Warp Token Update

2.3k words

***

-xXx-

“By the Gods’,” Roderick sighed, flicking his final dice away. “What am I supposed to do with just one dice? How can I bounce back? This game’s unfair.”

“Perhaps you should try not losing all your dice in the first few rounds,” Wilfred suggested with an amused chuckle.

“Or stop being a bad liar,” Skyseeker added, joining Wilfred as she giggled.

“Laugh it up, both of you,” Roderick muttered. “If we were playing something more about strategy, and less about chance, our positions would be reversed.”

She could see that his sore loser façade was just an act, Roderick subduing a grin as he placed another of her rightful treats to her ever-increasing bounty of food. Wilfred’s winnings were almost as numerous as hers, Skyseeker having bluffed him down to just two dice, while she still had three.

“I’m amazed you picked up the rules so quickly,” Wilfred mused. “Then again, deception is one of the key qualities the Skaven are masters of. One six.”

“This is fun!” she chimed, considering her next bet. “Psst! Rick-rod! Does man-wizard have a three?”

“I’m not going to cheat on your behalf,” Roderick replied, her question amusing him all the same. He pushed his chair out, rising from the desk. “Where’s the nearest bathroom on this tub? Assuming I don’t have to relieve myself into the ocean…”

“It’s over on the bow,” Wilfred explained, pointing a calloused hand. “just below the forecastle. Need me to show you?”

“I’ll find my way. You’ll be alright here, lass?” Roderick asked, turning to her.

His concern for her was amusing – very much misplaced of course – yet it also made her feel… odd, to be a subject of someone’s worry, especially when that someone was him.

“Yes-Yes,” she said, waving a paw, feigning indifference. “Stop staring and go drain worm already.”

“How do you even know that expression?” he asked, Skyseeker refusing to elaborate. Teasing Roderick was her best way of making him both amused and annoyed at her antics, a combination she found she very much enjoyed for whatever reason.

The door clicked behind Roderick as he walked out onto the deck, leaving Skyseeker alone with the wizard. Even though Roderick trusted the magician, and said magician had stood up for her when they’d spoken with the captain, she couldn’t afford to let her guard down around him, her mind processing the odds she could reach his staff before he did, if he got any ideas of backstabbing her.

“Why only put one bathroom on boat?” she asked, glancing down at her dice. “A lot of man-things here to share singular bath.”

“There’s actually another,” Wilfred explained. “the officer’s lavatory is just behind and to the left there. I wanted to give you and I some time alone, as Roderick will be occupied for a little while yet.”

“Deceptive,” she admired, nodding her muzzle. The wizard was sly despite his appearance, she would have to double her suspicions of him. “What you want? Warpstone? Gold? Spent it all last night so don’t bother.”

“No, no,” the wizard chuckled. “I merely wish to sate my curiosity. It’s not everyday one gets to converse with a Skaven without a knife upon their throat. It’s you turn by the way, miss Seeker.”

“One six, you said?” She hummed to herself as she considered her bet, her train of thought interrupted as the wizard spoke up.

“Tell me, is there not some creed or belief that stops you from cooperating with people like ourselves?” Wilfred asked. “As far as I know, there have been no instances of Skaven and humans working together. Perhaps allying with a common man would be one thing, but a Skaven and an Imperial general? I wouldn’t believe it if were I not here.”

“Rick-rod accepted deal-pact,” she explained, her tail flicking in irritation below her. “Saw he could be useful in crossing Tilea, so I… employed cooperation. Two two’s.”

“You view him as a means to an end, then?” he prodded, his fingers drumming on the table. “What exactly did you offer him in return? Two sixes.”

“Uh, g-gold? Gold! A-And warpstone. Not actually have warpstone, but worked out loan terms. Sorta.”

“Really? Wealth isn’t much of an interest to Roderick, as far as I’m aware.”

“Maybe Fredwil not know Rick-rod, like I know Rick-rod,” she said, and in an attempt to skirt around the issue altogether, added: “Call! Let’s see your die-dice!”

Wilfred lifted his hand away, revealing a pair of sixes, just as he’d bet.

“Impossible,” she grumbled. “you swapped dice out.”

