Chapter 22: The Horror at Vicar's Head

[wolfpack]

Brevos draws Brood and stands

Urdur something is not right, I think we are being watched, wake Ingrid

brevos will move over and nudge the paladin awake.

Something is off, do you sense anything?

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur quickly stows his documents, and moves to Ingrid. Gently slapping the cleric's face, he says, Ingrid, it's me Urdur. Wake up! Something is wrong!

[Urson]

Jerome

The paladin rolls to his feet, instantly awake. He's dressed only in the padded shirt and breeches he wears under his armor. His weapon is in hand as he looks around for any threats.

After a visual scan of the clearing, Jerome calls on St. Cuthbert and looks for any evil in the darkness.

Detect Evil

[Inferno]

DM:

Once-young Jerome detects no great evil in the darkness beyond their campfire light.

Ingrid awakens with a start to find that nothing and no one has slapped her awake!


Replies, Brevos, Ingrid, Jerome, Urdur?

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur wakes his fellow gnome, Telkis. In Gnomish, he says,
Skyli engi maðr.

Wake up! Something may be amiss. Don't worry if you can't see me right now. Also, I think I have discovered a cure for that werewolf curse-thing.

[wolfpack]

Ingrid your sleep seemed unnatural and something just seemed off. i am going to check the perimeter.


Brevos will move out and scout around camp

[ChubbyPixie]

Urdur wakes his fellow gnome, Telkis. In Gnomish, he says,
Skyli engi maðr.

Wake up! Something may be amiss. Don't worry if you can't see me right now. Also, I think I have discovered a cure for that werewolf curse-thing.

"Jøøl töben!" replies Telkis, instantly awake.

"Sweet!"

"I'll get my wolves bane!" he adds in common once made to understand what the cure entails. He digs in his pack for the up 'til now useless herb and gives it to Urdur. "How does it work?"

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric awakens with a start, waving at the area near her face in an attempt to clear whatever had bothered her enough to rouse her from her slumber. Wha- oh! Next time, just shake me. That usually works and is less annoying to wake in that fashion. As she gets up, arming herself to defend against any potential threat, she continues. What seems wrong? Have we heard or seen anything? Should we wake the others?

[Urson]

Jerome

Jerome continues his searching-looking out for any gleam of predator eyes, listening for startling sounds, whatever.

[Inferno]

DM:

Brevos and Jerome search the area and find nothing amiss.

Nothing is discovered waiting for them in the darkness.


Replies, Brevos, Ingrid, Jerome, Telkis and Urdur?

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Are we jumping at shadows now, gentlemen? Nothing appears to be amiss. I'll stay up for a little while longer, but if nothing happens, I'm going back to sleep.

She will wait 15 minutes or so before turning in again if nothing occurs in that time.

[wolfpack]

Brevos will stay up for an extra shift

[SocraticLawyer]

False alarm, I guess, says Urdur with an unseen shrug.

If nothing else goes wrong, Urdur goes over the recipe with Telkis, making sure they have all the necessary ingredients to brew the cure for their affliction.

[ChubbyPixie]

After giving his wolves bane to the disembodied voice of Urdur, Telkis stares into the woods around the perimeter for a time before once again retiring.

[Urson]

Jerome

Jerome settles back in his bedroll, his sword beside him.

[Inferno]

The Mountain Pass, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. After Midnight. Friday, November 18th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy



On the thin trail deep in the haunted wood of the dark forest, the heroes eventually convince themselves that nothing is amiss.

In time, they return to their night watch. Hours pass and each of them suffer a dreadful, reoccurring nightmare.

• • The heroes dream that an unspeakable abomination, The Dark Mother, lives beneath these very mountains. It could never die.
    
    
    
    They dream that the unimaginable colossal thing, coated in eyes within eyes and speaking in the voice of a thousand screams, sleeps now beneath these very mountains, blighting the land with an infestation of unnatural evil just by Its dread presence.
    
    They dream that the Dark Mother, 'Shub-Niggurath', is older than Time imaginable, a demon drawn down from the stars themselves. A creature beyond the bounds of infinity. A terrible shadow that strides the incalculable gulfs of the universe, to sow death and madness in Its wake.
    
