Introducing The Ratmen

"Pull back mein freunds," Xavier suggests as he looks towards the Nemotz position, "der day is not yet lost. Many of mein comrades did die in the siege, but in the end, Petrograd did fall to us. It took weeks but these whoresons like those in Rus vill find no safety behind stone walls. They too shall pay for their crimes. I have an inkling of a plan forming in my head. Give me a moment to think."

Winnacer, however, frowns with the news:

"This bodes ill for any direct approach."

He scratches his chin in thought:

"Although perhaps we can use this to our advantage. If we let them believe they have gotten the jump on us, we can force them to waste quite a lot of their spells, their oil, and arrows to boot. It's times like this when Corrow was such a help. If we could produce an illusion of ourselves going ahead mindless of the ambush, we could be certain that they would attack first and doubt later. If we let the illusions all die, except for perhaps one or two, we can also assume that they will come down and pursue. Or at least rifle through the bodies and sacrifice them to their heinous god. With any luck, they'll open the doors, undo any traps, and expose themselves to our charge from around the corner."

"And if we could perhaps make some of our number invisible, they could take position on the insides of the doors ready to cut off the escape of the pursuing priests and ensure that the doors and standard traps are not reset."

"Unfortunately, I'm not quite sure what we can do today, magically anyway. But some type of feint may be the best way to approach this situation. Unless Gronk can find another secret portal around here that would circumvent this whole problem."

Winnacer quiets down and waits for the discussion to being in earnest. His hand falls to the bottle hanging off of his belt. He shakes his head and speaks quietly to himself:

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that."

Will, who has been following along with the party, silently taking in the atrocities of the place, speaks:

"If we rest, I will have the ability, and will gladly perform the task."

Faewen'il waits for Winnacer to finish, wondering at his penchant for stating the obvious before speaking:

"I canna do any o tha illusions lest we go back ta our horses an I retrieve granny's spellbooks," she says with her typical annoyed tone of voice she used when people talked about magic as if they were mages.

"Iffen ye wait till tamorrow, I CAN do tha invisibility AN I can copy tha magic dispellin scroll into me book."

Yaz, still uncharacteristically grim, scowls and shifts from foot to foot:

"We're not waiting 'til tomorrow," he says, as if it was Law handed down from Prirodna Herself.

Bennett nods:

"We don't have that much time anyway. We have to make good progress out of here if we are to have any hope of saving that dwarven city, or did you all forget about that? F*** the magic, let's do this the old-fashioned way. I am not sleeping until we are the hell out of here!"

"How high was that hole, Jihan?" Yaz asks of the elf. "I can make some pretty serious fog in the hallway to hide our approach. And it'll last for almost half an hour. With Maire's magic rope we should be able to get real close before they spot us, if we're quiet. Only trouble is, the fog only reaches 10 feet high."

His arms are folded as he waits for responses, for once participating in the discussion in earnest.

"Head height, for an average sized human, if he were level with the landing. Too high for the fog to reach, I think," the elf responds, his face grim.

Yaz looks unconcerned:

"I guess that it doesn't really make a difference though. As long as none of us has our heads poking above the fog, then no one is going to be able to see us. Also, I heard that the fog expands to fit combined spaces, and so it might fill the whole area up in any case."

"I don't like how helpless this dungeon makes me feel, but can we seriously accomplish much right now by rushing them head on?" Jihan continues, shaking his head. "They don't have to see us to dump burning oil on our heads, and even if I were invisible, and that tomorrow, the amount of filthy money put into this place no doubt means another sophisticated lock on the next door, and locks never were my specialty, though dealing with those of this temple has definitely given me some insight."

"The next time I'm in a city, I'm going to locate another safe-cracking kit, skeleton key, acid funnel and all," the elf says, attempting a bit of a smile. "I don't plan on encountering too many more crystal oozes in the future if I can possibly help it..."

"If we can't feint with magickal means right now, I say we either try once more to set off the glyph and see who comes to check it out, or start hacking at the other door. Do as much as we can with the resources we have, and then see where we stand. If truly the glyph warded room houses the captives, and the cries are not just part of the trap, then I'll stay down here myself to make sure nothing else happens to them if the spellcasters should have to return to the surface to study..."

