"Well, that explains where all the rats keep coming from," Brian said.

The five of them stood in a tight semicircle, staring down at the hole in the wall. They reminded him of a street construction crew, the ones who stood around looking at a wrecked section of road, but never actually fixing it.

"You think this is where they're comin' from?" Calvin asked.

"Please. How else could they be getting in here?"

"It makes sense," echoed Hector. "If there's a nest or something in there, then it's no wonder the rats keep coming back."

"Only one way to find out," Ylva said. "Who's first?"

"First for what?" Calvin asked. His expression shifted a second later when he got it. "Oh, no. Hell no. I'm not going in there."

"Come on, this is an obvious quest hook," goaded Ylva.

"A what?" Tiffany cut in.

"Think about it, if we leave without investigating this and the rats come na k, how does that make us look? We didn't do our job, and the Crown is out whatever gold they're paying us. Edgar wouldn't be happy, and you said yourself we shouldn't upset him."

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll fit," Calvin complained.

"You'll fit," Ylva said. "If anything, I'm worried about my shield."

"No, he brings up a good point," Hector said. "We have no idea what's in there. If it gets much narrower, none of us will fit."

"So we need someone to scout ahead, then," observed Brian.

"Exactly. I'll shine my light down there so whoever goes can see."

"You can't go?" Calvin said.

"If I get down on my hands and knees, I'll have a hard enough time getting up once. I don't want to risk doing it twice."

"I'll go," Tiffany said, to the absolute shock of everyone else.

"You will?" Hector said after a moment.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm the smallest, right?" Tiffany shrugged.

"Are you sure you can with your hurt leg?" Brian asked.

"My leg feels a lot better. It's actually kinda numb," Tiffany said. Brian wasn't sure if that were really better or not.

"Okay, if you're certain…" Hector trailed off. Tiffany nodded.

Hector held his staff close to the butt end and stuck the top in the hole. It became much darker in the basement. Tiffany got down on all fours and made her way inside.

The four remaining members all poked their heads in, watching as Tiffany shuffled down the tunnel. Silence reigned while she crawled further and further. The tunnel seemed to swallow up Hector's light spell, though Brian knew this was because of the enclosed nature of the passage. Shining a flashlight through a tube didn't make the light go any further, it just made the light narrower.

Tiffany approached the end of where the light clearly illuminated. She hesitated for a moment before delving into the dimmer area.

"Don't go too far," Hector called to her.

"Hold on," she yelled back.

The blonde crawled a few more inches, her silhouette growing harder to see with each hand over hand. Just as she would've passed completely into darkness, she instead stopped and stood up. From outside the hole, only her knees and downward were visible. By the way her lower legs twisted, she seemed to look around and bend over slightly. After a few seconds of that, she turned around to poke her head in the tunnel.

"Alright, I can't really see where it goes, but it gets a lot wider in here. We can definitely all stand," she said.

"Does it go on for a while?" Brian asked.

"I can't really see," Tiffany repeated. "It definitely stretches on past the darkness, but I don't know for how long."

"Stay there, I'll bring the light up," Hector said.

He got down and shuffled inside. As his light spell lit the tunnel ahead of him, it also made the basement progressively darker as he traveled further away. That was everyone else's indication to head in.

Calvin went first. He fit snuggly inside the tight space with just a little bit of wiggle room. Ylva removed her shield and tried to shove it in. Just as she suspected, it didn't fit. It was getting darker. The remaining two members were running out of time.

Ylva tilted her shield at a slight angle. It slid between a pair of the uneven spaces which made up the entrance. Just as she were trying to figure a way to get both her and the shield inside, Brian stepped up and took it from her.

"You go first," he said. "I can crawl on one hand and drag this behind me."

"Ok, thank you," she said.

Ylva dove in without wasting any more time. It took Brian a little finagling, but he managed to get inside the tunnel wit the shield held by the very edge behind him. He tried to keep it out of the dirt as much as possible. Ever thankful was he for the brief length of the crawl.

When he got back on the other side, he stood back up with the others and gave Ylva her shield back. Instead of slinging it across her chest like she had been, it remained firmly grasped in her left hand.

Hector took a moment to make sure everyone was assembled before he led the way in. The tunnel was all brown earth and grey rocks, with a few tangled roots mixed in for good measure. It twisted this way and that on a meandering path. The ground beneath their feet traveled ever downward, a steady descent which led them further into Exandria's depths with every footfall.

It was times like these where Brian really missed his smartphone, not because of boredom, but because of endlessness. Without having a clock on him at all hours of the day, he had absolutely no idea what time it is. That made the passage of said time ambiguous at best. He couldn't, for the life of him, begin to guess how long they walked down this path except that it was a very long time. At least, it felt long. He honestly couldn't tell how much time passed, as he had no gauge of how long a minute felt without the aid of a clock.