    
    
    They dream that when the stars are right, It could plunge from world to world through the endless abyss of the sky, casting entire spheres into the fathomless chaos of eternal night.
    
    But when the stars were wrong, It could not live. And yet, It could never really die. And so It slept, potent and patient, waiting on the turnings of the cosmos.
    
    Were the stars aligning? Was the Dark Mother slowly awakening? The Horror at Briarsgate... The Thing in the Woods... The Horror at Vicar's Head... did these frightful omens herald Its dire coming?

During the night's third watch, Jerome stands guard seemingly alone with the unseen hobbit, Rudolf. No one had looked Rudolf in the face for the better part of a day and he felt isolated and alone in this darkest and loneliest of places, a ghost haunting his former friends.

Suddenly, Ingrid is on her feet, standing bolt upright from out of a dead slumber! Eerily silent, she lurches around to face Jerome!




Actions, Jerome and Rudolf only!


Area Map:

The red X marks the supposed location of an ancient shrine; the source of the evil that plagued Briarsgate.
The PCs are just northeast of Vicar's Head.





PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 22/22, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16, Invisible
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

• Invisibility x2 (Urdur): Targets: self and Rudolf.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome has been quiet, apparently trying to clear the images of crawling eyes and mouths from his mind.
When he sees Ingrid is sleepwalking, he actually feels relief. Brother Bosco was a sleepwalker, and Jerome was usually the one to help him.
Ingrid, it's fine. You're having a dream. You can wake up now. He speaks calmly, gently taking her wrists in his hands.

[rredmond]

Rudolf positions himself, quietly, behind the priestess, pommel of his magic sword ready to provide a quick blow to the back of her (now unarmored) skull. If the priestess becomes hostile in any way, or the paladin starts acting strange in any way, he thrusts the pommel upward:
S. Sword [1d20+1] = 6+1 = 7, DAM sm [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2 /l [1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8 Die roller, why dost thou hate me? Here's hoping that the pally subdues her first!

[Inferno]

The Mountain Pass, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. After Midnight. Friday, November 18th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy





On the mountain pass, in the dead of night, beyond the veil of sleep, Ingrid Esthof is having a terrible nightmare.

It is long ago. Before any of this happened. Before she met Khorst Maltess the vampire hunter whose death set her upon this path against evil.

Ingrid is in the small hamlet of her childhood. Her home, her bedroom.
She turns to look into her old dresser mirror and is horrified by the reflection she finds there!




Actions, Ingrid?!





In the waking world, on the mountain pass, in the dead of night, Ingrid Esthof is sleepwalking.



"Ingrid, it's fine. You're having a dream. You can wake up now," Jerome speaks calmly, gently moving to take her wrists in his hands.

Ingrid's hair moves, revealing a face that is not her own.



The thing that was no longer Ingrid suddenly twists her hands around and grabs Jerome! Her fell touch carries with it the icy chill of death! (2hp damage)

Unseen, Rudolf frantically tries to hammer the back of Ingrid's skull with the pommel of his dagger! He misses and suddenly appears from out of thin air!

Jerome cries out involuntarily and his companions awaken to find the horrific witch nun of Vicar's Head on the thin high mountain pass with them! And Ingrid Esthof is nowhere to be seen!



The heroes are gripped by an overpowering fear that threatens to never let them go.


Actions, everyone except Ingrid! (Please Save vs Spells to act freely! Wisdom bonuses apply.)


Map:

One square = 5 feet.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

To hit Jerome: [1d20] = 12 Hits for...
Damage to Jerome: [1d10] = 2 2hp damage.

PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 31/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 22/22, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 18/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Invisible

PC Magic:

• Invisibility (Urdur): Target: self.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
  Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
  Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[rredmond]

"Fool of a Rassendyll," Rudolf chides himself, that's what you get for being nice. Gonna have to fix that...
Save vs Spells (11): [1d20] = 6sunofa... my best ST too, sigh...
As Rudolf turns his magic blade towards the ex-Ingrid, and goes to draw a dagger in his off-hand, the cold hands of fear massage his spine turning it to jelly and wiping the grim determination from his face.