Dungeon Fantasy [IC]

Name: Negikao
Level: 1
Race: Half Elf
Class: Ranger
Date/Time: Day 1 / Late Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Clinging to a rafter, trying to pull herself up in the main lounge.
Tagging: No, Jezebel, Aim
Mentioned: Tavern Staff

Negi watched with frustration as No held his breath. "What are you waiting for?" she hissed. Her hands were sore from the old wood splintering them, but she shimmied up onto the rafter and picked a couple of shards of wood out of her palms before she settled, drawing her bow. It suddenly occurred to her that no one had thought of asking about a back entrance or making sure the windows were drawn.

"Jez," she called frantically, "Take someone upstairs with you and make sure all the windows are locked tight! I will check the back, but be prepared. Find cover quickly." She began walking along the rafter deftly, over a back wall and into the kitchen area. Sure enough, there was a soft scratching noise at a delivery door. Negi motioned for Aim to join her, and pointed to the back door.

"What about that, smart one?"

Name: Sir Steven Folcard
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Knight
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Main Room
Tagging: No

'Well,' Steven thought to himself as he watched No start to choke on his own flame, 'That could have gone better.' Thinking quickly, the knight rushed over and began pushing the transformed dragon towards the door, "Get out of here, we don't want you sending the Tavern up in flames!" Once No was out the door, Steven took a moment to take a look at the street outside the Greased Oak to see if there were any more rats out there.

Stepping back inside, Steven looked back at those still in the Tavern. "The rats seem to be acting smarter than...well, rats. Perhaps they have someone or something controlling them."

Name: Vynniran
Level: 1
Race: Gateway
Class: Healer
Date/Time: Day 1 / Late Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Main room
Tagging: Aim, Negikao, Minet Onatopp
Mentioned: N/A

Vynn let out a little shriek when Aim started throwing the booze at her feet, jumping back and away from the shattering bottles.
"Carefull, you brainless mass of goo! This linen is made in another sodding continent, damn it..." She shot an incredulous glance at the half-elf, who seemed to not even notice the beer and ale covering her legs as she climbed the rafters and made her way to the back door.

With a frown, she stood on the nearest table, and, with impressive agility, jumped onto the wall beside her, kicking off it to reach the same height as the other too, the black linen swirling around her legs like a shadow. If anyone had paid enough attention, they might have noticed that she stayed on the wall for just a moment longer than should have been possible, as if clinging to it, but everyone was more focused on the commotion outside. The same commotion that hid the already barely audible sound of suction cups detaching from a hard surface.

At the ranger's command, the barmaids had started running upstairs, but Vynn managed to catch the attention of the Minet before she slipped away "You, pretty girl! Throw me a couple of those liquor bottles. Any will do." The brunette was hesitant, still stepping slowly to the stairs, so Vynn gave her her best smile. She was still anxious, but she made a quick detour, taking a few steps to the side and grabbing two bottles from the bar, throwing them up as she ran for the stairs.
Vyn grabbed them, quickly popping them open, and inserting one of her poison darts in each before sealing them again.

The rats seem to be acting smarter than...well, rats. Perhaps they have someone or something controlling them.

"Well, then let's be smarter, shall we?" She threw the knight one of the bottles, and handed the other to the ranger. "These bottles are tainted with poison from my darts. Use them as you were. Even if the rats aren't particularly thirsty, and even if they're not stupid enough to step into the flames, if we set it on fire, the fumes will at least weaken the filthy swarm... just try not to breathe, yes?" It won't be enough, but it should help she thought.

Name: Grymm
Level: 1
Race:Tiefling
Class:Mage
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning,
Location: Top floor bedroom overlooking the rats
Tagging: Rats

Grymm watched with wide eyes as the seemingly endless swarm of rats converged on the streets. They filled the passageway from end to end, flooding into all open doors and openings in the adjacent buildings. And from his vantage point, he could barely amke out something standing at the back of the group. It looked to be some hideos rat creation, amybe a leader? Or maybe just a big rat. You could never really tell these days.

Either way, he didn't plan on going down without a fight. Because he had no doubt that they were going down. There was no force on earth that could stop this collection of rodents. If the rats didn't kill them, the stench would!

