[Killroy's]Eeek, those be rats. RATS!(Antar)

[Bob Barton]

72th day of Summer 511 AV

What was Bob supposed to do today? Oh right...take care of animals today. So choosing between dogs and horses he choose the dogs. The only reason was because he didn't really feel like working and was bored. So of he "took care" of the dogs right now. He could be playing with them but no one can complain when he says its part of the job description.

So many choices to choose from. It was like shopping. But only for a dog. Bob pointed his finger as he passed by each dog and pointed out their flaws for his plan. "Too big...bigger...smelly...ugly...teethy...scary...angry..." Most of the dogs here in the kennels are bred for guard and hunting if Bob was not mistaken and those physical characteristics just proved his assumption. Some of those even tried to kill him the last time. After going through most of the dogs Bob finally clapped his hands. This one looked normal, smelt kind of ok, looked friendly and happy but most importantly did not look like he would maim Bob just for looking at it funny.

Unfortunately even if Bob wanted that dog for the day it did not want him. "Here doggy, doggy, doggy." When he opened the cage and reached his hand to get it out, it only inched backwards away from his hand and leaned on the back of the cage. Trying to get itself as far away from Bob as possible. This was not working out well. There just had to be something which can be done to at least get the damned dog out of the damned cage.

After thinking for a while he finally had an idea. The only time the dogs seemed to like Bob was far as he could remember is when he comes with their food. Always with the food. Just bring it and the dogs run straight to the cage's door in anticipation. So with that information in mind, went off to to bring some food back. "Here doggy, doggy, doggy!" Bob said again in his most friendly and cheerful voice. Pushing the bowl of food back and forth, back and forth with each time coming closer to him to lure the dog out.

After a few minutes with friendly smiles, happy words like "play, fun, out" the dog finally followed the food out of the cage. Hannah's lessons paid off. Just make the dog happy and he will do whatever you want. Bob put the bowl on the floor. "Good boy!" A reward for the dog at least doing what he wanted. When it has finished it seems to have a different outlook on Bob. Barking cheerfully and circling around Bob like it wanted more food. Well Bob was not going to give it anymore. At least not until the day's end. Probably.

Bob headed towards the door. Waving his hands over for the dog to follow. Sigh. It was just standing there looking at Bob dumbfounded. Either this dog was really smart or plain dumb. Bob went back with the bowl and got some food before heading to the door again. This time instead of waving hand he waved a chunk on his hand. "Come...come...come..." before the dog finally went over to him and ate the food from his hand. This was going to be a loooonnnnggggg day. To make things easier its probably better if he brings the food with him to get the dog to do what he wants.

[Antar]

'Ah... Killroy's the most pleasant cesspool of animal care in the entire city of Sunberth.' Noth thought to himself as he trudged down the street with the reins of a horse in his hands.

It wasn't his horse... no... he liked his ekytolian. This one was just the pack animal of the guy who tried to jump him on the way to work this morning out by the cemetery. Poor sordid sot had horribly missed shooting him with a crossbow and had simply stood there like a darn fool as Noth dismounted, and shot him dead with a quarrel to the chest. Poor bastard didn't really know who he was going after Noth supposed. Now the bastard's cohort in arms... that had been a welcome challenge and he smiled slightly as he remembered the fight.

Six hours before...

He'd been riding his morning ride out by the cemetery towards the South Woods where his job was when a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye warned him to pull up tightly on the reins as an arrow passed through where he would have been riding.

The first two things on his mind was simple. He jumped off the horse, and pulled her down beside him, to lay on the ground. Horses didn't like this of course, but she stayed down long enough for Antar to grab his longbow and shoot the errant blob of color he could see in the direction of the fields. The shot was good enough to pierce the throat of the would be highwaymen, and that was good enough for Noth to dismiss him as a threat as his pal leapt from the grass a bit down the way. It seemed they had set up their ambush to where the archer put one in his side, and the other stopped the horse. Now with that plan dead in the water, the other man was rising from the grass to swing his shortsword, a gladius like his own threateningly in Noth's direction as he charged.

Stepping away from his horse towards the charging mand. The telltale feeling of anger surged through his mind and his heart racedas he realized two things.. Noth's djed flared as the res began flow thick, coating the palm of his hand before expelling a larger sphere of res in the man's direction. He tossed it towards the charging brigand, igniting both it's exterior and its core to send a cascading fireball of heat and flame over the man long enough for Noth to draw his own gladius.

In retrospect it truly was remarkable, just how much damage a human being could survive and still keep coming. Even after their armor had been sloughed off by the heat, the burned corpse on legs looked like a scalded goose with a milk white eye , and a reddish tan, with bits of ashy skin hanging onto his face.

The man swung wildly, and Noth blocked it with the flat of the blade before propelling a swift snap kick into the man's gut. The bandit stumbled back a little as Noth pressed his attack, driving forwards with a short thrust into the brigands chest.

Thinking it was over Antar ripped the gladius from the other's hand with his free hand and pushed his attacker into the ground before turning to to walk away... back towards his horse Dawnstride who regaining her feet to stare at him a little. Reaching an arm out to her nose to quiet her down Antar became aware of the smallest creaking sound of a snapping twig behind him coupled with the ever present stench of burned flesh. His horse whinnied and neighed in response, backing away.

