Black Hart

Gradsul by Twilight

Chapter 23 - At the Races

"Ten to one on Jagrit's Thunder, sixth race over five laps!" the man yelled from his brightly-painted booth.
As they stood on the edge of the square that lay before the arena's main entrance, around them the gamblers hustled and jossled about the bookmakers' booths, coins passing hands at a fearsome rate in exchange for the tickets that they hoped would win them a small fortune.
The place was busy, but not pack - it was mid-week, and likely less busy than on Freedays and festivals. All the same there were quite a few people around, enough that they did not stand out from the crowd. It was mildly warm, and the cloud that partly covered the sky only served to maintain theheat of that evening.
The arena was old - it was built of a dark grey rock, of a kind that many buildings within the city walls were made of. It was long and high, perhaps a good fifty feet high, and without entering they could imagine that a horse race of entertaining length could be held within, although it might have to do more than one lap to be challenging in any way. Of the six entrances, the main entrance appeared to be the only one which was open that night, again most likely due to the lesser numbers.
"Place your bets here," another bookmaker cried, "best odds guaranteed!"
Akhan chuckled. With a second's attention it was easy to see that all the bookmakers were offering pretty much the same odds, probably by some guild agreement. He looked over near the entrance and noted a couple of men hanging around there, wearing yellow sashes about their waists.
"That makes it a bit easier, don't you think?" he said to Eloi, nodding towards the men.
"What, oh the sashes!" Eloi exclaimed. He shrugged, adding, "Yes it does rather."
These stewards were taking the Fennig's admission price from those who entered the arena, stamping the back of the customer's hand with red ink so that they could easily leave and return after visiting the bookmakers again. Eloi noted another couple of stewards behind them - he did not know what they would find within, but these four stewards were all armed, although not overly so. The two behind carried short swords, the two at the front bore daggers, probably as a result of the money they were collecting.
"What's the plan then, Zeb?" Cinion asked. "Stick together, split up or what? And how far do you think we should go?"
"Back before you know it," Akhan muttered before dashing off towards the booths. He stopped at the pitch of one 'Strakey', a particularly villainous looking bookie. There were several punters already crowded round the man and Akhan took a moment to study the lists of runners and their odds. "Place your money with Strakey!" he bawled suddenly, breaking off from placing bets to shout what was obviously his usual pitch. "Istus smiles on Strakey's punters!"
A grin split Akhan's face and he shoved his way to the front of the booth. Slapping a gold piece down on the counter he shouted over the din, "I'll have Riptide in the last race of the day."
"I would remind you why we are here." Eloi said to him, tugging on his sleeve. "I would also remind you that you gambling skills aren't quite what they're cracked up to be."
"A fine choice at four ter one," Straker cried, "Ah can see yer have an eye fer..."
The man's voice trailed off as he looked at Akhan's face and noticed his eyepatch. He gulped, looking down at the sword which hung by his side.
"Ah mean five ter one, sirr," he said quickly handing Akhan his chit.
Eloi looked at Akhan in disgust. Not that he objected to gambling. But, he preferred to gamble on his own skills, not those of a fleabitten dog. He grabbed Akhan by the arm and drew him away.
Akhan ignored Eloi's reprimand, instead holding his betting slip up to his face and giving it a resounding kiss. "I can feel the weight of my winnings in my pouch already, gents!" he proclaimed, winking at the them all.
Akhan grinned mischievously as he walked back, and noticed Cinion grinning even wider, suppressing a laugh.
"What's the joke, short stuff?" he asked.
"Last race, huh?" the halfling replied quietly. "Knowing what we know, you do realise that'll never take place - I think you just lost a fine shiny gold one Akhan."
Eloi chuckled as he headed off to the entrance, glad to see Akhan humiliated again. Once the group were together again he continued. He looked around for the invisible Smokelight.  "Smokelight, you'd better still be here you old bugger. Don't want you sloping off to find some liquid refreshment."
He laughed heartily at his own wit.
"Don't worry, Old Zeb, you still have an angel looking over your shoulder," Smokelight replied in a low voice. "And what's it to you if that angel tips the bottle a few times?"
Smokelight, invisible, stayed near Cinion and Eloi, and had (invisibly) frowned at Akhan impulsively running off. Eloi might be grumpy but at least he was focused. Sometimes. Smokelight looked around the arena, idly wondered when it had been built, who had built it, and just what kind of secret passages or subterranean tunnels it linked up to. Mainly, he kept an eye on the backs of the others, and scanned the area for anything unusual.
"I only have on thing to add before we go about our business," Eloi added, his face becoming serious. "One word actually - 'Whisper'. We cannot remove him from the equation and must be vigilant. He could be present in this crowd. Be wary and on guard at alltimes."
With those words he moved towards the entrance Fennig in hand. He also displayed his money pouch in plain sight, but in a location that even the best pickpocket would have trouble relieving it from him.
"Evening gents, its a fine night for the dogs. Any tips we should know about?"
At his comment to the door stewards, they both looked at him in a puzzled fashion.
"Best keep yer money in yer pocket," the nearest one said. "The dogs won't stand a chance against the horses that are racing tonight. Dogs are a Waterday meet, friend, its Earthday today."
Akhan flipped his Fennig casually to the man and returned Eloi's gloating chuckle. Once inside Eloi repositioned his money pouch to a more secure location out of sight. As they passed the two guards at the entrance, Adder didn't like the suspicious way they were being looked.
After paying up the entrance fee, Helden thought the most natural thing to do was to move forward and spend a couple of Merkke at the races. Having just fished out his pouch and being about to throw a couple of coins to chance, Eloi's admonishment of Akhan brought his hand and coin pouch swiftly back to his belt, where it continued to stay for the rest of the evening. They quickly moved on towards the centre of the entrance, between the main doors and the stairs and tunnel leading into the arena and its stands. The smell here was strange, as the smell fo the various animals which were kept here blended with the aroma of the foodstuffs being sold from numerous stalls and by vendors with trays.
The punters were making their way to and from the arena's stands, going out to make their bets or in to watch their fate. To the left and right there were double doors, which no-one else was going through. From their tale of the previous visit it looked like these doors might lead to the stables that Akhan and Eloi had passed. As they stood there, one of the two guards with the yellow sashes walked past them into the arena. Perhaps he was being paranoid, but Adder worried that something had been noticed and he was off to gather assistance or warn someone.
Within the arena they could hear the crowd cheer, as if a race had begun.
"Let's find the latrines," Eloi said looking about. "Likely the best place to find drains leading into the sewers beneath."
Akhan shrugged at Eloi's suggestion. "I'd rather not wade through the sewers to get to the tunnels we're after but I guess it's the first place we have to look. We can't wander out into the middle of the arena after all. But let's keep our eyes sharp for any concealed entrances or trapdoors in the floor. There may be other maintenance hatches we can use."
Akhan turned to look curiously into the arena. The noise of the crowd was grabbing his attention.
Walking into the stands area, they could see the race underway as the horses thundered past them. There were a good couple of hundred people shouting and cheering them on from the stands. As they walked into the stands proper they could see they raced around a sandy track that went about the perimeter of the circular arena.
With a seat and a better view they could see that most of the punters were seated, or standing, close to the main entrance. A few groups and individuals however were scattered throughout the length of the arena. For the most part, the rest of the arena appeared unguarded. Five other tunnels, similar to the one they had come through, also led out of the arena, and the one to the south was particularly shaded.
In the centre, past the railings that marked the horses' course, other horses were riding back and forth, warming up for the next race, or being led around and shown to the few punters who had crossed over between races to inspect their prospective winners. Adder saw the guard from the door, standing in the arena proper, speaking to a man at the paddock. He was sure the yellow-sashed guard had pointed up at them.
Akhan nodded over towards the paddock where the horses were being paraded. "Can you see that thick wooden board there next to the horses?
The hole I saw the bastards crawling out of is underneath." Akhan paused to watch the current race for a moment as the horses thundered round.
"We could brazen our way into the hole over by the paddock. Cause some sort of commotion and slip underneath the board and into the hole," he mused dubiously. "Or, we could sidle round to the opposite side of the arena and force our way into one of the tunnels. They're more shaded and less well guarded." He looked at the others and smiled.
