The Ratmen's Lair Revealed

With disturbing level of routine, the young Lord starts to examine his gear for fire damage. Luckily for him, everything vaguely flammable that the young Lord normally carries has long since been burned from his previous fiery encounters. He brings his waterskin to his parched lips and drinks deeply, despite the fact that the water is just a little below boiling point:

"It looks like the first battle is over with little in the way of casualties. We are very lucky even if it doesn't quite feel that way. But we are certainly in no shape to proceed deeper in today. I think it may be best if we take some time to tend to our wounds and prepare for the challenges of the unknown ahead of us."

"I don't believe that we are in any condition to move too far. To be honest, I'm not sure if I could manage the walk back if I was forced to. But staying here also seems an outrageous risk."

"It may be best to retreat back into one of the cleared chambers further back and make camp and luck our wounds. Tomorrow will be the 21st, cutting uncomfortably close to St. Vaclav's day. But without resting I believe we may be doomed to fail."

"If we decide to retreat back a bit, it would be best to leave somebody to spy upon the door here. We need to know what the enemy is up to during our downtime, especially if they come in search of us. It may be good to make best use of our remaining clerical spells as well. If we could perhaps shape the stone around the door today so that it would take little to knock the door over or to create a hidden bypass hole, we would conserve on the need to use that blessing tomorrow. If we could hide our retreating tracks, that may be helpful as well."

"It may be useful if one of our Priests would ready a silence blessing to aid in a more stealthy infiltration tomorrow."

"We also may wish to get a sense of what size the chambers are behind the enemies' walls. Perhaps Timex can get a better sense of how thick the walls separating the rat colony and ourselves are."

"Finally, we should take a look to see if the slain ratmen are carrying anything that may aid us in the near future. Keyrings, letters, or whatnot may make a difference in the future."

Timex coughs and gets up off the ground painfully as a result of his burns. He goes to the eastern wall of the passageway and examines the rock carefully. He then starts to knock upon it, listening carefully at the sound that he hears back.

He turns back to the rest of the party:

"It's solid igneous basalt for yards and yards," he reports. "The ratman lair could be a few hundred feet away, or it could be miles. I have absolutely no way of telling for sure."

"Shit," moans Yaz, aching as badly as the LawBringer and the dwarf. "Y'know, I'm as f***ed up as the rest of you and in no state to go tearing into combat again, but I'm worried about simply going back and holing up for a day."

"We know that they change the guard pretty regularly. We've seen them do it twice while we've been watching them. If we go and hole up again until tomorrow, there's definitely going to be a guard change in the interim and the alarm will be sounded, if it hasn't been already."

"If that's the case, then this place is gonna be swarming with more rat-bastards all over again and there'll prob'ly be better prepared than ever."

"I tell you," he continued getting quite agitated now. "I ain't gonna go through all this shit all over again."

He looks up at the doors:

"With Prirodna's gift that can help me mold stone, I can get round the door," he continues, looking back at Winnacer "or you could just blast the f***ers with that gunne of yours."

"If the bloody thing doesn't blow up in your face," he mutters.

"If we're in no condition to carry on, then at least we can send Gertrude through and have a look at what's behind there."

"There might be a better place to hole up somewhere behind the door. That way we might be able to avoid just having a rerun of this battle all over again."

The druid looks around to see who is in favor of his suggestion.

Winnacer frowns:

"Problem is that, once we open the doors, we won't be able to close them again. From Thrisk's drawing, I believe that there is just a giant cavern not far behind the doors. His crude numbers do say they have enough troops to man these positions. I just worry that we may be opening Pandora's Box."

"I guess you're right," the druid replies, "but remember that those rat-bastards have the key to Pandora's Box; it's only us that doesn't."

Rowan looks puzzled:

"I'm sorry, but... WHOSE box...?"

"And from Thrisk's drawing, this cavern was that far away from the big oval where he said his home was," Yaz continues indicating a distance of five inches with his fingers.

"That's still pretty far compared to the miles we've had to travel to get this far. Could be nearly half a mile or so."

Winnacer nods and continues:

"However, perhaps we could blast down the door and save your stone manipulation to seal the entrance if things look bad. It will let us get a quick look inside and still offer us a chance of escape if things look really bad."

"Sounds good to me," Yaz nods in reply. "I could make it two inches thick. Wouldn't be any protection against them firing a gunne at it, and one of those ratogres might be able to smash through. But it's still better protection than a door that we know that they can open."

"Thinking about it, I think it might be best if I turned myself into a bat and scouted around instead of Gertrude. There are plenty of bats in these passageways but, if they saw an owl, then they'd know that something was up."

