"You've just assaulted a keep full of ratmen. The corpses of the sentries lay strewn about. You stand above a stairway leading down into what you assume must be their warren. The smell emanating from the darkness below is a disgusting mix of disease, rot, and wet fur. The escaping ratmen have had about 10 minutes to warn their allies. It's quiet. Too quiet."
Third Taniday of Taner, around midday. We just killed the horse-rats in the rat man warren. We stand above a stairway leading down into what we assume is the warren. It smells dreadful. The escaping rat men had about 10 minutes to warn their brethren. Stone says "Hey, we only killed three horse rats over there, and it looks like there were more kept here - there are probably some coming back. I'll stay up here and wait for them and kill them." We agree that this would be a good plan, if he's sure he can take them on himself.
We listen at the top of the stairway, but it's quiet down there...too quiet. We see nothing in the light of Chuck's arrow. Telryn suggests that Chuck take his shield ring and lead the way. Chuck takes the ring and heads for the stairs. Paks casts Divine Favor on herself. We follow along behind, Miriel and Paks right behind Chuck. We head down the stairs carefully, as quietly as we can.
As we get to the bottom, Chuck sees a large room; the staircase comes down in the center. The room is some sort of hall, made of stone and supported by pillars; it doesn't look like rat man construction, but the floor is slimy and it definitely smells like a rat man warren. There are several overturned long tables, and Chuck thinks he sees rat men behind them. He passes this back. He takes out his bow and turns the corner, bow drawn. A net falls on his head, but he dodges and avoids it. At the same time, a bunch of arrows fly at him. All the arrows miss, and one of the rat men fumbles and is stunned. A wolf rat appears next to a rat man who looks like a shaman. The shaman gestures, and a swarm of rats appears all over Chuck.
Darmaon draws his bow and continues after Chuck. He steps around Chuck and the swarm, and four arrows fly at him. Two crossbow bolts hit him, injuring him badly, and knocking him unconscious. The priest casts Cause Fear on Chuck, but it has no effect. Chuck draws his swords and attacks one of the big rat men with axes in front of him. "Hoarfrost!" He hits. Telryn comes down the stairs a bit and hastes Paks. Paks moves down the stairs and attacks the group of rat men to the left, slicing through one of the rat men with axes and killing it. She raises her sword above her head and yells a challenge, trying to intimidate the rat men. The rat men waver, but their leader draws and raises his sword and yells something in Slytherin, and they seem heartened again. It looks like he's weilding a chain sword. One of the rat man warriors drops his crossbow, draws a sword, and swings at Chuck, but misses. The other two shoot at Chuck, but miss. One more rat man shoots at Chuck, but misses. Two rat mean leap over the table and charge Chuck with swords drawn, but miss. One of the rat men charges Paks, the other two shoot. One of the shooters fumbles, and all miss. Miriel comes down the stairs, assesses Darmaon quickly, and casts a sound burst at the cluster of rat men attacking Chuck. Most of them are stunned, but the shaman resists. Goldpetal, in panther form, leaps down the stairs and attacks the rat men, but misses.
Darmaon bleeds. The wolf rat attacks Miriel, trying to bite her, but just barely misses. The priest summons a swarm of rats on Miriel. Chuck swings both swords at the rat men, hitting both and killing both. He steps in and swings again with Hoarfrost, hitting one of the warrior rat men. Suddenly, a bunch of ghoulish creatures burst through a door and attack Paks, Miriel, and Goldpetal. They have long claws and sharp teeth. They miss Paks and Miriel but bite Goldpetal. Telryn casts a flaming sphere at one of the rat men, but it dodges. Paks attacks two of the rat men, but misses. She attacks again and almost hits, but he dodges. The rat man warriors attack Paks and Miriel, but miss. Three of the guards attack Paks, but miss. Two attack Chuck, one hits. The leader attacks Paks twice, but misses. Miriel attempts to turn the ghouls. Her holy symbol lights up, but the ghouls seem unaffected. She realizes they are dead eaters. Goldpetal moves up and attacks with both claws and a bite, hitting with a claw.