Looking off in the direction of the prison room again, the elf mutters worriedly beneath his breath, his face twisted in angst. Turning back, he firms up his jaw and sighs resolutely:

"What say the rest of you?"

Winnacer adds his own thoughts prior to selecting any plan:

"While Jihan's plan may be able to draw out a few of their men, it is not likely to make us able to bypass the door and the deathtrap set up there. We'll just be exactly where we started again. If we desire to break through, we will have to hide around the bend of the deathtrap and charge on through. Not something that I'm particularly comfortable with anyway. Sitting in the trap room will let us bushwhack a bunch of them, but is likely to leave us outside where we really need to be. And they'll know better next time not to come out of their hidey hole when we again try to bypass the deathtrap."

"I'm just worried if we put Jihan's plan in action, we'll bollix our opportunity to bypass the deathtrap today. And I'm still not convinced we couldn't get by the trap through other means."

"I don't think we really have an easy opportunity to bypass the deathtrap today," Jihan inserts anxiously, "The rope doesn't make the climber invisible, and they're going to certainly throw more than just burning oil at us, as in bolts, arrows and spells. Slaying some of them now means that many less we have to worry about later. And where do we really need to be right now anyway? If truly that glyph-warded room houses those we are seeking to free, then getting them out will have us accomplishing our primary objective. We can afford to wait to finish off the priests if it means saving all of those people right now!"

The elf's eyes cannot help but be drawn back in the direction of the a-'trophy' room again, his face twisted up in worry.

"I'm painfully aware of the magics that we cannot cast at the moment," Winnacer continues. "But what abilities do we have at our disposal? Maybe with a little brainstorming we can figure out how best to use what we have at our disposal. Otherwise, I think we'll be sitting down here all night and resting in order to give us the tools to break through, despite chopping down doors or putting Jihan's plan in action. We don't have that sort of time to waste."

"If I had any spells that would help, I would tell you," says Aneira.

"Frau Aneira, you, like many others before you, bear the blessing of your goddess," Xavier interjects. "In times past, I have spoken of freunds of mine in Rus who bore the same gifts of Zima as you. Ice is a sphere dear to your faith, is it not? I have an idea derived from the workings of not only miners in Saxony, but masters of siegecraft during my many campaigns. Gather round freunds, this is the idea dat I have. Stone is strong, but can be broken by the combined power of water and ice. The purest marble can be split by the freezing of water. Find a gap amongst the stone, freeze water in this gap. The ice expands, and the stone shatters. Also the alternation of heat and cold can have a similar effect on stone. Miners in quarries do it and I saw a priest of Zima do it in Rus to break open a doorway. I know not the depth of your blessing from Zima, Aneira, but could such a thing be done here? For looking at the walls around us, they appear not to be of fine quality dwarven stoneware. It looks rather shoddy in fact. Gaps must be aplenty. Ve could widen those that exist, fill them with water, Zima can then bless you with the power of ice to freeze it. Ice expands and stone shatters. Wall collapses, ve kill those whoresons beyond and free those innocents. Vhat could be more easier?"

Xavier snorts briefly with laughter, at his sarcasm:

"Vell, you get vhat I mean anyway. Do you think it can be done?"

Aneira simply shakes her head:

"Perhaps it could in time, but it would probably take days or weeks to make any sort of impact."

"And we don't have that long."

"Well, other than Fae becoming a sniper and hitting one of the observing priests with that wand of Kurtek's through one of the eye holes, I don't know that we've got all that many more options," Jihan adds. "As Aneira said, if she'd had something that could've helped, she would've mentioned it by now, which I'm guessing goes for our other dweomermeisters as well. Don't forget that if we are able to CAPTURE one of those investigating priests, we might learn something about bypassing the glyph or have a way of getting through the deathtrap, even if they only send out an acolyte, if any are still alive."

"We also don't know what we'll find in chopping down that other door, nor what lays in those other chests in the.. high priest's gassed room..." Jihan says with a shudder.

"We've certainly have more than enough to keep us busier than just sitting here, waiting for poor Mirek and Zuzana to be slaughtered... W..work within our means and get as far as we can without committing suicide in the process..."

