Lanarial feels the muscle memory from decades of martial training take over, and he smoothly slashes through the swarm with his family's sword again!
As the swarm moves to attack Lanarial his slash cuts through the 'head' of the swarm causing what is left of it to disperse and flee.
At the front Elliana is able to slay another rat leaving one lone rat to deal with.
Ami takes a 5-foot step , grits her teeth, and takes another cut at the last rodent.
for
The rat easily hops out of the way of the falcata's strike.
Dargorath shifts to get a clear view of the rat, then fires at it.
"Darned blasted things!" He curses.
The arrow barely misses as the rat scampers out of the way.
Alledueces feels the inspirational effects of his song and as such stops and sings again to keep them active...
The remaining rat shows no quarter and continues to attack Amigail, but Amigail fends the creature off with her buckler.
Lorelei moves across from Amigail and attacks
Elliana easily strikes down the last rat. Looking around other than the mound of flesh in the corner and the dead rats the chamber seems empty.
You see there are three paths to go. A path that heads to the north and another two that are across the bridge. One heads east and the other south.
Amigail walks slowly to the bridge and checks it for any humanoid footprints or other signs of recent passage.
Lanarial moves forward with Amigail, keeping his dancing lights around them to provide good illumination. He checks the passage to the north...
Elliana moves along as well, casting cure light wounds on herself Everyone is okay yes?
"I'm fine, lets go." Dargorath looks for signs of human traffic on all 3 paths leading from the area.
There are no signs of tracks leaving this area that you can find Dargorath which prompts Alledueces to consult the map once again. From his interpretation he feels that heading down the south tunnel seems to be the direction indicated on the map.
"I think we were supposed to head south,"Dargorath comments as he peers over Alledueces map.
"Then I guess we go south," Amigail says grimly, motioning for Elliana to take the lead again if she's willing.
"Who's got Bahram's healing wand?" she asks suddenly. "I'm not bad yet, but if I take any more wounds I might need a tap then."
Elli nods taking the lead scythe in hand, She heads south staying mostly silent.
"Wait...I saw something on the ground up this passage." Lanarial says, moving his dancing lights to hover over a tattered bag lying on the ground 15 feet up the north passage. He cautiously goes to retrieve it, and then checks to see what it contains.
The sack has been ripped apart but it seems like the rats used it a nest of some sorts. Picking up the bag you watch as something falls out of one the many holes clattering to the walkway and almost dropping into the water. You look down to see two thin rods lying on the ground. One is made of a black glass like material and the other is crafted from a polished bone.
Lanarial bends down and examines the rods carefully. He looks them over, then gingerly picks up one to inspect it more closely. After a minute he repeats the process with the other rod.
The black glass rod you discover to be a wand of burning hands on the handle end of the rod is etched 'Ingeitum'
The bone rod you discover is a wand of summon monster also on the handle you read the 'Estver'
Amigail slows as Lanariel makes his discovery but then follows Elliana further south into the foul sewers.
Lanarial catches up with the group and shows the rods to Nhilune. "Can you use these? We can each carry one. Lady's choice!"
Elliana maintains her eerie silence, looking back only to make sure everyone is alright.
"What are they?" Dargorath looks at the rods curiously.
Following the map you travel down the southern tunnel for almost a quarter of an hour when it opens into another large cistern chamber. The landing above the cistern basin borders the chamber’s south and east walls, and is littered with garbage and other refuse that form a collection of garbage mounds that are each taller than a man’s head.
The cistern’s water-filled basin is dominated by a bewildering array of mechanical stone gears, grinding brass machinery, and loud water-pumps that are attached to the cistern’s floor and ceiling. This machinery appears to be a complicated sewage pumping system.
Amigail stops and looks around the chamber, both for foes and for any exits.
"Hey Alleduces, which way is it from here." Dargorath asks as he peers over Alledueces's map.
You move into the room when you hear the sounds of something scratching against stone just before you you hear an eerie sounding squeal. You watch as 3 dire rats emerge from the piles of garbage. More troubling than that you see an humanoid rat about five feet tall armed with a bow step from behind the furthest mound of garbage. Even in the dim light the creature looks emaciated, with matted, filth-caked black fur and beady red eyes.
SURPRISE ROUND
The furthest rat runs up to Elliana. The two closest rats attack Elliana and Amigail. Completely taken by surprise the dire rat rips its teeth deeply into Elliana's thigh.
Amigail is fortunate is able to fend off the other rat's bite.
The ratman moves up his bow nocked.
Amigail dodges some incoming teeth and hacks at the rat a bit to her right .
for
The falcata cuts down the rat with relative ease.
With Amigail's death blow, Lanarial pulls out the wand he just found and steps north and then west.
As Nhilune stares at the ratlike man she watches as his body begins to twitch and randomly spasm.
ROUND 1
Another two dire rats emerge from a mound of garbage (F9-F10) and scamper towards the unsuspecting Lanarial. The second rat is able to bite Lanarial.
The remaining two rats attack Elliana smelling the blood dripping from her thigh and one rat is able to get past her defense.
Elli takes a swipe at rat 2
Dargorath moves to have a clear line of fire on the ratman.
The rat's bite hurt, but after two months in the port city of Duress Lanarial's immune system was stronger than its nasty mouth!