Chapter 9: Temple of Fear

[Zhym]

"This is not good," says Grothnak. "But we must get back to the others. Now. We will tell them what we found."

He leaves and joins the others to the west.

I assume that none of the acolytes registered as colder than their surroundings?

[Grognardsw]

Grey Mouser opens the secret door and motions through Pelias, knowing the righteous paladin better equipped to fight unknown dangers beyond.

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo also steps aside to await the lead fighters, now certain that they are right on the heels of their target.

I saw him enter through here! We must pursue and stop him if we ever want to retain any element of surprise in here.

If he was still carrying the female with him, he couldn't have gotten too far yet!!!

[AleBelly]

Grey Mouser opens the secret door and motions through Pelias, knowing the righteous paladin better equipped to fight unknown dangers beyond.

Pelias goes through the door, stopping in the archway. "No more stones at my back, understood? I face enough danger from the front."

He continues.

[Mant72]

Ingrid follows closely behind the Pelias, casting a wary eye toward the altar and the pair of doors.

[ChubbyPixie]

"This is not good," says Grothnak. "But we must get back to the others. Now. We will tell them what we found."

He leaves and joins the others to the west.

I assume that none of the acolytes registered as colder than their surroundings?

"Indeed," says Telkis, having no idea what to make of the cold circle and equally determined about not separating from the group. "Perhaps Pelias or Ingrid will know what to make of this. I've never been in a human temple before. Can't say I'd recommend it, based on my current experience." He trundles off after Grothnak.

[Starbeard]

Moogeye steadies her crossbow with her foot and prepares another quarrel. With crossbow in one hand and pole-arm in the other, she begins to move up the stairway, though at half-speed to give the others a chance to catch up. If she is assaulted by any adversaries from above, she drops her pole-arm at her feet and shoots with the crossbow.

Light crossbow (ThAC0 20/22/25): hit [1d20] = 3, damage [1d4] = 2

[Inferno]

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Night. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





Upon consecrated ground desecrated by sin, the battle became a chase. The stalwart heroes do not relent. Tracking two hooded cultists and their captive, they fearlessly plunge deeper into unknown, uncharted territories within the evil house of worship.



With Moogeye taking the lead, they cautiously scale the winding, serpentine stair that snakes higher and higher until it opens onto a candlelit, 40 foot long, marble corridor.



That bone grey hall ends with a closed door. They reach it and find it locked tight. Moogeye tries another key but the door stays firmly in place, as if barred on the other side.

From that side, faint words barely emanate. A woman's voice. The heroes fall quiet, craning closer to hear and suddenly...

BONG!

Church bells.

BONG!

As slow as the heartbeat of a dying man.

BONG!

The stately, patient knell tolls from somewhere high above them.

BONG!




Actions?


Map:

Map of Church of Merikka 2.1.jpg (234.56 KiB) Viewed 836 times

One square = 10 feet.





PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: AC 7, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 5, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: AC 4, HP 25/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 15/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 1/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: AC 6, HP 14/22, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 1/1 3rd lvl
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 15/19, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: AC 0, HP 23/28

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

[Zhym]

"A door will not stop us!" cries Grothnak. He rushes forward and kicks the barred door!

BB/LG (1-20): [1d100] = 16

[Grognardsw]

Grey Mouser, thief

"I fear that bell may bring down the village upon us."

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis hefts Cranach and prepares to rush in.

[Mant72]

Ingrid utters a silent prayer for the sake of herself, the party and the abducted victim. She clutches her weapon and prepares to plow through the doorway with the others.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo curses under his breath for not thinking of the damn bell tower.

We must stop that bells tolling immediately! It will most certainly bring more unwanted attention to our mission in here.

If there is anything he can do to help Grothnak get through the door quicker, he does so.

[AleBelly]

"We locked the gates. We should bar the doors behind us. We will be fine, Heironeus willing!"

Pelias will follow Grothnak through the door, sword at the ready.

[Mant72]

"I fear those we left bound outside the temple will be joining us soon," Ingrid mutters to the group before they burst through the door.

[Starbeard]

Moogeye steps aside and prepares her pole-arm, ready to rush in with the others once the door is open. 'Now is the time to act, rather than to speculate. Let others come; we shall slay them as well.'

[Inferno]

The Church of Merikka (21)
Village of Briarsgate, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Seven. Night. Saturday, October 22nd, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, misty





In the dead of night, church bells toll in Briarsgate.



BONG!

Mouser says, "I fear that bell may bring down the village upon us."

"We must stop that tolling immediately!" growls Long Bo.

BONG!

Moogeye says, "Let others come; we shall slay them as well."

Merciful Avril replies, "Yet we must ever remember these villagers are victims, enslaved thralls, of the sinister forces we oppose."

BONG!

Mighty Grothnak rushes forward, throws his broad shoulder at the barred door and breaks it down!

BO- !

The knell dies mid-ring.

• • The crack of the splintering door perishes.
    
    • • Suddenly, the heroes are once more deafened, as if by Ingrid's prayer of aural annihilation.

The door comes apart without a sound. Beyond it is a beautiful woman who is not the one they seek.




Armored beneath a black cloak, she sits within a pentagram. Mouser wonders if this devilish woman could be Misha Devi, the priestess of Merikka that Mouser had heard of during his and Hoom's interrogation of Baltus Ardwyck at knife point. The dark woman's lips move but say nothing that can be heard. This candlelit chamber (11) also holds benches, two doors, and something else...

Between the muted, deafened heroes and the woman (MD?) is a defiled altar surrounded by the dead.





As the valiant adventurers break the door asunder and burst into the room, the fleshless corpses silently arise from that unholy altar and attack them with murderous abandon!





Actions?


Map:

Map of Church of Merikka 2.2.jpg (267.28 KiB) Viewed 774 times

One square = 10 feet.





PC Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/2: AC 7, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl
  Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 1/2: AC 5, HP 10/10, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: AC 4, HP 25/28
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 15/16, Spells: 1/4 1st lvl and 1/3 2nd lvl
  Long Bo, Human Druid 3: AC 6, HP 14/22, Spells: 1/5 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl and 1/1 3rd lvl
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 11/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 15/19, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: AC 0, HP 23/28

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.

PC Resources:

• Map of Briarsgate
  NPC List for Briarsgate
  The Story So Far (in words)
  The Story So Far (in pictures)

[Zhym]

Grothnak swings his halberd named for death at the legions of the dead.

Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 5+2 = 7, Dmg [1d10+4] = 3+4 = 7 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 7+4 = 11 (L)

Badly.

[Grognardsw]

"We locked the gates. We should bar the doors behind us. We will be fine, Heironeus willing!"

"This stone place would be hard to burn down," admits Grey Mouser.

Beholding the terrible scene beyond the door, Grey takes a long shot. From the back he twirls his sling and shoots a stone over the fray at the woman, hoping to interrupt any casting that may be underway.

Sling (THACO 20) [1d20+2] = 20+2 = 22, damage [1d4+1] = 1+1 = 2

[OGRE MAGE]

Long Bo lets Avril get ahead of him in the ranks, hoping she can do something about these boneheads.

He steps backwards, speaking out loud to himself in order to gauge the limitations of the silence spell. If he locates the edge of the range where he can hear again, he begins waving his arms and shouting to let the others know as well.

He then remembers that the cleric will also need to be heard in order to turn the undead monsters away. He tries to get her attention, hoping that she can figure out what he is trying to do.

He takes out an oil flask and tries to lob it over the heads of the skeletons, hoping to hit the woman in the pentagram.

Random D20 [1d20] = 2 oh well