Citadel's Shadow II, Session 4

Citadel's Shadow II, Session 4: Rats! was a session of the Citadel's Shadow II campaign, played on Dec. 28, 2018 (UTC) (Dec. 27, 2018 for some participants).
==Personnel==
===Game Master===
*GM: played by Michael Lee Viviano
===Player Characters===
*Fern the Siegemaster: inventive fox-person student played by Rail Runner
*Juan de Fulmando: swordwielding human alchemist played by Alden Loveshade
=== Principle NPCs ===
* Princess Alarra Gormann: Often hostile resident of St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth
* Blackeye Snarkin: A Deputy constable of Delctra's Cauldron Borough
* Donghai Ping: Grandmaster alchemist and lecturer at St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth
* Eliza Boulavier: Niece and assistant of Ethel Boulavier, proprietess of the Maisson Boulavier
== Events ==
=== 1742 ===
Ulthrane 1 - 9 (Godsday - Restingday): Fern the Siegemaster attended classes and used her glassblowing skill to improve her chemistry toolkit.  She planned to finish with the tools first, then use them for better chances on an invention she had in mind.  She was quite successful in making the toolkit.  (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2018 12 27)
Ulthrane 3 (Landsday): Juan de Fulmando received permission from a captain of the Trynser City Municipal Force to have one of the medallions captured from the men who attacked Professor Chalk implanted in the hilt of his broadsword, the Sword of Ozsym.  The medallion was actually a half-imperial ($50) coin with a big "X" gouged through it, through the Divine Circle symbol side.  The captain said he didn't want to know anything about the coin being repaired as that could be counterfeiting.  Juan planned to put it on one side of the hilt ,and a $50 Millisymph Oro Santo that had belonged to the late Ozsym Underhill on the other, both set with the side recognizing the gods showing.  (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2018 12 27)
Ulthrane 4 (Hammering): In the morning, Juan de Fulmando discovered opals sitting in front of the mementos of his wards of Ozsym's offspring, Fuylu de Fulmando and Heva de Fulmando, that he kept by his bed.  He thanked the gods for them.  He had Hulgruth the Machinist, a dwarf known for his highly detailed work who stayed at the Maisson Boulavier with him, add the opals (one black and one white) and the two gold coins to the hilt.  (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2018 12 27)
Ulthrane 10 (Godsday): Juan de Fulmando took his sword named the Sword of Ozsym to Sloane of Lathyrus, a human enchanter who stayed at the Maisson Boulavier. He had the entire sword magically repaired with an Oro Santo implanted on one side of the hilt and a half-imperial on the other with an X gouged through the Divine Circle side, both with the "god side" showing. By having the entire sword repaired instead of repairing just the gouged coin, he bypassed the possibility of the repair being considered "counterfeiting."
In the evening, Fern the Siegemaster was at St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth putting in the finishing touches on the chemistry toolkit she had constructed by glassblowing. Suddenly she heard shrieking in the hallway outside. Being curious, she checked and saw Princess Alarra Gormann and a couple of her "snooty" friends whipped up in a panicked frenzy. Alarra shouted, "It ran across my foot!" Fern also heard one of them say, "They came from that way! (the area of the alchemical laboratory) and "They went toward the stairs!" Fern noticed the door to the lab, which was closer, was open, so checked.
All four laboratory rat cages were unlatched and all the rats, which were white, were missing. Fern saw a rat wheel slowing turning and coming to a stop. Fern ran toward the stairs, but didn't find anyone who knew where the rats went. Fern smelled, and figured out that they went through a door going outside, on to Marketplace Low Road towards St. Bassard's Street. Fern went outside into a misty rain, but did not find the rats.
