3 A new belt

Looking out into the hallway Finn finally got a clear look at what had tried to attack him. Judging by the thick long naked tail, it really was a giant rat. It's body was about as big as a dog but it's claws looked longer and sharper. It's eyes and nostrils were position on top of its head and combined with its 3 foot long thick tail made it look more like a baby crocodile than a rodent.

Finn was glad he had closed the door on time, and that although it was dangerous, the rat was blind with rage. Gripping his club in one hand he decided on a direction and walked as quietly as possible down the hall sticking to the shadows. Soon the hallway turned around a corner and he stopped and peeked quietly around the corner.

Just as he had feared there was another giant rat chewing on something. With its back to him, he hadn't been noticed yet. Hesitating slightly, he decided a sneak attack might be easier than a direct confrontation. Gripping the table leg and crouching down he sneaked up behind the rat, he was glad he was barefoot. Although it was busy chewing on something with nasty crunching sounds, the rat would probably have heard the soft clack of hard sole shoes on the tiled floor.

Not wanting to get too close, Finn decided to aim for the rat's back leg. Bringing the club down with both hands onto where he thought the rat's hip joint would be, the jolt of the strike hurt his hands as a loud thump sound followed by the rat's screech echoed down in the hall. The sneak attack successful, he jumped back to avoid the sudden tail whip the rat sent towards him in retaliation. Raising the club again he was ready to strike if the rat approached. The rat, clearly injured, hobbled around to face its attacker. Its back leg broken, it no longer could support the weight of its oversized body, so using its front claws it dragged itself forward like a legless zombie.

Emboldened by the rat's slow movement, Finn readied his club and smashed down with both hands again. This time he hit its head and killed it instantly. Hitting its head again just in case, he then wiped his club on the rat's fur before continuing on. Taking a look at what the rat was eating, seeing that it was a dead body he almost threw up. Gross! It seemed like someone else had been left behind, although the knife protruding from the wound in his back indicated it wasn't the rats who were responsible.

Taking the dagger Finn did a quick body check to see if there was anything else he could use. The man's belt, it's pouches and another dagger were all kept. The clothes were gross after the rat had been at them so he was still stuck in just his shorts and bandages. Luckily the shoes seemed untouched and happened to fit well enough, so Finn put them on before checking what was in the pouches.

One pouch had a few copper coins and a silver coin in it and was mostly empty, another had something that looked and smelled like salted dried meat of some sort, and the last one had an odd assortment of nice smelling dried leaves. It seemed like the rat hadn't found its way into any of that as it had been hidden under the fallen victim. After confirming it was still edible he ate a piece of meat jerky as he calmed down from the fight. It was tough and bland and he couldn't identify what animal it had come from, but he had never had the luxury of being picky and he needed something to placate his stomach before he continued on. Taking out a dried leaf, he sniffed it and dabbed a bit on his tongue to check if it tasted good. It smelled a bit like mint and tasted better than the meat so he put it in his mouth while chewing the meat to give it some flavor. It left a bit of a bitter aftertaste, but shortly afterwards his felt his mind more alert, and the dull throbbing in his head from whatever knocked him out earlier was starting to go away. That leaf was good stuff, Finn thought, carefully putting the pouches away and attaching his new belt over the bandage one.