Duty Session 19: Obligatory Rat Cellar

    Travel by night was rough. Mizuki's party stumbled into town after fighting countless weak monsters as well as the gnoll boss, Haggar. On the bright side, Mizuki was finally able to sleep in an inn!

    It turns out that medieval beds suck.

    After sleeping into the afternoon, gathering news, and farming mobs outside town, the time has come for the notice she put up to do the rats quest. It directed people to meet in front of Alice the Weaver's textile shop. Mizuki greets those answering the notice and those just stopping in to see what the crowd is about.

    "I did this quest before," she explains, "but it was for Barton the Pharmacist. It turned out that some rival merchant was breeding rats in the tunnel under the city; we chased him off. Since things about this world keep unexpectedly turning out to be more... 'realistic'" Mizuki makes a vague gesture at their surroundings, "I want to find out whether doing the quest before ACTUALLY changed anything. Also, more resources to help out with the Ezzo rescue effort is always good, so we need the drops."

    Mizuki also swaps armor out of her town outfit; The new armor is a blend of fantasy and history: FA black hat with a feather plume that seems to be somewhere between a cavalier hat and a tricorner hat. A realistic buff coat with a red sash around the waist and a blue cloak for warmth on the cold seas. Two shoulder belts cross over her chest, with pouches for holding things and sheathed daggers. Black trousers complete the outfit.

    Now dressed for adventure on the high seas, Mizuki walks into the shop. Alice the weaver is behind the counter. "Oh my goodness, did all of you come to help me? Thank you so much. Those rats in the basement are going to ruin my business, I store some expensive textiles down there. I will be eternally grateful to--"

    The speech goes on, but Mizuki just walks right on towards the stairs.

    Clack clack clack.

    A staccato of sharp wooden steps arrives at the door as Esclados rushes in. "Apologies! I am not lateam I?" The slender sohei monk bows deeply, arms firmly at his sides. Standing tall again he adjusts his stance to maintain balance on tall single-tooth geta.

    "I guess we are ready." He rushes to follow after Mizuki, pauses and gives a light bow to the shopkeeper. "Thank you very much!" He practically shouts before chasing Mizuki again. "Wait for me!"

Elrune followed behind the group. A Healer, she wasn't a front line fighter but she also wasn't without capability, they just tended more towards the 'pick people up', side of things. Each step was measured, following in the steps of the others , while looking around for anything that might be amiss.

Listening to Mizuki talk about things before and after made her curious. "Should we not simply consider everything we do new.. and unknown, its better than trying to compare what came before." she commented lightly tapping her staff firmly. As Mizuki passes by the shop keep, Elrune simply inclides her head to the woman. "We'll do what we can." she says cordially.

With a purpose in his step as he moves, the impoisng figure of Taggart heft a smaller version of his usual blade around his waist. His ever present claymore still clasped to his back. "Aye, y think tis somethin to worrie for sure, but it's jus some foour legged wee fluff ball all the same."

With a laugh and a look back at Elrune he continues, "You just keep that wee healing of yours ready and al shoud be well."

    As they make their way down the stairs and Taggart refers to the upcoming monsters as 'jus some four-legged wee fluff ball', Mizuki asks, "You haven't done this quest before, have you?"

It's late afternoon when a group of players arrive at the beleaguered shop. They look around and one breaks off from the pack as they scatter back into the city, most likely a party just back from adventuring. The lady were completely unremarkable clothes, even for starter gear. A hooded grey robe over a simple white blouse and skirt. She uses a long black staff as a walking stick, black hair and silvery ears poking from under slits in the hood.

She smoothly takes up where Mizuki leaves off, smoothing the ruffled feathers of the weaver and promising that she and their companions would make sure her business was secured. After she finishes the conversation that Mizuki dropped, she looks over at the assembled party with curiousity before moving towards the cellar door, not making any show or spectacle of herself.

"Now yee mention..." Taggart scratched his chin in thought, "I canne recall if I did or nout, why?"

    "You don't recall if you did? I'd think everything since the apocalypse would be pretty memorable at this point... Anyway, some of the rats can be pretty big."

    Mizuki's nose wrinkles as they continue down stairs. "What is THAT? It smells more like a flood than rats..." As they step out onto the floor, the werecat comments, "Last time it was a trap-filled corridor. Y'know, because it makes sense for people to fill their own office with traps." She looks around at the moulded crates of textiles. "Well, sucks to be her. I don't think Landers have invented bleach yet."

At the bottom of the Cellar is the stench of mold, decay and.. something else. A faintly animal musk from an obvious source.

