The dungeon echoed Mimi's speech throughout its halls. It seemed to respond in a loud "Huh? Why?" as the brick wall rearranged itself and the brick retreated to the sides, filling in the gaps and leaving a single wide space in the center, just enough for two adult humans to squeeze through.

Rats continued scurrying about, avoiding those which burned. Those which burned seemed to remain still, in a somewhat trance-like state. The rats looked at the wall as it changed in an absent-minded gaze. Slowly, the rats burned to death, seemingly accepting their fate as peacefully as zen monks.

Bumble was beginning to find her rhythm. Her blade, finely sharpened, cleaved satifying through rat flesh and bone. She danced silently to sound of scurrying rats. Artfully collecting, slashing and flinging axes. The blood of her enemies laid upon her skin. Victorious again and-

Suddenly the corridor was full of noise and light, breaking Bumble's flow. Alice was screaming, brick scraped against brick, something was bellowing behind her and something was bellowing back. The moving stonework in front of her didn't seem to pose any danger so Bumble spun round. Unfortunately Alice wasn't being consumed by a mighty shouting monster and instead appeared to have been equipped to Ozend's head slot. Despite its bizarre appearance, Headdress of Wailing Witch had bonuses against Rats, which once caught in Alice's blaze, tried only to tank out the damage. It was so effective Bumble had to consider retreating before a wall of brightly burning rats sealed her off. She shielded her eyes from the flames and backed off, rejoining her party, collecting up two of her throwing axes as she fled, leaving one out in front.

There didn't seem to be a source the loud noise she heard earlier. Could Mimics occupy unreal space so the sound appeared to come from behind? Bumble had to admit she didn't know much at all about Mimics and mainly stuck to traditional dungeons and caves. She'd heard of weirder and considering there was no source behind her it would have to remain her current hypothesis and as there didn't seem to be any danger their currently she let the problem drift from her mind.

Bumble stuck to plan, defend the offenceless Mimi from any Rat brave enough to making an assault on them while the shrieking mage and her Goliath knight made short work of the masses. The rats seems unless in number but they were thinning quickly.

Bumble and Ozend could now fit through the wall but it was hard to tell whether they'd be better of defending till the rats ran out of bodies to throw at them or pushing through, and finding somewhere we could simply cut ourselves off from the horde. The burning fire and Alice's conjured light source obstructed Bumble's vision making it tough to see what was going out in front. She left the decision to those who were there, ready to sprint on through.

Through the halls, past the rats, the smell grew ever stronger. Feces seemed to drown out even the burning smell. However, it was a fairly straight-forward passage down. Several steps occasionally plateauing where small treasure chests lay. The bottom was not too far down either. It seemed that whatever rats were underneath had already made it to the top where they had drowned out and burned, scurrying around like mad or staying still.

At the very end, a single stone door which appeared to be easily pushed open with a bit of force applied.

Alice sniffled, and hopped back onto the ground, wiping some of the muck off her clothes.

Hiccuping, she turned for a moment to wipe dungeon moisture off her eyes.
"T-there. I defeated the rats." she declared, turning back.
"And as you can see, a door responded to my magic. You can pass through now." the wizard nodded.

"Now, shall one of you go first, or shall I send one of my own familiars to stake it out?"

Mimi was delighted to see that her command had worked well enough to let her team mates through, although Alice seemed to misunderstand why exactly the bricks opened up. Well, it didn't really matter to Mimi what anyone else thought. Maybe they'd even be a little nicer to Alice, though the knight seemed to be treating her well enough already. Mimi would still be cautious of the man, but perhaps he really wasn't a bad guy.

Or perhaps he just wanted them to think that.

Either way, Mimi decided to roll up the sleeves and hem of her robe. This dungeon seemed much more dirty than she had anticipated, and she didn't want to get her robe too messed up. It was a special gift from big sis, after all.

"Well, Alice," Mimi stated, "I don't mind going, but I'd love to see more of your wonderful magic! I didn't say anything at the time, but that fireball was really amazing too. I bet your familiars are also fantastic, so may I see them?"

Ozend let Alice down with the immediate threat gone. The scent and the scuttle of rats was still overwhelming so they would need to keep wary. The rats knew they were dangerous now. He couldn't help a passing glance at Mimi. Correction, most of the party was dangerous.

The real strange thing in this dungeon was that noise. It came from everywhere. Such a thing should not have come from behind.

The others briefly discussed who should go on. Ozend wanted to be at the forefront from the very beginning. It was a position that he would be able to assess the biggest threats from. "I'll do it. I'll be at the front." Ozend didn't want to wait for another discussion. He straightened the small pack and sword on his back, a blade he hoped wouldn't need to be drawn. The shifted passage was just tall enough not to bump him on the head at full height as he walked through. The moisture wasn't getting any better. Dying fires behind him gave plenty of light. Further down however it would begin to get difficult playing sentry. Ozend stopped at the side of the tunnel as it descended and looked back for the hobgoblin.

