Rat Kingdom Redux

The last encounter resolved in a bloody draw with both sides withdrawing. Our heroes found sanctuary with Eward the Hermit where they had a chance to rest up and heal over an eight hour period. After some discussion, it came to light that Hoogn knew of a spy-hole into the Rat Kingdom's living space. The crew purchased Eward's handcart for a handsome price. Eward threw in his lamp oil. Hoogn enthusiastically volunteered to push the flaming handcart.

The Rat Kingdom Goblins hadn't been idle while our heroes were gone, preparing for another attack and sending out search parties but to little effect. Lucky Luke snuck up to the spy hole and poured the majority of the lamp oil through the spy-hole into the Rat Kingdom's living room and lit it up. The inferno that resulted drew the guards from the main entrance leaving the way clear for Hoogn, backed by our heroes, to charge the entrance.

A battle followed that resulted in a slaughter where a few Dire Rats and Rat Kingdom Goblins escaped: Goblin babies, children, women and their pets were cut down, burned and pulverized.

The Rat King Korth

In the back room was Rat King Korth, the leader of the Rat Kingdom, sitting on a comfortable chair. Korth was confident and chatted with Luke for a time, revealing that the Rat Kingdom had been snatching bodies (dead and alive) as corpses for a "human" known as "The Pale Man." Just as things were about to get busy again, Luke put an arrow through Korth's throat: "I thought I could knock him out with an arrow and we could question him later!" A number of burlap body bags were about in which Krag Blackhand, the root of this investigation, was found with his throat cut.

A bit of searching turned up: a secret compartment with 85gp in the back of Korth's chair, Korth's +1 long sword, a bunch of nicely made daggers with some sort of makers mark on them, a lot of burlap body sacks some with bodies in them. Selwin identified one of the bodies from the descriptions of missing people at the town gates on the message board.

The crew followed the tunnel out of the back of the room, lifting a large stone that blocked the passage, and re-emerged into the mid-afternoon sun behind an abandoned mausoleum near the town cemetery.