Lurking KrogEudaxia vs The Rat Swarm
It was a strange figure that had bumped into Eudaxia's horns. A man in dark robes, taller than she, and with strips of white cloth wound tightly around his eyes. Grimacing, he apologized to nobody in particular before carrying on his way, a tapping cane guiding his path.
A possible mark, she thought to herself, making an assessment of him. He was walking in the same direction she was, and she felt curious despite herself.
He wore an amulet depicting the great wheel around his neck which looked like it could be of value, though it would be too difficult to lift that. It suggested he was a priest, though he looked like no priest she'd ever seen. Apart from that he didn't look rich, and that ought to have been the end of her interest in him. But gut instinct held her back, and she slowed down her pace and fell in step with him in spite of herself. "its no bother..." she said, eying him curiously. "Are you not afraid?" she asked "wondering around these parts of town like that." she made a pointless gesture to his blindfold. "Someone could rob you bl-" she stopped the pun just in time.
"Ah, I know this city like the back of my hand... at least how I might picture the back of my hand," the stranger smiled. "On Founder's Day however... the crowds tend to have me turned around. Perchance may you be heading toward the cemetery?
"might be... thereabouts anyway" she answered evasively.
"Ah, luck favours me. Another lost to the Grey Plague, and I need speak blessings over the poor soul. Might I lean on you for direction, my new found friend?"
"Depends... wossinit for me?" she replied bluntly, rolling her eyes, having little interest in wasting time guiding a priest on an errand. From the way the streets were gradually clearing she could tell it was evening, and whilst that didn't really make much of a difference for the lighting, she would rather get back to her hideout than spend all night hunting for rats.
"Comfort in knowing a soul will be sped to the Divines upon Their return... a bite from these cursed rats that plague the city, its all one can hope for."
Eudaxia froze in her tracks as he walked on. He had already rewarded her, even if he didn't know it. So the rats are carrying the Grey Plague. The noticeboard failed to mention that, she thought angrily. five silver pieces a rat had been too good to be true after all. She had heard of the Grey plague of course, but honestly she just hadn't paid too much attention to it. Plagues were just something that happened in this rotten, sunless world. You didn't panic, you just got on with your miserable life and either you would get sick and die or you wouldn't and that was that.
Off to the side she noticed an officer of the watch humiliating a kid, far younger that she was. The guard held out his mace, pointing it down at a pile of manure.
"Pick it up boy, and dump it in the bin there. That is 'lest you want trouble." The urchin scratched his neck nervously, looking about as if for a way out of the confrontation.
She'd been like that once. A helpless, snivelling child. Unable to fight for a crust of bread. But not anymore. She'd grown cunning. She'd learned to be persuasive, and defend herself from those you tried to pull her down into the mud. Now, she had power, even if she didn't understand it. She could help that kid if she wanted. Distract the guard, save him from a little of the suffering she'd had to endure. A tiny part of her wanted to.
She snuffed it out and kept moving, slipping through the shadows to avoid the attention of the amused office. That wasn't how life worked on the streets. You had to look after yourself. She wasn't going to risk getting caught and being interrogated for being a Tiefling just to help some runt. It was only manure. He would get over it.
With a hurried pace, she caught back up to the blind man with his stick. "Alright, I'll guide you." she said begrudgingly. Without his obliviously given tip she would probably have ended up catching the gray plague in her ignorance, and she didn't like owing people. Though she would be lying if she said she didn't have an ulterior motive: finding out more about the rats. She wasn't about to give up on some quick money so easily. A new plan was already forming in her brain. But for it she would need meat. Something that would lure the critters.
And by the sounds of it, they were on their way to see a corpse.
"You wouldn't mind telling me more about this disease would you? I was hoping to poach a few rats for the watch, but if they're all infected..." she trailed off, thinking.
The priest placed a hand on Eudaxia's shoulder, following along behind her with a steady tap of his walking stick. "Of course, child. It is a horrific disease, one that renders vibrant youth withered and frail upon their deaths bed, as if they'd aged a hundred years in mere weeks. I am Shaemus, by the way. I'd wager one in ten carry the disease, but I cannot be certain."
"Sounds awful." she said flatly. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can call me Eudy" she said, trying to sound friendly, but staring at him intently, unafraid because of the blindfold. But paranoia wouldn't let her buy that he was completely blind. It was naïve beyond belief to trust a tiefling to lead you blindfolded around the dark city, and so she kept looking for signs that he could sense his surroundings somehow. But no amount of squinting or trying to produce subtle reactions told her anything, so she gave up.
When they reached the cemetary. The wrought iron gate was open, and swinging slightly in the breeze, a mist covering the ground as owls hooted from their perches on long dead trees. "We're looking for a Wallum Undertree. His grave should still be open. Will you be so kind as to be my eyes, child?"
