Chapter 9: Temple of Fear

[Inferno]

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Midnight. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Surrounded by charred bones and blood-soaked bodies, Ingrid prays for the soul of her fallen friend, Moogeye Comcra. Bo and Ingrid bind the wounds of the survivors, saving Avril and Hoom from certain death.

Pelias the paladin confers over which of the injured to revive with the holy gifts of Heironeus.

Telkis bars the door between the heroes and the stairwell to the ground floor. Then he hefts the insensate gnome stranger over one strong shoulder.

Mouser searches the body of the dead priest. He pulls off his heinous mask, revealing the old vicar's lifeless face.



Father Abramos is still nude beneath his black robes, from when he led the unspeakable rites upon the altar. On a chain around his neck is a serpentine, sacrilegious charm. Secreted within his vestment pockets, Mouser finds three silver vials.

Ingrid the priestess suspects they are healing magic, but passing strange in the possession of a necromantic cleric. Then she recalls with a chill the cult wants its victims alive, that their minds may be enslaved to its sinister purpose.

Grothnak wipes blood from Misha Devi's magic ring and places it on his finger. Then he opens the western door at the bottom of the belltower stairwell (13).

The half orc warrior slowly enters a holy chamber (14) that has been blasphemously converted into a nightmarish torture chamber.



Bloodcurdling, diabolical instruments of horrific sadism and ghastly suffering defile this once blessed room.

The torture chamber is candlelit and empty of human life. There are large stained glass windows, luminous from the full moon, and two shut wooden doors that lead from this grisly, hellish spectacle.


Suddenly, far below them, the heroes hear the church's great, front doors opening!





Actions?!


Map:

White initials indicate the PCs. Green are undead or monsters. Orange are burned skeletons. Red initials are hooded cultists, priests and priestesses.





PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: -8/10, 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
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
  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: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 5/28
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 2: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 0/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
  Polymorph Self (Long Bo): Potion. Duration unknown.

PC Resources:

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

[Mant72]

Ingrid eyes the vials taken from the black-hearted priest. "I believe these to possess healing qualities. Dare we administer them to Hoom and Avril? We must act with haste if we are to away from this place."

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo picks up the prone form of Avril as gently as his large hands allow. He begins carrying her towards the open door when Ingrid suggests administering the liquid.

"If those are designed for healing, why didn't the priest take them himself before he was killed? I think it is more likely that those vials contain something far worse than healing waters. It is likely some drug infused brainwashing concoction used for numbing the minds of good, respectable people so they can be inducted into the ranks of their cult"

"I think we should try to find a safe place to lay down our injured so the rest of us can continue to locate a way out of this gods forsaken temple. And if those are really healing potions, some of us who still stand may need them far more than our unconscious friends do. If that bastard mask wearing priest was the head honcho here at the temple, it is also likely that we will find no more resistance within the walls of this floor. I doubt he would get into battle with us knowing that there was still a reserve of fodder that he could have thrown at us first."

"I still refuse to believe that this entire town is compromised and I want to try to save the folks who asked us for help. Not just that poor young family that we failed to initially protect, but those folks who were brave enough to speak with us at the windmill too. I feel that we must try to aid Grothnak and search this place as fast as we can before we decide our next move. The barred door kept their ranks at bay the first time, and those outside have no idea where we are in here. That should buy us a little time to continue searching this floor. I for one would very much like to locate the poor girl that these zealots were about to sacrifice to their snake god until we put a stop to their freakish ritual. She may yet be able to aid us in our search, if she indeed still lives that is."

Bo carries Avril through the door, hoping to keep a closer eye on the half-orc as he searches from room to room. He is astonished that the priests of this once magnificent edifice have defiled it so by creating such a room of pain and torture.

[rredmond]

Mouser ensures the potions are safe, if there's not a safe spot nearby, then he puts them in something soft on his person. After ensuring the evil cleric has nothing else of good use, he moves from Abramo to Moogeye and takes her ring and anything else that might be of help or interest.

"The basement is likely to have another exit", he says, "but in the case of the devil you know, versus the devil you don't... well, unless the devil we know is definitely going to kill us. Then the basement is the way to go." He then smiles and chuckles to himself, shaking his head at this bizarre and sanity testing situation.

