A dark stairway descends southward to a deeper level of the Catacombs...
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Johann growls in frustration as his head clears. If only that scream didn't knock me for a loop, I could have held onto that foul demon and prevented his escape. I should be stronger than that!
Before we go down the stairs, Johann smells the air wafting from the darkness.
He also spends some time nosing about the room with the nativity scene. Anything hiding in Baby Jesus's manger? Because if Johann was going to hide loot, that is exactly where he would put it.
Johann growls in frustration as his head clears. If only that scream didn't knock me for a loop, I could have held onto that foul demon and prevented his escape. I should be stronger than that!
Before we go down the stairs, Johann smells the air wafting from the darkness.
[dice=survival/scent]d20+12
He also spends some time nosing about the room with the nativity scene. Anything hiding in Baby Jesus's manger? Because if Johann was going to hide loot, that is exactly where he would put it.
[dice=percep]d20+12
As Johann noses about the Nativity, he notices that the “Virgin Mary” in this case appears to be clearly made of stone, as if the baby “Jesus” were born from a woman-shaped rock formation instead of a flesh-and-blood maiden...
Within the manger lies a fist-sized figurine of golden calf...
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As Johann pulls the Golden Calf from the manger, the Cardinal nods sagely. "Interesting, the Golden Bull of Mithras. So that is what the demon meant. Mithras was a late roman sun god," He explains for the benefit of others, "Some parts of his worship bear a resemblance to our ceremonies today, which has led scholars to speculate that those who worshipped Mithras might have been people worthy of salvation, to whom God granted a glimpse of His Son in Glory, that they might be saved."
[dice=Knowledge Religion]d20+7
As Johann pulls the Golden Calf from the manger, the Cardinal nods sagely. "Interesting, the Golden Bull of Mithras. So that is what the demon meant. Mithras was a late roman sun god," He explains for the benefit of others, "Some parts of his worship bear a resemblance to our ceremonies today, which has led scholars to speculate that those who worshipped Mithras might have been people worthy of salvation, to whom God granted a glimpse of His Son in Glory, that they might be saved."
"The golden bull and star are very fine work. These could fetch 1400 amd 2100 ducats, I'm confident!"
Hmm, very fine work indeed! Should we not return to the Holy Father, and sell these treasures, and split the ducats! says Arc, rubbing his chin with a scarlet-gloved hand as he eyes the golden star, wondering how best to remove it from adamantine chain...
Appearing only to Arc, as usual...
DAMN YOU, Perdu!! You are going to putter about in this accursed labyrinth of death traps and demons until it kills you, and then I’ll NEVER get a Christian burial in Provence!! Non!! I will not allow this! We are going to Provence at once, Monsieur Le Rouge!
Flying toward the Scarlet Magus, the Ghost of Du Berry attempts to possess him!
After the briefest moment of struggle, the Ghost of Du Berry possesses Arc’s body!
Oui! Oui! Now I can journey to Provence without delay and get a priest to give my bones rest in sacred ground, and be freed from my torment!
My friends, nature calls... I’ll just go in the previous chamber, where it already stinks of ghasts... I’ll be right back...
But Arc does not return. He runs up and out of the Catacombs, buys a horse at a stable, and rides off northward and out of Rome... North up the Italian coast, and eventually over the Alps and into France to lay to rest the ghost possessing him...
The vrock flees and Boga breathes a sigh of relief. The displays in the room makes him unconfortable, and he wants to leave it immediately. But no discomfort can make him forget the display put on by Zagathoth in fighting the 2 demons, "By the Grace of my Lord! He is certainly favored by our Father..."
"Zagathoth! What a wonder! What a remarkable battle! That was glorious to watch. Our Lord has blessed you with great ability. I am so glad to see you put it to His purpose."
Boga approaches both Zagathoth and Johann. "Let me have a look at those growths; see what they are."
[dice=Planes]1d20+6
EDIT: @Zagathoth, unfortunately, at this time, Boga can only make it last one round at a time, so with new initiatives, it would be over? (@MJ66?) You still have the +1 from the Shield Other, though (and +1 deflection)
The ugly green vines growing out of Johann and Zagathoth deal damage to each of them as the creepers burst through their skin!
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"Monsiuer Arc makes a good suggestion." Lucius notes. "With these... things in your bodies." He gestures to the vines, "We would do well to retreat and seek treatment. We could return within two hours I imagine if need be, or we could rest and regain our strength. I fear whatever awaits us below will test us even more than this level has!"
The Cardinal does not command, but he has made his opinion clear...
