As Ikoma tries the front door, he finds that the door is stuck shut.
Before the others approach the building Caerwyn takes some time to reconnoiter the house and the outlying shed.
"Bah! Ikoma, I like the way you do stuff!", says Gilbert loudly, seeing the samurai ditch subtlety completely. "Come here, girl!", he says at Duchess, drawing his longbow. "If that's somebody's house, they'll not be pleased at the entrance, though!", he continues, searching for targets around.
Ikoma kicks the door clean off its hinges with a loud *CRASH!*
The room Ikoma sees is in an even sorrier state than the shed outside. Sheets of fungus grow along the walls and floor of this room, and on the numerous gourds, twigs, and bones hanging from the ceiling on sinew and string. The door to the north leads to a small closet. Beyond the entryway, Ikoma can see another room, this one appearing to be a living room. More fungus and mold grows on the sagging benches, broken table, and narrow cupboards here. An old brick stove sits against the west wall.
"Bah! A ratty old witch, by the tracks!", says Gilbert, pointing towards the steps of the rather large rats. "Huh! I think there's something else afoot here!", he says, not being able to resist a snicker due to the horrible, horrible pun. "You see this foot? It looks both human and rat-like. Could it be one of the ratfolk? I heard there's such a race, but I never seen one! Yuki! Do you know anything about such things?", he says to the little girl, pointing towards the unnatural footstep. "Go to Ikoma, girl, and give him a hand if he needs something, ok? Good girl!", he says, leaning down to pat Duchess on the head and point towards the samurai.
With apparently nothing attacking after her companion break into the shack, Nestasha looks in and, seeing the fungus, moves away a bit. Since no one seems to be keeping watch she moves to a good vantage point with some cover and hides there while watching for any approaching danger.
As you take up a vantage point near the shed, you hear the sounds of *chittering* coming from inside.
You also hear a loud *CRACK* coming from within the shack itself. It's followed by a brief *SQUEAK* of annoyance.
Caerwyn enters the shack and looks around. Once inside he heads to one of the doors off the main room. Pausing for a second he places his ear against the door listening for sounds coming from behind it.
Aside from the floorboards *CREAKING* dangerously under his feet, Caerwyn doesn't hear anything unusual beyond the door.
He tries to open the door, but like the front door, it's stuck shut from the damp of the swamp.
Hearing the noise from the shack Nestasha ignores it for now, unless the noise comes towards her she isn't worried about it with her compatriots in there. She's more worried that something might come from out here somewhere and continues to keep watch.
Ikoma steps forward and boots the door effortlessly in. The floorboards *CRACK* under the force, but they're still holding up.
A large bed, its sheets thick with mold and puddles of water from the leaky roof, slumps in the
corner of this room. Numerous ruined books lie stacked nearby, their contents destroyed by the damp.
As the party continues their exploration of the shack, A sudden, shrill *CHITTERING* comes from the shed Nestasha is next to. Six dire rats pour from the rotting walls and out the door of the building to attack!
Nestasha lets out a squeal of disgust when the rats burst forth, particularly with one right next to her. Despite her obvious disgust she flicks her right wrist and a kukri drops into her hand which she swipes at the dire rat next to her then moves away from the creature.
Nestasha's kukri misses the rat, but bites a chunk out of the decaying shed wall.
Ikoma's blade misses his rat, but his horse stomps a rat into the mud with ease.
Gilbert shouts at Duchess, pointing at Nestasha. "Help Nestasha, girl!", he says, as he nocks an arrow and shoots it at the furthest away rat.
Duchess' jaws miss the rat by a fair margin, but Gilbert's arrow does not--it sticks into the rat's back, drawing a *SQUEAL* of pain!
Yui's bolt finishes off the wounded rat.
The rats strike back! One bites at Ikoma...
...its teeth sinking into the samurai's shinguard.
Another strikes at Nestasha...
...but the vishkanya easily dodges the clumsy bite.
