Chapter 34 - The Battle at the Gate

General Summary

The questing group retreats from Hegenburg, and rests for a bit under the cover of the forest. Dietmar uses the opportunity to pray, and establishes that both Franz der Schwarzhoffen and Dmitrei have contracted the rats' disease. To the two of them, this means keeping the friar alive at all costs, because without him, they will be afflicted by the curse forever.
After they have caught their breath, they talk over their next move. Franz wants to make a push into the city, while Dietmar urges caution: the crows are watching their every move. But Dmitrei and Ingrid  (as well as Erich and Johann need special weapons to harm the ratpeople, and the best place to look for them is probably the citadel on the south side of town. To Dietmar, it's obvious that Matilda, or Reimar, or whoever is in charge, would be expecting this. But to Franz, a head-on attack is the only reasonable move. They could draw the ratpeople out in the open. In any case, they have killed quite a few already, and the rest are probably close to giving up. In the end, Franz's position wins the day. Most of the rest are spoiling for a fight also. Franz blasts a few of the crows, and the rest fly away, while the companions advance back toward the city along the road, with a view of circling around to the citadel and finding a way in.
As they get close to the walls, a couple of bolts fly toward them from the guard towers. Clearly, their coming is expected, so the companions swing into action. Franz turns himself and Ingrid invisible, and charges the gate. Nit, for her part, does the same, and tries to keep close to Ingrid to gain the benefit of her invisible shield. Dmitrei charges without the benefit of magic to draw enemy bolts, and is soon joined by a hard-charging Erich. Dietmar, not sure what to do, and not sure he approves of the tactic, eventually joins the runners. Only Johann initially hangs back, firing back at the guards to keep them in check, though Carrot the Donkey, unsure what to do, keeps him company.
After hard running and dodging bolts, Franz, Ingrid and Nit run through the open gate, and find themselves in a small plaza, where in better times, markets operated to draw in citizens and visitors alike. Franz looks for doors into the towers to deal with the shooters, and inevitably, finds them locked. His efforts to force the doors open are fruitless, but Erich soon arrives to put his massive frame to the task, and he does succeed in forcing one of the doors open. Dmitrei and Dietmar, who had been taking cover behind buildings near the gate, now arrive as well, but one of the shooters manages to lower the portcullis onto the friar, both hurting and pinning him. Dmitrei succeeds in freeing Dietmar, but the gate closes behind them. Unsurprisingly, Dietmar exclaims, they are trapped! Worse, as Franz charged up into the tower, sharp-eyed Nit heard loud squeaking from the larger plaza beyond the gate, and soon, an enormous horde of rats scurries into the gate plaza, and cover the intruders. While Franz works to dispatch the taunting wererat guard, who urges the invaders to switch sides and pledge themselves to Matilda, the rest try to fight off the horde on the ground. Nit comes close to being completely overrun and devoured by the rodents, and tries to get away from them by running into the tower. When this proves fruitless in stopping the assault, she begins to fling the snacks she got at the tournament out of the tower, which distracts some of the rats for a time. Ingrid lights a torch, trying to drive back those that can't get to the biscuits, while Dmitrei and Erich smash and skewer as many as they can. Seeing his companions trapped, Johann succeeds in mounting Carrot, and charges the gate, drawing the other shooter's fire while Franz finishes dispatching his comrade, and then, after jumping out of the first tower, manages to appear in the other tower by some sort of unknown artifice.
The arrival of Carrot brings with it a symphony of feline mewling, which causes the survivors of the rodent horde scurrying away to find holes in which to take cover. Franz finishes off the second shooter and begins to lift the gate. Dietmar and Ingrid provide quick succor to all who were hurt during the fight, especially Nit, because they are sure that the danger has not passed...

Report Date

22 Jun 2021

Primary Location

Hegenburg