Chapter 29: Sacrament of Blasphemy

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur follows the group around, wishing he had some spell components. He could at least glamour up some other sounds to drown out the cultists' awful singing.

He continues to look for a loose rock or the like to arm himself with as he runs through the tunnels. He averts his gaze from the ceiling.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis, hurries after Bo, being careful not to look at the pretty stars again. They were so pretty though... no! He doesn't look. He can't. He doesn't.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser follows along. If the doors they come to are locked he’s not sure how they’ll get them open with out his picks. They should open from the side anyway he hopes.

[Inferno]

Beneath the Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast






Beneath solemn hymns to Saint Pentival, the doomed heroes urgently debate their next move in the dank, dark labyrinth!

All the while, the abhorrent shrieking coming from the corridor behind them grows louder!



Lambs are screaming, children wailing, and grown men crying as the unspeakable thing that hunts them closes in!

Jerome prays for righteous vengeance upon his enemies as the heroes flee in accordance to Bo's desperate stratagem and follow their previous path! Cold, bare feet splattering through the newly laid slime trail, they reach the rectangular chamber filled with the stench of fetid rot, mold and decay! (1:09) As their sense of smell is overwhelmed, they shield their sight from the hypnotic crystal flecks in the ceiling!




Then they fly down the slimy stone steps as fast as they dare!





They plunge down the long straight corridor, turn, and race past the ladder that seemingly descends to a third level in the hill under the church of the damned! (VIII)





Lit only by their flickering brands, they twist and turn through winding corridors and reach the trio of locked, barred doors again!




Just minutes ago, Mouser heard naught but silence at two of the doors. Through their iron peepholes, Ingrid saw glimpses of dungeon cells lying beyond. Both held a wooden chest. Either could be a dead end.

Further down the stone corridor lies the rubble of a partial tunnel collapse, and the stairway up. (IV) Urdur sees small, hand-sized stones in the debris of the near cave-in he had rushed through moments ago!

Gulping for air, sides aching, they catch their breath for only a second. And they hear nothing behind them! Yet.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Green exclamation point = the direction of the sound of the horror. Lighter areas are visible, all else is from memory. Darker grey shapes on the floor are slime trails.





PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

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)

[ravenn4544]

Mouser inspects the locks to see if they can be undone. He searches the ground for any item that could be used as an improvised lock pick

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo listens carefully at the opening in the hall, catching his breath and hoping they bought themselves enough time to investigate the doors.

He points to the iron torch sconce Jerome ripped from the stone wall earlier. “Think you could bust or pry these locks open with that thing, master Paladin? Without our gear, it may be our only choice. Though it likely won’t be a quiet undertaking.” He looks to Ingrid next. “Perhaps the priestess would help with that? Might prevent us from hearing that horrible monsters wailing as well.”

At the first hint of slithering or gibberish from the hallway, the druid warns the others and takes off running back up the stairs again.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I can cast a silence spell. Fortunately, that is one that does not require my holy symbol. However, if everyone is within the area we will not be able to hear when the creature is getting closer. We will need people standing outside of the effect to make sure it cannot sneak up on us. For those outside, if you hear the creature, make sure to get the attention of those who are unable to hear so we may all escape. If Jerome is willing to try smashing open the locks with the torch sconce, Ingrid will cast Silence, 15' Radius between the southern two doors. She will then position herself outside the area of effect in the direction they were traveling in case the creature were to double back.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur grabs a few of the loose stones, keeping one in each hand, and tossing one to any companion who wants one.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome moves to defend the rear of the group. where Mouser is shown on the map
If our 'security expert' can't get the locks open, I'll try it.

Priestess, if you choose to silence the area where the doors are, make sure I am beyond the edge- I will keep watch for the shrieking horror behind us.

[Inferno]

Beneath the Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







In the dismal labyrinth, the heinous revolting cries of the slithering atrocity can only be heard in harrowed memory.

The breathless heroes stand before three locked, bolted doors, like those of dungeon prison cells.



The Grey Mouser finds them shut tight. The slime-coated floor offers nothing that can be used as a picklock.

The two gnomes pad down the dank corridor to the partial tunnel collapse where Urdur fills his palms with stones.

Ingrid Esthof chants a prayer that seems deafening in the crypt-like silence. Its echo is without end and then suddenly all sound is strangled!

In the eeriness of the aural abyss, Jerome hammers the bolts with the iron torch sconce for minutes that feel like hours. The unrelenting assault smashes them free of their mountings but the door is still locked. The grey young paladin slams himself into it, trying to break it down! After more excruciatingly long minutes, the door nearly flies from its hinges without making a sound!

Beyond lies a cell devoid of life. Its only prisoner, a wooden chest resting at the far wall, twenty feet away.

In the corridor, Long Bo hears nothing from the north so far...


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Blue circle is area of silence. Lighter areas are visible, all else is from memory. Darker grey shapes on the floor are slime trails. Green exclamation point = the direction of the sound of the horror.

