booktalesy Chapter 211 Rat King
Chapter 211 Rat King
Chapter 211 Rat King
Upon arrival at the port, Dulin finally recovered somewhat from seasickness. After negotiating with the port clerk, he began arranging for the cargo belonging to the Geb Company to be moved into the cargo warehouse of the Salt and Iron Merchants' Guild in Queen's Port.
"I'll leave this to you, Dulin. I'm going to see a friend," Geb said to Dulin.
"No problem, leave this to me." Dulin wiped the sweat from his brow, put his hands on his hips, looked at the bustling port, and sighed, "I haven't been back for a few years, and Queen's Port has become even more prosperous. In a while, this port will probably be even busier than Martina's harbor area!"
"—This place is simply too extravagant, it's unbelievable—" Chloe was stunned by the prosperous scene before her, her eyes unsure of where to look.
"Oh, I'm sorry—I seem so naive. Sister, you've been traveling for so many years, you must have seen plenty of scenery like this, right?"
"The Thousand Lakes Plain was ravaged by war, but this side of Shanhaiguan was becoming more and more prosperous—a group of guys who made a fortune from the war."
The swordswoman snorted indignantly, saying something that spoiled the mood.
As if it were all preordained, the female knight had just complained about profiting from the war when a well-equipped mercenary troop strutted arrogantly down the harbor's main street, with people making way for them. The mercenaries' shields were painted with an iron gauntlet.
"————Damn it."
The woman with the sword turned her head away, took a step back, and hid in the crowd. Only after the mercenary group had passed did she turn her head back.
Gebu observed this scene and asked, "An old acquaintance?"
"—You could say that. The Iron Hands Skirmishers, a notorious bunch of bandits." The woman with the sword gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath. "It's best to avoid getting involved with them."
"A skirmish group? Their equipment looks pretty good, doesn't seem like it?" Dulin interjected.
Skirmisher groups are the lowest level of mercenary groups. They often lack formal organization and are violent gangs composed of vagrants and thieves.
Formal mercenary groups are mostly named things like "XX Mercenary Group", "XX Warband", or "XX Company".
The woman with the sword wrinkled her nose dismissively. "Looks like Mount Tai signed a big contract before the ceasefire and made a lot of money."
"Mount Tai?"
"Commander. You're the worst of the worst."
"It's alright, we probably won't have anything to do with them—hey, do you want to come with me to that place and meet the friends we met in Martina?"
"Gob asked. 'Friends' refers to the half-elf poet Yvette and her brain-dead (literal, not meant as an insult) half-orc companion, Big Guy."
The swordswoman glanced at the halfling, and without answering, Chloe immediately spoke up, "Mr. Geb's friend is our friend. Could you introduce me to him?"
The swordswoman raised her eyebrows, about to say something, when Geb immediately turned to Chloe and said seriously, "Stop fooling around—we're not going to play around, we're discussing important matters. Go help Dulin. I haven't forgotten about your matter either. There are still a few days until the agreed time. After I've taken care of things here, I'll accompany you to deliver the message."
"—Gebu is right, this has nothing to do with you," the swordswoman chimed in.
Chloe wanted to say something more, but seeing that Michonne and Geb had united as one, she thought about it and decided not to persist.
The girl put on a sunny disposition and ran off to help Dulin.
"So you're coming with me?" Gebu asked the woman tentatively.
"—You'll definitely mess it up if you go yourself. Don't overthink it; I'm just protecting my investment."
"Say what you want."
The two walked in silence across the harbor to the street Yvette had mentioned—a bustling commercial street teeming with vendors, now teeming with activity, filled with the sounds of hawking and bargaining.
Gebu and the swordswoman struggled through the stalls and crowds. It was even more chaotic than the vagrant market. In the underground market, at least Peacock's men maintained order, but here there were no town guards in sight. Vendors grew wildly along both sides of the street, using all sorts of bizarre methods to seize territory. It was utter chaos.
After much effort and driving away a swarm of fly-like vendors and beggars, Geb finally found the "Great Alley" that Yvette had mentioned. He walked along the alley for several dozen meters, and the noisy sounds on the main street gradually faded away as a small tavern sat at the end of the alley.
The signboard of "Big Rat Tavern" features a picture of a fat rat.
"The giant rat—the rat king, this guy didn't hide anything," Gebu remarked.
"What a filthy place," the swordswoman said, covering her nose in disgust. Only then did Geb realize that the alleyway reeked of a sewer stench—goblins have a much higher tolerance for odors than humans, and he hadn't even noticed the smell until the swordswoman pointed it out.
