Part 3: Sojourn into the Barrowmaze

[MrHemlocks]

Marcus looks over at Hedric. "Take some of the rags those undead are wearing. I am sure they will burn easy."

[imperialus]

Seeing the others busying themselves with the rags Gawain has an idea. "What if you were to stand at this door with the smoke, and I stand opposite with some food. Smoke alone may just anger them, but if they can smell food in this direction, and I hurl it down the hallway perhaps they will leave us be."

[RiotInferno]

"Did you bring food or are you the food?"

"You might be able to put it down, but then the rats might stick around. It's not like we can easily shoo them off. It's not a bad idea, as long as its thought through."

"My grandpappy had rats in his cellar once. They were the damnedest thing. He eventually had to pay some folks that were passing through to go down there and kill them. After they were done they ransacked all the barrels and chests in his basement and made off with all his bottles of wine. Then, after he told them they weren't getting paid after blatantly stealing from him, they threatened to burn his house down."

[DMStue]

Hearing the plan to smoke out the rats, Dren fears his small stature is like to prove a tempting escape route before a stampede of burning, terrified rats.

Gazing up at the cobweb shrouded corner above the door, Dren pauses a moment, securing his dagger in his oversized wooden teeth, then clambers up the wall beside the door seeking a vantage point above the rats, but below the escaping smoke that will no doubt issue from the room beyond.

[ybn1197]

I need to know who is doing what. I know Dren is climbing the wall to a safe perch. As I understand the rest, someone is going to one door to lay down food while someone is going to smoke the rats from the opposite side.

[RiotInferno]

Pyrrhic draws his spear, in case the rats attack, but does not take any aggressive action. Hopefully the rats flee, instead of fight.

[Ludanto]

Mortiganto steps back, out of the expected path of flight, but ready to defend any that the rats might attack.

"Ready," he says.

[imperialus]

Gawain will gather some of the rations out of his pack, and traveling around the outside of the room go to, and open the opposite door, ready to throw it down the hall should the rats come running out that way.

[MrHemlocks]

Marcus, waiting to see if Gawain's plan clears the room also readies his bow should these large rats decided to attack the party.

I forgot. Which room are we in and which contain the rats? Can you place a red dot on the map showing the location of the rats? Thanks

[ybn1197]

Posting updated map as requested. The dots in the room are the giant rats. The majority of the characters are at the location marked Players. The location marked Zombie Enc is where you fought the zombies previously.

[ybn1197]

Marcus - South door, bow ready
Pyrrhic - South door, spear ready
Mortiganto - South door, sword ready
Uto - ??
Dren - South door, perched on the wall
Hedric - South door with oil
Gawain - North door with food

This is the layout as I understand it. Someone is going to light a fire at the south door while Gawain places food outside the north door to channel the rats out of the room. Am I correct?

[RiotInferno]

That is what I understand the plan to be.

[MrHemlocks]

"Since it was my idea let me do it." Reaching into his backpack, Marcus pulls out a pint of oil and his flint & steel box. Stuffing the oil with rags, gathered from undead, and setting it ablaze from sparks created by using the flint & steel, he waits till the food is placed outside the north door before tossing into the room. "I am ready..."

[imperialus]

Gawain will break up the hard-tack in his hand, scattering some in front of the door and tossing the remainder further down the hallway before cracking the door open and stepping back.

Ready!

[MrHemlocks]

Watching Gawain move along the northern door while spreading crumbs on the ground, Marcus waits his chance to light the oil. Seeing that the trap is set he yells out."Here goes men!" Tossing the oil, on the dungeon floor, he watches as it breaks open spilling out into flames and black smoke.

[ybn1197]

Marcus lops the impromptu grenade into the room and watches as the vial breaks, spreading burning oil out onto the floor. Four of the giant rats find themselves in the spill area of the oil and are quickly on fire, their fur burning and coated in oil.

[1d8] = 4 points of damage

They thrash about as the fire licks at their torsos and before long they simple collapse. The other 7 scurry about the room before picking up the sent of the hard tack placed by Gawain. Survival instincts (both flight from the fire and the instinct to feed) take hold and the remaining rats scurry out the northern door and into the hall, eating the tack as they follow its sent to the east.

The flames in the room quickly die down as the oil is consumed and their is no other fuel available to feed it. All that remains is the sack you previously spotted.

XP posted in the appropriate thread. I am giving you XP for defeating all of them with ingenuity.

[DMStue]

Coughing slightly as he emerges from the smokey air floating around the ceiling, Dren nimbly descends the wall into the corridor.

Casting a glance into the rat room, he decides to use the time that the others spend searching the room to scout the corridor leading away from him east.

Pausing first to dislodge a couple of large spiders (thankfully mundane, but rather to large for comfort) that he had gathered in his journey into the shadowy recesses of the ceiling, Dren focuses and edges carefully down the corridor checking for traps, pausing to listen at the two doors and checking them also.

[ybn1197]

You listen at both the north door and the south door but do not hear anything coming from within either barrier. The hallway continues to the east into what appears to be an open chamber and there is movement at the edge of sight from within.

[imperialus]

As the fire burns down Gawain will enter the room and poke at the sack the rats were rooting around in with his sword before opening it and calling out what he finds to the remainder of the party.

[MrHemlocks]

Watching Gawain has he pokes the bag, Marcus calls out to Dren. "What do you see down the hallway?"