Heroica: Glory Amongst the Stars Mission #3: Rat Catchers

[Kintobor]

"Wow, you guys talking all at once... it's got me a little flustered. It's been awhile since I physically talked to anyone."

11 hours ago, Duvors said:

"Are you the person Georgi sent down here?"

"Georgi? That's a name I haven't heard in awhile... Georgi was the foreman for the construction crew I worked for. We got hired to help with renovations to the Grand Ebria a little while back... must've been a few years ago by now?"

11 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Well, I can honestly say I wasn't expecting to see another friendly face down here." Valesia smiles bowing slightly, "I'm Valesia, that's Enson and Aysu. The rats give you trouble?"

5 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

"Or are they your buddies?" Aysu asked, she had noticed the affection from the little creatures. It reminded her of the ship's cat that had always like to sleep on her feet back home.

"They're my friends. I guess you could say I'm a bit more than friends at this point with the cranium rats, though." The human reaches into his pockets and grabs a bit of bread, looking a little half eaten. He tears it into tiny pieces and watches as one of the rats darts around the adventurers and towards him, front arms outstretched towards the human and squeaking as he begins to give some to the rodent.

"They consider me part of their mischief."

[Peppermint_M]

"Ooookay, nice to know." Aysu didn't let her smile slip. "Cranium rats have a people puppet." Aysu hissed to the others, keeping her voice as low as possible.

[Waterbrick Down]

21 minutes ago, Peppermint_M said:

"Ooookay, nice to know." Aysu didn't let her smile slip. "Cranium rats have a people puppet." Aysu hissed to the others, keeping her voice as low as possible.

"That's what I was thinking. Though the rats may not have had malevolent intent beyond survival, it is our purpose to allow this man to resume his natural course uninfluenced by them."

Valesia turns back to the man, "You wouldn't happen to be Hugo would you Sweetie? What sort of mischief are you referring to?"

[Duvors]

"Ah, yes, sorry, I should have introduced myself first.  That was terribly impolite of me, I apologize."  Enson bowed deeply to the man.

[Kintobor]

50 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Valesia turns back to the man, "You wouldn't happen to be Hugo would you Sweetie? What sort of mischief are you referring to?"

"I-I am Hugo. How did you know that? Has someone come looking for me?" Hugo asks. "Well, a mischief is what you call a group of rats. They're very social creatures, cranium rats even more so. They can be a nuisance, but they can be very sweet once you get to know them. Rats have quite a bit of personality to them."

15 minutes ago, Duvors said:

"Ah, yes, sorry, I should have introduced myself first.  That was terribly impolite of me, I apologize."  Enson bowed deeply to the man.

"Oh, no no, it's quite alright. I've just not had a reason to use names outside of calling my friends here by their nicknames.

Well. I suppose we should discuss what you came down here to my home for. What's going on in the hotel? Have new owners bought the place? The rats showed me images of more people upstairs than usual."

[Waterbrick Down]

Valesia extends the name tag to Hugo, "We found this further up in the chute, looks like you might have dropped it. The hotel has actually been converted into an adventurer's guild, so a lot more activity as of late." Valesia smiles again, "If you don't mind me asking Hugo dear, why are you still living here, surely outside in the station is more comfortable than being cramped in a garbage chute?" Valesia tries to assess Hugo's response and whether he feels coerced.

[Kintobor]

51 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Valesia extends the name tag to Hugo, "We found this further up in the chute, looks like you might have dropped it. The hotel has actually been converted into an adventurer's guild, so a lot more activity as of late." Valesia smiles again, "If you don't mind me asking Hugo dear, why are you still living here, surely outside in the station is more comfortable than being cramped in a garbage chute?" Valesia tries to assess Hugo's response and whether he feels coerced.

Insight Proficiency Check (DC: 2 1): (1,1,1,2) 0 Successes

Valesia cannot get a particularly good read on Hugo's emotional well being, other than he's flustered talking to other humans. Based on her knowledge of Cranium Rats, she knows that the creatures have never shown the ability to control other beings before with their psychic abilities, although whether Hugo's exposure to them for so long might have allowed the Rats to dominate him in some capacity, she's not entirely sure.

Hugo takes the tag back and looks it over.

"Huh. I didn't even know that I lost it. I've been moving up and down the chute with the rats on occasion, but... I've been a little afraid to go back outside. Into the hotel.

Or... I guess it's not an adventurer's guild? Jeez, I've been down here longer than I thought.

