Adventure 2003 January 18

It's the first Madraday of Mardrer. We're back at the lizard town. The lizard men are happy to see us; there's a big celebration. Everyone gathers around while Hands of Fire tells the tale - he embellishes a bit, and everyone is very impressed with us. There's a great feast, though there is less food than there was at the previous feast, and the food is somewhat less edible (or appealing - especially the live mice), but we're heroes, and everyone is very happy.

We identify and divide up the treasures, and Paks offers to trade her longsword for another pearl, but the lizard men are not interested. Miriel does her special rituals, since it's a double Madriel day. She then asks Telryn to help her speak to the cook. It goes well, and she leaves some rice soaking. That afternoon we see some lizard children playing "Hands of Fire and the dry-landers." It's very cute, and it seems to be a very popular game.

The shaman comes over and gives us potions to heal us of everything. We ask about the status of the rat man town. Eyes of Snake calls over one of the scouts and determines that just yesterday, a small band of about five rat men arrived from the southwest. They seemed a little better dressed than the others, and they caused a great stir. We're told that everyone living in the swamp know that the big towns are much further to the southwest, so they probably came from a large town. Hands of Fire explains that the swamp gets much worse in that direction. We are told that, after hearing Hands of Fire's story, two lizard men (Fists of Fury and Swims with Fishes) have volunteered to come with us, but Hands of Fire seems less than pleased about this; he doesn't seem to like them. He grumbles to the chief, but Telryn doesn't quite hear what he says. Chuck asks about the population of the town, and hears that there aren't as many as in the past (before the siege), but there are still quite a lot.

We rest for the evening. Novalia asks about our history with the rat men, so we spend part of the evening regaling her with our adventures. Before going to bed, Miriel stops in the kitchen to grind the rice and leave a sourdough starter rising. She also does the evening rituals to Madriel. Goldpetal asks the shaman for some dove feathers, which he is able to supply from his store of spell components.

In the early morning, we wake upon hearing someone coming into our cave. It's Chuck; he's been gone all night, he's covered in mud, and his clothes look a little wet.

Telryn: "Did you find the duck?"

Chuck: "What are you talking about?"

A couple of hours later dawn comes and Hands of Fire wants to know if we're ready to set out. Stone isn't looking very well - he drank a lot of lizard-berry wine last night, and he didn't realize how strong it was. It seems that lizard-berry wine and half-orcs don't mix. Miriel wants to wait another day anyway, so she can make bread. Telryn likes the idea of waiting a day so he can transcribe spells, not to mention putting off trampinging through the swamp. The others are worried that the rat men might have reinforced, but Miriel asks how far the big city is and Hands of Fire says it's many days travel. Novalia thinks we should do both - leave Miriel and Telryn here and let the rest of the party go look at the town. Miriel doesn't think this is a good idea. Hands of Fire is starting to pick up on human speech, and says: "Healer good. Lots of healing good. Lots of rat men. Many rats. Sharp claws. Sharp teeth." We decide to wait a day.

During the day, Chuck goes looking for an animal companion and finds a viper. Telryn studies. Miriel bakes two tasty-looking two-pound loaves of rice sourdough. We ask Hands of Fire what he thinks about the other two guys. He explains to Telryn: "That Swims With Fishes, dumb as a newt." He says they're both strong and brave, but Swims with Fishes doesn't have a lot of common sense.

Telryn: "Is this good or bad for the quest?"

Hands of Fire: "Strong club good, weak mind bad."

As we've been travelling together, Paks has been coming to Miriel for instruction in the ways of Madriel. During the day while we prepare for the attack on the rat man village, she asks Miriel to go for a walk. As they walk, she describes a vision she had the previous night. She was outside, in a great dry forest. She walked past a waterfall, above a pool which sparkled in the bright sunlight. She walked to the edge of the woods and came upon a vast fertile plain of grains and grasses. She looked up into the bright, glowing sun and a huge white swan flew down upon her. It was almost frightening, but then it entered her and she found that she knew how to cast spells. She looked up at the sun and saw Madriel's face smiling down upon her.

They discuss the spells she knows and find that some of them are similar to those that Miriel knows, but some are unique, very different, such as the ability to bless a weapon. Paks asks her to keep this to herself, and they walk back to the lizard man town.

We're leaving at dawn on Hedraday. Miriel asks to be woken a few hours before dawn to enchant the loaves into four healing rations of food each, then goes back to sleep. She distributes the healing bread chunks, and packs up the starter to bring with her. Hands of Fire distributes two chunks among the lizard men, giving one to himself and one to Fists of Fury. The chief wishes us good luck, says he hopes we kill all the rat men, and warns us not to come back without permission and a guide, as we might lead the rat men back to the lizard people's home. He says if we come back to the swamp in the future, don't just show up unannounced; if we need to find them, we can show up nearby and they'll find us.

