Warp Token Update

2k words

***

“Look! See thing!”

Roderick squinted, but saw just the same stretches of forest. He asked her to describe what she saw, the Skaven shielding her goggled eyes with a paw. “It looks like… thing!”

He didn’t bother asking her to be more specific, since ‘thing’ seemed to be her favourite word in her vocabulary, but he did wonder just how good her vision was, even without that fancy gadget over her eyes. Moving that way to investigate meant diverting from the river, but the woods were a striking shade of green, finding water in them shouldn’t be too difficult.

The thing she’d spotted came into sight after half an hour of walking. The carpet of ankle-high vegetation came to a halt further into the trees, where a strip of open ground stretch from the woods to the the left and then curved away to the woods on the right. The canopy was broken above it, as though the hand of a God had cut a swath into the forest, dying sunlight painting a ground as white as bone.

Upon closer inspection, he saw it was no act of a God but of mankind’s. The grass and earth gave way to a path of cobbled stones ten feet wide. Many of the stones were chipped and cracked, parts of the pavement rising high above the ones that had sunken into the ground. A wagon would have a perilous time making use of this bend, but dilapidated or not, a road was proof enough that the civilised lands were close.

“Man-things build stone-ground?” Skyseeker asked, bending down to prod at the nearest paved rock. She seemed at once disgusted and intrigued by the landmark. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why? It’s far easier to walk on a road than uncultivated ground.” Despite his words, Roderick wasn’t entirely sure about this particular path, it looked like it hadn’t been used in some time.

“Beg to differ!” Skyseeker replied, stepping gingerly onto the cobbles. She hopped over them to the far side, making an effort that only the claws on her toes touched the ground, her arms raised up for balance. She looked like one of those mad people who crossed hot coals without shoes, the rat wincing at every step. “Ow! Rocks hurt paw-feet!”

“Looks like this road leads south and west,” Roderick noted, stepping out and looking up at the canvas of stars appearing through the haze of dusk. “I’d say we follow it, but bumping into a band of wandering brigands again is the last thing I need right now.”

“Again?” Skyseeker echoed, crouched in the bushes nearby. With her dark coat she almost looked part of the scenery, only her pink muzzle and green goggles giving her away.

“More mercenaries would be worse,” he muttered, ignoring her question. “They see a lone man in armour, first thing they’ll think is deserter. We should stick to the woods, just in case.”

“Stupid plan-scheme,” the Skaven chittered. “Rick-rod not see paw-prints?”

“Prints? What prints?”

She rolled her eyes, moving a short distance down the road, Roderick following her until she stopped by the curb, pointing a claw at the ground. He hunkered, sweeping his gaze along the ground, soon spotting a handful of paw prints, a quick comparison to Skyseeker’s feet confirming their origin. Her eyes were sharper than he thought.

“Skaven stick-stay to plant things,” Skyseeker said. “Move faster on soft ground than stupid road. When I infiltrated Skyre warband – never discovered by the way-way – plants filled with clanrats! Unless man-thing secretly assassin, won’t recommend!”

“So it’s either follow the road and deal with Tileans,” Roderick said. “Or go into the wilds and risk running into a vermintide. Brilliant. Suppose we should stay just off the road, just deep enough into the woods so we can keep it in sight.”

“That’s your strategy? We’ll be look-seen by both man-things and rat-things!”

“It’s our best option, unless you have a better plan?”

She opened her muzzle to speak, eventually conceding that she didn’t. After moving off the road for a little ways, they pressed on, Roderick suddenly aware off all the hiding places a Skaven could take advantage of in these woods. For all the troubles of the hills, at least the sightlines were much further.

-xXx-

A dry crack echoed through the forest, a pair of startled birds roosting nearby taking to the skies, screeching in surprise. Skyseeker plugged her ears with her fingers, the effort rather vain considering she was crouched in the undergrowth beside him.

As the shot echoed into the distance, the thump of something heavy chased it right after. Roderick lowered his recoiled arm, slotting the pistol into his holster as he rose, and walked in the direction of the shot, Skyseeker watching from her hiding spot.

“What is that?” she called out, Roderick stooping to pick up his kill by one of its hooves.

“A deer, I told you before,” he replied, walking past the curious Skaven. He hung the animal over his shoulder like a rucksack, grunting like an old man as he did. The creature was heavier than it looked.

With his rations dwindling, Roderick had to turn to living off the land to keep his belly from going hungry. Foraging through the afternoon had turned up very little, even with Skyseeker’s aid, but he’f been fortunate enough to spot a small herd of deer not far from the beaten road. The gunshot would draw the attention of man and Skaven alike, but it was either that, or spend the night starving, and the choice was a simple one to Roderick.

They made camp for the night, the road a short walk to their east, Roderick placing the animal on the ground, its flesh wobbling with the impact. He set about making a fire, the process as natural as walking at this point, Skyseeker curling into a ball at the edge of the firelight as he worked.

When the flames were blossoming, he knelt beside the carcass, producing his dagger. He set about butchering the animal, pressing the hand on the hilt and driving the blade deep. Before long, he had cut out a pile of sizeable venison. He speared a chunk onto a stick, then held it over the fire, rotating it so it cooked all over.

