By the afternoon, Olivia had finally recovered enough to be able to join them for dinner. She still seemed a little fragile, but a meal of good stew and hearty vegetables had her on her way to firm health soon enough. Clay heard her grumbling a little about the lost time for her translation work, but after dinner, she almost immediately collapsed into a deep and undisturbed sleep.

Clay joined her shortly afterwards, once he'd reiterated their plans to the Baroness. She still seemed skeptical, but Clay felt like they would be able to make things work. He and Olivia had already gained most of the advancements they needed for [Ratsbane] already, and the other [Commoners] were eager to bring their unpleasant war against the ratfolk to a definite conclusion.

They set out early the next day, feeling mostly refreshed and well prepared. Each of them had done what repairs they could to their armor, though Clay and Olivia both were starting to need a bit more specialized attention. Their [Chants] could only fix so much, and despite David's skill, Clay was worried that the armor would fail at the worst possible moment. Olivia had made the suggestion that they simply stop getting wounded, which had made him sigh and roll his eyes.

Their march across the plains was mostly uneventful. Clay could pick out the ratfolk in their burrows from a long distance, letting the other [Commoners] crush them with Drums of the Earth long before they became a threat. Sometimes the creatures launched themselves out of their hiding places in time to surprise, but either Clay or one of the others caught them with another attack.

As Mitchell had described, the land around them grew sparser and more damaged as they drew closer. More and more holes, collapsed or fresh, dotted the landscape. Where the ratfolk hadn't excavated things, the land still showed a kind of rot, where the wild grass had died off to give space for the gnarled, wood-like roots that twisted through the soil instead.

Those roots grew more and more common as they got closer to the spot where the Lair was located. Their footing grew unsure, as the soft soil was slowly strangled more and more by the encroaching plants. The ratfolk attacks grew more and more frequent, but Mitchell and the others were brutally competent at picking them off. Neither Olivia nor Clay seemed to need to lift a hand, at least not until they reached the location of the Lair.

It was a plain, unassuming valley, aside from the fact that nearly half of it seemed to be buried under a tangled mess of the root-things. Even without his ethereal senses, Clay could see a half dozen or so different openings that clearly hid monsters. The hole Mitchell pointed towards was wide enough for two people to crawl in side by side, though the lack of room made Clay grimace. He looked at Mitchell, who shrugged. "The tunnel itself isn't quite as cramped, but we do like to flood it with fire before we go in."

"Probably a good idea." Clay grinned. "Though I have a better one." He looked at Olivia. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, though she seemed uncertain still. He squeezed her shoulder and stepped back. As she recited the Anthem of Thunder again, he looked at Mitchell. "Did the last hunting party only come from there?"

The [Guard] shook his head. "No. There were a few different holes. Multiple exits."

Clay nodded. "Get ready to point them out, then. Other than that, stay back." Mitchell signaled to the others, who started their own [Chants]. Both Mitchell and Herb fell into a crouch behind their shields and short spears. Scott set an arrow to his longbow while Hadley shouldered a hammer.

He waited until they looked like they were ready, and until Olivia had managed to get through about half of the Anthem. She had already repeated the amplification phrase, six times at least. Clay let out a low breath, and then began his own [Chant], preparing himself for what he thought would happen.

It was the Gardener's Lament, the one [Chant] that Syr Katherine had claimed would bring an avalanche of monsters down on them. Of course, it was possible that she was wrong, and that the ratfolk would remain safely under cover, but if she was right…

The [Chant] did not take long; if anything, it was much faster than the first time he'd tried it. He paid close attention to his ethereal senses, but it didn't seem like anything had moved from where it had been when he started. If the [Chant] was going to disturb things, it hadn't happened yet.

Clay allowed himself to wonder if Syr Katherine had been wrong about the effects of the [Chant], just for a single moment.

Then he completed it, and his opinion changed drastically. His ethereal senses abruptly extended, even as they grew muted, like before. The difference was, however, in what he could sense and where.

It was as if the world had vanished for a moment. Very close by, a howling vortex of misery and hate spewed its animosity into the void. He watched it tremble and shudder, its gaze turning towards him with sudden spite and fear. Even without understanding it, he knew it was giving orders; other, lesser sparks shifted and turned upwards.

