[DnD] The Fantastical Contraption - Pt. 4 - Heart of Darkness

Steelhawk

Huh. Didn't see that coming. Nice.

Skarr sits up in his bed, thouroughly confused and wondering why this isn't a farm somewhere, and why that Jubal guy tried to eat him. Shaking the cobwebs from his head and getting to his feet, Skarr joins his brothers, rubbing his belly.

"Skarr is hungry..."

Aegof

Hah! I was wondering why we hadn't gotten an opinion from Vista.

"We're fine, Vista," Daus said from his room, sounding annoyed. He opened the door, glancing around to see who else was up. "Someone just gave us an unpleasant dream." He paused. "We're going to get a lot more of those, I bet."

Arcana: 1d20+10 16
Religion: 1d20+10 21
Nature: 1d20+2 5

Daus has studied the gods and their enemies. His magic is.. inspired by the works of greater wizards before him. And he may have helped Carrel find a book and might remember the title, I guess.

Does Jubal remind him of any great power he's learned about?

Farangu

Daus:

Sehanine has always been the saint involved with trickery and illusions, so he can never be counted out. And no-one can every predict what Avandra chooses to do.

But any explicit reminders? No, not really.

Farangu

Despite the dream, you each still have taken an extended rest. When you are ready, I shall begin the next narration.

Smoove Operator

Swanky wanders out of his room, haphazardly tossing the Dillibrac piece from hand to hand. "I don't remember swiping this...maybe I've just gotten so good that I'm dream pilfering now. Daus, you said somene gave US a bad dream; does that mean everyone had the same 40 foot farmer dream I did? 'Cuase if so you know that guy was full of it...Swanky don't volunteer for nothing! Either way, I've got the second Cadillac piece."

Aegof

"We did." A disembodied hand snatched the Geshwani out of the air and brings it level with Daus' face. "Someone wants us to find these things. They handed this one to us, apparently. If they could do that, why not just drop them all on our doorstep? Unless they're more interested in us than whatever Dad's going to make, and all this Dillibrac stuff is a ruse."

Arcana on the device: 1d20+10 28

Farangu

Daus:

Examining the piece, you don't think it has any special powers of its own right.

Smoove Operator

"Maybe we should just go ask Pops about all this..."

Swanky votes for heading back to the reach to get some questions answered.

Aegof

I'm ready to head back.

Farangu

As you exit the underbelly of the mountain, you notice that the sun was in the same position as when you entered. You've slept for a full day!

You begin the arduous march back to the Reach. Crossing the Glimmer Run is fun, as always; you find no shortage of mosquitoes eager to dine fully. But just as you finish fording the river, you notice an inviting path leading into the small forest, before the road starts. A shortcut through the forest might save you some time...

Setting down the path, you notice it's heading in the same direction the Reach is. Taking this path seems to have been a wise decision. But then, you make a discovery. The trees of the forest suddenly give way to a large, bare clearing dominated by a weed-choked temple. Its peaked roof, festooned with demonic gargoyles, is largely intact, although its windowless walls are cracked and crumbling. The main entrance to the temple, two mammoth, iron bound doors, yawn open, exposing nothing but darkness beyond. Although obviously abandoned and in disrepair, the structure exudes a quiet malevolence made all the more haunting by the waning light of the setting sun.

susan

Vista loosens her sword in its sheath as they pass near the Temple. She knows full well the dangers to the children that could be found inside such places. Abominations. Dore monsters. Cultists. Archeologists. Rusty nails. Poor ventilation. Carcinogens. It was enough to make her her gears turn over. But still, her role is to serve, and she looked to the rest of the party for instructions on whether to move in and investigate.

Aegof

Daus looks over the temple, at any remaining iconography and what was left of the architecture, wondering to whom this temple belonged.

Perception: 1d20+2 21
To spot anything that might give away who this temple was dedicated to. Also, I guess, if I can tell if the temple was ruined by time or by attackers. That bit matters less right now, to Daus.
Arcana: 1d20+10 14
Demons, primordials, so on.
Religion: 1d20+10 22
Gods, angels, exarchs, saints, etc etc etc.