A maniacal grin split his face, and he let out a whoop of desperate joy as he twitched his hand, send a ball of fire down into the writhing horde of fur and fangs. When the ball impacted the stone street, in exploded, engulfing the disgusting vermin in flames. When the flames cleared there was a large section of street that had calmed, cleared of all living rats. But that didn't last long. The creatures were like a wave, filling in the new hole with a frightening speed. Snapping his fingers again, he ignited another ball of flame in his hand. This was going to be fun.

Name: Haldir
Level: 1
Race: Dark Elf
Class: Assassin
Date/Time: Day 1-Early Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - at the quest board, the bar, roof of the inn
Tagging: N/A
Mentioned: Party, Geeva Goodhead

Haldir walked through the door as the Knight came down the stairs and made his way to the table. Haldir waked to the quest board and looked over the available ones. After looking them over he picked one and headed for the bar to get a drink and survey the room. His eyes drifted back and forth until he finished his drink. He then ordered some food to wait for the best time to go see the quest giver. His eyed Geeva the red headed barmaid and thought about spending a night here but kept looking around. As his eyes passed over the Knight and the Ranger in the middle of the room as something moved under the table and he took a closer look, he was surprised to see a slime, to be more precise he could be classified as a Greater Slime since he took human form. He heard shouting from upstairs, he watched the woman come down the stairs but couldn't really consider her human from the way she moved down the stairs. After she finished making a scene Haldir watched a hooded figure make their way to the table and sit down without saying a word.

Must be an adventure party, Haldir thought to himself, they seem kind of new to the whole thing. When he had finished that thought he heard a loud shriek and crash from a room upstairs. He smiled when the busty blond ran downstairs and straight to the showers, she was followed by a large Warrior who did not look very happy. He finished his food as the Warrior sat down and started taking. Last thing he heard as he headed for the door was the Warrior saying something about 'Dragon cock'. he slipped out without making a noise and went to relax on the roof of the inn so he could have some quiet time while he figured out what to do next. His eyes had been closed for half an hour when he heard screams from the street below and saw the towns people running from what looks like a sea of rats.

Did not think the rat problem was such a big job. Hadir said to himself as the rats flooded the street and then they took a turn down the alley. Smart little vermin. He grabbed his bladed chain whip and was about to head to the back when he saw the Warrior exit the building and watched him to see if he needed help.

GM: Bridge Rat Infestation

Update!
Boss Name: The Rat King
Minions: 3,000 (Reduced!) plague-infested, flea-bitten, dirty Bridge Rats
Status Effect: Plague
Boss Weakness: The Rat King is keeping his distance.
GM Strategical Advice: Who controls the rats? That's your guy.



Name: No
Level: 1
Race: Dragon
Class: Warrior
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater Streets
Tagging: Party, Open Mentioned: The Rats and the Rat King


The dragon felt the knight pushing at his back to encourage him to exit the building. At first the dragon had been hesitant for he didn’t know what awaited him out there, but his lungs felt as though they were ready to explode and he couldn’t risk sending his team up in flames. No charged for the door, and as soon as he cleared the doorway, he threw back his head and a pillar of fire, expanding into a wide fan of yellow and orange flames licked at the sky. His throat muscles were tight as a stream of fire expelled from between his sharp teeth with a bit of force. His chest deflated until black smoke exuded from his mouth.

The warrior leaned forward weakly, his hands going to his knees as he coughed and hacked. Tears streamed down his eyes from the burn he endured from his own flame and his throat felt so painfully dry that he could barely speak. He had summoned up so much fire power for nothing, and it had turned around and bit him in the ass.

..fu..uck, No could barely get out.

His lungs stung, and the cool air didn’t make them feel any better.

Squeak, squeak, squeak!

The dragon’s head snapped in the noise’s direction to see a wave of rats breaking away from the formation that had redirected behind the tavern. From above, orbs of fire slammed down to incinerate a good amount of them, but they kept coming, emerging from the holes in the slow and lumbering Rat King’s back.

sh! No winced a little, his throat stinging.

There were so many that not even the rain from the mage could stop them from charging toward him. No was forced to turn and run, and it was only after he passed the first two buildings that he realized what the rats were doing. They were trying to separate him from his team!

Fuck, these rats are annoyin’! No thought, glancing back over his shoulder to see the formation still scurrying after him.

