Tunnel Rat

Old Healer had long ago cultivated patience to a point where there was little left that surprised him. A rampaging Cheese Fiend pursuing two of his first-year students through the marketplace made him realize that there was still a lot in this world he had yet to experience. He was grateful that Larry had enough control not to crash straight through the door. Bleusnout was doing a masterful job of helping the poor whelp recover from his overdose. Now there was a patient old rat!

He was also happy to see how polite Larry was. He had certainly earned his cookies. Out in the world, things were more hazardous, and having to run from an enemy was dangerous. Those two had gotten off easy, but would remember the lesson. Tallsqueak told him the entire story, which made him chuckle and shake his head. Trying to score points on Tallsqueak in the same way as an earlier attack? Silly. Those two would need to be this week’s example of 'What you don't do!'

Larry hadn't been the end of the day's surprises. As Tallsqueak was handing Larry his cookie and juice, Old Healer had noticed the insignia on the inside band of his ring. He covered his surprise by sipping his own juice and struggling to hold still. A duplicate of Tallsqueaks ring was on his own finger. A long, slow examination of the young ratkin enjoying a cookie and juice revealed more things. The glint and fluffiness of his fur showed he had recently purified his body, and his new pantaloons were both distinctive and familiar to him. How many times had he rushed up to his great-uncle when he was only a few cycles old, to run his hands across the silky fabric?

Coupled with Charlotte's story of partnership, spiders, and presumed death in a certain cave, he could make a partial guess at what had happened. He suspected that Tallsqueak had found a forgotten secret. He would have to politely ask if he would share. It had been decades since his great-uncle had disappeared, leaving the clan is disarray and forcing his grandfather to take over as clan-head. It had been nearly impossible to hold everything together with half of the clan suspecting his grandfather was responsible for his brother's death. It hadn't been a good time, and whispers still circulating among the older ratkin.

But things changed, and life went on. In their history, his clan had been ruled by Death-Masters, Scout-Masters, and Healing-Masters. The spider wars had wiped out too many of his generation and those that had followed. At some point he must pass the reigns of power to someone else. His own grand-daughter was thought to be the obvious choice, but Charlotte could be difficult. And while she was proficient in skulking and backstabbing, she was a poor healer. He was training several promising whelps in the healing and alchemical arts and hoping one of them would stand out. And he had a new wildcard in Tallsqueak. Such an odd creature, obviously a feral loner from some small cave. But he had made several friends, which was more than Charlotte could boast.

Char was intentionally late to have lunch with her grand-father. Not so late that she would be judged disobedient, but enough to show that she felt she had better things to do. Hadn't she already fulfilled his weekly challenge by retrieving the mushroom samples he needed from a spider-infested area? She had already planned an expedition back to that same area to find Tallsqueaks body and see what valuables he had. In particular it had been noticed that the pick-axe he carried with him was made of a superior material. She had a team of three others who had some mining experience from the basic training and planned on clearing the cave in and finding his body.

She was thinking about this plan as she exited the front door of her clan's area, and saw the dead person nibbling one of the cookies she had made for her grandfather. It was just like him to set something like this up! But how had Tallsqueak survived?

Her grandfather introduced them. "Tallsqueak, I would like to formally introduce you to my grand-daughter, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is my new friend, Tallsqueak." Charlotte didn't miss the way her grandfather named Tallsqueak first, implying he was of higher rank in the clan than her! Rage and embarrassment filled her heart. Mostly rage. She'd always had a short fuse.

Tallsqueak recognized her immediately. "Hello, Partner."

"Oh no! That's over. You died! Or left the area! Or did something tricky and left me on my own. And that was yesterday. No partnership. No splitting of loot. Nothing. Those are the rules." Her grandfather sighed. She and he had already had an argument over this.

Tallsqueak seem confused about why there was a problem. "That's fine, it makes it simpler. Rules are important so each person has a good expectation of how things will go. Thank you for letting me know, so there are no awkward interactions over the splitting of loot."

Charlotte ignored the stink-eye her grandfather gave her. The important thing was that she had won! Tallsqueak was obviously upset about losing out on the quest rewards her grandfather had promised. It was one less barrier between her and eventually taking over the clan.

Her grandfather clapped his hands three times to get their attention. "Enough. Charlotte has declared the partnership void. She will be given credit for the mushrooms she harvested and brought back. Tallsqueak will be credited with what he found. So nice that we are all in agreement."

"Tallsqueak wins. I know you weren't out gathering as part of the competition, but by the rules you became part of it when you partnered with Charlotte, and what you found far outweighs her contribution."

"That isn't fair! What could he bring back to equal the rare fungus you sent me after?

Old Healer produced a Master Gathering bag from his ring, once again making her jealous of the item. "Tallsqueak gathered four times the amount you did Charlotte, along with some very rare varieties, using only tongs he showed her a few of the deadly mushrooms."

Milo spoke up. "And magic pants. They are really comfortable."

Charlotte stared at Milo's new pants. "Those are an heirloom of the Shadow Skulker Clan!

Milo was having none of that, he knew the rules. " Long lost treasure belongs to whoever finds it. These magic pants are now an Heirloom of Clan Hopping Hamster."

