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Chapter 2

A Fond Farewell

“Are you sure about this?” Gretta asked. Tek had burst into the armory and both Gritta and Gretta had been called for concern over his mental health. According to the guards, he was speaking nonsense.

“You can climb the mountains and check for yourself. I’m going out to learn what I can about the runes on The Iron Doors. With the queen’s seal I will have the authority to enter any archive in the continent.” Tek said, strapping on his bracers. Gritta and Gretta shared a laugh. “What’s so funny?” Tek didn’t share their amusement.

“You are Tek. You’ve spent so much time with your nose in books that you’ve been blinded to what the world thinks of us. You may be different from the majority of the rats in The Burrow, but look at Gretta and I, we’re thieves. If you took a long enough look at yourself you’d realize you are too,” Gritta said, gesturing to the scroll Tek had stolen from the dragon’s hoard. He still kept it with him at all times. “Our mother may be a guardian, but none of the other guardians would give her opinion a moment of their time, let alone a lowly prince.”

“Then I’ll have to speak with her myself.” Tek said, setting down his wooden spear and grabbing one of the steel spears.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea!” Gretta called after him, but he disregarded her warning and made for the center of The Burrow. There he found what was considered the darkest place in the continent. There was a reason that the entrance to The Burrow was left unguarded. To an outsider it was a hopeless maze of darkness. Torch-lit tunnels led to hundreds of dead ends, while other tunnels lacked light entirely and often led to bottomless pits. To a rat, they could navigate the tunnels through sheer instinct. Not even a demon knew how to reach the center of The Burrow, where their queen ruled from the shadows.

Two scarlet eyes stared at Tek through the darkness. Rodentia, the vermin queen, towered over any rat. The fact that Tek had shown up unannounced would not go over well with her. “I hear you got yourself killed.” Rodentia spoke, her voice echoing off every wall and down every tunnel.

“Twice,” Tek said, as if it were an achievement. He lowered himself in a grandiose bow, “Yet here I stand.”

“Yet here you stand. So it is true then. The crimson moon has risen off schedule. We will have lost hundreds of our kin over the course of the night. The death toll seems to be rising by the minute, so what is it you’re here for? Good news I’m sure.” Rodentia asked, drumming her fingers on her throne impatiently.

“I require your seal. One of the runes on The Iron Door has been extinguished. I wish to access the archives of the other kingdoms for research. The fate of The Burrow may depend on it. If The Iron Doors are to open, we will be the first to face whatever nightmares emerge.” Tek said, standing up straight and trying to get to the point as quickly as possible, not to waste the vermin queen’s time.

“You know the other kingdoms care little about my opinion, even less so yours. Giving you my seal would do little.” Rodentia said. “I have few guardian allies left, as the world seems to think less and less of The Burrow.”

“There’s more. I found a kobold who appears to have lost her memory. She has markings on her body matching those on The Iron Doors.” Tek explained.

“Kobolds have never been an intelligent bunch. She probably saw the marking on the door and copied them onto herself. It’s nothing to look into. Now if you’re done wasting my time-”

“If we do nothing, then we are all going to die!” Tek shouted. At that moment it seemed the entire burrow fell silent. Speaking to any guardian that way was unheard of, let alone the guardian of his own people.

“You’re crossing a dangerous line, Tek.” Rodentia warned.

“Like I give a damn. What are you going to do, kill me? I’ve already died, twice now. Banish me? Great, I’d like to get as far away from The Burrow as possible if your plan on dealing with this crisis is inaction!” Tek’s tail whipped back and forth furiously.

Rodentia made a motion with her arm, and for a moment Tek thought she was gesturing for his execution, but at the last moment realized she had tossed something to him. Reaching out, Tek caught the object. A massive ruby. He had never seen a gem so red in his life. It practically matched the eyes that were peering at him through the darkness from the vermin queen’s throne.

“You’ll need a hundred times the passion you’ve displayed here if you are to convince any of the outsiders that you’re worth their time. That gem should catch the eye of any authoritative figure, whether you will be able to convince them of your worth is entirely up to you. Head South to the Skunk Kingdoms. There is a princess there that has been brought under the tutelage of the guardian, Spindle. Gain her trust and work with her to find the answers to repair The Iron Doors. But be wary, a rune tapper wandering so close to Spindle’s territory will likely draw her gaze, and while I consider the spider god an ally, she is wildly hard to predict.”

“And why is that?” Tek asked.

“Because Spindle has the ability to see into the future and twist fate in her favor. Become too interesting a target, and you’ll find yourself wrapped in her web. Whether you want to be or not. Your fate will literally be in her hands.”

Tek nodded, placing the gem in the heart of his onyx armor. Then he turned to make the long journey back to the surface, only to be stopped by Rodentia calling after him.

“One more thing.” Rodentia said, her claws tapping ponderously on the arm of her throne. “Bring the mole. You’ll get to the Skunk Kingdoms faster if she tunnels you there.”

