Gorn Rel stomps repeated on the prone undead.
Nash snarls in pain after one of the monster's claws rake his forearm. The brawny warrior strikes back with a vengeance.
Gorn-Rel smashes the undead on the floor. It tries to claw his foot, but then Na'Shok cleaves its head off.
Combat over.
When the battle finishes, Anevia enters the shrine. She looks dismayed at the desicrated shrine.
"Sorry, my leg is kinda bothering me."
She moves to sit down on one of the broken stone benches. Seeing this, Horgus mutters, "Anevia is slowing us down."
Anevia explodes. Horgus you good for nothing... I'm not surprised that a man afraid to acknowledge his own faith wouldn't be moved by a forgotten temple like this. If you are ashamed of one's own faith, you may as well worship demons!"
A bit taken back by Anevia's outburst Horgus quickly recovers, calmly saying, "The irony is not lost on me that I'm being chided by someone who has been known to consort with thieves."
Hearing this, Anevia sits back on her bench, eyes narrowing but never leaving Horgus.
Turning to Varda, Gorn-Rel says, "I do not think your god lives here anymore."
"Was that some sort of undead priest? What kind of magic is in this place?"
The hobgoblin scoffs at the florid man, "She may slow us down, but still she is of more use than you. What have you done to aid our ascent? What skills have you offered to the common? You natter and nag, but your time would be better spent thinking how you could be of use."
After the dead thing falls immobile, Nash takes a moment to will the fire from his blood.
By the time it's done, the group has moved into the shrine to continue their squabbling. With a frustrated growl he follows the survivors inside.
"Take it", he snarls as he shoves his undead ichor-stained axe into Horgus's face. "Take my axe and lead us out of here. Else, shut the hell up or I swear I'll remove your tongue myself. If I want combat instruction from a fool like you, I'll ask."
"If it weren't for my debt to the elf, I'd leave the lot of you squabbling fools to your own damned fates."
"How dare you you crazed goblin. I am Horgus of the noble house of Gwerm. I am not fighting because no one has bothered to give me a weapon, other than that man in wolf's clothing. And even then he took it away from me.
Varda frowns. "Be quiet, all of you. Have you no respect or wisdom?"
Quietly, respectfully, she moves forward toward the altar. Upon reaching it, she touches it gently and begins to clean it off.
Na'shok repeats the gesture.
"If you fight as much as you talk, getting out of here should be easy."
He gingerly takes the axe. He swings it a little bit, showing some signs of proficiency, though not much.
"It isn't a rapier, but I thank you regardless Na'shok.
"That's because you are an ungrateful son of a b*&!$. Now shut up before this man in wolf's clothing rips your throat out through your stomach. The same goes for everyone. I hate having heightened senses, it just makes the stupidness louder."
Anevia looks up, and states, "Varda has the right idea. I think we should take the time to thoroughly clean this place. I'm sure Torag would appreciate it if we did. If nothing else it will give us a secure place to rest."
Gorn-Rel raises a brow at the fat man's sputtering particularly after he complains bout not having a weapon seconds after being offered one. "Useless. If only your pride could be turned into food, medicine, or torches -- then you would be valuable."
"I could make his pride into food, along with his everything else." Frekhi will start picking up stuff as he walks around.
Gorn-Rel moves over and sits next to Anevia. "You won't let me carry you, and I know no healing arts, but perhaps I could distract you from the pain?"
He pulls out a piece of string and offers to play cats-cradle with her.
Na'shok rolls his eyes. "Maybe your dwarf god will be merciful and strike me deaf. I'll see about finding some food."
"We don't really have time to wait though." Aravashnial states. " We should find a way to the surface as soon as possible. People are dying directly above us and the longer we take the less we can help."
"I'm going too. I'm starving and I'd rather be anywhere but here."
"You might be more likely to hear reason if he did," comments Varda quietly in response to Na'shok's statement. Looking over at the elf, she shakes her head before realizing he can't see the gesture. "I will remain here until this place is cleansed. It would not be unwise, however, for others to scout out the surrounding tunnels in an attempt to discover the path out."
"If no one wants to scout, I'll do it, I will." offers Anevia.
"Fine, Nash will go find food and I will scout a way out. I'm not gonna let some cripple do it."
"Ugh. Fine. I'll stay." Arshival states. "It is best if we stay as one large group for safety. Varda makes a good point that we should have a quiet person keep an eye out outside however. I thank you Frekhi for doing so."
"Whatever." Frekhi heads out to scout around.
Though it might be too late to play peace-keeper, Gorn Rel is willing to give it a go, "Thank you, Aravashnial, for your spell earlier. It was a valuable contribution. I also understand your desire for haste. Your town is in desperate straights. Were it Namaris, I too would be prone to run heedlessly back to the surface. But would that be wise? Several of us are injured, and you are almost out of spells. We do not know how far it is back to the surface. It could be minutes, hours, or days. Wouldn't be be wiser to take stock of what we have, rest, and prepare to take the fight to the surface? We will not do your town any good if we get back to the surface and fall to the first demon there because we were exhausted."
"You... make a good point Gorn-Rel." Arshival says with reluctance. "Indeed, I have personal reasons to hurry to the surface, but it won't do me much good if I am exhausted. We will wait."
"Personal reasons are a fine thing. They put fire in your belly and help see you through when you think you have lost everything. But, they must be tempered with good plans and clear supply lines," the hobgoblin replies encouragingly.
The elf tilts his head, as if seeing the hobgoblin in a new light. "You'd make a fine leader, Gorn-Rel."
"You are kind to say so. Perhaps, in time, I will grow to be."
You finish cleaning the temple. All that is left is to reconsecrate it to Torag While cleaning, you do find a few items of note.
Na'shok removes himself from the temple while the others toil for the absent dwarf god. While he's out he sets a few snares in hopes that some fat rodents might wander into them and looks for edible fungus or mold.
As he wanders, he catches glimpses of the demons that haunted the caverns - just beyond the veil. If only I had my totems those fool crusaders took from me...
You find some edible fungus that you can eat, and manage to nab a rodent to round out your meal.
Frekhi is far from these annoying talkative people. "Back to how it should be. A lone wolf again, for the time being anyway." He takes his time and looks around for a way out or for more vermin that might attack.
"Gorn-Rel moves over and sits next to Anevia. "You won't let me carry you, and I know no healing arts, but perhaps I could distract you from the pain?"
He pulls out a piece of string and offers to play cats-cradle with her."
Varda works on cleaning the place until it's spotless. Despite her worn hands and tired nerves, she places her hands on the altar, bows her head for a few moments in silence, and asks that it be reconsecrated.
Varda makes a silent prayer to her god. Bright light manifests itself above your heads, signaling Torag's blessing upon you.
Nash shuffles uncomfortably as the feeling of divine approval washes over him. He glances at the hard working dwarfish woman with a curious glance.
"That was... new..."
Varda steps back slowly, a soft smile illuminating her features. She turns her smile on Na'shok at his remark. "It was well done."