Startled out of a long reverie, Pontia shakes her head and seems to return to herself, fixing the young couple with a somewhat defocused gaze. "Ah, you're members of the Order, then. Have you ever seen the Neighbors?"
The couple look at each other. That is our dilemma, we would love our daughter back more than anything, but if we disobeyed Father Voltiaro would that mean that we would not have an afterlife?
In response to Pontia, they shake their head. No one has, we just know that they protect the town and so far they have done a good job! They begin to sob, clearly at a loss on what they should do...
I think, honestly, that you deserve to be reunited with your daughter. You didn't disobeyed, you wished something to happen. I'll take the sin on myself, if any sin has to be taken in the afterlife.
The couple are unsure if sin works like that but are soothed by Vivian's words. Yes, If you can bring our daughter back, we will leave this town and never return!
Selene gives Vivian a slight nod with a sad smile "Thank you."
She looks back at the couple. "We will do what we can to help you and your daughter."
She looks back to her companions. "We should make haste for the manor then, if we hope to both catch your rider and find Father Voltiaro and the baby girl still there. There's no telling how long they might stay there."
The hidden chamber behind the secret wall is decorated floor to ceiling with disturbing carvings of devilfish, krakens, octopuses, squid, and other bizarre sea life, as well as unsettling depictions of human women mating with strange fish-men from the sea. At the far end of the room, a semicircular pool of water stands before a large bloodstained altar. On the wall above the altar, a carving of a giant, unwinking octopoid eye gazes over the room, surrounded by sinister twisting runes.
lord of the sea, sea monsters, and deformity.
Guarding the temple is a armored, crustacean-like creature!
It hisses when it sees Selene and attacks her!
Selene is hurting!
Sabola will tumble in an effort to flank with Selene...
...and will then attack from a flanking position...
Seeing the symbol Sonny recognizes it and yells out "That is the unholy symbol of the demon Dagon, so called lord of the sea, sea monsters, and deformity."
Seeing the amount of damage done to Selene and knowing he can't heal her of much damage he then yells out "Drop it quickly!" and calls down heavenly fire on it.
Vivian slithers around the sea creature, and strikes it in a hollow place
Sabola lands a solid hit, but he felt like it should have done more damage!
Vivian also loands a solid blow, but like Sabola, she felt it should have hurt more!
Selene cries out as the beast's claws brutaly tears into her, despite her armor. She knows Sonny is right and her priority has to be to take the thing down quickly. Seeing her companions attacks being less effective against the thing's hide, she calls upon her godess's strength and throws herself at the beast, putting as much force as she can behind each swing.
"Nghh... You unholy... Monstrosity! I'll cleanse your taint from this place!"
As much as the creature didn't like Selene, Selene disliked the creature even more and utterly destroyed it!
Sabola stood back, breathing heavily as he wiped the ichor from his blade, eyes still fixed on the monstrous carcass sprawled before them. He felt the thud of his heartbeat, a mix of lingering fear and adrenaline coursing through his veins. Catching his breath, he glanced over at Selene, who stood with her scimitar still dripping with the creature’s dark blood, her face lit with a faint, almost ethereal glow from her dhampir nature.
"Now that was a sight to see," he said, nodding in respect as he sheathed his dagger. "One clean strike, and the beast was finished. I barely laid a scratch on it, but you—" he chuckled, shaking his head in admiration. "Never seen a blow hit quite like that, Selene. Right proper work of art, if you ask me."
He ran a hand over his forehead, flicking away a stray bead of sweat. Despite the tension of the fight, a grin crept over his face. "Not that I was ever worried," he added, casting her a wry look. "Just glad I was on your side of the blade."
Selene smiles weakly at Sabola's compliment, shaking her head slightly. "Nonsense. Sarenrae guided my hand there, that's all... That... Thing had to be dealt with quickly, before it harmed any of you as well." With a pained smile, Selene channels some of her goddess's healing light into her wounds, helping them close with remarkable speed, even as she feels a slightly uncomfortable burn as the positive energy conflicts with her cursed blood.
Pontia blinked and missed the fight. "Well, this is the more interesting part." She casts a quick cantrip and looks around for magical auras.
Sabola will scour the room for loot and/or secrets.
+2 in Forests
Vivian green eyes peel the room, searching for anything hidden and anything dangerous
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Do you need more healing, Selene? Do you even have means to heal yourself more, if needed? Lets finish to explore that place, then we must take a decision about the cultist's bodies outside
"I do, do not worry." Selene channels a bit more energy into her wounds when she feels the previous energy dissipating.
"If we're done with this place, we should definitely decide on what to do with the victims bodies. And the cultist's too, I suppose. I'm guessing you should perform the proper rites, Vivian? It will take time, though, that I'm not sure we can spare right now. We don't know how long Father Voltiaro will stay at the manor with the baby - we can't afford to miss them. Maybe we can inform the mayor, and deal with the bodies when we get back? Would that be acceptable, Vivian?"
Yes that would be acceptable. The baby is the urgency here. I can always offer a short prayer to the deceased and give them the blessings of Pharasma before we go.