Nureha rummages in her volumnous grey sleeves, standing towards one wall to not in the way of the other adventurers. Her face is kept in shadow as she takes out several ingredients from her inventory. She dusts powder on the clinging vines in front of them, scraping another sample of the vine off with a dagger and putting the cutting away in her inventory before dumping a vial of VERY strong smelling vinegar-like substance on the vines, which sizzle and hiss like frying bacon before chunks of the stuff begin to fall away in blackening clumps and refuse. It doesn't take them all out, but it makes a significant dent.

    Esclados sniffs the damp air, and scrunches his face up in disgust. With one arm he sweeps his long hair up and around the top of his head, and with a swift motion pulls his cowl over it to keep it from getting wet.

    With the blunt end of his khakkhara he pokes at the watery ground looking for soft spots that denote the possibility of unsafeness. When boxes block the way he sets a shoulder to them and shoves, astoundingly stout for what one would normally consider a support class.

    "I do believe the manager has not been down here in a long while. Did this exist before, or did it just appear? I feel sorry for those whose homes and business suddenly become some place for us to delve."

Elrune had followed the ohers though she was surprised at the mold, mildew and then the vines. She wasn't sure about how handle them at first, before touching her staff to the plants and pushign them aside. They were vine and she was a person. They crawled on the ground and up stones and trellis, she could do as she pleased. She exhales. "Push them aside, push foreward." she told herself, aware of those around her and head of her making the path somewhat easier for itr. "I think we need to suggest they build some hard packed earth and then stones and mybe sand underneath."

Reika said she didn't want to sit on her hands, so she's volunteered to do what she can. After resurrecting in the church, she followed Miziki back to Alne while since she still all the energy from sleeping for 24 hours. So good time to spend it. Walking. On a road. At night. Good idea, yes.

Either way, she got to rest her legs at the inn as well, although she didn't feel like sleeping at the time, she took the time to try to learn her UI better. Although, she still forgot to actually fill her ability slots. Darn.

And due to walking for the night and resting for the day... NOW she's a little drowsy. But still following, almost like a sleepwalker.

"Zzzz.... No, I'm awake..." She mumbles, and then jolts a bit as she hears the scuttling in the distances "Err, when you rats, you meant big ones, not the small ones that gnaw at your toes or something, right?" She hrms as she tries to shake her head awake again... if she sleeps now, her schedule will be even more messed up.

She hmms as she keeps a hand on her sword in her back, just in case one jumps out...

"I wouldn bee aginst trappin me ol office, I had tee best snacks." Taggarts face shift from his usual grin into a grimace as the smell whaffs into his nose. "Aye, not that the smel don help keep folk out"

Moving over towards Escalados, he wedges his sword between the boxs and the floor. With a grunt he helps shift them away. "Still Escalados, its mor work for us at ti end of the day."

    Mizuki shrugs at Esclados's question. Then the catgirl's ears perk at the chittering, and she draws her daggers. "Great." He shoves some of the boxes, and rats -- the normal kind, not the monster kind -- scurry out from behind them. Mizuki tries to pounce them with her daggers, but they're such small targets she can't land a hit. Still, they've been driven off from nibbling at Alice's wares as they disappear into the foliage ahead.

    Elrune observes that the vines sessility is matched only by their complete lack of agency. The mental burn is so sick that they shrivel up, clearing the way forward -- oh wait no, that's because of Nureha's weed-killing concoction.

    The cleared vines reveal... a rat the size of a dog that hisses and scurries towards the group, but Reika had her sword ready, and a couple of strikes is enough to drop it.

    They move on, Mizuki's ears splayed in annoyance at failing to catch a rat as a cat.

    Annoyance is a running theme as she sees the next corridor. "See?!" She throws her arms forward to indicate the area. "This is the trapped corridor. Watch your step and you should be fine, though..."

Reika might not be able to see the traps exactly, but somehow she can *see* a projectile coming her way. Good reflexes, game mechanics, high evasion, whatever it is in this world seems to affect her differently than in real life. That's why she feels the time slowing down for just a moment, enough for her eyes to pick up on a sharp needle that was flying her way.

She blinks afterwards though "Was that a trap, or the rats are able to use ranged attacks?" She worries a little...

    The giant rat gives the sohei a start, and he takes a defensive stance. Mizuki's quick dispatching of the furry devil brings a little relief to his face and he gives a light golf clap.

    "Better him than us I suppose."