"But I don't think we want to piss about here. There are plenty of mugs milling around that paddock. If we stood next to the hold and waited until a horse walked past, we could get our Magical Vapour to spook the horse. You know, get the nag to throw its rider. That little diversion could be just enough for us to slip down the trapdoor. There's no guarantee we'd find the right concealed passageway if we start scouring the whole arena. And there's always the risk of being caught where we're not supposed to be."
Akhan grinned. "Horse knobbling, anyone?"
Eloi nodded at Akhan's suggestions.
"Of course another course of action would be to send Smokelight into the trapdoor on his own, but that would leave him at risk even though he is invisible." He paused and a rare look of enlightenment crossed his face. "But wait a minute."
He reached into his backpack and brought out a small phial. He explained to the others.
"A potion of invisibility. Smokelight and myself can recce the tunnels and if we run into trouble at least I can fight and he can conjor. The rest of us can continue to search for other entrances to the tunnels."
Eloi looked at Smokelight (at least he hoped in the right general direction) and shrugged.
"The only problem would be how would we see each other? We could tie ourselves together using a length of rope. Then at least we could remain in contact. But, then of course the rope would be visible. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"You've still got the problem of how Dunstin's going to see in the darkness of those tunnels, Zeb," Akhan chipped in. "No point in using your potion if you're going to be advertising your presence with some sort of light. I say if we're going into the tunnels we should hit them hard and fast. The trap's going to spring shut soon anyway so let's get down there before they begin to suspect something's happening." 
"I wouldn't advise that right now" replied Adder. "There's a yellow sash and another in the paddock who seem interested in our doings right now."
Akhan nodded in response to Adder's comment about the guards. "Well spotted. I hadn't clocked that. But we can slap them down and be into that hole before they've got a chance to make any trouble for us. Time for a bold stroke I think, team - ante up!"
Eloi looked at the guards then motioned for the others to follow.
"We still have some time before Veshper and his men raid the arena. Let's not play our hand just yet. Let's mingle a bit more. We can return here at the appropriate time."
Eloi planned to explore the arena a bit further before playing their hand. He wanted to be sure there were no further surprises awaiting them or Vespher's men. The party would make a slow circuit of the preimeter of the arena making a cursory check of each of the six entrances before returning to this location.
Akhan grimaced. "If those guards over there are suspicious of us already, then they're going to get even more interested if we start snooping around ignoring the race. Besides, Veshper can't be far behind us now anyway. He was only waiting half an hour and we must have been here at least five or ten minutes already. Remember we've still got to get across the track in between races which will waste another few minutes."
Akhan glanced anxiously around to see what stage the current race had reached.
"You told me you wanted my advice," he said urgently. "Well, I say by all means split up and mingle just now; but everyone make their way over the racetrack into the paddock when this race ends. We know the trapdoor there must lead into some part of their lair. We don't know anything about any other tunnels we might spot. When Veshper strikes, we should be ready to drop into that hole."
Smokelight's voice drifted out of the air towards Eloi and Akhan.
"Good. I'm glad we're all going into the tunnel together. I wasn't fond of the idea of my going in alone, or even just me and Zeb trying to sneak in by ourselves. I agree. If were going to hit, let's hit hard, and do it together. All we have to do now is meander over to that side, real inconspicuous-like. What do you think, Cinion?"
Cinion jumped at the sound of Smokelight's voice.
"Em, yeah," he said. "Can't say I'd be overly fond of tunnels, especially with ratmen in them, but whatever you say, boss."
He nodded to Eloi.
"But Adder is right," he continued. "I think those two men are interested in us. The other one doesn't have a sash on, perhaps he's one of the bosses, maybe even a Sbetlath. Do we really want to go inside while he's watching?"
They looked down, and all were silent for a second as they watched the two men, and the two men watched them.
"Lumping frock!" Akhan declared. In a quieter tone he continued, "That's the one that O'Shad was talking to last the other night."
Cinion shook his head. "Ever get the feeling your sunbathing in the lion's den? What's the plan then Eloi?"
"I wan* that bastard," Akhan said fervently. "To Hell with the tunnels. We can squeeze some information out of that ratty sack of shit. Besides, if he's spotted us now then he'll only blow our precious disguises." Akhan chewed his lip, anxiously trying to think what their next move ought to be.
"Look, if we spook this bugger in the paddock then his first move'll probably be to drop straight into those tunnels anyway. So I reckon we have to get over there quickly but without alarming him too much. Oh, and another thing: if these yellow sashes are employees here then it might just be safer to assume that they could be were-rat's too." Akhan shrugged helplessly at the thought of more of the loathsome creatures.
"But we can't let him escape. We've got to assume he's rumbled that we're the ones who disturbed his little swap-meet last night.
Here's what I suggest we do." Akhan looked down at Cinion. "Why don't you and Smokelight make your way over there right now? Guard the entrance to the trapdoor. They've probably not spotted you yet on account of you not being so obvious and they definitely shouldn't be able to see our ethereal friend. So, they shouldn't regard you as a threat and you can slow them up if they try to slip down the tunnel. The rest of us can split up and make our separate ways over the track and into the paddock." Akhan grinned fiercely. "Is it a plan, or is it a plan?"
"You don't have to worry as long as you're one of the lions" Adder replied quietly to the halfling's worrisome question. He then moved off from the group into the crowds, keeping an eye on his surroundings.
Eloi watched as Adder disappeared into the crowd.
"Where the feck is he going?"
Eloi shrugged and turned to Akhan.
"Your right our friend over there should be our priority. We can use Smokelight's invisiblility to our advantage. I agree he should go over there and make a pre-emptive strike. Let him guard the tunnel and perhaps take out our friend when the raid happens. However, I think we should remain here and let him make the first move. I don't want to leave Smokelight exposed to too much danger either, remember he is not a fighter."
"I'm a drinker, not a fighter," Smokelight slurred, in a low disembodied voice near Eloi. "And the nice thing about being in-visee-bul is that your team captain can't see you tipping your flask on a mission..." Smokelight chuckled and his voice cleared up to a more sober tone. "Just kidding, Zeb. Don't worry about me in danger, particularly, since from where I am standing, we are all in danger. The demihuman and I can handle our job."
"OK, Zeb," Akhan agreed. "Why don't you and Adder remain over this side, but I'm going over to the paddock and I'd prefer to have Helden with me. Smokelight and short-stuff shouldn't be left to take that bugger on their ownsome. I only want them to guard the entrance to the tunnels anyway.  Once the raid gets going you're going to have a lot of panicked people round here and it'd be very easy for us to lose the mark in the confusion. I want to be over there ready for the kill, so to speak. If he does evade us then you can head off his escape route. Let Adder know the plan, eh? But I don't want to wait to see what he's going to do when the raid hits. I want him under my heel where I can keep an eye on him!" Akhan growled the last words with what he hoped was appropriate menace. 
With that, he clapped Helden on the shoulder and made his way to the edge of the stalls where he intended to cross the track to the paddock. As he walked, he made sure to keep his pace nonchalant and made a show of watching the race. And the odd surreptitious sweep of the area too, to see if there were any other yellow-sashes converging on them.
Helden had spent his time so far in the arena hanging slightly behind the rest of the group, casually taking in the general atmosphere, taking in the various concentrations of people, especially those who seemed to man the place. Not having actually seen the men they were looking for was a problem, and compounded by the fact that these same men were able to turn rat at any time made tightening the noose around them a distinct difficulty.
"The paddock then," Helden responded to Akhan's leading. With a slight shift of his tunic sleeve, Helden dropped his holy symbol from up his sleeve snug into his palm -  a little trick he picked up from dubious slight-of-hand shysters. Better to be ready for  a fight on our hands, he thought, when the Mareschal arrives all hell will break loose.
"Alright then," Cinion said, patting his sword's handle. He looked about  as if for a sign of the mage, but then started walking off, muttering, "Come on then, beardy," under his breath.
"I'm here," the mage whispered, following the halfling like a clumsy, vaguely bad smelling ghost.
Eloi unhurriedly moved off after Adder, not attempting to catch up so that they would appear to be apart.

