PrP: Rats!
| Name | Race | Class | E Lev| CHP | HP | AC | For | Ref | Wil | |Freya |HUMAN |Rog | 2 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 0 | |Cirian |HALFLING|Rog | 2 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 1 | |Aruk |ORC |Rgr | 2 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
APL:
Encounter 1: Rat Swarm, CR 2 Encounter 2: 3x Fiendish Dire Rat, CR1
The group find themselves sitting in the main room of a tavern- whether taking refuge from the cold wind, or merely drinking the night away. Either way, it seems like it's going to be an uneventful night for the time being.
Aruka's paid a rare visit to the city proper, and it hasn't netted him much in the way of work. Following an unsuccessful visit to the adventurer's guild, he's settled for the time being within this tavern. An old wooden chair creaks in protest of the orc's hulk, and miraculously, there was a mug of clean water for him to drink somewhere amongst all the booze.
Freya practically exists in Taverns, when not working, she lives in them, renting rooms when she can find it, drinking and eating, and listening for rumors, thusly, tonight is no different. A chunk of crusty bread, some thick root stew and cheese settle before her, being eaten with an alarming speed..
Cirian busts in through the front door, quickly rushing into the tavern even as a cold blast of arctic air follows her in. She shivers, gasping and quickly closes the door. She shrugs her cloak then pushes back her hood before glancing around. She instantly heads over to a table exactly for her size.
As Freya heads up to the bar for a drink, the barrel comes up empty. The bartender heads down into the basement to get another barrel. Freya waits... and waits... and eventualy it becomes apparent that this is taking way too long to be normal- orders for more booze are stacking up, and people are becoming irate.
Cirian glances toward a bar maid and orders. "Ale please. " and she waits, and waits, and waits. She taps her foot and glances toward the bar then stands, sauntering on over there. "Hey! " she calls up. She definitely doesn't even come up to one of the stools. "Down here. What's the hold up with the ale? "
Freya lifts an eyebrow in an annoyed gesture, and then slams down several times on the bar. "Oi! Bob, folks be thirsty up 'ere!" She'll shout out towards the direction of the cellar, not to mention taking the chance to lean over the bartop and slip a few tip coins into her cleavage with a quick flick of her fingers.
Aruk drums thick digits upon his table, but that outward sign of impatience has little to do with drink. He's having water, after all. As he noise and ranting of the human masses begins to surround him, the orc takes in a deep breath and pushes up from his chair (much to its relief). Heavy footsteps announce his passage through the patronage, wide frame clearing a path to the basement stairs. It seems he's decided to just haul a barrel up himself, out of the goodness of his heart -- or the need for some quiet.
The Bar wenches seem just as confused as the patrons as to what's up with the alcohol. Eventually, one of them heads down into the basement herself- just head of Aruk. A few moments later, she screams, and comes running back up the stairs- right into Aruk. At which point she falls over onto the floor.
Freya is used to screaming wenches, but not screams of terror, nor from behind the bar, nor after slamming into..actually, running head first into an Orc might be worthy of screaming. "By the gods that be, the ale has run out." She sign/slangs out at people.
Cirian blinks at the sound of the scream and quickly heads over to the barmaid. "What's wrong?! " she asks
Aruk takes a moment to contemplate this. Bartender goes downstairs, does not return. Barmaid goes downstairs, returns in a panic. As gently as an uncivilized orc can, he reaches down, taking the fallen woman by the arm and assisting her to her feet. "I'll look," says Aruk, though to whom he's speaking is uncertain. He proceeds slowly forward, and as he does, his hands slide against his hips and into a pair of vicious combat claws.
The woman answers in panicked sobs, "It was- horrible... So many eyes." as the orc helps her up, "I- I think they got him..." she adds then. As Aruk proceeds into the basement, he sees it is very dark- but his orkish eyes stretch the light trickling in from upstairs well enough to see a swarm of bristly hairs and eerily reflective eyes- rats. Hundreds of them. No sight of the barman himself though.
Cirian groans and shakes her head before she draws her sword then begins to head down the stairs after the orc. "Well, we better take care of them. " She begins to sneak down the stairs slowly, carefully while looking around in the darkness.
Freya switches back to common again when she hears the Barmaid, under normal circumstances, she might shrug this off as a lie and a joke. Course, when the city you are in spent five years surrounded by an intelligent vapour that ate men and women alive, and violated virgins in sacrificial rites, things in basements seem highly probable. "Get the watch." She says to a few patrons before starting to fix a bayonet and load her blunderbuss.
"Rats," says Aruk, those eyes of his picking the horde of little beasts out within their otherwise dark nest. He takes pause at the base of the stairs and reaches for his belt, grasping at the haft of something with a clawed hand. He tugs it free of his belt, revealing the object to be a torch, albeit one whose flame was somehow already lit.
