Dungeon Crawl Classic #14
Dungeon Interludes
Chapter 1: The Eye of the Night
Level 1-3 (Scaled to level 4)
Turn 40: Politics.
“I don’t bloody care who you are, you ain’t got no jurisdiction.”
The Patrol Sergeant spits and leans forward on his horse, there are six of them, as Newt said, the Sergeant and five Mounted Troopers, all wearing the Black Lion of Grimbo- they’re City Guards, and a long way from home.
“I’m surprised you know how to ride a horse, plod.” Jim’s getting cocky.
“What did you say?” Sarge isn’t best pleased, his horse dances forward, goes to buck.
Jim reaches across and lays a calming hand on the beast.
“I’d run back to the city if I was you, back to your beat, or the desk you drive.”
“Right, that’s it.”
Jim takes his hand off the Sergeants horse, the equine skitters and dances, as nervous as his rider but not hiding it at all.
“Whoah.” Sarge does his best to keep the horse from bolting, it continues to trot and dance, not entirely under control.
“I think Sergeant you should let us handle this, we have been charged by the Church of Pelor, one of the foremost institutions of the City of Grimbo to investigate this matter.” Cas tries a different tack.
“You can shove your investigation up your ar…” The horse has had enough it rears up, flinging the good Sergeant to the dirt, then just stands there, tamed again by Jim’s touch.
The Sergeant gets up slowly, rests his hand on the hilt of his sword, the adventurers quickly follow suit. The remaining troopers think about it, and then decide against it- the Goodman Gang look like they can handle themselves in a fight.
“Come on Sarge, let’s get back, leave these here to die?” A trooper speaks up, the others nod their consent.
Sarge looks defeated, goes over and takes the reins of his horse.
“I think that’s decided then.” Cas turns away and begins to lead the gang off, back to the Barn, then remembers, “we’ve found a wounded farmer, his name’s Giles, I ask that you take him with you- keep him safe, take him to the Church of Pelor, tell them I sent him, he needs rest, his family were all killed.”
“Who are you to order me around?”
“Sarge.” The talking trooper wheedles.
The Sergeant looks momentarily crestfallen, then nods.
Cas leads them all back to the farmhouse and the bloody farmer.
Fifteen minutes later, Giles gripping tight to a trooper, the Grimbo City Guards- Special Mounted Section, heads back to the city, they get a good distance away, a safe distance, before the Sergeant turns and shouts back.
“You’ll all be going in my report, obstructing an officer in his duty, I’ll have you, all of you- when you get back to the city.”
Jim reacts in an instant, runs to his horse and is mounted in seconds, the Sergeant turns his horse, which again dances and skitters, then digs his heals in, the creature bolts, not at all in the right direction. Jim climbs down, giggles, and slaps Sarge’s (Sarge is the name of his horse remember) flanks.
“You were a little… upset.” Anya stares at Jim.
“Were? I still am, I don’t like this, this was a place of peace, my dad used to talk about Molton Clay, said we’d come here one day, to live… never did.”
Anya nods.
“Do you think we’ll get in trouble?” Ala asks.
They turn to look at her.
“I mean back in Grimbo?”
“I hope so.” Newt grins.
Cas can’t help but smile.
“Are we getting on then?” Jim brings the conversation back to the here and now.
“Giles said a beast attacked them, killed Gaden, he fled remember, well what beast- where did it come from, spread out, search the area thoroughly.”
They set to work.
Ala checks the bodies strewn about, mostly farmers and their families killed by the Raiders, there are also four other bodies- the Raiders, slain by tooth and claw, something feral, and furious. All of the corpses have been nibbled and gnawed- rats.
Eventually the search centres on the Barn, Newt leaps, a single bound, up into the hay loft, its empty, the fragile wooden beams creak and shift beneath his tread.
“Careful, the entire structure is unsafe… hey Jim, what’s that?”
Newt points below, he has the perfect position, he can see every detail from above, Jim strides over, the others not too far behind.
“Drag marks and lots of rats, big rats, huge rats, see here.” Jim points, “Whatever it was dragged several of the bodies… Why would they… oh, food. There’s a hole.”
And sure enough there is a gapping wound in the corner of the Barn, it seems the earth has simply collapsed, hollowed out below; a dirt scree leads down into darkness. Newt leaps down from his high perch, shuffles over to Jim’s side- the pair cautiously approach the slope down, they’re still ten feet from the lip when the earth beneath their feet shifts and suddenly collapses.
“RUN.”
Jim screams and rushes back to escape the collapse, Newt is neater still, tumbles backward.
“WHOOF.”
The collapse extends a way, the adventurers dance further back, dirt and dust fills the air, then slowly clears to reveal the dirty adventurers and a much larger hole with a gentle slope leading down into it. Jim stamps the earth as he moves forward, it seems safe, he turns to look at Newt, grins.
“I know. I know.”
A rope is secured around the Gnome Rogue’s waist, Bec takes a hold of the other end, Newt winks at the assembled crowd and dances off down the slope, his flaring sunrod banishing the darkness as he goes.
“Rats, ooooooh.”
Newt shouts, and then almost falls.
“Big fecking rats.”
FWUNG
His crossbow fires but merely digs a divot out of the dirt floor of the cavern below, which is continuing to fill with Dire Rats, there’s nearly a dozen of them already. Jim and Cas come sliding on their backsides down the slope, slightly undignified but infinitely safer, except not for Cas who only makes it halfway down before striking a hidden rock and tumbling forward, he surfs face in the dirt the rest of the way down- arrives at the foot of the slope in a tangled mess. Newt is surrounded, and bitten, at least once, now flailing wildly with his mace.