Drawing his blade he sideswiped with his gladius, sending a severed head of a still walking smoking corpse from its shoulders.

For a second , he realized just what he had been facing. Spitting on the ground he uttered, "Petching Nuits!"

Taking a time to gather up his spoils he got a crossbow from the archer's corpse, and found a throwing dagger on the body. Taking that and the gladius he heard the archer's nearby horse braying for attention..

The saddlebags hadn't held much, just a old nasal steel helmet which Noth would take as his own and two more throwing daggers, squirreld away for a total set of three. He'd like to keep them handy for a bit of practice later.

After work, he'd come back into town, dropping his horse off at the crimson edge camp before brigging the nag with him to the kennels. Anyways, that's what brought him to killroy's with a rather fetid low value horse, a scrawny starving thing that probably wouldn't fetch more then forty mizas at killroy's. He'd probably only get twenty miza's out of the thing, but still that was money in his pocket. And any money was good...

[Bob Barton]

"Alright, here is the deal. You are going to do what I say. And if you do, you get a reward. Agreed?" Bob asked the dog. He wondered if dogs can shake hands like he overheard in the kennels so he stuck his hands out only to have the dog staring at it like Bob was an idiot. Right...then how about... "Agreed?" Bob asked again. Putting a chunk of the grinded meat on his hands to get the dog to shake. Only to have it nearly biting his hand off while it tried to get the food while he quickly dropped it. Not a bad start for the day.

Pointing at a spot right in front of him, Bob said "Go there. Go there." but the dog just went another direction. He sighed at its stupidity and said "Go there!" while he tossed a chunk of meat at its direction. "Why do they only go for the food..." he thought to himself when he saw the dog suddenly standing up and darting at its direction.

After it was done eating, Bob called out "Come on, come on. Over here!" he asked it while pointing. Right come. Closer...closer... "Wait. Where are you going?" he asked it when it started to walk off to the side. "Come back here. I command you!" Bob started yelling across the field.

At this rate, Bob is going to run out of food by the time the day was done. Angrily he threw another chunk right in front of him. "Here you dog. Here, here, here, here!" he cried out. Frustrated that the dog was giving him so much trouble. The meat feel with a "SPLAT! getting the dogs attention. Making it redirect its path back towards Bob.

"Yeah, you like that don't you?" Bob asked the dog as it was munching on the meat. Then he just pointed to his side. That was all he had to do. And the dog hurried over there. Greedy for more food that it expected from Bob. Bob knew what it wanted. And it won't be too good for him to make the dog think otherwise this fast into the game. And so he threw another chunk of meat at it. "Have that and always remember to listen to me." Bob told it to reaffirm his position.

Just for another test, Bob pointed to the ground in front of him. And the the dog started to bound towards him. That was not enough. It has to obey him more. A lot more. Bob pointed to the side, but the dog still came. No, that was wrong. "There!" Bob called out to the dog. Stabbing his finger at the air in direction that it was pointed "There!"

The dog obeyed his command and quickly ran towards that direction. That was good. Very good. Then he squeezed his hand into a fist and said "Stop! That is enough. Now stay there." with a satisfied tone in his voice. The dogs as Bob has shared experiences with at the Kennels lately were undoubtedly smart. And probably trained well by Hannah as well. Which was probably why it was pretty easy for Bob to get them to do what he wanted. It just made things easier for him to try out so good job to Hannah too. As for the dog since it stopped, he tossed at it what would probably the last chunk of meat to be gotten from him for the day.

Throwing all that food around was probably a bad idea but Bob did not know that at the time. He headed up to the dog to see if it will be receptive of his next reward for having listened to him all this time. Bob went over and fussed all over it, petting and stroking it which saying reaffirming statements like "Good dog" or "Smart boy" which the dog happily accepted. Getting closer and just had a face which looked like it was smiling.

And so, the trouble began. As Bob was fussing over the dog, some squeaking noises could be heard. At first Bob did not think much about it because they were so soft that they were not noticeable. Then they got louder. But not loud enough that they can beat Bob's voice as he worked on the dog. His first sign of the problem was when he saw the dog suddenly froze in place. Followed by a low growling noise. He thought that he might have done something wrong until finally he heard the squeaking. Not knowing what they were he turned his head.

He saw them. Counting in total...three rats? Wait, four if you add the one hiding behind which he only found when he saw an extra tail flailing around. And these were no normal rats. They were HUGE! And they looked hungry. All that food being tossed around the field must have attracted them and now they were looking at Bob and the dog like they were the next meal. "Petch!"

The circumstances needed fast action. Bob quickly pointed at the doors of the kennels and yelled at the dog a command. "Go, go, GO!" Maybe even without the training, the dog would have obeyed since no one would want to face off against those four beasts. By the way he saw it, the dog had already bolted into the kennels even before Bob started shouting. And now, he had the full attention of the rats.

Bob did not want to be rat food. And he was caught without a weapon so he can't defend himself. He had to buy some time. "Do you want me..." Bob asked slowly reaching his hand to the bowl on the ground "...or do you want THIS!" suddenly throwing the contents of the bowl to the air spreading them on the ground.

Without waiting to see what the direrats decided, he ran to the kennels screaming "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" until he slammed the doors and locked it. Safe inside the locked kennels with the rats outside. But now they were trapped...like and by rats. They won't be able to hold out long. The rats were already scraping on the doors excitedly. The food was just way too little to keep them for long. Now where was that cane...

