The Burrow's Entrance

For the hours that followed, there was only dread.

As the rain intensified and the winds grew more violent, Arsec and Mesui climbed to a small, shallow cave, right above the other side of the rubble, seeking refuge from the treacherous rain that made the terrain beneath them slippery and dangerous. The two of them struggled against the elements, their clothes soaked and muddy, as they scrambled over the rubble, their hands clutching at the jagged rocks for support. Finally reaching the cave, they huddled together, using their coats and whatever dry foliage they could find to create a makeshift barrier against the relentless downpour outside.

As night fell, the rain intensified, a steady roar that filled the air with its deafening noise. The temperature dropped sharply, and they pressed close to each other for warmth, their breath visible in the chill. Conversation was impossible over the din of the storm, so they sat in tense silence, each lost in their own thoughts, their eyes periodically scanning the cave's entrance for any sign of danger. Despite the inhospitable conditions, the small cave seemed to provide a semblance of safety, a fragile bubble of warmth and dryness amidst the raging storm.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder shattered the relative quiet, followed by erratic flashes of lightning that illuminated the landscape in stark, irregular intervals. The entire mountainside seemed to glow and tremble under the violent onslaught. In one such flash, Arsec's eyes widened as he spotted a dark, hulking shape forming at the cave's entrance. His heart pounded as the shape solidified into a giant head, the unmistakable silhouette of a massive animal. Mesui, sensing his sudden tension, followed his gaze and gasped, her body tensing against his. The cave, once a sanctuary, now felt like a trap, with the enormous creature blocking their only escape.

In the flickering flashes of lightning, the dark silhouette at the cave's entrance took form, revealing itself as a massive beast. Its elongated body was sleek, covered in thick, dark fur, and its pointed ears twitched in the rain. The creature sniffed the air, its nostrils flaring as it detected their presence, and it growled deeply, a sound that reverberated through the cave and sent chills down their spines. Then, to their horror, the creature rose on its hind legs, towering above them, a menacing predator perfectly adapted to its environment. Arsec and Mesui could only stare, muscles tense, ready to react at any moment.

The beast, seemingly uninterested in them for now, dropped back onto all fours and moved away from the cave's entrance, its long body slinking down the rubble, retracing the path Arsec and Mesui had intended to take. The rain continued to pour, the storm showing no signs of letting up. For an hour, they remained in their makeshift shelter, hearts pounding, listening intently to every sound outside.

Suddenly, Arsec felt a warmth within him, a sensation that lit his heart with an almost tangible energy. Simultaneously, the rodentmen trinket on his wrist began to flash violently, its green light pulsating with urgency. He interpreted these signs as a call to action, despite the relentless thunderstorm that battered the cave as if it wanted to break through.

"What is it?" Mesui whispered, trying to see what Arsec bluntly stared at. 

Arsec did not listen to her, not because the storm deafened every other sound, but because of what only he could hear.

As he steeled himself, horrific screams pierced the night, accompanied by growls and squeals that created a symphony of terror beneath the thunderous rainfall. Arsec paled, paralyzed for a moment by the gruesome imagery his mind conjured. But the flame within him and the insistent trinket pushed him forward. He mustered his courage, grabbed his spear, and prepared to leave the cave.

"Don't," Mesui whispered urgently, trying to stop him. But as he stepped out into the storm, she rolled her eyes and reluctantly grabbed her short sword, her bow, and arrows, knowing the latter would be of little use in the torrential rain. Still, she would not let him face the unknown danger alone.

The path ahead continued in a series of ups and downs, the terrain rugged and uneven. They navigated the slippery slopes until they reached a place surrounded by a crude fence made of branches and stones, a feeble attempt at replicating a palisade. As the rain began to cede, Mesui felt a growing unease, the gnawing fear that they might be walking to their deaths. Reflexively, she lit a branch with her sword and a rock, casting a flickering light around them.
Dead rodentmen lay everywhere, males and females, all clawed and bitten but not devoured. Arsec and Mesui stared in shock at the carnage. The goblin princess began to panic, fearing that her father and the other prisoners might be among the dead. Arsec, maintaining his composure, calmed her down by pointing out the different types of rodents littering the ground.

Mesui then noticed the distinction between the normal-looking rodents, who had met with Chief Tulag the night prior, and the mutated ones, which bore cuts and slashes from obsidian swords and thrust spears in their chests, much like rodentmen weaponry.

In a tense voice, Arsec uttered, "It wasn't a slaughter... they fought one another..."

Mesui relaxed a bit as she did not spot any dead goblins among the fallen. Her eyes followed a trail of normal rodent bodies that led to a giant cave covered in rhino fur and other animal pelts. It didn't take long for her to realize that they were in a rodentmen den, the former home of a tribe.