Adder soon realised that Eloi was following him, and they walked over towards one of the quieter, more shaded tunnels. He could soon see that the yellow-sashed guard from the entrance, and another guard, were keeping an eye on him. Eloi stood, watching as the next race started off, about ten feet away but the guards, who were trying to conceal their interest, did not seem interested in Eloi.
Adder figured it might be because Eloi was not overtly armed. They both watched as Cinion moved over near to the hatch, presumably with Smokelight in tow. Near to them, Helden and Akhan were checking the horses in the paddock. From about ten yards away, they saw the un-sashed man and another two yellow-sashed guards walking towards that pair in a definite manner.
Eloi turned and winked at Adder. He walked towards him and whispered.
"I think it is time we started a little diversion, play along and when the guards come over jump 'em."

Helden and Akhan moved casually over to the paddock, keeping an eye on Cinion and the invisible Smokelight. The next race started, and a new group of horses was being led into the enclosure to be shown off to the punters.
After a couple of minutes ogling the horses, something caught Akhan's attention.
"Don't look round," Akhan whispered to Helden, casually glancing away, "But that man is coming our way with two of those yellow-sashed guards."
"Let's try and keep him talking until Veshper arrives to stir things up," Akhan added. "It'd be useful to get the name he's going by here in Gradsul. Akhan bent down to scratch Ash's head, taking the opportunity to peer through the legs of the horses. He was curious to see if Cinion was skulking close to the entrance to the tunnel.  
Straightening up again Akhan muttered to Helden, "You're my cousin by the way. Just in case I have to do a little embroidery to explain why we're here."
"It's the weapons." Helden muttered. "Nobody out for a race bristles with equipment the way we are." Helden glanced at his own spear. "I'm from out of town obviously, big game hunter. Fascinated by animals in races rather than for sport killing."
Helden tried to put on his best uncouth woodsman look and leaned casually on his spear as the three men approached them.

He stood back and drew his dagger and announced in a very loud voice. "Why you fecking bastard! You nicked me betting slip. I'll cut you from ear to ear."
Eloi then lunged towards Adder with a very badly aimed swipe of his dagger. He then took a dive at Adder tipping both of them into a heap on the ground. He continued to wrestle Adder in the hope that the two guards would come over and those approaching Akhan and Helden would be distracted allowing the others time to act.
Whilst they wrestled Eloi whispered into Adder's ear.
"You take the one on the left and I'll take the other one."
"I'll show you!" Adder exclaimed, also drawing a dagger. Keeping up the ruse, he kept an eye out for trouble. He had no intention of sticking a guard however, unless he was in like danger. Adder was a proficient grappler and had no desire to slay guardsmen. Maybe His Prominence could get away with it, but Adder didn't need the hassle.
As they tubled together, the two men put on quite a show, and Adder was quite impressed at Eloi's skills with the dagger - he would have thought that such an oafish brute would maore have relied on strength and power, but he was indeed quite skillful.
The guards were quickly with them, and as soon as the second had arrived, one shouted out a challenge to them both to desist. They kept their distance and had their weapons drawn, still the nearest one was shocked at the speed with which Eloi broke from the scrap and plunged his dagger into his leg.
The man's eyes widened in horror as the blood gushed from his leg and his jaw dropped as he limped back.
"He stuck me!" the man screamed in shock, trying to get away as he clutched his sword in one hand and his bleeding leg in the other. "The bastard stuck me!"
The crowd that had gathered drew back at the sight of Eloi's dripping blade, and one yellow-sashed guard stood, bearing his sword and his snarling teeth at Eloi and Adder.
"Put it down, wretch!" he yelled.
Eloi could see a couple of flashes of yellow making their way through the crowd towards them.
"Yarvald, no!" the unwounded guard shouted at the wounded man, and the crowd stepped back from him as he began to change before their very eyes. His face was becoming snouted and growing hair at an alarming rate, his teeth growing into long, sharp fangs and his fingers and arms sprouting from his clothes, as he dropped his sword.
With a baleful howl, a mixture of pain and primal fury, the wererat leapt at Eloi, who narrowly managed to jump aside. The screaming crowd now ran from them, slowing down the approaching guards.

The man and the two guards continued towards Akhan and Helden, then stopped dead as a commotion broke out on the far side of the race-track. Looking over, Cinion jummped up and down for a view but could not see what was happening. Smokelight could see clearly though - Adder and Eloi, standing by one of the entrances to the track, were fighting with each other, and a number of yellow-sashed guards were heading towards them.
Smokelight quickly relayed to the halfling, in whispered tones, what was happening.
"Quick then, Smokey," Cinion said, sliding a small shoeless foot under the wooden hatch. "Now's our chance!"
He lifted the hatch up, and Smokelight clumsily rolled down, finding a rickety wooden ladder leading down into the darkness. Cinion followed him, and Smokelight had to admonish his companion several times with a hiss as he stood on his fingers, too eager to be down this ladder. As the halfling closed the hatch above him, they were in almost complete darkness.
Rung by shaky rung they went down the ladder, with only the creak of wood and the occasional drip of water to accompany them.
"You're nearly there, just a few more steps," Cinion whipsered after what seemed like an eternity. Smokelight could not be sure how far down they had gone, but within three more steps he felt the ground beneath his feet. He certainly wished that he had the halfling's ability to see in the dark.
He stepped back and found the tunnel they were in was quite restrictive, and he had to step aside to allow Cinion down.

Suddenly the men stopped dead as a commotion began across the tracks behind them. They turned, and Akhan and Helden could see Eloi and Adder, tumbling together, fighting each other with daggers. From all around them yellow-sashed guards headed their way, as did the crowd and in an instant they could see their fighting companions no longer.
The un-sashed man sent one of the guards running across to the farthest entrance, then turned back with the remaining guard. Suddenly their was a horrendous screech, a howl of pain and fury that made both men, seasoned adventurers, shiver. Like the approaching men, Akhan and Helden looked back to where Eloi and Adder had been and saw the crowd stampede from there in sheer terror.
Some ran with such fear that they went straight into the path of the oncoming horses and were trampled there, the jockeys flying from their mounts. They saw several yellow sashes trying to make their way to the fight, being pushed back by the fleeing crowd.
The man, about ten feet away, turned back to Akhan and Helden, not saying anything. He stood there glancing between the panic across the tracks and the two men in the paddock, seeming uncertain what to do. Helden looked around to see what Cinion was doing, but could see the halfling nowhere.

