Aroden moves out of the War Room to the hallway.
"Should we try to get word out about the escaping cultists, or do we think the Eagle Watch will intercept them?"
As Dorek tries the handle of the door before him, his crimson eye lights up, and he rushes down the hallway towards the barracks to regroup with the others. "T-this one here, it's l-locked - maybe they stored the W-wardstone remnants up here!" Moving back to the door handle, he fiddles with the innards of the lock for a moment before it springs open with a soft click.
He reaches out to turn the door's handle...
...only to freeze as he hears movement behind the door. He turns to glance back at Tandyn and the rest, scowling. "I hear m-movement. We'll want swords out."
Ahmose casually closes the current notebook of pertinent information. The Blue-scaled Kobold casually stands, brushes the lint from his shoulders and skips merrily into the Hall.
He looks up at Dorek and Sir Tandyn standing ready for violence at a closed door.
Ain't shit hitting nothing if you don't open the door. Just saying...
The kobold goes back into the War room to watch....
Cecily steps closer, tries and fails to find a sword on herself, balls her fists up, then relaxes them and spreads her fingers open to ready her claws. She nods to Dorek.
"What if they're captives?" Thawm asks as she drops the grappling hook, pulls out her crossbow again, and starts turning the crank to reload.
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"Should we try to get word out about the escaping cultists, or do we think the Eagle Watch will intercept them?"
"If we can send word without delaying the mission or drawing unwanted attention to the garrison, certainly. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to do that."
"I hear m-movement. We'll want swords out."
Tandyn nods and takes a position next to Dorek. "Whenever you're ready."
"What if they're captives?"
"I'm confused by your confusion... does that make it contagious? Please do not attack any captives."
Scrying Chamber
The southern portion of this room holds a wide alabaster basin filled with bloody entrails. The outside of the basin is carved with images of warriors around a raised sun, holding longswords aloft. A flight of stairs ascends to the west.
Six rotting corpses turn to face the party after Dorek opens the door.
Round 1
<-------------
Thawm moves up behind Dorek to see who's in there.
"Zombies!" she explains.
"Holy water?" she asks as she levels her crossbow at the one closest to the door.
"We should probably slash them, not stab them..." She explains, after taking her shot with a less slash-y weapon.
The zombies shamble forward bits of rotted flesh falling off as their ruined bodies are forced to move through foul necromantic energies. Before the rogue is able to react, one zombie manages to headbutt Dorek, cracking both their skulls in the process. Meanwhile another swings an arm that's been broken in multiple places like a whip leaving heavy bruising on Dorek's torso.
Aroden moves up and casts Burning Hands on the zombies. The doorway should give him cover, preventing any AOOs. But I believe he can select any of his corners as the origin point for the spell, casting through the doorway.
Dorek scowls as the zombie's limb slams into his side, blinking his crimson eye and staggering back as the other undead cracks its own skull open on his own. Drawing his other sword, he retaliates, carving bleeding wounds into a nearby zombie.
Thawm casts a healing spell on Dorek before scooting over to the top of the stairs.
"Let's let one through the doorway for-" Thawm suggests, pausing and wrinkling her brow.
"Maximum leverage of terrain advantages." she explains.
Watching from the War room doorway, Ahmose can guess that his companions probably will not clear out space for the Shamblers to shamble slowly into the hallway, so the patient Blue-scaled Kobold decides if you can't beat'em.....
Ahmose sighs as he Strides pass Thawm...
S'up.
...peers through the ever present plethora of pants, pantaloons, pajamas worn by his peers before taking out a Tanglefoot Bomb, waves at the Yellow Shamblers and...
Flames wash over three of the zombies and they barely flinch. The smell of burned meat and charred hair fills the area.
Dorek lashes out with his sword piercing one of the zombie’s torso but it seems to have no effect on the undead.
Ahmose’s bomb explodes one zombie and the finishes burning two other to a just bone.
Tandyn winces as Dorek is struck and looks to Cecily "Follow me. I'll draw their attention." He raises his shield and walks into the room.
He slashes at an entangled zombie.
Cecily nods to Tandyn and fills in the gap behind him to keep the zombies off of the rest of the party. Knowing that the best defense is a good offense, she bullies into the closest zombie and sends a sharp claw uppercut towards its chin.