The day starts hot and humid, with very little breeze. There's a light mist covering the ground, much as almost every day in the swamp has been. We travel west about two hours; as we walk, Goldpetal looks for ninequine berries but doesn't see any.

After travelling for two hours, we're wading through about a foot of water. There's a lot of tall grass around us, waving in the wind. Swims with Fishes wanders off to the right to look at something, as we've all been doing. He trips over what he thinks is a log; suddenly we hear a big roar from both him and a giant alligator, with spines on its back and a mace for a tail, which starts rushing at us. He's stepped on its tail. The alligator charges at Swims With Fishes, but he manages to dive out of the way.

Telryn moves back away from the alligator and aims his crossbow. The owl flies up out of the way. Telryn fires and misses. The hawks dive at the alligator, but both miss, and one is impaled on the spines and killed. Paks steps back, brings up her bow, and fires, missing wildly. Swims With Fishes takes out his club and swings at the lizard, hitting it, but just bruising it. He injures himself worse on the spines and roars again. Fists of Fury pulls out a javelin and throws, but misses. Chuck's viper slithers down to the ground and bites at the (presumably) soft underbelly of the alligator, but misses. Chuck steps back and shoots his bow twice, hitting the alligator twice, but not doing much damage. Miriel asks if it's intelligent. Hands of Fire says "No!" She slings a bullet at it, but misses. Novalia fires her bow at it and hits. The lizard swings its mace-like tail at Swims With Fishes and hits him, knocking him unconscious. Goldpetal pulls his bow out and fires and hits. Hands of Fire steps back and throws a javelin at it, but misses.

Telryn steps over and fires off a magic missile at it. The remaining hawk flies up out of the way. Paks fires her bow again, missing again. Swims With Fishes bleeds. Fists of Fury throws another javelin, but misses. The viper bites again, but misses. Chuck steps back again and shoots, hitting it again. Miriel steps back and fires off a Sound Burst. The lizard is stunned. Miriel runs around it towards Swims With Fishes. Novalia steps around and shoots at the head of the lizard. She hits it right through the eye and kills it.

Miriel heals the lizard man. Chuck brings the snake to her and she heals it. Telryn cuts off some of the spines. Goldpetal sadly buries his dead hawk. Hands of Fire starts cursing at Swims With Fishes; even Telryn can't understand all that he's saying, but he's clearly very angry. He then recommends that we move on. We walk for another two hours. As we're travelling, getting closer to the rat men town, we see more and more rats scurrying around our feet. Suddenly Hands of Fire sniffs the air and turns to Chuck.

Hands of Fire: "Wind's changed."

Chuck: "Yeah."

The breeze is now coming from the east, and we can smell a slight tang of the ocean. Chuck looks around carefully; he sees lots of tracks of rat men. Hands of Fire suggests we go around to the other side of the town.

As we go around, he stops at a little blind where the lizard man scout is watching. Hands of Fire introduces us to the scout, his friend Red Scale. Telryn casts Mage Armor on himself. Red Scale tells us not much is going on. He leads us to a clearing, just to the south of us. The air is very thick, filled with bugs, and there are a lot of rats around. We see three little huts on a hill, maybe 500 yards away. We can see some rat men walking around them. He leads us back to the blind. Through Hands of Fire and Telryn, he explains the situation and sketches a little map of the area in the dirt. Goldpetal asks Red Scale how many rat men there are, and if there is anything growing in the area. He says recently he's seen maybe twenty rat men at a time, and the area is completely cleared.

Novalia suggests pelting them with arrows and making them come to us. Goldpetal says the swamp is their turf, so he thinks that's a bad idea. Miriel says we'll fight better on solid ground. Paks says taking the hill is an advantage. Hands of Fire says there might be too many of them, and inside a tunnel we can take them one at a time. Chuck says he's finally figured out something his master used to talk about - how to look into shadows to see around corners, and that should help in the tunnels. Paks checks with Goldpetal to see if this is a "duck" power, but Goldpetal says it's real. Paks suggests circling around to the west and rushing up the steep south hill.

Telryn pulls Pax aside and motions for her to stand still. Pax looks on with a mild curiosity as Telryn takes out a few hairs from a pouch on his waist and speaks some mysterious words. At the conclusion of this bizarre activity Telron touches Pax's shoulder and she feels as if her armor is getting tighter. She feels invigorated and ready to fight. "This should help a bit with the upcoming battle".

The huts are fairly closely grouped. They appear to be made of straw and mud. They have small doors, covered with leather hangings, facing towards the central area. Novalia draws her bow and casts Guidance on herself. As we approach the hill, we come upon a sewer of mud. Telryn says "If the gods are kind, we'll spend the rest of our lives somewhere dry." We start up the hill.

