Chapter 19: Ghost Town

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo cries once his magic is restored for the day, glad that he still holds favor with his god in his deranged state of being.

He sets out to heal the most injured in the group, promising more to the others once it can be replenished again.

CLW on Pyotr and Telkis:
CLW [1d8] = 5
CLW [1d8] = 4

He collects a spear from the pile to defend himself against the “others” the crow spoke of. He keeps an eye out for anything leather he could use as protection. Possibly a vest or a blacksmiths apron.

The druid would like to go out to search for some more leaves and sprigs for his magic, but he doesn’t leave the building until he knows what everyone else will be doing first. Perhaps he can join up with Brevos and Mouser as they search the area.

Bo will cast Locate Plant and spend its duration combing the town and its surrounding outskirts, looking for any mistletoe he might find.

[ChubbyPixie]

“Thanks, Bo.”says Telkis. Addressing his fellow gnome he adds,“Urdur, I’ll accompany you in your search, but we’d better try to stick close to others if we can. I suspect there are unlpleasant surprises to be discovered in this town yet.”

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric searches the armory for any armor that may fit her, but is unable to find any that are sized for her slight frame. As she does, she replies to Hothhil's inquiry. I...do not really know. I no longer have a holy symbol, which focused and channeled Tritherion's power. Without that, I don't really know if I am still able to cast. I haven't tried. In any case, I did not pray for more spells, so until Tritherion sees fit to bless me with more, I am unable to provide any sort of healing. Perhaps I shall spend the rest of our time attempting to fashion a holy symbol of sorts and praying for spells in case Tritherion chooses to allow me to do His work with a crude symbol of devotion. She continues searching the armory for any sort of non-edged weapon and would be interested in a shield, although would allow any combat-oriented companion to take one before she will claim one. She will keep an eye out for anything that could potentially be used as armor, perhaps even a really thick shirt or coat.

Chainmail Search (Human Female 50%): [1d100] = 95

[Inferno]

Vicar's Head, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Four. Morning. Tuesday, November 15th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy




The cursed heroes divide their number and continue their investigations into the doom that came to Vicar's Head.

In the vandalized courtroom, Rudolf uncovers dreadful evidence of horrific torture and killing; all methodically, dutifully recorded in frightful detail by the court.






The hobbit rogue brings an armload of these ghastly records down into the dank dungeon to show Pyotr. "Wonderful eh, not just killing folks but torturing them to death! Plus this town seems as reactionary as the last, I'd bet some of these accused weren't actually guilty... a lot of power a false accusation can hold in dark times."

The half-orc mariner produces a note written in blood by one of the many accused. It can't be older than a few months. And its author can't be older than 16 years.

Rudolf and Pyotr grimly set to work securing the bars and locks of their prison in preparation for the third devastation of the moon.

Hours pass in quiet toiling. Then they hear footsteps on the stone steps above them.





Telkis and Urdur venture out from the tower into the abandoned hamlet again, past the black heckling of rats grown fat on the flesh of Men.

They wander for hours through forlorn, empty streets smothered in fog and dread. At times they become as lost as their beleaguered souls. After covering what they believe to be one fourth of the bleak remains of poor Vicar's Head, they have found neither bookshop nor blacksmith. Then they see looming in the mist ahead, the steeple of the desecrated church they passed yesterday. Clergymen have books, and the gnome conjurer is also in need of holy water. In the eerie silence of the desolate lane, the little pair consider the doomed hamlet's lone house of worship.









In the armory, Ingrid Esthof can find no armor to fit a woman. But she does discover a headless spear that could serve her as a quarterstaff. Then she joins Hothhil and Mondegreen in searching the offices, barracks and apartments in the tower above.

There they find the trappings of government and order wantonly savaged. Near the end of their fruitless search, Hothhil's keen elvish eyes detect a hidden door set into the back wall of one of the ransacked apartments.





