10. Fun with rats

As they finally stepped on the stairs that was their entrance to the sewers, Herbarth was confident in their plan. Well, it was not much of a plan, to be truthfull. More understanding of how they would fight and what everybodys job was. Hard to plan more, if you do not know what to expect.

They had a good talk about everybodys Class, as Zar´car had always told him, you have to know what the others in your party can and cannot do, or you can never act as a team. He always paid good attention when his adopted uncle gave him advice.

As an example, the others had of course thought that he had one of the Aura Skill Scout Class. That might have made problems later if he hadn´t told them his exact Class. Even if he would act as the scout, his Class was Farsight Ranger. And that was unlike most other Scout Classes a Body Skill Class. Instead of using his Aura he was able to enhance his normal senses. It was much easier to learn new Skills of the same field, he had choosen the Body over the Aura, simply because he just loved his archery. As it is, the Aura Skills were always better for the melee fighter. You couldn´t imbue an arrow, not without loosthanthat part of your Aura which was painfull and dangerous if you do it more then a few times. And all benefits that you could get by infusing your bow, you could also achieve by hard training.

For the job in the sewers, they had decided on some simple formations. For the start, until they found the rat tunnel, he would take the lead, Alexandra was direct behind him, then Gretha, Nick and Rick. Zar´car would follow a few steps behind and hopfully had only to watch. He really wanted to impress him and hoped that he wouldn´t see the need to intervene.

At the tunnel, it was on Gretha to see if we could go in that way, and she would take the lead from that point on, with him next to or behind her.

Finally, if they found themdelf at places with enough room, Gretha, toghether with Nick and Rick would fight in the front row, while Alexandra and himself would secure their backs.

If they needed to fight in narrow tunnels the whole time, they would need to take turns, to not get tired out.

As he stepped through the door at the end of the stairs into the sewers, he concentrated on heightening his sight and hearing. At least he could do the senses all individulaly, it would be a horror if he had to enhance his sense of smell too down here.

He walked onto the walkway and moved forward until the others had enough space to follow. After that he looked back and started gesturing in the sign language of Common. Now as we have planned, Alex and I will take the front, stay back enough, that the reach of your lamps is just behind us.

After that he looked at Alexandra, especially. By now he really believed her about her claim to see in the dark. Her eyes had changed dramatically. Like a cat, the pupils had grown huge and had a shiny glow on them. Stay right behind me and touch my back if you see something. My sight is better than normal in the dark, but not like yours I belive.

The woman nodded and took that strange blade she had in her left hand. Even if he met her only about two bells ago, he felt good having her at his back. She had been open and helpful as they had done their planning. And he thought that she had a good head for strategie.

He just nodded back and started walking down the tunnel, concentrating on his hearing, especially. They had to take a few turns, which he had carefully memorized before coming down, so they would come to their objective with the Mana moving in the opposite direction. As Sar´car had warned them not to underestimate the intelligents of rats, and especially Beastrats. If that tunnel would lead directly to the warren, then there might be some kind of scout or guard. Even if he had no hope to be able to sneak up on such a guard, not with the whole party and in a tunnel that only left two posible ways without any cover, he dindn´t want to lead them into an ambush, either. Suddenly he felt Alexandras hand on his shoulder, so he stopped and looked back. She pointed forward and sighned,

There, about 15 paces forward on the right side, just over the water. It looks like a hole, quite big as if the masenory has fallen in.

He nodded and asked back, Can you see any rats?

She shook her head and he signed to her and the others, Hold the slimes away. I will try to hear if the way is clear.

So, he closed his eyes and tried to boost his hearing as much as possible. It was not easy to ignore all the noices behind him, but after a short while he actully got something from ahead. Slow breathing and the fast beating of a small heart.

There is definitly something ahead! He signed But I can´t pinpoint it´s location. It´s most likely inside the hole, if Alex can´t see it.

Wait, take over the slimes. I want to try something. Alex signed and started to move around him to the front. Not knowing what she wanted to do he did as she asked for now and pushed slimes back in the water.

She got down on one knee and pressed the palm of her hand on the ground. There she steayed for a while motionless bevor standing back up and signed,

Something ahead is using Mana. Not much, but there is fresh Essenz in this Mana wind. I can´t say more. It´s not really in my Class to sense with my Aura, I´m still learning.

He was quite surpriesed that she already had started to learn Skills above her Class Skills. But it didn´t chance the fact, that they didn´t have a clue, were that damm rat was.

