She listens to each of you introduce yourself in turn, and a single flicker of emotion passes over her face before she speaks again.
We were told you wish to speak with us.
"Of course I do. Strangers make their way into our village during our crisis of faith, and you think I would not want to hear what they have to say?" She laughs quietly, the laugh of an old woman.
"I tease. It is just a tad bit interesting that you arrive during this test, and specifically on the day before the Feast of the Moon. I only wish to know your intentions, that is all."
The priestess' wording strike Shaggar as odd. "You say 'crisis of faith'. Do you think Selune has brought this lasting night upon your town? Why would she do that?"
The High Initiate scoffs, as if the suggestion that it wasn’t Selune is absurd.
”Isn’t it obvious? We’re being tested. There’s something rotten at the core of the Glade, and She wants us to find it and excise it. In fact, Keeper Verik is working on diving what exactly She means at this very moment.”
She moves over to a seat beside the altar’s podium slowly, her old legs not moving very quickly.
”You’ll have to forgive me, my body isn’t as strong as it used to be. And yet I still serve, as we all must.”
Noting the acolyte's expression Sasha says, "Even this beauty pales in the silver light of Selûne, doesn't it? Who built this cathedral?"
Sasha moves to provide a supporting arm to the old woman, clicking to direct Pheliks to the other side. She smiles warmly and nods along with the woman's discussion. "Has anyone else noticed that the sky is not right? The stars are not in the right places for this part of our world..." she asks seriously, watching for a reaction from the High Initiate.
Rutliux has a devil of a time reading folks compared to his other family members...
But he catches on enough to follow Sasha's lead and make amends, "Indeed, Sasha's right. This place is a masterpiece." And it IS, and he admires the star patterns in the ceiling.
"Better than some big city temples to be honest, far better."
Who built this cathedral?
"I built it, young one." she calls Sasha young endearingly, not offensively. She has apparently been mollified by the attention to her cathedral and the compliments.
"Nearly fifty years ago, I laid the beginnings of what would eventually turn into this chapel. It took me nearly a decade to finish it, and I have spent every day since tending to it and the surrounding gardens."
"Has anyone else noticed that the sky is not right? The stars are not in the right places for this part of our world..."
"I believe that is part of the test. Our little corner of the world has either been contained somewhere or whisked off to Her realm for our test. To ensure that She can see everything we do. But I cannot prove it either way."
"Now, I ask again, what are your intentions in our Glade?" she asks firmly, but not rudely.
Sasha nods in appreciation, not reacting to being called "young." "I'm sure many craftsmen helped? It looks like the work of many dedicated hands, led by a devout shepherd..."
At the explanation of the sky's wrongness, Sasha's brows furrow in thought. She thinks for a moment before answering the priestess' question. "We were sent here - most by the church, some by chance, and me by oracular dreams. It's clear we're intended to help, though we aren't sure how yet..."
Kiley shifts in the back of the group as she listens. Ever since coming to the glade and seeing that the moon was always up her nerves have been fraying as she tries to keep the glowing markings on her skin hidden. She's been quiet so far, but she figures that she should probably speak up.
"As Sasha says, we're here to help however we can," she says. If her voice is less confident than normal, it at least is steady.
Rutilux nods, "It's as the ladies say," He assures the priestess, "You speak of a test by the goddess, perhaps you have ideas in how folks might pass it? And, we would like to help. Is there some history of the area that would explain this rotten core you mention? In the stories of ghosts, one might set the spirit at ease at setting an ancient crime aright. I don't know if this is remotely the same, but I hope my metaphor is clear."
"A good question." the priestess nods, showing her appreciation.
"There are actually a wide variety of opinions on this within the clergy here, as to what the actual test is. Some say it's the beast haunting the woods at the edge of our village, some say there's something lurking underground that is the heart of the test, others say that there is darkness hiding inside the hearts of people in the village. I cannot say which is true, but I do know that figuring out the truth will be a trying test for us all." she looks around her temple, taking in both her surroundings and the group.
"Whether you will have a part to play in this test? It's likely since you have been delivered here before such a significant day, but I cannot be sure. "
Ari sighs inwardly, not hugely enamoured of what she sees as the high priestess' self-importance. So you don't actually know anything. It certainly does feel like it's going to be a trying test.