"And we may want to camp in the alcoves," Winnacer finishes. "Even though it would be quite risky."

Yaz nods:

"I've already told you that I reckon those rat-bastards are gonna be back here soon. I reckon the only chance we'd have of not letting them man them all over again would be to keep ambushing the relief guards when they came here."

"Even so, I still think it's pretty risky."

He looks around at the others:

"So what do the rest of you think?"

Porter offers his thoughts:

"I'm against retreating from these alcoves. The alcove is a fairly defensible spot, and also, I don't think any other of the denizens of this place will enter the rat bastards' lair. Furthermore, if we do retreat, we risk the ratmen retaking the alcove and fighting for control of this room again."

Porter continues:

"Therefore, we stay in the alcove at the very least. We could use some time to heal, but I think we should try to breach the door if given the opportunity. Rowan's healthy as a horse, and resting won't enable me to cast any spells. So, Rowan and I will set up watch on the door with the gunne. If they try to come through the door, we blast it. Hopefully, that will mess up the relief as well as breaching the door. We retreat if necessary, but we'll try to hold our ground. If we do have to retreat, you all will have the protection of the alcove to cover our butts while we try to get back."

Porter shrugs:

"Just my idea."

"I hear you, Porter," Yaz says. "I don't want to lose this room, either... had a hell of a time taking it in the first place. But those guards'll be here sooner or later, and the alarm will be sounded whether we go on ahead, stay here, or retreat."

Though in considerable pain, he still manages to wave his arms around in his characteristic manner:

"Blow it open with the gunne-thing, sure... I'll shape the stone around it later, if that's what it takes. I'll change into a bat and scout it out."

"But," he adds, "no more flame-throwers..."

"Personally," Rowan chimes in, "I don't much fancy the idea of having to face another forty-three rats right now, but this room is simply too strategically important to vacate. However, all of you look to be in quite a state... Still, I think we should forge ahead and hope we can find someplace to hole up for a while. We'll take the gunne with us, loaded, in case we run across any more of them; with any luck, that will be enough of a distraction for us to conduct a somewhat organized retreat."

Aithne looks at herself and at Winn and the other walking wounded:

"I know we're all badly wounded, but if we stay and wait, continually being interrupted by guards, I don't see us getting healing back that way. I could be wrong though. I've been wrong before."

"Yaz, your scouting ahead sounds great to me if you're willing to take that risk. I think we'd all appreciate it. We've done well here against incredible odds. I think we can somehow continue. And not lose the ground we have gained."

She falls silent again.

"Are either of you two proficient in the use of firearms?" Winnacer asks both Porter and Rowan.

Both Porter and Rowan shake their heads:

"In that case I would be wary of using it. As we have recently witnessed, the ratmen's technology is not the safest type in the world."

"I think it would be better if you guys left the gun to me." Winnacer frowns. "As we have seen these weapons may not be the most reliable how it is. I would hate to see how they may perform in untrained hands."

Rowan nods:

"Allow me to clarify. What I meant was that we should bring the gunne, or multiple gunnes, already loaded, for YOU to fire. I've seen how long it takes to prepare one; it seems like a good idea to have a second on-hand."

Rowan shakes his head, and then continues:

"Surely one of these rats must have a key... assuming it wasn't melted in an explosion, of course."

Yaz shrugs:

"Well if you can see any keyhole in the door, then you've got better eyes than me."

"In the Nemotz temple, most of the doors had magickal passwords, I seem to remember. I reckon that this door's probably the same."

"If you would allow me the use of your helm, LawBringer," Rowan asks, "I might be able to see what's on the other side of that door."

Winnacer takes off the helmet and hands it to the swashbuckler. As he does so, the young Lord speaks to the others:

"I think that it might not be a bad idea for the rest of us to check out the bodies of all of the dead about now. One of them might have something on them."

Wanting to move things along, everyone starts the unpleasant task of searching over the dead bodies. The mangy fur of the ratmen stinks to high heaven and is infested with lice, ticks and other unpleasant parasites.

After going carefully over all of the bodies, the party has managed to obtain very little of interest, certainly no keys or any written documents. Apart from the crudely made chainmail that most of the ratmen were wearing, all they manage to find are the ratmen's weapons, including a large quantity of curved swords, the four morningstars that are no longer smoking after being blasted by the flame-thrower, the first packmaster's whip and the twin shortswords of the assassin. The assassin's shortswords are still slick with a purplish type substance that seems to ooze from the metal itself.

While all of the others are checking over the bodies, Rowan investigates the door carefully with the aid of Winnacer's helmet. As the others assemble in the cavern, he comes back to report:

"There doesn't seem to be anything behind the door, apart from more corridor," he says. "At least I know that there is more corridor for at least 20'. I could not see further than that. Either side of the walls is just solid rock, as far as I could tell."