"Ahh, I see. These spores are easily treated." Boga steps between Johann and Zagathoth and begins a simple prayer, "Lord, grant us thy favor. Bless us to find thy will in dealing with thine enemies."
Boga listens to the Cardinal. "We've only just begun today. Should we leave already?"
"Johann and Zagathoth have been cured of the affliction and some light healing has been applied." He nods toward the stairs, "Surely we can scout below before we leave. With that knowledge, we can better prepare for our return." He pauses while crossing himself, "I detest this room. Let us go back and investigate the statue we just found. We can then scout down the stairs and make a determination then."
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Johann comes out of bear form. "EGADS, THESE WEIRD PLANTS. BLAH!!! Johann starts scratching and picking at his skin. "DISGUSTING! MY THANKS, BOGA. I THINK YOU GOT RID OF THEM, WHATEVER YOU DID."
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS NATIVITY SCENE AT ALL. WHAT IS THE POINT? IS IT TRYING TO INSULT CHRISTIANITY? AND THE ROOM PRIOR, GREEK GODS? AND THE ROOM BEFORE THAT... EGYPTIAN GODS? THIS PLACE IS THE MOST PAGAN I HAVE EVER SEEN AND I USED TO LIVE IN A FOREST WITH DANCING FAIRIES."
Until now Quinlan has been content to sit back and let the others handle things with the vrocks. "It is curious that there are so many deities represented here. I think scouting ahead before we decide our next move is the right choice."
Zagathoth stops and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself after the demon flees. When Boga praises him he smiles widely and answers, ”the human-god spared me so I could kill things for the pope.”
While everyone else is searching he stretches and recovers from the strain of fighting in a furry.
Boga responds to Johann, "You are most welcome. It was the Lord's blessing that cured you and Zagathoth. Demons and their curses are no match for His power." When Johann and Quinlan discuss the pagan statues, he says, "Yes, it is strange. We should finish the work that was interrupted by the ghasts and investigate the statue of Apollo; then scout the area down the stairs."
Boga chuckles at Zagathoth's comment, "Yes, the Lord has many enemies." Boga's brow furrows, "Does the Lord give us enemies to bring us together? That we may unite in performing His will? Hmmm. A line of thought for another time. We have more immediate concerns." "Come! Let us go to the Apollo room."
Returning to the shrine of Apollo, the Crusaders find it just as they left it a moment ago, the six slaughtered ghasts laying where they fell. The stench of the fallen ghasts is somehow less overwhelming now that they lie motionless in the corridor...
The eight-foot-tall idol of Apollo appears to be either crafted entirely of gold (which would make it beyond estimation in value—priceless), or more likely, crafted of gold-plated marble (in which case, it is still quite valuable)...
The orbiting sphere that glows brightly like a miniature sun is also either solid gold or else gold-plated...
"We must not desecrate this by stealing pieces from it as we did to the Egyptian idol...Apollo is a good and mighty deity. Did he not grant us aid through this, a holy place of his, when we fought the ghasts and Cardinal Lucius sought the aid of the divine? And my dear companion, Orpheus, came from Apollo."
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"I concur. The Church has a long past of repressing the worship of such gods. While we desire the salvation of all souls it should be recognised that there may be more than one path to salvation, and that must be respected." Lucius agrees, his eyes flickering to Boga as he speaks. "Do not spread the tales of what is down here too widely. Many are not as restrained as you or I Signor Fox."
"We must not desecrate this by stealing pieces from it as we did to the Egyptian idol...Apollo is a good and mighty deity. Did he not grant us aid through this, a holy place of his, when we fought the ghasts and Cardinal Lucius sought the aid of the divine? And my dear companion, Orpheus, came from Apollo."
Orpheus chirps a melodic hymn in the ancient Aeolian mode to Apollo and hovers before the idol, seeming to bow his little bird head in reverence...
Many thanks, Mister Fox...
"I concur. The Church has a long past of repressing the worship of such gods. While we desire the salvation of all souls it should be recognised that there may be more than one path to salvation, and that must be respected." Lucius agrees, his eyes flickering to Boga as he speaks. "Do not spread the tales of what is down here too widely. Many are not as restrained as you or I Signor Fox."
Orpheus flys in front of Cardinal Lucius and, hovering before him, genuflects respectfully...
Many thanks to you for this wise counsel, Your Grace! I sense that Apollo will bless us for showing respect and not desecrating this, his ancient shrine!
Then, looking around with a look of avian concern... But...where is Mister Arc Perdu Le Rouge? I hope he wasn’t paralyzed and dragged away by more ghasts while he was, um, indisposed...
Then the little thrush flies down to peck at a sheet of vellum with hastily-scribed script on it, lying near the west entrance to the shrine... Ah. I see. Here is the answer...
