S4, Rats, Rats and More Rats

Our group was resting after fighting with another group of monsters the instructor had attracted. They were the same dungeon rats as before and the battle had gone smoothly once again.

“Are we going to leave them here? This is such a waste,” Falnid lamented.

“What’s the problem? These rats are worth nothing,” Terence said.

“Worth nothing? They are edible!”

“…”

“What? We eat them in Vesturkal, they taste good, almost like hare meat.”

“So I have heard... but I’m not going to try it.”

“Ugh, you don’t know what’s good, these are a lot better than the food in the dining hall… Bolton, you understand, don’t you?”

“Um, I also don’t want to eat them,” Bolton answered with a troubled face.

“Simon! You came from the mountains, surely you tried them there.”

“I didn’t, rat meat can make you sick,” I refuted with slight disgust.

Father had told me I shouldn’t eat them unless I was at serious risk of starvation, and I had heard tales about people getting sick after feeding on them.

“But these are dungeon rats! They are safe to eat! Instructor!”

“Mm, it’s true dungeon rat meat is commonly consumed in Vesturkal. They are also eaten in the north, it’s the most basic and cheapest meat in those countries, and you can eat it without a problem. If you ever find yourselves needing food in the dungeon don’t hesitate to cook one,” Instructor Remme explained.

“See! We should bring out a couple and roast them for dinner, they are delicious with the right herbs.”

“Even then I’m not eating a rat,” Terence reiterated.

“Guys?” Falnid looked at Bolton and me.

“…”

“…”

“You won’t convince them, Vesturke, rat meat has a very bad reputation here, not even adventurers eat it unless they are in a pinch.”

“Ugh, alright, you don’t know what’s good, I will bring one outside, don’t regret it when you are drooling later.”

“Can you even prepare one? Do you know how to peel the skin?” Terence inquired.

“… Simon?” Falnid begged me.

“No, sorry, I’m not skinning a rat.”

“…”

I was sorry for Falnid, but I wasn’t going to butcher one of them, the thoughts of disgust were too ingrained in me, even if the instructor said they were fine.

…

“Are you ready?” Instructor Remme asked with a ball of bait in hand.

“This time there will be some feral rats coming, be careful, they won’t be as entranced by the bait as the normal ones. They will attack you as soon as you show hostility and they will incite the others to do the same.”

“Then we should get rid of them first,” I said.

When you are fighting against a pack of wild beasts the best method is to get rid of the leader, then the rest of the group will flee.

“Yes, that’s indeed the easiest method. These monsters tend to take the lead in a fight, so you should focus on them before the rest,” Remme agreed before throwing the bait.

This time we had chosen a position where we only needed to defend the front, it had the disadvantage that we wouldn’t be able to retreat if things went poorly, but these enemies should not pose a big threat to us.

Rats began gathering at the alluring smell, among them were two individuals that were different from the rest, they were bigger and clearly more muscular than the others, plus they had some patches of fur on their tails.

On our side, Bolton was in the center of the formation, with Falnid at his left and me at his right. Terence left the big lantern leaning against the wall, making sure its light would illuminate the spot where we were about to fight. He was going to take Falnid’s left in this encounter.

As the monsters started feeding we began the attack, Bolton advanced a step and tried to pierce the head of one of the feral rats, but the monster dodged and the spear only grasped its flank.

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The barely wounded feral rat was furious and its shrieks made the other members of the pack focus on us, Bolton stepped back and we readied our weapons for the imminent confrontation.

“Be careful when they jump, feral rats can reach your heads,” Remme warned us.

Soon the rats came crashing into us with one of its furious feral leaders in the forefront position. The feral rat leaped at Bolton, trying to reach his face, thankfully the big boy was prepared, he raised his shield and bashed the feral rat with all his strength, sending it flying over the pack.

The rest of us was fighting the others, this time things were more difficult as each of us had to take care of multiple rats at the same time, our spears weren’t enough to keep the monsters at bay and we had to rely on our boots and shields to keep them away.

While we were busy the wounded feral rat came back with the other in tow, both were again aiming at Bolton.

“Black Hair!” Remme urged me to help Bolton.

I hastily kicked the nearby rats and shoved my spear at the second feral, sinking its metallic tip behind the rat’s shoulder. In the meantime the first feral rat jumped at Bolton, with a heavy downward movement of his shield Bolton bashed it against the floor, leaving the feral rat stunned. Bolton didn’t miss the opportunity and trampled on it with his heavy boots.

“Watch out, don’t let them get behind you!” Instructor Remme warned us.

Some rats were taking advantage of Bolton and me being busy with the ferals and were trying to scurry between us. I used my boots to block them as much as I could without taking my sight out off the feral one I had cut. The big rat had retreated a couple of steps but it was ready to rush at me at any moment.

