404

Rattan had been constantly surprised and stunned since meeting Chief, but nothing compared to the feeling that washed over him at these words. "He had… magic?" The thought echoed in his mind, incredulous. Was he somehow one of those powerful beings from the tower, beings to whom even his masters bowed their heads? Did he possess the same talents as them?

Rattan's mind raced, trying to reconcile the idea of himself wielding magic. It seemed impossible, absurd. He was just Rattan, a slave, a ratman. Magic was something reserved for the elite, for the mages in their towering spires, for the powerful beings his masters feared.

"But… the spider," Rattan stammered, his voice barely a whisper. "What about the spider? What is it?" He looked towards the space beside Chief, but he no longer saw the creature. It had vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.