Karnel led Randy away from the sprawling, stinking kingdom of the landfill, back towards the shadowed embrace of the forest. Their journey angled upwards now, onto the slopes of a mountain that was much larger than the hill where Villagloriosa was perched. Throughout the tiring climb, Karnel kept up an almost unnerving cheerfulness, whistling jaunty, slightly off-key tunes that bounced oddly off the tree trunks.
“Why are you always so happy?” Randy asked, puffing for breath, slightly annoyed, yet admiring the optimism.
“Always?” Karnel paused his whistling. “Oh, not always. Definitely not always. In fact,” he admitted with a chuckle, “I’d say I’ve been downright miserable for most of my life. But the idea of spending the rest of my days in a candy shop? Well, that certainly lifts the spirits!”
For a moment, Randy was tempted to abandon his quest and join Karnel in candy extravaganza.
“Are we there yet?” Randy asked, his legs aching, his stomach emitting a plaintive growl. “This climb is exhausting, and I’m absolutely starving.”
“Don’t worry, Randy, not long now,” Karnel assured him, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “And trust me, the view from the top is worth every step.”
“And the food?” Randy asked hopefully.
“Ah. The food?” Karnel chuckled. “Less worth it, I’m afraid. But hey, you’re the one who said trouble builds character, right?”
Randy groaned. His enthusiasm for character-building was rapidly waning.
After what felt like an eternity of scrambling over rocks and roots, they finally dragged themselves onto the summit. The sun was a fiery ball dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in strokes of orange and purple, and casting long, dramatic shadows. Karnel was right about the view. Spread out below them like a glittering carpet lay the city, its jagged skyline pierced by towering buildings that scraped the darkening sky, already twinkling with a thousand tiny, dazzling lights. Randy stood, awestruck, his hunger momentarily forgotten.
“Told you it was worth it,” Karnel smiled, his gaze sweeping across the urban panorama.
The hilltop itself was barren, windswept stone dotted with only a few gnarled, stunted lemon trees clinging stubbornly to the rocky terrain.
“Dinner time,” Karnel announced, gesturing towards the nearest tree. “We’ll climb up and see what Mother Nature has provided. Hop on my shoulders, it’ll be quicker.”
Randy scrambled onto the rat’s sturdy shoulders, and Karnel scaled the tree with nimble ease, reaching a high branch where a single, large, pale-yellow lemon hung. He plucked it carefully.
“Now, Randy,” Karnel warned as they settled back on the ground, “prepare yourself. This is about as far from sweet as you can possibly get. It’s sour enough to make your whiskers curl, but it’ll fill our bellies for the night.”
Karnel expertly peeled away the rind, revealing the pale flesh beneath. Randy, driven by ravenous hunger, took a large bite. His face immediately puckered. “Blergh! This is disgusting — so sour!”
Karnel laughed heartily. “It’s all there is up here, Randy. Eat up.”
Randy took the next few bites much more cautiously, nibbling small pieces, grimacing all the way. It wasn't pleasant, but it was food. Soon, huddled for warmth in the hollow of an abandoned bird’s nest, they both drifted off to sleep, their bellies satiated but not entirely satisfied.
It felt like mere moments later when Karnel gently shook Randy awake. The sky was still a deep, dark indigo, with stars scattered across it retiring for the evening.
“Time to go,” Karnel whispered urgently. “We need to get into the city before dawn. It swarms with humans during the day.”
Randy groaned, stretching his stiff limbs, then yawned widely. They began their descent, the distant city lights acting as their guide down the dark mountain slope.
“So,” Randy asked as they picked their way carefully over loose stones, “tell me more about where we’re likely to find Randal.” His mind was already trying to form a plan to retrieve his pearl.
“If Randal is in the city,” Karnel replied, “he’ll most certainly be at Capo’s palace, paying tribute.”
“And Capo… who is he exactly? Why did he banish you?”
Karnel sighed. “It’s a long story, Randy. Full of sour memories, much like those lemons we just ate. In short, Capo is a mouse, like you. A clever, ruthless mouse who managed to kick Randal off the throne and banish him to the landfill. To rub salt in the wound, he forces Randal to bring him tribute every moon. Randal still calls himself king, pretends these visits are his choice, but everyone knows the truth. Randal’s influence on the city is toothless, while Capo holds all the power.”
