“I don’t see any Scalebacks,” Corwin said, frustrated. “I’m no tracker. How are we going to do this?”
“Give me a moment.” Vash said, kneeling and examining the trail ahead of them. He made a show of considering the scuffed tracks in the dirt while activating his . Vash winced as a stab of pain bloomed in his head.
. Vash thought as the Talent settled into place and the pain faded. Maybe when I’m not being actively persecuted for being a servant of the shadow.
Again, Vash felt the faint connection to the ley lines. He formed a mental map of the village and populated it with markers for all the Scalebacks he could sense. Because of the weak connection, the map was cloudy, full of obscured areas that the red dots of Scalebacks moved in and out of, making it difficult to track anything specific. Most of the lizard-men appeared to be near the falls and the river, engaging with the Wayfarers there. The rest were in the village square or spread out through the valley.
Vash thought.
Another stab of pain struck Vash. This time it didn’t go away, just faded to a dull ache. The golden diamonds he used as markers for the Wayfarers pulsed, some flaring brighter than others. One bright diamond moved in the middle of a group of red dots.
Vash thought, rising to his feet. He let the rest of the map fade away and locked onto that one group. The focus brought him a stronger connection.
“They’re headed towards the village square.” Vash said, jogging in that direction. “I think carrying Jabez is slowing them down, and definitely getting down the cliffs will take time. If we hurry, I think we can catch them.”
“How can you tell?” Sera asked, moving to catch up.
“I was trained as an assassin.” Vash said, the lie coming smoothly. “We work very hard to track our quarry.”
. Vash thought, which made him think about Cass. Not for the first time, he wondered what had happened to her. She vanished after fending off the attacks from the Heartstones. But every time he used an ability he learned in the Underlands, he could feel something in the place in his mind that he associated with Cass. It wasn’t anything he could quantify, just a vague, nagging feeling.
By the time they reached the village square, the Scalebacks that kidnapped Jabez were on their way towards the cliffs. The ley lines in that direction were smaller and not particularly strong, so Vash was getting confusing information through his .
Vash turned towards where he’d last sensed Jabez, but before he could run off in that direction, Corwin grabbed him and pulled him off to the side.
“What are you doing?” Vash asked, stumbling into the bushes.
“You aren’t paying attention!” Corwin hissed. “There are Scalebacks everywhere!”
Vash blinked and looked around. To his surprise, there were knots of Scalebacks darting back and forth across the village square. Shouts and screams came from the buildings on the square, along with the sounds of fighting. If Corwin hadn’t stopped him, Vash would have blindly jogged into the middle of a battle.
“The group we’re looking for is on the other side of the square, heading towards the cliffs.” Vash said, trying to keep hold of the map in his mind. They were rapidly reaching the edge of his ‘vision’.
“There’s too many for us to just charge across.” Corwin said.
“They’ve got the civilians bottled up in those buildings.” Sera said, a pained expression on her face. “If the Scalebacks attack in force, then the merchants and refugees won’t stand a chance.”
Vash was about to argue that their chances weren’t much better, being apprentice Wayfarers without exceptional gear or support, but shouts and screams from the northern side of the square drew his attention.
A dozen Scalebacks and four Nightscales prowled around the perimeter of . Vash could see some of the Scalebacks carried torches and were trying to light the building on fire. People on the upper floors would toss buckets of water every time a torch-carrying Scaleback got close. So far they kept the fires small and contained, but more Scalebacks were joining the groups clustered around the building. Small, and out of the way, it was an easy target for whatever the lizard-men had planned.
“That’s not good.” Corwin said, dismayed.
“We have to help them.” Sera said. “There’s no way they’ll last long enough for the Masters and the other Wayfarers to get back.”
“How?” Vash asked. “We’re outnumbered four to one, and more are coming. The ones with Jabez are getting away. If we run into another group of Wayfarers, we can send them back to help.”
“We can’t just leave them.”
“And we can’t help them!” Vash said, emphatically.
Sera’s mouth set in a hard line and she gave Vash a level stare. “We’re Wayfarers. Even if it looks hopeless, we help.”
“She’s right, Vash.” Corwin said, obviously pained not to be chasing after Jabez. “We can’t just leave them to be slaughtered.”
Vash stared at them, incredulous. “If we don’t, then will get slaughtered.”
“That’s the job.” Corwin shrugged.