Behind the DM Screen:

Jerome: break bolts (1-2): [1d6]=6, [1d6]=3, [1d6]=2, [1d6]=4 Succeeds on third try. Three minutes.
Jerome: open door (1-2): [1d6]=6, [1d6]=4, [1d6]=3, [1d6]=2 Fourth try. Four minutes.

PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)
Silence, 15' Radius (Ingrid): Duration: 3 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)

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will gather a few stones for use later as missiles, then ask Urdur to help him inspect this rubble strewn lower half of the stairwell to see if they may rig it to collapse when they inevitably flee up the stairs a second time...

[ravenn4544]

Mouser will dash to the box and examine it quickly before opening.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome will set to work on the other locks. When they are all bashed open, he'll return to his 'guard post' at the northern end of this area.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

The cleric will maintain her listening post at the southern end of the hall.

[SocraticLawyer]

Telkis will gather a few stones for use later as missiles, then ask Urdur to help him inspect this rubble strewn lower half of the stairwell to see if they may rig it to collapse when they inevitably flee up the stairs a second time...

Urdur helps his fellow gnome with this task.

[OGRE MAGE]

Concerned about how much time it is taking to smash open the locks, Bo wonders if they lost the creature that was chasing them.

He takes a step backwards and uses the walls corner to block his body from any unseen rear attacks.

He continues listening intently, with only his head poked around the corner, shrugging at the others to indicate that he hasn't heard anything coming yet.

[Inferno]

Beneath the Church of Saint Pentival, The Ashblood Colony, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-seven. Night. Saturday, December 17th, 576 CY
Cold, overcast







After labors long and arduous, Jerome rescues a large chest imprisoned in a locked, barred dungeon cell.

Mouser eagerly comes to investigate. Reflected torchlight from the hallway reveals a brass emblem upon the great trunk bearing a symbol the thief does not recognize. But Jerome does, as he steps closer. It is the sign of the mysterious Order of the Knights of the March.



The religious warrior relays that in times long gone by, before the founding of Gran March, when this land was the seat of the empire of Vecna the Dark Lord, the Order of the Knights of the March was founded by Saint Pentival, ancient paladin of Pelor, legendary foe of Acererak, in whose name the church above them is consecrated, and to whom the Dissenters of the Ashblood Colony now sing.

Pentival was brutally martyred at the wicked hands of the vile servants of Vecna in the last days of that terrible empire. Legends tell that after the fall of Vecna's reign, the Knights of the March became stewards of many strange and powerful artifacts of the Dark Lord, and secreted them away for safe keeping, none know where.

Jerome leaves Mouser to investigate the relic of timeless history, and sets to work on the next door. In the unlit cell, the little thief can see the archaic trunk bears no padlocks, but there seems to be a keyhole.

Outside, at opposite ends of the dank corridor, Long Bo and Ingrid stand vigil, torches held aloft. They hear no bloodcurdling sounds emanating from the depths of the ancient catacomb.



Telkis and Urdur gingerly examine the partial collapse. They find the structural integrity of the aged tunnel has failed here. The gnomes believe a direct impact with enough force might trigger a total collapse, but don't know how much of the tunnel would be consumed.

Returning to territories creepily devoid of sound, Jerome bludgeons the bolts of the next cell door without making a noise. After long minutes he finally shatters them from their housings and with that final stroke, Ingrid's spell of silence dies.

KANG! A hammering crash of iron echoes through the labyrinth!

The bolts are sundered but the door is still locked tight.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet. Blue circle is area of silence. Lighter areas are visible, all else is from memory. Darker grey shapes on the floor are slime trails. Green exclamation point = the direction of the sound of the horror.

Behind the DM Screen:

Jerome: break bolts (1-2): [1d6]=3, [1d6]=3, [1d6]=5, [1d6]=1 Succeeds on fourth try. Four minutes.

PC Status:

Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 19/19, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 12", AC: 9, HP: 38/38, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, Torch
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

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)

[ravenn4544]

Mouser stays clear of the keyhole. He scans the symbols to see if they are some how able to be pressed. He also quickly examines the structure it sits on for traps and to get a sense if the whole thing can just be carried and used as a club.

.


.

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis frowns and looks to Urdur. He rubs his chin. "I don't know that we'll be able to pull it off without tools." he says quietly. "Plus, it could collapse the whole thing for all we know."

After the clanging sound resonates through the hall, he'll move slightly south and listen up the stairs for sounds of the creature approaching.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome scowls as the noise rings up and down the halls. I am worried about that chest- It might be that we will find a powerful weapon to be used against The Darkness. BUT we may also find a tool so powerful we can't control it- and release a new danger to ourselves and The Light.
He examines his hands for cuts caused by using the iron bracket to break locks, then joins the guards- watching the northern end of the corridor. By the Cudgel, I need a drink.