Scribblin's of the Dread Pirate Bobak - To Catch a Scavenger

In which some other persons of mixed motivations pursue and subdue a threat to the city of Frial.

General Summary

Avast mateys! Come close and bear witness ta what the top investigator o' the Adamantite Order had been put ta task today. Seems the terrible and heretical Rat King has reared it's head once more and managed ta cross paths with the suspicious chaffy upstarts out in Bellhaven that're lookin' to make 'emselves a School fer Gifted Youngers led by Headmistress Sparrowvier, and the tidin's ill. Accordin' to me cap'n Basilocke, they've likely scuppered three o' their less magical allies and are keen on offerrin' 'em back fer the tidy price o' one rosy cheeked diaper fillin' chitlin from their school.

More to the cause, more to the Claws!
More to the Claws!
— Red Claw and the aspiring Goga Gem-Eater

They've crossed a spirit, an entity of some kind, that's been long dormant in that region, and now that its awoken, its consuming children, turning them into vermin and sustaining itself on their essensce. It calls itself the Rat King.
— Joriah Basilocke

Th' Cap'n Basilocke explained that he'd be settin me and me skills loose 'pon Frial herself with the help o' two others to dig into this pinkie lubbin' spirit o' nature, and me old acquaintance Goga Gemeater o' the Savages t'would be one o' the others and somehow n' someway 'er another, there was to be a 2nd first mate but Cap'n weren't sure from where or who that'd be, suspiciously. I went over to Calpiper Park (a quiet place in Schwartzwald, home o' Frial Arboretum) round abouts 2 bells after midnight and ran smack into Goga hisself and whilst we did our usual dance o' intimidatin', the last person showed up, the chaffy gal herself, Casiopea. We spoke a moment about what we would do to get onta the trail o' ol' Ratty. We discussed what information we had and decided on investigatin' the warehouse site in Bellhaven where these school marms got jumped within the realm o' Street-King Nimoy.

Who's the third sorry sot that's been assigned to this job?
So you weren't told either?
Only what I need to know, and that I don't need to bother to spare a second thought for you lot.
— Goga Gemeater and Bobak, of the Signature Room

I'm glad I didn't find the two of you necking in here, I'm told you've run into each other a few times.
Even if we had been neckin', it wouldn't have made us as flighty as your mercenary ilk.
Who's linin' your pockets tonight then?
I honestly don't know this time, we're working through notes.
— Casiopea, Bobak, and Goga

How do we know the Rat King hasn't hired you to assassinate the investigators!?
— Goga

I don't have any particular rapport with Nimoy, because anything he can do, frankly, I can do much better.
We're in the same boat then.
Agreed. I have had to kill a couple of his people though.
Well, maybe you should stay out of the conversation then.
— Cassie, Bobak, Goga on Cassie murdering the street king's men

I'm sure you'll have a lot in common, as far as willingness to eat raw meat.
If that were the case he'd have a little bit more of my respect, but I highly doubt it.
Listen, sometimes you have to make a decision, and you make that decision because its the thin' you have to do.
I have to be here tonight.
Sometimes you bite down on that raw meat and kick it with your stomach.
— Cassie, Goga, and Bobak on common threads and Bobak's advice on eating raw meat

Along th' way, I noticed that there was quite a lack a rats about City Center district, even though this were the sweaty middle o' Moradin's Ire, and the volumes o' shops and bits o' food about woulda been the veritable feast fer 'em. We found Nimoy's wanderin' haunt o' audience and his retainers, cookin' some possum above a rubbish fire. After briefly catchin' up on th' last time I assisted the homeless lord, we explained we were sent by the various and sundry orders to assist his citizens in that schoolyard with their problem o' his Ratty Leige-ness. Nimoy led us to the scene o' the crime, as it were, and we observed that they had burnt the buildin' to the ground in retribution fer what happened, as he claimed there were quite a bit a rats and such runnin' around yet and they wanted to stick a finger in their eye. Between the three o' us, we cornered a festerin' little bugger and then held him at a distance fer a bit while I tried some mind magics on him in order to determine if I follow their nasty link to their big boss and all o' his cronies. Unfortunately at the time, the Vermin Supreme was ready fer such and I couldn't get a good trace goin', but we discussed briefly consultin' some folks in the Ebon Orchestra to see if they could make it's corpse twitch with the right dance moves fer us. Cassie volunteered a contact o' hers in City center that had some specialty to the mind arts and after thenkin' the king hobo hisself, we set out to meet 'em.

Easy boy, what is it?
— Cassie to the transformed Goga

Pat your paw once for you're not going to kill it and pat your paw twice for you will kill a fae on sight.
Goga pats his paw once
Ok, I'll take that.
Goga pats his paw three times
He can count?
— Cassie, Goga, and Bobak on visiting Cassie's contact

He was holdin' a court o' his own in a backalley, and Cassie introduced him as Topper. At a glance, I thought he was a type o' Gnome that I hadn't met before, what with 'em bein' so uncommon in Frial and Far Harbor, but a closer investigation to the Trained Investigative Eye revealed him to be some sort o' fae that wanted people to think he was a gnome, I told no one, save Basilocke later on, and let 'em present whatever sort o' story they wanted fer what he could do. We passed by a fairly large homeless population on the way that Cassie interacted with and handed off various objects and vittles from her pockets. He was recitin' some street poetry and smellin' o' drink. He said he'd need us to link up our hands to get into this thing's head, and whatever it was connected with's head, and we could go around and see what it was thinkin' about and delve in deeper. He claimed it would be very safe and he'd done it dozens o' times before, givin' me the surety somethin' was to go wrong here. As Goga had transformed into a wolf to nab the critter, I put my hands on him, and Cassie's hand and she took Topper's hand and he cast the spell usin' TWO charges o' manacite and the world went dark.

