N16, The Ratmen’s Village

After crossing the opening guided by Tone, the tall ratman tamer who had been put in charge of me, I ended up in a big flat area with tents scattered here and there. Their walls were mostly made of hides sewn together and supported by big boulders, columns made of piled stones or long bones tied to one another. I wasn’t sure because of my height, but many of them seemed to be missing a ceiling, not that they would need it underground. Around them there were dozens of ratmen, and for my surprise and displeasure most of the tall ones were accompanied by a dog. Some individuals even had two or three with them.

‘Yikes!’

Despite having evolved into a dog myself I still couldn’t get over my aversion for the damn mutts, I had to work on that in the future. I tried to ignore them and focused on the many ratmen filling the cave.

‘This colony is so big…’

I was standing there with my mouth agape. I already expected it from the peeks I had taken from inside the walled grounds, but nonetheless the number of dwellers astonished me. It was my first time seeing so many creatures reunited in the same place in this underground, not even the big packs of rats attracted by the humans had amounted to such a large quantity. I wondered how many more lived in the sloped part of the cavern, that side was smaller but it was cramped with tents.

“Fgholough.” Tone called me and started to lead the way around the village. He was paying a lot of attention to my reactions, probably still worried that I might do something unexpected.

We wandered around the tents. Many of the common ratmen were gathered in groups, growling to each other, eating raw meat, strolling or simply sleeping on the floor. All of them wore crude clothes made of poorly sewn skins, mostly simple short sleeved coats that reached all the way to their knees, and were armed with simple bone clubs and spikes.

The tall individuals were also socializing and patrolling the area. I couldn’t see any of them sleeping on the floor, but I noticed a few dogs dozing off outside of some tents.

‘I guess tall ratmen have the privilege to sleep inside, do all the small ones sleep out on the bare ground?’

The tall ratmen’s clothes were of better quality. All of them had to be tamers because their garments were similar to the ones the fierce rats’ trainers wore in the walled grounds. They were fully protected by hide armor from head to toe and armed with various weapons, like bone maces with stone heads and bone spikes.

Seeing the rat-like humanoid creatures interacting remembered me a bit of my gang.

‘That’s right, I’m not sightseeing, I have a plan to make! I must find a way to escape form here as soon as possible.’

I focused my attention on the edges of the cavern, but I couldn’t see an exit. After taking a closer look I identified a few structures with tall walls made of piled stones. Their big entrances were all covered by hides and tall ratmen with dogs were standing guard near them.

‘Those are probably not sheds but fortifications to protect the village. Ugh, another obstacle in my plan to leave this place.’

While I was thinking about the best way to slip past the exit guards Tone guided me in the direction of the elevation where most tents laid. Before the slope began there was an area with a lot of hides that were being processed. Some were covered in a white substance that looked like salt, while others had been stretched using strings and bones pinned to the ground like stakes.

A few tall ratmen were working here. They were processing scaly skins, sewing clothes and crafting bone weapons with the help of stone tools and other beast parts like claws. Unlike the tamers in the other side of the cave none of them seemed to have a dog companion.

Their clothes offered less protection than the tamers’ armors but it was obvious that more effort had been put into making them. The outfits had carved bone buttons instead of simple cords, proper needlework to reinforce some parts of the attire and seams that hinted at interior pockets. A few even had simple brocade on their shirts. The weapons hanging from their belts were also more refined, they were mostly carefully carved bone spikes with braided strings attached to their base. Dangling from those string there were feathers and colorful polished rocks.

As we got closer I started to smell flesh and salt, along with another odor that make me slightly nervous. The sensation was the same I had had when the ratmen that captured us used that dark powder. This last stench was coming from the hides that had been already tanned and dried, as well as those that were being processed into clothes or attached together to make tents. I hastened my pace wanting to leave behind the unpleasant smell.

“Cghome.” Unexpectedly Tone called me back. I looked at him and then focused my gaze on the sloped part of the village, communicating him my desire to visit it.

“Gno! Cghome!” Tone refused my petition in a stern manner and I didn’t insist. There would be more opportunities to explore that side of the cave.

I went back to the tamer’s side, but before I took a last glance at the clumped tents and the humanoid beasts walking in the narrow paths between them. On the highest part, before the large tent that overlooked it all I noticed a couple individuals that were even bigger than tall ratmen, but they soon disappeared from my sight.

“Fgholough.” Tone started to head back to the area near the walled grounds. I followed behind him absentmindedly until I spotted a familiar creature inside one of the tents we passed by. It was the small feathered reptile that had baited us into this mess, or maybe an individual of the same species. The dark green animal looked at me and opened its tiny mouth, as if mocking me.

‘Ugh, damn plucked bird. If I ever get the chance you are going to be my dinner.’

I just needed to find an opportunity when no one was paying attention. I wondered if all the village went to sleep at the same time or they just rested whenever they felt tired. It would be better for my escape plans if it was the first option, but inside these caves this might not be the case.