    As they arrive at the passage to something far nicer than the shop that sits on it, confusion is abound. "Its a game. It doesn't have to make sense," he reminds himself. Here Esclados' single-tooth geta now make quite a bit of sense. Small footprint. Combined with his staff he makes a whirling, albeit noisy, path across the hall. Ricocheting off the wall and floor until he comes to a stop at the end.

Exhaling at the skittiering, Elrune takes stop of their position. The large rat makes her yewlp. "Oh that's a big rat, they normally don't get that big. I mean.. maybe here they do, but that's large... what's it eating other rats?" she bemoans Though as Mizuki makes mention of the corridor being booby trapped, the Hymnist raises an eyebrow. "The space for storage under the shop is trapped?" she askes confused. Then as Reika moves she follows the line of site and follows moving as well., "I think I'll take the idea of rats being able to use ranged attacks..." she says quickly, though with Mizuki's quick work of the rat she does take a moment to study it. "What's the verdict, traps or attacks?"

"I see, wha yee mean now bout them rats..." looking at the fresh kill Taggart hoists his blet as he cross the floor to catch up. He each step a careful and messured placement across and around the various plates littering the surface, stopping one or twice to shift his weight.

    "That's what /I/ said!" Mizuki observes as Elrune points out the illogic of traps in a Lander's basement. Reika Elrune, and Esclados dance through the hail of arrows. Mizuki waits for the attacks to stop and then hurries after them, not stepping on a single trap on the way. "Those were traps. I didn't see any rats with projectile weapons last time, but I did see one wearing armor... It was actually kind of adorable."

    They come to a room full of two clans giant rats fighting eachother. "These ones aren't adorable. They're just racist. Last time we just forced our way through them, but I'm open to other ideas."

"I would worry more about what would happen if we didn't." Nureha murmurs quietly as Escladas pokes around for unstable or unsafe patches of earth. "These labyrinths would go untended and like weeds, we couldn't know what would grow out of them."

She unintentionally (or maybe not) puts her staff in the wrong location, putting it in Reika's path as they walk so she would bang her ankles if she wasn't careful. If she was awake enough to see it, she would avoid it easily. If not? Well.. she would then be fully awake thereafterwards. She apologizes either way, in a small voice from underneath the floppy hood, tail drooping against the vine strewn floor as she quickly hurries further into the cellar after the others.

The dog sized rat is dropped and annoyance thrums through the air as they reach the trapped corridor. With clumsy, inexpert movements Nureha manages to set off EVERY SINGLE TRAP in her path.
SMACK!

CRASH
"Eep. Sorry!" follows every trap. She breaks into a flat run, sliding under the last wicked spike to jut into their path with a spring loaded shudder. She coughs, picking herself up and tugging her hood further over her face.

She didn't get hit by any of them, miraculously.

"Umm. Well. I hope that's the last of it. The traps at least."

Reika blinks as they come face to face with the giant rats. Well, time to see if she can use these swords. She pulls hers out, and... does what looks mostly like a flailing. It's obvious she doesn't know how to use her abilities yet, so it probably won't do much.

And yet it seems like it's enough to sway some of them off the party, but she definitely needs some training to fight properly. Or rather efficiently. This is just a waste of energy.

    "Racist rats?" Esclados smirks at the obvious idiosyncrasy. He gives a shake of his head, and brings his khakkhara before him with both hands and strikes the ground three times.

    "Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya

    Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya

    Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya

    Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih."

    Darkness coalesces at the center of his staff's bell. It reaches out towards the rats, filling their eyes with shadow. "Maybe if they cannot see they cannot hate each other. To judge each other not by the color of their fur, but by their shared love of sewage and rotten food."

As the others let lose with thier own abilties Taggart draws the claymore from his back. Thankful that the larger area allows it's steel to sing throught the air as he cleaves into one of the cluster of verimin. The various cuts and slashing leaving a veritable light show across thier flesh as each hit takes out another.

A tree trunk like leg punts a unfortunate target like a furry rugby ball into a wall with a almost sicking crack. "Racist or not, the wee boys die all the same."

There's a moment of silence as Elrune works up her courage to response ofd Mizuki. "A rat wearing armor is bad.. that's a nezumi- if you were to ask me, like a rat-person.. or an intelligent ratling.." she toyed with the concept as she spoke aloud. "Adorable or not, it means that they are either smart enough to scavange it- and so it maybe intelligent and we can reason with it, or it maybe purely hostile. Let's go for... reasoning first." she said to the group, at least offering the suggestion. At the call for suggestions Elrune piped up. "Many plans and have a wide array of options, what do you know of this basement?" she paused raising her staff high, to illuminate the area a little better, maybe hit a few rats inthe process.