OOCSee what you did with your super long posts? You got me doing it too XD

[Antar]

On his approach to the kennels, Noth amusingly thought he saw a midget running in the distance through the tall grass of the fields and wondered if it was someone he recognized. But he couldn't get a good enough look to tell from the shumbling gate , whomever it was was going in a hurry.

Ever cautious of what was happening, Noth knocked an an arrow just to be sure. His instincts served him well as a rustling sound from the nearby fields was followed by an animal's hissing as it approached. Turning towards the source, Noth drew back his bow, aimed and fired at a shadowy shape that launched itself towards his feet as the horse behind him pranced and dug in its heels.

The arrow skewered one of the largest rats he'd seen in quite awhile , impaling it to the floor as he drew his kukri from his shoulder sheathe as another vague blur lept towards. He intercepted its flight with a well timed slash, the sharpness of the blade bisecting halfway into the animal's body as the attack stopped. Cursing his luck, on first nuits, now rats. Noth jerked the reins of the horse hard enough to steady it before maneuvering up into the saddle.

With his weight safely upon the horse's back, Antar could feel the animal quieting slightly as he took a firmer hold upon the reins as he brought the animal sideways to the field. From the vantage point he couldn't see anything up in the grass ahead, but something at the kennel's caught his eye... A small blob of whirling masses surrounding the bottom of the kennel buildings where the dogs were kept. He didn't consider that much of a trouble , but in the connecting stables a set of doors was wide open, granting the skeevy large rodents access to all the horseflesh.

Thinking the risk to his profits if that occurred, Noth spurred his horse forwards offroad through the fields and towards the stable proper. The loud clumps of galloping hooves were only eclipsed by his own heartbeat in his ears as the animal jumped the outer fence. In that instant, Noth surmised a small inkling of what it might be to fly, but any wonder at the experience was overcome by the bonejarring sensation of his teeth clacking together as the fifteen hundred pound animal came down. He only had time to spare a quick check to make sure he hadn't bitten his tongue off as the horse entered the stable proper.

Dismounting hurriedly, Antar sideswiped another leaping rat with his kukri and made his way to the door frame. Bracing his shoulder against the wooden door he rolled it closed before going for the other side. Another swipe discouraged another hissing rat, more the size of a large dog, before he could closed the right side of the stabledoors and barred it shut. It wasn't long before the rats were on the other side, and the sickening tearing of flesh could be heard as they ate the injured and dead packrats. It wasn't long before the easy meal was over and the rat pack was back to gnawing at the rough beams of wood, and a few scuffings of dirt showed they were exploring the thought to dig underneath the door as well.

Glancing around at the horses, the rogue noticed the one he'd ridden inside lashing out with it's foot towards a moving blob of greasy fur. 'Petching rats!' he cursed before aiming a throw with his kukri. Stepping and snapping his hand forwards the blade arced in a full circle before it came to a stop within the rat's body. At the death of the creature the horse stopped rearing and was coaxed into a nearby stall. In order to ensure killroy didn't decide to gyp him later by saying it was already his horse, Antar took a small dab of chalk and smeared it across the horse's coat in a large "X".

With the stables momentarily secured it would be good to try and make it over to the next building where the kennels were, if he could begin exterminating the blasted rats. He shuddered visibly, 'Why the feth did it have to be rats?' He hated the damn things ever since the fall when a bunch of them tried to gnaw on him in his sleep.

"Hey is anyone in here?" Noth yelled towards the rest of the stables. A grumpy reply of one of killroy's attendant's came to his ears. The git had been sleeping in one of the empty stalls. Well, Noth sorted him out right quick and threw him a pitchfork and told him to keep stabbing it under the main door to dissaude the rats. Ever confused, the attendant tried to blubber but Noth's cold stare and a harsh look made him bend to the task right quick.

Noth asked if anyone else was near, and soon a pretty young lady came with two other attendants to see what the fuss was about. Soon enough she took charge of the three attendants remarking that Barton and two other attendants seemed to be missing at the moment.

Smiling a bit at the name, Noth remembered the shuffling figure of the man heading off the fields. His favorite midget in the whole wide world it seemed worked at killroy's. 'Who'd have thought it?'

Torn between his profits selling the horse, and actually going to help Barton. Noth asked Hannah for a pre-appraisal of the animal saying it was here for sale before the rat's came in, and promised if she'd consider holding the horse for him while he rounded up her lost attendants and took care of the rats... he fully expected his work be rewarded... that was only fair after all. Hannah said she'd box Killroy's ears if he tried to weasel out of any recompensation and asked him to go make sure the dog kennels were closed up. The attendants it seemed were secondary. She went on to say he could use a window from the second floor loft of the stables to jump over to the kennel's roof. And take a ladder down into the kennel proper. At least then he might stay out of the reach of the rat's grimy paws.

With a smile on his face at the thought of extra profits, Noth took the initiative to thank Hannah and made his way up to the loft to check the window she had indicated was there. Up in the loft by the hay, and the shovel storage he saw an odd shaped cane he recognized. Barton's staff. So he took it in one hand before glancing out the window. Estimating the distance he could see it wasn't a long jump over to the kennel roof, barely five feet: and the window sill was wide as could be. But it would be quite a drop to the flat rooftop of the kennel, About four feet. And on the far side, there looked to be a heavy wooden trapdoor with an iron ring atop it to pull it open. Sheathing his knife, the rougue crouched down enough to manuever through the window and leaned himself out using one hand as an anchor.

