"I'm fine, Mulluq doesn't look to have taken more than superficial injury. Jod looks to be in some pain though. Perhaps give him one first?"
Kira will move to help Mulluq, too.
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Sol stares cluelessly at the book, ring, and vials. He does watch with great interest as Hannik determines the vials' contents, but he has very little to offer.
Mulluq's suggestion provides a welcome relief to the young man's feeling of uselessness. He reaches for one of the ghouls.
"I couldn't tell you what these say, but I know what they do. Healing potions." In a little lower tone she looks over her companions after fighting the ghouls and asks, "How bad off are you guys? Anevia and Arvashnial have got to be in a lot of pain. These aren't going to fix them up, but they might take the edge off. "
"I'm fine, Mulluq doesn't look to have taken more than superficial injury. Jod looks to be in some pain though. Perhaps give him one first?"
Kira will move to help Mulluq, too.
Sol pauses a second. "It sounds cruel, but I'd say keep them against greater need, though I wish we could restore the mage's sight. Anevia and Arvashnial are both mobile enough for now. Who knows what else we'll confront down here."
Grimacing at the smell, he helps drag one of the ghouls out of the temple. Then he returns to array the skeleton's bones on the bench. "If that pit wasn't so foul, I'd suggest that we inter him there. It seems he kept vigil here until he died."
"I'm fine, Mulluq doesn't look to have taken more than superficial injury. Jod looks to be in some pain though. Perhaps give him one first?"
Kira will move to help Mulluq, too.
"Well, now that we seem to have cleared the place of intruders, this seems like a good, defensible place to hold up for a while."
"Resting here seems like a good idea."
Jod finishes transferring the holy water into his waterskin. "Does anyone else want to carry the holy water? Say, cousin, do you think these scratches deserve magical healing?"
Rhok peers closelyat Jod's gashes. "They do; not only are you hurt, but the marks of such unclean claws should never be left to themselves."
The little temple forms a nice little defensive redoubt for the night.
"Thank you, cousin. I suppose you are right - that feels much better."
Once the healing is dealt with, if there remains a body he can help remove, he will do so.
Mulluq is too uncertain about his own faith and ability to act in Her name, to really become the voice representing the reconsecration of the temple. He eagerly awaits for someone to take the lead, so he may assist them in any way.
Kira will pray with Mulluq.
Ghroth drags the other ghoul out of the temple and tosses it atop the others.
Inside the temple Hannik sits down and stretches out while Mulluq frets over setting things right and polishing smudges and so on. At some point she digs in her bag and pulls out a smaller bag of roasted chestnuts and offers him one then continues to watch his efforts with mild curiosity.
Ghroth drops on his haunches and keep watch out front.
Everyone flops down to rest. Despite the strain of recent events, no one sleeps well, dreams haunted by nightmares. With no sun by which to judge the time, it passes in an oddly disorienting way.
"So, what's for breakfast? I have some trail rations, but not enough for all of us - and they aren't particularly tasty. And my waterskin has holy water in it now. Trade some rations for something to drink?"
"I have neither to hand. I wasn't expecting an extended absence."
While Mulluq works, "What exactly are you doing there? I thought you worked for Iomedae? Are you trying to turn this little temple over to her? Won't that leave Torag a little pissed? Or are you trying to spiff up a rival gods temple? Wouldn't that made Iomedae jealous or something?"
On waking-
"I've got a little water, but not much more than snacks as far as food goes. We're going to have to get a move on. Nine of us and maybe trail food for two..."
Hannik questions do not bother in their inquisitiveness, but they do make him internally question what he is doing, or really intends. His constant feelings of low self-worth only makes it so that he loses faith in his right to even try and provide spiritual cleansing to the temple. All he can offer in explanation to his actions is a meek, "I was just trying to promote goodness back to a holy site. Iomedae and Torag are not rivals, I think, so any godd returned is better than it remaining tainted by evil. Sadly, I am nothing in the eyes of either that the prayers of a being as naturally balck-hearted as I could never hope to bring good back to this place."
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Mulluq begins his day with prayer, before polishing his armor as best he can, and sharpening his blade. "I have a week's worth of food myself, but only a single skin of water. If I must go without so that the rest of you need not go hungry or thirsty, I will do so."
Kira will pray on waking and prepare the same spells as yesterday. After that she readies her crossbow, and prepares to take the rear guard again.
"Keep your food for now. We don't know how long we will be down here. Shall we get moving?"
"Sure, let's get going."
The passage out of the cavern contaning the shrine heads south. The companions head along it, moving slowly to accommodate Anevia's slow limp. After perhaps an hour or so, it widens into another larger cave. Stone figures are carved into the walls. Each depicts a different crusader, clad in armour and holding weapons, but on their faces are expressions of sadness.
"Solemn group. Who came all the way down here to carve statues?"
"Funerary...? Like a tomb?" He looks around. The last tomb we were in, the occupants forgot they were sleeping the long sleep.
"There sure are a lot of catacombs down here. Hopefully we are following a way up and out and not deeper into a graveyard."
"Huh. So we aren't even in the Sarkorian refugees' undercity..."
"Crusader statues, you say?" says Aravashnial. "I've heard rumours - nothing more, mind you - that some of the crusaders from the First Crusade who came here and settled became tainted with chaotic energies from the Abyss. Although their hearts were not tainted, their bodies were, but it only manifested when they began to have monstrous children. It's said they descended into the undercity to raise their children in peace, and that their descendants still live down here. Perhaps this is their memorial..."
"First crusade? How long ago was that?"
"About eighty years, Jod. Long enough to raise several generations of mutants." Rhok did not sleep well in the ghoul-infested chapel, and he is not in a good mood. "Hopefully their hearts remain pure."
"That was the next question, yes..."
He keeps a hand on his sword as he peers into the gloom. "So the path leads here. Where does it go next?" He studies the ground ahead of them once again, looking for signs of recent passage.
"So... Tunnels full of mutoids. Things just keep looking up. On the other hand if the cursed crusaders settled down here to raise children, they must have found a source of water and food to make that sustainable. If that is more than a rumor I guess."
"Mutated or not, settling down to raise your family in peace doesn't scream EVIL at me. They may be peaceful; but we should be vigilent. Mulluq, you can feel when there is evil in a creature can you not?"
"Crusader statues, you say?" says Aravashnial. "I've heard rumours - nothing more, mind you - that some of the crusaders from the First Crusade who came here and settled became tainted with chaotic energies from the Abyss. Although their hearts were not tainted, their bodies were, but it only manifested when they began to have monstrous children. It's said they descended into the undercity to raise their children in peace, and that their descendants still live down here. Perhaps this is their memorial..."
When Mulluq hears this, he looks on at the statues with a mix of pity, shame, and a little bit of anger. He knows all too well about the corruptive nature of the Worldwound and demonkind on offspring. As the group throws around the word mutant casually, he grows frustrated, and even snaps before catching himself, "Yes! I can!" His eyes go wide, and he dips his head in supplication, "I apologize for the outburst, it was ill-natured and unwarranted. I do have the ability to sense the darkness, which I possess deep inside, in others. It is not foolproof, some have ways of hiding their darkness from me."
Hannik gets in close to examine the figures for any inscriptions or hidden panels or anything, but really she's kidding herself. The lighting is bad and she doesn't really expect to find anything so her search is more about passing the time while the others chat about evil.
"C'mon. Let's get out of here."
"Yeah, let's go."
"Yeah, we might as well get the herd going. And stealth is probably not the way to go. We'll likely be spotted anyway, and will look suspicious while doing it."