Post battle he was quiet mostly, watching how Sir Thetin handled himself with the troops. He had a lot to learn.
"Watch the weather for stange activity, though it is normal about the world wound from what I had studied on the trip up. Strange things happen in the Wound. A few years ago, The sage Alguna wrote about a blizzard like storm erupting but instead of rain... they were frozen eyeballs. Also rifts from the Abyss have been known to temporarily pop up, so keep a Wary eye out."
He told first his friends, but then he would move to each company to relay the message.
At the end of the next day while the army is setting up their laager, Anevia poked her head in the command tent and said; "Hey guys, take a look at this!"
Outside, she pointed up at the top of the western wall of the gorge.
There, somewhat obscured by blowing dust, stood a partly ruined stone building.
"I think it's an old temple." She said, frowning up at it in concentration.
The building sits atop the cliff, 90 feet above the Ahari gorge below.
In 4629 A.R., a year after Drezen was founded and a year before the First Crusade ended, several crusading paladins and priests built a number of chapels in the lands surrounding their new fortress city.
Each of these chapels was devoted to a different deity of the crusade (mostly Iomedae, Erastil, Torag, Sarenrae, Shelyn, or Abadar—deities normally served by paladins), and each was intended to serve as a hospital for injured soldiers and a waystation for weary travelers.
Since Drezen’s loss, these chapels have fallen into ruin.
Historically, these chapels often had well-hidden caches of healing magic and supplies. There’s a possibility, however small, that these supplies are still hidden—they were typically stashed in a secret compartment under the altar.
Perhaps it was all the time he had spent as his youth in the desert environs far far from here, but his eyes quickly scanned the building and the cliff wall...
"There is a set of stairs there carved into the wall going up."
He began pointing out the stairs leading up to the building.
Carilain looks up at the ruin. "Mmm. Yes I see those. Shall we go up and have a look? It would be nice to get a feel for the lay of the land."
Thetin isn't able to make it out until the others point it out. "That would be a great opportunity for a scouting team to go up and see what they can see." He says nodding towards Carilain.
Squinting, Alorah is able to make out the staircase as well. "It would definitely be worth looking into. Anyhting we can reclaim would be another win against the enemy." the celestial sorceress says intently.
Sir Sosiel
Sir Sosiel peered up at the old structure on the bluff.
"When you go up there, you should take some time to search the place. Historically, these chapels often had well-hidden caches of healing magic and supplies. There’s a possibility, however small, that these supplies are still hidden—they were typically stashed somewhere in the chapel itself." He advised.
Going over to the old stairway, you see that they had lost their safety railings long ago, and some steps wobble and crumble under your feet.
Carilain scrambles up the dilapidated steps with relative ease. He notes a loose tread, but steps over the questionable stonework.
At the top, Carilain looks around for threats.
Once he feels the area is secure, he gets his rope out and ties off. The line will help those who follow.
He nodded, waiting for Perhaps Sir Thetin to head up first but he followed right after, glad for the rope to aid him. He wasnt entirely worried about the climb but at the same time... it was a long way down the higher up they went better safe than sorry.
And still he couldnt help but get distracted somehow, he glanced upwards wondering whom the chapel was built for... He felt the stair give way and the sudden not so euphoric feeling as gravity became his worst enemy
Thetin pulls off his full plate before making the climb up the precarious steps. Due to the time to take the plate off he starts climbing after Kelden.
He sees Kelden begin to fall and reaches out to grab him and pull him back onto the steps.
Thetin will reach out and grab Kelden by the neck of his armor, pulling him back onto the steps. "Careful there Kelden. We'll have plenty of time to admire the scenery from up top." After catching Kelden, Thetin will continue climbing using the rope that Carilain provided.
Once safely up top Thetin will take the time to re-armor while the others move up. In case of attack Thetin has a spell ready that will allow him to don his armor in one round.
Looking dubiously up at the crumbling stairway, Alorah reaches for the scale of Terendalev she wears on a cord around her neck, drawing it out of the collar of her dress and calling upon it's power. A pillar of roiling clouds rises beneath her, steadily lifting her level with the entrance.
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The companions carefully mount the crumbling stairway, using every rope and safe climbing technique. Only to have Alorah fly up past them, standing on a small tornado.
Once safely at the top, you stand on a bare plain. A steady wind stirs up stinging dust clouds.
The ruined chapel stands before you.
OVERVIEW of what you see...
(You enter at the left side of the map.)
The gates to this small courtyard lie smashed and broken with tall grass growing amid the rubble.
Two main buildings stand side by side to the east, separated by a single alleyway.
The smaller structure appears to be a stable, while the other is much larger with several doors and stained-glass windows, apparently a chapel judging by the pious statues along its rooftop.
You see nothing moving; no threatening monsters, no demons, nothing.
"Can you see if the buildings have any holes in the roof; while you're floating around Alorah?"
With Grimstar held in a reverse grip (pommel forward) Carilain moves toward the supposed stable.
He stays alert for danger as he moves.
Also, the gusting winds up on the plateau threaten to carry you across the gorge and into the eastern mammoth-infested badlands if you spend more than a round or two aloft.