Arsec, also staring at the pelts, had a different focus. He eyed the symbols painted on them with chalk as he walked toward the burrow, noticing they bore a resemblance to the ones on his trinket. But it wasn't the symbols that held his attention; he was following his keen hearing to something behind the fur.

Arsec slid the fur away, and Mesui, following him closely with the torch, revealed a group of young rodentmen pups, their eyes wide with terror at the sight of Arsec and Mesui. 

"Do you think... they were trying to protect them?" Mesui wondered as she looked at the bodies, "Maybe Voidmaw tried to snatch them..."

"Look around," Arsec said, "Only males are mutated like those we fought, I think that monster was trying to kill them."

Arsec stared at the cubs' big shiny black eyes and his heart melted.

"Poor things, they probably didn't know what hit them in all the chaos... but you guys are safe now," he said, reaching out, "come out, there's nothing to fear..."

The cubs squealed and leaped back, and Arsec's heart sank as his attempts were rejected.

"Don't push it," Mesui said, "you look more like their all-time boogeyman—that is, like me—than a cozy friend."

Arsec grunted at his friend, "Shush, let me be..."

"There's that cape too, it doesn't stop being so... red, if it freaks me out imagine what it does to them."

"Shut it! You're not helping!"

Mesui shrugged and turned around.

He was about to try and soothe them when a sudden growl above them startled him. The two jumped away from the burrow, closing the fur curtains.

The creature from before revealed itself: a gray and brown giant stoat-like beast with a long black mane and glowing icy blue eyes. It came down and took a stance between the two youngsters and the rodent cubs.

For a brief moment, the beast considered the bodies and seemed to mourn them as its eyes threatened the pair again. 

"I think it believes we did it," Arsec said.

"You don't say..." Mesui said, slowly reaching for her bow and arrow.

The beast prowled towards them, and its mane's hair tips began to glow in the same light as its eyes.

"Princess, remember Voidmaw and the rhino?"

"Don't need to tell me twice, it worked out then, it could work out now."

The beast pounced at Arsec with a roar, its strength overwhelming him as he blocked its bite with his spear. They struggled for a tense moment, the creature's power pushing Arsec to the ground. Summoning all his strength, he managed to push the stoat-like beast back, gaining a few precious seconds.

Just as the creature readied itself for another attack, Mesui shot an arrow at its face, causing it to retreat into the shadows. Arsec and Mesui, hearts pounding, could hear it jumping between points all around them, the tension growing as they anticipated its next move.

The beast lunged at Mesui, emerging from the dark like a nightmare-fueled dream, its intent to eliminate her first clear. Arsec threw himself in her path, shoving her aside, and tackled the beast by the neck with a feral roar of his own, as his muscles tensed up in an adrenaline rush. His spear drove into the creature’s thick fur, but the sleek, elongated body resisted, making it difficult for Arsec to find purchase. The beast’s claws raked across him, sending him crashing to the ground.

Mesui’s eyes darted to the wound the spear had created, a glowing blue slit in the beast’s armor-like fur. With grim determination, she drew her bow and fired, but the beast’s head swung in the way, deflecting the shot. It let out a deafening roar and turned its full fury on Mesui, preparing to charge. Arsec, though battered, sprang into action again. He grabbed the beast’s thrashing form, dragging it away from Mesui and slamming it into the ground.

Arsec fought to maintain his grip, his legs twisted around the beast’s neck as it writhed and snarled. The violent struggles of the creature pushed Arsec to his limits, but he held on with every ounce of his strength. Mesui took a quick, steadying breath and nocked another arrow. With precision born of desperation, she aimed at the exposed blue wound. Her arrow struck true, piercing deep into the wound. The beast shrieked in agony, its struggles growing more frenzied. Finally, Arsec’s grip faltered as the beast exploded into darkness, vanishing from the torchlight with a furious snarl.
The adrenaline surged through Arsec, but even it had its limits. His senses were on overdrive, eyes darting wildly from shadow to shadow, every rustle and growl heightening his anxiety. He couldn't afford another ambush like the one before.

"Princess, make more of these!" he shouted, his voice taut with urgency. "Light up the area, we need to see every corner!"

Mesui sprang into action, struggling with the damp wood and flickering flames. Each spark was a small victory, but the relentless rain made it difficult to maintain a steady blaze.
As Mesui worked, Arsec braced himself against the encroaching darkness. His heightened hearing tracked the roars and growls surrounding them, each sound a potential threat. The beast seemed to hesitate, its movements becoming erratic as it tried to gauge the new source of light. Arsec's vigilance paid off; the creature's attacks grew less frequent, its confidence shaken by the growing illumination.

