Shella takes advantage of the brief pause at the junction to cast a spell. "I'm assuming we will go and take a look at whatever that building is? In case the inhabitants are unfriendly, let me just see about some protection for my tender, tender flesh."
Floating along at the slow pace needed to accommodate Anevia's injury, Naomi uses the time to reorganize some gear. She retrieves the pack of the "crusader" from Angahaar and rubs it down with a stick of charcoal until the unholy symbol is obscured, then lights a candle stub and drips some wax over it for good measure. She repeats the same process with the unidentified symbol on the shield they found, just in case. Then she swaps the gear from her old pack into this new one — clearly to her the masterful construction outweighs it's distasteful history.
She offers Shella a handful of the small objects they found for her pouch: the copper brooch, the potion of lesser restoration, the flint and steel, the remaining two candle stubs, the bent fishhook, and two days of trail rations. To Angahaar, who looks strong enough not to mind the load, she asks if he'd mind carrying the two longswords and her old pack, which now contains the potion of cure light wounds, the caltrops, the bundle of arrows, her old wooden shield, the two flasks of oil, the torn bedroll, the frayed rope, and two days of trail rations. She also offers two days of trail rations to each of their other three companions, in case they get separated.
Naomi seems content, cheerful even, while sorting through provisions in the air. But as the levitation spell wears off and she drifts back down to the ground, she seems to deflate emotionally as well, as though not just her own weight but the weight of all the day's events is settling back onto her shoulders. By the time they reach the opening she's too subdued to really engage with Shella's banter, but she gives her a halfhearted squeeze on the arm. "Sounds good. If you get to choose, make them friendly." Ahead of them, Calliope gently nudges Angahaar with her head, as though encouraging him to advance.
Angahaar nods and smiles, "I am sworn to carry the burdens of those who cannot."
Angahaar feels the guidance as a lightness in his shoulders. It is a small comfort, despite the horrors of the day. He gives Calliope a scratch between the ears as he advances towards the building.
The symbol on the shield is that of Ragathiel, the lawful good Empyreal Lord of vengeance and duty. You likely don’t have to hide his holy symbol, as he is quite a prominent deity amongst crusaders.
Angahaar shakes his head at Naomi, "No need to erase it. This is the symbol of Ragathiel, the General of Vengeance, one of Heaven's fiercest warriors. If anything, carrying it will make fellow survivors worth associating with more friendly to us."
Shella stares at Angahaar for a moment before breaking into a great smile. "Ah! So, you think that anyone who distrusts the symbol of Heaven’s fiery general of vengeance is not worth associating with? What a fascinating perspective! Tell me more, how should we treat these survivors, if we should come across any?" She blinks innocently.
"Distrust is one thing, hostility is quite another. If they attack us at the sight of it I, at the very least, would have naught but steel terms to give to them otherwise."
Naomi tilts her head. "But distrust alone could be dangerous. For instance, it might make a generally well-meaning person less likely to share crucial information that happens to implicate them in some lesser wrongdoing. And unnecessarily, since bearing symbols of Apsu and Shelyn should already make it clear that we're on the side of the crusaders."
She resumes the charcoal and wax treatment. "In any case, it doesn't seem very respectful of either the General or his late worshiper to use his symbol as a flag of convenience, when all three of us place our true faith elsewhere. We can always wash this off later if we need to, but for now I'll stick with my songbird."
As Angahaar heads through the small passage towards the building and the eerie green light, an unusual buzzing and clicking sound echoes off the wall. It actually is a full building, almost as if it was carved out of the very rock of the cavern.
Angahaar looks around the building, wondering why it is here.
Calliope accompanies Angahaar forward, and Naomi follows behind in their typical order.
The perceptive eyes of the party quickly spotted the source of the sound, a giant fly sitting on the side of one of the walls comprising this strange building. About the size of a horse, it looks likely that this creature is the source of the maggots from earlier.
It hasn't seemed to notice you yet, as it appears to me crunching on some sort of meat, so you have the advantage of surprise.
Angahaar closes the distance between him and the fly, drawing his sword as he does.
Shella casts guidance on herself, to prepare for the insect’s inevitable attack.
