Angalia grimly steps forward to press her silvery attack.
Angalia fails to hit the wererat, but Leandro strikes him solidly. Still, the wererat remains resistant to Leandro's glaive.
Andrzej slashes at Sister Jacinthe, and the blow is a mighty one. She staggers and falls to the ground, bleeding profusely.
The swarm of rats vanishes, as the magic that summoned them has expired.
Sergei is now almost unrecognizable. Before your eyes, he is turning into a giant rat much like those you saw in the bath chamber. He is covered in wiry fur and his face is elongated into that of a dire rat. He cowers on four legs, his hands having turned into clawed rodent feet.
Seeing the sister collapse, Donzago scampers down the coal pile along the wall toward Sergei, whose transformation is all but complete. He turns to all of you and says, "Until now, you have pursued the darkness. Beware, for now the darkness pursues you." His vile, bearded face sneers at you one last time before he lays one of his tiny hands on Sergei and both of them vanish from sight.
The remaining wererat renews his assault like a cornered beast.
Eliva
Res
Tiffana
Wererat
Angalia
Andrzej
Leandro
If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite... Regardless of the target, smite evil attacks automatically bypass any DR the creature might possess.
Eliva turns toward the remaining wererat with a frustrated grimace and shoots another silver arrow at it.
Eliva fires a silver arrow at the remaining wererat. The arrow strikes the lycanthrope directly in the chest and he collapses to the floor, dead.
Res tries to identify the spell cast by the rat. "Arrrgh, Sergei and the rat are gone! they have teleported away!"
He goes over to assess the condition of Sister Jacinthe. "Let me see if Jacinthe is still alive. She may still be of use to determine where Sergei has been taken."
Res stands, "Gather around Jacinthe", I am going to heal everyone including her so that we can question her. Be ready to strike her down if she gives us any trouble." Res draws his greatsword and holds it in one hand, while he lifts Gorum's holy symbol. After everyone has prepared to strike Sister Jacinthe, Res says his prayer. Healing power flows out of the holy symbol.
Andrzej steps up close. "My thanks Res."
At Res's instructions, Eliva will hunker down over Sister Jacinthe and hold her still as best she can.
With Res's healing energy, Sister Jacinthe regains consciousness and immediately struggles to free herself. "What do you want with me," she spits.
Leandro's jaw clenches at the tiny monster's threat, but it vanishes before he can do anything about it. Grimly, he obeys Res' instruction to move closer for healing and watches as Eliva gets a good grip on Sister Jacinthe. When Jacinthe awakens and struggles, he retrieves Angalia's silver dagger from the wererat with a nod of apology to the lady, and sets it against Jacinthe's neck.
"Stop struggling and do not even attempt to bite. We came here to rescue you, foul beast. Now, where has Sergei been taken?"
Res glares down at the struggling creature. "Tell us everything you know, What is this darkness we are pursuing, and are all of the sisters here like you. Answer us now, or it will not go well for you!"
Res will try to discern if Sister Jacinthe's answers are truthful.
Andrzej leans in with his blade close to her throat and spits back into her face, "I trusted you. I hate this thing you have become. This vistani will see your gizzard open or....."
"Answer him, Sister."
Sister Jacinthe remains defiant until Andrzej makes his threat. "This thing I have become?" she asks. "I was born to a higher order of being than any of you can comprehend. What I have done for Sergei is a blessing, not a curse. He will be able to realize his true power. That is all one can hope for who was not born into a line of our kind."
"My people are everywhere, and they will not look kindly upon what you have done here today. Among the sisters? No. The Sisters of Charity are stupid and weak. But I infiltrated their order many years ago, waiting for the call. Now we prepare for the coming fight and look to expand our numbers. Sergei and those like him have received a second chance among my kind. They will fare better than they would have in this rotten place."
"Donzago has taken the recruit to our lairs beneath the city. There we gather by the hundreds, waiting for the call. The combined might of our clans and the Crimson Court cannot be defeated."
Andrzej leans in very close and whispers, "how do I find my way underground to join these higher beings?"
He can smell the rancid breath on the sister's lips and feels its heat as she answers.
Sister Jacinthe sneers. "If you want to join so badly, I can help you right now."
Eliva tightens her grip on the wererat and growls at her, baring her tusks. "You are not in a position to threaten us, betrayer. Things could be so much worse for you than they are already. Your actions anger me, and I would hate to let my current civilized veneer slip. Where is the nearest entrance!!!"
"Right there." Sister Jacinthe points to a small grate in the corner of the room. It is obviously too small for any of you to squeeze through, but a dire rat could manage with difficulty.
Eliva's eyes narrow. "And the nearest one a human could use?"
