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Making strangled barking noises, the two strange creatures head slide off on their mucus-covered bellies, and climb down the cliff.
This weathered wooden shed shelters a cart and several crates, which the hermits use to obtain supplies from Abberton from time to time. Sea birds roost in its rafters and squawk noisily when anyone enters.
The entrance to the hermitage is an elaborately carved double door depicting both of Gozreh’s forms: on the left he is a sky god rising from a whirlwind with lightning in his hand, and on the right she is a sea-goddess surrounded by a whirlpool.
Opening entering, you see a disturbing sight:
Three hulking, evil-looking men are crowded around Mayor Abber, who cowers in a corner trying to shield himself from harm. When he spots you, the mayor shouts with relief, “Thank the gods you’ve come! They’ve...” just as one of the corrupted retainers slaps him with his end of his trident, knocking the mayor unconscious.
They then turn upon you, tridents at the ready, and malice in their eyes.
Charles (-)
Archibald (-)
CR (-, -, -)
Charles expression turns grim.
Well, that makes the decision about what to do substantially easier...
He then focuses upon Yellow, directs Archibald forward, and starts firing!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
"Scheisse!"
Charles frantically flurries!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
"Scheisse!"
Cracking his Potency Rune, Charles frantically fires!
He then tosses a blast of force!
Charles shifts his focus, and keeps firing.
Charles groans.
"Just die, already!"
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
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The Mayor explains that he came looking for Harlock, and was immediately imprisoned. Word of his capture was sent to those deeper in the hermitage, and a few priests came to see him—but all were as cruel and pitiless as his captors. They were accompanied by small flying demons, and Mayor Abber shudders to think the hermits are dealing so openly with fiends. Through the abuse shouted at him during beatings, the mayor learned that Harlock is also a prisoner in the hermitage.
Mayor Abber is incredibly grateful to be rescued and prepared to quickly return to town. He asks that you do your best to rescue Harlock, and that there will be a sizable reward waiting for you, when you return to town (specifically, 40gp).
Charles smiles wryly.
Great. More opportunities to risk life and limb...
Nevertheless, he continues on his way, searching the area.
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The waiting room is simply furnished with a table and chairs, and its stone walls are bare. The furniture isn’t particularly comfortable, and the only nod to courtesy is a copper vessel filled with water on the table.
This room is mostly empty. A few wooden casks half-full of salted pork and mead are all that remain, along with a crate of parchment paper and a few boxes of ink and goose quills.
However, a Lesser Salamander Elixir lies forgotten on a shelf here.
These four rooms are reserved for the rare guests allowed to stay overnight at the hermitage. Each room has a single uncomfortable bed, a desk with a candle and writing supplies, a chamber pot, and a copy of the Gozren holy book, Hymns to the Wind and the Waves.
The door from area F3 to this hallway is a large and imposing granite slab broken only by a small viewing slot at eye level.
Peering through, Charles can just make out another pair of Corrupted Retainers, and another tusked amphibian.
Charles uses the slot as an arrow slit, and starts firing!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Charles gamely keeps up his assault.
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
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Sadly, Charles' arrow storm is largely ineffective...
...and both men avoid the worst of the electrical blast.
One rushes over, drops his trident, lifts the bar, and opens the door.
The other rages, rushes over, and tries to attack Charles with cover...
...skewering him.
Charles (-27)
Archibald (-)
S (-)
Corrupted Retainer (-14, -11+5)
Cursing loudly, Charles keeps up the steady stream of arrows.
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
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Charles' first arrow catches the weapon-bereft man through the lung, and he collapses to the ground, choking.
His subsequent two shots then slam into the other man, wounding him...
...and then his heart is stopped by the subsequent electrical discharge.
Meanwhile, the tusked amphibian looks at Charles suspiciously...
Charles (-27)
Archibald (-)
S (-)
Charles breathes a ragged sigh of relief, and tries to calm the creature down.
Charles loots the bodies, then dumps the corpses into the sea.
He then takes another breather, and keeps exploring, giving the barricaded area a wide berth, for the moment.
This small room contains a wall-mounted basin with water, a few hooks bearing gray robes, and rough soap.
