Hulder and Mouse

The Muskrat Monster

Art was startled, “This is the channel from South Africa. Is it another Grootslang?”

“That squashed monster? No this is different. Smaller, full of spite and venom.”

Mouse moved to stand beside Hulder, “Can we defeat it?”

“Easily my love, like most of its kind, it is cowardly, it relies on deceit and the ignorance of those it seeks to dominate. Shall we go meet it?”

“Why not? Art do you have a shovel I can use?”

“No need my love, I am Trollish, stay close to me.”

Art stepped back quickly as the area around Hulder’s body became incandescent with heat. Mouse was inside a bubble of heat that was strong enough to melt the dirt and rocks. The two of them began to sink down into the ground, leaving behind a tunnel whose sides were fused to a glassy surface. Mouse was grinning, he’d never seen Hulder do this, and he looked forward to the coming fight. “What is it called, Hulder? This monster.”

“I have heard them called Muskrats, but you showed those animals to me, they are rather nice looking, if a bit rat-like.”

“So not a Muskrat? We also have Musky fish and Muskox in this country. But I don’t think any of those come from South Africa.”

“Ah, it senses us, and it runs.”

Mouse, who had been getting larger and more dense, was disappointed. “Can we chase it back to its home?”

“You wish us to undertake the survey?”

“I just want a good run, but this seems the way to get it.”

“Very well, here is the tunnel, can you smell it?”

“It stinks, how can I not? Let’s go.”

The two of them fairly flew down the tunnel, the monster limping and lurching ahead of them. It began to yell gibberish, something about how it was a very important person, someone to be listened to. It was saying something about being a genius when Hulder’s field caught up with it. One short scream and it was gone.

“Do you smell that, Hulder?”

“I do, there seems to be more of them, but they have gone through here years ago.”

“Do you suppose they are the refugees that the St. George is expecting?”

“More likely they will be the cause of the refugee problem. Notice the side tunnel here, it leads somewhere south of Canada. If those things have gained positions of power, there will be those who are leaving on their own, and those who will be forced out.”

“Well that’s not our problem right now, let’s survey this tunnel to its origin and report back.”

This the pair did, and since they were mostly sliding along on Hulder’s bubble of heat, it was only an hour or so before they were reporting back to Art.

“We chased the Muskrat until we caught it, and then surveyed the rest of the tunnel. We can divert the channel, the tunnel, to as deep as you need it to go, so that the building can drop onto anything coming out the end.”

Art was delighted, “So you will take the job?”

Mouse laughed, “If you can promise us some monsters to fight, I’m all for it.”

Hulder nodded and put her arm around Mouse to give him a quick hug.

“Good, good. Ken has the details of the contract, the St. George will be paying you through him. I have been called away to the lunch counter, something about Thrift Stores. Can you make your way to the Keller?”

“Sure, we know where it is, one question, do we survey all the landing places for the St. George now, or wait for it to move.”

Art cocked his head, “The George says there is no huge rush, you can wait for him to move and survey then. After that he will know how deep he can go and you can adjust the channels. Since you’ve been here, you will know when he moves.”

Hulder smiled, “Fine, fine. No rush then. We’ll head to the bar. Can we use the train tunnel? It’s very near here, we can dig to it and fill in after ourselves.”

Art nodded, “I suppose that would be fine, listen carefully, those trains are fast.”

“Not as fast as I am.”

Art considered that, shrugged and said, “Thanks again you two, we appreciate it.”

A couple of minutes later, the pair were climbing the stairs from the train station to Ken’s Keller. Ken was minding the bar when he saw them coming up. “I see you two are finding your way around. Did you meet Art and the St. George?”

Mouse nodded, “We did, and we’ll take the contract.”

“Good, I think you’ll find the wages are generous, do you want to have an apartment as well?”

“I think we’ll wait for a while before moving. I get the distinct feeling that if we lived in the apartment building we’d be doing a lot of extra work.”

Ken laughed, “You picked up that vibe did you? Well you’re right, there are a lot of supernatural beings in the George that work for him.”

Hulder was eyeing the bar taps and noticed one written in Trollish. “You have a Troll brew?”

“We have a wide selection of beers here, and we just found a brew from Iceland. Here, let me pull you a pint.”

“Well, it’s a bit early isn’t it?”

“Not in Iceland. And how about you, Mouse, can I tempt you with a thimbleful?”

Mouse looked sharply at Ken, but he saw a wide grin and teasing eyes. “Just a thimbleful please, it’s still early in Whitehorse.”

The pints poured, Mouse ended up with a normal sized mug, the two sat at the bar while Ken settled down on the stool behind. “Are you two getting the hang of Guelph?”

Hulder drained half her mug and set it down on the bar with a smile of thanks, “It seems a friendly place, very welcoming.”

“It is, isn’t it? Nobody is quite sure why it’s so diverse, but some think there are crossings of ley lines or similar. On the surface it’s perfectly normal, but when you look a bit deeper...”

“You find a Kobold bar?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“Ken why are you paying us, and not the St. George? And why the negotiations in New Zealand? Who exactly are you, you’re certainly not a barkeeper.”

“But here I am pulling pints for you in a bar.”

“Not only a barkeeper.”

“No, I suppose not. I’m a general-purpose fixer for the Kobold nation I guess. I run several agents in various places, and a while ago I realized the St. George was doing the same. We came to an arrangement, that building and I, and so we have sort of a loose organization. That means if it’s easier for me to pay you two, I do it. Ah, two more pints?”

“Uh, yes please, but we’re a bit short of cash at the moment. Could you take it out of our wages?”

“I’d be delighted!”

~~
Kim Taylor Feb 23, 2025