Tensing the muscles in his legs he pushed off from his position and found himself dropping feet first onto the kennel's flat roof. The instant his bootheels touched Noth translated his momentum into a forward shoulder roll to keep himself from injury. Coming to his feet, another blob of color alerted him to the approach of another verminous rat looking for a meal and he quickly pulled and stabbed out with his kukri with all the force he could muster. It severed the creature's foreleg and it hissed at him as it backed away, jumping off the roof and down to the ground below.

Like it's other injured brethren it was quickly set upon by the ravenous pack of beastly creatures. Taking a run for the ladder he dispatched one other investigating rat and was barely missed by another as it fell upon his second ratly victim of the rooftops. Reaching the trapdoor he grabbed the metal ring by the handle and heaved it open long enough to climb down the first five ladder rungs before having the foresight to close the trapdoor behind him. Good fortune granted him another sickening crunch of a would be rat attacker found it's skull sandwiched between the trapdoor's edge and the heavy beams of the kennel roof.

Cursing loudly, to announce his presence Antar released his hold on the ladder to fall down the last six feet of the ladder and grunted a little from the drop. He landed a bit wrong, but straightened up quickly to look through the dimlit room full of cages and growling dogs. Noth held the staff in front of him as he cried out, "Hey Bob! Bob! You in here?!"

Once he found Bob, maybe he'd have a chance at finding the other two attendants... but not before the dogs and wolves were safely secured of course... After all, they seemed to be the more valuable commodity.

[Bob Barton]

While Antar was so busy taking his time to find a way to profit from all of this, Bob was laughing. Yes he was laughing a lot but nervously. There were giant rats outside waiting to swarm and kill him. And here he was safely in the kennels with all the dogs. They were barking, a lot probably realizing the dangers as well. Maybe Bob should just set them all loose from their cages and open the doors. Let the dogs have a good meal of their own and Bob can slack off for the rest of the day.

The barking got more and more louder. Until Bob had to yell "Shut up and calm down!" He had to think, and the dogs were not helping at all. Some of them stopped barking and that was enough for him to hear the squeaking and growling sound in the background. Curses. He counted himself safe when he shut the doors. But it seems that a rat or two must have snuck in. Bob turned around. There they were. With the little dog he was trying to train earlier baring its teeth to try and scare them off.

That dog won't be able to fend those rats off. And if it died there, it will be Bob's problem. He just could not allow that to happen. Taking a deep breath, Bob shouted. To get both the dog's and the rat's attention so that they would not begin to fight each other. "BACK TO YOUR CAGE!!!" pointing at the open cage to the side. Bob hoped that the excitement of fighting had not gotten to the dog yet so that it will still be able to obey the commands they have been practicing earlier.

It worked as Bob had hoped, but not as well as he wanted. The dog started scurrying to the cage which he pointed to. But the rats? They now had their full attention on him. Squeaking excitedly they started to come closer and closer. Bob could see them now. A lot better. With their hungry eyes, scraggly fur, sharp teeth, long claws and an even longer tail. He should have just let the dog get eaten. Then maybe the rats would be full enough to ignore Bob.

Then Bob had the stupidest idea ever. If he could train a dog to do what he wanted, why not a rat? They are still animals and these rats could be easily mistaken as dogs with their size. Hurriedly he got to the cage beside him. Reaching his hand over to the bowl of food there. The dog in there despite the danger of rats, thought Bob was the bigger threat. Stupid dog, snarling like that... But Bob needed the food. So he tried to convince it to let it go. "There, there...you give me that bowl of food, and I will give you more later. A lot more!" bringing his hands together in the shape of a small round bowl and then extending them out to try and impress on the dog the idea of the quantity of food that it can be getting.

But the dog was still snarling, and the rats were still coming. Bob was caught between the anger of a dog and the hunger of the rats and then what? He'll take the dog. But the dog was just too scary. Bob looked at the dog as he tried to think. Would he be faster than the dog? A moment of hesitation here would mean the difference between getting the bowl or losing his hand. But the hand won't be important if he is already dead. There was no time for all of this. Bob shut his eyes. Imprinting the position of the dog and the bowl in his mind. Then he opened his hand, slowly reaching it for the bowl. As he did, he tried to forget about the dog even being there. The image slowly fading away. As soon as he did that, his hand darted to the bowl until his palm smacked on its surface. Following the quick movement, he closed his hand around the bowl and pulled his arm back. He was moving fast. Too fast. Maybe the dog got to him already. He can't feel his hands anymore.

When Bob opened his eyes, he saw that the dog had its teeth snapped mid air at the place where the bowl had been. Bob sighed in relief that he was fast enough. But then he saw the dog's eye trained at him. Angry. He already had rats to take care of and one more wild animal was something he did not want so he quickly shut the gate and fastened it. Retrieving the bowl was fast. But not that fast and the rats were already very close. Advancing towards Bob cautiously but still driven by hunger.