Nureha stumbles forwards, putting a hand to the floor as she smacks RIGHT into the floor right in front of the chamber of corrupted rats fighting each other. It's a bloody massacre, biting, clawing and tearing at eachother in a frenzy. She scrambles away from the melee, putting her staff out in front of her as a pair of white rats turn and fling themselves at an easy available target.

She swats one away with the stick, a pulse of energy thrumming out across the room almost by accident. She murmurs something quickly and quietly under her breath, a wave of darkness passing through the room, paralyzing rats left and right leaving them shuddering and twitching with the need to attack. When their eyes fill with shadow and they cannot move, most of them go still, only a few valiently squirming and biting in tiny, jerky circles as they fight the combined energies.

"We could just move on."

    Esclados blinds the rats. "Aww, I love it!" Mizuki observes. "That day all the sneetches forgot about stars, because we blinded them and now they can't see who has stars upon thars! Jerks deserve it."

    Elrune lights the way for the rest, and Nureha paralyzes most of the horde, leaving the rest to fight through what's left. Reika and Taggart cut through the horde and Mizuki joins in, leaping onto them and kicking them away from the group or just stabbing them.

    Eventually that brings them to...

    "Awww!" Mizuki squeals. "See, look how cute he is!" The armored rat is indifferent to the praise though, and doesn't seem interested in talking as it rushes the group, squeaking!

Nureha is charged by the massive nezumi, who batters her aside like a squeaky tou. (She even makes the concordant noise) and sending her tumbling through refuse and bits of metal while the large rat wearing it's vague presence to armor continues to rampage around, rushing here and there without pause.

Lacking a proper shield as he had yet to build his own Taggart curses his lack of forsight. "Aye he's a cute wee puff ball alright, a puff ball between us an payday."

The giganticus verminius makes a slash at him to little sucsess, his claymore blocking the blow even as Taggarts body is forced to step back.

Reika seemingly manages to push a few giant rats away, but that's not the last of them though. One of them comes back to the charge, and tries to bowl her over. She brings her sword down, to intercept. And again she's surprised by her own strength, as she seems to block it perfectly. She pushes the rat back, flicking it away "Now that I see them up close... they areally aren't cute."

    "Holy <adult filter>," Esclados mutters at the giant rat berserker. With a stiff hand cocked before his face he gives a silent prayer. Lifting his khakkhara in a board circle, he releases a cloud of warm motes of light. They fill the air and are suspended for a brief moment.

    As his companions pass through the lights they cling to their bodies, forming a protective shield of light. "Divine Shield!"

Head tilting at least for a moment Elrune starred confused as the other noticed the bezerker first. Well that throw her idea of socializing or talking their way out of the fight, immediately. The rat's sudden charge startled her, and flating her magic wide, it was instinct by now, turn the light into a magical barrier. Only instead of holding steady it shattered, twinkling amount of golden glass like shards tumbled through the air as she struggled to avoid the swing of the rat's weapon.

    Mizuki scampers aside to circle around the rat, wincing when it knocks Nureha aside. Taggart's sword holds the claws at bay, and the rat hisses at him. It's a bit less cute from that angle. Reika has the same experience. The berserk rat moves from target to target, its attacks blunted by Esclados's shielding spell. With Mizuki and Elrune stabbing between its armor plates with dagger and magic, and the others tanking its hits, the party makes simple enough work of Armored Rat. "Sorry..." Mizuki apologizes to it as it explodes into polygons.

    And then it becomes a maze. "I don't remember how it went last time..." Mizuki grouses as they come to a dead and and have to circle around. Eventually they reach the dungeon boss... which is very definitely NOT a rival merchant breeding rats. "What the fluff?!" Mizuki exclaims, "This wasn't here before!" She looks from the mousey mage to the portals. "Uhh, we should probably..." but more dire rats come out as she's talking. "oh fudge they keep coming. Do we try to shut down the portals first or just kill him and hope that works?"

Nureha cocked her head slightly as the rat creature continued to chant, channeling energy through the summoning circle. A flicker of a bemused smile can be seen underneath the shadowed cowl. She steps back a step, then two and grab something out of her inventory. She whispers something as she brings it up to her mouth and casually throws it into the center with no fanfare.

The object sticks to the floor inside the summoning circle. A puffy grey lump that explodes in a wash of spores and motes of energy that stick to the rats that get close. The motes cause red spots to eat into the bodies of the giant rats, glowing brighter and brighter as they cause more damage until they finally expire.

