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Come and sit. The weather outside has turned for the worse, and we may be here for a while, my friend. But that's not without it's benefits, I assure you, for I have a tale to tell. So grab a drink and sit yourself down for a spell, for what I tell you I swear is true. It was three seasons ago, before the end of the Giants that I found myself without income and desperate. I was a mouse who was not unknown to take work requests of a generally malicious nature. I never killed a mouse, let me assure you, not any mouse who didn't deserve it. We have come to days where sometimes death is the only message that can move the hands of beuracracy, but I digress. I was a much younger and easier-going mouse who wanted nothing more than a clear goal and a large satchel of money at the end of a job. I was hired for a job to infiltrate a group called the Night Band. Oh! The look on your face tells me you may have heard of them. Of course they are a myth, as they say. If something deep or dark appears, the Night Band had something to do with it. I was given the job to infiltrate a certain encampment of mice to see if perhaps they were indeed a part of the notorious Night Band. We made our way on the outskirts of their encampment during the full moon. The air was warm and fresh with the smell of summer, and I was in high spirits. There were three of us, and we were prepared for the task of taking a peek into this mysterious group. We saw two scouts walking along the short grass. I signaled to my new friend Gerotte, who was quite ready to incapacitate him. I assure you, my friend, I would not kill unless it was duly deserved. No amount of money could convince me to bring harm to a truly good mouse, or even a decent one. I had made this a point in our briefings, and it was clear. My friend made use of a bola to ensnare and encapacitate him. "Who are you?" He asked. "What's your name? Who's your boss?" I asked, roughly. "I work for the Night Band!" The patrolmouse said, weakly. The blonde mouse, Gerotte, looked at me. "What do you think?" "He's tellin' no lies, lad. He's scared to the skin." I said, the young mouse was sweating and quite unprepared for interrogation. "Who's your leader?" Gerotte asked him, placing a blade to his throat. "D-D-Donavan!" The small mouse said, and suddenly passed out. "Oh lords. I almost feel bad." Ger said. The third mouse, who had been keeping silent until now stepped forward. "This is troubling." He was young, but cold. His fur was grey to the point where it almost looked blue, which was disconcerting. "You really think that lad is from the Night Band?" Blue said. "He sure seemed sure of it." Ger said, looking at me. "Seemed a bit easy." I said, looking at Blue. "What's your inkling?" Blue put a sheet of paper down. A map. "What do we know about the Night Band?" Blue asked. Ger laughed, "We don't know anything about them. Numbers, Locations, Motives, or even who might be leading it. The local militia have been trying to figure it out for seasons now." "But they're active, right?" Blue said. "Of course. There have been several instances of reported activity. All using a certain calling card." Ger said. "They leave a little note with their insignia at the scene." I said. Blue smiled, "Very good. Now each member of the Night Band, so far, upon interrogation, has told us what?" Ger started to get the picture, "Yeah. He said he was never told. Secrecy. Reported to another. Codenames. Proxy." "So this little friend gets captured and tells us exactly who the leader is." Blue said. "But he's not the leader." I said. Blue held his hand. "Wait." Ger was confused, "So what? So the 'leader' is operating under someone else higher than him? I've seen that before." Blue gave a shrug, "Let's not worry about it yet. We'll face this Donovan, then we can find out whatever information we need from him, yes?" "Exactly." Ger said. We left the small encampment where we held our prisoner, I was a little uneasy about everything, because I felt Blue knew a lot more about what exactly was going on than he let on. We slipped in through the gap left by the scout we relieved from duty. It wasn't hard to find the entrance to the tunnels underground. We entered a small entry hall, which was empty due to it being so late. As we slowly made our way across, I thought I heard footsteps. I warned blue silently by grabbing his arm. Gently squeezing. Blue stopped, nodded, and looked about. The footsteps seemed to stop. We exchanged glances, as the footsteps seemed to move in a different direction. "Something is amiss." Blue said. "This doesn't seem like a very well used encampment." I said. "I figured as much." "Hmm." Blue noted to himself. Ger looked around, "We should be able to find Donovan this way." We entered the room, there was a small encampment set up. As we moved, we noted that there were mice sleeping in the beds. We moved silently. When we finally got to the leader's chamber, he greeted us in fear. "Who are you!? Are you The Night Band!?" The apparent leader said. "Are you Donovan?" Blue asked. "Yes. A-are you T-the-" He managed to get out before an arrow pierced him. An arrow which had flew from behind us, through our group, and into him. "Hide." Blue said, staring into my eyes as he disappeared into blackness. I hid, my friend, oh, I hid. I was nearly begging my Lords for forgiveness for all of the sins of my day. And after an eternity of silence, Ger finally walked over to Donovan. Ger pulled the arrow out. There was a paper on it. A note. Marked with an insignia. And written on the note was, Let this be a lesson read. Before you enter true bloodshed. The lives lost, those who are in the bed, shows what imitation's path hath led. - Blue We ran, oh how we ran. Past the bodies of other mice and into the night proper. And here now I sit with you, a friend, who I may not have met if I had continued my path. Yes, I think there were many lessons given that night. |