2k words
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There was a sparse forest at the foot of the mountain, the attractive colours of warmth and life coercing the group like moths to flame. The borders of the snow were a long line of sparse powder, and after a few last crunches beneath their feet, they were out of the snow, taking their first steps on Imperial land.
The realisation made her feel exhausted, like she’d just pushed her body to its limit and could finally reap the reward of rest. After their perilous trip through the Grey Mountains, after surviving a capture, she wanted nothing more than to collapse right there, relishing in her achievement. Yet beneath her pride she felt a swell of remorse. She had always imagined this moment would be shared with Roderick, he had been so excited to show her his homeland. Now where was he? A hundred leagues away? More? Who knew what dangers he was facing, with that treacherous Von Kessel watching his back?
“On your feet, Miss Seeker,” Wilfred urged. “An open sky with the Grey’s at our backs is no place for rest. If Daurik’s friends still pursue us, we will lose them in the forests beyond.”
“How much further must we walk-scurry?” Kretch demanded, about to join her in collapsing to the ground, looking about as pleased of the news as she was.
“We make for the River Reik,” Wilfred answered. “Another hour or two’s walk, that way. We will find roads and taverns on its bank, and from them, safety among the Empire.”
It took all her Skavenry persuasion to push the exhausted slaves on, but the group soon rallied up, and were on their way once more. Skyseeker took one last look back at the slopes of the Grey Mounts, giving them a derogatory extension of her middle finger, a gesture that Otto taught her meant insult.
The wilderness here was not unlike the sprawling forests on the far side of the mountains, with healthy trees sprouting high from carpets of green, but that was where the similarities ended. While Brettonia’s forests were a veritable rainbow of colour, thanks to all its rich flowerbeds and other colourful plant life, the forests of the Empire region were more muted. Instead of blues and whites spreading up the greenery the ferns and undergrowth was a dry, brown-yellow shade. This was not to say the forests were drab in comparison, they were rich and thick, and there was plenty of wildlife to see, where the forests thinned enough where she could see some distance ahead of her. Things called elks and does skitter into the thickets, flocks of tiny birds smaller than her paw taking flight as her party passed beneath the branches. She preferred these earthly colours anyway, they were easier on her eyes.
The going was difficult with the lot of them having to navigate over thick roots and through deep brambles, but they didn’t have to travel long before they encountered a path. It must have been a continuation of the mountain trail, as it was not paved with stones but from the foot of horses and wheels of carts. Wilfred followed it without hesitation, and hike continued to drag on, but blessedly downhill.
The forests caved in all around the path, until finally they opened up. They passed through its threshold into a grand opening, and before Skyseeker lay a grand body of water. It was not the largest body she had seen, for it was no ocean but a lake, a spine of shimmering water ending at a similar, forested bank far away to the east. To her right it continued to split the continent in half winding away at a bend until it vanished out of sight. To the left it widened more and more with each league, until each side of it curved away from each other in a spread, continuing on like this until the limits of her vision.
The banks wended along uninterrupted, except for the norther part of the far shore, where she could make out the pointed bastions of a seaside castle, commanding a smaller spreading of portside buildings at its base. She could spy a few tiny sailing ships coasting around the jutting docks, white gulls circling overhead. The water was a floor of refreshing, teal liquid, humble waves licking at the shore a stone’s throw below her.
Wilfred smirked as he noted her expression, casting one of his hands in a gesture of introduction. “Welcome to the Empire, Miss Seeker. You look upon the River Reik, you will never see a larger stretch of river in the known world.”
“Understating,” she said. “How far does it go?”
“All the way across the Empire, though it does not retain its width all the way. The riverbed slashes all the way from here to the Black Mountains, far to the east of our borders. It’s the heart of all our trade with the rest of the world. It may seem large now, but some days trading cogs must wait in a queue out at sea before room is spared.”
“Not look very busy to Skaven,” she noted. There were the little fishing boats at the far side, but nothing so big as a trade cog in sight.
“Well spotted,” Wilfred replied. “Perhaps the forces of Chaos has brought trade to a halt, and if Marienburg is in danger, that wouldn’t surprise me. The port city controls all outflowing traffic into the Sea of Claws. The city is upstream, that way.” He pointed his staff to the right. “Not more than a few days walk from here.”
“No more walking!” Kretch complained from somewhere behind them.
“Kretch makes a good-good point,” Skyseeker admitted. “Even my superior Skaven stamina cannot stand all this move-scurry, Fred-Wil.”
“And neither would I have you suffer it. We are not going to Marienburg, not yet.”
“Huh? Thought that was whole point of our journey mission? Rick-Rod should be meeting us there.”
“Of that, we cannot be sure. Our shortcut through the mountains has likely put us ahead of him and Von Kessel’s band.”
“Should? You not know?” she asked, and he shook his head. “Why not? Can’t you ask like, the bird-things or whatever and find out?”
“No, animals do not communicate like you or I do, we will not find the information we are looking for by consulting the wilds. No, we must ask around at the inns and way rests along the river. Loose tongues are bound to talk of a passing army.”
“And what of the beard-thing?” she asked, turning to point at their captive. He was lingering by the shore, staring off vacantly into the river. “We take him with us?”
“His duty as our insurance has played its part, I don’t see any more of his Clan following us down into these patrolled woods. We should let him go.”
