John Newman and the Chamber of SecRats.

Floor five of the Skaven-Underempire. His enemies, still the same, a bunch of small Rat-men with rundown equipment in the same old drapes and robes. He turned a corner and stared at the giant door that stared back. To be exact the depiction of a horned rat did. The head of the beast sitting in the middle of a pentagram seemed to be carved from bone, glowing red eyes in the sockets of its exposed skull, four greyish horns protruding towards the tips of the satanic star as its lowered mouth covered the last one.

This was most certainly new. He accepted and gave away the Sandman’s Key (not like he had another choice). If the turnout was even part of the Bonus Level it would be worth it. The Sandman’s Key, an ordinary rusty key in appearance, hovered in the air and up to the Horned Rat’s head. Then the key vanished, the pentagram turned counter clock wise once and the door swung inwards.

“You stay here,” John said to Aclysia and the elementals and then stepped into the room that was revealed. It was small, small enough for the four coal baziers in the corners to illuminate everything. A fifth one was hanging over the throne, a similar construction to the one the Lower Warlord’s were always sitting on, simple grey stone, but enormous, smoothly carved and polished. On top of the throne sat the Horned Rat himself. The three-metre tall being had a muscular naked body, short black fur covering most of it. Like the depiction outside it had four horns whose tips, along with the nose of its bare skull, would have connected to make a pentagram, a rat tail grew from his back and had slung around the lean of his throne once, the end of it lying at the being's feet.

“Ah, someone to alleviate this endless boredom. You would be the Gamer, John Newman, I presume?” the Horned Rat asked in a voice that was equally deep and inhumanely rat-like. “How would you know?” John asked. “I am employed by Gaia. She would not send me here without the proper knowledge. I have been watching you slaughter the images of my stupid children with glee, Gamer.” The Horned Rat chuckled, “Truly, maybe you will face my actual children one day.”

Despite wanting to hurry this along, (he really needed to do other things, like becoming stronger) he had to ask a question he had been wondering about for a bit now. “So these are not actually real?” “No.” “But you are?” “Yes. The difference is that I am a being that can travel between Illusion Barriers on its own. I am a God, albeit a lesser one. Just use that Observe of yours and see for yourself.”

Seemingly he said the truth. Those were some pretty bad combat Stats for his level. “The being’s you humans create for sport and training are fundamental different from us true Abyss-born creatures.” The Horned Rat kept explaining, “The lesser ones of us hide in Protected Spaces for eternity while stronger creatures like me kill time by either seeking out other Barriers or slumbering in the flow of the world, waiting for where Gaia will spit us out again.”

That explained Nathalia, the dragoness had just been sleeping and Gaia thought it a prime opportunity to put her in a chest in his dungeon. The RNG of this game was busted to no end. There was no way to ever know what was happening, one day he might be the hero to save a girl and the next moment that girl was murdering his girlfriend. ‘I have no time for this,’ John told himself and concentrated on the anger the echo of Thana’s laughter ignited in his heart.

“Will you just keep speaking or is there something to this? I was promised some kind of reward.” “Yes, yes, angry one, there is a reward.” The Horned Rat answered with a chuckle. He extended a hand and something very small materialized. He tossed it at John who barely caught it. He looked at the twenty-sided die in his hand. “On an even number, you shall receive the number times 500 as Experience, on an uneven number you shall be granted that number in levels randomly distributed amongst your skills times two. Furthermore, if your roll is a 1 you shall lose a level but if you roll a 20 you shall gain one. You get three tries and you may pick the number you like the most. Now, throw the die.”

The door behind John closed with a loud noise. He had no other choice. The risk for something bad to happen was small though, he had a one in twenty chance of something bad to happen on each throw and he would have to roll three ones for it to actually matter. This was loaded heavily in his favour.

He threw the dice once. An eight. “Four thousand experience, not bad, not good, but not bad,” the Horned Rat commented, “Last I checked you were Level 44.” “Wait, you know that?” “I am a God of Knowledge, unlike Nathalia I can see things of interest like this. Continue,” the Horned Rat urged, he was more invested in this then John was.

John picked up the die and threw it a second time, this time it landed with the number five. “A bad role, the lowest quarter,” The Horned Rat lamented for him. “10 Skillpoints spread randomly certainly isn’t bad but you should really aim higher. Try throwing it with a spin, see if that helps.” John threw the God a very annoyed glance but all that did was make the Horned Rat chuckle, “You are of no threat to me, young one, not yet anyway. Your anger and hatred for Thana is all but temporary anyway.” “What makes you so certain of that?” John growled as he threw the dice for the third time. “Because I have seen her life, from birth, to rebirth and I see glimpses of the future and her completion. You will show her the truth, truth burning as pale as her skin.” His bone face creaked as it curved into a demonic grin, the words of the God booming through the little room, shaking John to the core, shaking the whole floor of the dungeon, “Hear my words, John Newman for this is my prophecy:

You shall have met the Betrayer of all,
You shall have met the Betrayed of all,

A whisper in your ear,

You shall have awakened her burning rage,
You shall have awakened her true flame,

Makes your mind so clear,

You shall have seen the winds of regret,
You shall have seen the dust of red,

Whatever you may send,

You shall have known the lie itself,
You shall have known the schemers' face,

It will not matter, the lie it shall,
your best friend, he will fall,

When this prophecy comes to an end,

She shall ascend.”

As his words ebbed away the die rolled over the stone floor, having danced to the vibrations of the gods words, and finally came to a halt. “A fifteen, that is WAY better, 30 Skillpoints randomly distributed are bound to get you something good,” Said the Horned Rat, its voice toned down to ‘normal’ levels, “I assume you will take that?”

John just nodded, “What did you mean by all that?” he asked, what the hell did he just witness? The Horned Rat laughed out loud as he started working some magic, “You will learn to never ask Gods of Knowledge this question, John Newman,” he boomed as power surged through John in small portions, lifting him off the ground. The door behind him opened again. “Like a river, fate is uncontrollable in its entirety but we have a lot of fun changing its course. All questions you ask me will be answered in a way that I deem helpful to my cause. We will see each other again one day, Newman.”

And with that he was thrown out of the Secret Room.