Chapter 2 – A rat's nest

Tammy sighed the moment she saw the sun setting behind a nearby hill. Night was about to fall on that solitary path across the forest. The crimson atmosphere gave the squirrel ominous thoughts, as there were yet not signs of Chip, Monterey Jack or Zipper. Not a sign of them since that same morning when their hideout was spotted by inquisition explorers and they had to scramble away in a hurry.

With that memory playing again in her mind, Tammy sent a glare at Dale who was running right behind of her.

But 'running' was a very optimistic word. Actually, they were just walking as fast as they could, carrying the dormant forms of Gadget and Foxglove on their backs. Dale, always the gentleman, took care of his girlfriend, which left Tammy in charge of walking with the witch hanging over her shoulder, one arm around her neck.

Certainly, the bat and the mouse were unable to take care of themselves by the time being. In the case of Foxglove, it was in her nature to sleep during daytime. In the case of Gadget, the witch couldn't help but give up and fall sleep by some sort of enchantment the moment the morning sun touched her face.

"Damn you, Gadget, why must you complicate my life in so many ways!" Tammy complained not-so-subtly.

On that moment, Gadget mumbled in dreams, right next to her friend's ear. "Add manganese, silicon, nickel, and copper to increase strength by forming solid solutions in ferrite. Chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten increase strength by forming second-phase carbides…"

"Ugh" The squirrel shivered with her fur standing on edge. "This witch is talking in tongues!"

Some steps behind her, Dale Oakmont beamed a naughty smile. He was well aware of the animosity between her boss and the blonde witch, and to be witness of the young hostess' reactions was one of the reasons he insisted on running away with Foxglove and not Gadget on his back after the inquisitors stormed the ruins the group were using as hideout. Oh, how Tammy insisted to change places with him during the first hour or so, but the bard just didn't relent. The squirrel finally, begrudgingly, accepted her fate and guided Chip's new friend through the forest the rest of the day. And it was certainly paying off in fun and giggles.

The trail they were passing by finally got to an end, and at short distance, concealed by vines and foliage at the base of a hill, the group found their destination: A cave known by the animal population of the forest as the river pirate's hideout.

And on that moment, the last ray of sun expired.

Foxglove stirred slowly, brushing her cheek against Dale's, delighted with the familiar scent of her minstrel boyfriend. Again, just like many times before, she was slowly waking up in the arms of the chipmunk bard she loved so very much.

"Mmmhh, good evening darling!" She greeted as she snuggled against Dale's neck. "How was your day?"

Gadget's awakening, on the other side, was everything but peaceful. As soon as she regained conscience, the dark magic inside of her reacted against Tammy's divine nature, resulting in a discharge of magical sparks that threw each other on opposite directions, like burning oil reacting against water. "Golly!"

"Ow ow ow!"

The bard and the rogue quickly went to their side. "Gadget, Tammy! Are you all right?"

The witch accepted Dale's helping paw to stand up. "I…" She stuttered while shaking her head out of the concussion. "I think so"

"Ugh!" The young hostess rolled on the grass and lifted her head towards Dale and Gadget. "This is… your fault…" She managed to say before letting herself fall flat again. "This whole day has been horrible!"

A worried Foxglove helped her stand up again. "Tammy, hey... cheer up! At least we are all awake now, awake and safe"

"No, not all of us" Tammy answered disheartened, casting her newly learned healing spells all over her body. "Chipper hasn't come back yet. Neither Monterey and Zipper"

Foxglove bit her tongue, realizing what her friend had said was true. There was no signal of the guys anywhere nearby, not by sight, not by echolocation.

Dale then joined the conversation. "Come on girls, it was Chipper's idea to regroup at Stone coffer. What if… what if he is already there waiting for us?"

Tammy glanced at the nearby cave. It had some activity tonight, fragrances of humans and animals coming to and from the place. And the chances of running into soldiers from the inquisition while in there was practically zero. Stone Coffer, the rodent underground keep hidden inside the cave was a hub for illegal activities, and its residents had no tolerance or mercy for law enforcers trespassing its gates.

