Clearing the rats was easy as slicing pie Cogwitz thought to himself.  Though his attacks didn't have quite the same effect as Tesselyn's did.


21:23, Today: Cogwitz rolled 17,5,13,4 using d20+12,d3+3,d20+7,d3+3.  slice and dice.

Tesseryn makes a distracted swing at another rat whilst watching over his shoulder to keep an eye on the rear.  (only rolled 14, is that a miss?)

Leisha nods and trades places with Brindle, twirling around him like a dance partner.  Finding herself uncomfortably close to the rats, she draws out her sword and pokes it daintily downwards.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Fri 02 June 2017.

"Why did it have to be rats?!" shuddering with revulsion, the elf leans around the big Orc to send a ray of freezing air and ice flying from his finger to strike the rat in front of him.

As Brindle, perhaps not valiantly but certainly most wisely, convinces Leisha to take his place next to the approaching horde of rats, Wrukaog's stomps one rat flat, though the second manages to avoid his second kick ... but not the deadly accuracy of Leisha's flickering blade, nor the icy death that Aurion sends its way.

Still, from his position of safety the Halfling is able to concentrate properly, and sets about intoning a spell.

The happenings behind him serve to distract Tesseryn, and his sword swing misses, but Cogwitz's darting blades handily dispatch both of their opponents.

Though their front ranks have been decimated, the rodents coming on from behind leap into the fray with wild, if not downright vicious abandon !  However Cogwitz's speed, Tesseryn's armour and, quite frankly, gross careless on the part of the one that bites at Leisha (and smacks into the tunnel wall instead) all goes to save the day ... but Wrukaog is not so lucky as one of the not so little rats latches its teeth onto his knee, giving the big Orc a nasty bite.

Finally Brindle completes his spell and the four rats facing off against Leisha and Wrukoag collapse ! 

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ... and just to help the flow, we are able to reveal at this time that rats are AC15 and have 5HP.  You have been warned.

Distracted, Tesseryn misses his rat with a mighty swing of his greatsword.  His companions, however, are enjoying far more success with their various combat styles.  He pauses a moment to consider changing his own approach.  Disarming a rat would appear to be rather pointless.  Stomping and kicking appear to be an effective if barbaric method of smiting the rodents, and dicing seems oddly appropriate as well as utterly lethal.  Magic is highly effective but beyond his grasp.  He finds the twirling display of swordpointry both efficient and diverting but doubts he could match it attired as he is.  The rats are upon them again necessitating an end to deliberation and demanding swift action.

Distracted, Tesseryn misses his rat with a mighty swing of his greatsword.... (rolled 14 again)

Cogwitz continues to spin and whirl his blades around in a dizzying fashion.  He strikes out at the rat in front of him and slices first his tail right off and then his front legs.  IT drops to the ground quite dead.


20:55, Today: Cogwitz rolled 15,5,27,5 using d20+11,d3+3,d20+11,d3+3.  Rat attack

Brindle begins the same incantation over again to cast another Sleep spell to thin the plague of rats a bit more.

OOC: The Sleep spell takes a full round to cast (apparently) so the target area will depend on where the next batch of rats are after everyone else has acted this round.

Paladins, it would seem, are better suited to ridding the world of evil than in dealing with rat infestations.  Indeed Tesseryn's mighty blade, which might strike fear in the hearts of those who walk the paths of darkness, proves once more ill-suited to the eradication of the singular rodent that plagues him.

Cogwitz's blades, however, are more than equal to the task and the Halfling uses them with precision and finesse to carve up the creature before him, slaying it handily.

Meanwhile the battle to the rear continues ...

With Brindle's spell leaving the front ranks of rats snoring peacefully, the Halfling begins to cast the same again, while Wrukaog and Leisha resist the urge to dispatch the sleeping rodents, instead waiting patiently for those that follow to come on.  They do not have long to wait.

As one rat dives towards her, Leisha greets it with a powerful swing of her blade, cutting it open and killing it instantly.  At her side Wrukaog meets the second in line with a mighty slap, slamming it into the tunnel wall and leaving it for dead. 

Undeterred the rats continue to attack.  The one facing Tesseryn scrabbles up the Paladin's chest to bite his chin, while Wrukaog is bitten once more, this time on the other leg.  Only Leisha escapes unharmed

Behind them, Brindle hurriedly completes his incantation sending another four rats to the land of slumber, though it seems there is as yet no end to their numbers.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:48, Sun 11 June 2017.

"Move forward. Give Cogzy, Tessy and Aurion a chance to kill the sleepers. Get us closer to the exit too, before the rats swarm forward again," Brindle urges Wrukaog and Leisha as soon as the closest rats fall asleep. "I can only do that one more time."

