Marianna’s came out of her stupor some few hours later when she heard the sounds of somebody calling out to her.

“Lady Marianna! Lady Marianna!” the deep voice shouted into the abyss of her mind. “Please, Lady Marianna, respond!”

She stirred, opening her viewports and, with a heavy air of depression flooding over her, asked, [You’re… Baruk, right?] The tall, muscular, brown-furred Ratman bowed.

“Yes, my lady.” He gestured to a pile of bone on the floor nearby. “That fight exhausted nearly everything we Rats could muster. It… was a monster from Cordon… A serpopard…”

Marianna shook off her depressive state. There would be enough time for that later. Then she nodded mentally, Ivy the Overseer mirroring her action. She pondered the implications that a monster called a Serpopard Tracker had found her cave.

[Could more of those monsters be following the tracker?]

Baruk’s eyes were squinted, as though unsure of his answer. He ran his clawed fingers through the fur on his head, scratching an ear.

“I… do not know, my lady. It is completely possible. But the queen…”

Miradeen! Marianna thought, remembering the distraught queen. [How is she?]

The warrior shifted his weight between his legs. “She… wishes to leave the dungeon.”

Mari was about to respond when several more Ratmen came walking down he corridor, pulling a huge mass behind them. A silver-furred rat stepped forward, gesturing towards the shadowy mass.

“My lady,” he began. “I wish to use this monster for research.”

Baruk turned towards him, anger clear in his eyes.

“Verax! What impudence you have to interrupt! Our queen is in a terrible state, and we’ve just been attacked!” The warrior’s curled fist rose threateningly.

Verax gazed at the brown rat calmly, indicating the corpse behind him once more.

“Baruk, this is quite important. With Lady Marianna’s decision to assign me to my current job, I’ve found my passion. And understanding that foul dungeon’s creations may be vital to defeating them.” Baruk was about to shout again, but Marianna interrupted.

[Go ahead. I don’t plan on doing anything with it anyway.]

Baruk just simmered as Verax nodded, smirking at the warrior, and signalling to the other rats. They passed through her chamber and down the hallway into the room containing the research root.

Alert

Deconstructive research has begun on Serpopard Tracker.

(Completion: 1%)

Mari remembered Baruk’s previous comment, and quickly turned back to him.

[Why does she want to leave?] She asked, panicked. [What did I do wrong?]

The rat held his hands up in a placating gesture, which might have looked more intimidating if Mari hadn’t become used to the strangely human actions of the clawed beastmen.

“It’s nothing you’ve done, my lady.” He cleared his throat. “I believe she doesn’t want to threaten the peace of your domain with Cordon’s war against us.”

Mari stomped her foot… or she would’ve, if she had one.

[No!]

Switching viewports, Mari controlled Ellen, the Overseer positioned in the Ratmen’s main room. She slowly flew the Overseer over to the simple wooden door blocking Miradeen’s quarters. Mari wasn’t sure what to do, and wondered how she would get Ellen past the obstacle. She focused on Miradeen’s quarters, feeling like her dungeon abilities should grant her some sort of ability here. Then, Ellen teleported beyond the door.

Well, that’s useful. Marianna mused, before focusing on the scene in front of her. Yeshi kneeled before Miradeen, both eyes closed. The queen sat trembling on her dirt bed, murmuring something with half-lidded eyes. Both rats held the bone staff she had planted on the ground between them.

A strange and visible energy passed between them, changing colors and swirling as it flowed from Yeshi to Miradeen. Ellen floated silently to avoid interrupting, and Mari watched.

Yeshi’s head dipped lower, and Miradeen’s trembling began to wane. When she finally stopped shaking, her eyes opened wide, and Yeshi collapsed to the floor.

[Miradeen?] Marianna asked tentatively, spooking the queen. [What was that?]

The queen turned, spooked. After seeing Ellen, she lowered her head.

“Lady Marianna,” she said softly. “It’s… complicated to explain.”

[Try me.]

Miradeen widened her eyes in surprise, but nodded. She began tugging on the fallen Ratman, and pulled him onto her dirt bed. She rested a clawed hand on his chest.

“Yeshi is… far stronger than me. To cast the offensive magic I did requires a great strength, and enacts a great toll. Simply put, Yeshi allowed me to siphon much of his energy to restore myself.”

Marianna nodded. It made sense. Miradeen had explained previously that magic required energy.

[Will he be okay?]

The queen nodded, rubbing one of her furry hands against her face. “He will be fine. Thank you It will be at most a day before he is recovered.”

Mari changed topics, and addressed the bigger issue.

[Will there be more of those serpopards coming? I identified that one as a tracker.]

The queen didn’t respond for a moment, looking solemnly at the wall. Then, she turned and hung her head while answering.

“We will leave your dungeon, my lady. We do not wish to--”

[No you won’t!] Marianna interrupted, now recalling that Baruk had mentioned the queen wanted to leave. [I don’t care if more of those monsters attack here! We will be prepared for them! Cordon will not hurt you anymore!]

The queen didn’t answer, merely staring at Marianna through Ellen, and trembling. Tears began to well up in her large black eyes, before they poured down into her fur, darkening it. She sobbed, falling to her knees, and buried her head in Yeshi’s chest.

After a minute, she wiped the snot away from her nose and mumbled, “Thank you…”

Mari stayed with the queen until she had recovered, and they conversed a bit more. She asked about Cordon, and Miradeen was reluctant to say much more than she’d already mentioned before. Mari couldn’t get much out of her, and instead was going to ask about her relationship to Yeshi, when Baruk suddenly came crashing through the door to the room.

“My queen! I sent out a few men to act as scouts for more of Cordon’s monsters, just in case. One of them has returned with news…”

Miradeen turned to him, but Marianna beat her to the question.

[What news?]

Baruk seemed flustered to be addressed by her, as though expecting the queen to have been alone.

“Well, um,” he began, before clearing his throat, returning the grave expression to his face. “We’ve found more of the serpopards, and they are headed this way.”

Marianna processed the information, thoughts and ideas running through her head. She needed to handle the issue, and teach Cordon he couldn't mess with the rats anymore. She directed her words to both the queen and the warrior, coated in her iron will.

[Then we'll be ready.]