Two rats come out the side of the rotting shed, both racing for Ikoma's horse. The horse lashes out at one with a mighty chomp!
...but the rat dodges, and they start to bite back!
While one misses badly, the other sinks its teeth into Windspirit's neck and latches on for dear life!
Realizing in her fright that she forgot to flee the rat, and easily dodging it's blow, Nestasha flicks her other wrist to draw her second kukri and slices with both blades at the disgusting thing.
Caerwyn rushes out of the shack and pauses a moment to take in the scene. Seeing the rat latch itself onto Windspirit's neck, he rushes to the horses side.
Unfortunately, Caerwyn's blade misses the rat on Windspirit's neck.
Nestasha, on the other hand, fells her rat with two decisive swings of her kukris!
Neither Ikoma nor Windspirit manage to land any blows on their rats.
Yui loads another crossbowbolt and shoots it at another rat, unfortunately missing due to its agility.
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Gilbert takes aim at the two rats surrounding Windspirit and shoots a couple of arrows at them.
Duchess growls as she leaps to the horse's defense.
GIlbert's arrow spears the first one's side, and Duchess' teeth does all the rest to another.
The remaining rats keep fighting...
...with one rat's jaws nearly finding a weak spot in Ikoma's shin guard...
...and Windspirit finally managing to throw off the other!
Caerwyn moves around Windspirit's side to kill the rat...
...but unfortunately, his swing goes completely off-target and seriously menaces a nearby thorn bush.
A high-pitched *chittering* sounds from inside the shack as the fight continues. "విలే రెండు కాళ్ళు! ఈ ఇంటి నుండి చిట్కా!"
Nestasha doesn't seem inclined to listen, instead opting to run to Ikoma's aid. She gracefully slips between the samurai and the shack's wall, then raises her kukri for a strike!
Her blade scores a serious wound on the beast!
Seeing the effective attack from the samurai and his horse, Gilbert moves closer to the wall, snapping his hand at Duchess.
Ikoma & Windspirit finish off the remaining rats as Gilbert & Duchess maneuver themselves into position.
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With a sudden *POP*, a new monster materializes next to Yui. It is the size of a rat and has the furry body & tail of a rat, but its hands and face are that of a twisted, demented man.
The beast tries to bite a chunk out of Yui!
Its teeth make little more than a paper cut on Yui's leg.
Caerwyn takes exception to the new arrival biting Yui, and runs to her side to start cutting the beast to pieces!
Unfortunately, the beastie proves to be faster than he thought as it nimbly leaps aside from his blade.
With the new threat evident, Nestasha begins to move into position as she spits on her blade once more as she moves quickly into position tumbling and coming up opposite Carwyn to slash at the creature.
Nestasha tries to tumble into position, but unfortunately her foot catches on the front steps to the shack, causing her to stumble. The beast pivots about and snaps at her!
It also inflicts a paper cut on Nestasha, this one through her boot. When she tries to strike back, the beast simply ducks under her swing.
Gilbert notices the creature assaulting the party and roars, stepping forward and begins nocking and drawing arrows viciously.
Scoring a strike, Duchess sees the combat and begins moving towards the rat, with the viciousness of a wolf among its pack.
Gilbert's first arrow and Duchess' jaws both find their mark, with the wolfhound managing to knock the beast on its back!
Windspirit's teeth barely miss the ratlike creature, as does Ikoma's blade.
"Ouchie! Not the dress!" Yui calls out.
She takes a strp back and sends he shadowy companion in to harass the ratling.
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Surrounded on all sides, prone and tormented by shadows, the ratling tries something desperate...
...but unfortunately, whatever it tried to do fizzles as everyone else looms over it.
It tries to stand...
...and Ikoma's & Caerwyn's blades promptly cut the beast to pieces.
"This filthy critter is a ratling, a bizarre amalgamation of rat and human. They're sometimes used as familiars, and their bite can cause grievous bleeding injuries. They're capable of limited teleportation, among other things." Yui explains.