With that, they began exploring to try and find it.

In the process, they found some sort of stairway leading out, which Hilda suggested was for easy access and repair work. And probably going by the boxes, a temporary storage area or somebody's basement.

And so they continued on exploring the right side tunnels where they came upon a large area with much more ground to walk upon than the other places.

With no real signs of rats in the area, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.

"Hey guys, hey guys," Lily said excitedly as she flew around the tunnel looking for anything out of the ordinary, like the rest of them were.

"Wassup Lils?" Kris asked.

"On the ground," She answered as flew down and landed. "Here, there are heavy drag marks, the ground is also much smoother."

"So… they've been here?"

"I think so, I think there might be a hidden door here or something," Lily said as she began touching the wall.

Kris (metaphorically) lit up. "Hidden door?" He asked as he excitedly began checking along the wall, lightly pressing against the wall and feeling along it- "Aha!" He said as he found a brick a bit further out than the rest of them. "Found it!" He said before pressing it in.

And with a click sound, Kris looked as the bit of wall that Lily had been pressing against slowly swung open, grinding against the ground as it did so. And an entire minute later it was open revealing a long staircase that went down into darkness.

"Haha! I've always wanted to find a secret passageway~!" Kris said with childlike glee. "Good eye Lily!"

"Yeah I am the best," Lily responded.

"So am I going down first or are you Hilda?" Kris asked. "I say I go first, but you have the light."

"Would probably be best if I go first," Hilda said, as she entered the secret tunnel.

"Alrighty then." Kris said going in behind her, Lily following behind him.

And so they went.

Going down and down, into the darkness.

The stairway seeming to stretch on forever.

"...So I know I said demon earlier," Kris said after a bit. "But do you guys have any idea what could have been doing… that to those rats?"

"I have no clue, but give me a second," Hilda said as she let out a heavy breath. "I can not sense anything that pings my senses at the moment."

"Hmm. Hopefully it's not an illithid or aboleth or something like that." Kris mused.

"Illithid?" Hilda asked. "I have not heard of a monster or Mamano named that."

"Ah, sorry, that's my people's word for a Mind Flayer."

"Oh yeah hopefully not, that would be very bad," Hilda said.

"Yeah, never meet one but, maa says they are bad even those that became Mamamo," Lily commented.

Kris's mind experienced an error at the realization that not only were Mind Flayers now real, but there were Mamono Mind Flayers as well. "Oh my god I didn't even consider that, that, that, that sounds terrifying."

"It is, they are one of those who were not changed much by their conversion," Hilda said. "Well their nature, their desires have changed from their original ones, so the Mamano Mind Flayers fight their unconverted kin at the moment."

"Oh, interesting." Kris said. "So I'm assuming/hoping that means they're mostly occupied with each other at the moment then?"

"Yes, that is true for most monsters and Mamano, they are quite busy eliminating their unconverted kind, we do not know what exactly went down when the succubus seized the throne, just that not every monster got converted."

"Oh yeah, I know that part." Kris said, the bites from the death dogs and the frogs still fresh in his mind. "But it is interesting, too, I'd almost want to study it if it weren't for the… very obvious risks."

"There are few humans that do," Hilda said.

"Yeah, I am curious as well," Lily said.

"We should definitely look into that when we can." Kris said as they continued down.

And down.

And down.

And down.

It took ten minutes to walk down the stairs.

"You know, I've always hated stairs, but I think I have a personal vendetta against this particular staircase now." Kris said, mentally planning on demolishing it if he could.

"Yes, it is quite long but I can see the end of it now," Hilda stated, and Kris over her head could see light down at the bottom of it.

"We should be on guard here." Kris said quietly. "Turn off the light."

"Yes," Hilda said as she turned it off but the light at the bottom allowed Kris to still see better than before.

At the bottom was another, short tunnel, with bright light coming from the other end blocking their sight of what was within.

Once they were done blinking the light out of their eyes at getting flashbanged, Kris and Hilda shared a silent exchange and switched places, before Kris passed through the other end of the tunnel.

