Chapter 5

  “Wow, so this is the Burrow, huh?

  Rurik nodded curtly with an affirmative chuckle, twirling the edge of his mustache as they approached the gate.

  “Quite impressive, is it not? Did you know the Burrow was founded in the midst of the Predator Wars, my feathered friend? A battalion of Mousefolk had taken up refuge at the base of this tree, and they discovered a cave under its roots. Through some good old-fashioned Mousework, they cleared themselves a small hideaway. Throughout the last decade of the Wars, the Mousefolk forces used it as a rallying point. Then, after the Predators were purged from our fair Valley, the Mousefolk started expanding and digging. They raised families and a new generation of youthful Mouse spirit. And so, the Burrow was born.”

  The Scribe hummed along as he listened to Rurik’s telling of the Burrow’s founding. If there was anything Plumbase was ever eager to hear more about, it was Valley history.

  Rurik began regaling tales of grandeur and strife during the Burrow’s rise as a major city as they continued their journey to the Burrow’s City Hall to deliver their message. And ever so slowly, even Plumbase’s love for history started to be overshadowed by Rurik’s tendency to blow things out of proportion.

  Before them stood the tree that housed the Burrow in its roots. The tree itself was a relatively plain Oak Tree, though quite a bit larger than its neighbors due to its age. What served as the entrance to the Burrow proper was now a carved wooden arch leading to a polished stone staircase that descended into the earth. Around the tree, a settlement of stone spread out in all directions with the tree at its center. Knight Captain Rurik and Scribe Plumbase passed through the entrance to the stone settlement that served as the communal entrance to the Burrow and made their way to the underground entrance that would take them to City Hall. The Guards at the entrance recognized the official emblem of the Woodland Alliance and immediately granted them passage, not bothering to ask questions they wouldn’t get the answers to. Envoys were known to only deliver their messages to the intended. No exchanging of paws allowed. Along the way, they passed numerous places of business. Inns, tailors, smiths, and all manner of shops. The underground portion of the Burrow could completely go undiscovered by the casual traveler.

  The Guard that granted them entry had already sent a messenger down into the city to notify the Mayor. Rurik and Plumbase’s arrival would be of the utmost importance as they were official emissaries of the Woodland Alliance. The two travelling companions steadily made their way towards the city center where an envoy–consisting of the Mayor and whoever else he deemed worthy to represent the Burrow–would be waiting to greet them. And, likely too, droves of Mousefolk and Rabbits who were far too bored in their everyday lives to pass up a chance to see an actual diplomatic visit.

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  Joining the crowd that had begun gathering in the center of the city, Graham could see that as many as a third of the population answered the bell: almost 2,000 Mousefolk were gathered around the square. The stone square in front of City Hall had a statue of the Mousefolk Patron God standing tall on a plinth of polished stone in the center. The City Hall entrance faced the large stone staircase that led to the surface area of the Burrow, with two other stone buildings framing the other two sides of the square. City Hall towered over all buildings around it, with a steeple of brick housing the bell that had called the population there today. All of them, whispering to each other and trying to get the best view of whatever would be coming down the staircase. It was a little past midday, and the sun rays were shining through the Mouse-made holes in the top of the cavern that housed the Burrow. Tree roots made up the bulk of the ceiling, spidering down along the walls. As the Burrow grew, the walls were expanded farther and farther. Small, strategic holes were cleared out from between the roots, illuminating the cavern with the Spring sun, and allowing accumulated smoke to filter out.

  Graham squeezed between a couple of younger Mousefolk that had found a spot at the front row just as two figures of interest were seen descending the main stairway that led to the surface. A black-feathered Bird with an extremely vividly purple breast, sporting a grey vest that marked him as a Scribe, gracefully walked down the final set of stairs. Behind the Bird, a fully-armored Mouse with a large sword strapped to his back descended the stone stairs. The excessive gear in addition to the backpack he was wearing did not seem to perturb the Mouse in the slightest. In fact, underneath an absurdly flagrant mustache, the Mouse was smiling as he glanced around the crowd that had gathered at the bell. The mustachioed Mouse’s gaze rested on Graham himself for a second before moving on, notably landing on the various citizens who were armed at the time. Not even for a second did the smile leave his face as he took stock of the room.