“Ghsit.” Tone commanded me after approaching a certain tent and I patiently did as he said. He went inside for a moment before exiting with a few pieces of meat in hand. Then he sat next to me and gave me a share of the food.

While eating I mulled over the ratmen and their village. They were quite advanced, for a species that lived in a cave. I had noticed they didn’t seem to have metal nor wood, the absence of the last might mean that they didn’t have access to the surface or there were no sources of wood out there.

‘Maybe there is a desert outside… But with all the water in the corridors that makes little sense.’

With all the new intel I had gotten I should start making some decisions. The fortifications on the walls of the cavern were probably the last obstacle between me and freedom, but the ratmen had many resources. Not only there were lots of them, they even had plenty of dogs that surely were capable to track any fugitives, and I didn’t know anything about the terrain outside the village.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Based on the estimations I had made during the stroll there had to be far more than a hundred of them in this colony, and about a fourth of them were tall ratmen. I could also expect a couple dozen dogs at the very least.

It seemed that I would have to take things slowly and gather more information. Maybe waiting for my subordinates to evolve would be advantageous. This place was quite safe, with plenty of food, and trying to take them out of the pens while they were fierce rats would be extremely risky.

‘But what about my other followers? Will they recognize us if we go back as dogs? Wait! Will my subordinates recognize me now?’

I buried my head between my forelegs. The problems were piling up, I remembered how all that time ago, almost at the beginning, I had wanted to be reborn as a dog and maybe suck up to some human warriors to leave this place. Now the disadvantages almost offset the advantages. I didn’t want to be ordered around by some humanoid beasts for the rest of my dog life.

‘What to do? Maybe if one of my subordinates manages to evolve into a tall ratman… Ugh, if that really happens I’m going to feel truly miserable.’

…

It had been been a couple days since I had evolved into a dog, and after training with Tone in the flat part of the ratmen village I finally felt that I could properly control my new form. Thanks to that Tone and I had gotten out of the village alongside other tamers and dogs. It was a good chance to scout the terrain outside, although it seemed to be more of the same boring caves.

‘Anyway, I have to remember the layout.’

I focused on our route as the group advanced. There were also some common ratmen towing along in what I recognized as one of the hunting expeditions that took place regularly.

Right now the tamers had tracked down our first preys and we were about to enter combat. Our opponents were three green bipedal reptiles, given their looks they might be evolved versions of the one the tamers kept to use as bait.

The beasts in front of us had long tails and necks, with undeveloped featherless arms. They were about as tall as me, but probably weighted less. I noticed their most dangerous looking parts were their clawed feet and long mouths, bigger and wider than the half-bird of the ratmen. Their heads, standing at the end of those long neck, could probably move quite fast when biting their enemies.

I had seen the ratmen bring quite a few of them from their hunts during the last two days. They were probably the last of the beast drawn in the signs of the humans. Anyway, I didn’t think I would have a problem fighting them one on one with my new form.

‘I just need to be careful, they seem to be quite nimble.’

I was besides Tone, waiting for the ratmen to give some orders. The three reptiles were cornered at the end of a small cave without a way out and there were a dozen tall ratmen accompanied by fourteen dogs on our side.

‘Yup, they don’t stand a chance. I wonder if I will be able to fight, I want to test the capabilities of this new body.’

“Guh, Guh, Guh, Gratthack!” The veteran tamer who was leading the group, an individual that commanded three dogs by himself and wore several collars and bracelets made of fangs and claws, pointed at Tone and other two newbies, ordering them to fight.

“Ghready,” Tone commanded me and I gladly got into position in front of him. During the last two days I had been receiving orders day and night, only left alone when the ratman went to sleep. This would help me unwind some tension.

“Gratthack!” The three tall ratmen shouted at the same time after they managed to get us ready. I roared and I rushed ahead alongside two other dogs, but slowed my pace at the last moment to let them crash against the reptiles before me. A breath later the other two tamed beast began to fight their chosen opponents and I approached the last enemy from its side. The beast was distracted trying to bite one of the other dogs and I took the chance to close my fangs on its long neck, as close to the head as possible.

The bipedal reptile had just landed a bite on his opponent and was yelping rhythmically in a deep tone that remembered me of some kind of big bird. It didn’t notice me until the last moment. Seeing my mouth getting closer it tried to move its head out of the way, but I was nimble enough to slightly correct my trajectory. With it’s neck trapped between my jaws I leveraged my weight to push the creature to the ground.

The fallen reptile struggled and I felt its claws piercing my hind leg. I strengthened my bite and strove to cut the flow of air or blood on its neck.

‘Damn! I should have grabbed it from the front or maybe jump onto it, like I used to do with the lizards.’

I could see one of the other dogs had grabbed its enemy from the base of the neck, and although it had also manage to topple it down the scaly beast was viciously biting its back. Meanwhile the third one had retreated after attacking and was considering its next movement.

Tone approached me and sank his bone spike in the reptile’s chest, near its left arm. I soon felt how the creature was losing its strength.