Yet it wasn't alone. Far in the distance to the west, another screaming pinpoint trembled and spat sparks. Another, much farther to the south; another even further south, hissing like an angry fire. Still others, even further away, as if just beyond his sight.

Clay held the [Chant] for a few, awed moments. Then he dropped it, staggering slightly. Mitchell looked at him in surprise, and Clay made a reassuring gesture. "They're coming. Get ready."

The others nodded. Olivia was nearly done with her [Chant]; he could feel the charge of it building in the air. Mitchell and the others crouched, their own [Chants] ready to sweep out in waves of destruction.

They did not have to wait long. In only moments, a flood of ratfolk appeared. It was another hunting party, hundreds strong, pouring out of holes all over the valley. Their eyes glowed crimson with hatred. Screams and screeches filled the air as they spilled out into the open, an army meant to rend and destroy.

Then Olivia unleashed her storm, and the ratfolk died.

Lightning blasted them as they left the holes, turning screaming ratfolk into flaming, shattered wreckage. The smallest of them simply vanished, obliterated entirely; the mightiest toppled over, their forms stiff and burning. Thunderous explosions echoed across the valley, swallowing their hateful cries. Even their dying screams were buried beneath the violence of the assault, their last moments captured in flashes of light with their mouths yawning open in mute fury.

By the time the last of the lightning bolts fell, the entire valley was a smoldering carpet of dead ratfolk. Those few who remained lay among the dead, still writhing from the wounds they'd suffered. Olivia slumped forward slightly, panting from the exertion of casting the [Chant], while the others stared at her in shock.

Clay gave her a grin. "Did you finish the [Achievement]?"

She nodded, clearly still worn by the suffering she'd endured the day before. "I have it."

"Good." He nodded to himself, stretching out with his ethereal senses. The howling of the Lair was still clear in his mind, but it seemed like there were far fewer sources of alarm down below. Clay turned to look at Mitchell. "Did you see where they were coming up?"

The [Guard] nodded, and Clay continued. "All right, seal off every exit you can find except for the one you found the Lair from. If Olivia hasn't already collapsed it, I want the other side exits buried."

As the others started down into the valley, Hadley held back for a moment. Her lips twisted in disgust. "Then what?"

He looked back down at the devastated ground. The Anthem probably wouldn't work again, but hopefully it wouldn't need to. "Then we do it again—with just a small difference."

The second time Clay used the Gardener's Lament, he sensed that the rage of the Curse had only grown stronger beneath him.

It had clearly recognized the failure of its pawns. He wasn't sure if it had sensed anything else that had happened after they had died, but it was clearly unhappy with what had transpired. Clay felt the heat of its anger focus again on him in moments, filling his perception with an incandescent scream.

He broke the [Chant] and nodded to the others. Then he started his next [Chant], the Flame-Tongued Song.

As he finished, ratfolk poured from the single remaining exit to their tunnel system, screaming and waving their weapons. They had just enough time to stumble to a stop, seeing the other [Commoners] surrounding the exit with their weapons drawn.

Then Clay unleashed the flames, and their warcries were suddenly wiped away in a roar of fire. He advanced, sending a river of flame deep into the single remaining exit. Smoke boiled from the opening as the ratfolk writhed and burned inside. Some of them forced their way through the flame, only to collapse as they reached the open air, overwhelmed by the fumes and the pain.

Clay maintained the [Chant] until the fires it produced finally ran low. He stepped back, breathing hard, and watched as the smoke continued to billow out into the cold fall day. The bodies of the ratfolk were still burning inside, sending up still more smoke; the stench was terrible.

He watched, still sensing more ratfolk just beyond those. The words for the Refrain were on his tongue, ready to call more flames forward when the enemy charged.

Yet instead, he sensed them withdrawing further into the tunnel, avoiding the worst of the fire and the heat. A few failed to retreat fast enough; he could feel their hateful little sparks fading even as the others pulled back. He watched for a few more moments, and then nodded. "All right, we should be able to advance. Everyone ready? Nobody saw any other tunnels open up, right?"

The others nodded, and he grinned. "All right. Scott, Hadley, would you?"

They looked at one another, taking a moment to play rock-paper-scissors. Hadley laughed in victory a moment later, and Scott sighed. The [Farmer] stepped forward, beginning the [Chant] of Extinguished Embers. A moment later, the flames within the tunnel abruptly vanished, leaving only the smoke to continue, at least until Hadley finished the Ballad of Air and began sweeping it out of the way.