    "Deal with him, I'll work on the portals!" Esclados answers Mizuki's question. In the dirt at his feet he begins to draw a mandala with the tip of his khakkhara, its metal rings clanging as he works. He chants, and creates.

    The mandala glows, fighting against the rat enchanter's summoning circles, slowing him down as he waits for the killing blow.

Reika slides past the rats as well, heading to the summoning "I think I can help with this too!" She extends a hand toward the circle, closing her eyes to focus. She isn't sure how it works, but it looks like the game is good at filling th gaps as well, kinda instinctively guides into the task at hand. It's probably because of her Enchanter class though. There's much she still has to learn, it's like that old movie they download manuals in their brains directly, you just *know*.

Taggart moves forward toward the growning number of minions, dragging his claymore along the ground in a effort to disrupt the symbols. This does nothing to stop it, "Aye, you wee plauge bags. Let's have some fun." with a mighty roar Taggart starts to make minced pixels out of the enemy.

Nureha quietly goes about harvesting loot from the fallen rats, picking up a large chunk of a lean reddish meat that she peers at curiously before tucking away in her inventory. "Interesting." she murmurs to herself, straightening as the party takes care of the enchanter while she took care of some of the adds.

She doesn't linger long afterwards wiping her hands with a little cloth she takes from her pocket before heading back through the maze they had already conquered. She doesn't pause to talk to anyone but the weaver and tells them they had completed their mission. She asks for some clothing scraps, just bits and pieces an apprentice might practice on.. and perhaps the opportunity to watch her work and look after the shop for a day. Just in case the rats come back.

    Esclados tries to jam the portals; the pulse with energy, and as Reika joins in their surfaces crackle with energy, clearly changing state so that no more rats will come through... for now. Nureha deploys AoE DoT, motes of light burning the rats and their boss; and Mizuki follows suit by taking a big breath and then spitting a fireball that explodes in a conflagration large enough to catch the mage AND his adds! It's probably a good thing that the game doesn't model flammable sewer gasses...

    The party's a bit short on tanking and regular damage this fight, though. Weakened rats nip and claw at the enchanters; Mizuki and Taggart flank them and take them out but then the entire party has to deal with poison and corruption from the boss.

    Without his adds, though, the wererat enchanter can frustrate the party but not overwhelm them -- it's a bit more of a slog than they'd like, but the outcome is clear as the party's attacks chip away at its health; eventually the wererat recoils and screeches in pain from the last hit, and explodes into polygons, leaving...

    Meat.

    Rat meat. Which was just touching the sewer floor. Mizuki picks some up and scrunches up her face, but then as she sniffs her eyes widen. "Why does it smell good..." She's starting to drool.

    Her stomach rumbles. She hasn't had dinner. She uses a water spell to wash it off and takes a tiny bite. "It's..."

    "good!" She quickly starts tearing chunks out of it with those sharp tiger teeth, mmmming at the taste as blood drips down her muzzle. "Whah ih hih o ooh??!" she exclaims, almost crying in joy at tasting something other than the blandness of the past five days!

As the big bad crumples to the ground like a rag doll, Taggart quite happly starts to bundle the loot into his inventory. The less then pleased look on his face at the left over remains are understanble to most who see it. "Well, I canne be sur what I'll doo with tis. But I'm sur a use might come up."

"Let me kno if you need any elp again." With a juanty wave and a skip in his walk, Taggart makes his way out of the area and off back to his current loddgings.

Reika phews as they manage to close the portals, and clean up the remaining rats... which even left their meet behind. Uhm... not sure she wants to eat that... even with Mizuki's enthusiasm at it. "Well we won the day, at least?"

    Mizuki swallows her current mouthful and nods. "Yeah. And we learned that the dungeon changes... parts of it. I wonder if the reason for the rat infestation is dynamically generated every time? I'm not sure how much it helps, but... well, /I'm/ glad we found meat." Her ears splay and tail droop. "Even if it is raw... but that's just like sushi, right? I mean, sashimi. Or beef tartar."

    "I'm not sure how it'll help the rescue effort, though. I guess worst-case you can sell it to landers... or hungry were fangs with no sense of shame..." She looks away. "Or more desperation to taste food again than shame, anyway..."

    She takes a breath and sighs. "Well, we should head back up and swap notes with the other group. See what their run was like."

Reika nods "I'm all for getting out of here right now, no need to stay here longer than necessary..." She muses quietly. For a first dungeon run, she feels she did okay at least. Some of the others probably did better, but after getting a one shot kill, you can only look upward, right?