Barundar awakens from unconsciousness in a clearly sullen mood. In a low, grumbling voice, he thanks the others for stopping the abomination, but he is clearly unhappy about being unable to remove the undead from the shrine to the Father of Creation on his own.
He doesn't spend very long sulking though, and pulls himself to his feet, refusing any offer of assistance in the meantime. He walks back into the structure and kneels before the shrine, offering a silent prayer to Torag asking for an opportunity to truly prove his worth as a comrade in the near future.
"Well that was, strange. What now?"
Kayla sat in silence as the fight ended she watched everone cleaning up, but the actions of the dwarf caught her eye.
quietly she slips into the temple kneeling beside him.
something is troubleing you mighty dwarf. I don't know much about this Torag faith. but i would be willing to listen, if you are willing to teach.
Aravashnial answers dryly, Strange? Perhaps, but I find it rather comforting. The Huecuva's presence means this area is likely avoided by predators, the shrine provides us with an easily defensible location, and the Wound Fly means that there is access to the surface.
Horgus' reply comes swift and causes the elf to tense, An interesting theory wizard. To Reinnwulf and Weyland, Well done.
Taking a torch, you circle round the small cavern the building and the ante-chamber. You don't notice anything out of the ordinary, except for a particularly foul smell coming from the fly's remain. You have not searched the main room itself however, as it appears the injured dwarf is having a moment with his god.
You can see Anevia rolling her eyes at Horgus. Her meaning is clear, 'What an ass'
Enshi holds his holy symbol high, calling on the power of the Dawnflower to heal the group. He then moves to the Dwarf, pressing the holy symbol to the man's shoulder as he prays.
After healing the others (and himself), Enshi looks around. "I don't want to hold up our return to the surface, but I think that we might want to do something about this temple. It's possible that it absorbed enough evil from the Huecuva that he, or something else, could grow here and come after us. It might be worth stopping to rest and taking the time to reconsecrate the temple so no more evil can grow here."
Suppressing a smile, the Sorcerer said, "I agree with the Cleric. We should rest, and this seems as good a place as any."
"I am in agreement, as weel. This temple mist be made pure afore we lea. Tae dae less wid black affront Torag 'n' sully his name."
"Very well. This is a good, defensible position. But hold now. What was it you called that thing outside? A Wound Fly? What is that?"
"Indeed. Let us cleans the taint from this place, so that a bastion of good shines once more in the darkness. I must profess my ignorance in these matters though. How does one cleans a temple of Torag? It seems a little dirty, but so are most dwarves, so would it be an affront to tidy up?"
Kayla continues to kneel at the shrine.
does not wish to discuss it, thats ok, sometime I don't want to talk to me.
Kayla starts whispering in the tongue of the shadows. some sort of prayers.
Torag, If you can hear me, and if you care, I am sorry if my presence in your temple is an insult, I must pay for my past sins everyday. please do not punish those I travel with for my sins.
Kayla seems ashamed of something that has happened in her past
For all his earlier grumbling about needing to press on. Horgus doesn't say anything when talk turns to consecrating the temple. He simply moves to the back of the ante-chamber, and sits facing the entrance. To Reinnwulf, A Wound Fly is a giant fly from the World Wound that's been corrupted with energies from the Abyss. Intelligent, dangerous, and almost demons themselves. Spite acid, obviously, and have some of the standard resistances. Cold iron weapons work best.
Aravashnial nods. Some are actually native to the Abyss and are extra-planar, thus subject to banishment, while others are native to Golarion.
Anevia raises an eyebrow at Weyland's remark and conspicuously looks him up and down. Eyes lingering on the places where dust, ichor, and tears mar his own outfit.
You get an impression of mild impatience and your mind suddenly goes to the pedestal near the door and its font of water.
Kayla finishs her short prayer, and sits a moment. soon she is drawn to the pedestal. she goes to it and starts to examine the font. something odd, something not right.