Why am I down here? Well... I guess part of me is kind of empathetic towards the mischief. Georgi told me that the garbage chute needed to be cleared, and so I took the bomb I was told would clear the chute and came down here. When I found that these rats were down here, and that they were scared... I couldn't just kill them. I've always had a fondness for animals, even as a kid. I daydreamed about what it would be like to own a zoo." Hugo picks up the rat at his feet and begins to cradle it, tickling its belly. "Part of me felt sorry for the little guys, but I didn't want to tell the foreman, because he'd just want them dead. So, I did the only thing I felt I could do. I hid. And since then, I've been down here with these little guys, to make sure they're safe."

[Duvors]

"Well that's nice.  But tell us, where is the... nexus? of this mischief?  We're here to negotiate some sort of deal with them, to see if they can be convinced to move out of the chute.  We really need to use it at this point and it will probably go down better for them if this is dealt with before station maintenance notices something is up."

[Kintobor]

"The nexus... oh, you were speaking to me." Hugo replies, shaking the rat in his arms as it lays back in content. "The rats allow me to project my inner voice onto others. Obviously, you couldn't respond since it's not the same as linking people with a psychic connection, but if the rats allow me to, I can project my voice into others telepathically. I'm not an expert on it or anything, and I've never really had to use it until now, but I think of it as a sign that the mischief has allowed me into their group... kind of like a parental figure, you know?" Hugo continues to bounce the rat in his arms like a baby as he begins to frown.

"You're here to get rid of the cranium rats... aren't you?"

[Waterbrick Down]

1 minute ago, Kintobor said:

"The nexus... oh, you were speaking to me." Hugo replies, shaking the rat in his arms as it lays back in content. "The rats allow me to project my inner voice onto others. Obviously, you couldn't respond since it's not the same as linking people with a psychic connection, but if the rats allow me to, I can project my voice into others telepathically. I'm not an expert on it or anything, and I've never really had to use it until now, but I think of it as a sign that the mischief has allowed me into their group... kind of like a parental figure, you know?" Hugo continues to bounce the rat in his arms like a baby as he begins to frown.

"You're here to get rid of the cranium rats... aren't you?"

"Peacefully relocate, might be a better term for it Hugo. Even you must know the mischief must move on if it is ever to grow. These chutes will only contain it for so long and eventually as Enson here said, the Hall may send people of a more aggressive disposition."

[Duvors]

Enson waved his hand a at Valesia.  "Please," he said, "you really could phrase that in a manner that comes off less like a threat.  I was trying to warn the man about the danger of station maintenance spotting the discrepancy between the Hall's occupants and the amount of trash it produces and here you go putting threats and coercion in my mouth."
He nodded towards Hugo.  "As a matter of fact we are not here to 'get rid', if by that you mean kill, the rats.  We're here to clear the blockage.  We didn't even know the rats were down here until we arrived.  And found a man trapped under a cabinet by them so he would starve to death.  And were attacked without provocation."  He made a stern (and slightly disappointed) face at the man.  "This really would have been simpler if that had not happened.  But tell me, would you be willing to move into the basement itself?  It's filled with junk you could use, and we hardly ever use it ourselves anyway.  All we need from it is access to some maintenance areas."

[Waterbrick Down]

6 minutes ago, Duvors said:

Enson waved his hand a at Valesia.  "Please," he said, "you really could phrase that in a manner that comes off less like a threat.  I was trying to warn the man about the danger of station maintenance spotting the discrepancy between the Hall's occupants and the amount of trash it produces and here you go putting threats and coercion in my mouth."
He nodded towards Hugo.  "As a matter of fact we are not here to 'get rid', if by that you mean kill, the rats.  We're here to clear the blockage.  We didn't even know the rats were down here until we arrived.  And found a man trapped under a cabinet by them so he would starve to death.  And were attacked without provocation."  He made a stern (and slightly disappointed) face at the man.  "This really would have been simpler if that had not happened.  But tell me, would you be willing to move into the basement itself?  It's filled with junk you could use, and we hardly ever use it ourselves anyway.  All we need from it is access to some maintenance areas."

Valesia gives a puzzled look at Enson, "I thought we were under the impression that the blockage had been purposefully caused by the rodents? No threat intended, just a statement of fact if the chute is to remain unclogged it will require the rats relocation, no?"

[Duvors]

"The way you said 'as Enson here said, the Hall may send people of a more aggressive disposition' comes off as a threat.  If you didn't mean it that way I apologize.  And I'm not arguing that the rats would have to move for our mission to be a success, but we did not come down here specifically for that purpose and informing the man of this fact is intended to assure him that we come without any preconceived hostility."

