2.14 Men's Rights: Academic Issues

What followed was no battle, but a series of brutal executions. Master Stonebottom swung his war clubs furiously, crushing all monstrous rodents in his path. Despite being a middle-aged banker, the muscle memory of his youth had not faded, and the rats suffered greatly at his hands. Even though the dwarf inflicted heavy losses on their number, the rats managed to get him once or twice due to his reckless swinging. These were no life-threatening injuries, though. They were only skin-deep, and despite drawing blood, they made little difference to his speed or ferocity.

Thomas, on the other hand, was measured and precise. He used his shield to block most of the attacks and only swung his mace when a kill was guaranteed. While his pace was steady and slow, his execution of his enemies was no less violent than that of his compatriot. Their brains were bashed just the same, and their bodies broken with ruthless violence.

Thomas and Master Stonebottom fighting the rats gave Valdek some much-needed respite. He stopped the shield spell for an instant and reapplied it a few moments later to create a safe zone for the heroes. The dark elf's spell proved instrumental in the fight as the two combatants would retreat to its safety when overwhelmed by their enemies and once again jump into the fray after gathering their strength.

While the two older men dealt with the larger body of rats, Thokk used his pickaxe to kill the handful of stragglers that broke off from the main group and tried to enter the tunnel with the children in it.

Despite their superior numbers, the rodents stood no chance against the human's veteran instincts and the dwarf's wild fury. When the sounds of fighting died out, Thomas and Master Stonebottom were standing in pools of blood and gore, surrounded by the pulverized corpses of their victims.

"Everyone alright?" Thomas asked.

"I fine, Thomas," Thokk replied. "I kill five rat."

"Very good, Thokk. Thanks for keeping them away from the kids." The veteran then turned to the dwarf, who was checking his hands. "You alright, Master Stonebottom?"

"The buggers got me, Thomas. Just a little bit, though."

"You might want to get that checked, Fred. I've seen a guy lose his hand after ignoring a raccoon bite."

"Yeah, will get my physician to look at it once we are out. Anyway, where's Valdek? My boy, you alright? Any of them get you?"

Valdek was staring blankly at the carnage and the rodent bodies.

"VALDEK!"

"Yes... yes, Master Stonebottom. I am here."

"You alright, lad? You wanna throw up?"

"No, no. I am all right, Master Stonebottom. I am fine. Do you think there are more of these giant rats?"

"Doesn't look like it," the dwarf replied. "Maybe it's time we get out of here and let Her Majesty know about all this."

"I agree," Thomas said. "We need to get the kids out too. We should never have brought them here."

"OUT? YOU ARE NEVER GETTING OUT," a booming voice echoed throughout the room. The words were followed by a manic cackle.

The men looked around for the source of the sound, but there was no one else in there with them.

"Who is it?" Thomas shouted at the shadows. "Show yourself."

"Yeah. Come on out," Master Stonebottom yelled. "Did you make these damned rats?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I made them. They are mine, MINE ALONE. And you, you, you, you, you worthless vermin, inconsequential sewer rats, YOU DESTROYED YEARS OF MY WORK. YOU ARE ALL DEAD. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU. Then I am going to use your corpses for future experiments."

"Come out and eat pickaxe," Thokk said to the disembodied voice.

"You would like that, wouldn't you? You have come to spy on me, haven't you? TELL ME, TELL MEEEEE, who sent you? Was it Mathias? It was, wasn't it? He was always jealous of my work. No, no, no, it can't be Mathias. He isn't smart enough to figure out where I am. Was it Penelope? She always thought that she was cleverer than me. I'll show her. I'LL SHOW HER. Oh, yes, yes, yes, I get it. I get it now. The Chancellor sent you, didn't he? I knew that Archmage Sunrider would one day recognize my genius. I knew that he would come begging. He wants me now, doesn't he? He wants my research. He wants it. HE IS GOING TO STEAL IT. YOU CAME TO STEAL FROM MEEEE."

The air in the room grew hot, and there was a sudden gust of wind, followed by a flash of light. Before our heroes could react, a middle-aged man with a very long, dirt-caked beard and unkempt hair had materialized before them. He was wearing an extremely dirty robe full of holes and chemical burns. His nails were really long, his shoes were in tatters, and he smelled like a man who had not known the touch of soap for many years. Despite his disregard for personal hygiene, the intricately carved wooden staff he carried in his right hand looked well maintained and was free from the ravages of time that were so apparent on his person. He was scanning the four men in the room with him, his eyes darting from one to the other. He looked angry, but also fearful, and surprisingly thrilled.

"We didn't come here to steal," Thomas quickly said before the strange man could make a move. "No one sent us. We came here to find some thieves."

"Thieves? There are no thieves. You are the only thieves I see. Come to steal my secrets. The Academy sees me as a threat. They want to take me out. I know it. I know it. I KNOW IT."

"Were you a student at the Academy?" Valdek cautiously asked.

"What's your name?" Master Stonebottom added.

"Name? My name?" the strange man pondered. "I... I don't remember."

"Do you know the Great Mage Kyros Magnus?" Thomas asked him.

"Kyros... Kyros, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I know the brat. Everyone thinks he is a genius. So young, so powerful, so great. But I know the truth. He is nothing, NOTHING. Always a nuisance, playing pranks. He wasn't so great when I failed him in Biology lab." The revelation was followed by another maniacal cackle. "Failed him I did. I did it. Hehehehe. Imagine that, the great Kyros failed Biology lab. All because of me. I imagine they threw him out after that. Just what he deserved."

"He become youngest archmage," Thokk said haughtily, unable to tolerate such disrespect to the Great Mage. "He much greater than you. He greatest mage."

"What? WHAT? WHAT? No, no, no, that's not possible. Not possible. How did he become an archmage before me? No, no, no. I deserve to be an archmage. I am a genius. No, no, no. Wait, who are you people?"

"Uhh... we are just construction workers," Thomas said. "We accidentally came in here. We were just leaving."

"Construction workers?"

"Aye. That's what we are," Master Stonebottom confirmed. "Let's go lads. Let's leave the good mage to his experiments and quickly get back to the surface."

"Construction workers?!"

The men slowly started backing away. The strange man kept staring at them.

"THIEVES. THIEVES. YOU CAME TO STEAL MY BRAIN. DIE, DIE, DIE," he suddenly screamed and lifted his staff.

"SHIELD, VALDEK!" Thomas shouted.