The arc is pretty much written out, just posting it out now. Enjoy, leave a review!
"This way Master-Boss this way!" Itch cried out as Louise moved a lamp to shine upon him.
It was hard to see with there being so little light. While it likely passed over her familiar's mind she knew these were the rumored tunnels under the Academy. Many were built as either escape passages or attempts to attack the academy in the days it was a fortress.
She knew they were vast, but by Brimir there were so many. She was surprised by her Familiar to navigate these so well as he showed her towards his workshop.
"You are slow master-boss!" Shouted her damned familiar as they started walking their way up a small slope.
"You damned familiar, I will…" Louise was about to shout at him, but the sight of nearly a hundred rats running right past her caused her to shiver. She did not want to admit it in public, but it was becoming obvious with every step she made that her Familiar was the cause of the problems the servants had.
Soon her nose was attacked by a new smell, one that she knew should have bothered her. However instead of being repulsed by the sheer scent she was instead drawn towards it. As if it was magic she knew the paths to make it that much closer to the workshop.
Her Familiar stopped complaining as Louise was now only a few steps behind him when it came to traveling. The two made it through a few more winding chambers before finally arriving at what was a widened out chamber that led to many other caves.
In the center of the makeshift room was a modest sized construct that was made out of scraped armor and swords. The pieces were fused together with numerous green fissures that seemed to flicker like a candle light. A monsterous vehicle that will slaughter hundreds of men before breaking down and exploding.
That however was not what caught Louise's eye. No, that was a massive cauldron off to the side of the room.
"Oh, Master-Boss has caught sight of my Warpstone!" cried the rat with a smirk before turning to a scow, "No touch warp-stone!"
He was not being listened to. No instead Louise made her way towards the stuff and looked at it with pure amazement. Before she could touch it however Louise felt a yank at her collar, "Be careful Master-Boss! Warp-stone mush is dangerous!"
"Oh, sorry, I do not know what came over me." Louise shook her head as she tried to wrestle back conscious, "Its just, what is that?"
"Warp-Stone?" He asked before snickering a little, "Kukuku, it is the concentration of magic energy from all living things!"
"So, like water magic?"
"No no, not puny water magic." Itch said annoyingly, "Hmm, yes Itch shall do that! Watch Boss-Master."
With a wide smile the rat started crackling with green electricity. Louise's eyes opened as she witnessed what was clearly sorcery before her being casted. She watched further as Itch started to bring the electricity towards a crescendo.
"AHAHAHA! BE DESTROYED! WAIT NO-!"
Louise was the only one able to grab her familiar as the sorcery smashed its way through the wind and caused the erry smells of what could only be described as rune being carried through the air.
Once the dust settled Louise looked to see a large crater being implanted into the ground. What she had just witnessed was a sorcery that could be comparable to the castings of a Line Mage. While its nothing too much, it was a given that it both came from her familiar, but also a spell that was never seen on this side of the world.
Or maybe this entire world.
Louise stared at it for a few minutes as her Familiar got himself up and dusted off the dust that had landed upon his new shirt. It was a white shirt, just like his precious fur, and thus every moment he wore it became that little bit more precious to him. To see it covered in dust was starting to get on his nerves, but the rat let it go in favor of cleaning up whatever dust landed upon his precious fur.
After he comfirmed that any pieces of singled fur was removed he finally spoke, "Fufu, see see Macher-Boss, that is the power of Ruination! The power granted to us by the Great Horned Rat himself!"
"How… did you do it." Louise said while quickly grabbing him by the collar and picking the rat off the ground, "Tell me now Brimir damn it tell me how you did that!"
"Yess yess master please just put me down!" shouted the rat in a plea for mercy.
Louise looked at him for a moment before putting him down, "Fine, but you are to tell me how you committed such magics."
"Of course Master-Boss." He said before starting to whip up a less intense electrical storm in his hands, "You see, Master-Boss, Ruination is based on the properties of Warpstone where we manifest it into reality. It requires an intense knowledge of Warpstone that only a Warlock Engineer would get!"
"And how would I get that!" She demanded as she pointed her wand directly into the face of the rat.
"Well, first, you need to eat warpstone." He said while pointing towards the cauldron, "Then if you don't die, you become a Warlock Engineer!"
"That's the same stuff you told me not to touch!"
"Well of course, only the most technically minded Skaven can work with it." The rat lied as he gave a smile, "All humans who have touched it are dead."
Louise took a few steps back away from the cauldron as she heard that risk. Her eyes were still upon it, the temptation still there as she stared at the stuff. She wanted to get it, her entire body wanting to get it. But the risk, the risk!
"Do not worry about Ruin magic Master-Boss." Said Itch as he turned her around, "I would not want you to die as you eat Warp-stone and leave Itch alone and unprepared."
Louise snapped out of it, if nothing else than the scheming slime that was her Familiar's words enough to drive her away. However, "Give me a bottle of it."
"But Master-Boss you-"
"That was an order, Familiar!"
"Yes yes!"
Louise watched as he quickly ran over and grabbed what was a small bottle and latle on either sides of the cauldron. Carefully the rat dipped his latle into the goo, placing a small amount of it into the bottle with a shaking fear.
Once he finished there, the rat quickly brought the small container to Louise and presented it, "Here is your Warp-Stone, Master-Boss."
Louise took it out of his hands, looking at it with a harsh inquisitive glare for a few moments. It was green and glowing, like some sort of green airstone that allowed airships to fly. However she could feel the power coming off of it, enough power that it made her hands twitch just a little as she held it.
She looked at it for a few moments more, noting that her Familiar looked quite anxious with every moment that passed by. Is it really right to trust a creature like him? That was probably a no. Still, his sheet concern was enough to give her pause before stowing it away.