To The Crusaders of the Catacombs:
My dear friends, I must leave you to make good on a promise to an old friend before I lose my life to some devious trap or monstrous guardian of the Enemy’s. I am sorry to abandon you in this hour of need, but there is one who needs me far more than you do, my formidable friends. As soon as my task is accomplished, I shall return and seek you out, if at all possible. Yours in Christ, Monsieur Arc Perdu Le Rouge.
Watching the Crusaders in his shrine through the great scrying pool in the throne room of Zeus on Mount Olympus, Apollo, the Far Darter, smiles warmly...
It is meet and right for these mortals to show respect to my holy shrine! I shall grant them a boon!
Dipping a golden arrow into the pool to point at each of the heroes, sending a divine golden ray to touch each...
On the Prime Material world of mortals, each of the Crusaders feels a brief warmth like a ray of sunlight touching them for a few seconds, and they each receive the Boon of the Far Darter!
Boga looks at Lucius in great surprise, "Jan Hus is burned at the stake, and I am very nearly executed, yet a Cardinal of the Church is sanguine about an alter to Apollo! What does this mean? Tolerance and mercy to Gentiles, but pluck out the eye in the Body of Christ!?" Boga appraises the statue and its orbiting sphere, "Apollo may be real, and he may be powerful, but he is no God. He has no need of an altar. I can respect those who seek help from the powerful. I can respect a show of gratitude, but worship? Worship is reserved for the One who brings us salvation.
"This is part of a pattern in these catacombs. One I do not yet understand, but why the difference in treatment? Was Osiris evil? Did he oppress?"
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Ma and Pa taught me that The Lord Christ was the Way, the Truth, and the Light, and that "No one comes to the Father except through Me." And our Father Lucius seems to revere Apollo? That is the strangest thing I've seen all day. And that includes my body exploding with demon spores. But I'm not about to disagree. Fine with me if we leave Apollo's statue alone.
Boga looks at Lucius in great surprise, "Jan Hus is burned at the stake, and I am very nearly executed, yet a Cardinal of the Church is sanguine about an alter to Apollo! What does this mean? Tolerance and mercy to Gentiles, but pluck out the eye in the Body of Christ!?" Boga appraises the statue and its orbiting sphere, "Apollo may be real, and he may be powerful, but he is no God. He has no need of an altar. I can respect those who seek help from the powerful. I can respect a show of gratitude, but worship? Worship is reserved for the One who brings us salvation.
"This is part of a pattern in these catacombs. One I do not yet understand, but why the difference in treatment? Was Osiris evil? Did he oppress?"
[dice=Perception]1d20+13
Boga looks at Lucius in great surprise, "Jan Hus is burned at the stake, and I am very nearly executed, yet a Cardinal of the Church is sanguine about an alter to Apollo! What does this mean? Tolerance and mercy to Gentiles, but pluck out the eye in the Body of Christ!?" Boga appraises the statue and its orbiting sphere, "Apollo may be real, and he may be powerful, but he is no God. He has no need of an altar. I can respect those who seek help from the powerful. I can respect a show of gratitude, but worship? Worship is reserved for the One who brings us salvation.
"This is part of a pattern in these catacombs. One I do not yet understand, but why the difference in treatment? Was Osiris evil? Did he oppress?"
[dice=Perception]1d20+13
Flying over to hover near Boga, the Fox’s thrush familiar chirps: I assure you, Mister Boga, that the cosmos is far larger than your Christian theology claims! Apollo is indeed a god, just as mighty as your Jehova! I caution you not to speak against the gods of Olympus, for they are not as forgiving as your Christ!
Orpheus seems to shed a tiny tear, then adds: Believe me, good sir... I know as well as anyone how cruel the Olympian gods can be when their ire is provoked... Once, I was a man like you... I was the greatest of all musicians, and my beloved was a nymph named Eurydice... She was poisoned by a viper and died, and her shade descended into Hades... I was bereft, and journeyed alive into the Underworld, passing through many dangers and overcoming even fierce Cerebus with my music... Even the cold heart of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, was moved by the music of my lyre, and he agreed to let the shade of my Eurydice leave the Underworld with me... but alas, my faith failed near the exit, and I failed to heed the warning of Persephone, Queen of Hades... She told me not to look back at Eurydice until we had returned to the mortal world, but so silent were her feet, I feared a trick, and could not help but glance over my shoulder to ascertain that she was still there... I saw her one last time before her shade flew away, back into the Underworld forevermore! Like Lot from your Old Testament, my lack of trust in the gods sealed the fate of my beloved. I am sure you know of Lot? The angel warned him not to look back upon Sodom and Gommorah as your God destroyed them with fire... but he failed as I did, and his wife became a pillar of salt! Your Yahweh has relented ever since He became a man in the form of your Christ, and knew the suffering of humanity as one of you... He is more merciful these days... Not so the gods of Olympus! Let us not tempt their wrath, I beseech you!
