Bugs, Bones, and Bravery

The shed was dark and smelled of mildewed grain. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the walls, illuminating floating dust motes. Arlan's eyes adjusted slowly. He heard skittering in the far corners and the occasional squeak. Definitely rats, maybe lots of them.

Beren hefted his woodcutter's axe and stepped in after Tomas. Mira murmured under her breath; a faint orb of light appeared above her palm, casting a gentle glow to see by. Leila nocked an arrow loosely, scanning the floor for movement. Arlan hung near the back, hand inside his cloak where Bones waited.

A sudden scuttle of claws on wood made everyone jump. A large rat darted across the floor, drawn by the light. It was bigger than any alley rat Arlan had seen – perhaps the size of a small dog. "Look out!" Mira yelped.

Tomas lunged with his sword, but the rat was quick, scampering under a broken barrel. "That's huge!" he exclaimed.

As if in response, more chittering sounded. Two more oversized rats emerged from behind sacks of old flour. Leila loosed an arrow; it thudded into one rat's side, causing it to shriek. Beren swung his axe at the other, but missed as it zigzagged around. The wounded rat leapt at Leila, who scrambled back, swiping at it with her bow.

This was quickly becoming chaotic. Arlan realized these weren't ordinary rats – perhaps minor dungeon creatures that had infested the shed. They certainly seemed tougher and more aggressive. It was time to act. He reached into his cloak and pulled Bones out, setting the skeletal rat on the ground behind the others. In the dim, with Mira's orb casting shifting shadows, Bones looked like just another rat silhouette – albeit a thin one.

Arlan concentrated, tightening his mental hold on his undead. Quietly, he gave a command under his breath: "Help us. Attack the other rats." Bones darted forward, its small bones pattering silently on the dirt floor.

Meanwhile, Tomas had managed to stab the rat that Leila hit earlier, finishing it off as it snarled. Beren had cornered another and was hacking at it – his axe wasn't a graceful weapon indoors, but a heavy blow crushed the creature's back with a crunch. A third rat scurried up a stack of crates and leapt toward Mira's face, drawn by the light she held. She screamed, flailing her arm. Before it could reach her, a tiny blur intercepted it mid-jump.

Bones had leapt and latched onto the bigger rat's back, biting with his little skull jaws. The larger rat squealed in confusion, trying to twist and snap at this unexpected attacker. It rolled on the ground in a tussle of fur and bone. Mira stumbled back, and her light orb flickered wildly, illuminating the bizarre sight.

Tomas blinked, sword raised. "What the— is that another rat fighting it?" he exclaimed.

Leila squinted. "A white rat? No… I can't tell."

Arlan stepped forward quickly. "My summoned creature!" he improvised. "That's my familiar – go, uh, get it, Bones!" He pretended to chant to make it seem like a spell, waving a hand dramatically (while inwardly focusing to make Bones bite harder).

Bones dutifully sank his teeth into the live rat's neck. The big rat finally succeeded in throwing the skeleton off, sending Bones clattering against a wall. Arlan winced at the impact he felt faintly echo in his mind, but Bones was unharmed (hard to hurt something that's already dead). The rat, bleeding and staggering, made a break for a hole in the corner of the shed.

"Don't let it escape!" Beren shouted, moving to block it. But it was too quick and squeezed through a gap in the boards with a final squeak, leaving a trail of blood drops. An eerie quiet fell in the shed.

They surveyed the area. Three giant rats lay dead (one by arrow and sword, one by axe, one by multiple wounds including Bones' bites). Everyone was panting slightly from the adrenaline. Mira's light glowed steadier now as she calmed herself.

Leila poked at one carcass with her boot. "Nasty things. I've never seen rats this big."

"Must be from the dungeon originally," Tomas said, wiping his sword clean on a rag. "Sometimes lower-level monsters wander out and nest in town if there's food. Miller did mention lost grain."

Mira approached Arlan, eyes wide with curiosity. "That was your familiar? That quick little pale rat? You summoned it so fast!"

Arlan tried to look modest. "Yeah, he's a lesser spirit creature," he said, kneeling down and subtly calling Bones back to him with a motion. From behind a broken crate, the skeletal rat emerged and ran back to Arlan's feet. In the low light, one might mistake it for a normal rat if not looking closely. Arlan scooped Bones up quickly to hide most of his body in his sleeve. He allowed just the head to poke out a bit so it looked like a small white rat with beady eyes (the green glow was faint enough).

Leila leaned in, making a face somewhere between fascinated and uneasy. "Creepy little thing, isn't he? But useful, I'll give you that."

Bones made a chittering sound, as if insulted, causing Arlan to cough to cover a laugh. "He's harmless to friends. Good job, buddy," he whispered to Bones, surreptitiously petting the smooth skull as if it were fur.

Beren had dragged the rat bodies into a pile. "That's two down. One ran off wounded. Should we chase it? Or call it done?"

Tomas shook his head. "If it's injured and ran, chances are it won't come back soon. It might even die somewhere outside. We should let Miller know the shed is cleared. Two giant rats eliminated."

"Three, counting the escaped one as wounded," Mira added hopefully, perhaps thinking of the reward split.

Outside, Old Miller was grateful and disgusted at the size of the pests they hauled out. He promptly paid them the promised 20 copper, plus two extra coppers each as a tip for a job well done. "I'll sleep easy now. You kids did good. Maybe I'll get another cat… or on second thought, maybe a small dog," the old man mused, shaking his head over the dead rats.

As the group walked back toward the guild to report, they were in high spirits. It was their first victory. Tomas and Beren were debating if Tomas's sword strike or Beren's axe had been the most decisive. Mira thanked Arlan again for his quick use of his "familiar," saying it probably saved her from a nasty bite. Arlan felt warmth at being part of a team. It was a small accomplishment – by adventurer standards, killing a few giant rats was barely worth note – but for them, it was the start of something.

Bones peeked now and then from Arlan's pocket, and he gently pushed him down to stay hidden whenever someone passed by. He noticed once that Bones had lost a toe bone in the fight, likely snapped off when he was thrown. That concerned Arlan; he hoped he could repair his minion later somehow. Perhaps if he had the missing bone or an extra? He pocketed a small bone shard from one of the slain rats just in case it could serve as a replacement toe for Bones.

All the while, he kept an eye out for any sign of Cedric or other Holy Order folks. The last thing he needed was a run-in with the rival he'd yet to officially meet, especially while holding a pile of dead rats. Fortunately, the streets were mostly clear at midday, and they reached the guild without incident.

They turned in the quest slip and got their reward officially logged. Gareth, the clerk, acknowledged Arlan with a slight nod and a secret thumbs-up for joining a group. Arlan shyly gave him five coppers from his share of the reward to pay the registration fee. Gareth slid him his wooden tag in return, stamped "Rank G – Summoner (Beasts)." Arlan felt an odd swell of pride seeing it. It wasn't honest, but it was something tangible – proof he belonged, even under false pretenses.

As the new-formed team sat around a table in the guild tavern area, toasting with cheap small beers (or water, in Arlan's case, as he didn't want to risk even mild alcohol affecting his control over Bones), they relaxed. Leila was recounting how Arlan's quick summon was "like a ghost rat flying through the air." The others laughed and praised his familiar's bravery.

Arlan just smiled and let them imagine a heroic spirit rodent. In truth, Bones was now curled up in his pocket, content but missing a toe, and probably about as tired as Arlan was. Still, for the first time in a long time, Arlan didn't feel like just an invisible orphan scavenging to survive. He felt like an adventurer – a small, beginning adventurer with a long road ahead, but an adventurer nonetheless.