Darmaon stabilizes. The wolf rat attacks Miriel again, but misses. The priest casts Cause Moderate Wounds on Chuck; wounds break out all over his chest. "Hoarfrost!" Chuck makes critical hits with both swords, a double critical with the short sword. He beheads one with Hoarfrost and kills the other with the short sword. He swings with Hoarfrost again, hitting and killing another rat man. The dead eaters attack Paks, Miriel, and Goldpetal. The four attacking Miriel and Paks miss, the one attacking Goldpetal hits with both claws. Goldpetal breaks out in black blisters all over his body. The wolf rat is killed by the flaming sphere. Telryn shoots a magic missile, killing one of the dead eaters. Paks swings at a rat warrior, killing it, and cleaving through to the leader. She swings at one of the dead eaters, hitting it. She hits the leader one more time, hitting him hard but not killing him. She steps toward the opening in the wall behind the rat men and glances down that way. She sees the glow of a light, purple flames emanating from braziers. The warrior near Chuck, who has avoided attacks or damage, runs away. Two rat men attack Chuck; one hits. One attacks Goldpetal and hits. Two attack Paks and miss. The leader steps back from Paks and whips his sword at her, trying to trip her, hitting her and tripping her. He swings at her again, hitting her. Miriel steps out of the swarm and around to Darmaon. The dead eaters bite at her, but miss. She heals Darmaon. Goldpetal attacks a rat man, but misses. The last rat man attacks Goldpetal, but misses.
Chuck swings again, killing two more rat men. He steps back and swings at the swarm of rats, dispersing it. Two dead eaters attack Miriel, one attacks Paks, who swings at it and hits it, killing it. The two that attacked Miriel hit with bites, one misses with claws. Telryn moves the fire ball at the dead eaters, but misses. Paks stands up and moves to attack the rat man leader, hitting him hard again, but not killing him. Three rat men run away. The leader swings at Paks, hitting her. Miriel swings at the dead eater with the flaming sphere on it and hits it. Darmaon stands up, pulls out his short sword, and hits that dead eater with a critical hit, killing it. Goldpetal attacks the rat man in front of him, hitting it with a claw and bite, killing it. The dead eater that fumbled attacks Goldpetal, hitting him.
Chuck pulls out his bow and shoots at the dead eater by Miriel, grazing it. The dead eater claws Miriel. Telryn moves the flaming sphere onto the dead eater. Paks swings at the rat man leader, killing him. She steps up and swings on the dead eater, killing it. Miriel spears the dead eater twice, killing it. Darmaon gives Chuck some blessed bread. Paks cures Goldpetal's corpse blisters and Miriel casts a lesser restoration on him. Goldpetal cures his injuries. Telyrn searches the shaman's body and finds 16 white shell pieces, 5 red corals, and a potion. Paks searches the leader's body and finds 22 white shell pieces, 6 rubies, and 4 red corals. She also takes the whip sword. She notices that he has the mire worm studded leather armor and undresses him. Chuck searches the other bodies and finds 102 white shells, 46 red corals, and 5 gold trinkets.
Chuck tries to intuit direction. We note that the room is mostly dungeon stone, but there are three exits that seem to have been tunneled by the rat men. Miriel suggests that Paks concentrate to feel where the evil is coming from, and she feels that it is directly down. Darmaon goes with Paks to search for traps near the door that the dead eaters came through, which is slightly ajar. He doesn't find any, but peers through the door, using Chuck's glowing dagger. He sees a small room; all the flagstones of the floor have been picked up and stacked in the corner, exposing raw earth. The room is covered in filth and, if possible, smells even worse. They shut the door.