"Perhaps you are right" The weary squirrel conceded with a heavy sigh. "Perhaps Chipper and the others are already there, as planned"

The bat rogue lifted off the ground. "Let's go then, guys. At the very least we gotta find an inn for Dale and Tammy to rest"

The cleric gave her friend a weary smile and started to walk again. "A warm bed and some dinner would be welcome but… I don't have any gold left"

"Oh, you can leave that to me!" Dale hung his lute around the neck and fidgeted with the chords. "I promise I'll make good money tonight for you, ladies!"

"Just don't do anything crazy, ok? We need to keep a low profile", Then, Tammy's eyes drifted toward Gadget, who had been silent all this time. "Hey witch, what's up with you?"

Dale and Foxglove turned as well to the mouse, who was standing some steps behind, caressing her right palm up down in a pensive mood.

"You alright, darling?" The pink bat asked fluttering back some steps.

"Huh?" Gadget snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh! Yes… huh, time to go?"

With that, Tammy lost another ounce of patience. "Yes, time to go! To the cave. In that direction"

"Roger!" The mouse took her broomstick out of the folding of her magical cloak. "Who wants to fly with me?"

"No no no no! Are you crazy? We must arrive there like normal people, not some kind of minions from hell! No flying, no spells, no strange words, got it?"

"Ah sure" Gadget nodded with a dismissing wave of her paw. "I can do that, no problem!"

Still, Tammy's eyes didn't stop glaring on her. "No brooms, either"

"Ups, sorry!" At once, a tentacle grabbed the broomstick and took it back to the depths of the cloak. Then, Gadget put her hood on, concealing her whole face except for the muzzle and some bangs of long and scruffy blonde hair. "I'm normal looking and ready to go! No problem!"

"Whatever… let's just get going" Tammy turned around and pointed at the road forward. The annoyance in her face was evident for Dale and Foxglove, who joined her in martial silence, well aware their friend was refraining herself from explode again in another fit of rage.

Behind them, Gadget followed. Not a breath later, though, she rubbed her right palm again. "Chip… I don't understand… where are you?"

For when she earlier grabbed Dale's paw another round of unwanted visions assaulted her. A flash in her mind which showed Chip's brown eyes set in an expression of hysterical excitement, only to the image to be abruptly cut by the shrieking cry of a winged beast.

Night fully embraced the land of Normandy, just as the four companions set step into the mouth of the cave. Upon passing along some low shrubs and later a series of stalagmites, they found a rodent-built trail that took them further into the darkest bowels of the cave. They were not alone, though. On the way they came across parties of small animals and insects minding their own businesses on that warm night of September. None of them gave Tammy's group a second look. Then, after some turns in the uneven and barely lit cave floor, the four heroes suddenly found themselves standing in front of a high wall made of stone and mortar . Its studded gate marked the entrance to Stone coffer: the city of thieves.

Stone coffer was a place like no other. For starters, its foundation could be traced many generations ago, by people now long gone and forgotten. Rodents who left behind a main keep of more than twenty rooms and halls of different sizes with access to a nearby puddle of fresh water. Half of the building was carved on the wall of the cave, with a tower made of stones that stood out like a stalagmite with windows and balconies. The bailey that surrounded it grew in extension over time, with houses and shops ready to maintain a steady and low increasing rodent population. Secondly, unlike any other place around, its name was of English origin. A curiosity that had been fuel for many tales and legends among the animal population of Normandy. The most popular one was that English rodent pirates discovered the place and used it as a steady base of operations in order to run raids on the rest of forest towns found around the cave. Over time, the name Stone coffer gained fame and notoriety as a den of thieves and smugglers, criminals who even had the audacity to create their own royalty: a king of thieves who ruled over the keep and population with an iron fist.

As she walked pass the outer wall and into the main yard, Foxglove couldn't help but shiver at the sight of a pair of muscled, tattooed rats that were showing off their skills throwing knives over the head of a haunted but very still young mouse. Nearby, another group of shady rodents seemed about to start a fight over a game of cards. "Guys, I'm having second thoughts about this plan. I didn't think we could find so many… dangerous people in a single place"

Tammy glanced to her over the shoulder and smiled. "Relax, even down here there are rules to keep everything in civil terms and guards to enforce these rules"

"Have you… have you been here before?"

"No, but my dad has. He…"

Dale interrupted her, as usual. "Gerald? Here? How?"