It didn't take long in the mist filled grounds to find the grave, empty save for its simple coffin. Shaemus easeed himself into the earth. "IF you're intent on dealing with these rats, perhaps I could be of assistance. I may be blind, but I assure you, I am capable." With a grunt he opened the coffin, allaying her fears that it might be sealed and revealing the body of what appeared to be an ancient, withered human. "Not nineteen years old," Shaemus said sorrowfully.
she blinked as she looked down at the corpse. She herself was only nineteen. "And how could you help exactly?" she asked. He didn't look capable. He was either a blind, naïve fool, or mysterious and powerful. She hadn't been able to decide which yet. She peered in at the body, fingering her small knife in her pocket and trying to figure out if there was a way she could take a chunk of flesh without the blind man noticing. If she could lure the rats with food, then fry them with magic from above, she wouldn't need to risk getting bitten. But by the looks of it there wasn't much meat on the corpse at all.
The priest opened the palm of his hands, and what began as a flicker turned bright and hot, rising up in the air above their heads, changing colours and illuminating an everchanging glow down upon their heads. After a minute, the flame faded and disappeared. "I may be blind, but I am not useless," he said. he almost seemed to be saying it to himself.
Mysterious and powerful it is she decided, excited. Magic. This was the first time she'd seen anyone but herself use it and been sure that she was seeing the real thing. The rats were secondary now. She had to talk to this man. Tease answers out of him. "Hmm... alright then." she said, impressed. "we'll take the rats on together." With two magic wielders, maybe they wouldn't need to bait them. She avoided mentioning the reward. He seemed like one of those deluded 'do the deed for its own sake" kind of guys.
The priest deftly placed incense at the four corners of the coffin, lighting them with a strike of his tinder box. he kneeled over the coffin, cramped within the tight space, speaking some sort of incantation she do not recognize. After a few moments he stood up. "In the land of the dead, Nerull will come for you, but he will find you are blessed, and He will not touch you. Now child, shall we begin our search for these parasites?"
Eudaxia shuddered at the mention of Nerull. Up until this point in her life she hadn't concerned herself with the gods. Why would she? They had abandoned the world. Her parents had been heretics. They'd thrown her and their lives away in the name of a decrepit mythology. It had been a source of pain. Then the Fiend had given her the pact and everything had changed. She needed answers. It occurred to her that she'd never had such a long interaction with a member of the clergy before. In fact this was the longest conversation she'd had at all in ages.
"Alright. Though we could do with some kind of bait. There's a sewer not too far from here that probably sees some rat traffic. I'll lead the way."
It wasn't far to the grate. Shaemus followed with his hand upon her shoulder, steadily behind with the tapping of his stick. "I hope you don't mind getting a little dirty" she said. Wrenching the rusting grate open and descending the ladder. It was cold down bellow. The darkness was scarcely different from the one above, though the smell was considerably worse. She was glad she'd gone to the sewer before she went to get new clothes.
"you should probably know I have a little magic of my own, so that its not a surprise later." She said, picking a direction and advancing slowly.
"Ah a fellow descendant of the Godsbane. May Redemption find us, child."
"Ahem. yes" she said awkwardly. "Though I don't know much about it if I'm honest. Do you know much about the different kinds of magic? I know the demons had their own brand they gave during the Warp". It wasn't the most subtle way of broaching the subject but she was nervous.
"Ah yes, cursed infernals! They lure mortals with promises of power, twist them to do evil things, then rob of them of their ever lasting souls! A horrible fate awaits those who fall for such machinations!" With that, the priest fell quiet.
She felt a chill despite herself. Calm down, she thought. You haven't lost your soul. He's just spent too much time listening to them ridiculous priests' sermons. "H-how?" she asked, against her better judgement.
"Perhaps I should speak no more of this, child. There are men wiser then myself in this subject."
She nodded. It was probably best. "Who might they be then? I'd be interested in finding out more about magic. Even magical urchins don't get much opportunity for education."
"The faith would be happy to receive you child, and give you all the answers that you seek, you merely need to walk the path of Redemption. Come to Godsreach, the Temple of Larethian. I will inform my masters to expect you."
She gave a snort in the darkness. There wasn't much chance of her becoming a nun. "hmm... thanks". she carried on in silence. Her unlikely ally's hand still on her shoulder as she led the way. She hated being a tiefling most of the time. But sometimes she had to remind herself that many others couldn't see in the dark like she could and that for most of the day most humans weren't much better off than Shaemus was.