What do you think? He asked her, Should we go forward and be carfull, or is it time for the others to take the front?

Alex seemed to think for a moment, then answered. If you are sure that it is just one rat, then our best chance is if I go first, and you touch my back if you hear that it is about two paces away. Nodding, as what she said made sense, he signed her to go on.

Alex walked very slowly forward. There was a big hole in the the wall, much bigger than she had expected for a rat tunnel. Even if she knew that Beastrats could get quite a bit bigger. She tried to scan the whole picture but couldn´t make out any trace of a rat.

As she came closer, she had a better line of sight on that hole. It seemed that the masonery of the sewer tunnel had caved in and in it were a lot of those stones in a heap. But still no rat. As she finaly was opposite of the hole, she felt Herbarths hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and pointed at the hole. He shook his head and pointed down the tunnel.

Somewhere there, it must be nearby. He sighned.

Alex looked again at the tunnel, but still no rat in sight. But there was a pipe coming out of the wall less than two paces ahead of her.

Carfully, she moved up and peeked into it, but she could see only darkness. As she was already searching for other places a rat could hide, a thought crept into her mind. That pipe had been too dark! She had investigated a few of those pipes in the last two days, and she had always been able to look at least half a meter into them under the same conditions. This one pipe had been dark as night after only a handspann.

She turned around and went back to it. With a gesture she told Herbarth to step back a bit and again had a look. Yes, just a handspann in total darkness started like a veil. It could have been a blockage, but a trickle of filthy water was still coming out of it. Carfully, she concentrated on sending her exhaust into the floor and moved her hand by the opening. The itching cribbeling feeling of Essenz was clear, something in there was using Mana.

But assuming it was a Beastrat, using Mana to conseal itself from beeing seen, then it was either waiting to atack them from behind, or it would run and alert the others as soon as we would go into that hole. Non of those options were good for them.

Coming to a conclusion she let go of her normal bodyaugmention and placed herself next to the pipe, then she carfully took hold of part of her Mana. Two seconds should be enough to do the deed, but to be sure she took a fourth of her Mana and infused it with her intent. Five seconds of full boost would do the trick.

As soon as she felt the boost she plunged her right hand into the pipe. Feeling something like wet furr she grabbed it and pulled it out.

With an angry quieck and scratching claws a big black rat came in sight, that tried to bite into her underarm, but was luckyly not getting through her gambeson. She crashed its body onto the walkway and buried her blade in its neck. A few seconds after her boost stopped the franatical fight of the rat did too.

She looked back and saw Herbarth sighning, asking if she was alright. After the rats loud deathscreams she simply said, Don´t think that that is nesessery right now. If there were others near us, they would have heard us by now. But I´m okay, thank you for asking.

She pointed at the hole, Why don´t you have a look if the way is clear for Gretha to inspect the tunnel. Then she took a closer look at the dead rat. It was easily half a meter long, with tail and not verry thick. It reminded her a little more of a ferret than a rat. Nasty teeth, that had her very happy with her gambeson, as they had bitten cleanly trough the leather of her bracers. But as they were stopped by the spiedersilk she had only felt some pain from the power of the bite and a smal bruise was forming on her skinn. She looked up, Gretha had followed Herbarth to the hole and asked: I have forgotten to ask, what are we doing with the corpses?

Well, the bounty on rats is just a few coppers, said Rick, he and Nick were on slime duty as it seemed, Beastrats might be higher, but I don´t know. With that he looked questioning at the figure of Zar´car who was looking over them from a few steps back.

Not really. Zar´car said They are included in the money you get for the whole job. You could bring them to the A.S.S. for a Lootritual, but you might even lose money there. Not much to get out of rats at that level.

If you are okay with it, I get rid of it. Alex said, Don´t want to carry it.

As the others didn´t want it either, she pulled out her Dryadblade and after sticking it in the back of the rat she filled the hilt with her Mana.

It was not the first time she had seen it, as she had found a shortly awakend rabbit on her way to that first town, but it was fazinating all over again. The rat did go through a speed up mumification prozess, as her blade greedily trank all fluieds out of its body. With the final expulsion of Essenz into the suroundings it crumbled into nothing more than dust. The blossom on its hilt stayed closed, as it would need a lot more to make an Essenzcrystall.

What the fuck did you do with it? Came from Nick in a shocked voice. She looked at him and answerd, Oh, it´s just a small Ritual in this knife. It gives the Essenz of a dead Beast back to the world. To Nature.

