Delanra, happy to see the Worg leader has made himself available to the group, listens to the dog's words then eyeing it's reaction as Hayle takes up the conversation, trying to turn it around on the worg's leader. In her mind she tries to recal what the cats had said, as the Worg leader had been the most promising inquiry in her own view. Hoping to now glean answers to those question she waits for a break in the conversation.
Halis nods slowly at Ungrulf. Then he bows respectfully. "Lord Ungrulf. I can see you are a being of honor and merit. You, too, are not the only one to disapprove of our interference in this matter. The cats themselves are divided on the matter, and yet the reality remains: King Morpholemew has gone missing, and in his absence chaos threatens to overwhelm the progress you and he have made together thus far. I would hope you would consider us your allies in this matter, rather than your hinderance. We wish only to do what is necessary to ensure the safe return of Morpholemew, and not meddle in affairs best left to your own people."
He turns to the others and nods at them. "I think regardless of our course of action, we should share what we know with the worgs. I believe they are being sincere, and wish only to assist in this matter, as it is of benefit to them as well to bring back King Morpholemew safely."
Halis allows the others to speak, to add what they know, goes on to share what he knows with Ungrulf, from their meeting with the Oracle to the suspicious involvement of the Rats and their tracking down of Sparkneedle in Mulberry Cottage.
"Of course,"Halis says, as he finishes, "Even if this Balink is working with the rats towards a nefarious purpose, he is still a gnome. He will likely react badly to a visit en masse by worgs, even one of your standing," he says to Ungrulf. "Humanoids are much less suspicious and would not put him on his guard. I would suggest we work in tandem on this, if we wish to find out more. We have pledged to help the cats, and on our honor we cannot renege on that pledge. But our goals are aligned, and we should be allied. Let us work together on this. Mulberry Cottage is the arena of the humanoids, but I see no reason that we could not cooperate and share information. What say you?"
Ungrulf silently considers your words for a long moment before speaking again.
"Your candor is refreshing, even if a bit naïve. If it's true that this Sparkneedle character," he practically spits out the name, "is at the heart of this heinous act, I can assure you that the worgs will see to the undoing of his machinations."
He stands again, reminding you just how massive he truly is.
"I understand your desire to deal with the situation diplomatically. The beasts have their own methods of remedying such situations, though, which involve a level of both tact and ferocity that humanoids can rarely hope to achieve. We will investigate your claims and act according to our findings. Now be gone from here and rest assured that your labors will be honored by cats and worgs alike should your information prove useful."
With that, he turns his back on you and slowly walks back into the pitch blackness of a long and dark alley. You turn around just in time to see the last of the other five worgs silently leaping across rooftops and into other alleys.
Suddenly you find yourselves alone once more in the quiet street. A moment later Asparagus slinks back out from behind a barrel, hackles still raised.
He circles and sits in front of you and takes a moment to straighten his fur as he says, "All things considered, I think you handled that fairly well. Any meeting with a worg you can walk away from..." he trails off. "Although I wish you hadn't told him everything. The overgrown brutes will only get in the way. Or worse: They could be the true masterminds and we could be walking into a trap! Never trust a worg..."
A thought seems to occur to him and he looks you in the eye.
"You are planning to ignore his ridiculous commands of leaving it to them, aren't you?"
"I think we should still go and see what this Sparkneedle is up to,"Halis says. "While I believe the worgs are dealing with it the best way they know how, I'm not convinced their way is the best. But if Balink is informed that both the guards and the Worg King are coming for him, he might be more willing to reveal information about Morpholemew's whereabouts. We should move quickly."
"Ungrulf seemed unaware of Sparkneedle, so perhaps he is genuinely interested in handling it themselves. A rush to Sparkneedle seems futile. When did you last outpace a dog Halis? If we could be sure that the Worgs would leave him alive, I would think it better to approach him after Ungrulf."
Halis crosses his arms and frowns disapprovingly. "When was the last time you recall a Worg leaving someone in their sights alive? Generally it only happens when that someone has a way to kill the Worg. I still think it would be best to move before the two meet... even if it's merely to observe what happens, should we be too slow. But I guess if you want to leave that angle to the Worgs, that leaves us to explore the sewers. If Morpholemew has been kidnapped by the rats, we could try to find them while their counterparts on the surface were distracted."