"Good to know, that, in case we see another of the beasts. Still and all, I think we have the means to keep one at bay, should we happen upon one once more. As for the temple or whatever this is, you do what you feel best. It is as good a place to hold up for a bit as any, and better than most."
Reinnwulf caught the look Anevia gave Weyland and chuckled. His chuckle turned swiftly into a full belly laugh, the sound echoing around him.
The only thing of note about the pedestal is the water held in its basin. The water itself is clean and clear, but otherwise unremarkable. There must be something to it though.
Rituals vary between faiths. If it where a Sarenite shrine you'd say to remove and dispose of the corpses, clean any mess they left behind, then either expose the interior to the dawn's light while channeling energy or casting a blessing, or, if sunlight in unavailable, burn incense in a fire atop the altar while invoking Her power. For a deity like Torag, hard to tell, though cleaning is likely a good first step. If only you had some holy water for the priest's bones.
Reinnwulf, several of the others look at you curiously.
Kayla finishes her examination, not touching anything.
strange, I never paid much attention to religious stuff.
Still if this place is so desecrated, what's with this?
She turns and yells to Barundar hey Barundar! Got a minute? I want to show you something...
This basin, the water, so clean, any thoughts on this?
Barundar looks about the temple for a brief moment before drawing in a breath. "Be richt thare, lassie. Foremaist things foremaist, this shrine needs tae be brought tae rights wi' Torag. Reinnwulf, Enshi, hulp me git thae corpses oot o' here." he says to the other men, picking up the remains of the huecuva to carry outside and toss to the ground.
Enshi assists in removing the corpse(s) from the temple, then prays over the body, seeking to send the fallen priest to his proper resting place.
Horgus rises to look at whatever has the gnome intrigued, mutters something, and sits again. Whatever it is, not worth his time.
Kala nods to Horgus and begins a renewed search of the ante-chamber. this time looking for a vial or something she can fill with water
Enshi leaves the body for a moment and moves over to speak with Barundar. "If you have no objections, I believe that this poor soul should be cremated, so to speed his spirit on its way to the forge of his God for judgement. I was going to ask the mage if he had any spells that could accomplish the task. My own magicks are not strong enough for a complete cremation, I fear."
"I think that one's spirit is not destined to sit at the foot of Torag's forge. Come Reinnwulf, let's see if we can't do something about that fly creature. I don't think we want it attracting any scavengers."
"Very well. We can drag it to the far end of the cavern and bury it. I do not wish to place a cairn for this monstrosity, but that is the only way I know of to keep the scavengers away. The rocky ground here is likely too hard to dig a decent enough distance down."
Your careful search doesn't turn up anything in the ante-chamber, but while searching around the pedestal, you notice something on the floor of the shrine room, an old satchel half-hidden under one of the benches.
The satchel itself is junk, the leather too dried and decayed to be of use. Inside however, holds promise: half a dozen flasks and a stone tube. Several of the flasks are broken, as though the satchel was thrown in a rage, but three remain whole. The tube itself contains a scroll with what looks like spellwork.
Incidentally, your water flask ought to work for the holy water, some of the others likely have canteens as well.
Kayla was apparently searching around the ante-chamber for something crawling under the benches she apparently found something.
Kayla ended up sitting on a bench with an old sachel. you notice she pulled some vials from it and pocketed them. She then cleans out the sachel of a bunch of broken glass and what appreas to be tube comes out. She is now looking over what looks like a scroll.
Barundar continues helping clean up the temple to his deity. He seems hesitant to give the huecuva any serious burial, but after a few minutes he reluctantly joins the others.
"I'm nae sure if this thing deserves a proper burial...but sin we dinnae know howfur he died, ah reckon it's better safe than sorry."
Reinnwulf and Weyland drag away the monster's body and bury it beneath the largest stones they can find, of which there are plenty.