  Waiting at the bottom of the stairway to receive them was the Mayor of the Burrow along with his two assistants, one Rabbit and another Mouse, who clearly looked as if there were more important things to attend to rather than some kind of unannounced visits. The Mayor and his assistants, as always, were dressed immaculately. The Mayor himself wore a gold-trimmed green vest with a green cloak emblazoned with the symbol of a tree with a hole in it: the official emblem of the Burrow. The Scribes were also dressed far more eloquently than Scribes typically do. They shared a similar gray attire to the Bird visitor, but exquisite golden trim lined their otherwise simple clothes.

  Graham didn’t know much about the Mayor, only that he was always the Mayor so long as Graham had been around, and no one challenged his office. Apparently, he was some kind of bigshot noble from Evertree, and no one dared to stand against him in the running.

  The Mouse and Bird visitors bowed to the Mayor, exchanging pleasantries that Graham couldn’t quite hear. Introducing themselves, I guess. He closed his eyes and strained his hearing, trying to pick out anything they were saying but there was too much chatter happening around him.

  Maybe if I try and use a bit of magic to better pick up the sounds…

  As quickly as the idea popped into his head, the chatter stopped, prompting Graham to open his eyes. He noticed the Mayor nodding to the two guests and turning towards the crowd. The Mayor clasped his hands in front of him, and Graham made out a brief Sigil of Air appearing before him and disappearing just as quickly as it had come. The Mayor then spoke with an elevated voice that carried across the entirety of the cavern.

  “Mousefolk and Rabbits of the Burrow. I want to thank you all for taking time out of your incredibly busy and industrious days to answer the gathering bell. It is a momentous occasion for us citizens of the Burrow and its surrounding villages. I have the pleasure of introducing these two magnificent beings. Scribe Plumbase and Knight Captain Rurik of the Woodland Alliance.”

  At the mention of the Alliance as well as the Knight Captain, the crowd started muttering to each other, which when 2000 creatures all muttered it once, it ended up being quite a cacophonous disturbance.

  “Peace, everyone. Peace. I suppose you’re all wondering, why would the Alliance travel this far North, to a city such as ours? What do we have to offer such prestigious individuals? Well, it is my great despair that I bear terrible news from our guests. The Feral forces of the Wildlands grow stronger, my fellow Mousefolk and Rabbit friends. Every day, their incursion into our lands becomes closer to reality.”

  The Mayor shakes his head sadly and looks down at the ground for a dramatic pause before returning his attention to the crowd.

  “But, my creatures, we now come to our solution. The brave Soldiers of the Alliance have seen fit to ask us, the creatures of the Burrow, for assistance. They request that we ask for volunteers to join the Woodland Alliance. I say, there is no better place the Alliance could have looked for the strongest and smartest of the Valley. We citizens of the Burrow are unlike any other!”

  Wow he’s really laying it on thick. Some members of the crowd were beginning to roll their eyes while others were getting extremely pumped up by the Mayor’s speech, doing all they can from screaming in agreement.

  “And that is why, in the morning of the day after tomorrow, we are requesting that those who wish to put forth their names for consideration into the Alliance, meet here, in the square, at dawn. There, you will undergo a test to determine your eligibility for the Alliance. Though it is not up to me, I say ‘a test? Ridiculous!’ for there is none who call the Burrow home that would ever be denied entry. Citizens, go forth and make the Burrow proud. Etch your names forever into history by joining the Alliance and ending, once and for all, the Feral Scourge!”

  The Mayor ended by pumping his fist into the air, and that was the last straw. A couple hundred voices rang out in resounding agreement at the Mayor’s

  Graham pursed his lips. Has the incursion gotten that bad? He’d heard about the Ferals and the defense against them, but he kind of assumed that to just be a regular thing. Like a Feral here and there, not something requiring an army!

  This changes things. Originally, he had planned to apprentice under his Master for a while, before asking for a recommendation to go to Evertree and offer his services there. However, if he was in the Woodland Alliance, he could prove himself on missions and maybe even get a recommendation for the Academy in Evertree. Then, he could become a Commander, or a Grand Knight! The possibilities were endless. This was the opportunity of a lifetime!

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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  “Absolutely not. 1000 times no.”

  Graham’s mother had her arms crossed and stood looking down at Graham, who despite being taller, had shrunk down in the face of his mother.

  “But Mom! I may never get another opportunity like this!”

  “You can always join the Burrow’s Guards or even head to Evertree one day to work there. But you absolutely can not join the Woodland Alliance. What they do is dangerous.”

