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RP (non-canon): D&D Mission 1: Getting "Acquainted"

The nurse thought for a bit before saying. "Alright. Currently there's a large group of rats that have some sort of plague. Recent tests show the disease to be magically enhanced. We need some way to find a cure or the whole village may be in jeopardy." She leaned in closer and whispered. "Currently there are three villagers dead and one here, who will most likely die. Their health slowly deteriorated over the course of a week, almost as if poisoned, no other symptoms. All four were bitten by the rats. We've tried herbs, potions, and spells the cure and prevent poison, none of them are working. So we know that it is either not a disease enhanced with poison, or an incredibly powerful poison. Either way, it's something big, and it's killing only us." She paused for a moment before letting the information sink in. "Think about what I've told you, return in the morning, we'll discuss pay then. You won't be any use to us half asleep."
 
Sorri was a little taken aback by the sudden divulgence of such information. She was fully expecting to be put to work doing more menial tasks such as changing dressings or cleaning rooms, not being handed a physician's puzzle. She listened anyway, taking mental notes of what she was told. When the nurse dismissed her, the teen nodded and smiled, then bowed. "I will do that, then."

I can't afford a room, though... Normally Sorri was content sleeping wherever she could find a place to lay down, but with rats about that was not sounding like a desirable option. "Is there a spare room I could use here, maybe?"
 
"I'm sorry, that's against our policy. You can get a room at the inn for as cheap as 5 silver, and I'm sure you could work out a deal with the innkeeper for some other living accommodations. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." With that the nurse turned around and head into the back room.

-----------------

Meanwhile, in the inn, the innkeeper started getting impatient of waiting for the group to decide and said. "Hurry up! Check-in time ends in a few minutes, I need to sleep too y'know. If ya don't pick by then I'll jus' charge you each 2 gold and give you da big rooms."
 
"Well, I'm set. I'm going to go take a bath, then I'll come find you guys after. Sounds like it's about time you got around to making up your minds." With that, Denkou shrugged, and moved off, quite happy to be done with that for now.
 
"Huh. Well, it seems ta me the rats aren as swarmin as I thought they were. If the inn's protected from them critters, I'm alright with sleepin in my own room. If I get bit by one, mind ye, I'll hunt th'bastards down and use em fer firewood!" He patted the counter where the inn keeper was and headed off to the stairs that lead to the rooms.

"Thanks fer the rooms, ol' timer! Have a g'night!" He said as he walked up the stairs, wondering exactly which rooms they were given out of so many there possibly were.
 
The innkeeper handed Denkou a key as she walked away. However, he had to quickly go chase down Aurelus. "Here's your key, the room number is on it. That'll be two gold. Make sure to lock up tight." He took his two gold from Aurelus and with that he returned to the counter where he looked at the other two. "Alright, decide now, or I'm charging you for the expensive rooms.
 
Talarin shrugged and paid two gold pieces for a room. "I definately want to look into this rat problem." He told Joanna as he waited for his roomkey. She looked at him with a disinterested glance which said "I don't really care what you do as long as i can sleep." he smiled as he scratched her head. He looked to Aurelus. "Maybe we can talk to the town elders and the clerics about these rats. Maybe make some easy cash off it too."
 
"Pleasure doing business," the innkeeper said as he handed Talarin a roomkey. "Sleep well." The innkeeper moved his earnings for the day into a safe before filling a bucket with water and dropping it outside Denkou's room along with a sponge and a bar of soap. He then returned behind the counter to start closing up for the night.
 
Sorri thanked the nurse for her help and returned to the town center to check the map for the inn's location.

About five minutes after that she arrived at the inn. Walking up to the door, she wondered if it was still open.
 
Talarin accepted the key while Joanna struggled out of her pocket and headed for the door. Talarin followed her, curiously wondering where she was off in a hurry to get too.
 
