Pandora Unchained B1C16 - Entering the Nest

So I've already got the $3 and 5$ Tiers separated. Now I'm dumping 6 chapters to give the $10 patrons the benefits they should be getting. 

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The entrance of the rat nest was situated at the base of a rocky cliff. A small cluster of bloodwood trees with rough bark and thick, bloody sap provided convenient visual cover for the man-sized hole in the cliff. At the same time, the bloody smell naturally secreted by the trees masked the strong smell of rat droppings wafting out from behind them.

“The landmarks all match what’s on the map,” said Gareth, looking up and down from a sheet of beast hide. “I also sense no other threats in the vicinity. What are your thoughts, team leader?”

“This is the place,” confirmed Stephan. “Our mission is simple: to exterminate every last rat in this hole and collect their cores as evidence. Yes, Daphne?”

“I don’t blame you if you don’t want to answer this, but… is there a chance that your sister might want you killed?” asked Daphne. Then, looking around at everyone else’s shocked faces, she shrugged. “What? It’s a legitimate question. This kind of thing happens all the time in… historical records. Yes, that’s what we’ll call them.”

Sorin had been the target of such an operation, so he could see the rationale behind it. Fortunately, Stephan wasn’t at all concerned about such a thing. “My York Clan does things a little differently from the other clans,” said Stephan. “We decide succession based on strength and potential. I’m currently fifth in line for the position of clan leader, but in terms of talent, I’m very unlikely to be able to compete for the position. As for my sister, she ranks 20th. Her cultivation is high, but her talent is lacking. Does that answer your question, Daphne?”

“Almost,” said Daphne. “Now what about inter-branch strife and the like? What’s that like in your clan?” She took out a notepad and pen. “I’m asking for science, of course. Not for story ideas.”

“I think we might be getting a little off track,” said Sorin. “Also, I think Lawrence is back.”

“Really Sorin?” said Lawrence, appearing out of the shadows next to the cave. “Did you really have to ruin my entrance like that?”

“It’s for your own good,” said Sorin. “Stephan’s clearly getting sick of your antics, and there was a risk of Daphne blowing you up thinking you were a rat.” He nodded towards Daphne, who’d actually summoned a ball of fire and was halfway through launching it. “See? I’m helping!”

“Just give us the rundown Lawrence,” said Stephan, massaging the space between his brows. “And try to be professional for once? This is an actual mission, and I’ll have to report everything as it happens.”

“Fine then,” said grumbled Lawrence. “I’d be more than happy to explain, but I think visuals will help us greatly.” He snatched Daphne’s notepad and began drawing with confident strokes. They waited five whole minutes for Lawrence to hand the pen back and show off his masterpiece.”

“That’s the ugliest map I’ve ever seen,” said Sorin.

“Not here,” said Gareth. “But it ranks in the top five.”

“This is a perfectly legitimate map!” said Lawrence.

“I think he tried to draw a fork in the road,” said Gareth, grabbing the paper. “Three pronged? No wait, is that a face?”

“You’re all insufferable,” said Lawrence, grabbing the notepad back, then tossing it to daphne. “The place is basically just tunnels crisscrossing through the rock. The rats are confirmed to be rockgnaw rats, with teeth as big as Stephan’s abnormally large hands. The smallest come up to my knees, but the biggest come up to my waist.”

“Thank you, Lawrence,” said Stephan. “Did you locate any smaller nests. Are there any rat variants to take note of? Traps?”

“They’re rats,” Lawrence said flatly. “The dumb, garden variety kind, in case that wasn’t clear.”

“Then we’ll have everyone take one of these,” said Stephan, tossing out a bottle to each of them. “We have three pills each, one per day. If we can’t finish by then, we pull out and the mission will be reported as a failure. Sorin, any thoughts?”

“None,” said Sorin. “Are these Plagueward pills? Mid-grade?”

“Yes,” said Stephan. “I’m surprised you recognise them.”

“I’m surprised too,” said Sorin. “We typically don’t see anything this expensive out here.”

Stephan coughed lightly. “They’re a necessity on a mission like this. Aren’t they?”

Lawrence patted Stephan on the arm. “I’m pretty sure you’re getting preferential treatment.”

“Anyway, the mission is pretty straightforward,” said Stephan. “The key to completing it will be to advance slowly and methodically to make sure we take out all of them. There’s a reward for every head. Also, creatures like this tend to pick their nests for a reason. There’s a good chance we’ll find something good in there. Gareth?”

“I think I’m out of my element here,” said Gareth, shaking his head. “You call the shots, and I’ll only speak out if I see something.”

“Sounds good,” said Stephan. “The plan will be a simple one: I’m bait, and you guys kill things as they come. Lawrence will scout ahead, and if he finds big groups, it’ll be up to Daphne to initiate. Sound good? Yes,Daphne?”

“Permission to scorch freely, sir?” asked Daphne.

“Permission denied,” said Stephan. “We’re going to be in tight quarters, so we’ll want some advance warning before you light anything up. Anything else?” This time, it was Sorin who raised his hand. “Yes, Sorin?”

“As everyone likely knows, I just broke through in my cultivation technique last night,” said Sorin. “I just wanted everyone to know that it was a drastic change. You should all be on the lookout for different attack patterns than last time.”