"That settles it then," Yaz says, getting excited again. "If there are none of those rat-bastards waiting the other side, then I'm gonna go and see what's behind the door."

"If we get into trouble, then I've still got the stone shaping skill to seal up the corridor behind me."

He looks to Winnacer:

"So, can you blast that door for me?"

Winnacer looks around and sees that the majority is in favor of finding out what's up ahead:

"Very well then," he replies. "Let me go and get the gunne."

With that he picks up the gunne and drags it over to the passageway. With it, he brings the stout wooden rest which he hands to Porter.

"Can you hold this steady for me?' he asks.

Porter looks a little uncertain:

"Are you certain that it's gonna be safe?"

"As sure as I can be," Winnacer replies.

With that, the young Lord reloads the huge firearm once again. Five minutes later, he lights the match and lines up the crude sights on the door a few yards in front of him, while Porter nervously holds the rest steady, keeping his head well away from the barrel of the gunne.

Winnacer is rewarded by a loud "BBOOMMMMM" as the gun fires, the recoil once again almost knocking him off his feet. The purplish shot flies through the air and there is another almighty "BBBBOOOMMMM" as the shot impacts with the door. As the shot punches a huge hole in the iron doors, the whole doorframe goes up in flames as the fire trap is set off.

Yaz grins and turns to Winnacer:

"They must have knew you were planning on paying them a visit."

As soon as the flames subside, Rowan, still wearing Winnacer's helmet, advances to take a look through the demolished doors that are hanging from their hinges. He turns round to the others:

"Nothing but more corridor stretching on for as far as I can see," he reports.

Yaz grins once more:

"Time for batman to visit the ratmen," he says.

With that, the druid's form starts to blur a little as his shape begins to shrink quite quickly, while his flesh and clothes turn an even darker shade of black than his charred clothes and flesh were already. A little under a minute later, the form of Yaz has disappeared totally, to be replaced by that of a bat.

With a tiny squeak, the bat takes to the air, flying through the smoldering doorframe and down the dark corridor.

Winnacer watches bat-Yaz depart until he is lost in the darkness and then turns to the others:

"That explosion will have been heard a long distance away," he says. "We had better start preparing a defensive position in case the ratmen come back."

Winnacer reloads the gunne once again and everyone else checks over their weapons again, hoping that they won't be needed at all. Once they have done that, there is nothing to do except to wait for the druid's return.

They wait for quite a while, getting more and more anxious as they worry that something might have happened to the druid. Then, a little over 45 minutes since he left, they see the familiar bat returning.

The bat comes to land before them and immediately starts to morph back into druid form. Even before he has totally finished morphing, the others can see that Yaz is looking very excited, obviously worked up about something:

"It's a f***ing city!" he says animatedly, his arms flailing around like a windmill. "A f***ing ratman city full of ratmen. There are hundreds of them there, thousands. A coupla thousand there at least, I'd say."

He stops to catch his breath and then continues rambling:

"They were altogether in one huge cavern. It must be half a mile in diameter at least, and the walls and ceiling and floor of the cavern are all glowing with a purple light. The passageway goes on for about a quarter of a mile and then it opens up into this huge cavern. It's huge. And full of ratmen."

"They all live together in this big communal cavern. It really stinks something horrible."

"And did I tell you that it was full of ratmen?"

"Yeah, as far as the eye can see, ratmen, ratwomen and ratchildren. All of them were eating, drinking, working, fighting and copulating. Altogether in this big cavern. It was huge."

"And some of them were mining too. On the far side of the cavern. They got lots of scrawny looking ratmen doing the work, bringing the rock back where it's smashed up into little rocks."

Yaz stops for a while, panting from the exertions of flying and ranting. Timex takes the opportunity to interject:

"By Zemnye, this is terrible," he says before succumbing to a coughing fit. "There's no way that the seven of us are going to be able to do anything about that lot. It will take an army."

He paces around, shaking his head:

"And they were mining on the far side of the cavern, you say?" he asks Yaz.

"Yeah, that's right," Yaz confirms, nodding his head furiously.

Timex shakes his head:

"Well, the far end of the cavern must be nearly five miles northeast of Litultovitze, which means that..."

He stops pacing and stands stock still:

"...they're tunneling into Opava."

"Oh Zlodey save us all!" exclaims Joy.

Winnacer is silent for just a couple of moments and then speaks:

"Well, what we need to do is clear," the LawBringer sighs. "It is time to head for Opava."

The young Lord takes his helmet back from Rowan as he begins to stow his gear. He picks himself up with a groan.

