After tossing the body up to Meagan I had an idea. "Wait up there, I'm going to hide. Maybe we can catch 'em between us." Meagan nodded and got herself ready to jump down. I looked for a place to hide. There still wasn't anything in the room besides the brazier and the cauldron hanging above it. I decided to see if I could hide behind the brazier. Looking I realized this must be part of their defenses. A spout was on this side of the cauldron with holes in the floor below it. The two Rat Men were about to start up the stairs so I cut my investigation short and huddled down behind the brazier. I tried to arrange my feet so I could squat here without burning myself while they headed past. My foot fell in one of the holes. I knew I wouldn't be able to defend myself well with one foot stuck. I tried to pull it out and it kept catching on something. Starting to tug at it I began to get desperate. Finally I just stood up, grimacing, and yanked at my boot as hard as I could. Looking up through the heat haze of the brazier my eyes met those of the nearest Rat Man. The Rat Archer squeaked loudly and turned to run, right into the soldier who had drawn his ratty sword. They tumbled down the stairs together and hit the bottom with a loud thump. ‡ You have defeated Lvl(3) Rat Soldier +50XP ‡ ‡ You have defeated Lvl(3) Rat Archer +50XP ‡ ‡ Presence Skill has been unlocked ‡ ‡ Congratulations! Presence is now level 2, +1 Skill Point ‡ ‡ Presence - You know the secret to projecting your inner self into the outer world. Higher levels produce better results. ‡ Odd. I walked around the brazier and started down the stairs. I was trying to figure out what had happened when my new skill gave me an idea. When I had stood up yelling I had been directly in the heat haze from the brazier, I must have looked like a specter or demon. With the rat soldier's sword also driven into the floor in front of it spearing the scorched rat carcass I must have looked like some Rat Man dark god or something. I might have tried to run too. Meagan jumped down from the roof "Did I hear something?" "Two Rat Men hitting the floor." At the bottom the two rat creatures were laying in a jumble. I descended the stairs and stepped over the bodies. Moving them I saw that the first had driven it's weapon into the chest of the other while it had landed awkwardly on a step with the dead weight of the second on top of it and broke it's neck. "We gonna have to start calling you Slayer?" Mike and Stew were walking up from the direction of the now open door. I looked at Meagan. "Did you open the door?" She shook her head. "It wasn't locked." Stew said. "This shit is really getting frustrating. First the store becomes a dungeon, then gung-ho and company get taken out and we have to try to sneak in? Damn door wasn't even locked." Mike seemed more put out by the effort I had gone through than I was. Maybe I wasn't bothered because I was collecting quite a few skill points. "It did seem likely that a closed door in a tiny castle would be locked." I said. "My Shadow Sense is working now. I guess inside or out matters with dungeons. There are eight on the ground floor that feel the same as these level 3 Rat Men. Three are close together not far away while five were scattered around this floor further away. The last one seems stronger and is higher, about where a second story would be." After I told them what I knew we discussed the notifications that everyone had gotten when we entered. "We managed two dozen monsters our own level before. There are only a few here and we'll level up soon enough. Besides we got Shattered Ass here if we need it." Stew said. "Dave died before. And some of them have bows! That changes things." Mike seemed even less swayed by Stew's argument than me. "It sure does. I'll look badass when I run up to them dodging arrows." I decided to interrupt the argument. "I think you both have good points. Mike, we need levels so we can get stronger. The spider next door took out eight gun toting men and it's only been here 24 hours. Stew, You can't get stronger if you die. So lets take it nice and slow. Let's start with the other side of this door. We can go from there." Everyone was agreeing with my ideas so easily that I had started to wonder if they had voted me leader while I was unconscious. Not the way I would have voted but at least Stew wasn't in charge. Peeking through the door opposite the entrance showed us how much the inside had changed. Along the walls were glowing shards illuminating the dark interior. Everything familiar was gone. The linoleum floor now consisted of flagstones. All the aisles were gone, now just empty space. A square keep stood inside the new stone walls of the store. Attached to the near side of the inner building was a small stone shed. The only entrance visible from where we stood led into the shed, I could sense three Rat men inside it's small confines. The rest were spread throughout the keep. "Three inside that shed. Let's take care of them. Sound good?" I asked. We crept silently towards our targets. Except for Stew's shoes slapping the floor, echoing around the empty space. I punched him in the chest. "Sneak Stew. Try to be quiet!" "Fine! Stop hitting me!" We, now, crept silently towards our targets. The entrance was a wooden plank door that had been left open a crack. We lined up next to it, our backs to the wall. Inside they seemed to be arguing amongst themselves in a language full of squeaking growls and hisses. Or discussing the Mets, how would I know. ‡ Linguistics Skill Unlocked ‡ ‡ Linguistics - Yes there are other languages and we only automagically translate some. ‡ I looked at Stew and put a finger over my mouth, hoping he got the idea I wanted to attack silently. Then I leaned next to Meagan's ear and whispered. "You have [Charge] right?" At her nod I indicated she should go first. Once she was in position I yanked the door open for her. The Rat Men looked up at her pounding footsteps and she shoved the end of her quarterstaff in the nearest face. It folded up, rat muzzle and all. Stew was next to reach one. He roared as he brought his bat around in a wide swing, the Rat Man's neck bent at a ninety degree angle. Running in I saw the room was small, in the middle was a knee high table with six tiny chairs around it. On the opposite wall was a curtain partially covering a hallway that went further into the keep. I had to go around the table to reach the last one. I aimed for the arm drawing it's sword, breaking it. Mike came around from the other side and finished it off before the sword hit the ground. ‡ Soul-Link +2XP ‡ ‡ You have defeated Lvl(3) Rat Soldier +25XP ‡ Stew started whooping. Meagan shoved him with her quarterstaff, unbalancing him. "Nice stealth technique there Stew." Once he had regained his footing Stew responded. "Wow Meagan have you leveled up your sarcasm? Even I could tell with that one." The nearest Rat Man must have heard us because I felt it coming closer. "We have one coming, Meagan next to the door. You two help me with these." ‡ Leadership Skill Unlocked ‡ I grabbed a cloak to drag it outside. Stew and Mike followed with a body each. Mike ripped the cloak off his and ran back inside, I was about to say something when I saw the bloodstains and changed my mind. I was glad he noticed. Mike ducked out the door just before the Rat Man reached the short hall that connected the shed/dining room with the rest of the keep. It paused and gave a chittering noise. It slowly advanced down the hall and tried to be stealthy as it stuck it's head into the room. I heard a Thwack and it disappeared from my Shadow Sense. ‡ Soul-Link +2XP ‡ I guess I knew for sure who I was linked to now. STEWART COLEMAN - CLUB INITIATE

ATTRIBUTES Stew Club Initiate

HP(Regen) 56 (1.2/15Min) Str 10 Int 6 Per 5 XP Human Level 3 MP(Regen) 23 (2/Min) Dex 6 Wis 5 Cha 5 75/300 18 Job --- Stam(Regen) 22 (2/Sec) Vit 6 Res 5 Lck 4 7 Skill Points Buffs: Club Initiate, Club Attack +10%

SKILLS Skill Level Skill

Level Spell Level Distract 5 Analysis 1 {Imbue Club} 1 Jump 4 Basic Carpentry 1 Throw 3 Basic CPR 3 Martial Arts Level Running 2 [Stomp] 4 Proficiency Level Desperation 2 [Shattering Blow] 3 Club 4 [Leap] 3 [Sprint] 2 [Inspect] 1