Enoby slowly ceases her singing, and an upturned expression crawls across her face.
"Whether hundreds of feet below the surface or upon it, such pests seem inescapable."
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Kyrie's eagle pursues the rats as far as it can, stopping only when they all rush into the many-holed walls.
It hop-walks back to the group and picks up a rat in it's beak. It turns it's head up and starts to choke the thing down, but it disappears half-way through, and half an eaten rat plops to the ground.
Zinnath will hop down and start eating a rat while the group discusses the plan.
All: "Once you get through the tough skin on these rats, the insides are very tender and tasty!"
Zinnath looks up to see if anyone else is joining him at the feast. His normally white muzzle is coated in blood and gore, which his tongue snakes out to try and clean. Seeing the looks on a couple of his companions, he asks:
All: "What?"
Bat tries her best to ignore Deko and Zinnath's culinary tastes (or lack thereof). Moving away from all the slain rats, she calls the wounded to her side. Once everyone's gathered, the cleric channels positive energy twice to heal at least some of the wounds taken in the scrum .
Bat returns to a door in the northeast corner of the moathouse and checks for traps while listening for the squeakings of more rats.
Zinnath will gladly follow along, dragging some offal along as a snack as we move. Zinnath tries to land on Bat's shoulder, and if permitted will probably get some bloodly claw marks and other yuckiness onto Bat's shoulders.
Bat's doing such a great job of looking for traps and listening for rats that she likely doesn't notice the mess Zinnath makes when he alights on her shoulder.
Let me help with that!
Fezzik walks over to Bat to get his wounds tended to and thanks her. After he is healed, he inspects the remaining rats that Deko and Zinnath haven't eaten to find a few that aren't too smashed. He takes the best looking two for dinner later. As he is looking, he notices the opening in the corner and goes to inspect.
Enoby walks to the spot where she dropped her bow, sheathes her short sword, and picks up the short bow. She inspects it carefully to assure herself that it suffered no undue wear and tear when she dropped it.
Satisfied, she rejoins the others at the door they are inspecting.
"Shall we proceed?"
Bat smashes open another stubborn door, to reveal a kitchen area. Moldering remains of old foodstuffs lie on preparation shelves and tables, and a large wooden cask that seems to be intact sits next to a fireplace on the north wall.
Fezzik manages to barely squeeze into the corner in the northwest side of the large open area and notices that it seems to be a storage pantry. It is mostly empty, although there is a jug of lamp oil still sitting on one of the shelves, and a stairway goes down into what must be a basement... or dungeon.
Bataleigha enters the room and gives it another of her half-arsed searches, taking special note of the large wooden cask to the north.
Enoby stays by the door, bow drawn and arrow knocked, watching the hallway in the event the rats return or some new threat makes itself apparent.
All: "You bipeds are like a herd of lumbering cats the way you move through this place!"
Fezzik grabs the jug of oil, thinking it could be useful, and heads down the hall to join the others. "More stairs down in pantry. Found jug of oil," he says with a grin.
The group continues their careful exploration. Bat advances cautiously toward the barrel in the kitchen, and though her searching has been desultory thus far, her caution pays off. As Deko starts moving through the door an enormous tick climbs out of the barrel and attempts to leap at Bataleigha, but she is prepared and is not surprised!
ROUND 1
Round 1 Init 21
All:"That is one very large bug!"
Zinnath fires an elemental ray at the creature...
vs touch
All:"Take that you disgusting beast!"
The tick hunkers down as Zinnath's ray hits it, shudders, then leaps off the edge of the barrel at Bat!
The cleric wards it off though, and it crouches down again, waiting for another chance to jump!
Bataleigha dodges the tick's attack and tries to bash its tiny brain in.
for
All "Hurry and kill it before my stunning cold ray wears off!"
Fezzik squeezes past Kyrie and ducks under Zinnath. He then makes his way past Deko and Bat so he can see the bug and swings his flail at it.
Both of the warriors' swings fail to injure the tick, though Bataleigha connects and causes it to emit a squeak and to shake again.
Kyrie slams a bolt of magical force into the tick, which leaps again at Bataleigha.
The tick is still unable to get its hooks into Bat, no matter how hard it scrabbles.
Bataleigha tries to fulfill what feels like a divine mandate to crush the tick before her.
for
All: "My cold ray is beginning to wear off, best that I nail it again."
vs touch
All: "Now hurry and kill it, I can't hold it all day!"
All: "don't you worry you big hairy bipeds, Kyrie and I will handle this since the rest of you apparently cannot."
Though Deko is unable to get a punch on the insect, the intersecting magical attacks slam into it and it detonates in a spray of stolen blood and squishy gore.
With the bloodsucker eliminated, it's easy enough to sweep through the room. It seems likely that the monster crawled in through the chimney here. Sadly, nothing of value seems to remain.
This leaves only two places left to explore - the doors immediately to your left (west), or the stairs going down (either the ones in the secret door with the bandits, or the ones in the pantry area where you found the lamp oil).
Bataleigha heads to the nearby doors to the west, examining them and listening for movement beyond them.
Bataleigha turns toward the others and mouths the words, "Something's home!" Then she waits for the big guns (Fezzik & Deko) to ready themselves before trying to open the door.
Fezzik nods to Bataleigha and begins to walk back into the hallway to wait for her to open the door. He stops when he sees the spell casters still standing in the hallway blocking his way. He waves the back of his hand to the left as if to suggest that they move back down the hall. Once they move, he stands behind the cleric, prepared to move in and attack whatever is in the room.
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With the group ready in position, Bat shoves open the door. It is slightly stuck but not locked and it gives way with a groan.
This room was once a barracks, as evidenced by the cots and broken wooden chests at their bases - as well as the pieces of human bones scattered about.
Among the debris in the south is a massive lizard, easily as big as the frogs that you fought earlier. It hisses and makes lunging motions, does lizard push-ups at you, then prepares to rush, heedlessly looking for a meal!
Fezzik steps into the room far enough so that the others can enter. Seeing the lizard, he swings his heavy flail at it.