Riverside 20: Another day, another disaster

[Shadowcaller]

Tracking Rats- Spewer & Karl

As the two are talking they might hear something from inside the storehouse and they might see movement from inside.
Should either of them investigate more closely they will see that it's the rats inside the house who are on the move. All the rats are now carefully attempting to descend down into the hole leading into the strange underground passage underneath the building. Why they'd would risk falling down there is anyone's guess but it has to be so important that they'd risk injury and even death to do it.

[Morty]

[Court of the Rat King - Amalungak]

The glow in the King in Rags' eyes flares up as the children bring up his past. Yes, he knows every well what they mean. The betrayal and humiliation still burn deep in his core. And every one of the Gentry is aware that reality is what perception and imagination make it. The constant struggle to be seen in the correct fashion.

"So be it. I accept your offer. I will take this weapon you speak of, and if it helps me reach the Fairest of Lands, I will not forget about you once my station is restored."

[Earl of Purple]

Tracking Rats- Karl & Spewer

I don't think Spewer left the warehouse, trying to keep a wall between himself and the skeletons. When he hears the noise, he'll turn and see the rats swarming down. "Oh, that is not good. Come, stop the rats from going down there, if you can! Try and thin their numbers." He reaches into a pocket of his jacket and pulls out a tub of what look like breath mints and pops a couple into his mouth. He really hopes the girl who disappeared isn't down that hole, but he can't tell and has to stop the rats. He vomits far too much thick, sticky yellow liquid out at the rats. The pill he took changes his usual liquid fear into a flesh-eating acid, though it doesn't taste very nice and it burns a little on the way up.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Telephone]

"No apology needed," Ilpholin assures Cessie. She does pause though. She hadn't heard anything about Cessie curing Jezebel or breaking up with her or bonding with her in such a way demons can't. Which means it hasn't happened yet. Which did make Cessie something of a security risk, in bed with the enemy. There was only so much she could tell Cessie without it getting out to the demons. Unfortunately that was always a risk calling VIGIL. Wenomir, being naturally honest, would tell Cessie and it'd be the same problem if she had called him.

"I'm testing to see if they can get sick," Ilpholin says in what amounts to some of the truth. "You know, on the microscopic level. I already use silver-laced poisons, but it's too crude and not as effective as I'd like."

[Gullara]

((Will post for rats tomorrow.))

Weird William’s

Anastasia doesn’t seem to notice as Kitsuki seats herself closer, looking a tad surprised as the folks around her start to quiet down. She picks up in why quickly enough though, and after picking up her guitar and taking a breath to steady herself, she begins to play. The song is bright and cheery, and although she seems too nervous to try and sing alongside it, she plays well. Once she finishes, Anastasia nervously stands up and takes a little bow.

Foster’s Home and Misbehaving Friends

The sound against her window causes Anastasia to startle - but soon enough she moves to the window and pulls back the curtain, clutching her zweihander in one hand.

”O-oh, uh, hey!” Anastasia moves to pull the window open and let Eliseo in. “I, um, didn’t expect to see you out there,” she apologizes nervously, setting her blade aside with just a bit of difficulty.

Weird William's

Ana finds that there's quite a few things put in her guitar case by the appreciative patrons. Money, of course; plenty of coins, mostly copper, none of silver- the closest is a coin made of nickle, which shares the colour but not the mystic properties of that precious metal. A bundle of notes, British ones, held together with an elastic band; counting it out, there's two hundred pounds there, but the notes are old- paper twenties, not plastic, and they're riddled with spelling errors, typos and quality issues. Maybe half are good enough to pass casual inspection. A necklace of fangs, small fox teeth, large wolf teeth, curved shadowcat teeth, even bigger bear teeth and some massive direwolf teeth. A stake of hawthorn. A silk handkerchief, printed with a crude, but understandable, map to a place called 'Cap'n Tomb-Blade's Cove'.

[Weird William's]

After Ana finishes her song, Kitsuki fishes a small fold of cash from the front of her shirt, grabs a couple bills, and stows the rest away again. She gets up and and goes over to drop the bills in her case. "So what's a kid doing hanging around a place like this?" Kitsuki looks down at the girl. Her five tails swish from one side to the other. Ana might have a sense of familiarity for this woman she's never seen in her whole life.