I've got spells of plenty and he's not going to resist anything that I can cast. I could teach you a thing or two about it.
— Topper, "Top", the spriggan mentalist

Comin' awake, we found ourselves in a sort o' dark tunnel, surrounded by more darkness, but now with a steady beat, like a heart, thumpin' away in the not too distance. Cassie and Goga were there with us as well, but Top was nowhere to be found. It slowly dawned on me that I couldna feel anythin' o' my own body, as if I was a mind adrift in the ether o' thought, which was partially informed with what Topper said he was goin' to do. With this dawnin' realization, I could then start to sense the surroundins and advised Goga and Cassie how to do likewise. Goga was no longer in his beast form here in the mental realm, and so we set out down the blood slickened tunnels, loud with skritchin' o' rats to find the source o' the heart beat. Goga had an ability to see the natural magic flowin' about the area and he described that this was a place o' great corruption and fester on the leyline o' Tairos, which is quite the feat considerin' the rebuke and all. Cassie was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience which told me that whomever hired her didn't inform her o' what Rowna the Oracle had shared to the Orders.

What's this supposed to be then, eh?
Well, we're in it. It doesn't look like this normally, I've been in the minds of a lot of different people, you know it's their safe place, their home or their castle.
We're chasing down the spirit from beyond the grave of a rat ain't we? This is what you might expect a rat's home to be, aye?
I guess, and I never want to do it again. Normally I can find fragments of people's thoughts in here and if we can find the core, we can get more information, but this is much different then I expected. I guess I expected something undead or a wizard or something
— Goga, Cassie, and Bobak on the thoughtscape

Well the intel indicated it was a force of nature slash spirit slash unliving thing that happens to wear the mein of a man.
Animal spirits, feh.
— Bobak, Goga

As we traveled, Goga started talkin' to a spirit that evidently begged him fer help that we couldn't see and after it started approachin' him threatenin'ly, I got me an idea to use the force of my mind to share Goga's vision and saw the horrors he mentioned earlier o' trapped children in the walls that were transformin' into rats. I could also use Goga's sight to see this unfortunate here in the mind as well as where it was in Frial. I told Cassie that my idea worked and beckoned her over and after a bit o' hesitatin', she shared in the his vision and I took the opportunity to see what I could see from her mind too haha! I caught a couple glimpses o' a beautifully done wrought iron gates o' roses and apples. We then heard and immediately saw a nasty blister from the King startin' to form in a wall with dozens o' his little plague slaves ready to spill out into some nasty hallway fightin'. I dragged the two o' 'em away before we could be ambushed and the demonic rats began to spill out behind us as I led all o' us toward the heart deftly and without detection to the central chamber o' the king.

Please don't leave me...
Help yerself, if ye can. tosses handaxe to the rat-halfling, it falls directly through his spiritual form
— Unknown child hostage of the Rat-King and Goga

There was a slumberin' skeletal dragon but with spidery legs and three rat skull heads atop a floatin' core but all about the chamber more pustules began to form at the perimeter. We decided quickly that I'd be the most adept at extractin' the information stealthily while Cassie and Goga would stem the oncomin' tide o' rats until I got enough information fer us to act in the physical world. I as able to keep my thoughts calm and workin' my way into it's heart while the three skulls remained asleep, and up close I could see each skull was decked with a crown o' thorns. I was able to remain undetected while browsin' its shallowest thoughts, I determined that it was very focused on a single place within Frial, that I then narrowed down into Trentpoole and then finally to a gruff heavy lookin' unshaven man singin' and playin' Piano surrounded by empty bottles in this bar in Trentpoole. As I drew closer and closer into what it was focused on, I started to stir one o' the heads due to its perception that its flithy ratty mind was thinkin' about somethin' it wasn't tryin' to think about. In the Hallway, Goga and Cassie swept down an entire wave o' the plague riddled monstrous vermin and then popped into the chamber to let me know that more were on the way. I directed 'em to pull out o' the thing's mind here before anythin' else could attack 'em and I retreated shortly aftewards, but not before agressively plunderin' its mind fer additional things it focused on in Frial and gleaned that there were two more tethers or rather anchors in City Center and one in Schwartzwald. I was also able to decieve the bastard into thinkin' I had gotten detailed information on a City Center Anchor instead o' the Trentpoole one whose identity was clearly known. As we tumbled back into our bodies, we manifested the wounds suffered in the thoughtscape and Topper was back with us and then suddenly very anxious and angry about the hell we had subjected him to as well, though he didn't look at all harmed physically. The plague rat we entered through was twitchin' and thrashin' on the street.

Don't ever ask me for a favor again!!
— Topper, very displeased

What could you see and feel in that place?
Everything each of you saw and felt! We do heists, Cassie! This wasn't a heist! We don't do rat jobs!
— Bobak and Topper, on the a-symmetric experience

You felt everything? Glorious, was it not?
— Goga Gem-Eater and the prideful

So what'd you find in there, was this worth it?
Oh aye. I think we've got a strong lead.
Good good, I'm glad the nightmares I'll be having for weeks were worth it.
— Cassie and Bobak

Topper shoo'd us from his Alley, savin' some harsh words fer Cassie while Goga and I was out o' earshot and then I explained to 'em what it was that I saw in the Prime Rat. Goga knew the bar I was talkin' about in Trentpoole, called The Milk and Honey, so we arranged to meet up there, though I went out ahead usin' my cloak to make sure this "anchor" wasn't gettin' warned and hustled off elsewhere. Goga made arrangements fer an invite to the bar with a work associate named Vidal Garland as this was evidently a Lords o' Trentpoole gang/order base and after I'd been observin' fer a time, entered and sat down at a table to recuperate. A few bells passed by with all o' us observin' the piano player, called Oscar Adler as we learned from persons addressin' him, secretly and as the night ended around 4 bells, he collected his pay and set off into the street began his lonely walk down the decrepit thoroughfare. The odd thing was though, we saw swarms o' vermin keepin' an eye on him and scuttlin' along in a lot o' the side streets we weren't on makin' contact with him and deliverin' him coins and goodies (in the form of treats, from what I could see). I heard him reply softly under his breath "Thank you" to the creatures, so I joined back up with the other two and we set in to capture him and did just that outside his flophouse while I played the part o' a drunken admirer o' his songs.

