Brebork gazes around the chapel, singing old hymns he learned as a child.
I was never a a good student in Sunday School, but perhaps there is something to learn in an old Monastery such as this.
Dumah will approach the archers. Do you know this man that was with you? Indicating the third archer who was killed. Most likely, we will take you back to the caravan with us. Do either of you know of a woman named Haleen? Dumah will describe her appearance and her usual gear to help jog their memories.
After talking to the archers, Dumah will help thoroughly search the chapel area. I'll give you a battery of skill rolls in case any of them are relevant. :)
Appraise
Knowledge Arcana
Knowledge History
Knowledge Planes
Knowledge Religion
Linguistics
Perception
While exploring the chapel, Dumah will keep an eye on the others, trying to make sure no one wanders out of line of sight without someone else with them.
Perception
Perception 1d20+3
Brebork gazes around the chapel, singing old hymns he learned as a child.
Brebork senses that the archers have been sincere, mainly out of fear, with the party.
Now that he is not in the midst of battle or hostage negotiation, Brebork notices how impressive this grand chapel must have been in its glory days. As he walks around the pews, he also notices loose pages from a book strewn about the chapel, near the altar. Dumah and Jarva help him find the remaining pages and Dumah tells Brebork that the pages are from a copy of The Birth of Light and Truth, Sarenrae's holy book.
Brebork also notices that the altar in Sarenrae's chapel is smeared with animal excrement and urine.
Perception 1d20+3
Brebork gazes around the chapel, singing old hymns he learned as a child.Brebork senses that the archers have been sincere, mainly out of fear, with the party.
Now that he is not in the midst of battle or hostage negotiation, Brebork notices how impressive this grand chapel must have been in its glory days. As he walks around the pew, he also notices loose pages from a book strewn about the chapel, near the altar. Dumah and Jarva help him find the remaining pages and Dumah tells Brebork that the pages are from a copy of The Birth of Light and Truth, Sarenrae's holy book.
Brebork also notices that the altar in Sarenrae's chapel is smeared with animal excrement and urine.
If Brebork says anything about the altar, or if Dumah notices his reaction to it, Dumah will say While we may have to wait until the gnoll menace is pushed back to consecrate the temple again, in the morning I will use a spell to cleanse the altar of that filth. It would be an honor, and the least I could do for the blessings that Sarenrae has seen fit to share with me since sharing your road.
Dumah will approach the archers. Do you know this man that was with you? Indicating the third archer who was killed. Most likely, we will take you back to the caravan with us. Do either of you know of a woman named Haleen? Dumah will describe her appearance and her usual gear to help jog their memories.
Samir, who previously spoke, replies to Dumah's questions: "My brother and I only met him on the caravan. His name was Gazir and he told me had recently lost his wife and daughter and needed the money." When Dumah mentions Haleen, Samir smiles, "Yes, I believe my brother and I did see this woman in the marketplace in Katapesh, buying goods. I remember her because she had a beautiful sword at her side, but she looked skilled enough with it that no one hassled her. She was in Katapesh maybe 2-3 months ago but I have not seen her since."
After the questioning, Dumah looks around the chapel area, while Quzman is left to guard the archers. When he examines the northern alcove with the statute of the muscular humanoid with a pointy beard gesturing toward the west, he recognizes him from his studies of obscure books (that Haleen bought him) as a very obscure regional saint of Sarenrae named Vardishal.
When he examines the statute of the same figure in the southern alcove, his keen senses detect some faint marks on the floor, which reveal to him that the statute is on a track of some kind and that with enough force, the statute could be pushed. At the base of the statute is an inscription: "A ghost of unholy men was purged from this place by Theodephus Estrovan, servant of Aroden, 4691 A.R." From what Dumah remembers from his history lessons, a mad cult from Kelmarane invaded the monastery and put its monks to death.
After gathering the camels in closer to the temple, Quzman will inform everyone that one camel is missing. "It appears that the bandit must have taken one of our mounts."
He'll quietly guard the prisoners, as requested, while mourning the loss of his dear friend. He will recommend that we wrap the corpses in what blankets or shrouds we maybe able to find, and keep them as far from the exits as we can. If we can think of some form of incense or perfume to mask the scent, that may go far in keeping from attracting the creatures of the night from coming after them.