It looked a little creepy. Said Rick

Don´t worry, it´s just something that is based on a natural ability of my mother. I don´t know how it works but it is absolut save to use. At least for me. How is it going there? She asked Herbarth to change the subject. He was in the opening, watching over Gretha who was on all fours in the rat tunnel.

I can´t hear anything in there, he answered, but I don´t know more jet. How is it, Gretha?

Gretha pulled her head out of the hole, balanced on the stones of the inward fallen wall and said, It gets narrower after just a step. I don´t think we will fit.

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Have you an idea how far it goes? Asked Herbarth.

At least five paces, maybe more. If I have to widen it and make sure that it doesn´t come down on us I´m either completle out of Mana or it will need a bell or two. Maybe even more if the tunnel is longer.

Herbarth looked at the others, and a bit longer at Zar´car as if he hoped that sombody else would decide. Alex thought about it and as nobody else spoke said.

Fuck it! We are faster if we find out in which building that tunnel must go and go through the door. She looked at Zar´car asking, But I have no clue how we go about that, can we just go into some warehouse? I mean like just saying we are on a quest to kill vermin and no worrys, what are the rules for that?

Okay, first that is the right decision, never crawl throug a narrow tunnel if you do not know what is waiting on the other side. Your next move must be to find the right warehouse. Herbarth, you are the scout, how do you plan to do that?

Herbarth scratched his head thinking and said, Well, if I´m not wrong, then are those sewer tunnels right under the streets, at least most of them. If we go back to the stairs, count our steps and take note of the turns, then we should be able to repeat that above ground and find the right building.

After the trainer nodded the two wanted to leap back to the walkway, but Zar´car stopped them, Wait! You have forgotten one thing, does anybody know what?

They all had no clue and said so.

That tunnel is most likely an emergency exit. It might not be the only one, but at least this one you can block now. Always look for ways to make your job easier and safer.

They waited for a short while, until Gretha had filled the end of the tunnel with the fallen bricks and used her Skill to fuse them together. After their trainer inspected her work, they finally made their way back above ground.

It took not long to find the right warehouse, they were big, at least 50 meters long. Zar´car walked up to one of the smaler doors on it where a man was leening at the wall and then told them.

So, you have now identified the place. Normally your next move would be to get back to the A.S.S and they will notify the owner. As it is not on city ground like the sewers the owner has to either pay for the extermination or do it themselves.

As it is, with that he pointed at a seal on the door and the man, this building is at the moment sealed by the Duckes Court because some kind of ilitigation, so Mr. Farnholt here is here to let us in and seal the place up again after we are done. Any questions? No? Ok, then get ready and we go in.

He nodded to the man who then broke the seal and opend the door with a key.

Behind the door was a staircase, a door leeding into the warehouse’s first floor, as well as stairs going up and down. They had been told there would be two floors and a basement on their way here, and they had decided to clear it from the top downwards, so they took the stairs up with Gretha and the twins taking the lead.

After opening the door to the second floor they could already smell the rat infastation. The smell of feces and piss was heavy in the air.

Fuck! How long is this thing sealed up? Asked Nick, Can´t tell me that nobody had noticed that smell.

Half a year, as far as I know. Zar´car answerd from behind.

Behind the door the twins flanked Gretha on both sides, and they moved onto the floor. It was quite dark but as they still had their lamps from the sewers they managed and Alex had no problem seeing at all. Under the triangular roof was one big room stacked high with small wooden boxes on palettes. At the other end of that floor was a big hole above which were hanging some ropes and pulleys. Small pellets of shit lay everywhere and from between and behind all those boxes you could hear rats moving and gnawing at stuff.

Do we know what´s in those crates? Asked Hwerbarth.

No! We would only get that information if there was anything dangerous stored. Answered Zar´car. As Alex could still see in the twilight in between those boxes she cought sight of a few of the rats.

As far as I can see there are normal rats in there. She said looking into different spaces, And they are really fat. I mean obese. They have chewed up the wood of most of those crates in there. Perhaps there is something eatable in them.

There was a loud creaking sound from behind her, but it was just Nick, who had pulled the naild down lid of one of the crates.

No wonder, there are emergencie rations in here, he said If those are in all those boxes, and I think so, as they are looking all the same, then it´s every rat dreamland up here.