"While I dislike those brutish worgs as they are detestably impulsive, that Ungrulf is surprisingly measured and calculating. I can't imagine he'd be bold enough to simply barge in on Balink without watching and letting his spies gather information first," Asparagus chimes in.
"Well then we have a little time." Halis rubs his chin. "I say we investigate the sewers. If the worgs say they have this angle covered, then we only have one other angle left to cover ourselves, and that's the Rats without their middleman." He waits for the others to chime in.
"The sewers are hardly a place for these shoes Halis." Delanra shows her dislike for the idea of trudging through a city sewer as plainly as Apraragus demonstrated his contempt for the Worgs. "Time is pressing, thought the idea of starting to pursue another course does little to appeal to me. How the meeting between Ungrulf and Balink goes should at least reveal something to us of the worg leader's temprement and possibly motives in this situation. If we take Ungrulf at his word of following our lead, we are no better off than we were at the start of this thing. Were we to go to the rat king, we have nothing by way of leverage to refute or corroborate his own claims. No, I say we keep on the trail of the Worgs and follow the thread to sparkneedle."
You find your way through the affluent Bluelake District to Mulberry Cottage, thanks to the directions of the occasional passerby or Watch member. The house seems quite small amidst the array of sprawling mansions and compounds. It's a single-story brick building with a pitched roof and quaint shutters. Ivy grows over much of its face giving it a distinguished look despite its diminutive size. It looks to be roughly 15-20 feet wide and only two to three times that in length, although it's hard to be certain from the street. There are no worgs in sight.
As you enter the yard through the chest-high iron gate, you spy a figure silhouetted in the door. It's hard to make out features because of the glare of light from inside.
You draw nearer and see that it's a thin, neatly dressed human woman standing with her hands clasped together and a calm smile on her face as she watches you approach.
"Greetings. My name is Wendri. My master, Mr. Sparkneedle, requests the pleasure of your company. He is hoping that this current misunderstanding can be cleared up without further inconvenience. Please, follow me," she says as she turns and leads you inside.
The room you enter into seems to be the front half of the house and is richly furnished and well-lit. Several landscapes and portraits hang over the paneled walls, and there is a large and seemingly expensive rug on the floor. A number of ornate divans and small tables are scattered around the room and a massive wooden desk and chair sit near the rear wall.
Behind the desk is an old and worried looking gnome with silver-rimmed spectacles. It's clear that this is Balink Sparkneedle. Sitting on the corner of the desk, and bound by a leather collar and leash, is a very large and rather magnificent looking black cat. From the descriptions you've heard tonight, this would appear to be Morpholomew, King of the Cats. His leash is tied to one of the desk legs.
A huge grey rat nearly the size of Morpholomew saunters into sight around the desk to stand next to the King. You watch in amazement as this oversized rodent stands to its hind legs and proceeds to change its form into that of a fairly short human-looking woman. She's dressed in shabby, dingy clothes but holds herself with a haughty air of importance. The Rat Boss.
The large black cat arches it back and narrows its eyes. “Asparagus - you traitor!” he hisses.
“Mind your tongue, Morpholomew, or I’ll have it removed,” responds Asparagus coldly.
The old gnome removes and polishes his glasses nervously. “This is very bad, Asparagus. Why have you brought them here?”
“Shut up Balink, you old fool. I had no choice,” says Asparagus sharply. “I had to find a party – the Congress were growing suspicious at my delays, especially that nosey young minx, Bombalina.”
“You were supposed to hire some incompetents,” snarls the Rat Boss.
“I found the most inexperienced party I could, Miestro,” says Asparagus. “But they have proven more durable and resourceful than I anticipated.”
“But what do you proposed to do with them now?” says Balink.
“It’s very simple,” says Asparagus, turning to you. “You are mercenaries, and I am your employer. I now proposed to double your fee: 200 gold – all you need to do is turn and leave now. If you refuse to leave, the consequences will be… most unfortunate.”
“Don’t listen to him, his greed has made him evil and corrupt!” cries Morpholomew. “Free me!”
“Silence, you sanctimonious old tom!” hisses Asparagus. “Now, mercenaries, make your choice.”
The tension in the air is electric as all eyes fall on you as they await your decision.