This anchor wasn't just no rat sittin' in the bar neither.
What do you mean, was it an item?
'Twas the pianist hisself.
You mean...?
I swear it by the dead gods of Tairos and that nightmare we just left.
— Bobak, Cassie, and Goga

Well let's just go in there and ice him.
I think this'n will require a softer touch, and likely no direwolves.
— Cassie and Bobak

As thenks, I'll give you this warning: Things might get messy later, or they might not.
Come on man, don't ruin things for us here at The Milk and Honey for us. Take it outside
— Goga and Vidal, from the Lords of Trentpoole

Well, I guess this is our call. Do we ice him or jump him? I know what your gut says, but what do you think we should do, if you were not you?
If I weren't me, and I didn't want to kill my enemies?
I'm assuming you just want to run up and chop him apart, and maybe that's the right thing to do? I don't know, its been a very bizarre night.
— Cassie and Goga on how to deal with Oscar Adler, the anchor to the Rat Totem

Goga turned into Giant Frog while he was focused on my irascible drunken act and swallowed him up from behind, temporarily. The rats observin' took notice and began mutatin' and growin' in size so while we fled Trentpoole to Schwartzwald, I deployed some false critters from my bag to slow down the swarm and we made it to the Adamantite Order dojo in one piece. There, we bound him after he was dazed from havin' been suspended in frog stomach digestants and strapped him to a chair and began to question him and find what he knew. He claimed to have been an orphan and after a little bit o' proddin' and pokin' with Goga's magic eyes, we determined he is a burgeonin' sorcerer that had always been regarded kindly by the rats in the city, and is directly connected to the black leylines runnin' through Frial. We knew from this evaluation as well that he was most likely blood o' the King directly, along with these other four anchors in Frial and that Ratty needs them in order to have physical presence here as a Totem spirit, he couldna just manifest here on account o' the rebuke neither.

Stand back, you're not gonna want to be too close to this.
— Goga Gemeater, prior to transforming into a Giant Toad

I thought you were going to incapacitate him, not eat him!
— Cassie

Goga, are you sure you're allowed to be in here? You're not gonna burst into flames or anything?
What! You have runes of proof against my kind?
If it hadn't happened yet, it clearly won't be happenin'.
— Cassie, Goga, and Bobak on who is allowed to be in the Dojo

While I certainly commiserated with his unfortunate circumstances o' blood powers, we knew that no matter how nice he may or may be, the rat king could potentially subsume his body and soul to properly utilize him as an anchor here in our world instead o' the filthy spiritual one he didn't seem to care to reside within. Cassie had laid a suggestion spell on Oscar to facilitate our questionin', so while he was at least not in a state o' panic, I took his life from him and collected his heart's blood in order to pass along to the Cap'n to develop some magical means o' tracin' down the remainin' three anchors before Ratty hisself could make use o' his heirs to power. Cassie told us she was residin' at the 12 Carrots in City Center, so we resolved to meet there after havin' had a chance to rest and then learn what we could about these other anchors.

Mister Oscar Adler.
Are you gonna kill me?!
Answer only my questions, this place doesn't deserve to hear no beggin'.
— Bobak and Oscar

Tell me about yer life, yer family. Convince her that ya need ta be alive.
I'm very hard to convince.
— Bobak and Cassie, interrogating Oscar

Make yer last peace with Oscar, it's time to shuffle him out of this world.
We were never close.
— Bobak and Cassie, prior to executing him

We will never be friends, but we'll always have the lightpost. And that time we killed the Rat Scion in the Dojo.
Don't go spreadin' rumors about me being involved in less then honorable killing.
We'll still have the lightpost.
— Cassie and Goga

After cleanin' up the mess and wrappin' up the body, I was able to meet up with the Cap'n and explain what we'd learned from the evenin's investigations. He directed me to keep the body count low for these three remainin' anchors since if there was a way fer us to bring them inta the Order, we'd get a recruit and he'd cook up a way to cut them off from Rat-Face. He took the heartblood and after I got up from sleepin' off the pain, he had a dowsin' rod fashioned that was in tune with the major concentrations of rat-energy (hereafter called Rattergy). I got up and hoofed it to The 12 Carrots to see what I could learn about Cassie before meetin' up with that oaf Goga.

