Duty Session 7: Obligatory Rat Cellar

In each of the starting cities, there are at least a couple of poor merchant landers who have developed mysterious rat problems. This is clearly bad for business! A worried looking Lander stands outside their shop, rubbing their hands together, looking anxious, flagging down any passing Adventurer they can find to help.

(Note: This Duty has multiple possible paths/challenges/rewards.)

Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander gives Nureha a nod as he gets ready to head into the cellar before the gentleman outside waves at them, "Wait! He calls over! Don't forget your friends!" Xander blinks a few times, then looks at Nureha.

    "Friends?" Xander stares at her, "..." Then steps back out to see just what this crack lander was talking about. Not that he would turn down help. Always better to have teamwork then run solo after all. Even more when things are-- just not really 'game' like anymore.
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor looks over as he sees more. And moves over that way, "Greetings! Did you two get asked to handle some rats as well?" The large man is currently in his human form, but the cloak kinda makes it obvious that this is the lion-man Were Fang that was pulling people to the town square. Let alone if anyone's in Grandeur or listening to the Ninetails Dominion chimlinks.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha ducks her eyes, not looking directly at the young man. Her long hair, bound up in a ribbon, bobs, her ears drooping slightly in chagrin. She smiles wistfully at the cellar then back at the man with the cloak. "Good morning." she manages to get out, her voice soft as she waits at the entrance to the cellar.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Whatever initial reaction Kyo Kirin (Kyo, Kyo the Kirin, Kyorin, and so forth) had in regards to the events that just transformed the world, she had them somewhere no one could see. Whether she showed reasonable panic, challenged stoicism, or foreknowledge or ignorance, that time has already passed. When she shows up to to the merchant's shop, she's not just the picture of calm, but she's not even in the old level 1 rags. She has, somehow, regained an outfit fairly close to the high-level equipment many would have seen her in--but not the weapons.

    Nureha is recognized immediately, of course. "Good afternoon." It's not surprised, because, "I heard you over the chat, so I came to help." Totally in control. Never mind that the sword she pats is obviously a level 1 blade, with none of the ornamentation or enchantment that would match her other adventurer's gear. It's not like they knew each other that well, but she still continues, "Nureha, how are you?"

    The other two are from other guilds, and less recognizable for that reason, but Kyo gives Giganpor and Xander each a nod. "That is the plan, right? I'm Kyo. Good to meet you." Her speech style is a little short, her voice that kind of smooth, lower side of feminine that subtly hints at being intentionally trained.
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor looks over at Nureha, then at the others, "Greetings. I am Giganpor of the Grandeur Guild." He gives a bow towards the ones there.

    The cloak on his back noticeably shows off a bit, pleasant blue-ish light, almost welcoming in it's appearance comes off it in sparkles.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander gives the large, broad figure of Giganpor a quick once over. "Yeah, sure. More the merrier." He says calmly, his tone getting a bit more serious.

He glances over to Nureha, before moving down the steps to head back down into the cellar. To hear someone else show up and introduce herself, "Pleasure Kyo, Xander." Is all he says, before moving past Nureha seeming to take in the cellar's atmosphere.

    He looks to the vine walls and the shape things are in. Including the earthy smell and the water damage. "Looks like this place wasn't well taken care of."

As he steps a bit more in, he hears, chattering sounds. Moving his hand out he goes to summon his level one sword to hand and starts to tap the wall, before attempting to drive it directly in and seeing if he can pull a board free or maybe do something to see if he can even find the little vermins.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha follows behind Xander and Giganpor, the Fox-tail meekly following the larger adventurers in her loose robe over starter clothes and broken in leather shoes. There are smudges of grass on one knee.

As they make their way into the cellar, her nose wrinkles at the smell of moldering earth and decay. Moss grows heavy on the stone, which she experimentally scratches at with a considering glance.

She examines the vines and ivy, tracing their path along the walls and through the gloomy murk around them.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

New round:

Mysteriously, the cellar opens up into a long passageway which leads away into the unknown. The passageway looks rough, as if they were made from some crude digging instrument rather than built with intention. Tunnels seem to split along the way, making it difficult to guess just which might be the right path. The tunnels weave back on themselves creating a make-shift maze in the underground. Surely, only someone with capable skill or intuition will be able to find their way through.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander after killing the rats that did manage to come out to play, follows the group and at this point peers down the different halls and glances down each of them, "Well then," He goes to rest the flat of the blade on his shoulder, "... Who wants to bet this is a maze and if we go much deeper we will probably get lost or... something. Given we have no more map hud," He motions to where it should be. "... someone might want to make a map as we go."
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor follows the others down, then hums. He looks around, then moves his hands, not drawing his sword yet.

