Vermin

Ren ripped a job off the board; it was a job similar to the warehouse rat job, ‘Extermination of large rats onboard ship’. 27 copper fee. 1 silver, 60 copper Payment. Urgent. 1-day deadline. The others followed him as he brought it to the older lady at the desk; the young boy next to her watched her as she worked. Her eyes didn't leave Rens as he placed the bounty down. After a while her eyes moved to the paper, and she read every word aloud, her voice dry. “Extermination. Dockside vessel. Witness required on completion. One-day deadline.” She looked up at Ren, her pupils pale and clouded, but her stare didn’t waver. “Fee’s twenty-seven.” Ren slid the coins across. They clinked too loudly in the quiet pause between her words. She counted them without looking down, one finger tapping for each coin. Then she reached for the stamp beside her. Ren swallowed as he watched her accept them for the job. “Recorded,” she said, and handed him the marked contract back. “Don’t be late. Rats breed faster than excuses.” The boy beside her smirked faintly, his hands running over a ledge below him. “Dock twelve,” he added. “The ship’s called The Grey Rose. Cap’n will be waiting. He’s paid for this to be done quick; that’s why rewards higher, dont mess it up.”

Ren folded up his stamped paper and placed it with his silver tube in his pocket. They were about to leave when the old lady spoke up, clearing her throat, “Wait.” The four froze.

Her bony finger pointed across the hall toward a smaller desk tucked against the wall. It was another clerk, younger, with a tray of items laid out in neat rows. Knives, short clubs, a bundle of rope, a flask, and a pack of cloth wraps. All simple, all dull, but all real. “You’ll want a pack,” the old woman said flatly. “Standard issue. Supplies for first-timers. Nothing fancy, but better than your bare hands. Not free.” Hibiki perked up as if all of these things excited him. “How much?” Her eyes moved to Hibiki. “Depends what you want,” she coughed. “Cheapest kit’s fifty copper each. Weapon, flask, cloth, and ration strip. Bigger packs go up from there. You don’t pay; you get nothing.” Hibiki’s eyes had already lit up. “Finally. Something that isn’t just parchment.” He made for the desk without waiting, the others following quickly behind him.

The clerk at the pack desk smiled thinly, laying his palm over the goods. “Basic Pack—fifty copper talons each. You get a choice of weapon: knife, short club, or light hatchet. Ration strip, half a flask of clean water, cloth bandage roll.” Ren reached into his pocket; their funds were already low due to the inn, the stall and the fee. They had enough for the 4 packs, and that was it; they’d have to hope that the job went well. Miyako’s voice came sharp in his ear. “We can’t fight with nothing. Pay it.” Hibiki grinned like he was at a festival. “I’ll take the hatchet.” The clerk slid one across—iron head dulled but solid, the wooden handle marked from use. Hibiki swung it once and nearly hit the desk. Both Ren and Miyako stared at him with daggers.

Ren took the knife—short, plain, but sharp enough to cut. He gripped it like it was a lifeline. Miyako took a knife too, quickly looking at the sharp edge and then sliding it into a pocket of her newly acquired pack. Alice hesitated longest, staring at the tray like she didn’t belong near any of it. In the end, she chose the small, thin club, holding it awkwardly by her side. The clerk handed over the rest: cloth rolls, ration strips dry as stone, and flasks cool to the touch. They filled their packs with the items, and the clerk pocketed the coins with a swift motion, and just like that, their money was gone.

As the clerk thanked them, they walked away into a corner out of the way. Hibiki smirked, swinging his hatchet like it was a toy. Miyako slid her knife away with unexpected ease, but her eyes flicked over the hall as if searching for hidden threats. Alice clutched her club as though it might slip from her hands. Ren adjusted the strap of his pack and moved next to Miyako. He tapped her on the shoulder and kept a low voice. “This– this extermina… It can’t go the way the last one did.” Miyako looked at him with a fear in her eyes. “I–I know.” The memory was still fresh: that sinking feeling, the darkness, the ripped-apart corpses of rats at her feet, and all with no memory apart from the aftermath. Ren kept his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay; there are things happening to all of us. We just have to be careful.”

