Squiggoth

"Ugh..."

Waking with a crushing hangover, Guk found bits and pieces of Snotling limbs scattered throughout his private palace. As for when, where, or how it had happened, he had no clue at all. His agitation had left him with nothing to do but drink himself senseless, and Blackstone Fort's liquor stores were nearly dry.

"Useless git! Get over here!"

"Boss, I'm here!"

Grass Rope scampered out from the corridor. He was something of a celebrity among the Snotlings now. After all, he was the only Snotling who had survived at Boss Guk's side for more than three days. Even many lads privately praised his courage.

"Clean this up before I get back!"

"Yes, Boss!"

Staggering out of the bedroom, Guk found Big Cleaver and Crooked Mouth snoring away outside the corridor. He immediately taught them a proper lesson with his fists about "responsibility" and "respect."

Idle time did not make Guk happy. On the contrary, without a fight, he only grew more irritable. Outside, while the weather was practically wonderful compared with before, the land remained empty and desolate. Perhaps because of that dried corpse hanging outside the fort, the Harpies had never appeared again. He had nearly drunk all the liquor because of it, yet still could not calm the rage in his heart.

He had sent many lads out to look for opponents worth fighting, but no good news had come back so far. Even so, the number of Orks in the stronghold had not decreased at all. Thanks to the good weather, more and more new lads had been digging their way out of the ground lately, and before long, the lower levels were packed to the brim.

To pass the time, Guk occasionally wandered through the middle and lower levels. Today, in a cave on the middle level, he found a huge group of lads playing a game called "see who loses the least stuff." The main prop was a small but ill-tempered Squig covered in sharp teeth. The rules were simple: whoever got a Squig had to stick their nose, fingers, or some other body part into its gaping mouth. After everyone had taken a turn, whoever was missing nothing was the winner.

Guk joined in as well and quickly became the center of attention. He won a dozen teeth, a chipped round metal shield, half a boot, three Slime Squigs, which were edible, and a round disc that reflected his image. The lads missing bits and pieces from their bodies marveled at the boss's astonishing speed. Some even planned to find something to paint themselves white with, so they could become "faster and stronger."

But novelty was always hard to maintain. Guk soon grew tired of the boring game and started a small brawl instead. After beating every lad present flat, he threw away most of his winnings and took only the disc that reflected his face down to the lower level.

Strictly speaking, the lower level was divided into two sections. Above ground was the lads' main social space and the fort's primary entrance. A great number of newly born Orks had gathered there recently, along with several wandering tribes that had joined them. The population was not the only thing that had skyrocketed; the amount of waste had too. Guk had no choice but to assign many Snotlings to haul the foul-smelling stuff into a large pit outside.

Below ground was the heart of the fortress and where the Snotlings mainly gathered. It was a damp, cold space full of mushrooms. The Snotlings ate the mushrooms and used them to feed all kinds of Squigs, which in turn became food for the lads. Of course, not every Squig was meant to be eaten. Big Hoppers, for example, made excellent pets and fighting companions.

"Boss, want some of this?"

The moment Guk stepped into the stinking lower level, a burly fellow sidled up to him. His name was Green Tooth, earned from his habit of dyeing his teeth green. He had previously led a tribe wandering from place to place, but after arriving at Blackstone Fort, he decided it was a good place and stayed. He had also very willingly recognized Guk as boss, though only after receiving a thorough beating.

But Guk had to admit that this fellow, despite all his strange habits, seemed to have quite a knack for raising Squigs. His tribe had kept many odd varieties before arriving here. Prior to that, Guk had known only Slime Squigs, Face-Biter Squigs, and Hoppers.

"What's that? Looks kinda disgusting."

Guk eyed the wriggling things in the fellow's hand suspiciously. What he wanted to see were tender, juicy Squigs, not something this questionable.

"It'll make you look even more handsome, Boss. Like this."

