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While Ingrid examines the room for traps, Avril does the same for secret doors. With no obvious point of exit, the elven maiden wants to make sure the group hasn't overlooked anything. "The fire by the entrance," she starts as she begins her examination. "Perhaps it has burnt out?"

Zhym wrote:Grothnak stretches his neck, trying to shake off the lingering effects of paralysis. He stands erect and faces the others. "I apologize to each of you," he says. "It was rash to move into the room when we were already injured."

He waits on guard until the others are ready to leave.

Pelias takes a break from inspecting the altar and breathes deeply. "I have never questioned your bravery, Grothnak. For the sake of our friendship, ask me not about your wisdom."

His magic completely spent, Bo leans heavily on his spear now, still crouched over in this hellish mud tunnel.

I think we need to get ourselves out of here while we can. You can try to destroy that alter if you think it feasible, but I think it is too dangerous to stay in here a moment longer.

If the fire burns out, the evil ones will be sure to come looking for us.

The lanky man takes back his lantern and heads in the direction of the windy hidden tunnel.

Moogeye moves away from the altar. "It seems too sturdy to deface quickly. We can bring a wood axe when we return. Or, we can just set fire to it now and run away."

Her musing is sidetracked by Bo's departure. She skips off after him, to investigate the drafty tunnel in the ceiling.

Day Six.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6).
Between midnight and 1am, Friday, October 21st, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





Beneath the village of Briarsgate, the adventurers cautiously investigate a hidden sanctum of unspeakable, otherworldly evil (24).

Before the motionless, ivory sculpture of the loathsome abhorrence, Pelias examines the sacrificial altar. Fashioned from stone, its physical destruction would be akin to shattering a boulder. But Avril, Ingrid and Pelias were schooled in the methods and manifestations of deviltry. With grim realization, they know the forsaken altar is consecrated to evil, making this entire chamber powerful to the servants of darkness, granting them impious protection and perverse strength. This depraved power can only be broken by the desecration of the unholy altar: shattering its form, pouring holy water upon it, or casting the holy spells of Blessings or Prayers. (as per DMG p.66)

Avril searches for secret passages from this corrupt chamber, and finds none.

Ingrid casts holy magic to grant herself the gift of sight. Her eyes pierce shadow, stone, earth, flesh; all artifices of subterfuge and deception, whether forged by man or sorcery, stand revealed before her now. There are none in this place. The priestess of Trithereon inspects the entire shrine including the cemetery angels that blasphemously frame the broken coffin that reeks of rot and death.
The twin statues are magnificent examples of the classical style of the once great civilizations of Thracia and Cynidecia, famed for their glory and grandeur; both lost forever to antiquity, no more than myths now in these Dark Ages of the Oerth.

Avril joins her, peering closer into the northern alcove and discovers the fair, noble faces appear to be discrete, detachable elements of the statues - "concealed doors" - masks. Ingrid senses no peril lurking within these exalted seraphim, and she and Avril carefully remove the masks and find something startling beneath each one.
Just behind those beautiful visages of idealized, angelic perfection lurk tentacled, serpentine horrors. A hidden, insidious evil, not unlike the sinister shadow that plagues Briarsgate.

Meanwhile, Long Bo and Moogeye navigate the winding, treacherous shafts back to the ceiling hole with the fell wind. On the way, the shadows at the edge of the lantern light seem to writhe of their own strange will.



The druid and the monk peer closer and see black tendrils of smoke pulsing among the shadows (at 'S'). They reach the chamber of the ceiling hole (21) and find the air deathly still. The black maw no longer spews its rank breeze. The foul draft had created air pressure that kept the fire's smoke at bay. Now, with the fell wind dead, this hellish warren would soon be filled with thick smoke, asphyxiating all within, strangling and choking them to death.

In the other chamber (24), Avril, Grothnak and Telkis suddenly smell smoke.


Actions?

• • The lighter areas mark visibility. All else is from memory and the PCs' map.
    Each square is 5 feet. Movement in tunnels is halved.
    Red marks the dead. Black S's mark the smoke.

Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 5/17
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 6/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 2/15, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 2/11
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 8/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 3/19
  
  Magic:
  • Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
    Find Traps (Ingrid): Range: 30 feet. Duration: 40 minutes.
  Resources:
  • Map of Briarsgate
    NPC List for Briarsgate
    The Story So Far (in words)
    The Story So Far (in pictures)

Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter

"I believe our decision has been made for us. We'll have to come back later to destroy this cursed altar," says Telkis when the smell of smoke hits him. He runs for the escape tunnel.

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid gasps at the horrific revelation. "An ancient evil lurks under this city."

She turns to the others: "My energies are all spent, I cannot call down Trithereon's might and vengeance upon this abominated sanctuary. If any of you has Blessed Water, we can use it... later. Time is running out. Smoke will fill the tunnels soon. We must use that exit you found."

Long Bo Shakes his head both at the smoke and the fact that there is no longer a breeze coming from the secret tunnel. It wont be long now until we are all dead in this hellish grave.

