Deep in a dark cavern, a lone Slave Rat swung a pickaxe, chipping away at the rock wall.
Annan sized up the Slave Rat. He figured he could take it without Spell and approached with confidence.
The Slave Rat showed no reaction. Wondering if the hammering had deafened it, Annan moved closer and closer, until he stood beside it holding a torch—
Dust and Gravelstone chips fell onto its filthy, matted fur. Its crimson eyes could see in the dark. It had to have noticed Annan approaching, yet it did nothing.
"What are you doing?" Annan asked.
The ratfolk kept swinging its pickaxe and spoke in broken Common Tongue. "Make... Human Thing... die."
"I mean, why are you doing this?"
"Make... Human Thing... die."
There was good news and bad news. The good news was that the ratfolk would not attack Annan.
That was also the bad news.
Annan left the cavern ringing with pickaxe strikes and returned to the Dungeon. "Violet Eudora, help me run an experiment."
The Elf Ranger still could not walk, so Annan supported her as they returned to the cavern. This time, before they drew near, the Slave Rat stopped swinging and stared past the torch at Annan—or rather, at the Elf.
"I brought you an Elf thing."
Violet Eudora shot him a sideways glance.
Jack's heart sank.
The Nobles' pointed remarks and the atmosphere at the banquet made him feel he did not belong there.
Rose did not belong there either, so Jack invited her. "Want to come to a real party?"
A crowd packed together, cheap beer, and choking smoke: a commoners' gathering, lively and loud, without the Nobles' self-righteous etiquette and guarded exchanges.
Rose soon threw herself into the revelry. She leaped onto a table, linked arms with Jack, and spun