Naomi sighs. "Okay, I'm guessing not friendly. Let's handle this." Calliope hurries forward, slinking past Angahaar and circling around to the far side of the fly. Naomi then steps into the opening, managing an encouraging smile for the others.
The fly makes an attempt to lash out at Angahaar, it’s mouth reaching in search of flesh.
Something seems off about this particular fly. It’s carapace is hardened, and tinged red. And that’s not even discussing how it’s about the size of a large dog.
Angahaar swings his greatsword at the fly, doing his best to cleave it in twain.
Shella advances on the fly, keeping it between herself and the wolf, and drawing her katar. She strikes!
Naomi grips her holy symbol as she advances with the others, and another divine bird sketches itself into existence five feet above the fly, quickly swooping down to strike.
Meanwhile, Calliope takes advantage of the distraction Shella provides to chomp fiercely at the fly's abdomen.
Angahaar's mighty swing is not quick enough to strike the fly, and it nearly evades it.
Shella's blade and the eagle's talons, however, are a different matter entirely, and the fly sports several gash wounds from its injuries, but stays aloft.
Biting out at the biggest creature that damaged it last, the fly will strike at Shella this time.
Angahaar swings, and misses, once again.
Naomi steps forward and reaches up to gently stroke her bird's feathers in-between its massive wingbeats. "Good. Now kill."
Not quite understanding her words, but certainly recognizing the enemy before it, the bird does its very best to rip the fly to shreds.
Calliope also bites it again for good measure.
The eagle's flurry of attacks combined with Calliope's brutal bite takes the fly down easily. A satisfying crunch can be heard as it hits the ground, dead.
The door to the building lays ahead, embossed with an intricate hammer symbol in faded gold.
Naomi's doesn't quite smile but her shoulders unclench a little bit as the second bird fades away.
She studies the door, looking for any evidence of whether or not it's been recently used.
"Think we should knock?"
Shella gestures floridly to Angahaar. "After you, sir."
Angahaar readies his sword and leads the way into the structure:
The door opens easily as Angahaar pulls at it, though it does creak and sound dusty, as if no one had used this door in quite some time.
As it opens, it reveals that a stone bench lines the southern wall of this chamber. At the far side of the room, a basin of water sits atop a stone pedastal. A stone door engraved with an image of a hammer stands to the north.
Anevia seems to stumble a bit as her eyes lay upon the fountain and the door, and she speaks up. ”I'm sorry to bother you, but my leg is hurting quite a bit more than usual from the long walk, could we rest a moment at this bench?"
Horgus immediately responds, his voice muttering and low.
"She's only slowing us down, perhaps the group should split up?" It's quite obvious that he means you leave her behind.
Anevia quite obviously does not take this well at all, her retort quick and angry.
”I'm not surprised that a man afraid to acknowledge his own faith wouldn't be moved by a forgotten temple like this one. To be ashamed of one's faith is almost as bad as worshipping demons, is it not?"
Horgus blusters, his face turning a shade of red in anger. "Oh, how ironic to be chided by someone who has been known to consort with thieves. Do you think yourself better than me?"
Anevia falls into a black, silent anger at this as she obviously tries to stop herself from continuing this argument.
Naomi cuts in. "Pausing sounds like a great idea, I'm sure Calli could use a rest too after dragging me through the air all that way. And that gives us a chance to look around this room."
Calliope steps into the room and curls up in front of the bench. Naomi follows, pausing and closing her eyes for just a moment on the building's threshold. She gives the bench a quick check for anything out of the ordinary before advancing to inspect the pedestal and basin.
Angahaar helps Anevia in getting to the bench and sys softly, ”Rest as long as you need to.”
His eyes shoot to Horgus and he says with steel in his voice, ”If you wish to blunder through the dark, defenseless and alone, you are welcome to. Pride and impatience lead only to doom. Your quarrels with Anevia have no place until we all are safe.”
Shella gives Horgus a look, widening her eyes slightly and smiling at him. "I hope there is nothing dangerous in this strange building here in the middle of nowhere. Do you think it's a temple? Or maybe a tomb?" She crosses over to see what Naomi is doing, possibly to weigh in on what she sees over her shoulder.
Horgus seems flustered at Angahaar’s suggestion, and looks as if he’s about to explode.
”Do you not know who I am? You can’t just expect me to be left undefended. Surely you want the crusades to continue receiving my financial support? Can’t do that if I die down here in this hole.”