Moments later, the tunnel was clear, except for the crumbling, charred remains of the ratfolk. Clay took a moment to extend his senses and found that what was left of the hunting party had continued to withdraw.

He gestured to the others and started in after them, trying not to let the crunching feeling as they trampled on the corpses bother him. The stench was still terrible, but at least they wouldn't be ambushed immediately. At least, not until they got further in.

They followed the retreating hunting party, with Clay tracing their path through the underground warren. Herb and Olivia had brought up the [Chant] of Heart's Light, letting the glow fill the tunnel ahead of them. Around them, the dirt of the tunnel walls was laced through with the knotted, almost-wooden structure of the same strange plants they had seen outside. Here and there, it looked like side tunnels and rooms had been chewed out of the ground, but Clay ignored them. They could deal with the rest once the main threat was handled.

It didn't take long before they reached the first of the barricades. The ratfolk had created the crude structure from fragments of the tangled root, lacing it across the width of the tunnel at waist height. A dozen or so rats were crouched behind it, obviously intending to sell themselves dearly.

Clay paused just long enough to recite the Canon of Rock and blast the thing to fragments. Mitchell followed it with a volley from the Canticle of Ice, shredding those few ratfolk that weren't sent tumbling down the tunnel with the splinters of their former wall. None of the enemy managed to recover before the [Commoners] were among them, stabbing and hacking in the narrow space until they went still.

They repeated the same tactic for each of the half dozen barricades they encountered over the next few minutes, smashing them to pieces and continuing in their pursuit of the fragmented hunting party. The denizens of the Lair seemed to realize that they were being invaded. Other groups started to set ambushes from side tunnels, or launch attacks from behind. Unfortunately for them, Clay simply gestured to the others that the enemy was waiting; a simple brutal assault usually killed the waiting ratfolk and let them continue onward.

Even as they fought their way forward, Clay lost track of the hunting party. More accurately, they merged with a much larger group that was waiting for them further in. He grimaced as yet another barricade was shattered to pieces, while Hadley and Scott burned the ratfolk from a pair of side tunnels. Herb used the Ballad of Air to shove the fumes back along the still-smoking side passages. They forged ahead as the howl of the Lair drew close.

Then he turned around a corner and came to a halt. Mitchell and the others crowded around him, their eyes widening.

There was a door ahead of them, a massive stone thing bound in metal. The ground around the door was stone as well, in a pattern that suggested that it had been constructed rather than chewed out of the ground. Small extensions of the root system crawled across the edges, but they didn't extend completely across it.

Clay stood studying the door, his eyes narrow. Mitchell nodded to it. "I think that's the same door we reached last time. We found it much quicker now."

Hadley snorted. "Well, at least we won't be as tired when they start chasing us this time. Not as lost, either."

"Nobody's chasing us anywhere, Hadley." Clay frowned. He looked at Olivia. "What do you think?"

She tilted her head to the side as she stared at the door. Her mouth was unseen below her scarf, but she seemed to be frowning as well. "Seems… odd. We can break through it eventually, though."

He nodded slowly. The obstacle the door presented was not a small one. The Canon of Stone could hammer its way through eventually, but it would take time they might not have. He could sense more groups of ratfolk moving through the tunnels around them, circling around to cut them off from escape. Even more were closing in on the valley from the outside, probably to try to make sure the [Commoners] were trapped.

Yet that wasn't the only thing he sensed. He would have expected the ratfolk to be waiting near such a large barrier. It would give them an ideal chance to cut down intruders, especially so close to the Curse itself… yet there were no ratfolk waiting on the other side of the door. Instead, they were all gathered off to the sides, standing in two rough lines that suggested a set of parallel hallways.

At first glance, that suggested something like the gates in Crownsguard, where the soldiers could stand and shoot through murderholes, but there were other things that didn't make sense. There was dust lying across the door, when it should have been brushed aside by the remains of the hunting party passing through. Their footsteps did enter the stone area, but as he traced their steps, they veered to either side instead—the same places where they were hiding now.

His eyes went to the walls, searching. There, he found an odd pattern in the roots along the edge. Unless he was wrong, the traces of the horde disappeared there as well. The same pattern repeated on the opposite side.