"Does anyone actually come to a tavern in a place like this?" Geb asked.
Neither of them answered the question—it was obvious that the tavern was a disguise.
The swordswoman placed her hand on the longsword at her waist, and Gebu also became alert. He placed his magical pet outside to keep watch, and then the two of them pushed open the door and went in one after the other.
The tavern was empty except for an old dwarf with drooping eyebrows standing behind the bar. When he saw the two people enter, he didn't react, but just sized them up with a crooked eye.
"Hello, we're new here, and we see your shop is in a convenient location; we hope your business is booming!"
After making a few sarcastic remarks, seeing the bartender's impatient expression, Gebu realized he was being frivolous and said bluntly, "Fine, I won't pretend anymore: half a tail can dig a hole."
Having said that, the halfling bowed to the man with a grey raven salute.
The old dwarf opened the wooden door of the bar without expression, went to the back room, lifted a heavy cover to reveal a hole in the ground and a ladder. The hole smelled of sewers: so that's where the smell was coming from.
The dwarf glanced at the two of them with some impatience.
After exchanging glances for a moment, Gebu and the woman with the sword realized that they had no choice but to drill into the sewer.
The two climbed down the ladder one after the other.
The ladder stretched downwards for quite a distance, probably three stories high, until Gebu finally stepped onto solid ground. There were torches at the bottom of the well; Gebu picked one up, lit it, and then walked along the sewer, with the swordswoman following closely behind.
The sewer system was a complex and labyrinthine network. Gebu walked along, trying to remember the directions—until he came to a fork in the road.
"Uh... which way should we go?"
"—Didn't Yvette say that?"
"Of course they didn't say that," Gebu glanced at the woman with the sword. "Weren't you there too?"
"—Look carefully, there might be a mark."
Gebu recalled the dark-skinned elf's grinning face and was furious: "He's usually a chatterbox, but when it really matters, he's a man of few words!"
The swordswoman's words made sense. This underground network was so complex that even the Rat King's henchmen couldn't possibly remember it all. Gebu searched carefully on the wall and finally spotted a white chalk mark in a corner—
A concentric circle.
He recalled the symbolic code system of the Gray Raven Society described in the book, and the concentric circles meant that the headquarters of the Rat King in the refuge must be over there!
Using the signs for navigation, the two wandered through the sewers. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Gebu suddenly smelled a fresh sea breeze. Following the scent, the two finally saw the exit of the sewers.
suddenly see the light.
This underground passage leads to a hidden seaside cave, large enough to house a small village, with an arched natural stone gate leading to the endless ocean.
Inside the cave, the members of the Gray Raven Society built an underground port that floated on the sea with wood. Wooden walkways and suspension bridges crisscrossed the huge stalactite pillars, which looked precarious at first glance, but miraculously supported themselves.
Warehouses, housing, shops, docks—small but complete. A dozen or so merchant ships of varying sizes darted and weaved through the narrow waterways between the docks, and laborers carried goods like ants moving house, busy yet orderly.
This—this is the Rat King's lair?
That old man's business is pretty big!
The swordswoman was also stunned by the scene before her. "There's such a large underground port beneath Queen's Port—unbelievable!"
Just as the two were wondering what was going on, several guards dressed as members of the Gray Raven Society came over alertly and surrounded them.
"Unfamiliar face—state your name," a leading guard asked impatiently.
"Uh... can half a tail make holes?"
"Your surname is Half?" The guard looked at the halfling like he was an idiot. "The password will let you in. You're already at the port, what's the use of saying this? I've never seen either of you before. Who are you? Who sent you?"
"Miss Yvette introduced us," Geb said quickly, then gestured with his hands as if playing the piano. "You know that dark-skinned elf who's incredibly eloquent."
The guard snorted and gave a meaningful smile.
"Yes, I know Yvette; she is indeed very good with words."
"Miss Yvette, fucking," another guard chuckled maliciously.
"Dark elf bitch."
After saying that, the leading guard took a bite out of the ground and didn't move.
"So, are you going to let us in or not? Give us an answer!" Gebu said, somewhat annoyed by the rudeness of the group.
"Yvette has gotten herself into some trouble—the Rat King hasn't decided what to do with her yet. Since you're her friends, why don't you come with us?"
"Ah—actually, we're not that close to her."
"I don't care what you do! Behave yourself!"
The guards rushed forward to seize Gebu, but the swordswoman stepped forward with a murderous look, shielding Gebu behind her and half-drawing her longsword. The guards were intimidated by the female knight's imposing presence and dared not make a move.