"The beast we've already heard something about," she asks. "What can you tell us about this possible underground lurker?" She then pauses, trying to work out how to frame her other question. "When you say a darkness in the hearts of the villagers... do you mean specific individuals or the people as a whole? And what sort of thing do you mean? Something like a loss of faith, or something worse, some kind of evil?" Ari prudently avoids mention of Shar, assuming that Lena will probably not look fondly on her name being uttered in a sacred place. From what Ari knows of the goddesses though, corrupting a community of her twin sister's worshippers would undoubtedly delight the Lady of Loss.
Shaggar's unstated opinion is very much in line with Ari's. Who gives two s@#ts about your pretty building?
But, finally, the old woman has said something potentially useful. "Are there caves below the town?"
"What about the well? We heard it had run dry. Could that be part of it," Kiley asks, wondering if going down that way could lead them closer to whatever is causing this. She shakes her head as another thought comes to her. "Who would we talk to about where and what the beast has gone and done? That seems like the biggest danger at the moment."
Sasha watches the priestess as the others speak, trying to read her and being open to the older woman's responses. She stays quiet, trying - likely without success - to tap into some deep font of peace and wisdom in this sacred place...
"Ah, finally, seems as if the church has sent some actually useful help this time. That other priest was so useless and naive, and then she just up and disappeared. I wonder if she found a way out, or if something bad happened to her." the old lady says, seeming to think for a second before continuing.
"There have been stories of a tunnel to the underdark far below the village, yes. But no one has ever known where the entrance is, if it even exists."
"When you say a darkness in the hearts of the villagers... do you mean specific individuals or the people as a whole? And what sort of thing do you mean? Something like a loss of faith, or something worse, some kind of evil?"
"I was just repeating things I have heard from my clergy. I don't have many specific details on the problems plaguing the town, or else I would have solved them already!" she says, laughing in a raspy cracked voice.
"Who would we talk to about where and what the beast has gone and done? That seems like the biggest danger at the moment."
"The lunar well being dry is the most spiritually concerning issue, but I agree that the dangerous beast, whatever it is, is the most pressing danger to our lives. I would talk to Amos, the farmer and rancher. He is the one dealing with the constantly diminishing supply of livestock: which is an issue in and of itself, seeing as how we can't escape this village. Eventually we will run out of food, and so will the beast."
"Ah, finally, seems as if the church has sent some actually useful help this time. That other priest was so useless and naive, and then she just up and disappeared. I wonder if she found a way out, or if something bad happened to her."
"You spoke with her then? How was she naive? What was she planning to do?"
"I was just repeating things I have heard from my clergy. I don't have many specific details on the problems plaguing the town, or else I would have solved them already!" she says, laughing in a raspy cracked voice.
"Well yes, you have a point there!" Ari laughs along and tries not to roll her eyes.
She is intrigued by the high priestess - clearly she holds power, both in the grace of her goddess and within the village. Yet Ari also finds her grating; prideful, foolish, perhaps just elderly in a way that the tiefling, in the flush of youth, can't comprehend. She tries to look for any deceit or hidden depths to what Lena is saying but can't pinpoint anything. At least I don't think you're lying to us, even if we've not learned a whole lot here.
"Thank you for granting us an audience, High Initiate," Ari says, inclining her head respectfully. "I think we should probably go and see Amos next then. We don't want to take up too much of your time."
Rutilux has felt a bit out of his depth, this isn't his usual 'sale' and he hopes to learn by watching and listening, but this priestess, while devout, has said about all she seems to truly have.
The mention of the other cleric being naive has him as curious as Shaggar, "Indeed, clearly you and this other cleric saw things differently. How was she wrong?" Suggesting that he sees the old lady as 'right'. He hopes he doesn't overplay it, but most tall folk tend to warm to folks who tell them how brilliant they are.
"You spoke with her then? How was she naive? What was she planning to do?"
"I did." she says, matter-of-factly. "She barged into our little church from the big city, and thought she could boss us all around just because she 'knew what she was doing'."
"Indeed, clearly you and this other cleric saw things differently. How was she wrong?"
"We didn't very much like her or her attitude towards our problems. She seemed to have a plan to figure out everything and solve all of the issues, but she wanted to do it on her own. We haven't seen her in about two days now, so I suppose she hasn't fixed everything the way she said she would." a small hint of smug satisfaction enters her voice, but you don't get the feeling that there is any malice in her attitude towards the other priestess.