Having chirped this speech, he flits back over to perch on the Fox’s right shoulder...
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"This is a mockery." Lucius replies to Boga's question. "I believe that the Antichrist has created these for the express purpose of shaking our faith. Osiris, resurrected from the dead. Apollo, Lord of Light and the son of god. Mithras, the golden, whose festivals match those of Christ. A man of little faith might see coincidence and be prone to doubt, rather than to glory in the grand plan of the Creator, who revealed the truth to men in ways which they might understand. I do not worship this Greek Sun God, but I see no reason to desecrate his altar either."
He pauses for a moment and then answers the unspoken question which sits heavy in the room as well. "My views are my own. I am but one member of our Holy Church, and it is over a thousand years old. There have been times in our past where Popes and Cardinals have been less holy than we would wish and have more easily shown God's wrath than his love. For myself, I believe that God can redeem all souls, and I prefer to do his work in this life than dispatch them to judgement in the next."
Zagathoth’s brow furrows as he struggles to follow the theological conversation. When a lull arrives, he looks somewhat accusingly at the priest and the bird and sternly adds, ”only worship the human God, it’s one of the rules...”
As the adventurers descend the southbound stair to the third underground level (second level of the deeper Catacombs), they descry that the left-hand is an alcove, ten-feet-square, as is the forward southbound way, both decorated with blasphemous murals depicting human clergy burning some books and compiling others into a Holy Scripture as it serves their rulers...
To the west, a concavity some five feet in diameter in the north wall contains a highly polished surface that serves as a mirror, giving the viewer a glimpse of infinity...
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Zagathoth’s brow furrows as he struggles to follow the theological conversation. When a lull arrives, he looks somewhat accusingly at the priest and the bird and sternly adds, ”only worship the human God, it’s one of the rules...”
"I worship God, the Father Almighty and his only son Jesus Christ Zagathoth. But I am not my brethren from the Order of Forbidden Books, who believe that all knowledge that they do not agree with should be destroyed. To recognise the existence of another power is not to worship it - else we should all be worshipers of the Anti-Christ." Lucius's voice is stern. "I respect other faiths and I would see them saved - that is all. Now, onwards."
On the lower level Lucius does not spare the mural a glance, but stands before the mirror briefly before turning his back to it. "Move on. This will not show us anything we wish to see."
On the lower level Lucius does not spare the mural a glance, but stands before the mirror briefly before turning his back to it. "Move on. This will not show us anything we wish to see."
As Cardinal Lucius stands before the mirror, he catches a glimpse of sanity-throttling infinity!
[dice=Will]d20+9
[dice=Prophecies]3d10
Lucius's mind is tightly warded, by faith and long training as he catches a glimpse into a far off infinity.
Cardinal Lucius’ steely mind resists the sanity-wrecking magic of the concave mirror, but he receives three prophetic visions, which might be interpreted thusly:
7: The world will be ravaged by wars involving every nation!
6: A vampire more terrible than any before will soon rise in Wallachia!
3: An illusory mouse will entertain the masses!
Quinlan looks between the others as they discuss the Apollo statue. "Surely even if you claim that there is one 'true' god you cannot deny that other deities hold great power. To desecrate the alter to such a powerful being does not seem wise, especially one who seems to be an ally."
Quinlan's mind begins to drift and he snaps back a bit to late to warn the Cardinal about looking into the mirror before investigating. Seeing his companion seems unharmed he scans the mirror for magic, and the cardinal as well for good measure. "I know you are of sound mind friend and I have every confidence in your abilities, but I would suggest we are overly cautious of strange artifacts in this place."
Quinlan looks between the others as they discuss the Apollo statue. "Surely even if you claim that there is one 'true' god you cannot deny that other deities hold great power. To desecrate the alter to such a powerful being does not seem wise, especially one who seems to be an ally."
Quinlan's mind begins to drift and he snaps back a bit to late to warn the Cardinal about looking into the mirror before investigating. Seeing his companion seems unharmed he scans the mirror for magic, and the cardinal as well for good measure. "I know you are of sound mind friend and I have every confidence in your abilities, but I would suggest we are overly cautious of strange artifacts in this place."
The way to go, then, is west thirty feet, then northward, whereupon the Crusaders perceive a rainbow glow up ahead on the right...