With a jolt, I quickly woke up

A dull pain reminding me of the past events

The little strength I had left me as I sat up

Eyes turning drowsy, forcing myself to sit still.

Where am I?

Looking straight with my blurry vision

I could make out the contours of trees

And maybe rats

Rats?

Rat woman.

Oh no, where is she?

Panic seeping in, wild eyes darting back and forth

But not seeing anything, not being able to move

Feeling trapped inside my own body.

Then I heard a rat yelling something

And soon after, the rat lady was near me.

“Human! How are you feeling?”

Eyes growing sharper, I slowly turned to look at her

“Water, please.”

“Of course”

She said with a quick sigh, turning to the nearest rat and presumably telling him to fetch some water.

And a short while later, a very basic pot was handed to me.

Greedily, I let its content slide down my throat.

Emptying it while numerous rats started gathering around me.

#BURP#

Letting out a loud burp.

And a very satisfying sigh.

Aaaah, that hit the spot.

“Thank you! That was lovely. Do you have some food too?”

“Yes, of course, but. Is it possible for you to wait until we find a cave or somewhere secluded?”

Hmm, why?

Ooh, oh don't be stupid

We are hiding from pursuers, duh

“Yes, I can manage”

“Perfect!”

Looking around, I see that I’ve been carried on a very basic stretcher.

Composed by two big logs and some net in between.

“Ehm, miss rat, how long have I been knocked out?”

“You... you where out for two days.”

Holy moly

That

That’s not good.

I really used too much power.

Crap.

I was already on the brink of death.

Sometimes I can be so stupid.

...

And when I think about it

That last shot missed.

And it looks like it was miss rat woman's people who were the ones who found me.

I think I aimed at them.

Oh lord, I could have caused a disaster.

Maybe I did?

“Di-did I... Hurt anyone?”

Hearing my words, the rat lady stood silent for a moment.

Not meeting my eyes

“You saved us. And for that, we are grateful”

“Oh.. Yeah, no problem.”

I looked down.

Not wanting to meet her eyes.

Scanning the surrounding rats, I let my eyes rest on the group of kids playing in the distance.

“What will you rats do now?”

“Good question, we...”

Looking around herself, she leaned down to my ear and whispered

“I don’t know.”

Leaning back out, she said.

“... And that's how we are going to make it. I don’t want everyone to know how hard it will be”

“Yeah, thanks for telling me that”

My eyes fell down onto my hands, squeezing them.

Feeling them closing and opening

Just barely.

I’ve gotten so weak.

I don’t know when I’ll be able to use a bow again.

I really need a healer right now.

An awkward silence.

Looking up at the rat lady, her eyes stared down at my hands.

The silence continued.

Laughter from children being the only sound echoing out through the forrest.

“Hey, ehm, rat lady?”

“Yes, human.”

“Can I. Go and take a piss?”

The rat lady nodded slightly, attempting a human smile that looked absolutely hideous.

“Pfffft, hahaha, what are you doing?”

“What? I’m doing one of your human smiles! is that not a sign of approval?”

“Well, kinda yes, I guess. But pffff haha your smile! It would make any human child scream in terror.”

“They would? But… I practiced this for weeks! Weeks, I tell you. I thought I had mastered it”

“Oh, mastered it you did. Perfect for giving anyone nightmares for life”

“You shut it, you just don’t appreciate a good smile.”

I smiled brightly at her statement.

“No, I guess I dont. Hehehe”

Miss rat lady smiled normally back, then moving away while lightly patting me on the hands.

And as she moved away, the other rats surrounding seemed to find their courage, moving in closer.

Skittering and talking loudly, nothing I could understand, yet it felt happy and I smiled.

Some talking quickly.

Others lightly touching me.

Maybe to give me goodwill?

Scanning my surroundings while getting bombarded with attention, I notice that our gathering of rats is in a big clearing, surrounded by large trees.

All around there are rats, most gathered in big groups, talking loudly.

Some seem vigilant, looking around for signs of presumably enemy rats, or wildlife.

And compared to how it was in the village

Everyone seems on edge.

A nervous twitch at a distant sound

A muted cry

Tails swinging around wildly, not controlled.

The atmosphere feels tense.

