With Wrukaog's timely intervention, the serpent pommeled blade is saved from the Paladin's boot and delivered into Aurion's eager grasp.

As Brindle's lights reveal more tunnels ahead and larger chamber to the west, there is movement in the tunnel behind as the Sheriff and his remaining men (3 constables and 2 of the Mayor's guards), having finally disposed of those rats who weren't quick enough to dash past them, arrive on the scene.

"That's my bloody sword !" Merth at the rear yells out in utter surprise as he points at Aurion.  "I've been looking for that for fifty damn years !"

"That's the Mayor's daughter !" one of the guards at the fore points at the dead rat-woman. "They've killed her !" 

If anything, the group now seem even less happy to see you than before when they were trying to catch you to be the main attraction in the ritual sacrifice to Set.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated...

OOC: Is the sheriff armed, i.e.. sword drawn, while all this animated finger-pointing is going on?

Tesseryn's close-cropped head snaps back and forth as he glares between Wrukaog, Aurion and the sheriff, struggling to understand which poses the greatest threat to law and order.

Tesseryn can see a lot of angry faces and finger-pointing but cannot hear a thing.  He steps toward the guardsman who pointed at the rat-woman corpse and disarms him with a swift bind of his own much larger sword.  He waves his spiked right hand in a sweeping gesture intended to convey the meaning of 'collect your fallen and depart immediately by the stairs whence you came'.

06:52, Today: Tesseryn Brightsoul rolled 33 using 1d20+18.  disarm front row guard.

This serpent-headed sword has been in Aurion's family for 5 heartbeats and already he feels a great attachment to it.  He nods his thanks to Wrukaog for saving it from the paladin's boot.

With a hand on Leisha's shoulder to steady himself, Aurion steps up onto the dead wereratess to gain a little height.  He holds aloft his new sword, allowing his sleeve to fall back revealing two snakes winding themselves around the crossguard.  "The Master thanks you for your your long years of faithful service, Merth, and you shall be rewarded, unlike this trollop who sought to better herself delving into the Master's secret abode!  Go now and prepare a feast in the inn, and venture not below ground until we return with the sacrifice!"

It is unclear whether the silent menace of Tesseryn's gesture in effortlessly disarming the guardsman, or the very loud and direct commands that Aurion gives the Sheriff and his depleted forces win the day, but win they do.

With a look of pure venom that silently imparts 'I'll be back to put that blade through your beating heart, mark my words' Merth bows to both the reality of his situation and the possibility that Aurion speaks truth, and orders his remaining constables and the guardsmen ...

"Let's go - we'll see what the major has to say about this !"

And they do so.  Keenly even.

While they don't collect their fallen (indeed the Sheriff's only acknowledgement of those dead is to avoid getting their blood on his boots as he steps over them, while his underlings but stoop to retrieve a purse here and a weapon there, so perhaps collect from them is more accurate) as they back swiftly away, retreating to the staircase and slamming the door behind them, leaving you at last to the peace of the dank tunnels, the bodies of men and wererat and an enormous pile of very large and feral dead rats.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

Finally Brindle smiles after the sherif and his men have gone.

"Well, thank goodness for that!" He sighs.

"What next, my friends? Oomphalos said there were three artefacts, the lion ring, amulet and belt. We now have the first two but he said the minions of Set took the holy belt down to the lower levels. We haven't found a stairway down yet, have we? Shall we go back and ask Oomphalos where it is to be found? Or perhaps he can show us somewhere safe for us to rest long enough for Aurion and me to recover our spells, and for others to regain their strength? What do you all think we should do next?"

Tesseryn notices that Brindle is speaking and pauses only long enough to signal that he cannot hear and that he is going to continue exploring the rat tunnels.  He pushes past Wrukaog and favours Aurion with a sour look as he passes and clanks around the bend into the western opening.

Beaming brightly in reply to the paladin's sulk, Aurion retrieves the scabbard for the serpent-headed sword from its former owner (or, more specifically, the rat-faced thief who, until recently, had possession of the sheriff's sword) and buckles it on. "Well, at least Clique and Claque approve of this weapon. And I do believe the weapon approves of me. For my part I'd be happy to look for the stairs first. I think Oomphalos was somewhat evasive about the exact location of mundane objects like stairs."

He wanders up the passage to the northeast to find stairs...

Tesseryn can't hear a word Brindle says, but it seems the Paladin is keen to explore the tunnels further ... though that may be something he or at least his nose regrets as he enters the large cave that lies to the west.  Indeed the smell tells him as much as the Halfing's dim light that this was the home of many of the plague of large rats whose corpses litter the tunnels outside.  Aside from a natural pool of fouled water to the south east of the area, and the horror of the nest itself, Tesseryn can see nothing of interest here.

Aurion, with the serpent-headed sword safely ensconced in it's scabbard, ranges to the north, to the extremes of the light, and fares a little better even though he comes to a dead end, finding a metal box, rusted tight shut, stuck in a natural alcove of the rocky wall, and, a bit further back, a narrow opening which a quick peek tells him leads to another tunnel.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

"Ah.  The deafening spell has ceased with the demise of the caster."  Tesseryn surmises ( wrongly as it happens).  He leaves the filthy rat nest and turns north and west to explore deeper into the labyrinth.

"Ooo! A treasure chest." Aurion exclaims inticingly to lure thieves to the scene.

