The Unseen Servant forums

Chapter 11: The Village of the Bodysnatchers

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Eight. After midnight. Sunday, October 23nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





"They're here! THEY'RE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!!!"



The Widow Hochstedt shrieks and the tendons in her scrawny neck stand out like cords.

"I found a map!..." exclaims Telkis as everyone speaks of escape at once. Mouser's last cursory glance notes nothing worth stealing except the silver candlesticks in the occult devotionals to the unspeakable god.

"We'll meet you at the mill," says Avril. The heroes divide their number even as they admit that to do so means certain death. They part without knowing if they will ever see each other again.

Without the map, Avril, Bo, Hoom, Ingrid, Mouser, Pelias and Verity escape the church of horrors through the jagged maw of the shattered stained glass window and jump down into the overgrown moonlit courtyard near the tall stone wall.



In the shadow of the now silent steeple, Bo and Pelias help Verity down as the old crone suddenly, unexpectedly rushes forward. "Verity Clayborne! Alive?! You presumptuous whore! You dare cleave to strangers over family?!" the withered harridan spits as she pulls a kitchen knife from her apron and plunges it into the young girl's breast with the strength of a maniac.





The old hag viciously buries the carving knife to the hilt in the pale girl's flesh.

Verity Clayborne screams her dying breath in Pelias' arms. Her lifeless hand drops her candle and it is extinguished.


Actions?!


Map:

Lighter areas represent visibility. All else is from memory. WH=Widow Hochstedt.


Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):


PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 7/10, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 8/10, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 3/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 4/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 3/22, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 0/3 2nd lvl and 0/1 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: Move: 9", AC: 2(0), HP: 4/19, Laying Hands: 0/1

Light Sources:

• Widow's lantern

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

Inferno wrote: The old hag viciously buries the carving knife to the hilt in the pale girl's flesh.

Verity Clayborne screams her dying breath in Pelias' arms. Her lifeless hand drops her candle and it is extinguished.

Damn it!

Pelias chokes back a sob. Yet another innocent he has failed to protect. Enraged, his trembling hand pulls sword from sheath. How he wants the widow to suffer as Verity did. He swings his steel savagely at the old woman. Only by the grace of Heironeus does he turns his wrist just before impact, striking her with the flat of his blade.

Subdual attack with long sword (THAC0 19) [1d20] = 13, damage [1d8] = 6

Bo is infuriated at himself for thinking the shriveled up old crone to be harmless. He noticed no weapon or threat, but now yet another innocent has died by the groups uncertain actions. He towers over the woman and bonks her along side her head with the shaft of his spear.

Spear Attack [1d20] = 14 Damage [1d6] = 1

"We must make for the gate and get out of here! Do we bring the girl! She deserves a far better fate than leaving her to these monsters!"

"Mistake," Mouser mutters as he too joins the fray with some rage fueled blade work:

Scalpel (THACO 20) To Hit [1d20] = 4, S/M/L Dam. [1d8] = 5 Not enough rage there I guess.

Cat's Claw (THACO 20) To Hit [1d20] = 4, S/M Dam. [1d4] = 2, L Dam. [1d3] = 1 Gads the roller hates me to heck!

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom moves around the corner of the building, using the darkened sky and overgrown vegetation to his advantage. Calling upon his superior elvish eyes he scans for anymore assailants in his path of escape while he waits for his companions to lead the way to the gate. He also takes notice to the 20' wall and any growing vines or close tree limbs that would aid the party if they need to escape that route.

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Eight. After midnight. Sunday, October 23nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Verity Clayborne is dead.





The Widow Hochstedt smiles over the young woman's body. With Verity's blood still bright and red on her knife, she turns to the heroes with malice. "You killed her.
"You killed her dead, the moment you befriended her. Join with us... before you kill any more of them. Join with us, and confess to me what lies this little whore told you."
The bony old witch doesn't flinch as the men rear back to strike her. Instead, she stands defiant, meeting their gaze while shrieking:

"They're here! THEY'RE HEEEEEEE-"

Evincing extraordinary mercy, Bo and Pelias only pummel her into silence and unconsciousness, sparing the Widow's life. Mouser holds less mercy in his heart, but his rage afflicts his aim.
Ingrid silently grips the Widow's lantern and then suddenly:

"They're outside! Near the front door!" cries a man's voice, deep and angry from the direction of the front gate. Hoom peers around the corner of the temple and sees lanterns coming this way.



