Chapter Text
“Sigmar, it’s a Stormvermin!” Victor glanced back at the mercenary’s call, turning his back to the river, next to Kruber and the rest of the horde. He watched as Kruber ran his greatsword through one of the rat’s stomachs, then struck the stormvermin on the head.
“Good work, Kruber!” He announced, his hand lingering over the holster on his belt.
Kruber grinned, looking back to meet eyes with the hunter. “It don’t come easy, sir!” Markus heard a scoff behind him from the elf.
Soon, the skaven were but a few cowering behind the brush as they whisked through the town.
“Not sure there should be this much blood, darlings,” Sienna called, pressing a scarred hand to her side. “I.. won’t be having another one of those.”
Kruber sighed, plodding forward as he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from making a snide remark. He didn’t turn back. Hopefully, the dwarf patched her up. Didn’t matter to him no way.
They’d all been up his arse and easing his last nerve the past few days. Kerillian had been no use but a nagging bag of creative little insults, Sienna had been no help, the dwarf was too oblivious to see a thing, and Saltzpyre..
He wasn’t far from the usual. Which is problem enough.
“Kru- Gahh!” He spun around to the cry of the hunter and the growl of a clanrat which cut through his thoughts. Saltzpyre shifted to the side, a crude spear brushing his ear.
Shit.
“Oi!!” Markus screamed, ramming his elbow into the rat’s back and knocking it to the ground. He panted, facing Victor, who’s eyes widened at the intrusion. “Sorry, sir.” He stepped on the skaven’s head, gore seeping from its various wounds.
“Pay more attention, Kruber,” Saltzpyre started breathlessly. “A blunder of that sort could get me killed.” He cleared his throat behind his fist and patted some dirt from his coat.
“Yes, sir,” Kruber mumbled back, still panting. He stalked off from the hunter and further toward the mission.
He’d screamed. Markus screamed for the hunter. He didn’t shout to alarm the rat. He screamed out of fear.
Markus hit the bottom of his palm to the back of his head a few times. “Taal, this isn’t..” Kruber spun around to the now warm sensation on his shoulder.
“Darling..? Are you alright?”
“Yeh, yeh, I’m fine, Sienna.” He watched the dwarf follow behind, a worried look on his face. “Aye, Azumgi. That last wave get to you?”
“S’pose so,” Kruber muttered with a sigh “Where’s the other two, anyhow?”
“Well,” Sienna started, looking back. “Saltzpyre’s on the war path,” She craned her neck forward and squinted. “Damn, look at those ravenous beasts go..!” Markus scoffed at the comment.
The comments. Sienna wasn’t too bright, but she wasn’t dense neither. And they’d gotten more frequent with Kruber’s annoyance. She’d curl her lips into that grin of hers and click her tongue, taking a look at Kerillian with a quip toward the mercenary. Or worse, toward the witch hunter.
“Now, what do you say we keep them from biting each other’s heads off?” She glanced down at Bardin with a nod, then up at Kruber as she pat the back of his armor. “How’s about it?”
“Always did love a challenge,” he laughed. Kruber drew his sword, eyeing the path up ahead and dashing towards the other two.
“You think he’s alright, Zharrin?” Bardin asked, inspecting his pistol as the two followed behind the mercenary. He looked up at Sienna. “I mean, really, what do you think’s bothering him?”
“Dunno. There’s always something with him,” Sienna responded. “Besides, you gotta be a good girl friend and set him back in line once in a while!”
“Is this one of your umgak things again?”
“Sure is, Darling. Sure is.”
***
Once.
The flames cut through the air.
Towers fall to the power of the five, knocking like dominos on their ways down.
Twice.
They shatter beneath his duty, rats plaguing the fort now.
Thrice.
“Darlings, we need another cannonball,” Sienna growled, raising her staff to cast a hex beneath the skaven’s bare paws. Kruber noticed the gash on her forearm.
Kruber looked over at Saltzpyre behind him, raising his sword to protest against their attacks, shouting from over his shoulder.
“Sir, you move on for the cannonballs! I’ll be behind you!” Wasn’t necessarily his choice to follow, anyway. Victor clicked his tongue at the demand, but eventually raised his rapier to block and slipped out of the horde.
“You three got this?” He received a couple nods and a grunt from the others, turning back and dashing off to meet the hunter. He’d seemed to have made his way to the other side of the wall, waving at him from across.
Victor groaned audibly at the weight of the cannon ball as he bent over to pick it up, dropping it with a cry.
“Sir!”
Victor cursed beneath his breath, a mumbled apology to Sigmar. “My damned fingers,” Saltzpyre held his hand up by the wrist. Kruber gently locked his fingers in with the other’s to hold the hand in place.
“You’re not made of steel, sir.”
His cheeks stung as he realized what he’d done, though Victor seemed not to care.
“No matter,” He bit back a whine as he turned his hand over. “Sigmar shall guide me, though it seems to be a broken bone somewhere in there..”
Kruber sighed, pulling away from Victor and rubbed the soft spot of the hunter’s palm with his thumb. “We’ve no time to fix it now.” Victor responded with a growl.
The mercenary bent over and scooped up the cannonball, cradling the heavy iron ball in his arms as they ran back to the others. Bloody heavy, that bugger. Without warning, a gunshot passed Markus’ head and into the snout of a clanrat.
“I think you missed me,” Kruber joked, tilting his head back with a grin.
“I don’t miss, Kruber.”
