Chapter 046:

The clanging of metal, and the shouts of men and women training, greeted Anton as they entered the training fields in the north of Atros. Villagers, old and new, ran from one side to the other, while others practised against each other with blunted training weapons. It was an awe inspiring sight. Many had divided themselves into smaller groups to practice hand to hand fighting. Some one on one while others tried their best to simulate being attacked from two sides. A few were practising with bows and crossbows, underneath the watchful eyes of their trainers. There seemed to be no distinction between former Bondsmen and the villagers practising. That what very heartening to see.

None of them paid them any attention as they walked through. He was impressed by their dedicated to their practice.

“So...” Anton mumbled out aloud. “Where are the sheriff and his deputies hiding? They might know where Jeff is.”

Verona tugged on his sleeve, pointing towards a group of villagers to this side of the training field. There was about thirty of them. These, unlike the normal soldiers, stood extremely upright and in a line. Infront of them stood Jeff and another man. All of their attention was directed at them.

Anton looked down at Verona.

“The one next to Jeff is Dennis.” she said, glancing around at the soldiers on the other side of the field. “Guess he's really moving quickly.”

Anton hummed in agreement. As he looked more closely, he saw that Dennis had several bands of bright blue cloth in his hands.

Is that going to be some sort of band they wear around their arm? That's not a bad idea. It'll be instantly recognisable from a long distance away. Guess that blue is going to be the colour of law and order here as well.

“Let's go introduce ourselves then.” Anton said, moving forward.

He took a quick glance backwards to make sure that both were following. Verona seemed to be at home here, and Kal too appeared quite relaxed. Perhaps it was the open spaces, but surely the sheer number of armed soldiers around her would have caused her some grief.

I don't know much about slavery, but I suppose that they wouldn't have hundreds of armed soldiers training around them. Though, there would have been many soldiers to keep them in line...unless Seocuria had some other way of keeping order.

Anton shook his head to focus himself. Jeff saw them approaching and waved them over.

“Anton, Verona, Kal. These are the first Deputies of Atros.” He said, waiting until they stood next to him and Dennis before waving towards them.

The new deputies snapped to attention, and brought their hands up into a salute.

“They seem quite...motivated.” Anton said.

“They are.” the man called Dennis answered. “With Commander Jeff's direction and selection, he picked the best people for the job of enforcing law and order.”

Anton studied the man. He was certainly Dana's brother, there was not much to phyisically differentiate the two. Unlike his sister he did not seem cold or detached in his voice. Now, with the power and responsibility of the whole of Atros, he was bursting with energy and enthusiasm. That energy had infected the new deputies.

“All thirty of these people are from....before.” Jeff said. “So, they should have loyalty to Atros.”

“Shouldn't you get some people from the new bondsmen?” Anton asked.

Jeff looked at Dennis. Dennis looked very awkward as he scratched his head.

“I have thought about that, um, Anton, but we do not know them well enough yet.” he answered. “After a little while I'll see about getting some of those as part of the deputies.”

“What about the first ones from Maxill?” Verona asked, as she peered around Anton, raising a silver eyebrow. “Like Raston, he's fine.”

Dennis coughed awkwardly.

“I...I haven't got to them yet.” he answered, looking to Jeff. “Jeff, are there any of them that you would recommend?”

“A few.” Jeff said. “I'll add them to the list for the deputies.”

Why not before...Oh well. Just so long as it's done.

“So, Dennis.” Anton began. “How will you deal with any criminals that emerge?”

Dennis shuffled his feet on the ground before looking straight at the assembled deputies. This was the first test of his position.

“If...Well, in any case of criminals, we would like to catch the offender in the act. If not, we will have to try our best to find out the truth from those we question and the things we find.”

Good start.

“I'm not going to patronise any of you, trying to tell you how yo do your jobs, but there are a few things I would like to speak about.”

Dennis nodded thoroughly.

“If the perpetrator, of a crime, was a deputy or a friend, would you arrest them and enforce the punishment?”

Dennis looked to the deputies. “Anyone who commits a crime will be arrested and punished.” he said defiantly. “Regardless of our relations to them.”

“Good. And the final thing I want to know...Is that if a crime involves a Beast-kin, victim or perpetrator, will you work harder to get to the truth of the matter?”

That brought Dennis, and the deputies, pause. Their eyes drew over to Kal, who held her stare and ground. It was an important question. What he did not want was the beast-kin to be discriminated against, either for or against. He wanted them as equals to everyone else, even though he knew that would be something extremely difficult for both sides.

Dennis coughed. “We would....We will treat every crime, involving a beast-kin or human or whomever, the same. It will not even come into question.”

A shudder of relief overcoming his face when Anton nodded.

“Good.” Anton heard Verona mumble quietly.

