The Age of Worms / Rakthar's Way pt.2 / Eire the 23rd through the 24th, 3592 CE / 11-24-19

In the town of Cauldron Lulu and Rikit continue to repel the vicious goblins attacking them in the alley behind Orak's Bathhouse, while on the street out front, Marrow must defend herself against a wererat. After holding her own against the lycanthrope's vicious assaults, Marrow flees into the slim gap between the buildings, working her way back towards her comrades. In the meantime, Rikit has dispatched another of the goblins, who once again turns into a mist. Lulu has concluded that the creatures must be some form of undead. The third and final goblin, following the wererat's directions, cuts off Marrow's escape, but is likewise dispatched by Rikit and turned to mist before causing any further damage. Seeing he is now outnumbered, the wererat flees with a final warning that the party should "mind their own business." Both Lulu and Rikit have been bitten on the neck and drained of blood in the course of the battle, and the party parts ways for the night to rest and recuperate. The next morning, they confer in the common room of the Drunken Morkoth Inn. Marrow relays that she believes based on what she observed that the goblins were in fact vampires. She tells her comrades that vampires must flee to a coffin when injured, and that only sunlight or a stake through the heart can truly destroy them. Unbeknownst to Marrow, she was observed the previous evening while fighting the wererat. Jennie Three-Sheets, a swashbuckler and bartender at the Slippery Eel recognized the doctor, and after observing the battle, concluded that an opportunity for adventure was presenting itself. That morning she followed Marrow from the Slippery Eel to the Drunken Morkoth. After Lulu declares that she is going to go up to her room to rest and take a bath, Jennie poses as a server and begins ingratiating herself to Marrow and Rikit. The ruse quickly grows thin, and Jennie finally admits that she is looking for an opportunity make some coin. Rikit, impressed with the young half-elf's ability to both lie and make friends, asks her to help them when they return that day to Orak's Bathhouse, and the swashbuckler readily agrees. After gathering up Lulu, the party makes their way back to the bathhouse. Jennie enters first, having been there previously, posing as a client. While the half-elf eavesdrops from the bathhouse's changing room, the rest of the party enters and initiates the next phase of the ruse, with Rikit and Marrow posing as doctors to the ailing patient, Lulu. Jennie spots a secure door that may hide the proprietor's secrets, but is spotted attempting to open it and is ushered away. After retreating to private bath rooms, Rikit dons a potion of invisibility, and with the help of distractions provided by his teammates, is able to pick the lock on the suspicious iron door and make his way inside, where a stone staircase leads down. Unfortunately, though Rikit himself remains unseen, one of the bathhouse patrons notices the door seemed to have opened on its own and informs Orak. The dwarven proprietor, now alarmed at the breach in his security, once again shuts the iron door and declares the bathhouse closed , ushering everyone out. However, when the party is unable to account for Rikit's whereabouts to his satisfaction, the increasingly suspicious Orak locks them in the building with him, turning to confront them.