Warp Token 2 Word Update

2k words

***

At the Duke’s behest, the dishes across the hall were rotated, until all the plates had circulated to Roderick’s table. Mountains of meat sat before him, stuffed turkeys sitting in beds of roasted vegetables, flanked by hunks of crispy bread. There were giant sticks of venison, bloody with taste and thick with the smell of herb. Of sauce there was plenty, wine and sprig combining into trays of honeyed relish, and if that wasn’t enough, deserts followed behind, pastries packed with berry and cream served along cakes big enough Roderick could have fit inside one if he’d crouched.

Roderick wasn’t so fond of sweet flavours, but the walking had left him ravenous, and he had his fill while Von Kessel told their tale. He left out no details, beginning the start of his journey from Marienburg’s port by order of the Conclave, to the stop in Portomaggoire, all the way to the coast of Araby.

Adalhard was enraptured, as was his Duchess and some of the Ladies and Lords listening in. Roderick was concerned that perhaps too much was being shared – the secrecy of their mission would help more than boasting about it. Of Skyseeker there was no mention, and the Duke was under the impression Roderick walked alone into those undead-ridden deserts.

“But how did you end up stranded in my country?” the Duke pressed. “Who sunk you? The Arabians?”

“The Skaven,” Von Kessel replied. “Two of their ships pursued us all the way from Tilea, we believe.”

The Duke frowned. “The rats have never dared to challenge our seas. You are certain of this?”

“It’s hard to mistake a ratman for much else, Your Grace,” Von Kessel replied. “They were after one of their own, who’d stolen away on my ship.”

Roderick could hold his tongue no longer. “Skyseeker volunteered her cause to ours,” he said. “She presented herself to you on our first meeting, she is no stowaway.”

“She earned the interest of the druid,” Von Kessel remarked. “I do not call that volunteering.”

The Duke steered himself back into the conversation. “Is this true? You recruited a Skaven to your company?”

“Recruited, not quite,” Von Kessel replied. “It showed up around the time Roderick did, and he and Wilfred insisted on its presence.”

“She was integral to the success of our quest,” Roderick added. “Without her, I’d still be stuck in that damnable country.”

“A Skaven ally! Now that is something I have not heard before,” the Duke mused. “though, I myself am no stranger to seeking serendipitous allegiances. Who is this Wilfred you mentioned?”

“A wizard for the Conclave,” Von Kessel explained. “He was the one who originally hired our ship to set sail for Tilea.”

“You carry quite the colourful crew these days, Arnulf,” the Duke chuckled. “Where is this wizard? I sure hope you did not leave him down at the city.”

“He volunteered to stay behind, to make certain of any more survivors we missed,” Von Kessel said.

“And to keep an eye out for our Skaven,” Roderick added. “We lost her too, during the attack.”

“Pity. I should have liked to meet the both of them, though I cannot say my advisors would approve of letting a ratman, or… rat woman, into our walls.” The Duke sighed, swirling his goblet round. “I still cannot believe your ship is lost, and to Skaven warships no less. How could they have taken such a fine vessel down?”

“Once they had us boarded, we were overwhelmed,” Von Kessel explained, pausing to take a sip of wine. “There must have been more rats on our ship then their own. I don’t know about the rest of the ship, but up on the fore, we were overrun the instant they boarded.”

The fore. The same place Skyseeker was going, Roderick thought, but he held his tongue, gazing at the ruby wine thoughtfully.

“I will have a few ships search the shallows for the wreckage,” the Duke declared. “A treasured wolfship deserves a better fate than a sinking by those vermin. I will also have riders sent to assist your wizard, a mage shouldn’t be left out on the field by his own, not in these troubled times.”

“I had my best men stay behind as his escort,” Von Kessel replied. “But you have my thanks regardless.”

“Mine too, Your Grace,” Roderick added.

“So where does this leave you?” the Duke asked, directing his question to the Captain. “No ship, half a crew, and you seem to be pursued by Skaven from the Southron lands. What is your purpose now?”

“Our quest still stands,” Roderick replied. “We must take the relic to the Empire, only when it is safely across the border, will our task be done.”

The Duke chuckled. “And how are you to do that, boy? No ship, a battered crew, no horses or any mounts. I do not think you will do much journeying as you are.”

Von Kessel turned, his chair creaking. “We came up all those steps of your castle for a reason,” he said. “I would ask a boon of you.”

“Ah, so this wasn’t a meeting for the sake of old times?” the duke mused, narrowing his eyes. “The fool is I for suspecting otherwise. I would be remiss to not lend a hand to the needy. And yet,” he added. “Brettonia is not without its problems, and even sparing one good man to leave her cannot be done without good reason.”

“What would you ask of us, Your Grace?” Roderick asked, seeing no reason not to be blunt about it. “We’ve little gold to give away, as you’ve no doubt guessed from our plight.”

“You misunderstand, boy, it is not what you can offer me that causes doubt. I told you that these are troubled times, but that is not exclusive to my country. Much has changed since your quest in the southern parts of the continent, much more than you think. In the deep north, engines of hate have stirred, and the forces of Chaos bleed into our world. Or rather, your world, the darkness has not quite reached our borders yet.”