It looks like we have the right man on the job, care to catch me up on who that was?
That's what I'm here fer boss.
— Basilocke and Bobak

How did we get from there... gestures to the body wrapped up in tarpalin to here?
— Joriah Basilocke

On the topic o' Cassiopea, while we were in the mental realm, it turned out that I was the one most suited to plumbin' the depths of people's thoughts.
I may or may not have ever considered that.
— Bobak and Joriah, on underestimating the land pirate

If these three can't be severed from the hands of the rat, it's better that they're dead then fall into the hands of The Savage.
— Joriah Basilocke

I think we'll have this rat king before too long. We may not even need those ponces from the school to deal with the likes of him.
Good, if we can solve the problems of the school, we may be able to ingratiate ourselves with them and get recruits, recruits that we desperately need, as well as having a friendly foothold within the city.
— Goga and Red Claw

And these anchors are... people that it's festering in?
— Red Claw

Even if we can sever their connection to the rat king, we can't let any of them live. They'll still be tainted, still be drawing back to whatever the origin of their power was. They very well could bring it back if not taken care of.
— Red Claw

She was breakin' her fast while studyin' some sort o' spellbook that was written in some kinda ancient fae dialect at the table. We spoke briefly about me history until Goga thundered in and distracted her enough fer me to gawp at her book a good bit. I think that it must be part o' her Patron's pact. After some brief discussion, we talked o' killin' most of the rest o' the anchors and we agreed that we wouldn't cause fights while tryin' to capture or kill people. The two o' them produced no results in terms o' bein' able to trace down the rest o' the anchors, but Cassie said she knew someone that would be able to make a copy o' the dowsin' rod in short order, so we set ourselves back down to Schwartzwald to meet a contact o' her's she weren't took keen on us meetin' ourselves. We agreed that we'd wait out in the park while she went into an estate for a meetin'.

Got some orders from me boss, he said we probably shouldn't go 'round murdering these folks, what with them being citizens that didn't ask ta be bred by the Rat King himself.
I could get behind that. But you know, not my city, not my turf, I figured I could let you guys do what you do.
— Bobak and Cassie

I get the feeling this place does good oatmeal.
You could give that a shot, I kinda thought of that as an old person's food but have at it.
— Bobak and Cassie, in The 12 Carrots

I don't have any experience with sea meals.
Stay away from the sea! She's a cruel mistress!
Were you really a sailor or a pirate?
Once upon a time ago, aye.
Why are you here in the middle of a land locked continent now?
Have ye ever been out on the ocean?
No...
She's unforgivin', fuck that old bitch!
— Cassie and Bobak have a chance to discuss his past

The past is not really all it's cracked up to be, look where it got us to here.
— Cassie, displaying her fatalistic view of Tairos

Co-conspirators! Good mornin' to ye!
— Goga Gem-Eater, in the common room of The 12 Carrots

I resent the sort of presumptions people lay upon me, just cause I'm a dwarf. And a little messy. And sometimes covered in blood. Which I'm not right now!
— Goga

What if one of them is a tree hugger and loves squirrels and shit?
Aye, are you gonna throw away your future kin?
...what?
— Cassie, Bobak, and Goga on killing or not killing anchors

I resent the implication that he's capable of backstabbing the likes of me.
Lass, I don't backstab, I front stab.
If I'm gonna catch it from him, it's gonna be right here in my gut.
— Bobak and Goga

And look at me!
Aye look at him!
I just scream The Savage, don't I?
That you do.
— Goga, Bobak, and Cassie

I could certainly find us muscle if we need more bodies.
Look at this guy! You think we need more muscle than him?
Oh, I resent that.
— Cassie, Bobak, and Goga

While waitin' in the park, Goga, very attuned to the corrupted leylines such as they are, sensed a great concentration o' Rattergy in the greenhouse Cassie just took the rod to as well as the very park we stood in that had been mountin' since our arrival. We agreed that breakin' our oath to not get snoopy about her contact wouldn't be a big deal considerin' we're tryin' to save her life and we ran into the door and smack inta a gaggle o' monied types havin' a cider tastin' party. I attempted to fit in, casually askin' questions about who owned the place while Goga barreled towards the back door and casually broke the lock open with his shoulder as he mentioned seein' a shadowy figure apparatin' thru the bloody wall. They replied it was the part o' Lord Stedner's holdin's, and to cover for the door breakin' I said we were, in truth, exterminators here to deal with a reported rat sightin' in this storage room from this mornin', but all the cider they were drinkin' were in truth bottled ages ago. It kinda worked, ah well.

Is that you? What are you doing here?
Every time.
— Cassie and Goga

What is going on here?! I can't have the authorities arrive and carry out a corpse!
Uhh, they're work friends.
— Lord Stedner and Cassie

I walked inta the room and closed the door behind me the best that I could and observed Goga with his axe out and crouched fer battle, when the most searin' and hateful pain I've ever faced in all me life flared in me back and sent me back to the bliss of insensation. I awoke thenks to Goga's healin' arts, I reckon very shortly thereafter, as he faced off against a very pale lookin' rat-man with two horrible daggers and cloaked in shadows in the half-light and a trio of Giant rats. I called upon me psychic blades to wound this creature in case it had some kind of resistance to regular blades and between Goga's mighty swings, my Shadow Blades and some powerful Eldritch blasts from Cassie, we took the rat and its little plaguey compatriots apart.

We abided the agreement until he noticed some ratty energy in here.
Oh, very Ratty!
— Bobak and Goga

I don't have to listen this, I'm a lord of the House of Stedner!
Ye were almost rat dropplings!
— Lord Sabatino Stender and Goga Gem-Eater

Fine, fine, with that stupid stick you want me to replicate, just don't tell my brother I was ever involved.
Look, your brother isn't the rat king, right?
Oh that's right! If he is, that would be really helpful.
— Sabatino Stedner, Bobak, and Goga

Come back in an hour and then never come back again!
— Lord Sabatino Stedner to all of us, carrying out a wererat in a blood soaked sack

Goga intimidated the flustered Lord Sabatino Stedner inta honorin' the agreement made with Cassie to copy the rod, but when we started to deal with the wererat's regeneratin' body, he threw a hissy fit and ordered us out so that he could work. We hauled the slightly squirmin' beast back to the Dojo and informed Cap'n Basilocke of the goin's on at Stedner's storehouse, and I aggravated Cassie here by givin' away her contact. He covered the spyin' necklace and said he needed to consult another few of the Orders after seein' for his own eyes that this was a totem beast. We proceeded to determine what we could from him by torture while waitin' for Basilocke to return, to middlin' success though we did discern very certainly that the creature had no idea as to where the other anchors could be. Figurin' that Joriah would be back after a time, I convinced Cassie and Goga to return to the Stedner house in order to get the rod and the copy, for security's sake and had a private conversation with the Cap'n regardin' the guidance he got on the matter.