Due to Quzman's deafness, all of his comments sound like he is yelling, but the party gets used to it very quickly.
Jarva approaches the "talkative" archer. "We will take you to visit the Princess tomorrow. If you have been honest, and with your uh skill with a bow, she might even be willing to hire you on, you never know. If you are lying, it might be rougher on you."
"We are not lying, good sir. We will gladly present our case to the princess and hope she has the mercy you have shown so far."
Eli wraps poor April up in his arms and hold her close, You will be safe now. Stay close to me and we will see you home to your father though it is late and it won't be safe to travel again until morning." While Brebork deals with the archers Eli keeps the girl occupied and away from the interrogations and the dealing with the dead.
Taking a break from helping the squad with the tasks that had to be performed, Jarva looked at the magical dagger he had taken from Zedric. He carefully examined the weapon to see if there might be any clues to its properties, using his Detect Magic orison.
Spellcraft check
Jarva senses that the dagger has been enchanted to penetrate magical protections (i.e. +1).
Brebork gathers the pages from the floor with solemn care. He fetches some cloth from one of the travelling garments of the deceased, and using water from his waterskin he methodicallly washes off the alter. When the task is finished all can see streams of tears on his face...as he genuflects before it.
How much bloodshed hast thou seen, how much ardour and suffering in thy temple? For ten and seven revolutions thou hast risen each day to see thy house fall to ruin since the man of Aroden harrowed the ghosts from thy hall. And today I have stained thy floor with yet more blood...oh forgive my pride and anger...and forgive these men..please let my companions and myself judge wisely. With thy blessings aid us, that I may return from my travails and consecrate this temple to thee, and restore it to its righful glory -so that it may gleam as a beacon of fire and hope in the desert for all to worship!
Come friends, let us finish exploring the main floor of this place and the immediate environs. Then we must gather the dead and bury them before the setting sun. A monastery usually has a plot nearby suited for the purpose. It appears there may be a passage to a lower level or crypt. I think it wise that we wait until another time to delve deeper. Do we agree?
Eli, April trusts in you I see. When you have a moment can you find out what she knows of these men? Have they ever threatened her or hurt her? I would have them earn her trust before ours. Perhaps with the power of mercy and the forgiveness of a child they may become allies. What do you think?
With that, Brebork sets off to explore the hallway closest to the alter.
Eli will sit down to occupy April and keep and eye on the prisoners while the others explore. Pulling out his cards, he teaches her a simple game of Old Hag and while they play he starts to ask her gently about her abduction, "Remember you are safe now and I will not let anything bad happen to you. I know it's hard to talk about, but I need to know what happened to you since you last saw your father. Can you tell me everything that happened?"
"Did Zedric hurt you in anyway?"
"Did he say anything about hurting Eloais?"
"Did he mention the name of the mean man with the bow, what was it?"
"Did you overhear them talking about the princess, what did they say?"
"Did they ever mention another place they might meet up?"
"Did they ever talk about any other bad people who might be trying to hurt or capture the princess?"
We should rest for the night before doing much in the way of exploring. We need a spot where we can watch the camels. Do we want to set up in this hall? I would defer to our experienced scout, but perhaps at first light we should circle the building making sure we didn’t miss anything in our initial approach. After that we can thoroughly check the interior of the building. Perhaps the bandit stashed something around here that might help us identify him.
I did get a chance to take a close look around the chapel. If I recall from my studies correctly, the bearded man depicted there is Vardishal, a saint of Sarenrae known almost exclusively in this region. The northern statue seems to be gesturing to the west. Does anyone know what is in that direction that it may be referencing? I don’t think we have time to pursue it now, but perhaps later we could do so. The southern statue is also quite interesting. It has an inscription at its base that reads “A ghost of unholy men was purged from this place by Theodephus Estrovan, servant of Aroden 4691 AR.” As I recall, there was a mad cult from Kelmarane that invaded this monastery and slayed the monks here. But more interesting than that, I believe it conceals a secret passage or room. We should definitely investigate that when we have daylight again.
So, did I miss any potential avenues of exploration? The grounds, these two passages, and the secret space behind the statue?
