Enkerai and Oré continued walking late into the afternoon but encountered an increasing number of the rodents on the way down the mountain path to Buurman.

“This is getting a bit strange, to say the least,” Enkerai said picking one of the furry animals up off his backpack and throwing it casually to the side. They no longer bothered him now that he had seen so many.

“And rather disgusting… why are there so many in one place?” Oré complained as Enkerai ran ahead.

“Well if you think this is a lot”, Enkerai said looking out, “You better have a look at this.”

Before the two boys was a small, walled town at the base of the hill. It looked vibrant with multi-coloured ribbons, flags and sheets flapping in the wind from rooftops, shop fronts and watch towers. The wall that encircled it had only two visible breaks in it from where they were; two large wooden gates that no doubt had similar counterparts on the opposite side of the town.

“That’s unusual,” Oré said, scratching his head, “I wonder why the gates are all closed.

“Look closer, Oré!!” Enkerai said pointing around the settlement.

“No way,” Oré said incredulously, blinking his eyes, “No. Way.”

“Yes way,” Enkerai laughed. For surrounding the town on all sides was a writhing ginger mass, shifting and heaving in an unnatural swarm of rodents.

“I feel sick,” Oré said covering his mouth.

“You’ll be fine,” Enkerai said, pulling his staff off his back, “Pass me the lighter fluid and a rag.”

Oré took his backpack off and dug through it for what Enkerai asked for. When he found the small leather pouch and a piece of cloth, he passed them over.

“Now we just warm things up a little,” Enkerai said, wrapping the cloth around the top off his staff and pouring the lighting fluid on it. He then lit it using a match and his makeshift torch was done.

“Now what?” Oré asked.

“Fire’s a human thing,” Enekrai explained, “Most animals don’t like it.”

“Unusually perceptive for you, Rai.” Oré grinned.

“Shush and follow.”

With that, the two made their way down towards the sea of rodents to test Enkerai’s theory. Surprisingly, he was right. As the boys approached, the rodents moved aside swiftly, feeling the flickering heat of Enkerai’s flaming staff as he gently swayed it from left to right. They were careful with their steps and Enkerai was ever wary of the fact that if they didn’t move fast through the churning, orange mass, he might begin to burn the staff’s wood itself.

“Move quicker,” Enkerai whispered to Oré.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Oré answered, and the two burst into a jog as they neared the looming city walls. In a matter of strides, they had made it.

“Knock on the gate,” Enkerai told Oré, as he turned his staff around to stop the rodents biting at their ankles.

Oré knocked hard using the huge, black iron door knocker on the right side of the gate. The formless blob probably used to be a lion head or something but had lost its shape after being repainted so many times over the years. Boom Boom Boom! The sound echoed through the area, making even the rodents pause for a second.

“Think they heard us?” Enkerai asked sarcastically. Oré smiled and reached back up to knock again.

“That will be quite enough, mate,” a pair of weary eyes looked through a small rectangular gap to their left, eyeing them suspiciously.

“Oh, two kids… State yer business,” the person said gruffly.

“We wanted to pass through to restock on our journey to Bitpos,” Oré replied.

“Well do it elsewhere. Burmaan is closed.”

“Wait,” Enkerai said, “How can you close an entire town? It’s midday!”

“Is it because of the rats?” Oré asked.

“First of all, these things aren’t rats,” The man stated, “They’re grooperds. You’ll be able to tell the difference once they grow up. And second, they are part of our protection policy while we await an army squadron.”

“You’re serious?” Enkerai raised an eyebrow.

“We keep them here, and this place looks plague-stricken; the Bandits go right past, and even those Pojemic ships don’t bother us when they fly over.”

“So we still can’t come in?” Oré asked.

“No! Not until the King’s troops come to protect us. Now get lost!” And with that, the eyes disappeared from the gate.

Enkerai began smelling a more pleasant burning smell than the lighting fluid usually gave off, and quickly realised his staff was beginning to burn. Without thinking he dug the staff into the soil near the gate and rolled it around until the flames had dissipated.

“Rai…” Oré tugged on Enkerai’s backpack, “Maybe you should have kept that going a bit longer…”

Without the flames to protect them, the grooperds began swarming towards them again, beady eyes and sharp teeth flashing.