"I don't think we can sneak past that shrieker. Let's go around. See if there's another way in."
"Right. Round it is. As much as I'm no' lookin' forward ta trampin' through tha' muck again, it's still a good thing ye spotted that noisy 'shroom afore we disturb'd it, lad. Good work."
Heading back out of the crack in the wall and continuing down the tunnel another twenty feet finds you face to face with a large rusty grate blocking the tunnel. Looking further down the tunnel beyond the grate you notice that actually two thick grates of rusted iron hedge in this section of sewer tunnel. From a man-sized crack in the northern wall seeps a steady flow of sewage, oozing into the greater flow of tainted water, while the dance of firelight spills out above it. A hulking pile of filth and debris partially blocks the stream of offal, a cart-sized clot in this disgusting artery.
"Watch yer step up there, somethin's slitherin' from that lump o' yuck."
Where Cuz? I don't be seein' a thing!
Felgar holds his axe before him.
"How are we going to get through the bars?" Neva whispered.
"Ye'll get through 'em limp an' maybe even dead if'n ye let tha' thing there get ye, Neva." Raliscar's quick whisper turns into a harsher one as he tries to guide his cousin's gaze, "Look at tha' wagon-sized pile o' nasty, runt. Oh fer pity's sake, not that one! Turn round, blast you. There, yes! That one- the one that's moving fer cryin' out loud. See how somethin's wormin' its way outta the bottom o' it?"
Vyshael says, "I don't see it either....", but then draws his blade just to be sure.
Rutter starts having second thoughts about this whole operation. Ugh. Where's the money in all this? So what if they rise up? If we can spank 'em here, we can spank 'em up there. He sighs. Why's doing the right thing gotta be so crappy? He draws two daggers as he waits for the snake/eel to come through the grate. "Shame that perfumery got smashed. We could use it after this."
"Well, then I suppose I prefer the 'loud mushroom' to a moving pile of sewage. If it makes a noise, we can at least be ready for them, too. And maybe that'll give us a chance to talk to them?"
She wasn't even convincing herself.
As the group discusses the thing slithering towards them, the pile of offal actually begins to rise, and the tail end of the slitherer is now apparantly attached to it. All the same, two more writhe up from the filth as the form ends up standing on three nasty legs, three tentacles swaying freely as the runoff continues to drip from the creature. The closest of the refuse-slick limbs actually has two eyes on the bulbous end of it, as it peers at you through the grate. It takes a step forward, allowing it the extra reach to be able to slip a tentacle through the rusted bars. Rutter, Neva, and Felgar recognize it as the type of disgusting creature they had to recover the bottom half of a Shoanti body from. Vyshael and Raliscar, however,...
"Otyugh. Let's step away. Looks like we'll be heading into the mushrooms."
Neva went back with the others, rummaging through her gear for something that might help protect their ears.
"Tha's... tha's no snake or eel at all! Ugh!" Raliscar falls back but keeps his crossbow trained on the creature. "An Otyugh, ye call it? Seems a proper name." His commentary is offered with a shudder of disgust.
Rutter backs away from the grate, out of reach of the otyugh's tentacles. "If we're going in by the mushroom, I'm half a mind to just call out to make ourselves known. Act of good will, of sorts."
Felgar steps back.
I be agreein'. Aren't we supposed to be investigatin' without killin' everyone, anyways?
"I dunno. Sounded like the lady-rat thought this one down 'ere was crazed an' violent an' lookin' fer bloodshed. He sounded downright grumpy, but maybe tha's jus' me own misery at sloppin' through this yuck talkin'."
Vyshael asks, "Are they so tough as all that? Could it be reasoned with?"
"Look at wha' it lives in, man! If'n it's sane an' naps there by choice, then it isn'a worth reasonin' with!" The dwarf's cheeks bulge briefly and he shakes the sickening thought from his mind.
As the group turns away from the creature, ready to leave, and head the other way, it moves up to the bars. The two non-eyed tentacles reaching through as far as they can, but not far enough. It actually begins to speak. Thick rubbery lips around a wide mouth full of teeth, drip with both saliva and the moisture of its home. It sprays a little of the spittle combination as it talks, blubbering pathetically, "No go. So hungries, want eat food."
Raliscar turns around, his face suddenly pasty white as the realization dawns on him that the creature can speak.
Rutter turns back to the pile of sewage and speaks to it as if he's explaining the obvious to a simpleton, which he probably is. "Yeah, right. That's why we're leaving. We didn't come here to be your meal. How'd you even get in there?"
Neva instinctively put a protective hand on Rutter's shoulder.
