"It's gone..." the older mouse says, eyes staring wide. In truth, she knew little about the nature of the treasures, whether they all took the same form, whether they were all visible to the naked eye, really, anything about them, but somehow she knew this for a fact. There was once a treasure here, but no longer.

"What do you mean it's gone? How can it be gone? Even if someone did take it, shouldn't those eyes of yours lead us to them rather than the place it used to be?" Frederich asks, trying to remain calm but growing increasingly concerned despite his best efforts.

"If it had been here for a long time, it may have left some residual energy which we tracked." Mia says, following Kay's gaze towards the empty space. "Frederich is right, though. It shouldn't have been enough to lead us here from so far away. If it were, you should have still seen another light source, one coming from the actual treasure. That means it should still be nearby."

"I... I don't know..." Kay says, dazed.

"Can you see anything else around? Come on, we've come way too far to give up now!" The armored mouse exclaims, which finally breaks Kay out of her stupor.

She looks in all directions, unable to see a brighter source, but at the same time realizes that Mia is correct. Similarly, there might be a bright light up on that nail, but the whole room is still bathed in the unnatural blue light. This spark may be within it, but it's not the source of it. The older mouse lowers her head, usually an effort to avoid the intense pillars, but instead it had the opposite effect. The light only grew more intense.

"Below. It's down below us." she says. There's something else as well. Aside from the nail, there are other bright spots as well, by no means intense and, in fact, barely visible against the bright luminescence which fills the room. Some are brighter than others, but it's clear they all run in a straight line, moving down the wall before vanishing in behind a series of white painted pipes. Perhaps the treasure had left a great deal of energy upon its usual resting point, but small bits were left in the air as well as it was moved. A trail. "I can see where it was taken. Let's go."

"Wait, what exactly do we plan to do?" Mia asks. "What if another mouse found it? Are we just going to steal it from them?"

"I mean, we've already technically stolen from the Makers, and they're kind of like Gods." Frederich says, scratching his chin. "I don't see how that would be any worse."

"That's different!" Mia exclaims. "I... mean I don't exactly know why, but it is! What if whoever has it refuses to give it to us? I don't want to hurt another mouse."

"Let's just find it first and figure out the situation. Then we can decide what to do." The armored mouse grins to her, resting an armored paw on her small shoulder.

"We're taking it. No matter what." Kay grumbles, stepping across the room.

"I mean, I know we are, I was just saying..." Fred stammers before again looking to Mia. "Well, let's figure out who has it anyways. Hopefully it's someone bad who we won't mind stealing from!"

The small mouse reluctantly nods, clearly not entirely approving but not wishing to argue to matter further, either. The fact that she also didn't wish to have to give up on their quest played a non-trivial factor as well. Behind the pipes a cavern is discovered. Not a proper hallway or natural tunnel, instead a jagged hole in the plaster wall leading to a dark, narrow tunnel, clearly of inhuman design.

"Do you think other mice really live down here?" Frederich asks, staying close to Kay.

"Maybe... although while there's plenty of water around here, food might be an issue. Still, I can't say it's impossible. Most mice have gathered in the city these days but small villages and other pockets of civilization continue to exist all over, and a lot of them are quite secretive." Mia says.

"Be quiet..." Kay interjects. Her tone isn't angry or annoyed, simply a low whisper as she looks forward. The others don't argue. Visibility may be limited, but they can still smell as well as ever and something just smells off about this place. Not entirely alien but just different enough to put their fur on edge. Even without the fact that the key was clearly taken down here by something, the three have a strong sense that they aren't alone down here.

The passage winds downward, the earth rough and twisted all about them. In the case of frequently used tunnels, mice tend to regularly maintain them, smoothing out the walls, offering occasional supports when needed, clearing out debris and the like, but these tunnels simultaneously held a natural and unnatural look to them. They were clearly not created by the natural shiftings of the earth, but similarly seemed to lack intelligent design, wild and primal. There is no shortage of burrowing creatures out there, of course, but mice don't tend to get along with most of them, as a good portion of such creatures are extremely dangerous. Of course there's no guarantee that the original creator of these tunnels is still here. While the mice occasionally mine and tunnel themselves, when practical, just as often they find existing tunnels which have been long since abandoned by their original makers, and there's little reason to believe this place is any different. It least there would be little reason to believe it were it not for the foreboding air which fills the entire region.

