Episode Eighteen write up

An Urban interlude Part 5 - Rats attrition and an evil cult confronted

Dramatis Personae

Leon – a Brandobian Human Fighter & self styled hero

Nyadryn – a Brandobian Human, fighter

Esme– a Brandobian human, a loud over enthusiastic person, Nyadryn’s girl friend

Siskin – a Halfling Cleric of Chance

Larifus – a Gnome,

Quelsteine– a Gnome

Lori – a Gnome, rescued captive

Briana – a Half Elven fighter magic user 

Aeneste – a Brandobian? Human rescued captive 

Varill – a Brandobian Human the tanners apprentice and rescued captive

Location

Some where in the sewers under the new town of Vayham

Events

(These take place during episode XV of the main story and they follow on exactly from the end of the previous session)

The company continued its increasingly desperate search for a way out in the room of stenches. Lori, Larifus and Leon turned to examine the slime covered walls every ones eyes where stinging heads spinning, Nyadryn and Esme inspected the floor with Nyadryn going down on hands and knees to look at the sections she pointed out if only to stop her doing it herself and she grew increasingly exasperated. Siskin started to peer under the edge of the slimy wooden lids finding nothing but more slime encrusting the stone lip beneath. Every one joined in With only Brianne and Quelsteine standing aloof from the search. Nothing was found apart from clear slime yellow slime, odd discoloured incrustations and stains, algae growths and small pieces of unidentifiable detritus, all damp and mostly quite slimy. 

Then across the room Larifus noticed that under the slime and the encrustations there was a decorative band of low bass relief going around the room at head just above his head height. It was a strip of “brocade” for want of a better description carved into the stone blocks which covered the wall that looked like a necklace of skulls threaded with worms through the eye sockets and holes in the cheek and broken toothed gaping mouths. He also noticed that there was another similar strip about his height again further up but he was too shortsighted to tell if it was the same as he could not pick out any detail.  He pointed this out to every one else and they joined in the examination of it Esme confirmed that the higher strip was the same as the lower and was as she put it gross and down right morbid. However she and Siskin fell to examining this detail looking for a switch which would open a concealed door through which unconscious bodies might be carried.  As they examined the strip it dawned on Siskin that the decoration was an adaption of one of the many unholy symbols of the rot lord, suggesting that not only was the place occupied by that foul cult as they had already discovered but that it might have been built for that purpose rather than just commandeered by them at a later date. 

However before they could finish there examination of meditate too much on what they had found the door at the end of the short passage leading to the chamber opened with a creak and there was the sound of men coming along it men with a violent purpose. Turning from the examination of the relief the company saw half a dozen burly fellows dressed in the same way as the beggars they had met before coming down the sort corridors clubs, or rather knobby sticks, in hand. From the far in the rear they hear the familiar voice of one of the beggars they had met before, “that’s them beat ‘em good they killed Eggil”  The men who had all the look of some sort of beggars guild enforcers made no reply but came on in silence but with increasing speed. As every one in the company gathered their wits they reacted but not before the bullies had fallen on the nearest of the company Two fell on the apparently unarmed Lori and Aeneste and two descended on Brianne, Quelsteine even surprised had the whit to dodge behind his larger colleague, who dodged the bullies flailing clubs with an arrogant ease, these might frighten common scum but not her a half elf of the best lineage. Across the room Lori and Aeneste where as successful the thugs where unused to fighting those with the wit to fight back and had only encountered these two before when in a drugged stupor and even them Lori had even then not quieted till they dumped her in a sack. Weapons where drawn and Esme unleashed a what she thought was a wild war cry and charged Nyadryn secretly terrified she should come to harm followed her in trying all the way to outpace the girl so he could put himself between her and danger. Varill it has to be said was afraid having been beaten severely a couple of days before by these self same thugs made a dash for the far corner.  

