Adventure Log, Session 9 The Old Orc Temple, Part 6
General Summary
Eykit gets an idea. Surprise is lost, but maybe they can do something that can get them information, or at least buy some time. He goes back to the stairway, where Nopozu’s body lay, and stripped him of his mask, robe, and gear harness. He put them on, buckling the harness and reseating the remaining flask of oil in it.
The plan was to impersonate Nopozu for at least long enough to see what information could be gleaned. Eykit, Elitheris, and Taid still had no idea what exactly was going on around the corner, or what they might run into. But maybe they could play it as if Nopozu had killed the intruders. This was more his element, not the dangerous exchange of sharp objects.
He walked confidently around the corner from the western hallway, holding a bloody rag (conveniently provided by the dead Chief Protector) against his throat. He might be able to walk like Nopozu, but he certainly didn’t sound like him. He’d have to act as if he had a throat wound.
The room was large, over a hundred feet long by almost that wide, not that he could see the whole space, as some partial walls obscured quite a bit of it. The ceiling was twenty feet high, and there were pillars spaced about the room, holding up the vaulted ceiling. It was all stone, with no carpets or other floor coverings, and along what must have been the back wall was a row of bas relief carvings. The center section was recessed a bit, forming a shallow, six inch deep alcove of sorts.
The room was dominated by six naturally hexagonal basalt pillars, surrounding a large, rose-colored crystal that might have been quartz, or a quartz-like substance. Inside the crystal was a dark, ropy form. Much of the crystal was melted away, exposing the upper parts of whatever was trapped in it. Whatever it was, it seemed to want out, because it was flailing about with the two limbs that were freed, and loops of other limbs, trapped at both ends, quivered and shook. The creature, whatever it was, looked like it was made out of chunks of obsidian, and occasionally amber flashes of light would flicker down the lengths of its ropy, continually changing tentacles. The top of what was left of the crystal, and the exposed parts of the creature, were covered in blood and chunks of bloody flesh. The bloody pinkish froth bubbled and steamed; the air was thick with the smells of blood, voided bowels, the stench of unwashed bodies, and a curious, acrid tang. Some of that stench must have come from the trail of chunky fluid that flowed northward to a large grate in the floor.
Manacled to each basalt pillar was a naked slave, covered in a myriad of small cuts, their bodies drenched in their own blood. Most were limp, and moaning in pain and suffering.
High Priest Narghest Ratchool
Standing on the far side of the crystal was High Priest Narghest Ratchool, intoning words of power. Two other priests, Jorna Doon and Grimma One-eye, stood by the manacled slaves, sharp knives in their hands.
Priestess Jorna Doon
Priestess Grimma One-eye
They apparently were the ones giving the sacrifices the numerous, small cuts. Priest Kharg Knotbinder stood ready for instructions from his High Priest, and stood near the opening to the hallway at the east side of the room.
Priest Kharg Knotbinder
Priest Felgog the Mad
Priest Felgog the Mad, who had been the one to take the previous sacrifice, stood near the west hallway. In the southern portion of the spacious room was a pair of white-robed Acolytes, who were beating the drums they held and giving a rhythm to the chanting of the two dozen or so people whom they were conducting in the ritual.
High Priest Narghest looked up as he saw Nopozu walk in, and nodded at him. He gestured over his shoulder to Kharg, who turned and walked quickly around the corned and down the hall.
Eykit moved back around the corner, to fill Elitheris and Taid in on what he saw. They made a plan: “Nopozu” would go to Felgog, and stab him in the back, followed by the other two attacking with missile fire. It wasn’t much, but it was what they had. Maybe they might drop the first enemy before the rest of them attacked.