Randy absorbed this. A mouse, ruling over rats? Impressive. “Is Capo a good mouse?”
Karnel snorted. “No, Randy. He is a vile mouse. Probably worse than Randal, in his own way. Power seems to corrupt all rodents equally, mouse or rat. When you meet him, tread carefully. Agree with everything he says, nod, smile, even if it sounds ridiculous or cruel. Then get out as fast as you can.”
They reached the bottom of the hill and slipped into the strange, hard landscape of the city outskirts. Suddenly a gleaming metallic beast roared past them on the street, impossibly fast, its lights momentarily blinding.
“What was that?” Randy gasped, pressing himself flat against a wall, his heart hammering.
“Oh, that’s just a car,” Karnel replied casually. “It’s how humans get around.” He glanced at the receding lights. “Clever creatures, humans.”
Indeed they are, Randy thought, fascinated and terrified in equal measure.
“Best keep well away from them, though,” Karnel added grimly. “We don’t want to end up looking like a squashed tomato.”
Randy didn’t know what a tomato was, but he nodded vigorously anyway.
The further they ventured into the city, the thicker the air became, tasting gritty and metallic. The streets were littered with strange debris — paper, plastic, broken glass. Towering buildings, all sharp angles and cold surfaces, loomed over them like concrete cliffs, casting deep, overwhelming shadows. It was fascinating, utterly alien, but Randy wasn’t sure he liked it. It felt harsh. Cold.
As the first hint of dawn lit the sky, Randy saw his first humans up close. They were disappointing: mostly fat, hairy, clumsy-looking creatures, nothing like the elegant, poised figures depicted in the statues back in Villagloriosa.
“These humans are so ugly,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.
“Yes, well,” Karnel agreed with a shrug. “It’s a mixed bag, isn’t it? Sometimes you see a few of them running, the ones in better shape. But aren’t we rodents the same? Some pretty, some… less so.”
Randy couldn’t argue with that, hopping neatly over a discarded glass bottle.
“Why is it so dirty here?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. “In my town, everyone helps keep things clean. Don’t humans care?”
“Hard to say,” Karnel mused. “They always look so busy, rushing about. Maybe they just don’t have time for cleaning.” He paused, then added, “Speaking of dirty, if you think this is bad, you’re definitely not going to like where we’re going next.” He veered sharply towards a dark, gaping hole in the pavement — a sewer drain.
Randy gagged as the foul stench hit him, thick and nauseating. “Ugh! That smells even worse than the landfill!”
“Can’t travel safely through the city in broad daylight,” Karnel explained apologetically. “I know my way around the sewers better anyway.”
They slipped down into the drain, plunging into darkness and a smell so potent it made Randy’s eyes water. For the first few minutes, he fought to keep his meagre dinner down. The initial tunnels were narrow, wet, and claustrophobic, but soon they opened into larger passageways — echoing caverns wide enough for an army of rodents to march through.
Shadowy figures flitted past them in the gloom — other rodents hurrying about their subterranean business. The sewers reminded Randy vaguely of the tunnels beneath Villagloriosa, but magnified, and infinitely dirtier, slimier and fouler. He stayed glued to Karnel’s side, terrified of getting lost in the dark, dripping maze.
Karnel seemed unaffected by the grim surroundings. He trotted along cheerfully, occasionally breaking into one of his relentlessly upbeat whistles. No one else spoke. The only sounds were the constant drip, drip, drip of unseen water and the faint scuttling of claws on the damp stone. The atmosphere was heavy, gloomy, and profoundly depressing.
“I’m so hungry!” Randy complained eventually, after what felt like hours of trudging through the muck. His paws were sore, his stomach felt painfully empty again.
“Can you just wait a little longer?” Karnel replied, his cheerfulness starting to fray. “We’re almost there. I don’t want to risk popping up top again until we have to.”
“Please? Just a quick bite and a little rest?” Randy pleaded. “We haven’t eaten anything proper since that horrid lemon yesterday.”
Karnel sighed. “Alright, alright, I suppose you have a point — but don’t expect anything ‘proper’ around here.”
They found another drain opening and scrambled upwards, emerging into a narrow, high-walled alleyway, shadowed and deserted as promised. Daylight was beginning to filter down from above. Karnel rummaged through a large, overflowing garbage can, eventually retrieving a brown, mushy apple core and a piece of bread so stale it was almost fossilised. He broke them in half and shared them with Randy.