"As I was saying! My dad comes here from time to time to check the king's health and perform surgeries. These people get injured very often and my Dad is like, the only doctor this king trusts enough to let him perform his skills inside the town.

"Wow!" Foxglove gasped in awe. "So your family is in good terms with this king of thieves?"

Tammy just chuckled and shook her head. "Not exactly. Dad insisted I wasn't involved with this place" Here she drew a deep breath. "I agree with him wholeheartedly. Actually, I don't see myself patching up injured criminals like my father does"

"We are criminals now, sweetheart"

"No, we aren't! Just wrongly accused people!" The hostess quickly pointed out.

The layout of the shops and taverns took them all the way towards the puddle of water and the square built right next to it. There the crowd was thicker, bursting with activity on that early night. Entire groups of mice, rats and bats were dining, drinking and downright partying on a series of stands and tables disposed for some unknown festivity. The old keep, that tower embedded in the cave wall, stood at the opposite side of the square like a silent judge of the people at its feet.

Dale took his girlfriend by the arm and whispered to her ear. "Foxy, all these bats above us… could any of them be working for your father?"

"Not likely, sweetie" The pink bat reassured him. "They are outcasts. Not aligned to any chief, much less to my strict lawful father"

"Phew, I'm glad to hear that!" The bard said, relieved. So relieved, that he started to fiddle with the chords of his lute.

Unrestrained laughter echoed all over the square, prompting Gadget to wonder what kind of jokes could these people be telling each other, to achieve such loud responses. That is, she wondered until the moment she glanced into a nearby barrel and found it brimming with fermented grape juice. "So obvious. Alcohol, the cause of all of the world's problems"

"And the solution!" An intoxicated wrinkled green lizard said as he sunk a jar into the barrel. "Want some, lass? Tonight, wine runs free!"

The witch waved that off. "Oh no, thanks! I'm keeping a low profile tonight!"

"Hah!" The geezer laughed and then guzzled the whole jar down in a single gulp. "Cheer up, my good, scruffy girl! We are celebrating tonight! Come on, go wild with me!"

"Me, go wild? I wouldn't dare. But then again, I guess I could blend in some more if I join your festivity. A serious person in the middle of a party is suspicious, isn't it? In conclusion, give me a pint of that, please"

Just as Gadget reached for her beverage, Tammy and Foxglove pulled her away. "What are you doing, w…, I mean, Gadget!" Tammy berated her. "Don't speak with them, they are dangerous people!"

Foxglove gave the lizard an awkward smile. "Sorry about my friend, she is new around here!"

"Har har har!" The lizard laughed them off and walked away swaying from side to side, his jar of wine spilling all over. "Oh these youngsters, they are so young!" Then he glanced back over his shoulder one last time. "Just don't forget to pay your respects to our new king!"

"New king?" Tammy was shocked to hear that. "What are you talking about?"

"Lass, what do you think this celebration is about? The guild war has ended; Rat Capone is victorious!"

"Rat Capone? Guild war?"

The lizard leaned against a post and shrugged amused. "Oh you foreigners, coming to a party you know nothing about! Let Sugar Ray Lizard – that's me – be your teacher. It all started two months ago, when our previous king, good old Captain Olivier the slasher, died in Paris fighting the inquisition!"

"What? Two months ago?"

"As soon as the news came to this place, war erupted among us! brother against brother, thief against thief, a real onslaught I tell ye! Then, one by one, the leaders of the revolt were subdued – and promptly executed - by an Italian mobster and his crew that came from… Italy. Now we have peace again. Come on, shout with me! Long live king Rat Capone!

Then, the drunken lizard noticed a commotion at the girl's back. "Oh, looks like we have a fight! Fight, fight!" He then stood and made his way towards the appalling spectacle.

"No, wait! Don't go!" Tammy quickly followed him. "Please tell me more, was doctor Gerald Squirrel with king Olivier? The doctor is my father! Is he still alive?"

But the lizard refused to say anything else. He, along with many others, were thrilled by the unexpected duel that was brewing on that exact moment at the square.

Tammy and Foxglove, in their pursuit of the drunken lizard, got themselves at the front of the multitude that encircled the quarreling opponents. The girl's jaws dropped the moment they found one of them was… Dale.

"Go away, you fool!" A mockingbird minstrel threw the intruder an incensed stare. "Don't dare step on my stage!"

