41
The two rat-men have only just finished their meal when a group of Vazhag, accompanied by a red-robed Cener Druid, enter the cave through an archway on the far side of the lake. The Cener directs the Vazhag to man a large capstan-like device and, as they work this creaking hoist, slowly the drawbridge begins to descend. The moment it is fully lowered the druid and his escort come shuffling across the bridge in single file. They are about halfway over when there is a bubbling rush of water and the surface of the lake begins to seethe, as if it is boiling. A sudden fear grips the Vazhag. They freeze in their tracks, twitching and squealing fitfully as they stare aghast at the frothing water. Then the Cener screams at them to retreat and they scurry back the way they came, with the two you saw earlier close on their heels.
The first ones to make it back scamper to the capstan and begin to reverse it as quickly as they can. You see the bridge-ropes tighten and, with a tortured creak, the heavy wooden bridge rises off the platform. Fearing that you could be left stranded on the wrong side of the lake, you rush forward and leap for the underside of the rising drawbridge.
Like a limpet you fix yourself to its damp timbers as the bridge approaches the vertical. However, before the bridge is fully retracted, the Vazhag abandon the capstan and flee through the archway, unaware that you are clinging to the underside of the bridge. For a moment you are relieved that the rat-men and their druidic master have disappeared, for you had not relished the thought of them discovering you in such a vulnerable situation. Unfortunately, your relief is short-lived, for within seconds of their disappearance you find yourself face-to-face with the object of their terror.