[Arik's Place]

"So you don't want to tell me." Arik's voice rings hollow. "It was my only condition so if you're not even going to give me that I'm not sure we can see eye to eye here."

[Arik's Place]

Kirk's expression darkens. "Some things aren't mine to tell. This Helios comes to us with a gift in one hand and a knife in the other. He says to trust him. Take his word for it. If you want to know what wants, ask him yourself. I'll give you money or trade for just a little information."

[Arkhosia]

Weird William’s

The counterfeit nature of those bills goes unnoticed for now; Anastasia’s not going to inspect her earnings closely in some flagrant manner in front of those who gave them to her. She does eye a few of the contributions with befuddlement as she looks down at the contents after everyone’s made their donations, though. Not that she’s judging anything of course! I’m sure they mean well and those teeth have some worth to the donators, but it’s still... weird.

The kitsune blinks in surprise as Kitty addresses her, and blinks once more when she sees who’s addressing her. She’s never seen another of her kind before, much less one with so many tails, or one who seems so... oddly familiar. Like she faintly knows this woman, in spite of all logic. ”Just, uh, getting some practice in,” Anastasia answers meekly. “I passed by here while... um, meeting a friend, and it seemed kinda interesting to check out sometime.” And she was right, it certainly was interesting. ”You, um, don’t seem, like, a regular either,” she adds with a friendly smile.

[Rebonack]

[Doom Door]

The figure examines Mister Slash from under its hood for a time, motionless and silent. A centipede with a head like a termite comes slithering out of the cowl, scuttles down the creature's robe, and burrows into the wood.

"You are not born of the Pit," the thing says with a voice like the papery rasp of ten thousand termite wings. "But we hear an echo of it in you. Where do you come from, traveler? And to where do you go?"

That...

Doesn't answer his question.

At all.

But the figure isn't showing any interest in the money, either.

Just a living nightmare hunched in front of him, a thing of smothering nocturnal terror. Some person's darkest dreams made manifest.

At least it appears to be maybe not hostile?

[Earl of Purple]

Doom Door

The bent penny is returned to Mr. Slash's pocket. "I made my home in the Tenements for a time, and became as you see me. So that is where I am from, though not immediately. I am headed... Upward, I think. Unless I am offered a compelling reason to go somewhere else." The bogeyman tilts his head to one side and scratches at his eye. He doesn't close it, finger scratching the eyeball itself. Mister Slash remembers some human mannerisms, but not how to practice them perfectly. "Are you from this Pit, or did you arrive from elsewhere?" Since it didn't answer questions about the settlement, perhaps it will answer those about itself. Mister Slash suspects it's a very degenerate form or bogeyman, or possibly something inhuman that has slipped through the cracks. He's not sure how this place works, but it feels similar to the Tenements, so he's assuming similar rules.

[Gullara]

[Weird William's]

"How's a kid know who'd be a regular at a bar?" Kitsuki says teasingly and winks.

[Descending into Darkness - Flicker & Archera]

This is it getting out of hand. They can't fight off all these rats. A decision needs to be made. Archera rushes to Flicker, running and jumping as necessary, and grabs together the cables extending from the detonator. She draws water into her hand and freezes it into a sharp blade. She slashes it across the cables, severing them.

She really hopes it doesn't blow up.

[Arkhosia]

Weird William’s

The guitarist laughs, smiling. “I’d say that you don’t look, like, nearly as rowdy as most people here, but you never know.” Anastasia pauses for a second. “So, um, I’m- I’m guessing you’re a kitsune too? I, uh, don’t think I’ve met another one before.” She hesitates. “S-sorry if that was rude...?” She’s really not sure.

[Earl of Purple]

Descending Into Darkness- Flicker & Archera

Flicker's also hoping it doesn't blow, but now she's holding the disconnected detonator she can move around far more easily to avoid the rats. "Freeze the end of the cables! Don't let a spark hit the wires." Flicker has no idea if a spark could set of the bombs, but she knows of bombs that are set off like that and doesn't want to risk this being one of them.

