Chapter 25: Hell Vomits Forth The Damned

[Urson]

Jerome EDIT

When Jerome sees the others are pushing on down the mountain, he stops his efforts at building shelter. He sticks with Bo, intending to guard the man while he does his magic

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur helps Ingrid harvest the precious wolfsbane. Thereafter, knowing that his own magical skills will not help the druid, Urdur continues down the mountain with the others.

[Inferno]

The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Dawn. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, overcast, windy.







High atop the desolate spires of the dark mountains, Ingrid and Urdur gratefully collect wolfsbane, potent with power to lift the Curse of the Beast that afflicts them. Then they press on with their arduous, desperate flight.

Distant and unseen, the ravenous hosts of Hell follow unrelenting and monstrous.



As Jerome stands watch, the grey druid finds a precarious length of stone steps at cliff's edge. There, he performs a miracle. Reforming the stairway with his bare hands, he smooths them into a deadly angle. Then he summons water into existence across its slanted surface. It quickly freezes into a sheet of ice. At this frigid altitude, forged of solid rock, the deathtrap will endure until the breaking of the world. Men might be able to circumvent it. But not the living dead.

The unimaginable apocalyptic plague they had unleashed is averted. Long Bo and Jerome hurry to join the rest of their companions.

The heroes descend seemingly without end. Numb, enervated and exhausted, they trudge all day down the staircase carved into the living rock, past dead trees wretched and warped by the punishing wind.

The sun sets and darkness consumes the land. Then hope blossoms. Wan light from the frozen hamlet Banemourne is visible below them; a candle in the infinite black gulfs. It lies mere hours away.

Like Orpheus escaping the Underworld of Hades, the heroes return from the haunted wood of the dark mountains, from trials unspeakable and deadly, verily from Hell on Oerth. They live. And they carry with them the child they swore to rescue, alive and safe in their arms... they hope.


Actions?! (and a new XP award is here. Congrats.)



Map:

X is the Ancient Shrine of Evil. The heroes approach Banemourne.





PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 16/31
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 7/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 11/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 2/4 2nd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 7/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 28/30, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 0/3 2nd lvl and 0/2 3rd lvl, -1 to Strength
Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 13/16
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 3/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 1/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl

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)

[Urson]

Jerome
Well done, Brother Long Bo.

Jerome takes a turn carrying the child, but otherwise stays near the back of the group as they proceed downslope.

[wolfpack]

Excellent work Bo, we should immediate make the antidote with the wolfsbane, then get Amity to the village and see if we can wake her.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser staggers along with the group, drained from the ordeal of rescuing Amity from the clutches of evil and his own soul from the tentacles of insanity.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur is tired beyond measure. Cold and wet, with aching muscles, he decides it best not to frighten the villagers (further) with his disembodied voice. The little illusionist ends his Invisibility spell.

If the group makes it to town before nightfall, Urdur's first priority is finding a bed for the night. His second priority is cooking up the wolfsbane potion for himself and the rest of the afflicted group.

[rredmond]

Rudolf is tireder and colder than he's been since his time in Grugnur's prison cavern with that lovely storm giantess. He sticks near Urdur, now that he can see him, to help with the potion as best he can.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Cold, exhausted, and miserable, the cleric's spirit bouts a bit when she sees the village in the distance. Just a few...more...hours... she trails off as she continues trudging along.

[Inferno]

The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Night. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, overcast, windy.







More hours of arduous toil and freezing cold and the heroes return from the unimaginable.

Urdur the conjurer renders himself seen after many long days. He looks more haggard than the heroes remember.

Feeling as if they had been vomited forth from Hell, the weary travelers drag themselves into the forlorn hamlet of Banemourne. In the shadow of the forbidding black mountain, the decrepit shacks huddle together against the brutal chill and the fearsome night.



It is nigh three hours past sundown. All is still in the hardscrabble town. Now the only light comes from the dirty windows of the ramshackle public house.


Actions?!


Map:

X is the Ancient Shrine of Evil. The heroes have reached Banemourne.





PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 21/36
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 7/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/25, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl, 2/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 7/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/38, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 0/4 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl, -1 to Strength
Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 13/16
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 3/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 1/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

None currently.

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)

[ChubbyPixie]

"I hope that barkeep hasn't spent my 40 gold already," says Telkis. "If he has, we've got a lot of ale to drink to make up for it." He is too weary to smile at his own joke.

He looks at the sleeping form of the young girl, then looks to Long Bo. "How do we wake her up?" he says.

[wolfpack]

Brevos heads to the lodge and looks into the window

[rredmond]

Rudolf follows quietly along behind the ranger, watching for danger, daggers in hand, sticking to the shadows whenever possible.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome drops to his knees in the snow- as much from exhaustion as anything else.

Saint Cuthbert, we thank you for your aid and your blessings! Thank you for allowing us to complete the mission!

He struggles back to his feet and heads for the front door of the pub.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Bone weary and on the verge of hypothermia, the cleric has a hard time picking up the sleeping child, but the sheer force of her will enables her to lift young Amity. She staggers to the door of the inn with her precious charge.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo leans heavily on his spear shaft with every step, slightly surprised that their entire crew made it back from such a perilous journey. The lanky druid looks down at the sleeping girl while trying to answer Telkis.

"I am not entirely sure how she can be revived from her magical slumber. Sadly, the answer may yet lie in that horrible place we just escaped from. As long as she is alive and still breathing, I think our own concerns should take top priority."

The druid searches the sky and ground for any signs of animal activity to compare it to the last time they were here in town.

"These folks were awfully concerned about us going up that mountain in the first place, so we should watch what we say inside."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows the others into the lodge, too weary to converse.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser follows along quietly. He hasn't been saying much since his ordeal on the mountain top. Sleep sound good to him, though.

[Inferno]

Banemourne, the Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Night. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, overcast, windy.







In the frozen hamlet of Banemourne, the grey druid discovers no difference in the wildlife tracks to those he found before. Then he hears the call of an owl in the distance.

As Brevos and Rudolf watch from the window, the rest of the heroes stagger into the dilapidated public house like dead men returned from Hell.







Stunned silence descends upon the dozen souls inside. They stare unabashed as if the heroes were ghosts. Ghosts of the damned, long buried and forgotten, come back from the grave.

"Ye'r back," stammers Tulach the proprietor. "...Ye live!... Whit have ye dane?"


Actions?


Map:

X is the Ancient Shrine of Evil. The heroes have reached Banemourne.





PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 21/36
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 7/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/25, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl, 2/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 7/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/38, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 0/4 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl, -1 to Strength
Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 13/16
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 3/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 1/11, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 0/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

None currently.

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)

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Laying Amity on a table, Ingrid responds to the bartender's query, We got the girl.