His throat tightening up at the end, the elf turns away from the young LawBringer, dashing at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. Taking a deep breath, Jihan shakes his head in frustration at the situation, muttering something in gnomish beneath his breath.

There is a pause in the conversation and then Yaz adds the following:

"Maybe we should get past that wooden door first. I can warp the edge of the door with a spell -- that'll be faster than hacking the thing down."

"I think that's probably a good idea. Let's start with what we know we can handle," Winnacer says.

He then pauses for a moment before continuing:

"However, if you just have one spell that can warp wood today, then perhaps it might be better to take out the doors at the end of the corridor here, as they are wooden too. We know that it will be possible to get through that other wooden door with axes. It's just going to take a little time. However, I can't really see of any other way of getting through the door here without getting boiling oil poured all over us other than your using the spell to take down the door from a distance."

Winnacer then pauses for a moment and then adds the following:

"Perhaps after we have dealt with this door, we can figure out a way to tackle the oil trap. With this potion of fire resistance and Spravedelna's fearful glance I may be able to scare off all the gathered resistance, allowing us time to mount an assault on their plateau. With the area blinded with Yaz's magic, I may actually be able the first shot in and prevent them from counterattacking. They should have trouble casting at a target they can't see, and I'm betting that the potion would provide some protection against their oil. With Spravedelna's blessing they will be too scared to take action against us."

Yaz is silent for a moment considering the options. Eventually he starts to nod:

"Yeah, I think it might just work with a little extra tricks that I've picked up recently thrown in for good measure."

He looks at the others:

"Let's just give it a try and see if it comes off."

He looks to Jihan:

"I think it's best if I cast my spells from the bottom of the stairs. That way I get a good view of the doors and am also closer to where the priests are. Can you come down with me and check that the steps are safe?"

"Certainly," Jihan agrees.

The elf then starts to carefully check each stair as he descends the staircase, with Yaz following a step behind him. As they do so, the others have their bows drawn and aimed at the viewing hole above the stairs, ready to send a volley flying towards anyone, or anything, that might stick his/its head out to see what's going on.

No heads appear however as Jihan steps back into the murky stagnant water after determining that the staircase is free of traps.

Once Yaz is standing beside the elf at the bottom of the stairs, he has a good view of the wooden double doors just 40' ahead of him. He then starts to gesture towards the door while uttering an incantation. Upon completion of the spell, there is a loud creaking and groaning as the two doors start to warp and a splitting sound as the doors start to come away from their hinges. Yaz looks on at the results of his handiwork, hoping to see the doors fall to the floor. However, it is not the case and the doors remain standing.

Jihan peers towards the doors, looking at them carefully:

"It looks as if the doors are barred from the other side," he says as he peers through the darkness, "that's why they didn't fall. However, it looks as if you've done a pretty complete job of buckling the doors. I think that you have buckled them sufficiently for me to get my hand between them so that I can lift up the bar behind and then open it. It shouldn't take me more than a minute at the most to get through there now, I believe."

Yaz nods at this, relieved that his spell has not been wasted. He then sets about the second part of the operation. Once again, he begins casting, a different incantation this time. As he finishes his gesticulating and chanting, a misty vapor begins to rise from the water that he and Jihan are standing in. It continues to rise, spreading along the surface of the water, filling the corridor between the stairs and the warped door. As well as continuing to spread out, it also rises and rises, until the entire passageway is totally filled by the vapors and visibility is down to zero.

Gronk watches Yaz, still having no grasp on how he or the other spell-casters can work their magic from a distance.

"I hope nature-boy knows what he be doing, 'cause I can't see a damn thing down 'ere."

Those that are still upon the landing are also obscured by the vapors and wonder what the druid has next in mind.

Unseen by the rest of the party, except for Jihan who is standing next to him, Yaz starts to cast yet again. Unlike the previous two spells, this is a long one, taking him a full two minutes in order to finish the complex gesticulations and utterings. Upon the spell's completion, however, the mist in front of him starts to spin, seeming to take on a life of its own until it forms into a miniature whirlwind.