    "Oh, element of Earth, I call thee. Come forth Drudge, Tremble Step."

    At his words, a small yellow circle appears before him before what looks like an oversized armadillo pops out made of stone mostly. And hits the ground. A rumble goes out before the little armadillo looking thing comes along with the group. Giganpor's obviously a Summoner as he looks around. "... I should have selected another summon or two, but I don't have as broad an access as I did." He crouches down to pat the armadillo, then looks curious. "Huh... he feels real..."

    He shrugs, "Drudge can't do the Tremble Step again? Oh, that's bad..." He frowns, looking at the others, "I guess we could try to feel our way through?"
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    There doesn't need to be much more said on the way in, though Kyo gives the Lander a perfunctory greeting, regardless, together with a, "Don't worry, don't worry, we'll handle it from here," while expecting to hear nothing in return. She goes down after Xander and Giganpor have both descended.

    Though dressed like some kind of ranger, Kyo's lacking in ranged implements. There isn't much space down here to draw a bow, anyway, and her sword stays at her side, while one hand reaches into a pocket for something that faintly clinks. It comes out again with a copper coin as the rats show, flicks up on her thumb, is caught, and then snapped forward in a toss that's clearly a skill usage. Only in a game could throwing small change be such an effective attack, even if this is only immediately lethal to these rather small and weak monsters.

    After that, she raises one hand to a tall ear, a perhaps unconscious habit, as she listens. They make their way further down, and she looks from side to side. "I have some notepaper, but... we'll see. How long would it take if we just followed the right wall?" That would defeat any two-dimensional maze, but with no way to tell how long.

    
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Squeekie squeekie

Ah, the wily sound of the prey in question. Nureha goes still, her tail drooping as she tapped, tapped at the mossy side of the wall. She got out a small vial, scraping some of the moss into it before tucking it away.

As she does, a rat tries to bite her in the ankle, gnawing on the flesh peeking out from over the boots. She lets out a yelp, spinning to kick it away only to smash her foot into the mossy wall instead, having gotten too close.

She makes a long toneless "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnrrr." through grit teeth, ears flat to her head as the rat flees her simmering pique.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander was watching the other two, as Kyo brought up staying to the right wall, "Yeah we could--" Then Nureha lets out a toneless sound, before he turns around to see the rat got here.

He snaps his fingers and cast a heal on her to heal up that bite, before he then attempts to chase the rat, "Come here!" This was probably not a smart move...
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

New round:

The sound of squeaking grows ever louder as the Adventurers approach a domed chamber which seems overwhelmed with rats. Creatures of all shapes and sizes scurry over and around one another until it is hard to tell where one rat ends and the next begins. Snapping teeth and slashing claws hold danger for any who dare to try and traverse the room, leaving few options other than trying to find a way to deal with the mass of rats in one fell swoop.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha murmurs "Thank you." in a tightly controlled voice. She limps a few steps before continuing on through the corridor to a larger chamber. Her eyes widen slightly, her ears still FIRMLY pressed across her skull. "You shouldn't. Wait--" But Xander is already gone ahead. She purses her lips, looking at the seething mass with a critical eye. She stands far back from the squeaking horde, then begins to recite.

These are enchanter words and phrases, spoken at high speed with the accuracy and surety of long practice. The system responds, her skin and hair going grey and vines covering herself and the clothing of the rest of the party, locking them in a shell of stone that does not impede their movements, though it feels a bit gritty. Like a blanket of sand.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Kyo looks back at Nureha's cry with a "What was that? Are you--" but Xander already has a heal coming out, and is then chasing after the rat. The single rat, which is running the wrong way. "Wait, wait, come back! You can leave the stragglers!" They can't get separated now, just when they're entering a maze. If he doesn't turn back around on his own pretty quickly, she'll rush out to be sure to keep him in sight, and give a tug back toward the maze.
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor nods as Nureha covers them in stone and vines. His approach, however, is a bit different as he steps forward slightly. Not drawing his sword again, he looks at Drudge, "Thank you, Drudge. Dismissed."

    He brings his hand up, a red circle appearing. "Fires of the world, heed my call! Come forth, Flaris! Flame Shield!"