Telryn waits until he sees what Chuck does. Goldpetal has his scimitar drawn. He doesn't see anyone around the huts. He moves to the entrance to the furthest hut and listens. The viper stays with Chuck; he smells rat men. Chuck moves in with both swords drawn to the door of another hut. Telryn waits at the top of the hill. Chester hovers up high over the clearing. Swims With Fishes moves in near Goldpetal. Paks moves near Chuck. Red Scale waits for Hands of Fire. Fists of Fury comes up behind Chuck. Novalia waits for a clear shot at a rat man. Hands of Fire comes up alongside Paks and gestures to Red Scale to go around the third hut, which Red Scale does; he doesn't see anything around behind the huts. Miriel comes up next to Chuck.

Paks signals to Goldpetal and Chuck to go in, but Goldpetal stops to listen, and we can all hear rat men talking inside the huts. Paks, Hands of Fire and Red Scale go to the door of the second hut.

Goldpetal goes through the door into the first hut, scimitar drawn. It's very musty inside, and larger than it looks from outside. There's a very little light coming from some small lanterns, and smoke is coming up from one of two holes in the floor. There are supports resembling a row of decaying trees. There are three rat men, working on things hanging from the ceiling. Goldpetal swings at the rat man closest to him and hits it, chopping its head off. Chuck and the viper go into the third hut. It's also about thirty feet across; it looks like a forest at night. It is cluttered with many things, hanging lanterns, clothing, a thresher, and metal items in reed baskets. There are five rat men. There's a hole into the ground in the north side. Chuck swings both swords at the rat man right in front of him, but misses. Telryn runs up towards the first hut. Swims With Fishes goes into the first hut and attacks the rat man near one of the holes. Paks steps into the second hut and sees five rat men. The hut is about thirty feet across, decorated with geometric designs made of wood, and full of tools hanging from racks, containers, and some small sledges. The rat men are all along the far wall, so she steps in further and swings at the nearest one, killing it. Fists of Fury pushes in past Chuck and clubs at the rat man Chuck attacked, hitting it. The hawk circles. Novalia continues to wait to see a rat man. Hands of Fire goes into the second hut, crosses it, and attacks a rat man, hitting it but not killing it. Red Scale comes into the second hut, swings at the rat man nearest to Paks, and kills it. Miriel steps into the third hut and swings at the injured rat man, hitting it and killing it.

Goldpetal goes after the last rat in his hut, but he misses. Chuck's viper goes after the rat man in front of Chuck and bites it. Chuck swings both swords at the rat man in front of him, hitting and killing it with his long sword. Swims with Fishes swings at the remaining rat man in his hut and hits it, but it's still alive. The rat man in the first hut starts chittering and starts to run towards the hole, past Goldpetal. Goldpetal hits it and it dies. The wounded one in the second hut attacks Hands of Fire but misses him. Another moves forward and attacks as well, and succeeds in biting him. The last one attacks Red Scale and misses. In the third hut, one attacks Miriel and claws and bites her. The one closest to the hole tries to rush down it, Miriel hits it but doesn't kill it. Fists of Fury misses it and it dives down the hole. The last one rushes Miriel and attacks her, biting her. Paks attacks one of the rat mean attacking Hands of Fire and hits it hard, killing it. Fists of Fury steps past Miriel and attacks one of the rat men with his club, but misses. Novalia waits. Hands of Fire swings at the rat man near him, hitting and killing it. Red Scale swings at the last rat man in his hut, but misses. Miriel swings at the one in front of her, hitting it.

Miriel: "Okay, Chuck, get in here and kill this rat for me!"

Goldpetal casts Wolf's Cry. The entire warren is now probably alerted. The viper attacks the rat man Miriel injured, but misses. Chuck steps in and swings at him, hitting him and killing him. Telryn, hearing the wolf cry, steps into the first hut to see what's up. The owl settles on the top of this hut, waiting for him. Swims with Fishes waits to see what Goldpetal does. The remaining rat man in the third hut attacks Fists of Fury, biting him. The one in the second hut attacks Red Scale, but misses. Paks attacks it and chops its head off. Fists of Fury attacks with his club, but fumbles. His club flies out of his hands right towards the rat man, hitting it and killing it. Hands of Fire moves to the hole to watch it. Red Scale steps outside. Miriel also steps outside. They gesture at each other that everything's okay.

Goldpetal and Swims With Fishes watch the holes. Chuck casts Shade Sight on himself and moves to watch the hole. Telryn checks with Goldpetal about what's going on. Paks and Fists of Fury watch holes. Red Scale goes back in the hut. Miriel moves to the first hut and goes in to see what's going on. Seeing that every one is okay, she stays in the door of this hut waiting to see what happens.

Chuck looks into the shadows. He doesn't know how far away what he sees is, but he sees a dimly-lit room with a lot of rat men skittering about. It might be a kitchen There's a lot of agitation.