It is now time to begin their training. "Get back!" Bob shouted with his palm shown to the front to signal them to stop. The rats did stop, thinking it was some sort of attack. But not for long. "Now go back!" Bob said pointing at the ground behind them. They were not going to get it he thought, since they started advancing again. So he started taking chunks of meat and threw them at the direction of the floor. "Go there, don't come here." he pleaded.

The rats paused for a while and looked at the back. "Thats it...go for the meat..." Even as he said that, one backtracked to look at the meat closer. But after a while, it went and joined up with its partner to attack Bob. "Petch!" It seems that Bob was the bigger prize here. In a panic he started scooping up chunks from the bowl "Here, here! I'll give it to you so just leave me alone!" he cried while throwing them right at one of the rat's head.

Each hit must have been seen as an attack because the rat squeaked wildly and quickened its pace. "Arrgh!" Bob yelled, pulling his hand back as far as possible. He had no other weapon right now so this will have to do. "Have it ALL!" he did his battle cry while he pushed his arm forward. Releasing the bowl as it flew at the nearest rat which he had been throwing food at earlier. The attack was successful as it smashed into the rat's head and it stopped and fell on the floor. Stunned and dazed.

Unfortunately, there was still one more rat coming to him. And Bob had nothing else to throw at it. His eyes darted wildly around the kennels all over as he tried to find what he could use. The closest and heaviest looking thing being the stool that attendant's would use when grooming the dogs and the most damaging thing dangling over one of the cages. It was a whip as Bob knew, animals did not like it as he saw when Darik maliciously used it on a horse earlier in the season. Those would have to do.

Bob's hands flew to grab a hold of them. One hand on the handle of the whip and the other holding on to the stool's leg. Wait, what was he going to do with the stool? Bludgeon the rat to death? He found out how to use it when the remaining rat pounced at Bob. "EEK!" he cried out bringing the stool to the front instinctively. Bob took a few steps back, pushed back by the rat. But luckily it was because the rat smacked into the stool in between them and bounced back. That works. And Bob kept the stool up between him and the rat. Crouching down a little so that the stool can protect him better.

Even after that it still advanced. Bob had no idea how he was going to fight it off and so be continued stepping back. Trying to keep his distance until there was no more room and his foot brushed on the door. The scraping sounds from the rats on the other side kept Bob alert of the reality of his situation. It was only then that he remembered about the whip in his hands.

Now...how did Darik use it again? Bob tried to remember the motion. Right, he raised it up first. "Back, back I say!" extending his arm with the whip up. Was this how people trained dangerous animals like in the circus? Maybe, but now was the time to focus on the rat. What next, what next... Bob quickly flicked his wrist at the rat, the whip following. But he must have done it wrong because it went up for a little and then limped down to the ground.

The rat must have figured that something was up because it pounced at Bob again. Bob quickly pushed the stool out towards the rat. Bringing his own force behind him. Bob felt the impact, and when he peeked past the stool he saw the rat again. Sprawled on the floor unconscious. But all that only gave the first rat a chance to recover as it got back on its feet and advanced again.

Bob needed the rat to fear him. To make it want to stay away. So he raised his whip again. "YAHHHH!" he yelled out to energize him from having to take on the two rats for so long which made the rat pause for a moment. A moment was all Bob needed, and he flicked his wrist forward again to send the whip flying towards the rat. The range was pretty poor that it did not reach the rat but it did its job. In the air, the whip made a loud cracking sound which made the rat back away.

It was time to press the advantage. The rat was obviously scared of the whip. Bob moved forward. Flicking his wrist at the rat again. "Crack, crack, crack!" it went. Bob purposely aimed at the ground around the rat to its left and right. No point in agitating it and forcing it to attack. But when he saw his chance that the rat was looking away, he held the stool backwards. To give some room to strike. He extended his arm backwards as much as possible and threw his arm as fast as possible. Building up as much speed as he could. Right before the arm reached the bottom of the arc, he flicked his arm to the front. Smashing the long end of the whip into the rat's face.

Someone should have told Bob that whips were not good enough for damage by the untrained. The rat hissed annoyed and leaped forward at him. He was only fast enough to bring the stool up again and when it did, the built up weight and force went up and struck the rat at its mouth. Flinging in into the air and landing at the back of the kennel.

Bob turned to the direction he heard his name being called from only to see the head of his cane. "Hey I was looking for that!" he cried up as he headed towards it. Must have been one of the attendants. "Where the hell were you shykes when I had to face off with those?" After he had that cane back in his hands, he would probably put the killing blows into the rats. Petching rats. They should all be exterminated for the stress they had caused Bob today.

OOCSorry man that it was so long. But I figured that the time it will take Antar to negotiate to come out on top of this situation and make his way to this building would be enough for one short fight?

[Antar]

Smiling a bit at the man's words, Noth drew the sword from the cane and for a moment just stood there before turning the hilt towards Barton. "Bob, bob... is that any way to treat a friend who heard you were in trouble and came to help? I know you've been fighting against these rats, but so have I." Without a word the other man grasped the sword and pulled it from his clutches grumpily eyeing the edge of the kennels where it seemed a hissing scratchy sounds of moving rat legs was coming from.

As the other man , moved past him. Noth shrugged and pulled out his gladius to march himself towards the front of the kennels. As he went past a few cages, Antar double checked to make sure they were locked to keep the animals inside. So when he got to the front door he was almost surprised to see a few of the vagrant rats were digging under the wooden threshold.

