Chapter 24: Human Sacrifices

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur uses his ring to determine if any of the items in the room are magical.

[Inferno]

Within the Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Long after midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.





Without caution or hesitation, the heroes enter the strange room in the vile church of abominations.

Rudolf pads deep into the freezing chamber, pausing before the eastern door. Telkis examines the construction of the walls and ceiling here and appraises them to be solid as a fortress.

Urdur the conjurer expends another use of his enchanted ring and discovers that the mirror, the dagger, and the severed human hand are steeped in black magick.

Ignoring Brevos' counsel, Mouser cannot resist investigating the tome of countless pages. He gazes upon the open spread of the thickest book he has ever seen, and discovers the two exposed pages are filled with a listing of names. (Please see PM)



With her sacred sight, Ingrid slowly scans the entire chamber for hidden threats, mechanical or sorcerous, and locates none.

Brevos looks for footprints and signs of recent movement in the dust that coats the floor, and finds no signs of disturbance except the heroes' activity. Several areas were trod upon by his companions before he could closely examine them.

Alone, Jerome will not enter. He stands near the open devil door and reflects upon the names uttered by the unspeakable, tormented visages in the screaming chamber. The names are ancient and no longer used; borne of an advanced human civilization long ago extinguished, that once held sway in this region of the Oerth. The tale of their downfall endures today as little more than a vague legend.

"You are a gift to The Nothing! The Nothing!" the ghastly faces shriek.


Actions?!


Map:

Asterisk by door doesn't represent anything. One square = 5 feet. Greyer areas are water.





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: 4/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34, Torch
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

• Find Traps (Ingrid): Duration: 28 rounds

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)

[OGRE MAGE]

Once inside the room, Bo moves over to investigate the stags head mounted on the wall.

He tires to determine if it is real, how long it has been there, and if there is anything sinister or secret about the unpleasant thing.

[SocraticLawyer]

Do not touch that, or that, or that, says Urdur, indicating the mirror, dagger, and hand. They are each of them cursed. Probably best not to even look at the mirror.... He tries to cover the mirror with a blanket or something. He avoids looking directly at it.

[rredmond]

"Better just to smash the damned thing," Rudolf says half to himself. "Hey, Jerome, want to close those double doors, just for a bit?" He says to the paladin, "I'd like to give this here door a listen, before I check if it's locked," and he adds quieter, "plus it'd be nice to have a little peace and quiet without someone telling me what a gift I am."
If able, Rudolf listens at the door. Then if deeming it safe, and he has time, will check to see if it's locked... and which way it opens.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric will help Urdur try covering the mirror. And if the mirror speaks to us, ignore it. We've dealt with a magic mirror before, as some of you may recall, and I have no doubt things will end badly for us if we use this one.

[Urson]

Jerome
After pondering on the names being called out by the faces, Jerome shakes his head and enters the room with the others. He closes the doors _most_ of the way, but keeps his foot firmly planted between them so the group won't be trapped in this room. He keeps watch through the gap.

[ChubbyPixie]

Upon hearing the hand is magical and cursed, Telkis determines to keep an eye on it while they remain in the room. Avoiding even glancing in the direction of the mirror, he stations himself about five feet away from the table with the errant appendage and watches it, Cranach drawn and ready to thump.

“I’ll never understand how these cults recruit members,” he says.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo attempts to break the tension of the search.

"Oh, they can be very handy with that, master Telkis."

[wolfpack]

Brevos keeps an eye on Mouser not trusting him. if he makes a move to any of the 3 black magic items he will intervene

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome chuckles from his place at the doors. There are always those who can be lured by a promise of power- or hope.

[Inferno]

Within the Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Long after midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.





(candles are not lit)

In the frigid, eerie antechamber within the Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil, Telkis watches the severed hand. Occult runes like those upon the frightful stonegate are tattooed into its flesh.

Wait! Did a finger just move?! Or was it just a shadow from the flickering torchlight?

Jerome holds the door ajar as he monitors the screaming hall through a gap as wide as his left eye. The ghastly shrieking faces that cover every surface in that hellish chamber have fallen silent.

Rudolf hears nothing beyond the door in the eastern wall. But the hobbit rogue notices that the nigh-subconscious sound they first heard in the graveyard, like a fingernail on the chalkboard of the soul, seems softer here. Inspecting the door, he discovers a sigil painted upon its black wood, in black paint.



It creates within Rudolf a sense of unease and mild nausea. (Please see PM) The dread door is unlocked and would swing away from the hobbit, if he dares open it.

Long Bo examines the shuddersome stag head, whose strange countenance looms between wrath and terror. Despite its white eyes, the grey druid confirms the head is real, but not of this time. To the nature priest's erudite eye, it appears the beast is a prehistoric strain of deer, long ago extinct. The mounted head must be thousands of years old, and remarkably well preserved.

Urdur pulls a blanket gotten from Banemourne out of his pack. Then he and Ingrid Esthof throw it over the magic looking glass, careful to neither touch nor gaze into it. They succeed in hiding the fearsome mirror.

Under Brevos' watchful glare, Mouser willingly and intently reads of the open gigantic tome.



At the top of each of the two visible pages reads: "That Which Was Given." The countless names listed beneath seem to be antique; of an age long gone by. Mouser finds no traps nor sorcerous runes around nor beneath the impossibly thick tome. But what little he can see of its cover makes him believe the book is bound in human skin.


Actions?!


Map:

Asterisk by door doesn't represent anything. One square = 5 feet. Greyer areas are water.





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: 4/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34, Torch
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl and 2/2 2nd lvl, Torch

PC Magic:

• Find Traps (Ingrid): Duration: 27 rounds

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)

[ravenn4544]

Mouser studies the book and utters a quiet "Fascinating..."as he turns a page or two to see what clues he can discern from it.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome shudders, thinking of the black evil this place represents. Digging in his pack, he places an unlit torch between the doors to ensure they stay open.
He then joins Rudolf at the door. Is the rune something he recognizes? Or can possibly guess at the purpose?

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo attempts to remove the prehistoric head from its place on the wall, looking it over even closer. He also examines the wall on which it was hanging.

"This mount is ancient.......and frightening. Thousands of years old, maybe. I have never seen anything this well preserved before."

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Thousands? Ingrid lets out a low whistle. This place is much older than I would have expected. It's...ancient. The eldritch horror in this region... she trails off, shaking her head as the implication hits her. She will slowly turn a circle, using her spell to look for any traps in the room.

[rredmond]

"That damnable noise," Rudolf wonders aloud. "These runes on the door, they affect me in an evil way, I wouldn't want anyone to inspect it, as it may affect them, but I am loath to open the door because of them," he whispers to the others pulling his eyes from the door.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis keeps an eye on the suspect hand, taking a step forward to scrutinize it, while mentally preparing to subdue another party member.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur steps back, keeping his eye on the cursed hand and dagger. Should we go through the southern door instead?

[wolfpack]

Brevos continues to watch carefully not touching anything