“Nopozu” walked back into the main chamber. By this time, Kharg was back; over his shoulder was the limp form of a slave. Emaciated, weak, bruised, and dirty, the woman hung over his shoulder, a fresh, bleeding wound on her forehead where Kharg struck her to make her more compliant. He grabber her leg, and flipped her roughly onto the wet, rough, bloody surface of the half-melted crystal and the spiky form within. He didn’t need to bother with the manacles that would have locked her arms and legs in place; the Thing in the Crystal—the Servitor, as Taid recalled—took care of that by whipping its two free limbs around her. She shrieked in terror as it bound her tightly to itself and the crystal, raising drops of blood where the sharp edges of its obsidian limbs dug into her soft flesh.
Felgog, sensing someone behind him, turned, saw Nopozu, and nodded, then turned back to watch the ritual. The High Priest intoned the thaumatological phrases, and the two priestesses went from manacled slave to manacled slave, making small cuts on the moaning victims. The screaming of the victim bound to the crystal escalated. Eykit could see blood coming out of her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Then he saw her start to get eaten away by the blood, which altered in color as more liquified flesh joined the blood. Her screams turned to a choking gurgle as her vocal cords and lungs liquified slowly and painfully. The fluid, now no longer blood, but something that sizzled and steamed, left channels in her flesh as it dripped down her body. Eykit could see her body start to collapse and erode away. In addition, the crystal was also melting away under the effects of the magically created acidic fluid.
Note: this is where the GM should have made Eykit make a Fright Check. This kind of horror isn’t something you see every day. He’s seen death before, but nothing like this. Plus, based on the amount of the creature already freed, and the small amount of crystal that was eaten away by this sacrifice, implies that there have been hundreds of sacrifices. But the GM totally forgot about the Fright Check at this moment. Dammit.
In the south side of the room, mostly hidden by the partial walls, about two dozen people chanted to the beat of the drums. As “Nopozu” walked towards Felgog the Mad, he glanced through the opening, seeing that the chanting people were cultists, mostly dressed in street clothes. Two wore the white robes of the Acolytes, and they were the ones with the drums, leading the chanting. A few of the cultists wore robes as well, but not many, and none of them were white. Most looked like they hadn’t been laundered in a while. He guessed that the cultist had been too busy with their “work” to really think about their appearance. Or smell.
Eykit surreptitiously drew the knife he had gotten from the priest Drenn. It was a long, finely made rondel dagger, designed for thrusting but with a sharp edge as well. He was easily able to get to Felgog without a problem. As far as Felgog was concerned, “Nopozu” was an ally. The room was loud, filled with screams, chanting, and drums, and the softly clinking sound of Eykit’s mail shirt under the robes wasn’t heard.
Quickly, Eykit plunged his knife into Felgog the Mad’s back, sinking it into his vitals to the hilt. Felgog collapsed with a soft grunt, crumpling to the floor. It took a moment for High Priest Narghest to realize what happened; he was involved in the ritual. But Felgog shouldn’t have fallen. He was a healthy Orc, and even the sickest Orc is more healthy than the healthiest of any other species!
“Intruders!” he yelled, as Elitheris and Taid stepped out from around the corner, missile weapons ready. “Jorna, Grimma, Kharg! Kill them! The Servitor is almost free!” The three priests ran towards their ritual-interrupting foes.
Eykit moved into the open space between the wall sections, to keep out of the way of his companions’ aim.
Priestess Jorna Doon saw Eykit standing in the doorway between the two wall sections. She had her target, and was going to thump that little bastard with her staff. Priestess Grimma One-eye and Priest Kharg Knotbinder were sprinting towards the archers, trying to close the distance before they got too many shots off. If anyone could make it, it would be the pair of Orcs. Orcs were hard to stop; they were naturally tough, fit, and healed quickly.
Elitheris sighted down her arrow, aiming it at Grimma’s diaphragm, loosing it at a range of about 12 yards. The finger-thick, yard long shaft met no armor on the way into Grimma’s chest cavity. Grimma’s sprint came to a stumbling stop, but she kept her feet, and her consciousness. She stood, wavering on her feet, as her body tried to recover. Taid followed it up with a shot from his crossbow, but Grimma saw the attack and managed to sidestep the hurtling bolt. Taid was understandably pissed that she managed to not get hit. He dropped the first crossbow, and got his second one.