[Zefir]

[B]
[Tracking Rats - Ruby and Fade]

Jaahlyn gives Ruby a confused look. "What do you mean, miss? I didn't stop and this is just a tunnel." She gestures at their gloomy surroundings as if it was the most mundane thing in the world.
But she almost immediately fall into sudden suspicion. "Why? Is something wrong? The sovereign might be playing with your mind. Their influence is strong here and sometimes they... turn people away. But that means they fear you, miss Ruby which is all the more reason we should continue. It's just a bit further." The satyr points at one of the passages, but not the one she was walking towards earlier. This seems to be a different one.
But it's really hard to tell anymore, all the passages somehow look exactly the same now. This whole place feels unreal, as if they're walking through a dream.

[Tracking Rats - Ruby and Fade]

Something is off. " Fade whispers in Rubys ear. "She was going for another hallway befor. If what she says is right then those things aren't friendly. I suggest following her for a bit more is our best option. We are already to deep."

Tracking Rats- Spewer & Karl

As the two are talking they might hear something from inside the storehouse and they might see movement from inside.
Should either of them investigate more closely they will see that it's the rats inside the house who are on the move. All the rats are now carefully attempting to descend down into the hole leading into the strange underground passage underneath the building. Why they'd would risk falling down there is anyone's guess but it has to be so important that they'd risk injury and even death to do it.

Tracking Rats- Karl & Spewer

I don't think Spewer left the warehouse, trying to keep a wall between himself and the skeletons. When he hears the noise, he'll turn and see the rats swarming down. "Oh, that is not good. Come, stop the rats from going down there, if you can! Try and thin their numbers." He reaches into a pocket of his jacket and pulls out a tub of what look like breath mints and pops a couple into his mouth. He really hopes the girl who disappeared isn't down that hole, but he can't tell and has to stop the rats. He vomits far too much thick, sticky yellow liquid out at the rats. The pill he took changes his usual liquid fear into a flesh-eating acid, though it doesn't taste very nice and it burns a little on the way up.

Tracking Rats- Spewer & Karl

As i imagined they talked through a window or so. Karl looks a bit confused as he heared the rats ( I don't think he can see much into the building anyways.) He also was ready to leave as Spewer called for him. he takes a look around, where was the door again? Shoot he doesn't know. he holds his head for a moment desprate to find a solution then a sudden plan jumps into his mind. He points at the skeletons with shields "Go help me out" he says and points at the window. One offers his shield to the summoner while the others wait in front of the window ( i think it was a higher one since warehouse?). Karl runs at the waiting skeletons holding the one shield in fron, jumping on the other shield which the skkeletons hold. Then they boost him up so the flies through the window, landing near Spewer. It#s not a point landing, but it get's the job done. he looks up at the hole immediatly using his summon circle . The shield and the skeletons disapear as he slams his hand onto the ground. The summoning circle grows and tries to cover the hole. This won't stop the rats, but a moment later things get cold, really cold. Any rat that jumps in the hole freezes midair creating a hand thick layer of ice to seal the hole. on top appears shiva, an ice djinn. "Rats again?" she says looking at Karl. "Thats the second time today."

Karl just appears heavily exhausted sweating heavily he turns to Spewer "Closed." he just replies while heavily breathing. he doesn't look very good.

[Gullara]

[Weird William's]

"No, that's fine." Kitsuki grabs a chair and seats herself in front of Ana. She looks at the girl intently. "You're not wrong, though. You can feel it, right? Like a warm flame nearby. You don't need to look at my tails to know we're the same." Her brows creases. Her statements aren't firm and assured; there's a hint of questioning in her voice.

[Arkhosia]

Weird William’s

”Yeah, I, um, I feel what you’re talking about.” It’s easy to recognize just what Kitsuki’s describing when you’ve never felt the sensation until this encounter, this strange mix of comfort and deja vu.

“So, uh, I guess we probably come from the same place then, too?” Anastasia ventures, growing a little more chipper and curious. “I mean, I don’t really remember anything before the Nexus, but I know my parents came here from... Nhung, I think?”