The moment it was sufficiently browned, he sank his teeth into the meat, his stomach grumbling in approval as he swallowed it down. “Mm, feels good to not be eating jerked meat for once,” he muttered, reaching to cook another piece.

As he roasted the meat, he glanced over at Skyseeker, the Skaven watching him through her green goggles. She’d said very little that afternoon, even before he’d told her to keep quiet while he hunted the deer. When she noticed he was watching her, she quickly aimed her muzzle up, pretending to watch the sky.

“You can have some if you’d like,” he said, the Skaven perking up. She made to crawl closer, then hesitated.

“N-Nothing to deal-trade,” she said, drooping her head as though admitting to some grave error. “Man-thing have last olives, have all information. Unless… you want weapons?”

“You’d give me your enchanted daggers?” he asked, blinking at her. She turned her eyes up in thought, and when she didn’t say anything for a solid minute, Roderick broke the silence. “I wasn’t being serious. We can share food without trading anything, lass, don’t worry about it.”

“Freebies?” she asked, her tail thumping on the ground behind her. “No! Suspect treachery! Nothing for free!”

Roderick shrugged, driving a stick into the ground, the meat impaled on in its tip dripping blood. Skyseeker had the expression of a particularly indecisive cat, about ready to bolt at any moment. She soon began to inch closer, hands and feet brushing the grass as she stalked, her nostrils twitching as the scent of food permeated the camp.

She snatched up the stick, Roderick grimacing as she tore straight into the pink meat without a second thought. Her metabolism was far different to his, she was a walking rat after all, but the sight was shocking enough that he had to say something.

“Don’t you want to cook it?” he asked.

“Why? Meat juicy like this!”

“There’s nothing better than some lightly smoked venison. Go on, give it a try.”

He prompted her to hold the stick over the flames, the Skaven rolling her eyes a she complied. She roasted it for as long as he could convince her, then shoved it into her muzzle, her eyes lighting up as she chewed.

“Better?” he asked, a bulge sliding down her throat as she swallowed.

“Delectable… JUST,” she admitted, Roderick chuckling as he took a bite of his own. Her choice of words was so diverse, ranging from trivial to articulate in the blink of an eye, it was almost cute in a way.

“You are strange thing,” Skyseeker suddenly said, crossing her long legs as she sat by the firepit to his left. She slid her goggles onto her brow, her red eyes reflecting the flames as she peered up at him.

“Indeed? How so?”

“When Skaven work-plan together, must stay vigilant! Not know who-where next stab will come from. My ingenious Lord forbidded Mors rats from stabbing other Mors rats, but treachery still exists in Skavenblight, rats always going missing when Lord’s not present. Must keep one eye on closest clanrat, other on his knife at all times! Ally one minute can be enemy in next, but you, man-thing… you honour deal, give food when nothing can be taken!”

“Is the prospect of sharing really that foreign to your kind?” he asked.

“When I started journey-mission, astute Lord Gnawdwell gave stormvermin food, to give to me as parting gift! But when time came for me to leave Skavenblight, stupid rat kept it for himself! What Skaven would share when even crimson guard won’t follow Lord’s command?”

“That does sound rather insensitive,” he said, grabbing another skewer for himself. “Well, good thing for you I’m not a rat, eh?”

“Explain!” she demanded. “Man-things fight-kill Skaven, Rick-rod shoot Skyseeker many yesterdays, almost kill-killed before we made deal-pact, now Rick-rod gives away food for nothing? Illogical!”

“We’re not fighting anymore, are we?” he asked. “We’re far beyond the point of causing one another harm, so why would I let you starve? Besides, it would be a terribly boring journey if I had to walk halfway across this blasted country by myself. Rather talk with a rat than myself.”

“Rick-rod is speaking things, but isn’t sayinganythings! Rick-rod must be scheming evil scheme, not do so out of kindness... nothing for free, no…”

She glanced away, muttering to herself, spitting a frustrated growl his way as she talked under her breath. She genuinely believed his selfless act of feeding her was a total fabrication. Perhaps nobody had ever treated her like such before, and throwing accusations was her way of making sense of his actions, Roderick feeling a pang as he regarded the mumbling rat woman. Maybe he should try a different approach, say something she would believe if it meant she’d accept his goodwill.

“Think of it this way,” he said. “You fought with me against those Skaven, right? Then you warned me about those tracks leading into the woods. Consider this repayment for your efforts.”

Her demeanour flipped, Skyseeker looking rather proud of herself as she sliced another piece of venison from the carcass. “Haha! See? Told man-thing I’d make best companion!”

“I’m sure you did,” he chuckled.

“And… for record,” Skyseeker added, looking bashfully away as she took a bite of her meal. “I also think… talking with man-thing… better than talking to rats or no rats, even if Rick-rod’s intentions are mysterious and secret!”

Roderick smiled. He’d not been humouring her before, if he had to choose between her company and a Tilean’s, he’d chose her every time. Admitting that he was finding himself comfortable in a Skaven’spresence, now that was illogical, but it was the truth, and he imagined he’d miss the quirky little rat when she was gone.