The young rat caught a small bug that had suddenly skittered before him. It was a rounded fat beetle, with a small horn on its head. Holding it between his front paws, the bug was frantically moving its tiny legs against his paws. He sat down on his hind legs to eat the sudden morsel. Enjoying the crunch of the shell he ate it with quick nibbles, but contentedly.

[Ritual of reactivation progressed]

[Ritual 3 out of 4 started: The bounty of death]

[One day, three hours remaining for ritual completion]

[The bounty of death]

[1/100]

[Host Mana +1]

[Host Health +1]

He wondered at the notification. He never had such a notification before. It was a lot of information to take in. He gathered that it had something to do with the bug he had just killed. Should he kill more bugs? He sat on a stone passageway, next to the water that flowed through the sewer with good speed. The constant gurgle of the putrid water as it flowed past was almost drowning out the sound of his crunching bites into the little critter as he mulled over the meaning of the notification.

The walls from this section of the sewer were breaking down at places where roots from the trees above had broken through, leaving piles of rubble spread around on the wet passageway. It was impossible to see far due to the stones obscuring his vision, but he felt moderately safe here.

He had never been here before, and this was far away from his old warren, so he wouldn’t have to worry about scouts here. Turning the beetle around he gnawed on the horn of the critter, which had a very spicy flavor, different from the bland watery flavor of the rest of the bug.

When he was almost finished with the snack, he heard something that let him stop mid-bite of his half-devoured beetle. It was a familiar sound, the sound of tiny claws skittering over wet stone.

With a squeak and panic fueling his moves he jumped forwards, away from an expected attack, dropping the remains of the small snack in the process. Using his tail to spin mid-air he landed hindquarters first and took in his attackers whilst he slid backward over the slippery stone floor, claws making a wet scraping sound, before coming to a halt against a broken brick. Pain flared up in his side as the wound in his side tore open a bit, filling the air with the metallic scent of blood.

In the dim light spread by the lichen that spotted the walls, he could make out the old rat covered in scars and two younger, but also large rats. The rats bared their teeth and rushed in, the younger rats moving to his sides to flank him, the older rat coming in for a straight frontal attack.

Evaluating his choices he decided to jump over the rat coming from the left, to use him as a shield between the other two rats. Doing so, he flicked with his tail towards the eyes of the older rat, which rolled to the side to evade the blinding whip.

Landing with his front paws past the rat on the floor but his belly on top of the moving rat, he scrambled to get off the rat that was already trying to turn to bite him. He found purchase, and the claws of one of his hind legs dug itself into the hip of the rat, evoking a small squeak from the attacker.

He braced his front paws against a crack in the floor and kicked the hip of the rat, sending it tumbling off into the other young rat that had turned around knocking them both off balance.

He then quickly dodged to the side to evade an attack from the older rat, which had snuck up, but he didn't get far away enough, and the slightly open wound was dug deeper by the bite from the older rat, who tore a fresh patch of skin from his side.

A loud pained squeak escaped his tiny snout as pain numbed his thoughts. Running purely on instinct, he ran away as quickly as his legs could carry him, swerving between the rubble on the walkway, away from the attackers, the sound of their claws trailing him coming closing in. His heart drummed loudly in his ears and his breath turned ragged from the sudden exertion and pain. Blood flowed richly from his side and he felt his strength draining slowly, and his thoughts grew frantic.

Using his last strength, he climbed up on top of some rubble that leaned against the wall, to make his last stand. They wouldn’t be able to approach him there together, improving his chances.

Breathing hard he tried to muster his remaining strength, as the three rats seemed to confer who should go up first.

With every breath he took, his side ignited in flame, interrupting his thoughts. His attackers had come to a resolution and one of the younger rats was sent first with a bump from the shout of the older rat. Eagerly it scrambled up the rubble pile, approaching his ledge. Then it jumped high towards the ledge, to try to dislodge the younger smaller rat from his perch.

Seeing the belly of the attacker exposed before him suspended in the air, the young rat bit it, tearing a deep gash in the soft flesh, drawing blood, and throwing the attacker off balance.

It landed half on the ledge, trying to scramble for a hold, but with a claw slash from him over the face it fell from the ledge. It to landed awkwardly between the rubble, sliding down amid small pebbles, before coming to a halt in front of the older rat’s paws, blood flowing rapidly from the stomach wound. The two rats stood there transfixed at the unexpected defeat of their partner. As they sniffed at the unresponsive partner, its breathing slowed and then came to a stop. The stench of blood filled the air even more strongly now.

[The bounty of death]

[2/100]

[Host Mana +1]

[Host Health +1]

The older rat nudged at the dead rat. Trying to get it to get up, to move. A tremble moved through the older rat, and with a furious squeak, it sent the other rat forwards. This rat approached more cautiously, mindful of the wound in its leg, making sure to keep out of range of the young rat.