Yes, but not for the Beastrats. Herbarth said, They would not care for those rations, as there is next to no Essenz in them. They can eat it to not starve, but they would want something better.

Well, they have all they need here. Alex spoke up. I´m pretty sure that rats are canibals. With all those fat rats here, they can only thrive. Let’s have a look around and then go down to the first floor.

They walked down the length of the attic, not killing a single rat. Those stayed far away between the boxes and they weren´t here for those normal rats. They could be someones else problem. At the hole with the pulleys, they found a second staicase, that was open stairs at the backside of the shaft that went down until the basement.

The first floor was mostly empty and didn´t had much shit on it. There were some palettes with metall ignots on them, copper and iron from the looks of it, and they had much better sight thanks to the small narrow windows high up the wall. They used the chance to get a first glance at the basement through the wide shaft. As they were abel to shine down with their lamps everybody had the posibility to form a picture of the situation.

And it was not a pretty picture. They could see only the first few paces of the basement, but it was already clear that this was the right place. Not only did the dense coating of shit gave it away, but there were a lot of small bones down there too. There had been some storage too, but what they could see had been torn apart, and only splinters of wood and stuff they couldn´t recognize from up here remained.

I should have brought my bow anyway. Said Herbarth sounding unhappy. But I thought we would fight in narrower enviroment. Let´s go down. Same formation as before, Gretha front and middle, Nick and Rick take the flanks and Alexandra and I have your backs.

Eager to get it done nobody argued and they followed the stairs downward.

At the bottem they first took a better look, while they still got a wall to their backs. The basement was in utter chaos. As it looked there had been either crates or palettes of hides stored down here. But it was all torn apart and pulled together in a giant heap, that filled the last pehaps ten paces of the room. As they had both better sight than the others, Herbarth and Alex could see the glimmer of small eyes that watched them from different holes in the warren.

I count five that are peering at us right now. Spoke Herbarth and looked askingly at Alex.

Six! Countered Alex, Do you see the small clump at the wall to our left, just a few paces before the warren. It´s too dark. I bet it´s another one of those sneaky ones like the one in the sewer pipe. I think it waits to attac us from behind.

Okay, even if I don´t see what you mean, that´s a damm big warren. How do we get them out of there. Asked Gretha.

I think we can rely on their indtinct to fight for their teretory. Herbarth said. If we go there and start pulling the warren apart they have to either attac or flee. If the tunnel we blocked was their only way out from there they would have only the choice to attack.

I would say we go forward, I get a throwing knife in that dark spot as soon as we are near, to see if Alexandra is right, and then it will best if Gretha and I start pulling the warren apart, and you guys get the rats when they come at us. You are better for the job, as you have longer blades.

Wait a moment. Alex said and pulled her backpack down and pulled out a shovel and an ax. Here take these, better then going at it with your bare hands.

Wow, you have a spartial bag? Came from Gretha.

Yes, but it´s only the cheapest kind. No weight reduction at all.

Hey of course, the better ones cost a fortune. Gretha said. I wished I had that kind of money, but the small one I have for my stone reserve has cost me all my savings but the wight of it can do terrible things to my balance. She still padded the small bag at her belt lovingly.

It´s nice that we have two rich fellas in our group, but we should get to it. Said Nick and pointed at the warren. Gretha and Alex nodded fast and so they moved on.

As they had moved to the middle of the room, Herbarth hurled a knife at the darkest little heap on the left side. A loud squeak proved that Alex had been right. Another one of the sleek ferret like Beastrats was suddenly to see, bleeding from the knife. Even injured it tried it´s best to attack them, but Rick disposed it with a fast blow with his short sword.

After that they saw five big burrley Beastrats, each easy the size of a dog, run at them. While Gretha let the shovel fall to the ground and melt some stones over her hands and arms, the others readyed their weapons and Herbarth gripped the ax in both hands.

Luckyly they were not outnumbered, so they had no problem stopping the assault.

Gretha slammed her right fist into the wide-open mouth of the first rat, and just started to pummel its head with her right. The twins had both their own style, but no problem in stopping one rat each. Nick welcomed his opponent with a hard kick to the neck, that let the rat collided with another one running beside it, while Rick took a fast step forward burrying his sword up to the hilt in the rats cheast. After that he just let go of it and sidestepted the already dieing Beast. Herbarth was lucky, as Nicks rat had knocked his to the side and out of balance, so he had no problem with choping it in the neck with the ax.