Sister Jacinthe hesitates. "It's all connected," she says. "The sewers sprawl underneath the city. There are hundreds or thousands of way in, but only the rats know the way. Perhaps you should see for yourself. The hundreds of my kin who reside there would make quick work of six dull humanoids."
"Well, Jacinthe" snarls Res, refusing to use the title sister anymore with her, "You seem to have two choices. Lead us to an entrance that we can use and when we are done with you, we will turn you over to the authorities. Since you are so confident that your leader will win, it should prove to be just a minor inconvenience for you. Or, we can be done with all this talk, and slay you right now!"
To the others, Res says, "I say we take this fight to this 'Darkness' now and end this! The longer we wait, the more time it has to prepare and pick its opportune time to strike. Let's press the situation now, while we still have what little advantage that remains. There is no one in this Gods forsaken world that will help us. We are on our own. We take a day to find what tools we can and prepare what spells we will need, then we strike!"
Jacinthe smiles at Res. "I will take you."
Leandro nods proudly and rises, handing Angalia's silver dagger back to her. "My apologies, Lady Angalia, but I did not wish you to sully yourself with that sort of work. Well spoken, Sir Res! I am ready now, if you wish!" He turns to Jacinth. "As for you, I will abide by Sir Res' offer. But who or what is the Crimson Court your people are allied with? What makes you believe anybody in this world would honor an alliance?"
Res answers, "Thank you Leandro. I am honored to be in the same company with a man of your virtue. Let's bind this creature and take it back to Sister Claudette and reveal its vile plan to her. We can continue to question it on the way back. Also, I think we need to find more silver weapons so that we are all equipped properly."
Jacinthe smiles darkly at Leandro. "The Crimson Court is the high council of vampires in the realms to the east. Together, we will destroy the fool Vlad Drakov and divide his and among ourselves. His pointless raids have grown tiresome, and he must be swatted like the troublesome fly that he is."
Lord Vlad is the ruler of Falkovnia.
You also saw this letter in the possession of Spindle the Jester:
Most Magnificent Master of Jesters,
Most sincerely, I trust this letter finds you well. Word reaches me of your wondrous deeds in pursuit of our common cause. Such tidings evince the propriety of our mutual arrangement to such a degree as to at once embolden my efforts and silence my ever prosaic detractors. My kin among the court of Borca with their subtle arts continue to suppress any inclination among the rulership to interfere in the safe conduct of your affairs.
Whilst these earliest stages of the laughing plague show promise, I urge you to hasten your progress in spreading your gift among the gathered Falkovnian infantry. The witless Lord Vlad has superiority in numbers which must be culled if our efforts are to bear fruit.
Though I have no doubt that you have found great sustenance in the execution of your enterprise, you may be assured that your rewards upon completion of our venture will befit one of your wondrous character. Both my kin and our allies to the west look with favor on your role within this undertaking and are prepared to compensate your efforts with a suitable share in the spoils of our campaign.
I eagerly await your next communication, as your correspondence never fails to bring me great delight. Yours, as ever,
T
Bear in mind that Tiffana realized, through her vision, that T is probably for Tetslin (since both the letter and that name gave her the same chill), and the name Tetslin was given to you by the patient Sevrin who was fed upon by vampires. Both her vision and Sevrin's garbled account suggest that Tetslin is involved with Gilbraith somehow.
Borca is the realm to the east of here. Note that Tetslin refers to allies in the west (Richemulot), and Jacinthe refers to allies in the east (Borca). Also of note in the letter from Tetslin is his request to spread the laughing plague among the Falkovnian army (which you foiled rather effectively) and a promise to share in the "spoils of the campaign"
There is almost 60 pages and 2 years worth of PbP here, so I thought I would connect some dots for you.
Res hears the scratching of many creatures coming from the small grate. "We must leave now!" he shouts. "I think a swarm of rats are heading our way!"
"Run, friends, and take the prisoner with you, lest she command them," Leandro calls. He takes up a position near the grate and prepares to stomp the rats if they emerge before his friends are able to leave the room.
You gather your prisoner and head for the stairs, keeping your wererat captive at silver knifepoint. The scrambling sounds grow louder, echoing in the drain, and then the small gate swings open and a dire rat squeezes into the room. Two more are following behind it.
Res will follow Eliva and Jacinthe up the stairs. He will ready command in case Jacinthe tries anything.
for if it hits.
Initiative
Andrzej moves back to the exit archway and waits ready with his scimitar to strike.
"We must leave as one, Leandro. More may come. They are rats remember."
Leandro fails to stomp on the speedy rat.
Eliva intents to maintain the grapple she has on Jacinthe, and wrestle her up the stairs.
Angalia
Leandro
Eliva (grappling Jacinthe)
3
Tiffana
Andrzej
1
2
Jacinthe (grappled)
Res
Angalia will move on back up the stairs, rapier at the ready, to clear the way for the rest of the party.