    What pops out of the circle this time looks like a cat made of flames that gives off a roar like fire before flames cover the group to add to the stone-like coverings.

    Then Giganpor draws his sword and starts in to clearing the rats.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander was indeed chasing that rat, though Kyo following him might have been a mistake really. Well, it goes back to his thoughts he didn't discuss with Nureha.

He wasn't a great soldier. He was even a good soldier. He was just unfortunately lucky. In this case, luck brought them right to the nest, which he came to a screeching halt and stared at the rats as Nureha cast her spell.

His hard scales and skin being covered by a rocky magical shield that felt like warm sand over his body, but his eyes, his eyes staring at all the rats.

    And what did the Salamander have to say for himself? In simple english, <"Oh F*ck me."> Before he draws out his shield and sword. "Yes! I know! I messed up!" is all he had to say to the rest of the party, before using his sword to cut the ground to throw up some dirt at the rats, then using his shield to knock more rats to the side as they leaped at him, trying to back up slightly while holding a defensive position. <"I-idiot. S-stupid. Idiot. Y-you are NO better!!"> As more english escapes from his lips with a few words lisping.

Thankfully working with Giganpor's fire spell to light the areas he can't see. This turned into a mess and he have to give himself a talking afterwards.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    The maze is defeated in the end, despite the lack of maps going forward. Kyo keeps a few notes, just enough that it'll be relatively easy to find their way back onto this particular path, scribbling something onto some blank parchment with only the back of her gloves to give some purchase to the writing. She's pretty quick at this, even if it's not a very 'good' map, by any stretch.

    Then, the sea of rats. "Oh... oh, wow." The squirming mass has her take a step back, making a faintly disgusted face. "Can everyone /smell/ that?"

    Nureha uses some magic, then Giganpor, and Kyo gives a "Thanks. That will help." She pounds one fist into the other, making a sharp impact together with licking flames, keeping her sword--totally unsuited in design to the current room--still sheathed at her waist. It isn't even her fists that she ends up bringing to bear, but taking the harder route of simply stomping down on rodent craniums with her boots, turning that into a halfway legitimate only because of the stone and fire enhancements. She can't deal with a huge amount at once like this, so she keeps back toward Nureha, and lets the other two party members go to the fore, if they want. Still, it's surprisingly effective.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Boss Warning: Weee oo wee o

Leaving behind the distant cries of the rodent hordes, the Adventurers press forward into a room which the smaller rats seem to be avoiding. Strangely, the room seems to be strewn with various bits of metal which have been twisted by some other-worldly strength. Among the refuse stands a huge rat, wearing what can only be described as make-shift armor. A helmet covers a massive rat head, plates forming together to protect the long expanse of the creature's body. It gives a sound of defiance as the Adventurers dare to trespass into their domain, rushing at them like a berserker.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Kyo gives Xander a concerned look when he breaks out into... cursing? It sounds off, but there aren't any words she can't understand. "Hey, it's fine." And then they're pushing all the way through the rats and into an obvious boss encounter.

    This time, she actually draws her sword. It's a new encounter, and the buffs in the last room had left her relatively untouchable, supplemented by some good agility. She's going in fresh, so she does something a bit more daring, rushing out ahead of the party and aiming not to stab into the armored rat, but to intercept its claws with her sword in a parrying strike, to slap it away and off-balance so the others can do something about getting their own hits in. The blade isn't really up to the task of taking on a berserker boss on its own, but a murmured prayer fills the blade with a shining light that momentarily fills the room, and an appropriate level of magical strength. There's another flash at every contact of claw-on-blade.
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor stops as his flame shield fades away now that he sees the boss. And stares. Then he looks to the others, "Anyone else agree this sorta thing's a lot better when you can't smell it or touch it?"
    Now the large man pulls out his sword and shifts to his lion-like form. The Were Fang growls at the rat boss as he brings up his level one sword to rest on the back of an armored gauntlet. A bit of an odd stance, but one that balances his sword as he goes for stabbing.

    Repeatedly he tries to stab into the armor as he tries to get through it around the cracks while doing his best to keep the rat's attention, even giving a roar at it to make sure it looks at him rather than the others.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha doesn't have to say anything because it looks like Xander had the situation under control, one way or another. The swirling fire shield combined with the Stoneskin enchantment makes it very difficult for the roving swarms of rats to get any tangible progress. Or nip anyone else straight on the ankle for that matter.

After clearing through the mass and moving onwards, she readies herself as Darth Helmet charges at them with weapons and whiskers flailing.

