The glow of Magic fell on the “Rat People,” startling them.
"Are you from the Lower Hive?" Annan asked again.
"You... above?" His words came haltingly, as though his speech Organ had atrophied.
"We're from the surface." Annan studied him, a suspicion forming. "Were you cursed?"
"Cursed... no... we... also..."
Thud.
A soft landing nearby suddenly seized the ratfolk's attention. He lunged for a Glowfruit, plucked it, and crawled into a stone hollow.
“My Common Tongue Proficiency...” Amy exclaimed.
Annan’s gaze followed him into the hollow, while Amy stared at the plant. After its Fruit had been picked, it produced another before her eyes.
“Catch another one?” Theophilus scratched his head.
"No." Alice seemed to have forgotten she had just wanted to attack them. "We're outsiders. We don't understand this place yet."
The Rat People might ignore them, but they might also attack. When Alice tried to examine the Glowfruit, one that had paid them no mind suddenly growled a warning. It only relaxed again when they backed away.
The mist outside the jagged stone hollow gradually dispersed, and the Glowfruit stopped growing.
They exchanged looks. Why was the Lower Hive so strange and sinister, as if it hid some secret? And the Ceremonial Affairs Department had simply dropped them right into the middle of it?
Alice suddenly picked up a metal fragment and wiped off the dust.
“We must be very deep in the Lower Hive.” She handed the fragment to Annan, then searched the area where she had found it and discovered several more pieces.
"Why?" Annan saw writing on the fragment, but it was not the Common Tongue.
"These tools... they're Wilhelm in style."
“Is this Wilhelm Script?”
Alice looked up, hesitating. "They're just scratches."
"Oh."
Annan passed the fragment to the others, who were curious to