Eloi shouted at Adder.
"You deal with the one that hasn't changed yet. I'm going to gut this one!"
He turned to the wererat and snarled in a slightly mocking tone.
"Now we fecking see you for the ugly bastard that you really are. Does your leg hurt? It'll soon be the least of your worries.
Adder looked towards the other guard and smiled weakly. He drew his blade and said "Shall we dance?"
With a snarl, the guard lashed out at Adder with surprising speed, and he could feel the wind of the sword as it passed his nose, barely missing. The man went momentarily off-balance and Adder swung Krakenshroud in a wide semi-circle, which left it embedded in the man's back. As he coughed out his life's blood, a drawn and shocked expression on his face, Adder put his boot to the man's back and pushed him down as he freed his blade.
He turned to see the wererat clawing wildly at Eloi, but the half-orc calmly side-stepped and a grin came across his face. The wererat managed a partial snarl, before its hand clutched at its throat and blood began to spurt from the wound that Eloi had left there in effortless fashion.
Eloi looked to Adder for a split second, and both men nodded - the respect of two warriors passed between both men in that instant as they were united in battle, but the circumstances ruined the moment as the screaming of the crowds about them invaded their ear-drums. Looking about they could see the crowd was thinning and several yellow-sashed guards were coming their way, although they could easily have made an attempt to evade them, such was the panic of the crowd.
Suddenly there was a thundering noise, and the next thing they knew a horse struck one of the yellow-sashed guards, its rider flying head-over-heels onto two of the panicking spectators. In their terror, the crowd had thought nothing of running onto the race-track where the horses were still running, and with a sickening crunch  a second horse ploughed into one of the punters who had almost made it across safely. This added to the chaos, and Eloi and Adder could hardly believe the scene of carnage and mayhem before them.
Adder decided now was an appropriate time for a change of tactics. His visage shimmered slightly as he changed his appearance to match that of one of the yellow sashed guardsman. Turning to Eloi he said gruffly "Alright you! You're coming with me. Now move!" With that he angled Eloi towards the paddock, trying to avoid the melee of hooves and commoners. "Hopefully this mess will keep our targets ocuupied and in the arena" Adder said to Eloi, as quietly as possible and yet making himself heard over the dull roar in the immediate environs. "We'll try and make our way to Akhan and see what he's up to."

"Magical fear." Helden hissed sharply in Akhan's ear. "Or confusion of some sort. Something very unpleasant up ahead." Helden's terse comments belied the urgency in his voice as his feet began to carry him as quickly as possible towards the source of the commotion, trusting that Akhan was close to him and was thinking the same thing. He readied the prayers of his spells in his mind in anticipation of the situation ahead and gripped his spear tighter in his right hand.
He returned the man's stare, reading his uncertainty, watching him for any sudden move on his part, waiting to see if he spoke anything at all.
The confusion seemed to be calming down, as the rearmost horses were slowed to a halt by the race stewards. Some spectators spilled from the stands to help the injured on the track. From amidst the crowd, Akhan and Helden saw a guard leading Eloi towards them by the arm, the guard's sword ready in his hand in case Eloi should try anything. As they walked towards them another guard took hold of Eloi and pointed his shortsword at his head.
The man saw this and turned back to them.
"Perhaps now you will tell me what this is all about, and why you have come to my arena armed for battle?" the man demanded of them, making sure to keep his distance.

Eloi was somewhat surprised at Adder's change, but played along with the ruse. He palmed his dagger and slouched his shoulders taking direction from the false guard.
As they walked he whispered.
"Just hope none of the others mistaken you for a real guard and do you."
Eloi scanned the crowd looking for possible threats from other guards. Hopefully in the panic they had missed Adder's change. He also looked around for signs of Akhan, Helden, Cinion and the man who had been  interested in them.
As they walked through the carnage, the dispersing crowd made things easier.
The riders further back in the race had managed to be stopped by the stewards and spectators who had not viewed the wererat's change were making their way down to help the injured. Adder saw the guard who had been struck by the horse, and should have been lying dead, pulling himself to his feet and brushing himself off.
Another guard, sword drawn, approached them and grabbed Eloi's other arm roughly. He pointed the sword to Eloi's head.
"Good capture Vellik," he said as they walked across to the paddock. "Garrald will be pleased - how are the others?"
They could see the man from the paddock before standing just where he had been when Eloi started the distraction, but now there was only one yellow-sashed guard with him. Akhan and Helden stood just ten feet beyond him. There was no sign of Cinion anywhere.
Eloi was getting slightly concerned about his predicament and was most unhappy about the sword pointing at his head. He looked at Adder with a questioning stare. However, the odds were starting to look much more favourable. Garrald Sbetlath was obviously the man in the paddock and with Akhan and Helden so, near they should be able to take the initiative. Sbetlath would not escape them.
'Vellik' turned to the guard who had addressed him, assuming that this one was a superior. "Two of the others are dead, I think. The other man ran off that way," Adder gestured behind and to the left of him with his sword, "before we managed to subdue this one. The other guards went looking for him, but in this mess, it'll probably take more than them to find him."
The man's grip on Eloi suddenly tightened and he stopped dead in his tracks, staring intensely at 'Vellik'. Something was badly wrong!

Smokelight was surprised to find that after a couple of seconds his eyes were beginning to adjust, as though there was some light further on in these tunnels. It seemed to be coming from the right, and he could now see that the tunnel led both left and right. Down to the left is was ominously dark.
"Put your hand on my head, big man, and I'll guide the way," Cinion said. "Which way do you think we should go?"
"I'm going to have to say to the right," the mage replied. "Remember Cinion, I can't see in the dark like you. And I'd prefer not using magical lighting at this point."Smokelight barely saw Cinion nod, and the halfling started to lead him along towards the light. It was perhaps a hundred yards away, but within fifty the mage took his hand from Cinion's head as he could see quite well.
They reached  the entrance to where the light was coming from, and they could hear some banging and shuffling, and occasional bursts of chatter that were unintelligible. The passageway continued on from there, but Smokelight could see little as it became dark further down and what little night vision he had  was lost ot the glare from this chamber.
Cinion, hugging the wall at the side of the entrance, whispered, "You step out and see what's going on."
Remembering his invisibility, which was so easy to forget, Smokelight peered around then stepped out for a better view. His eyes widened.
The room beyond was circular, perhaps fifty feet in diameter, with a spherical roof. In the centre stood a small arch of green stone, probably jade, inlaid with black stone which he presumed to be jet. About the arch, about the size of a single doorway, four ratmen in wererat form struggled to push a chest-high wooden crate while another two looked on. They were all armed with swords.
As he watched, Smokelight became very conscious of the acoustics in the room - there was something strange there, some sort of deadening effect that was unnatural. Suddenly he heard a noise, dull hum which was almost below his hearing range.
"What's going on?" he heard Cinion ask, putting his hands to his ears. "What in blazes is that noise?"
Suddenly a blue light sprang up between the arch's pillars, and an unfamiliar background sprang to life, with a dirty brown-coloured ratman walking towards him. As soon as he had stepped into the room, the background disappeared and Smokelight could again see through the arch again, as though it were normal.
This ratman immediately began to help the others push the crate out towards them at the entrance.

"Something wrong with yer throat, 'Vellik'," the guard shouted, loud enough for all around to hear. "Seems yer've lost yer accent my friend!"
Eloi saw his opening and grabbed the man's sword arm, quickly jabbing the dagger at his gut, but all it found was thin air Luckily the man's blow at Eloi was just as bad and the half-orc just managed to parry it and regain his balance.
"Shapeshifter! That ain't Vellik!" the guard yelled.
"Better to lose an accent than your innards, rat-fink" Adder voiced. Eloi decided to silence this guard before he mouthed off any further. He stepped forward dagger in hand with the full intention of slicing this one's throat too.