Charlotte stomped one dainty foot and looked at her grandfather.

Old Healer winked at Tallsqueak and then said seriously to Charlotte: "It is best not to anger clan Hopping Hamster. They already defeated two of our first-year students today, and beat you in gathering."

"Come lad, we should talk a bit in private. Charlotte? Please go make some tea for us, and bring another plate of cookies. But not immediately. Join us after half a bell, I have important clan business to discuss with the head of clan Hopping Hamster."

The old ratkin led Milo through the door Larry had refrained from smashing through, and down a hall to a room with a large desk, shelves of books, and several leather chairs. Milo scanned the books quickly, but didn't see what he was looking for. Old Healer noticed his interest. "Looking for something?"

Milo nodded. "I want to know what happened to Larry. Are their books on Cheese Fiends? Has anyone looked for a cure?"

Old Healer paced back and forth a little. "Yes, and No. We have very little of that information, here in this Hollow. I've heard that some of the other Hollow's have worked on ways to reverse some of the changes. And of course, some Hollows still create Cheese Fiends on purpose, and know a great deal about the process. But it would be nearly impossible to get that closely guarded information."

"On purpose!? But why?" Milo suspected the answer, but part of him really didn't like it."

"I'm sure you can see the advantage. Larry is worth over a dozen trained fighters. He is nearly impossible to hurt, and yet he can be managed because of his low intellect and need for cheese. Cheese Fiends were created to fight in wars long ago, and the ability to transform into one is in all of us. There is even a special Class that can be taken by ratkin who become highly addicted to cheese and move to a higher tier. Those are the truly horrible Fiends, since they retain fighting skills and abilities. You are thinking of trying to find a cure for young Larry?"

"Or a way to make him better." Milo was skeptical of body-wide mutagenic transformations could be reversed. Then again, didn't he change and then change back? Could he make Larry better by helping him get a new class? That was something to explore.

The old ratkin stopped pacing and looked at Milo. "I had wanted to talk to you to see if there was something I could offer you in exchange for something I need. There are some medical texts I could loan you, and books on alchemy. In exchange for what I need, I offer you the resources of my clan to help your friend."

"And what do you need in exchange?" Milo was skeptical of open-ended deals.

"I need access to that hidden tunnel network you found, in order to search for proof of my Great-Uncles death. Unless you already know something?"

Milo didn't remember ever fighting a great-uncle, so he must mean the pile of bones? Things slid into place in Milo's mind. "Your great-uncle was a Shadow Skulker and a Scout-Master. He had a secret lair where he grew mushrooms and made poisons, but one of his concoctions killed him! That's why the place is all secret doors and traps."

Old Healer kept his excitement hidden, but he smiled widely. "Ah, that does sound like him. He would place small traps all through the hallways to 'test the young ones'. That ended when one of the older dowagers got a poisoned needle in her toe and beat him nearly senseless for putting traps in the laundry room. I can imagine he placed many in his secret lair."

Milo looked down at his pants. Looting old bodies wasn't as much fun when you suddenly met their relatives. "I found him. Not much left. He poisoned himself somehow and was trying to make an antidote when he died."

"Do you have any information on that antidote? It wouldn't have happened to be some form of cleansing elixir? And you may have imbibed some? One of the side effects is a lustrous coat of fur. Or so I've read."

Milo brushed the fur along his forearm. It was still annoyingly shiny and soft. "It was Lesser Elixir Vitae. I was dying of spider venom when I found it. I may have drunk more than needed. I wasn't thinking well at the time. When I woke up, I smelled horrible and my clothes were a mess. Sorry for being a pants stealer, but I really needed them!" Talking about the elixir had brought up the recipe in his mind. The amount in the bottle was enough to have cured him four times over. He might have shiny fur for a long time.

Old Healer looked very interested. "That is a very powerful cure. It not only cleaned the venom from your system, but also any other impurities from your body, and should have strengthened your natural healing abilities. Yes, you would have woken up later with all the impurities and poison on the outside instead of the inside. Uncle was a pile of bones; he didn't need those pants anymore. You are welcome to them."

Milo had a sudden thought. "What would the Elixir do to Larry? Is it possible that too much cheese forms poisons or chemicals in the body that cause it to warp? What if we cleaned out his system like I did mine?"

Old Healer thought hard, then sighed. "I just don't know. It might help him some, but it might also have side effects, such as stimulating his already incredible regeneration. Or his hunger. There is no way to know."

Milo persisted. "We could use small doses? Study his reactions. And it would be good to have some of the Elixir on hand in case anyone else was poisoned!"

"Valid arguments. But there are some flaws in your plan. Firstly, I need the recipe. Secondly, the ingredients, one of which is a great deal of Golden Puffball mushrooms."

Tallsqueak pushed two of the chairs back against the wall, and a large oak chest appeared to the great surprise of Old Healer. Reaching inside he pulled out a massive, metal bound book and put it on the desk. "Here. It's confusing at times, especially with all the added notes, but it almost made sense to me, and I only have chemistry to fall back on. A Healer should have no trouble making more Elixir." The chest disappeared as someone knocked on the door.

Old Healer was already paging through the book as he motioned for Milo to open the door. "That will be my Grand-Daughter. How convenient."