Anevia stiffens at that, and jumps back into the argument.
”While I’ll admit that you have done quite a bit of good for the crusaders, you’re also a self-serving prick. Can’t even think about the people above, only yourself surviving.”
Horgus seems shocked that she said that, that she went that far. His face shows hurt, and he takes a step back towards the front door instinctively.
Naomi stares into the basin with frustration on her face, breathing slowly as she mutters a prayer to help her gather her thoughts. She shoots Anevia a subtle sympathetic glance, then looks up toward Horgus. "Sir, let me be very clear. I am not going to leave you here undefended. Even if you broke your leg and lost your wealth and got accused of consorting with thieves, I wouldn't leave you here. And you know how I can prove that to you? By not leaving Anevia either. We're all making it back or none of us are. That's the only way this can work."
Naomi's words and exceptional manner seem to calm down Horgus immensely, and he stands back up straight before bowing his head a tad towards the changeling.
"You are wiser than I gave you credit for, Naomi, I apologize. We shouldn't leave anyone behind, regardless of current state, if we can help it."
Anevia listens to the words as well and visibly appreciates them, finally seeming to sink into her rest on the bench and winding down from the conflict that almost sparked into more.
Shella eyes the door with the hammer inscribed on it. "Shall we see what's deeper inside?" she asks, with a pointed look and a smile at Angahaar.
Naomi's shoulders relax a bit as the tension seems to die down. She glances back at the water in the basin with curiosity, but reluctantly decides it's not a great idea to mess with prominent artifacts in a religious building that might still be occupied.
When the group has taken a few moments to rest, she calls Calliope toward the remaining door. Nodding in agreement with Shella's suggestion, she waits for Angahaar to lead the way.
Angahaar nods, hefting his sword onto his shoulder and pushing open the door.
The door opens slowly as you push it; it's not locked but it definitely hasn't seen any use in some time. The next room reveals a small narrow room with broken stone benches lining either wall. The air is cold and stale and thick layers of dust cover the floor, benchces, and the large altar at the end of the room, reinforcing the fact that no one has been in here in many years.
On one of the benches towards the other end of the obvious sanctuary sits a hooded corpse, obviously a skeleton even from this distance. Its back faces you, as if even in its last moments it was reverent to the end.
Nothing moves in this cold crypt for the corpses' final resting place, a sad remnant of this forgotten sanctuary.
With a sacred word and a sweep of her hand, Naomi brings a sprinkling of clean water down over the altar, clearing off the dust. Another spell does the same for the hooded corpse on the bench. She studies them, searching for any hint about what the symbol of Torag would be doing in this desolate place.
Naomi, preparing to move forward, notices that the corpse isn’t actually fully a corpse. It’s barely perceptible, but her sharp eyes catch the thing shifting just a slight bit as she takes her first step into the room.
Naomi freezes, turning to all the others with a finger to her lips, then motioning for Shella and Angahaar to lean in. "I swear I just saw that skeleton move," she whispers. "Think there's a chance it's some sort of benevolent spirit of a priest waiting to pass on his wisdom? Or should we start smashing while we have the element of surprise?"
Angahaar narrows his eyes, "Hard to say. My skill with divine magic is lacking, but we could try to invoke the spirit if it's there."
Shella smirks uncomfortably and shivers. "Are there such things as benevolent undead skeletons? If you think that's possible we could call out to it. Giving up the element of surprise to be sure seems overly cautious to me, but I would fane limit any enjoyment that my traveling companions can find on this dark journey."
Now that she knows there's more to this corpse than meets the eye, Naomi studies it carefully, searching for any hints of its true nature.
Staring at the back of the corpse's hood doesn't reveal much to Naomi, but then a familiar stench reaches her nose. She flops her head back, grimacing at the ceiling in frustration. "Oh. Priest yes, benevolent no. It's a huecuva, an undead heretic and blasphemer. Like I said I tangled with one of these in Ustalav on the journey here, took some chunks out of my old shield. Watch out for those claws, they spread disease." Naomi taps Shella with another wordless blessing, while Calliope shifts into position to charge. "Ready? Let's put this thing back in the grave."
Angahaar nods and whispers in agreement, "Ready."