Session XVI - November 10, 2007
6th day, 3rd rule, state of Delirium.

The eye-sting fog is as thick now as it ever was.

He dumps Chryseis into the filled tub, spilling water and cess everywhere. The water drains into the apartment below and Javius comes up to see what's going on. I race by him to fetch Prioress Ismine; who, upon hearing my request for aide, comes at once.

Javius sets himself to mopping up the floor and helping clean up the mess.

Chryseis and Ludvik both recover from their wounds thanks to Prioress Ismine's assistance. Eki and I spend some time trying to mop up the fouled water, rince the tub, heat some water and give Ludvik a chance to take a bath. Ismine heals Ekikos, then blesses our future endeavors.

Ekikos opens the portal, Chryseis casts light on her shield making the Gorgon's head glow. We cross the entry chamber, skirting the pool of ichor and side stepping the dead rats. Upon closer inspection, the area doesn't seem that old or even in much disrepair. But it is covered in shit.

The stairs to the right lead down into a slightly sunken room. It was probably a bath. Across the room, against the outer wall, is a manikin half covered in shit. It looks like someone's building an effigy. There's a pattern of muck and guck on the floor; but none of us recognize the pattern.

We go up the stairs and find a door. Beyond, Ekikos hears the clinking of glasses and lots of conversations. We descend and talk for a bit. Ludivk opens the door, beyond is a tapestry. As Ludvik and I go through, Ekikos and Chryseis go back to the small room just off the main room. The small room smells like an animal pen, filled with junk, regular-sized rats, grain and rags.

A short corridore lies beyond the door. At one end is a lavatory, and at the other is a bar in complete darkness. In the center of the tavern room is a giant candle. People sit around the candle, some groping in the darkness and others seeming quite comfortable in it. Most of the patrons of the bar are human or human-oid. There's a disproportionate number of tieflings. There are about 2 dozen tables, and booths along the wall have curtains. The barman is brawny and has tusks; but not much hair -- a half-ork.

There's no music, no food, just the tap room. It's pretty quiet. Ludvik goes to the bar and get a drink. He tries to find someone who knows about the wererats, but he gets nowhere.

We rejoin Ekikos and Chryseis after about an hour. Ekikos finds an area in the small room where the wall has no mortar. Beyond is a small passage that ends at the flow of sewerwater. Ekikos tries to jump it, but gets attacked by 3 zombies.

The battle ensued. Since Ekikos was the closest, all three attacked him first. They grabbed at him, and hurt him badly. I climbed Chryseis and fired off a skipstone at one Zombie. Chryseis took her time and cast a healing spell on Ekikos while Ludvik lunged at a Zombie with his sword. Regardless, the Zombies took Ekikos down, then turn on Ludvik.

Ludvik manages to cross the stream, but now the Zombies block his escape. Chryseis manages to slash a Zombie with her shield while grabbing Ekikos' collar and pulling him from the river of filth. I manage to take Ekikos from Chryseis and begin the slow job of dragging him back into the room and safety.

Ludvik manages to get back to the other side of the river, but suffers more damage from the ever-attentive Zombies. Even though Chryseis manages to heal Ludvik, he goes down. Chryseis grabs Ludvik and hauls him away from the river. Once we move away from the river, the zombies return to hiding beneath the river.

Chryseis and I drag our charges back to Crossguard. Once through the portal Chryseis lays them out on a quilt on the floor. I go get Prioress Ismine again. She was visiting with an bear-man who seems to know our plight. Prioress Ismine brings Ekikos and Ludvik back to health.

Once again we light the fire, and heat water in the tub to bathe. We wash ourselves, then the apartment, clothes and armour. We lay the armoire doors-down on the ground. In our absence Ismine has organized a bucket-brigade drill. There's a line of 20 or so people dumping water into the sewers.

When I return home that night I find Eugene has returned. He met Ginal Elli. She wants him to improve his penmanship and learn more languages, but if it works out she'll take him on a trip to the beastlands. He's very excited about it all. I fall asleep in my basket, cradling the eye and trying to think of the barmy killer.

Chryseis, Priestess Lini and Aurilius are all out patrolling the neighborhood tonight. Ekikos visits his brother and has dinner with the family. Hynrick is sitting before his home's hearth with his feet soaking in a bucket of warm water. Ludvik spends some quality time with him.

During the early evening Ekikos storms out of the house. Upstairs we heard the angry overtones of an argument between Nestor and Ekikos, but no details. Aurilius seeks Ekikos out with a reply message from Journos. Ludvik catches up with Ekikos and they talk and go to the Black Sail on Ale house row to talk.