Pele nodded and answered Reynault, "Alright. If you're sure...then let's get going," After she answered, she led the way out of the Sunset Stride tavern and through Stilben. As she led on, she began her explanations...

"Now seems like a good time to start explaining some things. Like, the Ashari since you don't know about them," She then cleared her throat and continued, "The Ashari were once a nomadic people who, at some point, split into four tribes. Each of the four tribes are of a different element: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. As I have mentioned, I am of the Fire Ashari in Pyrah. The tribes are led by a Headmaster, each with their own title reflecting the element, and they completed their own Aramente..."

Before she could continue, she stopped and pointed towards an alleyway "Let's go this way! It's a shortcut to the Silvercut Road, I've used it before,"

Reynault nodded and followed Pele down the alley. "All four elements? Does that mean you are druids?" he asked. She did seem to be more in tuned with nature than your average being. Caring about the natural order would explain why they would care about the plight of the griffins.

"Where do you fit into all of this? Are you a druid?" He said, not trying to pry. Still he was awfully curious about this strange girl. Reynault usually felt uncomfortable talking to girls, but not so much with Pele. She didn't really strike him as the judging type.

Pele answered Reynault "Well, the Headmasters certainly are druids, but the Ashari tribes aren't just druids and rangers. People of many talents are part of the tribes," When he asked where she fit in all of this and if she was a druid, she nodded and answered "Yes, I am druid. As to where I fit in all of this? Well...remember how I mentioned the Aramente? I just started the on that particular journey myself..."

Before she could continue, she holds an arm out to stop Reynault. In front of the both of them are three swarms of rats, eating and fighting over a corpse. With those swarms of rats blocking the way, it would certainly be difficult to maneuver past them. Pele suggests, "Er...On second thought, maybe we should take the long way around,"

Reynault looked over the three swarms of rats, and was reminded of the last time he was in Luskan. Still, every city had to have it's flaws.

"Are you sure? They're just rats. Between the two of us I think we can take them." he said, loosening his sword from his sheath, ready to draw at a moments notice.

"But if you'd rather take the long way, that's fine, too."

Pele mentioned to him, "Well, I would like to save my spells for if we have to face a more challenging foe, but if you want to fight the rats, then I'll help." She then taps her quarterstaff end on the ground and the staff shines green for a moment. She prepares herself for the fight, if Reynault wishes to fight the rats.

((Roll Initiative if Reynault is going to fight the rats.))

While Pele and Reynault had been speaking with each other, the rats seemed to have noticed the both of them and started swarming towards them. A large majority of the rats went to Pele as she seemed to have less armor than Reynault. Only one of the rats managed to bite her while she managed to avoid the other rats. The rats that did swarm towards Reynault just can't seem to bite through his armor.

Pele shouted and swung her staff at the rats, and she managed to knock one of them towards a wall, but the staff strike did not do much damage.

Reynault was out of practice, and it showed at how poorly aimed his blow was. Still, he put his weight behind it and it bit deep. Redrawing it from writing mass of rats, and the blade came back bloody. He prepared to swing again, hoping to get some of the rats attacking Pele to attack him instead.

The rats continued swarming around Reynault and Pele, unrelenting in their quest for food. However, Pele had wisened up to their tactics and managed to prevent any more rats from biting her, while the rats that swarmed Reynault still can't find a way to get past his armor and to his flesh! They might as well be using their gums to bite him to death.

After Pele threw off a rat from her armor, she muttered to herself "The staff isn't working! Damn...didn't want to use this so soon...!" She then closed her eyes and focused. The air around her and Reynault seemed to be getting hotter and much more humid. Three orbs of fire appeared, one above Pele's head, and two in each hand. She opened her eyes to show nothing but bright white light. As this power built up, she inhaled a large breath of air. She then exhaled, like she was a dragon breathing fire onto its enemies, and the fire orb above her head fired a reddish orange flame at a swarm of rats.

Pele, apparently, wasn't kidding around when she said that she was part of the Fire Ashari. That one blast took out more than half of the first swarm that had been bothering her. She finished off what was left of that swarm with the ray in her left hand, which was much weaker than the first blast, and she threw the last ray at the second swarm that was bothering her.

Reynault brought his sword back to strike another rat swarm when he began to sweat in his armor. Seeing Pele out of the corner of his eye, he watched her pull magic into her. As the air grew hotter and hotter, she opened her eyes and exhaled. Suddenly, the alley was filled with fire.

The rats screamed as they cooked, with one whole swarm disintegrating. Reynault quickly saw his opening and struck again with his sword. This time, he struck well and his blade cut deep into the vermin.

