The Crazy Case of the Rat Necromancer

> *"There is a rat, standing between two floating hearts. It's finger swirl with dark energy, which spirals and engulfs the hearts, draining them completely and leaving them as black and dried out husks. The energy moves then, back through the rat and to the deceased woman lying on the table. The body twitches, the arms moves, and her eyes come open."*
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The Crazy Case of the Rat Necromancer is the **fifth case** ever to be documented by the Split Shields. The case involves the restoration efforts of Port Ral'Endas's main museum, which was destroyed and looted during the Summertime Siege, and the halting of that progress by a large infestation of rats. The museum's newly appointed curator hires the Split Shields to help discover the source of the rat problem, fearing that there may be something large at work here as previously hired exterminators have gone missing.

## Characters Involved

The following PCs were involved in this adventure:

* Capa Halfstack
* Galaga
* Hurgrun
* Raymond
* Adeptus
* Erafire Softshine & Oscar

## Plot

The party arrives at the Museum of the Port and meet with the newly appointed curator, Eldrest Borro, who explains that he has hired the party to help deal with the incredible rat infestation that's plaguing the museum. Eldrest explains that the museum was heavily damaged and looted during the Summertime Siege, and he was brought on just two months ago to oversee its refurbishment and to replace some of the precious artefacts that were lost in the siege. He had hired builders to help bring new life to the museum, but they refused to work in the same place with so many rats. Eldrest hired a couple of ratkillers to deal with the problem, but they disappeared while dealing with the problem. Although the guards said that they probably just ran off with the upfront payment Eldrest gave them, Eldrest has a hunch that the ratkillers ran into some kind of trouble.

Leaving the party alone in the museum, the party get right to discovering the source of the rat infestation. As Galaga and Raymond are investigating the exterior of the building for signs of any hidden entrances or underground places, they manage to catch a vicious black-furred rat. Meanwhile Erafire is scrutinising the room that the ratkillers were said to be operating out of (the **World Room**). As Erafire discovers the ratkillers tracks in the dust, Raymond comes in with the rat. The party reconvene here and discuss their options. It's deduced that the rat is not magical in any way and is simply a rat, so the party let it go. Galaga, who had found a hole in the building the rat must have crawled through, has made a crude map of the area and is checking for the whereabouts of the hole on the inside of the building.

Galaga's investigations lead them to a hallway with a large painting that fills up the dead end. The painting depicts a magnificent horse charging across the field of battle. Galaga and Raymond attempt to remove the painting from the wall, but it ends up on top of them. The rest of the part see that the painting was obscuring a partially collapsed wall that leads into an abandoned room, the floor of which has completely caved in revealing a tunnel below. The party quickly get to investigating after Capa using a piton and some rope to allow them an easier time of climbing down. As they reach the bottom, a horde of rats rush away from them, charging away down the tunnel to the left.

The party decides to investigate the right passage first. Erafire sends Oscar ahead to investigate and quickly discovers two bodies in a small chamber in that direction. The party head there and quickly discover that these recently deceased corpses are all that remain of the ratkillers. As they try to deduce how these corpses died, the corpses come to life as zombies and attack the group. Fortunately, the group dispatches with them fairly swiftly and uncover a few things of interest. First of all, the zombies appear to be missing their hearts, with only cavities in their chests from where the hearts should be. Second, one of the ratkillers was carrying a scrap of paper that is revealed to be a poem torn from a journal:

> "I am wrapped by that of coldness,
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> where nothing lives or can live,
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> pressed against the bold vastness,
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> for summer times I'd give."
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> — Tallis Emberstron"
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A few members of the party recognise the name Tallis Emberstron, but especially Adeptus. He explains that Tallis was a warrior-poet, that is a barbarian with a love for poetry, that disappeared a few years ago. This poem is not one they recognise, meaning that it might be something created in the catacombs they've discovered beneath the museum. The party press on and uncover a large chamber at the end of the tunnel leading left. The chamber is filled with hundreds of rats that obscure the floor and almost everything else. Adeptus, thinking quickly, jumps into the crowd of rats and casts *Arms of Hadar*, which works in killing a few of the rats and scattering the others. Once the floor clears, they see that some articles have been left behind. A worn and distressed adventurer's pack, along with a greataxe that has been inscribed with poety. Hurgrun checks out the axe, coming quickly to the realisation that it is a magical item of dwarven craftsmanship. Inside the pack there is a journal that belonged to Tallis Emberston, and within that journal is an entry that highlights what may have happened to her:

> *"It has been weeks since I first came to the catacombs in search of the necromancer, but I've found nothing. I am surely convinced there is no necromancer, but even then that would not matter, for I am truly lost. I have screamed until my voice is hoarse but none hear me. I have no food or water, I know I will perish soon, but I'm sure Ratful will be fine. That is my only solace against these tunnels. And yet, still the voices pervade my mind, the intellectual thoughts with their grand schemes, I am sick of their machinations. It's this damned headband. If I should not survive this then I will ensure that, it too, does not survive. I'll break it with my axe before anything else."*
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Adeptus points out that Ratful was Tallis's pet companion, while Erafire points out that the headband referred to in the journal may be a **Headband of Intellect** that may have been too powerful for Tallis to wield. As some of the party investigate the pack, Capa and Galaga move down the other exit to the chamber. Further they move down they discover yet another chamber, this one furnished and containing rats that have clearly been risen again from the dead and a single cloaked figure with its back to them. Capa and Galaga inform this discover to the party.

Raymond charges into the room and casts *Tasha's Hideous Laughter* on the figure, which causes it to crumble into a pile of bones. Then the true villain behind the scheme is revealed as a single rat climbs upon the table and speaks to the party in common. It introduces itself as Ratful, the once companion of Tallis Emberstron. It explains that Tallis went mad in the tunnels and attempted to break the headband of intellect that allowed her to write such beautiful poetry, but in doing so it killed her and gave Ratful incredible intelligence. Ratful discovered the location of the necromancer and, with the help of the rats in the tunnels, killed him and brought him to life as an undead thrall. Ratful studied the necromancer's magic, making some creative adjustments of his own, and is now intent on using that magic to bring Tallis back to life. Ratful also explains that he was using the rats to enter the museum in order to steal precious, and hopefully valuable, artefacts that he could use in his rituals, not knowing that the museum had been looted in the Summertime Siege. After Ratful explains all of this, he reveals that he was stalling for time and the illusion of him disappears.

The party rush to the last chamber where they find Ratful in the heat of a dark ritual, consuming the two hearts of the ratkillers to bring the woman lying on the table back to life. They get there just in time to see Tallis awaken and grow angry at the party. Tallis attacks the adventurers, which proves a challenge, but the party manages to win against her, with Adeptus dealing a final and powerful blow. As they turn to deal with Ratful, they find that he's disappeared into a crowd of rats that flee the room, but hear his voice telepathically in their heads promising to remember their faces and enact revenge upon them.

Once over, the party go back to the museum and explain what happened to Eldrest Borro, who is impressed by their actions. They recover the bodies of the ratkillers and the body of Tallis herself. Hurgrun hands over the journal and Tallis's wonderful axe so that Eldrest can turn them into exhibits later on when the museum finally gets refurbished.

## Rewards

These were the rewards offered the party earned over the course of their adventure:

* 30 gold for each member of the party.

## Aftermath

Ratful escaped the party's wrath and is clearly seeking vengeance on them for killing Tallis again.