Yaz smiles as he sees the dust devil come to life:

"Time to freak those f***ers out," he says with glee before he starts to direct the dust devil towards the door. He motions for the dust devil to scoot along the bottom of the water, sloshing it around as loudly as he can make it. He then sends the dust devil heading toward the door. The dust devil hits it and starts spinning before it, rattling it wildly and making a hell of a racket.

"I hopes 'at ain't 'em maggot-eaters comin' out for da pointy-ears," Gronk says with genuine concern in his voice.

The sound below is obviously sufficient to finally panic whoever or whatever is lurking above the corridor as there is the sound of a liquid being spilled into the corridor, which starts to hiss as it hits the cool water below, adding more steam to the vapors that already fill the corridor.

Yaz and Jihan both take a couple of steps backwards to avoid getting splashed by the boiling oil as it is quickly dumped into the corridor and can feel the water getting warmer around their feet. As they do so, all hear a resounding crash from above as they hear the sound of a large gong being struck frantically, obviously as an alarm.

Yaz chuckles to himself as he sees the defenders of the gate panicking as he hoped they would:

"That's the boiling oil out of the way. Now let's see what else my little helper can get up to."

With that, the druid raises his hands. Unseen because of the mist, the dust devil ascends and enters the room through the holes in the floor.

The druid then shouts out to the others:

"Quick, rush the door now. I should be able to keep them busy for a while."

Jihan then looks rounds to see Yaz' form starting to shimmer and then starting to shrink before it morphs into the form of a raven. He sees the raven flying upwards towards the observation port of the room and then the bird disappears from view, obscured by the mist.

Jihan stares at Yaz in surprise as the druid's form melts to that of a raven, though it is unseen by the others in the obscuring mists:

"The Three be praised!" he utters somewhat excitedly, "Prirodna blesses her Son with the forms of her children..."

Smiling for the half-elf, Jihan raises Pistos in the air, and shouts:

"Yaz has taken their eyes! Let's take the door, he's going to need our help!"

In so saying, the elf runs the short distance of the corridor, sticking as close to the wall as possible, and makes to raise the bar on the warped double doors impeding their way.

Being torn from his stunned state by Jihan's shout, Will rallies and rushes the door behind the elf.

Bennett falls in behind Jihan and Will immediately, slogging through the fetid waters, now made warm from the hot oil with his shield and axe at hand.

Winnacer takes the cue from Yaz and screws his face up with a grim judgmental glare as he charges forward along with Jihan, Will and Bennett to break through the doors, with the Ripper of Pardubitze at the ready. As he charges forward, he cannot help but yell out:

"For the Innocents!"

As they all splash through the lukewarm water in the corridor, Jihan gets to the warped double doors blocking your way first of all. He puts his slender hands through the large crack between the doors and fumbles to find the bar that is stopping the doors from opening. He manages to locate it easily enough, but the bar takes the form of a heavy piece of wood that is too heavy for him to lift with just one hand.

Bennett, anxious to get through the doors in order to start upon whatever may be on the other side, shoos the elf out of the way:

"Let me and Retribution take care of that. That alarm must be alerting the whole complex that we are here."

Jihan stands back and Bennett takes his trusty axe and thrusts it through the gap between the doors and then upwards, putting all of his might behind the swing. He is rewarded by feeling the wooden plank that is securing the door being forced up out of its brackets and hears it splashing into the water on the other side. Immediately that the restraint is cleared, Bennett, Winnacer, Will and Jihan all put their shoulders to the doors, bursting them open with a loud creak, sending them flying off their hinges with a loud bang before toppling into the water.

On the opposite side of the door, they see a chaotic situation as the Nemotz try to form a defense. However, this is not what is so surprising. It is the defenders that make them all gape in surprise.

On the other side of the door are not the priests or mercenaries that they were expecting, but rather some creatures such as they have never seen the like of before. They appear to be some strange hybrid creatures resembling a cross between black rats and men - tall men at that, as they stand some 7' tall. Although their features are identical to those of rats, with large red beady eyes and pointed yellow teeth, they stand on their feet in the same way that men do and their hands resemble those of men also. They are all wearing chainmail and are wielding halberds, with shortswords at their sides as secondary weapons.

