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Jerome
Jerome startles at the sudden commotion and charges, sword raised. Partway to engaging Telkis, he stops- skidding in the snow.
You people are cursed! I see now!
He turns his sword, so that any attack he makes will be with the flat side of the blade. He closes in on the changelings, hoping he will not be forced to injure them.
St. Cuthbert, Guardian of The White, bless us and give us strength!

Unseen Urdur knows that this is just part of the process. Probably. He draws a dagger and prepares to cast a spell, just in case.

Bo scowls and howls loudly as the horrific transformation wracks his tired old body again. He tries as hard as he can to concentrate on the processes of his “change” while it happens, trying not only to understand it, but to control it.

System Shock (70%) [1d100] = 9

“GRAAHHAAAAAAIIIIGGGGGHHHHHSSSSHHHHHhhhhggggrrrrrooooods be damned, that hurts! Don’t kill us! I think this is supposed to happen!!!”

AHHHHHHHHHHH

must keep control

brevos will grasp his head and drop to his knees

Mouser draws his silver dagger, wary, but shakes his head at whats happening...... "I hope they followed the recipe..."

Jerome
Jerome looks pained, clearly torn between the threat that were-creatures present and his desire to help and comfort his new companions.
He settles for a prayer, holding his holy symbol and muttering under his breath.

Burial Ground of the Ancient Shrine of Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Nineteen. Midnight. Wednesday, November 30th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.







Before the heroes' disbelieving eyes, at the edge of a frozen field of mass graves, Bo, Brevos and Telkis transform into unspeakable things not of this world!

Ingrid, shocked and aghast, pleads for the forgiveness and absolution she fears will never come. Meanwhile, Jerome, Mouser, Rudolf and Urdur all bare steel in dread anticipation of what they must do next!

The young paladin of St. Cuthbert resolutely grips his sword and grimly advances on the once-human monsters with prayers upon his trembling lips.

Brevos falls to his knees, groaning and crying out. Telkis begins to rip his armor off, lest it strangle him as he assumes his other shape! Long Bo, writhing from unimaginable agony, helpless to defend himself, begs Jerome not to kill him!

The young paladin is moved. He stays his terrible sword.

Suddenly, the three changelings cease their ghastly becoming! They slowly return to their normal forms and are themselves once more! They lay on the bone-white snow of the graveyard; panting, gasping, their hearts pounding in their chests.

From three of the heroes, the dread Curse of The Beast is lifted.


Actions?!


Map:

The heroes are at the X, the ancient shrine to the source of evil that plagued Briarsgate.


Non-Required Reading (rolls and rulings):


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
  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)

Jerome
Jerome continues his prayers, watching the newly-cured. Are you well, friends? Have you been purged? He's hopeful, but hasn't let his guard down.

Unseen Urdur asks How do you feel? Different? Regardless of the response, when everyone is ready, he says, Let's do this.

He enters the dungeon with the group.

Brevos rinses out his mouth

I feel as if a weight was lifted

Ingrid Esthof

Is...is this real? Are you well and truly freed of the curse?

Jerome
Jerome relaxes and smiles when he sees that the changelings are OK, and that they seem to be free of the curse.

Telkis rolls over and sits up. He regards the others. "That hurt," he says. "I think it worked, though - I feel different. Thank you for not stabbing me."

Flexing the tightness out of his recently contorted frame, he'll tighten his armor again and make ready to enter the strange edifice. "Best we end this as soon as possible."

"I can check out the gate for anything hidden that might hurt us," the still invisible Rudolph adds after taking a breath, not sure how long he had been holding it in. "I just didn't want to, Rudolph takes another, shivering kind of breath, "cross to it alone."

Bo tries to understand what is happening but can’t.

Once the cure has run its course, he takes in a beep breath of the cold air and prepares his things.

“That was more unpleasant than I expected it to be. Though I must say that I do feel better. Free, even.”

“Brevos makes a good point. We could get away from here and continue searching this mountain for enough herb to cure us all. I can use my magic to aid in the search, which should work if there is any more around to be had. Then we could all be rid of this evil curse for good, before we ever enter the cave.”

“Of course, if there is no more wolvesbane to be found, we will have wasted some of the precious time we do have left.”

After giving his opinion, the now cured druid readies to follow along with the group, whatever they decide.

Ingrid Esthof

Now that we know the cure works, I believe we should throw ourselves into searching for ingredients to cure the rest of us.

Mouser scans the horizon as the debate to what to do next continues. "You know those mounds will hound something sinister for us - I don't think we should cross alone. Maybe we'll find more of the ingredients closer to gate? In other words, we shouldn't linger here."

Burial Ground of the Ancient Shrine of Evil, the Dark Mountain, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Nineteen. Midnight. Wednesday, November 30th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear.







Within sight of their dread goal, the heroes falter.

Jerome's fire dies at the edge of the vast graveyard. Midnight upon the mountainside cast in eerie moonlit shadow is a remote, foreboding and alien landscape, silent and devoid of life.

After a grueling, brutal day spent climbing the ancient stone steps, the heroes are frozen, exhausted and uncertain about their next course of action.

Bo, Brevos and Telkis, miraculously cured of the Curse, stagger to their feet in disbelief.

Urdur and Telkis would press on with urgency to face whatever dread horrors lie in store for them. If the child Amity Mantle, kidnapped by witches and brought to this darkest of places, still lives then every moment counts. An innocent life hangs in the balance.

Brevos and Ingrid would retreat back down the steep stone stair to search a second time for wolfsbane along its treacherous looming path. The precious blossom for which they seek now resides beneath newly fallen snow. It may never be found. But it holds the key to their deliverance.

At the top of the world, beneath the infinite black abyss of distant stars and darkness without end, they confer and debate. All the while, the demihumans barely hear the soft, screeching, unrelenting tone that haunts the furthest edges of their weary perception.


Actions?


Map:

The heroes are at the X, the ancient shrine to the source of evil that plagued Briarsgate.





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
  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)

"Wasting time talking gets us nowhere fast," Rudolf says out loud, as the party sees his small footsteps appearing in the snow moving toward the gate. "Let's do what we came here to do, then search for plants," the footsteps stop as he turns around, "if this takes longer than a couple days, it likely won't matter. Probably easier to find the plants after we've destroyed the evil shrine. Either way, we know when the change will happen, and we will just have to be prepared," the footsteps continue their trudging toward the gate.