Helden observed the scuffle between Eloi and the two guards dispassionately, as if he wasn't the least bit concerned about the half-orc's predicament.
"What in the Nine Hells are you talking about?" Helden coolly spat out his words at the man before him. "And who in Iuz's crap are you anyway? Your own men seem to have a problem with an unwanted visitor," Helden laughed mockingly, "a shapeshifter no less."
"You might be in need of our services, my friend. We'd be glad to help." Helden taunted the man, hefting his spear meaningfully, playing for time. Veshper should only be minutes away, let hell break loose then. Even then, he ran the words of the hold spell in his mind slowly and readily, wondering if Akhan had his own ideas of what to do next.
With their mark's first mention of 'my arena', one of Akhan's suspicions has been confirmed. "Sbetlath," he thought to himself with satisfaction. It was always nice to know who it was that was likely to have your throat slit. Still, whether it was the elder or junior Sbetlath there was no way of knowing yet. 
Akhan tried not to let his puzzlement about the fighting and commotion get the better of him. He adopted the most relaxed and calm expression he could affect and tried to watch Eloi's approach without anxiety. The sudden scuffle and mention of shapeshifters left his stomach with a very  queasy feeling of a nasty surprise about to unveil itself. It was the same feeling which he'd experienced the other night when they'd discovered this nest of wererats.
Hadn't Eloi had a run-in with a shapeshifter in a park in Niole Dra not so many months ago? A vivid memory flooded back of a soaking wet Major Bermen Zladek arriving with the unconscious Eloi slung over his shoulder. That was right: Eloi and Bermen has been meeting with some underworld contact who had promised to locate the witness they were pursuing. Only they'd been met with a couple of Drow and a doppelganger who had attempted to put an end to them both. Eloi had killed his double but the Drow had paralysed him and Zladek had somehow spirited him off before they could kill him.
All this flashed back as the guard made his startled shout. Akhan remained where he was and registered Helden's riposte to the mark he assumed was Sbetlath. Who was 'Vellik' though. This was the other worrying point in all of this confusion. Akhan didn't have a clue. It was worryingly close to the name Vellip. But there was no time to consider all these questions.
Eloi and Adder could be in deep trouble and there was no knowing where Cinion and Smokelight were right at this moment. But this little raid of theirs would have failed in one of their objectives if they let Sbetlath escape now. The rest would just have to take care of themselves for the moment.
Akhan grinned at the supposed Sbetlath and talked quickly. "My friend is right, sir. You need our protection. If there are shapeshifters here then you can't trust those you know. Our weapons are for hire and we'll willingly protect you - for a price." Akhan gestured for the man to join them but began to walk towards him anyway, angling so that he would keep himself between the guards and Sbetlath. If anyone was going to be holding this mark at the end of this nasty little confrontation, Akhan was determined that it was going to be him. This was going to be very confusing though.
Sbetlath had nodded his guard towards Eloi with contempt. He scowled atAkhan and Helden as he drew his sword.
"Help me against your friends there?!" he said sarcastically. "You two should be just right for a lesson today."
He squared off in a fighting stance to Helden and Akhan, apparently waiting for them to draw weapons.
"Guards, to me!" he screamed as he waved Akhan and Helden on to the fight.

Adder ran to meet the guard coming at them from Akhan and Helden's direction, as Eloi tore a chunk out of his guard's chest. The guard merely grunted and fought on unperturbed, cutting Eloi back with a glancing blow to his chest
Adder barely dodged the guard's first blow, misjudging his speed as he ran towards him, but quickly recovered and hacked a chunk from the man's left side. He took pride in the man's reaction, as he seemed sickened by the pain of the wound, and all the colour drained from his face.
Eloi was not so careless next time, and cut the man again, dodging his feeble blow. Adder's guard made one pathetic strike, then practically impaled himself on Krakenshroud with the barest of efforts from its owner.
As he was given space to think, Adder could see the guards running towards them from all around the arena. He could see Akhan and Helden ducking the railing to enter the paddock and fight the man whom they had seen earlier, who was probably Sbetlath himself.
He looked eagerly, but there was still no sign of the Mareschal and his marines, and by Adder's reckoning at best they had an uncomfortable five minutes before they might arrive.
Sbetlath backed off and ducked under the railing they had been leaning on before his arrival, casting off his cloak as Akhan drew his sword. With a single magical word, a long spear-tip leapt from the end of Helden's staff, drawing a quick glance from Sbetlath. He then continued to back into the paddock, which was quickly clearing of horses and riders as they fled the dreadful scene.
"Very nice," Sbetlath said in a patronising tone. "But you see all I have to do is keep you occupied until all my guards arrive - oh and here they come now!"
With a brief glance, Helden saw flashes of yellow, perhaps ten or so in all, coming towards them from all directions.

Smokelight was amazed, but perhaps not completely surprised. In fact this was essentially what he'd expected. A magical gate. He suspected the gate was somehow sonically magical, and used vibrations to become 'attuned' to certain other places, times or planes. Where had he heard that? Ah, yes... Heward. He remembered Otto's tuning forks, and in fact he remembered some clerics who used something similar in their Plane Shift spells.
He strained to see the 'background' behind the emerging ratman. What was that? A skyline? A horizon? He tried to absorb what details he could see, brief though the 'magical opening' was. Then, he quickly moved back up to the tunnel where Cinion was. He whispered to Cinion.
"Quick. There are four ratmen pushing a crate. Run back up the tunnels and tell the others you found the gate. I'll stay behind. Do not argue. Go now." Cinion stared at Smokelight's chest, and drew a scowl.
"Alright," he hissed, and turned to leave. The halfling stopped but a pace away and turned back with a concerned look on his face. "Be careful!"
He then turned and ran silently down the passage.
Smokelight moved to the side of the tunnel. Obviously the ratmen were pushing the crate towards the tunnel, where Smokelight had emerged. He moved as far away from the tunnel entrance as he could, as the ratmen advanced. He didn't want to risk them smelling him. The mix of odours down here should cloak me, he thought. He moved along the perimeter of the chamber's circular wall, keeping one eye on the gate as the ratmen pushed the crate.

Eloi ducked under the man and threw his weight into him, but felt the cold bite of steel as the man stabbed him in the back. As he thrust with his dagger the man lithely slipped out of the way, a broad grin froming across his snarling face. The grin turned to a look of sheer horror as his chest burst open as a longsword ripped through him. The man fell forward and crumpled to the ground as Adder withdrew his blade from the corpse.
All possibility of pretense gone, Helden fixed his eyes on Sbetlath, clenched his left hand tightly over his Olidamarran holy symbol and began the words of his spell, closing in to maintain the range of the spell.
"Akhan, cover me until I finish!" Helden barked, trusting that the half-elf knew to watch his back at least until the spell was cast in order to prevent any interruption. Sbetlath was not going to get away today if the cleric could help it, yellow-sashed guards be damned!
Acknowledging Helden's call, Akhan grasped the pommel of his sword in his left hand and swept it out of its scabbard and vertically into the air in one smooth motion. As the sword flew upwards, he dipped his body so that his right arm swung round to grasp the grip at the top of its rise. Whipping his hand back round in the opposite direction he brought the sword into the salute position, tip pointing towards the sky.
Akhan sniffed, trying to remain nonchalant. Although it was difficult to conceal a childish smirk. He took his eyepatch off and moved to cover Helden's position. "Heel, Ash," he muttered under his breath to the wardog. Eyeing the rapidly approaching guards, Akhan got the distinct impression they were in for some hot work.
Prayer and spellcasting was almost second nature to Helden, and he was obviously not going to be distracted by Akhan's theatrics. Even so, the thought crossed his mind that the last few words of his prayer might be somewhat, if not a little marred, by the slight curl of a smile along the edge of his mouth.
Looking over to the paddock, they could see Akhan's flshay move, and Eloi almost wished he would miss the sword and make a fool of himself, but the half-elf firmly caught the sword and moved to the attack. Sbetlath lunged almost immediately, but Akhan took ducked low to the left, coming up and beating down the man's sword as he did so. In an impressive move he slashed Sbatlath's right shoulder as he drew back his blade.
Sbetlath winced and his free hand moved to the wound.
Helden's spell was finished, but he knew it had failed as Sbetlath moved to attack Akhan again. Glancing around, Helden saw two yellow-sashed guards running up to the duelling duo from across the paddock. As they approached, Sbetlath yelled, "Leave this one to me, get the others!"
He motioned towards Helden, but never once took his narrowed eyes from Akhan.
The two guards ducked under the railing on the far side fo the paddock and began to run over to Helden. Ten feet away as Adder shook the blood from Krakenshroud, Eloi nodded over towards the main entrance where three guards were running towards them, with about another five a hundred yards behind them.