I braced myself as the violent rat leaped in my direction, completely disregarding its wound. It clashed against my shield with astounding strength, leaving me unable to parry.

The feral rat clutched my buckler, not letting it go, its weight overwhelmed me and I began to tumble as the rat threatened to bite me. I let the spear go, then drew my dagger and stabbed the vermin’s head. The rat’s body contorted and it fell down, already dead.

After the clash I kicked the other normal rats who were trying to bite me and glanced at Bolton, he had also managed to kill his opponent and was taking care of the other rodents.

With their leaders defeated the other monsters were swiftly dealt with. Those that didn’t die were heavily wounded on the ground or were fleeing away.

“Well done boys, you attained victory with only a few bites on your armor,” Instructor Remme congratulated us. “Once you rest a bit we will go find another good spot where you can practice some more.”

…

“Rats, rats, and more rats, and when we encounter anything different… it’s a bigger rat!”

Falnid seemingly had forgotten his craving for the rodents’ meat. We had been roaming the tunnels for quite some time, but the only monsters we had seen were those two kinds of rats. The bigger ones posed some threat, but we hadn’t received any injury during our fights.

While we followed the dark tunnel the sound of something being crushed could be heard from time to time.

“Instructor, what are these things?” I pointed at a gray bug.

“These are crunchbugs,” Instructor Remme answered.

“Crunchbugs?”

Crunch.

The instructor crushed one of the tiny critters.

“As you can see, they make quite a recognizable sound. I don’t know if the scholars have a name for them, but we call them crunchbugs. Adventurers prefer simple names.”

“In Vesturkal we call them shellbugs. I heard there are bigger ones inside the dungeon, and with different colors,” Falnid chimed in.

“I see, I have never seen them outside the dungeon,” I said.

“They look a bit like crayfish, but those are long and have a different color,” Terence commented.

“My uncle brings them sometimes when he goes fishing in the Luzupe, they taste quite well boiled with herbs,” Bolton added.

“These aren’t edible, they are too small, and most of them is carapace. Anyway, they live all around the dungeon eating anything they can find. I heard an adventurer claim they ate the metal of his boots. You have to be careful if you ever come around the bigger ones,” Instructor Remme explained.

While we were talking the brightness from Terence’s lantern began to diminish.

“Give me a moment,” Terence took the lamp from his harness and began to refill using his oilskin.

“Maybe it’s time for us to go back,” Instructor Remme pondered.

“Since I already explained about the chalk marks when we entered you will need to find the way out on your own.”

“That’s easy, we only need to follow the entrance signs,” Falnid said.

We soon arrived at an intersection and took a look at the different paths.

“There, if we take this path we will reach the exit, simple,” Falnid spoke confidently.

“But there are dungeon dogs in that direction,” Terence disapproved, pointing to a symbol.

“Ugh.”

“The left corridor seems clear,” I pointed.

“Then let’s go! I’m bored of killing rats,” Falnid took the lead.

…

“Ugh, that took a lot, it’s night already,” Falnid complained.

“That’s because you insisted on taking the rightmost at that bifurcation,” Terence blamed Falnid.

“I was sure we had come down that corridor, also we ended up going in circles when you chose the path in that other hallway, so it’s also your fault we are late.”

“Enough!” Instructor Remme admonished them. “I hope you understood the importance of the chalk marks and the need to know your way inside the dungeon, as you go deeper the signs get more sparse and it’s easier to get lost.”

Finally out of the dungeon, I took a look at the night sight and the couple of adventurers who were guarding the dungeon entrance. The training grounds were already empty, and a pale blue moon could be seen high in the sky.

“Let’s rush to the dining hall, I’m starving… We could prepare a rat if you all weren’t so stubborn.”

“Ugh, I- I think you should stop with the rats, Falnid. You are taking away my appetite,” Bolton complained.

“Well, I bet there won’t be anything good for dinner, so your appetite will be ruined either way.”

Finally, everyone began to walk towards the now-dark town. Today I had felt like I was back in the days when Father had started to teach me how to hunt. In the mountains I had to lay traps or ambush my prey after waiting for hours, in the few occasions I had to fight a beast directly I would carefully ponder my options, thanks to my experience and Father’s advice I always knew when to fall back or push forward. Here, in the narrow corridors, things were different, I couldn’t use most of my usual tactics and I felt my fighting skills were lacking. Maybe I should have put more effort into the mana sensing lessons Father had tried to teach me.

That reminded me, I had to write a letter to my parents. They had told me to write one as soon as I arrived in Algus. If I didn’t send one soon Father would surely come all the way here to take me back home.