Kairen’s little message went unnoticed at first. Zar and his slavemaster had done their best to beat out every spark of curiosity, every drop of motivation that they could from the people they captured. When the slaves weren’t being worked to the bone on some menial task, most of them simply sat and stared blindly while they waited for the time to pass, or talked quietly with each to her, voices kept low to avoid attracting the unwanted attention of their captors.

Still, despite that, someone eventually did spot the word written on the ground. A teenage girl with nothing to add to the current conversation was instead staring around the courtyard they were being held in. By itself, Kairen’s message could have easily been dismissed. The ghost was watching carefully and noticed that the girl didn’t seem to comprehend what he had written. Even if she had, it would have been far too easy for her to simply write it off as the scribblings of another slave, although why they would want to introduce themselves to people they had lived with before this was beyond Kairen. Fortunately, Kairen had left more than just a message behind.

It had taken a fair amount of convincing, but Alpha himself was standing just above the message. Kairen didn’t know what exactly had convinced the rat to go along with this plan of his. Perhaps the rat had simply grown more accustomed to humans after living all these months in Zaros, battling with them daily for food and shelter. Perhaps his relationship with Kairen had grown over that same period of time, as Kairen did as much as possible to help the rats stay alive even without the advantages provided by his Blessings. Perhaps it was simply age. Kairen didn’t know how old Alpha had been before he had arrived at the Oasis, but the medium rat was beginning to display the ravages of time. Grey hairs were replacing the sandy brown fur Alpha had originally had, and every day the rat moved slightly slower as it scurried around Zaros. Kairen hoped that his Blessings of Endurance and Vitality would extend the natural lifespan of his companion and follower, but still knew that their time together would eventually run out. Perhaps Alpha was also aware of this fact and was more accepting of tasks that brushed against his mortality.

Whatever the case, the rat sitting patiently next to the word gave the girl pause. She glanced at the other slaves who were still awake but decided against interrupting their conversation over what might just be a curious rodent. Slowly she scooted away from the group, keeping her eyes fixed on Alpha the whole time. Closer and closer she got, but Alpha remained calm, Kairen providing a constant stream of encouragement to help keep the rat’s confidence up.

“Hello there.” The girl said softly, reaching out a hand to pet Alpha. Not sensing any malicious intent the rat accepted, acknowledging the affection in a moment that struck Kairen with its familiarity. Watching the girl he saw the same half-smile he once had, caused by something positive happening in the midst of a life torn apart. Eventually, she paused in her ministrations and Alpha quickly ran a circle around Kairen’s message before he returned to his original spot, where he squeaked twice.

“I’m sorry.” The teen apologized softly. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to read. Alchemist Alya does, but she’s asleep right now. The village head did, but I haven’t seen him for a few days and I don’t know what happened to him.” Her voice broke a bit on that last admission, the nervous fear of the unknown future leaking through for a moment before she recomposed herself.

“Squeak once.” Kairen softly instructed Alpha. This girl wasn’t able to hear him, but he still kept his voice down out of respect for the current atmosphere. Alpha obediently did so, even if Kairen could pick up the small cues of confusion the rat displayed when he didn’t fully understand what Kairen intended or what he was working towards. Despite Alpha’s intelligence and enhanced memory, the rat hadn’t been able to learn to understand human speech. All the medium rats could recognize common words that impacted them such as ‘rat’, ‘get it’, or ‘food’, but they lacked the context needed to parse speech as a whole. When Kairen spoke to them they didn’t hear his commands as actual words but simply the intent he wanted to convey. He was grateful for that fact, as it allowed him to communicate to a degree that would otherwise have been impossible, but it did lead to some unusual situations.

“You can understand me?” The unwitting audience asked Alpha. Once again a single squeak was her answer, accompanied by other signs of affirmation such as the rat making eye contact and quickly bumping against her hand that was resting on the ground. Alpha couldn’t actually understand her, but that detail didn’t matter when Kairen was standing nearby and could do the understanding for the obedient rat.

The girl began to stroke Alpha once again, more gently now that she was aware he wasn’t just a regular rat. “I’ve never met a rat who could understand speech before!” She murmured happily, her current worries momentarily forgotten in the face of something new. “I”m Melody, by the way. Do you have a name?”

“Squeak!”

“That’s a yes, right? Or is it your name? I’m afraid I don’t speak rat, you see.”

“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”

It was tricky trying to answer Melody’s questions using only the simple yes and no system that Kairen had devised, and trying to actively guide the conversation in the direction he wanted was even more difficult. Under his direction Alpha once more began to dig, quickly scratching out a capital A on the ground. It served as both an answer to her question and another prompt to go find someone who could read, and who could hopefully understand the complex idea Kairen wanted to get across.

“Oh! I’m guessing that’s your name? Or close enough anyways?” Melody quickly corrected herself after a noncommittal response. Her eyes flicked over to the other slaves before turning back towards Alpha and the invisible boy standing behind him. “I still can’t read, but I can try and get someone who does over here.” She waited a bit for an answer, only to be surprised “Yes, no? You want me to get someone, but not yet?”

