[WFRP2e] The Power of One - Part 2 - "Transire Benefaciendo"

[BananaPhone]

Taalia Giovanni

Taalia's heart thumped within her chest as she drew Daybreak up, steadied her aim and with two long hacks, brought the disgusting creatures head from its body, as the things husk sat there as a decapitated statue, its flesh soon set to serve the local wildlife as a source of food. Breathing hard, each gust of wind a hot shard from her lungs, Taalia swallowed and cleaned her blade off and sheathed it, before the commotion coming from the village drew her attention.

She didn't have to take more than a few seconds to gauge what was happening.

You see, Taali was still fluent in Queekish. Though she had no real use for the language since learning Tilean, it was, embarrassingly, still the language she thought in. When she would mutter to herself or stub a toe, it was Queekish that emerged. It was her natural language, if not her first. During those tender, formative years of her single digit age through to just a few years ago, it was the only language she was allowed to utter. That degree of indoctrination didn't go away overnight, nor would it ever. The vile touch of the ratmen would never fully leave her, Taalia knew that. Even until the day she died, it was likely to be so with a swarm of concepts in Queekish that would be going through her head.

And so, with her fantastic ears, Taalia heard the ratmen before she saw them. Hearing Queekish uttered by mouths other than her own could only mean one thing: the Skaven were here.

As much as it distressed her to do so, Taalia knew they had to leave. Now. There were dozens of skaven, and at best these were people pitifully prepared to deal with them. What would happen were she to wade into the fray with some ridiculous fantasy of rallying the troops and pushing the Skaven back? She'd get a collar slapped back around her neck - that's what would happen. Those poor bastards falling into the water face-first, she couldn't save them any more than she could save the long-gone faces in the worst of her nightmares. Eyes widening, the shepardess didn't need to be told twice.

Sword sheathed. Shield shouldered. Taalia grabbed Bella's hand, turned and ran, dragging her at her pace if she needed to. The girls night eyes would guide them where they needed to go, and now with the threat of the troll gone, Taalia was free to run and take her bestie with her.