Niccolev was sitting by the fireplace in a huge study. The dancing glow of the flames illuminated the contours of her mask from below, giving it a vaguely demonic look. She was leaning forward and stirring the hot coals with a poker; when they collapsed, she added new coal from a bucket she kept by the fireplace. She looked up, and the flames reflected in the crystals of her mask. The effect was unsettling.
"Let's see, how can I help you, Elysia?" she asked calmly. "She doesn't seem to be sick. Is the other girl?"
Elysia looked around the room. The servant had already walked away on the thick rugs that absorbed the sound of her footsteps. It was an impressive room, and contained a large selection of books. Elysia's sharp eyes probed the dark corners as if she half expected to find enemies there, then turned to look directly at Niccolev.
"What do you know about ratfolks?" she asked her bluntly.
Niccolev tensed for a moment, then carefully returned the poker to its holder. Pulling a cloth from his robe, he rubbed the crystals of her mask clean and gave the impression that he was seriously pondering Elysia's question.
"They are a race of bipedal rat-like humanoids. Other than that, I don't know much."
"Everything you have said is true, but there is more."
"There is?" Niccolev inquired, giving him a sharp look.
"Yes. I have fought them. They are here, in Bergheim."
Niccolev leaned back in his seat and gripped one arm of the chair with each hand.
"Please sit down. This interests me."
Elysia dropped into the chair across from Niccolev; the fire warmed an armrest and made her uncomfortable. She moved the seat slightly away from the fire before she began to speak. He told Niccolev about his time in the sewers and his group's encounter with the ratmen inside the tunnels under the city, though he omitted the episode of the entry into Fritz Helstaff's house and the circumstances of the raid. death of this one. She told him about the ratfolk attack on The Stinking Pig, which she assumed was some kind of revenge attempt by the ratmen. She also refrained from mentioning that Ella and Frey had once again fought the wererats inside the Alchemist College the night a fire had consumed it to the ground. Niccolev watched her with growing astonishment, and when Elysia finished, Niccolev spoke.
"Miss Elysia, although I am relatively new to the city, if what you tell me is true, why haven't I heard more about it? Why haven't the authorities acted?"
"I do not know. Perhaps the ratfolks have allies in positions of influence." She then she was thinking of Helstaff. How many more like him held positions of power in Bergheim and the rest of the lothal realm or even the Kaleth Empire? "Sometimes I think that in our society there is a conspiracy aimed at covering up the effects of corruption and all its forms."
She noticed Bergheim flinch slightly at the word conspiracy, but the mention of corruption didn't seem to faze her.
"If I weren't so obviously sane, I'd suspect you're a lunatic." Niccolev stated. "I assure you that some of the things you say seem like crazy delusions."
"I know," Elysia assured him. "Unfortunately, all of that is true."
"Surely, that possibility is feasible."
Elysia handed him the note Frey had received, and Niccolev unrolled it and calmly read it.
"The Morbus Clan." she said finally. "I've heard of them."
"What?"
"The Morbus Clan. Some of the old books, notably The Foul Ratmen and All Their Vile Kind, state that the ratfolk are divided into many different clans, each with a distinct role within ratfolk society and its own brand of magical lore. Some of these books state that members of Clan Morbus could make plagues. If the sender of this letter is a joker, it is a learned joker. I doubt there is a person in the entire kingdom or in any human nation who currently owns a copy of Andru's Ratfolk Encyclopedia."
"Do you have one?"
"Yes. I have what we might call a professional interest in these subjects. Its peculiar ability to create disease is of interest to me."
"I can see?"
"Of course, a friend of Frey's is also my friend; But before she has to answer some questions."
"Of course. I asked for!"
"Do you really think that the ratfolks could be behind this new outbreak of plague in the city?"
"Yes. From what I've seen of them, it would fit their methods of warfare."
"That agrees with Mr. Andru's theories."
"What does he mean?" Elysia looked up.
"Mr. Andru claims that the Ratfolks have a high birth rate and that when conditions are right their population grows explosively. In those cases, they devour all the food they have in their own territories and must search for food elsewhere. At times like this they come to the surface in huge, hungry hordes, and do not stop fighting until they are defeated, or else so many individuals are killed that they can once again subsist within their own territories."
"I must read that book."
"Yes. I can see that she is anxious to consult one of the books written by Mr. Andru, and nothing could be further from my intention than to stand between a scholarly colleague and her books."
Niccolev carried a short ladder into the study, and they made their way up the rows of books to the far corner of the room. From the topmost shelf, Niccolev pulled out a perfectly preserved, leather-bound tome, which he held reverently in both hands. He blew off the fine layer of dust that had settled on the decks and handed it to Elysia.
"Although it is a copy of the original, I think it is enough. There is a table and a reading lamp there. I'll leave her alone for a few minutes, because I have some chores to do." Elysia nodded, already completely immersed in the excitement of having found that work.
The tome was heavy, and the title and author's name, carved in beaten gold on the spine, were perfectly written; although the name of the author was strange, because although Niccolev had said that his name was Andru, in the book it was written '4NDR3'. Two huge brass hinges held the covers together and made them easier to open.
Elysia sat at the table, and with a candle she lit the reading lamp at the same time that she turned the small side wheel to make the wick come out to the maximum; she then placed the glass tube on her. The pungent smell of aromatic oil filled the air, and she began to read.
The book's credits page stated that it had been printed at Damenburg Castle over two hundred years ago. That meant that either 4ndr3 or Andru had probably coincided in time with the last Great Arrival of the Dark Lords, or at least had known people who had lived through it. It was even possible that he had had direct experience with the wererats.
As she read, Elysia discovered how detailed the book was.
The book was divided into short chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the structure of ratfolk society and its various clans.
She was horrified to read the chapter in which Andru elaborated on the Shaper Clan's vile experiments on living creatures, transforming them into all manner of repulsive mutant monsters.
She recognized the artificers of the Marchin Clan as the creatures she and Frey had fought in the alchemy college.
The being that had unleashed the monster on them in Fritz Helstaff's mansion was a Black Magician, some kind of ratfolk wizard or sorcerer.
Andru might have written like a delusional maniac, but everything she had written was consistent with the experience Elysia had gained the hard way. Although the scholar would have been considered crazy, he was right.
Elysia paid special attention to the chapter on the Morbus Clan, the methods they used to create disease, and the fact that they used all sorts of disgusting means to spread their pestilential epidemics. The description of the boil and her flea buboes gave him goosebumps. There were horrors here beyond anything she had imagined.
A shadow was cast over the catgirl, which she lifted her head from. Niccolev di L'Orme was standing over her. She realized that she must have spent hours reading in the dim light. Somehow, Elysia knew that Niccolev possessed the ability to see in the dark.
"Did you find what he was looking for?" Niccolev asked.
"More than he wanted to know."
"Good. Come see me tomorrow, and maybe he can help you. He can take the book, if he wants."
"Help me? How?"
"We will visit the city morgue."
"And how will that help me?"
"You will see him tomorrow, Miss Elysia. Now go home and sleep. Please give my regards to Frey."
Although Niccolev's words were soft and delicate, they were also cold, denoting a logical nature that sent a chill down Elysia's spine and caused the fur on her tail to stand on end.