Getting serious again, he says "dammit" quietly to himself. Then he quickly grabs a potion, goes over to Bo and stops him hopefully he stops, Mouser won't force the issue though, he just wants to try and help. Then he holds up Avril's head, and pours some of the potion into her mouth, staring at her with a half-manic, half-hopeful, and all-incredulous look on his face.

[Zhym]

Grothnak scans the torture room for any signs of the woman who was on the altar downstairs. Assuming he does not see her, he looks for evidence of passage—blood, footprints, anything—first in front of him, then in front of each of the doors.

"Pelias!" he calls out. "A damsel is still in need of rescuing!"

If Grothnak finds no clues, he hurries to the south door and opens it.

Int check (9): [1d20] = 15

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis, carrying Urdur, will hustle into the torture room after Grothnak, then lay the unconscious Gnome down somewhere and be ready should anything come through the south door when it is opened.

[AleBelly]

Pelias lays hands upon Urdur, showing as much deference to Heironeus as possible under the circumstances. Then he takes off, following Grothnak.

[Inferno]

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Midnight. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Grothnak Uthglukh stands in a heinous hall with an iron maiden, rack, blinding mask, thumbscrew, pear of anguish, chair of torture, coffin cages, breast ripper, tongue tearer, iron vise boot, impalement cradle, heretic's fork, and other horrific, inventive means of torment. The grim warrior doesn't bat an eye.

Behind him, Telkis is stopped by Pelias, that he may heal Urdur. By the grace of Heironeus, the paladin lays hands upon the fallen gnome (+4hp) and Urdur awakens to find himself still trapped in a nightmare.

Ingrid had noticed the silver vials from the dead priest were marked with the symbol of blessed Merrika.

As Bo lifts Avril's bloody body, Mouser recklessly opens a vial and pours its liquid into her open mouth. The unconscious Avril reflexively swallows the mysterious, clear elixir and her grievous wounds miraculously close (+6hp). But the beloved angel of mercy does not awaken. Nor does Hoom Feethos, still splayed across an unholy altar.

Bo can't believe that any sane man would have refused to imbibe the healing potions of Merikka while locked in a life and death battle.

To the south, Grothnak finds more evidence of insanity.

With Pelais and Telkis trailing behind him, the half-orc warrior opens the southern door...



...and enters a chamber of chilling madness (16).
Every surface of every wall is feverishly scratched, stained and scribed in blood, feces and other unspeakable bodily fluids...




...forming a dense, repetitive pattern of disconcerting images and alien writings.






There was nothing remotely like this in the private rooms of Bertram Beswill.

The holy images of blessed Merikka here have also been similarly, perversely defiled with blood, vomit, semen, urine and shite.

Grothnak cautiously crosses the abhorrent, ideographic landscape of occult derangement. He reaches the antechamber's only exit and there finds a dark, bending corridor.



Beneath his iron shod feet, somewhere in the cathedral far below, Grothnak can faintly hear the shouting of men and the barking of dogs.


Actions?!


Map:

White initials indicate the PCs. Green are undead or monsters. Orange are burned skeletons. Red initials are hooded cultists, priests and priestesses.


Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):

Avril heals: [2d4+2] = 4+2 = 6

PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: -2/10, 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
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
  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
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 5/28
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 2: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 4/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
  Polymorph Self (Long Bo): Potion. Duration unknown.

PC Resources:

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

[Zhym]

Grothnak presses forward boldly but carefully, hoping Pelias and Telkis will catch up soon. He does not want to wander off alone, but the priest's would-be victim must be saved.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Let's get the others up and go help Grothnak before he gets himself killed!" says Telkis over his shoulder, then hustles off in pursuit of the half-orc after hastily wiping off and sheathing his morning star and readying his bow. "Last one through bar the doors!" he adds as he trundles away.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur Shimmerstone, gnome illusionist
Urdur arises, somewhat confused, but grateful to be alive. "Thank you," he says to Pelias. "Name's Urdur, by the way."

As he takes in his surroundings, Urdur sees the prone form of his dog, Mittens. He quickly confirms that Mittens, his best friend, has passed. "You shall be avenged," he whispers, petting his dog one last time.

