An Odd Find

Today the routine continued, I'm pretty sure now this was the morning. Some more of the thin gruel and some more rancid meat was dispensed, and more clubs and more pain were brought in.  I'm getting quite sick of this, but I need to get my strength up.  I tried the meat – it was truly gruesome, oily and dry and incredibly chewy.  It also stunk like it'd been hung in an Ogruk lair.  I couldn't face any more of it, despite my hunger.

Instead of just laying down after they'd left, I knew I'd probably have several hours before they returned, so I took a look around the room.  I was surprised to discover rat droppings around the outside of the room, along the wall behind the door, in the corner opposite the bedding, and the wall to the right of that corner.  Some further investigation showed the small holes rats had been using to move around here.  This was some good news at last; where I come from rats are an important source of protein.  I hatched a plan.

I took the rest of that meat and put it near to the run, then I moved a couple of the disgusting blankets out to the other end of the room and put them on the floor next to the run too so I could sit on them rather than the damp floor.  I'd got little else to do, so I just stayed there, trying to rest.

I was rewarded.  Before very long a big fat rat turned up and started sniffing round the meat.  Once it was in reach, when it started paying attention to the bait, I pounced on it.  I must really stink, because normally they can tell when you're near – but this one couldn't smell me.  It was struggling a little, scratching and trying to bite, so I quickly ripped its head off and hung it on a rusty hook in the wall.  It was dry in a couple of hours, and despite being uncooked it was considerably more nutritious than the food they've been leaving me.  The blood stain it left on the floor seems to have attracted others to investigate too.  Over the next couple of hours several more of them appeared, and I caught another two in the same way.  I hung them on the same hook.

As another plus, I sorted the other blankets out.  I didn't want to move the other blankets from my rat-trap, so I just shook the bedding out, and underneath I found a metal spoon in amongst the rotting food and other debris at the edge of the room.  I washed it off in the drinking water, and I have a useful tool, now what do I make of it?

On top of my other luck of the day, there were only two Gurgam guards this evening delivering the food and beating.  I'm not sure where the others have gone, but this is starting to look like an opportunity.  I need to think on this.