He tried to bait the younger rat into attacking and moving from one side to the other side. This was to the frustration of the younger rat, he needed this battle to be over sooner, his strength wouldn’t last. Darkness was slowly creeping in from the sides of his vision, and he could feel his paws trembling under the strain of exhaustion.

Sensing a lapse in concentration the attacker poked over the edge, trying to climb up, but the younger rat snapped out of his haze and responded with an unexpected speed. He bit hard and deep in the nose of the attacker, transfixing it in place with its jaws, fangs digging into bone.

The legs of the attacker tried to find purchase furiously, and it was pushing at the edge trying to break free from the young rat. But the small rat had too good a purchase with its hind legs and tail. He hung on to the snout of the attacker with all his might. With his sharp claws, he clawed at the eyes of the attacking rat, gauging them out of their sockets eventually. The taste of hot blood was on his tongue, as he bit off the nose of the blinded rat with a furious twist of his head. The attacker tumbled down, twisting itself, trying to find balance on its way down, leaving a trail of blood all over the rubble from its nose on the way down.

As he chewed up the nose and swallowed it, he saw how his blinded attacker ran full speed into a wall with a loud squeak, knocking itself out cold. Blood spurted from the snout in regular pumps and it was slowly pooling in the empty eye sockets. The little morsel of food refreshed his mind a bit from the numbing darkness, allowing him to focus on the older rat that approached his perch with fury radiating from its eyes, deadly intent in every step taken up towards him.

The older rat was much larger than him, much more experienced as its scars bore witness to. The young rat felt despair grasping at his heart. He had survived so far, but only by pure chance and luck. He doubted he could survive this lone battle with this superior foe, whilst feeling as weak as a newborn baby ratling.

Racking his mind for a strategy to give him an edge, he crawled up against the wall behind him. He tried to find a spot where he could launch himself from, into the older rat, should he come over the edge. He had to surprise the old rat to make anything of a chance in this battle. Steadying his resolve, he found grip on the wall and tensioned all his muscles, ready to launch himself into the older rat, should it make its appearance.

[The bounty of death]

[3/100]

[Host Mana +1]

[Host Health +1]

Surprise flooded its mind at the sudden notification, and he risked a glance over at the rat that had knocked itself out. Its chest had stopped moving, and blood didn’t flow from the nose anymore. It must have perished there, from the relatively minor wounds it had inflicted. Taking the small blessing in stride, he readied himself for the approaching foe.

The young rat felt a little bit more strong and confident now, his mind clearing and the wound in his side didn’t seem to hurt that much anymore. With a furious squeak that echoed through the sewer, amplifying it to terror-inducing levels, the older rat suddenly lurched over the edge, hatred radiating from his eyes, yellowed fangs bared, claws scratching the stone as it clambered up.

The young rat launched itself at the older rat with all his remaining strength, sending them both tumbling over the edge. The older rat was very quick to respond, however, and got a hold of his tail in the tumble and bit clean through it with a single bite.

Pain flooded his mind and unable to regain his balance due to the loss of his tail, he landed painfully on his back. He heard something pop in his back and his legs wouldn’t respond properly anymore. He flopped on his side, his muscles contracting in spasms of pain, his breathing fast and shallow. All coherence was lost in his mind, all he knew was pain and confusion.

The old rat stood up slowly and sniffed at the tail he had bitten off, before setting its eyes on the younger rat with a burning hatred.

The older rat approached him with grim determination, fangs bared and a barely audible furious hiss escaping its mouth. He felt cold creeping up from his insides, his vision dimming slowly as a puddle of warm blood started to surround him, yellow fangs hovering over his head. He felt a claw digging in his sides and head, drawing blood and sending small spikes of pain through his limp body. Hot breath rained down on his ears as the old rat hissed furiously over him, digging the claws deeper in his sides. He let out a barely audible panic squeak, as he saw the fangs approaching his neck. Then blissfully his vision turned dark and he was unable to see the approaching end.

He felt sharp pain tearing through his neck, sending uncontrollable convulsions through his body. Ready for the final blow he relaxed his mind, accepting his fate. He had given his best, he had defeated two older rats against all ods. He had lived a good life.

Unexpectedly the pinpricks of pain vanished, leaving only the searing hot pain in his neck, along with the pressure from the older rat on his body. He felt how his body was shoved away in a sudden jolt as if the older rat had spurted away. His sluggish thoughts heard the noise of a big danger, but his body wouldn’t respond to the commands to move and hide.

“Look what Crag found. Crag found good meat, much meat.”

The young rat’s mind turned slow and sounds faded away, why had he wanted to run away again?

[You have died]