He looked down to where an emergent snout could be seen sniffing the air, teasing the overpowering scent of dogs (and thus food) as the creature scratched frantically at the soil around the aperture. It was trying to widen the burrow it had made to wedge its body through the entrance. Noth personally thought this amusing, but paid his thoughts no heed as his gladius skewered it to the spot. For a few moments Antar held it there, letting the body plug up the gap between the door and the ground beneath it. But the quick resistance of tugs on the other side soon made him stop as the rat's body was hauled backwards. There was a momentary pause in the scratching as the dire rats feasted on another free meal, and the silence was long enough for him to shout back towards Barton, "Hey Bob, you done yet? I'm going to need you up here soon."

No sooner did the words clear his throat then the snout of another rat appeared at the burrowing hole as it took over where the other before it had been digging. Using the gladius he thrust again, and was rewarded by the sound of another animalistic squeal of pain.

'This was too easy.' Noth thought in amusement. If Bob came up towards him, the tactical decision was a simple one. He could crack open the door to allow Bob to strike a few tentative sword thrusts out of the door while he held it against the weight of any charging rats. The other man was ... smaller to be sure and thus less of a target for a leaping rat strike. With both of them going through the door they could clear the hearthstep rather easily and deal with the creatures if they swarmed.


Like clockwork, he let the rat body cork up the hole the rats were digging for a few seconds, just leaning his weight on the sword hilt before the tugging from the other side came again. Soon enough, the corpse was eaten and another snout peeked under the doorframe, scrabbling claws widening the means for the rats to get in. It was met by another thrust, and another squeal.

'Gods, he could do this all day and still have a bit of fun.' Well, Not Really. Eventually the rats numbers would die off, or they'd widen their little dug out path enough that they would swarm inside.

Sighing he turned towards the back of the room, "Hey Bob! What's keeping you?"He really wanted to go check back on his horse he had for sale... and deal with the rest of these critters so he could make his mizas for the day. The rogue's reverie was broken as the tugging began again and Antar pulled his sword free. Cursing his luck as one thing came to mind, that thing being about rat swarms was simple... there were always so many. Petching fething rodents!

[Bob Barton]

It was not one of the attendants, but it was Antar. What was he doing here? Bob did not like the man that much, but times like this needed people like him. People who like to kill. "Friend huh? Maybe..." snatching the cane by the handle. Bob was still a little too excited about the rats to bother about Antar, much. It was time for retribution. For the rats chasing him around Killroy's to make him their next meal.

Bob was petty, if someone would ask. And two unconscious rats won't be able to get any mercy. Bob went up and took out his sword. He was going to kill these rats, feed them to the dogs, and then laugh the rest of the season away about it. So he raised his sword, prepared to plunge it down into the rat. The sword came down, intent on drawing blood but he hesitated just about as the sword was going to reach the rat's head. "SNIKT!" It took a lot of effort and control. Bob's arm was aching now from having to change the route of the sword. Suddenly twisting his wrist to the side and pushing out his arm to avoid the rat's soft head and into the hard ground below. If he had done anymore than that he probably would not be able to use that arm for a long time.

What did he plan with the rats then? The way he saw it, death was too good for them. "Done? If you helped me then maybe it will go faster!" But no, Antar had to be in his own party so it was up to Bob to do it on his own. The easiest way Bob saw, was the tail. So Bob clutched the rat's tail with both arms. "Groan." that was heavy. What have these rats been eating? Bob leaned backwards to use his body weight to help him drag it, but that didn't work. His feet kept getting dragged forward on the ground since he was anchored by the rat.

So he had to try another way. He went up front to the rat. Now the question of what the rats have been eating becomes very important. It smells very very bad. Disgusting. Disgusting but necessary. Bob took a deep breath, trying not to choke from the smell and pressed his hands on the rat. Now for the moment of truth. He took one step forward and started pushing. There was that dragging sound but good, the rat was moving so he put his other foot in front to continue. Pushing the rat all the way into one of the cages at the side and locking it in.

There was one more rat. And Bob was not looking forward to do the same thing. Pushing a heavy direrat with your breath held was tough. More than one time Bob wanted to just take a deep breath, but didn't because he can still remember that horrible smell. And his hands now felt very slimy from touching the rat's fur. Even more disgusting. The solution? Use his legs. Bob got on his back behind the rat and put feet on it. Then he extended out his legs from their curled up position to push the rat in front towards another cage. Each time sliding his ass on the ground with his hands helping to propel him forward until the legs curled in as much as possible before pushing them out again. Repeating right until the rat smashed into the cage with a "THUNK!"

Yup, Bob decided for them a fate worse than death. Selling them to Killroy, or training up one to become his personal slave. Whichever would seem more enjoyable once all this mess has been cleared up. Satisfied, he turned back to Antar to answer his question. Shocked that the rats were so driven to get at them. "Alright, alright I am done now. What the heck do you want me to do?"

Apparently they were going to fight off the rats? That was stupid. Why not just wait them out. Eventually they would get bored and go eat some other things. Like the stupid wolfish rogues in the Den. Unless Antar kept insisting on riling them up by going stabby stabby. There is no way to stop Antar satisfying his thirst for blood as Bob knew. So if they were going to fight, its better to have a battle plan.