A pair of hidden doors, one they had just used to bypass the door entirely. Clay's eyes narrowed. It made sense. How would they have moved such a heavy door and closed it behind them so quickly? Especially without making an unholy racket throughout the whole tunnel system? He looked back at the stone door, trying to guess how much time it would cost them to break through. Certainly, enough time for the Guardians to reinforce their defenses and call in more flanking attacks.

Better to disappoint them, then.

He started the Stanza of Steam; the Flame-Tongued Song would be effective, but the smoke and flame would bar his path too much. As he continued the [Chant], he gestured to the hidden doors and made a few hand signs: danger, enemies, hidden. Olivia's eyes went a little wide, and Mitchell's gaze went right to the spot he'd identified. Hadley and Scott seemed mystified, but they shifted their weapons in preparation as they read the tension in the air.

Then he pointed to the one on the left, then himself. When he pointed to the right side, he gestured to the others, and they nodded, shifting their positions in that direction.

Clay repeated the amplification phrase over and over, letting the power of the spell build within him. When he stepped forward, he made as if he was heading towards the stone door, since he didn't know if they were being watched somehow. He sensed the monsters shifting, getting ready to strike at them as they breached the door. Their movements betrayed a sense of excitement; something was watching, then, though he didn't know what or how.

As he started the end of the Stanza, he looked up at the door, searching for a hint as to how they were being observed. He saw nothing but metal and stone, even as the others began to tense.

Then, just as he neared the completion of the spell, he sprinted for the hidden door on the right. Clay didn't bother trying to open it. Instead, he lowered his shoulder and aimed for the seam he could see in the tunnel wall, right where the dirt supposedly met the stone.

{Might increased by 1!}

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He slammed straight through the hidden door, caving in a shell of dirt-covered roots with a sudden crackling sound. Clay grinned as he turned to the right and saw a straight, broad tunnel stretching ahead of him. Along one side, there was a wall of stone with small holes that would allow spears, blades, or arrows to pass through. They were covered with small root-wood slats that could be pivoted out of the way at a moment's notice.

Next to each murderhole was a large ratfolk, all of whom were just now turning to face him. The corridor echoed with shrieks and hisses of alarm; the ratfolk were just now raising their weapons. They stumbled into one another and their limbs tangled as they tried to respond.

Clay dropped his spear and leapt forward, his hand already coming up to address the first of the hulking, diseased forms in front of him. The completion of the Stanza had an instant effect. A near-solid bar of steam shot out, blasting through the fang's chest and lancing up into the head of the scourge behind it. He cut the [Chant] off almost immediately, starting the Refrain, and dove forward, drawing his knife as he slammed into the dying fang's chest.

Its bulk shielded him as the scourge detonated behind it.

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Commoner reaches Level 23!}

{Maximum level for all Stats is now 38!}

{Experience gained (Finder: Gain 20% range for Ethereal Chants and Senses.)}

{Experience gained (Immune: Gain 20% resistance to disease.)}

{Achievement Gained! Vital: Gain 5% resistance to cold and heat. Gain 10% resistance to disease and poison.}

{Achievement Gained! Pursuer: Gain 20% bonus to Ethereal Senses and Chants. Gain 20% bonus to all skills when hunting monsters.}

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 60}

As he shoved the corpse aside, he saw another fang trying to clear the filth from its eyes. He darted in and struck before it could see, tearing out its throats and breaking its knee with a kick. It fell, still choking for air, and a claw tried to strike at him. Clay deflected the thrust and darted inside its reach. His dagger punched into its narrow chest so deep that he could hear ribs crack, and it died in an explosive gasp as he ripped the knife across its torso.

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 60}

A pair of scourges were both fighting for the chance to draw their bows, but Clay had already finished the Refrain. He swung his off-hand, and the lance of steam tore across both of their torso's bisecting them at the waist. They fell even as he snapped the [Chant] off and began the Refrain again.

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 60}

This time, he didn't hide from the detonation. He covered his face and dove through the flood of bile and filth, grunting as the force of it impacted him. The twitching claws on the other side had been knocked into one another; he was on them before they could stand.

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 60}

Roars filled the corridor as a fang leaped forward. He lashed out with the Stanza again, cutting arms from it and the head from the claw behind it. Clay finished it with a stab as it fell.