Bo, Brevos and Mouser set out to reenter the haunted wood that nearly ended them. Brevos cannot locate a longbow in the horrific massacre outside the stone tower. But the grey druid casts a holy prayer that his god might lead him to leaves of mistletoe sacred to the Shalm. The trio are halfway to the mountain edge of the town, with no mistletoe yet discovered, when a murder of crows pecking at a dangling cadaver in the street suddenly scatter from their gruesome meal.



Did the hanging corpse just move?!?



Actions?!



Map:

1 = Pyotr and Rudolf in the dungeon ; 2 = Hothhil, Ingrid and Mondegreen in the tower; 3 = Telkis and Urdur at the desecrated church; 4 = Bo, Brevos and Mouser in the streets





PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 13/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 8/15, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Hothhil Thornbush, Elven Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 1, HP: 14/20
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 12", AC: 9(7), HP: 17/22, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 19/30, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
  Mondegreen Cindereye, Human Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 3/8, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Pyotr Whitetip, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 8, HP: 11/30
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 6/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 0, HP: 12/32
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 5/9, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl and 1/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Locate Plants (Bo): Mistletoe. Duration: 15 minutes.

Player Resources:

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

[SocraticLawyer]

"Let's check this place out," says Urdur to his companion. If Telkis agrees, he explores the abandoned church with his fellow gnome.

[Urson]

Pyotr

Hearing the sound, Pyotr grips his crowbar a little tighter and turns that way. His muscles are already tensing to spring on any possible threat.

[rredmond]

Rudolph wants desperately for the footsteps to be party-mates, but sighs and whispers to Pyotr, "My father used to say everyone is a fool for five minutes a day, the wise ones don't exceed that allotment." He smiles at the sailor as he melds into the shadows, daggers in hand.

Hide in Shadows and get to a spot that when Pyotr engages, the hobbit has a back attack.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks at his 2 friends, wondering if they saw the hanging body move as he did.

He keeps a sharp eye on the corpse, to make certain that it is indeed a corpse and not some poor forgotten fool out here left to hang till he dies.

"The animals warned us of creatures out here that are not men. Perhaps this is our first sign of that?"

"Ummmmm......any suggestions?"

[Rusty Tincanne]

Hothhil signals to his companions silently, then does his best to search the door for traps, knowing it is not his forte. He listens at the door as well. After a thorough listen and check he readies his sword and opens the door.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Ingrid readies her new quarterstaffesque weapon in case anyone (or anything) is hiding behind the hidden door.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser responds to Bo's question on what to do about the moving figure "I'm not touching that thing! I don't think you should either!" Mouser keeps his eye on the figure, however, to see if it moves again.

[wolfpack]

Brevos shakes his head and looks around at all the corpses.

if this is a sign of what is to come of all of these lost souls then things are going to get very very bad. remember the fight in the bog, and this time I am without Brood.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo gets a little closer to the hanging corpse, but stays far enough away to run if he needs to.

If no more movement is spotted, he will toss a stone towards the area, trying to hit the ground underneath the poor, hanging soul.

[Urson]

Pyotr

The Half-orc nods to Randolph, a tight grin on his face. He's a man at the end of his patience, desperately needing something to kill.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Let's check this place out," says Urdur to his companion. If Telkis agrees, he explores the abandoned church with his fellow gnome.

“Rude,” Telkis mutters in response to the rats. These ones were clearly not raised right.

He looks at the church, then replies to Urdur. “Well, friend, we had quite a time at the last church we investigated. If I were a malevolent force in an abandoned, desolated town full of corpses, I know where I'd hang out," he says, gazing at the forbidding structure. "Still... we both know we are going in there, I guess. Just be wary."

[Inferno]

Vicar's Head, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Four. Midday. Tuesday, November 15th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy





The gnomes, Telkis and Urdur quietly enter the desecrated house of worship.



The absence of the entire congregation is a palpable weight upon their very souls.

Then suddenly, they hear something.

A voice. Coming from behind the abandoned altar of Pelor.

Words are unclear. But they can hear a man's voice consumed by rage.