At around 8 p.m., Juan was outside in the front yard of his home, Maisson Boulavier, practicing with his renewed sword. He heard a loud shriek coming from inside. Running in, he discovered it was coming from the room of Eliza Boulavier who had threatened him with dire punishments if he ever trespassed there. Eliza was the niece of Ethel Boulavier, proprietess of the establishment. Juan asked if she needed help, but through her partially opened door saw that Elisa was standing on her bed "freaking out," "armed" with a dictionary, and halfway in or out of her pajamas. There were two large greyish wild rats on the floor and another climbing her bed skirts. Juan said, "Fear not, Eliza!" He tried scaring the rats out with his sword, but soon had a chance to swat the one that was climbing up Eliza's bed with the flat of his sword. With a critical hit, it went flying off the north wall, to the ceiling, and back down to the floor, dead (and without leaving a bloody mess).
The two other rats scurrying, Juan said, "By Cyrusblancio, let there be smoke!" Smoke began rising from the floor. Eliza hurtled headlong into Juan, and he caught her--unintentionally by the top of her "unpyjamaed" bum. Eliza escaped the smoke in the hallway, and Juan, with a second critical hit, used the flat of his sword to exterminate another rat, this one on the headboard of her bed with minimal blood to clean up afterward. The third rat went out the window.
Juan heard a cry of "Fire!" He said, "Please, Kiria, let the air be clear," and the smoke cleared within a few seconds. Eliza, asked, ""A-are they gone?" Juan tossed the two dead rats out of the window, wiped with a rag where necessary, and told her they were gone. She said, "T-thank you," and he said, "You are welcome, good Eliza. If you feel safe, I can leave now," which he did. Juan went outside, and disposed of the two dead rats down the sewer drain. Feeling embarrassed, he went for a walk. (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2018 12 27)
Ulthrane 11 (Mustering): After breakfast, Juan de Fulmando spoke privately and diplomatically with Eliza Boulavier.at Maisson Boulavier. He said, "Eliza, please do not feel embarrassed by the 'rat incident.' I have seen many things as a guard, I have a teenaged girl as a ward and have no wife to help her with 'woman things,' and while I am not primarily a pharmacist, I have treated people's bodies. You are a most special person, and have nothing to be ashamed of." Eliza said ,"I- It's okay. Just forget you saw it." Juan was tempted to say, "That will be hard to forget," but instead of again mentioning the "em-bare-ass-ing" event, smiled and changed the subject.
Master Donghai Ping, a grandmaster alchemist, traveled with Juan to St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth.  Master Ping noticed the rats were gone from the alchemical lab. Fern and Juan learned of each other's experiences with rats the previous day. Ping spoke to faculty about the matter while Juan spoke to students and Fern made computations of the odds of the leaving all four rat cages unlatched at the same time. Fern calculated, "365 days in a year and 2 accidents per year means 2/365 chance each day of an accident happening, and multiplying that by itself 4 times would result in about 9*10^-10 probability of happening." Fern then pointed to the chalkboard with her writing and said, "There, I pretty much proved that this happening accidentally is impossible." An amused Juan said only, "Thank you, Fern."
Ping learned that the school was well-protected from vermin infestation, but the loose rats had gotten out, not in. Fern figured the rats had left by the shortest route available, which seemed extremely unlikely. Ping decided to work on some alchemical rat traps. None of the students had heard of other rat incidents the previous evening. The wizards at the school did not detect any signs of magical influence over the rat escape. However, they heard reports from others of rats.
In the afternoon, Fern, Juan, and Ping went to the Burgher's office in the center of Delctra's Cauldron Borough to report what they knew. There were about a dozen people there, many of them complaining about rats and others offering rat catching services. They reported what they had learned, especially about the escaped rats, to Blackeye Snarkin, a deputy constable of the Delctra's Cauldron Borough. Ping went inside the office while Fern and Juan continued talking to Snarkin.
Fern and Juan noticed a dwarven woman being led out of the hall. She dejectedly struggled to get up on a pony and seemed somehow impaired (they say later it appeared to be in one of her legs). Juan assisted her, including telling her how to get to The Witch on a Stick" which was a tavern in a building rather near Ping's workshop. Fern straightforwardly asked the woman if a rat had attacked her leg, but she said it was just from being an old dwarf. They learned her name was Hanna Gruskin. (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2018 12 27) (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2019 01 03)