As the rat swarm scatters, Marius' face grows concerned and wide-eyed in realization. He sets his backpack down and opens a side pouch, cooing to it, "Paula, are you okay?" while reaching out via empathic link to his familiar. After confirming her survival, Marius turns to the others to explain. "There was never a not-awkward time for introductions before, but for her safety I best do it now. Paula is my familiar: my little lab rat." Marius smiles, both at his joke and at his pet's existence, before continuing, "I'm still training her, but she can be an extra set of eyes and poke into smaller places if need be. Still, I may ask her to trail behind us, both for her safety and to prevent someone from sneaking up from behind." Doing his best to communicate with his rat familiar, Marius asks, "Do you think you could do that, girl?"

When the party debates whether and how to continue sweeping the perimeter, Marius offers while eyeing the building with distrust, "I'd still prefer to leave the prison proper 'til last, even peeking into the manor a bit first. I'd rather not even go near the prison until then, unless I'm outvoted here. It's possible our investigations of the outer buildings and towers might offer clues for dealing with whatever's in there, and forewarned being forearmed, I want to learn what we can first."

Spoiler: OoC
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Marius is proposing to use his rat familiar's empathic link to watch the party's rear, on the assumption that if the rat feels fear then something scary is probably sneaking up behind us. If the rat consistently pings as frightened, Marius will likely give up on that plan and just carry her in his pack once more, with instructions to flee to safe distance and keep watch should a fight break out.