“Not going.”
“What?” Ala stares at Bec.
“Not going… Rats. Rats bad.” Bec stands statue seemingly terrified at the prospect of the rats.
Jim and Newt are swishing and swatting, just keeping the rats at bay, Cas is less fortunate, and able, still on the floor a Dire Rat catches him on his ankle, a bloody bite that almost scratches the bone. He kicks the creature away and struggles to his feet.
“Get bloody down here, all of you.” He screams.
Anya begins to gingerly lower herself down the slope, using Newts rope as support, its trickier than it looks, she gets stuck less than halfway down and is left on her knees desperately hanging onto the rope. Ala follows Jim and Cas’ lead, slides down all the way on her backside- leaving Bec alone.
“Fecking rats, why’s it always bloody rats, I hate them, I bloody hate them dirty, filthy, creepy, sneaky, and bloody bitey, oh why’s it always bloody rats?”
Bec hefts his sword and hurtles down the slope, there better be something down there to stop him.
“SAAAAA-ND-WIIIIIIIII-CH.”
The Barbarian arrives, and at pace, crashes through the front row of Dire rats, his impetus smashing them out of his path, eventually comes to a halt swinging and swatting, cutting down two of the creatures en route, fifteen feet into the earthen chamber in the midst of easily over a dozen snarling, vicious Dire Rats.
Jim slices the nearest rat, cuts the thing in two with his axe, edges forward trying to make his way to the surrounded Barbarian.
The creatures screech and squeak it’s an all out attack, trying to defend their lair. Cas is bitten, not once but twice, both minor wounds on his legs but enough to get his dander up, he swings and misses, makes no headway against the horde. Newt strikes a glancing blow against one of the creatures, enough to keep him out of harms way. Anya looses Swish, sends the broom skittering down the slope, “Akkat”, the Magic Broom heads to war (to no effect). Anya sinks to the floor, braces herself so she cannot slip down further and begins to chant Arcane words, a moment later she’s up and striding purposefully down the slope, her Spider Climb spell having the desired effect. Jim fights on desperate to get to Bec, cuts another two of the foul creatures down, he’s getting closer. The Barbarian however is attacked on all sides, bitten again and again, he loses it.
“RAAAAAAAAA-TS. BLUDDDDDEEEEEEEE RAAAAAAAATS.”
He Rages, swings and swats, clears a circle around him but does no harm to the retreating vermin. However the Dire Rats are soon wise to this trick, they take it in turns to attempt to leap in at the Barbarian, who crashes about swinging wildly, to absolutely no effect, he’s bitten again in the process.
“RAAAAAAAAAAATS.”
Anya scrambles up and along a wall then up onto the ceiling, completely out of the Dire Rats reach, she grabs her Burning Hands Wand from the folds of her robes.
“BEC. BEC.”
Jim cuts another of the creatures down, the Barbarian however is not listening still a bundle of fury swinging without aim- the Dire Rats stay out of his reach. Ala and Cas are now fighting side by side, the Paladin stabs down, wounding one of the huge beasts, Ala misses the rat that leaps at her, it bites her on the arm, and is gone, back into the pack. Newt is still surrounded, backed up against the slope, he can’t keep them all at bay, he’s bitten again, on the hand, necessitating a brief tug of war with the creature, he eventually rips his limb from the Dire Rats maw and fights on wounding another in the process, blood arcs and splatters from his hand as he swings. Swish, the Magical Broom, is being bitten and slashed by a pair of the Dire Rats, to no great affect- the wooden shaft still intact, the brooms attacks are however completely ineffective.
“FLAME ON.”
A swathe of fire lances down from the ceiling, cuts through the Dire Rats in an instant leaving two smouldering corpses and three others now very badly burnt. The creatures panic, snarl and snap; still threatening they begin to move away from the vicious interlopers.
“FLAME ON.”
The fire comes again, catching only one of the creatures but leaving it a blackened flaming mess, the rats finally flee. Swish manages to catch one square on its jaw, a roundhouse move- the Dire Rat slumps to the floor. Cas slashes at a straggler, sends it to hell, Jim cuts down another two. Bec follows the fleeing creatures in a fury, and now connecting, nearly half-a-dozen of the creatures meet their end on his sword.
Alas the raging Barbarian doesn’t stop there, runs towards the last of the Dire Rats, disappearing into a tunnel on the eastern wall of the chamber.
THUMP
He comes to a sudden halt. Bec doesn’t fit, or rather his two handed weapons doesn’t fit down the tunnel, simple enough, he abandons them, draws his longsword and scampers off after the foul creatures.
“BEC. Nooooooo.”
Anya’s after him, the others gather themselves together for a second, exchange glances, and race off after the pair.
Bec meanwhile has found new foes to slay, the tight tunnel splits two ways, Bec heads left and directly into a Rats nest, the fleeing Dire Rats turn and snarl- leap back at the Barbarian, the pair are swiftly cut down, although its close quarters the Barbarian’s swordplay wins the day.
Cautiously stepping into the Barbarian’s light are an even larger pair of Dire Rats, these creatures matt black in colour, except for their twisted red horns that jut from their skulls- Fiends. More Dire Rats emerge into the nest from the myriad tunnels, Bec glances backwards yet more of them are coming at him from behind, there’s obviously another nest near by.
Anya flings her sunrod forward, it illuminates the rats ahead, and at the edge of the light the Barbarian’s armoured form, more Dire Rats turn as they spot her, rush towards her, she can hear the others following on behind her, there’s no space to turn she cannot get out…
“FLAME ON.”
Next Turn: Dire Straits.
