Chapter 17: The Thing in the Woods

[wolfpack]

Brevos wil move up to the structure and look for signs of movement around it before entering

[1d100] = 12

Let me examine it before we enter

[Inferno]

The Haunted Woods of the Dread Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Midday? Sunday, November 13th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy, damp







Lost, hunted by wolves, and bitterly cold, the wounded heroes try to find their way out of the twilight hinterland of the mist-smothered wood.

Then something at the edge of their vision catches their eye.

Their weary senses detecting no signs of life, they cautiously investigate with steel bared and eyes wide.

In the eerie silence, gnarled branches of towering, twisted trees writhe overhead against a bleak sky.



At a distance of 30 feet they find the melting snow has unveiled a small, open sepulcher in the wood.

Within it stands a strange black altar.




Actions?





PC Status:

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

PC Magic:

• None currently

Player Resources:

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

[Rusty Tincanne]

Hothhil let's the others move to inspect the open-air tomb. He tells the others he will move beyond it 50-100 feet, climb a tree, and keep watch.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser is compelled to investigate the dark and bleak monument.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric will approach the altar, hands clasped behind her back to assure she doesn't unthinkingly reach out and touch it. She is looking for any religious or blasphemous iconography, symbols, runes, writing, etc. Anything that may give her an idea as to the history and purpose of this altar, for good, or more likely, evil.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo does not approach the structure yet. Instead, he looks around the area carefully, searching the ground and trees for any signs of unusual animal activity.

He keeps an eye out for Sephus as well, hoping he stays vigilant with his birds eye view watch for the imminent return of the wolf pack.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur approaches, slowly, but does not touch the alter. He keeps his flask of oil ready and his torch in his hand.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis sighs and puffs a cloud of frozen breath. This is no shelter after all. He clears a space for himself in the snow and watches for signs of the returning wolves while the more learned types investigate the altar.

[wolfpack]

Brevos continues to stay alert for attacks for the wilderness.

[Urson]

Pyotr

Pyotr is strangely fascinated with the tomb, and watches closely as the priestess and the mage examine it. His fingers trace the inlay on the shaft of his harpoon.
Yvan flaps into the sky, shouting bespoleznaya repa!! He lands on a branch, pecking at a bright spot in an icicle.

[rredmond]

Rudolph stays behind to keep watch with the elven fighter and gnome illusionist. Yup, being tracked by a pack of wolves that almost killed us, hey lets stop and check out the local architecture. If they need me to check for any traps or falls, they'll yell, he murmurs aloud to himself.
If there's a tree nearby that looks as if he can sit in it comfortably and use his sling, he'll climb up the tree. No matter what his eyes flicker from the skies to the horizon... particularly the direction toward where the wolves headed.

[Inferno]

The Haunted Woods of the Dread Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Two. Midday. Sunday, November 13th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy, damp







Brevos, Long Bo, Hothhil, Rudolf and Telkis stand watch against ravenous wolves and other unknown horrors as Ingrid, Mondegreen, Mouser, Pyotr and Urdur dare investigate the strange black altar in the wood.

As they move through the eerie veil of fog, it slowly becomes clear this is not a tomb but a chapel. The mistake was an easy one to make. The dark architecture is entirely funereal in its aspect.

When they cross the shrine's threshold, entering the unhallowed ground within its eight stone pillars, the hair on the napes of their necks stands up and the low whisper of a hum is sensed but not heard. Their breath quickens in ghostly clouds of frost against the chill air.

Here, they can see the profane altar's stone surface is covered in dried blood and demonic engravings.



An inscription runs along the base of the unholy sacrificial altar in arcane glyphs that the survivors of Briarsgate remember but cannot decipher. As gooseflesh crawls along their skin, Ingrid, Mondegreen, Mouser and Urdur realize this is an occult, sorcerous language. (i.e., the spell 'Read Magic' would work like 'Comprehend Languages')


Actions?!





PC Status:

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

PC Magic:

• None currently

Player Resources:

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

[rredmond]

Rudolph adds keeping an eye on the party at the structure along with scanning the skies and checking for wolves. "Knowing this crew, I bet they all say, 'hey this is a place of great evil, let's go find the entrance'," he complains out loud to no one but himself.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Shuddering, the cleric backs away from the blasphemous structure, holding her symbol of Tritherion. This...this altar is pure, unadulterated evil. There is an inscription written in the same glyphs that were on the altar in the Mouth of Hell. I cannot decipher them, nor do I have any magical ability to do so. Those with arcane skills might be able to do so...although whether we really want to, I cannot say. I will leave that decision to others.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser stares vacantly at the foul inscription. He thinks "Will this never end....?". He slowly forces one foot in front of another to search the altar for any other clues or, knowing this evil's penchant for the underground, secret entrances.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Intrigued, Hothhil walks to the altar to look over the iconography to learn more about what he has gotten into. He immediately regrets it. If it wouldn't reveal us to the wolves faster, we should burn this. He returns to watching the forest.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo continues to search the grounds and trees for unusual animal activity near the structure.

"Remember that foul underground passage we found in Briarsgate? It exited in a place that looked just like this. I recommend searching the floor of the structure for any hidden hatchways or secret doors."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur has a bad feeling about this. "I cannot decipher this inscription," he says, "though its meaning is clear enough. This is surely a place of great evil."

He helps the others search for a hidden entrance, hoping not to find one.

[Urson]

Pyotr

Hearing Ingrid's statement, Pyotr takes a step back, his harpoon drawing back to throw as if by itself. He stops, his eyes showing too much white, and watches the Wise Ones. He is ready to rush in and help if need be.

Yvan squawks and cackles from his perch in the tree.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis sighs, resignedly. Well, we came looking for it. We found it. he thinks. He diverts his attention from the woods for a moment to look over the site for any sort of telltale marks in the stone that would reveal an entrance.

This is a bit outside his gnomish abilities, but what the heck...