Chapter 8: Against the Cult of the Reptile God

[Inferno]

Day Seven.
Briarsgate. The Abandoned Windmill (NW of 24)
Early morning. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





In lightless regions below the ground, the shadowy plotters against the nefarious forces of Briarsgate forge their plan of attack.



The heroes begin to coalesce around a strategy to invade the suspect Church of Merikka through the front door, in broad daylight, immediately. They unanimously reject the heartfelt offer of the villagers to take up arms alongside them. But they are still divided on whether to first break Hoom free from the town jail.

Long Bo goes above ground and sees faithful Sephus pulling worms nearby, "Caw!"



... when Telkis suggests that Sephus could help Hoom escape.


Actions?





Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: AC 7, HP 10/10, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 5, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: AC 4, HP 25/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 8/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 3/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: AC 6, HP 20/22, Spells: 3/5 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 1/1 3rd lvl
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 17/19, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: AC 0, HP 16/28

Magic:

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

Resources:

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

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo

Do we actually have any intelligence as to where Hoom really is? If not, then we should forget the idea of a rescue. I will not put my friend at risk on a whim. Those constables were tough customers with big swords and heavy armor. If they are involved in this, as I believe they are, we should avoid crossing their paths entirely.

Besides, did someone not say that he got himself arrested deliberately? Perhaps he is trying to get on the inside of this outfit, collecting information in a way that we wouldn't be able to. Do we really want to interfere if that is the case?

The Druid thinks about it for a while again.

If Mouser is willing to go into the temple first, disguised or unseen altogether, we might have better luck than all of us simply kicking in the door. If he could snoop around inside for a while before we enter, he might find something that they would surely hide from our large group. The question is, how much time do we need to give him before we enter?

The Druid uses another prayer in order to verbally communicate with his avian friend once again.
Speak with Animals
Have you seen anything that you would like to report my little friend?

[Starbeard]

Moogeye has said her piece, and is ready to strike at the temple when the group finds its chance.

She continues to watch the farmers outside suspiciously, becoming increasingly uncomfortable about the vulnerability of their current position.

[Inferno]

Day Seven.
Briarsgate. The Abandoned Windmill (NW of 24)
Early morning. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Beneath the abandoned windmill, enshrouded by secrecy and shadows, plans of intrigue slowly advance.



Outside, Long Bo the druid croaks in the eerie language of crows.



Sephus reports on his dawn surveillance of the Mayor's estate and the Church of Merikka. "Nothing seems amiss. Both places are bustling with servants preparing for the dawning day."

Bo rejects Telkis' idea of involving Sephus in freeing Hoom from the jail. The druid again requests that Mouser steal into the Church alone, after the little thief already said he'll not enter the maw of danger unaccompanied again.

Long Bo, Ingrid, Moogeye and Pelias urge to strike the temple directly and immediately.
Telkis is torn between the options. Grothnak is stoically noncommittal.
Mouser stands alone in his wish that the party break Hoom, his fellow thief, from the jailhouse first.

A majority had spoken. Consensus was forming. Perhaps recognizing it, Avril, who had been silent during the negotiations among the humans, now humbly steps forward and summons miraculous grace and mercy from her Elven god, Corellon, to heal Ingrid and Telkis of their injuries, gently ignoring the gnome's early refusal of such blessed aid. (+7 hp each)

The shadowy townsfolk gasp in astonishment at Avril's holy power; a sure sign that divine providence blesses these mysterious strangers, their seeming saviors.

Lit by the trapdoor above him, the strange old hermit looks at the heroes with gratitude. His gravelly voice grunts, "Thank you, brave souls. When will you strike? How can we help?"




Actions?


Church Map:

Church of Merikka Map.jpg (120.13 KiB) Viewed 4595 times

One square = 20 feet


Rolls and Rules (non-required reading):

Fyi, Dave's ensnared by RL. I'll NPC Avril awhile.
Avril heals: Ingrid: [1d8] = 7, Telkis: [1d8] = 2
Avril heals Telkis again: [1d8] = 5

Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: AC 7, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 5, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: AC 4, HP 25/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 15/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 3/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: AC 6, HP 20/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 1/1 3rd lvl
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 17/19, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: AC 0, HP 23/28

Magic:

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

Resources:

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

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo continues speaking with Sephus, now thinking that the mayor might very well be involved in all of this as well.

