The Ordered Rats of Martira Bay
Hook
Rats in Martira Bay moved along unnaturally straight routes as though following an unseen network.
Evidence
- Multiple rats ran in straight lines rather than scattering naturally.
- A badger summoned from Carver’s Bag of Tricks killed two that appeared to be ordinary rats.
- Further skittering led to a nest and a rat hole entering a nearby house.
- A human-sized head moved behind the house’s window after Rage knocked.
- Kargatane enforcers dismissed Rage’s warning but noted the address for later.
- Vidic provided information about creatures capable of assuming ratlike forms, though the precise advice was not recorded.
- After the Pale Lantern gathering, Rage struck a passing rat with a handaxe and saw it rise onto its hind legs.
- Two more joined it, and the three fought with coordination and ferocity far beyond mundane rats.
- They nearly killed Ignatius before Rage killed one and Carver restored the monk.
- One escaped; Rage knocked another unconscious and captured it alive.
- The captive was confirmed as a wererat serving Alcio “Baron” Metus.
- It belonged to the Kargatane’s second circle and described the party as members of the outer circle.
- It confirmed that the rat-connected house was a gang hideout.
- Rage killed the prisoner after the interrogation and removed the heads from the alley.
- When the party returned to the Rat House, chanting sounded within before rats poured from the tunnel and merged into a huge demonic-looking swarm creature.
- The following night, Ignatius saw a furious Kargat vampire supervising the investigation at the Rat House.
- The vampire blamed his subordinates for the failure of a plan that had made Martira Bay’s people feel safe, then transformed into a bat and entered the house.
- Kargatane patrols kept the Rat House guarded after the confrontation.
Open questions
- Are the rats trained, controlled, transformed, or merely following something imperceptible?
- What operation was the Kargat running from the Rat House, and how was it meant to make the city feel safe?
- Are the routes part of a surveillance, communication, or feeding network?
- Why did the enforcers initially discourage investigation while preserving the address?
- What purpose does Baron Metus’s wererat network serve?
- Did the escaped wererat report the party’s actions?
- Are the festering, foul-smelling houses connected to the network?
Next steps
- Prepare for the escaped creature to alert others.
- Identify the Kargat vampire now directing the Rat House investigation.
- Learn what failed plan the vampire was referring to and why the Kargat wanted the city to feel safe.
- Investigate the festering houses.
- Determine who or what was chanting inside the Rat House and whether it controlled the merged swarm.