Noticing that they are all alone, the large druid asks Moogeye what's up. Would you like me to give you a boost up into that hole or would you rather I go in to investigate it first?

Avril, understanding the risk smoke can present, quickly follows behind Telkis en route to the escape tunnel.

Ingrid Esthof, cleric

Ingrid moves towards the potential exit too.

Moogeye examines the tunnel rising up in to the ceiling with Bo. "I have some climbing skill. I believe I can make my way up without much trouble if you provide an initial boost. I will throw down a rope if I can find anything to tie it to."

From her things she retrieves a length of rope, a bullseye lantern and a tinderbox, and drops her pack and weapons in favour of a dagger. "I am ready," she says, now prepared to be hoisted up into the shaft.

With no holy water handy, Pelias quickly relieves himself on the altar. Although it will likely have no discernible effect, it gives the paladin some small measure of satisfaction. He then hurries after the others, guarding the party's rear.

Bo obliges Moogeye with a boost up into the mysterious hole.

I can hear that the others are about to join us. Do be careful up there dear girl! We have no idea what might be in there or even why the wind has stopped.

I believe that this tunnel will come out in the graveyard, but I have no facts to base that assumption off of.

Day Six.
Village of Briarsgate, Beneath the Golden Grain Inn (6).
Between midnight and 1am, Friday, October 21st, 576 CY.
Full moon, partly cloudy, damp, cold, misty.





The adventurers flee the horrific sanctum of the ophidian demon thing and race through the pitch, uneven shafts of its accursed domain. At the edge of the wavering lantern light they see black smoke filling this subterranean netherworld.

They reach the ceiling hole and frantically push each other up into its waiting jaws, and the earthen gullet beyond.



Moogeye goes first and finds nothing in the tight shaft to tie a rope to, except herself. The young monk ropes her waist and crawls on her belly into the filthy, horizontal tunnel, allowing the rope and her legs to help the others pull themselves up and into the channel.

One helps the other until, single file, they crawl and struggle and toil, many in heavy armor, through the tight mud tunnel. There is no longer any draft here; the air is bad and the stench of death is thick. The sounds of their grunting and breathing echo all around. Moogeye bravely leads the way, gripping her dagger in anticipation of a pale, undead cannibal squirming right toward her in the constricting tunnel from the other direction. Hours seemingly pass like this; then days.

The heroes finally spill out, wounded, mud-covered and reeking, into a cold, dark cavity. Waves of screeching rats flee before their lantern light, and they see, to their horror, they stand within a coffin-filled tomb.
Lids have been rent asunder and the desiccated human ruins within have been hideously violated.





The adventurers find a rectangular shaft in the crypt leading upward. They climb its rickety ladder 25 feet, single file, and reach the top of the vault only to find it covered with a great capstone lid that might serve as their tombstone. With dread, they envision the mausoleum chamber above them...
The adventurers are buried alive, interred beneath the earth with the forsaken dead. And black smoke begins to slowly billow from the hole behind them.


Actions?





Status:

• Avril Hollysword, Half-Elf Fighter/Cleric 1/1: AC 7, HP 4/9, Spells: 0/3 1st lvl
  Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 2: AC 4, HP 5/17
  Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 3: AC 3(1), HP 6/16, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/3 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Long Bo, Human Druid 2: AC 6, HP 2/15, Spells: 0/4 1st lvl and 0/2 2nd lvl, Lantern
  Moogeye Comcra, Human Monk 2: AC 8, HP 2/11, Lantern
  Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 2: AC 2(0), HP 8/19, Laying Hands: 0/1
  Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 2: AC 0, HP 3/19

Magic:

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

Resources:

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

"The smoke follows us still" laments Pelias. "Our most dangerous foe. Quickly, gather all unnecessary clothing! We must make the tunnel airtight while we figure a way out of this!"

He removes his cloak from his shoulders and pulls another from his backpack. He carefully inspects the coffins to see if there are any intact cloths that he could add to his cloaks to plug up the tunnel.

He pulls his prayer beads from his pockets and mumbles a desperate prayer to Heironeus.

Tired and exhausted from their climb through the tight tunnel, Avril takes a swig from her waterskin and wipes the sweat from her muddied brow. "My strength lies in my convictions, and my faith to Corellon." Avril starts, looking hopefully at Grothnak. "Any chance those of you with more physical prowess would be able to force open that capstone lid," she concludes, allowing her gaze to shift to the barrier blocking their escape.

She begins to study the ceiling around the capstone, looking for any hint of light, or vulnerability, so that the group may be able to dig upwards and hopefully towards the surface.

Moogeye tries to brace herself against the ladder and/or vault wall, pawing at the capstone for a solid hold with which she can push it aside. "We escape through here, or suffocate," she says.

Telkis will throw his bedroll to whoever is plugging the hole. Then he'll wait his turn to attempt the stone lid. In the meantime he'll inspect the walls and floor for any other hidden means of escape.