30 – The Source

  “They’re what?” Bella hissed, looking past Andy toward the distant tunnel opening.

  “I’m serious!” Andy whispered. “They’re making rat-people and… I don’t know; it seems like they have another rat-mother. They’re feeding it other rats.”

  “What’s the plan?” Lucy asked, glancing from Andy to Bea.

  Bea shrugged. “I should hang back. I’ll help if someone gets hurt.”

  Andy nodded to Omar and Bella. “We should hold the tunnel mouth. Lucy, you need to take out the mother. She’s in a cage, but it’s, like, scrap-metal with big openings.”

  “You gonna do your smoke thing?” Omar asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll burn the rats that are transforming into rat-people. That should get the others to chase me, and I’ll draw them back to the tunnel.”

  “You really want me to try to take out the big rat by myself?” Lucy asked, her eyes betraying her nerves.

  Andy nodded. “It’s only half as big as the other mother. Even if they try to let it out, you should get a few shots in first.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “You got this.”

  “That’s right,” Bella said, her sword blade reflecting the light from Bea’s lantern. “We got this.”

  “Heading in,” Andy said, turning to glide, cloaked in the shifting smoke of his Unseen Stalker spell, toward the opening. The scene was much the same as before, though the rat-people were lifting another basket out of a vat. It was drenched with foamy greenish-gray liquid, and the forms wriggling inside it were fuel for nightmares—shifting, convulsing pink rat babies that shrieked in something that seemed like agony to Andy. He hurried his steps, aiming for the scrap-metal cage that held the soon-to-be rat people.

  A small wave of guilt washed over him as he inhaled and cast Brimstone Breath, but he pushed it down; these creatures were filthy and violent. Their population growth was uncontrollable, and Andy couldn’t see any way to make peace. Looking at the writhing, grunting, panting rats who were in mid-transformation, he reasoned a quick death by fire was better than they could expect from many enemies. It didn’t matter; the thoughts were a flash through his mind, and he was already expelling a cloud of billowing, black, ember-filled smoke into the cage.

  The creatures’ shrieks rose to a crescendo, and Andy whirled, spear ready—sure enough, the rat-people attendants had seen him. They bared teeth and claws and charged. Andy turned and ran, drawing them to the tunnel opening where the others waited. One of Lucy’s glowing arrows flew past him with a whistling snap, and Andy spun, lined up beside Bella, who stood between him and Omar. Four ratmen were charging, but one had sprinted for the cage holding the giant rats, and the others were…fleeing!

  Another tunnel past the juvenile rat mother’s cage opened into darkness, and several rat-people were already halfway to it. The huge rat mother was convulsing, roaring ear-piercing shrieks as she clawed at an arrow protruding from her neck. Then the ratmen were in front of Andy, and he could only focus on them.

  The truth was, the creatures didn’t stand a chance; Andy could have killed them himself, but they kept him and the others busy long enough for the giant rats to burst out of their cage and charge into the fight. Between Andy and Omar, they kept the rush at bay with their spears, and Bella hacked at or stabbed any rats that started to crowd through.

  Andy was sorely tempted to let out another Brimstone Breath, but he held off for two reasons: one, he wanted to save mana for when he actually needed it, and two, he wanted to be sure Bella, Omar, and Lucy, when she finished the mother, would have a chance to participate in the fight. It was a little reckless, perhaps, taking a fight at an easy pace, but when they were winning so handily, he didn’t see much risk.

  As for the mother… Andy glanced toward the cage and saw the gigantic rat slouched against the back wall of its cage, with three arrows sprouting from its enormous torso. The fight was a mop-up after that. The rat numbers were pathetic compared to the hordes they’d already fought, and with Lucy adding her arrows to the mix, the giant rats quickly succumbed to the companions’ efforts.

  When they all stood, heaving for breath, over the bloody rat corpses, Bea called out, “Anyone hurt?”

  Omar held up a hand, and crimson blood dripped from his elbow. “Got a bite on my wrist.”

  “Come here,” the Water Witch said, drawing one of her tiny flasks from a pocket.

  Andy walked toward the vats. One of the ratmen had opened the nets containing the fresh mutants, and they were writhing around on the fluid-slick stone floor. Gritting his teeth and breathing shallowly against the acid-chemical tang in the air, he set about ending their miserable existence. His new enchantment was potent; the blade of his spear slipped through flesh and carved through bone, and the caustic black flames rapidly spread. Against the vermin, even the fully grown giant rats, it was lethal in seconds.

  He glanced up at the nets, ensuring they were empty, but something moved in one of them. It was the furthest into the cavern, and one that he hadn’t seen in use. A small pink form wriggled around inside. “Shit,” he muttered. It was one of the babies that hadn’t been mutated yet.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Should we kill it?” Lucy asked.

  At the same time, Omar said, “Level!”

  Andy frowned, glancing at the man as Bea echoed him, “Level for me, too.”

  “Not me,” he grunted.

  Lucy shook her head. “Me neither.”

  “They were probably closer to leveling,” Bella said, walking over to join them. When she looked up at the wriggling, squealing, pink rat baby, she gasped, “Oh my gosh! Help me get it down.”

  “Bella…” Andy started to say, but she ignored him, reaching up to grab the coarse rope netting. She tugged, sending one of the flywheels up above spinning, and drew the net down to the ground.

  “We should kill that,” Omar said, walking over with Bea.

  Bella shook her head. “Not a chance. She wasn’t in that chemical stuff! She’s not like the others!”

  “It was born from a monstrous giant rat,” Andy reminded her.

  “So what? So she’ll be big, maybe. Look at her! She’s like a baby.”