Eudaxia knew the sewers fairly well. They were useful for getting around. Indeed some parts of them could be considered streets as much as the roads overhead for how much traffic they received by those wishing to avoid notice or take a shortcut. However these were not the parts they were in now. These were the parts that led nowhere or were avoided, because the twists and turns were not worth it, or a shortcut wasn't worth meeting something terrible in the darkness. As they progressed, she began to hear the sounds of faint squeaks ahead, followed by scratches. "Do you hear that!" said Shaemus in a hushed tone.
she nodded, then remembered herself and answered vocally, approaching quietly, keeping her eyes peeled for movement.
turning the corner, there was a narrow tunnel that stretched on ahead. The sound came echoing down along with the trickle from the stream of waste that ran along the middle, flanked on each side by a narrow walking path. "I can see something" she said, noticing some kind of movement at the edge of her darkvision. She was afraid now, the form looked big and the noise was growing.
"Point me toward danger, I'm ready!" Shaemus replied briskly. She grabbed him by the shoulders uncertainly, rotating him to face the cacophony that was descending the tunnel, suddenly assailed by doubt. The form was much closer. It was moving fast. she could make them out now.
Rats. Lots of rats.
They were countless. Endless. They rushed and swelled like a giant living ocean wave of ravenous hunger. She could only watch in horror as an instant later the giant mass crashed into them. The rats crawled everywhere. They were in her hair, scrabbling in her clothes. Damp and rancid, she felt their biting, felt them scratch and dig into her skin in their craving for flesh.
In that moment, she was suddenly nothing more than a child again, and certain she would be eaten alive by rats. She screamed, and that primal fear became power in her blood. Fire sprang from her fingertips, spraying and killing rats and lighting the tunnel though there were more to take their place. They cascaded off of her like water, fleeing the flames and creating a small space around her. She ran, staggering down the tunnel, trying to escape the terrible hunger. Now free of the swarm she turned, seeing Shaemus similarly overwhelmed. He had dropped his stick and was walking blindly, tossing away the rats that attempted to scale him. She called out to him, trying to give him a voice to guide him over the screeching of the rodents, as she hurled a blast of eldritch energy into their midst, but it was weak and feeble, unable to quench their numbers. That's all I have in me, she thought with despair. After that one spell. For all her bravado, she was still a powerless urchin.
Then Shaemus began to chant as he stumbled towards her, a glow growing within him and a sword made of light appearing in the air. It cut through the angry swarm in large swathes, cleaving rats and scattering their bits around the tunnel as they attempted pursuit. She grabbed his hand as he approached, practically dragging him back towards the exit they'd come in. "I've lost my stick" he lamented, now clutching a dagger.
"There are other sticks." She replied, still running for her life from the terrible sounds that followed them down the tunnel. She practically dived on the ladder to the surface when they reached it, clambering out of the oppressive underground to fresh air. Turning to help Shaemus, she saw him misstep and slip on the ladder. She dived for his hand but it was too late. He fell back and disappeared into the churning, awaiting horde.
No..., she thought in despair. She'd led him to his death. He didn't deserve this. She knew it didn't matter. That the world didn't care. But this time she had to try. She summoned the energy inside of herself once more, shooting another blast of energy into their midst, but this one was even more pathetic than the last and barely fizzled as it made contact with the rats. So useless... Always at the mercy of others.
Fire, She thought numbly, they fled the fire. She dug amongst her things looking for a torch, losing precious seconds fumbling with a tinderbox to get the pitch lit. She dropped it limply down the hole, and heard the squeal as the pack moved to avoid the heat. As they cleared she caught sight of a figure trying to get to its feet, slashing with a dagger and seeking the ladder. They were starting to diminish now, retreating to find easier prey.
Eudaxia dug deep inside herself. Searching for the power she needed. The power she craved with the furious intensity of a thousand starving rats. The power she knew that she had. A beam of crackling energy sprang from her palm with a cry, smashing into the monstrosities and sending them flying against the tunnel walls. Those that did not fall dead scattered into the depths, leaving the tunnel clear. In the long silence that followed, it took everything Eudaxia had to descend back down the ladder. She helped the priest to find it.
"My thanks child.... I fear I won't so much as look at a latrine again!"
Now that the adrenaline was fading she found herself growing angry. Furious at having put herself in such danger, and for overestimating both herself and her companion. She never relied on others, that was her rule. What had gotten into her. Now a new fear settled on her, the fear of the Gray Plague. Now that she could focus, she realised she could feel a burning in her wounds, slowly seeping into her. Then something seemed to resist, the burning retreated and the injuries subsided to a dull throb.
What was that? Part of my powers? Did that mean the Gray Plague was magical too? Now that she thought about it, she'd never heard of rats being so aggressive, so relentless. It was almost as if they had been possessed by some kind of force.
In any case one thing is clear, she thought, as Shaemus healed her with a spell. I need to get stronger.