No sooner had Smokelight entered the chamber than a massive rat scampered through the entrance, squeaking reteatedly - he had moved just in time, for surely it would have run into him had he not! The ratmen stopped their work and stared at the creature. Before his eyes it stretched and unfolded, growing and changing into a human form - a naked, female human form. One of the ratman overseers hurried to fetch her a robe from a pile of clothes he had not seen before, but he had scarcely moved when she vented her anger.
"Imbeciles! Have the sewers choked your noses!" she screamed. Smokelight looked her up and down - a fine body once, but suffering the ravages of age - long ebon hair, fine skin that never saw the light of the son. Even before he heard the lilting voice from Mordenkainen's patchy memories he knew who she was.
Chary A'Creel!
Snatching the tattered robe from the ratman's hand she threw it on as she hurried back to the entrance.
"There was a halfling scampering away from here when I came down - no doubt whimpering back to his upworld friends to tell them of our lair now! You two, go and warn Garrald, tell him we are discovered!" she bellowed. The two 'overseers ran, sword in hand, out of the chamber - at least the odds were now more in his favour!
Smokelight saw her face fully now as she stood before the entrance - she had changed, and not just with age. They say that pets become like their masters, or was it the other way about? Anyhow, Chary A'Creel had changed, and not for the better. Not unless rat brown was your favourite colour! Her nose and eyes reminded him of a tunnel rat, although he was not sure if he would have made the link had he not seen her transformation.
Smokelight started as she raised her hands and began casting some incantation - she had not glanced his way once, she could not have seen him, but now she was only five feet away from him and the only reason he dared to breathe was the noise she made with her spellcasting. He waited expectantly.
As she finished the dweomer, she threw something minute into the short entrance passageway, and to Smokelight's horror a bluish tinge coated the rocks for a split second before icicles grew there at a horrendous rate, twisting and interweaving their cold tendrils, growing until they blocked the entrance with a solid wall of magical ice at least a foot thick. Chary had grown somewhat in power since she knew him - the apprentice was now a master, if a somewhat rat-like one!
She spun on one foot, turning back to the ratmen who stood agog at the sight she had conjured.
"Now we have some time," she stated, seeming more calm now. She walked over to the gate, and as she passed the ratmen Smokelight saw them cower somewhat, in deference or in fear. Their rat-hair pelts made his skin crawl even at that distance. He watched as Chary took something from the pocket of the robe and placed it into a bowl-like receptacle on the gate which he hadn't really noticed before.
Suddenly there was a dull resonance, and the picture within the gate sprang to life again. He could see it more clearly this time, and it looked like a beach - a hot, cloudless day came to life on the other side as he could see from the shimmering heat mirage, and at the back of the sands a few tropical trees stood. He had not been there, although Mordenkainen had, but he felt sure he was looking at somewhere on the coastline of the Amedio jungle.
Chary placed several more small black items into the bowl, they were small and looked like stones, the size of a small plum - if he had to guess, he would have said they were made of Jet.
"Get that crate back through there," she demanded of the ratmen. He could hardly read their features through the fur, but was sure that he could see a hint of dismay in reversing their efforts. The four ratmen immediately put their shoulders to the crate and began straining to move it. "We need to salvage what we can and destroy it from the other side, quckly, quickly."
Chary paced about them urgently, and stood between Smokelight and the ratmen, urging them on. He reckoned it would take them less than a couple of minutes to get the crate back through.
Suddenly Chary stopped in her tracks, and sniffed the air, drawing several long snorts through her nostrils.
"Tobacco?" she questioned rhetorically. She stepped towards the bemused ratmen, who had paused in their efforts momentarily. "Have any of you fools been smoking in here?"

Eloi shouted at Akhan. "Akhan! Remember we need Sbetlath alive!" Eloi turned to Adder and nodded his thanks. "We should divert attention from the others. Two against three, I like those odds. Shall we?"
Eloi started moving towards the guards with a view to gutting the first one he came too. He just hoped that Adder was following close behind.
Akhan concentrated hard on Sbetlath. He'd felt the severity of the cut he'd inflicted on the man but it seemed he was now intent on a personal battle. That indicated a certain confidence in his abilities which deserved all Akhan's attention.
Eloi's shout penetrated his thoughts but there was very little Akhan could do to guarantee Sbetlath's survival. There were just too damn many guards arriving - they'd be hard pressed to remain unscathed themselves. Veshper probably wouldn't be able to help them now either. There was bound to be a confused and panicked mob trying to escape through the exits. Not to mention the chaos of horses and spectators milling around the arena. Even if Veshper got to the arena now, he wouldn't be in a position to come to their aid for a good few minutes yet.
Akhan cursed silently to himself. This was hardly the carefully planned raid they had intended! But there was no point weeping over spilt beer as the old cliche said. They could moan about the shortcomings of their plan after they'd got Sbetlath back to the Umberdtine.
Now though, he could see the two guards approaching Helden. Despite some misgivings about exposing Ash to such danger, Akhan dismissed the thought and called the dog's attention.
"I'll cover the guards." Helden shouted, leaving Sbetlath to Akhan. He was confident that under the half-elf's razzle-dazzle was a highly competent exponent. Helden looked at the two rapidly approaching guards and decided he did not enjoy the odds as much as Adder and Eloi did.
One last chance at magic before the rest of the guards close in, he thought. With the words of the same prayer on his lips, he directed his focus this time on both the guards simultaneously. Let the power of Olidammara, the god of rogues, absolutely and incontrovertibly freeze them in their tracks.
"Ash!" His furry friend had been bred for this sort of thing and Griffin Team looked as if they needed every weapon they'd got. Carefully using the signal Master Veyne had taught him, Akhan indicated the two yellow sashes nearing Helden. "Attack!" he shouted.
As Sbetlath moved in to engage again, Akhan wondered where Smokelight and Cinion had got to. There didn't seem much point guarding the entrance to the tunnels now, but he supposed there was no telling what trouble had landed in their laps.
One of the guards crossing the paddock yelled out, "Garrald! That's the elf who broke in..."
Suddenly his voice stopped, and Garrald glanced over to see his two men frozen still by Helden's magic. With a powerful lunge Akhan stepped in and slashed him again, making him pay for his moment's inattention. But he had become over-confident, and the arena owner's blade caught him on the riposte
"So, you know our little secret!" Sbetlath declared. "No point in hiding any longer then, eh!"
With that, Akhan saw Sbetlath's mouth curl, and his face became dark as it started to stretch and contort...