Leaving people to guard the holes, the rest of us convene in the center to discuss what to do. Novalia suggests collapsing the buildings. Miriel agrees. Chuck wants to take a closer look at the third hut. He finds lots of straw and mud and excrement. It looks like they make bricks and baskets here. They have some iron implements, and there are shoddy manacles hanging from the ceiling. Chuck asks if anyone has lamp oil. As we're discussing this, some rat men come out of a secret hole behind the third hut, screaming something in their rat tongue.

Telryn moves towards them and prepares to cast Color Spray. Miriel goes over next to Telryn and prepares to cast Sound Burst. The rat men rush up out of the hole towards Telryn and Miriel. These rat men are different from the others; they're armed with scimitars and wearing leather armor. Telryn casts the Color Spray. Two are knocked unconscious. Miriel casts the Sound Burst and stuns the rest. Hands of Fire runs out, yelling his war cry. He runs over and swings at the stunned rat man in the back, hitting it. Paks yells to everyone that we have it under control, and they should keep watching the holes. She attacks the one nearest Miriel and hits it, killing it. Swims with Fishes watches his hole. Chuck comes out and pulls his bow out and fires at the two rat men still standing, hitting one. Fists of Fury comes running out of the third hut and attacks one of the stunned rat men, but misses. Goldpetal watches his hole. Novalia draws her bow, nocks an arrow, and waits for a clear sight.

Telryn moves around behind the rat men and shoots at one of the stunned rat men, killing it. Red Scale continues to watch his hole. Miriel comes over with her short spear and kills one of the unconscious rat men. The snake goes after the conscious rat man and misses. He takes off into the swamp. Hands of Fire orders the lizard men to continue to watch the hole, then chases after the fleeing rat man to try to stop it. He gets on the other side of it and attempts to engage ti. Paks moves over to the outdoor hole, yelling to Novalia that one is getting away. Swims With Fishes guards his hole. Chuck goes into the third hut to look in the hole again. Fists of Fury goes over to kill the other unconscious rat man. Goldpetal watches his hole. Novalia moves over to shoot at the fleeing rat man and kills it.

Telryn suggests collapsing all three huts and going down the outdoor hole. Paks goes to get Chuck to look down the holes. Chuck says not to collapse the hut with smoke coming out of it. Paks suggests collapsing the two non-smoking huts, guarding the holes, and going down the outside hole. Miriel and Chuck agree with Telryn. As we're arguing, burrowing up from the ground come three dead eaters; they attack Hands of Fire and attempt to grapple him. One grabs him, he grapples back; they're locked in combat. Another piles on, but Hands of Fire throws him off. The third piles on, but Hands of Fire throws him off, too.

Miriel hears the commotion, goes to the door of the hut, screams out "Dead eaters! Help!" and casts a Sound Burst. Two of the dead eaters are stunned. Swims with Fishes watches his hole. Telryn comes running over past Miriel and attacks one of stunned dead eaters with his crossbow, but misses. The dead eater which is not stunned claws and bites at Hands of Fire and injures him badly. Fists of Fury comes running up next to Miriel. Paks tells Chuck to watch the hole and runs over past Miriel. The dead eater attacks her and injures her. Hands of Fire is stunned. Chuck comes running over past Miriel and into the hut. Novalia steps out and draws her bow and waits.

Goldpetal watches his hole. Red Scale watches his hole. The snake bites the dead eater that is not stunned. Miriel stabs the same one and kills it. Swims With Fishes watches his hole. Telryn steps back, shoots and misses. The two dead eaters attack Hands of Fire. One claws him, the other misses. Two more dead eaters appear in the hut with Fists of Fury and surprise him. They try to grapple him, but miss. One stumbles and is stunned and off-balance. Two more appear in the other hut and attack Swims With Fishes. One grabs him and knocks him unconscious. Novalia turns into the hut and shoots at one of the dead eaters, but misses. Fists of Fury pushes into the third hut and clubs at a dead eater, but misses. Paks swings and kills one. Hands of Fire steps back and eats his bread; he looks better.

Chuck steps past him and attacks the dead eater with both swords, hitting it twice and killing it. Goldpetal moves to the closest dead eater and swings, but misses. Red Scale runs out of the hut yelling. The snake moves out into the center outside. Miriel hears Red Scale yelling, calls for everyone to come to the other hut, and runs to the door of it, holding her spear straight in front of her in case anything attacks. The two dead eaters in the first hut rush Goldpetal; one misses, the other claws him. The one in the second hut charges Miriel. It impales itself on her spear and dies. Novalia runs into the first hut and trys to hit one of the dead eaters attacking Goldpetal, but misses. Fists of Fury runs out over to Miriel. Paks runs out to check on the first hut, stops at the door, and yells out that there are two in her hut. Hands of Fire runs out and waits outside. A dead eater rushes Miriel and claws her.