“Oh, I’m sure you don’t, sir.” Kruber said. He looked over at the hunter, watching him grimace as he shuffled forward.
“Sir? You, ah, you alright over there?” He hadn’t just jammed his frail fingers. A dark, muddy brown stain formed over the front of his pants, rips at the seams and all over the knee of his pants.
Saltzpyre grimaced as he put weight on the injured calf. “Of- course, Sigmar guides me.” Markus sighed, taking a wrap of bandages from his medical kit. “Please, sir,” he sighed, kneeling. “you need healing.”
Victor stopped, and let Markus patch away at the cut on his leg. Kruber ran his hands up the cuff of his pant leg, rolling the fabric up his leg. Saltzpyre flinched at the abruptness of his touch, though not unwanted, as Kruber ripped a bandage off with the corner of his tooth. He nimbly wrapped the bandage around the wound, gentle as he was, callused fingertips brushing the soft skin of his ankle.
He tugged the fabric back down, smoothing out the wrinkles.
“All patched up and ready for glory, sir!—”
“Saltzpyre!” Sienna appeared behind them, flame bobbing up and down as she shouted. “Save it for later!”
Saltzpyre stepped back from Kruber, furrowing his brow. “What?”
Kruber jolted up, stumbling forward and pushing himself up from the gravelly path. “Now you know I’d never!” he said, now wiping the dirt off his gloves. “And I thought I was immature.”
Kerillian sniggered from behind the witch, leaning on Sienna’s shoulder. “I was wondering where One-Eye ran off to. I suppose he’s as much a dog as Kruber is!” she jeered, letting out an obnoxious howl as she stepped back from the battle wizard.
The horn of the cursed rats faded in before Markus could let out a scoff, their shouting piercing the five’s ears. Kerillian’s ears perked up a little, Sienna’s fire the same, each turning to face the upcoming horde.
“Packmaster, up ahead!” The gruff call of the dwarf was drowned out by a wave of skaven, Bardin grumbling as he barely hesitated a shot towards the rat.
Kruber looked around, watching the skaven surround their team, taking out his sword and shouting with a push back at them.
“By Taal!” he shouted, enemies staggering back, gore flying around him as he swung his sword.
“Darlings,” Sienna hailed, spinning around and casting a hex beneath the clanrats clawing their way to them. “I’m clearing a path, go!” Kruber looked back at the others, quickly shifting his gaze to the rats in front of him, then back at Sienna with a nod.
“Alright, you lot, let’s get outta here!”
Saltzpyre dropped an empty pistol, sprinting to the front and jumping down the side of the cliff.
“This is the way,” he pulled out his rapier and stabbed a lone skaven through the chest with a hellish screech. Plague vermin cried from the opposing side of the fort, no bother to the five.
Kruber smiled at the hunter, hastening to his pace. “Yeah, onward, you lot!”
Kerillian rolled her eyes as she advanced forward. “Hmph. Someone had a good day.”
Green eyes glistened in the corner of Kruber’s eye, dashing across the top of the hill. He realized what it was, looking back at his teammates with dread.
“Assassin, assassin!” He grabbed Victor by the arm and shoved him to the side, Kerillian drawing her bow in and striking the assassin.
Victor didn’t say a word. He looked at Markus with pale, terrified eyes, breathing softly and holding on to his arm.
“You alright, sir?” Kruber said, leaning in. He recoiled at the mercenary’s touch.
“Blindsided. Let us move on.” He watched the hunter whip around, holding the end of his coat and stalking off to the cairn gate alone.
Kruber stood there. He stood there, clutching his sword, watching the skaven flee. Watching Saltzpyre flee.
Gods. Gods, damn it all. He bit the inside of his cheek, snatched an empty glass bottle from his belt and chucked it at the ground, shoving the end of his boot into the glass shards. He kicked a sizeable chunk, running off to meet with Victor at the cairn gate.
“Markus!” A flame erupted from a hex on the ground in front of him. He skidded to a halt, looking back at the witch. “The hell is wrong with you!”
“Hold on.. a moment!” Sienna called, panting as she rushed up the hill. He could see fresh blood and ashes wiped upon the grime on her robe. The other two rose from the backside of the hill, clothing torn from battle.
Kerillian glared at Kruber with those coal black eyes. With these damned eyes, the twig looked heartless. More than Victor at times, but not now. No, now, she stumbled over herself as she ran up to Kruber, dagger clutched in her glove with all the strength she could bear.
“Kruber- Kruber, get back here! I’ll tear you a new one, have you no sense, meat?”
He stumbled backward, turning around and making a run for their exit. He could see Saltzpyre standing just outside the blueish bubble, tapping his shoe in impatience.
“I.. ‘m sorry, sir,” he said, taking one glove off to wipe the dirt and sweat from his forehead. He ran his fingers through the top of his hair. “I know. My actions were unnecessary.”
He almost looked confused when Kruber apologized, tilting his head sideways slightly. It eventually came to him, slowly nodding his head and shrugging. “You are excused,” Saltzpyre said with a sigh. “Don’t pull a stunt like that again.”
It wasn’t right. The slightest mistake and he’d be seething at the opportunity to lecture the mercenary. So why now? Why now did he choose to be kind?
His thoughts were interrupted as Kerillian came up behind him, Bardin and Sienna following behind. They each sprinted into the cairn gate, Saltzpyre following and shutting behind the five as Kruber stepped in. Nothing like having your guts rearranged as it transported them back to the keep, but he was safe, with his sir holding onto him in the dark.