Angelista is weirded out by the manner of healing, so she walks off into the night. The night is otherwise uneventful. The next day, they make it to Káddrakos, after finding old caterwaul dung around midday, of which Grignok takes some.
Tulip has taken up a residence in the Winking Friar at Káddrakos. Honsou and Felcanis recognize her. Felcanis chats her up and asks her to come along, and she agrees. She mades 12 copper for the night, short change from the gnomes.
Honsou pickpockets the gnomes for 25 copper. A stooped gnome woman with wooden teeth comes up to him. "Hey, s-s-sonny, you look like my kind of boy." She leans over to his ear and whispers, "I know you have sticky fingers, dearie."
Honsou says, "Okay who doesn't?"
She says, "Who doesn't is right. Don't worry, your secret is s-s-safe with me."
Honsou asks, "Is this going to cost me?"
The woman laughs, and leads him to a booth. "S-s-s-s-sonny, I have a deal you might like. I have a few silver-coated spears that f-f-f-fell off a wagon a few weeks ago. You look like you might be the kind to want them. I think I can part with them for 100 copper each."
Honsou says, "I'll take a look at them first."
She shows off the array of spears. She has six. All the spears have a silver-plated point. One shaft has the word 'BRITNEY' carved into it. He can't get her to lower her price. The gnome woman sells him one of the spears, not the one marked "Britney." "Thank you, b-b-b-b-b-b-sonny."
The next morning they go back the way they came. It's generally clear today, a little bit warmer. Not far from the caterwaul shit, they spy a short person. He's a dwarf with no earlobes, and he scowls at them. "Stay away from my home! Especially you, orc! Watch it! I'm one of the Queen's Men!"
Tulip says, "I don't remember asking you where you work."
Grignok says, "You're a queen? I thought you were a Dwarf."
The dwarf says, "I'm no wet boy, orc!"
Grignok says, "Of course not, you're a dry dwarf. I'm the Casumaorc!"
Honsou tells everyone to calm down, but Grignok says he is calm, and that "NoWetBoy" is the upset one. He asks where the dwarf's home is, so that they can stay away, and the dwarf says that it's an old church to the south. Tulip says they'll steer clear of that. The dwarf says, "You do that, pointy-eared lembas muncher." This bothers Tulip greatly.
Grignok and the dwarf talk about theology. The dwarf says he worships Máhal, and that Grignok is "proof that Máhal has a sense of humor." Grignok says nobody is greater than the mother of the land, the Great Mork, and the dwarf says, "Mork can go back to Orson!" The dwarf storms off.
Honsou and Tulip choose to loot the dwarf's church while Grignok wants to teach him of the overlordship of the goddess Mork. So, Grignok turns into a panther and tracks the dwarf. The dward doesn't make much effort to hide his trail, so they follow him easily. Sure enough, he goes back to what looks like an old church. It looks like the church in Little House on the Prairie, only wrecked. There are a few broken windows. Tulip notices that the church is a no-mana zone, so her spells won't work. This bothers Tulip greatly.
The dwarf stands at the door. "What the hell are you all doing here? Go away, goat turds!" Honsou says they only want to see the church, but the dwarf says it's a wreck. Grignok slinks around to the back side as they talk. Honsou and Tulip ask to go inside, but the dwarf won't let them inside without paying him. Honsou asks how he wants them to pay him, and he shakes his head. "You're so simple that you couldn't sell a pie to a starving hobbit." He looks up. "Coin, how else?" After a few more words, he goes back inside and slams the door, then you hear him slamming something else. "Gah!"
Grignok jumps onto the roof and starts clawing it. Honsou climbs in through a broken window. Honsou can see him sit down on an old pew and sigh. "I so give up." Honsou creeps towards the door. Tulip keeps insulting the "half-shaved owl bear," and the dwarf mutters aloud, "Why is that tree-dweller still out there yelling at me?"
Tulip yells back, "Shut up, you dirt midget!"