This magnificent gallery glows with light from magical spheres set into eight twisting pillars that stretch from the floor to the ceiling twenty feet above. That ceiling depicts a cloudy, storm-tossed sky with remarkable realism. The floor is covered with mosaic tiles that portray the depths of the ocean, complete with coral reefs, seaweed beds, and schools of fish. Corridors lead away from the gallery to the north and south, and the hall ends in a massive bronze double door sculpted in a fantastic diorama of animals of all kinds: fish swimming in the sea, beasts walking the earth, and birds soaring in the sky.
Of more immediate concern, however, is that there is a wild-eyed cleric in here, backed-up by another worm-fiend...
"What!? Outsiders!? Kill them!"
The Cleric tosses a ball of fire at Charles...
Yoril (-)
Charles (-)
Archibald (-)
V (-)
Charles focuses upon the Cleric, directing Archibald forward to assist.
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Struggling, Charles pours everything he can into dealing with the Cleric!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Hissing in pain, Charles frantically tries to bring down the Cleric!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
"No!"
Charles shifts his focus, and Archibald's attention.
He then tosses a brace of force missiles.
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Charles' arrows, Archibald's jaws, and then the force missile barrage claim the worm-fiend's life before it has a chance to claim the flesh of the deceased priest.
As Charles is taking stock of the situation, the beasts depicted on the door turn to look at him, and speak in an unearthly chorus:
“Corruption has shut this door, but that cannot keep us out.
Cleanse these halls of the corrupted that infest it, and we will open this door for you.
Or, if you are one of the chosen of the Wind and Waves, then you may enter.”
Charles retreats to take a 10 minute breather, then heads back in, and takes the corridor to the South.
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Each room has a large and very comfortable canopied bed, an armoire for clothes storage, a full-length mirror, and light provided by fist-sized glowing orbs mounted in ornate wall sconces. A folding screen in each room conceals a metal bathtub. In the two northern guest rooms, the bedclothes are neatly folded and tucked away in the armoire. Only the southern guest room shows evidence of recent habitation; its bed is made and its bathtub is filled with lukewarm water.
The north wall of this long dining hall contains a stone oven, a cauldron, and several metal tables. Several long, wooden tables and benches are lined up against the south wall, providing accommodations for two dozen people to eat together. Doors lead east and west.
A big woman armed with a meat-cleaver, assisted by three tiny flying fiends, are hard at work in this room.
Charles silently groans.
More of those little s#*#s...
He quietly studies the woman, then unleashes, directing Archibald forward to assist!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Wincing, Charles tries to take the human down, directing Archibald to help!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
With the human down, Charles shifts his focus to the little fiends!
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Charles shifts his focus again, and keeps firing.
He then tosses an Electric Arc...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
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Charles lands two glancing blows on one of the tiny fiends...
...but when coupled with a weakened electrical blast, it is *just* enough to drop the fiend!
The remaining one curses loudly in Abyssal, then tries to sting Archibald again...
...landing a single hit.
Q (-5)
Charles (-)
Archibald (-16; Fort)
Charles grimly shifts his focus for a final time, and keeps firing.
He then tosses a blast of cold...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
Charles tries to finish-off the little monster!
He then tosses a blast of cold...
...before casting Shield, which causes a tracery of golden scales to glow across his skin.
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Charles' first shot is enough the take out the tiny fiend.
This pantry contains large bins to hold vegetables and fruit, and racks for all sorts of dry goods, such as salt, farro, and spices. The supply of fresh foods is starting to run low, but there’s still sufficient goods to feed the remaining hermits simple rations for weeks.
Charles methodically strips the bodies of useful equipment, then tosses the remains off the cliff (as he has done with all others encountered thus far).
This gives Archibald time to rest, before they continue on.
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Each of these rooms contains a wooden bunk bed with simple, straw-filled mattresses and chests for storing clothes and personal belongings. These lodgings are the same for both priests and retainers, although rooms for priests usually have two wooden writing desks, and rooms for retainers have space to store work gear. Each room has been personalized by its inhabitants, including manuscripts in progress or art that honors Gozreh (usually dramatic landscapes). As the hermits fell into demon-worship and violence, they began to neglect Gozreh and their scholarship and revel in sin. Paintings are torn or defaced, books are torn or scribbled in, and some chambers are stained with blood. No bodies remain in these blood-stained cells...
These noisome rooms contain little other than pit toilets whose shafts drop at a slant to open at the base of the cliff, and bunches of herbs to mask the smell.
The door to this room is locked ...
Charles happily attempts to 'persuade' the door to open...
...and eventually does so, after what seems like an eternity.