Rodentia was in an uproar after Gabriel and Ripner returned. Everyone was troubled by Clacky’s death. Mice cried out in the streets. Children were ushered inside against the threat of possible violence from the guards. Clacky’s extensive family and their friends wept for his passing, and they muttered between sobs why the Mage Mouse was still alive when a much better rodent had his life snuffed out so soon.

Gabriel tried to close his ears to all of this, but just like everyone else, Ripner reminded him that this was all pretty much his fault.

Again, he’s just the tale’s protagonist.

Going to bed that night, Gabriel fretted, What am I going to do? Today was a disaster! I should have been stronger, quicker, and smarter. Maybe then the village would be not be fearing retribution from the guards! What am I going to do?

Luckily, for every mouse, there was no further violence from the dogs. They left the village alone that night, and for a long time afterward. But the damage had been done. Mice began whispering in dark corners and behind locked doors. Their lives had become miserable, and something had to be done about it.

“Everything has been going up the stream since the old Duke died…”

“It’s a curse,” a few whispered.

“Then who cursed us?”

“Who else? Mage Mouse went and done it!”

“But curses can be broken! Surely there must be a way!?”

“Kill the Mage Mouse!”

“And bring his bad luck down on all of us? That ain’t how curses work!”

“I read that curses always have a means of breaking them. It has something to do about mandates of Truth…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“You can read!?”

“Gods above help us all….”

“Ain’t no gods gonna come and save us when Mage Mouse breaths in this village,” one muttered darkly.

“What we need is a hero!”

“And where in the blighted sewers below are you going to find a hero?”

“If only the old Duke was still alive.”

“Damn that Mage Mouse.”

“I’ve got it! The answer was so clear! It was before our noses the whole time!”

“Surprising you can see anything over that nose of yours.”

“It’s Michael! It’s Michael!”

“Of course! The answer is Michael! He’ll save us all!”

“Gods above bless Michael!”

“I swear I see his visage every night in the stars above.”

“Michael! Michael!”

“The mouse who can save us all,” the mice began chanting as the mirrors above brought the gods’ light to the underworld.

Gabriel had not been a part of any of these conversations. He had slept fitfully, plagued by nightmares of his own incompetence. He dreamed of Rodentia burning. Of his village plunging into the raging waters. He imagined failing Maria. He dreamed of his magical staff consuming him.

He woke up in a cold sweat, shivering.

Gabriel got shakily out of bed and made his way to light a candle. He used a simple spell to summon water and fire burst from his paw. After many years of failing to produce magic the way he was supposed to, he had learned how to accidentally conjure fire. He lit the candles around his work desk.

The dim light illuminated the disheveled home of the Mage Mouse. Cabinets and shelves lined the walls, crammed full of potion ingredients and scraps sent down by the gods. In a far corner was a barrel overflowing with different magical staffs. His own towered over the slender, masterfully carved one, conduits of amazing power. Power that he struggled so hard to tap into and master.

His desk was a mess of parchment and scribbles. When he felt frustrated or worried, he spent his time drawing up calculations for new spells, discovering strange phrases, or sketching designs for devices that could aid him in his magic. Tattered quills stuck out of an overlarge inkwell.

Nearby was a massive fireplace with a blackened cauldron thrust into the middle. The coals still glowed in the gloom. He would have to bring in some dry moss and kindling to get the fire roaring again. He might as well work to try and put together another potion. They always turned out as abysmally as his spells.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“What to do, what to do?” he sighed, looking at his recent sketches. Last night he had worked himself into a frenzy, but everything he had drawn was a mess in the new day’s light.

He gripped one quill, his paw trembling. He could not bring himself to write or draw more.

“The inspiration just isn’t coming to me,” he said to himself. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve dreamed myself sick. I’ve scribbled until my thoughts are scrambled nonsense! What can I do? I’m letting everyone down! I’m not the mage my town deserves, nor the one it needs!”

Gabriel let go of the quill and began pacing. “Alright, let’s think about this situation logically. That might yield the best results. Magic cannot solve all problems. Quick wit is more powerful than a death spell and sharper than a sword. I’ve got to believe that, if I am to make it out of this mess.”

Where had it all gone wrong? Well, his magic was deplorable, but that was matter that he could not solve anytime soon. He had been working on that ever since he was an apprentice. No, that was a personal problem that required a unique solution. Instead, where had this whole situation with the village gone up the stream?

“Duke GrrGruff was killed a little over a year ago. And that’s when it began. The new Duke GrrGruff brought the guards here. We had never had guards before. The old Duke’s soldiers protected us when we needed it. They dropped in and celebrated with us. They checked in. But that was it!

“The new Duke changed all of that we when he killed GrrGruff and took his title. He warned us that violence was coming the kingdom and brought his guards to protect us. We have no news of the outside world. And that is problematic. How can we trust anything that the dogs have told us?”

Gabriel pummeled one paw into the other and said, “I’ll have to talk with them! I need to confirm what is going on!”

He paced again and spoke rapidly to himself, “If they are speaking the truth, then that means the answer lies on us mice. We’ll have to find a way to change our lifestyles and accommodate the necessary changes. But most mice will not go for that.