Alice and Hibiki broke the silence that had fallen between the other two, and all four were ready finally. They left the hall with their new packs heavy against their backs, the stamped contract folded tight in Ren’s pocket. Following the brief directions the boy at the desk had provided it wasn't long until they got to the docks on the far end of the city. Saltwater stung their noses; fish guts and salt littered the damp cobbles. Rope creaked against wood, sails cracked above them, and gulls made shrill cries amongst the sound of water. They had made it to one of the many docks: Dock Twelve. It sat crooked at the far end, a weathered post marking the number. The ship tied there wasn’t much to look at, but it was large and clearly the one they were after; on the side of the damaged wood read ‘The Grey Rose’. her hull pale and warped. The The sails were patched so many times it looked like a quilt. Still, she was quite impressive

A man with a pipe clamped between his teeth leaned against the rail. His beard was coarse and black, seemingly full of lice by the itching, and his coat was damp and damaged by the sun. His eyes narrowed when they approached. “You the Concordias I’m waiting for? Been hoping someone would take the job soon.” His voice was rough and deep, and his eyes lingered on the four. Ren held out the contract. The captain snatched it, scanning the seal before stuffing it in his coat. “About time. You’sll do. They’re in the hold. Bold bastards—bit clean through my sacks and got a temper on em. I won’t send men down there again. End of the day, got it? I won’t be signing nothin’ till every last one is gone.” He pulled a large grain sack from behind a barrel. “For the bodies” Miyako reached out and grabbed it out of his hand, nose turned up from his smell.

Ren’s grip tightened on his knife, and he started walking in the direction the captain pointed. The others followed him up the gangplank, the wood groaning. They found themselves at a hatch. Hibiki, with excitement, yanked the hatch open, and the stench that surged out was sharp and sour—rot, grain turned to mush, and the musk of too many bodies in one space. He gagged, coughing into his sleeve. “Gods, that’s rank.” The captain's voice came from behind the group. “Get it done.” The four descended, torches lit along the walls casting light across the hold and stretching shadows as the hatch closed behind them. Many of the grain sacks that were littered around the hold were chewed open, spilling spoilt grain across the floor. The scratching was constant and came from the dark corners; then came a hiss.

The first rat darted out—larger than any farm vermin, its fur patchy, skin stretched tight across its ribs. Its eyes glowed faintly in the torchlight. Hibiki swung his hatchet with a yell, splitting it against the planks. Another leapt from the sacks onto Ren’s arm; his knife slashed once, sending it tumbling away. Alice raised her club high, but her swing was awkward, cracking against the floor and missing the creature entirely. With her second hit, however, it crunched its back, making the creature squeal and twitch before going limp. She stared at it too long, pale-faced.

“Focus!” Miyako snapped, already stepping in to drive her blade through another rat that scuttled too close to Alice’s feet. Blood sprayed, dark seeping into the grain. Then the noise swelled. Claws and bodies rushing all at once, pouring out of the sacks and gaps in the wood. “Back-to-back!” Ren shouted. They pressed together, circling instinctively, swinging their weapons in the dark. Hibiki's breaths were growing louder as he tried to use excitement to quell the fear, every strike crunching bone. Ren moved quieter, precise—thrust, pull back, thrust again. Alice tried to steady her panicking hands that wouldn't stop trembling. Miyako’s movements slowed as her eyes widened and she stared at the pools of blood that were forming.

Ren saw it—the flickering in her eyes and the quivering, the moment her shoulders tensed, her knife lowering just slightly. Her shadow stretching longer than it should in the torchlight. “No!” Ren shouted, grabbing her arm. “Get ahold of yourself!” For a moment, her vision blurred again, the sound of battle sinking into the back of her mind. She shook her head and gritted her teeth. “I—I’ve got it.” She swung again, her knife cleanly hitting her target, its body collapsing without a whisper of that other force.

The fight stretched long; every second felt longer than the last. The air grew thick with the stench of blood. Their arms ached, and their eyes were wide; the movements slowed, and the last of the target's breaths was cut short. The sound of the fight ending must have been obvious because the hatch door flung open and the captain peered around the corner. His voice was loud and curious. “Done?” Ren looked around at the bodies and then at his friends. They nodded, and he replied, “Done.” “Good, then round up the bodies in that there sack and haul ‘em up.” He seemed pleased. As the last of the corpses was stuffed inside the sack, Ren whispered to Miyako. “Hey, are you okay? Close call there.” She replied curtly. “Yeah, what about you? No sign of what happened with the wolf here?” He grimaced. “I’m fine.”

The cleanup was soon finished, and the four hauled the sack upstairs. The captain grabbed it out of Hibiki's hands as they surfaced and glanced them all over. “Good job, you lot.” He threw a silver coin into the air towards Ren. He caught it looking it over. “That’s a bonus; they’ll sort the payment for you back at the desk.” He took out the payment from his pocket and scribbled his signature at the bottom before handing it back to Ren. “There ya go. I’ll come looking if I ever need any beasties dealing with again.” He chuckled and returned to his ship.

It was just the four of them now. Hibiki stretched his arms out wide. “Well, that wasn’t too bad, was it!” The other three sighed as they began walking back to the building. “Hey, c’mon guys, no need to be so serious.” He jogged after them, trying to explain. One job down. Countless more waiting.