"Is it true that I must consume Warpstone to become proficient in your magic?" She asked one last time.
"Consumption or exposure, Master-Boss. It would take years of exposure while drinking it will become seconds."
"But I will die if I am unlucky."
"Yes Master-Boss." The rat said before directing her attention to a nearby machine, "Now now, it is time to show you my project!"
Louise of course was a little skeptical as she was directed towards what at first looked to be a pile of scrap metal, however when she watched her familiar flip a switch to turn it on her eyes widened. Suddenly the subtle glod that it had came to life and almost flooded the room. As fast as it came it went, replacing it with the roaring sounds of a barely contained beast within it.
"Now now, I only have enough room for the Driver." Itch admitted as he gave a smile of success, "So I will be making-creating another for you, Master-Boss."
Louise studied it for a moment before asking, "How do you even ride this?"
"Ah, that is easy-simple Master. Grab this here and put your leg here." The Rat showed Louise an uncomfortable display of riding, "And then you drive it with this!"
Louise had to get out of the way as the machine started moving forward by itself! As she watched this… thing move forward she could hardly believe what she was looking at. However unbelievable this thing could even do that. She could not help but notice the machine did not have the temperament of a Horse within the hands of her Familiar, actually being controllable for someone like her.
Still, she weighed the fact she was a noble and riding this machine would be the antithesis of that. But the thing was… kinda cool.
"Familiar." Louise started as she looked over the machine, "Where you come from, is this machine used by your nobility?"
"Of course!" Laughed the rat with a devilish grin, "The Doom-Flayer is the chosen mount of all Warlock Engineers and even Ikit Claw has one."
Louise thought about it for another moment, "You are making another one, right? You are planning on driving it for the show?"
"Of course, Boss-Master. Wouldn't showing off what Itch-Familiar can do reflect upon you as Master-Boss?"
Louise studied it one last time, then finally gave a nod, "Familiar, you are to train me in using this device. That way I am proficient when we attend the show."
"Hmm yes-yes… good idea Master-Boss." The rat said with a small bit of Malice in his voice, "Follow me and we shall go to open fields to practice."
The two of them traveled through the caves and halls once again. The sights of crumbling dirt still caused Louise a little bit of anxiousness. However even with that in mind she was more than willing to move forward and travel it. Maybe not now, but in due time she will succeed in navigating them.
It felt like an hour, but after hours of being underground Louise could finally see light. He had not been lying when they saw a massive field of nothing but grass. The perfect place to not only have an exit from your hidden lair but also to horse riding in.
In this case, Louise guessed it would be closer to say Doom-Flayer riding.
Now that she thought about it a little more, this machine was made for war wasn't it.
"HEAHAHA!" Her Familiar finally engaged the machine and sent himself flying into the fields, Louise watching as he reached speeds of a Horse in full gallop. While that did not interest her watching the rat going around in circles and destroying as much land as he possibly could was kinda fun.
Then again, she was a Noble. She should not be charmed by what is obviously barbaric tactics. Even if they do look a little fun. No she should focus on the fundamentals, such as how the maneuverability is much more than a horse normally would have.
Alright, it was time, "Familiar, return to me!"
It seemed those words did reach his ears, as the vehicle turned around and came back to Louise with a slow but steady stop. The rat looked to have had his fun as he stuck a piece of wood for the machine to lean on.
"Master-Boss, it is your turn. Now you need to…"
Slowly but surely Louise was placed upon the machine. It felt a little, no, really awkward being mounted on it like this. Still, she was able to rest her left bottom on a piece of metal that seemed able enough. She could feel the stress being placed upon her heart as she could already feel the machine's weight upon her.
"Alright Boss-Master, I shall pull this crutch and you need to pull on the ignition!" Itch announced as he moved to the machine's side.
"Uh, okay!" She nervously placed her hand into the odd contraction that was the machine's steering.
"Don't worry master, only skavenslaves and clan rats die to this machine." He said with a smirk.
"A-as in the machine itself kills them?"
"Hehe, yes." And with that Itch removed the block keeping it in place.
Louise, with her nerves brought to the max, quickly pulled on the gas and sent the machine flying forward. While thanks to its secondary wheel it did not flip, Louise barely had any control of it as she was sent forward for quite a few yards.
And there, just for a moment, she felt like she had control of it. For the most part the machine itself held itself up thanks to its immense weight. Such power underneath her made the girl feel like she was invincible. That any who came near her shall be squashed by the death machine her Familiar created. Such a feeling she had never had in all her life as a Noble, even against commoners.
However Louise realized there was a problem when she looked forward to see a set of trees quickly approaching.
She could hear her familiar yell at her to do something, but she was paralyzed. Fear had overtaken her senses and she did not know how to steer left or right to avoid the tree. With that in mind she did the next best thing and pushed the control pin in the other direction.
It did slow her down, but the Noble was still poised to hit the tree. She had to mentally prepare herself, knowing that at these speeds she did not know what was going to happen to her.
And then she felt the entire machine fall over to the side.
"Gyah!" She screamed as she was sent tumbling to the ground.
She stayed there for a moment, only opening her eyes when she realized she was still alive. She also noted that all her limbs were still intact, though she was on the ground looking up to see her seat dangling in the air.
"Good job Master-Boss! I knew you could do it." Louise turned to see her Familiar express genuine joy at her failure, "I always see the Clan Rats get themselves killed the first time around. You are well on your way to riding your Doom-Fayer! Hmm, but your clothes are too loose."
Louise's brows furrowed for a moment, before she felt a breeze of air where there should not have been. In a frightful scream that would have been heard if anyone else was around Louise yelled, "MY SKIRT!"
Thus are the dangers of Skaven Engineering.