Chuck runs out, looks significantly at Hands of Fire and kicks the doorframe on the way out. He runs over to the first hut and in past Paks. Goldpetal swings at one of the dead eaters attacking him and hits it, killing it in one blow. Red Scale runs back over to the second hut. The snake goes over to the second hut and attacks the dead eater, but misses. Miriel steps back and calls out that there's just one dead eater over here. A bunch of rat men start climbing up the hill from the south and let loose with their crossbows. Two shoot at Telryn and one shoots at Hands of Fire; both miss, but another shoots at Telryn and hits him, knocking him unconscious and bleeding. The dead eater in the first hut attacks Goldpetal, but misses. Novalia swings at it and hits, but doesn't kill it. Fists of Fury steps over and swings at the dead eater, but misses. Paks turns, yells to Miriel that Telryn is down and charges one of the rat men, killing it. Hands of Fire turns and runs over and attacks another one, fighting defensively and mising. The dead eater in the second hut attacks Fists of Fury and fumbles. It's stunned again.

Chuck charges the dead eater in the first hut with his longsword and hits it. Goldpetal attacks the dead eater in the first hut and hits it. Red Scale runs over and throws a javelin at the rat man on the end, but misses. The snake bites at the dead eater, but misses. Miriel runs over to Telryn and tries to stabilize him, but fails. Swims with Fishes keeps bleeding. Another group of rat men appears from the west. Two shoot at Fists of Fury; one fumbles and misses, the other misses. One shoots at Miriel, but misses. The rat man in front of Hands of Fire swings and misses. Another rushes towards Hands of Fire and hits him. The next attacks Paks, but misses. The other two shoot at Red Scale; one fumbles and misses, the other hits. Telryn bleeds. Novalia swings at the last dead eater in the first hut, but misses. Fists of Fury swings at the dead eater and finally hits it. Paks swings at the one that attacked Hands of Fire and hits it, killing it. Hands of Fire swings at the other one who was attacking him and hits it, killing it. The dead eaters attack Fists of Fury and miss, the other attacks Chuck, biting him.

Chuck swings at the dead eater with both swords and hits with his longsword, killing it. Goldpetal tries to heal Swims With Fishes, but he still bleeds. Red Scale charges the stunned rat man and hits, but doesn't kill it. Miriel stabilizes Telryn. Swims With Fishes bleeds. One of the rat men attacks Paks, but misses. Another moves over to attack Red Scale, but misses. The two on the other side shoot, one at the lizard man and one at Miriel, but both miss. Telryn remains unconscious. Novalia runs out and shoots at one of the rat men to the west, but misses. Fists of Fury swings at the dead eater, but misses. Paks swings at the rat man and hits it, but doesn't kill it. Hands of Fire moves around to flank the same rat man and swings at it, hitting it and killing it. The remaining dead eater attacks and misses, fumbling and stunning itself again. The snake attacks it again and hits. One no-longer-stunned rat man attacks Red Scale, hitting him, while the other shoots at Fists of Fury, missing and hitting the wall of the hut.

Chuck administers first aid to Swims With Fishes and stabilizes him. Goldpetal runs out, draws his bow, and shoots at the rat men to the west, grazing one. Red Scale swings at the injured rat man and kills it. Miriel drags Telryn into the third hut and watches from the doorway. Swims With Fishes is unconscious. The rat man next to Red Scale attacks, but misses. The archers to the west shoot at Fists of Fury and one hits, knocking him unconscious. Two rat men come up in the third hut and attack Miriel; both bite her, and she yells for help. Novalia shoots at the rat man to the west, grazing it again. Fists of Fury is down. Paks runs over and attacks the rat man attacking Red Scale and hits it, killing it. Hands of Fire runs over to help Miriel. The dead eater leaps on Fists of Fury and bites him. The snake hits it twice. The rat man to the west shoots at Goldpetal and hits him. Chuck pulls Swims With Fishes out of the hut. Goldpetal shoots at the dead eater and fumbles, but manages to hang on to his bow. Red Scale charges the dead eater and hits it. Miriel stabs one of the rat men and steps back out of the hut. One rat man shoots at Red Scale, the other shoots at Chuck; both miss. The other two grab Telryn and drag him away, down the hole. Novalia steps around Chuck and shoots and misses. Paks runs over towards the rat men to the west. Hands of Fire follows the rat men down the hole and yells something in lizard man. The dead eater attacks Red Scale and claws him, knocking him unconscious and bleeding. The snake bites at the dead eater, but misses. The rat man to the west shoots at Paks and misses. Chuck shoots twice at the dead eater and hits once, killing it. Miriel runs over to Red Scale and stabilizes him. Two rat men shoot at Paks and one hits her. Novalia runs past Miriel and shoots at one of the rat man to the west, and hitting it. Paks attacks the unwounded rat man, hitting it.

Hands of Fire crawls down the tunnel after the rat men. He finds himself in a twenty-foot long, ten-foot high room, filled with piles of cloth and twine. He sees three rat men dragging Telryn back into the warren. He steps over Telryn's body and attacks one of the uninjured rat men with his claws and teeth, hitting with all of them and killing it. He swings on through to the injured one and kills it. The snake waits for Chuck. The rat man next to Paks attacks and misses. Goldpetal runs over and tries first aid on Fists of Fury.

