Tunnel Rat

The Puffyfur Tea party was in full swing.

There had been some disappointment that Professor Tallsqueak would not be attending, and bit of confused emotions about Larry attending. These had been swept aside when Professor Arlothe came into the planning committee to tell them how proud he was of them for inviting Larry. When told that Larry could not have cheese because he was in the 'Special Fighting Class', they made a decision to skip cheese altogether at the party. They substituted several types of cookies for the missing cheese and crackers.

A lovely rose and raspberry tea had been selected for the first round, along with raspberry tarts. Larry sat on the floor with his back to the wall, his long legs going under the table and his feet poking out of the other side. Patsy and Sassy were serving him his tea and cookies. Larry was being very careful with his teacup, holding it in the palm of one hand and using just the tip of a claw on his other hand. His nightly classes with Gilad, Tallsqueak, and Cremona were helping him pick up small things. Fiendish Claws was a STR based skill which Larry had never practiced, but Claw Fighting as taught by Gilad was a DEX based skill. A DEX of 4 was much better than a DEX of 0.

Larry's claws were also smaller now. Professor Cremona had been unhappy when she examined his overgrown claws, and as part of the tea party, Larry was being given a manicure by the happy Puffyfurs. After his nails had been filed and painted pink to match his weasel slippers, he held them patiently in his lap while the nail polish dried, and began to tell the eager audience about his adventures in Flowerland.

Milo heard Larry talking as he quietly moved past the room they were in, and continued on up the stairs. He was very happy Larry was having a good time.

Larry smelled his friend as he passed by. Tallsqueak was doing Hero stuff, he could tell. Tallsqueak always got a different smell when he was thinking really hard about things. Something bad had happened. Sneakybadguy was doing things with other sneakybadguys. But Tallsqueak would catch them!

Professor Arlothe looked at the schematics for what Tallsqueak was asking him to do, and got excited. It was a project that needed special glass lenses created in a certain way. While Tallsqueak created the framework to hold the lenses, Arlothe started his kiln and began melting the glass. Four hours later they had finished what Tallsqueak called a microscope. It was basically a frame that held the glass lenses, and a knob to move one a little bit closer.

Microscope wasn't as good of a name as 'Arlothe’s Advanced Device for Looking at Small Things' but he did concede it was quicker to say. Tallsqueak took the first device with him, and Arlothe began working on designing a better one.

Old Healer felt someone's eyes upon him, but didn't react at all. Reacting at all might make a potential assassin decide to leave, and where was the fun in that? Better to bait them in and get some excercise

All furniture except for his desk had been removed from his large office to make room for a bed where Bleusnout lay unconscious. The large chef was sweating slightly, and moaning in his delirium. This was both like, and unlike, any cheese overdose that Old Healer had ever treated before. The obvious signs were there: pupils dilated, sweating, trembling muscles, and delirium. But at the same time Bleusnout wasn't waking up. He was unconscious and possibly dreaming, as if part of him was shut down.

The secret door opened, and Tallsqueak dropped into the room, carrying a strange device. He seemed quite serious and focused. "He is not getting better, if that was what you came to ask."

Tallsqueak stacked up all the paperwork and books on Old Healers desk, and put them in a pile against the wall. He began putting together an apparatus made of glass and metal, and then laid many small vials and bits of glass on the table.

"Something isn't right. I want to find out what he ate. This is a device for looking at small things. And these small bits are what was under Bleusnout’s nails, and in his nostrils. We are going to look for clues as to what he ate."

The old ratkin nodded. "You doubt it was just Roquefort? So do I. Bleusnout has been around cheese all his life, I don't see him being tempted by some lesser cheese."

Milo showed old healer how to use the basic microscope. It only had a magnification of 140x but that was enough to look at cheese samples. They examined all the tiny bits Milo had scraped from nails and nose. Old Healer was fascinated by what he saw. Was this some engineering trick? It would have helped him many times in the past.

"Look here. That is a Black Mold. None of the cheese we make in this Hollow uses Black Mold. I'm not sure any cheese does. And what are these little things moving around? Are those small spiders?"

Milo had noted the presence of the creatures and knew what they were. "Spider mites. They aren't real spiders, just a small creature with many legs. Somewhat related. But why the chef has them in his nostrils is odd."

Old Healer continued to look at the samples. "Maybe not so odd. These is a rare cheese that was said to have used 'tiny spiders' to give it a distinctive flavor. After the soft cheese was made it would be put into a box with the spiders and left for a year. Needless to say it became quite unpopular when the spiders began to invade our lands. Not that many people liked it before, really, but no one has made it for decades. Perhaps there was a round of it in the cheese the Eels were keeping in their vault?"

Milo knew what his next step was; back to the Tower to talk to the eels. But he had other questions first.

"These are only the samples from one of the chef's hands. His other hand was holding a crumpled Golden Puffball mushroom."

Milo pulled out the crushed mushroom and laid it on the desk.

Old Healer considered that. "That seems strange. They aren't particularly tasty as a raw snack. Their virtue lies in their cooked flavor that enhances many dishes. And of course, in their use as a cleansing agent for poisons. They are one of the main ingredients in the elixir that you drank."

"Could that elixir help the chef?"

Old Healer sighed and looked frustrated. "It might, if what he is suffering from is some form of poison. But I haven't been able to find the means to correctly make it. My brothers’ notes are terrible. He always left out the important parts so no one could steal from him."

Milo went still suddenly, thinking. After thirty seconds he said. "Poison."

Old Healer waited patiently for an explanation.

"It wasn't the Roquefort. What if Bleusnout was poisoned and wanted to leave a clue? He's been exposed somehow to Black Mold and spider mites. What if he realized what was happenening as he was weakening?"

The old ratkin nodded. "I think you should go find out what was in that shipment of cheese. I will begin checking for signs of poison, and try to devise an antidote."

Milo left Old Healer with a messy desk and ran off to talk to the Eels. This time he went through the corridors and out the front door. Just as he was about to leave, a plump young man dressed as a Shadow Skulker came up to him and offered him a handful of jellybeans. "Hi, we haven't met yet, but the twins said you like these. I'm Petey."

Milo wasn't going to turn down jelly beans. He would share with Larry later. "Thank you. I'm Tallsqueak." They shook hands, made more difficult by Petey's hand being sticky with melted candy. "Oh, I've heard all about you from the twins. Congratulations on becoming Master of Scouts. That's awesome. The twins are happy and Charlotte is furious."

Milo scowled. He was getting tired of Charlotte; she really wasn't a good partner. "I can't help that. She'll just have to earn her own ring."

Petey laughed. "That will be tough for her to do. She's a lousy healer. Gendifur will be taking that ring soon, she's doing most of the healing in the Hollow now. She's really thankful to you, by the way. She says she's gained a whole level and is ready to go up to Tier 2 all because of how you guys tear each up at special fight practice."

"Oh, that's good...I think. I'm glad we're helping. But doesn't Charlotte want to be Death Master not Master of Healing?"

Petey winked at him, "Oh, she wants that very badly. Yes, she does. Maybe a little too badly, if you get my meaning. It makes her sloppy. Trust me, she has a better chance at becoming the Master of Healing than the Master of Death." He smiled at Milo and walked away tossing jelly beans in the air and catching them in his mouth.