It gets soundly intercepted by Kyo Kirin, but a blaze of light and strength strobes through the gloom as they clash together again and again, struggling for dominance.

"It's.. certainly bracing, in it's own way." she says to Giganpor with chagrin, shrugging a shoulder as she puts a lock of hair up and around one ear (quite a trip) because it had fallen over her face.

She steps forwards. A single movement. Clean. Precise.

While Darth Helmet raises a rusted sword for another strike, she suddenly has a dagger in hand and plants it in the weak-spot between helmet and pauldron where the mistmatched armor doesn't fit right.

An angry red GASH appears from the damage, almost as bright and brilliant as Kyo's sword.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    "No. It is not fine." Xander growls out. "I /know/ better! I know better of myself and I know what I should have done. To make anything less, is to accept anything less!" He words are lisping, as he just lets out a battle cry as he slashes down a rat.

His leather clothing covered in rat blood, his fiery gold eyes almost glow in the dark as he stands there. He inhales the air, the smell of blood, the sounds even as the rats gargle on the blood, cause his teeth to grit tightly.

    Not.
        Now.

    He closes his eyes, then reopens them, his ton far more serious, emotions reigned back in. "You get use to it." Is all he says to Giganpor. "You get use to it or it will get you."

Onward they go!

    Then there is a giant rat, who wears armor and has a sword, he clashes with the others, and Xander moves in, he places the shield he has in front of him, sword to the side and moves in. "COME ON!" He roars out, taking the brunt of the force with his shield, before swinging his sword for a bit and then using his sword to not only parry another swing from the boss, but trying to get an opening while he is at it.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

The maze of rat-filled tunnels and passageways exits, at last, into a roughly square chamber. Everything about it looks mundane, as if someone had simply built a bedroom down here beneath the city. There is even a ladder that goes upwards, likely connecting somewhere in the streets above. Sitting at the far end of the room is a female Spriggan in elaborate bardic clothing, a guitar in her lap as she sings to herself. Before her is a trio of rats, each with their heads slightly swaying to the music. The beasts seem drawn to this sound, and as she raises her head, it becomes clear that she is the one controlling them. This is the source of the rat infestation.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Barely. Kyo barely held on, not finding the slightest chance to counterattack. She could have gone for it anyway, but that would have meant taking the hits, and after hearing Nureha stub her toe, she's more than a little worried how those claws will feel. It's not supposed to be this real. "Ahh... it stinks." That could mean any of several things, but the most likely is that a giant rat literally does stink.

    Even with only Nureha going for the dps approach, between the rest of them, they manage to get through it, wholly intact. Mostly intact, at the very least. When it finally falls, she breathes out a sigh of relief, then tries not to breath back in through her nose. "Okay." That doubles as a response to Xander. She eyes him. Clearly upset, that one.

    "Is everyone still intact?" Giganpor looked like he was having a harder time after the flame shield ended, but if he says he's fine... even if he doesn't, they still have to move on. There could be extra encounters if they just took their sweet time about it.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha continues to follow behind the others at the same stately pace she has before (although she does limp occasionally over a bit of rough terrain. She hasn't been out and about in an actual adventure in ages)

And there is the woman. A Spriggan with a guitar, a song and a fascinating control over her subjects. Her ears perk up, eyes gleaming as she turns her head slightly towards the sound. The woman MUST have heard them coming, so there had to be another swarm incoming if they didn't stop her here. They must be comfortable that they can escape or that their control is absolute.

That's the funny thing about power. You stop respecting it and it can be taken from you.

She starts to hum snatches here and there of the melody, her singing voice soft and low like fog rolling out over a beach.

The melody never rises in volume, little more than a haunting low hum in the background. The rats twitch and go still in fits and starts. It almost doesn't work, the melody doesn't QUITE match up. But then the rats go still, and as one.

They turn their heads to the bard, swarming to bite at her clothes and gnaw at the guitar strings in a sudden frenzy.
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor frowns, moving to start setup a barrier of earth as he calls back out Drudge after dismissing Flaris. Then stares. "Oh, right... Drudge is still tired..." He looks annoyed at that one.

    Then he looks over at the others, "I think I'm not used to being level one again... Tremble Step is pretty high level, so..."
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    A bard is not the expected end boss. In fact, Kyo thought they were already done. "Oh, so... the big one wasn't the leader, after all." It's not said at anyone in particular, yet still intonated as if she's speaking to an audience.