Listen carefully little friend. We are about to enter that brick abomination of a temple over yonder. That is no place for you so I have another task for you and your avian friends.

Nothing dangerous mind you. I simply want you to do another watch and learn for us. We have found some 2 legged reptilian creatures that are taking over this town. These creatures must be located and stopped.

I want you to fly all over this village and its outskirts, asking around if the other birds have ever seen or know anything of these monsters. They must be coming into town from somewhere. If they are, they must be leaving behind a trail of some kind. Find out anything that you can about these snake men. I will give you a few hours to do this and then I will whistle for you when we have exited the temple. Hopefully.

The mage waits for any questions in case the bird is confused. He then addresses the hermit.

If any of you are still truly willing to help, we may be able to figure out something for you to do. First of all, do any of you control the power to make an entire party of adventurers unseen, invisible, or at least concealed or disguised in some way? The druid doesn't hold his breath at this first request. Otherwise, do any of you have a better idea as to how we should enter the temple? Some of us are still not sold on the full frontal assault idea. Any advice that you could offer now might save more lives of the innocent and help us to conquer and vanquish our mutual enemy.

[Zhym]

"We should do recon," says Grothnak. "Set someone to watch the place. Count who goes in and comes out, and when. If we have to walk in the front door, we must do it when as few people as possible are inside."

[Grognardsw]

"Can your bird fly to the jail and look through the cell window, if there is one, to see if Hoom is there?" Grey Mouser asks Bo.

[hedgeknight]

"Many thanks for the divine healing, Avril," Ingrid says, smiling and rubbing her arms. She then prepares to move out to the temple. "Most folk go say their prayers in the mornings and at evenings, with a smattering of the prayerful throughout the day."

[Inferno]

Grey Mouser, thief

"Does someone here possess magics to help a thief make such an incursion?"
"I would like to rescue our friend Hoom first, trying the jailhouse. Perhaps we can capture that sheriff at the same time."

Bo

do any of you control the power to make an entire party of adventurers unseen, invisible, or at least concealed or disguised in some way?

Psst. Bo has a Potion of Polymorph.
And Telkis still has Jenkins' colony of doughty field mice to enlist as spies.

The villagers could provide clothing to try to disguise you as pilgrims or farmers. But 'unseen' will be hard in broad daylight.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter

Ha. Yes, Telkis has thought of the mice, but was so traumatized by the fact that he sent Jenkins and friends to their needless deaths that he is soured on the idea to enlist their help again.

"Ah! Thank you, Avril!" says Telkis, stretching and cracking his neck. "I almost feel like myself again." The burly gnome paces around, listening to the others debate methods of entry. He nods at Grothnak's suggestion of staking the place out. "I'll take no part in any stealthy maneuvers, obviously," he says, "But I'll be ready to kick some arse when the time comes." He begins to drop to the ground to do some spritely push-ups, then remembers the lizard heads and thinks better of it.

[OGRE MAGE]

Was there ever any mention of a jail in town?

Did Bo see anything like a cell or jail when he went inside to speak with the constables?

[Inferno]

Pixie, that was Finster that seemingly perished in your service in the tunnels below the Golden Grain Inn.
Jenkins is that renowned mouse among mice who leads the fat, lazy colony in the overgrown fields in the village's SE region, where you guys were almost burned alive in that barn. It seems, even to a gnome, all mice look alike.

OM, Behind the Constables' Quarters (2) is a Long Low Building (3) of spartan design: viewtopic.php?p=209299#p209299
If asked, the council of shadows will tell you it's the jail.

Telkis says: 'I don't want to endanger Jenkins. Let Sephus do it!'
Bo says: 'I don't want to endanger Sephus. Let Mouser do it!'

[OGRE MAGE]

Okay, thanks. I was only fighting the rescue idea because I didn't know of any jail that we saw yet. I am more than fine with trying to see if Hoom is detained before we go to the church.