Then there's the smell. A mouse city isn't exactly filled with clouds of perfume and the scent of wildflowers, but for the three mice there's just something different here. Not entirely alien, once again, but that would have almost been better. Instead something close enough to the familiar but just different enough to be unsettling. Kay takes the lead with Frederich following. Not far behind is Mia, staff raised, a bright orb of magical light emanating from the head of it which fills the cavern, even if it doesn't illuminate it quite as far as the three would have liked. Even Kay's unnatural eyes do little to penetrate the gloom ahead.

Even being so alert, even with her senses enhanced by the strange curse mark, the naked mouse doesn't see the attack coming, with the other two faring no better. Mia lets out a surprised squeak whereas Kay can manage little more than a grunt as she's thrust against the dirt wall with a great deal of force which nearly knocks the wind from her, making her head spin. She looks to see both Frederich and Mia pinned down from behind by large, shadowy figures. As for herself, there is the powerful hand gripping her throat, squeezing tight, lifting her feet from the floor. A misshapen head with ragged round ears and a pair of large bright pink eyes stares at her. The face is not entirely unlike her own, at least at a glance, aside from being considerably larger, and her own naturally lacking the boils and missing patches of fur that run along its snout. Enough alike that many creatures might not be able to tell the difference, much to the annoyance of either species. It is a rat.

Aside from general size and strength of build, they are much like mice, at least in appearance. Even the more ragged and dirty nature in this case cannot really be considered a species trait as mice can similarly vary dramatically in health and hygiene. It wears a little bit of tattered cloth over its shoulders, but similarly that can't be considered a major difference either, seeing as how Kay wears nothing at all. It carries no weapons, but as she was grabbed and pushed into the wall, the nameless mouse had dropped Catherine, her named weapon, so that likewise cannot properly differentiate them. The physical power of the creature is quite obvious, however. While not rivalling that of a dark lord, the difference in sheer strength is incomparable, as Frederich and Mia have discovered, effortlessly held down by the filthy paws, unable to even face their captors. Even Kay is getting a sense of this, clawing at the vice-like grip with little result, as she hideous, grinning face with its broken teeth looms closer. The real issue, however, is the lack of proper leverage, the shorter arms of the mouse unable to properly attack. That's why she relies on her leg, kicking upwards, curling her entire body up to add force to the strike, and it proves very effective. Kay slams the rat in the side of the snout, with enough force to even catch the attacker completely off guard, making the rat lose its grip, staggering away, a paw to its face.

The naked mouse, suddenly dropped, dives for her weapon and prepares to strike. Not at the large rat which had held her, but instead at the pair which still hold her comrades hostage. A second rat stares to her with a surprised expression, pink eyes wide as it sees the pronged blade pointed directly to its face, unable to properly defend itself with both hands pinning down the squirming, armored mouse, clearly unprepared for this turn of events.

"Heh, you're pretty strong..." the still standing rat says in a throaty, growly voice, spitting out a tooth. "Let 'em go." it continues, this time directed at the other pair, much to their surprise. The other two rats immediately comply.

Both Mia and Frederich are less than relieved by this, both rushing to Kay's side, their weapons drawn, back to back, ready to fight, but the three rats makes no effort to strike. A brief stalemate ensues, although rather one sided, the three rats seemingly quite unconcerned. Finally, someone has to break the silence, and it is left to the least battle hardened of the trio, the one mouse less focused on the enemy ahead, the one least prepared to counter at a moments notice.

"Why did you attack us?" Mia asks, trying to sound authoritative but doing a rather poor job.

In response, the lead rat, or at least the one who had initially grabbed Kay, the only one to speak so far blinks, furrows its brow and rests a hand in its chin, seemingly in deep thought. This goes on for several agonizing seconds.

"Um..." Mia says, if that can truly be considered saying something.

"Oh, sorry." The rat says, clearly still thinking. "It's just that I've never needed an excuse to attack someone before, so I honestly never really considered it. It's a tough question."

While the three mice are still less than at ease, the tension is broken to a certain extent, as they stand and wait for the answer which will never come. The exact differences between rats and mice, beyond specific anatomical ones will vary greatly depending on which of the creatures one were to ask. In the eyes of mice, rats are less intelligent, less civilized, less clean and more violent. Most of these are, largely, correct, but the intelligence aspect is quite debatable. Rats are, in truth, quite intelligent, no less so than mice, perhaps even a little bit more. Well, biologically, anyways, but even socially, they're no slouches. They simply have a different way of thinking, and many creatures, both great and small regularly mistake 'different' for 'inferior'. Rats are largely hedonistic creatures, and have little interest in technology and even less interest in emulating the Makers, unlike mice. They have no real desire to enhance themselves, at least not as a whole species, instead indulging their own whims and instincts, for better or worse. They have little interest in civilization or laws or hierarchies, at least in general. Like any species, however, each member has their own beliefs and ideals, not all of which conform. Like with all societies, advanced or primitive, there is always at least one group of people among them which craves powers structures and hierarchy: Those who would fancy themselves at the top.