[Waterbrick Down]

7 minutes ago, Duvors said:

"The way you said 'as Enson here said, the Hall may send people of a more aggressive disposition' comes off as a threat.  If you didn't mean it that way I apologize.  And I'm not arguing that the rats would have to move for our mission to be a success, but we did not come down here specifically for that purpose and informing the man of this fact is intended to assure him that we come without any preconceived hostility."

"Ah well you mentioned station maintenance and by that I assumed you were thinking they'd get the hall to deal with it with more drastic measures. We came to find the source of the clog and it appears to be the rats. How that is dealt with is now the issue at hand and to some extent dependent upon them and our new friend Hugo here."

[Peppermint_M]

Aysu didn't want to get in any arguments, "If we can find you a nice new place, would you all move? I was cosy back with Mom and Dad on the salvage ship, but at the same time I really wanted to see the galaxy and grow a bit y'know?"

[Kintobor]

7 hours ago, Duvors said:

Enson waved his hand a at Valesia.  "Please," he said, "you really could phrase that in a manner that comes off less like a threat.  I was trying to warn the man about the danger of station maintenance spotting the discrepancy between the Hall's occupants and the amount of trash it produces and here you go putting threats and coercion in my mouth."
He nodded towards Hugo.  "As a matter of fact we are not here to 'get rid', if by that you mean kill, the rats.  We're here to clear the blockage.  We didn't even know the rats were down here until we arrived.  And found a man trapped under a cabinet by them so he would starve to death.  And were attacked without provocation."  He made a stern (and slightly disappointed) face at the man.  "This really would have been simpler if that had not happened.  But tell me, would you be willing to move into the basement itself?  It's filled with junk you could use, and we hardly ever use it ourselves anyway.  All we need from it is access to some maintenance areas."

Hugo frowns, looking guilty.

"I am... aware of what happened upstairs. The rats are fairly territorial. They trust me, but they viewed him, the man they wedged under the bookshelf, as a hostile. I'm not saying this to make an excuse, merely to help explain the situation. These aren't domesticated cranium rats. They just happen to like me. More so than most, anyways.

I don't know how they'll take to living in the basement. They'd more than likely prefer the ability to either forage, scavenge, or rummage through garbage, something this clogged chute offers two of the three of for them. I don't think they'd enjoy that. I-I don't think th-they would enjoy that..."

As Valesia and Enson's argument grows, Hugo begins to sway on his feet, his breathing becoming heavy, his frown becoming a look of growing panic. A growing feeling of distress grows around the party, as visions of gnashing teeth and scrapping claws begin to creep into their minds.

"This arguing... it's making me uncomfortable... please stop..."

6 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

Aysu didn't want to get in any arguments, "If we can find you a nice new place, would you all move? I was cosy back with Mom and Dad on the salvage ship, but at the same time I really wanted to see the galaxy and grow a bit y'know?"

Aysu's question seems to snap Hugo out of his swaying for the time.

"...well, cranium rats are fairly adaptable creatures... they could maybe be moved somewhere... but that's a lot of work..." Hugo seemingly needs further convincing.

[Duvors]

"Oh dear, er pardon me."
Enson closed his eyes and began a low, droning chant.  As he did so he attempted to reach out with his mind and calm the rats down, emphasizing a sense of tranquility within.

[Waterbrick Down]

9 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"...well, cranium rats are fairly adaptable creatures... they could maybe be moved somewhere... but that's a lot of work..." Hugo seemingly needs further convincing.

"Work that the three... four of us I'm sure would be happy to help with. Don't worry it's not something you'd need to undertake on your own." Valesia tries persuasively. "Besides, with your construction experience, I'm sure you're aware of other parts of the station that might be just if not more suitable than here, no?"

[Kintobor]

On 7/16/2021 at 2:28 AM, Duvors said:

"Oh dear, er pardon me."
Enson closed his eyes and began a low, droning chant.  As he did so he attempted to reach out with his mind and calm the rats down, emphasizing a sense of tranquility within.

Religion Proficiency Check (DC: 3,5): (1,2,3,3,5) 1 Success

Enson's attempts at calming the rats down through a low chant seems to not alleviate the situation. The rat's continue to project a feeling of tenseness and growing hostility as Hugo begins to breath heavily, his swaying returning. While Enson wasn't hurting the situation, it seemingly wasn't helping.

