The Meeting: Part Three (Adults only please.)

"The Meeting, Part Three" by T.K. Wade (Adults only please.)

Frieda stepped up to the three mice and asked, “You boys having a good time tonight?”

They all expressed their gratitude by opening their money bags and paying her at that very moment. Levin could not help but remark, “Just seeing such beauty made the night worthwhile!”

She chuckled. “I hope you don’t plan on using that line instead of a tip.”

Jonas laid down his piece of gold and said, “The night had been wonderful, Miss Frieda. We will not be bothering you much longer. The sun has set, and we will soon be off to our respective homes.”

Frieda shrugged and took their money. “You boys can stay a bit longer. Good conversation has always been welcome at the Cedardale Inn.”

Richard nodded. “Thank you, Frieda. We will leave shortly.”

The pretty mouse smiled and stepped away from the three. Levin faced the ex-soldier and asked, “And what story does the fighter have to tell before this evening comes to an end?”

Richard answered, “You know, there has been a lot of talk about rats at this table tonight. It seems that, by and large, the rodents that Muridae always seems to be at odds with are rats, and to a great existent, this is true. Mice, although they are known to go astray from time to time, generally stay out of trouble. A lot of mice believe in fate, and we pray and hope for good things to come in our lives.

“Now, a jerboa would tell you they are even more resistant to the evil ways of some rats that we have all heard of, but I tell you that it is even more likely for them. Rats may get along best with one another, but they still make a large effort to get along with other rodents, at least the civil ones. Jerboas, however, generally make an effort to keep away from others. I mean, we’ve all heard about the rivalry between the jerboas and rats, but what some people don’t take notice to is that this rivalry is also against us for the sole reason that we are not jerboas.”

Levin nodded. “I figured as much.”

Jonas seemed rather interested and added, “The jerboa god is known as the Great Jerboa. He does not even have a name. I sometimes suspect that this particular god does not actually exist. However, if he does, it would be a god of pure vanity. The jerboas generally do not even believe in the existence of the other gods.”

Richard began rubbing his head and released a long sigh. “One of my first assignments was as a guard for the town of Clawstone. This was primarily a rat community, but it was small at the time and needed some protection. The king figured that with as many rats that they had, it would grow in a matter of a few years, and I would no longer be needed.

“I remember that we had a problem of rats leaving for matters of trade, and they would not come back. Their family would go after them, and would return with absolutely no answers. You see, there was another town, a good hare’s ride away, which was a quaint little jerboa community with a very strong religious background. And yes, as Jonas pointed out, they worshiped the Great Jerboa.

“I saw it as my personal duty to get to the bottom of this, so I left to visit this town, which was apparently called Nestle. As soon as I arrived, I felt that something was just off. I can’t explain it. I didn’t even talk to anyone before I felt it.”

Levin asked, “What did it feel like?”

“It felt like walking into a potential ambush. It’s as if I could feel everyone in the town just waiting for the right moment to kill me. I’ve only felt that on the battlefield, never in a town, and here it looked like just a peaceful place; everyone seemed to be going about their business like you’d expect.”

Jonas just blinked and said, “That sounds very strange.”

Richard nodded with a confirming chuckle. “Yes, very. I went about asking my questions. Most of the townspeople acted as if they had no idea who those rats were. Some said they had seen them, but they had already left. What really surprised me, though, was the many who were out rightly trying to convince me that this was nothing to fret over. Levin, Jonas, I did not want to be there anymore. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and I started to fear for my own safety.”

Levin was on the edge of his seat. “What did you do?!”

“I left. I returned to Clawstone and told them what I experience. I then sent out a messenger to Rodopolis requesting a large group of soldier to accompany me back to Nestle. My request was granted, and in two weeks, I had reinforcements of about fifty men, mostly rats. I took them back with the purpose of inspecting the town for signs of the missing rats. I don’t regret this decision for a moment, because as soon as we were in yelling distance of Nestle, we were struck by a slew of arrows, poorly aimed, by the way.”

The two other mice were just in awe of his story. Levin exclaimed, “My… gods!”

“The city did not have a wall. None of its guards had been appointed by Rodopolis. I made the decision to storm Nestle and get to the bottom of this mess. Shields went up, swords were drawn, and a fight ensued. It was not long before Jerboa blood was spilt. I think this was probably one of the first real battles that I had ever been in. The problem about this battle was that… it wasn’t a very good one.”

Jonas queried, “Why? What was wrong with it?”

Richard was silent for a moment as he rubbed his temple. He answered with a question, “How many jerboas do you know of that serve as soldiers?”

Both Levin and Jonas began to laugh. Richard smiled and could not help but chuckle as well. He said, “They even outnumbered us. That town had to be over two thousand; we were fifty! We stomped their precious little arses into the dirt!”

Levin asked, “You didn’t kill all of them, did you?”

“No, at some point, they figured out what they were up against and surrendered. We did our investigation and found that they had been killing both rats and mice that had visited their town, which is shameful of them because they still had no problem trading with other towns when it suited them.

“We gathered up those responsible and they were transported back to Rodopolis to be tried. Real guards were then posted in Nestle to make sure the town did not fall back into their old ways. They are still there to this day.”

The other mice clapped and Levin shouted, “Serves them right! Great tale, Richard!”

Jonas added, “Jerboas really can be as bad as rats sometime, if not worse. I think some jerboas still feel like the town of Nestle did, but I suppose after that incident, they’d think twice.”

Richard nodded. “Exactly.”

Levin yawned with a smile. “Well I’d say this evening has been quite productive!”

Jonas agreed, “Yes, looking forward to next week. It has been a splendid meeting.”

As the three mice stood from the table, Richard patted them both on the back and said, “You two take care. I had fun.” The three mice said their goodbyes and left for their respective homes in Cedardale.

-Glossary-

Murridae: Kingdom ruled by mice and populated by mice, rats, and jerboas.

Jerboa: A rodent with a long tail with a poof at the end.

Nestle: The great city of jerboas within Murridae. It is built like a great tower towards the sky.

Great Jerboa: Jerboas have a monotheistic religion. They only believe in one god who looks just like them and represents grace above all things. Disbelievers call this god Irritum, the god of vanity.

Clawstone: A city of rats within Murridae.

Rodopolis: The capitol city of Murridae where the king resides. It is the largest city in all the country.

Cedardale: A central village within Murridae. It is a stopping place for many travelers. Well-known for its tavern.