With one decisive claw and another where the zombie falls on Tandyn’s sword, two more zombies meet a second end.
The final walking dead bashes Tandyn's armor denting it slightly.
Cecily steps through the discorporating remains of the zombie she uppercutted and follows up with a quick high and low on the next zombie.
Cecily eviscerates the final zombie, ending the threat momentarily.
"Rotten bastards had demons and undead at a holy site..."
If the corpses also appear to be curators or other followers of Iomedae, Tandyn quickly performs the same expedited rites routine. He then uses prestidigitation to clean the Iomendaean basin in seconds. He glares at the stairs leading up.
"We really should secure that door downstairs before it becomes our biggest issue. Let's go." He heads downstairs.
"Agreed."
Aroden follows Sir Tandyn downstairs.
"Yeah, let's- expand our perimeter- to the outer door." Thawm says, half reciting her agreement.
"Very well then."
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Ahmose puts away his contamination suit and follows the others....
Stairway
As you descend you note the smashed sideboard of the stairs. A single door leads east, it is locked but it’s locked from the inside. It is easily opened from this side, revealing a door to the north and south.
Having healed herself and Dorek while Tandyn gave abridged funerary rites upstairs, Thawm cranks her crossbow to load another bolt into it.
"Right hand rule?" she suggests, looking at the southern door as she works.
"Right hand rule?"
Tandyn thinks about it for a few seconds and nods. He readies himself for a fight, waits for the group to get in position, and opens the southern door.
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Cecily looks down at her right hand, then looks with mild uncertainty at her left hand, briefly glances at Thawm while trying not to look like she's glancing at Thawm, then takes her place at the back of the line.
Opening the door you can see into the next three chambers:
Befouled Shrine
A bracket shows where a longsword once hung over a stylized gold sunburst affixed to the south wall. Lines of strange runes are carved into the walls on both sides of the sunburst. Dried blood and excrement have been smeared across the sunburst and a short bench for kneeling that sits on the floor.
Foyer
Along the northern wall of this room, a frieze depicts a line of mounted crusaders crashing over a horde of twisted demons. The crusaders’ faces have been obliterated and vile graffiti is carved over the entire scene. Fresh blood stains the floor.
Meeting Hall
The faces of the portraits that hang on the walls of this room have been slashed. Two marble planters lie smashed in pieces on the ground, and mud streaks across the white stone floor. On the table several severed body parts are gathered in the center of the table with hastily discarded playing cards littering the area.
Is the front door still barred? If not, Cecily will try to bar it.
Ahmose begins to look for a secret, trapped, unknown of existence door, window, crawl space....
Which way did that deserter go?
Dorek follows Tandyn and the others down the stairs tentatively, his blades in hand - he puts his ear to the east door, listening to see if any more foes lie behind it, but as Tandyn opens the west door, he rushes to follow the paladin, checking the southern door as the other rooms are revealed to be empty.
"Do any of you think that we still have the element of surprise?
If we do not, then I would wish to clean and purify the befouled shrine. And the scrying pool above.
Bury the remains that are strewn in the meeting hall, and clean off the frieze in the foyer.
I have no magic for that task today, but I can work with my hands to honor the Inheritor and Her servants.
I don't mind letting the cultists stew in terror of us, or come to us. Most likely they are setting traps and ambushes expecting us to press on. If you wish to do so, I will follow, of course."
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"Surprise, no. But every new minute could be the minute that Dorek's daughter is sacrificed. Every new minute is a minute more of this tainted wardstone spreading corruption, and every minute lets the enemy rally while we are still fit to fight now. I don't like letting the foulness fester any more than you, Aroden, but let's see the job done before we rest and rebuild."
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"Just a moment Cecily." Tandyn rushes to the door and looks out. If everything is clear, he hauls the remaining two bodies inside for safe keeping and expedited rites. "Alright, secure it."
With that sort of handled, he hurries back to the shrine to Iomedae, casts prestidigitation, and starts to clean it. "This will be quick. I need to right the shrine and wish to request her aid with the wardstone. There's truth to both of your words, and prioritizing all of this is heart wrenching. Cecily, would you mind checking that nearby door while I do this?"