Kal mumbled something similar, though he could have just been hearing things.

“An I'm sure that applies to you, as well?” Anton asked the assembled deputies.

A quick shiver of fear overcame their faces before they corrected themselves.

“Yes sir!” they yelled in unison.

Anton gave them a polite nod and turned to Jeff and Dennis.

“I look forward to seeing how well this goes.” he said, holding his hand out for Dennis to shake. “We all expect you to perform well in your role.”

“I will, sir.” Dennis said, shaking his hand. His hand was cold, slightly damp and trembling.

“I've taken up enough of your time,” Anton said, “I wish you all luck with your duty.”

“Thank you.” Dennis gave a final nod before returning to the deputies. He seemed very glad to be away from Anton.

Anton stepped back and towards the most northern gate. “Glad to see that he seems to be heading in the right direction.” Anton said to Jeff when he came alongside.

“Did you try and intimidate him?” Jeff asked.

Anton shook his head. “No. Just wanted to make sure that they are fully aware that they are not going to be discriminatory against someone that's not from Atros, even if they are Beast-kin or not. I remember hearing that there are other sentient creatures here as well. They might choose to live in Atros, or our other cities, as well someday in the future, and I don't want to have to try and change it then. Start it now.”

“Right.” Jeff said, taking a deep breath. “I wasn't sure about bringing people from Maxill into something like this straight away....I wasn't the best person at figuring out who is a good, or bad, person.”

Anton knew what he was talking about.

“I....I think just one or two from the first batch we got from Maxill would be a good start.” he said, avoiding what Jeff was alluding to, “You might want to consider asking Raston for help. I trust him, and he'll probably know who's good or not.”

“I'll have to find him, but I'll give it a go.”

Jeff glanced between all three of them.

“Are you here for some training?” he asked. “You look like you are.”

“We're heading to the mountain.” Verona answered, pushing out her chest in pride.

Jeff looked at him, full of confusion.

“The mountain has been abandoned for a while. It'll be a good idea for us to go there and seal the entrances. Just in case anything has tried to make a nest there.”

“That's...That's a good idea.” Jeff said. “I've already spoken to Zac about building a watch-post on the far side of the mountain. Soldiers have already been sent over to man the position. You may want to see them on your mission. See if they've seen anything crawling about.”

“Thanks Jeff.” Anton said.

He looked to the mountain in the distance, letting out a groan.

“I forgot how far away that thing is.” he said aloud. “I don't know how to ride a horse yet.”

“You know how to ride in a cart, though?” Jeff asked, a smile forming on his face.

“Why?”

Jeff nodded his head towards the northern gate. Just in front was a cart, being drawn by an Ix. On the cart were several small crates and an assortment of villagers.

“There's an idea.” Verona wore an awkward smile.

---[]---

The cart rumbled and bounced as they travelled to the mine. Anton sat near the back, along with Verona and Kal. The front was filled with supplies and the villagers that were meant to be going to the mine. They joined in at the last moment and had to fit in where they could. Not that the others seemed to mind.

“At least it's not as bad as the time when we travelled to the lake.” Anton said to Verona, seeing that she was handling it better than she had last time.

“That was a terrible trip.” She answered, putting one finger into her throat. “What happened to that driver? Did Jeff get rid of him?”

Anton looked to the front, and at the man leading the cart. He could not see the front of the man but he looked decidedly familiar.

“I...I don't think that we should ask.” Anton said, sitting back down into his position.

Something was starting to bother him. A feeling crawled at the back of his mind whenever he looked at the mountain. Talking about it was fine, now that he was here he could not shake the feeling. A mountain was just a mountain, but what he did in there was not normal. What happened there was not normal. Not by a long shot.

“Hey, Kal.” Verona asked, Kal turning away from looking at Atros and to her. “Did you ever ride in a cart before? When you were travelling?”

She shook her head. “Someone like me could not go very close to larger cities or villages without getting caught. Any carts and caravans that were travelling, in the places that I could travel safely, always had armed guards with them to deal with monsters and bandits. Someone dressed like I normally am...” A bitter smile crossed her face. “They would think that I'm working with any bandits. I don't want to be hanged from a post.”

“That's what Graterious does to bandits?” Anton asked, trying to distract himself from the feeling.

Kal nodded. “If they catch them. Bandits are very quick and dangerous. It makes travelling on the roads quite dangerous. Some times the monster infested wilderness can be safer.”

“I don't think that anybody would allow this to keep going on for long.” Anton added.

Kal shrugged. “One of the last things that I heard was that they were starting roaming patrols that would hunt bandits. From what little I overheard they were doing okay.”

“Another thing we'll need to look out for when we travel there.” Anton rubbed his beard. “Still, better that we know now. We'll just need to bring a few extra soldiers with us.”