"Thank you for granting us an audience, High Initiate," Ari says, inclining her head respectfully. "I think we should probably go and see Amos next then. We don't want to take up too much of your time."
She seems delighted at Ari's words, and the use of her title.
"Of course, fellow children of the moon. If there's anything else I can do for you, you know where to find me."
Kiley is swiftly finding High Initiate Lena's-- well, arrogance is the only word the young woman can think of-- grating. It's possible she's being unfair to her, but she can't help thinking of her father and how he comported himself and treated others. She can't imagine him acting like this unknown priestess nor the High Initiate. A part of her can't help comparing Lena to some of the Waterdhavian nobles that had come calling on her parents, those that may have done something great, such as making this cathedral, but all too often thought of themselves better than anyone else, despite whatever accomplishments the other person may have earned.
"Of course, High Initiate Lena," Kiley says in a stiffly formal manner that Shaggar, nor the others, have heard from her.
Sasha shakes her head sadly at the discussion of dissention in the ranks of the faithful. She doesn't respond to much, but does rise when it seems their audience is over and says, "Thank you - we will do our best to help the village. Please let us know if it seems we're going about it in the same way the other cleric did..."
Then she turns and gulps, leading Pheliks towards the door. "I'm not good with politics in the church...it makes me very uncomfortable to hear about two faithful priestesses at odds..." she says once the others are outside and out of earshot.
Maybe we should see if Aldric's home and talk to him first. We know where his house is, but we don't know where to find Amos.
"I feel the same way. My father was a priest of Selune, and I can't imagine him speaking of anyone, much less a fellow member of the clergy, that way behind their back," Kiley says quietly. "Then again, I don't think I've ever met this priestess, so I may be judging High Initiate Lena," the way she says the title shouts her opinion of the woman, "too harshly."
She sighs and looks to the others.
"Where do we go from here? Amos to deal with the monster, or Aldric to see what he knows about the missing priestess," she asks, her voice still soft and quiet. Something about all of this is twisting her nerves into knots, and she doesn't know exactly what.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Once they are away from prying ears and eyes, Shaggar halts. ”Let us talk, before we continue.” He motions to the big moon and the village. ”This is a cage. If Gideon is correct, we are all trapped. We should test that… but let us assume it is true, for now. Let us next assume the boundary of the cage is a mile outside the town limits.” He pauses briefly. ”What is the nature of this cage? Perhaps, it is a clever illusion or a magical effect with some mind-affecting aspect. This may be possible. But, I believe we are in a ‘pocket’ dimension… because the flow of time is wrong here. They say a week has passed in here since they failed to deliver Moonwine. But, in our world, that was two weeks ago. So, their minds are wrong – or time flows differently. Add in the strange stars and moon… a different world seems reasonable.”
”In this cage are the locals, us, and ‘the beast’, yes? Given how small this ‘cage’ is… it seems unlikely they would have no idea what this beast is. So, either the beast can get out of this cage, it is invisible, or it can hide in here. If it hides, how? I see two likely methods. It goes underground or it is a shapeshifter that hides among the townsfolk. Until the old priestess mentioned the caverns, a shapeshifter seemed more likely. Now, I don’t know.” He lapses into silence.
"It could also be that they can't tell how long it's been. Have the moon or stars moved at all since we got here?"
Ari instinctively looks up at the sky and shrugs: she has no idea whether there has been any movement in the heavens. "It's a simpler explanation," she says to Kiley. "But as Shaggar says, we also know that things inside the village are strange in a variety of ways." She turns to face the gnoll. "You raise some interesting philosophical questions, but does it actually matter? Do we need to understand the nature of time or whether we are still actually in Faerun or whatever to do what we need to do? If we unravel the rest of the mysteries, will all this," she gestures in a broad arc towards the enormous moon, "simply stop?"
"Let's go see what Amos can tell us. If there are caverns then see if we can seek them out. Not least because I don't have any great ideas on how we find a shapeshifter if they just look like one of the villagers." She tosses her hair. "I'm pretty good with disguises and can maintain them for periods of time. If you throw magic on top then, well, that's going to be pretty hard to figure out."
The ranch/farm combo is a simple ordeal, a pair of larger buildings (housing livestock and harvested crops respectively) sandwiching a smaller farmhouse that looks to be Amos’ personal house. The fields on either side of the farm show signs of being worked, as it’s nearly through the harvesting season.
