2k words
***
Even though he had travelled this country for many days, it felt good to be surrounded by cavalry again, amidst mounted knights and skilled swordsmen. The last time he’d done so, had been back in Tilea, where he’d been thrust into the service of a band of mercenaries. It felt like a lifetime ago. A Skaven warband had assaulted the Tilean mercenaries under the cover of night, while Roderick had made away, a certain Skyseeker having chased him out of the chaos that had followed. He hoped this time around, things did not end so poorly for his travelling companions.
The cobbled road carved a path through the woods at a northeasterly bend, the sounds of the creatures of the wilds echoing on either side of the mounted party. After only a few minutes ride, the camp had long since disappeared behind barriers of leaves and branch. Roderick urged the men and orcs on for a little while longer, only giving the command to halt once they were sufficiently ahead of their main force.
He ordered the band to form a line and Roderick pulled up before them, handing out the numerous bundles of maps he had packed in his saddlebags that morning. He was glad to have the Brettonian scribes at his service, tracing the province alone would have taken all day. He also had Mazkha hand out bits of chalk for taking notes and markers.
“Make careful note of your findings on these maps,” he said, raising his voice to be heard down the line. “And remember, if you see any sign of Bael, or his Chaos warriors, you are not to engage without my strict permission.”
“Why can’t we just kill ‘im and save us all the runnin’ around?” one of the orcs wondered, picking his tooth with his piece of chalk.
Roderick made to answer, but Mazkha gestured to let her take care of it.
“Cause that’s what ya have been told to do!” she snapped. “Ya wouldn’t want the boss to hear that you’ve been disobeying orders, would ya, Gaff?”
Gaff went wide-eyed and shook his head in agreement. “Once you have completed your path, return to this road. If you do not find us here, follow the path north. I will have riders patrolling the path behind us, simply find one of them and they will tell you where you need to go.”
Roderick gave Mazkha a grateful nod, producing his own map. “Once you have completed your path, return to this road. If you do not find us here, follow the path north. I will have riders patrolling the path behind us, they will tell you where you need to go.”
There was nothing more to be said, they all had their orders, and it was time to carry them out. He assigned six of the teams to a route, each spanning the breadth of west to east, two of them comprised of orcs, the rest knights. They were eager to get going, Roderick watching them tilt their mounts into hard gallops, a dozen of them making for the trees in slightly different directions.
He made note of their location with a small mark, then bundled the map back in his saddle pocket. He waved the rest of the men onward, taking the lead as they continued along the paved path. Once they’d moved sufficient enough distance, he’d send off another six teams onto a scouting run. This would ensure they did not overlap with any covered routes.
It wasn’t long before Mazkha boar rode up to match his pace, his destrier shying away at the beast’s presence. Warhorse it might be, but he couldn’t blame it for being wary around the overgrown sow.
“Feels good to be away from all the hustle of the camp,” Mazkha began, pausing to take a long sniff at the air with her giant, flat nostrils. “Smellin’ orc sweat all day was getting’ on me nerves, not that I ain’t partial to exertion, mind ya.”
“Do orcs not travel as a band often?” he inquired.
“There aint’ never been this much downtime before, is what I mean. If it weren’t for that Bael turnin’ up, we woulda gone stir crazy. Not that I’m sayin’ I’m glad or nothin’,” she added. “It’s a great shame he caught some of yer boyz unawares – he even gave me a good scar or two – but that just means it’ll be all the sweeter once we get our hands on him again.”
“I’d sooner have him stuff himself in this forest forever,” Roderick said. “We will have plenty of other Chaos Lords to worry about at Marienburg, we would be better off saving our strength.”
“You sound afraid,” Mazkha noted. “I ain’t picked you for one who’s easy to scare, little knight.”
“I’d be a fool not to be,” Roderick replied. “Bael and his followers, they were men, once, until the twisted corruption of Khorne wormed its way into their heads. Last night was not the first time I’ve heard his name. They say he was once a man-at-arms for the Empire, an accomplished soldier with many campaigns under his belt. He was sent west to battle a Norscan incursion, but he came back a turncoat, and took Bael as his new title. That pelt he wore across his back was probably a gift from the very raiders he was sent to kill.”
“Sounds like he wasn’t all that fussed with the Empire, if he turned on ya in just one day.”
“The Chaos gods can tempt even the strongest of wills, in time,” Roderick said, quoting some of Wilfred’s age-long advice, word for word. It was something the wizard had told him many times, but only now did he find a new appreciation for it. Feeling the drawing power of the relic was a sensation of satisfaction like no other. He need only reach for his belt to feel it again, btu he banished the thought quickly.
“You would not understand it,” Roderick added. “Humans of the Empire have our faith in Sigmar to protect us against Chaos’ influence, and it’s for this very reason they target us specifically. They want to erode His legacy, one man at a time. Even just being near someone who’s been corrupted is a great risk to the untrained.”
“Would I start to get murderous tendencies, if I were it he same room as Bael or somethin’?” Mazkha asked.
Roderick tossed the question in his head for a moment.
“Perhaps not. You are an orc, a product of Chaos, even if you don’t serve them directly. Just as Imperials use our faith as our shield, you use your… eagerness to war as a sword against corruption. It would be hard to control a people who go to war with everyone they meet. Well, almost everyone.”
