Warp Token Update

2k words. Sorry for the delay been a little busy/distracted lately.

***

“Scouting party, likely from that vermintide we saw earlier,” he muttered, backing down out of sight.

“Man-thing don’t say?” Skyseeker asked sarcastically. “Hear I think-thought Skaven skitter hills for fun!”

“Could mean the Skaven are heading in the same direction as us,” he said, ignoring her comment. “What’s that thing they’re passing around?”

“Maybe new weapon, or maybe warpstone!” she answered, that last notion making her bounce on the spot. “Strange if so, sharing warpstone not as good as keeping for self.”

“Indeed, communal creatures you are not,” he said, remembering the way she’d stuffed herself into that vat of vinegar. “Think they’ll move off soon?”

“Clanrats taking nap time,” Skyseeker said, peeking over the lip of earth. “We go round-around, manoeuvre past swifty. Easy scheme!”

“Much as I hate to admit it, I agree with you. Rather not announce ourselves to every man and rat in these hills. Still,” he added, gesturing to the sides. “Not a lot of cover out there, we’ll have to loop pretty far if we want to stay out of sight. It’ll add time to our journey, but we’re not in a hurry… are we?”

“Time is of essence!” she snapped. “Skyseeker must complete mission soon, before other rats do it first!”

“Wait, other rats? Like who?”

She flattened her ears against her head, clearly frustrated at having said too much. “Man-thing thinking too much,” she grumbled. “More skittering instead! Time is of essence!”

“Then by all means, skitter away.” He waved a dismissive hand.

She muttered an insult aimed at his intelligence, then turned, dashing on all fours as she moved back down the incline. Now it was his turn to follow her, it seemed, Roderick jogging after her as they moved out into the grasslands.

-xXx-

Skyseeker waved him on, their path jutting abruptly to the right after half an hour of walking in a straight line. There was no cover whatsoever out here, Roderick feeling the hair on his neck stand as he tried to keep an eye on all his angles. Although the patrol as just a speck in the distance, having nothing standing between them and him made him nervous.

His companion would occasionally peer in the scouting party’s direction, her goggles glinting as they reflected the light. If she had any similar reservations, she kept them to herself, weaving deftly through the tall stalks of grass, her pace just swift enough that he could keep up if he jogged.

“Sure they won’t spot us out here?” he asked, glancing at the barren ground all around them.

“Unless Pestilans’ have goggles too, we hidden for now,” she replied curtly, not waiting for him as she pressed on.

“Not just rats I’m worried about,” he muttered, turning his eyes up. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure about navigating all this open ground. At least the hills provided some measure of cover, and the next chain of mountains was a good league or two away to their south.

“Then shut mouth and move legs,” Skyseeker snapped, the fact she too was peering up at the sky occasionally not going unnoticed.

She increased her pace, Roderick having trouble keeping up in his armour, the metal cooking him in the intense heat. There wasn’t much effort to spare for conversation, the pair navigating over the flat ground in silence, occasionally dodging or jumping over a protruding rock. It took them most of an hour, but his reservations about being in open ground turned out to be in vain, the two of them reaching the next set of hills without incident. There were even a few hardy saplings clinging to the nearest slope, Roderick joining the ratwoman as she collapsed into the shade of one.

“See? I am the supreme master of evasion schemes!” the Skaven said, literally patting herself on the back for her efforts.

“Your clandestine nature is undeniable,” he admitted. “But let’s keep moving. Where there’s one patrol, there will be more.”

-xXx-

“Feels like the perfect place for an ambush,” Roderick muttered.

They’d been following the same snaking trail for the rest of the evening, two giant hills forming towers of earth to either side of them. The natural canyon was tight enough to obscure them from any further scouting parties in the area, but the seclusion went both ways, the consistent sounds of warfare hinting that battles were taking place somewhere just out of sight.

“Good plan, man-thing,” Skyseeker chirped, hopping over a boulder behind and to his left. The land was pockmarked with other large rocks, the faces of the steep hills in particular. They would barely reach knee-height for a human, but to a Skaven, they would make excellent cover. “But can’t stay-wait here, Great Clans overrun this place soon.”

“No you dolt,” he chided. “I meant if someone were to set up an ambush against us, this’d be the place.”

Skyseeker took a long draw of air, her shapely chest expanding as she filled her lungs, expelling them with a sputter. “No stink of Skaven or man-things,” she informed him. “No chance tracking greatest assassin! Rick-rod just being stupid paranoid thing.”

The pass narrowed as they pushed onwards, reaching the point that almost no flat ground existed between the hills, Roderick stumbling through the uneven terrain. He glanced up at the hill on their left side, certain he had caught movement, only to find himself staring at a patch of dancing wildflowers at the top of the slope.

Worry began to well up inside him, but their list of options was few. Climbing out of the canyon would risk a twisted ankle or a steep fall, not to mention the cover they’d be giving up would put them at risk of discovery by the Tileans and Skaven fighting for these plains. They’d walked too far to simply turn back as well, pushing on was the only viable path.

Soon the pass began to bend to the right, the curve of the hill obscuring whatever lay in the distance. He watched as his Skaven companion navigated through the terrain like a grasshopper, her wide feet able to let her control her weight better than he ever could. The way she flowed from spot to spot was oddly mesmerising, for a five foot vermin of course.

Before long, something began to slowly appear around the bend, the trail coming to an abrupt halt as it met with a treeline. It was a patch of forest, the woodlands spilling onto the slopes a little, forming a distinct U-shaped canopy of bleached leaves and branches, stretching some unknown distance further into the canyon. After days of walking through exposed ground, the sight was a welcome one.