Honsou opens the door, and the dwarf notices him, as the door isn't quiet. "Argh! Get out!" Grignok breaks through the roof, then tries to fall on the dwarf. He hears Grignok, then runs past Honsou and into the wild. "They're summoning pumas in my church!"
Tulip yells after him. "Yeah! Run away, you hairy brewery!"
Grignok runs around the church, knocking things over. Honsou searches, and finds seven silver pennies hidden in the lectern. He takes the money. Otherwise, there is just standard camping gear: kettle, wood axe, bedroll, that kind of stuff. Honsou takes that, too.
Grignok turns into an orc again. Honsou and Tulip talk about burning down the church. Felcanis isn't down with that, and neither is Grignok. The dwarf isn't far away, and yells out "No!" as he hears them ransack his home. "What the hell are you doing?" Honsou and Tulip heckle him some more as they tell him truthfully they're ransacking him, and the dwarf sobs. "Please stop! I'm sorry, I really am! How do you make money burning down my home?" Grignok poops on the steps to his church, then gets up, leaving an orc-sized green turd.
The dwarf rushes inside towards the lectern. "Please, I have four silver! I'll give it to you if you leave me alone!" Honsou shows the dwarf the coins, and he looks a little guilty and miffed as he sees the seven silver Honsou took. "Seems you found it." He goes inside, walks to the lectern, and looks. "Damn it!"
Honsou adds, "I also have your survival supplies."
The dwarf slams his open palm against the door frame. "Please, take my money, but leave my supplies!" Honsou asks if the dwarf has any more money, and the dwarf says, "That's it! I hunt pelts and bring them to town, and sometimes get a bounty. And I haven't gotten a bounty in awhile! You even took my bedroll!" Grignok asks him about the wood axe, and he says it's mostly for chopping up downed trees for firewood.
Grignok nods. "Hmm, that pleases Grignok. You are dumb, but wise. Why this place smell so funny?"
The dwarf realizes something. "Oh, I need to dump the honeypot." He goes and gets a big wooden bucket, then takes it outside. A minute or so later, he comes back. "Smell better now?" This doesn't sate Tulip, so he lets her take his bucket.
Grignok punches the dwarf in the arm. "We just picking with you, puny dwarf." Honsou and Tulip, however, still want to take the dwarf's stuff.
The dwarf sits on a broken pew and hangs his head down, sobbing. "I can't believe this. I have to turn to an orc for common sense!"
Grignok says, "Not all orcs are bad."
Tulip taunts, "Good, cry, you lumberfoot."
The dwarf wails, "I don't even know what that means!"
Grignok tells him, "It means your foot is made of wood. Or it's a weird Boy Scout rank." The dwarf throws him atop the stuff the murderhoboes don't take, and the murderhoboes take off.
A few hours later they see a wrecked hut with a wolf tree growing near it. The hut is little better than a thatched teepee, with the roof caved in.
Honsou pokes his head in. It's kinda moldy-smelling, and there's nothing much there.
They hear some buzzing in a hole under the roots of the tree. Tulip goes to check out the buzzing. Some swarms of wasps come out and sting her for several seconds as she runs. Grignok casts Windstorm to make the wasps fly elsewhere, and Felcanis casts Major Healing on her. "Don't do it again."
As they get near evening, they start to see the dead wood and lack of animals that signals you're near Dībités Rock. Grignok can tell that nature is weak here. Past the trees they spot four men on horseback. Tulip looks at their banners. She thinks these riders are from the land of Dis Knee, and must have singing animals with them.
Honsou walks back by the mule. Grignok hides behind a tree. Felcanis casts Shield on Tulip. The riders move towards them. Honsou aims at the rear rider, Grignok starts casting Animate Plant, and Felcanis casts Armor on Tulip, then Sunbolt as the riders get nearer.
