"I don't mind for your horse standing in front of the door. If your horse doesn't mind." Isabella replies.
"Enough talking." Persephone gets up and moves to the kitchen. There she unpacks the groceries and makes herself a sandwich and an egg, sunny side up.
With a plate filled with the tasty goods she returns to her seat in the seating area, puts a silver on the counter and starts to eat.
"I assume you trust Norm? Any special wishes about the result of our interception of the two 'gentlemen'."
"Norm is a good guy."
"As for the bad guys, I need plausible deniability. I'll be all like 'Hey, I want no trouble. I bought your fine wine and payed the delivery guys.'"
"Vorkatos, we need a plan and a place where we discuss it with no one else around."
"Can I join?" Norm asks.
"I don't know if you can. But you know something will happen anyway, so I guess there is no harm to see if you can help."
"Let's move over there." she nods to a table in the corner.
Once all are seated she continues "What are the options? We need to get them, before they hand the money over to someone else. And I would prefer if they wouldn't tell everyone that we did it."
"I can disguise myself." Norm tells. "I could also craft a disguise for you, but that wouldn't survive a fight."
"Are you good at fighting?"
Looking to the job board she adds "I'm curious what that rat exterminator job is about. I've never lived on a farm, but wouldn't you simply send some cats or a dog after them? Maybe set a trap."
"Wanna accompany me there? We could talk some more far away from any nosy ears and I'd get to know you."
"Rats?" Norm replies, eyes wide. "I'd prefer a walk in your company to sitting around here with nothing to do, but rats?"
"You wanted in on dealing with the rats. See it as a test run." Persephone gets up and waits for Norm to follow. Then she leaves.
Norm gets up, pays his bar tab, and follows Persephone. "You wanted to know who I am - well - I'm a teacher. I teach some children of wealthy people in the fields of nature, nobility, religion and the art of music. And in my free time I play in The Pig's Whistle and meet some of my friends there."
"Who are you, that Isabella offers you to deal with that?"
"I'm just the maid cleaning the floor and preparing some sandwiches in The Pig's Whistle. But I told her, that the pay sucks and that I got a better paid job. She was only teasing me with the coin. She has no clue if I can do it." She decides to walk in silence as long as they are in town.
If Isabella thinks I'd do everything for money? Would I? I've proven I'd stop at nothing to get to my goals. But that was to get free of my step family. That was justified, wasn't it?
And I'm not the only one who puts himself above others. Those rats go after Isabella's money. The elf after that guy... and why am I like the bunny staring at the snake in front of that elf?
She is divorced from her inner monologue as Norm revives the conversation.
"You assume you can do it though. I don't know why, but your appearance gives mixed signals. On one side you wear heavy armor and a mace, on the other you wear makeup. You have a limp, which could be an old injury from battle, but you are too young and you tell you are a maid."
"I see. So I look like a mess and not like that mysterious woman that no one can fathom. I need to work on my performance then."
To turn the focus back on Norm she inquires "Why does a goody two shoes like you join such a shady proposition. In for the thrill? Or to ensure the good prevails and your faforite bar doesn't suffer at the hand of the bad?"
"Didn't you feel the urge to punch that guy in the face?" Norm inquires.
"I was wondering where he got that confidence. He'll return tomorrow with a box of wine without a doubt that he'd get 100 gold for that."
"You think he'll bring backup?"
Meanwhile the two arrive at the Bear Grove Farm. A house, a barn, a shed and a stable placed in form of a horseshoe. The farm is surrounded by fields of grain that is turning from green to golden and will be ripe for harvest in a few weeks.
On the yard a man is busy sweeping and a dog sleeps in the shadows. As Persephone and Norm approach, the dog jumps up and barks.
The house is timber framed, plastered and white washed with small windows and a wodden roof. The other buildings are completely made of wood. Grey weathered wood, with patches of moss on the roofs.
The man pauses his work and rests upon the birch broom. "What are you here for?" he inquires.
No niceties. Persephone conclude. "The rat job. What does it pay."
"Five gold if you clean them out." the man replies.
"That's a lot of money." Persephone comments the suspicion written all over her face.
"It's a lot of rats. The dog doesn't dare to go near the barn anymore, neither do we. And we need the storage soon. When the harvest comes in, I need to put it somewhere."
"Do you want the job or not?"
"I'll take a look." Persephone replies and walks towards the barn."
The barn stands open. Inside it is almost emtpy. Only in one corner there is a pile of sacks filled with grain. Dozens of rats run around and over those sacks.
Persephone lifts the mace. "Are you ready?" she checks with Norm, before closing in.
The rats are delighted and swarm out to meet Persephone.
Persephone shrieks. She swings the mace wildly but hits nothing. She moves out of the swarming rats waiting for them to come at her again.
Norm stays behind Persephone and begins singing an encouraging song.
The rats come after the tasty feet and legs of Persephone. As they do she lays a devastating blow on the rats, but that doesn't save her from being gnawed on.
From behind the sacks two more rats stick their heads out. But these have the size of a dog. And they are fast. They come charging out of their hiding place and attack.
Surprisingly Persephone was successful with hitting the rats so she keeps doing that. The big rat doesn't get under her armor, so she ignores it for now.
After plowing through the swarm once more she again moves back to make it harder for them to chew on her.
"Ow!" Norm gets bitten by the oversized rat, but he includes the voicing of the pain in his song and keeps on singing. He slashes with his starknife at the monstrous pest.
Dut the pain throws him off.
The swarm of rats disperses as Persephone sweeps through it again, smashing no small number of the tiny rats. Norm has no luck getting rid of hiss personal rodent.
four more of the large beasts come out of the nest and attack.
Persephone steps back and heals herself.
With that many rats around, Norm steps away from the rats and casts a chord of shards.
One of the rats is ripped apart by the shards the others dodge the attack. The rats keep attacking and they take a toll on Persephone.
Persephone sees that healing herself is no real solution and whacks a rat, before stepping away to get closer to Norm. Also she dons the shield to be able to better defend herself.
Norm steps away again and tries the shards again, in hopes to get rid of his two rats.
One rat gets its head smashed in and one more is shredded by off key music. But they don't give up.
Persephone steps back and cast a cure spell on herself again.
Norm slashes at the remaining rat in front of him.
The rats fight a losing battle. One more gets cut down.
With the numbers of the rats dwindling Persephone hopes that the rats are soon dealt with.
Norm joins Persephone in finishing off the last rats.
The barn is a bloodbath with all of the big and most of the small rats dead.
"Oh look, what's that?"
Persephone heals herself, before checking on the nest of the rats.
Behind the sacks lies a humanoid skeleton. The bones are gnawed clean and most of the clothes are also gone. Still there are the metal buttons, a rapier, a leather armot and a well made leather backpack both of which shows bite marks though. A pouch with twelve silver lies on the ground. The backpack contains a ruined journal, an inkwell and rat poop.
Norm follows and looks at the remains. He recognizes the nicely woeked buttons, with the engraved clover leaf. He picks up the skull and looks into the hollow eye sockets. "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Persephone, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."
Persephone checks a few sacks to search two that have no extra holes. She empties them, shakes them clean and then collects the goods into one and the bones into the other. Once she got everything that lies around, she holds the bag out to Norm. "Put him in?"
Norm puts Yorick into the bag. "Let's go and get our pay." he sighs sadly.