"What is it, oh mightiest of magicians!? What is on offer?"
Tell-Tongue bowed, and she humbled herself deeply before the Black Magician Dhalthar, searching for the words that might save him. He was sure that the Black Magician's supernatural powers had allowed him to see his lackey's betrayal, and that he was going to punish him then. The terrible glow of the manastone still filled Dhalthar's eyes, and Telltongue could almost feel the dark energies boiling within him.
"It has to do with Felbroth" replied the Black Magician Dhalthar with an evil smile.
Telltale Tongue felt his musk glands contract. He would have spoken at that very moment, but his tongue was paralyzed, and he felt as if it had suddenly stuck to his palate. All he could do was bow his head guiltily.
"And with Heskit One Eye." Dhalthar added, and his malevolent smile widened even further. A plea for mercy stuck in Tell-Tongue's throat, and though he tried to force it out, there was no way to do it.
"And with Izak Grottle," Dhalthar concluded, his searing eyes pinning Tell-Tongue to the spot.
The little ratfolk felt like a bird transfixed by a serpent's gaze. He lowered his head again and fell to his knees with his front paws clasped before him in a gesture of humiliation.
"Get up! Get up!" Dhalthar said. "They're not that terrible for that. Nope! Absolutely. The time has come to get rid of them once and for all, and you are going to help me!"
"Get rid of them, oh mightiest of lords!?"
"Yes! Have you noticed how they questioned me when I was giving orders to my army? Did you see how they tried to rob me of the glory of my brilliant plan? I have already made up my mind! I won't tolerate them any longer. Tonight, they will die!"
"How, Lord of the spellcasters? Will you disintegrate them with magic?"
"Nope! Nope! Moron! I must keep my hands clean. Nope; we will use the method that we have well proven. We will inform my two pawns of your position. Tonight, when the fight is locked, my enemies will meet the sword of the dark warrior. Then, with any luck, the rest of our forces will take down that meddling duo."
"And how do you intend to achieve that, oh most clever of conspirators!?"
"I have assigned all three of you to a single strike group. The place through which they will leave is very close to where Elysia, the repulsive dark warrior Frey, and the horde of mercenaries live. You too will be assigned to that group. You will go out first under the pretense of conducting an exploration, and warn that hideous couple of what is about to happen!"
"Yes Yes! Consider it done, oh most supreme of schemers!"
"Take this message to them and make sure they get it. Then run to me and I will see to it that you are… properly rewarded for your loyalty!"
Tell-Tongue did not like the Black Magician's emphasis on that last sentence, but he took the card and, still bowing, stepped back until he was out of Dhalthar's presence.
♦ ♦ ♦
Elysia rang the doorbell of Doctor Niccolev's house, more with hope than with any real conviction that the doctor was at her home; so it was a pleasant surprise for her that her peephole opened and the servant who gave the impression of being a hardened warrior leaned out.
"Ah, it's you, Elysia." she said she. "She's alone?"
"Yes, and I would like to speak to the doctor."
"I'd better go inside, then."
Elysia heard the latches slide back and the door barely opened. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure there were no bandits poised to take advantage of the situation, and she hurried inside. The servant closed the door behind her.
Elysia moved through the corridors of the doctor's quarters, and it seemed to her that years had passed since she had first come there with Elissa, though in fact it had only been a few weeks. How did things change so quickly? She suppressed a wave of loneliness and sadness at the thought of the girl being gone. She shook her head and smiled ruefully, for she knew that her departure was one of the reasons she was there. She kept moving to be busy and not think about such things.
The servant led her to the doctor's study, where she found the doctor sitting by the fire.
"Elysia, what can I do for you?"
"I've come to return the book," Elysia said, pulling out the ratfolk encyclopedia. "I would have returned it sooner, but I've been very busy."
The doctor gave him a weak smile.
"So Frey told me. It seems he found a mate capable of keeping up with her."
"I'm not so convinced." Elysia replied as she made a vague gesture in the direction of the city. "It seems that all the efforts that Frey and I put in have been for nothing."
"Don't be so sure about that, Elysia. What person can know all the consequences of his actions? Without his intervention, perhaps things would be much worse."
"I wish I could believe it!, but I think that it is not so."
"Only a god can judge the actions of a mortal, Elysia, and I believe that, somehow, a god smiles on you. They're still here, aren't they? How many could say the same after having gone through the same adventures as you?