One rider rides up to Felcanis and misses, while another rider rides up to Tulip and misses. Honsou shoots a rider, but the arrow sticks in his mail and doesn't get through. Felcanis steps back and tosses Sunbolt at the rider, burning him. Tulip sings that the nearest rider is a douche, stunning him. She then casts Panic, making the two riders flee. When the other two come near, they bug out, too.
Felcanis casts Lend Energy to help Tulip. Honsou shoots a rider as they bolt. Grignok finishes casting Animate Plant. "Come to me, servants of the forest!" The riders flee harder as they see the lumbering tree.
It's the evening so they camp for the night, an uneventful night. The next morning, they go into the dungeon, trekking down the tunnel out for an hour until they reach a room.
Grignok dons shiny battle armor. "It would be nice to have warrior woman here." He casts Partial Shapeshifting (Panther Paws); Felcanis casts Continual Light at torchlight level on Honsou's helmet. Grignok is no coward, but understands going first is hurtful.
Grignok checks out the passage. Ahead, there is a cliff that goes down about 10 feet. it has loads of handholds, but isn't mule-friendly. He heads back to group. "Hey, guys, come check out this cliff! It's far!"
Straight ahead Grignok sees a cavern wall. To the left, he sees a big spot with some kind of liquid, and what looks like a pond beyond this. To the right, he sees a cavern with a cliff there, too.
Honsou and Felcanis realize that the clerics led them through the area to the right. There is an empty metal trunk there that was there before. a rusty chain is linked to it, with the nearly-mummified corpse of a lizard of some kind.
They go left and see water. Near the edge of the water is a black glowing liquid in a shallow pit. Honsou jumps in while Tulip and Felcanis touch it, all get black goo on them. It does nothing, but Felcanis thinks this is some kind of alchemical goo. Some wizard was doing something with it eons ago and doesn't seem to have been finished.
Grignok goes up to the water and he casts Body of Slime. His armor falls to the ground and he turns into big green blob of goo, a grabasstic piece of amphibian shit. He jumps in the water and starts swimming.
He goes through the passage at the far end of the pool and into another pool. To the right there is a tunnel of some kind under the water. He swims through that passage, which goes for a bit, then into another cavern. He climbs out, there is a bridge here, and some old remnants of carts. If he pulls one, it will probably fall apart.
While this is going on, Felcanis notices a passage to HER right. Then she sees a big blob of slime walk out of it. Grignok ends his spell and says, "Honsou, bring me warrior armor!"
They go right and see some carts, a stream, some rocks going all the way to the ceiling and blocking the way, and a bridge across the stream. Not much is on the carts. There might have been some food or bags once, but now its dust. Once they get to the bridge, they see the passage on the other side once on it, as well as stairs going down on their bank.
They go athwart the bridge. Many bones of small rodents lie along the floor, as does the shed skin of a small snake. The follow the cavern, and after a bit it turns right, and starts being paved. There is a short flight of stairs down, ending in a door.
The door is not trapped or locked, so Honsou opens it. The door opens into a room. A rough stone altar sits on its four round legs on a one-step dais. Standing to the left are three skeletons, with grey bones, and axes and shields. They start coming towards them.
Honsou steps and readies his bow. The skeletons move forward. Grignok moves backwards. Felcanis starts casting Turn Zombie. Tulip draws her rapier and steps. Honsou pulls out an arrow, then moves. and the skeletons move forward. Felcanis keeps casting right behind Grignok. Tulip moves.
Honsou steps and shoots a skeleton, but the arrow gets in its shield. It tries to shield slam right back, but Honsou dodges. Another skeleton does the same, slamming down Honsou. One rushes towards Grignok, who grabs the skeleton. Felcanis casts Turn Zombie, and a skeleton flees. Tulip moves.
Honsou goes to kneeling. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp tries to break free but cannot. The other skeleton misses Grignok. Grignok keeps gripping the skeleton, and sees that its bones are made of stone. Felcanis and Tulip up.