His throat was too raw to muster another flame attack and his stomach too empty. He believed that he had even burned all the alcohol from last night in that blast. He had to get back to his team!

No attempted to cut down an alley and mid-way through he slid to a stop as he felt his heart sink at the sight of a second stream of rats that were entering the mouth of the alley in which he was headed. Who was controlling them? No rodent was this smart. He was amazed by how clever they were and disturbed by how they all seemed to know where he was. Rats were popping out of the manholes in the alleys, and he knew that if he didn’t act fast, he was going to be eaten alive.

No’s nose wrinkled and his lips rolled back to bare his teeth in a vicious grimace. His eyes shifted red as he crouched and sprang high into the air to reach out and grasp the edge of a roof. Thrusting his other hand up to also snag the ledge, No grunted and growled as he kicked and squirmed his way up onto the roof. Below him, the rats stopped and reared up on their haunches to watch him curiously. Once No managed to slide onto the roof, he glanced over the ledge to see the rats staring at him, and then grinned victoriously, extending a middle finger.

Send that to your boss! he thought.

No turned from the ledge and started sprinting across the rooftop, leaping between buildings as he made his way back to the tavern. The rats below figured that that was where the warrior was returning to and followed below in case he slipped.

I’m gettin’ me a feast after this. If we manage t’save that fuckin’ tavern and everybody in it, then everybody makin’ me breakfast!

The thought motivated him to try and meet those expectations.

Meanwhile, back at the tavern…

The Juicy Girls had all moved upstairs to advise all the tavern patrons to lock every window and door. If they could keep out the vermin, and stay out of the party’s way, then the better they would survive. The main lounge still reeked of alcohol and fumes. A few glasses tumbled in the kitchen, announcing the rat’s presence. There were rats all over the kitchen, breaking into cabinets and supply closets to scarf down the tavern’s food and ingredients. If they were allowed to continue, then there wouldn’t be any supplies left.

Other rats were surrounding the building. A few were continuously getting incinerated by the mage’s attacks, but the Rat King was patient. He knew the mage would tire himself out eventually (as intended). His rats would surround the tavern until the party dropped their guard or starved to death within. Lumbering along, the Rat King kept a safe distance from the establishment, not wanting to get too close to it. His skeletal teeth came together in a wicked grin, feeling confident that he had the party in checkmate.

Name: Negikao
Level: 1
Race: Half Elf
Class: Ranger
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - In the rafters above the kitchen.
Tagging: Aim
Mentioned: The rest of the party

Negi had a different idea for Vynn's poison. She cracked open the bottle and perched it precariously next to her on the weathered beam. She dipped arrows into it, spreading it further around the room so that the fumes would be more dispersed. She had taken a scarf around her neck and tied it tightly around her face as a makeshift mask to protect her lungs.

"Aim, we can't hold out here much longer. There has to be a source and we need to find it. Burning down the tavern will only eliminate the symptoms, not the source."

Arrows whizzed from her string even as she spoke so calmly. She did not feel as though they were making any progress. They had lost their two biggest allies when No had been forced to leave and the mage had vanished. Her lips pursed in a grim line as she looked over the pulsating floor.

"Just keep them from going up the stairs."

Name: Sir Steven Folcard
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Knight
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Main Room Doorway
Tagging: Vynn, Aim, Negikao
Mentioned: No

Steven hissed when he watched No ran from the horde of rats, disappearing into the maze of buildings nearby. Stepping back into the tavern and closing the door, the knight looked to those few who were still on the ground floor. "Well, looks like we're short one No for the foreseeable future." With a swing of one of his swords Steven killed a trio of rats that had been trying to make their way across the room.

"We can't just stay in here and wait for the rats to come to us. Eventually we'll lose a siege, even vermin will win if they just swarm over us with their numbers." Steven peeked out a window at the swarm, diminished a bit now but still far larger than he liked. "We need to find whoever's controlling them and kill them if we're going to stop this, but we'll never make it through the streets as they are." He paused as he considered their options, a thought occurring to him. "Hey, do you think the buildings are close enough that we could jump from roof to roof?"

Name: Aim
Level: 1
Race: Greater Slime
Class: Thief
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Main Room
Tagging: Negi, Steve, Vrynn
Mentioned: The Team, The rats

~*~

Aim glanced, dispassionate, at the horde of rats being incinerated, then at the roof, and finally at what remained of his team.