As Kris took in his surroundings, his eyes widened.

And he saw a massive chamber that screamed lost civilization to his senses, gold carved into the floor in several patterns, pillars of stone holding up the place, with torches of seemingly ever burning light hanging from them. Broken urns and pots scattered about, skeletons, carvings he could make no head or tails of.

But most importantly at the end of the chamber was.

A massive.

Wolf-like.

Rat.

"...That's the giant rat that makes all of the rules." Kris noted mentally. "...Hopefully."

The massive two-tailed rat was laying at the base of a statue of some… person, its heavily mutated body heaving with breath indicating it was alive.

And as he looked closer he noticed something else about the rat.

Its tails.

He could finally tell what was wrong with the tails.

They were…

They were…

Giant…

…

Kris really wanted to turn around and pour acid or lava or something down the stairs so it couldn't get out, but then he noticed the carved tunnels in the walls meaning it could easily escape if that were so.

Kris took a deep breath, and motioned back to Hilda to wait with her noisy plate armor, and in the process noticed the looks of sheer disgust on his companions faces that matched his own.

With that, he began slowly and quietly as possible approaching the rat… king? Queen? He didn't want to think about it.

He began approaching it as stealthily as possible.

Walked up to it.

Right up to its disgusting head… the one on the front of its body anyway… and raised his staff into the air in two hands.

And then in a burst of radiance brought it down into its eye.

And it woke with a shriek of pain as it immediately stood up and Kris wished it hadn't as he could see two giant rats feasting on its bloated teats that swung beneath its body.

"You are one ugly mother!" Kris said as he swung out and killed one of the smaller ones and then backed off, trying to put some distance between himself and the ugly thing.

As he did, the other small one bit his leg, and he quickly kicked it off before backing away and dodging the big one's slow windup but shockingly fast chomp of a bite.

"Okay, I got the sneak attack, please help now!" Kris said to his companions.

And at that Kris heard a loud bang.

A familiar bang.

The bang from a gun being fired.

And saw a bullet impacting the rat child still besides the Rat Queen.

Kris turned back in shock to see someone he'd never seen before, hand still outstretched, smoke wafting from a pistol in hand.

And not just any pistol.

A pepperbox.

The person themselves, the… boy? Girl? Person was, on an unrelated note, incredible attractive, with short black-gray hair, dark silvery-blue eyes, and a resolute expression on a very cute face. Clad in red and white… and black thigh-highs?

Did his heart just skip a beat?

"Who?" Kris asked in utter shock.

"Lord Hero, I am knight of the Order meant to serve you on your journey," The boy? Girl? Answered. "My name is Ziro."

"Hi Ziro, much appreciated, giant monster rat, please help kill, yes?" Kris said, his normal flourish with words failing in light of the whiplash he was experiencing.

"Yes, my Lord," Ziro answered as they moved their gun.

"Yeah thanks for the assist," Lily said with Hilda just nodding.

And at that Kris heard shriek coming from his left and saw a giant rat he had not seen before run at him.

And bit into his legs.

"WHY DO THEY KEEP GOING FOR THE SAME SPOT!?" Kris screamed in divine fury as he batted it off.

He got an answer from the Mother Rat as it charged at him.

And bit him on the exact.

Same.

Spot.

"AHHHHHHH!" Kris screamed as a burst of white, divine light rolled off of his body and forced it off, coincidentally throwing the attack of the other off course as well.

But not the other, which crawled out from under the ugly mother and, thankfully, bit the other leg.

"WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE HERE?!" Kris asked as he batted that one off.

"We're coming Kris!" Hilda shouted from behind and Kris saw her new spear fly straight into the brain of the rat that had just bit him.

"Grow grow my hero," Lily said ans

Kris was pretty sure he heard the super mario mushroom noise as he instinctively punched upwards and grew, the mother rat now more like the size of the death dogs instead of a bulldozer.

"THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!" Kris said as he grabbed his shield, dropped his staff, and then punched the big mother-

Or at least, tried to.

And his fist shot right over its head. "Oh, shit my depth perception…" Kris said, before stepping back, deflecting the attempt at a bite with his shield.

