Well... Mystery solved....

[Refuge]

But I also realize that we are in no way on UseNET (Thank the lord) and also that I am not comparing any on the forums with Hitler/Nazis. Just Rosad Beither. And I only do that because they seem to be similar characters. (In Germany, Hitler is not taught to be the evil megalomaniac that theu teach here in the states, but as a man who id some Really good things for the country, and some really bad things to a race of people. They make no bones about what he did being inexcuseable, but they recognize the positive things he did too)

Please, don't break the discussion just because I happened to invoke Godwin's Law

(For those who don't know, Godwin's Law states: As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one. Technically, it means that the longer a discussion goes on, the more likely someone will compare the subject to Hitler or Nazis. However, most people think it means if Hitler or Nazis are ever compared to something in the discussion, the discussion is automatically ended. Ooops... My bad )

[Kerry Skydancer]

I think that Godwin's law states that 'the longer the discussion goes one, the greater the likelihood that someone will compare another -participant- to the Nazis. At this point, the poster who does this loses the argument.' A legitimate discussion of fascism, etc., does not invoke the law.

[TinklePit]

OK, to get back to some of the original questions from the first posts...

Why did the Rat King wait until now and where was it getting its power from?

The timing would appear to be an accident as stones from the doorway fell away and smashed the case.

The crystal appears to have been dead all those years until it was recharged by... Conner!

Go back to http://npc.keenspace.com/d/20041219.html

Notice how the lux which should have hovered above his head was mysteriously pulled down into the depths. Apparently drawn first by the crystal and later by the lux hungry wraiths themselves. It is not hard to imagine that the Rat King would have sent his first batch back to investigate their power source (and get him some food) and so Conner is the first to see them on the surface (obviously, the Brownies and Boogie Men down below would have seen them first of all).

At least that's how I see it

[StrangeWulf13]

Hey! Haven't seen you in a while. How ya been?

Yeah, you're probably right. The crystal did soak up the lux from the kit's night terrors. However, I should point out that his name is Colin, not Conner. Dunno where you got that name, but it's not our little Questor fan.

Plus, he can't possibly be the only source. The wires probably go through a good part of the block, just under the level of the sewer lines so they wouldn't be discovered. Plus, lux is a form of energy, and it's possible Rosad Beither built that crystal to convert other forms into lux, like lightning for instance. That would explain why Mr. Millfolk thought Quentyn should pay close attention during a thunderstorm. He probably noticed that Colin tended to have the "night terrors" during those times. If the lightning strikes gave the crystal a good charge, that would explain why Colin saw the rats during those times. The rat king was able to pull off quite bit of lux and send a more sizeable army than usual. (Wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of these shadow rats tend to dissipate after a while, or at a certain distance.) A good theory so far; now to see if the evidence backs it up.

Quentyn really shines here. Dives right into their midst, swinging sword and torch, yelling at the top of his lungs. Gets buried, but quickly pushes back through, tossing off dozens of the little pests, struggling his way towards the rat king. Finally, having reached the place where the evil beast lay, ignoring the shadow rats nibbling on his ear and other parts, he lays into it with his sword, severing the tail and their connection, effectively killing it. The shock probably is what finished it; being disconnected from the four others was too much for any one of the rats.

His job done, the shadow rats fading into nothing, Quentyn kneels there, panting a little as he surveys his handiwork... then promptly slumps over for a nap.

"I think I'll just... lie here... bleeding quietly..."

*a strange little thing floats into the room and floats above our hero's head*

"Rest well, young Questor. You've saved the day, and help will be coming. Your sleep is earned. I can certainly see the stag was right about you."

*floats off, disappearing down the caverns just before the others arrive*

[SolidusRaccoon]

We can rebuild him - better, stronger, faster

[TinklePit]

Hey! Haven't seen you in a while. How ya been?

I been great. I been over at http://www.justadventure.com writing game reviews and articles.

Dunno where you got that name, but it's not our little Questor fan.

http://npc.keenspace.com/d/20041127.html frame five. I couldn't remember, so I backtraced to the first frame I could find with his name and they called him Conner twice. But you are right, he is Colin everywhere else. Murphy just loves me.

he can't possibly be the only source

No, but the original postings were speculating on the original source that started the process. I suggest that Colin might have been the original source of lux for the very first batch of wights.

We can rebuild him - better, stronger, faster

But then he wouldn't be a questor

If he were strong, then he would be a Guardsman. If he were expert at lux, then he would be a wizard. His tallents are smarts and unpredictability.

[DracoDei]

I beleive that the crystal was stated to be connected to the cities ley lines (the equivalent of power lines).
As the 'we can rebuild him'... that might be quite possible... for most Rac Conan Daimh... for Quentin it would be a serious liablity. We know that they can make golems, so an artificial limb that reads nerve impulses, or is directly controled via lux should be possible. But probably not as good as the original and what with Quentin being a black band he might get 'tired' of controling it easily(in the second case), and besides he would forever have to be recharging the 'cybernetics' ('luxnetics???') off of a ley line. Hardly an option for many adventures. Of course if it was an arm (instead of a kidney or his heart lets say) then he MIGHT be able to save the charge until he really needed both arms (a fight or whatever, I would mention climbing, but the boots can make that pretty irrelevant).