And I understand them, they have been hunted out of their home

Many of their neighbours and friends killed by those that are supposedly from the same tribe.

All the while being hunted by that tribe.

I would not want to be in their shoes-

I mean paws.

But thinking about it, I guess I already am

I’m totally in their.. Paws right now, in hopes for survival.

Well, as soon as I can move a bow, I’ll be out of their hair in a jiffy.

I really don’t wanna overstay my welcome.

Especially after everything they have done for me.

Somehow I will have to repay them

But I don't really know what rats like.

I know that they like each other, and that they very much lack iron stuff.

Maybe I can come back with a bunch of humans willing to talk with rats!

Yeah, totally, and I’ll make sure to bring iron spears!

Aaah, just picturing how much praise I’ll get makes me warm inside

Hehe.

Oh, something’s happening.

It seems the rats are getting ready to move

I should probably get ready too.

After a strenuous push, I got myself up on two feet

Taking a few unsteady steps, I find that I can walk

Although slowly and a little awkwardly.

The only big downside is the pain, but I have survived worse.

I need to find a way to walk faster.

I don't wanna fall behind the rats and make them carry me.

That would be embarrassing.

Let’s see let-

Aaahaa!

I see a stick!

A large stick!

Testing out my new balance stick, I find the effort of walking more manageable

Easier even.

I should totally walk around with this stick even when I get all better.

Wait.. I can't call it a walking stick, that sounds stupid

I should call it

A cane!

Aha!

I’m so cool right now, looking like a...

Old man.

Okey I take it all back

Just call it a walking stick, I can't get attached to it.

Finishing with my little inner monolague and walking session

The rats started to move.

One of them moving towards me, asking if I needed any help

Which I quickly shooed away. I don't need any help.

...

Maybe a little.

If they ask so nicely, how can I refuse?

I’m not hurting okay!

Letting one of my arms rest on the shoulder of the very nice rat.

I made my way through the forest.

Scanning the rats, I found that our big group comprised of maybe

two hundred up to three hundred rats and about fifty rat children.

Of them, I think eighty can actually fight with a spear.

If push comes to shove, I presume all adults will try to fight.

But when you think about how many rats there were in the village-

...

No, don't think about it

What is in the past is in the past

Nothing like the present.

As my eyes scan the front of the group, I see the rat lady.

Looking very vigilant as she scanned in every which way.

She looks kinda like a dog sniffing the air.

Hehehe.

It would be fun to see her interacting with an actuall dog.

They would absolutely sniff each other's butts.

Looking back down, I focused on walking.

Nodding exhaustively to the talkative rat next to me

Then, as he noticed my lack of talking, he turned silent.

Walking through the forest in silence

The only sound escaping my mouth were the few grunts of effort.

Okay, many grunts of effort.

How weak am I?

Walking through the forest, nothing really happened.

A few warning yells were heard occationaly

And I spotted a few roaming beasts around our group.

But our numbers scared away most wildlife, making our journey just as dull as the one I had with mister dragon.

Or, okay, not that boring

But as I had to focus most of my time and energy on walking

I found little time talking with my fellow rats. Which, in turn, led to most rats keeping their distance, only those that helped me stayed.

I think it was their way of showing respect

Or maybe they thought I was sick?

Sometimes, miss rat lady would come to stay, keeping the silence

Though, it felt comfortable with her.

But as she was busy with keeping everyone alive, she would never stay long.

Soon day turned to night, and we settled in by a tiny clearing of trees.

To be honest, it was not even a clearing, just a place for us to stay.

At least the trees gave us a semblance of safety, even if it was only imaginary.

When we stopped, the rat woman moved towards me, scanning the surrounding forest.

“Hey, our scouts could not spot a cave or a place where we could hide, so you have to eat your meal cold. I’m so sorry”

“No don’t be. I’m sure you’re doing everything in your power to keep those pursuing us far away.”

“Pursuing? No one is pursuing us. At least not for weeks, maybe even months”

...

“What? But then, why are we, erm, creeping forward like this? Everyone being so skittish?”

“How don’t you kno- oh yeah, human. Sometimes I forget your kind rarely comes to these woods”

She shook her head, lightly hitting herself on the side of the head as she spoke up again.

“We are hiding from the Harbringers”

“The Heartbringers?”

