[ST 20/20]

With a relieved sigh Crag stood up and stretched out languidly. It was time to start the reaping of the juicy hp boosters around the corner.

He held his rod in one hand and lifted a contraption he had constructed whilst waiting for his stamina to tick back up. He had woven a mesh and then put as much fat in and on it to make one big grimy blob. large enough to plug the one other rats still had so they’d not try to escape from that.

Walking to the corner, he put his back to the wall and took a cautious glance around it, to take stock of the situation. The rats were still gathered and crawling over the big mound that was blocking the tunnel.

He eyed the pipe he saw a rat climbing out and decided to just go for it. With a loud guttural shout, he ran forward, the rats startled from his wild shout, scurried away from him towards the security of the fat mound. Crag jumped on a rather large glob of fat that was floating in the waterway and felt himself sinking into the fat and the glob of fat sinking under the water, but his momentum carried him further, and he landed chest first on the other side, knocking the wind out of his lungs.

He let go of his rod for a moment and lifted his legs from the water onto the side, trying to get a solid footing again. The rats that had been startled, had now collected on the fat mound and were observing him, snouts sniffing in the air.

He stood up and grabbed his rod and moved towards the pipe exit. He tried that at least because the first step he took set him landing on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs again. After trying to get up again he noticed that the fat under his feet made it nearly impossible to keep a grip under his feet. The biggest rats, including the rat that he had been tracking made their way forward tentatively, eying him with the little beady eyes.

He sat down with a groan and used his claws to scrape off the fat as quickly as he could, keeping an eye on the rats.

Regaining his footing shortly and testing it for good measure, he made way to the one pipe opening that could serve as an escape route for the rats. He stuffed his grease-soaked stiff mesh in it until the entire pipe was clogged up good and proper.

The small band of large rats was only a few feet away from him now, sniffing at the air, standing on their hind legs, as if they were sizing him up. He crouched a bit and lifted his rod, so he could deal a blow quickly. The biggest rat let out a squeak and they moved forwards as one, twelve large rats closed in on Crag as one cohesive group, hissing at him, baring their yellow fangs.

He struck with his rod at the foremost rat and it cleaved the head of the rat, making it a bloody pulp. The other rats froze for a moment at the sudden death of their friend, but quickly regained composure and pressed their attack on the lone goblin.

[Ritual 3 out of 4 in progress: The bounty of death]

[1 hour remaining for completion]

[The bounty of death]

[5/100]

Crag jumped back with a curse and quickly dismissed the huge notification that had distracted him, to create a bit more distance between him and the approaching rats. If those notifications would keep popping up at every kill it would become a major hindrance. He would have to work around it, do his best to ignore it.

He swung his rod at a rat that approached him from the left, but it dodged the badly aimed swing, making way to his left leg. He kicked with his foot to another rat straight in front of him, sending it flying to the back of the attacking group. The rat he had missed had reached his leg and bit down in it, sending a jolt of pain.

[You were bitten]

[HP 42/43]

He dropped the rod through the back of the rat and it let go of his leg in its death squeals, whilst other rats climbed up his other leg, and Crag failed to dislodge them with a shake, their claws finding hold on his skin.

Other, smaller rats, heartened by the press of their largest heroes, started to come down from the mound to aid in the attack, and possibly get a bite of fresh goblin flesh themselves.

Swinging his rod down at the rats that were now surrounding him from all sides, big and small, he stabbed with his rod impaling rats on it, hit with his rod to try and dislodge the stuck on corpses whilst creating a new one.

[Ritual 3 out of 4 in progress: The bounty of death]

[1 hour remaining for completion]

[The bounty of death]

[6/100]

[Ritual 3 out of 4 in progress: The bounty of death]

[1 hour remaining for completion]

[The bounty of death]

[7/100]

[You were bitten]]

[HP 46/48]

[Ritual 3 out of 4 in progress: The bounty of death]

[1 hour remaining for completion]

[The bounty of death]

[8/100]

[You were bitten]]

[HP 48/51]

[You were scratched]

[HP 47/51]

He did his best to ignore the notifications, watching through them and just stabbing, clawing, grabbing rats, and throwing them against the wall when they skittered up his legs, piercing their weak hides with his claws. But it seemed to be an endless horde of rats, trying to claw their way to him, biting him, scratching him, climbing on him.