25 Freya
18 Cirian
14 Rat
5 Aruk
Freya's blunderbuss roars in the staircase, sending shot flying into the myriad eyes, and a few walls, fortunately, she's firing over their heads, down wards, avoiding them. "Loading!" She snaps out as she snaps open the breech..
GAME: Cirian rolls melee+1: (14)+3+1: 18 GAME: Cirian rolls 1d4+1: (4)+1: 4
Cirian gets to the bottom of the stairs, just as the boom goes off from behind her. She yelps a bit at the sound then starts slashing at the rats near her. She takes out a couple, but it's obvious this is a nice swarm and just two isn't going to cut it.
GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d6: (4): 4 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d6: (5): 5 GAME: Cirian rolls fort: (12)+2: 14 GAME: Aruk rolls Fort: (8)+6: 14 GAME: Chiddle damaged Cirian for 5 points. 11 remaining. GAME: Chiddle damaged Aruk for 4 points. 17 remaining.
The swarm of rats recoils from the light at first, but as weapons are swung through their midst, they seem to find their backbones- or maybe just don't think they can run away quick enough, and they swarm all over Cirian and Aruk. Climbing up trouser legs, over backs, up shirts- everywhere. And they bite- they bite hard, quickly drawing blood.
GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+6: (6)+6: 12 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+6: (17)+6: 23 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+2: (2)+2: 4
Aruk has a certain understanding with beasts, but in this instance, the rats appear a bit too hungry to listen. This makes him yearn for last week's giant spiders. As the creatures swarm all about his frame, drawing red blood from underneath green flesh, he rakes at them with vicious claws of steel. Small bodies fall to the basement floor, only to be replaced by others.
GAME: Freya rolls melee: (5)+3: 8
Freya finishes sliding in a new shell as she steps forward, bayonet being held in an expert way as she slams it forward at one of the beasties, just trying to keep them deterred from darting up the stairs.
Cirian glances around quickly then begins to hop around the rats then takes a running leap to grab the torch on the wall and lands lightly. She reaches into a pocket, taking out flint and lights the torch. Within seconds, she turns around, the wall at her back, and starts swinging the fire in hopes to deter the rats.
GAME: Freya rolls melee: (15)+3: 18 GAME: Freya rolls 1d6+2: (1)+2: 3 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d6: (1): 1 GAME: Freya rolls fort: (2)+2: 4 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d3: (2): 2 GAME: Chiddle damaged Freya for 1 points. 16 remaining. GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d6: (2): 2 GAME: Chiddle damaged Aruk for 2 points. 15 remaining. GAME: Aruk rolls fort: (15)+6: 21
The swarm of rats continue to gnaw at Aruk, drawing yet more blood- meanwhile the fleeing rats swarm all over freya as they leave, tearing open minor cuts in her skin before Aruk's furious attacks disperse the swarm.
GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+6: (18)+6: 24 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+6: (18)+6: 24 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+4: (2)+4: 6 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+2: (2)+2: 4
Aruk, like most orcs, does not enjoy being nibbled on. Now angry, the green figure slaps several rats from his frame upon the sharp edges of his claws. Thick shoulders rise and fall with heavy breaths as he looks about, eyes tracking after the fiendish little creatures as they skitter off into the darkness of the basement.
Cirian glances around even as she holds the torch and her sword. She growls a bit as if trying to intimidate the rats - yeah! Right! But she's searching for something else and that is the man that came down here to get the ale.
Freya can feel the rats biting at her, eliciting an annoyed sound as they drew some blood, but for now, she begins to press down the stairs, some how a swarm formed, and got in, and she doubts it was natural. "Lets see if the bar keep is alive.." She mutters..
Cirian and Aruk hear it. Freya? Not so much. It's a kind of... tearing, squelching noise. It seems to be coming from behind one of the large barrels. Freya, meanwhile, mostly just notices how badly that rat bite is itching.
Cirian tilts her head, lifting the torch up even as she slowly heads over toward the large barrel that is making the odd sounds. She holds her sword carefully, prepared to use it.
Freya not only is itching at the bite, but she's leaning against the stair well, watching the room. Rule one of being alive? Let every one else die first. "Why isn't the watch here yet.." She ponders aloud.
"He's already dead," replies Aruk, an ear turned towards the strange sound issuing from behind a nearby barrel. "These rats have succumbed to wild hunger. Their brood will grow again, as they were not all killed, but this will stay their attacks for a time." The orc yanks his strange torch from the crack in the wall he'd used for a sconce, tucking its constantly burning end away within a special belt compartment.
Cirian looks around and behind the barrels to get a look at what is making the strange noises. She briefly looks over toward Aruk and scowls a bit before back toward the noise and using her torch to light the way.
As Cirian draws nearer, there is a scraping sound. When she peers around, three sets of glowing red eyes turn to look at her. They stoop over the corpse of a man- belly torn open already, lying in a pool of blood. The red eyes launch themselves at her, enormous rats with horrible mottleg green-and-orange skin and sparse, patchy fur.