“No, the Harbringers. They are the ones who greet the day with their blood boiling cries and kill all those foolish enough to cross paths with them. It’s said that if you hear their cries at dawn, your death is for certain.”

“Wow, they sound scary, what do they look like?”

“Very scary! And, from what I’ve heard, you humans keep their cousins as farm animals. I think you call them, er kikens? How you even manage to keep them is truly out of this world.”

...

“Chickens?”

“Yes! Those are the ones. The Harbringers are an old cousin of chikens, but much bigger and much, much deadlier. But what scare us the most is the-“

“I think I’ve already killed them all.”

...

“You... You have?”

“Yeah, or I mean mister dragon have. I stumbled upon one that started chasing me, which quickly turned into three others doing the same. They are actually the reason for my bad legs.”

“Oh… Then... I guess we don't have to be so cautious...”

“Hehe, yeah. They really suprised me when I saw them. I thought we had killed them all long ago”

“You humans did what?”

“Yeah, as you say, they are very aggressive and territorial. So we started killing them all, and along the way, domesticated a few, creating their smaller cousins. I think? Maybe it was the other way round? I was never the most attentive in history class.”

A long silence met me as I finished speaking

The rat lady staring blankly

Arms limp by her side

A while later, she sluggishly moved away

Not speaking a single word

Until she got to the middle, waving her arm around to gather all the rats close.

And soon after giving an explanation

Most rats stared at me

Wide eyed

Even the kids stopped what they were doing to stare

“What?”

And then a huge uproar

Rats flailing their arms and tails around, screaming out a sound that were only heard during special occasions

Or after drinking.

They were celebrating, or rather, cheering.

The rats ran up to me, gathering around as they hoisted me up, all trying to touch me

And as I was flailing around, tossed and touched

I felt my stomach turn in protest; The wound from the spear opening up, bleeding.

But it did not stop my laughter

Nor my big smile

A while later, the rats let me down, still gathered but not touching

A fire had been lit, a big one.

And behind it stood the rat lady, giving me one of those terrifying smiles.

A smell drifted from the fire, something meaty, something delicious.

And I was reminded that I had not eaten for days

Swiftly scrambling myself on all fours toward the smell

I found meat strewn over multiple rocks, all sizzling from the heat of the fire.

As I got closer, the rat lady threw me a big chunk of meat, and I, in my great wisdom

Caught it with my mouth, quickly gnawing at it as I swallowed it swiftly.

Its so delicious!

“What is this?!”

“It’s rabbit meat. Our hunters could not hunt far in fear of the Harbingers. But starting today, we shall feast every night until we find our new home!”

Upon her words, a new round of cheers where heard

The whole group dancing around, shouting, talking and singing

Or I think they were singing; It sounded more like someone had stuck a spear up their butt and started yelling.

Three pieces of very succulent meat later, I found my belly full and my mind tired.

Saying goodnight to most of the rats nearby, I huddled myself onto the ground, closing my eyes.

Getting woken up by the rats swarming me as they huddled closer

All looking to hit the sack.

Like a big pile of potatoes. All lying in a big pile, trying to sleep

Which actually, to my surprise, was very comfortable and warm.

I think I really really like these rats.

And then sleep found me.

As I woke up, slowly crawling my way out of the rat pit

Dreams of dragons yet again

I greeted the morning

And coincidentally

Mister dragon.

I think at least.

Because if that burning bird was not mister dragon. Then I felt really bad for it.

Standing up, keeping my eye on the burning bird, I slowly made my way out of the rat pit

Reaching for my walking stick and making my way out of the tiny “clearing”.

A few rats that were awake greeted me with low whispers, seemingly not seeing the burning bird

And then, when I was just below the burning bird

I screamed

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN YOU STUPID DUNG FILLED DRAGON! I’VE MISSED YOU!”

As I screamed, mister dragon floated down

“Hello, Human, I see you have had a good time”

“You, poop! I’ve been through hell! I wanted to tell you how bad I’ve had it!”

“Mmhm, and why would I care?”

“Because you're my friend!”

“No”

“Ah come on! Don’t be like that. If you weren’t my friend, would you not have left already?”

“Hmpf, human. If my memory has not failed me, which it has not in thousands of years, you gave me a promise. In your own words, giving me a good time. I am only here to make sure you uphold your promise.”