Aroden will find a rag - or cut off a piece of his robes if needed - and scrub by hand while Tandyn uses his magic.
Thawm sighs.
"Well, even if it isn't Sarenrae's..." she explains.
Leaving the perimeter to the others; she alternates between conjuring water, acid, and fire to cleanse the shrine. The water doesn't dissipate shortly after being conjured.
Cecily finds the door outside unbarred and rebars it. Ahmose finds no traps or secret chambers. Dorek listens to the northern chamber and hears nothing, but to the east he hears the foul voices of something otherworldly.
Second voice: ”Hey Meg. What’s wrong?”
First voice: ”My mom’s dead.”
Five different voices snort derisive laughter.
Second voice, sarcastically: ”I’m soooo sorry, Meg. What happened?”
First voice: ”I don't know! The crusaders won’t tell me!”
Five voices: More laughter
Second voice: ”Dad says that momma went MIA. She walked into the Wound and didn’t come back. I don't know what MIA means, but I sure wish someone would find her.”
Five voices, uproarious laughter.
With the aid of magic and the group working together you’re able to clean up the shrine in a few minutes.
Aroden shares what he sees.
"Do you see the message in these inscriptions? 'Let us inherit thine arms, Iomedae'."
Ahmose watches Dorek's expression of more frowny than normal frowny face when the Rogue stops at the Eastern door....
What's up your butt?
"Let us inherit thine arms, Iomedae..." Tandyn repeats slowly. "A fine prayer but strange that it was hidden."
The paladin stands in front of the bench, takes out his silver holy symbol, and unsheathes Radiance. He holds both aloft in front of the shrine and hangs the holy symbol from the sword. He slowly kneels upon the bench and prays.
"It's a nice prayer. Suits Iomedae. I'm happy with Sarenrae's fire, thanks." Thawm explains.
As the group goes to start cleaning the defiled shrine, Dorek starts to move towards the northern door, hoping to hear the sounds of enemies on the other side, only to stop, concern on his face as he glances back towards the others cleaning the shrine. After a moment's indecision, he rushes back to the rest of the group, helping to clean the shrine alongside Aroden and the others. At Thawm's words, he shrugs. "I d-don't think the paladins can afford to be p-picky at a time like this. For this day, K-kenabres needs all the gods it can g-get." He continues cleaning the statue, pausing on a particularly stubborn bloodstain as he scrubs at it with his rag. "There are battle-rites to cleanse the s-shrines of allied gods, but your gods are not m-mine - they might not l-look well on the b-blood rituals. For now, I will s-simply clean as best I c-can."
Once the shrine is as cleaned as it can be, Dorek moves to the east door, pressing his ear against it. At the guttural sounds from beyond, his face darkens as he motions the rest of the group over. "Five here, talking in the demons' tongue. They laugh of the fate of orphaned crusaders' children."
Cecily rolls her eyes a little bit at the cleaning but pulls out a small chunk if soap to donate to the effort and she makes the sign of the sword over her heart when Tandyn begins to pray.
Then she moves over to the indicated door and listens to it herself. "Bastards."
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Ahmose appears anxious to toss some more bombs at cultists.
Get them to surround you.
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"It's a nice prayer. Suits Iomedae. I'm happy with Sarenrae's fire, thanks."
"I d-don't think the paladins can afford to be p-picky at a time like this. For this day, K-kenabres needs all the gods it can g-get."
"Sarenrae is always welcome as are any gods whose morals align. We are lucky to never be alone in our lands or in our fight. Thank you for all of the help with the shrine."
"Five here, talking in the demons' tongue. They laugh of the fate of orphaned crusaders' children."
Tandyn nods, walks to the door, waits for everyone to be ready, and opens it.
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Destroyed Museum
This room was once some sort of museum, but its contents have been smashed and scattered across the room. Even the shelves have been shattered and torn apart in places. The decapitated bodies of two knights, their armor and bodies broken and mangled, lie in the ruins.
A pair of hunchback abrikandilu's are using the knight's heads as grisly puppets to entertain a trio of dretches. All of them turn to you and let out a gleeful cry.
Round 1
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Aroden calls upon his divine magnificence to inspire the avengers of Kenabres.