Amid the squeaking and clamoring, Rorschach and Singrev listened to Freddy’s explanation and came to understand the role of the Mouse Speakers.

Wherever there’s a city, there are bound to be rats. These rodents are born to survive on the scraps thrown out by city dwellers, and not even the Queen’s castle is off-limits. The little creatures only avoided grand halls and churches because there were too many people and not enough food.

But there was a problem when it came to finding someone: the Mouse Speakers themselves lacked the language and intelligence of ordinary people. While one could communicate with rats through them, the information the rats could understand and convey was also limited.

If the "temporary King," Singrev, were to issue an order for them to find Caroline, a Mouse Speaker might understand it as "find brown-haired female long-man" (which is what they called normal-sized humans and Elves, and they were afraid of "long-men"). How many of the elements—"brown," "female," "person"—would be retained when relayed to the rats was anyone’s guess. In comparison, having the rats follow a scent would be more reliable.

"So it’s useless. We don’t have any of the missing person’s clothes or personal belongings, so we can’t have the rats track a scent." Rorschach watched the comical coronation ceremony. The Mouse Speakers were trying to piece together a crown from wire, stones, and various other materials of some slight value. The others circled their "King," chanting an unintelligible song.

Small creatures began to scurry about in the trash heap—most likely the Mouse Speakers’ companions.

"I’m the one who taught them that song, though I’d rather not admit to having such terrible students." Though Freddy said this, he was strumming his lute, providing an accompaniment for the little creatures.

"So let’s go. The Elder wants to put that thing on my head!" The Dwarf noticed the "crown" looked like it was made of iron thorns and hurriedly said to the Elder, "No, no, no! This will cut my head if you put it on! Tetanus! Do you even know what tetanus is?"

Trying to make these scrawny little folk understand hygiene seemed futile. In the end, the Minstrel stepped in. He unwrapped a small packet of sugar from a piece of kraft paper and gave it to the Mouse Speaker Elder. After commissioning the Elder to search for a "brown-haired young female long-man," the trio was given a grand send-off out of Garbage Mountain.

"You’re quite familiar with the Mouse Speakers?" Rorschach couldn’t say he liked or disliked the natives. No one would get close to creatures that wallowed and crawled through trash—in that respect, they were basically the same as rats. But at least the group was benevolent, and their crowning of Singrev had made Rorschach chuckle in spite of himself.

"Of course. After all, I use that well to travel in and out of the Shadow Land." The Minstrel strolled casually, as if he were walking back to his own home. "They’ve taken over Garbage Mountain. I got on their good side, so they help me guard this well and make sure this end of it doesn’t get blocked."

’Do these little things really have any combat ability?’ Rorschach saw no signs that they could use Magic. Judging by their living conditions and physique, they didn’t have much physical strength either. However, Rorschach was more concerned about another question right now. "Is that well all you need to travel back and forth from this place?"

The Minstrel shook his head. "If only it were that easy! The well is special, and so am I. For now, with me in Shadow City, my name is forgotten by those on the surface. But as long as someone still remembers, as long as people still sing the ballads I’ve composed, then this Minstrel has a chance to return... So if the day comes when I’m no longer popular..."

"You won’t come back?"

Freddy once again refuted Rorschach’s guess. "No. I’ll just live out the rest of my days in the Shadow Land. This place may be grim and terrifying, but the surface world isn’t all that great either. I have more friends here." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Freddy’s words led Rorschach to a theory. Benedict Kangqi, who also claimed to be able to travel between the two worlds, was a "famous actor."

"So what do we do next?"

"In most stories, the great Mage is the brains of the operation. Since Lord Rorschach looks down on the Mouse Speakers’ abilities, why don’t you tell us what to do next?" Freddy gave Rorschach an exaggerated bow, as if he were playing the part of a Jester.

Rorschach ignored Freddy’s mockery. He guessed the Minstrel was displeased because Rorschach had looked down on his friends. But Rorschach really didn’t have any of Teacher Caroline’s personal items, leaving no work for those "little long-tailed hounds."

The young man stopped. Not far ahead was a river, which seemed to correspond to the Tamas River in Storm City. But the settlement here was lower, more dilapidated, and more spread out than Storm City, casting dark silhouettes in the stagnant, amber-hued space. Further in the distance, the outlines of larger, bizarrely shaped buildings loomed faintly in the mist.

Even with his [Dark Vision], the world looked like a diorama sealed in resin—and an oxidized, yellowed resin at that.

"This damn place has to have some kind of establishment, right?"

"Establishment? What a fancy word. Just like a Mage, spouting newfangled terms even a Minstrel doesn’t know."

Rorschach was growing impatient with the "Jester’s" performance. "An establishment. It means this place has rulers, and it has rules. If you insist on keeping up this sarcastic act, I don’t mind giving you a Fireball in my left hand and a Frozen spell in my right."

The Minstrel reined it in. "As you wish. Yes, this place does have rulers, and a ridiculous number of rules."

"They aren’t in league with the Istani authorities, are they?"

"The people down here? As if they’re worthy. We’re in the Shadow Land! Even a beggar in Storm City is nobler than they are, though beggars fall into this godforsaken place every day."

The three of them walked toward the settlement, about to cross a bridge. Rorschach continued explaining his plan, "First, we get into the city and find a place to stay. If nothing’s happened to Teacher Caroline, she must be in the urban area. The wilds and Garbage Mountain aren’t livable. We need to find someone who can gather information, someone with some sway in this place." In short, they needed to find a local bigwig to help. A Mage who wasn’t skilled at Divination and a Dwarf with an Explosive Hammer were unlikely to succeed in finding a needle in a haystack on their own.

This "local bigwig" didn’t necessarily have to be one of Shadow City’s administrators or Lords; Rorschach’s question to Freddy was to first ensure the local rulers had no ties to the surface, so the group wouldn’t continue to be hunted by the Iron Crown Knight Order and other authorities after they entered the city.

Once that was guaranteed, even if they didn’t actively search for Teacher Caroline, spreading the news that a young Caster had arrived in Shadow City would likely prompt Caroline to investigate Rorschach’s situation and seek him out herself.

Rorschach now had a theory: Teacher Caroline was being tracked by the surface authorities, so her entry into Shadow City was likely a deliberate move to evade pursuit by taking advantage of the Shadow Land’s "curse of erasure."

’This place really is a Holy Land for fugitives. You come in, and your wanted status is just wiped clean. So damn convenient.’

Rorschach’s last resort was in his inner pocket. Balan’s Pearl had gone dormant after his series of Divinations. He could wait for the pearl to reawaken; performing Divination in the same domain would likely yield a more detailed result.

"Hold on," the Minstrel said, agreeing with Rorschach’s plan. But there was a more pressing matter at hand. He grabbed Singrev, who was about to step directly onto the bridge. "Around here, you have to be extra careful when crossing any bridge or fording any river."