Turns out just saying you agreed to the contract was enough for the contract to work so that was nice. Ssevinac visibly relaxed once he agreed, with multiple of the guards also relaxing as well. The rogue out right grinned in an almost cute way as he padded Ssevinac on the shoulder.
“So what now? I am sure you have a sense of urgency in trying to take down your king, but do you have food? Preferable something that isn’t junk food?” He was getting really tired of eating the same junk food over and over again.
Ssevinac clearly didn’t like that statement but seemed to acquiesce and waved his hand towards one of the guards. “Bring him some of our best food please.”
The guard quickly bowed and rushed off leading Quill and the rest of the rat kin to stand in silence staring at each other.
“Couldn’t wait just a few more days to get your system food by finishing the quest. Just had to get some food now didn’t you.” She responded, clearly enjoying watching everyone shift awkwardly in the silence.
“Shhh. Not now” Quill mumbled under his breath which, given the silence, came out louder than he meant to. All the rat kins ears twitching and with Ssevinac narrowing his eyes before the rogue leaned and whispered something in his ear that made the wizard/Shaman shake their head. Whether that was in amusement or disbelief he couldn’t tell.
“Oops! Sorry. Well they probably already think you're insane anyways. So it’s not like anything will really change” She responded in a tone that showed she was clearly not sorry at all.
Quill ignored the comment as he debated in asking the leader more information about the system and the tutorial but after asking for the food he now felt awkward about bothering Shaman/wizard any more then he had already.
Quill decided to cast identify on him to see what information he could glean.
Rat Kin
Name: Ssevinac
Max 15 level difference.
So should definitely not make himself an enemy of this guy. But if the king was just as strong as him, if not stronger, then he could be in trouble. At least he seemed to have an ally. He glanced over at the rogue who had taken a relaxed posture waiting for the guard to bring Quill his food.
Finally the rat kin guard came back finally breaking the awkward tension and handed Quill….. A bag of chips.
“This.. Is your best food I take it” He adopted a happy tone trying his absolute best not to sound disappointed.
“Indeed. It is the tastiest food we have that is reserved only for those who have helped and contributed greatly to us. I hope it is not wasted on you” Ssevinac responded with a hint of annoyance in his tone. Clearly not liking the fact that he was giving away such a delicious treasure.
“Yeah.” Quill responded, forcing a smile on his face. He didn’t know what to expect. They were still rats.
“Before you leave with Iirilac.” Ssevinac gestured towards the rogue. “I have one more thing I wish to show you.”
Ssevinac began to move and Quill followed, seeing as how few places one could go in the station it didn’t take a genius to know they were headed for one of the platforms.
The Rat Kin Guards that blocked the stairs to the platform tensed up more and more as they drew closer but Ssevinac nodded his head which seemed to put them a bit more at ease and parted ways to reveal what lay ahead.
It was kind of… Sad. A mass of Rat Kins were huddled together all on the platform. When they stood at the top of the stairway, many looked up. Some hopeful, others fearful. But they were all thin, weak. It was clear they probably wouldn’t even be able to fight the baby dire rat that Quill had killed when he was first trapped in this tutorial. Some of the rat kin were babies themselves, huddled close to what he could only assume were their parents.
“This is what I am fighting for human” Ssevinac spoke “They all followed me here in hopes that I will protect them, so I want to make one thing very clear to you. You are an ally of convenience as I stated. But I will kill you without any hesitation if I believe you pose a threat to the people below who rely on me.
“Can you imagine asking your family, friends, those you have known your whole like to sit on a platform where a cursed sin comes by frequently and ask them to not freak out or do anything that might disrupt its passive state because that is much safer than anything else you can do for them?”
Quill remained silent cause if he was being honest. He didn’t exactly have anyone that he cared enough to feel the way as Ssevinac felt about his people.
“Ahem!” she cleared her throat in his head.
He almost didn’t have anyone.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Better”
He turned towards Ssevinac “I won’t pretend that I will care as much as you do about your people. But I will at least try to help them by helping you. The contract kinda insures I do that anyways”
“That is why I had you sign it” He grinned in what could have been good natured though the sharp teeth made it difficult to discern.
“So do you have a map that will help me navigate the secret tunnels or is your little rogue going to guide me.”
“Iirilac will hold onto the map and will take you to the king's stronghold. Then he will show you where the roaches are. I doubt you will have much to fear from the roaches as they are mostly focused on trying to kill the rat king. But once he is dead they will certainly turn their attention towards you and us.”
“Right.” Quill looked out over the sea of rat bodies and looked at the arrival times of when that cursed sin was coming. He still didn’t know why the cursed sin wasn’t eating the rat kin and the explanation of them being pacified didn’t make much sense. Especially since he had a strong gut feeling that if he stepped onto that platform and the cursed sin found him. It would try to eat him without hesitation.
