Session 05 – Rat’s Nest Tavern (Part II)

“Stone sings to us… makes burrow strong strong strong…”
— The Rat Prince

The party pressed deeper into the ratling burrow beneath the Rat’s Nest Tavern.

The tunnels revealed a growing ratling society centered around delerium corruption.

Doc Skizzet joined the party within the tunnels, drawn by unusual crystalline growth patterns embedded in the stone walls.

Skizzet’s Discovery

Skizzet observed that delerium structures appeared to preserve biological form patterns.

He theorized a larger crystal source existed deeper within the burrow.

His research reinforced the belief that delerium alters life according to hidden arcane rules.

Surprisingly, he also showed up with a construct, he called Frankie - his wife.

Ratling Ambush in the Southern Nests

As the party searched additional nest chambers, ratlings hidden within ceiling cracks ambushed them.

The party prevailed after another difficult battle.

Rustar suffered further contamination from corrupted ratling weapons. (contamination level 2)

Squeaks the Seer

In a nest chamber surrounding a crude stone plinth, the party encountered a deranged ratling warlock presiding over a large silvery meteor fragment protruding with delerium crystal growth.

The ratling’s movements were twitchy and erratic, her voice shifting between whisper and frantic urgency as if responding to voices only she could hear.

Without prompting, she spoke:

“The tunnels told me you were coming.”
“The stone watches.”

Her eyes darted between the party members as if studying them individually.

“You walk like meat… but think like knives.”
“You carry hunger inside you.”

When she saw Drakzen, she focused intently:

“You burn inside.”
“You try to be bright.”
“The dark does not like bright things.”

Turning her attention toward Doc Skizzet, she spoke in a quieter tone:

“You want to put broken things back together.”
“You want the pattern to remember.”
“Careful… sometimes it remembers wrong.”
“Some shapes should stay lost.”

Six chose not to engage in conversation and immediately attacked.

Before the first spell struck her, the warlock screamed:

“Break the seer and break the warning.”
“You will wish you listened.”

After a brief clash, the ratling was wounded and vanished in a flash of warped magic, teleporting deeper into the tunnels. One of the remaining ratlings suddenly twisted and transformed into an imp before following her into the darkness.

The delerium meteor fragment was secured within the containment case.

Petra Lang Rescued

The party located Petra Lang imprisoned and wounded.

She confirmed that other Lantern scouts had been captured, though their fate remained uncertain.

Petra expressed willingness to continue the search for survivors.

Shrine of the Rat God

The party discovered a grotesque idol constructed from refuse, bone, and delerium fragments.

Ratlings fled upon the party’s arrival.

Fragments of delerium had been embedded into the effigy’s eyes.

The shrine suggested religious reverence for delerium among the ratlings.

The Rat Prince

Deep within the burrow’s gathering chamber, the party encountered the swollen and mutated leader of the ratlings — the Rat Prince.

Adorned with crude armor fused with scrap metal and coin, the Prince sat among a cluster of loyal ratlings who immediately prepared to defend their ruler.

The Prince spoke in a rasping voice filled with repetition and possessive emphasis:

“You come into my tunnels uninvited. They are mine mine mine!”

“This place belongs to the Prince Prince Prince.”
“We claimed this place with tooth and claw, tooth and claw, tooth and claw.”
“Shiny stone belongs to Prince.”

The Prince gestured toward the delerium-infused stone carried by the party in the containment case

“Stone sings to us.”

“Stone makes burrow strong strong strong.”

“Stone feeds the strong.”

“You do not take Prince’s gift gift gift.”

Negotiation quickly broke down and combat began.

The ratling warriors were dispatched quickly, but the Prince proved far more dangerous, wounding Tough Luck with a flurry of blade strikes and bites.

After suffering significant injuries, the Prince suddenly attempted to parlay:

"Wait wait wait!"
"Perhaps we can make deal deal deal!"

The Prince presented an old Drakkenheim gold coin embedded in his armor, offering it as a token of safe passage through ratling-controlled tunnels beneath the city.

When asked about the missing Hooded Lantern scouts, the Prince responded:

"they're in my belly belly belly"

Drakzen showed no mercy for the creature, but Six considered the strategic value of safe underground passage and cast invisibility on the Prince, allowing the creature to flee deeper into the tunnels.

The Prince disappeared into darkness, leaving behind both unanswered questions and a potential advantage for future expeditions beneath Drakkenheim.

Loot and Discoveries

Delerium Collected

• Large Delerium Specimen (secured in containment case)
• 2 Delerium Fragments
• 6 Delerium Chips

Gold

• 28 Gold Pieces

Consumables

• 1 Potion of Healing

Spell Scrolls

• Faerie Fire
• Bane
• Inflict Wounds

Monster Harvested Components

Ratling Guttersnipe

Uncommon Components:

• 1 Animus (Monstrosity)
• 1 Bones (Skull)
• 1 Natural Weapons (Claws)
• 1 Hide (Skin)
• 1 Organ (Eyes)
• 1 Hair (Fur)

Ratling Warrior

Common Components:

• 1 Natural Weapon (Claws)
• 1 Hide (Skin)
• 1 Bone (Spine)
• 1 Organ (Heart)
• 1 Hair (Fur)
• 1 Fluid (Blood)

Key NPCs Encountered

• Petra Lang
• Squeaks the Seer
• The Rat Prince

Threads Moving Forward

• The Rat Prince remains alive within the tunnels
• Squeaks the Seer escaped deeper into the burrow
• Petra will want to return to Shephard's Gate to report back to the Lanterns
• The party now possesses a significant delerium specimen
• Skizzet continues research into delerium biological patterns
• Underground ratling tunnels may provide alternate travel routes

The party emerged from the Rat’s Nest with new allies, dangerous knowledge, and a valuable delerium prize.