North of the city of Bard’s Gate, in the hills of the Stoneheart Mountains, lie the ruins of twin shrines dedicated to Thyr and Muir—the God of Justice and the Goddess of Virtue and Paladinhood. Near the ruined shrines lies a series of catacombs used as burial halls for the followers of Thyr and Muir. The complex has come to be known as the Stoneheart Mountain Dungeon. Your group has been commissioned by the remaining priests of Thyr and Muir in Bard’s Gate to seek out the Burial Halls and to locate within them the tomb of Alaric the
Paladin and there recover the Stone of Tircople— a holy relic.
Setting out from the Silver Serpent Inn in Bard’s Gate, your group has traveled through the vale north of Bard’s Gate towards the foothills of the Stoneheart Mountains and the hidden path to the valley of the shrines.
Using the map supplied to you by the head priest of Thyr, Bofred the Just, back in Bards Gate, your party eventually found the hidden path and—climbing the twisting and hidden stairs—you discovered a beautiful peaceful valley nestled within the foothills. In the valley amongst the swaying green trees,you spied two large structures—the once majestic shrines to Thyr and Muir—standing near a small lake of dark and polluted water. The lake seems oddly out of place in such a peaceful place. Muck rings the lake and reeds clog its shores.
Both structures are of similar appearence. Both seem to face the lake and seem to made of white marble in an ancient style. (ooc)Think Ancient greek temple(/ooc) Also you note that both structures seem to be in a state of disrepair with crumbling stonework evident everywhere.
Two-Fisted stretches after the exhilirating climb up the hidden stairs. He gazes down upon the shrines of old, but he finds no nostalgic feelings for them. He is only grateful that the Paladins of Muir saved his mother when he was a babe. Otherwise, he has no feelings about the shrines, other than the task at hand.
Well, here we are. I guess we better get down there. The Stone of Tircopli will not be coming to us. Anyone know if the catacombs are entered through the shrines, or do they have an outside, separate entrance?
Ijen slides her pack off her shoulders and stretches the kinks from her back. "Something looks wrong about that lake..." Ijen looks about, are the lakes inlet and outlets discernible?
Gyles looks upon the ruins of the shrines "I can picture the beauty that once was here, a place truly close to the gods. The green of the valley, the calm blue waters of the lake, and the beacons of hope and goodness standing proudly." Gyles shakes his head, almost as if he is deeply saddened by the state of things before him. "Ijen, the waters have been long without the blessings of Thyr and Muir, the darkness of the world has crept in and corrupted the pureness that was here... once... so very long ago."
Belnan seems glad to be finally able to start the primary task, and cuts to the point immediately, as is his usual behavior. "I suggest we clear up matters of the lake and than start with the temple of Thyr. We may need to make a semi permanent camp, and having the safety of the lake in question would not be a good idea."
"I believe that the purity of the lake will not be restored by something that we do to it but rather the return of Thyr and Muir to these spots of worship. I do agree that we should look to one of the temples as a place to make a camp, there may be some residual holy energy from times long past. Perhaps it will grant us favor as we will be under the watchful eyes of both Thyr and Muir. Thyr to sooth and calm us and Muir to protect us from the evils of the world."
Aye, lead on then Gyles, to the temples.
"The purity of the lake is not in and of itself my concern as much as ascertaining precisely what level of threat it is and what is needed to eliminate or at least contain that threat while we deal with our main goals."
Upon seeing the valley and the party had stopped to survey the valley, Mai'ela lowers her backpack to the ground, taking out her waterskin for a sip as she looks intently at the lake, to determine if the lake is simply the result of natural decay or something sinister.
Knowledge (nature):
Mai'ela gives a chuckle, without turning to speak to Ragar, "I sure it would be very nice if the Stone of Tircopli was brought by our allies to us. Then again that would be too easy, and definitely boooooooring."
She looks about the temples, "If Gyles senses that the temple is corrupted, we can perhaps find a enclave against the hill side to set up camp.", always looking for an opportunity to make camp outside built structures preferring to be surrounded by nature when nature is available.