"Well, without our firestarter, our chances of winning via carpet bomb have decreased dramatically," he noted. "In that case, let's evacuate this death trap and see where the lesser halves have gone."

Still catwalking in the rafters, he knocks a ladder down for the rest of the group to climb up, and then blasts a hole through the roof tiling with a propelled dagger. Grimacing at his inability to recover it - the weapon had soared off into the city - Aim widens the hole with several kicks and then agilely slides through, offering a hand to help the rest of the group up onto the vantage point.

The street itself is too wide to jump across in any way, but the buildings on the same block could be jumped across. Aim squinted around, searching for the flow of the rats, and finally picked out a general direction: from the north.

"Heading uptown, ladies and gentlemen!" he bellows. "The reinforcements are coming from that way!"

Name: Negikao
Level: 1
Race: Half Elf
Class: Ranger
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - Main Room moving out to the street
Tagging: Aim
Mentioned: The rats, Vynn, the Rat King

Negi nodded her understanding towards Aim and made her way down towards the floor. She intended to test the furry waters. If they were not specifically there to kill, but only to terrorize, she could suck it up long enough to get to the street. Gnashing teeth and flying claws answered her question and she decided to play it safe, scaling the walls. Using her shadow clone ability, she threw the rats attention to a wisp of her image that ducked into a back store room. As there cleared a path on the floor around her, she slipped down and silently crossed the floor to the nearest window, which she promptly crawled through and shimmied towards the roof to have a better vantage point.

She scanned the area. Aim was right. They were indeed heading towards the downtown area. This was not good. If they made it to the market, there was no telling what could happen. She began firing arrows left and right, stil dousing them in Vynn's poison. She realized too late that she was running out of arrows. As she knocked the last one, she spotted him. The big oaf lumbered behind the pack, a terrifying spectacle of fur and teeth. She eyed him down, but as she was about to loose her arrow into his skull, he looked at her with those beady, intelligent eyes, making her aim go awry. Her arrow slipped and skittered to the cobblestone below.

Name: Vynniran
Level: 1
Race: Gateway
Class: Healer
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - On the roof of the main room, just outside the upper floor's rooms and next Grymm.
Tagging: Grymm
Mentioned: Aim, Grymm, Negikao, No, the Rats, the Rat King

Vynn sighed as the slime destroyed the roof. Well, they'll probably have to pay for that. Then again, her plan involved some damage to the tavern anyway.
She hopped onto the roof, and noticed the mage standing next to her, firing fireballs into the mass of flesh bellow. She scrunched up her nose at the stench of burnt flesh and fur.
"Grymm, do us a favour and light that booze down there on fire?" At the arched eybrow she received, she waved a hand dismissivley. "Don't worry, it's not too much. The alcohol will burn out before too much damage is done. Just trust me on this." It would take but a moment for the rats to burst into the room below. If their master was controlling them through telepathy, their confusion as the poisonous fumes flooded their sensitive rodent nostrils could disorient the puppet master as well.
Speaking of which, she noticed Negi jumping across the rooftops, and No doing the same, not too far away. And as she moved to go meet them, she followed the ranger's aim, and spotted the lumbering beast. She almost threw up when she saw the vermin sprouting from the Rat King's flesh.
This is not going to be pleasant, is it?...

Name: Sir Steven Folcard
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Knight
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Greased Oak Tavern - The Roof
Mentioned: Vynn, Aim, Negikao, Rats, Rat King

Steven watched as his companions made their way up to the roof of the Greased Oak, sighing as he heard the crash the signaled they were traveling through another floor. The knight climbed up after them, stopping only when he was on the roof. "Well, this is quite a mess we have here," he said as he surveyed the streets from above.

Looking down Steven could see the bulk of the rats moving in one direction, and looking the other way revealed a large figure with many more rats crawling out and around it. Resisting the urge to vomit, the knight began leaping from roof to roof, heading towards the apparent source of the Bridge Rats.