Actions?!





In a ransacked apartment in the low stone tower, Hothhil examines a secret door he has discovered. Finding no dangers lurking in wait, he listens at the door and hears nothing.

Hothhil, Ingrid and Mondegreen ready sword, staff and dagger as the elf pushes the hidden door open.



Beyond it is a secret room filled with books.

The elf, the priestess and the sorcerer carefully enter and peruse the titles.



It is a secret library of the occult and the arcane.

A table holds many open tomes and a scattering of aged parchment.



Their topics are deviltry, witchcraft and werewolves.


Actions?!





Bo, Brevos and Mouser watch in horror as the dead witch, dangling from a scaffold above the empty streets of Vicar's Head, writhes to life!

The grey druid tosses a stone beneath the living cadaver.

And two blocks to the east, Mouser sees another hanged witch...



...starting to thrash and contort.

The wretched terrors are working themselves free!


Actions?!







In the dungeon beneath the low stone tower, Rudolf and Pyotr hear footsteps on the spiral stone stair above them.

Tensed to spring like a panther, Pyotr re-grips his crowbar in eager anticipation of the violence to come.

Rudolf quietly slips into the shadows and draws his dagger, ready to strike from darkness.

The footfalls begin to descend the stairs!

They grow louder with every step...

There is more than one person! It sounds like two.

No. Three.

Four.

More.

Coming closer...

closer...

Suddenly, there is the stench of a charnel house and two shambling, ghastly horrors invade the dungeon!



There are more behind them on the stair!

Ravaged by the unforgiving elements and the ravenous crows and rats that have stripped their rotting flesh to the bone, the gruesome dead of the tower siege lurch toward Pyotr Whitetip!


Actions?!


Map:

1 = Pyotr and Rudolf in the dungeon ; 2 = Hothhil, Ingrid and Mondegreen in the tower; 3 = Telkis and Urdur at the desecrated church; 4 = Bo, Brevos and Mouser in the streets





PC Status:

• Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 3: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 13/31
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 8/15, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Hothhil Thornbush, Elven Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 1, HP: 14/20
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 12", AC: 9(7), HP: 17/22, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl and 4/4 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 19/30, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
  Mondegreen Cindereye, Human Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 3/8, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Pyotr Whitetip, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 8, HP: 11/30
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 6/12
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 0, HP: 12/32
  Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 5/9, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl and 1/1 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

• Locate Plants (Bo): Mistletoe. Duration: 14 minutes.

Player Resources:

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

[Urson]

Pyotr

Proklyatyye ublyudki!! Pyotr roars a curse his mother used often as he attacks the first of these things. Oddly, there is a note of relief in his voice.

He swings the crowbar at the thing's head, but misses.

[1d20] = 5

[rredmond]

Rudolph double frontstabs the first undead hoping it'll fall and disrupt the rest, and then he rolls on the ground (in he hopes a cool and heroic manner) grabbing the keys and thieves' tools. "C'mon sailor, there're too many, the cells are our only safety! We'll be overrun otherwise," he urges the half-orc as he heads to the last lockable cell.

Dagger THAC0 20 [1d20] = 11, Dagger THAC0 20 [1d20] = 9 adjusted frontstabs THAC0 to take out bonuses
Hoping they have shite for AC, so...
Dagger DAM [1d4] = 3, Dagger DAM [1d4] = 4
At least that was okay.

[wolfpack]

Brevos

We must make a decision quickly. Move to the forest, or retreat back to where the others are.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Hothhil shakes his head. Of course those in power would be corrupt. Or corrupted. Either way, it makes little difference now that the entire town is dead or fled. He pokes his head out of the small room, then closes the secret door as a safety habit. Mondegreen and Ingrid, let's take the time to see if there are any useful spell books or scrolls, or anythin to fashion a holy symbol from. Hothhil searches for drawers cabinets, etc. When he finds them, he will search their contents, then tap the walls looking for secret compartments. He briefly wonders how the rest of the party is faring.