*****

“Please don’t do this.” Gritta pleaded, following Tek and Gimmick along with Gretta. “Rodentia may not say it out loud, but you’re her favorite son. The Burrow can’t afford to lose you!”

“You can’t just leave us! What if another rune goes out, or there’s another crimson moon. Tek, who is going to stop us from making foolish decisions?” Gretta shouted.

“We both know you understand the difference between a foolish decision and a wise one. If not, then you’ll just have to wait until I come back to make any.” Tek teased.

Gritta and Gretta went silent for a moment before Gretta spoke up again. “And what if you don’t come back?” Tek froze, turning to face his sisters. They looked up at him teary eyed. “We know you don’t like living in The Burrow, there aren’t enough books to keep your attention. That’s why we always made you go on raids with us. We hoped you’d find what you needed to stay with us, but now that you’re leaving…”

Tek smiled, and embraced his sisters. They each pressed their faces into the plate of his armor. “I promise I’ll be back. In the meantime, please make sure you return from your patrol by nightfall,” Tek leaned in so only his sisters could hear him, “And for the love of the guardians no more raiding dragon hoards.” They nodded, and followed along until they reached the tunnel that led to the prison cells.

Two guards noticed the queen’s ceil embedded in the plate of his armor, and quickly stood at attention. “Bring me the mole.” Tek ordered. The guards exchanged a look before opening one of the cells. A massive mole, well over a foot taller than Tek, lumbered her way into the hall, before spitting a massive glob of saliva on the ground.

“Myra Mire, by my command, and therefore the guardian of The Burrow’s, you will be set free and forgiven of your crimes of collapsing our tunnels, intrusion, and espionage if you tunnel me to the Skunk Kingdom.” Tek said. Although blind, a mole’s senses were keen enough to trick most into thinking they could see. In the dark of The Burrow, sight could be so unreliable.

“I don’t serve rats.” Myra said, yawning as if Tek had intruded on her napping. Then she spat another wad of saliva that stuck to the wall.

“Fine then,” Tek said calmly, “Guards, arrange for Myra to be placed in a smaller cell. I’m thinking she’ll be better off in one fit for a rat. If she wants to stay with us even longer then we may as well treat her like one of us. And cut the time she’s allowed to sleep in half. In fact now that I’m looking at her it looks like she could use a little less food-”

“Alright!” Myra growled, “Damn you, alright. I’ll dig your tunnel, but after that I go back to digging my own tunnels where I wish, when I wish.”

“So long as they remain on the outskirts of rat territory I don’t really give a damn. Unless you miss your cell of course?” Tek asked, raising an eyebrow. Myra didn’t respond, instead followed behind him quietly. If it wasn’t for her stench, he would have guessed she’d run off again.

Never before had watching a sunset been such a stressful event. Tek half expected a flash of crimson light and that strange explosion that shook the mountain to occur at any moment, heralding a demonic swarm. When silver moonlight crested the horizon, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. No demons would assail them tonight. Tek ordered Myra to start digging into a tunnel for them to travel under the mountains. All the existing tunnels housed soldiers from foreign kingdoms that refused to let any rat leave their territory, and the only way out of The Burrow above ground was through The Forbidden Valley. A place no kingdom dared enter.

“Gimmick, take care of our brother, he’s smart, but arrogant. Don’t let him do anything he knows to be stupid.” Gritta said.

“Okay.” Gimmick said, kicking her legs from the rock she sat on while staring up at the stars.

“That kobold has no idea what she’s signed up for by following you.” Gretta said, shaking her head.

“Stay out of trouble you two.” Tek called after his sisters as they made their way back to The Burrow.

“No promises!” They called back giggling.

Tek shook his head smiling. “What’s so funny?” Gimmick asked.

“My sisters never laugh like that unless they’ve just gotten away with stealing something,” Tek explained, “And I am just now noticing the coin pouch I bought is missing.”

“Don’t we need that?” Gimmick asked.

“Yeah. Yeah we do.” Tek said, getting to his feet and chasing after his sisters. He found it hard to be mad at them. He knew they cared, and this was just another attempt for them to spend time with him one last time. That’s why when Tek felt Gretta snatch it while they were hugging he hadn’t said anything. Perhaps he just wanted to spend more time with them too.

One last time.

*****

The journey through the tunnels that would lead them to the Skunk Kingdoms was a long and cramped process. Tek let out a small grunt of frustration with each clod of dirt that Myra flung at his face with her clumsy claws as she dug them deeper under the mountain. With every dirt clump that stuck to his fur, a tiny kobold hand would sweep it clean. “Can’t you dig without coating me in filth?” Tek spat.

“You don’t have to stand so close, rat boy.” Myra said, plucking a worm from the wall of the tunnel and dropping it into her mouth. A shiver of disgust ran down Tek’s spine.

“Tek?” Gimmick asked, her claws clacking rhythmically against the ground as she skipped along beside him. “Can you teach me how to do that thing you did with the demons?”