23 Hellrat3
19 Cirian
13 Freya
11 Aruk
10 Hellrat1
8 Hellrat2
GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d20+3: (16)+3: 19 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d4+1: (4)+1: 5 GAME: Chiddle damaged Cirian for 5 points. 6 remaining.
The rat manages to latch right onto Ciri's neck, and it tears at her flesh their, rending a vicious wound that causes blood to flow freely.
Cirian yelps even as a huge rat leaps at her, biting. She stumbles back, obviously taking more damage despite her armour. She quickly backs up while holding her torch and sword before her, obviously in defensive retreat. She certainly does not look good with all the bites and blood on her.
GAME: Freya rolls ranged: (14)+6: 20 GAME: Freya rolls 2d6: (4): 4
Freya is now glad she wasn't charging off into the darkness, for a round of buckshot slams out at the rat that just attacked the halfling girl, and Freya slams open the breech to begin feeding a new shell in.
GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+10: (10)+10: 20 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+4: (6)+4: 10
Something about the situation, be it his anger or some misplaced need to protect Cirian, drives Aruk to attack. The orc sights the hellrat attacking her and charges to the offensive, long, vicious fingers of steel brandished upon his right hand. The force behind his movement carries through into the blow, which rakes through the beast and tosses him against the nearby wall. Aruk then anticipates the advance of the other two hellrats, swerving away from their attempted retaliation.
GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d20+1: (5)+1: 6 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d20+1: (8)+1: 9
The other two hellrats burst from behind the barrwl to attack Aruk, but they are unable to gnaw their way through his armor- their teeth gnashing uselessly against it.
GAME: Cirian rolls melee+3: (4)+3+3: 10
Cirian smoothly maneuvers herself around the other side of the rats and flanks them. She swings her sword but misses the one she was targeting.
GAME: Freya rolls melee+2: (11)+3+2: 16 GAME: Freya rolls 1d6+2: (3)+2: 5
Freya's hands close the breech as she sprints forward, some sort of war cry on her lips, it's guttural and unholy sounding as she slams into it, the bayonet tip down, slamming into it, twisting to the side as she tries to kick it away,to clear her barrel to fire on the next enemy in a fluid motion.
GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+8: (20)+8: 28 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+8: (16)+8: 24 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d20+8: (11)+8: 19 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+4: (4)+4: 8 GAME: Aruk rolls 1d6+2: (6)+2: 8
Aruk quickly tires of dealing with these creatures, hellish and otherwise. He brings his arms up, steel fingers directed towards the floor, and stabs downwards. Both hellrats find themsleves with fingers of steel through their skulls. Too late to save the barkeep, but at least his murderers' deaths were just as gruesome. Aruk picks the rats up and shakes them from his claws, sending their carcasses to a dull thud upon the hard floor.
Freya carefully wipes blood off her bayonet onto the corpse and begins to search for how they got in..
Cirian blinks as she watches Aruk while looking up at him. She groans softly, reaching a hand up to her neck as if it was hurting far worse than the other bites she's taken. She swallows a bit, looking around the room. "I don't think there are any others here. " but she also joins the search with Freya despite stumbling a bit.
Few rats remain scattered around the basement, but they are quickly dispersing. A guardsman finally arrives, stomping his way down the stairs. "There was a disturba- What in the hells is going on here!?" he asks, when he sies the gore splattered everywhere and the blooded adventurers.
Typical guards. Just a little while too late.
"Rats," Aruk explains to the guardsman, employing his typically succinct manner of speaking. With a heavy boot, he kicks one of the slain hellrats into sight, probably a bit closer than the guard would prefer.
"Rats," Aruk explains to the guardsman, employing his typically succinct manner of speaking. With a heavy boot, he kicks one of the slain hellrats into sight, probably a bit closer than the guard would prefer.
Freya stops searching when the guard arrives and forces her self to keep using common. "Big rats. I'd begin searching other cellars, and notify the barkeep's wife." She says, failing back to the stair case, where it is safe.
"Oh... I, uh, see." The man says about the rat, and he peers down at the rat, taking a small step back. "Well, I'll need you all to come answer some questions- if it is as you say, the city will pay a bounty for clearing up... these vermin." He eyes the rat with distaste once more.
Cirian comes out from behind a barrel, stumbling and looking paler by the minute. "N...None o.. others. " she pauses and puts a hand to her brow before looking toward the guard with a nod.
GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d3: (2): 2 GAME: Chiddle rolls 1d3: (2): 2 GAME: Freya rolls fort: (15)+2: 17 GAME: Freya rolls fort: (13)+2: 15 GAME: Cirian rolls fort: (19)+2: 21 GAME: Cirian rolls fort: (11)+2: 13
Note: Despite contracting filth fever, Freya and Cirian both make all of their saves and overcome the disease in just a couple of days.