“Here, we have arrived. Our leader is through those doors.” Third Smasher said as he pointed to a pair of doors at the end of the passageway.
“And what level of treachery should we expect from you the second you are out of sight?” Cal turned to Third smashed and looked him up and down, and he asked. “Remembering that you’ve now had your ass handed to you twice without either of us breaking a sweat.”
“We are past the point of any treachery needed. The great leader will deal with you, and I will be punished for my failure. Try to prove annoying enough that my punishment is not too great.” The squirrel said as he kept his eyes staring down at the cavern floor.
“Yeah, I’m going to be honest with you, TS, I just don’t expect your boss to be much of a threat considering the rest of you,” Cal responded.
“Yes, and that will be a mistake, but I can do nothing to convince you of that now.” Third Smasher’s tail seemed to be a window into his anxiety with how frantically it was moving up and down as he spoke.
“Yeah, yeah, let’s get this over with Ethel and Tiffany. The sooner the squirrels aren’t an issue, the sooner we can go about finding more springs.” Cal pulled open the doors and walked through.
The new cavern was huge, and a low blue light gently pulsated across the room. In the center of the room, Cal could make out a colossal squirrel half submerged in a body of water below. The biggest shock of its appearance was the two heads that several servants were slowly piling food into the mouths of. “Yes, I see Third Smasher has failed in his charge, and now I have unexpected guests. How annoying,” the giant squirrel said as it raised its massive head to look toward where Cal had come in.
“Hey there, I hear you’re the man or, in this case, squirrel in charge of these parts. Look not to be rude, but I’ve gotta ask. What is it like having two heads?” Cal called down. He felt a smack to the back of his head as he did so.
“Can’t you ever be serious?” Ethel hissed at him alongside her slap.
“Hrm, it’s a unique experience, to be sure, but as I find it hard to remember my life before my current form, I don’t believe I could accurately make the comparison.
“Fair enough, so how about we all do this the easy way? No more slaves, no more random attacks. Hell, if you are feeling especially helpful you could even join us to help get the Gryalth off your home. How does that sound?” Cal gave the creature his best giant smile, not that he remotely expected the squirrel to agree, but it couldn’t hurt to try.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“I suppose I could consider it. There’s no harm in at least entertaining an idea suggested by my guests. Why don’t you take the stairs to your left and join me down here? I wish to hear your story in full before coming to any decisions.” It said.
“Yeah, sure, that seems fair.” Cal took the invite and descended the stairs, followed by Ethel. They took seats across from the great squirrel and started explaining in detail what had brought them to this place.
“Interesting. And this time loop you are in restarts every time at the moment of your death?” The leader asked after some of the story had been told.
“Yeah, as far as I can tell, at least. I think it used to go longer after my death until Andrew’s death, but that’s hard to say, considering I don’t experience anything after I die.” Cal explained. He was surprised at how reasonable the giant squirrel was being. Maybe an alliance was more possible than he thought. The help would be welcomed. Even if he had ideas of an army, the eventual battle was still far above their current capabilities.
“I think I’m starting to see why Third Smasher met with such resistance now. I would never have expected an intruder to have access to such potent magics. I especially wouldn’t have expected anyone to visit us from our ancestral home. I had assumed that contact long since over.” The squirrel reached a hand out and roughly pet Cal’s head.
“Um yes, sorry for causing such a hassle to your troops. Honestly, if we had met you first, I think this could have all been avoided. You’re surprisingly reasonable compared to most of what we have met since this all started.” Cal felt an itch in his head as he continued speaking. He pushed it aside. There was no time for that now. He could figure out what was bothering him after this meeting. This was far too important to ignore.
The squirrel leader then tried to scratch Ethel’s head the same way he had Cal. “What the hell, wait, this is all wrong. Cal, snap out of it.” Cal had trouble registering actions based on what Ethel had just said. “Cal, you idiot, listen to me. There is something going on in our minds; I’m having trouble even thinking this well. Wake up, dammit. Tiffany, if you are still here, run!” Ethel finally screamed after Cal’s face kept the placid look it had started with.
“Did you say something, Ethel? Sorry, I was focused on what our leader was saying.” He looked over at Ethel, who’s face was now plastered with a grin. The itch in his head grew a thousand times stronger at seeing that. Was that right? Did Ethel smile like that?
“Sorry, I was just wondering where Tiffany had gone. Have you seen him?” She asked in an unusually high-pitched tone for her.
“No, isn’t he with us? Wait, did he even come down the stairs with us?” Cal pushed through the itch and into what felt like mud as he tried to remember when he had last seen Tiffany. He had asked him to join in the room, and then everything seemed weird. Why was his braining being like this? Then, somewhere distant in his brain, he heard something cry out.
“Cal, you have to channel lightning into your own head. It’s your only chance.” the voice screamed.