Urdur follows his fellow gnome, hoping to find some escape from this madness.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo leaves Avril with Mouser to heal if he so wishes, the druids magic being long since spent.

"We should try to stay together if we can. I will follow the warriors. Bar or block the doors as best you can and then follow us. Shalm willing, we may just get out of this yet."

He follows behind the others, hoping the group doesn't get too spread out in here. He tries not to think about what madness must have caused the priests of this temple to go to such lengths to defile this once beautiful place.

[Mant72]

Unwilling to leave Hoom or Avril, Ingrid looks to the others, "Who shall help me carry our wounded?"

[rredmond]

Somewhat surprised at the potions success, Mouser carefully pours another potion down Avril's mouth. Then quickly does the same with Hoom.
"Now let's get ourselves to safety", he says with more than some urgency.

[Inferno]

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Midnight. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Resolute and unwaving, Grothnak advances deeper into uncharted regions of skincrawling madness, alone.

Bo, Pelias, Telkis and Urdur try to follow the determined half-orc. They've lost sight of Grothnak but so far there is but one possible path through the madhouse of horrors. And it is ghastly beyond imagining.







Far behind them, Mouser and Ingrid administer to the unconscious heroes. Avril and Hoom reflexively swallow the cold, clear elixir of blessed Merrika and return from their dark dreams back to the land of the living (+9hp, +6hp respectively). Perhaps it would have been better for them had they remained mercifully insensate.

Far ahead, Grothnak feels his way through the darkness of an unnaturally winding hallway that opens onto another candlelit chamber of insanity (17).

It had once been an office of Father Abramos. The walls are, as before, thickly profaned with unholy words and images, rendered in blood, saliva, ejaculate, bile, puss and other unimaginable fluids.







Tables and a once-exquisite desk are also covered with carvings of the same alien writings. Papers are strewn everywhere, filled with the same inhuman calligraphy, weaving an unholy scripture of wanton, psychopathic atrocity.

All icons of Merrika here have been heinously defiled, transforming the benevolent goddess of motherhood and the harvest into a violated whore of perverse sexual depravity, and worse.



Grothnak recognizes words scrawled on the north wall in the common tongue:

"Dark Mother"

It is written perhaps a thousand times.

Grothnak has reached a dead end. In the cathedral far below, the townsmen who hunt the adventurers have gone silent. But their hounds bay louder. They are tracking the heroes. It won't be long before they find them.


Actions?!


Map:

White initials indicate the PCs. Green are undead or monsters. Orange are burned skeletons. Red initials are hooded cultists, priests and priestesses.


Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):

Healing potions: Avril: [2d4+2] = 7+2 = 9, Hoom: [2d4+2] = 4+2 = 6

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
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
  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
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 5/28
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 2: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 4/6, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
  Polymorph Self (Long Bo): Potion. Duration unknown.

PC Resources:

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

[DadsAngry]

Hoom Feethos:

"Oooh, my head. Why did I come to this village?" Hoom looks around the room for familiar face of the living and dead. He only recognizes one, Ingrid.
He crawls over to retrieve his sword in which he drop when did as well. As he lifts himself off the ground and asks the only living soul that could hear him. "Ingrid, where is everyone?"

[OGRE MAGE]

If Bo sees the others heading back his way, he assumes they have found only a dead end. He tries to open the remaining door in the torture chamber, hoping to quickly find another way out or down. (in 14)

"The mob down below is on their way. Hopefully one of these 2 remaining doors will show us an alternate way out of here!"

[Zhym]

With great effort, Grothnak controls his disgust. There is work to do. The priest went this way. The woman must be here somewhere—or past here.

He listens for any sounds and searches the east wall for secret doors.

There's a space to the east there. Maybe a secret back room?

[AleBelly]

Pelias thought he had seen depravity before, but this is intolerable. He huffs after Grothnak as fast as he can.

[ChubbyPixie]

Before hurrying after Grothnak into the room, Telkis pauses and yells back to Long Bo. "l've had an idea... can you change into a bat or a small bird as before, fly back to the Golden Grain inn, or some other closer building and start it on fire? Perhaps it would disperse the mob long enough for us to escape..." He shrugs and hustles after Grothnak, but also begins calling out for any mice or rats that may happen to be in the building - it seems they're going to need all the help they can get.