You have no right to this city, it belongs to our god! What is below, shall be above.
— Wererat

Set me free of this fleshy shell, cast me back into his womb. I will be back again, we are forver, we are eternal.
Haha! You've played your hand now, ye fool! We'll keep you alive bein' tortured forever now!
I regret nothing of this, he'll send more, they'll find me.
Aye, they'll find nothign but a thoughtless husk, but alive. How long is an eternity of pain for ye? I know the limits of me own life!
What do you want of me, what do you want to know!
That's just it, nothin', I want nothin' from you!
— Wererat and Bobak

Ye ever been under a keel of a ship? It ain't just wood down there.
I've never been anwaywhere near the ocean...
And stay the fuck away from water!
— Bobak and Cassie

Why do ye need all four limbs?
I've gotten accustomed to them?
— Bobak and the Wererat

Just be sure to not go and spend it all in one place.
You mean getting stabbed to death?
Yes, that.
— Goga and Cassie

He explained that it would be best for the creature to be turned over to the Ebon Order in order learn what they can about the nature o' the beast, and gather more evidence of the connection to Totem power. I pointed out that the power to the amuet must go both ways and could easily prove the same thin' he wanted, at which point he directed me to mislead Goga about the rat bein' put to death (no lie, the Ebon Order would certainly see to that) and the cursed amulet's destruction (again, more than likely in its dissection to turn the thing's power agianst it). Goga and Cassie met up at the now empty distillery/greenhouse and retrieved the rod where I met them on the way back. Usin' the rods at that point, we were led back ta the Stedner holdin's, where we resolved to return for the party that was planned for that evenin'. We went to City Center, where I told them I would make sure we could get in on their party and went into the Kreastos buildin' to get an extra shift with the constabulary for the evenin' in Schwartzwald, and after I got back outside, Cassie and Goga had disappeared into the city with the other rod.

A lot of these totemic creatures are akin to... demons of a sort, and it seems like they worship and got power from, very much like a warlock's pact.
— Joriah Basilocke on the nature of Druids

Take it and go! Don't ever bring him back here and you're not welcome here either!
You couldn't pay me enough to come back here!
Good! Good! I wouldn't want to go broke!
— Sabatino Stedner and Goga

Annoyed but ultimately unconcerned by their wanderin' off, I used me rod to head after the closest Rattergy I could find, headin' to a slightly run-down sleazy tavern and "bath house" called The Brave Bear. It was dark inside so I was able to go in without attractin' much attention from anyone there and slid into a corner seat and observed the locale, there seemed to be a cozy seatin' area up front with a well stocked but poorly lit bar, where Goga and Cassie sat chattin' up an elven women who appeared to work there, based on her casual style of dress, a bartender occasionally pipin' into their talk, and then a couple back areas, one of which seemed to go from the bar to the ladies' quarters upstairs, one which went to the bath house proper that was lit only by a handful of candles and smellin' of piss n' water, and then a section for general quarters one could rent. I sat there a spell, tryin' to get the rod to cooperate with me again, as it decided to point in all sorts of different directions and peoples which I couldnt suss out. Though it seemed like it was indicatin' people and some mice that infested the place.

Barkeep, your strongest, non-piss-like ale!
— Goga Gem-eater

Are you done investigation the bottle yet? Or...
Oh the bottle? The bottle gave up all its secrets.
— Cassie and Goga

I don't understand how any of your shit works. Did
interruptingLikewise.
— Cassie and Goga

Just want to make sure we're not killing Mouse Queen for free when we're supposed to be catching Rat King.
— Cassie

Looks like they shoulda called this place The Brown Mouse, eh?
I don't see any bears here, that's for sure.
That's a nature joke, right? I don't know how any of this works.
— Bobak, Goga, and Cassie

Goga and Cassie noticed me then so we went into the bath house side, and the rod indicated a specific door that was occupied by one of the prostitutes and her client. We worked out that Cassie would go in, and attempt to seduce the pair of them, and we would use the rods to figure out which of them (assumin' there was just the two of 'em in there), and then figure out what to do. As Cassie walked in, the elvish prostitute was briefly surprised and as Cassie engaged with the man, she walked out and scooped up a mouse and briefly talked to it, before checkin' back in with the barman before headed up the stairs there to her rooms, the mouse interaction all but confirmin' her as the second anchor. Given the darkness inside here, I was able to easily slink after her and dove into her room before she shut the door to have a conversation with her and possibly slice her throat.