Eloi was not so surprised this time as Adder's sword's magic made him just one of a complete set of identical quintuplets - by the time the three guards had closed to the attack even he had forgotten which was the real Adder.
Eloi ducked the first man's clumsy attack and left him with a slashed stomach for his efforts. The first guard's confusion was evident as he squared off to one of Adder's images, only to be struck from the side by another, the blow almost cleaving the man's sword arm from the shoulder. His confusion became total bewilderment as he swiped thin air and the image disappeared, as did the next yellow-sashed guard.
As the five other guards grew closer, the injured guard turned to another of Adder's image, but the other one faced off to the real Adder. As they circled, Eloi noticed the man he was fighting had begun to change like the other wererat at the entrance.
Behind him, two of the guards were headed towards them, but the other three ran towards Heldan and Akhan.
'Feck, were in a bloody wererat convention!' thought Eloi. 'They seemed to be holding their own for now, but where the feck was Veshper? Surely he had seen the panic stricken punters fleeing from the arena and figured something was wrong?'
Eloi focused his attentions on the changing guard and continued his relentless assault. If only he could strike a death blow before the creature finished changing.

Smokelight had slowly lifted his Staff of Thunder and Lightning as Chary began sniffing. Closing one eye, he lined up Chary and the other ratmen down the length of his staff.
"They were just about to start," Smokelight said, as he uttered the magical command words to his Staff.
At the sound of his voice, the four ratmen and Chary turned towards him, then were hidden for a moment by the blue lightning that ripped from the staff, accompanied by the thunderclap which seemed to shake the entire chamber.
As he could see clearly again, Smokelight saw Chary  and three of the wererats thrown to the floor in front of the gate. He quickly worked out that the third had actually been thrown through the magical portal. There was an acrid smell that filled the chamber and grey smoke hovered in the air above the four figures that lay there.
Chary rose quickly to her feet, glancing around at the motionless ratmen who were changing back to their naked human form. Her eyes met the now-visible Smokelight for the first time.
"Mordenkainen!" she gasped. "Well, I am honoured that you would humble yourself to visit our little lair. Please excuse the mess, we are busy redecorating at present."
She gestured to the dead ratmen and the crate. She seemed injured, though not as badly as the ratmen had been, and Smokelight could see a trickle of dark red blood running from her left ear. Her voice sounded strange and he was sure that the thunderclap had deafened her.

With all pretences so obviously discarded, Akhan decided to call in the reserves. Always assuming Smokelight and Cinion weren't already fighting for their lives that was. "Smokelight!!! Griffin Team! Rally, rally!" he called. With any luck that might give Sbetlath cause to wonder how many of them there were in the arena. "Fat chance," he thought sourly to himself though.
"Better say goodbye to your little gate Sbetlath," Akhan snarled at the shifting form of the ratman. "The only travelling you're going to be doing is straight to the afterlife." Akhan pressed home his attack, knowing that with the odds stacked against them as they were, it was unlikely that Sbetlath would be so obliging as to lower his weapon.
Akhan could not tell what look was coming over Sbetlath's face as it twistedand formed into the ratman's visage, sprouting hair faster than an orc maiden's armpits, but the arena owner let out a shrieking howl which hurt Akhan's sensitive ears as his arms grew longer and spindly, still clutching onto the shortsword. Akhan took his opportunity, as Sbetlath seemed preoccupied with the change.
As he lunged forward, the wererat moved quickly aside and Akhan's sword bit into nothing but air. As he recovered he saw that Sbetlath's gameplan had changed and the man was running full-pelt towards the middle of the arena - towards the hole which indoubtedly led to his tunnels and the ratmen's lair.
Akhan slashed wildly with Kagnstir, and his sword cut a light blow to Sbetlath's back but the man carried on running to the hole and safety. Looking to his comrades he saw that two of the guards were frozen by Helden's magic, but the third continued towards the priest. There was a blur of grey and Akhan saw Ash leap through the air at the third guard, a snarl erupting from his mouth as his fangs reached for the man's exposed neck. His jaw dropped as the guard lifted his shortsword and Ash was impaled on the end of it, letting out a horrific yelp as it did so.
Akhan let out an involuntary cry as the dog fell to the ground, and the realisation dawned on him that Ash's attacks would be useless against a wererat.

As the other guards came to the attack, Adder was grateful for his magic as they attacked his images, but the uninjured guard now turned to him as the injured one  also attacked his duplicate. He dodged the guard's blow, but one by one Adder's remaining doubles disappeared under the guards' blades.
Even as he finished the guard he was attacking with a solid blow he feared the coming onslaught as they realised he was the only one left. With a low jab of his dagger, Eloi finished the changing guard before him and turned to attack one of Adder's attackers, leaving only two men for the warrior to deal with.
As they circled there Ash's yelp, then Akhan's cry, pierced the air.
Akhan kicked back his heels, snarling with rage. He was furious withhimself for sending Ash to what looked very like his death and he was determined to bring that anger down on Sbetlath's head. He sprinted off in pursuit of the wererat hoping his boots would bring him back within sword's reach of the vile hairball. And there was always the possibility that Smokelight and Cinion hadn't had time to vacate their position next to that hole. Where were they?
As Sbetlath ran towards the bolt-hole he sent out a high-pitched screech, a squeal that might almost have been comical but for the desperate situation at hand. As if by this cue, the remaining guards about the arena began to change to their true form.
But it was a minute victory for Sbetlath, to unleash his men as such, for Akhan ran at phenomenal speed and was upon him again in an instant. With a hefty slash of Kangstir, fuelled no doubt by his fury, he cut into Sbatlath's unprotected back, peeling layers of torn clothing to show that even wererats bled.
Desperate, Sbetlath still ran for the hole, but as he neared it the wooden cover began to move and fearing treachery the arena owner slowed. As it was pushed aside, Cinion's head popped up, and a shocked look came over his face as he saw what was running towards him. Without so much as a thought he leapt up from the hole, tumbling forward on the ground, and as he rose before Sbetlath he had drawn his sword, Mandeg's Carver.
In desperation Sbetlath threw himself over the halfling, who slashed at him as he did so. Sbetlath seemed past caring now as he hurled his horrendous ratman body down the hole, ignoring the ladder in desperation to be away from the danger as quickly as possible.

Having dispatched two more of the guards in their tracks and bringing his spear up to attack the third, Helden had not anticipated the dog lunging at the remaining guard, nor, horror of horrors, Ash run through the yellow-sashed rat's sword!
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sbetlath break away from Akhan, and as the only one with magic at his disposal, his mind began to form the words of an appropriate spell.  But the dog's life-rending yelp and Akhan's terrible cry dismissed all manner of rational thought momentarily as Helden leveled his spear and charged right at the heart of the wererat guard.
As Helden's spear bit into the now-snarling guard, whose visage was all-too-expectedly changing, he saw that Ash was down but not beaten - he could not see the wound, but Ash barely paused to shake himself down after recovering before he sank his fangs again into the ratman's leg. Annoyed by Ash's savage yet futile attack, the guard's swing missed Helden wildly, though he seemed to fear his spear more than Ash's fangs.
To his left, Eloi stabbed the changing guard that faced him, but as he pulled back the now-elongated teeth of the ratman sunk into his hand, tearing it badly. Adder fared no better, and in a ferocious attack both ratmen leapt upon him, sinking their teeth deep into his torso, and he was unable to even wound them in return.