Meanwhile Aravashnial and Anevia join Barundar in disposing of the corpse. The scout pours a flask of oil over the remains while the mage ignites the oil-soaked robe with a spell. It takes a few tries, but he manages it without undue difficulty. The withered husk acts like tinder and for a few minutes the cavern is enveloped in a oddly cheery light, with shadows dancing on the walls. When the flames die down, only blackened bones remain, which a few strikes from a rock easily reduce to splinters. No corporeal enemy while rise here.
Gathering inside the shrine's sheltering walls, people take time to check injuries, examine gear, and rest. Barundar, and some others, take time to clean and dedicate the shrine.
-------------------------------------
Though a watch is kept, nothing bothers the company as they rest. After a several hours, enough for spellcasters to renew themselves. The time comes to set off again. Though you don't know the current state of Kenabres, everyone feels a urgency to find out what has happened, and from some, what remains of their home.
Horgus eyes you narrowly, you're pretty sure he saw you pocket the items, but says nothing. Everyone else seems busy with disposal duty, you doubt they noticed. He simply folds his hands together and looks meaningfully in Barundar's direction.
Kayla takes note of Horgus' glare. she is does not meet is gaze.
Kayla goes to Barundar, holding her small waterskin and a stone scroll case. she hands them to the dwarf.
These may be useful to you.
Once he takes them she walks away and takes a seat by herself to rest.
Vaelor stood back and let the others do their work. All the while getting the feeling something thought it was pointless. Glancing at the book at his side, he found an out of the way corner, sat down and opened it.
"Is this how you plan on fighting demons?" the book scrawled across the page.
Pulling out the quill, he replied, Well pardon me for not anticipating a horrific ambush from the Wound. Do you have any suggestions?
"You really didn't read the fine print did you? It clearly states that I just grant you power, not knowledge to alter your destiny."
How would giving advice alter my destiny?
"You can't pull a single thread of a web without it affecting the whole thing." The writing vanished, indicating the book was done 'talking'.
How does it always manage to get the last word? Vaelor wondered while the original contents appeared back on the pages.
After helping Weyland with the corpse of the Wound Fly, Reinnwulf returns to the shrine to see the others cleaning and straightening things. He posts himself as a guard outside, and asks Anevia to join him, as her bow would come in most useful if they were attacked from range. Of course, both of them were limited to the range of the lights they had carried outside the temple walls, but it was better than holing up inside with idea of what might be out in the cavern.
Barundar thanks Kayla for the scroll case and the holy water, examining the scroll to see if he can tell what is inscribed on it.
Weyland will spend some time in his usual evening purification prayers to Iomedae and catch some rest once the temple has been cleaned and secured. When the party sets out he takes a position near the front, either just behind or beside Reinnwulf, depending on the width of the passages.
Without more help, cleaning the temple takes quite a while, so there is less time for sleep than you would have liked. Nevertheless, you feel at peace. Duty and honor before comfort, and you can feel the Father's approval resting on you.
Also, while cleaning behind the altar you find something unexpected. A finely crafted Dorn Dergar, made of cold iron and emblazoned with Torag's symbol.
Examining the scroll Kayla gave to you, where did she find that, you recognize the runes as divine magic, though, having no skill in such yourself, you cannot tell what they might be. Spells most likely.
It takes a fair amount of time, but once finished you feel a sense of gratitude and approval. That of your own deity mingled with a stern brusqueness.
Anevia joins you, though she spends most of the time slumped against the the wall unconscious. From experience you know how exhausting such injuries can be. Overall, she's done quite well.
Horgus joins you for a few moments before stepping back inside. Whatever his other faults, at least he doesn't get in the way.
----------------------------------------------------
Continuing on through the passages, Enshi, Anevia, Aravashnial, Vaelor, and Horgus form the body of the party. With Barundar a step behind for rearguard, Reinnwulf and Weyland in the lead, and the quiet gnome mostly sticking to the darkness, occasionally popping back into sight before hurrying off again.
The passageway widens and narrows, sometimes opening up into small chambers, mostly without anything of note. An exoskeleton here, a bone fragment there, etc.