“Or perhaps I’ve begun to learn Skaven expression, miss Seeker.”

She grumbled as she flicked one of her dice away, narrowing her hand down to just two dice, the same as Wilfred’s. His words carried an implied meaning, and she feared the wizard was onto her lies. She had to turn the conversation back on him.

“So!” she began, the two of them rolling their dice. “Rick-rod not tell me much about you-you. How you meet?”

“On the fields of battle, twenty or so years ago,” Wilfred said. “Orcs had invaded the northern provinces, and I happened to be sent as an attaché to his regiment. He was just an officer back then, not yet proved in the Emperor’s eyes. Blocked an arrow flying at with me with his shield at one point. Since then we’ve worked together often.”

“Tried to teach him magics, yes-yes?” she prompted. “One five,” she added, realising it was her turn to start the round.

“Indeed I did. I’m surprised he told you about that, he’s embarrassed to bring it up in most people’s company. One six.”

“Skyseeker knows all of Rick-rod’s secrets,” she snickered, trying to sound as conniving as possible.

“Indeed? Perhaps the roots of this ‘pact’ you two made run deeper than it seems?” Wilfred asked, scrutinising her with his green eyes. “It sounds like you’ve become more than just allies.”

“He is… good friend,” she admitted, averting her gaze. “b-but don’t tell him I said that! Want to keep him in dark. Two three’s.”

“He said you were ostracised from your Clan,” he mused, tilting his head towards his hand. “While I understand that can make one feel… aimless, I can’t seem to figure out why you’d choose to follow him onto our ship. Did he tell you anything about where we are going, or why? Crossing the Tilean Sea is a long way from home for a Skaven, yet you seem unperturbed.”

“I’m perturbed!” she insisted. “Perturbed up to my whiskers. Just thinking of desert place makes fur stand on end. See?”

“I wonder what else Roderick told you about himself,” Wilfred continued, tiling his head and giving her a suspicious look. “Surely you must have asked him about his purpose in Tilea, and if so, what had been his answer? Furthermore, what had been your business in a country full of humans? He seemed evasive when I questioned him about your meeting, maybe because your purposes had correlated?”

She opened her mouth to speak, preparing herself to deny his accusations using her astounding lying skills. This wizard reminded her of Lord Gnawdwell, in a way. He may not be surrounded by a vast collection of tomes and scrolls, but that didn’t mean he was any less stupid. She would have to choose her next words with great care…

“I dismiss your claims,” she stated, waving an authorative paw. “Skaven knows nothing of relic-thing, or its mind controlling warp-power! And… uh oh…”

She clamped her muzzle shut with her paws, but too late, the words had already reached the wizard’s ears. Flustered, she tried to take it all back, her rambling starting off as a babbled collection of incoherent sounds before they took shape.

“W-W-Wait second! Can explain all things! Rick-rod never spoke of relic to me, knew about it wayyy before! Wasn’t going to steal it,” she added, dropping onto her paws and knees. “Promise! Please don’t turn Skaven into mice, Fredwil! I HATE mice! Stupid fleshy tails and their huge ears…”

“Peace, miss Seeker,” Wilfred said, holding up his hand. “I won’t turn you into anything. I just wished to know the truth.”

“You… not mad?” she asked, still wary of the magician as she looked up at him, then to his staff. He hadn’t made a move towards it yet.

“Absolutely not. If anything, you’ve piqued my interest. I knew the Winds would be felt by others outside of the Conclave, but not at what capacity. Fascinating that the Skaven felt its presence too, many had theorised your species was too… ignorant of such things.”

Skyseeker let the insult slide, leaning back on her chair as she snacked on a ration, the salty taste on her tongue calming her down. Playing dumb had its merits, the less this ‘Conclave’ knew about the Skaven’s limitless capabilities, the better.

“I am interested in how you obtained such information regardless,” Wilfred continued. “Will you indulge me, miss Seeker?”

“Only if you indulge Skaven first,” she replied. The wizard had power over her now that her secretwas out in the open, she had to bounce back and get something useful out of this exchange.