Bo

After hearing about the jail building, Bo reconsiders Hoom's rescue attempt. Before Sephus departs, the druid informs him of one more task that he would like him to complete.

While we wait here, I would like you to take a look into that long low building behind the little shack that we first entered when we came into this town. Fly around the bars of the windows and see if you can spot our elven friend we call Hoom locked up in there. If you see him inside, drop this little tool there for him. This would of course be dependent on if Mouser wants to give up a lock pick or not. Then fly back to me here immediately. If there is no sign of him inside, then go about on your original mission. Be off now and be quick to return to us if you find him.

Once the bird flies off, Bo speaks to the others.

If Hoom is imprisoned in the jail, Sephus will return to us right away. If not........

I just remembered. I have a magic potion that will change one of us into any creature we can think of. It wont help to hide our entire group but, if we can think of a way to use it to our advantage, I would be willing to use it up. Any thoughts on this?

[Grognardsw]

Yes, Grey would give the bird the picks.

On the potion, perhaps change into one of the reptile men and cause some confusion.

Or Grey could turn into a mouse and do church and jail reconnaissance, and lead a rodent uprising.

[Starbeard]

Moogeye watches the bird fly off. She performs a series of cartwheels and hand stands. "Eventually we will make use of the legs given to us. Until then, we must wait and watch, and keep our bones limber. Bo's potion seems to be an ace up our sleeve. If we impersonate the right villager, we might gain easy access to the temple's secrets. We might even impersonate a snake-man in the right circumstance. If we found ourselves back underground, for example."

[ChubbyPixie]

Jenkins is that renowned mouse among mice who leads the fat, lazy colony in the overgrown fields in the village's SE region, where you guys were almost burned alive in that barn. It seems, even to a gnome, all mice look alike.

Whoops! Right. Finster is the poor fella that got eaten by zombie ghouls. I'll never forget you, Finster! Eh... after today...

[Inferno]

Day Seven.
Briarsgate. The Abandoned Windmill (NW of 24)
Early morning. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty







Sephus nods at Long Bo's increasingly complex orders. "Of course I understand!" he insists indignantly as he flutters off to the south with lock picks in his scaled talons. The ebon avian doesn't immediately return. This could be taken to mean that he did not see Hoom in the village jail.

At the druid's urging, the shadow parliament confirms again they know of no other way into the Church of Merikka, nor possess any black witchcraft among them to render unseen the raiding party.



Grothnak proposes surveillance but none second the idea nor discuss who, where and for how long. Ingrid the priestess offers her wisdom on when a church is most empty. Mouser's face brightens at mention of Bo's magic elixir, but the thief holds his tongue about it. Moogeye and Telkis grow restless for action and flex their muscles.

The strange old hermit listens to all the competing plans being put forth. Then his deep, weatherbeaten voice croaks, "The evil of Briarsgate can walk unnoticed, and compel men to join with it. So I'd counsel against dividing your forces. After contact with the Enemy, how can you trust each other again? You should remain in each others' sight at all times."

His piece spoken, the decrepit mendicant looks to the adventurers to hear their plan of attack.


Actions?





Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: AC 7, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 5, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: AC 4, HP 25/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 15/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 3/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: AC 6, HP 20/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 1/1 3rd lvl
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 17/19, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: AC 0, HP 23/28

Magic:

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

Resources:

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

[Zhym]

"A wise man, this hermit," says Grothnak approvingly.

"Enough talk. It is time for decision. I suggest that we go there under cover of darkness tonight. Our rogues can help us find a way over the wall and into the closed church where we can explore."

[hedgeknight]

Ingrid just shakes her head at the indecision among her companions.

"Now or later, whatever! Let's do something instead of stand here and talk about it ad nauseum. While we delay, I will be in prayer for the folk of the town who have not yet fallen under the sway of the evil influence at work here. May they resist it's pull until we can put an end to it."

[Grognardsw]

"Our rogues can help us find a way over the wall and into the closed church where we can explore."

Grey Mouser nods. "I can do that with the potion of shape changing."

He looks at Bo. "How long will it last?"