Plathstream looks stone-faced at Sherborne. "Only half-dead? That is your professional assessment?" He mutters something in Elven.

He leads the group out of the room, heading south, then turns right to go west. He then stops and listens at a door on the north wall. If it is silent, he has the others get ready and he kicks the door open.

"No, mostly dead." he winks in a bit of jest.  "Actually for the lower forms of undead like the bones and the walkers we encountered that's directionally how it is.  For this ghoul, who knows exactly how much of the original ... person ... is there but I imagine it's not much more.  A vampire on the other hand, we better hope it's not hungry.  Those are pretty much all there with something extra."

This talk of undead haunted the old water-finder, for he'd seen much of this sort during his eons of scouring the desert sands. "Curses from what I've heard... cursed existence and all that. Unnatural!"

The dwarf was eager to be out of the chamber and one the move once more.

He held his warhammer, perhaps a little too tightly, as the elf kicked open the next door!

The first thing that Plathstream notices is that there is a 2 foot wide hole that appears to have been chewed in the door, down at floor level, and the door is still closed.  There are scratching and grinding noises coming from beyond the door, but faintly.

Albricht produced a crust of bread that the tall warrior-women had given the party. He motioned everyone to the sides and then placed it on the floor in the middle of the passageway. He made an intricate dwarven hand-sign by placing one gnarled finger precisely against his lips with the largest knuckle equidistant between the whiskers on his upper lip and the whiskers on his lower lip. This meant "Hush!". Although there could be various other meanings to be understood  by simply varying the angle of the finger and the degree of tilt to his bushy white eyebrows. Assuming the elves would probably misunderstand, he made sure to over-exaggerate the gesture.

He raised his warhammer as he waited by the side of the door with a mischievous gleam in his deeply sunken eyes...

OOC: Gonna play whack-a-mole! Hopefully he's got the right "bait"!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:18, Tue 07 Feb 2017.

Plathstream stands back and sees if Albricht's bait works, his greatsword at the ready...

After some moments of waiting, Albricht and Plathstream get the chance to strike at a giant shrew as it sticks its head out of the hole, but not before it bites the hand that feeds it, injuring Albricht.

19:20, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 18 using 1d20.  Attack Roll.
19:21, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d6.  Bite Damage.

<What'cha gonna do now, guys?>

Plathstream hacks at the giant shrew without obvious emotion...

Hit AC 1 for 3 damage.
19:49, Today: Plathstream rolled 3 using 1d10+1.  Damage on shrew.
19:49, Today: Plathstream rolled 18 using 1d20+1.  Slaying of the shrew.

Roak throws a dagger at the shrew but it misses badly, clattering against the wall.

19:50, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 4 using 1d20+1.  Throw dagger at shrew.

Sherborne readies his hammer in case one of the group (not him) decides to open the door.

"Aaaahhhh! Rot you furry fuzz!" Albricht shouted when the shrew chomped down on his wrist. He slammed his hammer down with a grunt, worrying that perhaps he might now be in danger of turning into some sort of were-shrew.

Warhammer hit AC6, 3 Damage

Plathstream's swing nearly kills the thing, but only nearly.  Roak's dagger goes wide, the sound of more creatures comes from behind the door, and Albricht nearly misses his own foot when the shrew dodges to the side at the last moment.

<Waiting for Elboc, Vsaati, Lanliss, and Silverglade>

As a fastidious elf, Silverglade has always felt a revulsion for rodents. So it's not surprise that when the shrew suddenly appears, a frightened Silverglade slices deep into the creature with all his might.

23:08, Today: Silverglade rolled 9 using 1d8+1. Damage (sword).
23:07, Today: Silverglade rolled 16 using 1d20+1. To hit (sword).

So driven my fear and adrenaline, Silverglade's sword almost takes Albricht's foot off, while cleanly, neatly, and swiftly decapitating the giant shrew.

Several others can be heard, angrily squeeking and moving about in the room beyond, blocked from the party by the body of their compatriot, although this is likely only temporary...
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:43, Sat 11 Feb 2017.

Plathstream nods to the others. "Be ready. when the next one comes through, everyone kill it."

Roak moves to grab the dagger he threw and springs back, ready to throw again.

"WATCH IT LEAF-EATER!" Albricht thundered at Silverglade. "If anybody's gonna be cuttin' off my toes, it'll be me! Hrrrumph!"

The dwarf shifted his sandaled feet a little bit further away, and lifted his hammer again, ready for the next vermin to poke its head out.

No sooner does Albricht's retort follow Silverglade's admonition to be ready, than another giant shrew forces its head and upper body past the cooling body of its compatriot.  It struggles for a moment in the effort,  giving the party the opening they need for a first strike.

10:35, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 1 using 1d6.  Monsters' Initiative.
10:35, Today: Dungeon Master rolled 3 using 1d6.  Player's Initiative.

"Gah!" Albricht burst out, not quite as ready as he thought he'd be!

Attack: Albricht Burghammer rolled 8

"загострене вухо занадто високий лист їжа орнітолог!!!" The dwarf cursed in his familial dialect. "Now look what you made me do!"

Silverglade shrieks "Rat!" in a high-pitched voice, before giving this one a good whack on the head. Many would think that the effeminate shriek was just a fear reaction, but if asked later Silverglade will explain ad nauseum that it is the traditional battle cry of his tribe.

22:24, Today: Silverglade rolled 5 using 1d8+1. Damage (sword).
22:24, Today: Silverglade rolled 15 using 1d20+1. To hit (sword).

Plathstream also swings hard, trying to cut it...

Hits AC 8 for 5 hp.

19:15, Today: Plathstream rolled 5 using 1d10+1.  Damage if that hits.
19:15, Today: Plathstream rolled 12 using 1d20+1.  Greatsword attack.

All this flurry of activity gives Roak a chance to get a clean throw in at the beast...

Hits AC 2 for 4 hp with a dagger.
19:16, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 4 using 1d4+1 with rolls of 3.  Dagger damage.
19:16, Today: Roak The Quick rolled 17 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 16.  Throw a dagger.

Sherborne tries to slip in an attack among everyone else swinging but can't find the range.

Sherborne rolled 8 using 1d20+1.  Attack on shrew.

Between Silverglade and Roak, the two manage to complete murderize the latest giant shrew while it struggled to get out through the hole at the base of the door.  The sounds of several more are audible in the aftermath, but they seem to have retreated from directly in front of the door.