"Bumble?" He requested. "How do you fare in the dark?"

As the adventurers approached, a noise was heard from inside the barred off room- something inhuman, and really nothing a rat would make either.

Inside the room laid sleeping four rats, each about the size of an adult human female and with extended stomachs. Around each was a litter of rats, and at the very center of the room was a rather large treasure chest, a good three times bigger than the ones outside. The chest itself seemed to radiate energy, subtle but strong. At the same time, something within the chest seemed to be pulling the adventurers in, as if it sewed a string into their hearts and began tugging.

"You know what? I've had enough creepy crawlies for tonight. I'm gonna let Femurro handle this." Alice said, reaching into her belt. She produced a human femur, and placed it on the ground.

"GO FORTH, LOYAL SOLDIER! SMITE MY ENEMIES!" she shouted, her eyes alight with mana as she ordered the arcane beast forward.

The bone aggressively rolled forward, bumping against the rats.

A single eye opened upon the sound of the opening door. The larger brood mother had gotten up and screamed, alarming the others. Soon, all four rats were awake. In spite of their large size, they were surprisingly quick. The four rats huddled together as their broods followed suit. The rats then amalgamated into a larger humanoid shape with four large rat heads at the top.

BOSS FIGHT: RAT GOLEM

A swarm of small, normal sized rats was sprayed at the door, the rats squirming about as the door came fully open. The golem itself was far too large to fit through the door. As the room was fully revealed, it did in fact seem quite large, the ceiling probably reaching almost back up to the surface, about thirty feet high. The golem itself was tall enough to fill almost half the room.

As the area was cleared in front of her, Mimi moved forward. She eyed the small treasure chests suspiciously, wondering what sort of rats kept coffers. Perhaps there were more intelligent beings further in. Behind that door, perhaps.

As Mimi and the others drew close to the door, Alice appeared to spot something within and sicced a lone Human femur on the occupants. Mimi wondered where such a young girl would get a Human femur, but those thoughts were cut short by a spray of tiny rats smacking the door wide open. Mimi was able to spot a magnificent treasure chest inside, but even more impressive was a fearsome amalgamation of rats before her. Mimi staggered backward, her knees weak and her eyes wide with fear. She had never seen a monster before, though certainly she had read about them. Books and pictures did not do the terrible things justice.

Mimi tried to regurgitate a cry of fear, but it stuck thick in her throat. She could only be thankful that she was outside the door, and that the giant monster was inside it.

All she managed to get across in this moment was a timid "Eep."

"Bumble?" He requested. "How do you fare in the dark?"

"Better than I fare in the light, do you think I should lead or do you just want a warning before something big bonks you?"

Bumble retrieved her throwing axes from their resting places. Unfortunately, in all the fire and excitement one of the handles had be rendered to ashes. She slipped the remaining axes into their place on her belt and tucked the axe head into her bag as she retrieved her sandals, foot wraps and poop weren't a good combination.

The party began to mobilize and as exited their first trial, Bumble gathered up three of the biggest charred rats by the tail and dragged them along behind her. The stench of fecal matter intensified as they descended into the dungeon, but it could we worse, it could be Goblin Smell, or Dwarf Smell. She stood out the front with Ozend, whose shadow stretched out long in front of him, obscuring his view but not Bumbles. Bumble had perfect view of the chests which she had to refrain from throwing herself at. The could be trapped, they could get ambushed and their was a good chance they couldn't carry the contents to the end and back out again. They could be inspected on the return journey, plus bigger treasure lay ahead, she just knew it.

They reached the end of the corridor again, and this time were met with a door with a barred window. A noise emanated from within, an inhuman howl, as well as several more large sleeping rodents and a big wonderful chest. This was the one, the contents of the chest had to be marvelous, magnificent! Jewels? Ingots? What ever it was Bumble wasn't leaving till she knew, or her life was in serious danger, maybe then.

"You know what? I've had enough creepy crawlies for tonight. I'm gonna let Femurro handle this."

"No Alice, Plea-"

"GO FORTH, LOYAL SOLDIER! SMITE MY ENEMIES!"

A bone rolled under the threshold of the door, propelled only by its desire to complete Alice's bidding. Bumble sighed, we really weren't the Whispered Venture,and braced herself against the door facing her team mates. No doubt she'd woken and excited the rats, rats they could kill quickly and efficiently if they all attempted stealth. They would wait for them to calm down, go back to sleep and then they could be disposed of. She looked disapprovingly at Alice, but not for long, several small projectiles were pounding at the door and applying far more pressure than disorganized rats should be able to produce. She stepped away, and a wave of little rats poured out into the corridor in front of them. She dropped dinner, swapping it out for a throwing axe and her trusty battle axe.

