Taras had woken up the next morning to find the surprise was…. Rats? Felton told them that the Lord was worried about reports of Giant Rats in the old Imperial sewers, ones that may be big enough to eat humans.

Now in the sewers looking for the dangerous rodents, Taras cursed himself for getting tricked by the old man, as well as Minerva suddenly disappearing on the mention of the words “sewer” and “rats.

“It’ll be fun he said, You can handle them without my help he said.” Taras told himself out loud. All Taras had was a Lantern and a large knife, which was not of very good quality.

‘Damn, Minerva usually isn’t afraid of anything’ he thought, while also thinking of ways he could get back at her later.

A sudden noise startled him, almost making him drop his lantern. It had come from behind one of the pillars holding the ceiling up.

Taras, curious, walked over and looked. What he saw almost made him vomit. Human remains leaned against the wall; blood covered the flagstones in a circle around it. The corpse’s chest, midriff, and face were completely gone. Taras looked closer, and by the body’s frame he could tell it had most likely been a woman, although the body had a ragged set of trousers on and the tattered remains of a shirt. The corpse was semi-fresh, the person maybe having died the night before.

“Shit, I guess they are man-eating rats.” Taras said after he spotted chew marks on its legs and around the missing parts of the person’s stomach and chest.

He then wondered how the woman ended up in the sewers in the first place. The rats couldn’t have dragged her down there? Right? Something didn’t seem right, but Taras had to move on to finish his objective.

“Whatever your story, I’ll find out as much as I can and try to get you a proper burial.” Taras said before moving onward.

Moving deeper into the sewers Taras walked until the stench got stronger and the air became even more stale. ‘They really should just board this ancient thing in, or fill it with dirt and rocks’ Taras thought.

He kept going though, much to his own dismay. “Damn that tightwad, always taking any job for money, and then not helping.” Taras said out loud, “I wish he would just- “

He stopped as he saw another grisly sight. “Well that takes care of the rats, at least, I think those look like they were rats at some point?......”

The suspicions he had held in his mind about the previous body now became a mystery. ‘That woman was definitely not killed by the rats, as it seems they were all killed around the same time. It also seems like every single one of the rats were killed, which is amazing because usually when rats are exterminated at least a few survive. He headed back with those thoughts swirling around in his head.

Taras came out of the sewers with the body draped in a sheet he had found. The entrance was in a deserted part of the old town, with Imperial ruins mixed in with old age architecture. Taras was pretty sure the cobbled streets had been there before even the Empire had been around, maybe from the age of dragons Felton had told him of.

He then saw Felton talking with a man he assumed to be one of the Lord’s servants, a nervous looking man in formal dress. As Taras go closer with the corpse Felton stopped talking and looked at what he was carrying. Felton’s face wrinkled up with the sight of the bloody bundle, and the servant, after looking to where Felton was looking, fainted onto the ground.

Taras laid the body onto the ground as gently as he could, while Felton straightened out the fainted servant.

“What the hell happened in there?!” Felton exclaimed.

“I’ll tell you in a little bit, but first I have to go find the undertaker and maybe a priest afterward.” Taras said.

“Alright..” Felton said before waving him off.

Taras then walked around until he found an old man towing a dead wagon around. “Sir, there’s a body waiting for you near the old sewers, if you wouldn’t mind coming to get it.”

“What’s yer name boy?”

“Taras sir.”

“Well Taras, is it from plague? Or somethin else?” The man asked.

“I don’t think it’s from plague sir” Taras said.

“Well if it isn’t from plague then wait, because I got all of these dead ones in here right now that shouldn’t be buried like usual.”

“Alright sir”

The man then moved on, mumbling about how the sewer was always ending up with dead people and that it should be filled in.

When Taras came back he saw the servant had recovered and was speaking to Felton.

“I….I…I do not know how that could happen, the town guards usually have the sewers under watch.” Taras heard the servant say.

“Well something went wrong, or otherwise we wouldn’t be looking at a gutted body!” Felton argued.

At that point they saw Taras coming closer and stopped.

“I’ll ask again, what the hell happened down there?!!” Felton said after a long pause.

“I found her like that, leaning against a wall.” Taras said.

“Oh no no no no….. what am I going to tell Milord? I had hoped to resolve this issue before something like this happened; I knew the rats were out of hand, but eating live humans is horrid, what if….what if-“

“It wasn’t the rats.” Taras interrupted.

“Why wouldn’t it be the rats?” Felton asked.

“Because I found the rats like that as well.”

“Wha- what are you saying?” the servant said.

“The rats were all a bloody mess when I came up on their nest, it was as if their innards had exploded outwards. Like the woman, who had a circle of blood and guts around her body.” Taras explained.

“Oh God…..” The servant exclaimed while almost fainting again.

“Although, I may have seen a few bite marks around the body, on the legs and the edges of where she exploded.” Taras added.

“You should go find a priest immediately, I’ll wait here for the undertaker.”

“What’s the rush?” Taras asked.

“If the rats bit into the body, and then had the same thing happen to them, it may be a curse. You carried her out of the sewers, so you touched the body as well. Curses can be transmitted by contact, remember?” Felton said.

“Oh, I can wait, the undertaker won’t take too long.” Taras said, unconcerned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she has a proper burial. I’ve practically raised you and Minerva, so I’m good at guessing what you both are thinking.” Felton said. “Also, while you’re at it, can you please find Minerva?”

“Yeah I know, every time we leave her alone, something bad ends up happening” Taras said.

“Oh, are you worried about your……sister?” The servant asked Taras. “I assure you, any man who treats women badly is punished severely in this town.”

“It’s not her we’re worried about.” Taras and Felton said in unison.

The servant looked questioningly at the Taras and Felton, but didn’t ask further.

“Alright, meet at the Tavern later?” Felton asked Taras.

“Which one?”

“The only one”

“Of course, you would be the one to know how many taverns this town has, you old drunk.” Taras said.

“Taverns aren’t just for drinking; I go there looking for jobs as well.”

“Uhuh…”

“Well you should get your ass over to that priest before you end up dying. Lets just hope that curse isn’t a powerful one” Felton said.

“Alright, whatever you say boss.” Taras said.

He then raised up his hand in goodbye, and walked toward the more inhabited part of the walled town to look for the church.