger aloft as she arced into the air. For a reason she could not fathom, the man-thing she’d been aiming for noticed her approach, and her blade killed a patch of grass instead of her target.

She quickly pretended that had been part of the plan all along, quickly backstepping as the human swiped at her with a dirk. She stepped in on the backswing, and this time she did not miss.

The blood on her dagger made its corrosive edge turn yellow, and she sprinted into the fray with it brandished, helping a pair of rats take down an armoured man-thing. The Skaven didn’t even bat an eye at her as they beat the knight down, perhaps mistaking her for just another clanrat. It was nice to see her expert stealth skills had not rusted during her time on the wolfship.

The tide quickly turned, all thanks to Skyseeker, the man things calling the order to take heel. Several of the Skaven gave pursuit, but Skyseeker instead turned her attention to Kretch. He had one of the knights backed up against a tree, chopping at his legs with a series of metal clacks. When the man fell to a knee, the next blow came to his face, Kretch chuckling under his breath as the man-thing’s life gave out with a whimper.

“Another victory for Kretch!” the Skaven announced, pulling his weapon free with a red spurt. “Chase-follow the rest of them!” he added, turning to address his band. He seemed not to notice that Skyseeker was the only one left present. He pointed a claw at her. “And tell the slaves to eat quick-quick. We must search-look for the breeder.”

“You not have to look far-far, Crotch!” she announced, flipping back her hood with a dramatic wave. “I am right here!”

“W-What!” Kretch said, more of a demand than a question, yet his tone was of utter bafflement. She was on him before he’d even drawn his next breath, her weeping blade compressing his throat.

“Shout-cry again, and it will be last thing you do,” she warned when the Skaven took in a breath. He emptied his glans, letting his fear permeate the air like the stench of a fart.

“M-Mercy!” Kretch wheezed. He’d taken in a breath to shrivel his throat, fearing that even the slightest movement would cause his to feel the bite of the corrosive blade. “Kretch surrenders, c-can’t you see-tell? Kretch never wanted to hurt breeder, Kretch was playing a trick-prank!”

“Kretch needs to shut his hole unless he wants a good stabbing,” Skyseeker snapped. The rat man was far bigger than her, she had to stand on her toes to keep his throat in range, eh could probably knock her away if he used his weight, and yet the sight of her weapon was enough to make him empty his glans. Good to know…

“You listen good-good,” Skyseeker added. “I have answers and you are going to give questions. Or, was I the one with questions, and you have the answers?” She pondered for a moment.

“K-Kretch will tell you anything breeder wa-”

“Shush!” she snapped, slapping him across the face with her free hand. He blinked at her, his lower jaw trembling. “You not play trick-tricks with Skyseeker! Last guy who did that, I fought him and then bred with him. Want me to do that to you?”

“Uh… What?”

“No, stupid! I’m the rat doing the questioning! Skaven does not have long, your skavenslaves will be returning any second, so you better not waste time with lies, and trust Skaven, I will know when you are lying. Understanding?”

In reality, she had no idea how to tell truth from falsehood, but Kretch didn’t need to know that. He nodded.

“Good! Questioning one – who leads your vermintide? Is it the galvanising Lord Gnawdwell?” She lessened the pressure on his neck by a fraction, so he could speak.

“N-No, my Lord is not-not here. His warlock, Ironsnout, has the tide’s command.”

“Never heard of him,” Skyseeker muttered after a moment.

“But he knows you, breeder-thing. When Gnawdwell learned of your treachorty, the Snout grab-took all of Clan Mors fastest paws to come find you. He has every clanrat search up and down, right and left, all day and all night for you and your man-things.”

“This Snout – he the one in charge of boat attack?”

“That was Kretch’s plan! Gnawdwell wanted you out of ocean, so Kretch slew clawcaptains and put himself in charge! Would have taken you to Ironsnout with own paws, but you scampered away. But like I said, Kretch never let anything escape twice.”

“So you are reason Skyseeker lost her friends!’ she snarled, pressing her dagger closer. “You put Skaven through a lot of pain and hurt recently. Maybe Skaven should pay you back?”

“Ah! No-No! A thousand sorry’s. Two thousand! I-It wasn’t actually Kretch’s plan, Skaven was just following Lord’s commands. Breeder understands, yes-yes?”

Skyseeker grumbled her agreement, remembering she had been much the same way on her first venture to the surface. She’d been so eager to prove to the Lord how capable she was. How this world had changed her so…

“Where is this ratlord, Ironsnout?” she pressed.

“I-In the underburrow,” Kretch pointed. “The vermintide’s headquarters, it’s that way, not very far-far.”

“You’ve been very helpful, Kretch,” Skyseeker said, putting on a sweeter voice. “But now you’re going to be really helpful. You’re going to tell Skaven everything about your underburrow. Layout, defences, traps, patrols, all the things. Be brief! We not have all day!”

The first few pieces of his information were useless to her, but after a little prodding in the right direction, he gave her knowledge that she could use. She would have questioned him for longer, but she could hear scampering on the tip of her hearing range. Kretch’s band was coming back from their hunt.

Kretch seemed to sense them too, looking down at her with a hint of hope in his beady eyes. “W-What is rat-breeder going to do now?” he asked. “You going to stab-kill Kretch?”

“By the Horned Rat, no-no! You’ve been so very useful, and you’re going to be more useful-er from now on.”

She slid her dagger into the folds of her cloak, Kretch sputtering a string of nonsense as his surprise got the better of him. “You… let Kretch live?” he asked, as though it wasn’t obvious.

“Yes-Yes! Kretch can go now.”

“Go? Kretch can leave?”

“What did I just say, stupid?”

“But… breeder knows Kretch will warn Ironsnout?” he asked. “Uh… Kretch means… Kretch won’t say a word, yes-yes.”

“On the contrary, I am counting on Kretch to blabber,” she said. “If Ironsnout knows, that I knows, what Kretch knows, then warlock will know that I can come for him whenever I wish! You tell him I said that as well, yes?”

“Yes, yes, Kretch will say whatever breeder wants.” The rat man turned to leave, btu when Skyseeker called his name, he winced, as though expecting a knife in the back.

“And tell Ironsnout breeder has a name! Tell him that Skyseeker knows, and that she’s after his tail. Got that? Skyyye-seeeeker.”

“Skyseeker,” Kretch reported. Satisfied, she turned the other way, bounding off into the woods on all fours. She lingered just out of sight, giddy with anticipation. It was only this morning that she was on the run, but now she had a goal, and more importantly, a target.

If she could get close to this Ironsnout rat, she could cut off the head of the vermintide, throwing every Skaven in the region into disarray. He’d be cautious once Kretch told him of her plan, but that in of itself was part of her master plan…

Not only would that get the patrols off her back, but it would help her man-thing allies at the same time. Kretch had said the vermintide was after her and the Imperials she’d sailed with, they were probably under just as much threat from them as she was. If Roderick and the others made it out of that mess, she could improve their chances by doing away with the warlock.

She cackled under her breath, hushing herself lest Kretch or his rats heard her. She had always fancied herself an assassin, and the time had come for assassin-ing.