On and on they walked, no destination except the end of this winding passage. It would've been better with a little conversation, but everyone kept dead quiet. No one wanted to risk drawing more rats, or something even worse. So, Brian kept on in silence, jumping at every shadow, wondering beyond curiosity where this tunnel went and what waited for them on the other side. I they were lucky, the answers to those questions were nothing and nowhere. But, if this world were anything like a game of D&D, then it was impossible for this journey to end without some kind of thrilling resolution.

At one point, the ground sloped at a sharper angle than ever. As the one in front, Hector was the first to go down. Despite his age, with the aid of his staff, he made it down pretty easily.

Next was Calvin. His descent started out well enough, one foot sideways in front of the other. After just a few steps, however, his balance failed. He slipped and slid on his rump several feet down until he finally came to rest somewhere behind Hector.

"Ow, fuck," he said as he slowly got to his feet. "No one saw that, right?"

Tiffany went up next. She didn't slide or even slowly walk down, so much as she bounded. Five long steps, and she made it to the bottom in seconds flat. To say Brian was impressed would be an understatement.

Ylva and Brian had about the same amount of difficulty on the way down. It took Brian considerably, longer, and he only slipped at the very end, but he managed to catch himself. Ylva had no such trouble, but she did take her time in going down.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," he said.

"Shush," Hector rasped with a hand out behind him. Brian then noticed the hunch in his back and the squint in his eyes.

"What is it?" Ylva asked.

"There's something up ahead," Hector whispered.

"What?"

"Yeah. The tunnel opens up, and I think I see a campfire or something. It's past my light so it's hard to tell."

"What are we gonna do?" Calvin asked.

"This is the boss fight, it has to be," Brian said.

"The what?" Tiffany asked.

"Do we sneak up on them?" Calvin continued to look for solutions.

"They've probably already seen us," Ylva observed. "We weren't being quiet, and you're basically a lighthouse." She pointed to Hector.

"So, what, we just go in?" Calvin said. "Because fuck that."

"I don't see any way of sneaking through the opening. And if we do, then what? We aren't going to sneak around a campfire, it's too bright," Ylva argued.

"I don't like it, but I agree with Ylva," Hector said. "We go in and try to seem nonthreatening, but if there's a fight, then so be it."

"Yeah, because that went so well last time," Calvin said.

"And we've learned a little since then. I think our next fight, no matter what it is, will go better," Hector said.

"Lets put it to a vote. All in favor?" Ylva said. She was the first to put her hand up. Brian, Hector, and—surprisingly—Tiffany followed a beat later. She probably just wanted to get it over with, which was why Brian voted for instead of against.

"Man, fuck you guys," Calvin said, knowing he'd lost the vote.

"Come on, Calvin. It'll be fine. We just need to stick together," Hector said.

"Whatever," Calvin shrugged. "Fuck it."

Despite what they said about just going in, the party did pick their steps carefully. Not stealthily, because Hector kept his light on, but they at least tried to make as little noise as possible. Brian realized—as well did, he assumed, everyone else—the futility of this, but that didn't stop any of them from at least attempting some semblance of sneak.

Brian felt his heart beat with an ever increasing cadence the closer he got to the opening, which he could see clearly now that they were all closer. Despite his crass delivery, Calvin was right. Their first brush with combat had been a disaster. Brian didn't even remember part of it, because he apparently blacked out. Would they really be okay just sticking together?

On the other hand, they had a job to do. Ylva said everything when she pointed out that if the five of them didn't solve the rat problem for good, then trouble would follow. They had to do this, even if none of them wanted to.

Hector led the way into the oppening. It was a large chasm, wider than it was long. The fire, along with the light spell, illuminated the room well enough. There were some rocks to the northwest, and the east, as well as some crates northeast. To the west, disturbingly, was a large pile of bones. They appeared to be animal bones of various kinds, though Brian didn't care to ascertain what exact species made up the pile.

They weren't alone in the room, either. Two giant rats hung out by the rocks northwest. Another by the crates. A third stood in open space between the fire in the middle of the room, the crates, and the back wall. Most alarming, though, was the man.

He sat cross-legged behind the fire. A bare chest revealed muscles that looked to have been once burly and built, but now sagged with a combination of age and leisure. Blood long dried stained his torso, matted his hair, covered his bare arms. Like a hat he wore the severed head of a giant rat. It appeared to be held on with rope made of intestines. His hands wore gloves made from rat feet stitched together. Boots of dried brown fur covered his feet. The whole room smelled like death.