Brindle brightens up as soon as he hears Aurion's exclamation and he hurries forward to lend his skills to the quest to check out whatever Aurion has found. He will search the chest for any sign of traps first then endeavour to open it.

Wrukaog sheathes his axe and plays a game with the dead rats - swinging the feet of the silver statue he carries to 'kick' the rats out of the way - as he follows Tesseryn to explore the rest of the tunnels.

Brindle rushes up, with his light, to join Aurion in the eastern alcove where the exciting rusted metal box is located.

A thorough examination by the Halfling uncovers no obvious traps, but the lock appears to have seized and no amount of careful coaxing will loosen it ... but a good pounding with a handy rock soon persuades it and the pair stare in awe at what might be almost four hundred silver pieces within !

Wrukaog and the silver statue of Mitra forge a path through the rat bodies as the big Orc joins Tesseryn, the pair squeezing through the narrow opening to the north-west into the wider tunnel beyond.  The Paladin looks to the west, providing a meticulous description of what lies before him, while Wrukaog, far more succinctly, does the same for the northern portion (in both cases 'tunnels' covers it nicely).

The western end of the tunnel has one opening to the north part way down before it turns north itself ... the northern end of the tunnel has two openings to the west part way down, though one is a dead end, before it turns east, the ground sloping downwards.

Not wishing to be left alone in the dark with all the rat and wererat bodies, Leisha and Cogwitz take up station at the opening, listening for screams and shouts.  And disturbing noises, really.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:12, Wed 18 Oct 2017.

If Tesseryn is afraid of the dark he shows no sign as he strides (clanks) confidently towards the... OOC: my map has not updated, anyone else getting that?

Brindle laughs as the sight of 400 silver coins rewards their efforts with the rusted lock. Then he shrugs and holds open his handy haversack for Aurion to pour the coins inside.

"Maybe I can find a coin collector who hasn't seen this king's head before," he explains. "Or is that the homeliest queen you ever saw?" he wonders aloud, holding up one of the silver pieces.

Once loaded up he will swing the magical haversack back onto his shoulders and take his dancing lights to shed some light for Tesseryn.

Wrukaog looks at the new tunnels for a moment then holds up the silver statue in front of him to discuss their strategy.

"Going down?" he asks.

He tilts the statue back and forth to make it nod its head in agreement.

"Going down!" Wrukaog announces happily as he heads towards the downward-sloping tunnel.

... western passage newly lit by Biindle's lights.  OOC: map good now, must have been a phone thing.

"Obliged, Master Thistlefoot." Aurion is only too happy for Brindle to carry his share for him.

He raises an eyebrow at Leisha and points back towards the rats' nest bypassed to the south. "Leisha, there's some lovely filth down here."

He casts Light on a silver penny with a homely queen depicted thereon and ventures forth to explore deeper into the tunnels, taking the path to the north then the western opening.

With the coins stashed safely away, Brindle is about to dispose of the rusted iron box in a thoughtful fashion when he hears something moving within.  A second look reveals that there are no more coins stubbornly clinging to the interior ... but the Halfling's keen eye spots a concealed catch and ... the false bottom springs open revealing a hidden compartment below and the three gems therein !  The two translucent green and one blue stone go into the capacious pack as well.

The additional light Aurion conjures is most welcome (though Tesseryn and Wrukaog are doing quite well without it), though Leisha does not seem very interested in making another foray into a rats' thicket as she and Cogwitz follow the mage and Brindle through the narrow opening where they stand, bathed in light as the Paladin and Orc head into the darkness.

Tesseryn follows the western tunnel to the end, his nose providing warning of the foul and noisesome rats' nest that greets him at the end, encouraging a hasty retreat, while Wrukaog, with the explicit approval of the silver statue of Mitra heads to the north, the pair realising that the side tunnels both join up.

When he reaches the corner, the Orc is able to confirm that the tunnel definitely leads downwards to the east, at quite an acute slope, if you like that sort of thing.

OOC: Map of the proceedings updated ...

"I suggest we venture forth to verify that this passage does indeed lead to the lower levels.  We may decide to rest thereafter."  Tesseryn leads the way, sword drawn.  However, should someone quieter wish to precede him, he will not object.

Knowing that Brindle can be trusted not to run off with the loot is one thing, but watching the green and blue baubles disappear into that pack does cause Aurion a pang of apprehension. He places a tattooed hand on the halfling's shoulder, "Let His Holiness lead... you're far too valuable." He falls in somewhere in the safer-seeming middle rank.

Brindle grins and nods at Aurion's suggestion. He sends his dancing lights along the northern corridor to light Tesseryn's path. He follows close behind the paladin with his missile wand in hand.

"It really is amazing how much fun it is to shoot magic missiles between a paladin's legs," he  confides to Aurion in a whisper. "I had a ball last time!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Sat 28 Oct 2017.

Wrukaog ignores the lights behind him as he can see perfectly well in the darkened tunnel ahead anyway. He tucks the silver statue under one arm and grips his greataxe in the other hand as he leads the way around the bend and down the sloping tunnel.

Tesseryn follows 30' behind Wrukaog and surrounded by Brindle's dancing lights.  Without a helmet his unmuffled ears catch snippets of conversation not meant for them.  He surreptitiously adjusts his codpiece and marches on.