And then with a whip-like crack, Kris wished he'd never been born as he got smacked across the face with the cocktails.

It didn't hurt that much, but the emotional damage was devastating.

And he heard another gunshot, and saw the rat that was near the Mother Rat get hit, an eye blown out of its skull.

And it immediately ran at them.

Without even a second thought, Kris kicked it and it splattered against the far wall.

And at that the Mother Rat let out was a probably a scream of rage and…

Kris wanted to throw up.

No, wait.

He literally threw up a deluge of white light, which was somehow worse than throwing up normally, as the thing gave birth in front of them.

Aggressively.

Kris was really wishing he knew how to cast fireball right now.

"Normally, childbirth is considered a beautiful thing, but I think this is possibly the least beautiful thing ever." Kris said as wiped the evaporating white light from his mouth.

And then he got smacked again.

"Someone please kill me." Kris said in despair.

And the mother rat tried to oblige.

"Not you!" Kris shouted as he smacked it aside with his shield.

And then another one bit him on the foot. "Dammit you broke my shoe!"

"Enough of this!" Hilda shouted as she charged at Mother Rat and swung her sword, which shone with divine justice as she caved right through its torso and one of its many legs.

A shower of blood splattering on onto the Valkyrie looking more like a Warrior than an Angel at the moment.

"Again all of you sleep!" Lily shouted, but the summoned sands of sleep that exploded from beneath the Mother Rat only managed to knock it out.

"Second verse, same as the first." Kris said, before raising his staff high.

And then, in a burst of divine radiance, the staff was brought down like a rocket or an executioner's axe, as he slammed the head into it and demolished its body, the body filling with radiant light from the strike and causing its whole body to glow for a moment as it burned from the inside before the light faded from it.

"So let's put you in a hearse." Kris finished with a grin.

And at that he heard a bang and Ziro blow the brains out of another rat, and while Hilda stabbed into the body of another, but even with the sword piercing its body it was still alive.

"You suck, all of you fucking suck," Lily mocked and cursed.

"Lily! You shouldn't curse!" Kris said as he crushed a rat's head under his foot. "You're better than that."

Ziro's gun fired again.

And the last rat died.

They all waited for a moment for any more rats to show up, and when none did they all let out a collective sigh of relief.

And then Kris crescendo'd, the pillar being bigger to match his size, though said size ended a moment later.

"Wooh, that was intense." Kris said as he came down from the super-adrenaline-high that was the Blessing of the Berserker. "Lily, since when can you make people grow?"

"New Spell, just learned it last night," She answered.

"Dope."

"Thought you would like it."

"Yaes, gonna need some practice with it though." Kris said, before his attention to the newcomer. "So, Zero was it?"

"Zi-ro, my Lord." They answered, Kris could still not tell what their gender was.

"Ziro then." Kris said. "Why/how are you here?"

"I've been following you since yesterday."

"Creepy." Kris said with a nod. "So why didn't you say anything before we met the ugly mother?"

"I was instructed to only observe until you found the source of the issue and then assist to demonstrate my skills to you so I might be allowed into your service," Ziro explained.

"...Or you could have just. Walked up, introduced yourself, and I would have said yes." Kris said. "We're actively seeking party members."

"Those were not my orders, they believed a demonstration of skill would be better," Ziro answered.

"And who gave you those orders?"

"The Head Captain."

"Mhm." Kris hummed. "Okay, I can understand why he might have had you on observation duty, to make sure we were telling the truth about Lily and that I'm not a metaphorical monster."

"That was also a factor."

"Alright, so just one more question before we investigate this area to look for anything weird," Kris said. "What are your preferred pronouns?"

"My gender is what is needed for the mission."

"What are your preferred pronouns?" Kris repeated.

"What is needed for the mission." Ziro repeated.

"Do you feel happiness, from anything other than completing missions?" Kris asked, making sure this wans't a meat-robot.

"Yes. I have hobbies."

"Then does it make you happier if I call you he, she, or they?" Kris asked.

