Chapter 17: The Thing in the Woods

[Inferno]

The Strange Black Altar in the Woods, The Haunted Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Midday. Sunday, November 13th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy, damp







In the haunted wood, Long Bo is nearly eviscerated in a ghastly harvesting of crimson. (-10hp) He falls to the ground, his blood feeding more roots below. His deplorable tormentor (Z1), that had once been a woman in life, leers over him, licking her heinous lips, preparing to feast upon the fallen druid.

Meanwhile, inside and under the altar, something terrible stirs in the darkness.



The atrocity from Hell (Z4) suddenly lunges back out of the unholy altar and its harrowing claws narrowly miss Brevos' face and throat! The bleak ranger stoically brings Brood down in a deadly arc and decapitates the macabre obscenity in mid-air!

Instantly, impossibly, Pyotr's harpoon is in his hand again somehow. Seeing Bo's dire peril, he joins Ingrid and Telkis, charging the last feral abomination (Z1) before it disembowels the druid. Ingrid and Telkis grimly bludgeon the soulless malefactor to death.

Rudolf finds that Mondegreen the sorcerer is stable, and binds Mouser's wounds instead before it's too late.

The fell stench of death lingers, but the looming trees fall quiet.



An eerie stillness descends upon the fog-smothered forest of the dread mountains.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Darker areas are visible in the fog.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 1, Monsters: [1d6] = 2 Monsters win AGAIN.
Z1 attacks Bo: [1d20] = 20, [1d20] = 17, [1d20] = 17 All three hit. The first claw is a critical hit.
Z1 damage to Bo: [1d3] = 3, [1d3] = 3, [1d6] = 1 Total of -10hp.
Z4's last two combatants were Brevos (1) and Telkis (2). Who does Z4 attack now? [1d2] = 1 Z4 attacks Brevos...
Z4 attacks Brevos: [1d20] = 6, [1d20] = 4, [1d20] = 3 All three attacks miss!

PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 6/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: -3/15, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Hothhil Thornbush, Elven Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 0/20
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/22, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl and 0/4 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 4(3), HP: -1/30, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 1/3 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
  Mondegreen Cindereye, Human Magic-User 2: Move: 9", AC: 9, HP: 0/12, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Pyotr Whitetip, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 4/30
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 4/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 5/32
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: -4/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection From Evil (Ingrid): -2 to be hit by Evil. Duration: 18 rounds.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)

[wolfpack]

Brevos will bind the wounds of anyone still bleeding then start helping transport the bodies c loser to the altar away form the ents.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will grab Long Bo and hold his wounds together as best he can while dragging him back towards the tomb. He eyes the trees on the periphery, wondering why they do not attack and grateful they seem to have fallen quiet.

[Urson]

Pyotr

The fisherman turned warrior helps carry the dead and wounded back toward the altar, making multiple trips if need be.

Yvan flaps down from the sky, landing on one of the undead. He looks ready to take a bite- then pauses, looks again, and flies to land on Pyotr's head.

[rredmond]

Seeing that the bleeding party members are being taken care of, Rudolph's demeanor turns business-like and he continues the job that the Mouser started.
The altar lid opened like a coffin, does that mean it's on the ground next to the altar? Or is it on some sort of hinge and is opened partly, or all the way open? Is it just a coffin, or an entrance to below?
He'll peek inside to see if he can see anything at all. Then he'll inspect the altar from the outside, but his ears will keep a watch on anything that might be stirring on the inside. See if there is anything more to the altar than just an entrance, or tomb. Definitely haven't ruled out the oil, but I wouldn't want to melt anything valuable he murmurs.
Inspecting the base of the altar coffin all around, looking for any trappy or hidden secret things. And then working his way up. Maybe a hidden drawer or something with treasure.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur continues to die, slowly.

His mind, or spirit, travels paths unknown and contends with evils never comprehended by living men.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Ingrid will help bind wounds.

As much as I would love Ingrid to have another spell, she used her final spell slot on the Prot. from Evil spell.