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 60}

Another fang charged. Clay blocked one sword with his knife; the other rang off his helmet. A chip from it scratched his face. He landed a punch on the fang's left skull, feeling bone crack. As it backed away, he reversed his grip and drove his blade straight into its chest below its necks. With a single wrench, he opened a massive rent in its flesh.

Then he slammed into it again, knocking it backwards into a pair of scourges. The fang went over backwards, its bulk driving the next two ratfolk beneath it. As they thrashed, he finished the Refrain again. A blazing bar of steam swept up through the corridor, cutting through the fallen fang and both scourges.

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 60}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 30}

He swept it up and through the arms of another fang, leaving it staggering as he cut the beam off again. Clay gritted his teeth; he could feel the power of the Stanza slipping away. There were still more ratfolk ahead, and he needed to clear the corridor before it ran out.

Clay darted forward, aiming to finish the crippled fang. It swung at him with its remaining arms, but he lunged inside its reach and sunk the knife into its already ruined chest.

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 30}

As it slumped, a spear struck into his side. The point pierced the armor, driving a gasp out of him. He saw a vicious grin on the claw's face as it tried to pull the weapon back, but Clay grabbed the haft. Before its eyes could widen, he ripped his knife free and drove it into the thing's face twice.

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 30}

As it fell away, Clay ripped the spear out of him to continue his charge. He paused as he saw the next two ratfolk were both scourges, and threw himself behind the dead fang as best he could. One arrow slapped straight into the corpse, nearly punching through it. Another skipped off his calf, drawing a line of pain before it stuck into the ground.

They were still reaching for their next arrow when he darted in towards them, the end of the Refrain already on his lips. The steam took both of their heads, before arcing up and blinding the fang behind them.

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 30}

Clay snarled as he began the Refrain once more, feeling the power of the new level fill him. He pushed past the ruin of the dying scourges and rushed the flailing creature behind them. His knife swept low through its knees, and then through its throats as it fell. A twitching claw tried to impale him, only for him to catch the spear with his off-hand. It had a panicked shriek as he drove the knife through its chin.

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 30}

A fang rushed him, raising its swords. The points struck the top of the tunnel, blocking the downstroke, and Clay was inside its reach and stabbing before it could free itself. He used the dying ratfolk as a shield and battering ram to slam into the remaining creatures, trapping another fang and two scourges into the narrow confines of the passage.

Before any of them could move, he finished the Refrain again. He placed his palm flat against the dead fang's chest, and let the lance of steam erupt through it and into the others.

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Pestilential Scourge slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Achievement Reinforced! Ratsbane: 35% increase to all skills and damage against ratfolk. Bonus increases to 70% versus Slavering Fangs, Shaking Claws, Foaming Fangs, Sickened Scourges, Trembling Claws, Diseased Scourges, and Pestilential Scourges.}

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 30}

As Clay shoved the dead ratfolk aside, yet another fang came screaming for him, its eyes clouded with fluid and spittle running red. He traded a deep cut on the forearm for the chance to drive his knife into its upper chest. Then he placed both hands on the hilt and ripped it down to finish the job.

It staggered backwards, swords falling from its hands as it clutched the wound, and Clay kicked it to send the thing into the arms of the two claws beyond it. They shoved it aside and came at him, stabbing and lunging in jerky, unpredictable speeds. He dodged, deflecting their attacks and twisting in the narrow corridor to keep the points from him.

{Frothing Fang slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Achievement Reinforced! Ratsbane: 40% increase to all skills and damage against ratfolk. Bonus increases to 80% versus Slavering Fangs, Shaking Claws, Foaming Fangs, Sickened Scourges, Trembling Claws, Diseased Scourges, Pestilential Scourges, and Frothing Fangs.}

He grinned as he finished the Refrain yet again. The claws had half a heartbeat to recognize their doom in that smile. Then he swept the bar of steam across the corridor one last time, slashing through their thin forms before they could dodge.

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Twitching Claw slain! Soul increases by 30}

{Achievement Reinforced! Ratsbane: 45% increase to all skills and damage against ratfolk. Bonus increases to 90% versus Slavering Fangs, Shaking Claws, Foaming Fangs, Sickened Scourges, Trembling Claws, Diseased Scourges, Pestilential Scourges, Frothing Fangs, and Twitching Claws.}

As the last of the creatures collapsed, Clay began the Cycle of Return. It completed far faster than he was used to; he nearly didn't catch the spear as it sped through the passage towards him. He caught it, sheathed his knife, and charged the end of the corridor, sensing waves of rats beyond. The Madrigal of Ash came to him easily.