“If you say so,” said Stephan, looking unconvinced. “Either way, I’ll take the front. Gareth, you take the back and see if you can find opportunities. Sorin, act as you see fit. Now if that’s everything, let’s go collect ourselves some rat cores.

***

The cave was dark and damp, and very unlike the magical caves in Sorin’s imagination. The mana-infused crystals he’d dreamed of were non-existent, and the only way for their team to fumble forward was with the help of two light sources: a re-usable light stick belonging to Stephen and a small light cantrip powered by Daphne’s mana.

Speaking of Daphne, she had undergone a transformation over the past few days. Her obliviousness was selective, it seemed, and her fighting spirit had been roused by the mention of rats. She was completely focused now that they were in a dangerous situation.

“How does Lawrence even manage to see without a light stick?” Sorin grumbled as they walked. Spiritual senses were fine when it came to spiritual entities, but in the darkness? They were practically useless.

“He obviously has some kind of dark vision skill,” said Gareth. “Not uncommon for shadow cultivators. But quite expensive since the demand is so high for it.”

“How expensive are we talking?” asked Sorin.

“I’m not exactly sure,” replied Gareth. “But it’s at least 1500 gold. Maybe as much as 2500 gold.”

Sorin whistled. “Looks like his old man broke the bank for him.”

“That he did,” said Stephan from the front. “His movement skill is also top-notch for the blood thickening realm. His attack skill, on the other hand, is a total mismatch. His father must have prioritized his survival and cheaped-out on the rest. Probably to stop quick success from getting to his head.”

“What about your techniques?” asked Daphne. “Aside from shifting, I haven’t seen you use anything but that Lunisolar Paw.”

Stephan’s eye twitched. “I was only given Lunisolar Paw and this armor. And until I pay off their loan, I’m not allowed to get anything else.”

“Fascinating,” said Daphne. “I didn’t know the big families could be so stingy.”

“They’re usually not,” said Stephan wryly. “But my mother is a strict woman, and my father won’t dare go against her.”

Seems to run in the family, thought Sorin, remembering the ‘kind treatment’ Stephan had received from Haley. It was a large contrast to the Kepler family, which gave away everything their children needed to learn their craft. But if their children failed on performance assessments, they would find themselves cut off from any funding. The family didn’t foster failures.

“There’s about a dozen rats up ahead,” said Lawrence, suddenly appearing out of the tunnel before them. He shrank back as Daphne aimed a burning finger at him. “Don’t do that!”

“You’re the one that’s sneaking around!” she accused.

“That’s literally my job!” said Lawrence in exasperation. “I can’t kill them stealthily like I did the ones at the entrance, so I’ll need to hide until Stephan engages them.”

“Should we just have Daphne scorch them directly?” suggested Gareth.

“No,” said Stephan. “This is just the warmup round, and there’s no telling when we’ll run into a large crowd. Daphne, please try to limit yourself to simple, non-consuming attacks with your wand. A well-aimed magic missiles or firebolts should be enough to take them out. Gareth, nock an arrow and see if you can hit anything in this lightning. Sorin, since we’re short on melee fighters, you’ll need to guard these two from the back.”

“Got it,” said Sorin. He tightened his right hand around his mithril dagger and felt at the string coiled in his left hand.

“Then let’s kill ourselves some rats,” said Stephan. Hair grew out of his body and claws grew out of his hands as he assumed a half-bear form and charged ahead.

A symphony of squeaks sounded out as Stephan made contact. He directly swatted a rockgnaw rat into the cave wall and moved to swat another.

Two rats attacked his legs, but their teeth only found metal. The remaining rats, seeing that their opponent was too tough for them to chew on, charged towards the back where Gareth, Daphne, and Sorin were located.

Daphne launched three consecutive firebolts out of her wand. But her aim was dreadful, and out of three shots, only one hit a rat; another hit the cave ceiling, and the third actually hit Stephan.

Two rats were down, and two rats were tied down. A third rat died as Lawrence appeared behind the rear-most rat and dispatched it with a dagger to the back.

Gareth took down a fourth rat with an arrow but was unable to pull back in time to avoid the rat behind it as it threw itself at him. It was at this time that Sorin surprised everyone present, including himself.

Viper strike! His body, arms, and legs darted forward with speed that eclipsed even Lawrence’s top speed. He was a coiled viper striking out at his prey. His dagger pierced the large rat’s neck, injecting a large dose of poison and pulling back just as quickly.

Another rat was closing in on Daphne, and the pyromaniac, committed to keeping her spells for a much larger crowd, was doing her best to keep it at bay. Python Coil! thought Sorin as he poured mana into the mithril string in his left hand, granting it a snakelike appearance as it shot out and wrapped around the rat, completely tying up its movements.

Adder Rush! Sorin crouched down and moved through the tight tunnel like a snake. He appeared beside Lawrence, who’d just stabbed a rat, and struck out like lightning once again. A rat fell from his knife as he pulled it back and assessed the situation.

Seeing that everything was under control, Sorin pulled the rat he’d tied up with mithril string towards him with usual strength and slammed a dagger into its skull. A one-star demon core popped onto the floor, and the rat itself fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.