"We need to warn the dwarves of Opava of the dual threats. It seems that perhaps the zombie plague is not the only threat facing the city. We are needed on the other side of the ratman's excavation, and the only way we are getting there is finding the other side."

Winnacer looks at the group, his face serious:

"This thing has just begun. Let us make haste so we will be ready for act two."

"An excellent suggestion," Rowan replies, clearly eager to leave the place behind.

"Yeah... Opava it is," Yaz agrees. "Be good to get back to some open air and trees again."

"We should hurry," adds Aithne.

"I'm all for it also. I'd like to see a normal town or city again," Joy chimes in.

Then, looking at Rowan, Joy says in a questioning tone:

"Zombie plagues?"

"Yes, the zombie plagues-- you know," Rowan replies, glancing at her briefly, then realizes she hasn't been told about them.

"Oh... um... yes, apparently Opava is having a bit of a problem. Something of a zombie plague problem. Nothing to be concerned about. We'll do something about it, naturally, but I wouldn't worry."

His demeanor scarcely backs up the confidence of his words.

"We'll fill you in when we get back to the surface," Winnacer replies to Joy. "Just know that Opava is in great peril if we cannot somehow prevent this plague set to be released into the city on St. Vaclav's Day. As Aithne said before, we should hurry. St. Vaclav's Day is just over three days' away."

Joy rolls her eyes and says:

"Why am I'm not surpised? Don't any of you ever have any CHEERFUL news? It's always danger and death and destruction. I don't suppose there's time for a decent meal and bath before we go racing off?"

"Hear, hear," Rowan says. "I know I shan't be leaving for Opava before I've had a chance to wash off the grime of this place."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Timex interjects. "By the time we retrace our steps and get back to Litultovitze, it will already be dark and so I believe that there is little point in your traveling there tonight. I don't think that anyone would get very far in our current condition in any case."

"It takes only a few hours to ride to Opava from Litultovitze. If you leave at first light, then you will be in Opava by lunchtime."

Yaz nods in agreement:

"It will have to be just a bit later than first light," he says. "It's the Winter Solstice tomorrow, one of the most important days in Prirodna's calendar. I've gotta go and do my rites and stuff when the sun rises, or else She'll be pissed at me. I can't do it if I'm cooped up in some city. I should really be at the Moot for this, if what that crazy Cil dude said was true."

Porter looks about at everyone as they make plans to leave:

"We're leaving?! I just went through all that crap so we could decide that we weren't going to bother? This really is just insane!"

"As I see it, we have two choices," Rowan replies. "We can either beat the vermen to Opava, warn them, and assist with the defense-- and collect the inevitable reward-- or we can march down that tunnel and fight a city full of the foul creatures. Given these options, and the fact that one of them undoubtedly promises a hot bath at some point, I'd rather leave and make haste to Opava. Wouldn't you?"

Porter's adrenaline starts to ebb as he listens to Rowan's words:

"This is gotta be one of the great sucker jobs of all time. 'Come on, Porter, fight giant eyeballs and rat bastards by the dozens. There'll be lots of treasure.' Treasure, my ass! I ain't seen one piece of copper yet, for cryin' out loud."

"This sucks."

Porter continues muttering to himself as he gathers his gear to depart.

Winnacer pulls out a single copper piece and tosses it to Porter with a smirk:

"Feel better now."

The young Lord attempts to chuckle but ends up coughing.

"Catching, isn't it?" asks Timex as he continues to choke.

"Don't worry too much about it Porter," Winnacer continues. "Spravedelna shall ensure that we all find our Just rewards in time. We all just need to be patient."

Perhaps calming down when Winnacer has his coughing fit, Porter just sneers:

"You can rely on gold falling from the heavens, I prefer to be more proactive myself."

Porter flicks the copper piece back at Winnacer, bouncing it off his platemail with a loud 'ping.'

The young Lord looks around and sees that everyone else is only too pleased to be heading out of the place.

"Good, I'm glad to see that we are all agreed then," Winnacer says as he hears everyone's reactions. "Before we go, let us tidy up here as much as possible."

"It would be good to ensure that we leave as few of the ratmen's weapons are left serviceable as possible. We should destroy all of the poison globes and try to make sure that the poison is removed from the assassin's shortswords."

"Although it will be an unsavory task, I believe that we should take the head of one of the ratmen as a trophy so as to have some proof of what is down here for when we get to Opava."

"I can get the flies to take care of the poison globes," says Yaz. "They can drop them in one of the other passageways."

The druid looks a little disappointed at not being able to add the poison globes to the ten that he has got already, but he is in no frame of mind to start arguing with Winnacer or Aithne right now.