As you approach, you get the sense that something is wrong. It’s supposed to be what passes for morning in this village, and yet Amos isn’t anywhere within sight. There are a handful of cows and sheep milling about in the fields, but are not watched or supervised by anyone you can see.
Walking along the road, Shaggar picks up on a trail of somewhat fresh blood, leading from the northern field towards what is presumably Amos’ house. It looks only a few hours old, and is surprisingly large in the quantity of blood that was being lost or spilled.
Shaggar's point about the 'nature of the cage' being a big question has the halfling nodding a great deal. He muses over in his head what might be most likely...
sadly, he misses the clues about them.
At Shagger's question Sasha looks up at the sky, using her divine connection and memory of the stars to try and help determine if they have moved, at all, since the party arrived in town...
"I think there are simpler ways to make this sort of magic happen, though not necessarily easier...just the size and scope of this event means we are dealing with something big," she finally says, unconvinced that they are in another plane but convinced that the problem is not meaningfully smaller for that point.
Judging by the responses, the gnoll makes a mental note to avoid discussing theories. He pushes on to Amos’ farm, stopping at the bloody trail. He fingers the blood. ”This is a lot of blood, more than I’d expect from a human. And it’s just a few hours old.”
He readies his axe and follows the bloodpath quietly.
HP: 20 / 20 | AC:16 / T:11 / FF:15 | CMD:17/16
Arrows (20):
Arisen 2HP (1):
Effects:
Arisen - Die at -18 HP
Nodding, Ari gives a flick of her wrist and flips a dagger from its sheath into the opposite hand. She rolls her shoulders to loosen them up and follows the gnoll with quiet padding steps.
The blood trail leads two ways from the spot of discovery, one leading towards the house and the other into the fields. With Shaggar’s expertise, he’s able to determine that whatever produced this much blood left the field and headed towards the house.
Getting closer to the house, Ari and Shaggar can see more details of it. It’s basically a small simple shack: apparently Amos doesn’t share the same love of detail and grandeur that Lena has. A single door is the only entrance, with no windows interrupting the plain wooden walls.
The trail leads the pair of investigators right up to that single door, and when Shaggar gently tries it he discovers that it is barricaded from the other side. Significantly so, actually, as if whatever is inside is trying to keep something from getting inside. It’ll need a little work and a good push to be opened.
Shaggar makes a motion to Ari to keep an eye on the fields as he knocks on the door, ”Master Amos? Gideon sent us to check on you. We see blood out here. Do you need help?”
Holding back a little to take in the surroundings as Shaggar approaches the house, Ari does as instructed and scans the fields for signs of activity.
Shaggar receives no answer besides the sounds of the farm, and Ari doesn't see anything besides a handful of cows eating over the remains of the crops that have been harvested already.
Hearing nothing from the house, the gnoll tries to force the door open but finds it firmly barricaded.
Shaggar struggles with the door at first, but is finally able to push the barricade down after a second attempt. He opens the door to a sight of tranquil horror.
The inside of the house is as sparsely decorated as you'd expect, given the state of the building in general. A narrow bed, its thin mattress sagging with age, stands against one wall. Its woolen blanket, rough and worn, is neatly folded, indicating Amos’ habit of maintaining order even in his modest surroundings. Nearby, a crude wooden chair is tucked under a small, rickety table, the surface of which holds a solitary lamp, a few tin cups, and a chipped plate. The remnants of a frugal meal—a crust of bread and a piece of dried meat—lie on the plate, untouched.
In one corner of the room, a rusted iron stove provides warmth and a means to cook. A small stack of firewood and a few cooking utensils are arranged neatly beside it. Above the stove, a single shelf holds a sparse collection of items: a book that looks like a holy text or a journal, a mounted elk skull, a hand carved wooden statue of the moon, amongst a few other personal items.
The air is thick with the scent of earth and sweat, mingling with the faint, acrid odor of blood. Near the bed, a dark, congealed pool of blood stains the rough wooden floor, leading to the still form of Farmer Amos. He sits on the floor, the edge of the bed holding his corpse upright. It is clear now where the trail of blood was coming from, and why it was so large: Amos' right arm has been completely ripped off, the torn flesh around the shoulder a grim testament to the savage damage it endured. He is quite obviously dead even at a quick glance, and has been so for some time. Matches up with how old the blood trail is, actually, once you think about it.