Randy ate the grim offerings without enthusiasm, his stomach churning. He missed his mother. He missed the clean air of Villagloriosa. He even missed cheese.
The alley was unnervingly silent. Too silent. Karnel paused his eating, head cocked, suddenly alert.
“We need to go. Now,” Karnel urged, his body perking up with unease.
CLANK!
The sound echoed sharply off the alley walls. They both spun around. A shadow detached itself from the deeper gloom at the alley’s entrance, moving towards them, sleek and silent. It moved on four legs — pitch black, except for two points of emerald green light that glowed intently in the darkness, and the tip of its tail, which was white.
“We’re in deep trouble, Randy,” Karnel whispered, his body trembling.
“What is that?” Randy breathed, his heart beginning to pound like a drum.
“It’s a cat,” Karnel hissed. “RUN!”
They bolted, paws scrambling on the grimy pavement. But the cat was terrifyingly swift, flowing over the ground like black ink. They split, darting in opposite directions, hoping to confuse their pursuer.
The cat didn’t hesitate; it chose Karnel. With terrifying speed, it cut him off, cornering the rat against the grimy brick wall at the alley’s dead end. It was a sleek, black cat, terrifyingly large up close, its green eyes glowing with predatory amusement as it advanced slowly, deliberately.
"Well, well. I’m afraid you have nowhere left to run, my dear rat," the cat purred, its tone disconcertingly smooth and pompous. "You should consider yourself honoured to end your insignificant little life under my claws, really. It could be so much worse. Imagine being torn apart by some slavering dog, or drowning miserably in a gutter somewhere. I’m doing you a favour, truly."
Randy watched from the shadows, frozen again, sheer terror rooting him to the spot. He hated himself for it. Uncle Will would have done something. Tiny Hops would have fought. Chewy would have bitten its tail off! Was he doomed to be a coward forever?
The cat extended its claws, sharp points of white enamel glinting against its black fur.
"Now, to demonstrate my noble nature," the cat continued, sounding pleased with itself, "I shall grant you a choice in your demise. One is always curious, you see. Which method do you perceive as being more painful? I'm conducting a small survey amongst my victims, you understand? One wishes to be as… what’s the word? Ah, yes. As 'humane' as possible." The cat smiled, a chillingly pleasant expression. "So, would you prefer the claws? Or the teeth? A swift slice to the throat, perhaps? Or maybe the belly? Decisions, decisions. After all, I wouldn't want my dinner to suffer needlessly."
"I think," Randy shouted, his whole body shaking, "you should eat me instead!"
The cat turned its head, its green eyes narrowing as it focused on Randy.
"Oh, please," he scoffed with disdain. "Don't be ridiculous. There's obviously far more meat on a rat. Why would I possibly divert my attention to an insignificantly skinny mouse?"
"Because I'm delicious!" Randy insisted desperately. "A delicacy! I've been fed on the finest cheese!" Randy gestured towards the trapped Karnel. "He comes from the dump — he's filthy!"
The cat considered this, tilting its head. "Now that you mention it," it conceded, "he does smell rather unpleasant. And hygiene is one of my primary concerns. You, on the other hand… you don't look like a city mouse. You have a bucolic air about you. I wager you come from some quaint, wholesome little place where all the mice are plump and tasty."
"Yes! Exactly!" Randy agreed, hoping he was drawing the cat's focus away from Karnel. "We all eat excellent cheese!"
The cat stroked its whiskers. "Then again," it mused aloud, "there is always the possibility of enjoying both of you. Perhaps inviting a friend over for dinner? I happen to know a charming ginger lady… been fancying her for quite some time. I'm sure she'd be delighted to join such a handsome gentlecat as myself for a two-course meal."
"You couldn't!" Randy countered, trying to sound braver than he felt. "If you chase me, Karnel will escape! And if you go for him, I'll be gone so fast you won't even see my tail!"
"I see…" the cat exhaled. "The eternal dilemmas of life. Does one opt for the meagre but healthy portion, or the larger, less salubrious, feast?"
"Leave the kid alone! He is delusional!" Karnel shouted from his corner. "Look at you! You look famished and skinny! Today, my friend, you owe yourself quantity over quality! I am clearly the superior option!"