"I'll get you a ratman head," says Porter, drawing his bastard sword once more and heading for one of the ratshaman's bodies.

Winnacer heads over to the pile of weaponry that was collected and piled in the center of the large cavern. He takes a vial of lamp oil and pours it over the weapons before setting light to it. As he watches it burn for a moment, Porter approaches him carrying the severed head of a ratshaman, dripping a trail of blood behind him. The giant flies take care of the poison globes, flying up to the alcove, picking them up one by one and dropping them in the southeast passageway, out of harm's way.

Winnacer looks around and sees that the flies obediently brought down all of the depleted warpstone shot from the alcoves and laid it on the ground. There is far more shot there than can possibly be carried back due to the dangers of handling it and so Winnacer refills the sack, managing to cram a total of 25 balls in there and leaves the rest.

He looks around:

"Very well, I believe that we have accomplished all that we can here now. Let us depart before the relief guards find out what has happened here."

He lifts one end of the gunne, groaning a little at the exertion:

"Porter, I wonder if you could assist me in carrying out the weapon."

Porter nods his head in agreement and lifts the barrel of the gunne:

"You're sure that this thing can't go off by itself?" he asks.

Winnacer looks confident:

"Not if the match is not lit."

With that, they all start on the long march back up to the surface. As a result of the multitude of wounds that everyone, apart from Rowan, suffered from the combat, the march back to the surface is both painful and slow. The adrenaline rush that kept everyone going through the combat has now worn off and every step that they take back seem to send one or another part of everyone's anatomy aching. However, knowing that there is no great rush to get back, they take their time in order to try and lessen the pain. Aithne takes the front position so that she can keep an eye out for anything that may still be lurking in the passageway, while Rowan brings up the rear in case any of the ratmen try and give chase after finding out what has happened at the checkpoint.

They make much of the journey in silence, all very much relieved to be finally leaving the dank underground. Winnacer is deep in thought over what Yaz saw, putting all of the parts of the jigsaw together and trying to formulate a plan as what to do upon arrival in Opava.

As they continue, Winnacer turns around to speak to Timex:

"I wonder whether it might be possible for you to accompany us to Opava, Timex?" the LawBringer asks. "From what I have heard, there is a great deal of mistrust between dwarves and Bohavians and I can't help but think that our progress would be a lot smoother with a dwarven eyewitness to corroborate our story."

Timex nods his head, sending him sneezing:

"I need to speak to Rolex about that," the dwarf replies. "It will be his decision. Perhaps he might be better to go with you rather than me, as he knows Opava fairly well. He visits the Cathedral there each month in order to make his report. I've only been there a few times. I don't really like it there to tell you the truth."

Winnacer nods:

"Very well, let us speak with Rolex upon our return. Hopefully, he can heal our wounds at the same time."

With that, they carry on with their long trek back to the surface. They pass through the large caverns, including the one formerly occupied by the giant eyeball and then carry on heading upwards throughout the mid-afternoon. They pass by the fungus room and have to get into single file as the walls of the passageway continue to narrow. As they get to the stalactite area, they are forced to return to single file, the formation that they are forced to stay in for the rest of the journey. They wade through the cold water and climb the rope up the small waterfall, their bodies aching from the exertion. Then it is time to get on their hands and knees in order to crawl through the narrowest section. Joy and Rowan can think of nothing else save for a nice warm bath as they do so.

Once through the narrowest section, they can stop crawling and stoop through the next section. As they get into the final hour of the journey, movement gets a little easier and they are able to stand upright. The gradient starts to increase and, as they feel the passageway turning clockwise, they realize that they are not far away from the exit now.

Finally they are out of the tunnel for the last time and it is with great relief that they feel the bitter cold wind whistling through the tunnel-mouth, blowing the snow into the tunnel.

As Timex predicted, it is dark by the time that they get out of the tunnel. From the position of the stars, he estimates it to be around 19.41. Relieved at finally getting out of the dank cavern, they plow up the snow as they traipse towards the welcoming sight of the torches glowing from the village. After a fifteen minute walk, the 'Traveler's Rest' is before them.

"Let me leave you in order to tidy yourselves up a little," Timex says as they approach the door. "I shall go to the Chapel and summon my brother to the inn so that we can talk later."

"Let us all head to our rooms in order to tidy ourselves up a little," suggests Winnacer. "I shall get Milan to prepare some dinner for us. I suggest that we all reassemble in the bar at 9.30."

No one is in any mood to argue and they gratefully return to their rooms in order to get a change of clothing and to wash off the blood, dirt and worse from their bodies.