He then turned towards the rogue Rat Kin whom he assumed was named Iirilac “Guess you are leading the way. I see no reason to wait around unless you do?”
“It's best we leave now. Your very presence makes the rest uneasy. Though I mean no offense by this.” He then turned and began to head towards the secret door with Quill following but he suddenly remembered a question to ask and turned towards Ssevinac “oh. One more thing. You didn’t come across any humans did you?”
Ssevinac looked at him wearily as he seemed to draw his staff closer to him in a defensive posture “We have. They have long since passed. If it eases your pain, know that they were killed quickly.”
Quill watched the Rat Kin for a second and shrugged his shoulders. Turning back to follow Iirilac whom also had a dagger at the ready as he watched Quill, clearly not knowing how he would react over hearing his fellow humans died.
He didn’t know why, knowing that the humans died made him feel sad but he didn’t really feel like mourning them. It was kind of hard to mourn the faceless and nameless. Especially when your own situation was so precarious. Or perhaps that was the simple lie he told himself.
“If it makes you feel better. I don’t really see why you would mourn them. Not like they did anything for you.”
“No offense but I don’t think I should be taking ethics and moral advice from you.” Quill muttered under his breath.
“Why not?? I am perfectly ethical and moral!”
“Yeah, that feels like a pretty big lie. I understand the importance of still moving forward even in the face of tragedy. Trust me, I know” He spoke with a bit more bitterness at that “But I don’t like it.”
“Well, if you don’t like something then change it. And before you even say something like “It’s not that easy” Yes it is. All you need to do is take the first step, and then the next, and then the next.”
“That feels grossly oversimplified.”
“Perhaps. But keeping it simple can do wonders when moving forward.”
Quill had jumped down into the secret tunnel as Iirilac continued to eye him amusement. He could clearly hear him muttering under his breath but also didn’t know who he was talking to and judging by the look the Rat Kin was throwing at him. Iirilac clearly thought he was entertaining but also crazy.
“You are crazy, system certified.”
“I am not crazy.” He grumbled “And frankly I wish you wouldn’t feed the system's delusions. Also-” He was interrupted by a couple of flashing screens in front of his face.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill “Mental Focus” (Common)
A staple not just for those who wish to sling spells, but for warriors, artists, and any who might be able to form two coherent thoughts together. Surprisingly, being able to stay focused on the task at hand can do wonders in improving one's life.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill “Split thinking” (Uncommon)
Sometimes being able to think one thought isn’t enough. Now being able to think two thoughts simultaneously?? Maybe even three??? Or perhaps four???? Now that is where the real money is. Can also help when trying to hide your thoughts from others. Wouldn’t you agree?
Quill froze as he stared at the screens with wide eyes, but quickly recovered, dismissed the screens and shrugged his shoulders “Well that was weird.”
“Yeah, why did you get those? Seemed kind of out of nowhere?”
“Who knows. My mind is racing with a million things going on and a million more things that I will have to do. The system probably took pity on me or something and gave me some skills to help. It certainly feels like I have been focusing and and thinking about multiple things at the same time”
“Hmmm” She didn’t sound particularly convinced so Quill decided to move on.
“Not much point in thinking about something with the system anyways. Waste of time right? Seeing as how we are about to go fight a large faction of rats. I think we should focus on what exactly we are supposed to be doing. Do you even know?”
Despite not actually talking to the Rat Kin, Iirilac spoke “We are going to intercept the forces the rat king sent to kill you. Weaken him even more and also getting his attention more focused on you”
Well that confirmed he could indeed hear Quill. Though if the Rat Kin thought him crazy, he at least kept it to himself. “So we are going to ambush them?”
“We? No. You? Yes. We don’t want the king to know you have teamed up with Ssevinac in case one or two managed to flee from the ambush.”
Well that seemed totally reasonable and not some weird, elaborate way to get him killed.
“He's still on my kill list by the way. Just say the word and I will kill him”
Quill ignored her comment and spoke “Okay. But how do you intend to ambush them? Not exactly a lot of places to hide here. And I feel like ambushing a force that was sent to kill me is a great way for me to end up dead”
Iirilac stopped and turned towards Quill. “If you end up dying to them then you wouldn’t have been much use to us in killing the king anyways. Think of this as a test.”
“One where I might die.” Quill spoke dead panned
Iirilac grinned at him and teased “Either way, sounds like a win win for us. Though quit worrying. I do intend to set you up in a favorable position. Follow me now.”
Without much choice aside from running away, he followed Iirilac.