Chapter 23: Genesis of Evil

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric follows along, holding her holy symbol and muttering prayers to Tritherion.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis startles a bit at Rudolf's disembodied voice, but keeps trudging forward. He wraps his fur cloak tighter around himself and thanks Garl he didn't foolishly bring that young impressionable mouse from the village along for company, as comforting as it would have been. He also feels thankful that if he is to die, ass he surely must, he will not, at least, die as a cursed beast.

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo swallows hard, but the lump in his cold throat remains.

”We have fought through worse things than some scary doorway, friends.”

“Keep your wits about you in there, and keep an eye on each other. If there is evil present powerful enough to sap a paladins inner strength in such a way, we may very well be in over our heads. We will need to work together as one in order to survive this test.”

The druid readies a torch if necessary.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser follows without a sound.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows unseen.

[Inferno]

Burial Ground of the Ancient Shrine of Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. After midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.







Here, at the top of the world, far from civilization and hope, the heroes grimly move forward through the graveyard, ready at last to accept their fate.

In doubt and dread, they follow the bone road through the bone-chilling cold, and enter the forbidding mountain. There, they discover a deep glacial cave glistening with ice undisturbed for centuries without number.



Through their slow, painstaking advance toward whatever unknown horrors await them, Rudolf's eerie disembodied voice repeatedly requests that they stop so he might search for lurking deathtraps. None are discovered.

By the torchlight of the grey druid and the once-young paladin, the heroes cautiously tread deeper through the frozen cavity, locating a passageway in its back wall.



It leads to a steep stairwell cut into the timeless living rock.

They carefully descend. Over their murmured prayers, the abominable high-pitched screech grows louder with every step.



At the bottom of their long descent, another dark tunnel awaits them.

It opens onto a vast water-filled subterranean cavern. The air here is warmer.



A river gently flows south from the lake, forded by a stone bridge that leads to an immense underground fortification.

It looms over them, a vast menace of despair.



Older than time imaginable, the brooding citadel stands eternal and silent, limned in an eerie green phosphorescence that casts a ghastly pall.

Motifs of death and demons grace its sinister, alien architecture. And beneath its impregnable walls, a stone wharf runs along the water's edge (at 1). It bears three fortified towers between which are two docking bays with steps down to the underground lake.

In the distance to the east (at 3), a great stone gate leads into the lost shrine of ancient evil.

At long last, the heroes have reached their horrific goal.


Actions?!



Map:

One square = 5 feet. Grey areas are water.





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: 16/20, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  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
  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

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 snuffs his torch, hoping the unearthly glow will be enough light. He stands in horrified awe, taking in the details of the scene. Are the tops of the towers visible from our location? If so, are there signs of movement?

[rredmond]

Knowing this group, and expecting a lot of talk that won't be fun because no one will be able to see him roll his eyes at them, Rudolf edges up to the bridge. "I'm just going to peek around and check out the bridge's sturdiness," he'll whisper, oh-so-quietly, behind him. Rudolf will carefully look around to the south, and then to the north, just to give a quick look to the waters. Then he'll check the full width of the bridge and about 10' feet of it's length for anything trappy, unsturdy, or untoward.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser stares out at the evil shrine in fear but more than a little curious, "how does such a thing get built - and by who? What curiosities will be found a place such as this, I wonder. And the girl of course."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur waits, unheard and unseen, for the rest of the group to finish searching the area. If nothing is found or tries to kill them, he enters the evil shrine with his companions.

[wolfpack]

Brevos draws Brood and holds it ready.

Gird yourselves, most of us will never leave this place.

he will lead the way across

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo will wait till the mechanical trap seekers have done their business before acting. He peers down the waterway to the right, hoping to catch a glimpse of.....well......anything really.

Once their immediate path has been cleared, the tall old man makes a suggestion.

"I can cast a spell that should reveal any magical traps, glyphs, or symbols to me before we set them off."