Hayle furrowed her brow her brow, at first confused by the exchange. The raised voices and transforming rat were not expected and she turned to face the rest of the group.
“It’s very simple,” says Asparagus, turning to you. “You are mercenaries, and I am your employer. I now proposed to double your fee: 200 gold – all you need to do is turn and leave now. If you refuse to leave, the consequences will be… most unfortunate.”
Raising an eyebrow at the others and shrugging her shoulders she says, “My ship sails with the tide tomorrow. I am going to have plenty of time to craft how I want this story to sound. I am sure it will be worth at least a few drinks in the future. All it needs is a suitable end. What do you think?”
Halis shakes his head. "We are here to free the King, and free the King we shall! For honor! For justice! For good!"he says strongly. And then he reminds Hayle, "And also, for not getting torn apart by the Worg King, who is surely going to catch wind of this, and perhaps any second now!"
Asparagus waits several moments, hoping someone among you has a better-developed sense of self-preservation or at least a desire to amass a small fortune quite literally overnight. When it becomes clear that that's not the case, he sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Most unfortunate," he eventually replies in a low growl.
Miestro, the Rat Boss, throws her head back and lets out a piercing screech just before swarms of rats begin flooding the room through doors and windows. You see a few squeezing through a previously-unnoticed crack in one wall just as several more fall from the rafters. Looking up, you see caravans of them streaming across the wooden ceiling beams. Head swiveling back and forth, you try to take in the unexpected rodential torrent just as you notice the crack in the wall crumbling as even more rats try to push through. More small holes are appearing as still more rats chew through other parts of walls and it seems as if there's no end to the creatures. The teeming mass flows and writhes like water as the entire floor is engulfed in vermin.
After mere moments (seeming more like an eternity as you watch in horror), you begin to notice clear patterns to the twisting mess of mangy fur and tails. Groups of them seem to form up and coordinate their movements in a strange sort of choreography. Distinct swarms form up around the room and you realize they're preparing to attack.
Just as you ready yourself to leap into action, you hear the door behind you burst open, breaking a hinge from the frame as a portion explodes into splinters. Silhouetted at the threshold is the hulking form of Ungrulf, the Word Lord, glaring in at the proceedings as a rumbling growl reverberates through the room. He takes a single step in and pauses as four more worgs, nearly as large as he, bound in and spread out, baring their teeth at the rat swarms.
Time freezes for a moment as the tension grows and everyone's fight-or-flight instincts kick in. Then a swarm of rats moves as one to attack the nearest worg, climbing legs and engulfing portions of its body as they screech and bite. The worg lets out a thunderous bellow as it begins to stomp and slash at rats, even go so far as rolling over at one point to try to crush the ones on its back.
All hell breaks loose as the decision has been made and a ferocious battle ensues. Claws slashing, jaws biting, screeches and snarls and yips ringing out. It's a noisy, chaotic, swirling clash in a confined space -- furniture is upturned, paintings are torn from the walls, and the expensive rug is torn to shreds as Balink wrings his hands, screams, and runs out of the room to the rear of the house.
Asparagus and Miestro stand by the desk and watch as chunks of fur and sprays of blood fly. Morpholomew strains to join the battle but cannot free himself from his leash.
The King of the Cats looks to you pleadingly and yells above the din, "Help me and you will forever have my gratitude and that of all cats!"
Asparagus hisses and swipes at Morpholomew to shut him up and turns to you. "Help me and you will have more gold than you've ever seen!"
It's time for you to choose: fight the rats and free the King, fight the worgs and be paid handsomely, or watch and see who comes out on top to capitalize on the natural order of things.
Delanra watches as the carnage begins to unfold. Thinking of her own past machinations, she has a grudging respect for what Asparagus has tried to pull of. Ultimately though, he has left more to chance than would be acceptable in any of her schemes, and more than that, he had tried to manipulate Delanra and that just wouldn't do. She looks at where Morpholomew stands, surrounded by enemies and tied up.
Action: Mage Hand Delanra guides the hand towards Morpholemew as she talks, and has it try to free him from the leash - the end that is attached to the table leg if it is a tied knot, or going straight for the end around the king of cat's neck if not.