Kal breathed deeply, like she was about to say something, but held back.

“I...I...If I come with you, I'll need to be completely covered at all times, at least when I'm outside.” Kal said. “A half-breed would stand out.”

“Got it.” Anton said. “We'll make sure that happens.”

He looked towards the mountain, missing the worried look that Verona gave him.

After almost half an hour, travelling at a decent speed, they arrived at the final ridge before the base of the mountain.

Anton, for the first time, saw the mine that provided the iron ore and coal for Atros. It was essentially a large pit at the base of the mountain, with some wooden buildings relatively close to the edge. On one side was an enormous pile of dirt and small rocks. As they got closer he could hear the sound of digging, and men and women shouting in exertion. Pick axe heads rose above the top of the pit and then drove back down. It seemed the mine was not that deep yet, just very wide.

A whistle, by one of the soldiers standing on-top of one of the buildings, caught his attention. Quite a few armed soldiers emerged from the few buildings.

“How many are there?” Verona asked, leaning over the side of the cart.

“Thirty two soldiers.” Kal answered.

“Quite a few.” Anton mumbled as they came to a halt. “Though, being so far away from Atros, they are quite a long from help so....I would think that there might even be more. We do have a serious manpower problem here.”

Anton hopped off the cart, quickly followed by Verona and Kal, as did the other workers. One of the soldiers came up to Anton, his attention was darting between them and the surroundings.

“Good afternoon.” He said. “I didn't know we were expecting you.”

“You weren't.” Anton replied, the man frowned. “We are here of our own volition. I wanted to see how the observation posts on the mountain are going, also...”

He turned to the mountain, the man following his eyes. “We're going to seal the mountain up as best we can. Have you heard anything strange coming from there? I don't think we want any more Yellow Goblins pouring out of there.”

Several of the soldiers tensed. Anton did not recognise them by name, but he felt that he had seen many around Atros before. A few looked like they were from the former bondsmen. They had not seen what those creatures had done to Atros.

“No.” he replied, glancing down. “No we do not.”

The bondsmen glanced at the solemn guards, but did not ask. There would be time after they left.

“We've only been here a day, but...” he moved in closer to Anton. “I do think that there might be something going on in there.”

Anton nodded, biting onto his lower lip. “It was about twenty odd days since you've been able to be here, and we haven't had enough people to surround it.” Anton put on his best apologetic smile. “I should have sealed all of the tunnels except for this one.”

He pointed to the large cavern entrance into the mountain. The same entrance that they had used when they finished the Yellow Goblins off.

The soldier shrugged. “Well, I...”

“The point is that I'm here to fix that.” Anton said, receiving a warm smile from several of the soldiers. “So, have any of you heard anything odd coming from inside?”

The soldiers looked at one another.

“Actually,” one at the back began, “I thought I heard something just before you arrived, coming from the cave.”

“What sort of noise?” Kal asked.

Quite a few of the soldiers looked oddly at her. Had they not expected her to speak until Anton spoke to her? He hopped that was not the case, especially for Kal's sake. A quick glance at her showed nothing of the sort. He hoped he was just overthinking things.

The man looked back at the entrance. “It...It sounded like something was scraping along the stone floor. I only heard it for a moment, but I'm sure I heard it.”

Kal looked down at the grass for some time, he could see that she was thinking very hard.

“Was there anything else?” she asked, still looking down, “Like a sort of chirping, or squeaking?”

Anton saw the man frown and nod.

“Maybe...There could have been something like that.” he glanced at the soldiers to his side, they nodded as well. “We were the closest but even then it was very soft and weak. When we moved closer we couldn't hear it anymore.”

Kal looked over to Anton. “It sounds like it could be Rock-Rat's.”

It did not fill him with a sense of dread, like it would have if she had told them that some Goblins were trying to make a home there, but it was still disconcerting. He could not help but let out a chuckle.

“Once something built has been abandoned, it won't take long for something to move in.” he mumbled.

He received quite a few odd looks from those around him, but he ignored them.

“Kal, how dangerous would Rock-Rat's be to Atros, or this mine?”

She spun around and looked at everything that constituted the mine, then at the mountain. A frown formed on her face as she pursed her lips.

“Very. They are very territorial and breed almost as quickly as the Green Goblins, if they had humanoid women to breed with. Thankfully, they don't want those, or men.”

The soldiers relaxed a little.

“But, that also means that they have no issues with killing a few humans, or a mine, or a cities worth, for being too close to their home.”

“So, we need to deal with them now.” the soldier at the front bumped his metal chest-piece. He turned to Kal. “How many do you think there could be?”

Glad to see that somebody doesn't have a problem with asking Kal something.

Kal was stunned for a second, before coughing to correct herself. “If...If it's been about twenty days, the first litter should already be reaching maturity. So, if there were only a hundred or so to begin with-”

“Only a hundred?” the soldiers now looked very worried.

