Chapter 157: Raiding the Ratkin Dungeon!!
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 from a predator. In the lizards' minds they saw and smelled their most feared predator stalking them. 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 viscious 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 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 herds 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 viscious 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 really the drovers and guards.
Thee 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.
Gangrene killed four more players as they stood stunned. Then every archer, wizard, and warlock targeted Gangrene as soon as 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. "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.
Branigan saw the Boss Rat topple over after what-ever-the-hell 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. 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 healing potions, and ate a piece of cheddar to help his regeneration. One of the lizard tenders pushed the arrow threw 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 several warriors, maybe a third of their total force, but the 'drovers' were all armoring up. "Where are my 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 fiends gut them from behind. "
He turned to his warriors. They looked ready. Having the fiends in 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 guards standing at the tunnel like nothing was happening. Something wasn't right! The big one waved to him.