Cinion looked down the hole, then stared at Akhan, puzzled for a moment. He then held up his longtooth blade which was coated in thick red blood.
"Good to be taking some of the scarlet out of the Brotherhood Akhan, eh?!" he pronounced with a laugh. A look came over his face then, a sudden realisation of forgetfulness. "Shit, Smokelight, em, he sent me to get you, said he's found the gate!"
Akhan didn't stop to acknowledge Cinion's presence. He was simply too desperate to stop Sbetlath. The ratman's flight had convinced him that he had to stop whatever the mangy creature intended to do. And with Smokelight down there he was fearful for the mage's safety.
"Come on!" he shouted and grabbed hold of the ladder. Holding his sword below him to light the way he quickly started to descend. "Come and point the way out to me," he shouted up to Cinion.
As he went deeper, Akhan was grateful for the enhanced vision the Eye provided him with. His blood was still boiling, but a small corner of his mind knew the dangers of confronting the wererat in its own maze of tunnels. Within seconds Akhan could pick out a form at the bottom of the ladder -moving down the ladder he was cautious, but as he reached the bottom he could see that it was Sbetlath, in human form, lying there. Without even checking Akhan could see his neck was lying at an awkward angle and was broken - still, the half-elf cautiously reached to his chest and was happier when he found no heart-beat there.
He was in a man-made tunnel which led left or right and to both sides he could see nothing beyond the bluish light of his sword, which lit the tunnel up with an eerie glow. It suddenly occurred to him that he was lit up like a beacon, and since both he and Cinion could see in the dark it was unnecessary, but it was too late now.
"Right," Cinion said, "about a hundred yards down."
Akhan moved off, and he could see a light source up ahead - as they approached it there was an intense flash of light, and a thunderous growl. Nearing the light, Akhan saw a massive lump of white ice blocking what appeared to be a tunnel to the right.
"Smokelight!" Cinion said in a hissed whisper. he looked up at the door. "Ah shit, Akhan - that's where Smokelight said the gate was."
Akhan lifted his left hand to the ice and felt the intense cold coming off the door, magical cold!
Akhan kicked the ice irritably. "This wouldn't be an illusion would it?" he asked Cinion without expecting an answer. "Damn! Look, I can't think of any way to get through that right now and the others are getting swamped in wererats up there." Akhan jigged angrily from foot to foot, frustrated by the need to choose between trying to help Smokelight and the rest of the party up top.
"You stay here," he snapped, deciding that inaction was the worst option. "Check the walls for concealed stuff. But if you hear me call then join us." That said, Akhan nipped off back down the passageway towards the ladder. However, despite his anxiety about his friends, he took the time to stoop down over the shattered body of Sbetlath. Or rather the wretched rat shape which wore the clothes of a man who had been known as Sbetlath. Who knew this creature's real identity or allegiance?
Akhan's hands moved with practised ease as he probed Sbetlath's garments for anything interesting. He didn't want this body disappearing on him. But if it did then at least he'd make sure there was nothing valuable left on it. That done, he leapt back up the ladder, slowing near the top to assess the melee.

"Well, unless you can read lips," Smokelight answered, "you can't tell whether I am just talking to you or uttering the verbal components of a spell... but if you can, let me just say that I'm sorry to see you've betrayed Otto's trust, and involvement with the Scarlet Brotherhood gets one a death sentence across the Flanaess."
As Smokelight spoke, he glanced at the ratmen, but could see no movement from them whatsoever. As he looked up, Chary took her hand from the pocket of her robe and flicked something towards him - cursing his moment ofinattention, Smokelight began reciting the words of another spell.
For a split-second his world slowed down, and he noticed Chary's complex hand movements had end. But in that instant everything returned to normal and with full fury five brilliant white missiles plunged the twenty feet from his outstretched hands into her body.
Again, she shook and juddered as the pain wracked through her body, throwing her prone to the ground, on all fours. For a moment she knelt there, like a scorched rat, and Smokelight could see that she was now bleeding from her nose as well. She lifted her right hand, closest to him and held up her fingers, palm towards him like a barrier.
"No more!" she said, pitifully. "No more."
Suddenly Smokelight heard muffled voices on the other side of the ice wall, but he could hear nothing of their content. After a second they stopped.
Then there was a scratching noise, a pattering of numerous tiny feet, and as Smokelight looked on about half a dozen giant rats spilled out from various small holes in the walls to the left and right of him. They ran towards them with shrill shrieks.
Chary, who seemed to have steeled herself, rose up and, grasping something in her pocket, threw it into the receptacle on the gate as she ran towards it.

Eloi cursed as the ratman's teeth bit into his hand. He just hoped that there was a cure for lycan... lycanth... turning into a were-beastie. He renewed his attack on the creature with reckless abandon. What more had he to lose, apart from his life? Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Adder was not faring so well. The quicker he dispatched this one the sooner he could run to Adder's aid. But where the feck was Vespher?
Adder continued to fight with renewed determination. He had fought werecreatures before, and knew he'd be visiting the temple of Pelor again soon enough. Those wereboars in the Vesve Forest did have a slight resemblance to Eloi, Adder thought to himself, but he was to busy to laugh.
Relieved that the dog didn't look too worse for wear, Helden hoped that Ash would take instructions from him in the absence of Akhan. "Ash, heel!" In the same moment Helden swung his spear low, both to cover the dog's actions as well as to finish off the wererat while keeping the foul creature at bay from infecting him with the unpleasantness of lycanthropy. Surely it shouldn't be that difficult to kill off the guard, Helden thought as he stabbed!
The snarling wretch bit Eloi again, its teeth just lightly grazing his arm through his armour. Eloi stabbed it again, but still the beast fought on. With a crushing blow, Adder sent one of his attackers to the ground, and the other turned tail and ran from him.
Likewise, Helden's latest spear-blow, coupled with the rabid Ash's attentions, sent that ratman scuttling away from them. As he ran, Ash maintained its grip for a moment, allowing Helden to strike the beast again, but it broke free and scurried off towards one of the entrances.
Within an instant Adder and Eloi had finished the final ratman facing them, and he had barely struck the ground when a familiar voice yelled out, "Ash! To heel, boy!" They turned and saw Akhan's head sticking out from the hole, the noble Ash bounding towards him.
"Look," Adder said, pointing over to the main entrance. Eloi and Helden glanced round and saw the Mareschal and his marines entering the arena proper.
From the distance Helden was glad to see the Mareschal and his men arrive. "Seal the entrances!" he shouted in their direction. At least the clean-up work could be left to them, he thought, remembering the slew of 'frozen' bodies he'd left behind. It was time to go down the sewers and see what else there was to wrap up.
Eloi smiled at Adder. "Nice work, but we'd better get these bites tended to quickly. I don't fancy becoming one of these creatures." He motioned over to Veshper's men as they made their way into the arena. "Typical of the cavalry to arrive once the actions over. I think we'd better go and see what Akhan's found."
Eloi started to walk over to Akhan. "What news? Did Sbetlath escape? What have you found?"
Akhan poked his head above ground and looked anxiously at Ash. "Fast, Ash. Stay!" Then, looking towards Veshper's approaching forces, he shouted at the others: "Eloi, Adder, Helden! Down here, quickly! Smokelight's found the gate and needs help. Let's move now..."
Adder, closest to the Mareschal's men, could see Veshper and the Peloran priest at the fore. The Mareschal caught sight of him and waved in recognition, lifting his sword as a wild ratman plunged into the midst of his neatly formed platoon of marines. Veshper attacked the wererat along with his men, and Adder looked back to see Akhan had disappeared back underground.
Eloi quickly followed Akhan into the tunnel - he had the most uneasy feeling that he was going to be doing some more fighting very soon, and for some strange reason was overcome by an unquenchable desire for a bit of cheese.
Adder, on the other hand, turned back towards the Mareschal. The Lady only knew what Smokelight was getting everybody into and although Adder was certain the rest of the gang could use his help, he knew it was wise decision to inform the Mareschal about the situation in case reinforcements were needed. With that intent he continued to press in the Mareschal's direction, knowing that at least Eloi was aware of his intent.
Helden looked to Adder and then to Eloi, and decided to follow the bold Baron down the hole and into the darkness.

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