He pushed the feeling of panic and despair away and let himself loose in slaughtering the small rats, ripping them apart, smashing them to a pulp, as they did their best to eat through his skin, claw through his stomach, nibble at his toes. The only reason he didn’t succumb was that the ritual pushed his health higher and higher. He abandoned all attempts at tactics and found a primal core in himself that just ripped, bit, and kicked the small furry creatures. He had let go of the rod at some point and was just using the tools nature gave him, lost to the primal nature of the slaughter.

----

The sixteen trainee soldiers marched through the streets following their trainer in double rows, their boots resounding through the empty streets, the false dawn lightening the sky above their heads, the streets still covered in the thick darkness of the night.

They halted before an iron gate in a simple stone building hidden within a small bush. Nimra produced a key and wrung open the iron gate.

He then turned to face the company under his order.

“Alright, you mongrels! Part up in your troops and light your torches. Scout your designated sewer departments and report back regularly. I want every inch of these tunnels checked before sundown.”

Mereah was already standing next to Flut, and soon the others that were part of her troop joined them, carrying a bottle of oil and a couple of storm lamps.

Jora, a muscular young man with wild blonde hair that stood out to all sides from under his leather cap, handed her a lamp and she felt the oil sloshing around in it. She nodded in thanks and went to face the captain of their detail, Serian, a dark-haired small girl with muscular legs.

Serian unrolled her copy of the sewer map she had received and put it on the ground, and put a few stones on the corner to keep it from rolling up.

“Alright troop, we have the western quadrant to check out. A lot of badly maintained sewer lines, so watch out for falling bricks, caps on at all times, even when we rest.”

She traced her finger over a few lines on the map.

“We’ll first explore these dead-end branches, before taking to the main tunnel and then check off these, these and this tunnel section. After that, we report our findings here.”

She rolled up the map and put it in a leather container. She then lit some kindling with flint and steel. She then went around all the lanterns and lit them with the kindling.

“Flut will take point. He’s the least leveled of our troop, and can use the experience.”

She snuffed out the kindling and eyed Jora, her eyes lingering slightly on his broad shoulders.

“And you will cover our rear so nothing can sneak upon us.”

She held up a warning finger to Jora, who was about to make an inappropriate comment, before pulling out a couple of wax tablets that would survive a possible drenching experience in the sewers below and handing one to Mereah.

“Mereah and I will keep notes on the state of the tunnels and map the routes we have taken.”

They filed into the small building and found stairs leading down into the darkness. Spiderwebs covered the ceiling, and the floors were littered with small piles of insect pieces, bearing witness to the activity of the spiders. The stairs ended in a small room that contained some sewer maintenance supplies, for unclogging the sewer or repairing brickwork. By the look of it, the tools here hadn’t been touched in years, spiderwebs covering them in a silky blanket.

The smell was almost overpoweringly bad, the stench of the sewer permeating through the room suddenly. Mereah pinched her nose and took a step back to the stairs and took a breath there, and the air there was musty but fresh. There was an enchantment positioned at the end of the stairs, keeping the bad air from coming up and stinking up the neighborhood.

“Gah, that stinks! We are supposed to work through that? I joined the army so I wouldn’t have to smuggle stuff through the sewers!”

“We’re all as excited as you are Mer, about this wonderful opportunity to defend our city from the interlopers”

Jora said sarcastically with a smirk on his face. With a resigned sigh, she took one last breath of fresh air, trying to savor the sweetness of it, before stepping into the putrid-smelling room.

“Join the army they said, you’ll see far away places they said. Fucking shit is what it is.”

She grumbled to herself, and she heard Flut snicker at her remarks.

They exited the room through a small rickety wooden door and entered into a large tunnel with small walkways on either side, with a stream of water with bits and pieces bobbing within the slowly churning waters.

The sides were covered in slippery grime from when the rains had elevated the levels temporarily and when the levels had receded, the contents within the waters were left, to be moved further with the next rains that would raise the level again.

Flut was ahead, holding his lamp above his head, making his way through the tunnel, and they followed behind him, the sound of their boots over the slippery stones and their armor scraping against the wall the only sounds accompanying them.