[Gullara]

[Weird William's]

"The Nhung Empire." Kitsuki confirms. "I spent over half my life there, but never met another kitsune. I didn't know there was more than just me."

[Arkhosia]

Weird William's

”My parents never really talked about it,” Anastasia responds. “I don’t really even know if they actually, like, were born there, now that I think of it. Just that I was?” It’s a little surprising how willing she is to talk about them. Maybe the fact that Kitsuki is kind of like one of her countrymen helps.

[Recaiden]

[Tracking Rats - Ruby and Fade]

Jaahlyn gives Ruby a confused look. "What do you mean, miss? I didn't stop and this is just a tunnel." She gestures at their gloomy surroundings as if it was the most mundane thing in the world.
But she almost immediately fall into sudden suspicion. "Why? Is something wrong? The sovereign might be playing with your mind. Their influence is strong here and sometimes they... turn people away. But that means they fear you, miss Ruby which is all the more reason we should continue. It's just a bit further." The satyr points at one of the passages, but not the one she was walking towards earlier. This seems to be a different one.
But it's really hard to tell anymore, all the passages somehow look exactly the same now. This whole place feels unreal, as if they're walking through a dream.

Something is off. " Fade whispers in Rubys ear. "She was going for another hallway before. If what she says is right then those things aren't friendly. I suggest following her for a bit more is our best option. We are already too deep."

"Someone is showing me two different passages." Or is it three? Or a dozen?
Jaahyln changed her mind about which way to go from here. Is she also being turned away by the rat sovereign? Is she moving to a new plan now that her first ruse was noticed?
Are the satyr and the sovereign trying separate schemes against them - or working together?
She doesn't want to aggravate the monster here in her own nightmare realm, but they also can't just disappear into these twisting passages.

Ruby holds out a hand towards Jaahlyn. "I think I will need you to lead me more closely. The sense of touch is harder to confuse than the eyes." And if Jaahyln is hand-in-hand with them, she'll be brought into whatever is actually at the end of these tunnels as well.

[Gullara]

[Weird William's]

It sounds like this kid won the parents lottery in that regard. There's a few kindnesses there that Kitsuki never got. "If you want to know a bit more I'd ask them about that." She suggests. Kitsuki's sure not going to tell this kid that she was adopted if she doesn't already know that.

[Arkhosia]

Weird William’s

The eagerness dies down as quickly as it had surfaced, Anastasia shifting uncomfortably and glancing away. Her tone turns solemn when she finally replies. ”They... aren’t around anymore. I- I lost them in the invasion.”

[Arkhosia]

White Rose Health Clinic

Spoiler

Show

[White Rose Health Clinic]

"I guess I rely on violence as an outlet quite often," Ithuriel mutters, looking away. Not really a fun thing to admit that, is it? "But working for Intersection gives me ample opportunity to subdue criminals in, y'know, safe ways. Someone makes a run for it, I get the same kind of rush out of chasing them down and-"

Really does just feel like her trying to justify wanting to punch something, doesn't it?

"I-"

Oh dear.

"He had no control over himself. He was helpless, and vulnerable, and none of it's his fault but I-" Words are forced out through clenched teeth as fresh tears start to fall again. Of course, it's all so obvious, isn't it? "He's just a kid and they tried to use him and I had to keep him safe. I have to keep him safe. But every time I go back home now, I look at him, I see the one who killed my unborn child. I hate him so much. I want him to understand how much he hurt me. He- he's just a kid."

"Hey, honey, deep breaths." Caelynn moves to place a hand on the angel's shoulder. "Ithuriel, I want you to picture a feather, a golden one, floating in front of you. Okay? Now, I want you to breathe, breathe in and out. Picture it rising and falling with every breath, okay? Now, I want you to keep it aloft, keep it floating. Can you do that? She'll move a hand to clasp one of the angel's in an attempt to keep her focus on her, trying to calm and reassure.

[Shadowcaller]

Tracking Rats- Spewer & Karl

The rats are not having a great time. There's really just a few of them, a little more than a dozen, so the two are more than able to kill every one of them in just a few seconds with all that effort.

So soon they all lay dead. Either by freezing cold or by acid belch.