"You can refer to me however you wish my Lord, I will accept the designation."

"Okay so you're cool with whatever we call you then?"

"I believe the response to that is… yes."

"Okay then Ziro," Kris said. "Now that that's established, are you any good at investigating?"

"I have been trained in many skills," Ziro replied. "Though those of an investigative nature are my area of expertease."

"Awesome, let's get to it then."

"Well first off, Kris, do you require healing?" Hilda asked.

"Probably, I can't tell, do you have any?" Kris asked, looking down and noticing the bloody wounds concentrated on his legs, his shorts a mess but looked to be intact enough to be fixed up with Lily's magic later.

"I have enough energy for one more spell today," Hilda said as she walked up to him and placed a hand on his chest.

"Ooh, that's the good stuff." Kris said. "Thank you Hilda, you're an angel."

"Yes, I know," She replied.

"It's an idiom, but anyway." Kris said. "Investigation time!"

"Let me fix up your clothes," Lily said as she flew over and began to fix it up.

"Thank you."

He walked over to the statue as she did so, the body mostly intact but the face lost to time. This was… some kind of religious area, either a burial ground or a worship one. Probably the latter as it was too fancy to be a grave and too small to be a catacomb.

And directly in front of the statue, where the rat mother was laying, was an intact chest.

It seemed to be perfectly innocuous despite being locked.

Kris hummed and knocked on the wood. It was pretty solid wood, not rotted at all.

"Hey, if you're a mimic, can you just pop open now so we can get this over with?" Kris asked just in case.

There was no response.

Kris looked back at the others. "That means it's just a chest right?"

"It is, I can't sense anything from it," Hilda said.

"Awesome, so I don't have to feel bad about doing this then." Kris said, before axe kicking the chest, splintering the wood. "Ah, the joy of destruction." Kris said, before punching through the splintered lid, and then ripped open the top of the chest.

Within was some coin, and some stuff wrapped in cloth.

"Ooh, what's this…?" Kris asked, reaching in and grabbing one of the cloth wrapped objects and unwrapping and immediately his face lit up at revealing a black leather tome, before he re-wrapped it. "I call dibs on this book!"

"Is there anything else? I can see some gold, and other stuff," Lily said as she looked.

"Well, let's see…" Kris said, taking out one of the other two wrapped objects and unwrapping.

One of them was a hard glass vial with an odd black liquid within, while the other was a… single studded leather vambrace?

"Huh." Kris said as he looked at the haul. "Guess we'll have to figure out what this stuff is when we get back topside… ooh, and that's a lot of money, does anyone want the money?"

"You can keep it Krissy, I've got enough on me," Lily said.

"And I do not need it," Hilda said.

"Dope." Kris said, putting everything back in the chest and picking it up before turning around, Hilda and Lily right there as expected and Ziro over investigating the corpses. "Hey Ziro, you find anything?" He asked as they walked back over.

"I have my Lord," Ziro said as they turned around and held up a shiny black rock. "Found this inside the creature, I do not know what it is but it is of arcane origin. We shall need it Identified."

"Ooh shiny." Kris said on seeing it. "Put it in the box for now, and we'll see about doing that once we're rested."

"There is one here in Mist Town who can do so for us easily," Ziro answered.

"Awesome… hey, can someone grab one of these torches for us to have?"

"Sure," Lily said as she flew over and grabbed one. "Huh, not warm."

"Neat. Let's get out of here then."

—

After they had left the sewers they had reported back to the guards and knights about the Mother Rat and its death, and from there they had gotten the already prepared money that being forty platinum.

And quickly enough Lily had prestidigitated everyone clean and had mended everyone's outfits enough they looked civilized and thus headed back to the tavern to rest.

While Kris had wanted to talk a bit with Ziro, he didn't have the energy to do more than basic small talk after that mess and instead ended up most of the rest of the day reading the book.

The book which was written in latin.

And celestial.

And a bunch of other languages, varying from entry to entry.

But there were two written in plain english (common).

And they were exactly what he wanted.

They may not even need that friend of Ziro's after all.