Chapter 29: Sacrament of Blasphemy

[Inferno]

The Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Freezing, clear







All hope is lost.

In the terrible presence of the eldritch horror, the beleaguered minds of the doomed heroes are seized by a harrowing madness!

Bo, Mouser and Telkis are paralyzed with fear! Jerome and Urdur drop everything they are holding and flee for their lives! The pair plunge from the church into the cold, black night beyond!

Near the altar, the quavering amorphous mass of the blasphemous atrocity pushes through the doorway! And from somewhere behind it comes a lone man's voice, singing hymns to Saint Pentival!

The hideous writhing thing ignores Mouser, who is adorned in the holy vestments of the Order of the Knights of the March. Its abhorrent, undulating tentacles embrace the stricken Telkis, and begin to absorb him into its loathsome body! (and 3hp damage)

Just then Ingrid returns to the nave and beholds that horrific sight.



With what might be her last words, she implores the dead knights to save them all!

Her heartfelt plea has barely left her trembling lips when suddenly, to her everlasting horror, she hears the countless mouths of the ghastly monstrosity all scream in Telkis' voice!

(Ingrid, please Save vs Spells on 1d20 to act! Wisdom modifiers count.)


Actions, Ingrid?!


Map Detail:

H = The Horror. One square = 5 feet.

Map:


Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6]=2, Monster: [1d6-2]=4-2=2 Tie!
Bo, Jerome, Mouser, Telkis, Urdur: freeze (1) or flee (2)?: [1d2]=1, [1d2]=2, [1d2]=1, [1d2]=1, [1d2]=2
Telkis is frozen. Attacks against him automatically hit.
Damage to Telkis: [1d12]=3

PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 0/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Light spell, Lantern
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 3/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 31/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 9/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl (-2 to STR and CON)

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Light (Ingrid): Duration: 77 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)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome runs headlong through the snow. His feet are slashed by rocks and jagged branches, but he feels nothing but the drive to get away.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis despairs as he comes to the stark realization that his entire life has led up to this moment, that he will be absorbed and forgotten, and that nothing he has ever accomplished ultimately matters...

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Hearing Telkis' voice come from the many mouths of the unholy terror, Ingrid attempts to channel the Holy Will of Tritherion...but her resolve is weak. She will get no divine help tonight. Torn between fight and flight, the cleric is unable to move, utterly helpless to aid her companions.

Save vs. Spells (14): [1d20]=9

[Inferno]

The Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Freezing, clear







Ingrid's plea to the deathless knights become peals of terror as she succumbs to the tendrils of madness that have taken them all. She joins the choir of horror that emanates from the unholy monstrosity in Telkis' multilayered screams of agony. (9hp damage to Telkis)

Outside, Jerome and Urdur flee helplessly beneath the swirling black gulfs of the uncaring cosmos.



The biting cold shocks them to their senses! "We must go back and help them," croaks Jerome. "Some of them must have survived!"

Inside the church of unspeakable horror, the rest of the doomed heroes stand stricken by the shrieking contradiction of all knowledge and reality! As the frightful thing subsumes Telkis, it forms some ghastly psychic communion with him and Telkis' perception expands horrendously until he can see out of its countless hideous eyes!



He and the stricken lunatics that were once heroes can see the skeletal ruins of the Knights respond to Ingrid's desperate petition! They attack the loathsome thing not with a righteous fury, but with a strange tenderness, as if their actions are a mercy killing.



Mentally bonded with the horror, Telkis realizes that its broken mind is wounded by madness. It is not born of alien and otherworldly evil, but was once human and noble! Telkis knows the writhing atrocity cannot bring itself to attack those bearing the symbol of the Order of the Knights of the March, whether it be on Mouser's vestments or the shields of the living cadavers!


Thus, the corpse knights rend it asunder with a grim mercy!



Telkis senses the abomination's relief and gratitude as it perishes beneath their blades! It dies before the heinous process of absorption is complete. The gnome is parted from the creature and is himself once more!

Bo, Ingrid, Mouser and Telkis slowly regain some semblance of sanity as the knights mournfully return to their eternal graves!

All is still. And then the silence is broken by a lone voice singing. The Reverend Gideon Ashblood stands in the doorway at the altar, tears streaming down his face. (RA)



Weeping, he sings to the fallen horror, in worshipful devotion, hymns to the greater glory of Saint Pentival. Then Ashblood looks up at the heroes and says, "...It's over."

And then impossibly, as if in response, the walls themselves tremble and their stained glass windows shatter! The floor shudders beneath their feet and the roof threatens to come down upon them all!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet.

Behind the DM Screen:

Ingrid: freeze (1) or flee (2)?: [1d2]=1 Freeze.
Damage to Telkis: [1d12]=9

PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 0/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Light spell, Lantern
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 3/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 22/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 9/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl (-2 to STR and CON)

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Light (Ingrid): Duration: 72 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)

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis nearly vomits upon release from the creature. He reels and turns to stare blankly at the man in the doorway, then sprints for the main entrance as the church begins to implode.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser is entranced by the felling of the foul creature and then the juxtaposition of such a reverent song... it lasts but a moment as Telkis' flight calls to attention the church seemingly starting to collapse. He flees with him.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo fights off the urge to throw his spear into the Ashblood's chest, instead rushing to the center aisle of the damned church.

Finding himself again in the all too familiar setting of another collapsing building, the druid doesn't second guess himself this time, sprinting up the aisle towards the only known exit before the place collapses upon him.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur nods at Jerome's suggestion, turning around to head back inside. He wants to get the book that he dropped anyways.