Vash rubbed his eyes. His head was pounding, and he did not have enough patience for this line of thinking.
“Now I wish I’d dealt with Phaella’s rat problem.” Corwin said. “We probably could have gotten them out through the root cellar.”
“What?” Vash asked, looking up.
“The root cellar.” Corwin said, gesturing to the hill that sloped down behind Phaella’s. “It comes out down in that gully. If it weren’t for the rats in the cellar, we could take the civilians out that way.”
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“Why? They’re just rats?” Vash asked, confused.
“They’re big rats.” Corwin corrected.
“The rats in Phaella’s cellar are notorious.” Sera agreed. “A lot of masters use them to train apprentices.”
“And there are a lot of them.”
“How big could they be?” Vash scoffed.
“I take it back.” Vash said, staring at the broken cellar door and three dead Scalebacks.
Four enormous rats crawled over the bodies, tearing hunks of flesh where any remained. The Scalebacks had obviously run into more rats than just these few. The rats had mutilated the bodies almost beyond recognition. Torsos and limbs scattered across the blood-soaked grass in front of the cellar door.
“They’re not so tough one-on-one.” Corwin said, crouched behind Vash. “It’s when they swarm that things get really bad.”
Vash nodded. He could see three times the number of dead rats scattered among the Scaleback bodies. Each of the rats was about the size of a small dog on average, though the ones currently gorging on the Scaleback bodies were larger.
“Maybe we could flush them out or scatter them somehow?” Vash mused.
“Most rats and other pests would flee from a blessing.” Sera said. “But the giant rats like these, they’ve got the mark of Skath, god of vermin and the uninvited. It would take a minor ritual to banish them.”
“I take it you can’t do that?” Vash asked.
Sera shook her head apologetically.
Vash drummed his fingers against his thigh, not sure what to do next. His hand bumped into something solid in a pouch on his belt. It took a moment to realize what it was.
. Vash thought.
He opened his pouch and pulled out the that he’d stuffed there days ago. The cover was a bit bent, but didn’t seem otherwise damaged. Vash closed his eyes and thumbed through the pages until he felt a sudden tug on his awareness, like his Core trying to tell him something. He looked down at the page he stopped at.
APPENDIX C: BESTIARY OF THE GLORY ROAD
Rats, Giant aka Skath's Chosen
Sera looked at him and then down at the book. “Is that a ? Seriously?”
“They’ve got a lot of useful information.” Corwin protested.
“A lot of wrong information.” Sera said. “Gideon got all his information second-hand, usually from tavern conversations leagues away from the Glory Road.”
“This one has annotations.” Vash said, trying to read in the dim light. “From someone who knew what they were doing.”
Rats are a common pest both in cities and in dungeons. Problems arise when the rat population gets large enough to attract the attention of Skath, lord of vermin. This lesser god from an elder pantheon gifts his furry little friends with heightened senses, greater size and strength, and devilish cunning. The usual Talents used for evasion, such as Shadowmeld, draw the rats’ attention rather than hiding one from it. Once a colony of Skath’s Chosen establishes itself, eliminating it is nearly impossible.
“See, wrongheaded and useless.” Sera said.
“Let’s see what the annotations say.” Vash said, ignoring Sera.
This is a gross over-simplification of a Giant Rat colony. Most of the rats are the same as regular rats, just bigger, meaner, and a bit smarter. The only Giant Rat that can sense a Shadowmeld is a Rat King, the one who bears the Mark of Skath. Killing the Rat King causes the colony to scatter.
“So we just have to kill the Rat King.” Vash said, closing the book and putting it back in his pouch. “The other rats will scatter and we can get the civilians out.”
“Oh, is that all?” Sera said. “Any idea how we find the Rat King?”
“It can sense a .” Vash said, shrugging. “He’ll come to me.”
“That’s a terrible plan.”
“I wanted to follow Jabez and send others back to help.” Vash said, pointedly.
“We’re not sending you in there by yourself.” Corwin said. “Look at what those things did to the Scalebacks.”
“I didn’t say I was going in there by myself. You two need to clear the way for the others to get out. If I can take out the Rat King, then it makes it that much easier for you.” Vash said, forming the pattern for in his mind.
“It’s still a terrible plan.” Sera muttered, but Vash could feel the odd tingle that meant she was drawing on her mana.