"Ah Asparagus, a cunning plan... right back to taking us through the alley with the ogre you have steered us towards the dangerous route, in the hopes that your adventuring troupe would fail you at any hurdle you could find for them. It appears though that your judgement in all creatures is more than poor. With those you hoped to fail in your task, and with those you choose to ally yourself with now. What was your goal, to replace Morpholomew with yourself? Undo the alliance with the worgs and become a puppet to the rat boss? Surely you can't imagine that your rule would be your own?"
Raising her arms and spreading them wide, she gestures to her companions and she continues "Surely you fail to see the flaw in your offer... you insult our capabilities and then seek to weasel your way out of the predicament by offering us a boon you surely have no intention or capability to deliver. You are probably better suited to the sewers than the congress of your peers, your actions are indeed that of a drowning rat, trying desperately to save itself. Your actions do little to endear us to your cause, and to be honest... I've always been more of a dog person!"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Asparagus, I knew I should have simply stayed in that tavern, but the thrill of adventure called to me. You know, if you had simply left us there, or at any point along the way, you might actually have been successful. But foolishly, you brought more bodies to help in the fight."'
As Hayle speaks she inches slowly toward a wall where she can see most of the room. As she does so, she almost inexplicably takes her water bottle from her hip, raises it above her head and tips it out over herself, muttering the words "Ngao ya barafu."The water pours from the bottle, but instead of striking her head, it turns to flecks of ice that drift down and settle on her skin. (Armor of Agathys). Then, thrusting out her arm, she drops the bottle. Her fingers point to a spot directly beside Asparagus. Immediately a translucent tentacle breaks free from the ground, shimmering in the colours of an ocean after a storm. The tentacle whips out and strikes the mischievous cat where it stands. (Tentacle of the Deeps Attack: 18 Damage: 5 Cold - Speed reduced by 10ft).
Syl blinks and shakes his head, coming out of whatever fog he had been in. He instinctively casts Faerie Fire on Asparagus, while simultaneously offering some bardic inspiration to Halis.
That's a DC13 dex throw for Asparagus.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM - Above & Below
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Halis simply stares at the worgs with a judging look, gauging their intent and honesty. Insight: 22
Delanra, happy to see the Worg leader has made himself available to the group, listens to the dog's words then eyeing it's reaction as Hayle takes up the conversation, trying to turn it around on the worg's leader. In her mind she tries to recal what the cats had said, as the Worg leader had been the most promising inquiry in her own view. Hoping to now glean answers to those question she waits for a break in the conversation.
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Halis nods slowly at Ungrulf. Then he bows respectfully. "Lord Ungrulf. I can see you are a being of honor and merit. You, too, are not the only one to disapprove of our interference in this matter. The cats themselves are divided on the matter, and yet the reality remains: King Morpholemew has gone missing, and in his absence chaos threatens to overwhelm the progress you and he have made together thus far. I would hope you would consider us your allies in this matter, rather than your hinderance. We wish only to do what is necessary to ensure the safe return of Morpholemew, and not meddle in affairs best left to your own people."
He turns to the others and nods at them. "I think regardless of our course of action, we should share what we know with the worgs. I believe they are being sincere, and wish only to assist in this matter, as it is of benefit to them as well to bring back King Morpholemew safely."
Halis allows the others to speak, to add what they know, goes on to share what he knows with Ungrulf, from their meeting with the Oracle to the suspicious involvement of the Rats and their tracking down of Sparkneedle in Mulberry Cottage.
"Of course," Halis says, as he finishes, "Even if this Balink is working with the rats towards a nefarious purpose, he is still a gnome. He will likely react badly to a visit en masse by worgs, even one of your standing," he says to Ungrulf. "Humanoids are much less suspicious and would not put him on his guard. I would suggest we work in tandem on this, if we wish to find out more. We have pledged to help the cats, and on our honor we cannot renege on that pledge. But our goals are aligned, and we should be allied. Let us work together on this. Mulberry Cottage is the arena of the humanoids, but I see no reason that we could not cooperate and share information. What say you?"
Persuasion: 22
Ungrulf silently considers your words for a long moment before speaking again.
"Your candor is refreshing, even if a bit naïve. If it's true that this Sparkneedle character," he practically spits out the name, "is at the heart of this heinous act, I can assure you that the worgs will see to the undoing of his machinations."
He stands again, reminding you just how massive he truly is.
