Chương 95: The Trap

The plague rats arrived while I was in the Liminal Lands. I was running a final check when Pierre's alarm hit the champion bond. When I wasn't focusing on the bond, the only thing I got were his emotions, a rough sense of where he was and what he was doing. The bond doesn't carry words or images unless I was actively concentrating, so I started focusing. The world lurched sideways and I was seeing through Pierre's eyes. It was strange to say the least. It kind of reminded me of being in a VR game.

Pierre was standing at the southern tree line in wolf form. The forest had gone quiet. Luke was crouched to Pierre's left in the underbrush. Four more wolves were spread along the tree line near sections of the cold iron funnel Derek's crew had spent a week building. The two converging walls of cold iron would funnel the rats into the hole where I'd placed a portal to the Liminal Lands. That meant they were coming straight to me soon. Despite this, I kept observing the situation through Pierre's eyes.

Pierre smelled them before he saw them. That surprised me. I hadn't know I could share his sense of smell. Idly, I wondered if I could share his sense of taste too. Would cucumbers taste good if he ate them? The idea intrigued me so I decided to try an experiment later on. For now, though, I focused on what was important. Three scouts emerged from the brush about fifty yards south of the funnel entrance. Each one was roughly the size of a large dog, with patchy fur that pulsed a dull green.

They moved in quick jerky bursts, stopping to sniff the air, darting forward again. The scouts moved north, pulled toward the high mana concentration the Ozarks had built up since the mana tide. Plague rats were like herd animals. They'd find mana-rich areas, drain the ambient energy until the ground was dead, and move on. The Ozarks were the biggest source of mana for hundreds of miles. These rats had been traveling for weeks to reach it. They definitely wanted to feast and weren't likely to turn back.

However, I needed to make sure they didn't. One scout reached the funnel and sniffed at the cold iron pipe. It flinched back hard, hissing. Cold iron disrupted some mana-based creatures. Others responded to silver, such as werewolves. The rat tried to go around and found fifty feet of wall in both directions, anchored into the ground with crossbars. Derek builds things to last and wasn't a contractor that half-assed his work. The scouts took a few steps into the funnel.

Forward was the only way that wasn't iron unless he wanted to turn back. However, they'd already sucked most of the mana from along the path they'd already taken. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I waited while the plague rats made up their mind. Finally, they continued down the funnel. Apparently, hunger was a good motivator. Five minutes later the main swarm came out of the forest.

I counted through Pierre's eyes as they poured out of the tree line. Ten, then another cluster behind them, then more behind that. By thirty I'd stopped counting individual clusters because they were coming out in a continuous stream. By fifty, the front of the swarm had hit the funnel entrance and started compressing as the walls narrowed. Some tried to climb the iron pipes and fell back hissing. Their fur was smoking where the metal had touched them.

Others tried to dig but soon discovered why everyone wanted Derek to work for them. Forward was still the only option for most of them since the ones behind were pushing the ones at the front. At eighty rats I could feel the pack's tension through Pierre. Every wolf wanted to charge. Pierre held them because I'd asked him to trust the plan. Surprisingly, he didn't argue with me and just did what I asked. Watching ninety rats funnel past you while you did nothing went against every instinct a wolf had.

It went against most of mine too, and I wasn't even physically there. Then again, fighting ninety plague rats on open ground wasn't a good plan. The rats might not be as large as a wolf but werewolf regeneration had limits. The funnel existed so no one had to find out where those limits were. The last few straggled. They were smaller than the rest, probably younger than the others.

They were small enough that the iron walls weren't compressing them the same way, so they had room to mill around near the gate entrance. Once they passed, Pierre sent the signal, one short howl. Two wolves moved from their positions and dropped a pre-built iron gate across the wide end of the funnel. It locked into the slots Derek had welded into the pipe walls with a clang. Two of them turned back and started sniffing at the iron gate the wolves had dropped. Pierre watched them without moving.

The rats hissed at the gate, decided it wasn't worth the pain, and turned back into the funnel. I pulled back from Pierre's perspective and returned to my own inside the Liminal Lands. The portal entrance from the tunnel sat directly in front of me. I could hear them coming through it. While I would have loved to say I wasn't a little intimidated by the scratching and the hissing, I was nervous. Then I didn't have time to worry as the first rat burst through. Up close, it was worse.

The mana in their aura didn't feel right. Their smell was even worse. Part of me wanted to turn and run just to avoid their scent. I stepped back as the rest poured in behind it. I retreated to the other side of Lifna while newcomers spread out from the portal entrance. They scrambled over each other in the rush to get out of the iron-lined tunnel and into the open space of my domain. They spread across the ground and kept coming until the Liminal Lands were full of hissing plague rats.

When the last one came through I sealed the portal. I was locked in my own domain with ninety plague rats. I know I could have left. Maybe they would starve. However, I was worried they'd consume all the mana in the Liminal Lands. The loss of mana might even hurt Lifna or damage my domain. Since I couldn't risk that, I stayed. Pierre's worry came through the champion bond. He couldn't send words since I needed to focus on the rats, but the question was obvious enough. Was I alive, and was the door closed?

I sent back yes on both, and turned to face the swarm. The rats hadn't found me yet. They were still disoriented from the transit, scrambling across the domain floor, spreading in every direction. Now the fun was about to begin.