The last things you notice are Amos' eyes: open and lifeless, and his remaining hand clutching a weathered and loaded crossbow in a final, futile grasp.
Shaggar hrmphs his dismay. The savagery escalates. He crouches to look at the wound, hoping it may provide some clue about the beast.
After a bit, Rutilux comes forward, "Doubt that much direct magic was involved, but let me help search for some."
He casts about searching for that glimmer glow of the weave and its workings, not for the barrier, but hints of the murder
"Oh no!" exclaims Sasha as she sees the dead man. Her posture - previously primed for combat - deflates as the impact hits her and she shakes her head sadly. "Nothing we can do for him...we should report his death and follow the trail the other way. I think it's clear how he died. What we need to know is what killed him."
"Do we know how recently he died?" Ari asks. "As in, is the trail still somewhat hot?" The blood did not seem like a good sign so she had been preparing for the worst.
To Sasha, she says, "I'm not sure there's a particular need to report the death yet. He's with Kelemvor now, waiting for Selûne to collect him - I don't think there's much that can be done here that can't wait. And do we really want to bring anyone else out here when we know this beast is on the prowl?"
"I think Ari has a point. Something's off here, and I don't know who we should trust," Kiley says.
”Telling the townsfolk now gains us nothing. The blood is only a few hours old. A trail might remain - we should follow that.” Shaggar rises from the corpse and heads back down the path to the site of the attack. From there he attempts to pick up the trail.
Shaggar isn’t able to determine much from all the brutality, but Sasha takes another look and together they find several interesting pieces of information.
First, there are multiple large bites taken out of Amos’ shoulders and neck, looking more intended for consumption than wounds during battle, and two large claw marks on his upper arms as if something was holding them. These wounds appear to be relatively bloodless, indicating that they happened sometime after death. Second, while the ripped arm is most likely the main cause of his death, Shaggar finds the snapped-off tip of what looks like an arrow or spear head embedded a few inches into the man’s chest. Finally, the crossbow Amos was holding was loaded with an intricate bolt crafted from silver. The weapon itself looks too hard to use with one hand, though he most certainly tried.
Once you leave the house and head into the field to follow the other end of the track, Shaggar finds that it’s relatively easy to use his skills to hunt down the end of the trail. The stench of blood and meat is much less overwhelming than was inside the house, but is still somewhat present.
Once pointed out, the group can easily see where the removal of Amos’ arm happened, as a large pool of dry blood surrounds the limb at the spot where the trail ends. It, too, has several mouthfuls of flesh torn from it.
A few feet away from the arm, a dead and obviously chewed-on cow lays on its side.
Relieved to be out of the house and the stench, Ari inhales deeply, trying to rid her nostrils of the scent of the dead body. Unfortunately the end of the trail is no more pleasant, leading as it does to Amos' severed arm and a dead cow. "Lovely," she says sarcastically. "Is there anything we can learn from this delightful feast or should we just push on to find the culprit?" She wrinkles her nose. "Not that I'm particularly looking forward to meeting whatever has been eating that unfortunate cow."
"I'm not either, but we can't just let whatever it is roam free," Kiley says as she draws her greatsword. "I know Shaggar's a fair tracker, what about the rest of you," she asks.
With an agreeing nod Sasha stays with the party, following the trail as Shagger tracks back to the dead livestock. She looks around in the ever present night, for the first time in a long time considering the menace of the darkness. "Outside the blessed light of our goddess..." she mutters to herself as she looks around. "Pheliks, defend," Sasha directs her cat, intent that she and the large animal don't need to wait to fight if a threat appears. The oracle draws her crossbow and loads a bolt carefully, just in case.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
”Well I can see the arm and I can see the cow and I can see the trail of blood which got us here,” Ari says lightly. ”And I’m pretty good at identifying who’s most likely to buy me a drink in a busy tavern.” She meets Kiley’s gaze. ”A useful skill, but alas, not particularly helpful right now, I’m afraid. I can try and stay out of sight and keep lookout but I don’t think I’ll be able to assist directly.”
"I don't think any of us should be taking any drinks we're offered or go sneaking off by ourselves," Kiley says with a ghost of a grin and an echo of a laugh. "Keeping an eye out is a good idea, though."