Hector only took a single step into the chamber. Brian and Ylva stood in front of him. Calvin positioned himself a few feet away to the left. Tiffany went far to the right, trying to keep low as if that would help them remain unseen.

"Hello, friend," Hector called out to the man. "My name is Hector. My companions and I represent the Adventurer's Guild."

"You killed my babies," the man said, voice more air and intonation.

"Sir, I—" Hector began. He cut off sharply when the man stood. Brian, Ylva, and Calvin all drew their weapons.

"You killed my babies!" The man screamed, and then let out a terrible shriek. Not a man, so much as a Madman.

"Aw shit, here we go!" Calvin said.

"Stick together, just like we planned," Hector called, as if they'd actually planned anything at all.

All at once, the rats charged the intruders. Each seemed to pick a different person to square off against. Still, it was Tiffany who attacked first. She shouldered her crossbow and, for the first time, fired it. She managed to hit the rat coming for her in its back right thigh. It squeaked, but did not slow in its pursuit.

Hector placed a few drops of water on the top end of his staff, just below the light. He then cut an arc in the air. Faint blue light trailed like a comet behind the tip. He then drew back and thrust forward to the center of his crescent. It shot forward and whipped down toward the enemies. The spell itself missed, but still exploded on impact with the ground. The Madman, as the only once caught in the blast, managed to dodge out of the way. Hector grit his teeth with a frustrated grunt.

A rat reached Calvin. He gave it a swing but the thing managed to leap aside, out of the way. It retaliated with a bit at his shin. While the teeth didn't sink in deep, A little blood dripped from the wound.

Ylva squared up as a rat came upon her. She swung her sword, but also missed. These rats seemed a bit more spry than the others. The creature leapt at her. While its teeth went wide, its claws did not. It cut a trio of narrow gashes just above her knee. Ylva winced, not overly hurt, but certainly now annoyed.

At the same time, Brian teed off against the fourth and final rat. His scale armor protected him from a low bite. He went for a low golf swing. Unlike the others, who were foiled by superior animal reflexes, his swing went wide of its own accord. The hammer head didn't even dip low enough. How embarrasing.

The Madman, more concerned with his war cry, was the last to act. He jumped over the fire and barreled toward Brian. The adventurer completely forgot about his failed strike as the Madman tackled him to the ground. They scrabbled there for a moment as Brian failed to oust the attacker. Every hand he threw to grasp was batted away, every buck of his legs thwarted. The Madman was simply too strong. He'd heard the term many a time before, but now Brian knew how it truly felt to be grappled.

Tiffany's rat hadn't reached her yet. She it a diagonal to give herself some space, then ran away from it, all the way to the crates against the far wall. She turned, reloaded her crossbow, and fired. The rat spun around to come after her again, and in doing threw off Tiffany's aim. The bolt scattered harmlessly along the ground.

Now free to engage, the rat came upon her. Try as she might, Tiffany couldn't avoid its attack. Teeth found the back of her left knee. She cried out and fell to a kneeling position. That bite hurt even more than the first one. Another hit like that, and she may end up like Brian had back in the basement.

"Hey!" Hector shouted. "Why couldn't the bicycle stand up? It was two tired!"

The old wizard crushed two little pecan tarts against his staff, then waved a feather with his opposite hand. A pink mist shot from his staff. It encircled the Madman's head. He appeared shaken by it for a moment, but thrashed his head about to disperse the mist. The spell took no effect.

Calvin put another attack on his rat. This time, his swing found a home. He caught the thing on its head. Something inside it cracked. It fell limp. Then, Calvin noticed all the commotion behind him. He saw the Madman holding Brian down. He saw Hector fail with some weird spell. He saw Ylva too caught up with her own fight to help, and Tiffany too far away. It was up to him, then. He marched right up to where the Madman wrestled with Brian.

Ylva was angry, at the situation, at the bad guys, but mostly at herself. It was a rat. She should've been able to hit it with zero trouble, yet there it stood in front of her, snarling and unharmed. This simply wouldn't do. She crashed the edge of her shield down upon its back. It squeaked and squirmed, spine most likely broken. She put the thing out of its misery with a clear cut across the neck. Rodent head separated from body as it died in a spout of deep red.

Brian struggled against the assailant atop him. Try as he might, he just couldn't get free. The Madman drew back and smacked Brian across the face. The claws on his grizzly mitten, still sharp and jagged, cut dozens of tiny fissures across his cheek and nose. One of them cut a tear in his left eye. The pain made him struggle even harder, yet he remained held down. In such a dire state, he could almost forget about the other rat gnawing vainly at his armored shoulder.