  “But it’s necessary! Mom, they’re the greatest the Valley has to offer! They’re the ones who keep us safe from whatever lies in the Wildlands. Please. It’s what I’ve always wanted.” Graham looked at his mother with pleading eyes. He hadn't been able to sway her with his ‘look’ since he was barely older than a baby.

  “I don’t want to lose you the way I lost your father. He wouldn’t want you to follow in his footsteps.”

  Graham’s mother looked well and truly mad. But he could sense the pain behind her large brown eyes, her paws were clenched as she looked outside the window of their small cottage. He saw the corner of her eyes glisten and then a tear cascade down her brown-furred cheek. Her whiskers twitched when she realized her emotional state. She took a deep breath and turned to face Graham directly, having calmed herself.

  “I can’t in good conscience let this happen, Graham. You’re still small. What is it that you think you can do?”

  “You once told me that you thought I’d be destined for great things. That I could mean something to the Valley. Do you still believe that?”

  “Of course I do. But there’s plenty around the village and even in the Burrow that could fulfill you. Why do you think you need to leave?”

  “Because, Mom. The threat is real. It’s out there. And it doesn’t exist in the Burrow. The Ferals are getting worse, according to the emissaries from the Fort. I have a chance to make a difference in the world. For my life to mean something. I would rather fight out there to make sure that the Feral threat never makes it here, rather than stay and defend you here in the village, when that means the Ferals have already spread across the Valley.”

  Graham’s mother sighed deeply, steadying herself, closing her eyes briefly before returning to meet Graham’s steely gaze.

  “You look just like him, you know.” His mother’s look softened for a moment before returning to one of opposition. “I don’t like this, Graham.”

  “Mom, let me at least go to the gathering in a couple of days. They’re going to explain all the details and give out some sort of test. If I fail the test or if the job sounds too dangerous, I’ll come home and I won’t mention it again.”

  Graham noticed his mother tapping her paw on the side of her leg, thinking the proposition over as she stared unerringly into Graham’s determined eyes. Graham could hear his heart pounding. If that didn’t do it, he doubted anything would.

  “Hmmm. Fine. On one condition.” Graham’s sudden excitement wavered a bit.

  “What is it?”

  “You have to convince Fleur to go with you. And not only that. You have to convince her mother and Master also. She’ll need their permission.”

  All the energy left Graham. Crap. It would be hard enough to deal with just Fleur, who was likely to take the same stance as his mother. But her mother too? Now that would be a battle. Graham nodded resolutely. “Deal.” He left his house and headed for Fleur’s straight after spending some more time with his mother. He had a feeling he would need the rest of the day to deal with Fleur’s mother.

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  “I’ll be honest, I don’t know how you managed to get Mother on board with this. This is lunacy. I don’t even know why I agreed to this.”

  “It was actually much easier than I thought. I just told her that you were planning on taking Villia’s Druid contract next year and that this was a good opportunity to get you to expand your horizons. You know, see reason and discover there was more out there in the world. Your Master seemed to agree with that part, too.”

  “You what! Graham, that was very irresponsible. You should really be ashamed of yourself for lying to my mother like that.”

  “But was it really a lie? You were seriously thinking about accepting the contract weren’t you?”

  “Well…the thought did cross my mind. But I don’t think power is worth that kind of sacrifice. Power for power’s sake isn’t right. I want to improve my magic skills so that I can help others. Of all species. I can’t do that if I lock myself in Honeypot Village for decades.” Fleur’s ears twitched as she looked to the sky with determination. “I will be like Villia, but I’ll do it my way, not piggybacking off of her power.”

  “That’s an admirable goal, Fleur. I can’t say I ever wished to be a tree. But to each their own.”

  Fleur turned to Graham, clearly upset.

  “You–you–” She blew steam out of her mouth and ears as she took a moment to let her natural brown and white color return to her face. “That’s not funny and that’s not what I meant. You know, I’m only coming with you because you’ll just get yourself killed the first chance you get if I don’t. Plus, like you said, my Master seemed pretty eager to shove me off on an adventure. Says it builds character.”

  “Your Master is probably just sick of all the questions you sling her way day after day.”

  Fleur shot Graham a flat look.

  “Oh yea? And what about you? What did your Master have to say about all this? You were learning magic too, right? Finally got those Sigils down?”