“There could be three to four hundred now.”

None of the soldiers said anything. Anton could see them contemplating how they would fight so many, with just thirty two moderately armed soldiers.

“Shouldn't be a problem.” Verona rested her spear over her shoulders, a wicked smile forming on her face.

For either of them, it would not be a problem. The others did not see it that way.

"Especially not if they're in those tunnels. I'll just use the fire magic." He was not sure who exactly his was speaking to, though Verona chuckled as she rested her spear on the ground.

"I'll start by closing the entrance here. Just in case, if they are in there," Anton glanced at Kal, but she had not been offended. "So they don't all come pouring out against you."

"Right..."

"What ways do you have for contacting Atros?" Anton asked. "Just in case."

"We have a fire that we can light," He began, "So the soldiers on the north of Atros would be able to see and get help. We also have two of Dana's riders here, which can ride quickly to Atros to give them the message."

"Send one to Atros. Tell them to get every soldier we can spare to come here. That way you guys don't get killed by a horde of angry Rock-Rat's. I don't want for it to happen, but..."

"Thank you, Anton. We'll get the messenger ready."

With a wave of his hand, one of the soldiers ran towards one of the larger buildings. A few seconds later they emerged with an eager looking horse.

"I didn't think that Jeff and Dana had already got something like this sorted."

"They arrived at dawn this morning, and they told up what they were here for."

I must remember to commend them later.

Anton turned to the horse rider.

"Head back to Atros and tell Jeff that he needs to send soldiers here now. Tell them there could be Rock-Rat's."

The rider glanced around, unsure if he should go.

"Move!" He barked.

With a jolt he lurched forward and towards Atros. The remaining soldiers looked at him, looks of confusion plastered on their faces.

"I'm sorry that I kind of had to pull rank there," Anton began, "But you don't want to be all understaffed if those Rock Rats turn up when I start working."

They all nodded furiously.

"Plus, it'll give Jeff a test of readiness." Anton chuckled. "I hope he sees the good in it, and doesn't just yell at me."

"I'll let the men know what's about to happen."

"Before you do that, how will I find the lookouts? I would like to see those as well."

"Aren't you causing enough havoc here?" Anton raised an eyebrow at the soldier, the man reeling. "I... I didn't-"

"No. No, you are right." Anton waved to calm the man down. "We will wait until the soldiers arrive before starting."

"Thank you, Anton." this time he seemed genuinely thank full that he listened.

I should wait, and not be impatient about something like this. I don't want to be responsible for their deaths just because I could not wait an hour or so.

He looked towards the sun.

We've still got about six hours left of good light. The worst that happens is that we stay the night.

"Carry on with your duty, soldier."

He received salutes in return, they quickly dispersed and went about their business. They seemed to be taking great pains to work as far away from them as they could.

"Are they avoiding me?" He asked to Verona and Kal.

Kal shrugged, keeping her attention on the mountain. She would not yet know what a normal reaction should be. Verona, or the other hand, winced as she lightly took his hand.

"A little. But don't think too much about it. They do it to me." she sounded quite sad at the end.

A part of him wanted to hit whomever was treating her this way, his first thought was of Jira, but he quickly realised what she meant.

"Just telling them I was going to ruin their day probably didn't help."

Verona chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"Well, we're waiting until those soldiers arrive." Anton said. "I'm going to have a little look around at how the mine actually works."

"I'll come with you." Verona happily exclaimed.

"I want to have a closer look at the cave entrance." Kal pointed towards it. "There might be more clues as to how many Rock-Rats there are, and if there's anything we need to watch out for."

"You can tell that just by smell?" Verona asked.

Kal shook her head. "No. But, there might be something there. Something that only a Beast-kin can find."

A hint of pride graced her face as she ran towards the mountain, not waiting for any response.

"Guess we've got some time to kill."

---[]---

"Rock-Rats?" Jeff asked, leaning his whole weight onto a wooden table at the mining camp, looking up at Anton. "Hundreds of Rock-Rats making a nest in the mountain?"

"It is a serious possibility." Anton replied.

“I'm sure that I smelt something like that coming from the cave.” Kal explained. “It was weak and old, but I know what I smelt. It was from Rock-Rat fur.”

Jeff pushed himself off and stood upright. They stood outside of the largest of the mining camp buildings, along with two hundred soldiers and twelve horsemen that he had brought with him. Jeff was not angry when he arrived, but more surprised of what he had heard of what might be happening.

He scratched the back of his head underneath his iron helmet. Along with most of the reinforcement villagers, he had been issued with a set of iron chest, arm, leg armour along with a helmet. Jonathan had been working hard to churn out this many pieces. Now any creature would think twice of attacking these men and women.

