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🕑 Added 2024-05-03 05:59:36 +0000 UTC2k words
***
“Oh, we aren’t helping you, manling,” the female interjected. “We are simply letting you march to your death even quicker than you would otherwise. Falsely claiming to be a companion to a friend of the Glade is punishable by death. Death from afar. We’ll be watching.”
“And smelling, I should think,” Roderick said, taking that as his cue to leave. He ordered some breakfast from the innkeeper, then retreated back to his room, feeling the elves eyes’ on his back all the while. It had probably not been in his best interests to antagonise them so, not with Skyseeker under his protection. He should make haste to Wilfred’s ship as soon as possible.
He closed his room door behind him, wondering where he should start searching for Skyseeker. Should he just prowl the streets, hope that she came to him in time? Perhaps he could enlist Wilfred’s help, assuming he could convince him he wasn’t joking about having a Skaven companion.
As he paced around the room, a measure of panic starting to surface, there was a knock on the door, and a small part of Roderick was sure it would be Skyseeker, summoned back to the tavern through divine intervention. Unfortunately, it turned out to be just a maid hand, delivering the bowl of porridge he’d bought a few minutes ago.
He thanked the woman, the bowl warming his hand through his gauntlet, then moved to take a seat. Halfway between the door and the table, he nearly tripped as his foot caught on something, Roderick peering down to see the floorboard had moved in his absence, and a familiar squeaking sound was whispering through the crack.
“Skyseeker!” he sighed, lifting the board away to expose a groggy rat woman. “Where in the Gods names have you been?”
Skyseeker lifted her head on her slender neck, peering around the room through heavy eyelids, which were crusted with sleep. She looked like the most tired being in all of existence.
“What-What? Skaven been… been right here-here all night.” She cradled her temple in her paws. “Oooohh, head-face feel like flames. Put it out!”
“I told you to take it easy on the ale,” he chided. She’d only had about half the bottle, how could that wipe her out so hard? Perhaps Skaven couldn’t handle their alcohol like humans could, she was almost half his size. His frustration slowly gave way to pity as Skyseeker started mashing her palms across her muzzle, grimacing all the while. “I suppose it’s my fault for introducing you to it in the first place. Come on, get up.”
“Always stupid man-things fault!” Skyseeker snapped, letting him take her paw into his hand, guiding her out of her hidey-hole. “Rick-rod should know that by now.”
“Here,” he asked, offering his canteen. “Drink up. You had me worried there, lass. Where did you go?”
When she finished with his canteen, handing it back to him, she looked at everything but his face, mumbling something under her breath.
“What was that?” he asked.
“I said not remember,” she repeated.
“Is that so? So, you went to bed, got out of bed at some point, left the room, then came back here while I was out in the lobby just now? All that happened, and you don’t remember a thing?”
“… Y-Yes? Yes. That what happened, exactly that!”
Roderick groaned, throwing up his hands. “Whatever, never mind all that, lass, we’ve got bigger problems. This place isn’t as safe as I first thought.”
“Ah-HA!” Skyseeker exclaimed, holding out a triumphant paw and pointing at herself. “I knew-knew it! ‘There’s no plots, we’re safe here’ – that’s what man-thing said before. Now who’s the stupid one?”
“Just listen for a moment,” he urged, and to his surprise, she did, her ears tracking him as she pursed her lips. She took the threat of new enemies very seriously it seemed. “There are elves in the tavern, I was talking with them, and they smelled you on me. I managed to mislead them, but we need to leave. Grab your disguise.”
“S-Smelled breeder-musk on man-thing?” Skyseeker asked, the notion making the little Skaven flustered. “How… scandalous.”
“Never mind that, just get ready to go. The elves said they’ll be watching me, so you’ll have to leave by the floors, or walls, or wherever it is that you use to get around.”
“Hunted by pointy-ears, how intriguing! Horned Rat will be most impressed when Skaven gives them a good slipping. But first, a quick breakfast!”
“There’s no time for that,” he chided. “I’ll get you something later. Meet me in the alley outside, the one I told you to wait in last night, remember? Avoid the lobby if you can, and keep far away from the elves.”
“Don’t tell me how to sneak-scurry, mister fatfeet,” she complained, pulling on her heavy balcony disguise. “Ready! Let’s skedaddle!”
She bent to lift up the floorboard, slipping beneath the wood with a snicker, the board slapping back into place. The pitter-patter of her feet crossed to the far side of the room, and then the Skaven was gone.
Roderick checked the room over to make sure he had everything, tidying up a little to hide any evidence of the Skaven’s presence. With a little luck, they would mistake the fur clogging the bath drain as hair.
Tucking his helmet under an arm, he left the messy room behind, making his way back out into the lobby. The two elves were still at the same table as before, Roderick doing his utmost to ignore them as he slid his room key over the bar-top, the innkeeper thanking him and to come visit again.
As he made his way to the exit, he paused, considered, then flicked a gold piece towards the elves’ table. The female, Shassare, caught the coin with a quick snap of her arm, flashing him a confused look.
“For the information,” Roderick explained, waving goodbye. “Get yourself something nice. A houseplant, or a better attitude, perhaps.”
He could almost see the steam pouring from the elf’s ears, Roderick turning his back on them, leaving the tavern through the batwing doors.
-xXx-
The streets were a little busier compared to the night before, the early hour meaning a few of the city residents were starting to go about their business. As long as he and Skyseeker didn’t dawdle, they should reach Wilfred’s ship before the city woke up and became clogged with people.