But that's the moment when Spewer's shadowy 'friend' shows up. They melt out of the shadows right next to the hole, staring at Spewer. "I'm going down." Is the only thing they say before melting back into the shadows once more.

Descending Into Darkness- Flicker & Archera

The wires are cut.

...

They're both still here.

Something went horribly wrong or right just now.

Either way, the rats are still here too but as nothing explodes after Archera cut the wires they simply seem to lose all the will to fight and starts to scurry back deeper into the tunnel.
Looks like they managed to disarm the bomb.

[Arik's Place]

Arik expression softens. "Ah, not you but someone else. I can accept that." He waves his hand dissmissively. "So ask away then."

[Xar'cha Telephone]

"I've actually run a similar experiment already without much result." Cessie replies on the other end. "All the diseases I tested out had no effect on them. They're adapted to thrive in blood after all and the demonic essence doesn't seem to be similar enough for any disease to really stick. But what sort of diseases are you planning to test out?"

[Court of the Rat King - Amalungak]

((I will post here tomorrow. Delaying it slightly to make stuff line up a bit better.))

[Tracking Rats - Tarin & MERC Holly]

Holly can hear Tarim calling after her but his voice seems to be quickly swallowed up by the tunnel system she suddenly finds herself in. But as his voice fade so does the rest of the world seemingly as Holly too in a way is consumed by the tunnels.

She won't be able to recall much of her journey, simply seemingly endless passages which she won't be able to recall much of besides behind dark and occasionally claustrophobic. It's like wandering through a dream where the perception of time has lost all meaning.

By the time she simply walks out in a large cavern somewhere far below the point where she entered the tunnels it could have been either just been an hour or several.
She is now in the scene just below this one.

[Tracking Rats - Ruby and Fade & Holly]

"Of course, ma'am." The satyr replies with a bow before taking Ruby's hand.
She then walks through one of the passages, difficult to tell which one at this point, and for the first time for what must be an fairly long amount of time, they're somewhere different.

A huge cavern have opened up before them as they step out of the passage, one which they had no vision of before. Indeed, considering how much nose the constantly dripping ceiling stalacitites are making it seems impossible they wouldn't have at least heard it when they must have just been a few meters away.

In the distance a large underground lake can be seen, likely formed from centuries of water dripping down into this cavern.
But they are not alone to arrive here as a woman (Holly the half-elf!) almost arrive into the cavern at the same time as them, coming out from a nearby passage.
"More guests..." Jaahlyn mutters, seemingly talking more to herself than Ruby.

[5a Violista]

[Tracking Rats -- -Ruby, Fade, Holly]

The half-human Holly goes through the tunnel.
It's really frustrating.
Almost makes her want to just turn around and go take a shower then go back to bed.

She sees the lake first: Oh, hey! She can finally wash off those useless male rat pheromones from her.
Then, she notices the other people. She kind-of recognizes them! "Hi! It's you guys!" Holly is, of course, wearing a completely different outfit from what she was wearing when they last saw each other at the MERC base. She's now got black fingerless opera gloves and matching tall boots, a black--and-white shoulderless dress-and-corset with metallic patterns, and a black tiara that looks almost like horns. And a shotgun.
...
Completely different from what she was wearing earlier, and very likely inappropriate for a sewer expedition.


She describes Amalungak..."Have you seen him go this way?" She walks towards them.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Telephone]

"Oh," Ilpholin says, disappointed off the bat. "Iiii wouldn't know. Specifics like that are for Mister Squiggles and HAL's algorithms. But if diseases won't work, I still gotta test out the back-up plan. Which more or less boils down to specially modified nano-machines."

[Gullara]

Weird William’s

The eagerness dies down as quickly as it had surfaced, Anastasia shifting uncomfortably and glancing away. Her tone turns solemn when she finally replies. ”They... aren’t around anymore. I- I lost them in the invasion.”

[Weird William’s]

"Oh." That's all Kitsuki can muster immediately. What do you say to that? "I'm sorry." As lame as that feels, it's all she can really offer. The kitsune looks down at the guitar case again. "You have someplace you can go, right?"

Descending Into Darkness- Flicker & Archera

The wires are cut.