"And if the Green Goblins lurking to the north east weren't bad enough." He grumbled.

"Better this happening happens now, before we go, than afterwards." Anton said, trying to lift his mood.

A small smile broke out on his face. "That it is. You gave me a fright when that rider turned up, babbling nonsense about you needing men here."

"We don't need soldiers to help us seal the mountain." Verona said proudly. "But, we don't want to be the cause of people dying because of us."

"So, what will we be doing?" Avery asked. Like always he was silent and spoke with his cold voice. Of the two hundred odd soldiers, thirty were archers and crossbowmen.

"If everything goes well, nothing." Anton began. "Think of it as a training exercise. Something to teach them about...a rapid response."

"Sitting around then?" Avery chuckled.

"You are more than welcome to go into the tunnels and tell me where the Rock-Rats are."

Avery scoffed, but some of his frivolity disappeared.

"Okay." Jeff clapped his hands, "How long do you think it will take?"

"A while." Anton answered. "Quite possibly until night fall. I don't know how many entrances there are. Kal has very good senses, so we should be able to get most of them."

"I can't just find caves by you asking, you know?"

Everything went silent as they all looked to Kal. He did not know what to call it exactly. Snark perhaps? But, whatever it is, she had just done it. An uncontrollable smile formed on his face, as she began began to understand what she had just said. A light flush started to creep over her face. Even as she fought it down, she opened her mouth to speak, quite probably to apologise. Whatever it was, she did not say it. Her confidence in herself was coming back.

"You're right, Kal. But, I'm presuming that you can find most of the cave entrances?”

Kal flushed brightly. Verona was nearly bursting with laughter, again, but she was holding it in.

“Yes. Yes I can. Though it will take me a little while to find them; the air coming out of them might be a little stale, there might be trails where water running out carved through the rocks and dirts. Things like that.”

Anton smiled.

“We'll get started then.” He said.

“I'll get the men to start digging some defences.” Jeff smiled broadly, folding his arms. “You're right, this could be a good chance to get some serious practice in.”

Anton gave a final nod before heading towards the mountain. As he walked away he heard Jeff, and Avery, begin to order the soldiers to work. There were a few grumbles of discontent, but they did not last long and did as they were told.

When he stopped infront of the entrance, he glanced back. The soldiers were using mining equipment to build earthen ramparts around the mine. Most of it came from the giant dirt waste pile.

“So. I suppose I'd better start.” he said.

“You going to use the lightning bombs?” Verona asked, standing a few paces back, along with Kal.

“Yeah. Though, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to close this tunnel.” Anton mused. “I suppose that I could use the tethering of a chain of lightning bombs and throw them into the ceiling.”

“I...I suppose that could work.” Verona answered, getting an inconclusive shrug from Kal.

“One way to find out.”

He took his time, summoning a tethered line of four lightning bombs. The thin line of twisting and writhing as it kept the lightning spitting balls.

Who knows if this is going to actually work.

With a push of mana the lightning bombs sailed forward into the tunnel. Standing as close as he dared, he stopped the bombs, took a deep breath and pushed them into the rock ceiling. The moment the bombs touched the rock ceiling they exploded. Each detonated in a blinding flash of light and sound, the sound of rocks tumbling quickly following. When the dust began to clear, the rocks began to creak and groan. Nearly ten meters worth of the rocks above sunk into the tunnel entrance, leaving a large rough channel above where the entrance once stood.

“Wow.” Verona said, coming up to him. “I don't see anyone getting through that.”

“I don't think so either. Kal, how well can the Rock-Rat's dig through stone like that?”

“The Rock-Rat's prefer to live amongst the rocks and caves, they don't need it to love. They don't often build into something as hard as this. They'll just search for somewhere else to make a home rather than dig through it.” she said as she walked up to the loose rocks, “But they could dig through this, given enough time. They'll probably just find another way in or out of the mountain.”

“Now we've probably just got dozens more to go.” Anton said, starting up towards the mountain. “You remember how much smoke was coming out of here?”

Verona nodded. She did not look to happy to remember that day either. “The whole thing looked like a chimney on the smithy.”

“How did you do that?” Kal asked. “I didn't think you had the power to make smoke.”

“I...”

Could I actually have that power? I suppose I could, smoke is a part of fire, though I haven't really seen it when I've used my magic. When it caused something to catch on fire, like wood, that released smoke, but my fire. I haven't tried it yet. Definitely not now.

“I'm not sure. I might be able to but I didn't do it this time. The Yellow Goblins had been collecting loot, and they had barrels of thick tar near the bottom. That smoked them out.”

Kal smiled and nodded.

“I'll...I'll head in front and find as many of the tunnels as I can.” she said, quickly moving infront. “I'll let you know when I find one.”