Honsou pulls out his knife, rises, and stabs at the skeleton, but it blocks. Tulip stabs her rapier at it but can't get to the marrow of its stone bones. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp tries to break grapple again but fails, and the other skeleton misses Honsou. Grignok increases his grapple on the skeleton he holds. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Honsou.
Honsou knifes the skeleton but it blocks again. Felcanis swings but it blocks her mace, and Tulip hooks her sword to its axe. The skeleton swings at Honsou but he parries. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp tries to wiggle free but fails. Grignok squeezes tighter on the skeleton in his hands.
Honsou stabs the skeleton but can't get through its bone. It unbinds his axe from Tulip's sword. She tries to hook her sword to its again, but cannot. Felcanis swings at it but it blocks her mace. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp fails to break free and stumbles. Grignok squeezes tighter on the skeleton.
Honsou stabs the skeleton but it parries. It tries to hit Felcanis but she parries. She smashes it, but it blocks Tulip trying to disarm it. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp cannot wiggle away from Grignok, but he can't grip it tighter.
Honsou disarms the skeleton and its axe flies near Tulip. It tries to shield bash Honsou but misses. Felcanis smashes it but cannot get through its bones. The skeleton in Grignok's grasp cannot get free, so he shoves it onto his claws and it splinters.
Honsou and Tulip both try to de-shield the skeleton but fail. It slams its shield into Grignok cannot hurt him, so Grignok grabs it. Felcanis smashes it with her mace. Tulip tries to cut off its shield again but misses. Everyone starts piling onto it and after a few seconds, Grignok smashes it.
After they rest up, Honsou opens the door to the left. They see the skeleton Felcanis turned cowering in the corner to the right.
With the door open, they see a bend in the tunnel. To the right, there is a door. They see a cabinet at the bend ahead. Honsou checks out the cabinet, and sees that the cabinet is empty. There is a small box under the top of the cabinet that has a hole in it, with some wear around the hole. He thinks that this was once an acid trap, but someone triggered it.
The hallway slants down and they walk around the bend, now walking parallel to the last hallway. Ahead, there is a crossroads, and to the left, before the crossroads, there is a hallway with stairs. The left hallway at the intersection ends in a door after a few feet.
They go to the door, and Honsou unlocks it. Beyond the door is a room with an old forge. Honsou spots some movement inside the forge, like little things wiggling. He sticks his hand in, and he feels a strange burrowing under his skin, with two holes on his forearm. Felcanis rushes to his side and sees that the holes are where two rot grubs had bit him. She grabs a pen knife from her first aid kit and cuts them out, then casts Major Healing on Honsou to heal the damage she did cutting them out.
They go down the hallway that was to the right when they reached the crossroads, and reach a room with a big table and benches alongside. Honsou checks for food, and no, there's the dust from bread, but even the mold has died. They go back to the crossroads and straight ahead from where they got to it. At the end of the hall, there is a long portcullis to the left, with wide gaps between the bars big enough for the seven hellshots behind it to move through.
Honsou readies his bow. Two hellshots try to slam Grignok but he steps away from one and parries the other with his hand. The others move towards the portcullis. Grignok starts casting Windstorm. Felcanis readies her mace. Tulip readies her rapier.
Honsou nocks an arrow and shoots it at a hellshot, but it bounces off the thick skin. One hellshot tries to stab Grignok with its spear, but he steps away. Another stabs Felcanis, and wounds her chest. A third comes from between the portcullis bars and slams into Honsou, while a fourth does the same to Tulip, but doesn't hit her hard enough to hurt. A fifth one tries to slam into Felcanis, but she dodges and it slams into the wall.
Grignok casts Windstorm, making a mini-tornado, and most of the hellshots fall down, other than the ones outside its winds and the one standing in the middle. Two of their spears go flying out of the tornado and hit the walls. Felcanis steps away. Tulip stabs one in the innards, but can't get through its skin, then steps back.