If there are no objections, Bo will cast his Detect Magic spell before the party moves in closer to check out the towers and stone gate.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I believe that is a good idea, master Druid. If there will be any traps, I would expect them on the approach or just inside the gate. The cleric will approach cautiously after those searching for anything unexpected deem the way to be safe.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Let's see here..." says Telkis.

He will eagerly aid in the examination of the bridge before they cross, and the tower walls as they approach, as a way to distract his mind from continually wandering to the purpose of the steps leading down to the water...

Detect unsafe walls, ceilings, or floors:
70% probability

If they make it to the gates and open them unmolested, he will enter with the group, anxious "get it over with" if they must.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome stays near the front of the group- but well behind the trap-springers -finders. His sword is in hand, ready to strike down the Unclean.

[Inferno]

The Lost Shrine of Ancient Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Twenty. Long after midnight. Thursday, December 1st, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.







In what could only be a nightmare, the valiant heroes tremble in the shadow of the megalithic subterranean temple, revealed by ancient forbidden texts as the source of heinous evil that blighted poor Briarsgate, and no doubt this entire region.

The pilgrims to Hell inch forward with slow, meticulous caution as the disembodied spectral whisper of Rudolf continually re-confirms the path is clear.

Long Bo the nature wizard lowers his torch that he may conjure arcane sorcery. He utters a timeless spell and discovers no magicks within the reach of his eldritch incantation. Some naturally phosphorescent lichen must account for the ghostly luminous glow of the heinous shrine.



"Gird yourselves. Most of us will never leave this place," counsels the grim ranger as he leads the way into Perdition.

The hobbit and the grey druid peer south as they cross the threshold over the Styx-like river, and see the underground stream slowly flows into absolute darkness.

Telkis confirms the strange cyclopean walls of the shrine that loom over them are adamant. But the gnome sees the steps into the water are littered with rubble and masonry. Arches must have once existed between the water towers. The large broken stones in the water are coated with green weed, slime, barnacles and sea snails. In the eastern stairway into the underground lake, wooden wreckage is barely visible below the water line.

The heroes reach the stonegate alive. The 20' high portal into the shrine is currently raised two feet from the floor! Through that dark gap emanates cold air and the otherworldly, unrelenting tone.

The entire visible surface of the stonegate is carved with neurotically minute occultic etchings in a language unknown. But the survivors of Briarsgate recognize it as identical to the depraved scrawlings of the mad priest of the forsaken village!



Yet the baneful cuneiforms of the stonegate were clearly carved countless centuries ago.

While they do not radiate sorcery to Bo's eyes, the wizards and priests recognize this mysterious language to be one rooted in sorcery. (So 'Read Magic' can work to decipher it like 'Comprehend Languages.')

Rudolf whispers that he sees no deathtraps lurking in the dark, chill gap under the monolithic gate.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. Grey areas are water.





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: 16/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 30/30, Spells: 5/6 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
  Rudolf Rassendyll, Halfling Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 16/16
  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

PC Magic:

• Invisibility x2 (Urdur): Targets: self and Rudolf.
  Detect Magic (Bo): Duration: 9 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)

[rredmond]

Invisibly turning towards Brevos, Rudolf asks, "can you tell, from the floor or rubble, if anyone has been through this passageway recently?" As he does that, he bend just a bit (he's not that tall ) and take a look into the 2' opening of the gate. Not right next to it, but only a foot or two back from it, so he can see or hear if anything might be moving around in there.

Can Rudolf tell how thick the gate is and how it works? Portcullis-y type of chains pulling it up (pardon my technical language - )? Also does it looks like it's stuck at 2' above the ground and/or has been that way for long? Rudolf doesn't want to be a pancake if he puts any part of his body under there!

[wolfpack]

Brevos searches the ground looking for any sign of passage

[1d100] = 30

[rredmond]

”If I crawled under there and the gate fell, it would crush the full length of my body except for the curls on my toes and my head,” Rudolf whispers to the others as he relays what he can tell of the gate.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser to examines the door and entrance for traps before passing the fell portal.