  “Ugh. No. But he pretty much said the same thing. He said there was only so much I could learn in practice. And I keep messing up the mix. Half the time I end up flat on my face and the other half I crash into a wall. Master had to stop my training and meditate because he had to heal me so much yesterday.”

  Fleur brought her paw to her chin and thought for a moment before turning back to Graham.

  “It sounds like your intent is all screwed up. Are you thinking of yourself being as light as a feather and moving really fast? Or are you trying to give your legs the power to make you move that fast like some kind of story character?”

  “The…uh…second one.” Graham pursed his lips at the realization.

  “Figures.” Fleur rolled her eyes. “Go on. Try it again while we’re heading to the Burrow.”

  Graham nodded resolutely as he brought his paws up, closed his eyes, and focused as he felt the gentle mix of the two energies within. Measuring out the proportions his Master had taught him, Graham brought his paws out in front and drew the Sigil of Air. Fleur noticed the flaws right away as the Sigil that Graham drew wasn’t steady at all, instead wavering and fluctuating with intent as Graham tried to focus his mind.

  “Oh, here we go. This’ll be good.” Fleur muttered with a smile forming as Graham finished his spell.

  Opening his eyes, Graham finished the Sigil and pushed the energy into it, directing it towards his legs. He stopped and inspected the spell of Air that was now wrapping around his legs, appearing as two self-contained tornadoes that surrounded each of his legs. Taking a test step, Graham was flung sideways into the bushes on the side of the trail they had been walking to the Burrow. Hearing the snapping of branches and twigs, Fleur heard Graham finally come to a stop in the trees. She started crying and laughing, nearly falling over before turning to follow the path of destruction that Graham’s body carved.

  “Are you alright?” Fleur struggled to say between laughs.

  “I think I’m getting the hang of it.” Grumbled Graham, his face still pressed into the bark of a tree.

  After peeling Graham off of the tree trunk that he had crashed into, Fleur healed his injuries and dragged him back to the path so they could continue their short journey to the Burrow. The two of them were planning on staying at Graham’s Masters compound that night, so there was no need to rush. Fleur had only barely stopped laughing by the time they made it back to the path as Graham pouted at her teasing.

  “Not sure what’s so funny. I’m sure you were the same way.”

  “No! Not at all! I could tell when my Sigil was bad or the energy mix wasn’t right so I just cancelled the spell. I would never just activate it to see what happened!” She resumed laughing, tears threatening to stream out of her eyes.

  “Wait, you can cancel them? My Master didn’t teach me that! How?”

  “Seriously? You thought that if you just accidentally set yourself on fire, that was just it? No way to stop it?”

  Graham rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her look of amusement. “Kinda?”

  “Gods, you’re an idiot. Or you’re just reckless. I’m not sure which is worse. Now I’m glad I’m doing this with you. When you activate a spell, can’t you tell that it’s continuously drawing on your Spirit and Vital Energies? You just have to stop supplying it with fuel, and it’ll fizzle out.”

  “Maybe you should be my magic teacher then.”

  “It looks like I’ll have to be if we’re really doing this Woodland Alliance thing. If you’re going to have my back I’d rather you didn’t send us both into the sun with an Air spell.”

  Graham finished picking the sticks and leaves out of the battered metal armor that he was wearing. His Master had given it to him from his old stash of stuff he had left. He had been given it originally so that he could get used to wearing armor and moving around in it. He had been doing drills in his full armor at home for almost the whole Winter.

  The armor set consisted of a chest piece, a pair of greaves, and a pair vambraces that were still a bit too large for his forearms. The helmet he had been given left a little room for his head to grow, but thankfully had been made with a Mouse in mind, giving him space for his ears. The gear felt heavier than he thought it would, but it didn’t feel like a burden to him. He could feel his confidence in facing the test grow as he got more familiar with the weight. The weight reminded him that this was real. That he was really leaving for the Woodland Alliance after the test.

  Fleur was wearing her apprentice robe that her Master had given her when she started learning Druidic practices. It was an earth-brown robe weaved from fibers made from Villia’s Tree roots. The robe was apparently as tough as some metals and just as resistant to magic. It was, in Graham’s eyes, extremely unfair. Unfair, but her quiet confidence while wearing it bolstered his resolve for the days to come, and he felt proud to be with her.

  He thought about how far he’d come since the day they met. The days of them prancing around as children playing make believe and fighting imaginary beasts were over. Now they were about to set out on a real adventure, and he wouldn’t want anyone else by his side. This felt right, and real.