Honsou steps back and shoots at a hellshot nearby, but the arrow goes flying in the tornado. The hellshot in the eye of the storm stays put. Another tries to slam Honsou, but he steps away, while a third stabs Felcanis, nicking her. Grignok moves the tornado, nocking down two more hellshots, and one loses his spear, which flies over Honsou's head. Felcanis moves away. Tulip tries to stab a downed hellshot in the innards, but misses. Honsou shoots a standing hellshot in the guts with a bodkin arrow, and it gets through.
One hellshot stabs Grignok and nicks him. Another starts to stand up. The others are stuck in the tornado. Grignok moves the tornado, knocking down the last standing hellshots, and the others beat the snot out of the hellshots over the next few seconds, killing them.
Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding and Major Healing on herself. She casts Minor Healing on Honsou after a failure.
They find nothing in the room behind the portcullis. They rest up, then go back past the crossroads and up the stairs.
An old workshop overlooks the stairs. There are some rotten saw horses, and an old workbench with a rusted saw on it. Honsou takes the saw. Ahead is a hallway that turns, as well as a door. Beyond the door is a privy with four dead bodies.
Honsou finds a glass vial filled with brindled mint-green fluid on one of the bodies. Felcanis thinks this is a Major Healing Potion. She drops a couple of drops from the potion on the body, and it leaves a couple drops of green splotches with little faded bits of brown.
In the hall there is a slot running along the floor on the left side of the hall. It is 6 inches wide, 6 inches deep, and has a deeply rounded bottom. It runs the length of the hallway in this area. Down the hall, they see a hallway to the right, with a stairway going up in it. Ahead of them they see a couple of bunkbeds with the mattresses rotted away.
They go up the stairs to the right. At the top of the stairs, there is a door, and Honsou unlocks it. Beyond the door is an old room where folks kept weapons, and there are still rusty blades here. Honsou takes a big rusty knife.
On the wall to the right of where they came into the room is an opening to another room, with four alcoves—the one leading into this room, and three others. The iron frames of three bunkbeds in here, one in each alcove. They find nothing in the beds but Honsou sees that if he moves the bed on the far wall, something will happen. So Honsou moves the bed, and the wall slides.
Beyond the wall is a room with three cabinets ahead and to the right, and a way out to the left. Between the hoboes and any of this is a beast with many little legs and a ten-foot long segmented body. Eight writhing two-foot long tentacles come out of its head, right below its mandibles and toothy mouth. A stench of rotten meat is all over this beast.
The carrion crawler moves towards the group. Honsou gets out his bow. Grignok starts casting Lightning. Felcanis casts Sunbolt. Tulip holds her rapier before her.
Honsou shoots and his bodkin arrow gets in the innards of the carrion crawler. Grignok finishes casting Lightning. Felcanis tosses the Sunbolt at the crawler, but it flies past and bursts beyond it.
The carrion crawler's tentacles flail at Honsou, but do not land. Grignok moves around. Felcanis starts casting Sunbolt. Honsou pulls out his rusty knife and stabs, but misses.
The carrion crawler's again tentacles flail at Honsou, and again do not hit him. Grignok tosses Lightning at the crawler, burning it and stunning it. Felcanis finishes casting Sunbolt.
Honsou stabs at the crawler, and nicks it. It steps back. Grignok grapples the crawler. Felcanis lobs Sunbolt at the crawler, burning it. Tulip steps and stabs the crawler, nicking it.
Honsou stabs at the crawler, nicking it. Grignok keeps holding it tighter. Tulip tries to stab it, but can't get through its armor.
The carrion crawler's tentacles try to touch Honsou, but cannot. From there, Felcanis shield bashes it, Honsou and Tulip poke at it, and Grignok squeezes it. After a few seconds, Grignok rips its head off. He smears some of its guts on his cheek bones.
The room itself has a wrecked trophy case along the far wall to the right, with one trophy still in it as it is bolted to a plank. The trophy is a brass one of a man throwing a big ball from an underhand pose.
