(YBA) Lovecraft in the Cathayan Tombs

[Yellow Sign]

Well, my fine sir. I am cuurently at a negative cash flow situation at the moment. But I know a rousing tale or two. It looks like this place could use some rousing. I am willing to entertain for a bit to eat and a warm bed.

 

[Ciaran]

Everyone in the room is watching you.

"Tales," croaks the innkeeper. "Bah." After a long, unblinking pause, he scratches his chin, then speaks in a low tone. "Come with me." He takes a candle from the bar, crosses the room, and lights it at the hearth. Turning, he opens a small door near the hearth; beyond the door, a tiny, rickety staircase leads down into darkness. Walking down the first step, he gestures for you to follow.

 

[Yellow Sign]

Humm...must be the charity section. I follow, holding my dusty tome close to my chest.

 

[Ciaran]

You follow the old inkeeper into the stairway. Cold, dank air washes over you, overlaid by the smells of mold, beer and rot. He speaks quietly, so that you must strain to hear:

"An animal is in the basement. Kill it. Then you get food and lodging."

 

[Yellow Sign]

An animal you say? Humm...Lets see what kind of animal stays in a celler. I step down into the celler and look around. My tome held in one hand.

 

[Ciaran]

As you descend the steps, you feel the crunch of tiny bones under your boots. The light recedes. Then you reach the floor of the cellar; in the faint light from above, you make out the shapes of barrels and casks, each radiating the earthy aroma of beer, along with hanging sheets of dried fish. You turn as you hear a high-pitched squeak --

-- and you see an enormous rat, as large as your head, gnawing on a fish. As it lets go, you catch a glimpse of the white foam around its mouth. Then it leaps down at you, its long teeth glinting in the light!

The mace punches next to the grotto; waves away the violence of the flame!

Rabid Giant Rat
CR 1
Hits 1
Yen factor: 1
Expert of the Ferocious Rat

 

[Yellow Sign]

Seeing the rat leap at him, Lovecraft tries to bring his heavy book down on its head.


The snake wounds the village; absorbs the quickening of the river!

 

[Ciaran]

Raising your book, you slap the rat away, hard. It tumbles through the air and hits the wall with an audible *CRACK*, then falls to the floor, where it twitches for a moment, then grows still. Blood trickles from its open mouth.

You gain 1 hit defeated.

You notice a single yen coin glinting dully in a corner of the cellar, presumably lost by some patron long ago, which you can pocket without too much trouble.

The innkeeper still waits on the stairs, like a statue.

 

[Yellow Sign]

Returning to the innkeeper, Lovecraft says "Why I can see why you where upset, that was a pretty nasty rat you had down there. I am quite hungry from my travels so lets go up your soup smells pretty good."

 

[Ciaran]

You return to the main room with the innkeeper, who closes the cellar door, fetches a bowl and slops some stew into it, and drops the bowl onto the table. He ignores you thereafter.

You try the stew. You can't quite make out what all of the lumps and crunchy bits are, but it tastes good enough that you can ignore the question. As you tuck into your meal, you notice that the lone young man in the corner is watching you.