Roderick grew tense “What are you talking about? Has the Empire been… attacked?”

“Invaded,” the Duke corrected. “I know not of the situation further abroad, but I do know that the western parts of the Empire are under threat. Marienburg, Aarnau, even parts of Nordland, besieged cities all.”

“Marienburg?” Roderick asked. “That was where we were headed.”

“Then perhaps your sinking was fortunate, is some small way. A fleet of black warships encircles the neck of the middle sea, and the city is under a tight blockade. You would not have survived the swim to shore, if the Chaos navy had set its cannons on you. All ships I have sent up north have failed to drive them back.”

“If the Empire is threatened, then you must go to its aid,” Roderick urged. “You are allies to the Emperor, are you not?”

Von Kessel tugged at his arm beneath the table, but the warning was too late, the Duke fixing Roderick with a sour look.

“Who are you to make demands of me, boy? Brettonia is also under threat, the Red Duke and his vampiric hosts drive at us constantly from the south. I cannot afford to divide my forces for the sake of even the Emperor.”

“You cannot afford to let the Empire fall either,” Roderick said. “if you do, it is your lands that will be next.”

He noted the Duchess glancing nervously between him and the Duke, the lords and ladies nearby doing likewise. Clearly they weren’t used to having the Duke so openly contested. Perhaps they were right to fear for him, but news that his homeland was under threat had stripped Roderick of his courtly manners.

“I had failed to consider that,” the Duke admitted. “Marienburg shares its border with Brettonia’s, and the west will be open to them without its protection.”

“Then you know the city must not fall,” Roderick urged. “We must march and break the siege right away.”

“Hold on,” Von Kessel interrupted. “Sailing to port was one thing, now we are relieving sieges?”

“We must protect the homeland,” Roderick insisted, Von Kessel nodding at him.

“That I understand, and I do not think we shouldn’t help, but my men and I usually deliberate before calling to arms.”

It was hard to miss the emphasis on the words my men. He’d been around Von Kessel long enough to know he wasn’t the type to treat someone stepping on his authority lightly.

“If you seek to relieve Marienburg,” the Duke continued. “You must do so without my armies. My hosts are warring to the south, and withdrawing them from the field is a timely cost, and not without its strategic loss. Sparing even one is not feasible.”

Roderick began to protest, but Von Kessel cut him off. “We could take anything you could spare, Your Grace,” he said. “Even a score of sellswords would be better than naught.”

“I can give you more than that, Captain,” the Duke replied. “the men I’ve placed here have grown bored with idleness, and they must take up arms to sharpen their skills. Thirty knights-errant should see you safely to your Empire.”

Roderick and Von Kessel shared a surprised look. A troop of Brettonian cavalry was a deadly force to have on ones side.

“My son shall have their command,” the Duke added. “I believe you’ve already had the pleasure.”

Roderick was about to ask who that was, when there was a clank of approaching armoured footsteps. Edouart bowed his head in the Duke’s direction, his gilded helmet tucked under the crook of one arm.

“I would be honoured to see the Imperials safely to their lands,” Edouart said.

“A squadron of your cavalry is all well and good,” Roderick began, trying to find a way to phrase his words politely. The last thing he needed was squandering a gift just given. “But a wolfship crew and Brettonian knights alone cannot free a city. Is there nothing more you can spare?”

“Well,” the Duke replied hesitantly. “There is one company you could make use of, but neither of you are going to like it. East of the peninsula, up on the hills overlooking Lyonesse is a camp of orcs. They have recently come back from a raid into the Pale Sisters, they were warring another tribe if I recall. They would make useful scouts and fighters alike.”

“Greenskins?” Von Kessel asked. “Why in Sigmar’s name do you have greenskins camping on your lands?”

“I’ve come to learn that there is no better way of culling orcs then letting them cull each other,” the Duke said. “A few promised gifts works wonders for the fickle creatures, and I’ve had many dealings with this tribe in particular. I’ve even invited their warchief into my pavilion to take his counsel. He is a master of battle tactics.”

“And a savage, no doubt,” Roderick muttered.

“Do you disapprove, boy? Are you not the one who took a Skaven as his ally?”

He had Roderick there. “Is that all there is? Orcs and knights?”

“Unless you would rather await word from my hosts, but I do not think you, or Marienburg, have the time for that,” the Duke replied. “From my scouts reports, Marienburg is just over a month into its siege. I’ve heard of smaller cities falling in less time.”

“Then we must set off at first light,” Roderick said, looking to Von Kessel. He nodded his agreement, but he thought he saw a hint of something else there, and it was far from approval. The Captain didn’t like someone else taking the wheel of his ship, it seemed, he would have to caution himself in the future.

“Then you must take a good rest till then,” the Duke answered. “you are welcome to my halls as long as you like, I will have rooms arranged for you in the guest wing, and fresh mounts prepared, so you don’t walk down all those steps come morning.”