  Andy looked over Bella’s shoulder at the thing. It was about five pounds of pink, wrinkly flesh, with tiny white peach-fuzz hairs starting to grow all over its body. Its little rat nose and whiskers were twitching as it sniffed at Bella. “I think it’s hungry.”

  “I don’t sense any corruption,” Bea said.

  Andy glanced at her and saw a faint blue glow fade from her eyes. “You can tell that?”

  “Oh yes. The rest of these things are filthy with it. The stuff in these vats needs to be cleansed and disposed of.”

  To Andy’s horror, Bella had already lifted the baby rat out of the net and was cradling it. “I really don’t know about this—”

  “She’s so sweet, Andy!” Bella cooed, and Lucy succumbed to temptation, kneeling beside her to pet the little thing.

  “How do you know it’s a girl?” Omar asked.

  Bella held the pink creature in her palms, exposing its belly. “No dingaling.”

  “Oh, jeez,” Andy said with a snort. “Is that right? I mean, I know it’s easy to tell on puppies, but that’s a damn rat.”

  Bella tucked the little creature against her chest again. “I don’t know, but I think so. Anyway, there aren’t any balls either.”

  “It’s a little young to be sure,” Bea finally chimed in, “but it doesn’t matter. I don’t think we need to kill it.” She looked at the big copper vats. “So long as no one puts it into one of those.”

  Andy frowned, following her gaze. “We need to deal with that stuff. What if a person fell into one? I mean, we have no idea what that stuff even does.”

  “Another thing,” Lucy interjected. “We didn’t get a quest update.”

  Andy turned toward the other tunnel. “Something more to find, I guess. I saw three or four rat-people running that way.” He started toward it. “Better check it out.”

  “Wait!” Bella cried, standing with her new burden. “Omar, can I see your bag?”

  Omar groaned, but he unslung the green canvas messenger-style bag from his shoulder. “Only ’cause I don’t have anything good in there. Was hoping we’d find some treasure or something.”

  Bella ignored him, gently tucking the little rat into the container. “Does anyone have any food?”

  “What kind of food is a baby giant rat going to eat?” Andy asked.

  “I don’t know. We have to try something.”

  “I have this,” Lucy said, holding up a peanut-butter-flavored protein bar.

  “You gotta be kidding me.” Andy chuckled.

  Bella took it, though, ripped it open, and broke off a tiny piece. He watched as she reached into the bag, and a moment later, her face lit up with a smile. “She’s eating it!” She started to lift the bag’s strap to her shoulder, but paused. “Bea, will you—”

  “I’ll hold your little darling. Come on, give it here,” she said, setting her lantern down.

  “You’re already carrying a lot,” Lucy observed.

  “Actually, I think I can leave the lantern here. I learned a new spell at level sixteen.” With a soft grunt, she hung Omar’s bag over her neck, carefully adjusting it against her hip, then she held out her staff, and her eyes flared with blue light briefly before a pale white glow emanated from the smoothly burnished wood at the top. It wasn’t any brighter than the butane lantern, but up high, at the top of her staff, it illuminated the room better.

  “That’s badass,” Omar said. “I can make wood burn, but it’s a lousy light compared to that.”

  Andy looked at the cool, soft light, amazed at how nonchalant everyone was about magic after such a short time being exposed to it. “It’s awesome.”

  “You really are a sorceress, Bea,” Bella said, resting a hand on the older woman’s shoulder and looking at her with something like pride.

  Andy chuckled. “You two crack me up. Come on.” He started toward the tunnel, and this time, no one objected. It wasn’t a long tunnel; as soon as Andy rounded a gentle corner, he saw a flickering green light that exposed another large cavern. Even from a distance, the flicker of light on water exposed a floor covered with water.

  “I just got a quest update,” Bea said from behind him. “The water I’m supposed to cleanse is ahead.”

  “Let’s see what’s up,” Omar hissed.

  Andy turned, holding a finger to his lips. “Let me take a look.” As he spoke, he cast Unseen Stalker again, then turned and padded toward the opening. As he approached, he heard running water, and when he reached the corner and peered around, his breath caught in his throat as he took in the strange scene.

  It was a large cavern, but more natural-looking than any of the others beneath the mesa. The ceiling was riddled with stalactites, glistening with moisture and decorated with all sorts of colorful growths—fungi, algae, or something; Andy wasn’t an expert. On the ground was a shallow-appearing lake—the bulk of the cavern covered by it. In the distance, he could see water falling from above and then, on the other side of the cavern, pouring into a massive cleft in the stony floor—a waterfall into the unknown.

  All of that was interesting enough, but the thing that really gave Andy pause was the shimmering, mirror-like green door that hung in the air at the cavern’s center, seemingly resting on the water’s surface. Slowly, Andy began breathing again as he scanned the space. There wasn’t any sign of the rat-people, but he wasn’t an idiot; he knew the glowing door had to be a portal. As the thought went through his mind, the System provided the confirmation:

  ***Congratulations! You’ve found the source of the mesa’s vermin infestation. You’ve been awarded enough experience to advance your Brimstone Stalker class to level seventeen, earning another Improvement Point.***

  ***Congratulations, Andy! You’ve discovered your first dungeon! Some dungeons are permanent; others are bound to a quest and will vanish once it’s completed. This is a quest dungeon—any who find it will be offered the following quest:

  Enter the ruined city of Scarag Heights, fight or sneak past the vermin hordes, and slay the Baron of Corruption. Treasures left behind by the fallen Tevenbrite Empire may be found within. This is an Elite-level dungeon; entry with a party is recommended, though parties larger than five will face increased difficulty. Be warned: other entrances to this dungeon may exist in this world—or others—and you may encounter hostile adventurers within.***

  Andy whirled, looking up the tunnel toward his companions. “Did you guys see that shit?”