Before either of them could comment on it, Roderick and Skyseeker stopped in their tracks, sudden movement from between them and the forest giving them pause. From behind the boulders and bumps in the ground, figures began to rise into view, dust and clumps of grass sliding off furry shoulders and long muzzles. Just as Skyseeker had covered herself in dirt, these Skaven had buried themselves in the earth to conceal themselves, lying in wait for something to pass through.

There were seven or eight of them, the Skaven raising black swords in their paws, one of them opening his jaws to loose a predatory hiss that reminded Roderick of a striking cobra.

“Just being paranoid, was I?” Roderick demanded, turning his furious gaze on Skyseeker, the rodent’s lips quivering as she thought of a response.

“S-Stupid man-thing’s fault! Clanky armour gave us away! Told man-thing clothes were bad!”

Roderick didn’t have time to formulate a reply, the Skaven unleashing a war-cry as they started to charge, leaping across the uneven ground, swords poised over their furry heads. Most of them wore nothing more than a few tattered sheets of green cloth over their chests and legs, the most protective gear Roderick could see being a few patchwork helmets, made from hammered sheets of steel connected by thick bolts.

Their equipment was lacking, but their numbers weren’t, Roderick seeing another group of rats coming into view up on the slope to the right, also laying in wait behind any bit of cover they could find. The Skaven would have stood a better chance combining their forces into one big attack, but nobody ever said that logic was in the Skaven vocabulary.

“Backwards scurry?” Skyseeker asked, her neck shifting and turning as she looked at every approaching rat in turn.

“Little late for that!” he replied. Roderick drew his pistol, the silver sights catching the sunlight as he aimed at the closest Skaven. He fired, his arm snapping up, the round punching a hole through the Skaven’s chest in an instant. The rodent stumbled, like the shot had simply winded him, only to be shoved carelessly to the ground by a Skaven directly behind him.

Roderick reloaded, shoving a fresh charge into the barrel, trying to ignore the thundering footsteps of the charging ratmen. He held out his pistol once more, the crack of a second gunshot echoing over the pass. The Skaven he’d aimed for tried to duck out of the way, but too late, a red mist spraying out behind him as he fell.

The rats were closing, but Roderick dared to try for a third reload, the Skaven moments away. As he fished for another paper charge, he glanced over to his left, Skyseeker shifting as the vermintide bore down on them. He had accepted that she wasn’t a threat to him, but now that more of her kind were here, he wasn’t sure what she’d do. As if being a Skaven wasn’t enough, she was a damn wildcard to boot. Not the most logical choice of an ally, all things considered.

He released the breath he’d been holding when she drew those corrosive blades from her belt, holding them out towards the oncoming rats as she dropped into a low crouch, her long teeth bared. When the nearest Skaven was within range, she leapt, the muscles in her legs like coiled springs as she propelled herself, leading with her daggers and plunging them deep into his furry chest.

The Skaven didn’t react in time, dropping his weapon as Skyseeker yanked her daggers out of his torso, pushing his convulsing body aside. The rest of the charging Skaven stopped abruptly, skidding in the dirt as they looked on in confusion, like they’d only just now recognised Skyseeker’s presence. One of them gestured curiously in her direction.

“What rat-thing doing?” he asked, a bewildered expression on his muzzle. “Fight man-thing, not us-us!”

“Skyseeker never break deal-pacts! Good business practice!” She reached into her cloak and produced a warp-star, thrusting her arm out as she threw it. The confused ratman tumbled to the ground, the star imbedded in his throat.

The four remaining clanrats split their attention, two changing direction and going for Skyseeker, the other two rushing Roderick. He didn’t have enough time to push the lead ball with his ramrod before they’d be on him, Roderick abandoning the effort, flipping the pistol instead so he was holding it by the barrel.

The Skaven closest to him unelashed a furious hiss, dragging his sword across the ground, and heaving it up in a cleave, aiming for Roderick’s chin. He sidestepped the swing, stepping in and clocking the rat on the snout. The wooden grip on the pistol was reinforced with brass, the ratman yelping as blood seeped from his nose.

To his right, the second Skaven closed in, driving his curved blade towards Roderick’s chest. Rather than dodge aside, he moved closer, seizing the ratman by the wrist. He shoved his armoured shoulder into his muzzle, twisting his arm at the same time, the Skaven dropping his weapon with a yowl of pain. Roderick clasped the sword before it fell, using it to slice open its former owner’s belly. These rats telegraphed their attacks like recruits, and the fact they’d been hiding in this pass for who knows how long hadn’t done them any favours.

Glancing to his left,he watched Skyseeker swing her daggers in a severing motion, but instead of aiming for the Skaven, she targeted their oncoming weapons instead. The green blades cut through the dark metal with ease, severing one sword just above the hilt. The disarmed ratman immediately gave in, falling to his knees, rasping out some plea for his life, the other pressing the attack. The two rats exchanged a handful of blows, but ultimately the ratman’s sword was cut in twain, the axe clattering to the dirt. Skyseeker had clearly learned from her fight with Roderick, staying on the defensive, letting her opponents ruin their own weapon on her corrosive blades.

Skyseeker loosed a feral snarl, the two ratmen stumbling away in fear. They turned to flee, clutching their heads in a panic, Skyseeker snickering in triumph. Her amusement was cut short when she glanced up the incline, thrusting out a dirty claw.

“Man-thing! Look!”