"Drop your weapons!"
Captain Reyne raised his longsword and shouted.
"I'm a Holy Knight. I'll guarantee your safety!"
The cavalry, already struggling to hold out, finally had an excuse and threw down their weapons.
The Freedom Gang stopped fighting of their own accord. The Ratfolk were slower to catch on, until the Champion Rat tore off a few heads and made the rest stop.
Captain Reyne walked over and asked who the dead lord was.
Seeing that the situation was settled, Annan said to the Ratfolk Elder, "Do me a favor."
The Ratfolk Elder's scarlet eyes settled on him.
"Grand Lord Raymond captured one of our companions. His name is Skeeter. Help me find him, and we'll leave the Broken Mountains."
"You can't leave yet..."
To Annan's surprise, the Ratfolk Elder wanted him to stay.
"Why?"
The Ratfolk Elder sent his rat guards off into the distance, then said, "I need your help..."
"Sorry, but I don't intend to stay here any longer."
He might be letting Wilson and the Freemen down, but Annan could not gamble with his companions' safety.
"What about your Clan? The Elder Council? Why not have them send more rats?"
As the Ratfolk Elder hemmed and hawed, Annan suddenly understood—the Stuen Ratfolk knew nothing about this!
That explained everything: why the Ratfolk had been so obedient, why the messenger had been the elder's nephew, why Grand Lord Raymond had sent the rats fleeing in panic, and why they had been unusually "cooperative"...
The Ratfolk Elder had secretly taken on a little job of his own!
Trust the Stuen Ratfolk, masters of scheming and disguise. This was practically human behavior...
"As your partner, don't say I didn't warn you. Something feels wrong about the Broken Mountains. Don't get in too deep..."
Annan's intuition came from the