“Cghome,” Tone commanded me after a bit. I let go of my prey and the tamer patted my head and fed me a morsel.

‘Ugh, I really hate this treatment.’

The meat helped me endure my desire of escaping Tone’s head pats as I focused on the dead beast. It was difficult to make comparisons now that I had evolved, but after our fight I had estimated its strength to be similar to that of a lizard, although its flexible body made it a more troublesome opponent.

‘How should I call them? Tiny arms? No, that sounds dumb… Long necks? Yeah, that’s better.’

Helped by their tamers the other dogs also managed to end their opponents. The one bitten in the back had the worst injuries, but they were a long shot from being life threatening. Looking at Tone’s reaction after inspecting my leg, my own also seemed to be minor.

With the reptiles dead everyone came closer. After a brief exchange a couple tamers, one being the trainer of the most injured dog, took charge of the bodies helped by a few common ratmen. They were left with the task of chopping and transporting the bodies back to the village while the rest of the hunting party left to look for more prey.

“Grah!” Some time after a tamer made an excited sound while taking a skin bit from the ground. From that point on all the ratmen advanced with caution, doing as little noise as possible. The tamer who had found the skin was at the front of the party and kept inspecting the ground and rocks as we advanced. Paying attention to him I found out that he was following some faint tracks on the dusty dirt that covered some parts of the floor.

‘Uh? How can he know the right direction? I have problems to even make out the footprints!’

Watching the ratmen serious behavior and the apparent size of the marks I could guess that we were hunting something big and dangerous.

‘Hmm, going by the beasts I know, only one possibility comes to mind.’

Not long after my suspicions were proven correct. A big brown lizard was waiting for us at the other side of the cave. This time I had time to take a better look at the creature, it had a brown back and a yellow belly. The main difference with non evolved individuals, apart from its size and color, was that it didn’t creep on the ground thanks to its longer and stronger legs.

‘And its quite fast and vicious.’

I remembered my previous encounter with one of these beasts. Last time I could only run with all I had, even now I was clearly smaller than the opponent.

‘But this time I’m on the hunters’ side.’

Everyone in our group was smaller than the beast, but our numbers gave us the advantage. I had seen plenty of brown hides in the village, it was clear the ratmen hunted them regularly.

The reptile sizzled, extend its body and menacingly moved its head in an attempt to scare us, but it was obvious it had little confidence its own work as the beast was falling back little by little.

“Grocks!” The tamer leading the party shouted and all the ratmen, including the small ones, took out hide strips from their belts, pockets or pouches.

“Ghready,” Tone ordered me, also pulling out his own strip.

I barely got into position when rocks began flying over my head. I was at the vanguard of the group along the other dogs, so I couldn’t see the ratmen, but guessing by the number and regularity of the projectiles they had to be taking turns to launch them.

‘This is quite well timed, almost like a militia. They have clearly had some training.’

The first volley reached the big lizard with great precision, a couple stones even hit its head. Soon more followed and the reptile turned its body around to protect itself before starting to flee.

“Gratthack!” Shouted the tamer in command and his three dogs rushed at the scaly beast with vicious barks.

“Gratthack!” Tone and the rest repeated the order and all of us run ahead.

The three hounds reached the fleeing reptile first, they jumped at the opponent’s neck in a way very similar to the one I had devised when hunting lizards. Soon all the dogs were biting the creature, I myself chose a relatively safe spot near its hind legs. There I was safe from the mouth and the tail.

At first our opponent tried to shake us off and continued its escape, but after seeing that we wouldn’t let go of it finally began to retaliate. I could see that the dogs near the head were using hit and run tactics and the beast was already bleeding profusely.

“Cghome!” Once again was the leading tamer giving the orders first. An instant later the rest repeated the command and I retreated alongside the other dogs. While going back my eyes met this one tamer and I could see some hostility in his gaze.

‘Uh? What with him?’

As long as I knew, the tall ratman had no reason to harbor enmity towards me. I hadn’t made anything notorious back in the village and had listened to Tone’s commands all the time.

‘Did he see me slacking back there? Is that it? Well I don’t give a shit, I’m not gonna risk my hide for you!’

I internally cussed at him and looked back at the big lizard. It was still alive and moving, but judging by the blood spilled on the ground I could guess it wouldn’t take long for it to be too drained to act.

The brown reptile kept fleeing from us for some time, but in the end it succumbed to the blood loss. When one of the tamers finished it with its bone spike the creature could barely move.

‘I should pay attention to the ratmen hunting methods. They may come in handy in the future.’

While pondering about today’s expedition we had arrived back at the village. There were only Tone and another tamer leading a few common ratmen that carried the preys. The hunting party kept leaving behind small groups like this one to transport the catches back.

Moments after passing the fortification that protected one of the entrances a tamer approached Tone. “Dogh mhagter. Dogh. Fgholough. Fgast.” The tall ratman haphazardly spat a few words as he pointed at the walled grounds and glanced towards me with an anxious expression.