"I understand your desire to deal with the situation diplomatically. The beasts have their own methods of remedying such situations, though, which involve a level of both tact and ferocity that humanoids can rarely hope to achieve. We will investigate your claims and act according to our findings. Now be gone from here and rest assured that your labors will be honored by cats and worgs alike should your information prove useful."
With that, he turns his back on you and slowly walks back into the pitch blackness of a long and dark alley. You turn around just in time to see the last of the other five worgs silently leaping across rooftops and into other alleys.
Suddenly you find yourselves alone once more in the quiet street. A moment later Asparagus slinks back out from behind a barrel, hackles still raised.
He circles and sits in front of you and takes a moment to straighten his fur as he says, "All things considered, I think you handled that fairly well. Any meeting with a worg you can walk away from..." he trails off. "Although I wish you hadn't told him everything. The overgrown brutes will only get in the way. Or worse: They could be the true masterminds and we could be walking into a trap! Never trust a worg..."
A thought seems to occur to him and he looks you in the eye.
"You are planning to ignore his ridiculous commands of leaving it to them, aren't you?"
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Delanra would like to guage the Worg's sincerity and whether the news came as much of a surprise, specifically in his comments regarding Sparkneedle.
Insight: 19
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Best you can tell, this was new info for him and he seemed sincere enough.
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"I think we should still go and see what this Sparkneedle is up to," Halis says. "While I believe the worgs are dealing with it the best way they know how, I'm not convinced their way is the best. But if Balink is informed that both the guards and the Worg King are coming for him, he might be more willing to reveal information about Morpholemew's whereabouts. We should move quickly."
"Ungrulf seemed unaware of Sparkneedle, so perhaps he is genuinely interested in handling it themselves. A rush to Sparkneedle seems futile. When did you last outpace a dog Halis? If we could be sure that the Worgs would leave him alive, I would think it better to approach him after Ungrulf."
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Halis crosses his arms and frowns disapprovingly. "When was the last time you recall a Worg leaving someone in their sights alive? Generally it only happens when that someone has a way to kill the Worg. I still think it would be best to move before the two meet... even if it's merely to observe what happens, should we be too slow. But I guess if you want to leave that angle to the Worgs, that leaves us to explore the sewers. If Morpholemew has been kidnapped by the rats, we could try to find them while their counterparts on the surface were distracted."
"While I dislike those brutish worgs as they are detestably impulsive, that Ungrulf is surprisingly measured and calculating. I can't imagine he'd be bold enough to simply barge in on Balink without watching and letting his spies gather information first," Asparagus chimes in.
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Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
"Well then we have a little time." Halis rubs his chin. "I say we investigate the sewers. If the worgs say they have this angle covered, then we only have one other angle left to cover ourselves, and that's the Rats without their middleman." He waits for the others to chime in.
"The sewers are hardly a place for these shoes Halis." Delanra shows her dislike for the idea of trudging through a city sewer as plainly as Apraragus demonstrated his contempt for the Worgs. "Time is pressing, thought the idea of starting to pursue another course does little to appeal to me. How the meeting between Ungrulf and Balink goes should at least reveal something to us of the worg leader's temprement and possibly motives in this situation. If we take Ungrulf at his word of following our lead, we are no better off than we were at the start of this thing. Were we to go to the rat king, we have nothing by way of leverage to refute or corroborate his own claims. No, I say we keep on the trail of the Worgs and follow the thread to sparkneedle."
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
You find your way through the affluent Bluelake District to Mulberry Cottage, thanks to the directions of the occasional passerby or Watch member. The house seems quite small amidst the array of sprawling mansions and compounds. It's a single-story brick building with a pitched roof and quaint shutters. Ivy grows over much of its face giving it a distinguished look despite its diminutive size. It looks to be roughly 15-20 feet wide and only two to three times that in length, although it's hard to be certain from the street. There are no worgs in sight.
As you enter the yard through the chest-high iron gate, you spy a figure silhouetted in the door. It's hard to make out features because of the glare of light from inside.
You draw nearer and see that it's a thin, neatly dressed human woman standing with her hands clasped together and a calm smile on her face as she watches you approach.
"Greetings. My name is Wendri. My master, Mr. Sparkneedle, requests the pleasure of your company. He is hoping that this current misunderstanding can be cleared up without further inconvenience. Please, follow me," she says as she turns and leads you inside.