Clay emerged into a massive chamber, one that had clearly been excavated over the years to include most of the hill on this side of the valley. A dim light, glowing just out of sight, was enough to reveal some of the details.

The walls of the room were once again laced with the strange wood-root, forming a lattice for the soil beyond it. There was a structure in the middle of it, attached to the corridor they would have used to enter the place if they had battered through the doors first. Made from stone, it stretched up towards the ceiling of the place, while the open chamber stretched to the side and around.

He heard fighting from the other side of the stone wall, where the others were probably clearing the other hidden corridor. Red eyes glittered in the dark, revealing still more ratfolk waiting for him. Most of them were the lesser creatures, but they still seemed ready to fight. Several rushed in, obviously hoping to overwhelm him.

Clay smashed into them like a meteor, his spear stabbing and smashing through them with ease. Between [Ratsbane], his higher level, and his other bonuses, it was like they were barely even there. Notifications scrolled past him, but he ignored them as he butchered his way forward through the horde. He could see flickers of light as the others broke through on the opposite side, their magic throwing the shadows into sharp relief.

Then the Madrigal took hold, and the glowing eyes of the ratfolk were replaced with the swirling sparks of the cloud of ash. Their screams became hacking chokes, and those who staggered through the cloud were easy to see and cut down, their dark shapes falling before his spear. He headed to the right until he could put a hand against the stone wall and then pressed forward with it as his guide.

Once he reached the corner of the wall, he heard shouts of alarm coming from the others. Had they found the Guardians already? He shook his head and let the Madrigal fail, narrowing his eyes to see what the Lair had in store. By reflex, he started the modified version of the Orison instead; he didn't want to be caught off guard again.

As the ash faded, light flooded his vision; it was glowing from a hole in the stone to his right. He blinked at the scene of dozens of ratfolk still flooding the chamber—along with something far worse.

There were three monstrosities among the rest of the ratfolk.

At first glance, it seemed like they were groups of creatures, rather than three distinct monsters. Unlike their fellow abominations, they were not humanoid; instead, they were on all fours like normal rats, though they were easily the size of large dogs or small horses. Unlike normal rats, each of them had their tails fused together at the ends, combining five rats into one. Their eyes glowed purple, and the shadows around them seemed to writhe.

Clay fought down his initial revulsion and rushed towards them. They seemed focused on the others; if he could take them by surprise…

His thoughts cut off as a puddle of shadow in front of him suddenly seemed to lash out at him. He took a blow to his stomach that could have disemboweled him without David's handiwork. As it was, he was thrown backwards with yet another bright line of pain across his gut, and one of the things suddenly turned its glowing eyes towards him.

He finished the Orison just as something seemed to step out of the shadows towards him.

[Guardian Shadowed Rat King]

[Rank: 10, Type: Ratfolk, Title: Guardian]

[Demesne: Ayleston Plains, Liege: Horde of Disease]

[Type Kills: 0, Deaths Caused: 95, Age: 69 years]

[Guardian (Bound to the Lair, Bringer of Ruin),

Creator (Origin of Sickened Scourges),

Commander (Lord of Ratfolk, Captain of the Plains),

Eternal (Reborn in the Plains While the Lair Stands)

Shadowbound (Dark Copies, Shadowsight, and Power Absorption)

Fused (Uncoordinated, Distributed Damage, Multiple Minds, Vulnerable Connection)]

Clay's attention went from the rat king to the thing it had summoned from the dark. It was hard to tell amid all the natural shadow, but… was that his spear? The figure was the same height as him, with a stance he found frustratingly familiar. It lunged at him, and he deflected the spearpoint away from his throat with a growl that dismissed the words.

Now that he was looking for it, he saw similar things attacking the others. Scott dodged an arrow of darkness before firing at a bowman with his same shape, and Hadley swatted aside another shadow carrying a copy of her own hammer. Herb and Mitchell were holding position against copies of themselves, while Olivia was whirling through a complicated duel against another something just at the edge of the light.