As Carilain led his companions past the smashed and broken gates and into the small courtyard, he found nothing living beyond some tough grasses sprouting from between broken stones.
Your sharp eyes focus on a collection of sticks, and you suddenly realize that they are actually well-gnawed human bones among the debris.
"At this elevation I'd risk getting blown into the badlands. My control is limitid to elevation." Alorah replies as she steps off onto the flat plain.
"Something that gnaws the bones of humans lives here. ...Or did." Carilain points out the bleached bones.
Thetin unstraps his shield from his back and steps to the front of the group. "Might as well start clearing the buildings then. We'll want to be careful to not let anything leave here alive if it's occupied." He then starts moving up to F5 to get ready to break the door there.
Drawing and loading her crossbow, Alorah hangs to the back of the group as they prepare to advance.
Kyra draws herself out of the strange reverie she had been in since the battle. "Yes, let us be wary. I hate this place..." She follows behind Thetin with her scimitar in hand.
Following his friends lead he drew out his scimitar and shield frowning at the bones. He moved to them and knelt, saying a quiet prayer for their souls...
Thetin waits for the others to move in behind him then opens the door and goes in, shield ready for an attack.
Carilain hangs back a bit, and keeps his eye on the main building, just in case.
There is no warning.
Only Kelden's move to kneel saves him as something heave whistled by just missing his head.
Grimstar's mental shout caused Carilain to hit the dirt as something else whipped over his head as well.
Thetin is not so lucky. As he moved to open the main doors in front, something hit him hard as it flew by from behind. The blow raised sparks from his armor as it penetrated to deal 12 points damage and threw him forward to hit the doors and rebound. (Ref save DC15 or prone).
Spinning around, you look to the sky to see six flying creatures resembling greyish winged demons.
The blowing wind and dust make it hard to target in the air (-4 to attacks, 20% concealment), but you are pretty sure they'll be coming to you as they make their flyby attacks. They laugh cruelly as they prepare to toy with you, as they have done many times before.
Round 1____________________
"Gargoyles I think!" Carilain waits for the swooping attack that is sure to come. "They have hard, stony flesh."
The elf holds his black blade with the point skyward, ready to catch his opponent in a horizontal slash as it dives in.
Alorah's voice rings out in celestial, a shimmering field of energy surrounding herself and her companions.
Clutching his holy symbol he spun about calling out to his goddess to smite their foes. A brillant lance of light energy shot from his hand torwards one of the flying creatures.
"Head inside! force them to funnel to us and take away their advantage!"
He called out moving for the entrance before he fully finished his spell. He frowned as it fizzled wanting to chastise himself but worrying more about taking away the advantage of their foes.
Thetin holds his ground and waits for his companions to move inside. He'll prepare to swing at the gargoyle for when it next flies by.
Kyra immediately slips into her battle dance, but then follows Kelden guidance and begins gracefully moving into the tunnel, keeping an eye on the darkness ahead with her newly imbued vision...
The gargoyles gravelly laughter taunts you as they dive out of the gritty dust storm!
Sparks flew off of Carilain’s Shield from the Gargoyle’s claws as it flew by; but Grimstar’s black blade had less trouble piercing the monster’s stony exterior as Carilain lashed out in an Attack of Opportunity. He hacked into it’s foot and lopped off two toes in a spray of stony flakes. It howled in rage as it pulled up into the windstorm.
Alorah’s gleaming circle of protection seemed to frighten another gargoyle, as it veered off it’s attack run on her as the Circle sprang into being.
Kelden lost control of his Searing Light spell as he cast it. It burst into a spray of brightly glowing motes like fireworks before they were swept away by the dust storm.
The Burst dazzled Kelden for a few seconds and startled the rest of the gargoyles into scattering for the moment, disappearing into the flying grit of the storm.
Kyra dove through the door and into the ruined building.
RUINED STABLES
The sharp tang of musty, decaying straw fills this large stable. Its easternmost wall has collapsed into a steep pile of broken beams and rocks that blocks the way to the other side.
A large mound of discarded weaponry lies amid the rubble.
Thetin stays near the doors to keep an eye out for the gargoyles. "Let's search a clear this building then move onto the chapel."
With Dancing Pheonix drawn, Kyra nods to Thetin as she casts a simple cantrip to check for any magical auras in the room and scans for signs of hostiles...
"At least we know the grounds arent empty of evil."
He began pulling out the slowly diminishing wand of cure light wounds and using it to heal up Thetin some from the one blow that the creatures manages to score on them.
Moving warily, Alorah enters the room, her eyes scanning the area quickly.
"There are a few magical auras in that pile of weapons, perhaps we should examine them further?" She moves closer, keeping her weapon at the ready in the event of some demonic treachery and prods the pile with her foot.
Carilain moves into the outbuilding. "Magic eh? Let's have a look."
The magus casts the basic spell that allows him to view magic auras, then examines the items.
Up close you can see that the weapons seem to be typical of the crusader forces.
Most of the weapons are broken beyond repair, but a few still remain serviceable, including a masterwork battleaxe, an enchanted longsword, three cold iron daggers, and an enchanted cold iron longspear.
Kyra will begin to gather up what weapons they can find and placing them into a pile while Carilain examines the magical ones to determine their properties.