After some time, you come to a steep incline. It would be difficult to scale but for the dozens of pitons hammered into its surface. They appear to have been here for a very long time, but are still quite sound. Anevia and Aravashnial require some help getting up, but aside from some grumbling by Horgus, it goes well.
The passageway levels out and you continue on...
The tunnel opens into a large cavern, about seventy feet across. Cylindrical rock formations along the walls arch up to make a domelike chamber, but the walls and floor are riddled with cracks. At the center of the cave, a stone tower that may once have reached the fifty-foot-high ceiling has collapsed onto its side.
Two humanoids are carefully digging through the debris, you catch a glimpse of another figure buried in the rubble. It looks like the two are trying to free it. You can't really say much more about the creatures because they so... odd looking. One of the diggers looks like someone stuck half a satyr and half a lizarfolk together, with a badgers claws for fingers, while the other appears to have no face, only smooth, featureless chitin, and the body of a humanoid cat. They make the Wound Fly look natural.
Kayla hurridly slips back to the group attempting to be as quiet as she can.
As Kayla returns toward the group she tries to motion with her hands to stop.
she hurries up to them. there is another large chamber ahead there are more creatures in there, not sure what to call them, never seen anythong like them at all. Strange mix of various animals all patched together. two of them and a possible third.
Reinnwulf comes to a stop as the gnome rushes back into his field of view waving her hands. He holds up a fist in the air to motion to the rest of the group to stop their progress as well.
When Kayla explains what she has seen, he responds, in a low tone of voice, "Are these more of the mutant children, or their descendants, like the one we saw at the campsite back in the tunnels? Were they carrying weapons? I assume they didn't see you?" This last was as much a question as a statement, and Reinnwulf peered into the gloom beyond Kayla to see if there was anything approaching.
Kayla keeps her voice hushed.
no weapons that I saw, and I am not sure about mutant children or anything
She looks back, By my calculations I see a couple of options. One we can take them out now and hope for the best. Or two, we wait them out, and follow then, see if they lead us to a way out.
Enshi will move forward to hear the last part of Kayla's report. "What about, I dunno. Talking to them? See if we can get help from them to find the way out?"
Weyland listens to the gnome's report and shrugs. "They do not sound particularly dangerous. Let us go see for ourselves. If they prove to be a threat or part of the demonic conspiracy in the city above, then we may deal with them accordingly. If they are neither, then perhaps they might be able to show us a way out of this light forsaken place."
Momentarily forgetting the unidentified scroll that he slipped into his pack, Barundar thinks for a moment before offering his opinion. "I gree we shouldn't attack thaim outright; we dinnae know whit threat thay kin pose. Waiting wull certainly prove na benefit tae us, though. We kin be seen if we huv a go tae follow thaim, 'n' thay kin attack us oot o' fear o' oor ain intentions. We shuid mak' ourselves kent tae thaim, fur guid or ill."
"If we choose to talk instead of fight, well and good. But, I must insist that our charge and the blind elf stay in the back, where they can be protected if things turn hairy. And speaking of hairy...I have not yet had the need to fully throw myself into the battle lust. I would warn you all that should that occur...I may not seem like myself, but I will be in control of my actions, that I can promise."
I still say follow them the gnome pips up.
I'll go see what they are up to. and she heads off, back to the creatures to spy on them.
"I vote we follow. And I will stay in the back with my Father."
"Follow it is, then."
Kayla moves back toward where she had spied out the creatures. The two free ones haven't turned to spot her, and are continuing to try and clear the rubble away from their trapped companion. The rest of the group slowly follows Kayla until they enter the cavern. Roughly 70 feet across, the space has a number of stone pillars that connect the domed roof 50 ft. above with the floor. It seems that one of these has collapsed, likely due to the massive rending of the earth that occurred with the demons attacked Kenabres. Two humanoid figures are currently working at freeing a third figure from the rubble. As light intrudes into the chamber, the two turn and take up defensive postures, protecting the third.