In the case is a small trunk as well. Honsou thinks taking or opening the trunk will trigger something. Grignok lifts the trunk, and falls seven yards into a pool of water. He summons an air elemental and it lifts him out, then shakes an airy finger at him.
Also in the trophy case is a small chest. In it are two bronze rings, a 3-kt iolite, a 4.5-kt ruby, and 25 copper farthings.
After some rest, they delve to the left and walk a few yards before the hallway turns towards the right. It then angles upwards, and they find themselves at the bottom of a well. Honsou looks around, and there are no coins, and no sunlight coming down.
Honsou can easily climb up the well; it isn't deep. At the top, it looks somewhat familiar. He sees they are underground, like a massive rock is covering a whole human settlement. Ahead and to the right is a big door. After a few minutes of looking around, he realizes this is the level right under the keep.
He wanders ahead and comes to a small house. He remembers the door here is heavy and locked, but cannot pick the lock so pours some acid onto it. As it burns, he goes to get the others. To bring the others up, Grignok summons an air elemental.
Once the acid has burned through the lock, Honsou opens the door. Inside the room, there is a woman in armor. She is stocky with a cleft chin and straight chestnut brown hair over her ears and her nose is broken and bloodied. The woman says, "Hoo are doo? My dame is Mēnébē." Grignok conjures a bit of wind to make his handsome orc hair flow. Mēnévē looks at him. "Wat da fung is dat orc? Dose fuggez bead me up and fugged dup my dose wen dey grabbed me!"
Grignok asks, "Grabbed you for what? I can get your nose fixed if ya like."
Mēnévē shrugs, "Beez da fugg owda me! I was dust passing drough da woods and saw da dead drees. Ow you gonna fix my fuggin dose?" Grignok asks Felcanis to heal Mēnévē's nose, but Felcanis says doesn't know the Restoration spell. "Fug id. Dere's nuddin here 'cept in da one doom. Don't go indo da one doom. My buddy Ádilos wen in dere an 'e poofed. Dere's a drunk in dere, but is a drap. You step in an poof you fuggin gone."
The gang goes into the next room, then opens the door to the right in that about which room Mēnévē told them. First Honsou steps in, and he disappears, then the others follow, though Mēnévē does not.
All of them show up before a marble altar shape of a box, with a big slab under it, sitting on the floor, with a wall on the other side. Honsou tries lifting the altar, but it's too heavy. After some chatter, Felcanis thinks the altar heals. She leads Bill up to it, and he vanishes. Once he does, Grignok lies down on the altar to save Bill, and also vanishes.
Grignok finds himself and Bill back in the room. Mēnévē stands on the other side of the threshold, and asks, "Wadda fug habben doo you?"
Grignok says, "Poofs, like you said."
Mēnévē asks, "How doo gebbak?"
Grignok says, "With more poofs. I don't know how it works, it just poofs and then you poof somewhere else."
Mēnévē asks, "Is Ádilos dere?"
Grignok asks, "What's Ádilos?"
Mēnévē says, "My fuggin buddy doo soo!"
Grignok says he didn't see anyone, and asks what he looks like. Mēnévē says that Átilos has a unibrow. Grignok says that she can come with and take a look for him with them. She dithers, then steps into the room and disappears.
Once she is gone, Grignok checks out the chest. He opens the chest; it's unlocked. Inside are 30 copper farthings, 5 silver pennies, and 3 gold pieces. Grignok stuffs them in the saddle bags, then walks out of the room with Bill, then back inside, and then he shows up again at the altar.
The floor has sand over it. There are footprints, some old ones, most recent are a few days old. The floor slants upwards to each side. They go up to the left, and they reach the same spot and there they see a bunch of dead bodies. Grignok nudges a body with a foot. "Looks like they are mushroom buffet now."
