Chapter Forty: The Ratkin Enclave

Chapter Forty: The Ratkin Enclave

From the moment she opened her eyes tonight, Aranya looked excited? Nervous? Proud? Lets go with complicated, yeah. She ate her traditional breakfast of a couple webbed mice, and definitely did a little prayer and stuff before tucking in to her meal. She went and cleaned herself up a bit, and now shes about to enter the ratling Enclave.

The guards at the entrance give her respectful bows and allow her to pass, and she gives them each a smile and respectful nod, before heading inside. The place has changed a lot over the last couple days. Their little farming area is coming along great. Theyve got a good half-dozen stacked racks of mushroom plots now. Nothing is making mushrooms yet, but the mycelium is growing rapidly through the dirt and detritus.

Theyve been making beds as well, in a very similar style as what I made for my Residents. Much like the clothing, its a bit rougher, but still seems to work just fine. They all piled together the first night, but theyve actually been more or less pairing off with their beds since then. It seems like each bunk bed is a couple. They havent done the nasty yet, but I get the feeling theyre just waiting for the right time before bumping uglies.

The leader ratling is somehow older than the others. Hes hardly hunched and withered, but his muzzle definitely has a bit of gray to the end of it. He also has its larger than a walking stick, but its not exactly a staff, either. The end curls a bit, starting a little above his head level, and comes back down in a crook, ending at the height it started. In the center hangs a small orange gemstone, ground by hand into a rough sphere.

He smiles as he sees Aranya, and opens his arms wide. Ah, Chosen Aranya! Sanctuary smile upon you!

My kobold in white smiles back and embraces him. Larx! Sanctuary smile upon you as well! Is everyone ready for the ceremony? He smiles and nods before rapping the butt of his stick against the floor. The guards head inside, and I move Fluffles to guard their entrance. I dont think anything will actually interrupt, but if this goes how I think it will go, Im going to be having some extra responsibilities here very soon.

We all remember the glory of our Sanctuarys Heart, even as the memory of its location has faded. We remember the gentle and warm glow, the slow swirling of its depths, the mesmerizing presence it has. We give it thanks as we step forward, and will continue to give it thanks as we can, and follow its will as we can.

He raps his staff on the floor three times before raising it again, outward instead of upward. He slowly sweeps it over the little congregation as he continues. We are ratlings no more. We are Ratkin, and we Dwell in our Sanctuary. It is our home, our Sanctuary, and we will do all we can to please it.

One last rapping of the staff on the floor, and the progress bars wink out. Just like he said: theyre Ratkin now, and are Dwellers instead of Denizens. I cant give them orders anymore, either. I technically could, up until the bars finished, but it was getting more and more expensive to do so. I hadnt told them to do anything since the bars started, but still.

Aranya is changed, too. Not physically, though. Shes still a beautiful little red kobold in a white robe. But now she also has a title: High Priestess. She and the ratkin start to sing a little song, and I can feel my mana flow increase. I thought they might give me some mana, but thats pretty good. Their small congregation gives me the kind of mana generation Id get from a fairly slow delver day, which is nothing to sneeze at, especially once I get delvers returning.

I tell Fluffles he can go back to wandering and helping Jello as the guards return to their post. They watch him glide off with wonder, before taking their position on either side of the door. I watch them all for a few more minutes, trying to collect my thoughts on my new Dwellers.

I always worried Aranya might start a cult around me. Its not a creepy cult, at least. Kinda embarrassing, but I at least seem to be providing a good enough example that they arent trying to sacrifice anyone, but still

What do I do now?