A wild fight followed, during which Aeneste was savagely clubbed around the head, staggered back and then righted her self and then forgetting her art plunged back into the fray fists flying alongside Nyadryn and Esme. Lori took a winding blow which sent her reeling but left her attackers triumph rather short lived as the blow left him wide open to Leon’s sword and Leon duly extracted the cost of this foolhardiness, with a perfectly executed stop thrust. Larifus danced around the edge of the fight and threw both of his throwing knives before closing one missed entirely and one clipped Siskin as it passed. Siskin was less than amused by this and shouted at Larifus to stop that and join in. He did but weather it was Siskin’s outrage or his running out of knives which was the cause who is to know. Lori got up and rejoined the fight pausing only briefly to groin stomp the now fallen thug that had hurt her and pick up his club. Lori was disgusted at the weapon it was a blasted stick not even a club, still it might be better than a half blunt belt knife. She rounded on the second of the pair of bullies who was now backing off under an expert flurry of sword blows from Leon. However it was not all going the companies way the stunned Aeneste was now down properly and whilst wounded both of the bullies fighting  Esme and Nyadryn where still up but not for long as Larifus joined the fight with them.

Mean while Leon and Lori backed the one bully they where engaged with almost on the point of Siskin’s waiting sword and he turned to flee over the slippery wooden lid fell and stunned himself

The bullies where no match for people who could match their numbers and stood their ground and one by one they went down even so it was not over for just as the surviving where considering flight the group of beggars in the hall at the end of the entry passage who had taken no part in the fight having been thought better of it by the Company earlier when they rescued Lori Aeneste and Varill and gave them a sound hiding doing it, acted on much the same thought releasing the starving rats which unable to turn on their carriers as the beggars had been wise enough to block the passage with the large cages before slamming the door shut behind them and making themselves scarce. The Rats hared down the passage into the room beyond where they smelt fresh blood and the scent of human fear which they had come to associate with food and they where so very hungry.

Hearing the Rats coming and well aware that the rats would go for them as much as they would those they where fighting attempted to break off and put their enemies between then and the Rats. Trying to flee proved unwise as first Lori and Leon took advantage of it to cut down and then viciously groin stomp the one wounded bully fighting them, and the one still fighting Nyadryn and Esme was unable to pass their impromptu shield wall and was trapped and torn down when the rats decided the best and easiest source of food was his fallen comrade and the unconscious Aeneste behind them. All the one fighting Brianne could manage was to back against the wall to keep Quelsteine to his front as the little shite had managed to stab him in the back a couple of times already, however a crude club wielded by a terrified thug is no match for elf wrought steel and Brianne contemptuously flicked the mere stick away and effortlessly carved him open, he slid down the wall as Quelsteine made short work of finishing him off.

The fight then converged on the centre and the rats still being fended off by Nyadryn and Esme a fight made a bit easier buy the rats being just as interested in eating the two fallen bullies as attacking people who could fight back. Even so and with the company taking care not to distract the rats from their feeding and a show of amazing skill, with a shield by Esme people got bitten and before the fight was over Esme’s luck had run out and she had fallen to a savage bite.  Nyadryn went berserk hacking at the remaining rat savagely screaming all the while that the foul beast had killed her and swearing that  it would pay and by the SPEAKER so would all of them even their foul god.  Then it was over and the last of the rats died hacked by down Nyadryn and impaled on Siskin, Leon and Brianne’s swords. In the silence that followed both Esme and Aeneste groaned and began to rouse.

Every one looked at Brianne, and she thought to herself why always me can no one else here bind wounds? Before falling to the task of dealing with the worst wounded as best she could given she had no clean bandages or clean water little practice and less taste for this sort of work.  Mean while those who where not wounded or had been seen too searched the bodies of the fallen foe and found little save for a good leather sack some what ruined by a dagger thrust in the fight by Larifus which contained around three hundred useable trade coins as well as a fair number of small bits of brass which might once have been trade coins but which where now too worn and damaged to be ought but scrap brass.

With such first aid that could be done finished the Company halted to review its position and found it not to be at all good most of them where wounded Lori and Aeneste very badly though each where trying to be brave for there own reasons.  Esme was being fussed over by Nyadryn despite her vehemently asserting that she was not that hurt and that it had only bowled her over and she had banged her head on the floor. None the less the blood drying on her brother old tunic was not all from a rat or a thug either. Further to that every one except Siskin was feeling a little feverish and unwell. Not to mention that the enemy knew the company where there and where no doubt preparing the next nasty surprise for them, Nyadryn was the foremost supporter of this suggestion as Esme getting hurt had thrown him into a low mood.