Kairen found himself surprised at his decision. Getting someone who could read involved had always been the plan, but he found that he wasn’t quite ready to give up this strange connection just yet. The Nomads had been aware of his existence, but had treated him as a spirit or a minor deity, something to be venerated and communicated with, but that was alien enough to make social distance a necessity. Melody didn’t know he was here, didn’t have to weigh her responses against his ability to alter her surroundings. Even if she thought she was communicating with Alpha it was the closest Kairen had come to human interaction in a long time, and he wasn’t willing to give it up quite yet, to reveal himself and his situation and what it could mean for the slaves. He didn’t want to pick up the role of Kairen, the controller of the Oasis, when he could steal a few more moments as just another sentient inhabitant of the Oasis spending time with a friendly stranger.

Melody didn’t seem to mind it either. She adjusted her position to something more comfortable, splaying her bruised legs out in front of her. Then she began to talk, sharing the thoughts that troubled her mind with the willing audience of two. “I don’t get it. I know life in the Sands is hard, that it isn’t easy to make a living here. But why do people have to be so cruel? I was still a kid when we hired them as adventurers to deal with a rock elemental that was making a nuisance of itself. I thought Zar was so handsome at the time, this dashing hero with good looks who could cut through a solid boulder with his magic axe like it was nothing. I thought he was a good person, taking on quests to help out poor villages like ours when no one else would. And then he shows up a few weeks ago, only this time it’s to burn down everything we have, everything he saved.”

Through Alpha, Kairen offered what comfort he could, knowing all too well the tale Melody was sharing. It wasn’t just his personal experience either. Almost monthly Zar went out on a raid for new slaves, burning through his list of potential targets as he worked to make a name for Zaros. Most of those slaves were sold onwards, either bought by individuals with a ‘discerning’ eye or sold in bulk by traders of flesh who would handle the dirty business of moving everyone to another city. Some remained, the old and otherwise unwanted, fated to work hard lives while the rich and indifferent decided to spend their money elsewhere.

Melody had stopped talking at some point, her words having turned to quiet sobbing tears as she simply let it all out. Kairen could see Alpha turning to look at him ever so often, the rat unsure how to handle this strange situation that it found itself in, but Kairen simply encouraged Alpha to remain calm. Soon enough the girl had exhausted herself, and with a final sniffle, she wiped her nose on the sleeve of her crude dress.

“Thanks.” She said simply, unable to find the words to truly say how grateful she was. “I’ll go get Miss Alya now.” Alpha squeaked in assent before waiting patiently while Melody scuffled over to the rest of the slaves. Carefully grabbing at a thin lady’s dress to draw her attention, Melody began to whisper, trying not to draw the attention of the guards even as more and more curious slaves stopped their own idle activities to spy on the tearswept girl. With a wave of her hand, Alchemist Alya encouraged them all to mind their own business, before casually following Melody back over to the deserted corner where Kairen and Alpha were waiting.

“Huh.” Alya said after spotting the message and letter. “Can’t say I’ve seen something like this before. You’ve got something to say to me?” She nodded after getting a single squeak. “Bad news?”

“Squeak squeak!”

“Not bad, or not news?” Was the quick follow-up. Kairen was impressed at the speed that the alchemist processed the new situation. No hesitation, no moment of suspicion, simply a willingness to take it all in and go forwards with it, quickly figuring out the communication system Kairen had implemented. It only took a few more exchanges before the two women were waiting patiently, Alya slowly reading the developing message out to Melody as Kairen directed Alpha to scratch out one character after another.

“I can help. You can help.” Not the wordiest explanation I’ve ever heard of, but it’s understandable enough. Let’s start with that first part. How can you help us?” Alya looked at Alpha critically, measuring up his size and age and finding it wanting compared to her unexplained standards. Alpha wasn’t the one making the deal, however. Kairen quickly phased through the wall, doing his best to ignore the phantom sensation that told him it shouldn’t be possible, before signalling to the group of rats that was waiting patiently outside, hidden from sight by dark shadows and a new moon. At his cue the group sprang into action, making their way into the holding area in an orderly fashion.

Hopping inside Kairen took great pleasure in the expressions of shock that had taken over Melody and Alya’s faces. Whatever they had been thinking of, they surely hadn’t expected a procession of rats, carrying pieces of food in their bulging cheek pouches, which they carefully deposited onto a growing pile before vanishing out into the night. Kairen knew the amount of food he was providing was barely more than a snack for so many slaves, but it held the promise of potential. Seeing the dried fruits and meats after so long on gruel brought the glimmer of tears to Melody’s eyes, but Alya was more composed, even as she began scooping up the food using her dress as a makeshift pouch.

“Thank you. This will go a long way towards convincing others to help you. Now what exactly can we help you with?”

Slowly, in halting explanations and half-finished sentences, Kairen explained. How he had died. His new state of existence. The Oasis and its upgrades. The ritual and the future direction of growth. Halfway through Alya had him pause while she retrieved a few of her fellow slaves, but otherwise it was an attentive audience, one that didn’t interrupt or doubt what Kairen was telling them. He supposed having an intelligent rat convey his story helped sell it, but mostly Kairen thought that the slaves were willing to humor him simply because they had no other options. Once he had finished, there was a moment of silence as everyone absorbed the information, before Alya once more took control of the conversation.

“That’s an interesting situation to be in, no doubt. Now what exactly do you need us to do?”

Kairen told her, and they got to work.