"This is no place for weak little mice." A shaggy, dark-furred rat grumbles, breaking the awkward silence, its voice a little deeper than the first.

"Hey, who are you calling weak?" Frederich glares, drawing his blade, turning to his former captor. For the second time within as many minutes, however, he finds himself grabbed from behind. It's hard to really consider this an attack, however. At least hard for Mia and Kay to, as they look on with confusion, which is why the pair don't intervene. He lets out a surprised squeak, a noise he tries to avoid as he doesn't consider that it sounds very manly, and isn't exactly wrong. Still, he's squeezed tightly in the iron grip of the very same lightly furred rat which had preciously grabbed Kay, which still has a little blood dribbling from the corner of its lip.

"Oooh, look at her! She's so adorable, what with the little sword and everything!" the rat coos, hugging the mouse far too tightly for both his body and mind to endure for long, nuzzling at the shocked, armored mouse with the bristly fur of its cheek.

"H-hey, stop that, I'm a man!" He squeaks, doing an even worse job of sounding commanding than Mia did earlier.

"Really?" The rat pauses, still holding him in both of her scabbed paws, looking him up and down a bit closer. "That's even cuter!" she grins. Her feminine nature had grown apparent to the male mouse as he was pressed against her stomach. For mice, nipples might not quite have the sexual connotations that the do with humans, but they're still not the sort of body parts that are seen as appropriate for a non-mated male to touch (and even in that case, it's questionable). She resumes the hug, as the comparatively small mouse flushes with embarrassment. While he's the greatest victim of the situation, by far, the situation is rather awkward for all the other bystanders, rat and mouse alike, as well.

"Oh, uh, sorry..." the feminine lead-rat says, setting him down and giving him a little pat on the head, a gesture which does little to quell his embarrassment. "Anyways, I'm Lili, this is my husband, Lars, and this is my other husband, Luka." she points a scabbed paw from one male to the other. Mia finds herself briefly tempted to ask why she would need two husbands, but she resists the urge. As for her allies, they aren't tempted in the least, having no desire to know. "Anyways, Lars is right. This isn't the sort of place that mice should come. Not all the rats here are as friendly as we are."

Kay is tempted to argue about how friendly the three are, considering they ambushed the mice without warning and there's no telling what might have happened were she unable to break herself free, but decides against it. "We're looking for something, and we can't leave without it."

"Heh, you mice and your explorations..." the lady rat chuckles, shaking her head. "I don't know what you're hunting around for, but unless it's a painful death, I can't imagine you finding much else if you continue to delve deeper into the nest."

"We know the treasure is down there, and we're not going to give up!" Frederich says, determined to look strong and save face. A misguided determination, however, as Kay angrily glares at him, annoyed that he's given up a little too much information.

"Treasure?" the lead rat says, the other two looking to one another in confusion. Thankfully, while a little curious, none of the three hold much interest in material goods. "Can't say I'm familiar with anything down there that could be called treasure..." then pauses, furrowing her brow as a realization suddenly hits her. "Ooooh..."

"Do you know where it is?" Mia asks, still downright terrified but determined to be as polite as possible.

"Yeah... well, no, not exactly." the rat says. "I mean I can't be sure of what you're looking for, or even if it's there, but if there's anything that looks shiny and valuable, I'm sure the king has hoarded it for themselves."

"Huh, there's a rat king?" Mia says. "I wonder if he's like ours..."

The three rats immediately perk up at the words. "There's a mouse king?" the largest of the three, silent all this time, voice a rumble in its thick throat. All three of the rats look to each of the mice in turn, studying them closely. Finally he shakes his head. "Nope, I can't picture it."

"Yeah, me neither." The lead rat similarly nods.

"Please, we need to find it!" Mia says. "We don't mean any harm to your kingdom, and won't hurt your king, but we've come a very long way and it's very important!"

The three rats burst into raucous laughter, as the mice look to one another with confusion.

"We're no friends to the king. We're tired of them trying to push us around, making up a bunch of stupid rules, hoarding all the food, thinking they've got the right to mate with whoever they want just because they're strong." the rat woman spits, a little bit of remaining blood going along with it. "Take whatever you want and do whatever you want with them. You'd be better off turning and running the other way, though. I don't know how things work with you mice, but the king stands on top because they have no equals. Nobody likes them, but even as a group, standing against the king is suicide."

