The door opens. There's a creak and you hear a male voice from outside say "Oliver, that you awake already? I tol' you I'd spell your watch until you got some good sleep, eh. No worries, mate."
One wall of this chamber is fitted with arrow slits, looking south toward a large room with a distinctive green glow. A barred wooden door leads to the room beyond the arrow slits.
"What! You're them meddlers that came in here! We tol' you to buzz off just before... we took a nap... HEY!" Two men stand by the arrow slits. They have crossbows, which they're raising as you advance. "What did you do to Oliver?!?"
The man falters, looking at his fellow, who is glancing back at him looking pale. "Oliver's alive? You didn't kill 'im? Prove it."
The man moves in, followed closely by his fellow. He lets out a word of horror and runs to one of the men lying by the beds to the north. He looks stricken until he finds a pulse. He lets out a long breath and looks up at you.
"Why are you doing this? Why would ya come into a man's home and try to murder his friends? Is this because I tol' ya to leave? Hells, it's my job! Ya don't murder a man fer doing his duty, do ya?"
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"Listen to me you dumb s@&+. You have your orders. I have mine. I asked, politely, to come and document those items of archaeological value in what was your lair. You told me to shove off. This is an Azlanti ruin in the middle of the forest; not your home. Furthermore, your other colleague admitted to us you are bandits; so the reason you said "No" was probably to hide the goods you have stolen. So don't give me that whole "holy than thou" h+~%~&##&, claiming we broke into your home. You know what the Hellknights of Fort Inevitable would call it? "A prelude to a cleansing by chain and fire". You just be thankful we aren't Hellknights, and that we don't want to associate with those sickos. Hells, if you had shown us around, we wouldn't have cared much that you were bandits; all we wanted to do was our job" barks Gadrielle angrilly as she gets really close to the man's face, her visored gaze looking down into the man's eyes. "But no, I don't murder men. We've tried to keep your "friends" alive. But here's what is going to happen f$&%o. You and those friends you have are going to leave. Quietly. Go south to Absalom, or north to the Stolen Lands. I hear there's a new duchy or something being built there. But you will get out of here, and away from the Hellknights. And if you're smart you'll make it out of this with a lesson learned like I did once upon a time. And maybe become something better than whatever this is supposed to be. Are. We. Clear."
The bandit's face drops, and you see pity in his eyes. "You're broken, lady. Broken and empty. Grab Terrik, I'll grab Oliver. Leave Malin, that guy's a jerk." He says to the other guy, who slings his crossbow and moves in to grab one of the other guys who was sleeping. "We're going, but if you're going deeper here, you ought to know that nothing but death lies below." He shoulders his friend and heads toward the exit. He doesn't return.
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There is a pregnant moment of silence as the bandits leave with their friends in tow, where Gadrielle grabs the haft of her weapon and twists it in her hands, her grip shifting till it could almost be used as a bat. The armor rattles as she shakes with barely contained rage.
Finally, she shifts her weapon to one hand and declares: "Let's get on with this."
She steps up to the next door and inspects it for surprises.
The door appears to be untrapped. You slip it open.
This large natural cave has been widened by excavation. Masonry walls enclose structures within the cave, including what looks like a temple to the north and a crypt to the west. In the eastern end, a low stone wall encloses a large pool of water.
Galonor moves into the cavern and moves toward the nearest door, which opens at his touch. Rows of pews and a stone altar on a low dais show that this room is a shrine. A large statue of a mysterious, hooded figure stands solemn vigil at the east end. Paintings on the walls depict a grayhooded man in a variety of exploits and triumphs, culminating in his ascension to godhood, when he begins aiding lesser thieves.
A woman in clerical garb stands in front of the altar, instructing two men in outlaw garb. He freezes when the door opens and looks at the half-orc with a frown. She looks at Galonor with a look of moderate distaste at the interruption. "You I don't know. Is there a reason why you're interrupting me?" Her hand slips down to the hilt of a rapier at her waist.
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Rather than find it funny, Uhvat stands there uncomfortably, although trying not to show it. His team is invading this tower, and much as these what look like bandits don't belong here, he is not sure that he does either. But Uhvat has always followed along and so stands beside Galonor, trying to look intimidating as well.
"Evil? What nonsense is this? I'm not the one skulking around in someone else's chapel reeking of blood and gore. It would seem you're the only one committing evil here; I was simply instructing these fellows in the religion of the Grey Master. Now I ask you again, who the hell are you?" The woman doesn't look particularly impressed by your words.
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Gadrielle steps up behind Galonor. "We are archaeologists who are interested in those items of historical significance left here by the Azlanti who built this tower. And after the treatment we've received, we're also the eviction crew. We've been giving people here an option: leave before we break your bones or after. So far, only two have taken option one. And two others have died for their idiocy. Unlucky for them. So what will it be? Go be bandits somewhere else? Or roll the dice and see if you can survive a punctured lung?"
"You're bold enough to be bandits yourselves, I'll grant you that. But your words tell me you're more of a murderer than a bandit, I think. Pity, really, that's not the aspect I worship. You would have made excellent additions to my band. No, I think I'll choose the third option."
She draws her rapier and smiles at Gadrielle and Galonor. "Shall I instruct you in the wisdom of attacking a priest in her church?"
Round 1:
Galonor, Uhvat
Outlaws
Black Sun, Zifan
Jerrin
Gadrielle, Chinchi
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When combat breaks out, Uhvat sets aside his doubt and calm descends upon him. As he has been trained. Although he still has some lingering necrotic energy within, he pauses briefly to call forth the power within to pull forth more of that energy before stepping forward to the woman with the rapier, slamming his ectoplasmic lash that is now wreathed in a shadowy energy down upon her. Clearly though, he still has some reservations for the lash squirms off target and slams upon the altar instead.
Zifan's word may have swayed the woman, but Gadrielle and Galonor's threats countered them before she could take them to heart.
Galonor steps forward and attacks! His first attack lands, but his second stops! The priest lets out a choked gasp of pain, but doesn't seem inclined to flee her sanctum! Uhvat's lash misses totally and instead snaps at air!
The two acolytes draw their short swords as they step up to Galonor and attack!
for damage!
for damage!
Black Sun causes a strange pop, while Zifan diplomacizes a little too late.
The priestess grins at Galonor. She steps back five feet and murmurs a word of prayer to her Grey Master, He suddenly feels his muscles lock into place!