"My friend here has a rather short temper—it's alright, Blade Girl, don't bother with these small fry." Gebu found it amusing that these people were just bluffing, and teased, "Since Yvette is in trouble, we'll go with you to see what's going on."
"—Don't do anything reckless, this way."
Under the female knight's imposing presence, the leading guard suddenly became polite and pointed the two of them in the right direction.
Along the narrow boardwalk, the group carefully traversed the cliff edge, skirting massive stalactites. Waves crashed against the rocks just meters below, creating deafening roars. They crossed several suspended bridges, ascending upwards until they finally reached the highest point of the cave, atop a suspended wooden structure.
squeak.
A fat rat scurried across the wooden floorboards, where a bottomless abyss lay between the cracks.
At the very center of the suspended wooden building at the top of the cave stands a three-meter-high, precariously crumbling wooden throne.
The hunched figure on the throne trembled nervously, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, plus a sparse long beard, making him look like a human-shaped rat from a distance.
The giant rat was also wearing a gold crown that was clearly inlaid with fake gemstones. The crown was several sizes larger than its pointed head and hung diagonally on one of the man's ears, with the other side dangling down. As the rat king trembled, the crown constantly obstructed his vision, and the man had to frequently lift it up with his hand to see what was in front of him.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Rat King! Long live Your Majesty the Rat King!" the guard shouted, then gave an exaggerated salute, which looked somewhat comical.
"Who is it! Who did you bring?! An assassin? Are you trying to harm us?!"
The Rat King's voice was shrill and sharp, as if squeezed out of his throat, and his black bean-like eyes darted around, making him appear uneasy and suspicious.
The leading guard broke out in a sweat and quickly tried to explain.
"Your Majesty, these people are Yvette's accomplices."
"9
"Yvette?! Bring Yvette here!"
There were more than a dozen guards standing in front and behind the wooden building, each one tense and not daring to relax for a moment.
Judging from this situation, this Rat King is a very difficult fellow to fool, and his men are very afraid of him.
The best way to deal with this kind of guy is not to lie (or get caught), otherwise he will never trust you again once you're found out.
Seeing the Rat King's suspicious look, Gebu didn't speak rashly and waited for the guards to bring Yvette up.
The dark-skinned elf looked rather pitiful, disheveled and dirty, her once exquisite clothes now tattered and torn, like a princess in distress from a fairy tale.
"Hey, Geb, Dove—it's great to see you again. I was worried I'd mispronounced the code. My theater's still up, I hope you didn't burn it down in the heat of the night—haha, just kidding, just kidding."
Yvette gave a wry smile and pursed her dry lips.
Even in this state, she's still joking—thankfully, she's still in good spirits. Geb thought to himself. He smiled at the half-elf. Although he wasn't very familiar with her, seeing her, usually so cheerful and sunny, in such a pitiful state made him feel uneasy.
"Stop being so glib." The guard escorting the dark elf struck her knee roughly with the handle of his spear, causing Yvette to stumble and half-kneel.
The swordswoman frowned instantly. She hadn't exchanged many words with the dark-skinned elf, but the woman's miserable state seemed to remind her of some unpleasant past events.
The female knight shoved away the guards escorting Yvette and pulled the dark-skinned elf to her side.
Yvette lost her footing and fell into Doffin's arms. The female knight, like an older sister, embraced the dark-skinned elf and glared at the Rat King.
"What did she do wrong? Why are you treating her like this!"
"How rude! You should call us Your Majesty the Rat King!"
"I'll call you M————"
Before the swordswoman could utter her curse, Geb quickly interrupted loudly, "Your Majesty! My name is Geb—this is my companion, Dofen. We did a great thing for you in Martina, if you recall."
The Rat King's eyes darted around, and he scratched his ringworm-covered neck like someone with ADHD: "Yes, yes, you helped us get rid of that pheasant, I remember. Are you saying I have a bad memory? I may be old, but I'm not deaf or blind!"
"No, no, Your Majesty the Rat King, you are so magnanimous—why hold a grudge against a mere bard?"
"She lied to us! That liar, pointy-eared woman!"
"I—I didn't lie to you, the men you sent were all killed by the witch hunters—I'm not lying!"
Yvette spoke up in defense.
Upon hearing his words, the Rat King seemed to have been provoked, leaping from his throne and pointing at the dark-skinned elf, shouting, "Liar! You and your foolish orc, you're in cahoots with the Peacock! She faked her death—do you think we can't see through your plot?! You're trying to harm us! Guards, kill them!"
The guards in the room immediately raised their spears and surrounded Gebu and his two companions!