The cat looked from Randy back to Karnel, and then burst into delighted laughter. "Oh, marvellous!" he exclaimed. "I've never had my dinner arguing about who I should eat! What a wonderful, unique experience this is! You are quite right, rat, I am rather peckish today. Very well. Since you decline to choose your own end, I shall default to my preferred method. Claws it is!" The cat crouched, muscles tensing, ready to strike—
"STOP!" a commanding voice echoed from above.
The cat froze, and slowly looked up. The window ledges and drainpipes lining the alley were crowded with rats. Dozens of them. Big, sturdy, muscular rats, all clad in some kind of uniform, all brandishing sharp, gleaming forks held like tridents. The commanding voice had come from the largest rat, standing silhouetted in a central window, holding the only trident that glinted gold instead of silver.
"The Golden Rule declares that no cat shall claim the life of a rodent within this city!"
"Since when," the cat hissed, his fur bristling, his aristocratic composure momentarily ruffled, "does a rat presume to give orders to a cat?"
At that, the rats swarmed down the walls like a disciplined, grey wave, pouring into the alley, quickly surrounding the cat, their makeshift tridents levelled menacingly.
"We are not just any rats," the leader declared. His golden trident hovered dangerously close to the cat's throat. "We are Capo’s Invincibles. And there are three hundred of us. Do you wish to test your luck? Or do you wish to comply with the law?" He tapped the cat's fur lightly with the point of his trident. "This, in case you were wondering, is the Golden Trident. Granted to me by Capo himself, to uphold his law. Those who disobey must die. This is your final chance, cat. Leave now, unscathed."
The cat squirmed, his green eyes darting from the sea of armed hostile rats to Karnel and Randy, then back to the sharp points surrounding him. He made a decision.
"Hmph! He didn't look particularly delicious anyway," he sniffed disdainfully, regaining his composure. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to find a suitable post upon which to sharpen my claws." With immense dignity, the cat turned, held his white-tipped tail high in the air, and stalked primly out of the alley.
The leader of the Invincibles watched him go, then turned his hard gaze upon Karnel.
"Your stupid whistling gave you away, Karnel," he said with a scornful look. "Why are you here?"
Karnel managed a weak, slightly silly smile. "Karniga! Fancy seeing you here! Good to see you, brother?"
Karniga’s expression remained cold, unmoved. "I never thought you'd be stupid enough to show your face in this city again."
"Oh, I was just passing through," Karnel said, gesturing towards Randy. "Showing my young friend here the sights. We were just leaving, actually."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Karniga stated flatly. "And your little friend will have to come with us too." He nodded towards Randy.
"You must excuse my friend," Randy spoke up, trying to sound courageous. "It's my fault we're here. I forced him to be my guide."
A few of the surrounding Invincibles chuckled softly.
Karniga raised an eyebrow. "Oh, did you, now? A squeaky little mouse like you forced him?"
"Yes," Randy challenged. "A squeaky mouse. Just like the one who rules this city."
Karniga’s eyes narrowed dangerously. "Careful, mouse. We do not tolerate disrespect towards our leader." He tapped his golden trident ominously on the ground.
"We came here looking for Randal," Randy pressed on, ignoring the threat. "He stole something from me. If you let me speak to Capo, I can explain everything."
"The rule is clear," Karniga declared. "Karnel returns from his exile, Karnel dies. He is to be thrown unceremoniously into the Pit of Doom."
"Even your own brother?" Karnel asked quietly, his earlier bravado gone. "You'd follow that rule so blindly?"
Karniga paused for a second, a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Then his face hardened again. "The Golden Rule is everything."
"What if…" Randy tried desperately, "what if we have something Capo might really want?"
Karniga looked intrigued, despite himself. "Oh? And what might that be?"
"We will discuss this with Capo himself," Randy said, choosing his words carefully. "I believe he will be pleased to hear what we have to say."
Karniga considered this, taking a long look at his brother. Finally, he nodded curtly. "Tie them up," he ordered the guards nearest Randy and Karnel. "We are taking them to see Capo."
"But…" one of the soldiers hesitated.
"Take them, I said!" he barked.
As two Invincibles roughly bound Karnel’s paws, Karniga leaned in close to his brother and whispered, "Remember this, Karnel. From this moment on, you are not my brother."