Farangu

Daus:

After your battery of tests, you get conflicting results. If this was a temple to one of the civilized gods, the presence of such ugly gargoyles doesn't make sense. If this were a more fell temple, than the attention to the craftsmanship would be out of place.

You are slightly puzzled.

Steelhawk

"Who opened the doors?" Skarr wonders aloud, as he cautiously moves closer to the temple, his senses alert for danger.

Perception Check = 13

Bringing his axe to his hands, Skarr looks over his shoulder at the others, "Well? Are you coming?"

susan

If Skarr is moving in, Vista would stay no further than a step behind him, her sword out and ready.

Farangu

Skarr:

You sense nothing that poses an immediate threat.

Farangu

You step from the fading sunshine into the surprisingly cold darkness of the temple interior, gloomy and shrouded in shadow. The temple’s floor is smooth, polished stone. The ceiling has collapsed in some areas and littered the ground with fallen debris, and in one section, the floor has collapsed, leaving an open pit. The interior walls feature fading murals depicting scenes of butchery, cannibalism, and other profane acts. The temple is divided into two sections by a row of tall, ornate bookshelves filled with crumbling scrolls and tomes. In addition, you notice a number of egresses beyond the main door, and two sets of smaller doors along the eastern and western walls.

Smoove Operator

Perceiving for Traps/Goodies in the rubble
1d20+6= 11

Swanky is immediately enamored with the place...just think of all the places to hide! "What's the plan, gents? You guys want me to scout a dark and dangerous hallway, just ask your friendly neighborhood scamp..."

Aegof

"Any of this look familiar, Skarr?" Daus said, looking around. "Nevermind. We're not thinking of spending the night here, right? We probably shouldn't consider this proper shelter."

Perception: 1d20+2 14
On the books and scrolls. What kind of titles and subjects is Daus seeing?

History: 1d20+5 13
Does Daus know any history regarding local cults to violent gods or demons?

Arcana: 1d20+10 28
Religion: 1d20+10 21
Does any of this new information jog his memory or narrow the list enough to be useful?

Farangu

Daus:

The inside of the temple is much more informative than the outside. Beneath the...colorful murals are older, even more faded murals. They depict scenes of vibrant cities; robed, stern-faced clerics preaching to a rapt audience of half-naked savages; diplomatic negotiations presided over by more robed clerics; and in the center of it all, a tall, statuesque woman in blue and silver, whom you recognize as Erathis.

The books and scrolls all deal with demonology, undeath, and other savory subjects.

Exploring the other side of the temple, you find it similar to the other, save it is dominated by a massive statue of a horrid devil. The floor around the statue is stained with the rust-colored patina of old blood. The statue is flanked by a pair of huge braziers, each standing five feet high. Off to one side of the braziers lies a hatch in the floor.

Religion > 10:

You can tell that the figure represents Asmodeus.

Perception > 15:

This statue is a recent addition to this temple. In addition, you can barely make out the crumbling base of another statue beneath this one.

Aegof

Haha, of course you're using Asmodeus and Erathis, too.

"Oh good," Daus says. "Not just a dilapidated temple to a nasty deity. It's a dilapidated temple to Asmodeus, tyrant-god of the Nine Hells. And not just a dilapidated temple of the Lord of Nine, but one that was stolen from Erathis, goddess of people-not-murdering-each-other-all-the-time-for-no-reason. Swanky, go find your loot so we can get out of here."

Farangu

Party pooper.

Steelhawk

Aegof wrote: »

"Any of this look familiar, Skarr?" Daus said, looking around. "Nevermind. We're not thinking of spending the night here, right? We probably shouldn't consider this proper shelter."

"No, but I kind of like the art. Its...inspiring." Skarr says with a leer.

Smoove Operator

I'm attempting to find loot, but i only rolled an 11 (see above)

Any chance I could see whats down the hole?
1d20+6= 13

Farangu

Nothing resides in the hole in the floor; just a 10 foot drop.

The hatch, however, does not appear to be locked.