Bennett stares in astonishment:

"F***ing rat men! Well, I guess if you are busy fornicating them them, that's what happens. Time to make some rat mommy sad!"

He then charges toward the front rank of the rat men with axe flailing.

Xavier storms forward.

"Filthy rodents, prepare to pay for thy crimes.!"

The ratmen seem to be trying to make a formation in order to fill the 20' corridor that they are in, but haven't quite managed to get into position yet, as they squeak excitedly and scurry around holding their halberds high. There appears to be around 20 of them in total. In addition to the ratmen, the party can see two priests dressed in the familiar black and yellow robes. They are standing behind the mass of ratmen, screaming out instructions that none of the ratmen seem to understand.

As they all see the party members barging through, the ratmen forget about trying to get into formation and bring their halberds down in order to fend off the inevitable attack.

Gronk wades through the water to take his place beside Bennett and Winnacer, hoping to use his size difference to his advantage and bring a few of these rodents down to his own size.

Will considers putting a few arrows into the priests, but sees that there is no opportunity for a shot through the ratmen. Instead, he forms up with the other warriors and braces himself for hand to hand combat, silently wishing he possessed some form of better personal armor or protection.

Winnacer's flashing eyes betray no surprise at the relevation that his enemy is vermin. All they reveal is Spravedelna's wrath as he calls out to the ratmen:

"Diseased vermin, Spravedelna has no mercy for your Evil. View her wrath and prepare for Judgment!"

Will is relieved to see the LawBringer put the fear of the gods in them, hoping that doing so will better the odds in the situation.

Bennett says nothing, shuddering as always when he remembers the usage of that ability on him, but observant people note him muttering something vaguely thankful as he sees the effects and begins wading into those that managed to avoid the effects of the spell.

The ratmen had started to run forwards with halberds poised in order to start to fight off the party's advance when they see Winnacer's eyes start to glow with his goddess-given rage. As they hear his words, their resolve starts to break and some of them start to shake before the power of the Fear starts to overcome them and they drop their halberds as they turn on their tails (literally) and start to scamper off with their tails between their legs (literally), squealing in terror as they go.

Xavier smiles at seeing some of the enemy run:

"Run, Foulspawn but, fear not, from death you cannot hide. Cold steel and fire shall wipe your very existence from this earth before this day is out!"

As usual, the effects of Spravedelna's blessing are mighty to behold, with just three of the ratmen standing their ground. The others all dash off at an alarming pace, much faster than any human could run. The two priests behind them were out of range of Winn's power and are forced to the side of the tunnel as the rats go streaming past them. One of the priests starts screaming at the ratmen as they flood past him, while the other one calmly starts to cast. The spell that the priest casts soon becomes apparent, as the area all around him instantly turns as black as a moonless night, obscuring the priests from your sight.

The three ratmen that survived Winnacer's Fear charge forwards with halberds fixed in an attempt to get at the party before the party gets to them. The first one charges towards Bennett, but the halberd is insufficient to get through the mighty 'Fabio' armor. Bennett, who the rest of the party can see is delighted that not all of them were sent scampering off by the 'Fear' gleefully retaliates as he swings 'Retribution' towards the vermin approaching. Two mighty blows from the axe are all that it takes to bring the first one down.

The second ratman hurls himself towards the diminutive form of Gronk, but the dwarf manages to knock away the blade of the ratman's weapon with his shield. 'Thunder', however, seems to be in a joking mood as Gronk's first blow misses the ratman by a wide margin. As the dwarf tries to follow up, he accidentally hits the side of the corridor wall with the blade, leading Gronk to curse loudly as the throbbing pain starts to pulse through his body and it is all he can do to keep hold of the mischievous weapon.

With Winnacer coming down from his holy fear, Will and Jihan charge past him to take on the third and final ratman. The verman tries to take out Jihan, but the nimble elf has no problem in dodging the clumsy weapon and closes in with his two shortswords. The ratman is a worthy adversary, however, and manages to use the halberd to parry the elf's attacks. Finding a gap between the elf and the ratman, Will tries his luck with the Educator and Teacher's Pet. His luck holds as he brings down the Educator in a low arc which the verman doesn't see coming. The noble blade hacks through the beast's legs, sending him squeaking backwards into the water, where he quickly expires.

