text: [Themes: fan fiction, RPG]
  
  You decide to smoke them out, but it doesn't seem to be effective, as no rats come to the door.. You wait a while, but still no rats. You decide to revise your plan to exterminate the pesky creatures.
  
  > get reinforcements.
  You decide that there would be no harm in swallowing your pride to ask your companions for help to kill the rats. You leave the basement, and seek out your companions. You see Zorbak and Twilly first, so you decide to ask them.
  
  'Help you with a rat problem? Sure, Twilly will help! After all Hero DID help Twilly.'
  
  'Mehehehe! My minion needs help? I, as your powerful, deadly, cunning and heroic Moglin master will help you, my pathetic slave!'
  
  You then seek out Valencia and Ballyhoo.
  
  'Well... It's unlikely but one of the rats might have a good pelt that i could sell for money. Any idea how rare those are?'
  
  'My axe could do with some swinging.'
  
  You then lead the way to the basement. As you open the door leading to the storage area, green rats pour out. Your companions immediately blur into action.
  
  Ballyhoo swings her axe with deadly results. Heads and assorted body parts are sent flying by powerful swings. Valencia throws her daggers with deadly accuracy, taking the rats in their throats. Zorbak raises the bodies of dead rats, and flings bolts of necromantic energy from his staff. Twilly beats a rat with the staff you got for him. Finally, all the rats are dead. You head up to report your success while Valencia inspects the rats to see if any have pelts worth saving.
  
  > Finally... A room!
  You tell Yulgar about how you helped him vanquish the rats... and how you caught them drinking his Strawberry Smoothies.
  
  'So that's where all my reserve stocks of strawberry smoothies went! Anyway, thanks for your help, adventurer, good luck with your quest to defeat the Chaos Lords!'
  
  You go to the room 42, the room Yulgar gave you, and quickly fall asleep. At about midnight, you feel a urge to answer Nature's call... You leave your room on the second floor, and notice a door with a boy and a girl carved into it. Beside it, you see a ladder.
  
  > Up the Ladder!
  You go up the ladder, and see... Nothing. By now, your bladder is making itself felt, so you decide to go into the other room.
  
  > Into the room!
  You step into the room, and find yourself in a toilet!
  
  You relieve yourself and walk over to the basin. That's when you see a guy, fully clothed, in the bathtub!
  
  'Ahhh! Who are you and what are you doing here?!?! You are not some Crazy fan who wants my autograph are you?'
  
  'Hiya, I'm Cysero, the Mad magical weaponsmith! I like to take a long bath while I'm thinking up new magical inventions. It gets me clean, helps me think, and washes my clothes at the same time! IT MAKES SENSE! The water is still warm, so I don't want to get up yet. And as for fans... Let's just say that I have more those than you do.
  
  You talk with Cysero for awhile, then leave him and go to sleep.
  
  The next day you decide to head to
  Swordhaven again. You immediately go for the throne room, to ask King Alteon if he has anymore quests for you.
  
  > The King's command
  The King greets you, then moves on to business.
  
  'We have recieved a messenger from Bal Gravestorm in the Marsh. They are reporting that the Chaos infection has been seen in the very depths of the Marsh. I shall let Wez tell you more about it.'
  
  'Bal Gravestorm sends his greetings, Your Highness. I am Wez, a Marsh dweller. The Chaos wolves have been seen in the furthest reaches of the marsh. They have been sampling the vegetation in the marsh-sometimes with dire effects. We have also found Chaos infected spiders in the marsh.'
  
  'Dire effects? In what way?'
  
  'I, personally, have seen a infected wolf eat from a common Marsh plant, and be dead within seconds. Another wolf can eat from the same plant and be unaffected- it even seems to throw off the Chaos effects for a time.'
  
  'You have seen a Chaos infected wolf improve? That is interesting news-and will be very valuable for my physicians who are researching the Chaos infection. Have you been able to ascertain why the wolves reacted so differently?'
  
  'They have been sampling a variety of plants- it is possible that the interaction of plants with each other affects the Chaos infection in different ways. I have been provided with a list of the vegetation that we have been able to track.'
  
  'Thank you for this invaluable knowledge, we must amass great quantities of the plants to determine their effects against the chaos infection, both on their own and in concert. Hero, I want you to leave for the Marsh in a day. Wez will bring you there.'
  
  > The Marsh
  You gather up your companions, finding Twilly and Zorbak at Pizza Castle, Valencia and Ballyhoo at the Swordhaven inn. As you are leaving, you see Dogear and Robina. You all follow Wez to the Marsh, where he gives you a list of things the King wants.
  
  You decide to ask him more about the Marsh.
  
  'Rarely have the wolves been seen outside the forest but now been ranging now to the marsh itself. They are acting differently, and their looks have changed as well. We have also encountered spiders of enormous size in the depths of the Marsh.Not only does King Alteon wish to study these creatures, but also the plants they are looking for. Be sure to gather as many as you can in order to fulfill his requests. One of the marsh plants mentioned by Bal Gravestorm is the Sabbatia. According to my apothecary, it is a small plant with pinkish flowers. The spiders that have appeared seem to be oddly drawn to these flowers.'
  
  You and your companions work very hard, collecting various specimens.
  
  A few days later...
  
  You are finally done! After capturing spiders, slaying wolves, gathering plants and facing a very stinky Marsh 'Smell-o', Wez determines that you are done.
  
  > Finally...
  You return to Swordhaven, where King Alteon tells you that The first Lord of Chaos, Escherion, has begun his invasion of Mobius, in Chiral Valley. You, with your companions, make ready to go to Mobius to fight... and defeat the First Lord of Chaos.
  
  For the Heroic acts you do in Mobius, please wait for the next installment... AQW: Escherion The First Lord of Chaos!