Why Did It Have To Be Ratmen.

JP with Redsword, Lasersexpanther and Cindy

May 13, 1889
Tunnels under Paris
Mid-morning

Marcil made sure he was in a good position, with no one around when he stopped the carriage. He double checked for anyone who might see, then bent down and said to Sung and Maseo. "You can get out now."

Marcil was dropping them off in a back alley, a little closer to the offices and Temple of the Children, than the building owned by William.

There was a tunnel entrance not far from here. More entrances outside the back alley that would be a little closer to either the temple or Williams building.

Masao unlatched himself and dropped to the road, he reached his hand out and a hand grabbed his helping pull him out. Once he was clear the hand returned to help Sung.

In the alley Masao brushed himself off and fixed his hair. "Guess your trip here was easy as ours?" he asked Sasha, who'd been in the alley waiting for them to arrive. "Merde non, ce n'était pas le cas." she said under her breath, "Easy as could be." she said lying. "We can discuss it later.”

Sung dusted himself off some with a small brush in his pocket. "Remind me why we have to travel like this?" said Sung in a semi-sarcastic tone. "Sasha, I almost wished we had traded places," he said taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his face and sword off. "I am ready when you two are ready," commented Sung with a sly grin.

Sasha rubbed her neck. "Trust me Mr. Sung...you don't. But yes I am ready."

Masao put his hand on his cutlass. "Nope, but lets go. Time's a factor and I'd rather not have to carry out bodies.”

Sung did not waste any more time. Sung quietly moved to a door he listened for a moment and then tried the door. It was barred from the inside thought Sung looking around first before drawing his sword. "It barred" replied Sung in a low tone. Sing placed his hand against the door with a few deep breaths. He put his sword in a thrusting position against the door.

With a quick thrust the tip went into the door then Sung pulled it out in one fluid motion. It made almost no noise. there was the sound of wood falling to the ground as Sung opened the door. Sung gave a glance at first then closed his eyes and paused "It is clear" He entered the nerrow stairway.

no one heard anything towards the left some voices to the right, and some sounds like clanging, voices, and some that are indistinguishable straight ahead.
Remember that pipes run through the tunnels, and then can make noises. Also, sound travels in the tunnels. This was all at the intersection at the bottom of the stairway.

Sung Held up his hand for everyone to stop. Feeling the flow of KI and seeing if he could locate Lily and Dr. Jackal or a direction they could be.

Sung feels life, human mostly. However, there is a feeling of KI similar to that of Cronk, but not Cronk. Very distant to the left. Sung cannot feel Lily or Dr. Jackal in any direction.

Masao unclipped a small hooded lantern from his belt and narrowed the focus before readying it to be lit. "Which way?" He asked Sung in a near hissing whispering.

Sasha meanwhile closed her eyes and tried to focus listening to the sounds coming from each direction individually. Attempting to ascertain anything noteworthy about each noise.

It's very difficult to distinguish noises among the noises that are heard. Sasha does hear an almost grunting noise, towards the front but it's distant.

"Maybe an orc or more to the front. There are humans all around us," said Sung opening his eyes. "My instincts and the ribands of Ki say go deeper into the tunnels we go forward. That's where I would put Dr Jackal," Sung replied in a whisper.

Masao aimed the thin beam of light down that direction, the light didn't go very far but that was the point. Not being seen from too far away.

Sasha nodded and took out her revolver. "Allons-y" Sasha whispered in French.

Going straight ahead, about twenty feet into that tunnel, skulls start to be seen lining the walls.

While most would never disturb the skulls that line the catacombs out of respect or, in some cases belief, there is no telling what the Children would or wouldn't do with them.

The grunting noise and, for Sung, the KI of the Orc starts to seem slightly closer, it's still in the distance.