“Hehe, sure sure. Your memory is flawless. Then why did you forget the exit for that moun-

“HUMAN! Ahem.. I have to say, that these rat orgies are not that entertaining for me”

“Orgy? What do you mean?”

“Human, how can you not know what you just participated in?”

...

That's disgusting!

Well, maybe I’m too harsh

I guess I would also do that, if I got such good news

Maybe?

...

Absolutely not

Holy crap, I feel dirty now.

“Well anyway, as you can see on my body, I’m not really in the best shape to go on an adventure right now. So we’ll first have to go to a settlement with a healer”

“I would suggest that you to do that yes”

“Yeah, so, erm, do you know the closest, human friendly, settlement that might have a healer?”

“No”

“Oh”

That makes this a little harder.

But if mister dragon continues killing the wildlife like before, I guess I won't have to worry about food

It’s time I guess.

“Wait here mister dragon”

“Dont order me, human”

Turning around to the rats, I saw miss rat lady staring with her mouth wide open.

Accompanied with hundreds of other slack jawed rats.

Huh, that's the first time I’ve seen that expression.

“Mister rat lady, do you know where the closest human friendly settlement is?”

As if shaken from her stupor, the rat lady turned too look at me, still with her jaw wide open

Blinking stupidly, looking stupid.

Making me chuckle in delight.

“U-u.. I guess, to the south of here lies the stoney lands, occupied by the Fauns, and they are often very friendly with humans. I think”

“Ooooh Fauns! I think I’ve heard of them in some fairytale! That’s awesome, I’m so gonna say hi to them!”

“Ehm, human?”

“Yes?”

“You are leaving?”

“Yeah, sorry, but mister dragon over here wanna have fun, and I kinda promised him that. But I promise I’ll come back and repay what you-“

“NO! Not needed, you’ve done more than you can imagine… But human, you see, I’m very sorry, but because of your... Intervention in the great hall, you will probably be hunted by the swarm”

“The swarm?”

Miss rat lady looked down at me, her jaw closing uncertainly, seeming timid suddenly.

An expression she only showed me when she had one-to-many drinks, spilling her well-kept secrets.

“It’s the name for our biggest hunting party. It’s only ever called when something of great dishonour or great disaster befalls our tribe. The swarm never stops, only grows in number until they find their prey. The swarm only dissolves once the hunt succedes or fails.”

She paused for a second, glancing backwards at the other, gathered rats.

Turning back to me, leaning in, whispering.

“The swarm has never failed.”

I gulped hearing that.

That does not sound good

But

That's for the future me.

No time like the present!

“What about you rats?”

“We will manage. Funny story, according to our ancient history, our tribe settled after fleeing from a swarm. It’s pretty ironic if we manage to settle somewhere else.”

“Not if, When! And when you do, I’ll come by and say hello. Okay?”

“Hehe, yeah, and we will wait for you human. Remember to bring gifts”

“I will”

And as I said that, I moved in for a hug which was awkwardly hugged back

Why miss rat lady don't know how to hug, I don't know.

Pushing her away slightly, I looked into her big beady eyes.

“You don’t happen to have my bag?”

“Yes, we do, I’ll get it for you”

“Thanks”

Sometime later, with my old bag on my back and a last farewell.

I was off, with a burning bird over my head and a walking stick on one hand.

And as we got out of sight, I turned to mister dragon

“Hey, which way is north?”

“Are we not heading for the Fauns?”

“Yeah”

...

“That rat just said they were to the south”

...

“Which way is south?”

“To the right”

“Perfect, then lets gooo!”

Turning right, with a bright smile on my face, I took long steps towards our great new adventure!

And mister dragon seemed in high spirits

“Mister dragon?”

He stayed silent

“What where you doing? I mean, when I was on my great adventure in the rat village”

“Nothing special”

“Ooooh, did mister dragon find some sexy phoenix? Huuuh?”

“Human, can you please just die already”

“Hahaha ooh I missed you, mister dragon! Give me a hug”

“No”

And so we bantered back and forth

Travelling through the forest, going towards the lands of the fauns

Our great adventure just starting!

I hope

Maybe

Eh, don’t think about it!