One of us is a Savage though.
A JOKE!
— Bobak and Goga

This will be as crass as I can make it: How are ye at seduction?
That was as crass as you can make it?
What do you want me to do; barge in there and say "I couldn't resist"? Here's one for free.
You were lookin' for an activity for the afternoon?
Goga shrugs It would work on me.
— Bobak, Goga, and Cassie

If it would make you feel any better, you couuld always ask for something in return.
exasperated No prostitute is looking for freebies with these kinds of clients!
— Goga and Cassie

upon observing Caira talk to a mouse That's unusual.
— Goga

I surprised her, understandably, and after some brief questionin' she figured I wasn't there to do her harm as I came to make sure she was of similar circumstances to her deceased half-brother, Oscar, and then offered to train her in the ways of sorcery. The Rat King's minions then decided to shirk their disguises and burst free from the room's mice to attack me. I grabbed her hand after takin' a few nips from the vermin and ran into the hallway into Goga and Cassie and told them to flee back out of City Center as well. We went for another room that would likely have a window while the two of them took a few swings and shots at the swarm before runnin' too. We burst into an occupied room, I tossed a chair through the window and jumped with her in tow out from the second story, usin' me acrobatics to spare us the worst of the fall. Goga and Cassie followed shortly thereafter, Goga now in a Bear form, and we navigated the streets to try and make it back to the Adamantite Order Dojo before these henchrats could catch up.

I hope you charged something for that.
— Goga to Cassie, after she exited the room, heading immediately for a towel, and then producing two silver pieces in response to his question

I have a knife.
So do I. Do we want to compare them?
— Caira and Bobak

I'm not going to tell you my life's story, get out. I'll scream for help.
maniacal laughter
— Caira and Bobak

Ye friends with many rats?
indignantly No.
Mice?
The mice here are nice. They know how to beg for food, they don't leave droppings on the ground.
— Bobak and Caira

You will not touch my children!
— The Rat King, from a dozen giant rats in unison after I offered Caira the opportunity to develop her powers

Lookin' back on the swarm o' rats chasin' us from the Brave Bear, the 4 o' us ran through the streets to get back to Schwartzwald as a group, I led us towards where I knew people'd be, Cassie kept us to the shadows of the mornin' and Goga was sufferin' the brunt of the rat's harried attention and bein' a bear runnin' through Frial's City Center and all wasn't great. Cassie then led Caira n' me through the sewers and finally lost them in the parks of Schwartzwald district while Goga peeled off elsewheres. She departed shortll afterwards, I expect to check in with her patron, while I went into the Order house hopin' to catch the Cap'n so he could implement whatever he'd dreamt up for cuttin' an anchor off of the Rattergy vine. Raven, bein' on duty for trainin' that day, said he was out and we weren't exactly well equipped for the protection of an anchor from Ratty forces, but I told her the King would have to lay it all on the line and risk big for just one of his anchors. I then took a break long enough to recover my breath and cover up my wounds before havin' to show up to the party, and recieved a message from that Savage to make sure he was on time to the party.

I heard the last anchor we killed. We made a decision to kill. Are we killing this one?
Not per Basilocke's orders, no.
— Raven and Bobak discuss Caira's immediate fate

So this pig-sticker will do him in?
It will do him great harm via one of his anchors.
— Goga and Doro, upon delivering the anti-totem dagger

Any other instructions from the Savage?
He's worried about these other anchors, and thinks they have to be eliminated. They have to be eliminated to cast off this creature and to do it before it has a chance to prepare and retaliate.
— Goga and Doro

What time's extermination time?
-X
— a vaguely cryptic message from Goga to Bobak before the Stedner party

After havin' me tea, seein' after Caira gettin' introduced into the Order's teachers, and Cassie havin' disappeared into thin air after our arrival here, I set out to see if I could draw this noose to a close around the Rat King by reconnoiterin' the final anchor in city center. The rod an' I had set aside our disagreements for the moment it seemed, as it led me directly to a small flower shop off a side street adjcent to the border with Trentpoole to a Post's Candleshop where two women, one much older who napped in a rockin' chair in the warmth of the window, and one younger who minded the register and chatted the couple of clients she had in the store. I was just about to leave the spot to get goin' to the party when I happened to bump clean inta Cassie. She said she was lookin' fer me and was ready for us to get on with things. She seemed a little peeved yet from the mornin' so we headed back down to Trentpoole and met back with Goga and I stashed them of to the side of the large 3 story buildin' and reported fer my shift.

I've been looking for you.
Well, ye found me.
Are we doing this thing?
We'll head to Stedner's now then.
I'll follow you, lead on.
— "Cassie" and Bobak, who had lost far too much blood earlier to realize what exactly was going on here

The people I work for are powerful.
And shadowy, aye?
Of course, everyone in the city is.
Goga sure ain't.
— "Cassie" and Bobak

Fair's fair, ye dun saved my life.
And fair's foul!
— Bobak and Goga

Be on yer guard girlie, there be rats about.
I'm always on my guard, what am I on my guard for?
The stink is about this place, and I don't mean my odor.
— Goga and "Cassie"

After gettin' a lay of the guard of the perimeter, I got word to the two of them on how best to sneak on by and get in and left them to Cassie's best discretion in findin' the anchor until I could break away. Fortunately for us, one of the Stedner's caterers, an older lady by the name o' Tilde relayed a message from the house sayin' they needed an extra house guard inside since someone reported sick fer the evenin', and after bribin' my cohorts, I was able to take that up and head in with her in their fancy dress above my usual gear. They had me positioned to watch the main party after a briefin' by the Chamberlain o' the house, Master Oswaldo, and I was able to keep watch of all these fine citizens with surprisin'ly little scrutiny save from the Chamberlain hisself. They had all sorts of exotic birds from across Tairos on display here, makin' such a bleedin' ruckus that I was also able to surreptitiously use the rod and confirm that an anchor was within the house, but upstairs.