Bob had other ideas on how they would fight after hearing Antar's. "Since you are already having so much fun stabbing them, why don't you continue?" The way Antar told it was like he was making Bob take all the risk of getting eaten by the rats. Not going to happen. But Bob knew that this ruthless character won't take it. Not without a good reason. And Bob thought of one. He already took down two rats with it, why not more? "I'll just stay behind. You know...giving you advice and using my very very long whip on them." he said grabbing the whip on the ground. Antar didn't need to know that it was the first day Bob used a whip. Only that he had the range to stay behind where its safe.

But just in case Antar would not accept that, Bob would give another plan. Though not one he looked forward to, they would at least be sharing the risk. But there was another rat trying to squeeze its head through the hole. Bob lifted up his arm again to send the whip flying at it. He wanted to aim for its head like he did the last few, but he was too used to the motions he was going through earlier. So when the whip was extending over to the rat, Bob flicked his wrist downwards to give it that extra cracking sound. Only the extra move caused the whip to travel another way even if it got quicker. Snapping at the air in front of the rat's head to cause it to stop for a bit to stare.

"I meant to do that." Bob said to make the move seem planned. Even if it did not strike the rat, the whip was able to get its attention and scare it a little. Taking advantage of the pause, Bob dropped the hand with the whip and lifted up the other one with the sword. Once with his eye he can see that the point was looking straight at the rat, he kicked his leg forward as far as possible at the ground in front of him. Going into a lunge while extending his sword arm forward and going right into the rat's head.

With the rat done, Bob pulled his sword out with the assistance of the rats on the other side which wanted it too. How did it get stuck so easily? Less force next time, probably. "As I was saying, we could do that...or we could just open the doors a little and stand side by side. There are only so many rats which can fit through the doorway at once and if they get cluttered up its easier for us to get some free shots in." Would Antar accept this dangerous idea or go for the easier one suggested before? Bob should put the danger of the idea of this one so it will be more likely Antar would take the earlier one. "At least until they push through the corpses and come at us. But at least we will go with a bang!" he finished with a chuckle. To calm his frazzled nerves.

[Antar]

Rolling his eyes at Bob's words, he sort of wanted to kick him. Going out and standing two by two was the option he wanted in the first place, just in the starting stages of the plan he figured it best to let Bob take point through the door so the mass of rats weight didn't push it open and swamp either of them. They really didn't have a choice to wait it out, the kennels would eventually be burrowed under and chewed through long before the swarm ended, so Noth's philosophy was to take the fight to them first.

If they could get outside now, and begin to deal a sizeable amount of damage to the rat's numbers they might be able to make their way back to the stables. It was the more defensible position, and there were others of killroy's attendants there to help fight off the rats. The kennels would be safe so long as the dogs were in their cages.

Even better, if they could destroy the nest, the rest of the rats would scatter into the rest of the city, and be someone else's problem to deal with in the future. With a bit of exasperation in his voice, Noth relented to the little man."Fine, We'll go together, Get your sword I at least know your good with that sharpened stick. It seems unlikely you'd hit me with it, but be sure that you don't! Bob was known for the oddest moods sometimes, and in those moods he had no qualms about harming, killing, murdering, or assassinating anything or anyone no matter how much the other man might pretend to take grievance to any idea that he could do otherwise. Besides, Antar had long since learned the dreadful midget rages might earn him a kick in the shin. The only problem he saw in the man was a reticence to actually put himself in danger.

Stabbing downwards as a new rat's head made its way underneath the door, he waited until the other rats pulled it back. Pressing his ear against the door he could hear them munching on their fallen brethren, the smacking of their jaws crunching bone as they hissed to one another.

"Alright, on three." Noth whispered. "One. Two. Three."

Throwing open the door to its full width he shifted his gladius to his left and used his right hand to bring Bob out the door before he could protest another word. Before them about six live rats huddled around the half eaten guts of several others of their brood. There were other rat corpses as well, the ones which had been dug out before. The packs jaws hungrily masticated as they slurped down the entrails of their fallen dead in a rather disgusting display of racial cannabalism. The stench of voided bowels filled with the slime of the dead one's meals was almost overpowering.

Propelling bob forwards for the joint charge, Noth started by hacking downwards with his gladius towards the one closest to him. He'd take the ones on the left, leaving Bob to handle the one's on the right...

[Bob Barton]

Antar was right about Bob having a reticence to put himself into danger. When the man accepted the second choice, Bob was dismayed. He wanted to try and find a way to weasel out of it, but nothing came to mind. In the end he just tossed the whip in his hand he completely forgotten about. Antar was headstrong just as much as the rest of his companions. If he wanted to fight he will throw open the doors whether Bob wanted to join in or not. So it would be better to go for the first strike.

There was nothing more that Bob wanted to do than to use the sharpened stick on Antar. Especially from the way he forcibly put Bob into the fight. But Bob's attention shifted elsewhere when he saw what the rats were doing. They were eating their fallen friends. Bones, meats, guts and blood were spread all around and it took everything Bob had from losing it right there. That was mortifying. And even more was the thought that if Bob and Antar failed now, they will become the next meal.