“Scream and be useless?” Tek asked, only half joking.

“Useless? You saved my life. I meant the thing where you copied yourself. I want to be a hero like you.” Gimmick said, bouncing eagerly.

Tek chuckled to himself. “I’m no hero Gimmick.”

“Aren’t we doing all this to save the world?” Gimmick asked.

“I’m going to try to repair The Iron Doors. You’re here because those strange markings on your arms and horns match the runes on The Iron Doors.” Tek said, stealing a glance at the runes on the kobold’s horns.

“And because we’re friends, right?” Gimmick asked.

“Yeah, sure Gimmick,” Tek said, “Because we’re friends.” The kobold was beginning to grow on him.

“Is Myra our friend?” Gimmick tilted her head to look at the mole, only to be met with a clump of dirt striking her square between her eyes. “Hey you did that on purpose!”

“You can’t prove anything.” Myra said, not looking up from her digging.

“Well you smell funny!”

“Enough!” Tek shouted. Gimmick crossed her arms in frustration and Tek had to pull on her arm to prevent more dirt from hitting her.

“So will you teach me how to do the magic thing? If it’s going to be a long journey we should have plenty of time right?” Gimmick asked.

Tek sighed, but realizing it couldn’t do any harm he moved Gimmick away from Myra. Leaving the mole to her work. “Alright, I guess a quick lesson couldn’t hurt. Pay attention,” Tek began drawing the soul rune into the dirt with the butt of his spear. “You have to draw each part of the rune as perfectly as possible for the rune to work. The more accurate the lines and the larger the rune, the more magic you can absorb and the more powerful your abilities will be.”

Placing his hand on the rune he drew in the dirt, Tek triggered the rune and split into two copies of himself. “This is the rune for the soul. What I am doing is called soul splitting. If I wanted to, I could stay as two individuals until the runic magic I absorbed is depleted from our bodies,” Both copies of Tek said in perfect unison, “We are both essentially still the ‘real me’. Each of us retain all of my memories and experiences. When the magic runs out our souls will converge into a single entity. Anything I may have learned or experienced will be as if I had experienced or learned it all on my own. If a copy is killed, then the soul converges immediately. The experience is… unpleasant to say the least.”

Gimmick spat on the rune and both copies of Tek gave her a confused look. “What uh… what was that?” The copies asked.

“It didn’t work.” Gimmick said, stomping a foot and flushing in frustration.

“What didn’t work?”

“The soul spitting. It didn’t work.”

Tek rubbed the brim of his snout in annoyance, before his soul converged into a single entity again. “It’s soul splitting, not spitting. Spitting on a rune isn’t going to get you anything but a lot of confused looks.”

“That’s a kind of magic. I can magically get people to look at me funny.” Gimmick said, proudly.

“I’m not sure you need a rune for that.” Tek said under his breath.

Light poured into the tunnel ahead, followed by a breeze of fresh air. Tek’s tail flicked with intrigue. They shouldn't have reached the otherside of the mountain for a few more hours. Where had that mole taken them?

“Where does that lead?” Gimmick asked. The sound of wind blowing through fresh grass and trees echoed down the tunnel, delivering the scent of blooming flowers to Tek’s nostrils.

“That’s The Forbidden Valley.” Tek said, staring down the tunnel. “Myra what have you done?”

“This path is both quicker and more luxurious. You’ll thank me, rat boy. Besides, I might be near blind, but even I can tell you could afford to take things a little less seriously.” Myra said, “What do you say kobold? Ever eaten a forbidden fruit?”

“I like fruit.” Gimmick said happily, making for the end of the tunnel. Tek grabbed her by the tail to stop her. “Rude!” Gimmick said, flushing as she slapped his hand away, “Don’t grab a lady by the tail Tek!”

“We’re not entering the valley.” Tek’s voice was stern.

“Well I’m tired, so either we wait another day for me to rest up, or we travel through the valley. How fast do you want to get to the Skunk Kingdoms, rat boy?” Myra asked.

Tek sighed in frustration. Time was a resource he couldn’t afford to waste. It could be months before The Iron Doors opened or it could be days. He couldn’t afford to deny any shortcuts. He stepped forwards to meet Myra’s grey sightless eyes. She must have been able to hear him as she smiled and somehow managed to make eye contact with him. “If we do this, we do it stealthily. The Forbidden Valley is full of prism foxes. Vulpines with the ability to camouflage so well that they may as well be invisible.”

Gimmick looked down at her legs, then tapped her claw against the ground. It made a loud clack clack with each impact. “Uh… I don’t think I can do stealthy, Tek.”

“We’ll be quick. In and out before any prism foxes even catch our scent. If anyone finds us I can soul split and lead them away from you,” Tek said, gesturing for Gimmick to follow him into the forbidden valley. “Besides, to get away we just have to be faster than the mole.” Myra grunted, but followed after him. There had always been stories of who was the more cunning, the fox or the rat. At the very least, this would be Tek’s opportunity to find out.