Mai'ela
From where you all stand, you can see the imposing bulk that is the Stoneheart mountain range, rising as a magnificent backdrop beyond the two temples. Further beyond the temples you can see a forest of connifer trees and just visible is a path that appears to be paved that leads off through a gap in the trees, heading in the general direction of the mountains. The path appears to be flanked by two white stone monoliths. You also note that a small stream runs into the lake that looks as if it originates somewher in the mountains.
AJ's Dad:
Mai'ela lets out sigh with her shoulder drooping, and shakes her head. She turns away from the lake, "Something has tainted the lake and it's surrounding edge.", looks up at the temples, "I suspect if the lake is tainted with something bad, then the temples may themselves be corrupted with the same evil."
She decides to look at the entire valley to see if she can determine anything significant or spot something that might be of a threat to them.
Perception:
"Gyles, you have any clue as to how big these catacombs are? I'm just wonderin' how permanent of a camp you are thinkin' Cause, you know, as the lady said," nodding to Ijen, "Something lookin' wrong with the lake." With that Ezric falls silent for a moment then chirps up again. "Did any of us happen to bring any excavating gear with us in case any of the tunnels had collapsed?"
She speaks out jovially, "Definitely not me.", then does a body builder stance with her bare arms exposed, "I am the mighty one here, just look at my scrawny muscles. Ain't they impressive."
"Good question Ezric about how big the catacombs are. If they are very big we may end up setting up camp inside the catacombs.", lifting her nose at the thought of the possible decaying smell, "Just hope the smell is not too bad."
"When we get closer I can try to detect the presence of magic. I just hope the taint hasn't caused any issues for anything that may have been in the lake when it hit."
"The catacombs had been used for many generations with many of the worthy buried there so my understanding is that they are vast. My suspicion is that the location was chosen due to there being a natural cave initially so there may be areas that have not even been touched by the priests, or explored. The time that will be needed to explore them and locate the artifact is unknown, prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
"Mai'ela, the smell would not have been bad even if the dead were fresh due to the techniques used after death and the blessings cast in the areas. Considering that it has been quite a while since a priest was laid to rest there I don't think that you need to worry."
Looking once again at the darkened lake and the crumbling temples, "I do not like the look of the lake but our task is not to purge the lake of taint. We must remain focused and concentrate on finding the Stone of Tircople. I do wish to visit the temples and utter prayers to Thyr and Muir where many great men have done before me, but then on to the catacombs."
"Purging the lake is probably beyond our ability, but we should ascertain it's current threat level as we pass by it to the temples. There is no point in rushing blindly in if the catacombs are as vast as you say. Taking time to get a good understanding of what we are dealing with may well save our skins. Therefore at least a cursory search of the lake and temples is advicable before we hit the catacombs."
The time for talk has passed. Can we get moving down towards the temples now?
Two-Fisted casually spins his Orc Double-Axe in front of him as he begins to head down the path towards the temples.
"Good to hear about how the dead priests were treated.", allowing a smile to appear.
"Belnan, is correct in terms what I had in mind. Let us see if we can identify the type of tainting of the lake. I definitely don't have the skill to remove the tainting on such a large scale. I sure it will provide us clues to what we can expect ahead of us.", pauses for the moment looking at the lake once more, "Though we need to be careful not to be entrapped in the surrounding land when we do our little investigation. Besides it is best to know what is behind us as we make our way forward."
She packs away her waterskin and lifts her heavy backpack onto her back once more and her quarter staff in hand again for a walking aid.
The time for talk has passed. Can we get moving down towards the temples now?
With a grin, "Relax, we just wanted to give you a chance at talkin' too. Don't want ya to cut a foot off or something tryin' to do too many things at once, ya know swinging all that steel around."
"Aye, Mai'ela maybe we should go scout out the surroundings once Gyles here picks us a new home."
"Yes, we can take a little walk, once camp is ready for our excess gear.", looks down and give her wolf a rub behind the ears, "I sure Nuama would like to stretch his legs a bit."
Two-fisted stops in his trcks and turns back to the halfling. He throws his head back with a hearty and toothy laugh says,
Aye, little one, I am not much of a talker, more a half-orc of action.
Then a very intimidating and serious look crosses his visage.