The room you enter into seems to be the front half of the house and is richly furnished and well-lit. Several landscapes and portraits hang over the paneled walls, and there is a large and seemingly expensive rug on the floor. A number of ornate divans and small tables are scattered around the room and a massive wooden desk and chair sit near the rear wall.
Behind the desk is an old and worried looking gnome with silver-rimmed spectacles. It's clear that this is Balink Sparkneedle. Sitting on the corner of the desk, and bound by a leather collar and leash, is a very large and rather magnificent looking black cat. From the descriptions you've heard tonight, this would appear to be Morpholomew, King of the Cats. His leash is tied to one of the desk legs.
A huge grey rat nearly the size of Morpholomew saunters into sight around the desk to stand next to the King. You watch in amazement as this oversized rodent stands to its hind legs and proceeds to change its form into that of a fairly short human-looking woman. She's dressed in shabby, dingy clothes but holds herself with a haughty air of importance. The Rat Boss.
The large black cat arches it back and narrows its eyes. “Asparagus - you traitor!” he hisses.
“Mind your tongue, Morpholomew, or I’ll have it removed,” responds Asparagus coldly.
The old gnome removes and polishes his glasses nervously. “This is very bad, Asparagus. Why have you brought them here?”
“Shut up Balink, you old fool. I had no choice,” says Asparagus sharply. “I had to find a party – the Congress were growing suspicious at my delays, especially that nosey young minx, Bombalina.”
“You were supposed to hire some incompetents,” snarls the Rat Boss.
“I found the most inexperienced party I could, Miestro,” says Asparagus. “But they have proven more durable and resourceful than I anticipated.”
“But what do you proposed to do with them now?” says Balink.
“It’s very simple,” says Asparagus, turning to you. “You are mercenaries, and I am your employer. I now proposed to double your fee: 200 gold – all you need to do is turn and leave now. If you refuse to leave, the consequences will be… most unfortunate.”
“Don’t listen to him, his greed has made him evil and corrupt!” cries Morpholomew. “Free me!”
“Silence, you sanctimonious old tom!” hisses Asparagus. “Now, mercenaries, make your choice.”
The tension in the air is electric as all eyes fall on you as they await your decision.
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Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Hayle furrowed her brow her brow, at first confused by the exchange. The raised voices and transforming rat were not expected and she turned to face the rest of the group.
Raising an eyebrow at the others and shrugging her shoulders she says, “My ship sails with the tide tomorrow. I am going to have plenty of time to craft how I want this story to sound. I am sure it will be worth at least a few drinks in the future. All it needs is a suitable end. What do you think?”
Halis shakes his head. "We are here to free the King, and free the King we shall! For honor! For justice! For good!" he says strongly. And then he reminds Hayle, "And also, for not getting torn apart by the Worg King, who is surely going to catch wind of this, and perhaps any second now!"
Asparagus waits several moments, hoping someone among you has a better-developed sense of self-preservation or at least a desire to amass a small fortune quite literally overnight. When it becomes clear that that's not the case, he sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Most unfortunate," he eventually replies in a low growl.
Miestro, the Rat Boss, throws her head back and lets out a piercing screech just before swarms of rats begin flooding the room through doors and windows. You see a few squeezing through a previously-unnoticed crack in one wall just as several more fall from the rafters. Looking up, you see caravans of them streaming across the wooden ceiling beams. Head swiveling back and forth, you try to take in the unexpected rodential torrent just as you notice the crack in the wall crumbling as even more rats try to push through. More small holes are appearing as still more rats chew through other parts of walls and it seems as if there's no end to the creatures. The teeming mass flows and writhes like water as the entire floor is engulfed in vermin.
After mere moments (seeming more like an eternity as you watch in horror), you begin to notice clear patterns to the twisting mess of mangy fur and tails. Groups of them seem to form up and coordinate their movements in a strange sort of choreography. Distinct swarms form up around the room and you realize they're preparing to attack.
Just as you ready yourself to leap into action, you hear the door behind you burst open, breaking a hinge from the frame as a portion explodes into splinters. Silhouetted at the threshold is the hulking form of Ungrulf, the Word Lord, glaring in at the proceedings as a rumbling growl reverberates through the room. He takes a single step in and pauses as four more worgs, nearly as large as he, bound in and spread out, baring their teeth at the rat swarms.