Sabola took a deep breath as the last of the creature's stench faded into the air. His muscles still burned from the fight, but the adrenaline was starting to wane. He sheathed his daggers with a flick of practiced ease, the familiar motions grounding him in the present. He checked his gear quickly, running a hand over his quiver to ensure all his arrows were intact and his pack still secure. The weight of the weapons at his sides felt right, familiar—just another day in the wilds.
He turned his gaze toward the others, particularly Selene, who was already tending to her wounds. He gave a short nod, a half-smile tugging at his lips despite the lingering tension in the air.
"Healing, huh? Good for you. I can’t say it’s really my forte, though," he said, rolling his shoulders as if to shake off the last of the battle's strain. His grin widened slightly, but there was a clear sincerity beneath his words. "Babies, bodies... they're a bit outside my usual line of work. I’m more at home with tracking, and, you know, putting things down before they can cause trouble. But—" he gave a quick glance toward Vivian, "—I reckon the bodies can wait. We can leave the proper rites to those who know better, right?"
"I would think that the townsfolk might take it amiss if they see bodies on the street, especially when the dead are known to them. Perhaps we should get the bodies under cover."
"In the big cities, people leave dead bodies around all the time with nary a comment made."
"You may have noticed that we're not in a big city. The whole of Ilmarsh could drop into Absalom without so much as a ripple."
Sonny watches Selene curiously for a moment and then says "We should let the mayor know what was going on here and about the bodies. He should decide what to do with them. If they have no one to preform rites for them I can do so when the time is right. After that is taken care of we can move on to the next place."
So, first we go and save the baby, then we speak to the mayor. The bodies won't get deader-or better for now. Agreed?
"Let's do it."
We need to go to the Undiomede House to find out the little girl, if my memory serves well. I'm not sure the house will be guarded, but we must be cautious. Maybe use some spells to scry the house from afar, or send an invisible scout?
"As long as the bodies are out of sight, for the moment. Sonny, is there anything you can do to keep a necromancer from reanimating them?"
Leaving the bodies for now, you all head to the Undiomede House which can be found two miles outside of town at the end of an overgrown and rutted carriage path.
The house looks to be about 200 years old and is a two-story stone manse built on the shore of a small, swampy lake near the edge of the Soddentimbers. The walls seem to be made out of mortared stone and as a result it has weathered the years fairly well despite 7 decades of abandonment.
The carriage path from Illmarsh has fallen into disuse. Now little more than a muddy, overgrown trail barely noticeable near town, the path becomes clearer closer to the manor, but its soft mud preserves tracks well.
As you pass by the lake.
Sonny moves down the path behind the others. He looks around but doesn't notice anything out of place.
+2 in Forests
+2 in Forest
+2 in Forests
Sabola crouched down by the edge of the path, his keen eyes scanning the ground as his fingers brushed over the tracks. He muttered under his breath, his words more for himself than for anyone else, but loud enough for the group to hear.
"Looks like we’ve got a few interesting things to consider here," he said, straightening up and turning to face the others. "These tracks," he pointed toward the ground, "are fresh. Definitely made within the last day or so. Several sets of humanoid tracks leading toward the house. Big ones, small ones, hard to say how many. But this," he indicated one set, clearly larger than the rest, "this is a marsh giant. Footprints like this don’t belong to anything else." He paused, glancing up to see if anyone was tracking his thoughts.
"The rest?" Sabola continued, "Can’t say for certain. They could be anything from human to some sort of weird swamp creature. Too mixed up with the others to make a clear guess. But there’s something else." He waved a hand toward the ground, "A horse, a few days old. That path leads toward the house, but there’s no return. No tracks coming back. Just like the humanoids—they all head in, no sign of them leaving."
He gave the group a sharp look, his expression shifting from casual observation to something more serious. "And the horse? It’s heading straight for the carriage house, not the manor itself. Could be we’re dealing with more than we expected." Sabola paused for a moment, letting the silence hang in the air before adding with a smirk, "Either way, I’m not sure what’s in there, but I’m guessing the welcome party might not be so friendly."
Vivian listens to Sabola explanations.
That's really impressive. THank you for your expertise. Now, folks, prepare yourself for a big battle.Does anyone know anything about marsh giants?
Selene makes sure she is fully healed on the way to the old mansion.
She takes position in front of the group as Sabola examines fhe tracks, eyeing the mansion warily, sword in hand.
"We know the rider you were pursuing came here, right? To meet with the dead man we found at the temple. I'd guess the horse tracks belong to him. That would mean he's likely alone at the carriage house, is that right, Sabola? All the other tracks lead to the mansion itself." Selene's expression takes a darker turn as she considers the information. "If that's true, that likely means we'll need to get through that marsh giant and whatever else they have waiting for us if we want to rescue the baby. And I'm worried we'll be putting her in danger when we make ourselves known."
At Vivian's question, she gives a small nod. "I've been studying a bit about monsters from a tome I've acquired in the past. Let me see what I can recall about marsh giants in particular."
Sonny pauses his approach for a moment and then asks the group, "If the rider went to the carriage house, why don't we start there? Then there is no one outside to escape or behind us."