Mēnévē yells out, "Ádilos! Fug! I shoudda wen widdim." Grignok tells her that she would have ended like him had she done so.
They check the bodies. There are five bodies other than Átilos's. Átilos has battered heavy leather armor, a bow, and a warhammer, like Mēnévē, and she takes his gear. The other bodies each have cloth armor, a grapnel, a light cloak, basic lockpicks, a pistol crossbow, a smallsword. They also typically have some rope and other survival gear.
They loot the bodies, getting 145 copper off the dead thieves as well as their gear. As they loot, they hear tittering behind a door to the left. Honsou picks the cheap lock and opens the door. Behind the door are six hellshots.
He moves back and Mēnévē readies her warhammer. A hellshot slams Honsou and hurts him, but he stays up. Another tries to slam Felcanis, but she steps away. The others hold their spots. Grignok casts Windstorm. Felcanis readies her mace and Tulip readies her rapier. Tulip sings, "Red boy, rent boy, ha-ha, charade you are!" which stuns a hellshot.
Honsou pulls out his knife and swings at a hellshot, but misses. Mēnévē steps and swings her warhammer at the stunned hellshot, greatly wounding it. The impaled hellshot stabs Honsou, hurting him. Another little guy steps and stabs at Felcanis and she steps away. A third slams her, wounding her a little, while a fourth rushes her with her spear but misses. The last two hold back.
Grignok moves Windstorm over three hellshots, all fall, one loses its spear. Felcanis and Honsou both step back. Tulip steps back and calls a hellshot a scruffy looking nerf-herder, which does nothing. Mēnévē pulls out her pick out of the hellshot, and it passes out. A hellshot tries to slam Mēnévē but she steps away.
Grignok grows his Windstorm, knocking down a hellshot. Felcanis whacks a downed hellshot. Tulip and Honsou both stab a hellshot but doesn't get through the tough skin. Grignok keeps up his spell, holds it.
Four hellshots are in the whirlwind, one is out, and a fifth one is watching, not running. As such, the heroes have an easy time killing them off.
They go into the room, which was living space for servants, with three low beds. Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on herself, and heals Honsou with Stop Bleeding and Major Healing as they rest.
They check the door to the right, and it's locked, so Honsou picks the lock. They walk down the hallway, and turn left.
They walk past a curtain, and Felcanis peeks behind the curtain, and she sees some movement, with the light shining past and lighting up what looks like fur. Felcanis backs up, but that won't help hide her now, as behind the curtain are five giant rats.
Honsou pulls out his bow and shoots a giant rat, but it dodges. The rats rush forward. One nips at Mēnévē and another at Tulip, but both miss. Mēnévē steps back and swings her warhammer at a giant rat, and the pick goes in. Grignok casts Lightning. Felcanis steps and waits. Bill moves forward a few yards. Tulip steps and stabs the rat nearest her. Honsou shoots a nearby rat.
Two rats try to bite Mēnévē, and one wounds her. Another two rats rush to bite Tulip, but neither hurt her. The last rat misses Mēnévē, who pulls out her pick. Grignok lobs a lightning bolt at a rat near Tulip, burning but not killing it. Felcanis smacks a rat with her mace. Tulip steps back and pokes a rat, but can't hurt it. Honsou steps back, draws an arrow, and shoots a rat.
One of the rats falls from its wounds. Two rats step and try to bite Mēnévē, but miss. Another tries to grab her, but also misses. The last tries to bite Felcanis, but she steps back and gets her mace in the way. Mēnévē steps and swings at the most hurt rat in the fray, but misses. Grignok steps to the back and tries to cast Frostbite, but the spell fizzles. Felcanis smacks a rat with her mace. Tulip steps and stabs at a rat, but misses.