"They're outside! Near the front door!" "They're outside! Near the front door!" the voice echoes inside the church.

No.

This is no echo. With a shudder, the heroes realize it's a relay. A chain of human voices. To transmit information almost instantly.
Everyone inside the church will soon know where the heroes are. And soon, they will all be here.


Actions?!


Map:

Lighter areas represent visibility. All else is from memory. "?"=Lanterns coming this way.





PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 7/10, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 8/10, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 3/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 4/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 3/22, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 0/3 2nd lvl and 0/1 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: Move: 9", AC: 2(0), HP: 4/19, Laying Hands: 0/1

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

"Dammit! I don't want to hear that half-orc crowing about being right!" Mouser mutters mainly to himself. He stops but a quick moment tempted by the allure of performing a coup-de-grace for the hag on the ground. Instead he sheaths his weapons and takes out his rope and grappling hook. "Up and over?" he whispers with a smile as he swings the rope and throws it over the wall. Not an overly religious demi-man he whispers a prayer to the nature goddess that they get out of this mess relatively whole. "Um, elm is nice, those snap dragon thingies are great, I hear treants are real good folk to have a pint with..."

Pelias still doesn't care much for Mouser, but he knows a good plan when he hears it. He grabs the lantern from Avril (if she'll let him have it) and follows to the wall, backing up a few feet when the edge of the lantern illuminates the wall so that its light no longer shines upon it.

"I'll come up last. Those of you that get to the top, rain your missiles on them. I'll do the same from the ground."

In case Pelias can fire arrows...

Attack with long bow [1d20] = 20, damage [1d6] = 3

Attack with long bow [1d20] = 12, damage [1d6] = 5

Bo will scurry up to the top of the wall as quickly as possible, using his immense height to his advantage. Once he is safely positioned, he will help pull the others up and over as fast as he can move.

"Ok, one at a time now! Let's get the blazes away from this place!"

Hoom Feethos:

Seeing that the front entrance not a viable option, Hoom Feethos uses his superior climbing skills to scale the wall, leaving the hook and rope to the unskilled. He holds at the top of the wall and extends his arm down to assist the others climbing.

The Courtyard of the Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Eight. After midnight. Sunday, October 23nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty







Lanterns and angry voices cut through the night as villagers close in on the fleeing heroes.

Four of the townsfolk burst around the corner and into the light (V1-4); big men with lanterns, pitchforks and axes.



Mouser recognizes one of them: Lem Hochstedt, the widow's son. (V1)

Lem ignores his mother's broken form, instead peering around until suddenly one of his seeking eyes is put out by an arrow from Pelias' bow. The shaft sinks to the feathers, impaling the brain. Lem falls dead to the ground, his head haloed by a growing pool of his own blood.

"Over here!" the others bark.

Avril joins the attack, her merciful heart turned to stone by the shocking death of Verity Clayborne. Avril's unerring missiles fell two more villagers, silencing their shouts forever. (V2, V3)
"We cannot leave Verity," Avril states with conviction.

Mouser throws a grappling hook at the high wall. CLANG! It grips the cold stones and Long Bo the druid scales its rope. Hoom Feethos climbs the wall alongside him without benefit of a line and both reach the top and peer over.



Suddenly a black shape screams out of the night and alights on Bo's shoulder in a flurry of ebon feathers. "Caw!" says Sephus the crow.



Ingrid Esthof is next on the rope. Bo and Hoom help pull her up to the top of the towering wall.

The pitchfork wielding villager (V4) shouts, "They're on the east wall! Open the gate!"


Actions?!


Map:

Lighter area represents visibility. All else is from memory. White are PCs. Red are villagers.


Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):


PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 7/10, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 8/10, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 3/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 4/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 3/22, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 0/3 2nd lvl and 0/1 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: Move: 9", AC: 2(0), HP: 4/19, Laying Hands: 0/1

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

Pelias flinches as his arrow fells a villager. But he has little time to reflect on this. The bearded servant of Heironeus does not, to put it mildly, share Avril's point of view. "Verity's death is a shame. But forfeiting our lives to move her corpse solves nothing! She is best avenged by striking to the south."