Chuck runs past everyone, shoots at two of the rat men to the west, and hits both, killing both of them. The snake slithers towards the last one. Miriel tries to stabilize Fists of Fury, but fails. The rat man tries to attack Hands of Fire, but fails. Novalia shoots at the last rat man, but misses and hits Paks. Fists of Fury bleeds. Paks swings at the last rat man, fumbles, and is stunned. Her sword files out of her hand, hits the rat man, and kills it. Hands of Fire attacks the rat man with claws and teeth again, but he trips and is stunned. The rat man attacks him and he goes down. Goldpetal stabilizes Fists of Fury.

Chuck goes into the third hut to look for Hands of Fire, but doesn't see him or Telryn. He pulls out his lighted dagger and crawls down the tunnel. The snake follows and Chuck throws him at a rat man, but misses and throws the snake into the wall. The snake is stunned. Miriel heals Red Scale and hands him her bread, which he eats. The rat man underground bolts. Novalia heals Swims With Fishes; he's awake. Swims With Fishes kisses Novalia. Goldpetal pours a healing potion down Fists of Fury's throat; he's looking much better. Fists of Fury asks Red Scale what happened and hears that Hands of Fire went into the third hut. Paks sees them gesturing, runs into the third hut, and goes down the tunnel. Chuck moves into the underground room and tries to see who needs healing, but neither is bleeding. Miriel runs into the hut and calls out that it looks like they went down the hole. Red Scale runs in and dives down the hole. Novalia tries to climb up on top of the first hut, but slides back down. Goldpetal gives Swims With Fishes heaing bread and he eats it. Fists of Fury runs into the hut and dives down the hole. Paks comes out into the room and heals Telryn and Hands of Fire. Telryn eats his bread and asks where we are. Hands of Fire waits for rat men to appear. The snake waits for Chuck.

Novalia makes it up to the top of the building. Hands of Fire eats Paks' bread. Chuck looks down the tunnel and can see the kitchen, with rat men running around, but it seems somewhat cleared out.

Up above, we search the huts. In the third hut, Miriel sees brick making equipment - mud, reeds, and rat excrement, and also manacles. In the second hut, Goldpetal sees racks of tools, scoops, chisels, picks, and hammers. The tools are made of stone, wood, and bone. In the first hut, Miriel sees dark shapes hanging from the celing; looking at them closely, she sees that they're dried carcasses, human, or maybe elven. They're drained of blood, with pots under them for receiving the blood. She also sees tanning tools and tanned skin.

The room underground contains cloth, twine, and tools. It's littered with reeds, straw, flat rocks, and wood bowls containing noxious fluids. There's a layer of filth over everything. In the huts, Miriel says this is not healthy. The walls of the rooms are covered with layers of dried excrement It smells terrible. There is slime and mushrooms growing on the walls.

Novalia heals Hands of Fire and gives Miriel her quarter-loaf of bread. Novalia takes ten arrows from Goldpetal and gives him two gold pieces. Miriel goes back down the hole with Paks and Telryn. Swims With Fishes and Fists of Fury collapse the other two huts while Goldpetal and Novalia watch in the third hut.

Telryn starts mapping the warren as we walk. As Chuck starts down one passage, we hear voices calling out in Veshan from the other one "Here, this way - help, help!". Paks starts down that passage, with a torch lit. We quickly come into another rough-hewn room, about fifteen by ten feet. There is a passage leading off to the east and two leading off from the southwest corner. In this room, we see five human slaves in manacles. They're chained to the wall; it looks like they perform tasks in here. There are scraps of cloth and food on the floor, and the room is stifling.

Paks covers the double corridor. "Thank you for saving us, please let us go! The rat men have chained us here." Paks yells back that they're okay and unlocks them. "Light, we haven't seen light in forever!" Chuck looks for heavy metal tools and passes a pick along to break the chains. We start to free them. "Thank you, thank you!" They start rushing out the way we came. Paks yells at Chuck not to let them out until we warn the people upstairs.

Slave: "Thank you, kind sirs...and ladies...you've saved us, but we still have to get out of the swamp!"

Paks: "We have friends, we'll help you get out after we're done here."

Slave: "There are many slaves here."

Paks: "We'll save them."

Slaves: "Be very wary of the priests' area; slaves go in and they don't come out."

He points out which corridor leads to the military, priest, and common areas. Chuck yells out "I'm coming up!" and leads the slaves up. Red Scale goes up and Fists of Fury comes down. We head towards one of the military areas. Goldpetal asks the slaves to help demolish the huts, which they're happy to do.