Once they are done and feeling a little fresher, everyone heads back down to the bar. They see that the Quartz-Movement brothers are at a table, talking with some of the other occupants at the bar. Timex is looking less the worse the wear than he was when they left him, obviously having received some healing attention from his brother.

Rolex sneezes and then sighs as he sees the state that the others are all in:

"So what my brother told me about your wounds is correct," he says. "I'm not sure that Zemnye has blessed me with enough power to be able to heal all of your wounds this evening, but I am sure that I can have you all patched up before you move off in the morning."

"Let me have a look at you all."

With that, he hobbles over to them and starts to look to see which of them is in the worst state. Winnacer is the one to hold that dubious accolade and so he is the first to receive a major healing spell from the Bastion. It is fairly effective, and eases the LawBringer's pain a little, but leaves him far from being at full health.

Porter is the next in line for Rolex's attention and the priest casts another major healing spell upon him. The results of the spell are excellent and Porter feels a great deal better as a result. Aithne is the last to receive major healing. As with Porter, the results of Rolex's healing are excellent and she doesn't feel too bad at all any more.

Having used all of his major healing for the day, Rolex uses his minor healing spells upon Joy, Yaz and Winnacer. The dwarf is obviously pretty tired now after all of his exertions and, in all three cases, the results are fairly weak. Winnacer and Yaz, in particular, are going to be having a pretty rough night.

"That's all that I can do for you today, I'm afraid," Rolex wheezes a little sadly. "My brother and I should be able to ensure that you are in good health prior to your departure tomorrow."

With the healing having been performed, Milan starts to serve dinner to them all, while the innkeeper brings some flagons of dwarven ale to wash it down with. It has been a long time since breakfast and so all start to eat heartily of the meal, despite the fact that it is of Milan's usual miserable quality.

As they eat altogether around the large round table in the center of the bar area, Winnacer speaks to Rolex:

"Brother Rolex," the LawBringer starts, "I was asking whether it might be possible for Timex to accompany us to Opava. I feel that we might be more successful were we to have a dwarf along with us to corroborate our findings, particularly one as respected as a priest of Zemnye."

Rolex nods:

"Yes, he did tell me," he replies. "I think perhaps it is best if I were to accompany you to Opava, as I believe the best way to start you on your mission there is to introduce you to the CornerStone of the Cathedral of Zemnye there, Durian Rockrender. The Church of Zemnye is the largest in Opava and so I believe that he will be much more useful than I. Once I have introduced you all to him, then I regret that I must return to Litultovitze almost immediately. With the sickness here, I can never afford to be away from my congregation for long."

Winnacer nods:

"That would be most kind of you, Bastion," he thanks him. "Could you tell us what other churches there are in Opava?"

Rolex nods:

"The Church of Zemnye is the most popular in the city," he starts, "although the number of followers are dropping off now, the same as can be said for the second most popular church, which is that of Zelezny, God of Blacksmiths. Two thirds of the city used to worship these two gods. In addition to these two Cathedrals, there are churches and temples dedicated to Seela, the God of Strength as well as Radegast and Smurt. There is a chapel dedicated to Obkod, the God of Trade in 'Tall Town' and there are rumors of a hidden chapel dedicated to Ohen the Fire God too."

He sighs and looks over at Joy:

"Then there's the Temple of Zlodey, the fastest growing church in Opava."

"Oh really?" interjects Joy, "why is that?"

Rolex blows his nose and shakes his head:

"I have to tell you that Opava is not a happy city at all," he replies. "Up until 50 years ago, the city was booming' due to the fact that it is situated in the center of large fields of coal and iron ore. The city was incredibly wealthy in those days and the city rang with the sounds of the huge forges that produced some of the finest iron and steel in the whole of Sudeten. Coal and ore were so plentiful in those days that huge barges used to take it down the river to Ostrava to feed the mills of that city."

He sighs and shakes his head once more:

"But then the coal and the iron ore deposits started to run out, until now there are just a very few seams remaining. Opava was built totally upon the coal and steel industries and so it was devastating for the city. Now over half of the city is without work and it is only contributions from the Miner's and Blacksmith's Guilds that keep most of the citizens alive."

"In such a terrible situation, it's hardly surprising that many of the dwarves have had to resort to crime simply in order to survive, which is why the Church of Zlodey has such support there now."

He looks around the table at everyone:

"I would advise you all to tread carefully in Opava. It has a reputation for being a very rough and tumble city these days. There are an awful lot of very angry dwarves in that place."

Winnacer nods and then continues:

"You mentioned that there was a Chapel of Obkod on 'Tall Town'?" he says. "What is 'Tall Town'?"

"I'm sorry," Rolex apologizes, "I should have explained."