He starts casting his Sleep spell again.

The orc grunts at Brindle's request. "I can do this all day," he growls, in the tone of one who might use the words 'strategy' and 'bores me' in the same sentence, more than happy to stand his ground and kill the rats as they come.. though if Leisha advances he will follow her lead.

Cogwitz saw just the one rat left and heard the call that there were more behind him, so he quickly slashed his blades out at the remaining rat and prepared to move to aid the others quickly.  His first blade cleanly cuts the rat, but as it moved from his attack his second blade found nothing but air.


21:40, Today: Cogwitz rolled 18,4,14,4 using d20+11,d3+3,d20+11,d3+3.  rat trap.

"I do not like rats," Aurion repeats. Being squashed in a corner has ruled out most of his options, but there is still one that might help.. mouthing the words of a spell, the elf points his finger at the offensive rodents, sending a couple of darts of magical energy their way.

Tesseryn wipes blood from his chin and shrugs off the rat disease.  With great determination and concentration he finishes off Cogwitz's wounded rat.  He glances behind to see whether the rear-front rank have moved forward.  If they have he will move up behind them to dispatch the sleepers.  If not he will move into the rat nest to begin the search at the chewed orc body.

"You look like you're having fun," Leisha acknowledges Wrukaog, "But I'm probably not the best exterminator we have.  I'd gladly trade places with someone."

As Tesseryn finishes off the last rat in the room, she slips past the two of them to leave room for someone else next to Wrukaog.

Tesseryn makes way for Leisha to pass and glances down at Cogwitz.  "Clearly you are a better exterminator than I."  He waits to see Cogwitz choice and will either search the room or take the place next to Wrukaog.

With a swift thrust of his blade, Cogwitz mortally wounds the last rat from the nest, but it falls out of the Halfling's reach before he can end its miserable existence.  Tesseryn, however, takes his time, carefully positioning the point of his greatsword before putting all his weight upon it, skewering the creature.

Despite Brindle's urging, Wrukaog seems happy to hold his ground, whereas Leisha chooses to beat a hasty retreat, leaving Cogwitz to move to the front line beside the big Orc, joining the Paladin in the nest chamber, as Wrukaog waits for two to draw near then stamps them both to paste.

Behind the warriors bold, Aurion looses a pair of missiles of pure magical force which unerringly seek out two of the rats, eliciting loud squeals of pain from the unlucky recipients, and the smell of burned fur, though neither fall.

Indeed, the two leap, or rather limp to the attack, biting at Halfling and Orc with their sharp teeth, only to fall short as both Cogwitz and Wrukaog manage to evade them. And I'm sure everyone is relieved that once more the silver statue of Mitra escapes unscathed from the rats' assault.

Once more Brindle casts his spell of slumbers and another four snarling rats fall asleep.  The pile of dead or dozing rats grows ever higher, yet even more come on from the darkness.

Suddenly you hear voices from somewhere down the tunnel, faint, all but indistinguishable, over the squealing and chittering of the vermin horde, you can make out but one word, voiced with no little alarm and revulsion.

"RATS !"

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Having moved up to the front of the group, Cogwitz now has free reign to slice up some sleeping rats and does so two at a time.

Kill sleeping rat.  Do I need to roll for the coup des grace?

Tesseryn holds his breath as he searches around the orc corpse.

Confident that Wrukaog and Cogwitz have things in hand - and dead certain that Brindle and Aurion will at least shriek if it turns out they don't - Leisha turns her attention to searching the room, too, though leaving the corpse to Tesseryn.

It seemed the chivalrous thing to do, to take the manky corpse himself and leave the slightly less disgusting corners of the rat's nest to Leisha.  "This is only the second orc I've seen, ever.  Wrukaog has kepthimself in far better shape."

Brindle resorts to his wand again to send another quartet of orange-glowing missiles at the rats. He sends two at one healthy rat and one each at the two rats hit by Aurion's missiles, hoping to finish them off.

OOC: Brindle rolled 5,2,2,2 using d4+1,d4+1,d4+1,d4+1.  Magic missile damage.

"Really?" Leisha asks.  "I once spent a month with the Steelfist Clan.  They're a fascinating people - far more intricate culture than many give them credit for, though it is, indeed, rather brutal."

"There are no orcs in Ardania.  I mistook Wrukaog for a goblin-champion of GrumGog.  This Steelfist Clan... were you their prisoner?"

"At least we'll eat well after this!" Wrukaog grins at Cogwitz as he waits for the rats to get close enough. "I like mine crunchy, but the ones I've stamped on should be tender enough for the rest of you!"