...

They're both still here.

Something went horribly wrong or right just now.

Either way, the rats are still here too but as nothing explodes after Archera cut the wires they simply seem to lose all the will to fight and starts to scurry back deeper into the tunnel.
Looks like they managed to disarm the bomb.

[Descending Into Darkness- Flicker & Archera]

Archera stands frozen for a few long moments after the wires are cut. Somehow she hardly believes that worked. She relaxes all at once. Her arms go limp and the wires drop from her fingers. The water she was pushing around the room pools on the floor. Her shoulders slump. That was too much.

[Arik's Place]

Arik expression softens. "Ah, not you but someone else. I can accept that." He waves his hand dissmissively. "So ask away then."

[Arik's Place]

Kirk's eyes narrow and he assesses Arik all over again. The shift was almost too sudden, but he'll take what he can get. "There's one simple question, can Helios be trusted? He's asking a lot and promising the impossible. The price might be worth it, but we know almost nothing about him."

[Arkhosia]

Weird William’s

Anastasia looks briefly a little confused, but quickly realized why Kitty asked. ”Oh, uh, I do now! A friend’s family helped me find a foster home. I just, um, started busking before all that and really liked it, so I kinda, like, made it a bit of a hobby?” it also means that her foster parents don’t have to worry about something like an allowance, so that’s a plus.

“But, yeah, uh, I don’t really have much in terms of info heritage-wise? They left me the family sword, but other than that it’s not like I have anything?”

[Earl of Purple]

Descending into Darkness
Archera & Flicker

Flicker watches the rats disappear, and zips over to Archera. "You want to head back to the others, now? Taking this thing with us, obviously. Better idea, come here and stand on my feet and hold me tight. If you're not touching the ground I can take us back there quicker." She zips over to Archera and will spread her arms wide.

Karl & Spewer

"What- Oh. Hey, wait! Where'd you go? Oh, this is... frustrating." Spewer really doesn't trust the shadow-lady, and now she's disappeared again and probably getting in trouble and he's left up here with the creepy necromancer.

Weird William's

The barman is approaching Kitty and Ana! And one of the wererats from the high stakes gambling is loitering nearby.

"Ah, hello miss guitarist. I enjoyed your playing, and... Well, we don't get live music very often. Would you like a gig? Say, next Friday, seven till midnight? I'll pay. Six gold coins an hour, plus tips and all the soft drink you can, uh, drink." Gives him a week to spread the word, and with the people who heard her today to spread it too. Should make his Friday a little more popular, even with the expense of paying her. Unless she's got a bottomless bladder and drinks all his lemonade.

The wererat has sat nearby, just out of human earshot- though given this is a lycanthrope bar, he's probably eavesdropping anyway.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[White Rose Health Clinic]

Taking one of Ithuriel's hands is perhaps not the wisest course of actions, as Caelynn will swiftly discover. Ithuriel has a grip like a vice, and squeezes Caelynn's hand firmly as she shudders and slowly tries to calm herself, focusing on her breathing.

"Not...not healthy thoughts to have, huh?" She mutters after a few moments, relaxing her grip. "I should probably go."

[Shadowcaller]

[Court of the Rat King - Amalungak]

All the children nod and the last girl puts her dainty hand over the King of Rag's and gives it a weak shake.
Once the gesture has been given two of the other children raise from their thrones and produce a elegant light blue cloak from somewhere. Was it always hidden within the throne or did it spontaneously appear once it was needed? Perhaps both.
But the two will walk up with it folded up between their outheld arms and offer it to him.
"A cloak worn by a hero granted to their beast. As its concept is opposed I will be the one which speaks first." The last speaking girl declares, being the one that talks first this time. Breaking the "order" in which the rat king seems to be talking in.

[Arik's Place]

Arik shakes his head. "Afraid that's not the right question. The real question you should be asking is, 'what would Helios gain from appearing trustworthy to you'?" The sorcerer shrugs. "Thus, I would need more context to properly answer a question like that." He makes a dismissive gesture while still continuing. "A long-term relationship would suggest that he needs you for more than just this one deal while a short term one could mean that he might just need this one thing before cutting your relationship off. See, to Helios all relationships are investments, like cattle. He raises them, he milks them, and sometimes he slaughters a few to cash in. So how valuable do you imagine whoever you're doing this for is to him? What long-term benefits could he get from the relationship?"