"So the king is stronger than you?" Frederich asks, nervously, his body still aching a little from the earlier hug.

"Yeah. A lot stronger." she says. The other two similarly nod in agreement, not even needing a moment to consider the question.

"It doesn't matter." Kay says. "We're getting that treasure, and are not taking even so much a single step away from this place until we have it."

The lead rat looks to her skeptically before she chuckles, still rubbing her cheek. "You know, I don't think I've ever been hit that hard. I imagine that weird weapon of yours could do some serious damage, too. I didn't think they made mice that strong. You're still no match for the king, but, hey, you three are small. Maybe you can sneak in, get what you want and get out without them noticing. It's still a dumb idea, but I know you mice are as stupid and misguided as you are weak. You've got to do everything the hard way."

"Heh, that's right. How else are we supposed to get stronger?" Frederich grins.

The rat woman returns the grin. "You sure you wouldn't rather stay here with me? Seems a waste for a cute little thing like you to just get himself killed."

The armored mouse turns pale, looking away. The two male mice similarly look to one another with skeptical but not entirely dismissive expressions. Say what one will about rats, they are very open minded creatures. Finally, Mia steps in to rescue the nervous knight. "Well, then, I guess we'll just have to not get killed, right?"

The rat blinks, looks from one mouse to the other and again chuckles, eyes shut. "Right. Well, we're not like the king. We're not one to stop anyone from doing what they like, no matter how stupid it is. Still, you'd better be careful. We're stronger than most rats, which is why we're not under the kings dominion, but a lot serve them directly out of fear. Even aside from that, you..." she looks to Kay, "Might be physically stronger than most rats, but they've got numbers on their side. Frankly, I can't picture any way for you three to even reach the king, and even if you do, don't know if he'll have whatever 'treasure' it is you're looking for, but either way, I wish you luck."

Kay gives an undeterred nod in return, continuing down the path, Frederich and Mia closely following, but regularly looking back to the three rats with nervous eyes. Frederich looks especially nervous, more concerned with Lili's offer than the fact that they were ambushed and nearly killed just minutes before. Meanwhile, the three larger, scraggly furred creatures watch the mice vanish into the darkness.

"You think they've got a chance?" the gruff voiced rat asks.

"Who knows. But, I imagine it will make for a fun show, either way."

While Kay is as focused as ever, the other two aren't nearly so confident. Even fighting one rat was a scary, even if not hopeless prospect, but an entire kingdom? The deeper they delved, the closer they reached to the belly of the beast. The cavern widened, regularly splintering off into countless smaller tunnels spreading out in all directions, but none of those side paths mattered. The blue light was straight ahead. Still, those little tunnels couldn't be ignored, either. An ambush could spring from any one of them. These underground chambers were clearly huge, significantly larger than the mouse kingdom, so who knows just how many rats might live here? As they travelled, all three, including Kay who seemed entirely focused on that part, prepared for battle. For the inevitable war-cry, as they were swarmed by large, filthy creatures from all directions, and yet it never came. Perhaps the place wasn't as populated as they feared? Maybe the chambers were practically empty, with the scattered bits of population few and far between? A pleasant dream, but clearly not the reality.

The three could sense the rats about them, their pink eyes locked upon the smaller adventurers. Shadows scurried deeper into the tunnels at their approach, gleaming eyes watching from the darkness. Sure, Kay may have held unnatural strength, but that shouldn't have been apparent to the dwellers of this place. As far as they were considered, the mice were small, weak, outnumbered and intruders within their domian, and yet they made no move to strike. Certainly good news for Kay and the others, as even a fight they might be able to win would drain their strength and spirit, but it didn't fill them with confidence. Each pair of eyes which shines from the darkness means yet another whimsical, in their view downright irrational creature which could decide to strike at any time, and the deeper the three travel, the less feasible an option retreat will prove to be.

The path narrows once more, both Mia and Frederich regularly looking behind themselves, more than aware of the fact that their presence hasn't been ignored. If anything, the sense of being watched only grows. It is only a matter of time before they face more rats, and within this narrow tunnel, it happens. Tall and haggard with dull eyes and thin limbs, the grey furred rat stares at them as the three draw their weapons. It makes no move to strike, however, quite the contrary. It turns, waves a paw and with a rough, gravelly voice croaks. "This way. The king has been expecting you."

The three stop in surprise, the magician and knight looking to Kay who gives them a reassuring nod. As a unit the three follow, entering the royal chamber.