At the same time, the rest of the ratfolk hadn't disappeared. Clay stepped back and had to kill a fang, then dodge a follow-up thrust that would have cut out his heart. His eyes narrowed as the shadow-him tried to force him back, putting more distance between him and the rat kings.

He raised his voice, shouting loud enough to be heard over the chaos. "They make copies of us, and I think they can see through the shadows." Clay ducked as the thing swung at his head. "They might absorb magic too. Try to get in close."

"Oh, is that all?" The frustration in Herb's voice was palpable, as was the curse when his response brought an end to his [Chant]. Luckily, Hadley unleashed a wave of flame a moment later to drive back her copy, illuminating the chamber in a wash of flame. The shadow copies retreated for a moment, their forms growing less substantial for a moment.

Then Hadley's copy suddenly unleashed a wave of dark flame that swallowed Hadley's fire, and Clay grimaced as he realized that the copies could have access to [Chants] as well. His copy suddenly hurled its spear at him. He blocked it, and just barely stopped himself from rushing in towards it. If it could copy [Chants]…

He ducked and lunged to the side, just as a bar of superheated steam shot through the space where he had been. It swept towards him, only to cut off a moment later. Clay rolled back to his feet and watched as the copy called its spear back to him. It had his knife as well. What else had the rat king copied? Would Olivia's copy unleash the Anthem of Thunder soon?

As he wondered, he heard Mitchell shout something over the noise of the battle. The other [Commoners] abruptly shifted, changing their targets. Hadley's copy abruptly took one of Scott's arrows in the chest; Hadley smashed a shadowy version of Herb aside, while the [Guard] knocked aside a dark arrow and charged at the copied version of Scott. The switch left only Mitchell and Olivia facing their own copies, and the others began to push forward as a result—after all, they'd practiced the most against each other, not themselves.

Clay shook his thoughts aside and focused. The copy was a distraction; the rat kings were his real target. He put space between him and the copy as it advanced, cutting down ratfolk as they tried to interfere. His mind raced as he went through the various techniques he'd used, thinking of all the things the rat king could have observed.

Then he grinned and started the Pursuing Leap. The copy seemed to cock its head to the side, as if listening; he saw the rat king facing him make a similar movement.

Before he finished, he saw Olivia unleash a wave of ice spears at a different rat king. The ice struck the creature, but instead of inflicting damage, the magic seemed to be absorbed. He grimaced as her copy began hurling ice spears a moment later.

Then he threw his own spear, straight at his copy. It deflected it, but momentum kept the weapon going until it had clattered to a halt just short of the rat king. The copy dodged out of the way, clearly expecting him to call it to himself.

Instead, Clay completed the Pursuing Leap, and sent himself hurling through the air towards his real prey.

The rat king screeched from five separate throats as he approached; his copy lunged at him, as if desperate to stop his approach. Clay slashed at it with his knife, deflecting the attack as he flew. He hit the ground and rolled, coming up with both spear and knife in his hands, with the rat king directly in front of him.

It tried to retreat, but Clay was already too close. He brought the spear up and over his shoulder in an overhand swing. When he brought it down on the nearest rat body, the spear haft cracked off its skull; it sounded like a rock had split in half. The rat king stumbled; all five seemed to be a little dazed, as if they had all shared the pain of the blow.

They weren't dead, however, and the Orison had given him a much better target to attack. As the copy still lunged after him and the rat king staggered drunkenly in front of him, Clay lunged forward with his weapons raised. The rat kings tried to recoil, tried to snatch at him, but he shot past their scrabbling claws and biting fangs and reached the knot of flesh that bound them together at their tails.

He brought his spear down in a single stab. The point pierced the knot, pinning it to the floor as the rat king unleashed a terrible, agonized squeal from five separate throats.

Then he brought the knife down. The heavy blade tore through flesh with terrible ease, severing the knotted connection between the rat bodies. With each tail he cut free, another body went limp. By the time the shadowy form of his copy reached him, he had severed the last of them with a final, brutal chop.

He watched his copy suddenly fade from existence, its version of his spear dissipating like smoke. The last body of the rat king thrashed and went limp a moment later, leaving him to gasp in relief.

{Shadowed Rat King slain! Soul increases by 100}

Clay straightened up and looked towards the other two rat kings, only to find them both staring at him. Two copies of himself suddenly formed, both leaping towards him. He backed away frantically, using his spear to deflect their assault—and then he smiled as Olivia landed right in the center of the second rat king, her scythe already hacking through the knotted tails.