As for Alex, not to be outclassed, she pulled on a tenth of her Mana for a short two second boost. With the slowing of time in her perception, she was able to make an elegant trust of her sword, through the open mouth direct into the brain.

After that it just needed a quick stap from Nick into his downed opponent and a few awfull sounding hits of Grethas stone enclosed fist to end this fight. And except of some cracks in the stone of Grethas left hand they hadn´t even gotten a scratch from it.

After some good ginning and nervous laughter, they got over their slight shock of the speed of their encounter. A second or two of high adrenelin that had felt like at least four times as long. Slowly they moved up to the warren, were neither of them could make out any trcace of other Beastrats now. Herbarth boosted his hearing and listend carfully for anything.

There is some wild scratching from deep inside. I think they are trying to open the tunnel we closed. He spoke. We better get to them before they get around the plug.

He gestured in the direction he had heard the noices from. He and Gretha got going hacking and pulling at the disgusting creation of wood, hides and shit, while the other three stayed ready for an attac.

It didn´t take long, as the warren was just a pile of loosly piled up stuff, until the rats had either given up on their escape or were too enraged. Three of the sleeker kind and one that was at least the size of a german shepard broke out of the mess and tried to hurl themselves at Gretha and Herbarth.

One of the sleeker ones was able to tackle Herbarth, who had to let go of the ax which was stuck in part of the warren. Falling back, he was able to hold it back with his left arm and pull out one of his knives. The other two were intercepted by Nick and Rick.

As she saw that Gretha would not have the time to get her stone armor ready, Alex infused a five second boost and tackled the big one from the side. Ramming it with full force with the full length of her lefthanded blade she was able to chance it´s direction enough, so it didn´t collide with Gretha. As the sheer mass of that rat still got it going forward, it got sliced open by the outside curved blade near her ellbow nearly over its whole length. Losing a lot of blood and its innards it still was able to stop its momentum and turn around, but by then Gretha stabbed it with the shovel as if she were holding a spear. That shovel didn´t do much in itselve to the thing, but together with her weight and strength behind it, Gretha was abel to push the rat to the floor, imobilisating it. A chance Alexandra didn´t wast and burried her sword in the skull of the Beast. Forcfully turning the blade in the wound Alex looked at the others, but they seemed to have it handled, so she buried the forward faceing blade in her left hand too and watched the last twitches of the rat as she came down from her boost. For herselve she made a fast acounting of her reserves and estimated that she still had half her Mana, so another ten second boost or some healing if necesarry.

Is everyone okay? She asked as the last rat had stoped moving. Does anybody need healing?

I do! Herbarth said his face showed his pain as he held his left arm. As no one else said anything she got to him and sliced open his shirt and looked at the wound. His arm was badly ripped open, just halfway from the ellbow to his hand. The rat must have gotten him good, but she shuddered with the thought, what would be if it had gotten to his throat. Remembering that she had heared, that those awakend rats got a poisinous bite sometimes she got some long stripes of linen from her belt pouche and bound them tight dirct under his ellbow, to stop circulation.

Did we get all of them? She asked the others. It´s not lifetreatining, but I need a cleen save place to treat that. I could do it here, but only in an emergency with all that shit here.

No, that was all of them. Zar´car interfered. I would hear if there were more. Get him up on the first floor and we will get those rats together and come too.

Above she had Herbarth sitting down on one of those piles of metall bars, and first cleaned his wound with some high-proof spirit she had bought for that. Even with magic it was just smarter to not forget the most basic rules of woundcare. The injury looked bad. Ripped and torned open skinn and muscles. She carfully pressed together what should be together and then bound it together with more strips of fabric, so it stayed there.

After that she started to send her Mana and aura into his arm. First, to just look for damage she hadn´t seen, like at the bone, tendons and nerves, and for some clue to any poison in the wound. Luckyly she could´t find any, so she slowly started to circulate her Mana through his flesh, knitting back together what had been torn apart so violently.

After a while she loosened the bindings again and gave his arm another wash with the alcohol.

There you go! All together as it should be, and a new scar to entice the ladys with. She said, and as she now saw that the others where up here to, she asked Zar´car. So, what is next?

We take those to the A.S.S. and then you are all finished for the day. He said, pointing at the ten rats they had bound to two longer wood sticks they must have found somwhere. You all did good!

Okay, but there is one more thing. Alex said and everybody looked at her. After the A.S.S. we go for a drink. I´m paying.