Legend of the Hidden Temple

2/17/2021
 
We head north (Sylvan, Abar, Tabi, Felix and myself) Sister Agnes wanted us to find a holy place and make a map to where it is, as well as make contact with the local priesthood should we find them.
 
On our first night in the grass sea abar had an uneventful watch, but Tabi happened to have found a snake and cooked it for a midnight snack.
 
Our small band decided to introduce ourselves to the mad hermit, hoping to gain some foresight in our quest. He confirmed there are several temples in the lover's forest, and gave us some directions in very specific terms that we dont typically use ourselves, paces and turns, feelings of the terrain rather than sightings. Sylvan took notes and hopefully can lead us.
 
When we came upon the temple we found a hole in the ground that led to catacombs with a rune spell at the bottom of this pit. It seemed to be a rune of necromancy suspended and waiting for something to finish it from firing.
 
Exploring the grounds we found zombies and animated skeletons, among gravestones and what seems to be a masoleum. There are several disturbed tombs. Felix was able to notice a rune which I identified as necromancy, but could not for the life of me tell exactly what it did. It was clearly missing from one tomb that still retained the body of a noble. It seems to me that this is the burial site for a long lost family line. Abar was able to take a family crested dagger from that body.
 
Down into the crypt we came across an orc with a red skull on its shield. As far as iconography I do not see anything that connects them to the orcs that I know to be holding Constantina. They happened to have had white axes as a motif in the other group.
 
We could see the rune at the bottom of the pit from a small set of port holes. I made out that the rune may be trying to revive something in a tomb near it. However it remains suspended in animation it may go off if the last few words are spoken. I am still cautious about whether casting spells around it may tip it to the point of finishing its nefarious will. We were unable to make our way to the rune itself. There were too many horrors. We had to leave, unsatisfied. We found a group a necromancer walking in the woods. We did not interact with them, but saw that they killed a squirrel with a necromantic cantrip.
 
We definitely need to come back with a group of clerics.