The third rat king suddenly tried backing away, fleeing for the stone structure. Clay could see a hole in its wall, where light was spilling out. Was it trying to retreat to the Curse? Either way, it failed to make it far. Mitchell charged into it, smashing one of its heads with his shield. It staggered, as Clay's target had when he'd hit it, and the [Guard] cut the tail of the one he'd stunned with a victorious shout. Another of the rat king's bodies flung itself at Mitchell, only to receive the same treatment.

Within moments, both rat kings were down, and the copies had faded. The ratfolk around them scattered, fleeing with a cacophony of screeches and howls that echoed through the chamber. The [Commoners] were left breathing hard, watching them go.

Then Herb, his face still flushed with exertion, turned to look at Clay. "You did this on your own in the Tanglewood? What are you, insane?"

Clay snorted, and the others laughed. He shook his head and looked at Mitchell. "Are you ready?"

The [Guard] nodded, his expression serious. "Quickly. Before I change my mind." He looked at the hole in the wall, where the terrible light was still shining. "Better to have this all done."

They entered the hole together, wary for traps, but they found none.

Instead, they found what seemed to be some kind of wine cellar. Ancient casks were still stacked here and there, though most had long since cracked open and turned to empty shells. Those that remained seemed to have been half-buried beneath a layer of rat feces and other filth. A set of stairs climbed up the side of one wall, rising to a door that had long since been buried in soil.

Olivia's gaze was sharp as she examined the place. "Looks like it must have been some kind of manor, before. I wonder…"

Her words trailed off as she looked towards the center, where the Curse was suspended in the air. Just beyond it, there was a desiccated corpse, hunched over a text of some kind. She looked back towards Clay, who nodded. It looked as if they would find another text here as well.

Mitchell was studying the light, a grim expression on his face. Clay clapped him on the shoulder and handed over the copy of the Garden's Peace that he had written out. The old [Guard] glanced at him, and Clay nodded. "You'll do it. Just like you've always been meant to."

The man took the scroll as if it might have been a viper, ready to bite him. Then he sighed. "I might as well, I suppose." He turned back and squared his shoulders, handing his spear and shield off to Herb. Then he strode forward, heading into a new battle.

Herb stepped over beside Clay as the [Chant] began, listening to the words together. Clay relaxed as he confirmed the syllables were in the correct order, and the Pellsglade [Guard] glanced over at him. He spoke in a low voice. "Worried?"

"Always." Clay kept his words just as quiet, though he noted Olivia was already prepared to act as well. "The pressure of it… It has never been easy."

The [Guard] nodded, watching as Mitchell continued the struggle. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it, either. Watching her do it was terrifying enough. Seeing a man like Mitchell do it, thinking of the fact that I might need to do it myself…" Herb shuddered.

Clay gave him an amused look. "You never know. Maybe you'll just end up adjusting to it. Finding a new normal, so to speak." Herb gave him an incredulous look, and Clay grinned. "Or maybe your wife will finally talk you into giving it all up. Wasn't that why you stayed out of the Tanglewood?"

Herb snorted, shifting his stance. "Shows what either of us know. Apparently, fighting monsters makes a man much more attractive. Or so I've been informed." He shook his head in mock resignation. "I might end up doing this until I'm eighty at this rate—though it's well worth it."

Despite himself, Clay snorted and shook his head. Ahead of them, Mitchell continued his struggle, and they fell silent, watching the Curse lash out and fight against them.

Another Lair dead and another place in the world healed. Clay took a deep breath and tried to ignore the burning already starting in his wounds. Not bad for a day's work.

{Curse of the Ayleston Plains destroyed! Soul increases by 1000 for most nearby heroes}

{Soul increases by 500 for some nearby heroes.}

Clay grinned as the last of the unnatural light faded, leaving them in partial darkness. Only the light of their torches and the Heart's Light that Hadley had used remained. Olivia gave him a quick glance before going to retrieve the book, while the others dispersed to destroy the ratfolk nurseries that had been hidden around the chamber.

He congratulated Mitchell on his victory—the [Guard] looked stunned, though he seemed just as grateful to have the experience over—and then they all started back to Ayelston together. The quicker they could leave the tunnels, the better the day would be.

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