Session XII: Rats! Rats!

Rats, rats, rats sound bite Dracula sound bites

Our brave though foolish treasure seekers, after having raided the Sarcophagi of the Ancients beneath the Tower of Zenopus, decide to explore the infamous rat tunnels. Geedleesmote the dwarf lead the way having to just barely hunch over while the rest of the party crawled on their hands and knees through those filthy, stench filled burrows. Skwanky the halfling stayed behind and guarded the dwarf's cart.

Tibag's skillful mapping saved the party from becoming hopelessly lost in the many twisting and turning passages.

Eventually they began to follow a tunnel that spiraled deeper below ground finding a suspicious and ancient gold coin along the way.

The stench in the tunnels became more and more unbearable as the rat urine and feces thickened. Wolfheir sensed that this may be leading to their doom and warned the rest of the party of a possible trap perhaps prepared for unsuspecting visitors. But the party pressed on despite a nervous Viking and, finding a descending side passage, followed it down where the squeaking noise of rats filled the air. Ahead of them the passage opened into a chamber where dozens of red eyes reflected in the lantern light.

Geedleesmote and Tibag burst into the chamber with the rest of the party following behind. Before them lay a sickening site. A cavern filled with giant rats and standing before a roughly carved statue of a blasphemous rat idol ordering the rats to attack was a sickly Man-Rat!

Wolfheir, Geddleesmote, Tibag started hacking into the hoard of vermin while Adara held fast as the rats bit at her flesh fired arrows into the disgusting man-beast. Slick Vinny, while staying behind in the passage opening, tossed surprisingly accurate darts also at the foul creature.

After a blood-bath the rats lay dead and the Man-Rat after having let out a loud screech also had crumpled to the floor. Tibag and Adara are very near death. Geedleesmote and Tibag pry the jeweled eyes from the idol and with the help of the Viking defile the statue and hammer the head off. But it's not long before the screeching of rats is heard once again coming from up the passage! With no other way out the party is trapped!

Vinny decides to lay a fire trap at the entrance of the tunnel. An angry debate ensues between the mage and Tibag and the rest of the party over the wisdom of igniting oil in these stench filled crawlways with no way out. Alas, the debate is quickly ended as the hoard of giant rats fill the passage. Vinny lights the oil and the rats savagely pour into the room bursting through the flames and burning to death. The few that get through are hacked down. More rats continue to charge into the room as the flames die down including a monstrous rat!

Another blood-bath ensues and the party comes out victorious once again!

Having enough of the rats and their stinkin' tunnels the party once again heads for the surface and returns to Caladan.

A very fun evening and good adventure. There was a lot of the usual laughs and some good role-playing and PC conflict when different opinions popped up. These characters have come a long way from their first timid forays into the Underworld!

We're all looking forward to the next session which should be a full table once again.