“If anyone has a better idea, I’m all ears.”
“Be careful.” Corwin said, drawing his sword and making ready to head into the cellar. “If you get into trouble, then call on us and we’ll come to help.”
Vash nodded and pushed mana into . The framework locked into place, and the world slowly drained of color. The shadows wrapped around Vash like a cloak, and a bone-deep chill settled into his body.
“It’s so creepy how some delvers can do that.” Sera said. “The shadows look like they’re devouring them.”
“He’s still here, you know,” Corwin said, though he looked unnerved by Vash’s disappearance as well.
“I’m fine with him knowing I think Shadowmeld is creepy.” Sera said, glancing at where Vash had been standing. To her eyes, there was nothing there, just more shadows and darkness. If he moved, then she might see a slight disturbance in the surrounding shadows, but that was only if she was concentrating hard.
“Vash, if you’re still here, we’ll give you a few minutes to get in ahead of us. Sera and I coming into the colony’s lair will probably set off a disturbance.” Corwin said.
Silently, Vash moved off through the trees towards the wrecked cellar door. The wood had splintered from the Scaleback attacks. Now it was only a few planks hanging from a pair of iron hinges. Vash slipped past the remnants of the door, careful not to disturb anything and give away his position. The interior of the cellar was pitch black, the only light coming from the moonlight spilling through the doorway. Luckily, increased Vash’s enhanced vision in the darkness. Though everything was in shades of black and gray, Vash could readily pick out the storage crates and barrels that Phaella kept in the ten-by-ten cellar.
At first, Vash didn’t see any signs of the rats. The ones that had been eating the Scalebacks retreated into the cellar and disappeared.
Vash thought.
Movement near the ladder up to the kitchen above caught Vash’s eye. It was a rat, but far larger than even the biggest city or sewer rat Vash had ever seen. The others had been big, but this one's back was taller than his knee. It was dragging a whole Scaleback leg towards a storage nook behind the ladder.
Vash scanned the rough stone and brick nook. Phaella seemed to keep old crates, tarps, and other basic storage items in there, along with a few tools on pegs. Almost by accident, Vash spotted the entrance to the rat lair. Behind a broken crate tucked into the back corner, Vash could see the outline of a hole in the wall. They had worn away at the mortar, holding the bricks in place, then pushed their way through into the cellar.
The giant rat continued to drag its prize towards the lair, oblivious to Vash standing just a few feet away. Vash cautiously followed the rat, hoping to use its movement and presence as cover. He hated to admit it, but Sera was right. Waiting for the Rat King to come to him was a stupid plan. If he could get close enough to perform a Sneak Attack on the Rat King, that could end this whole thing quickly.
The shouts and thunder of feet on the floorboards above let Vash know that speed was very much a necessity in this situation.
He got as close as he dared to the rat, ducking into the nook to follow it into the lair entrance.
. Vash thought.
As the rat approached the lair, though, it paused. It dropped the Scaleback leg and lifted its nose to sniff the air. It froze, as though sensing some terrifying predator. Slowly, it backed away from the lair entrance, head low and cringing.
Vash stopped, unnerved by the rat’s actions. Then Vash heard something large climbing its way up out of the lair. It made heavy breathing sounds and deep growls that put Vash’s hackles up. He backed up slowly, following the rat’s lead.
A snout appeared from the shadows within the rat hole. Huge, scarred, with broken whiskers and long, sharp, yellow teeth protruding from leathery jowls. The Rat King squeezed itself through the hole, body huge and misshapen. It came out into the cellar, long as a man and standing on powerful hind legs. It hunched over, an enormous hump on its back keeping it bent at a painful angle. Small forelegs with chipped, but deadly looking claws dangled across its chest.
It stood in the middle of the storage nook, head weaving back and forth, nostrils flaring. Suddenly, it stopped, turning to face Vash where he stood underneath the ladder a few feet away. The Rat King’s beady, hate-filled eyes focused on him, punching through the shadows and locking onto the intruder. It let loose a bone-chilling shriek.
Other, smaller voices answered the call. The shriek of dozens of rats boiled up from the hole behind the Rat King.
Then the sounds of claws scrabbling through dirt and stone.
Many claws.
The Rat King looked at Vash with hate in those sharp eyes and lunged.
LOCAL HEROES: THE GLORY ROAD!
?? **Chapter 58 arriving May 14th!**
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