But when the windows shatter and the roof begins to collapse, he reverses course. We can't go back there! He does his best to stay away from falling debris, rubbing his arms for warmth as he does so. He hopes the others make it out before the whole building falls on top of them.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Freed from the grip of terror to which she had succumbed, Ingrid thanks the guardians. Thank you. May you find everlasting peace.

As the building begins to crumble, she fixes the "Good" "Reverend" Ashblood with a withering glare. You will be judged by a much higher power than me. May you burn in whatever hell you fear most!

Turning away to leave him to his fate, she begins hurrying out of the church. Run! she shouts, making sure her companions are all able to escape.

[Inferno]

The Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Freezing, clear







Unbeknownst to the doomed heroes, the ancient walls of the Church of Saint Pentival were bolstered by wards of protection and strength consecrated by the first Archbishop of Hookhill; wards set to expire should certain conditions be met.

Now, with those mysterious conditions met, the church roars down around them as if from the weight of its own unspeakable secrets.

The heroes flee for their lives and escape the thundering ruinous destruction! Outside, they are reunited with Jerome and Urdur as the collapse continues down into the labyrinthine subterranean catacombs, creating a widening sinkhole that threatens to take them all! They retreat to the safety of the treeline and see no other survivors escape the smoking pit.

All but naked, they have one choice to shelter from the unforgiving elements, else die. By dawn they reach the humble settlement of the Ashblood Colony!




Extremities numb, teeth chattering, lips blue, exhausted and beset, they burst into the first cabin before they freeze to death, where they surprise a woman in prayer.




She sees that the adventurers have returned without the Reverend Ashblood or the men of the colony. And she heard the thunderous roar in the night. And then she knows.

"It's over. At last their oaths are fulfilled." She weeps in relief and brings them blankets and hot food.

The women and children of the Ashblood colony soon converge upon the cabin and humbly return to the heroes all their earthly possessions. And then they tell them everything:

"Saint Pentival was not murdered by the agents of Vecna. Alas, his fate was worse than that. He was transformed by their eldritch sorcery into a writhing horror that was cursed to live forever."



"Trapped in such a heinous form, Pentival's mind was shattered by madness.

"The sect's secret duty, blessed by church and state and passed down one generation to the next, was to honor, serve and worship Saint Pentival, and to conceal his secret shame for as long as he did live. And now that terrible burden, our life's work, is ended."

Realization hits the heroes like a mace to the teeth...

"But they saved Amity! Must we, Reverend?" pleads John Mantle.

Reverend Ashblood replies without pleasure, "I'm terribly sorry, John. But I'm afraid so. Our sacred duty to Our God is greater than to ourselves and our petty wants - even greater than to our children. He knows what is best. But we shalt always honour and remember what they did for Amity, and what they shalt do for Him. Now come, everyone. Lift them up."

Reverend Gideon Ashblood says with genuine sincerity, "I am truly sorry for what is about to happen. Our prayers art with thou." Then he earnestly leads the congregation in ancient hymns honoring Saint Pentival.

...The Gospel According to Saint Pentival.
...a curious passage seems to imply that Saint Pentival somehow survived his death at the hands of the servants of Vecna, all those centuries ago. And yet it professes that his martyrdom and his noble sacrifice remain.

...a series of holy writs. They authorize the existence of a church upon these grounds with the promise of special protection from harassment by any means necessary for "matters known to all signed parties."
These official permits are signed by every monarch of Gran March ever to have existed, including the sitting ruler. Also, every Archbishop of Hookhill, the leader of Pelor's church in Gran March.

...the skeletal ruins of the Knights respond to Ingrid's desperate petition! They attack the loathsome thing not with a righteous fury, but with a strange tenderness, as if their actions are a mercy killing.

Mentally bonded with the horror, Telkis realizes that its broken mind is wounded by madness. It is not born of alien and otherworldly evil, but was once human and noble! Telkis knows the writhing atrocity cannot bring itself to attack those bearing the symbol of the Order of the Knights of the March, whether it be on Mouser's vestments or the shields of the living cadavers!

Thus, the corpse knights rend it asunder with a grim mercy! Telkis senses the abomination's relief and gratitude as it perishes beneath their blades!

The Reverend Gideon Ashblood stands in the doorway at the altar, tears streaming down his face. Weeping, he sings to the fallen horror, in worshipful devotion, hymns to the greater glory of Saint Pentival.

A soft voice brings them out of their dreadful reveries. "The menfolk of the colony were the latest generation of the ancient Knights of the March. Womenfolk art not permitted in the Order, and art subservient to the Men."

The heroes remember the choir-voices signing hymns to Saint Pentival in the church were male.

"We always hoped this day would come. Now we and our children art free! Thank thee. Thank thee! We art truly in thy debt!"

Their account is soon confirmed. All that remains of the Ashblood colony are the women and children, including little Amity Mantle whom long ago the heroes first set out to rescue from The Thing in the Woods.


The End?






PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 0/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 3/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 22/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 9/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl (-2 to STR and CON)

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

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 spent the night's travel torn between fury and embarrassment- he fled before the sort of abomination his order is sworn to fight.
He scowls when the truth is revealed. And you could not have petitioned for help? There are many holy orders who could have offered assistance- or even worked toward breaking this curse.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo does NOT eat or drink anything the cultists offer this time!

[Inferno]

DM:

Jerome
And you could not have petitioned for help?

The women reply, "But sir, doing so would have broken our sacred oath to God and King!"



The tale of terror continues in... Chapter 30: The Horror at Hookhill