"Opava is built under a large hill," he starts. "It started off as just a few minor excavations when coal and ore were first found there over a millenium ago. As they excavated inside the hill in order to extract the ore and coal, the dwarves widened the seams and built their homes coming from the shafts. Over the centuries, more and more excavations were undertaken, with dwellings being excavated at the sides, with the depleted shafts becoming the main thoroughfares."

"I must say that it is a bit of a jumble after springing up with no form of planning over the centuries. The population of 4000 that currently reside there are spread around the city, which is on eight different levels beneath Opava hill. It's very confusing down there, even for dwarves, and it's possible to spend days wandering around down there trying to get out."

"For this reason, plus the fact that the place can be very confined and more than a little claustrophobic for those not of dwarven stature, the population of Ostrava is almost exclusively dwarven. Very, very few humans indeed ever go into Opava itself and those that do stand out like a sore thumb. There tends to be a great deal of resentment towards human-kind as well. Most dwarves in Opava think of humans as being spoiled."

He looks around the table once more:

"And as for elves..."

His voice trails off:

"Anyway, now where was I? Oh yes, 'Tall Town', now I remember. Due to the fact that Opava is so inhospitable for others than dwarves, outside the gates to the city, on the banks of the river, a small settlement has grown up consisting of residences more suitable to humans. Opava lies on an important trade route, known as the Amber Road, that connects the Frozen Sea in the North to the Great Central Sea in the South. 'Tall Town' is the dwarven expression for this district of the city. It mostly consists of inns and taverns for travelers and traders on the route as well as the main marketplace and supporting business including stables and the suchlike. This is where you will find any humans making their home in Opava, or just traveling through. While you are in Opava, I suggest that here is where you base yourself as I feel that you won't really find the rest of Opava much to your liking."

Winnacer nods, trying to take in the deluge of information:

"What about the Nyemetz?" he asks. "How big is their presence there?"

"It's relatively small," Rolex replies. "The thing is that there is very little of interest to them there, because the economic situation is so poor. They have a modest presence there compared to elsewhere in Bohavia as a result. There is just one way in and out of the city of Opava, protected by an enormous iron gate, which is where most of the garrison is located. Tall Town is not walled and so it is impossible to come and go from that part of the city without having to encounter the Nyemetz. The only areas of any real importance to the Nyemetz are the few shafts that still contain ore and coal and the few functioning smelting plants and forges. The remainder of Opava they have pretty much abandoned, as it just wasn't worth their while bothering about, which is another reason why the crime situation has become so bad there. Every now and again the Nyemetz send out a large patrol to investigate the goings-on in the city, but usually they can't be bothered."

"I really think that you're more likely to have trouble from the dwarves rather than the Nyemetz," he adds.

"What about Witchfinders?" Winnacer asks, glancing over at Aithne.

Rolex coughs badly and shakes his head:

"There are no Witchfinders stationed in Opava," he replies. "The dwarves are well known for their lack of magickal ability and so there is little need for them in the city. Occasionally one or two stationed in Ostrava will come and have a poke around, but you would be very unlucky were you to encounter any during what will hopefully be a very brief stay in the city."

Winnacer looks around at the others:

"What do you think we should do about the mail coach that we have here?" he asks them. "Is there any advantage in us taking it with us?"

"Well one advantage would be that I could travel in it," Rolex replies. "I'm afraid that I don't ride. Horses are just too big for me and so I usually walk to Opava when I need to go there."

"I would imagine that the base for the Moravia Coaching Company, from which the mail coach came, would be in Tall Town. The ceilings in most of Opava would be too low for it to fit inside."

The table then goes quiet and Rolex looks around:

"Are there any more questions, or shall I leave you for the evening?"

Winnacer nods:

"Yes, I have a few, if you don't mind my asking them."

"Please, go ahead," Rolex replies politely. "I will provide you with all of the help that I can."

"Have you any thoughts on where the ratmen could be mining into?" Winnacer asks.

"Well, I can't be sure because of the distance involved," Rolex replies, "but I know that Opava has disused mining shafts heading out in all directions from the city. From what Timex has told me, the ratman city is still a few miles away from Opava. As a result, I would imagine that they would be tunneling to join up with the tunnels from Opava. I would imagine that they are probably planning on joining up with shafts coming from the south and west of the city. The ratman city is far underground from what Timex has told me, and so I believe that it is likely to be towards the lower levels of the city that they will be approaching."

"Where is the water table for Opava? Winnacer asks next. "Where are the wells located?"