"Your stage!?" A defiant Dale stood his ground. "Sir, If it's true you are the owner, then I challenge you to a duel! Out with the old, in with the new!" He then turned around to the crowd. "Isn't that right, friends?"

"Oh, the indignation!" The bird turned also towards the audience with a big display of mannerisms. "Oh, the outrage! Me, Giuseppe Satinfeathers, who has spent his entire life entertaining the town in this very stage, who has performed for kings and queens that had the power of life and death over us, today founds himself pestered by a lowly gypsy from the deep wilderness!" After a pause for breath, he turned his back on Dale to point his wing at a certain balcony on the tower. "Today! Today of all days, right when a new ruler gazes down to us, I'm challenged in my second home by a filthy, clumsy, wandering minstrel, by a…"

The moment he turned again to face Dale, he received a glove to the face.

All the people gathered around held their breath, too awestruck to move or even make a sound.

Actually, Tammy moved. She facepalmed.

An unashamed Dale drew forth his lute and started fidgeting the chords. "So, ready to perform against me, monsieur mockingbird? What will it be? Poems, songs?"

"That does it! Come here, you little…" The bird, instead of engaging in a contest of creative skills, opted to jump at Dale with claws and beak. "I'll teach you manners right here!"

"Ouch! No, stop it! That's not what I had in mind!"

The audience broke in laughter. Bets for one or another duelist soon started to run as Tammy, Foxglove and Gadget looked for a way to help their friend. Certainly, any attempt to step by his side would draw unwanted attention to them, not to mention the ire of the people who wanted to keep a fair fight. However, on the moment Dale grabbed one of the bird's legs and received a furious pecking in the head response, his girlfriend decided to act.

"No Foxy, wait!" Tammy tried to hold her by the shoulder, but it was too late. "Oh God…"

The pink bat broke in by tackling the mockingbird away from her betrothed. "Leave my pumpkin alone!"

"Booo! Booo! That's cheating!" The people around yelled outraged by this turn of events.

"Tammy, guards are coming!" whispered Gadget as the crowd gave way to a trio of muscled rats in leather armor. Then, she stepped out of the way, avoiding their gaze.

"In the name of king Capone, what is going on here?" One of those rats demanded as he stepped in.

The enraged Giussepe freed his leg from Dale's grasp and fluttered toward the guards. "Help! Help! These pair of foreign scoundrels want to sabotage my concert! Take them to the dungeons, I demand it!"

The officer gnarled at Dale and his girlfriend. "Out of all the people you could pick a fight with, you had to choose the king's favorite bard. I hope you know we'll be forced to make an example out of you"

"Wait, wait!" Tammy stepped forward, her paws up in the air asking for mercy. "My friends and I are not looking for any trouble! Look, my name is Tammy Squirrel!"

"So what?" The guard said as he signaled the rest of his troop to restrain them. "Now, get on your knees!"

"I'm the daughter of Gerald Squirrel, the personal doctor of your previous King!"

That statement was received by blank stares of everybody around, as if ethereal interrogation marks were floating over their heads.

After some moments of confusion, one rodent in the crowd raised the question. "Who?"

"Never heard of him" The rat officer shrugged.

"Bullshit, Captain Olivier never had a doctor following him around!" The old lizard from before declared. "I should know, I served twelve years under his command. The captain's disdain for those who want to fix every illness with leeches and amputations is well know!"

"True, true!" The crowd gathered around murmured. "Cap'n was always healthy as stone!" Said another pirate. "The captain had no need for doctors!"

All these words left Tammy cold and speechless. "It… it can't be. What's going on here?"

"Enough!" Giuseppe yelled out. "Guards, take them out of my sight!"

"Come with us, you three! Do not resist!"

"No, wait!" Tammy yelled as she, Dale and Foxglove were taken in the direction of the tower. "This is a misunderstanding! Chip, help me!"

The crowd dispersed from the square, disappointed with the outcome of the 'duel' and demanding their money back. This in turn caused another series of brief brawls what cheered up the atmosphere of the place again. Meanwhile, on the square only a cloaked mouse with blonde bangs of hair remained. Once she was sure nobody was looking on her direction, she drew patters with the fingers, whispered some words and then, simply disappeared.