As it looks as if they have just one ratman left, a door opens to the party's right and six more of the ratmen hurl themselves towards the party. These have dispensed with their halberds and are trying to get in close to the party armed with just their shortswords.

Winnacer, now having come down from his holy wrath, lashes out at the first of them as they charge towards the party. He hacks the 'Ripper of Pardubitze' twice into the ratman's flanks, but the brute is huge, and his blows are not enough to fell the creature. The brute responds with his shortsword, but Winnacer's platemail protects him from any injury.

Bennett, having dispensed with the first of the vermen, comes around Winnacer's flank and lays into the second of the creatures. His blow is true, but this is another large beast that does not fall from the blow. Bennett is easily able to dodge the ratman's follow up blow, however.

Gronk, his arm still tingling from Thunder's encounter with the wall tries once more to finish off the last of the halberd armed ratmen. Once again, however, Thunder is less than co-operative and his blow is wide of the mark. Luckily for the dwarf, so is the ratman's blow.

Having finished with their first adversary, Will and Jihan wheel around in order to take on the ratmen pouring through the door to their side.

"Good team effort my brother," Will says to Jihan as he catches his breath momentarily.

Looking on in concern at Will's non-armored form, the elf smiles grimly.

"We're going to have to get you some cover, brother. Can't have you getting impaled more regularly than I do myself..."

Will smiles back:

"Perhaps one of these priests have some of those handy bracers such as Yaz and Fae have and we can convince them to let me have them."

Jihan finds his form and manages to sink both of his blades into one of the ratmen, sending the creature to its death. Will manages to make his strikes with both of his blades count too, but the damage that they both cause is light and the ratman still stands against the half-elf. The ratman fights for his life in response and lashes out at the bard. The bard, without any armor to protect him, is unable to parry the blow, and feels the ratman's sword pierce deeply into his side.

Xavier, seeing a friend in trouble, shouts out to Will, and he surges forward to aid him:

"For Rodengast's sake, Willheim, keep you bloody blade up. Do you open yourself to the whoresons' counter stroke. You're wielding a damn sword, not a lute!"

Will looks exasperated for a moment, but just a moment, as he has to devote his full attention to keep from being skewered.

Xavier and Aneira had rushed in behind the four at the front, unable to get in against the first wave of ratmen. As the second wave spills past the warriors in front, they ready their weapons to repulse the charge. Xavier lashes out at the first of the ratmen with The Justifier, but the nimble rodent manages to dodge the heavy blade. The dodging takes all of the ratman's efforts, however, and he is unable to aim a blow at the Saxon.

Aneira calmly stands at Xavier's side, her mace ready to repel the vermin. As one of them approaches her, she screws up her face in concentration and lashes out at the creature. The ratman tries to dodge, but is still caught a glancing blow from the ice priestess' mace. In retaliation, the ratman strikes out at her and catches her in the arm with its shortsword. Aneira does not cry out, however, but rather her eyes just look dull as she brings back the mace to carry on against her opponent.

Then, everyone's hearts threaten to leap out of their mouths as they see a gigantic pair of jaws break through the murky water. They see, to their horror and amazement, that the jaws belong to none other than a crocodile. Just as they are about to cease the combat with the ratmen and concentrate on the new threat that has managed to infiltrate their ranks by surprise, the crocodile's jaws snap out at the ratman that Aneira is fighting. The ratman squeaks out with shock and swiftly recoils as the crocodile's huge jaws miss him by a whisker. The crocodile then brings up its massive tail and attempts to smash into the ratman fighting with Xavier. However, this ratman is as swift as its comrade and manages to leap out of the way before the tail smashes into the water where it was standing a split second ago, soaking everyone involved in the combat with the fetid water.

Behind the ratmen, two more black and yellow clad priests emerge. With Jihan momentarily without an opponent, they both start to cast. The first of them, his hand glowing, tries to lay a punch on the elf. Jihan sees it coming, however, and manages to duck away from the blow, countering with a well-aimed shot from Makanuru which sends the priest screaming out in pain, but is not sufficient to finish him off.