"The water table is just below the bottom layer of the city," Timex replies. "The wells that they have there are wonders of dwarven engineering, a throw-back to the time when Opava was truly prosperous. It takes the form of hundreds of buckets attached to pulleys that are hauled up by a huge capstan situated on the top level. They scoop up water from the wells and haul them through the higher levels. The dwarves just fill their own buckets from those coming up, replacing the buckets in an empty spot as another one comes around. There used to be four such water-drawing systems originally, but one has broken down, and there are no funds to fix it, from what I hear."

"Anyone wishing to poison the populace of Opava need only infect the three remaining wells and the waters will be distributed throughout the city in a matter of hours."

"Any idea as to where the Church of Ohen is?" Winnacer asks next.

Rolex shakes his head:

"The Nyemetz would kill to get hold of that information and have tried, on numerous occasions, to find its location. With the priests being the only ones to know the secret of their Holy Powder, the church remains a major threat to them."

He shakes his head once more:

"Sorry, all I can tell you is that is must be very well-hidden to have not been discovered all these years."

Winnacer nods and then continues:

"Are there any famous blacksmiths in the city? I was hoping that they could produce more of these gunnes and modify the ones that we've got. Also would you know where one could find a firearm?"

Rolex nods:

"I don't personally have that information, but I doubt that it would be very hard to find out. I would imagine that the Church of Zelezny would number many of the finest metalsmiths in all of Svyet amongst its congregation. The Church of Zemnye has close ties with that of Zelezny and so I am sure that the CornerStone would be able to provide an introduction to you."

"As for purchasing firearms, Opava is also the right place for that as well. Apparently the sound of gunnefire is quite common in the streets of Opava, at least in the lower levels."

He looks over at Porter and Joy:

"I am sure that a group such as you would have little difficulty in finding someone to sell you said items. Money is so tight now in Opava that almost anything is up for sale."

"What about the Nyemetz?" Winnacer asks next. "Perhaps it would be worth clearing them all out before we head back."

Rolex smiles a weak smile and shakes his head, stifling a cough:

"Such confidence," he says. "I must say that it's most refreshing. I think that the ratmen might prove enough of a force to overcome without bringing the Nyemetz into the equation at the same time."

"I have no idea of the number of Nyemetz in the city," Rolex continues, "but perhaps CornerStone Rockrender will. However, in the case of Opava, the Nyemetz are not the citizen's worst enemies. Those would be hunger and poverty. While I am sure that the dwarves would be able to send the Nyemetz packing were they able to unite, the Nyemetz would find out about the situation in just a couple of days or so, I'm sure. It would be then simplicity itself for them to besiege the city and the citizens would be starving to death before the week was out."

The dwarf shakes his head:

"I'm afraid that there needs to be a great amount of work done on the logistics of such an operation before it could even be considered."

"What sort of celebrations are there on St Vaclav's Day in Opava?" Winnacer asks next.

Rolex shakes his head sadly once more:

"Normally St Vaclav's Day is the greatest celebration in Bohavia. It's a human custom that dwarves have been keen to adopt."

"In past years it has been a time of great feasting and drinking as well as singing and dancing. It is customary for friends and relatives to exchange gifts. As you can see, dwarves celebrate the festival in the same style as everyone else in Bohavia does."

"However," he continues sadly, "there is little reason or opportunity for celebrations for the majority of the dwarves in Opava this year, nor in Litultovitze either, for that matter. I'm afraid that the celebrations are going to be rather muted this year."

"Do you know of any underground organizations in the city?" Winnacer asks. "A resistance movement, Thieves' Guilds, for example?"

"I'm quite sure that such organizations exist in the decaying depths of the city," Rolex responds, "but I'm afraid that I wouldn't know that much about them, not spending much time in the city. I'm sure that CornerStone Rockrender would probably have some idea of the situation, however, and so I suggest that you ask him."

Winnacer nods:

"Just one last thing," he finishes. "Have you been able to investigate the warpstone sample that I gave you to take a look at?"

Rolex shakes his head once more:

"I'm afraid not," he says. "I'm afraid that it is unlike anything that I have ever seen before. With your permission, I would like to bring it to Opava with me so that I may pass it to the CornerStone for his opinion. He is more learned than I regarding such matters."

Winnacer turns to the others:

"So has anyone else got any questions to ask the Bastion?"

Joy has been looking rather confused throughout the questioning:

"Errm... just one," she says. "What exactly are we doing here?"

Rowan looks a little sheepish:

"I'm sorry, cousin, what with everything else that has been going on, there hasn't really been time to fill you in on all of the details."

He looks to Winnacer:

"Perhaps you could be kind enough to inform my cousin as to what it is we are trying to do here?"

The LawBringer nods:

"Certainly, perhaps this would not be a bad time for all of us to look at the evidence that led us to here in the first place."