Tunnel Rat

The deeper he explored into the caves beneath Shadowport, the more Milo relaxed. He wondered how his second life had gotten so hectic. After some thought, he decided to blame the eels. They always seemed to be up to something. First, it was the Copperheads and their Queen. After that had been the Slaver Mage and his hissing pet. Finally, as he finally had a chance to relax, the Sea Hydra attacked the town. He'd like to avoid eels for the rest of his life, they were too much trouble. At least he got double experience and enhancement points from killing them.

But there were better ways to earn enhancement points and gain levels. He needed to carefully explore deeper and find a nice place in the caves where he could explore, mine, and hunt the smaller, named bosses as he had fought in the beginning. He'd begun by leaving Harry's mushroom farms and climbing back up to the mines under Shadowport. From there, he had easily found the path that the Word Boss had carved as she tunneled up from below.

According to the announcement from the game, and rumors around town, following the tunnel downward would bring him close to the town of ratkin that had been discovered. New players could enter the game there if they chose ratkin as their race. He found that interesting, and wondered how many would do that.

Hopefully, the town was far down the tunnel. It might make a convenient place to buy food or sell ores as he explored deeper. He could take a quick look around, and if the town seemed fun, maybe he would stay for a bit and do some quests. The online forums said that beginner towns always had a lot of quests, mostly low-key jobs that helped you explore a starting area. If it was like the starting areas in many games, there would be three or four quest givers, a newbie hunting zone, and some trainers. Milo enjoyed finishing jobs and fixing things. It was why he was always busy in Section E. Not having something to do made him very twitchy. If the Hollow had no jobs for him to do, he'd leave and go mining. But he was curious to see if anyone besides himself was running a character with a tail and a love for cheese.

Cheese was a big reason for visiting. The cheese selection in Shadowport was quite poor right now, but hopefully, the Hollow would have some for sale. What varieties did they make that he hadn’t tasted yet? The halfling clan wasn’t going to be selling cheese anytime soon, and too much was going on in the town. He wanted to avoid the fight brewing between the Dwarven Engineers and the Scavenger Clan from the ship. He needed something quieter.

The way was obvious. The World Boss had left an easy trail to follow in the mines, and that led him to a steep rocky path leading downward. It was fairly treacherous, with loose rock and dirt. Uthneragrubban had been a massive creature who could shatter rock and force her way to the surface. Her path wasn't easy to follow in the dim light of a few glowing mushrooms or lichen. While Milo could see fine, new players were going to have a tough time getting to Shadowport unless they picked up some climbing skills. Not his problem, and might even be for the best. New ratkin players would have a hard time in the town if they didn't have the disguise skills of a wererat. Which made Milo wonder how ratkin would react to him. Would they hold his part-human heritage against him? That might be something to hide among ratkin as much as he hid his ratkin heritage from humans.

After descending nearly a mile and traveling several more horizontally, he stopped and took a break. There were many caverns, large and small, that Uthneragrubban had cut through on her way to the surface. He avoided any that had signs of being inhabited, wanting to avoid fights for now. He selected a small cave that was only accessible by climbing fifteen feet up the wall. It was big enough to set up camp and rest while he roasted the last of his steamed eel over a fire.

Feeling better after a short nap and a snack, he continued to follow the newly dug cave downward. After another two hours of travel, the long passage clipped the edge of a large cave. The path was fairly level here and then plunged deeper on the far side of the cavern, going over a steep cliff. Milo could see the claw marks that showed Uthneragrubban had climbed up from the depths below. Off to his left was a dark passage that led slightly upward. Smells were coming from it: the tang of ozone, baking bread, and cheese! This had to be the way!

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The tunnel showed signs of recent use and the tracks of both clawed feet and heavy boots. After a few hundred feet it ended in another cavern. Milo slowly skulked into it. The high ceiling had a large colony of bats hanging from it, and a few flew in slow circles around the cavern. The cavern was dark, but he saw light coming from another passage directly across from him on the far side. He could just make out two hulking guards, both twice as tall as he was, and much heavier. They were standing to either side of a roughly fifteen-foot high tunnel that must lead to the Hollow. He moved carefully around the outer perimeter of the cave, stopping often. The guards mumbled something now and then but mostly stayed silent. As he got closer, he could make out their handsome, rat-like faces and their strong tails. Each was well over nearly seven feet tall, heavily armored, and holding a huge polearm.

Milo looked at his options. He could just walk up and ask to enter. That might or might not work. The stern looks on their faces showed they wouldn't be someone to argue with. Running by was out of the question. He could just move near them and try to tip-toe by? Or should he use the ceiling? He liked the idea of sneaking into the Hollow and not having to talk to anyone.

He decided on the ceiling. He could ascend here, and move along it slowly using his claws. The ceiling got lower as it neared the tunnel, but was still over twenty feet high. The guards were used to staring at the other entrance. They probably never looked up. He just had to be careful not to disturb the bats. Carefully, moving one foot or hand at a time, he crawled like a shadow on the top of the cave. The guards were totally oblivious to him.

"Hey, Justin, look at that bat" One of the guards pointed to his left. Milo suppressed the urge to turn his head.

"My, you’re right Brutus, that certainly is a large bat, you rarely see them that size. They've been getting bigger this season. Your idea to put out food for them was genius! Those big ones will make some tasty bat tacos." Milo stayed frozen, not moving as the two guards discussed the large bat, the recipes their grandmothers used to cook bat, and whether bat stew was better than bat tacos. Batacos won. Who didn't like batacos?

After another five minutes of hanging from the ceiling, he started moving again. The guards began discussing the best route down to pick mushrooms, one drawing a map in the dust, and the other arguing with him and placing pebbles to denote the route he liked. Milo just kept moving. Another ten feet and he'd be in the tunnel, and past them.

"Surprise! Welcome to the Hollow!"

"Happy Bataco Day!"

Both guards yelled at the top of their lungs and beat their gauntlets on their metal breastplates. Milo lost his grip, flipped over, and fell to the floor running, completely panicked. The guards pounded their feet on the ground like they were running after him, and laughed hysterically. "Oh boy, I love playing Surprise!"

Milo ran on, trying to get his adrenaline under control. He shot out of the end of the tunnel into a huge cavern. It was well-lit, profuse with greenery, and many buildings. He was so surprised that he missed the furtive tail that tripped him. He rolled and slid twenty feet, finally coming to a dusty stop in front of two muscular legs and a swishing tail. A hand helped him to his feet.

"What was I just saying about wishing you whelps could show a bit more excitement about my class? And what should happen, but someone comes running in, very excited to be my first volunteer. What's your name, young man?"

Milo looked up at the tall ratkin in front of him. He was an impressive specimen of muscle and carefully groomed whiskers, just starting to turn grey. The older ratkin waited a few seconds and then asked him again, this time with force in his words.

"I asked you for your name, newbie. Spit it out."

"Name? Right, I have a name. I'm Tallsqueak." The older ratkin smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Well, Tallsqueak, welcome to Limburger Hollow. I'm sure that after your journey, you are anxious to get started with your lessons. Why don't you toss your extra gear off to the side, and show me your best tail-fighting stance? Nothing fancy, I want to see how well you know the basics and then we'll go a few rounds."

From behind him, Milo heard a loud whisper. "Tail-Master is going to tear this guy apart. He hates interruptions."