---[]---

Over the next two hours they found eleven tunnel entrances on the western side of the mountain. Anton closed them all with the tethered lightning bombs. However, Kal had not found any evidence of Rock-Rat's being present in the mountain. There were no piles of refuse or signs of habitation. It started to cause her a little pain as she could be seen to be wrong, that her concerns may be unwarranted.

She moved infront with increasing determination and restlessness to find the caves and evidence of the Rock-Rat's.

“Is she okay?” Anton asked Verona.

“I don't know.” Verona answered. “She seems a little out of it.”

“Kal?” Verona said, her voice light and teasing.

She did not answer and continued to look along the mountain, perched on a large boulder. Verona glanced at Anton.

“Kal?” Now Verona spoke more deeply and with authority.

Kal snapped her head back to them.

“You okay?” They both asked at once.

She looked around at the rolling landscape of dirt and stone. She let out a sigh as slid down the boulder and made her way to them. Barely a sound came from her as she walked gracefully over the rocky ground.

“Sorry.” she said, not giving any further explanation.

“Well.” Anton began, looking back to the peak of the mountain. “We're about at the halfway mark. We've even closed the entrance that we found when we infiltrated the mountain.”

“I thought we would have found some sign of the Rock-Rat's by now.” Kal grumbled unhappily.

“We've still got the rest of the mountain to cover.” Anton offered, “They may have come in through another way.”

Kal smiled. “I hope that I am wrong, but I know that they're here. Somewhere.” She grumbled again.

“The watch posts are meant to be above us.” Anton began, “They've been there for a day, so they might have seen something. We'll be able to get some food to snack on while we're there.”

Both of the girls smiled. They followed Jeff's directions leading to the watch post, through several large boulders and a path that Kal identified as being disturbed lightly by humans. They continued to follow the path until they came across a small wooden structure hidden amongst the rocks.

It was built between three very large boulders that lay in the shape of a triangle. Wooden planks had been placed over the top for shelter, and had been placed vertically to enclose the structure. He could see a small entrance at the front that led to another line of small boulders. These were small enough to see over the top while standing, so they could see out but not be discovered easily. It was quite good for what they had and where it was built.

However, he could not see or hear anybody. That was to be expected, in a sense, as this was meant to be a hidden outpost. He stepped forward, his shoes crunching on the light and small stones. Unlike the grey stones around these were white and looked more like sand. They did not look like they belonged right there. Were they an early warning system?

Anton was about to speak up, when both girls stopped him, Kal raising her arm while Verona pulled back on his shirt. He heard the sound of a bow being pulled tight, but Kal's was still fastened to her back.

A woman appeared around the side of the building, her bow drawn and aimed at them. Upon looking at them more closely she lowered the bow.

“Sorry about that. The next person is meant to be here tomorrow, so when we heard something coming towards us...”

She knocked her fist onto the wood, reverberating through the cool and still mountain air. Another three armed villagers emerged from the small structure. Two were men and the other was a woman. They wore full leather armour and wielded short spears and swords. Armour that would not gleam in the light and weapons more suited for the rocky and congested terrain.

“Our visit is unscheduled.” Anton explained. “I take it you've heard the explosions going on for the past little while?”

The woman nodded, ushering them into the structure. It was sparsely furnished, only sleeping gear and some small crates of food.

“Yes.” she answered. “We had a look and saw you moving about near the base of the mountain. By the looks of things you are sealing the tunnels.”

“Yes.” Anton answered. “Just in case something tries to come back and make a home in the mountain.”

The women tensed, and the men looked equally sickened. He did not know if they were from Atros originally, but they must have been told of what happened if they were not.

“Have you seen anything odd?” Kal asked. “I...” she glanced at Anton, who nodded her to continue. “Some of the soldiers at the mine said they heard something odd, and I'm sure that I've smelt old Rock-Rat fur. I've been told that they tried to take the mountain from the Yellow Goblins but failed. So they might be back.”

“We've been looking out as far as we can, but we haven't seen anything.” she answered.

He could see Kal's ears droop, along with her shoulders. She was determined to find proof of them, even though she had not been ordered to find them.

“That's a pity.” Anton said. “So nobody's seen anything odd?”

All shook their heads. They moved through to the lookout position.

This was another series of small boulders that formed an enclosure. They could see out, but it would be almost impossible for anyone to see them. All they would be able to see were some small heads over the boulders. A series of planks of wood had been placed nearby so they would be able to stand easily for hours on end. At least their feet would be flat and not trying to have to balance on the innumerable small rocks.

“Quite a sight here.” Anton said.

The watch post soldiers agreed, resting themselves on the boulders as they looked out. Kal stood next to him and sniffed at the air. Verona was stuck looking at the top of the boulder. She grumbled unhappily as she moved to the side, to a place where she could see over. It was a few meters away but she seemed happy that she could see over.