Ten feet down the passage we see another room, roughly twenty feet by ten and kidney-shaped. There are reed mats hanging from the ceiling which conceal the western side of the room. There may be some movement behind there. Paks and Hands of Fire step in and Hands of Fire pushes the reeds aside. He sees a bunch of female rat people with babies, cringing and terrified of us. There are two blindfolded slaves in there. Paks steps up to the exit corridor and Hands of Fire in goes after them. It's like bopping baby seals with a club. Miriel arrives as he's beginning this and goes over to the slaves. They're terrified. She removes their blindfolds, and they cover their eyes, saying "No, it's against the rules to look at the hairless children of the rat men!" She leads them out. Telryn says a prayer to Madriel. We go down the next corridor and find another room, about twenty feet in diameter. There are two more corridors leading off from this room.

In this room, we see lots of mats on the floor, made inot little nests. It looks like sleeping quarters for the adult rat men. There are seven giant rats in the room, about the size of dachsunds. Paks yells back to Telryn that it connects and tells him to send the lizard men around the other passage, which he does.

Hands of Fire storms down the passage, steps into the room, and claws and bites at two of the rats. He hits both, killing two, and swings on through to kill one more. Fists of Fury follows and swings his club at the rat in front of him, but misses. The one that Fists of Fury just missed leaps at his crotch, but misses. The other three bolt out the unblocked door. Paks comes in and stabs with her torch at the one that didn't run away, but misses. Chuck moves up and sends his snake after the rats whiel shooting at two that ran away, killing one and missing the other. The snake bites one, but it lives. Miriel runs down the corridor after the lizard men.

Hands of Fire attacks the rat the snake bit and kills it. A hail of four crossbow bolts comes down the corridor the rats ran down. Two of them hit him. He goes down. Fists of Fury steps to the opening of the corridor and looks down it, but can't see anything, so he ducks back. The giant rat leaps at him again, but misses. He bashes at it and kills it. The last rat runs away. Telryn takes out a crossbow bolt and casts Light on it. Paks drags Hands of Fire out of the way. Chuck throws his bread to Paks and moves over next to Miriel. The viper waits for Chuck. Miriel runs over to Hands of Fire and stabilizes him.

Two arrows come at Miriel, but they miss. Four other bolts come down the other passageway at Chuck and one at Fists of Fury. One hits Chuck. Another fumbles, and he hears a rat man scream down the corridor. Fists of Fury waits to see what people with light do. Telryn summons a wolf down the hallway and directs it to attack. It rushes down the corridor and attacks the nearest rat man, but misses. Telryn calls out "Charge 'em!" Paks sticks healing bread in Hands of Fire's mouth and lays on hands to wake him. He eats, and looks better. Chuck charges down the corridor near him with his glowing dagger and longsword in hand. He sees another ten by fifteen room with corridors opening off to the north, east, and southeast. We can see another cavern to the east. There are three rat men standing there and one dead on the floor, it looks like one of the others shot him accidentally. One of them shoots at him as he runs in, but misses him. He attacks that one with the dagger and another with his longsword. He hits both. The snake slithers down the corridor and bites the nearest one, hitting it. Fists of Fury runs after Chuck and swings at a rat man, but misses. Miriel pulls out a torch and lights it.

Two rat men attack Chuck. One hits, one misses. The four down the other way attack the wolf, but only one hits. Telryn fires down the corridor with his lighted crossbow bolt, intentionally missing and sticking it in a wall to light the room. In its light we can see part of a large, rough room, probably about forty feet in diameter. It looks like they've turned over some low tables; there might be quite a few rat men in there. The wolf bites at the rat man who hit him, injuring it. Paks goes down after the wolf and swings at the first rat man she meets. She hits it and kills it. Hands of Fire follows Paks. Chuck swings at two rat men again and hits one, killing it. He steps further into the room. The snake bites the same rat man again and kills it. Fists of Fury steps in and swings at the last rat man, smashing it to pulp with his club. Miriel runs down the corridor after Hands of Fire.

The three rat men swing at the wolf, but miss. Four crossbow bolts come at Chuck and Fists of Fury. All miss, and one shooting at Chuck fumbles and shoots the rat man in front of him in the head. The shaman pounds the ground with a claw and shakes the ground under Paks, but she manages to keep her balance. A larger rat man in the back readies his crossbow. Telryn comes up behind Miriel and tries to see what's going on, but can't see much. The wolf attacks the same rat man and hits it, then moves out of the corridor opening. Paks steps into the room and casts Protection From Evil on herself. One of the rat men swings at her, but misses. Hands of Fire follows Paks in and swings the rat man that attacked Paks, but misses. Chuck runs down the corridor and attacks the rat men that shot at him with both weapons. He hits one and kills it. His snake attacks the one that was shot by its friend and hits it. It looks very weak and collapses, dead of the poison. Fists of Fury steps by Chuck and hits the rat man that fumbled, hitting it hard. One of the rat men warriors behind the tipped over troughs shoots at Hands of Fire, but misses. We notice that they have different-colored robes on, black robes, and though most disease rat men are sickly gray, these are whiter. The one with the sword is an albino. Miriel blesses all of her allies. Rat Man 0 tries to bolt and Fists of Fury hits him and kills him.