"Mesui!" he yelled, not being able to take a second more of that dread.

"I'm trying! Shut up!" she yelled, frustrated at not being able to make enough light.

Arsec's gaze locked onto his black spear, and a sudden spark of inspiration ignited within him. Without hesitation, he dragged the spear across the rocks, sending a cascade of fiery sparks into the air. The friction ignited the palisade, and the flames spread aggressively, devouring the crude barricade as if the spear’s flames were impossibly potent.

"Well, you could've just done that, idiot!" Mesui said angrily, "Arsec? Arsec?"

As the blaze roared to life, Arsec fell to his knees, panting heavily. The terror that coursed through him was sapping his strength, but he knew he still had more to give. The beast's attacks were a stark contrast to Voidmaw’s calculated strikes; these were wild, unrestrained, driven by a primal rage that sought not just to defeat him but to rip him apart piece by piece. 

Mesui darted forward, desperate to reach Arsec, but the beast seemed to defy the flames. With a fluid leap, it landed between her and the young man, its predatory gaze shifting to her with a snarl. The beast’s teeth glinted menacingly as it focused its attention on Mesui, leaving her trapped by the roaring fire Arsec had ignited.

In a panic, Mesui drew her short sword, desperately trying to keep the beast at bay. She held the blade out, attempting to create a barrier between herself and the monster. Yet, the fire wall Arsec had created now confined her, leaving her no clear escape. The giant stoat relished the moment, swiping its massive claw at her sword and knocking it aside before lunging with its gaping maw.

Mesui braced for the worst, closing her eyes and awaiting the pain of the beast’s bite, but the expected agony never came. Arsec appeared once more, his spear driving into the beast’s flank. The creature recoiled with a pained roar. Arsec, his breath ragged and his strength waning, pressed on. He dodged the beast’s wild, desperate swipes and thrust his spear again, inflicting another deep wound.

The beast staggered back, then launched Arsec away with a powerful shove of its head. The young man stumbled but quickly readied himself for another assault. Before he could advance, the beast shuddered and began to regurgitate, its throat glowing with an intense, eerie blue light. Moments later, it unleashed a torrent of blue fire, transforming the ground around it into a boiling, undying lake of magma.

Arsec leaped back in shock, barely escaping the searing heat. As the creature lunged at him again, Arsec found himself nearly overwhelmed by the beast’s enormous maw. Just as the giant stoat seemed poised to crush him, it hesitated, fixating on the rodentmen trinket on his forearm. The beast writhed in sudden distress, its glowing blue lake of fire sputtering and dissipating.

With a final, agonized roar, the creature collapsed, leaving Arsec to watch in stunned silence as the giant stoat began to dissolve, its form unraveling into a swirl of black and gleaming blue mist. Arsec and Mesui watched in astonishment as the monstrous beast peeled away, revealing a smaller, feminine figure lying on the ground. The transformation left them both breathless, and they cautiously approached the mysterious figure.

Arsec squinted through the dissipating mist, and his heart pounded as he saw the woman now in place of the beast. She was dressed in rudimentary furs, with long black hair cascading down her back. Her face was obscured by a stoat-like clay mask that seemed fused to her skin. Her breaths came in shallow, labored gasps, resembling the panting of a dying animal. Glowing blue wounds marred her body, the most severe dangerously close to her neck, evidence of the damage Arsec's spear had inflicted.

Despite the anxiety and fear she had instilled in him during their battle, Arsec felt a profound sense of regret as he looked at her. The ferocity of the fight now seemed a distant memory, replaced by the raw, vulnerable reality of the wounded girl before him. Mesui knelt beside him, her own expression a mix of confusion and pity, as they both grappled with the unexpected turn of events.
The masked girl turned weakly towards Arsec and Mesui, raising a trembling hand to point at the cave. Her voice, barely a whisper, uttered a single word: "Cubs." With that, she collapsed, her strength finally giving out.

Arsec's eyes widened as the reminder of the young rodentmen surged back into his mind. He tried to move, but his own exhaustion overtook him, and his footing slipped on the damp ground. He fell, crashing to the earth beside the weakened stoat girl.

Mesui watched the scene unfold, her heart torn between urgency and confusion. She sighed, still trying to piece together the chaotic events of the night.

"Welp..." she uttered, scratching her head, as she grabbed Arsec and began pulling him towards the cave.

With a determined look, she knew she had to take charge, protect the cubs, and ensure the safety of her companions. The rain continued to fall softly, and the fires, as if reacting to the whole situation relaxing, began to chill and dissipate.