The three walk continue to walk for a good twenty minutes without seeing anyone. Eventually, coming to a split in the tunnels. Sung, Maseo and Sasha can continue to go straight ahead, where the Orc and humans seem to be and a grunting noise can be heard.. Or to the right, where there seems to be the sounds of humans. If Sung tries to sense KI again, that is what he senses as well.

Masao paused at the intersection and Sasha guarded to the right, Masao the straight ahead. "Which way Sung?" Masao asked.

"The Orc would be a good guard the other way I think is just humans I have not felt Doctor or Lily. But that's my best guess. I say forward," replied Sung whispering.

"Okay." Masao said leading the way again, following the direction of the more 'animalistic' sounds. "You two are ready if someone or something rushes us from the dark right?" he asked. "I mean having a light in this dark place makes us stand out unless we can come off as one of them just in the tunnels.”

The group continues to go straight for about 10 more minutes, before coming to another junction. The Orc and grunting noise seems to be to the left. Humans are definitely straight ahead. To the right, Sung can sense humans much closer than the other tunnels. Both Sung and Maseo sense danger.

"Check the tunnels ahead." A deep male voice can be heard coming from the right.

Masao's eyes got wide, and he saw Sung having a similar reaction. Even Sasha without magic to aid her obviously felt it with her predator natural instincts. Masao slowly drew his blade, and Sasha slowly pulled the gun's hammer back so it made as little sound as possible.

Sung closes his eyes concentrating getting the exact location of the man. He opened his eyes with perfect focus. " five people 4 best men and a man." explained Sung in a whisper. As KI flowed through him he took a deep breath and held his sheath in his left hand and the sword in his right. In the blink of an eye, Sung was on the first two Ratmen striking the first one in the throat. The Ratman was fast but the speed that Sung surprised the Ratman as his throat was crushed.

The other Ratman slashed him with the sword. Sung could feel some of the man's ribs get sliced with the result of the attack. The Ratman had all the wind knocked out of him as he gasped for air. The force was so strong that the man flew back bouncing off the walls and crashing into anyone behind him.

Once Sung had attacked the first two. It was easier to see it was ratmen. The human, behind them, had been pushed backwards, knocked down but was getting up.

"Je déconseille fortement cela." Sasha said, pulling out her second gun. She wasn't sure if they spoke English or French. Masao followed her lead, drawing his own gun.

"What do you say you just lay down and don't make us make this messy, huh?" Masao asked, a jovial tone to his voice.

Sung did not give the Ratmen time to recover. moving to one side making sure that the others did not shoot him in the back, not that Sung doubted Sasha's skills but did not want to get in her way. With a quick turn of his blade and Sung moving in a different direction, it threw the Ratman off the common thug, and with his poor training in Sung's eyes Sung knew what he was going to do before the Ratman made the attack. with a graceful but powerful attack of a master the sword sliced right through the Ratman, it grasped for its throat as blood poured out. Its head rolled off its body and fell to the floor followed by its body as blood sprayed out on the floor. In all of Sung's movements, there was hardly a sound.

The ratman said nothing, just headed straight for Sasha. The human man had spoken English earlier, but now seemed to ignore what was being said. He pulled his own gun, and shot towards Maseo. The human pulled a sword and came at Maseo.

Masao just barely managed to sidestep the bullet but he felt the air behind it. "Fine, have it your way." Masao thought the man was too close for Masao to feel safe popping off a shot so he quickly drew his own blade. Blocking the slash and then kicking the man in the chest. Sending him stumbling backwards, before the human man finished his back step Masao was on him again. Too close for the man to slash, and pushing his arm out of the way before driving his own sword through the man's chest. Even having to pull the blade free of the wall.

Sasha took no hesitation firing 'Tueur de Dieu' the left side of the upper part of the ratman's skull exploding in a rain of bone bits and gore.

With the man and all the ratmen dead, anyone else seemed still to be distant. It was possible they had been guards who patrolled the tunnels.

The choice for Maseo, Sung and Sasha now was whether to go straight towards humans, left towards the Orc or to the right where the ones just killed had come from.