The rider keeps a hand on Ikit, as well as uses his heavy tail to hold his passenger steady. Only when he’s sure Ikit is situated does he look forward and tap his sentinel with his heel. “Keep it slow, Duck, thank you.” His accent is heavy, and much different than all the other present rats. He pats Ikit’s arm in an attempt to be reassuring as their ride lumbers forward. The metal laden Skaven weighs nothing to ‘Duck’. “Anytime, stranger… Hm? Oh, no, not at all. N’ I wouldn’t call that aggressive, even, sentinels are jus’ a whole lot bigger than us, an’ a bit more physical. Nobody was bein’ mean, but the big one back ‘ere’s a stallion, they’re a good bit rougher ‘round the edges n’ like to be th’ boss.”
Even with his weathered voice, tough and low like worn leather, he speaks with an air of casualness one often wouldn’t with a national security concern. As they leave, the stud tosses his head and paces bitterly, the gelding keeps post with pinned ears to deter him. The riding guard points his spear out ahead of him when they start snapping teeth and warns the bigger sentinel back, but doesn’t seem genuinely concerned, more annoyed with the predictable behavior. If the two actually fought, the intact male would crush them both for sheer size…
His escorting forces pay no mind as they pass through the gates into the hive, where the flat stone changes to cobbled path. “Pardon me for not in’erducing myself beforehand, my name’s Obdorm, m’friends an’ foes alike call me O’blio, don’t ask what it means cause I couldn’t tell ya. This sweetheart here is my best friend Ducky, do not stand near his face or touch him when he’s workin’ les’ ye Ridin’ an even then. Don’t be near his face, he don’t like it… Well, that’s us, we’ve got a bit of a ride ahead, so go ahead n’ tell me about yourself, Ikit. N’ if you got any questions don’t hesitate to ask.”
Ducky is a rat of few words, who tilts his ears back to listen but doesn’t pipe up as he’s introduced.
Out this close to the wall there isn’t much but military outposts, even then there’s a mile and a half of empty caves and caverns to traverse before you reach any, the cobbled street is won and patchy, more to fill in gaps and dips to keep the wide road flat. When they finally reach the nearest buildings, there’s lots of sentinels that don’t like this Skaven already. Among them, Ducky is a runt, just like with the previous group. The buildings are harsh and simple, carved into walls out built from stone bricks and blocks harvested from hollowing out the cavern. Everything is built in a hexagonal grid. Here there are no pups, except the distant smell of sentinel pups who aren’t out with an outsider coming through. The smallest rats here stand over six feet in height, and weigh nearly three hundred pounds, these are as common as Obdorm’s weight class. The largest are roughly nine feet, and weigh over eight hundred. There’s very few of those. Those in armor walk or jog their drills in formation, and aren’t allowed to stop and gawk. There’s patches of ground covered in deep moss surrounded by a low fence where sentinels lounge, and other unfenced patches for other off duty rats with the occasional sentinel with them enjoying some scratches. If any get within twenty feet, Ducky throws his head and snaps his teeth, his heavy skull making a sound like a rifle shot, that keeps larger rats back. It’ll take fifteen minutes to get through and back out on the lonely stone, with the occasional traffic passing.