    Maybe the fact that none of the small rats had wanted to enter the chamber with the big one should have tipped her off to that. A leader would have to actually lead, not live off by itself in a rage, right? Well, maybe. Who knows how rats think, let alone giant rat monsters made for a quest. Apparently, they think music is a good and worthwhile hobby to entrance listeners, and on this, Kyo can agree.

    Nureha moves in to take over control of the swarm. It would be horrible, if that were happening to a real person, but given that this is a quest, she doesn't have to check to be sure this is an NPC. Still... "Ah... this isn't going to get any better, is it?"

    That's all she can say, because with her sword put away, Kyo pulls out an oddly-shaped bit of earthenware covered in a pattern of holes. She puts the mouthpiece of the ocarina to her lips, and backs up the melody.
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander watched the rat boss fall over and continued on, silence becoming his friend the rest of the way, so when he heard the song he narrowed his eyes.

When he saw the bard, his lips went up into a snarl, but he was silent for a moment and knelt his knee on the ground. His fingers pressed against the floor. His eyes flared brightly, as he felt the ground at his command.

Even as Nureha sang, with Kyo joining in, and the rats attacked the bard, he didn't move, instead a circle appeared under him, as he rose up, his hands glowing gently as he simply said one word, "... Enough." And then snapped his fingers.

    The ground above and the ground below the bard, with her rats, suddenly slams together with a hard crushing force. Enough to send a dust wave back. Xander slowly lowers his arms by his side. Once he was sure they were dead, he lets the earth go back to normal.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Thankfully, the swarm stops at just bitting and nipping the bard. After the guitar strings are snapped, they seem to get sleepy and begin to move away to find someplace to curl up.

Thankfully there isn't blood or any other such sounds, but there is the sudden savage CRACK of something breaking into shards.

When it's over, the spriggan lays on the ground. She reaches out to one of the rats who were missed by the circle of pulverizing earth, murmuring. "..You'll.. still be.. my friend, right.. Mr Rat?" before shattering into motes of light and color, much like a player would evaporate on defeat.

Nureha lets out a little gasp in the silence that falls afterwards, the smaller rats bolting back into the walls, what little few are left.
Kyo Kirin
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Oh, that looks like it hurt. And that, too. Kyo stops her performance after ascertaining both that the Spriggan has stopped her own, and that the rats are no longer controlled. The ocarina is stashed away again, and she steps forward, kicking a smaller rat away in the process--but Xander's attack was too much, at the end. The quest is successfully completed, and if overkill is an achievement, here, they got it.

    Oh. Fortunately, Kyo's not a roleplayer in the sense of staying in character with the world, but it still has her thinking. Quietly, "She'd have stopped just by being asked, wouldn't she?" If they'd asked nicely enough. If they'd looked trustworthy. There's always some sort of challenge to it, or it wouldn't be a quest.
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

Nureha looks over at Kyo Kirin. "One would hope." she says quietly, rubbing her arms as she looks around at the now silent maze around them. It's a lot more eerie without the constant background noise of life, such water dripping in the far distance.

She pauses to take in the room, looking into every face before looking away. "Let's go back."
Xander
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

    Xander watches the spriggan lay there, he watches her reach out, ask the rat to still be her friend, before seeming to vanish in a motes of light and color. His eyes looked, lifeless for the moment. "Mission is done." He says simply, picking up one of the shards, pocketing it, and goes to make his way out.

"I'll let the merchant know so everyone can get their share of the coin." He pauses and looks back at the group, looking over to Kyo, "Maybe? Who knows." He gives a shrug. "Good working with you all." Giving them a mild, half-hearted, two finger salute, before he continues. Unless someone stops him. Though as he does pass by Giganpor he says with a gentle, but distant smile, "You did a good job."

Though it seems Nureha has that same feeling. Time to leave!
Giganpor
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square


    Giganpor rubs the back of his head as he looks closely at what is going on. He frowns a little as he notices the problem, then looks to the others, "I... I do not know. This world is so vastly different now. A lot." He looks over at the other three, "Let's get out of here?" He pauses as he looks at the instrument loot. "Ah... at least we got enough to afford rooms or the like? The Spriggan makes me wonder if it was script, real person, or what..."
Nureha
Carmina Gadelica - Main Square

"I hope they were a script." Nureha says, but not with any certainty. "And perhaps it would be best to choose to believe that hope rather than the alternative." She sighs. "At least for now.." and trails off.