Benny and the rest reached the other side, but what they'd gotten wrong was their assumption about enemy defenses. The rats hadn't established any form of encampment near the dimensional crack. No fortifications, no garrison, no obvious military presence.
But they did have sentries.
One such sentry spotted the humans as they materialized. The rat man didn't engage. He quietly removed himself from his position and ran to the next outpost to report his findings. By the time backup could arrive, Benny's group was already long gone, headed toward the cave they'd used as their forward operating base.
The rat kingdom wasn't pleased with the news when it reached the higher ranks. The commanders knew they'd fucked up by being too dumb and careless with their security. But they couldn't spare the manpower to address it properly at the moment. The sentries were sparse, spread too thin across too much territory.
The reason was major. They were preparing for war against a different monster faction inside the rift, and they couldn't afford to divert forces to search for the elite hundred scouts they'd sent into the labyrinth weeks ago. Technically they had tried, but the search had been halted. The manpower needed to find their fallen was overridden by the necessity to defend their home from an imminent threat.
So the higher-ups had fabricated a story. Without concrete evidence, they told the Royal Family that the rat men sent to the labyrinth had simply vanished, consumed by the labyrinth itself. Unfortunate losses. Acceptable casualties. Nothing to worry about.
But the Royal Chambers of the rat kingdom weren't so easily fooled. When news of another intrusion reached them, it confirmed suspicions that had been brewing for weeks.
It seemed the Royal Rat household didn't take the words of their incompetent commanders at face value. There was one voice among the many who had been outspoken about the discrepancies in the reports.
Captain Vrek of the Intolerance Division was one such paranoid creature. He'd been dismissed and ignored by those above him in the Knight Order of the Rustedtails. So he'd gone over their heads, speaking directly to his immediate supervisors, who in turn brought the matter to the attention of the Royal Family.
When a member of the Royal Family arrived at the Chambers where the department heads gathered, it sent ripples of panic through the command structure. While everyone was supposedly preparing for war, the Royal Family had been conducting their own investigation into military competence and loyalty.
It seemed the knight orders had become corrupted, no longer functioning as they should. By royal decree, the Royal Guards were brought in to make arrests.
Halberds were raised against fellow rat men. The decree was read aloud for all to hear.
"By order of Her Majesty Queen Vermina Skittera, the Plaguemother, ruler of all the Rat Kingdom of the House of Scourge, I hereby announce the arrest of all Rusttails heads of department for failing to properly account for the failed incursion into the labyrinth, which cost the lives of her subjects, and for deliberately lying to the Royal Chambers about its outcome. Anyone who resists or aids the aforementioned criminals will be killed or brought in for questioning."
---
**The House of Scourge**
**Queen Vermina Skittera, the Plaguemother**
Vermina: Derived from the Latin word for worm and vermin. Regal yet clearly rooted in the verminous nature of her race. It suggests a queen of pests, disease, and overwhelming numbers.
Skittera: Focuses on the creature's swift, stealthy movement. Sharp and dangerous. It suggests a ruler whose reach is everywhere, who commands through speed and cunning.
The Plaguemother: A direct, terrifying title implying she is the progenitor and source of all the plagues and ills associated with her kind. Her power is biological and devastating, commanding disease as much as her armies.
---
**The Royal Family**
The House of Scourge, also known as the Lineage of Filth-Crown.
It was simple, powerful, and terrifying for those who had created it. That the name implies their rule is a blight, a punishment upon the world.
Some noble houses under them carry names like the Clan Clawfang, one of the most loyal and overly zealots, they are brutal and primal in their desires, emphasizing sharp teeth and dangerous claws. A name of predators.
Others embrace the grotesque nature of their existence, tying their authority directly to the squalor and muck of their domain. They revel in their unholy nature rather than hiding from it.
The Royal Guards are selected from such families from their birth.
---
The Royal Guards began making arrests. Those who tried to defend the commanders were cut down without hesitation. Others surrendered obediently, recognizing the futility of resistance against the crown.
It was the first time in the kingdom's history that the Order of the Rusttails had come under such scrutiny. Even the Rusted Master, leader of the entire order, was brought in for questioning.
The military structure of the rat kingdom was in chaos. Just as they needed unity to face an external threat, internal corruption and incompetence had torn them apart.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Sub-Space, Benny's group had already secured their base of operations. Their invasion had begun in earnest.
On their way to the cave, they encountered and killed several rat men patrols. It seemed word of their presence hadn't spread to the lower ranks yet. The soldiers they killed had been caught completely off guard, unprepared for armed humans operating in their territory.
They also hunted along the way for food, taking down the strange wildlife of the Sub-Space. The perpetual daylight made hunting easier, though it also meant they had to be more careful about being spotted.
Kael had been the one to execute the rat men patrol they encountered. He showed no mercy, no hesitation. His hatred was overwhelming, even to his teammates who'd grown accustomed to violence. But they weren't there to argue about his tactics or question his methods.
They saw these rat men as nothing but scourges and plagues. Creatures that needed to be exterminated. Any sympathy they might have felt had died with Lyra and the others.
After setting up camp in the cave, they began scouting the immediate area. Zy started placing traps around their perimeter, creating a defensive layout for their surroundings. Pressure plates crafted from the environment hidden under leaves. Tripwires connected to crude alarms. Pitfalls covered with branches.
Nothing sophisticated, but enough to give them warning if enemies approached.
The rest of the group prepared and planned their next moves. They studied crude maps Benny had drawn from memory of his previous expedition. They identified targets. Supply routes. Patrol patterns. Weak points in the kingdom's defenses.
"We need intelligence," Gustav said during one planning session. "We know that there's a conflict happening, but we don't know who or where. That could work in our favor if we play it right."
"Or get us killed if we stumble into the middle of it," Greaves pointed out.
"Either way, we need to know more," Meredith added. "We're operating blind right now."
Nida, the former assassin, spoke up. "I can get close to their settlements. Observe. Listen. I've done it before."
"Too risky alone," Gustav said. "Take someone with you. Senna, you're our best scout after Nida. Go together."
The two women nodded in agreement.
Over the next couple of days inside the dimensional rift, both forces moved in their own preparations. The rat kingdom scrambled to address internal corruption while simultaneously preparing for external war. Benny's group fortified their position and gathered intelligence.
And somewhere in the Sub-Space, a third force prepared its own assault on the rat kingdom. Another monster faction with its own grudges and territorial ambitions.
Soon, a bloodbath between three forces was about to occur. The rat kingdom, caught between enemies on multiple fronts, would have to fight for its very survival.
And Benny's small group of humans, outnumbered, would have to navigate the chaos and find a way to achieve their impossible goal.
Conquering the labyrinth by destroying its source.
The war had begun.