As Green Tooth spoke, he pressed the thing's head, or perhaps tail, against his bald scalp. It immediately sprouted countless tiny teeth and clamped tightly onto his skin.

"See, Boss? Ain't it great?"

He even shook his head on purpose. The thing really did bite hard, swinging back and forth without falling off. But Guk had no interest in letting some weird thing take a bite out of his head, much less several dozen of them...

"Keep it for yourself. How's my Big Roarer doing?"

"It's still got that nasty temper. It swallowed a few Snotlings yesterday. I'm tellin' ya, Boss, you gotta take it out for some air."

"Take me to it."

Green Tooth led Guk into a huge enclosure built from timber. Who knew where they had found so much wood? All sorts of roars and cries rose and fell inside the camp. Snotlings hurried busily between the pens, occasionally crashing into one another and causing a burst of chaos.

At the center of the camp stood a highly conspicuous enormous cage. Inside slept a dark-red beast. The big thing was twice as tall as Guk, its fat, muscular body covered in folds. Thick, stubby legs sprawled loosely on the ground. Its huge mouth, large enough to swallow a lad whole, opened and closed slightly, exposing horrifying giant teeth. Its broad nostrils occasionally puffed out clouds of white vapor, while its tiny ears sat near the back of its head. It looked more or less like a hippopotamus.

This was a force-grown Squiggoth. According to Green Tooth, the idea had suddenly come to him one day while he was staring into space, and the results had pleased him greatly. It possessed terrifying strength, thick hide, and impressive short-distance speed. Its only flaw was its extreme temper. Even he could not tame it and could only numb it with the few hallucinogenic mushrooms he had. Before arriving at Blackstone Fort, he had been considering whether to slaughter the thing.

But Guk had taken one look at the big toy and fallen in love with it. After being bored for so long, he had finally found something fun. Though afterward, he seemed to have played a little too hard, leaving the big toy dizzy for quite a while.

Pfft!

Just as Guk stood outside the cage, preparing to open it, the Squiggoth suddenly sneezed. Transparent slime instantly sprayed across his and Green Tooth's faces. The watching Snotlings erupted into shrill laughter.

"Too loud!"

Guk viciously wiped his face and shouted:

"I've got perfectly good ears! Green Tooth, if those Snotlings make another sound, chop 'em up for me!"

"Got it!"

Green Tooth snorted and glared viciously at the Snotlings with wide eyes. They all immediately lowered their heads and tiptoed around, pretending to behave.

Perhaps disturbed by the noise, the Squiggoth opened its eyes. But upon seeing that white figure, its huge body immediately shrank back, ears flattening against its head as it looked utterly pitiful.

"Come on, I'll take you out for a stroll!"

Guk yanked open the cage door and walked in, patting the Squig's head. The giant beast immediately let out a docile rumble. Its right eye was slightly swollen, a "gift" Guk had left it two days ago.

"Big Roarer! Let's go!"

Guk swung himself onto the giant Squig's back and squeezed hard with his legs. The beast let out a soaring roar and bolted toward the outside. At that moment, a cage on the other side of the camp suddenly exploded open with a bang, its door flying high into the air along with two Snotlings standing before it. A huge red Jumpy, its long tongue flailing, bounced and leaped after Guk, trampling several Snotlings flat along the way.

"Ha ha ha! Come on! Let's go find some fun together."

Guk recognized it as the Jumpy he had intended to keep as a pet. He patted the giant head nudging against him, which was pretty much all head, and led the two beasts from underground to the surface, leaving chaos everywhere they went. After wrecking several camps, he finally reached one of the fort's exits, where a huge crowd of lads had gathered.

"What are you gits up to!"

"Boss! We found a big one! We're getting ready for a fight!"

Seeing Guk approach, the lads stopped their racket, wiped the grins off their faces, and tried their best to look serious. Nobody wanted a beating. Lads only liked giving beatings.

"Damn it! You idiots! There's a big one and you didn't call me? I oughta rip your stupid faces off and stuff 'em up your **!"

