Tunnel Rat

The druid cast his spell and the animals looked up in panic and began to move about, their eyes turning from a placid pink to an angry red. The effect of the spell was an illusion that invoked fear. Against horses, sheep, or cattle it would cause a stampede as they ran in fear of an apex predator, whatever creature they most dreaded. In the lizards' minds, they saw and smelled a variety of predators stalking them, from gargantuan spiders to prismatic cave mantises. The result of the spell was more than Duskarrow had expected. A heavy scent came from the affected animals, the panic spread from the animals within spell range to the entire herd as the larger males called out with loud growls and their scent told the herd to protect the young. The rest of the lizards reacted immediately.

The large, albino lizards that the ratkin simply called 'draft lizards', were known to the Dark Elves as 'Scaled Lizards of the Moon', and the Dwarves generally called them 'Damnedbeasts'. The elves appreciated their pearly hides, and some tribes created beautiful pale armor from their skins. The dwarves hated them because of how aggressive they were in the wild, and how hard they were to tame. They always traveled as a herd and were vicious if they felt threatened.

Over the centuries, the lizards had been domesticated and cross-bred to create a more easy-going breed, without most of their more aggressive tendencies. The exception was when the herd was threatened. Then all bets were off and the two-ton creatures tried to stomp and kill whatever threatened them. They were omnivores and didn't mind a snack of meat now and then. Predators often became such a snack themselves.

There were forty-one draft lizards in the caravan. Two each for the sixteen wagons, and eight extra carrying smaller loads and ready to replace an injured beast. One extra had been born along the way. This little one caused a lot of trouble as he became scared and amplified the herd's reaction to seeing snarling Hexapumas and Gorebeasts in front of them.

Rather than fleeing, the lizards charged their enemies. Duskarrow was caught off guard as he took a vicious headbutt from a nearby lizard and was tossed to the side of the cavern with a broken leg. The lizard who had charged him started to run after its prey but saw one of the caravan guards and turned its aggression on the poor unsuspecting ratkin. All over the caravan, the lizards attacked phantom predators that were in actuality the drovers and guards.

Three of the guards were backstabbed by the gang of thieves who took advantage of the chaos. All three thieves were in turn killed by Damnedbeasts, driven further into panic by the smell of blood. Two more ratkin guards went down under the hooves and teeth of the lizards, and several more were badly injured.

After stomping everything around them for a few minutes, the herd felt better and the spell was fading. Moving away from the wagons to a spot where the herd could defend itself, the lizards quickly formed a defensive circle in the middle of the cavern with the new mother and baby in the center. They still imagined that they were under attack and that there were predators all around them and were ready to kill anything that got close. Once the herd was riled like this, it would take time to calm down. No one in the caravan was dumb enough to approach them before that.

Brannigan saw the tipped-over wagons, dead guards, and a disorganized caravan and called for a charge by the melee fighters. It was worth the loss of some thieves and a druid for this sort of carnage. If the clerics could find the bodies, they could resurrect the fallen players after the fight was over.

The mages behind the fighters threw spells past the front line to soften up the ratkin and clean up the trash mobs. Some of the colorful wagons caught on fire, as did the stage the musicians had played on. Fighters and Paladins charged forward, only to be met by guards wearing armor, and a large number of unarmored ratkin with swords and shields who formed a shield wall.

Zweihanders and Bearded Axes cleaved shields and helmets. Stout ratkin guards tightened their shield walls and stabbed at the necks and vitals of their opponents. More ratkin arrived and kneeled behind the front line. They stabbed upwards with spears into the gaps in the human's armor. Three players grunted in pain as sharp spears hit them in unprotected thighs and groins.

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The dying players did have an advantage in that they were used to pain and dying. To them, this was still a game. As their health dropped, the three injured fighters leaped high, not caring about what hits they took. Their bulk knocked down five of the ratkin holding shields and the protection of the shield wall dissolved. Thieves darted in to grab easy experience killing injured ratkin. Several archers had found spots on top of wagons and were pouring flaming and darkness-laced arrows into the caravan guards. The raid advanced, driving the ratkin back.

The momentum the raid was gaining ceased as a huge monster in plate armor appeared, a thin and very sharp sword in each hand. General Gangrene was foaming at the mouth and his troops moved aside as he raced at the players. Two pieces of battle cheese were burning in his belly. The muenster was increasing his strength and speed, while the cheddar would supercharge his normally slow regeneration. He struck with precision, thrusting one sword into a fighter's eye and slashing across the throat of a Paladin who was using a great axe. As the two players fell, he unleashed his Champions Intimidating Roar and the raid paused for three seconds while his troops quickly regrouped.

Brannigan was yelling as he saw they had drawn out a boss mob.

"Boss up! Get a tank on it. Everyone! Hit the Boss! Concentrate fire."

Gangrene killed four more players as they stood stunned. Then every archer, wizard, and warlock targeted Gangrene when the three seconds ended. He was burned by Sun Arrows, pummeled by Tenzil's Toes of Stomping, and cursed with Feeble Fever. Four arrows struck him, with three doing minor damage and one lodging in his shoulder and causing bleeding.

Tequila Jane raced up to him, swinging a glowing purple blade from fifteen feet away. The blade flew from her hands and went straight through Gangrene, doing a large amount of damage and dropping him to under half his health. He staggered backward as his vision was filled with dancing purple fungus and the yips of a small predator. "Coyote Bob says Hi! Mr.Bigrat! I hope you liked my new spell!" Jane's eyes went from purple to brown and she suddenly looked tired. "Jane is going to take a nap now." She walked back into the raid, stuffing a handful of dried fungus in her mouth.

Brannigan saw the Boss Rat topple over after whatever Jane had done to him. This was a great start. They'd taken injuries, but nothing a cleric couldn't fix. The ratkin were broken and falling back, dragging the nearly dead boss. "Druids and Paladins, spend half of your mana on heals. Everyone down a potion or two as needed to save the healer's magic. Clerics toss Resurrection on as many people as you can find. Let's get things in order for the next part."

General Gangrene was furious, but fighting his anger. He was down to only a quarter of his health. He drank three Mega Healing Potions, an exorbitant cost in gold, and ate a piece of aged cheddar to help his regeneration. One of the lizard tenders pushed the arrow through his shoulder, snapped off the head, and pulled out the shaft. The general got to his feet and took stock of his people. They'd lost many warriors, maybe a third of their total force, but the 'drovers' were all armoring up and could fight just as well. "Where are my cheese fiends?"

"Waking up now, sir. We had to give them two doses of SleepyCheese to keep them quiet during the music. They were pretty groggy, but they're waking up now." The fiend tender was ruffling their fur and coaxing them out of the wagons. As they smelled blood, both began to growl. "That's my girls! We're ready to kill and tear, aren't we? Should I hold your doll? No? Ok, you keep it with you. I'll wash the blood out later."

The fiend tender called out to the General. "Ready to send them in, sir."

Gangrene looked at the humans taking time to heal and reform their lines. "When they charge, send the fiends to the far left along the wall. I want those archers and mages torn to small pieces. After that, let them eat the healers in the rear. The lizards are guarding our other flank. We need to hold the middle and let our cheese fiends gut them from behind."

He turned to his warriors. They looked ready. Having the fiends ready to enter the battle made them confident. He looked at the entrance to the Hollow. No one was racing into this cavern, despite the noise. He saw the two big guards standing at attention at the entrance to the tunnel as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Something wasn't right!

The big one waved to him.

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