Time freezes for a moment as the tension grows and everyone's fight-or-flight instincts kick in. Then a swarm of rats moves as one to attack the nearest worg, climbing legs and engulfing portions of its body as they screech and bite. The worg lets out a thunderous bellow as it begins to stomp and slash at rats, even go so far as rolling over at one point to try to crush the ones on its back.
All hell breaks loose as the decision has been made and a ferocious battle ensues. Claws slashing, jaws biting, screeches and snarls and yips ringing out. It's a noisy, chaotic, swirling clash in a confined space -- furniture is upturned, paintings are torn from the walls, and the expensive rug is torn to shreds as Balink wrings his hands, screams, and runs out of the room to the rear of the house.
Asparagus and Miestro stand by the desk and watch as chunks of fur and sprays of blood fly. Morpholomew strains to join the battle but cannot free himself from his leash.
The King of the Cats looks to you pleadingly and yells above the din, "Help me and you will forever have my gratitude and that of all cats!"
Asparagus hisses and swipes at Morpholomew to shut him up and turns to you. "Help me and you will have more gold than you've ever seen!"
It's time for you to choose: fight the rats and free the King, fight the worgs and be paid handsomely, or watch and see who comes out on top to capitalize on the natural order of things.
Make your decision and take your turn.
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Neria Tallfellow (Halfling Rogue) - Curse of the Crimson Throne with Ashen_Age
Delanra watches as the carnage begins to unfold. Thinking of her own past machinations, she has a grudging respect for what Asparagus has tried to pull of. Ultimately though, he has left more to chance than would be acceptable in any of her schemes, and more than that, he had tried to manipulate Delanra and that just wouldn't do. She looks at where Morpholomew stands, surrounded by enemies and tied up.
Action: Mage Hand
Delanra guides the hand towards Morpholemew as she talks, and has it try to free him from the leash - the end that is attached to the table leg if it is a tied knot, or going straight for the end around the king of cat's neck if not.
"Ah Asparagus, a cunning plan... right back to taking us through the alley with the ogre you have steered us towards the dangerous route, in the hopes that your adventuring troupe would fail you at any hurdle you could find for them. It appears though that your judgement in all creatures is more than poor. With those you hoped to fail in your task, and with those you choose to ally yourself with now. What was your goal, to replace Morpholomew with yourself? Undo the alliance with the worgs and become a puppet to the rat boss? Surely you can't imagine that your rule would be your own?"
Raising her arms and spreading them wide, she gestures to her companions and she continues "Surely you fail to see the flaw in your offer... you insult our capabilities and then seek to weasel your way out of the predicament by offering us a boon you surely have no intention or capability to deliver. You are probably better suited to the sewers than the congress of your peers, your actions are indeed that of a drowning rat, trying desperately to save itself. Your actions do little to endear us to your cause, and to be honest... I've always been more of a dog person!"
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
"Asparagus, I knew I should have simply stayed in that tavern, but the thrill of adventure called to me. You know, if you had simply left us there, or at any point along the way, you might actually have been successful. But foolishly, you brought more bodies to help in the fight."'
As Hayle speaks she inches slowly toward a wall where she can see most of the room. As she does so, she almost inexplicably takes her water bottle from her hip, raises it above her head and tips it out over herself, muttering the words "Ngao ya barafu." The water pours from the bottle, but instead of striking her head, it turns to flecks of ice that drift down and settle on her skin. (Armor of Agathys). Then, thrusting out her arm, she drops the bottle. Her fingers point to a spot directly beside Asparagus. Immediately a translucent tentacle breaks free from the ground, shimmering in the colours of an ocean after a storm. The tentacle whips out and strikes the mischievous cat where it stands. (Tentacle of the Deeps Attack: 18 Damage: 5 Cold - Speed reduced by 10ft).
"The answer is clear! Righteousness shall prevail!" Halis cries, bringing out his double-bladed scimitar and swinging it at Asparagus.
DB Scimitar Attack: 14
Damage: 9
Bonus Attack: 10
Damage: 5
Syl blinks and shakes his head, coming out of whatever fog he had been in. He instinctively casts Faerie Fire on Asparagus, while simultaneously offering some bardic inspiration to Halis.
That's a DC13 dex throw for Asparagus.
DM - Above & Below