Smoove Operator

Swanky surreptitiously and quietly opens the hatch and peers in...

Stealth:
1d20+10 = 29 (nearly a crit)

Ath (if its heavy I guess):
1d20+8= 9 (epic fail)

Perception:
1d20+6= 7 (epic fail)

...what a roll, at least it was quiet...

Farangu

The trapdoor opens easily with a gentle tug, unleashing a blast of violent purple light followed by the charnel stench of death. A short spiral staircase leads down about 10 feet, opening into what looks like another room.

Smoove Operator

"Ugh, smells like death. Skarr, man you gotta warn us before you just'em rip like that!"

Stealth down the stairs:
1d20+10 = 30 crit...I am the terror that flaps in the night

Perception to see what there is to see and report back:
1d20+6 = 18

Aegof

"Oh good. Good. Now we get to fight demon zombies or something. Thank you Swanky. You were always my favorite."

Smoove Operator

Swanky didn't hear the comment (cuz he is off reconnoitering), but you did encourage him to find the loot...

susan

Walking over to the entrance, Vista stares down the opening, the purple light reflecting off her dull metallic plating. She softly shakes her head and readies to charge down the stairs after Swanky at the first sign of trouble.

Farangu

The room below is a small rectory. It contains two sets of tables and chairs, a moth-eaten bearskin rug, two unlit braziers similar to those in the temple above, and two small beds with footlockers in an alcove. A small altar sits against the northern wall, and a pair of double doors stands in the center of the west wall. Three rotting corpses lay in a heap near the two beds in the southern end of the room. Each is dressed in leather armor, now tattered and crusted with dried gore, and they all appear to have been half-devoured. A fourth corpse sits before the altar, legs curled beneath it, head bowed as if in prayer. This corpse is little more than a mummified husk, and its moth-eaten clerical robes bear the dire symbol of Asmodeus. Around its neck hangs a large, black gem on a crude leather thong. The gem glows brightly with a dire purple light that fills you with queasy dread.

Smoove Operator

We are assuming Swanky reported that all back to the group and has since made his way back down into the room, with gang in tow?

Swanky's first instinct is to grab the large gem around the corpses neck, but something about it made him feel dreadfully uneasy. Probably best to let Daus give that thing a once over. Still, though there was loot to be had somewhere in this room. Swanky makes his way over to the footlockers..

Open them if they aren't locked.
If they are:
Thievery
1d20+12 = 17 and 23
If that doesn't work I will hand my crowbar to Skarr and ask nicely...

Farangu

Swanky opens the footlockers, only to find rotting clerical vestments and objects used in the worship of Asmodeus.

Aegof

"Yeah, this is not a place we want to stay very long, if we can help it."

Arcana on the gem: 1d20+10 23

Farangu

Daus:

Looking at the gem, you can tell that it's not really a gem at all, but an oddly shaped shard of rock. You might even think it to be a meteor fragment. This shard radiates staggering amounts of necromantic energy, easily enough to animate the dead within the rectory.

And, right on cue...

The rectory is suddenly filled with a low, guttural moaning. To your horror, the four corpses, no longer simply inert flesh, climb unsteadily to their feet. The gem around the neck of mummified cleric pulses brightly as the four undead horrors lurch to the attack.

Map:

I'd expect Swanky and Daus to be somewhat close to the zombies, given their inspections. Vista places herself anywhere she'd like. Skarr and Korin must be within two squares of the staircase.

Roll for initiative.

Aegof

Dang.

Initiative: 1d20+1 20
I guess I'll take H10?

Smoove Operator

I8? After having jumped back slightly at the 1st signs of movement?

Init: 1d20+7 = 9 ... seriously?

"Holy crap in a knapsack!!"

Steelhawk

Skarr snorts in amusement at Swanky's fart jokes, "Meh, like Skarr has ever warned you before..." before letting a legitimate stinker go at the top of the stairs.

Initiative = 21 Woo Hoo! Not last!

Skarr will start in E10

susan

21! Excellent!

I'll be in E9, me and Skarr can just run in and pound on them until they cry Uncle.