Paks, Chuck, and Darmaon move to the next door and search for traps, but don't find any, though for a minute Paks thinks she sees something. Paks struggles to open the door - it's a double door and is barred from the inside. Goldpetal, Darmaon, and Chuck try to help her, and after a few tries, they burst it open. Paks draws her sword. They see what appears to be a kitchen, with a bunch of knives and other cooking equipment, low tables, and sacks of provisions hanging from the ceiling. We all search quickly. Goldpetal notes that the hams smell human, and Darmaon asks Miriel if that is what he thinks it is, and she nods grimly. The smoke goes up from the firepit to the smoky room we were in before. We go to the other door out of the room and try to open it, but it's barred. Paks and Chuck push at it a few times, bursting it open. There are a bunch of kitchen workers hiding in the pantry, and Chuck wants to kill them, but Paks restrains him, so he ties them up. We move back out of the kitchen and try the next exit from the hall, one of the rat man tunnels. They see a wounder mauler. Chuck calls Paks to help him; as they walk in, he stands up, and they can see how wounded he is. Paks tries to talk to it, but it just growls at her. They step up to attack it.
Paks swings and hits. Darmaon enters the room and shoots his bow, but misses. The mauler attacks Paks with two slams and a bite, hitting her hard. Goldpetal runs for the fight, and the mauler swings at him, hitting him. Miriel blesses everyone. Chuck pulls out both swords and swings at the mauler, hitting it. Telryn steps up and shoots a magic missile at the mauler from his wand.
Paks swings twice and hits once, killing the mauler. Chuck searches the body, finding two big silver armbands, which Paks takes. Paks and Goldpetal each eat a piece of bread. We head down the right-hand passage out of this room and find sleeping quarters. Paks hands her shells to Telryn, as she can't figure out why she's carrying them. The next room we find looks like a common room, with various tables, tools, and foodstuffs scattered around. A passage out of this room slopes down steeply. Darmaon suggests resting. Paks asks Telryn to map what we've seen so far. Chuck gives Paks a torch and she wanders off to see where the other passage goes. He tells her to scream if she finds anything.
She comes across another common room and more passages. Telryn finishes the map and we all go after Paks. The next room she finds at first seems to be another sleeping room, but inspection reveals it to be some sort of training room. Paks starts to look at the weapons, and as she looks at them, she notes that they are exceptionally fine work. As she's looking more closely at it, we hear shouts and a bunch of rat men attack, four shooting crossbows at Telryn. One hits, sending a quarrel through his arm. Two attack Paks with scimitars, one hits. Two attack Chuck, one hits. The leader attacks Chuck and hits.
Darmaon attacks one of the rat men, scratching it. The leader attacks Chuck again and hits twice. Two of the warriors attack Chuck and one hits. One attacks Paks, one attacks Darmaon, both hit. Four shoot crossbows at Telryn and three hit. Chuck swings with both swords at the leader, missing with Hoarfrost but hitting with the short sword. He swings again, but misses. Goldpetal moves over and bites a rat man. Paks attacks a rat man warrior, injuring it badly. She swings at him again, killing him and cleaving through to the next, but missing. Telryn backs up behind Miriel and cures himself from his ring. Miriel casts a sound burst at the rat men, also hitting Goldpetal. She stuns two of them and Goldpetal.
Darmaon steps up and attacks one of the stunned rat men, killing it. The leader swings at Paks, fumbling. Chuck and Paks attack him while he is off balance; they both hit. He loses hold of his scimitar, which flies at Paks and hits her. Two warriors attack Paks and one attacks Chuck. Both miss Paks, but they hit Chuck with a critical hit. One rushes at Darmaon and the other attacks Goldpetal, but they both miss. Chuck steps back and drinks a potion of Cure Light Wounds. Paks swings at a rat man and gets a critical hit, killing it, cleaving through into the captain, hitting him. She swings at the captain again, killing him. Telryn shoots three magic missiles at a rat man. Miriel swings twice at the nearest rat man, hitting once.
Darmaon swings at one of the rat men, getting another critical hit and killing it. He throws a dagger at another one, but just misses. Two warriors attack Goldpetal, one fumbles and falls down. Two attack Paks and miss. Chuck steps up and swings both swords, missing with Hoarfrost, but hitting with the other. Goldpetal attacks the rat man in front of him with both claws and a bite, hitting with the claws and killing it. Paks swings at a warrior and hits it, swings again, killing it, and cleaves through to another, but misses. She steps back again. Telryn shoots off more magic missiles. Miriel spears the last rat man near her through the heart.