It was decided that the company needed to get out or failing that get to some where safe where they could rest at least over night and work out what to do as they could only see death staring them in the face if they pressed on as they where doing. They had been lied to and fallen for the trick and been ambushed. The problem being was that there was no safe place to rest. Where they where was out of the question, so was further in as Siskin and Larifus had found more large rats in that direction when they had first explored the place and since it was apparent that rats where more awake now who could say there where not more now. They had seen the first room they had cleared of rats refilled and in any event the room was full of rotting corpses same went for the composting room as that had even more rotting matter in it as well as Quelsteine gnome eating red worms. The only place any one could think of was the old smugglers hide out but that required traversing the rat tunnels and whilst they had managed that twice who was to say they could a third time given that the rats where more active at the present. However it seemed to be quite the best of the bad options they had before them. So grimly they set off to do as planed

As the company approached the composting room again fighters to the fore and wounded and their attendants to the rear Esme who kept saying she was not as wounded as he thought being assisted by a still half distraught Nyadryn and Aeneste held up by Varill the rescued tanner turned torch bearer. Only Lori of the wounded stayed at the front mumbling all the while about the lack of a decent weapon and her gear, as all she had was one of the bullies knobby sticks as a club and a half blunt beggars knife.

The compost pile was the most active any had seen it so far, Quelsteine cringed as he spotted the first red worm and the Company began the edge into the room along the north edge of the pile. As they did so a huge centipede erupted from the surface scattering red worms and rotted vegetation as it did so the fighters at the front recoiled behind shields those who had them, whilst wearily drawing weapons.  The fight was fortunately soon over and no one involved was further wounded before the foul thing twitched its last. Alarmingly as it did so its corpse was dragged back into the pile by half a dozen similar if smaller creatures of the same kind

After the encounter with the vast centipede, the company edged its way cautiously around the compost pile, backs to the wall torches forward fending off the apparent myriad of similar if smaller creatures which writhed and hunted over its surface and scattering small, well normal sized, rats, that nipped around the edge, before them until they made it to the exit to the rat tunnels which they had entered by. Quelsteine was by this point frankly terrified and only able to pass at all because the red worms had been in part obscured by the centipedes which where swarming all over them as they in turn fell on the  layer of fresh vegetable waste which had been freshly dumped there and Briana dragged him with main force when he froze.  At the entrance the company halted and formed a ring around its wounded, peering uncertainly into the dark tunnel yet still seeming determined to traverse it. Lori her own wounds smarting peered into the tunnel and despite being told that there where rats nests all round could see no presence of rats and crouching and relying on her gnomish night vision she took a few steps down the tunnel wishing she had her faithful sword with her, shortsightedly she did not notice the huge rat ahead until she ran in to it. It turned, snarling teeth bared and she tried to dodge in the narrow confines of the passage, but its fangs found there aim and Lori went down drowning in a sea of pain before every thing faded to black.

Seconds latter the rest of the company where surprised by the eruption of a massive rat from the mouth of the tunnel. Tired hands reached for weapons as the frenzied creature hurled itself at the nearest of them. The fight was short and vicious but Company triumphed as they had numbers on their side if nothing else, there was a lull as the foul scabrous beast twitched and breathed its last after the final strike of Siskin’s sword and every one drew breath, only then wondering what had become of Lori in some desperation recovering her almost lifeless body from a few steps inside the tunnel without further incident, Brianne who was nearest quickly worked out that Lori was actually still alive but almost certainly not for very long as she was hurt beyond her skill to aid. At which point Aeneste who had been staggering along in a daze since the beating she had taken when trying to take on two of the beggar bullies with nothing but her fists roused herself and confessing to knowing something about this sort of thing fell to helping as she could, thought it was largely Brianne who did the work on instruction as Aeneste was herself sore wounded.

Here again the focus of our tale moves else where for a while though it will be returning here but there is far more a foot in the region than that which just the one tale can encompass though the treads of these tale are interlinked and may well cross merge and divide again as the story unfolds further.