Between them and the mountain range to the north, the border of the Deweth Clans, was open and rolling grasslands. Many creatures roamed through the grass; Razor Pigs, Ix beasts and horses. There were probably the giant rabbit Thumpers hidden throughout. There was even something that resembled a giant chicken, brightly and flamboyantly coloured. He had seen it before, but had never asked what it's name was. There were quite a few of them roaming around. The other creatures paid them, or each-other, much mind.

They had seen this scene before but there was nothing significant there this time either. Specifically, there were not small furry creatures running through them.

“So there's just those creatures.” Anton hummed. “Those haven't been a problem? Have they?”

“Not yet.”

“There's something.” Kal pointed at the base of the mountain, to where the grass stopped and the dirt and stone of the mountain began.

There was something there, hidden amongst the dozens of giant boulders gathered there. They were at the very edge of his vision but he could see a few very small grey lumps that moved ever so slightly. Kal could see better than anyone there, so she could see what they really were.

“Hang on.” Anton said.

He chanted the enhanced eyesight power for himself. The world exploded into clarity, far better than what even Kal could see. He looked down at the lumps, which were no longer just grey fuzz at the straining end of his vision.

There were four grey creatures, small and diminutive. One looked around, he could see a rat like face from the side. He ended his enhancement and looked at the others.

“Four Rock-Rat's.” he said, much to the annoyance to the soldiers. “They've hidden themselves very well amongst those boulders, hiding amongst the grey stone.”

The woman clicked her tongue.

“How did we not see them?” She asked the others, none able to give a response.

“We'll head down and get rid of them.” Anton said. “Can one of you send a message to Jeff, tell him that we've found Rock-Rat's and to be on guard until they see us.”

“Yes, sir!” the soldier replied before dashing away.

Anton turned to the remaining soldiers.

“You guys should keep your heads down and your eyes out for any more Rock-Rat's that might be scurrying about.”

“I'm, I'm sorry that we didn't see them earlier.” A soldier bowed his head deeply.

“It's fine.” he said, tapping him on the shoulder to raise his head. “Most people haven't seen Rock-Rat's before. Besides, they blend in nearly perfectly; a stone grey rather a bright yellow or green. They're quite crafty creatures.”

“We will keep a better look out in the future, sir.” another soldier said. “They won't sneak up on us again.”

Anton nodded, looking back down to the Rock-Rat's below. It was not a good idea to always try to have the last word, or try and correct everything that was said.

“Verona, Kal.” he said, “Let's get those critters.”

---[]---

With Kal in the lead again, they moved silently down the rocky mountain face to a striking position above the Rock-Rats. Now that he was closer, he could see the differences between them. One's coat was a darker grey while one had patches of very light brown thrown randomly amongst the grey. Each looked far different to one another than the Goblins.

Kal brought them to a halt above the small tunnel entrance. The four were looking out to the plains, and not to the threat above them. They kept glancing towards the western side of the mountain. There was no way they would not have heard the thunderous explosion of his magic.

"Verona." Anton whispered as quietly as he could. "I think this would be a perfect time for your magic."

Verona glanced at the Rock-Rats, then to him. She pursed her lips and nodded.

She laid the spear against the stone delicately and pulled out a small knife. Her eye twitched, the glyph on her back had just changed. Changed to what type of implement she could draw blood through. With his hand outstretched Verona cut lightly into his hand. It stung but he knew that it would not last. She drew up enough blood to fill a clay pot then withdrew her hand. That was the sign to heal his hand.

"I'll get as close as I can before I strike." she said, stooping low and keeping her power on. If the Rock-Rats looked back they would clearly see her.

"How close does she need to be?" Kal asked.

"About... Twenty, no, sixty feet." He answered.

Verona already was forty odd meters away and rapidly closing in.

"Twenty what?"

"Hmm?"

"You said twenty, and it's clearly not twenty feet." she furrowed her brows, "So what was it?"

A need was present in her eyes, in her face. In her body. A need to know the truth. There was no way that she did not suspect something about his origin.

"I...I..."

Verona brought up the blood and formed it into the thin shards. She continued forward with the shards hovering just above her.

"Can you keep a secret?" He asked.

Kal ears pulled back in disbelief. Her eyes darted low, frantically looking at something.

Is that, is that guilt? Or is it something else?

She nodded furiously, keeping her attention towards Verona.

"Ask me later. After this." He finished, refocusing on Verona.

Kal gave a final hum of agreement.

Verona neared her maximum range and began to slow down. She looked for a boulder that she could hide behind while she struck. When she moved to her hiding space, the rays of the afternoon light bounced off the blood crystals and glinted towards the Rock-Rats. Anton felt his heart miss a beat as one turned to follow the light to her. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the four shards forward. They did not even let out a whimper as they died.