“However, if my fears are correct, and the Duke is lying to us, then that means we will need to break free! That means striking out and finding a way to overthrow the Duke and his soldiers. That means a quest. And that means…

“They will need a hero!” Gabriel squealed happily. “I could be that hero!”

Sure, it was a jump in logic, but it was the kind of jump that he could get behind. If he could be the hero then maybe Maria would fall for him! That sounded like a good idea. First thing’s first, though. He had to make sure that such a quest was necessary.

He needed to return to the guard house. Gabriel rushed out of his house and leaped out into the street. And he instantly found himself in a surging crowd of mice.

Wait! What’s going on? he thought.

The mice were all chattering happily and animatedly. Gabriel tried to force his way up the road, but he was caught in the flood of fury bodies and was pushed back. He found himself getting carried to the town square.

“What’s happening! Why is everyone going to the square,” he squeaked.

A mouse in a frayed skirt and blouse replied, “We’re headed to see the hero! It’s what everyone’s been talking about since last night!”

She then recognized who she was talking to and stuck her nose up into the air before walking away even faster. Gabriel on the other hand felt stunned. Who was this hero? How had he missed this? Oh, right. He had been asleep all night.

Maybe I should see what this is all about before I head up the guard house, he thought. Besides, it would be a pain to fight through this crowd as it is right now.

Up ahead was a platform built to be raised well over the heads of the crowd. Gabriel glanced at the figures on top, and he was surprised to see Maria and her father, the mayor. Mayor Mousekerchief was a dignified, greying mouse with prominent whiskers and dressed in a snappy suit. Maria looked as beautiful as always in a yellow dress with flashy embroidery. The Mage Mouse took it all in.

Gabriel got jostled around for a bit until his neighbors found out who they were rubbing shoulders with and they gave him some room. It was nice to have space to breath, but it stung Gabriel to be reminded just how out of place he was. He fidgeted nervously with his earing, wondering who the hero was.

Mayor Mousekerchief raised his paws and called for calm. “Everyone mouse, please lend me your ears! As you all know, we have suffered greatly since the death our beloved Duke GrrGruff. And we now lived under the iron paw of a tyrant and his minions! We have suffered from a great curse and with the death of a mouse close and dear to us.”

Why don’t you just say my name? Gabriel thought miserably.

“I have deliberated with many of you over the night, and it is clear that we have need of a hero!” Mousekerchief’s words were met with a great cheers. “And I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we have found the mouse for the job!”

“Michael!” the mice began to chant. “Michael! Michael! Michael!”

The mayor laughed and said, “You’ve ruined my announcement. But yes! It is Michael! The mouse who will save us all!”

Michael leaped up onto the platform from behind. He was impressive in a suit of gleaming, silver steel. His winning smile and curled whiskers were visible from everywhere in the town square. He pulled Maria to his side with a strong arm. The mousette swooned visibly. Gabriel felt sick to his stomach.

No! We don’t yet know what is really going on! Unless someone else has already gone and spoken with the guards… In that case, I’ve once again been rendered useless! He could not look at Michael and Maria anymore.

With Maria in arm, Michael strode forward and motioned that he would speak directly to the crowd. The crowd of exuberant mice quickly quieted. This was their hero. The mouse they knew they could trust in. He spoke with great confidence and with a booming voice. No squeak to it.

“My fellow citizens of Rodentia! Too long have we been under the dark and deadly influence and control of a mongrel dog like the new Duke GrrGruff. But it is more than that! It was a mistake that we ever entered into a lopsided alliance with the canine warriors! They have done nothing but bring us into bondage, even the old duke whom we revere.”

There was muttering the crowd at that comment. The mice agreed with Michael and told one another that they should have realized this all along, and that it was so brilliant of Michael to have seen this truth.

The hero continued, “What Rodentia needs is not for another lord to take the Duke’s place. No! What we need is for us to govern ourselves! Mice for mice! But, we are weak as we are. GrrGruff has the power necessary to sweep Rodentia off the map!”

There were wails from the mice at this statement. But Michael quickly calmed them again and spoke reassuring words to them.

“But we are not the only mice in the underworld! There are many, many others! And if we are united, we will become strong! It is therefore my quest to leave Rodentia and gather together new allies from afar. We will build a grand mouse army and march on Duke GrrGRuff! We will overthrow his oppressive kingdom and free ourselves.But not just for those living today, but for untold generations to come!

“The mice will be free!” he promised the crowd.

The mice erupted into cheers. Many shed tears of joy.

He has a very eloquent way of speaking. And people trust him, Gabriel admitted to himself grudgingly.

Michael declared, “Towards this end, I will call on our finest warriors and champions to accompany beyond the floods and waterfalls. Together, we shall find our mice brethren and unite them in the common cause of freedom and security!”

The Mage Mouse took in how Maria was looking at Michael, and he felt sick to his stomach. He saw how the other mice were acting, and he felt alone.Literally alone and abandoned in the middle of a crowd. He wanted to escape, and began inching backwards.

I’ve got to get out of here! I need to make sure that this quest is necessary! Isn’t that what I already decided I needed to do?

Mustering up the will, Gabriel pushed back into the crowd and fought his way back to his home. As he left he heard the crowd take up the chant, “Michael! Michael! Michael the Hero!”

But what about me? The Mage Mouse thought.

“Michael! Michael! Michael the Hero!”