The adventurers went to sleep. Around 6am the next morning a loud bell could be heard ringing. The innkeeper ran down the hallway banging on doors. "Wake up, wake up, wake up! The rats are coming! I need some help barricading the inn." The innkeeper sprinted back into the main lobby and behind the counter. He pulled out four large pieces of plywood and tossed them into the middle of the room. "There's some plywood, nail it over the windows, nails and hammer is on the counter." He grabbed several wooden planks and nailed them over the door. After that he went back behind the counter, pulled out a crossbow and a dagger, and positioned himself next to a rope that was tied to the ground. The party didn't see it before because it was too dark, but above the doorway was a large metal block, about 4'x4' and looked to weight several hundred pounds. It was suspended by a thick, 3" rope that went over a large iron pulley and was tethered to the ground. "I told you I was ready!"
 
Talarin woke up a little dazed and confused. He quickly grabbed and donned his leather armor and his traveling cloak. He grabbed his half spear from the corner he had propped it up in and ran out the door to see what the commotion was about. "The rats are this bad?" he asked as he get huddled down near the innkeeper. Joanna popped her head out of her pocket.
 
"I warned you that there were several hundred! And they're bigger then normal ones! Get moving on those windows, I'll stay over here so if they get through the door I can spring my trap and not only impede them with a 500 pound hunk of metal, but kill a dozen in the process. And they ain't normal either, they're smart, and getting smarter by the day!"
 
Denkou rolled out of bed, only partially dressed. Thank whoever was watching out for me I kept everything out. She quickly got back into her outfit, and grabbed her short sword, checking it's slide to make sure she could draw it in time. That done, she got herself downstairs in a hurry, making herself useful by grabbing a hammer and some nails, and getting to work boarding the place up. "Talarin, stop jabbering, and help out. Let him worry about what's going on over there!"
 
The commotion as everyone converged on the lobby and the alarm bell outside woke Sorri, who snapped awake with a surge of adrenaline. Sleeping in the forest taught one to wake quickly.

Having obtained permission to sleep in the lobby for a discounted rate, Sorri was already fully-dressed (something else she learned) and swept her cloak on while grabbing her staff, leaving her backpack hanging on a chair back. Everyone here could handle the front, she thought, not noticing that the people coming out to help were the same she had met on the road the previous day. "What about the back?" she called out to the innkeeper. "Can they get in the back room?"
 
Talarin was already moving when Denkou told him to help. He swept up the boards, nails, and hammer and got to work boarding up the windows. "Already on it, Den." he said as he worked. He quickly hammered in several boards.
 
"I don't have a back door, I guess this is the one time that actually worked in my favor." Outside dire rats could be seen swarming the empty streets. Several times scratching noise could be heard against the door, but the rats always left. After several minutes there was one long bell ring and the innkeeper hopped up. "That's the all clear. Head to the town center. Every time these thing come back they've got something new bad about them, so we meet in the town center and the cleric and village elders usually give an update."
 
Denkou shook her head, and threw her cloak over her shoulders. "Let's get going then." She paused, looking apprehensively at the chunk of metal. "That thing won't fall on us if we try and go out, will it?"
 
"Nah, it isn't mechanically rigged." The innkeeper started stashing the wood back behind the counter. "If you want to spring the trap you have to do it manually by cutting the cord. I couldn't afford to hire anyone to do something fancy, and then I'd always be afraid that I'd trigger it by accident. Plus I don't trust something mechanical, with my luck it would break and the trap just wouldn't trigger." He exited the inn and walked into the town center where people were already gather. A man had climbed himself onto the top of the fountain and people started to gather around him. He had on long robes and wore a symbol around his neck in the shape of a sun with a face in the center.
 
The initial adrenaline rush wore off quickly after the danger passed, leaving Sorri slightly tired. But this was only a bit earlier than she usually woke, so it wasn't so bad. She followed the others outside, leaving her cloak's hood down. (A hooded figure was a classically suspicious style and was likely to have a poor reception in this crowd.)

When they reached the gathering at the town center, Sorri stayed on the fringe of the crowd and tried find a place to climb so she could see over everyone. After a few moments of finding nothing handy, she sighed and just stayed back far enough that she had a better angle-of-view even if she was too far to see any detail.
 
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