GM: Bridge Rat Infestation

Update!
Boss Name: The Rat King
Minions: 2,950 (Reduced!) plague-infested, flea-bitten, dirty Bridge Rats
Status Effect: Plague
Boss Weakness: The Rat King is worried.
GM Strategical Advice: Most of the rats have been withdrawn and are inside The Rat King. The Rat King has switched to ranged combat to defend himself.



Name: No
Level: 1
Race: Dragon
Class: Warrior
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater Roof
Tagging: Party, Open Mentioned: The Rats


The Rat King’s skeletal teeth came together in what could have only been a disturbed frown. The party had noticed it, and the creature’s jaw slowly lowered as a hiss seeped from it. The rats all stopped at once, sitting back on their haunches and staring up at the warriors who were gathering on the roof. Their eyes gleamed and noses twitched before they started back toward their king. The rats closest to the king scaled his grotesque putrid form and disappeared into the holes that breathed from its hunched back. The remaining thousands of rodents split into streams that flowed into the king’s back, causing it to swell and inflate into a disgusting boil. The king’s back towered like a bulbous, holey bag six feet above it with the numerous faces of rats peeking out from its skin to stare at the party.

With a low bellow, the rat king drew its massive clawed hands into tight fists and drew its arms downward as a burst of air left its back, ejecting fifty rats like a volley of arrows toward the party members on the roof.

No landed on the roof behind Steven, Negikao, and Aim (and Vynn if she ever made to the roof) and growled when he saw the airborne rats. The dragon dashed in front of them and swung his massive sword above his head. Using his inhuman strength, he began to whirl the blade as it resembled a fan blade. It stirred a small gust and buzzed loudly as rats started to tumble into it, showering those below in rat blood and guts (unless they got clear).

Baring his jagged teeth, his nose wrinkled like the snout of an enraged wolf mostly out of frustration than anger, No rasped—his voice still a strained mess from his failed fire breath—“Anyone got any…(cough) rations? The fire’s gone cold.”

His fire breath was useless without there being some sort of food or burning fuel in his stomach. He couldn’t use it on empty. The dragon also didn’t seem bothered standing there gradually turning red in rat blood and pelted by pink rat gum and patches of fur.

Name: Vynniran
Level: 1
Race: Gateway
Class: Healer
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater Roof
Tagging: N/A Mentioned: No, the Rats

Vynn shrieked and raised her hands to cover herself when No's sword sent guts and gore flying in every direction. In shock and confusion, trying to keep the blood off her precious silk, she managed to slip on a loose roof tile.

She had but one moment to think before falling off the roof and breaking her neck, instantly killing her.
That fucking rodent... I've had enough, she thought as she closed her eyes. She didn't even have to wait for the end to come.

Name: Sir Steven Folcard
Level: 1
Race: Human
Class: Knight
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater Roof
Tagged: No, Rat King
Mentioned: Vynn

The sound of Steven's boots landing on the roof tiles made a clatter, but the knight was able to keep his footing without any real difficulty. Looking back to see how the rest of them had handled the leap, he was dismayed to see Vynniran falling back. He watched as she fell, her eyes widening before she hit the ground with a dull thud, her body becoming still.

Silently saying a prayer for his companion, Steven turned to No and pulled a medium-sized stick of jerky out of a pocket and tossed it to the man. "That's all I have unfortunately. Hopefully that'll give you a bit more fuel. May the gods watch over us both."

With that Sir Steven started his descent from the roof, quickly moving down the side of the building and running towards the Rat King. Bringing his swords up the knight swung them against the monster, their edges glowing with a faint blue light as they impacted against it's body.

Name: Aim
Level: 1
Race: Greater Slime
Class: Thief
Date/Time: Day 1 / Morning
Location: Bridgewater - Streets
Tagging: No, Steve
Mentioned: All the rats

~*~

Aim's face goes perfectly flat as two members of their party are promptly picked off by the rats - flat and featureless, a smooth surface without disruption. "Magical," he murmurs, and sights in on a crumbling flagstone above the King's head, pointing his hand at it. A dagger launches out like a ballistic missile and crashes into the loose stone, dislodging it and sending it tumbling downwards over their enemy.

Then, the rogue slides into the gutter lining the roof of the tavern, sliding down it smoothly (actually in it, his amorphous feet filling its shape perfectly) and dismounting to follow behind Steve, his final dagger out in his off hand as he circled to the flank, ready to pounce.