As Roderick turned to the right, walking into the alleyway flanking the tavern, he found Skyseeker huddled up against the dumpster, head tucked under an arm as she snoozed. She looked like a beggar, the image only furthered by her tattered hood and the heavy awning cover she’d bundled over herself like a quilt. At least none of her Skaven features were exposed, the pedestrians walking passed without so much as a word.
He called her name, waiting impatiently as she continued to snore. How could she be so tired all of a sudden? Feeling a little impolite, he nudged her with his foot, Skyseeker awakening with a startled chortle.
“Huh? Wha-? OH, Rick-rod! You took time! Waiting hours for you.”
“And I see you’ve been vigilant in the meantime,” he noted, not bothering to correct her and say he’d taken all but two minutes.
“So where to next?” Skyseeker asked, stretching her arms over her head. “Fredwil’s ship? Man-thing know where it is?”
“Indeed I do. He’s somehow gotten his hands on a wolfship, been docked for a few days. I was expecting something a little less conspicuous, but I’m not complaining. Those ships are fast.”
“How does man-thing know this?” she asked, sticking to his side as he began to walk across the street. The sea was to the west, so all they had to do was walk that direction until they reached the port district.
“Those elves I mentioned told me,” he answered, Skyseeker glancing up at him, her unspoken confusion clear as day. “They think Wilfred will sort me out once I find him. Wish I could see their faces once that happens. Perhaps we will,” he added, checking over his shoulder.
“Not that it bothers me-me, but why did you incur pointy-ears’ gaze?” she asked. “Rick-rod knows we have enough enemies already-ready!”
“I’ve never been one to knuckle down at the words of an elf,” he muttered. “Especially ones as pretentious as those two. Should have heard what one of them called themselves. Shessare. Sounds like a Bretonnian dessert or something.”
They continued on through the narrow streets, the sounds of boots clocking against the cobbles echoing beyond every twist and turn. While a few of the citizens turned to give Skyseeker curious glances, that was the limit of their suspicions, some even parting to let her walk by uninterrupted. Perhaps they really saw her as a dwarf, and did not wish get in her way.
“Rick-rod! Think-Think disguise working!” Skyseeker hissed, Roderick noting she was gluing to his flank at all times. “Ha-Ha! Seeing stupid man-things always makes Skaven laugh.”
She seemed more chipper today, their night spent together having done wonders for the both of them. While Roderick had conflicted thoughts about sharing a bed with her, he wondered if she felt the same way. She hadn’t brought the event up yet, so neither would he.
“Just try and keep your voice down,” he replied, the pair turning down another bend in the street. “The ruse won’t last long if people hear you shouting me-me and Horned Rat all the time.”
“Then I’ll switch back to beard-thing impression. Got lots of practice last night. Want to hear it?”
“No, thank you,” he sighed, his annoyance betrayed by his smirk.
Ten or so minutes of walking later, the streets began to widen, Roderick and Skyseeker finding themselves standing on the edge of a market square. Stalls draped in all manner of colourful awnings filled the space, the men and women stood behind them shouting out the prices of their wares. Dozens of people weaved between the stalls, their wide-brimmed hats and long-sleeved tunics shielding them from the rising sun’s heat. A few guards stood watch here and there, their long halberds towering above the layers of heads.
“Oh, I completely forgot!” Roderick said, planting a fist in his palm, Skyseeker flinching at the gesture. “You said you wanted to explore the city. Shall we go for a walk? After we get something to eat?”
He couldn’t help but feel he was asking Skyseeker out on a date, but he quickly reminded himself he was just entertaining her, nothing more.
“Ah, uhm… n-no,” Skyseeker mumbled, trying to look at anything but him.
“What? But you said last night that you wanted to explore human dwellings.”
“Time’s changed,” she replied. “Man-thing city… boring, actually. Best we scurry on quick-quick.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, and now he felt as though he’d just been turned down. “Is this because of the elves?”
“Uh, that too!” she stammered.
“So there’s another reason? And that is?”
“N-Nothing! I never said no reasons. Never said anything about exploring city last night while man-thing slept.”
“You what?” he asked, spreading his arms out wide. “You went out on a bender?
“Lies!” she snapped, then looked away sheepishly. “How did man-thing know that?”
“Because you just told me!” he exclaimed. “Lass, this city is full of armed men, what if you’d been discovered?”
“But I wasn’t!” she replied. “How many times must I say-speak – Skyseeker is Clan Mors’ best assassin.”
Roderick tried to utter a reply, stuttered, then gave up, throwing his hands up in frustration. This explained why she hadn’t been in the room when he’d woken up, and why she looked so tired when he found her.
“At least tell me you didn’t kill anyone,” he sighed, bracing himself for her answer.
“Stupid man-thing, always thinking the worst. No kill-stabbing happened, just like I promised.”
“Thank Sigmar,” he breathed. “And you’re certain you weren’t discovered?”
“Positively!”
“Then… perhaps this turn of events wasn’t as bad as I first thought.”
As the words left his lips, he heard a scuffle behind him, Roderick turning to see a pair of guards hauling a man through the square, their gauntlets tucked beneath his arms. The man looked like a merchant, with a green chaperon upon his head, and dressed in a fancy quilted coat. The citizens turned to stare as the guards roughly dragged the merchant away, Roderick able to pick up the tail-end of his babbling as the guards hauled him away.
“-not listening to me! There was a rat! A Skaven is in the city! It was in my shop, please, you must believe me! I have proof, witnesses!”
The guards dragged him around the corner and out of sight, Roderick shooting Skyseeker a frown, the rat woman shrugging in response. “What? Could mean other Skaven in city! Best keep eyes peeled.”