And you would do well to remember that I only cut what I plan to kill little man.
"As you are a half-orc of action, if you wish to lead on toward the lake, we should start to look for a suitable spot for a camp and determine what if any threats the lake presents. That way our good paladin will have a chance to investigate the temples sooner rather than later."
Finally, I would be glad to lead us down..let's go!
Two-Fisted again twirling his axe, strolls down the path towards the temples.
** spoiler omitted **
Gyles
AJ's Dad:** spoiler omitted **
Ragar
As they trek down to the Temples, Two-sted points beyond to the mountains.
I have sought revenge on my father for years in these mountains, and the path that heads into the trees behind the temples between the white stones, if local lore is right, leads to the catacombs we seek.
Belnan and his raven flying above follow behind, both looking for good defensible campsites.
Mai'ela
Belnan
With a grin, "As long you, as a half-orc of action of course, don't bring a lot of unwanted action on our heads it's all the good. Most 'of action' people I've known are good and dead..." and then softly and with some anger, "or should be."
Ezric falls silent and a little distant as they continue walking after his last statement, lost in thought to the other's conversations focusing more on his surroundings then his companions.
Two-Fisted stops and turns on the halfling. Looking down on him, he says,
You may be in the wrong line of work if you are worried about unwanted fightin'...you scared, fella? I need to know I can trust you when things get tough little one. Can I?
"Perhaps we can discuss this over supper. I see a nice campsite up on a small rise between the temples."
Two-Fisted stops and turns on the halfling. Looking down on him, he says,
You may be in the wrong line of work if you are worried about unwanted fightin'...you scared, fella? I need to know I can trust you when things get tough little one. Can I?
With a start, Ezric realizes he was being addressed. "Huh?..Oh no I ain't scared. I was just sayin' people like that tend to rush headlong to the chopping block. You know, just thinkin' before ya strike you can finish before your mark knows whats goin' on. If they even figure that out... I ain't afraid of fightin' much less killin' if it's needed. I just say be smart about it."
As everything Two-Fisted processed, Ezric registered the last question. Flushing in anger he yells out, "I pulled my weight just fine while gettin' the Chalice back. your goin' question !?"
Two-Fisted, stares down at the halfling. Then a big smile creases his face.
Ok, I see you have a bit of a mean streak. That'll work just fine.
Two-Fisted turns on his heel, and continues down the slope to the rise between the temples that Belnan pointed out.
I see it, Belnan, looks like a good spot.
Mai'ela laughs, and chirps in quickly, "Remember we supposed to get rid of the foes, not each other.", placing her hand onto Ezric's shoulder.
A more serious expression forms on her face, speaks sternly, "The valley looks peaceful to me, though I getting a feeling we are being watched. I think we need to set camp up in a secure manner, to limit possible directions of attack."
"Enough of the bickering, I though we had that all sorted out already." Gyles gives a stern look to the offenders.
"Let us search out the temples before we settle ourselves, if there is something lurking I want to be rid of it before we relax."
Still glaring at Two-Fisted, he starts in surprise when Mai'ela puts her hand on his shoulder blade half drawn as he turns toward her. "Ack, I didn't see ya. Sorry, not used to gettin' snuck up on." With a smile he goes on, "Makes me a little jumpy."
"Any idea where these watchers are? One of us could try and double back and catch 'em."
At Gyles' command, he glares one more time at Two-Fisted then shakes his head smiling. "Yes, Boss."
Mai'ela's concern's at the fore front of his thoughts he tries to spy out the watcher's she sensed.
Perception: +2 if human
"Lets us first get camp ready, then we can go to see what we can discover."
"Set up camp than make sure nothing living in the lake is going to be a problem before we dive into the temples. I understand your eagerness, my dear paladin, and it is not entirely a bad thing, but it does tend to leave your backside open on occasion." Belnan heads toward the nice looking campsite, keeping weapon ready and eyes open.
Crossbow held ready, Ijen follows Belnan.
"Ooh, the trees are in bloom!"
Ok, Belnan, ready when you are to investigate things.
"Very well, I guess the majority rules in this case. Lead on to the location you think is appropriate."