The lads did not dare bear Guk's wrath. Some were already preparing to sneak away, but his next words immediately sent them into a frenzy.

"You lot are nothing but dung-making machines! Hurry up and take me there! You want me to kick you along by the arse?"

"Yes, Boss!"

More than a hundred Greenskin lads marched grandly toward the big creature under Guk's lead. Before they had gone far, they could already hear the roars of battle and savage snarling.

"Lads, get your weapons up! We're gonna smack this crawler right in the face! Nose-Pusher, what're you on about? Course it's bigger than us, otherwise where'd the fun be? Shut it, you ain't running now. We've already got it surrounded! Chatter Rat, how long are you gonna keep hiding in that pile of Snotlings? Don't wanna? Then raise the weapon in your hand!"

Before he even saw anyone, Guk knew from the shouting that it was Grak. He was a restless fellow with a strange habit of smearing blood all over himself. But when it came to fighting, Guk believed Grak was second only to himself in the whole tribe. So whenever Grak made any provocative move, Guk gave him a vicious beating.

"GRAK!! YOU BASTARD!!!!! WAIT FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

With a thunderous roar, Guk, terrified of missing any fun, immediately urged Big Roarer beneath him into a faster charge. He quickly broke away from the group. Ahead, a large mass of Orks was surrounding and attacking a four-legged monster.

It resembled a sand lizard, except it was dozens of times larger, even bigger than the Squiggoth. Yellow-brown scales covered its entire body. Two crown-like protrusions rose behind its triangular head. Its bloody maw, packed with fine sharp teeth, flicked out a nimble tongue. That crimson tongue was frighteningly long, and its tip had a toothy mouth of its own. Lads were constantly being bitten by it, then instantly dragged into the monster's mouth.

"Boss!?"

An Ork taller than the other lads, his body covered in blood scabs, heard the familiar roar and turned around. He saw Guk riding a massive Squig, wildly swinging an axe and a blade as he charged straight at him. The Squig's enormous face was getting closer and closer...

"Wait... Waaagh!"

Though he tried his best to dodge, unfortunate Grak was still sent flying by the head-swaying Big Roarer. But Guk's target was not him. His eyes held only the prey.

Hissss!

Seeing a heavyweight opponent join the fight, the monster immediately gave a wary growl and raised its upper body. Its long tongue retracted into its mouth. Its belly and throat began to swell, as if it were preparing something.

"Don't just stand around! Get in there!"

Guk's instincts screamed that the thing was about to make a big move. He immediately leaped up, crouching half-squatted on the Squig's back as he barked orders at the surrounding lads.

"Get 'em!!"

Grak, having climbed up from the ground, was the first to roar and charge forward with a broken iron bar in hand. The other lads swarmed after him, but the monster also had a nimble tail. The lads had barely rushed a few steps before a sweeping strike knocked them all sprawling.

"WAAAAAAAGH!!!"

As the monster's throat swelled further and its mouth began to open, Guk did not hesitate. He kicked off hard with both legs and launched himself high from the Squig's back.

MOOOOOOOOOO!!!

The instant Guk left, a huge stream of foul-smelling liquid erupted from the monster's mouth. It splashed across the Squig's back and immediately began billowing white smoke, drawing a pained cry from the Squig. Yet it did not stop. Instead, it charged the enemy even faster and slammed it to the ground before the monster could react.

"It's mine!!"

Guk landed, rolled across the ground, and saw the monster writhing beneath the Squiggoth. He immediately rushed at its head, wielding the weapons in both hands in a storm of attacks. But to his surprise, his weapons could not break through the creature's scales, producing only bursts of sparks.

"Now that's a tough one!"

The monster reacted violently to the assault, its body thrashing madly. Even the Squiggoth could not hold it down and was thrown aside. The instant the creature rose, Guk seized the chance and viciously drove the blade in his left hand toward its eye!