The second of the priests holds back, not entering the combat. He pulls something out of a pouch at his side and then starts to mumble an incantation. As he finishes, the first two ratmen killed in the fighting haul themselves up from the filthy waters. The light in their eyes has been extinguished and they move slower than they did previously, but they still are able to draw their shortswords and slowly advance back into the combat.

At seeing the ratmen brought back from the dead, Winnacer and Bennett redouble their efforts to finish off the two that they are locked in combat with. Winnacer puts all of his effort behind a massive thrust with 'The Ripper'. The ratman is unable to dodge the blow and the tip of the LawBringer's blade easily manages to penetrate the beast's chainmail and the verman sinks to the floor, quite dead.

Bennett has to go one better, however, as he hacks into the ratman facing him with all of his might. The verman tries to parry the blow, but misjudges it and 'Retribution' easily hacks through the ratman's arm before cleaving through its chest, killing it in an instant.

Gronk finally manages to get Thunder to work for him as he hacks his opponent down to the ground with two mighty blows from the axe. As Gronk's luck returns, Will's leaves him and neither of his blades can find their target. The ratman takes advantage of Will's lack of success by getting another deep wound into the bard's flank.

Xavier finds his form and the 'Justifier' hacks deep into the side of the verman that the Saxon is facing, at the same time avoiding the giant rat's poor counterblow. Aneira fights off her wounds in order to land another well-aimed blow upon the last of the rodents, bringing it almost to falling, but not quite. The ratman is terribly wounded, however, and comes nowhere close to hitting the ice priestess with its blow.

The crocodile once more tries to finish off the ratman fighting with Aneira, but the filthy creature once again manages to pull itself away just as the croc's jaw threaten to take a limb off it. The beast fighting with Xavier is not so lucky however, and doesn't see the reptile's mighty tail before it smashes the giant rat against the wall of the corridor, killing it instantly.

There are just two ratmen left alive now, plus the two that the priest reanimated. Seeing that their position is hopeless, the priest which cast the reanimation spell takes advantage of the fact that the zombie ratmen are blocking the way by starting to rush off towards the safety of the darkened area, leaving the other priest locked in combat with Jihan.

The other priest tries to strike the elf with its sickle, but once again the elf is too nimble for him and Jihan easily manages to dodge the blow. As the priest tries to turn and run, Jihan manages to catch him in the side with Makanuru and the priest screams out a strangled cry and then falls dead in the water.

Winnacer and Bennett both get ready to deal with the zombie ratmen that are covering the other priest's escape route. Winnacer is still on a roll as, with two more mighty blows from the Ripper, the young Lord hacks the verman to pieces once again. Not to be outdone, Bennett hurls all of his strength into one well-aimed blow with 'Retribution', bringing down the second of the ratzombies with a blow that cleaves the animated corpse in two.

Will continues to struggle with the ratman that he is facing, as both of his blows miss once more. The ratman hisses and continues to take advantage of its unarmored opponent, cutting into the bard's flank once again. Seeing Will out of his depth, Gronk wades over to try and assist him, but the ratman sees him coming and manages to dodge the blow.

Will is thankful for the attempt to aid him, but takes no time to speak his thanks as he continues to finish the vermin.

Aneira tries to finish off the final badly beaten ratman, but she is beginning to tire now and the rodent manages to avoid her blow. In response, the ratman manages to catch her with his shortsword once again, adding to Aneira's growing tally of injuries. Once again, she seems to just shrug off the pain, almost reveling in it.

Xavier won't have it, however, and wades in to assist. With another mighty blow from 'The Justifier', he easily manages to hack the injured ratman down.

There is just one ratman remaining now, fighting off both Gronk and Will. The crocodile lunges at the ratman, but the rodent sees it just in time. It is not prepared for the reptile's powerful tail, however, which smashes into the side of the verman, smashing it against the wall.

The ratman squeaks out with terror at seeing itself as the sole survivor from its group. Badly injured, it cowers in the corner from the party, shaking in terror.

As the party looks round, they see that the final priest has now disappeared into the darkness further down the corridor.

Fae had stood in her customary place in the battle - as far back as she could. Though she was prepared to help kill some ratmen, she was glad to have had the chance to not use her spells up so soon.