Elysia looked at her, realizing that there was some truth to the doctor's words.
"You are a good doctor, Miss Niccolev. I feel better just talking to you."
"Maybe I should wait until I see my bill before thanking me," Niccolev replied, with a smile that made it clear he was joking. "Did you find what you were looking for, in the book?"
Elysia put it down on the table."
"Much more than I wanted, though I'm not sure there's any point in knowing just how wicked and depraved the wererats are."
"In this case too, Elysia, who knows what the knowledge might be useful for? Eat a little. I have managed to preserve supplies in my basement, I have no problem sharing them, do you feel like eating?"
If Frey's theory about the impending ratfolk onslaught turned out to be true, he was going to need all of his strength.
"Why not?" she said she. "It could be the last supper!"
"Why do you say that?" Niccolev asked, and Elysia decided the time had come to issue the warning.
"Because I think the ratfolks will attack the city very soon. I also think you should go. I'm telling you as a friend."
"I appreciate the warning, Elysia, but I can't leave today. You see, I have been invited to a ball in the palace tonight, in the presence of Emilia herself, the daughter of Duke Emmanuel."
For some reason, that news sent a chill down Elysia's spine.
♦ ♦ ♦
Tell-Tongue knew things were going to get ugly when she felt the heavy hand of one of Izak Grottle's soldiers on her shoulder. He was thrown unceremoniously into the fat ratfolks palanquin. She found herself looking at the folds of flesh under the Beastmaster's chin. Grottle's huge belly literally pushed him, with a life of its own, into the seat cushions.
"Let's see, where are you going?" Izak Grottle asked. "Where, really?"
Tell-Tongue he thought quickly. He didn't like the glow of hunger that had appeared in the Beastmaster's eyes. He thought of the letter he was carrying from the Black Magician and thought of the disease that threatened to fill his lungs with pus unless the pontiff continued to intervene on his behalf before the Great Rat God.
"I was going to see you, oh most majestic of beastmasters!"
"In that case, it's lucky that I found you. Tell me, what's that you're wearing?"
Telltale Tongue told him everything. He had expected Izak Grottle to reach out with a stubby hand and snap his neck, but the Beastmaster only uttered a deep, rumbling laugh.
"It seems that the Black Magician has gone too smart this time. You are going to deliver the message, but it will be one that I will dictate and it will be written by One-Eyed Heskit."
"As you wish, oh mightiest of Beastmasters!"
♦ ♦ ♦
Elysia trudged back to The Stinky Pig, for she felt almost too full to move. Over the past few weeks her stomach had shrunk, and what once would have been a normal meal had now become bloated.
She was wearing a new herbal talisman that she had given her from the doctor, and in her backpack she carried another one for Frey. It was something that calmed her slightly. So far she hadn't caught the plague, although that might not mean anything, since none of the other people she knew had either. Perhaps it was by mere chance that she had overlooked them, or perhaps it was due to the fact that Frey insisted that they kill every last rat they saw around The Stinky Pig. Elysia had no idea why; she only knew that she thanked Niccolev for the gift.
She stared into the gathering darkness and shuddered. The city seemed like a ghost of the flourishing metropolis it was when she and Frey arrived.
Many buildings had burned down, and a larger number were abandoned. No lights were shining in most of the houses. The seething animation of the streets had been replaced by an aura of fear. The only ones likely to be out on the streets were predators…and their victims.
She felt the fur on her tail rise, and suddenly she was sure someone was watching her.
She turned her head and looked towards the entrance of a nearby alley. The buzz in the air alerted her too late, and something hit her head. She jerked back in reaction, almost expecting pain, but the pain didn't show up. She put her fingers to her forehead, but she wasn't bleeding. She looked down to see what she had struck him, and she saw that it was a rolled up scroll, similar to the others that had come with warnings regarding ratfolk.
She bent to pick it up as she glanced back. She heard the sound of quick footsteps running down a nearby alley, and she realized that it must be whoever had thrown the scroll at her.
Without thinking twice, she Elysia picked up the scroll and ran off in pursuit of her. She stretched her legs to the fullest as she ran down the alley, and before her she thought she caught a glimpse of a hooded figure. Was it possible that it was a long rodent tail sticking out from under her tunic?