The paladin realizes he has little time to argue. He will encourage Avril to climb the rope first, but if she is steadfast in her conviction, he wishes her well and climbs the rope. His priority is to climb the wall, but if he can get a shot off to protect the two climbing up before him, he will.

Attack with long bow [1d20] = 18, damage [1d6] = 5

Long Bo allows himself to smile once he sees that the group may yet escape this nightmare. He is even more glad to see his friend return to him unharmed. He only wishes he had the strength left to communicate with Sephus, hoping to learn what else the bird has found in his absence.

He continues helping the others get up to the top of the wall as he studies the construction of the wall itself. The tall druid tries to determine if the wall is flat and wide enough on its top for the group to travel along it. He hopes that they can move down its length towards the back corner and beyond, thereby dropping down on a side that the villagers won't expect.

He whispers into the night. "Hurry now! They are almost upon us!"

(not sure if that would actually be possible)

"We can come back for Verity, but let's not join her repose," says Mouser quietly, but insistently, not believing his own lie as he grabs the rope to aid in getting to the top of the wall. "Okay, the next 5 elves loose your arrows as soon as the villagers are close enough for death shots," he says louder as he scales the wall, hoping that the nearest townsfolk will hear and take pause.

Hoom Feethos:

Seeing the wall getting crowd and other staying on top to help, Hoom drops down the other side and looks for cover. He uses the shadow and natural cover to shield himself from view.

The Courtyard of the Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Eight. After midnight. Sunday, October 23nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty







Light and shouts pierce the chill night air from the front of the church. "OPEN THE GATE!"

On the stone wall, hastily scrambling up a rope; half the heroes are tantalizing close to being free from the clutches of the unholy church.

But to escape with their lives, they are forced to kill villagers and leave behind the scarred, violated body of Verity Clayborne. "The dead in Briarsgate do not rest," Avril states with sorrow as she turns from Verity to join Mouser in scaling the line.

"RAAAAAAUUUUGHGHHH!" roars the last villager in sight (V4); a bull necked, broad shouldered farmer charging with a pitchfork. Like all the villagers of Briarsgate who have fallen under the heinous curse of the cult, he has no fear of death.



In a murderous rage, the man lunges at Pelias with a blow that would have felled the paladin had he not dropped his bow and raised his shield in time.

Pelias' sword whispers from its sheath and the holy knight of Hookhill's slums crashes the flat of his blade across the farmer's jaw, dropping him in one terrible stroke.

Above, Avril and Mouser reach the top of the wall. There, Long Bo sees the rampart isn't wide enough to walk along. Ingrid quickly ties another rope to the grappling hook that they may slide down the other side. Hoom doesn't wait, climbing down the wall's outer surface into the row of moonlit elms that surround the defiled church of the nature goddess.



The last man in the church courtyard, Pelias gives Verity's young corpse one final look as he shoulders his bow and scales the rope.

The heroes swiftly slide down the dangling cord on the other side. They've made it. They are outside the church walls.

Then they hear the sickening groan of its iron gates opening up not 200 feet away.


Actions?!


Map:

X = the heroes, who are on the ground outside the church wall.


Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):


PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 7/10, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 8/10, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 3/8, Spells: 0/1 1st lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 4/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 3/22, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 0/3 2nd lvl and 0/1 3rd lvl
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: Move: 9", AC: 2(0), HP: 4/19, Laying Hands: 0/1

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

Mouser gathers up his rope (and the other if anyone forgets) and his hook before high-tailing it out of there with the rest of the party.

Is that an island in the river to the northish-west there?

"Should we go around the back and through the vineyards to throw them off our trail? Maybe hide out in the small forest on the other side of town to regroup?" Mouser says quietly but urgently to the rest of the party.

Bo knows of only one place that the group might be safe for a short time. The windmill on the outskirts of town where they met up with the old man and the other townies.

"Yes Mouser! We should head due north, skirting the treeline as best we can for cover! We must use the natural vegetation and the darkness to the best of our advantage. We need to get these people off of our trail so we can get back to that windmill unnoticed. I will try to get Sephus to help us find the way and to get a better view from above."

The druid tries to lead the way to the back (NE) corner of the wall and beyond, whispering his key words to his bird friend in hopes that he can fly up and keep watch over their departure.

Mouser nods assent to the druids plan.