“Oh, yes-yes.” She rubbed her paws devilishly. “Skaven will ‘let him go’, hehe…”
“I hope you’re not suggesting, what I think you’re suggesting. Miss Seeker?” But she was already turning away, approaching the dwarf from the side, so he could see her coming. She stopped a few paces away from him, Daurik eyeing her without moving his head.
“Looks like your little friends not coming to save you,” she noted, planting her hand son her slender hips.
“Told you. I lost my honour when I let myself be captured, I’m nothing to them anymore. I’m as good as dead to them.” His eyes flicked to her paw as she reached for a dagger. “That why you’ve come, raki? To put me down, now that I’ve outlived my usefulness?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, pointing the blade at him. “You killed Skaven’s servants, you interrupted all our naps, and you made a simple, brilliant shortcut into smorgasbord of inconvenience!”
“If it’s confessions your after, seek for them elsewhere. You’ll find no regrets from me.”
“Nor me-me.”
She moved closer, coming up from behind him. The dwarf didn’t turn to face her, but rather he turned to watch the gentle waters, his eyes closing in submission. She flipped her knife into her off-paw, the metal glinting as she brought it down.
But there was no death blow, instead there was a little snick, and the binds over his wrists fell to the grass.
“What?” Daurik asked, looking at his hands in disbelief. “You’re… freeing me?”
“Yep!” she said. “Off you go, little mountain man. Take the freedom!”
“But, why?” Daurik asked. “You said as much yourself, I spared you and your companions no mercy. Why would you a raki not give me the same treatment?”
“You not know a raki like me, beard-thing.” She leaned in close, her voice a hush. “I let you in on a little Skaven secret. Ready? I never let my enemies know my next move. But don’ think that makes you know my mysterious ways, because I chose to tell you that, so now I know you know why. So who really knows the other’s secrets, hmm?”
Daurik opened his mouth, but chose not say what was on his mind. In fact, he never spoke another word, turning on a heel and making his way back where they’d come. Kretch bristled and stood in his way, but on Skyseeker’s gesture, he allowed the dwarf to go.
When she turned, she caught Wilfred’s eye, and the old man gave her a grateful bow of his head. When they made camp for the night later, just by the shore, he sat beside her, passing along a bowl of stew that was their supper.
“You did a good thing, Miss Seeker,” he said. “Daurik is not deserving of kindness, I know that, but sparing him was honourable.”
“And useful!” she added. “Never bad thing to have someone indebted to you, is my way.”
“I Cant’ expect you’ll be getting any favours from him,” Wilfred chuckled. “His Clan would have outcast them, but that does not mean he won’t try to find a way back there. I doubt you’ll meet again.”
“You don’t know that. Maybe he comes back at prime opportunity to pay his debt.”
“Is that truly why you let him live?” Wilfred asked.
“Eh… not really,” she admitted. “You want to know truth? Long time ago, someone – let’s call him… Rockrid – he met this beautiful and clever Skaven – lets call her Ground-Finder. They were enemies, and at one point Rockrid had the upper paw. He could have killed me – uhm Ground-Finder – but he instead gave Skaven a chance, to live, and to be free. Is only natural she would try to give same opportunity to others.”
“You continue to impress me, Miss Seeker,” he replied, looking at her in a new light. “It is always good to see the young learn from their errors, and to grow and emerge wiser because of them.”
“Ha! You hear that, slaves?! The wizard calls me wise! Oh I can’t wait o tell Rick-Rod of this-this!”
“All in good time,” Wilfred said. “I sense that our paths will cross with his, we need only find which way to go to find him, upstream or down. I know of a tavern not far from here, the Steel Keg, we will start our search there come morn.”
“Skaven is expert intelligence gatherer,” she said. “We find information no sweat.”
“I would rather think me and Otto should do the talking,” Wilfred said, and by his tone she could tell he was trying not to offend her. “There are only men from here on out, Miss Seeker. Imperial men, who gun down Skaven on sight. They are not your allies yet.”
“Then Skaven should get on with first introdcuctionings!” she said. “Can’t be man-friend without saying hello. And Skaven can be discreet if I want to – should have seen me in Port Stagmire with Rick-rod. Even he didn’t realise I was prowling streets. Nobody did, except for that merchant. Oh, and his assistant, and plus that guard on wall who saw me, or that fishyman on the pier…. Apart from all them, though, Skaven was practically invisible!”
“We can discuss this more tomorrow,” Wilfred said. “If there are fewer fold in the Keg, perhaps you can tag along. Perhaps,” he said again, when she started to get giddy.
She found it difficult to turn in, later that night, her thoughts a mess of excitement, confusion. Wilfred had said he could sense Roderick drawing closer, and Skyseeker thought she did too, though that may have been because she was finally inside the Empire’s borders. Marienburg was not all that far away now, but what would they find there? Friends or foes, both perhaps?
She pleaded to the Horned Rat that Roderick had not come this way in haste. She wanted to return the relic to the Conclave by his side, take her hard-earned portion of renown for a task well done.
This was not some petty excuse for becoming the most accomplished Skaven around, for once. She had to convince the Empire that she was a friend to them, it was her only chance of staying with Roderick, when this was all over. A second separation was a thing she did not think she could bear.