In front of her stood a real rat golem, god knows how high, squirming and wriggling, hundreds of tiny hearts pounding away. It didn't look like it could get much closer to them but they certainly weren't getting to the chest without going through it. Bumble started thinking as she backed off, what would be effective against such a monstrosity? She pondered for a moment before realizing Alice could go off again any moment and only Og'Og knew what chaos might ensue after that. She stuck up a finger to Alice's lips and one to her own, axes still in hand, and stared deep into her eyes. In a calm voice she whispered,

"Shhhh, no magic yet."

She alternated between watching Alice and watching the Beast, right now both were equally dangerous.

Ozend stepped between the group and the massive squirming mess of rats. Stretching out and putting his arms to either side he made himself look as big as possible. If the others could hear him over the rats there would be a low, audible growl. Ozend glared intensely at the creature. The only target that would get hit today was Ozend. He deserved, he would take it.

The living golem was too large to fit through the door but nevertheless it was a challenge waiting for contenders. "I'll buy the rest of you the time you need to kill it." In the dim light he could see some of the bigger parts. "It looks like there are little ones covering bigger ones. Getting them might be the key." Ozend started moving forward toward the door. He paced himself watching for any immediate movement from the golem so that he might react.

He began moving to the side as he entered the room to draw its attention away from the entrance and give the others an opening. "Hey, swarm of filth. I'm right here." He readied himself for a heavy blow but drew no weapon.

For a moment, the rat golem stepped back against the wall of the dungeon. It held out one of its arms as a swarm of rats dripped down into a ball of furry, moving mass which quickly took a humanoid shape- a miniature rat golem, which ran outside followed by three more of its kind. The three swarmed around the party moving closer to the foot of the stairs in straight formation, intent on blocking the adventurer's exit.

Mimi backed away from the three smaller rat golems that rushed out the door and cut off their escape. She had thought that, when the time had come to fight and defend herself, it would be easy and natural. Unlike other Mimics, however, she had no need to learn how to fight and had been raised in a comfortable Human household devoid of conflict. She found herself pinned to the wall across from the monsters and relying on her team mates for help, completely paralyzed and left cursing her own uselessness.

She knew that she was strong. If she were to fight, she was fairly sure that she could win. So why was she so frightened?

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I've never really... I don't know how to..."

Fastidious Dent, weighed down with forty pounds of equipment and years of experience, ambled through the door to the Warlock Laughing Stock. He knew that there was a contract out for the Dungeon beneath the Laughing Stock, and that it wasn't worth very much-- easy pickings for a solo guildsman like himself. With any luck, Fastidious would be able to clear the Dungeon out before any of the other bottomfeeders in the SODE popped in for a pint and a few hundo coins in contract payouts.

"Ay oop, guv," Fastidious said to the bartender. "carry on, do. SODE business. I'll be off down an' owt ya hair, then."

With little finesse, Fastidious hauled the tavern's basement hatch open and shuffled awkwardly downwards. In the musty smell of the cellar, Fastidious took a deep breath. Cor, he thought, this don't smell 'arf todgy. Best get stuck in an' right to t' knackers. Using his keen intellect, he quickly identified the Dungeon's entrance, and forced his way inside.

In the filthy gloom of the Dungeon, Fastidious truly felt at home. He silently crept along the singular hallway that made up the Dungeon's layout, allowing his eyes to grow accustomed to the crushing darkness present.

At the very end of the hallway, Fastidious noticed three large, constantly-shifting shapes. It didn't take a genius to understand that these were, much like the inhabitants of all Dungeons, interminably hostile and thus worth money for stomping. Fastidious carefully nocked an arrow in his bow, and loosed it straight into the roiling mass of the centermost miniature rat golem.

As the arrow punctured the golem's ratty form, Fastidious bellowed a warcry that violently echoed throughout the Dungeon. As was required by his employment contract, Fastidious attempted to keep the swearing to a minimum.

"Haaargh! C'mon an' getcher nadgers nicked!" Fastidious cried, and let fly another arrow.

As the arrow flew from Fastidious's blow and onto the golem, a splatter of blood spilled onto the ground as a dead rat dropped from the golem and onto the hard dungeon floor with a loud, wet, thud. The golem turned around, seemingly unfazed by the attack as its comrades to the left and right turned their attention back to face the human veteran. The golems all released a loud shrill in unison. The noise was so synchronized it was as if it were one voice, almost loud enough to burst eardrums.

The miniature rat golems disolved and the individual rats surrounding Fastidious, forming a wall around him. They closed in, three rats popping from the wall in order to bite. Then another three, as they dropped down each taking a chunk of flesh as they flew by.