If Star-Moon Bay had been in the Southlands, the November temperatures would still have turned hundreds of thousands of corpses into a raging plague. But on the Northern Frontier, those bodies had frozen so hard that even Ratfolk could not gnaw them.
Apparently unwilling to leave Annan any spoils, the retreating Rat Tide took all its "rations" with it. Annan could not help thinking that not only had they spared Star-Moon Bay, they had even cleaned up the battlefield for him. There were good rats in the McKennan Clan after all.
The second wave of the Rat Tide surged east, but Star-Moon Bay did not return to its former openness. Ratfolk were still arriving in small groups. Unaware of what had happened, they continued to see Star-Moon Bay as a delicacy blocking their path, one whose hard shell they had to crack before they could feast. So the occasional gunshot from the City Wall became a bit of variety.
Annan and Illymoyas made another trip south. The Ratfolk of the second wave were all converging on Breeze City. After they returned, Blom's Knights asked to take the offensive. In return, they hinted, awkwardly and tentatively, that they too would like to paint Merit on their armor.
Annan agreed and watched the Knights, their spirits high, pour out of Breeze City.
Now he had one more important thing to do.
"Let's welcome the hero of Star-Moon Bay, Broken Fang!"
A Ratfolk stood on a raised platform, receiving cheers from thousands of Musketeers and residents... Outside Star-Moon Bay, such a scene could only have happened if the Ratfolk were about to be hanged.
As a Stuen Elite Rat, Broken Fang stood over 1.6 meters tall. His glossy fur and powerful build set him apart from Slave Rats, and he could just