Chapter 22: The Horror at Vicar's Head

[ChubbyPixie]

Panting and cursing his stubby legs, Telkis looks around, and is astonished at the aged appearance of his friends. "We should go. They will never rest. Hopefully they are tied to this place in some fashion. I hope what we got was worth it." he says finally.

Did Urdur see what was on the scroll? I might have missed that.

[Urson]

Jerome

Still panting, Jerome takes off his helmet- to discover he's lost most of his hair! He scratches at the newly-shiny scalp as he catches his breath.

If only I could bring the Brothers and Initiates from the monastery- an army paladins could clean out that pocket of filth!

And now that we have the things you were so determined to get- I would hear the full story.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo's older bones creak with disdain as he checks over the rest of the group, making sure everyone is hale enough to continue their journey through the wild.

"Lets take a quick look at what we've risked our cursed lives over before continuing."

Then he remembers that Jerome wasn't with the group when they were all killed by the wicked wolves. He wonders if the holy warrior has any idea that he is traveling with a very dangerous pack.

"Tell me Jerome, have you noticed or sensed anything.......off......about any of us since we have met? There is something........else.......that you should probably be aware of."

[rredmond]

"The town itself is evil, and against us," whispers Rudolf breathlessly. Then, realizing he is invisible and needs to speak to be counted, he adds "more distance the better. Let us not delay, or split up again."

[Urson]

Jerome

Jerome shakes his head. Other than your puzzling comments, no. As a matter of course, I asked St. Cuthbert to show me any evil among you- and saw nothing amiss. That is part of the reason I was alarmed about the comments regarding your wolf friends, and suggestions that you had died and returned.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser offers a suggestion, "We should burn that town to the ground. Only way to rid that place of it's evil..."

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks down upon their magic using thief with a look of confused curiosity and concern. "My bet is that we will need to do just that before this is all over."

He nods his thanks to the paladin and replies. "Tonight, while we rest, I shall tell you our entire story. You deserve to know if you are going to stay around and help us."

"For now, I think it would be in our best interest to look over these items and then get moving again. That dead nun back there gave me a bad feeling, and I cant have many more of those run-ins at my age."

[wolfpack]

I think it safer to get a few miles between us and this graveyard where the dead are buried before we stop to look .

[Inferno]

The Graveyard, Vicar's Head, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Night. Friday, November 18th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy





Harrowed and beleaguered, by age and by fear, the doomed heroes rest in the graveyard. But only for a moment.

Once they gather their wits and their breath, they continue their urgent flight from the gods forsaken village of the damned.

They ascend the mountain pass for hours, trudging beneath the looming megalithic peaks of jagged darkness.



It seems to grow colder with every step. It might be midnight now and they stop, almost certain they're no longer being followed by ghastly dead men or their nun witch queen.

Above the towering mountains, a gap in the cloud cover opens, unveiling the infinite black abysses beyond.



Cold, uncaring stars glimmer in the unimaginable distance. The weary, forlorn heroes feel as if they are near the edge of the world itself, peering up into a fathomless chaos of night without end.


Actions?


Area Map:

The red X marks the supposed location of an ancient shrine; the source of the evil that plagued Briarsgate.
The PCs are just northeast of Vicar's Head.





PC Status:

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

PC Magic:

• Invisibility x2 (Urdur): Targets: self and Rudolf.

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, who lit a torch when the group stopped, begins a quick search of the clearing they have stopped in. He's looking for potential threats, paths running through, and defensible spots among the rocks and trees. If he finds nothing, he'll start gathering deadwood for a small fire.

[wolfpack]

We should camp for the rest of the night, I'll scout the perimeter

Brevos will scout the immediate area looking for any recent signs of activity.

[rredmond]

"Hey Sir Shiny Teeth,", Rudolf asks the paladin from out of the darkness, "perhaps you could check stuff we got from the town for any evil before folks started using or getting attached to them." Then his disembodied voice seems to be directed to the ranger, or anyone else who might know, "how far you gather we're from the evil shrine we have to have Bo blow up? I'd hate to stop when we're only hours from the village, but neither would I want to rest when we are too close to the shrine!"

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric assists in readying a campsite.

[wolfpack]

"how far you gather we're from the evil shrine we have to have Bo blow up? I'd hate to stop when we're only hours from the village, but neither would I want to rest when we are too close to the shrine!"[/dialog]

Around 11 days little one, depending on the snowfall.

[ChubbyPixie]

Still feeling jittery from their life or death scramble, Telkis will take first watch. He finds himself subconsciously listening for the sounds of distant wolves.

“Well, what have we got? What are those treasures we almost got killed again for?” he says.

[Urson]

Jerome

Jerome hears the suggestion and nods, dropping the firewood near the center of the campsite. He holds his holy symbol in his left hand and mumbles something the others can't hear. Then he looks at each of the items recovered from the village in turn, studying them carefully.

Detect Evil

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo engages in more of his woodland spellcraft, trying to determine if he will ever find his little friend Sephus again.

Casts: Locate Animals (looking for sparrows)

He encourages everyone to drink their fill of water and then gather around with their empty vessels so he can fill them all up again. Create Water

He then takes the time to learn what they can expect for weather throughout the night and next day. Predict Weather

[ravenn4544]

Mouser examines his knew blade and asks, "So we aren't going to burn that town down?"

[SocraticLawyer]

Before resting, Urdur asks the group, Anyone else want to become invisible?

During his watch, the little illusionist uses his magic ring to determine whether the newly acquired dagger and scroll are magical. He examines the scroll in detail to determine its contents, if he can. During the rest of his watch, he reviews the documents he took from the library, hoping for some additional insight into the curse that plagues the group.

[Inferno]

The Mountain Pass, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Midnight. Friday, November 18th, 576 CY
Cold, foggy, cloudy





Distant stars wheel overhead in accordance with patterns cosmic, eternal and unnoticed.

Far below them, in the world of Men, the perimeter is cleared and a campsite built.

Brevos finds no tracks on the mountain pass this late in the season. And Jerome of the Mighty Oak detects no great evil from among the items recovered from the doomed village at great risk.

Bo the grey druid cannot locate any sparrows within the tight confines of his magical awareness. He miraculously fills everyone's waterskins with cold clear water, and knows there will be no snowfall here for the next eight hours at least.

Believing they've put a safe enough distance between themselves and the walking dead of Vicar's Head, the weary heroes rest for the night.

During the first watch, unseen Urdur's wondrous ring senses magic emanating from the newly acquired scroll case but not the silver dagger. Upon opening the case he finds an undecipherable parchment within. By the campfire light, he peruses musty tomes taken from the secret library. One is a treatise on the Devil and the nature of Evil itself. To Brevos' eyes, the books turn their pages of their own volition!

Urdur Shimmerstone opens the journal recovered from the locked drawer and searches it for over an hour. He reads:

• • "Once bitten, a victim begins to undergo a terrible transformation into The Beast.
    
    "In one month - two full moons - the transformation is complete and irreversible. After that, only silver will cure the accursed.
    
    "But, before the rise of the second full moon, the transformation can be undone, the curse lifted!"

What follows next is the recipe for a wolfsbane elixir! A cure!

Standing watch with the invisible gnome, Brevos the ranger notes that Ingrid Esthof sleeps uneasily. Her breathing is quick and labored, and her eyes dart frantically behind their eyelids.




Actions, Brevos and Urdur?


Area Map:

The red X marks the supposed location of an ancient shrine; the source of the evil that plagued Briarsgate.
The PCs are just northeast of Vicar's Head.





PC Status:

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

PC Magic:

• Invisibility x2 (Urdur): Targets: self and Rudolf.

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)