[wolfpack]

We must find a place to bed down for the night, we are far to wounded. Perhaps we should take leave this area and take to the trees and sleep in the branches as we did in the swamp.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis glances sideways at the weird, moaning demons trees, then back to Brevos. “Ahem... which trees?” he says.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I think the trees will be ok after we get away from this blasphemous area. Remember, they appeared to be normal trees until the altar opened up. The further away we go, the better. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how well well do climbing trees with unconscious party members, but I agree that we can't stay here.

[wolfpack]

We would have to haul them up the tree with rope. It is either that or sleep in the ghoul crypt.....

[Inferno]

The Strange Black Altar in the Woods, The Haunted Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Midday. Sunday, November 13th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy, damp







Beneath the towering, silent trees, the surviving heroes tend to their wounded, gathering them together near the unholy black altar in the woods.

Rudolf examines the strange hollow altar. Its open top, hinged like a coffin, is pitted with tiny holes to act as a diabolical sieve to feed the blood of sacrificed victims to unspeakable, deathless horrors below.

Beneath it lurks the den of the depraved, bloodthirsty undead; a small, low subterranean chamber filled with the stench of death, and completely lined with tree roots that have been force-fed the blood of slaughtered innocents.



How much blood, over how many centuries, was enough to drive these trees mad?

Bones and skulls are visible in the gruesome lair. Mercifully, none are the size of a child.

The rune-covered altar betrays no more secrets to the inquisitive hobbit.

Telkis, the gnome raised by dwarves, sees this altar cannot be the ancient shrine they are looking for. It is not nearly old enough.

Ingrid the holy priestess concurs. Its scale is too modest. It is not the source of the evil that blights these mountains, but merely another dread symptom of it.

With half their number gravely wounded, the heroes debate where to rest and prepare a defense against the murderous wolfpack that still hunts them.


Actions? Plans?


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Darker areas are visible in the fog.





PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 6/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: -3/15, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Hothhil Thornbush, Elven Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 0/20
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 15/22, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl and 0/4 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 4(3), HP: -1/30, Spells: 3/6 1st lvl, 1/3 2nd lvl and 1/2 3rd lvl
  Mondegreen Cindereye, Human Magic-User 2: Move: 9", AC: 9, HP: 0/12, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
  Pyotr Whitetip, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 4/30
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 4/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 5/32
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: -4/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Protection From Evil (Ingrid): -2 to be hit by Evil. Duration: 17 rounds.

Player Resources:

• Tale of Terror (the story so far)
  A Dark and Terrible World (maps)

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis peers down into the tomb and winces at the vile stench still emanating from it. "Ugh. I suppose it's the trees, then - we'll never be able to rest in there," he says. "But how will we manage to get all this dead weight up high enough for safety? We'll also need some sort of wind-breaks or we'll surely freeze." He looks at Brevos hopefully, but assuming there are no easy answers to these questions.

Then something occurs to him. “Once away from this cursed ground perhaps we can find a snow hare or a fox who can direct us to an unoccupied cave or den nearby, if such a thing exists. At least it doesn't hurt to ask."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur remains unconscious, oblivious to the suggestions of the party.

In the shadow planes between life and death, Urdur and the shade of his beloved hound explore strange vistas and cosmic horrors unknown to mortals.

[Urson]

Pyotr

Ingrid, Do you haff a sanctifyink prayer to cleanse this pit? I am sure many innocents died here, undt need laid to rest.

Turning to the others, he says If we dezide to rest in de trees, I am sure we can rig a hoist to lift our wounded above de reach of de wolves. We haff plenty of rope, undt it is a job I have done many times.

[wolfpack]

we can use rope to get others up the tree, we can use blankets and cloaks to create wind breaks among the branches. We can create a fire underneath and put rocks in it and haul the hot rocks up to the branches.

[ChubbyPixie]

“You seem confident about the tree thing,” Telkis replies. “We’d better get busy.”

[wolfpack]

The pit would be easier, but we would be unable to rest in a hole that smells of death.

[Urson]

Pyotr

The half-orc shakes his head violently. Not efen for my own mutter would I go into dat pit.

[Inferno]

To be continued in Chapter 18: A Fate Worse Than Death