“Very well,” he conceded, his curiosity getting the better of him, just as Skyseeker planned. “A few months ago, the Conclave felt the Winds of Magic shift, not unlike the rippling surface of a disturbed pond. Ripples have been felt countless times before, but his one was especially different. The Conclave has many rituals which allow us to pluck, if you will, at a ripple’s focal point, allowing us to traverse immense distances without ever leaving our towers. Yet those who’d tried to attune to this ripple in particular were met with uncharacteristic resistance. Some wizards experienced momentary insanity, others short-term memory loss. An unfortunate few even began attacking those around them.”

She remembered what Lord Gnawdwell had told her of the relic, how the one who wields it could bend the minds of those around them. It seemed too particular to be coincidence.

“Whether these obstructions were through divine intervention by the Gods’, or some unknown force, we could not say,” Wilfred continued. “As such, I was dispatched to recover its source, and enlisting Roderick’s help would help clear his name. as well as garner another source of power and knowledge for the Empire.”

“Does Conclave always steal relics for itself?” she asked.

“Steal? The Conclave brings artifacts to the Empire for safekeeping, where they are studied for years, sometimes centuries, so that they’re powers may be used properly, and kept away from those who would misuse them.”:

“So Skaven usage isn’t ‘proper’, but man-things is?” This Conclave seemed to have a lot in common with the pompous Great Clans, always thinking themselves above Mors’ rats, when in fact it was the other way around.

“I did not mean to imply offense,” Wilfred added. “What are your intentions with the artifact? Perhaps, like us, you plan to research its capabilities?”

“Clan Mors is going to control all of Skavendom!” she explained, rocking back and forth on her chair. While revealing her Clan’s schemes wasn’t the best idea, what was this wizard going to do? He already knew every rat would be after the relic, and he just told her he wouldn’t turn her into a mouse. He’d sabotaged himself, so Skyseeker could afford to reveal certain information without too much consequence.

“Once I put relic into Lord’s paw-paws,” she continued. “Clan Mors will rise to number one of Council of Thirteen. No command will be ignored, no rat will want to join any other Clan. Council always fighting itself,” she added. “but, with Supreme and Merciless War-King Tyrant-General in charge, peace will reign through all of under-empire.”

“A Skaven speaks of peace,” Wilfred mused, clasping his hands together. The movement inadvertently revealed his dice, but the game was long forgotten by this point. “Knowing your history, I’m adamant to believe such a thing would last long.”

“Peace for Skaven,” she elaborated. “not for surface-dwellers. Better watch out, Fredwil, Tillea invasion is but a whisker of what Skavendom can do-make.”

“A unified Skaven Empire would spell disaster for the unprepared,” he said, a concerned look on his weathered face. Skyseeker enjoyed the fact she’d put the wizard on the back foot. “So your reasoning for coming all this way, is to further the standing of your Lord? Is that all?”

“No,” she snarled. “With my exemplary performance prove-proved, will be made into Lord’s right paw rat! All rats will know Skyseeker won’t be put into breeding pits with rest of females. Skyseeker won’t be tortured for stealing ever again. Skyseeker, will be free.”

“Assuming your leader can harness the artifact’s power,” Wilfred cautioned. “While the Conclave has theorised it can influence people’s intents, its mind-control properties may go both ways. Do you truly believe your Lord will be able to use it, or will it perhaps use him as soon as he lays a finger on it? Will it control you, if you were to touch it?”

“Had not considered that,” she admitted, chewing on a claw as she pondered. “Relic not have its own will, it’s just a thing!”

“Everything has a will,” Wilfred said. “even a tree has thoughts, mundane as it may appear. This is even more apparent in tools forged by the Gods, which for all we know may be the case with the artifact. Take the Sword of Khaine, or the Ghal Maraz, for instance, weapons that have been known to favour particular users over others, tools that have altered history as much as the ones who’ve wielded them have. Some measure of sentience was forged into their creation, and only fools would try and deny it.”

“Lord wouldn’t send me if he thought I was fool,” she replied.

“Again, I don’t mean to insult you,” Wilfred said, though she was beginning to think it was all empty words. “You have shown great resourcefulness in making it this far, but interacting with something potentially crafted by the Gods requires more than cunning and deception. This is why I am to accompany Roderick on the way to the artifact’s resting place.”

“You’re coming to desert?” she asked.