Chapter 27: Mark of the Beast

[ChubbyPixie]

Little by little Telkis falls behind as he and the others make a run for it. He begins to see the flaw in the running away plan, at least as far as he is concerned.

"Er, I'll be the rear guard, then," he pants. "Fire and oil? Couldn't hurt. Some more of those magic roots later might be nice, too."

[Inferno]

Megalithic Summoning Circle, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-three. Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear










Bloodcurdling howls pierce the icy air as the doomed heroes flee from the monolithic site of the sundered ritual and the unspeakable things they witnessed there!

They plunge headlong through the ageless wood, now eerily luminous with the spectral light of the full moon.



They race on, not knowing how much time they have before the sorceries of Bo and Mouser no longer vex and confound the pack; how long before the terrifying otherworldly predators descend upon them!

The crawling plague of insects subsides from the heinous thing that was once Amity Mantle. Jerome finds her strength to be beyond that of a man! Telkis helps restrain her as they flee, the thrashing hellion kicking and shrieking for aid from the bloodthirsty pack that hunt them!

Somehow, they reach the lair's cave mouth alive!



But the frightful howls and barks behind them are seemingly without number. And they grow louder!



Actions?!






PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/36
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 1/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
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, 1/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

None currently.

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]

JeromeEdit
Jerome quickly gags the Demon Child, not worried about the human child inside.
We need a defensible position, where we can hold off the pack. He scowls, then brightens. The bunkhouse is a dead end.
No way to flank us.
Unless a better choice is offered quickly, Jerome leads the way to the bunk room, still toting the Demon Child.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Where else we going to go?" agrees Telkis and hurries after. "I'll stay outside the door and try to give you the time you need to do what you have to do, Ingrid. Er... maybe we could tangle them up in the corridor with..." He looks at Bo and makes viney motions with his fingers.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo nods at gesture from Telkis, stopping outside the cave, looking to see how much vegetation grows close to the opening.

He ushers the others inside as he prepares to follow them, readying his magic to bring the ground alive once they are all past the cave mouth.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows the others inside.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser follows also. Keeping his eyes open for wood or other items that could be dragged along and set up as a defensive fire.

[Inferno]

The Wolfpack's Lair, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-three. Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear







Inhuman howls pierce the bone-chilling night.

With the fell beasts of Hell rapidly closing in on them, the doomed heroes desperately re-enter the wolfpack's lair, like flies returning to a web. Jerome gags the feral screams of Amity, nearly losing a finger in the process, as he and Telkis struggle to restrain a ferocious strength that belies her frail form.

The grey druid lays a sorcerous trap of grasping, clutching plants to slow the monstrous legion that hunts them, buying desperately needed time to flee from things faster than they! Brevos gets a torch alight and they plunge back through the eerie nightmare underworld beneath the Dark Mountains.



Unnatural formations revive dread memories of terrible shapes witnessed at the defiled summoning of the Dark Mother; memories they long to forget.

Armed with greater familiarity, they race through the winding empty tunnels at speed and reach the ghastly torture chamber alive! But not for long. Echoes of murderous barks and howls start to fill the caverns behind them!

Frantically searching for a way to survive this, they scan the chamber of horrors with mounting urgency! Gruesome devices of diabolical torment, manacles, chains, rope, wooden shelves and tables, tools, three prison cells, and one other door meet their desperate eyes.

They might have ten minutes to live before the inexorable doom roaring through the caverns is upon them!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Torture chamber is visible. All else is from memory.

Map Detail:






PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/36, Torch
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
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, 1/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

None currently.

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)

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo is relieved that they have made it this far, but knows they are still in grave danger.

"Lets pile some of this stuff against the door so they cant just walk in here!"

He sees Ingrid eying up the cells. "Do we want to make our last stand here, in this room? Or should we go deeper in, blocking more doors behind us?"

The druid hurries across the room and listens at the east door before throwing it open to listen down the hall.

"We never tried this other door in here. Do you think we should do it now? No telling where it may lead."

If there are no major objections, he will listen at that door next.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser will follow Bo and help with door, checking for locks or traps.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome struggles to maintain his personal discipline. He's about one short curly hair from trying to punch the Demon Child unconcious- evebn though he knows this would only injure the innocent Amity.
Let's keep moving- the bunk room has a lot of furniture we can use for barricades. I think we should tie her down in the bunk room, and then we can start trying to barricade the door from the hall into the temple.