On 7/16/2021 at 10:12 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

"Work that the three... four of us I'm sure would be happy to help with. Don't worry it's not something you'd need to undertake on your own." Valesia tries persuasively. "Besides, with your construction experience, I'm sure you're aware of other parts of the station that might be just if not more suitable than here, no?"

Persuasion Proficiency Check (DC: 2): (1,4,6) 2 Successes

"Well... I might be able to build something somewhere... the station is a pretty big place... I've been down here for so long though, I don't- I don't know exactly where to take the mischief and myself..." Valesia's words of support help Hugo calm down, but the heroes can tell he's still somewhat apprehensive about leaving. The rats emotional projections change from aggressive to protective.

[Duvors]

"Oh dear, look," he paused for a moment.  "To be honest I don't know the station well enough to offer you a specific location, and I doubt you all will be safer anywhere else here anyway.  But listen, you are not just limited to the station.  Heroica has an entire fleet of personal transports available that can easily take you all anywhere you wish, even to Vin'quo should you desire.  I mention it specifically because hermits are respected there and rats are considered one of the Virtuous Animals.  But even if you're afraid of leaving we can still work with you to find somewhere, we're not just going to throw you out on your ear."

Enson will attempt to persuade the man persuasively.

[Waterbrick Down]

23 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"Well... I might be able to build something somewhere... the station is a pretty big place... I've been down here for so long though, I don't- I don't know exactly where to take the mischief and myself..." Valesia's words of support help Hugo calm down, but the heroes can tell he's still somewhat apprehensive about leaving. The rats emotional projections change from aggressive to protective.

"Maybe the mischief themselves have ventured beyond the walls and may have some suggestion."

11 hours ago, Duvors said:

"Oh dear, look," he paused for a moment.  "To be honest I don't know the station well enough to offer you a specific location, and I doubt you all will be safer anywhere else here anyway.  But listen, you are not just limited to the station.  Heroica has an entire fleet of personal transports available that can easily take you all anywhere you wish, even to Vin'quo should you desire.  I mention it specifically because hermits are respected there and rats are considered one of the Virtuous Animals.  But even if you're afraid of leaving we can still work with you to find somewhere, we're not just going to throw you out on your ear."

Enson will attempt to persuade the man persuasively.

"Perhaps we should interact directly with the mischief themselves, I'm sure Hugo will be more than willing to assist them once a plan has been firmly put in place."

[Peppermint_M]

"Maybe Mr Grumble will know somewhere else, if that doesn't work."

[Kintobor]

On 7/18/2021 at 2:41 PM, Duvors said:

"Oh dear, look," he paused for a moment.  "To be honest I don't know the station well enough to offer you a specific location, and I doubt you all will be safer anywhere else here anyway.  But listen, you are not just limited to the station.  Heroica has an entire fleet of personal transports available that can easily take you all anywhere you wish, even to Vin'quo should you desire.  I mention it specifically because hermits are respected there and rats are considered one of the Virtuous Animals.  But even if you're afraid of leaving we can still work with you to find somewhere, we're not just going to throw you out on your ear."

Enson will attempt to persuade the man persuasively.

Persuasion Proficiency Check (DC 2): (4,6,6) Three Successes

After Enson's attempt at a persuasive argument ends, Hugo nods his head, taking in the offer. "I... well, I suppose you're right. I can't stay down here, and I suppose neither can these guys. I guess I'll need to round them up and carry them out. It might take me a couple of minutes, but it shouldn't be too hard." Picking up a large, purple basket, Hugo begins to calm himself as he goes about collecting the cranium rats, placing them safely inside.

18 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Maybe the mischief themselves have ventured beyond the walls and may have some suggestion."

"Perhaps we should interact directly with the mischief themselves, I'm sure Hugo will be more than willing to assist them once a plan has been firmly put in place."

"Well, if you'd like to talk with them, now's the time. I think with myself calming down, they're a little more docile." The rat being cradled in Hugo's arm looks about lazily. "They have shown me visions of the upstairsl, but nothing really interesting. Maybe they'll know a place, but I feel like they'd be best out of the way of anyone's inconvenience."

16 hours ago, Peppermint_M said:

"Maybe Mr Grumble will know somewhere else, if that doesn't work."

"Is that the man the rats trapped under the cabinet? I guess I should maybe apologize to him..."

[Duvors]

48 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

"Is that the man the rats trapped under the cabinet? I guess I should maybe apologize to him..."

"Yes, you should.  And thank you, this is a very difficult thing to ask of anyone."

[Waterbrick Down]

"So do we have further down the shoot to explore?"