I wanna meet the fancy folk, the hoity-toity of Frial guys.
We can't stop you from taking the shift, and we're not gonna narc anybody out, but don't embarass us! Remember even though you're off duty in there, you still represent the city guard.
Yes sir!
And you can drop the gold off in the morning at my locker.
Bobak gives the finger guns and winks
— Jame Gumb and Seargent Buster

What kinda bird be they?
I don't know, maybe a good eating bird?
— Goga and "Cassie", on the displayed birds in the cage in the main hall

It was shortly after this, Goga somehow charmed a bird into bein' able to speak and it told me they were here and I told it to pass back the anchor is upstairs. I asked it to tell me more and it reluctantly explained we were in great danger here but wouldn't really go further in sayin' why or how. Clearly, ye feathery lout, the Rat King had plans to attack us somewhere before we could cut more of his strings. I then spotted Goga and Cassie, who were ready to go up the Grand Staircase, so's I cast an illusory noise of breakin' glass over towards the kitchen which distracted the other guards enough to get them by, but with me and another guard left after two of them peeled off to help out with cleanin' up the "mess", I then used my magics to fake a couple o' Vermin Hawk's cackle-wailin' and landin' outside in the garbage and ready to get inta it. The last guard headed outside to deal with that while I was well down the corridor to the kitchen and Goga an' Cassie darted upstairs, I was plannin' on joinin' them immediately after but somethin' caught my eye in the grand ballroom. T'were Cassiopea, in a luxurious white gown hobnobbin' with a bunch of the clean types, and while I stood agape, she looked over towards me an' winked, before breakin' off her conversations so we could talk privately in the hallway.

There is danger here.
— Goga's totemic Avian, to Bobak

Nont knowin' if the keelhaulin's and mass executions o' crews finally shattered me mind, I at first couldn't believe it were her and asked her if she could now duplicate herself. She laughed and said that's not something she can do and explained she went and got a party invite as a date for the night after we split up followin' the run from The Brave Bear. I explained to her then that I went an' found the final anchor before gettin' Goga fer the evenin' and while leavin' that area, ran into her and she had been with me ever since until we got here. She talked some sense inta me after and stressed the need to calmly join him upstairs but hurryin' would attract attention and get the party called off as well as us thrown out or in stockades.

How are ye doin' this?
Doing what? I can't tell you who my contact is...
You're in several places at once?
— Bobak and Cassie, upon meeting for the first time this evening

I just saw ye go up the stairs to track down the anchor with Goga!
That doesn't sound like me, I would never go anywhere alone with him. I don't know why you brought him here, he's terrible at sneaking.
— Bobak and Cassie

Are you talking about the Dojo? Where I yelled at you for not healing me? Are we gonna argue about that, right now?
SOMETHING is upstairs with Goga. We need to move.
— Cassie and Bobak

The master is tired of your interference, you must die now.
Good! Your brother awaits ye. He'll have company now.
— Second Wererat Assassin and Goga

I tried to weave through the patrons and merchants in attendance but to no avail, this lousy houseguard garb just didn't fit me right, but Cassie made it upstairs weavin' lies to people to schooch outta her way to get her to the privvy. She made her way up the stairs well ahead of me, but by the time I got up there, found the door they went in and got inside, I saw Goga on the ground bleedin' out and Cassie just past the doorway stirrin' up her black magics, fightin' against yet another one o' these damned rat assassins. I crossed the room and flung my pair o' Mind Spikes at him, and was able to innately sense where he was fer the time bein' and made to get ready to protect Goga from bein' dispatched in this place unbefittin' his beliefs. After he tried to stab Cassie, he attempted to receede inta the shadows o' the room, but I pointed out exactly where he was to Cassie to keep her from bein' surprised by him, but he tried to throw a couple o' his non-magical daggers at me an' Cassie and struck her in the neck and she collapsed from the loss o' blood.

What's going on?! There's another me here somewhere?
Quiet girlie! I'm trying to fight!
— Cassie and Goga, as she entered the Stedner bedroom

I passed an open potion to Goga's avian and told it to give the dwarf and then surprised the damn rat by springin' towards him, surprisin' him, an' then skewerin' his guts with me rapier. He spilled his syrupy life essences out onto the floor o' the bedroom, and left it to lay there, regeneratin', while I went to staunch Cassie's wounds with the other potion from the dojo. Checkin' back over this rat, he had an amulet that allowed Ratty hisself to keep a spell goin' through it, likely the spell o' disguise on it, a couple more daggers of ferocious venom, a crossbow with some bolts designed to have the venom injected through the bolt. After a short talk about what to do with the wererat, I was reminded of my Mind Spike and probed the connection to determine that the anchor was now on the floor below us, as well as a very large concentration of rattergy. Based on how energy was flowin' from this anchor, I was finally able to crack his plan for the multiple anchors wide open, Ratty wanted to have multiple permanent anchors so that his complete presence in any of them would be brief enough to not end up killin' it by burnin' it out from his possession of it. Hoppin' from body to body as needed and never loadin' one down with all its power would allow them to last longer and recover from his jaunts into them. Ingenious but we've already ruined his plan by killin' one and the dojo cuttin' off Caira.