[ChubbyPixie]

"Aren't there manacles here?" says Telkis as he helps drag furniture and torture devices to the door. "We could lock her down, barricade the doors and start the exorcism right now. This could be our one shot at this."

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome pauses only a moment before he nods at Telkis' suggestion, and sets to work.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

That sounds good- take her to the bunk room. I...there's something I need to do to try stalling the wolves. I'll only be a few moments. The cleric heads back to the room with the dead bodies. She gets down on her knees and begins to pray.

O Holy Tritherion, please forgive me for what I'm about to do. Know that I only do this as we are in a desperate situation. I have tried to be a devout follower, so please grant me the power to do everything I can to save the soul of this small child, even if it costs me my own immortal soul in the process. If Thou in Thine Divine Wisdom should see fit to require me to atone for my sin, I shall submit to Thine Merciful Will. If I offend Thee, My Lord, please do not punish my companions for what I do willingly and without their knowledge. I ask You to aid them in their time of need, this desperate hour. They are guilty only of going along with my request to search for the child. Amen.

When finished with her prayer, she regains her feet and casts Animate Dead upon the bodies. When/ if they rise, she leads then to the torture chamber and commands them to "Kill any wolves that you see." She then joins the others in the bunk room to begin the exorcism. Before starting, she hands Bo a scroll. Here. This has Dispel Magic on it. I don't expect my spell will need to be dispelled, but if I am not able to use the scroll, you may be able to do so.

[Inferno]

The Wolfpack's Lair, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-three. Past Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear







In the horrific torture chamber, the doomed heroes have only ten minutes left to live.

The bloodcurdling howls grow louder as they urgently debate where and how to make their final stand. Brevos quickly begins building a barricade. Urdur contemplates which deception is best to conjure against wolves. And Jerome and Telkis ready the torture chamber for the exorcism of Amity Mantle.

The grey druid and the Grey Mouser get a torch ablaze and explore the lair, carefully listening at each door and searching for traps before opening it. They slowly delve deeper without incident, discovering three more shut doors and an open passageway eerily devoid of life.

Behind them, unnoticed, Ingrid Esthof edges away into the kitchen of horrors.






Cauldrons of congealed human fat boil over and the stench of roasting meat threatens to overwhelm her.

Ingrid falls to her knees and begs forgiveness from her god for what she is about to do. She will become like unto those wicked malefactors she had long ago sworn to oppose. Ingrid blasphemes against god, nature and man. She shall embrace unspeakable evil in order to fight unspeakable evil. The heretic priestess would condemn her immortal soul to Hell to save Amity and her friends. Ingrid causes the dead to rise!



Five minutes remain!


Actions?!


Map:


Map Detail:






PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/36, Torch
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 3/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl, Torch
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, 1/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

None currently.

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)

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Ingrid leads her new charges into the torture chamber. Kill wolves and anything with them, she commands the newly risen dead. Seeing the shocked looks on the faces of her friends, she forestalls any questions. I may have gained Holy Tritherion's wrath, but I hope they can slow down the wolves long enough to allow me to cast out the demon. Now, let's get to the bunk room and start the ritual.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks down at Mouser before uncouthly spitting a big loogie into one corner of the room.

"This area appears void of any life, so let's leave it that way."

If that move wasn't strange enough, the druid then rubs the sweat from his underarms around on the walls and floor of the hallway momentarily, trying to leave a human scent in this area before turning to exit. "I suggest if you need to relieve yourself before we are attacked, this is as good a place as any."

Once he has returned to the others, he throws open the pair of doors leading into the kitchen and the summoning room, suggesting that as much heavy stuff as they can find be piled against the door leading back into the torture chamber, once everyone has exited, of course.

"Master Urdur. If we all hide in the barracks room, locking ourselves inside, can you make it appear that the closed door has been left hanging wide open, as I have left these others?"

He nods at the quick thinking and great planning from Ingrid.
"I might also suggest another silence spell be cast in the doorway, preventing them from hearing what we are doing in the depths of the room."

[ravenn4544]

Mouser quietly watches Bo leave in silent reflection. He'll take a quiet peek into the unexplored passageway to the south before returning...

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur nods at Bo's suggestion. Good idea. When the preparations are made, Urdur creates the illusion.

Casts Improved Phantasmal Force.

[Inferno]

Sorry Pixie and Urson, moving it along.