Honsou pulls out his knife and stabs a rat, which falls to the ground as he slashes it, hurt but not out. The rat tries to bite Honsou back, but can't get through his armor. Another tries to bite Tulip, but runs into the wall, hurting its teeth. A third tries to bite Mēnévē, but she steps away. The last bites Tulip, wounding her. Grignok casts Frostbite again, this time getting the spell off. Felcanis tries to smack a rat with her mace but misses. Tulip steps back warily. Bill edges forward. Honsou tries to swing at a rat, but his weapon turns in his hand.
One rat falls from its wounds. Another tries to bite Tulip, but she steps back. The third tries to do the same to Mēnévē, who also steps back. The last rushes to bite Tulip, but misses Mēnévē readies her weapon. Grignok grabs a rat's head from behind, making its brain freeze from Frostbite, killing it. Felcanis smashes the downed rat to the back of the head. Tulip steps back and tries to stab the rat, but misses. Honsou rushes to stab a rat, and knocks it down.
The one standing rat starts to run away. Mēnévē swings her pick into the downed rat. Grignok casts Lightning. Felcanis smashes the downed rat to the back of the head. Tulip turns, steps, and stabs, but can't hurt the rat. Honsou steps the downed rat in the innards. The last two rats drop from their wounds.
Mēnévē looks ill from the rat bite. Grignok looks at her, and says it's sewer rot and casts Cure Disease on her. Felcanis casts Major Healing on both Mēnévē and Tulip. They rest for 20 minutes before going into the next room.
They poke around, going up some stairs, when Felcanis and Honsou realize they've been through this part of the dungeon before. They go back down the stairs and down a short flight that stops at a wall. Honsou quickly understands that this is a secret door, and Felcanis backs up as he looks for a way to open the door. Honsou finds that he can push on the lower tiles of the brick wall and lift up the wall.
Beyond the door are a bunch of barrels and four big toads with sharp teeth. Honsou pulls out his bow. One toad rushes Grignok and tries to bite him, but he steps back. Another toad rushes Tulip and tries to bite her. She shoves her fist in the way, but it bites her body anyways. Mēnévē readies her warhammer. Grignok casts Lightning. Felcanis readies her mace and shield. Tulip steps out of the way. Honsou pulls out an arrow.
One toad tries to bite Honsou, but his armor stops the teeth. Two more toads try to rush and bite Felcanis, but neither one hurts her. Mēnévē tries to hit one of the toads by Felcanis, but misses. Grignok steps and zaps the toad by Honsou. Felcanis hits a toad with her mace. Tulip pulls out her rapier and tries to stab a toad, but misses. Honsou shoots a nearby toad, dropping it to the ground but not taking it out.
A toad bites Tulip before she can step away. Another toad tries to bite Mēnévē, but she steps away, her back now against "Bid da mood." The last tries to bite Honsou but misses. Mēnévē readies her warhammer. Grignok casts Lightning. Felcanis hits a toad with her mace. Tulip steps back, as does Bill. Honsou steps back and shoots a toad, but misses and instead hits Felcanis in the leg.
The toad on the ground starts to stand. Another bites Mēnévē, as does a third. The last bites Grignok from behind, but cannot get through his armor. Mēnévē steps, turns, and swings her warhammer at a toad. It still stands, but has her warhammer in it. Grignok steps back and lobs his lightning from behind at a toad, burning and stunning it. Felcanis hits a toad with her mace, killing it. Tulip pokes at a toad but misses. Bill will backs away. Honsou shoots a toad in its innards, dropping it but not killing it.
One toad hops back towards the room. Mēnévē tries to pull out her pick but cannot. Grignok kicks a toad in the head, dropping it. Felcanis steps behind the frog hopping into the room, dropping it. Tulip tries to stab the nearest toad in the innards, but cannot get past its breast bone. Honsou whips out his knife and stabs the toad in the head, killing it.
Grignok licks the toad and finds it tastes bad. Grignok bandages Felcanis. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Mēnévē and Tulip. They rest up, with Grignok casting Shapeshifting (Panther) on himself after a bad first casting and Felcanis casting Lend Energy to help get Grignok back strength.