Vyshael whispers, "If it's that hungry, maybe it'll trade food for information. I'd imagine we can probably find it something to eat that's not intelligent if we look -- rats of the non-lycanthropic variety, for instance... But, does anyone know if it's evil, or just ugly and smelly?"
Rutter instinctively shrugs the cleric's hand off his shoulder. Over his other shoulder, he replies to Vyshael: "Anything trying to eat me is evil enough."
Raliscar shakily raises his crossbow, covering Rutter. "Watch yer step there, lad. Don't get too close! I'm sure it'd like ta have ye fer a meal."
Vyshael says to the beast, "We might be willing to trade food for information -- but that food won't be any of us."
Neva backed up Vyshael's assertion with a nod.
The odd sound of the disgusting creature whining, almost could make someone feel sorry for it, if they were a more sympathetic lot. "Shtoopid rat hoominsh. Dey cashted me, no feed. You feeds me?" He continues to press against the bars holding it in, the two eyeless tentacles waving just out of reach of you, no matter how hard it tries.
Vyshael says tentatively, "Well, maybe..... Depends on what else you can tell us about the rat humans."
The eyed tentacle sweeps toward Vyshael. The eyes, lined oddly vertically, blink in succession. The thought process working overtime, before it simply blubbers, "Dey rat-hoomins, like ratsh, like hoomins. Feed now?" Clearly, thinking is not the forte of this particular creature.
BAH! This here lumberin' bag o's!@!e don't be knowin' anythin'. Let's be movin' on.
"Yeah..." Rutter starts to agree with Felgar, but then has another thought. "...actually, let's take a quick look around for a rat or something."
He motions for the party to lean in, "If we show a little interest for this thing's well-being, it'll support our angle that we care about all creatures' concerns, so maybe we can talk 'em down without a fight."
"Or ye can free it while's it gobblin' down some poor critter an' set it loose on th' wererats."
"That's plan 'B'." Rutter says with a wink.
"Let's try to stick with Plan A, then", Neva said, shuddering, and began looking for a dead rat to feed the otyugh.
Thinking of "Plan A", Neva wondered what she'd say to the wererats when they found them.
I am "The Midwife", I am! All bow before my s***-stained glory! I have come for dead rats and diplomacy!
She sighed.
Vyshael sighs, I don't know if it's actually stupid, or playing dumb, or just blind to anything but it's hunger... or if this is a language-thing... Do they even have their own language? Still, let's see if a more pointed and less open-eneded question might help...
He nods encouragingly to the beast and says, "Yes, that sounds like the ones we're looking for. How many rat-humans locked you up?"
"'B' is fer 'better', right? Bwaha!"
You're hard pressed to find any dead rats here. Anything within reach of the thing's tentacles would likely have already been grabbed up, and almost anything else would likely float out with the flow of the 'water'. Considering you're very near a wererat den, they may even be more likely to tend the local rat population. As Vyshael questions the thing, it's hard to guage any tells to its behavior due to the odd placement of it's eyes on the tentacle and no face. "Yesh, rat-hoominsh lock up. Rat-hoominsh. Dey did, me hate dem. Feed now?"
Vyshael draws a strip of dried meat from his pack and holds it up, then asks again, "How many of them?"
"Many! Me wants many more! Many more!" He stretches and grasps for the food, clearly misunderstanding the question.
Vyshael sighs, All right, it's a lost cause. and throws the meat into the cage. He says, "That's all you get if you can't tell us anything we don't already know."
Rutter leads the way back to the cracked wall. "Everyone okay with me setting off the shroom and waiting for our host to come greet us? Just be ready if that scurrying inside isn't from someone intelligent."
"That, or a couple of us dash past it, setting it off, but being in flanking position for whoever greets us. But whoever stays here should stay hidden if someone comes out to talk to us."
If the party likes the first idea, Rutter looks around for a rock or brick to throw at the mushroom from outside the wall. If they like the second, Rutter volunteers that Neva, Felgar, and Vyshael could go inside, while Raliscar and Rutter watches the entrance (to the room). He reminds them that the otyugh may be able to reach inside this room, depending on how many tentacles one of those things has.
Makes no difference t'me. I be ready fer either.
Vyshael says, "Since we're sunk either way.... we might as well."
Neva nodded to Rutter, indicating that he should choose.
"Sweet, you're the leader down here. Tell us what you'd like us to do. If any of us have a problem with it, we'll speak up."
"Well, then, Neva, Vyshael, and Felgar go on in. Go straight ahead past the mushroom and wait for whatever to come greet you. Raliscar will cover you from the hole in the wall. Vyshael, if you have another piece of dried meat, I'll distract the otyugh while you pass."
Neva took out some bandages and wrapped up her ears. She could still hear, but not well.
When they were ready, she led the others into the room toward the mushrooms.