"That power is terrifying." Kal said, standing up and surveying the surroundings.

"And silent too, apart from when the crystals grind on something." Anton added.

Verona moved closer, using her power to pull the bodies away from he entrance. If they had friends coming soon they would just see the blood and not their dead bodies. They both moved as quietly as they could down the rocky slopes to Verona's position. Anton handed back her spear.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, reaching out and squeezing her arm.

Verona took a deep breath.

"I'm okay, right now. The urge isn't back yet and I'm keeping myself steady." she answered confidently. "I'll let you know if something starts to feel wrong."

Anton took her word and slowly moved down to the entrance. It looked the same as any other of the entrances they had sealed that day, other than the dead bodies.

"Do you want to seal it?" Verona asked.

She kept her power on and her hands ready.

"I think we should." Anton said. "But, how many Rock-Rats are there still in there? Could be hundreds of them. Breeding and building their nest. Do you know what they eat?"

She stopped for a moment before shaking her head.

"And when they dig themselves out they aren't going to be happy. That could be well after we're gone and I don't want to hear that Atros has gone through another siege while we are off in Graterious."

"You...You don't have to tell me that." Verona said worriedly.

She held his hand and looked into the cave. Only then did he realise that his hand was shaking.

"I...I think that part of me doesn't want to go in there." Anton brushed his hands through his hair. "I haven't really thought about it."

Verona squeezed his hand again, even Kal looked concerned.

"There were, what, forty women in there, being the Goblins play things..."

He felt his whole body grow cold. The less he thought about what happened there the better, and this was why.

"I...Um." He could not bring himself to say anything more.

"We'll be right here." Verona said, drawing up daggers of the blood.

Kal moved close to him and tried to be as supportive as she could. "Take a few deep breaths and it will help calm you down."

He was about to question her when he remembered what she had been though.

She's probably been through some shit experiences through her life. Just do it.

He stopped and followed her directions. While he did not feel normal, he did feel a bit better. More in control of himself and his magic. Verona smiled warmly at seeing him look a little better, and took the lead.

"Hang on." Anton stopped her. "We can't really see in there without a torch or my little fire ball. That'll just let them know we're coming. I have an idea."

He held Verona's shoulder and, despite a look of surprise and a tiny flinch, Kal's as well. In his mind he chanted a prayer to let them see in the dark like it was day. Like when he used the prayer for poison immunity, he gave no end time.

A rush of magic left him as the darkened tunnel infront lit up.

"Wow." Kal mumbled, her clothed fingers touching the skin around her eyes.

"That's really awesome." Verona said as she stepped forward. "What...What happened? You didn't make everything brighter..." she snapped her fingers, "You made it so we can see in the dark!"

"Yep." His voice trembled a little, he had still not recovered completely.

"So, how long does it last?" Verona asked.

"I don't think that it will until I tell it too."

"This is a very useful power." Kal said, crouching towards the cave and waiting near the edge. "If I had this before..."

"I think that it'll make it a little hard to go to sleep." Anton quietly said.

"So, what's the plan?" Verona asked.

"We go in as quietly as we can, Kal leading with her excellent senses." He saw that Kal straightened her back at being praised, "We'll be right behind her. We'll find the main nest of these things and then destroy them. Leave, and then seal the remaining tunnels."

He glanced around. "That sounds like a plan, right?"

Both girls looked at each-other and then at Anton.

"Should we not get some soldiers from the mine?" Kal asked.

"We could, but that would take time. Some Rock-Rat is bound to come here soon to check on their friends, or at least wonder where they are. Also, they'll make quite a bit of noise in the tunnels, and we don't want to leave them behind it something goes wrong."

Verona and Kal nodded. It was not the best plan, but they were with him regardless. He took another deep breath and ventured in.

--------------------

Hello Everyone!

A quick diversion to the new Sheriff, and potential problems with discrimation in all its forms.

A quick trip to the mine at the base of Mount Aspire, just an open pit really, and Anton backing off a bit with ordering around villager soldiers.

Got the little outpost hidden in the rocks...That'll be important soon. :)

Kal's now outright asking Anton about his past, pointing out his slip of words. It'll be good to see how she reacts, and whether or not she will trust them enough to tell what she found in the cave.

A few Rock-Rats. So hurray, they make a return. For a bit. They haven't been seen since the stone quarry, and a bit with cleaning up the Yellow Golbins.

And delving into the mountain. Got Anton with a bit of a worry about heading there, especially as he had to put down fourty mutilated women, and hasn't really spoken much about it. Every time it's brought up he moves on or pushes it down. Thankfully he's got people to help him.

Anyway, That's that.

Hope you enjoy!