The Rat Swarm try to climb up Pele's and Reynault's bodies and bite them, only for them to fail and fall back to the ground. They were just not getting anything from both adventurers. Reynault can feel the heat build up again as Pele casts the same spell again. However, the rats knew what was coming and they managed to move out of the way of two blasts. The last blast managed to catch the swarm that was attacking Pele. The rats screamed as some of them were cooked. The swarm that was bothering Pele looked less like a swarm, and more like four or five rats. The swarm that was bothering Reynault is still going strong.

Pele threw more fire at the rats as they tried to climb the two adventurers. Try as they might, the vermin couldn't get through the Reynault's or Pele's armor. Reynault simply shrugged them away and struck again, cutting deep into the mass of rats. As he pulled his blade away, he focused his mind and tried to strike again.

Rather than hitting rats, the blade hit the muddy ground with a resounding *thud*. He raised it again, quickly shaking the mud off the blade."Apparently I need more practice."

Despite having his second attack miss, the first attack manages to cut through the last four or five rats of the second swarm. The rats that had attacked Pele were now no more thanks to Reynault. However, there is still that one last swarm, who have not given up on their pursuit for fresh meat. One rat managed to climb all the way up to Reynault's neck, but before it could even bite, Pele swung her quarterstaff at it, and knocked it back to the ground before slamming the wooden weapon down onto the swarm itself, crushing a couple of the rats. But the swarm was still moving and hissing at the pair of adventurers.

Reynault felt the wind hiss as Pele's quarterstaff knocked one of the larger rats off his chest and back onto the ground. "Thanks!" he said before bringing his sword down in a killing stroke at the rat swarm.

The blade struck home and many of the rats shrieked in pain. As they bled, the disgusting smell reached his nostrils and it almost made him gag. "Disgusting." was all he managed to say before freeing his blade.

Unfortunately, the battle was not quite over yet. Some of the rats had managed to get onto his back, giving him the impression that he had finished off the last of the swarm. They were trying to tear into his armor, only to remain unsuccessful. Pele warned him, "Hey! Hold still!" She then swung her quarterstaff once more, this time knocking all of the rats off of Reynault with a resounding "CRACK!" that echoed throughout the alleyway. This managed to kill a good number, but two of the rats were still alive and hissing at the two. They are slowly backing up, as though they're thinking of fleeing.

Reynault, after getting a few rats off with Pele's help, took up a guard position at the two remaining rats. He would be ready if they attacked again, but Reynault had the suspicion that the rats were finished.

"Thanks for getting the rats off me. I swear I'm better at fighting than this." he told the young druid. He had felt out of sorts since he left prison, but that was weeks ago. He thought he shook the cobwebs off, but it was clear that he wasn't even close to as strong as he used to be.

Sure enough, the rats fled and there was only the two adventurers and the burned and cut corpses of rats that littered the alleyway. Pele answered Reynault, "You're welcome. Honestly, now I see why you wanted to fight them. Get some practice in so you can be ready to help with the Griffin problem, huh?"

She then looked over him and she commented "Well, it looks like they didn't get a scratch on you, so that's a relief. We can continue on if you're up for it?"

She looked towards the exit, and then looked down towards the human body that the rats had been feasting on. It is a gruesome sight of flesh without skin and the smell of rotting and burnt flesh could be detected from this body. Pele commented "Maybe I overdid it with the flames..."

Reynault pulled out a cloth and wiped the blood off his sword. "Yes, we can go now." he said before he turned to the now crispy body in the alley.

"Maybe it's for the best. I was hoping we could try and give him a proper burial, but for now lets just tell the guards about him and be on our way." he said with a sigh. Looking back over to Pele, he scratched his chin. "Well, maybe we shouldn't. I'd hate to go back to a cell for accidentally burning someone."

Pele thought about it and she added, "I don't think they would throw us in jail for a body that was already being eaten by rats...Look at it, the rats got a lot of him before we came," She then added "I think the guards might wish to know of the dead body. But I also want to hurry to the Summit Peaks. What say you, Reynault? It's your call,"

Reynault grunted and went over to the burnt corpse. Putting his hand over the body, he quietly mumbled a prayer to Tyr. He asked the even-handed god of justice to watch over this being and take his soul to a better place.

When he was finished, he stood up and turned to Pele. "Alright, let's go." He said. "Are you hurt at all?"

Pele listened as Reynault gave his prayer for the dead body and she raised an eyebrow. She answered his question with a wave of her hand, "Oh, I'm ok. One rat did bite me, but it wasn't enough to do any severe damage. Let's get going," As she continued leading the way through Stilben, she asked him, "Okay, I now have something to ask you, as I am quite curious. Who is this...Tyr, that you prayed to? I'm assuming that Tyr is a...deity?"