Jarva, we have seen that you have some influences over the sands around us. Do you think you could use that the inter the three slain this day?
Dumah would like to make another attempt at identifying all of the properties of the mace, if he can do so now.
Spellcraft . This should be an additional +2 if it is Evocation magic, or -5 if it is Necromancy or Illusion.
Can you tell me everything that happened?"
"Sure", says April, as she engages Eli in his card game. She clears her throat and begins, "I remember I was sleeping in the tent when I felt hands over my mouth and body carry me out. I tried to scream for help but I couldn't. The man put me on the camel and we rode here. During the ride, I realized it was Zedric, and he told me that he was in trouble and that I needed to behave or else he would hurt me and he did not want to hurt me. He told me he was only doing this to get some gold for his wife and son, who was about my age. When we arrived at this place, he put the handerkerchief on my eyes. I heard Zedric speak to a man he called Boss, who started to hit him hard, especially when he found out he had taken me against my will. The man, who called himself the Bandit, what an odd name, don't you think? What makes him so special, huh? Anyway, he asked some other men to bring me food and water. Then around the time you came, the Bandit told Zedric he would be in the chapel if trouble broke out, even if Zedric couldn't see him. Now that doesn't make sense? How could he be there but not be seen? I did not understand. Well, then I got real scared and thankfully you saved me. The end!
"Did Zedric hurt you in anyway?" "No, other than when he pulled my arm when he was talking to you
"Did he say anything about hurting Eloais?" No, he just said the old man ruined the plan, but I don't know what he was talking about
"Did he mention the name of the mean man with the bow, what was it?" The Bandit or Boss, is what everyone called him, they were afraid of him
"Did you overhear them talking about the princess, what did they say?" "Something about how some newly arrived warriors were going to take her now that the plan was ruined. Did he mean you?"
"Did they ever mention another place they might meet up?" "No"
"Did they ever talk about any other bad people who might be trying to hurt or capture the princess?""No, other than they were rich and that she was going to suffer because of the Pact something or other, whatever that means. Oh and I think his father was involved, because the Bandit kept saying his father was not going to be happy, his father this, and his father that. It was weird!"
"I can bury the dead, with the sand, if that is your wish,"Jarva told the mage.
"I can bury the dead, with the sand, if that is your wish,"Jarva told the mage.
Thank you Jarva. Let's make sure that Brebork and Quzman are okay with that. Brebork, as a representative of Sarenrae, may have other preferences. And Quzman was closest to Kyra, so we'll want to respect his wishes.
Eli keeps playing cards and listening to April tell her story while checking on the archers regularly to be sure they are not up to any trouble. Once she answers all his questions Eli tells April, "Very good dear, you remembered well. I know this has been a scary time but it is over now and we will have you home safe tomorrow."
Eli points to the archers and asks her softly, "What do you know of those men?"
Thank you Jarva. Let's make sure that Brebork and Quzman are okay with that. Brebork, as a representative of Sarenrae, may have other preferences. And Quzman was closest to Kyra, so we'll want to respect his wishes.
These are reasonable suggestions as the sun will set soon. Let us then - with Jarva's kind help - inter the bodies. I shall circle the site with a sprinkling of holy water and we shall light incense there and keep it burning through the night under watch. I have a bundle, Quzman. We shall hold a ceremony at sunrise then.
The northern statue seems to be gesturing to the west. Does anyone know what is in that direction that it may be referencing?
Brebork listens to Dumah's account of Vardishal and Theodephus intently, obviously impressed with the Wizard's erudition:
" Sarenrae's celestial house resides in the Sun's eternal path across the heavens, and so it may not be unusual for one of our holy saints to gesture to the West. But there may be more significance to the direction of his pointing..I am inclined to follow the thinking of one as learned in the history of my church as yourself."Shall we at least have a look at the main floor of the edifice - it did not look so large from the outside.
Do we have enough animals to get back?
Shall we at least have a look at the main floor of the edifice - it did not look so large from the outside.
Perhaps that would be best. If luck is with us, we may even find a chamber large enough to bring the camels in. I exhausted much of my arcane arsenal in that combat, but I do still have some things I can do.