Awake! Awake, servant, awake!
— Goga's familiar

You thought this was a duplicate of me?
I shoulda known something was off when I noticed how much less subservient you were to me.
It looks nothing like me!
Don't be daft girl, it was magic-ed!
— Cassie and Goga, on the wererat

Do we keep it or smash it?
I think smash.
Those are raiments of a slave. We're not slaves, are we? Well... other than our passions, that is.
— Cassie, Bobak, and Goga on the rat amulet

How were you able to not get stabbed by this thing this time? I consider myself an expert of knowning where things are..
Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
— Cassie and Bobak, prior to Bobak riding the rat connection

I cast a spell prior to poking his heart strings, in order to spike his brain like Topper did fer us. The difference bein' it ain't a two way street where he can attack me his malignant three headed form, with his kill-kills and manthings. What I can tell you is I've had a better eye into it just now, than I did before, and there's something new added here, that's much larger than we've seen before.
— Bobak

As I explained what I knew now about the connection and the strength of the guard he stationed on the Stedner brother here, Goga had received an anti-totem weapon from The Savage and plunged it into which put me into a new wide world of pain, and I collapsed to the ground as we learned that the dagger severed all the power bein' channeled from the leyline by the Rat King were ended. Concurrently, on the floor below a lot of commotion began to stir and screams started to erupt. I told Cassie we needed to act now to kill the Stedner when Cassie pointed to the scene below, a large 13 foot mutant rat-human hybrid walkin' amongst the guests, grabbin' people on a whim and bitin' their heads off violently.

Are ye the Rat King?!
No! We were connected by me spell, I just told ye that!
— Goga and Bobak after seeing all the wounds on Bobak from the anti-rat knife

THAT looks like a Rat King to me.
— Goga, regarding the Rat Demon

I pulled the dowsin' rod, and ignorin' the monster, honed in on the Stedner brothers and confirmed that the anchor wasn't Cheval, but the elder brother, Sabatino whom we'd met before. I snuck slightly down the stairs, loaded the ratman crossbow and took aim with the venom set, and caught him between the plates of the decorative armor and he immediately collapsed and started frothin'. The monster instantly spotted me as it's proximity to rattergy was extinguished and it started losin' its connection to our world. I threw all the critters from my bag of tricks and fled up the stairs usherin' Goga and Cassie back to the bedroom window. It wasn't fast enough to close on us and at the window, Goga and Cassie slid down a rope while I transformed with my Cloak of the Bat and flew into the night. The rat brute punched the window frame out of the stone wall and then vanished into nothin'.

I know the value of a good dress.
So did the person I stole this from.
— Bobak and Cassie, after mending and cleaning her ballgown

We agreed to stop back through the Adamantite Order dojo, where he handed me his personal Ring of Shooting Stars and explained that now was the time to act on the final anchor since Caira was in a circle of protection and unavailable to That Which is Below until tomorrow. We set out immediately and as we closed in on City Center we started seein' some really strange sights, naked people wanderin' about everywhere, halves and portions of people stuck in too tight of spots, and blood seepin' down from various masonry and puddlin' about the area. The people he had transformed by means of his spell were now freed and he couldn't draw upon their life force and could no longer see through them or force them to do things. As we closed on the end of City Center and Trentpoole, we saw a lot of smoke risin' up above the buildin's and as we caught sight of the buildin', and the smoke was pourin' from Pond's Candleshop. I heard an argument from within, two voices screamin' for one another and for anyone to help find someone within the chokin' miasma. Goga entered ahead of us inta the blazin' inferno and saw the young proprietress on the ground crawlin' about, blinded by smoke and candle additives, and there was a large mass of rats all surroundin' the older woman as she sort of floated above the ground, scurryin' all over her, in and out of her mouth. Goga went into a rage and channeled a magical power of necrotic waves and killed dozens of the rats and started harmin' the elderly woman which seemed to have an additional effect too.

I'll cover the door.
You're the one that turns into a bear.
Always gotta send the dwarf in first, aye?
This isn't about being a Dwarf, it's about being a bear!
Exactly what an anti-dwarfer would say.
— Bobak, Cassie, and Goga as they arrived at the shop

You've been cutting my anchors one by one. Why?
Bear form roaring in reply
— The Rat King and Goga

It then extended one of its rat arms at us and unleashed a torrent of green flames that brought me unconscious in the street and seared Goga and Cassie heavily as well. A short while later, Cassie poured a potion down my throat to brin' me back into the fight while Goga continued to fight the rat masses with his claws. I fired off the Ball lightnin' at the ancient woman, and fried a number of rats in the process. I then started puttin' some blastin' power, alchemists fire and manacite to a crossbow bolt. Ratty then pushed forward tryin' to bowl over Goga, but in his bear form and ragin', he was able to grapple the writhin' mass of rats and prevent it from washin' over him to us. I then fired the crossbow contraption at the old woman in the center of the mass, strikin' her and engulfin' her in in a crushin' wave of magical explosion. As she began to disintegrate from the magical energies coursin' through her and the ones we applied to her as well, the rats started tumblin' off of her, landin' on the ground curlin' up and witherin' and the form erodin' to nothin'. We heard the fire department's bells ringing off in the distance, and spotted the young owner of the shop hoverin' near death's door on the way out. I grabbed her up and used Spare the Dying to save her from death and I would later learn back at the dojo that she was named Sage. We exchanged some brief words and then went our separate ways. Joriah Basilocke asked me to guide Caira in the ways of sorcery, especially since there is a chance in the future that Ratty attempts to reestablish connection in the future after rescrapin' power together.

Do ye think there's anything we missed somehow?
Unless we want to go down into the sewers and find the source.
— Bobak and Cassie

I wouldn't be opposed to working with the two of you again, if you're interested in taking jobs from outside the school.
— Cassiopea

And so concludes this chapter of the verminous threat to the city o' Frial. We're settin' out in the morning to the sewers to make sure the puddin' king residin' down there doesn't get too many of these Downfall peoples and swell up to gigantic size, all bloated and horrible. And Basilocke promised to tell me what he's discovered about me ancient bloodlines and what they called this Shadow King in the "Astral Plane."

Missions/Quests Completed

3 of the Rat Kings anchors have been killed and the 4th has had the connection Banished and is being developed as a Sorcerer within the Adamantite Order