Two next to the wolf attack it and miss. One attacks Paks and misses. One attacks Hands of Fire and misses. Two shoot at Fists of Fury; both hit him, but he's still alive. The shaman aims a spell at Paks, but it doesn't seem to affect her, and she laughs at him and gestures for him to come at her. He blanches. The albino moves over and shoots at Hands of Fire and hits him. Telryn steps past Miriel and tosses a vial of Alchemist's Fire over the barriers and hits one of the warriors. It splashes fire and injures other rat men in the area. The wolf attacks an uninjured rat man and hits it, then disappears. Paks swings at the burning rat man near her, but misses. Hands of Fire heads back down the passage past Miriel. The rat man near him swings at him, but misses. Chuck leaps into the room; one rat man swings at him and hits. He swings at two rat injured rat men and hits both, killing both. The viper moves over past the troughs and bites at one of the rat men behind it, but misses. Fists of Fury steps up, but misses. The burning rat man rolls on the floor to try to put out the flames and succeeds. He's prone now. One of the warriors leaps over the wall and shoots at Chuck and hits. Another shoots at Chuck and hits; Chuck goes down. Miriel pulls out her scroll and casts Protection From Evil on herself.

Two rat men swing at Paks and miss. Two more attack Fists of Fury and miss. The shaman readies something. The albino tries to shoot at Miriel, but misses. Telryn throws a flask of acid at the shaman and hits him. The acid splashes on the prone warrior. Paks steps in further and swings at a wounded rat man and hits it, killing it. Hands of Fire waits at the end of the corridor and watches with club ready. The snake bites at the same rat man and hits it, poisoning it. Fists of Fury swings at the rat man in front of him and hits it, braining it. He jumps over the trenchers. One of the warriors shoots at Paks and hits her hard. Another moves over and swings at Fists of Fury and misses. Another shoots at Paks and misses. Another shoots and hits. She's unconscious. A rat man attacks Fists of Fury and misses. Another hacks at Miriel and hits. The priest rushes towards Fists of Fury and goes to touch him, but misses. Fists of Fury swings at him, but misses. The albino shoots at Miriel and misses. Telryn magic missiles the nearest rat man, but doesn't kill it. Miriel runs past and stabilizes Chuck.

Hands of Fire runs back down and tries to heal Paks with a potion, but is hit. Paks stabilizes. The snake hits the injured rat man and poisons it, killing it. Fists of Fury brains the shaman with a critical hit and a hit, killing it. Two warriors attack Fists of Fury, but miss. Two shoot at Telryn and one hits the injured rat man, killing it. Miriel grabs Paks' potion of healing and pours it down her throat. Paks lays hands on Chuck and wakes him up, then lays hands on herself to heal herself. Chuck takes bread from Miriel and eats it. The snake attacks a rat man and hits it. The albino moves up to shoot at Telryn and hits him. He's unconscious. Fists of Fury swings at a rat man and hits it hard, but doesn't kill it. Two warriors attack Fists of Fury and one fumbles; the other hits and he goes down. The other two warriors shoot at Paks, but miss. Miriel reads the scroll and casts Searing Light at the albino, injuring it badly but not killing it. Paks steps over and smites it, but it's still standing. Chuck runs over and tries to hit it, but misses. The snakes bites the nearest rat man. The albino rat draws its scimitar. It's silvery and has a nasty shimmer to it. He swings at Paks and hits her. She feels something evil in the blade, but it has no effect on her. The albino looks at her oddly, and seems shaken by something. Red Scale runs in past Telryn and swings at the albino, but misses. The one the snake has been attacking tries to hit the snake, but misses. The other two warriors aim at Chuck, one with a scimitar. They both hit, and he goes down. Swims With Fishes runs in and attacks an injured warrior, hitting and killing it. Miriel runs over and pours Chuck's healing potion down his throat. Chuck stands up and shoots at the albino, hitting it and killing it. The snakes bites at the rat man and misses. Paks steps back to Hands of Fire and gives him his healing potion. The new Rat Man 0 runs away. Red Scale attacks the nearest warrior, but misses. The other two rat warriors run away. Swims With Fishes chases after one and hits it. Miriel runs over to Fists of Fury and stabilizes him. Chuck runs over shoots down the corridor at the fleeing rat warriors. He hits both. The near one swings at Chuck but misses. The snake comes over and bites at him and kills him. Paks heals Telyrn and wakes him.

Everyone is stable now. Hands of Fire and Fists of Fury are unconscious. Miriel heals Fists of Fury to wake him. Hands of Fire is too injured, but she does her best to perform first aid and healing on him.