Who will go, and who will stay with the girl, the prisoners and the mounts? I think I should help with the exploring, since some of my academic studies have shown to be useful so far.
The northern statue seems to be gesturing to the west. Does anyone know what is in that direction that it may be referencing?
Eli points to the archers and asks her softly, "What do you know of those men?"
"Not much, they were told to not come in till they heard the boom. My, there was a loud noise, what was that? Other than that, they stayed quiet most of the time. I'm hungry and thirsty, do you have food and water?"
Due to Quzman's deafness, all of his comments sound like he is yelling, but the party gets used to it very quickly.
When Brebork is done in the chapel area, he asks the man to watch the prisoners for a short while, as he wishes to pay his respects to Kara before she is interred. Kneeling by Kyra, "Ah, my poor little Kyra. How you were the rock against I could support myself against out on the open desert. I hope you find peace in the everlasting light of the dawn you now face." Weeping softly, he brushes the hair out of her face, and gently removes her precious gnoll tooth necklace as a memento to remember her by. Wiping away his tears, and steeling himself against the loss, Quzman stands up turns back to the group while tying the necklace in place.
"I am ready when you are," Jarva tells the group. While Eli is entertaining the child, the druid gathers the rest of the group together. "Let's find an especially sandy area near the temple. My ...talents are stronger in the deep stuff." He points to the archers, and has them help the group carry the bodies to a suitable spot.
After Brebork consecrates the site, and says a word or two about Kyra, and the Dawnflower's glory, Jarva says a couple strange words, makes a gesture or two, and the surrounding desert begins to circle the bodies, almost grasping them, before they vanished from sight. "Does anyone want to make a um a marker for Kyra?"
Did Brebork pray the 10 minutes at the altar? If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read the spoiler 10 posts above
After praying Brebork plans to work with Jarva and Quzman to tend to the deceased, make sure everyone has plenty of food and water and then (if there is still time) inspect the rest of building interior. Finally - barring some other event - he will look for a hearth (surely there is a hearth of some kind in hall of a fire goddess' temple?) He will light a small fire with any fuel he can find, sing hymns, share light-hearted stories with the girl (and he will even swap tales with the prisoners), He would beg Quzman to tell of Kyra's deeds, he would pray for spells and generally retire for the night..taking his watch as usual -without Kyra this time sadly.
If there is no obvious "stable" area to the temple, Quzman would probably not recommend bringing the camels inside. However, he will defer tothe priest and rest of the group's wishes without argument.
Brebork would approve of bringing the animals into the nave for their protection...as long as everyone cleans up after them and keeps them away from the altar area.
Dumah seems a little hesitant when Brebork suggests investigating the ground level of the monastery before resting for the night, but will go along.
Why don’t we gather the mounts and prisoners down in this area Dumah says, indicating the area of-F 2-6 while we start to investigate the rest of the ground level of the monastery?
Dumah will take a few minutes to make sure it is structurally sound there. Knowledge Engineering .
DM, when we investigated the chapel, did it include the balcony and the space grayed out on the map at roughly d-j 31-39? To me, it looks like we have openings/corridors to investigate at G8, G17, G31 and G33-35. Is that correct?
That means obvious areas to check are:
Secret area behind the southern statue
Grounds around the monastery
Chapel balcony
Chapel side chamber d-j31-39
Corridor at G8
Corridor at G17
Opening at G31
Opening at G33-35
"Why don't the rest of you look around and make sure that we are alone. I will stay here with April and our guests and yell if anything happens. Remember that bandit fellow can become invisble somehow and could be lurking anywhere. Quzman did you try to follow any tracks from our stolen camel to make sure he hasn't doubled back?"
When everyone is ready, Dumah will lead them over to the southern statue. It should push to reveal something behind it. Is there someone stronger than me that would care to do the honor? Dumah will cast light on his club and stand back a couple paces.
Str. check
Dumah is very curious about anything to do with this monastery.
He suggests that the other rooms on the main floor should all be checked before retiring for the night, lest there be something or someone in there. As for the statue, does it look like it was opened any time recently?...just curious. And Brebork is willing to use his strength to move it if Dumah is game for the idea.