Just before any of the rats could react, Bob already had his foot down to the one in front of him. Pulling his body forward as he went into a lunge. The rat turned to look at Bob chittering loudly and elevating its body in a roar. All that did was give Bob the advantage he needed. Instead of aiming for the rat's smaller head, he twisted his wrist so that the sword's point will circle around to the rat's chest as the sword traveled forward. He pushed his leg in the front to give him the extra force needed to pierce the sword into the rat's chest as it died.

After all that, the rat pack realized the danger that both Antar and Bob were to then and rushed forward to attack. The two nearest to Bob ran over to him. "EEK!" Bob cried out at the rats which were running towards him. He already had the sword free in his hands, but one sword is not enough to kill two rats. Bob was trapped like a rat. If he killed one, the other one will come at him with ferocity. No, it was a lot more important to protect himself first.

So he did what he could. He no longer had the stool to protect and reached his arm to the next best thing. Bob made a grab at the open door on his side and started pulling on it. The rat came faster and sweat started coming out. So Bob desperately pulled on the door, pushing his heels to give him that extra energy he needed.

"BLAM! BLAM!" the rats smashed on the half closed door pushing Bob back and falling on the ground. He cheated the rat's a meal yet again. Now while they were recovering he took the opportunity. He stood up with his sword in hand and gave the hardest kick he could at the door. "BANG!" it went hitting something as it opened and he heard a crash behind him.

There was only one more rat in front of him now. Struggling to get back on its feet. The crashing noise, as he concluded must have been the other rat being thrown to the side. Bob quickly rushed over to the rat on the ground in front of him with a few large strides and just as he was about to reach it he leaped forward with the sword pulled upwards and point downwards. Once Bob landed, he bent his knees to get down lower, adding to the force of gravity which was collected when he brought the sword down right on the rat's head where it pierced through splattering blood all over.

Two down, one to go for this cleanup. At least the way he counted since they started with six in between them. How was Antar doing with his three? "Hey Antar, you done yet?" Bob cried out as he struggled to pull his sword out to get started on his final rat.

[Antar]

When Antar separated towards his own targets he no longer had the time or inclination to worry about Barton's cries of dismay as the rat's targeted him. The rogue could have blasted the beasts with a jet of fire but he had already used reimancy today and besides: he , as always,thought to remain discrete about his other talents. But there was a certain feel of a proper chopping blade meeting resistance upon a rat's spine long enough as it gauged a deep bloody laceration in a creature's fur, crippling it's hind legs and bashing its snout to the floor.

The rat was dead, that much was for sure. Even if it hadn't realized it as the creature still thrashed wildly as it hissed and tried to bite at his legs. Unperturbed and thinking of the next beast wheeling to leap at him, Noth ripped the gladius free with a rough jerk, and hopped slightly to the side as the next rat landed on top of the dying first which bit it's fellow packrat for the painful abuse. His palms were sweaty now, and the hilt of his was getting hard to hold. But the fight wasn't over.

Stepping forwards towards the second rat the rogue stabbed a downwards thrust into it's gut. The blood slick blade stuck this time in the rats ribs and he could hear the third approaching. Hoping to wrench his sword free, Noth unleashed a hard kick to the animal's stomach, sending the creature's body rolling over. The action netted him a sharp scrap of claws over his leather boots and a half hearted snapping of the dying rat's jaws towards his legs but the thick fabric held long enough for dodge backwards. His adrenaline was pumping now and he turned towards the last rat of his three. It hissed at him, and lashed its tail about like a whip as it cautiously approached. He couldn't be sure what it was going to do, go for him, or try to make its way towards the new meals Noth had made for it's eating.

Circling to his left to try to flank the rat for an easy strike, Noth took a heavy breath into his lungs as he watched the creature for any telltale sign it was about to make its move. From behind him Bob's annoying voice carried itself to his ears as the staredown between man and beast began, "Hey Antar, you done yet?"

Smiling a little , he tossed back a cheeky rejoinder of his own."Sure Bob, I'll just let you handle the rest of them if you want to try your hand at the-" Antar's words cut off as the third rat tensed to strike, instead of making a leap at him, it darted low towards his feet in a lunge, forcing Noth to twist to the side and swing his sword down in a shakey parry. The flat of the blade smacked against the creature's skull, turning the animal's path to the side as the claws of its right foot scratched a slight laceration at his thigh.

The creature was still on its feet and it scampered wildly to turn towards the rogue. Cursing his luck and hoping for a quick end to the creatures, Antar stepped towards it, slashing downwards at the petching creature in time to imbed the edge of the gladius deep into its skull. The sword bisected a piece out of the skull taking a bit of the brain with it as the animal suddenly flopped to the side.

Scanning for more threats to himself, Antar switched the blood slickened gladius to his left hand and put his hand down towards the small gash on on his right thigh. The wound was shallow but long, and already his leather pants were showing red from the weeping blood where the rats claws had drawn throug the fabric and the flesh. A simple bandage and some honey would help it heal naturally as he knew It wasn't life threatening but it would slow him down, and anything which slowed his footwork down meant it would slow his ability to use his gladius effectively. He'd have to switch to his dagger as soon as he could, the lesser weight would be a boon to keeping him on his feet. But the lesser reach of the twelve inches of blade twenty two might prove a problem if they had to face more rats.

Glancing back towards Bob to see if he needed help dispatching the last one. With a cheeky smile Antar threw Barton's words back him, "Hey Barton, You done yet?"