Darmaon gets another double critical, killing the last rat man. Miriel asks to rest for a while. Telryn eats some bread. Paks heals Telryn, Miriel heals Chuck. We go to rest on the stairs, so Stone can watch our backs and there's only one path of attack. As we walk into the great hall, though, we find a group waiting for us. Paks walks in first, and sees that the rat men have moved the tables back to form a barrier again. There are four warriors and a shaman. The shaman gestures, and a group of rats coalesce into a giant humanoid shape.
Paks: "Don't mind us, we're just going to the exit." Shaman: "You shall die in the name of Chern!"
Darmaon swings at the rat golem and hits it. Telryn steps around a column and casts Fireball from a scroll at the rat men, killing all the warriors and injuring the golem. Chuck steps in and shoots twice at the golem, hitting twice. Miriel moves down the corridor to the room. Goldpetal moves around to position himself to charge the rats. Paks charges the golem and hits it. The shaman casts a spell, and a horde of diseased rats appear in the middle of Miriel, Chuck, Telryn, and Darmaon. Telryn breaks out in red sores and Miriel says "Oh, dear Madriel, it's the scarlet pox!" The golem swarms over Paks, rather than swinging at her. She manages to dodge, but is still bitten.
Darmaon charges the golem, being bitten by the swarm along the way, which distracts him enough to miss it. Telryn moves out of the horde, getting bitten again and again. He slumps against a wall and heals himself. Chuck steps out of the horde, then swings at the golem, but misses. Miriel charges the golem, being bitten by the horde along the way. She swings at the golem twice, hitting once and missing once. Goldpetal charges the shaman, hopping over the table and clawing and biting him. The shaman is unfazed. Paks steps out of the swarm of rats and swings at the golem again. The shaman gestures again and Goldpetal swipes at him, but misses. Suddenly there is a green putrefying cloud centered on Chuck. The shaman runs away down a hallway. Telryn starts to retch. The golem tries to slam Chuck and Paks and hits both of them.
Darmaon tries to attack the golem with sword and dagger, but starts to retch and tries to move out of the cloud. The golem swings at Darmaon and hits him, knocking him out. Telryn tries to move out of the cloud. Chuck starts to retch. Miriel spears the golem and it slumps, a few rats running away. Goldpetal chases the shaman and tries to grapple him, but misses. Paks heads out of the cloud towards the shaman. The shaman quivers and turns into a giant horserat. Goldpetal tries to hit again, but fails. He darts through the secret door and Goldpetal loses sight of him. Telryn is still weak.
Darmaon bleeds. Chuck moves towards the secret door and looks down. He notes that the braziers are full of purple sand which is burning. Miriel stops Darmaon's bleeding and starts to drag him out of the cloud. Goldpetal chases after the shaman down the stairs behind the secret door. As he reaches the bottom, the floor opens up under him in a pit trap and he falls into a 20-foot pit full of spikes. Paks runs down the stairs, finds that there's a pit, and stops.
Darmaon is still unconscious. Telryn is still vomiting. Chuck heads down the stairs, finds the pit and pulls out his climbing rope. Miriel drags Darmaon the rest of the way out of the cloud. Goldpetal climbs out of the trap on the other side of the pit. Paks calls Goldpetal back, then heads up the stairs.
Darmaon is still unconscious. Telryn is still vomiting, but feels slightly better. Chuck steps around the pit and looks down the corridor - it's burrowed out of raw earth and curves around to the right. Chuck keeps moving down the hall. Miriel pulls out a potion of healing and pours it down Darmaon's throat to wake him up. He's horribly nauseated. Goldpetal jumps back across the pit. Paks looks Goldpetal over and lays on hands to heal the punctures of the spikes. The stinking cloud dissipates.
We head back up the stairs to rest. Stone says it's been quiet, though we see he is surrounded by the corpses of five dead eaters, and asks if we killed anything. Chuck tells him there's barbecued rat down there. We move into the tack room to rest. Chuck casts Alarm and Stone settles down to watch. Chuck casts Light into Telryn's ring.