Quzman turns to Eli, "I didn't follow him far, but it appeared to be leaving a good clip from the amount of sand his hooves kicked up. I 'believe' he has gone, but can not be certain when or if he may return."
Quzman follows Dumah to the statue as Eli takes over the guard duty. "It's been a long day, but let's see what we can do here."
Quzman, with Brebork and Jarva's aid, pushes but loses his grip and is unable to budge the statute.
Brebork notices that the statute has a thick layer of dust around it, so it has not been moved in a long time.
As Eli helps April settle in for the night he gives her some water and some rations from the camels, "It is not much compared to hot food from your fathers fire, but it will keep the ache in your belly at bay." He tries to keep a cheerful demeanor but his thoughts keep turning back to Kyra and her brutal murder. His heart is heavy despite hardly knowing her and he can imagine how this is effecting Quzman who is bravely keeping a stern face. A tear slips down his sand caked face as he turns away from April, "Get some rest dear, I'll be close by if you need anything." He will sit and wait for her to drift off and then quietly get up, needing a distraction from his thoughts he approaches the archers pulling out his deck of cards. "So are you fellows up for a game of Crowns and Bones?"
This statue has not been opened for some time. The monastery has been a ruin for many years. The alter has been desicrated. If we disturb this statue, who knows what it may open to - a crypt maybe? As much as I wish to know what is below, perhaps it would be more prudent to wait until we have rested and prepared more spells before opening this.
Agreed, Brebork. Why don't we check that hall down there indicating the corridor at G8. It is closest to Eli, April and our camp spot, and if any threat lies that way we'll want to address it first.
If no one disagrees, we'll head to the corridor at G8 and go to the first door or opening down that way.
"I agree completely. We don't want to get in over our heads, as beat up as we are. Let's save that statue for the next time we visit. Let's get a safe spot for the night, and if we want to come back and clean up, we can deal with it then. Sarenrae will understand waiting a bit, to get the girl home."
"I agree completely. We don't want to get in over our heads, as beat up as we are. Let's save that statue for the next time we visit. Let's get a safe spot for the night, and if we want to come back and clean up, we can deal with it then. Sarenrae will understand waiting a bit, to get the girl home."
But shall we at least look at the rooms that are on this level, as Brebork had previously suggested? he says, gesturing at the corridor that starts at G8. It would not be good to be surprised during the night if something lurks there. Or perhaps there would be a better place to hole up for the night.
Dumah will go to the two brothers that previously worked for the bandit. Gentlemen, do you know anything of what lies down these three corridors?Dumah is referring to the three openings on the south wall of the hall they are in.
Dumah will go to the two brothers that previously worked for the bandit. Gentlemen, do you know anything of what lies down these three corridors?Dumah is referring to the three openings on the south wall of the hall they are in.
Samir and Amir look up from their game of Crowns and Bones with Eli, and Amir speaks, "Yeah, sure, we'll tell you what we know. There's a library, kitchen, mess hall, and dormitory down that way (). That's where the Bandit and us slept and ate during the past 5 days. The other 2 entrances, we boarded those up with pieces of debris, stone, and wood. We don't know what's behind the other 2 hallways. I believe they lead to the same place, but the Bandit, he scouted them out first and told us to board them up when he came back after a few minutes, that it wasn't worth our troubles were his exact words. As the boss, we did not argue and confined ourselves to the known section of rooms and the chapel."
Let us first inspect those areas in which they ate and slept. etc....
As you head down the corridor, on the right hand side, you notice a messhall with 3 long wooden tables and dozens of chairs in shambles, most rotted away with the passage of the years. You notice several large holes in the ceiling. There is a door in the south wall of this room.
On the left hand side, through a doorless arch, there appears to be a large kitchen with walls lined with shelves and cupboards, a large central table, and an oven in the back wall.
In the hallway, there is a worn statue of a winged woman. Brebork and Dumah immediately recognize the figure as Sarenrae.
Quzman looks at the group. "Maybe we should start with the quarters the bandits had been staying in, and the rest of the top floor then. We can save the secret behind the statue for the morning, or when we come back with the rest of the caravan."
He will draw his scimitar and lead the way down towards where the prisoners said they stayed.