Энди Вейр - Rat

Rat never fished. There was too much competition, anyway.

Once they reached the crowded wharf, Rat readied her crossbow and pulled out a special bolt she had made herself. A thin string tied securely through a hole in the back of the bolt led to a coil of rope she pulled off her belt.

She handed the rope to Talfryn. “Remember—” she began.

“I know,” said Talfryn, annoyed. “Don’t let my fingers get caught up. You tell me that every time.”

She tousled his hair. “That’s because I don’t want a nine-fingered brother.”

“But you have a one-armed uncle,” Talfryn responded.

Rat snickered. “Uncle Clwydd isn’t my uncle. He’s yours. And he’s not really your uncle. He’s just a close friend.”

Talfryn shrugged. “Ok.”

Rat looked up. The sky was alive with seagulls. This was a food venue Rat was surprised that more people didn’t capitalize on. Of course, she had made some modifications to things to ensure that it worked. Maybe others had not been so clever. The Siege killed people every day. With no access to outside the city, the bodies had to be dumped in the river. That attracted the birds.

Rat pointed her crossbow toward the sky and fired. The bolt shot out, swiftly uncoiling the rope as it flew. Talfryn giggled at the sight, as he always did.

The bolt hit home, killing an unfortunate seagull. It fell to the water. The trick to catching seagulls this way wasn’t the string on the bolt, but the specially barbed head on the bolt. Without that, the bolt tended to pull out of the bird in the water, leaving a dead seagull to feed the fish. Rat did not spread that knowledge around. She didn’t want half the town shooting her seagulls.

Talfryn pulled on the string and eventually produced the dead seagull. They did this several times until they had four.

“You didn’t miss once, Rat!” Said Talfryn.

“I’m really getting better at this.”

Later in life, people never believed Rat when she told them she was well fed throughout the Siege.

Glawyn sat at a small table in his hovel, looking at a map of the city with Clwydd. Things hadn’t been too bad singe the Siege began. Not as bad as they were for most people. Rat had moved in with Talfryn, and Glawyn was working to help the sick and wounded.

“These are the latest positions of the Orcish encampments,” Clwydd gestured. His right arm was no more. The priests had to amputate it along with a portion of his shoulder to save his life.

Glawyn nodded. “Looks like they left a hole right there,” he pointed to the map. “But it’s a narrow one.”

Clwydd nodded. “And who knows if it will be there when you come back.”

Rat and Talfryn entered with their seagulls.

“Rat!” said Glawyn with a smile. “You’ve brought dinner. I’ve invited Clwydd. I hope you don’t mind.”

Rat shrugged. “I kind of assumed that. After all, he fed us for a month and a half.”

Clwydd smiled uncomfortably. “Until my money ran out. Food got real expensive real fast. Now I’m just a burden. Have been for months.”

Rat waved him off. “We owe you.”

Talfryn ran up to Glawyn. “Glawyn! We got 4 birds, and Rat didn’t miss once!”

Glawyn hunched down to Talfryn, his eyes wide with mock astonishment. “Amazing! Your sister sure can shoot!”

“Yeah. And we saw a dead guy!”

“Wow! A dead guy!”

“Yeah. He starved.”

“Well, of course.”

Rat came over. Seeing the map on the table, she narrowed her eyes. “Not again.”

Glawyn stood nervously. “Now, I know you don’t like it when I—”

“Don’t like it!? I hate it! You’ll get yourself killed!”

“Rat, the priests need healing herbs. Magic reagents.”

“They always need that.”

“Yes, because so many people are sick. One man—”

“I’ve heard this all before Glawyn,” Rat interjected.

Glawyn pressed on. “One man can carry enough herbs and reagents to heal a hundred people or more. I have to go. I know the layout of the Orcish lines.”

Rat poked her finger into his chest. “That’s because you’ve gone through them so many times. One of these days you’ll end up dead.”

Glawyn stared at her pleadingly and smiled.

“Stop it. Stop with that smile,” Rat complained.

Glawyn spread his hands, smiling wider

Rat shook her head and hugged Glawyn tightly. “When do you leave?”

“Tonight,” he said, embracing her.

“Be careful,” came her muffled voice from his chest.

“I will.”

Over a hundred people who would have otherwise died lived on because of his successful actions that night.

Absolutely everyone who was in Tordanal during the Siege will be able to recall where they were and what they were doing the day it ended.

It had been a long night. Talfryn had gotten suddenly ill and was afflicted with a very high fever. His skin was almost uncomfortable to the touch. Glawyn and Rat had both stayed up the night, tending to his wounds. He had been completely delirious, yelling nonsense. The poor boy was obviously out of his head.

Nearly at dawn, he howled louder than Rat or Glawyn though possible for a 6 year old boy to yell, then fell silent. His fever broke and he fell asleep.

Rat stayed up the rest of the night worrying about him, and checking on him constantly, but he showed no other symptoms of any sickness.

Rat was sleepily leaning on the table in the hovel when she heard the words she would never forget.

“The Siege is over! The Siege is over!”

Madness was one of the many unpleasant symptoms of starvation. Rat had come to expect just about anything yelled from the street. Still, she opened the door to take a look. Outside was not a madman, but a town crier, in uniform, running down the street.

“The Siege is over! Spread the word! The Orcs are dispersing! Messengers are already on their way requesting food! The Siege is over! The Siege is over!”

Talfryn trudged to Rat from the bedroom. “What’s happening?”

Rat put her hand over her mouth and tears of joy started to well up in her eyes. She turned excitedly to Talfryn. “The Siege is over, honey!”

“Yay!” Said Talfryn, not really understanding the magnitude of it all.

Rat picked him up and held him with one arm, walking out into the street where an impromptu celebration was underway. She didn’t even try to stifle the tears, now.

She didn’t know why, and didn’t care. At that time, nobody knew that the war was over. They didn’t know that soldiers had penetrated the lair of the Great Demon Balzeddar and slain him, ending it in one swift action. All they knew for sure was that the Orcs were leaving. Slowly but surely, they were leaving.

Glawyn ran down the street. “Rat! Talfryn!” He waved exuberantly.

“Glawyn! You heard!”

He ran up to her and kissed her deeply and passionately. She barely had time to put Talfryn down first.

“Ick!” said Talfryn.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he grinned. “Can you believe it!? Six months of hell and it just ends all of a sudden!”

“I know!” Rat laughed.

The Siege was over.

The Siege was over!

Within a week, wagonloads of food entered the city to wild cheers and adulation of the populace. There was no charge for the food. The King of Kincyth paid the bill. The food was doled out to everyone who needed it.

“Talfryn? Time to get up,” said Rat, nudging him. “It’s a big day, today. Uncle Glawyn is getting formally apprenticed to Uncle Clwydd today. It’s a big day for him. Up, up!”

“The many doors can not hold all that is evil from wreaking its way,” said Talfryn.

“What? Get up.”

Talfryn sat up in bed. He was sweating all over. He turned to Rat and looked at her with no recognition. “You have a troubled soul,” he said.