Descending into Darkness - Flicker & Archera

As the rats leave all that Archera and Flicker can eventually hear is the faint groans and curses coming from the mutants they left behind and the river still softly running down in the chasm.

[Xar'cha Telephone]

"Nano-machines." Cessie repeats thoughtfully. "I can't say I know much about that form of technology but it gives me an idea. We're establishing a technological branch of VIGIL where these samples would be stored. Perhaps he could come over and collect them while at the same time explain to the people there how he's planning to use them? I think they could benefit a lot from it as they're going to start manufacturing weapons we could use against these creatures. The scientists working there are still fairly new to the organization and don't know a lot about our struggle against the demons so you and Mr. Squiggles bringing them up to date would be perfect."

[Morty]

[Court of the Rat King - Amalungak]

The King reaches out with his hand to take the cloak. Much like the "wings" on his back, it's made out of gnarled, dead black wood.

"I will give it to one of my knights who fight against this beast."

[Tracking Rats -- -Ruby, Fade, Holly]

The group's already difficult position deep in the tunnels is about to get worse. Something seems to be emerging from the deeper tunnels. It's... cat-people? Ghosts of cat-people, more like, with glowing red eyes, carrying guns and knives. There seems to be eight of them, with three carrying guns, two carrying knives and three relying on sharp claws. Once they spot the four people, they take off in their direction with wordless malice. The cat-people carrying guns stop and start firing inaccurate bursts of bullets in their direction. While the ammunition is as spectral as they are, being hit with it is still about as pleasant as a real bullet.

[Recaiden]

[Tracking Rats - Ruby and Fade & Holly]

Holly can hear Tarim calling after her but his voice seems to be quickly swallowed up by the tunnel system she suddenly finds herself in. But as his voice fade so does the rest of the world seemingly as Holly too in a way is consumed by the tunnels.

She won't be able to recall much of her journey, simply seemingly endless passages which she won't be able to recall much of besides behind dark and occasionally claustrophobic. It's like wandering through a dream where the perception of time has lost all meaning.

By the time she simply walks out in a large cavern somewhere far below the point where she entered the tunnels it could have been either just been an hour or several.

---

"Of course, ma'am." The satyr replies with a bow before taking Ruby's hand.
She then walks through one of the passages, difficult to tell which one at this point, and for the first time for what must be an fairly long amount of time, they're somewhere different.

A huge cavern have opened up before them as they step out of the passage, one which they had no vision of before. Indeed, considering how much nose the constantly dripping ceiling stalacitites are making it seems impossible they wouldn't have at least heard it when they must have just been a few meters away.

In the distance a large underground lake can be seen, likely formed from centuries of water dripping down into this cavern.
But they are not alone to arrive here as a woman (Holly the half-elf!) almost arrive into the cavern at the same time as them, coming out from a nearby passage.
"More guests..." Jaahlyn mutters, seemingly talking more to herself than Ruby.

The half-human Holly goes through the tunnel.
It's really frustrating.
Almost makes her want to just turn around and go take a shower then go back to bed.

She sees the lake first: Oh, hey! She can finally wash off those useless male rat pheromones from her.
Then, she notices the other people. She kind-of recognizes them! "Hi! It's you guys!" Holly is, of course, wearing a completely different outfit from what she was wearing when they last saw each other at the MERC base. She's now got black fingerless opera gloves and matching tall boots, a black--and-white shoulderless dress-and-corset with metallic patterns, and a black tiara that looks almost like horns. And a shotgun.
...
Completely different from what she was wearing earlier, and very likely inappropriate for a sewer expedition.


She describes Amalungak..."Have you seen him go this way?" She walks towards them.

"How far under the city must we be?" Ruby wonders aloud, looking out at the grand cave.
Do they have any evidence that this is the right place?

But they're interrupted!
"Holly? What is that costume you-no, the only things we've seen is Jaahlyn here and rat corpses."
"How did you find this place?"