“I’ll make sure to remind you if I start gettin’ traitorous thoughts.”
“Please do.”
After an hours’ ride, Roderick ordered the party to a halt. He used the neck of his horse as a brace, flattening his map and taking a moment to find their position, Mazkha watching him curiously from nearby. Once he was confident, he ordered the next set of teams to go, and the pathfinders took their leave.
The prevalence of the colourful forests was starting to give away, however slightly. There was no vantage to take note of the terrain ahead, but from what he could tell of the map illustrations, the woods would clear away the further north they went. Less cover meant less avenues of ambush, but a strategic mind would also note that open battle would be easier in turn.
“So, when are ya gonna tell me who this Skyseeker is?” Mazkha asked, once they’d set off again, this time with an even more depleted escort. “You mentioned the name once or twice, and I heard it circulatin’ round yer camp as well.”
Roderick was quiet for a while. Skyseeker was no great secret ever since he joined Von Kessel on his ship, but revealing it to an orc could spark a worse reaction. Skyseeker was on his mind constantly, his worry growing each day there was no news of her or Wilfred. Perhaps the chance to talk of her might help to unbottle his woes.
“Skyseeker was… is, a good friend of mine,” he began, Mazkha turning in her saddle to give him her attention. “We chanced upon one another while I was travelling Tilea, some months past.”
“Got a pretty strange name,” Mazkha commented. “Skyseeker sounds like a job title or somethin’.”
“She was a pretty strange person, but harmless. Well, perhaps not totally harmless – she and I did try to kill each other in several instances when we met. But we learned to work through it, after a while.”
“A she, eh?” she asked, the orc’s tone turning coy. “Sounds like a feisty gal to take you on. How’d ya meet?”
“In a war, as a matter of fact. We were on opposing sides, but it turned out neither of us were really all for our causes, if you know my meaning. I was only supposed to be part of my band for a short while, and she hers. We left as adversaries, but after some time together we became companions.”
“Just companions?” Mazkha asked, grinning. “No benefits to go with it, hmm?”
“I’ll admit, there may have been a certain closeness to our bond,” Roderick conceded, Mazkha throwing her head back and laughing.
“Ha! Seems the little knight meant it when he said he was spoken for. So you got hitched with a Tilean warrior girl, did ya?”
‘Not quite,” Roderick replied. “She was not a Tilean, or even human for that matter.”
“No?” she asked, seeming shocked by his answer. “What then? Don’t tell me you fell for a dwarf. If you did I’m going back and telling me little brother this whole deal is off.”
“She’s no dwarf, she’s taller than they are, though not by much margin.”
“Was it an elf?” she pressed, and he shook his head. “Don’t go on teasin’ me, little knight. Tell me!”
He relented, examining her reaction closely as he said the words. There was shock, which was to be expected, but beyond that was a mirth that the she-orc could barely contain.
She slapped her thigh as she began to laugh her guts out, the men and orcs on their flank giving her strange looks as her voice echoed through the woods. She reached over to give him a shove that seemed playful, but her giant hand near tossed him from the saddle.
“A Skaven, you dirty bugger! Now this tale just gets more interestin’ by the minute. Stepping outside yer own species is one thing, sure, but a rat? That’s too good. Ya must have been going down some long roads if ya got hitched with one of them.”
She was making light of him, of course, but he didn’t get the sense it was out of insult or shame, she really did just find it all humorous.
“If you’d have told me that before I crossed Tilea, I’d have had a similar reaction,” he said. “But you wanted to know, and that’s the truth of it.”
“No wonder you don’t talk about her much,” Mazkha said the last remnant of her humour still in her tone. “A Skaven… I can imagine the looks your boyz must have given you, when you rocked up with her in tow.”
“It took them some getting used to,” he admitted. “But she’s fiercely loyal, and we treated her fair, so she in turn decided to aid us.”
“Loyal and Skaven don’t much belong in the same breath,” Mazkha said. “But you’ve got that lovey-dovey look in your eyes that tell me you ain’t lying. Why would anyone lie about doin’ it with a rat?”
“I must say, your reaction is not what I expected,” Roderick admitted. “Most of Kessel’s man bawked at the idea of even making friends with a Skaven. If they ever knew we were closer, they might have tossed me overboard.”
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with tryin’ out new things, little knight. Plus it ain’t none of my business if you like your girls with fur or not. It’s crossed my mind once or twice to try doin’ something fun with someone who ain’t an orc. There was this one knight who caught me eye, once, but when I took him back to my tent, he picked up what I was suggestin’ and declined. Politely, which was nice, but I guess he wasn’t into exotic girls, not like you are.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t realise your intentions sooner. You lay your advances on thick, Mazkha.”
“Men are too dense to pick up on hints, I’ve found. Honestly, I don’t know how your species managed to propagate so much. So!” she added, leaning in close. “What’ sit like to do it Skaven style?”
“Sorry, Mazkha, but you’ll have to be ignorant of love outside the species for now.”
“I’ll tell ya all about orc positions, in exchange?”
“I like you, Mazkha, but we’re not at the point where we can trade love lives just yet.”
“So prudish, yet yer the one who’s gotta thing for girls with tails.”