This all felt a bit too familiar to Tiffany, down on one knee, wounded, while a giant rat starred her down and her allies fought a desperate battle. No. She refused to be useless again. She would fight, she would win. She drew one of her daggers and stabbed straight down. The blade penetrated through the back of the rat's skill, pinning it briefly to the ground. The blonde didn't even bother picking it back up. That could wait. She switched back to her crossbow.

Hector circumscribed an asterisk in the air and sent the ensuing fog at the Madman. The enemy's shoulder blackened and withered, but he showed no real reaction to the damage. Hector cursed his uselessness and prepared another spell.

Calvin reached the Madman where he perched atop Brian, who was ready to bring down another strike. Calvin swung upward. His club missed Brian by inches, but caught the Madman in the ribs. Air escaped from the Madman's lungs as he took the impact. Calvin continued to push through the swing. With a great heave, he unseated the attacker. The Madman caught himself with one hand against the ground to land in a sort of half-kneel. He swiped wildly at his new target, effectively shutting down further attacks from Calvin.

Ylva moved around to Brian's other side, skirting the rat still trying to chew through his armor, to get a good angle on the Madman. She channeled all of her strength into a wide swing. This made the impressive attack slow and obviously telegraphed. The Madman swiped at the blade as it careened toward his throat. The rat legs on his hands provided enough protection for him to intercept the attack and knock it away. Ylva was unprepared for her momentum to be redirected in the other direction. Her grip faltered. The sword clattered across the dirt, stopping a few feet away from the fire.

Now free the that wretched hold, Brian struck back. He lashed out with his hammer, a short ranged chopping attack that didn't do much damage. The weapon made contact with the Madman's foot. While it probably broke a toe, the enemy didn't seem too inconvenienced by it.

The Madman took a swipe at Calvin, vengeance for interrupting his fight. The abundance of little claws artificially covering his hand sliced clean through Calvin's side to create a series of deep gashes. Red dripped down his grizzly hand, while more leaked from Calvin's stomach. The Madman smiled, for he knew his opponent to be near the end.

The rat still failing to get through Brian's shoulder armor reeled back for a big strike. It lunged forward and met not flesh, but a bolt. The projectile in its neck caused a moment of struggle, yet soon it went still. Tiffany reloaded her crossbow.

With only one target left, the rest of the party unloaded on the Madman. Hector sent another asterisk spell at him. Calvin smashed his frostbitten shoulder. Newly disarmed, Ylva held her shield with a hand on each side and brought it down onto the Madman's shoulder. Brian stood and took a swing, but missed.

The Madman took all of this abuse, and still remained standing. Battered, bruised, broken, he fought on. His eyes flicked from one attacker to the next, unsure of how to proceed. He took a strike at the closest opponent, but met the Nordic woman's shield.

In this flurry of motion, Tiffany found an opportunity. She could end this, now. All it needed was one good shot. She let loose a bolt. It burrowed into the neck of the Madman all the way to the fletching, while the point stuck out the other side.

The Madman wore a shocked expression for a split-second before his face and body sagged. He slumped over onto his blackened shoulder, motionless, chest neither rising nor falling. It was over. A single shot from a reluctant adventurer brought the fight to an end. The Madman was dead.

'That all of them?" Calvin asked, peering around the room.

"I..." Brian caught is breath. "I think so."

"Good, because I could use another break," Calvin said.

"Can we do that back in the tunnel?" Ylva asked. "There's an awful lot of death in here." She gestured toward the chamber in general.

"Sure, we can do that," Hector agreed. He led the way back into the tunnel.

"That's a good point, though," Brian said as he followed. "What do we do with the bodies?"

"We ain't the cleanup crew. Not our problem," Calvin said. No one argued with him.

Ylva recovered her sword. She waited for Tiffany to catch up before falling in beside her.

"You did well," she said to the blonde.

"Thanks," Tiffany said, terse.

"I'm sorry I was so hard on you. I just needed you to understand the predicament. You really proved yourself."

"Thanks," Tiffany repeated. "And I'm sorry, too. I was only thinking about myself, but there's, like, twenty other people all in the same boat. I'll admit I've always been a little bit selfish, but I don't think I can be right now. It's like you said, we survive together."

Ylva wore a big smile. "Together."

Back in the tunnel, the party all chose a section of wall to sit against. Brian, as the only one with medical supplies, took to patching everyone up. He started with himself, then Calvin, Tiffany, and Ylva. No one resisted him, this time. Brian still felt a bit weirded out by his sudden ability to treat wounds, but he decided to just go with it. Anything that benifited the party was a good thing, no matter how strange.

Once they were tended to, Calvin and Ylva searched the cave. They returned with a ring, a scroll, and about a hundred gold pieces, the latter of which were divided evenly amongst the group. When all was said and done, and they felt sufficiently rested, they got up and made their way back out of the tunnel, determined to never set foot inside Isalda's home again.