Eykit, meanwhile, started running back towards Elitheris and Taid, but Jorna was much quicker. That scavenged mail shirt, too big for him and looking more like a mail night shirt, was a huge weight that slowed him down. Knowing he couldn’t outrun her and shaking his head in disappointment, he turned to face his attacker. She swung downward with her staff, and Eykit utterly misjudged the angle, moving more squarely under the oncoming blow. Jorna smiled in anticipation. It slammed it into Eykit’s shoulder, but most of the blow was absorbed by the hidden mail shirt and gambeson armor.
That smile disappeared as Eykit grinned, saying, “That’s all you’ve got?” The blow, while powerful, barely left a bruise. “My turn,” he said, as he slammed the fine rondel dagger, lately in Felgog’s back, into her gut in a well-executed thrust.
Jorna paled and grunted in pain as her legs collapsed under her, and she slumped to the ground, unmoving, a spreading stain of blood pooling under her unmoving, unconscious body.
Elitheris shot an arrow at Priest Kharg, catching him in the chest, and leaving him with two feet of wood sticking out his body. He roared in pain. Taid followed that up with a crossbow bolt that hit not far from the arrow, and Kharg’s remaining forward momentum made his body topple forward to crash into the stone floor. He never got up.
Elitheris put another arrow into Grimma One-eye, but she stayed on her feet, much to Elitheris’ consternation.
By now they realized that the High Priest was going from basalt pillar to basalt pillar, killing the sacrifices, bleeding them out. Their blood flowed to the floor, where it started to drain towards the crystal. It was being pulled towards it! The creature was squirming, and it pulled one of its limbs free, leaving the broken-off end of it still trapped in the crystal. It was working very hard to free itself. It was close…so close to freedom…after all of these centuries….
Eykit started moving towards the High Priest, in an attempt to stop him from killing all of the sacrifices. He knew, deep down, that it wasn’t really to save them, he wanted to stop the blood from getting to the crystal. If that thing got out, it would likely kill them all. If the speed of the flailing limbs was any indication, it would move fast.
Taid was also charging towards the High Priest, for the same reasons. Besides, all of the other priests were down anyway. And he would rather fight the priest than whatever that thing was.
Elitheris, frustrated that Grimma was still coming at her, put a third arrow into her. Her grouping was tight, the three arrows she shot less than a hand’s breadth apart. This third arrow finally dropped the tough female Orc.
High Priest Narghest Ratchool had had enough of this interference. Hopefully, the ritual had gone far enough so that the Servitor of Ghebbiloth would be able to free itself. Narghest had only managed to kill three of the six sacrifices on the pillars, and he hoped that it was enough. Because now he had to deal with that little munchkin who wore Nopozu’s mask and robes, but certainly wasn’t Nopozu. And he had killed at least two of his friends, likely more!
He readied his hooked hewing spear, and stabbed at Eykit, but Eykit manages to parry the attack, deflecting it away with his knife. Eykit saw, hanging around the High Priest’s neck, a golden necklace with several sharp teeth as decorative elements. His initial impression is that it was well-made, and likely valuable. He wanted it. So he struck at the High Priest, but although he did manage to draw blood, but cut was too shallow to stop the large Orc.
Taid arrived, and faced off with the Orc, his halberd against the Orc’s spear. As the High Priest’s attention was on the more credible threat of the armored, heavily armed Dwarf, Eykit turned towards the milling crowd of cultists, who were unsure whether to continue the ritual to free their god, or turn on the intruders. Their High Priest hadn’t given them any new orders, so they had kept up their part of the ritual. Eykit shouted that they should get out and save themselves, hoping that the disguise he still wore would confuse them long enough to make them follow the instructions. Eykit was a good public speaker, and a good actor. A few bought it, and bolted for the eastern hallway. A couple were confused, and several came after him, thinking that he was an imposter. Him killing the priestess in front of their eyes was kind of a giveaway. But not all had seen him do the deed, and in the confusion ran for the exit.
Elitheris drew a bead on the center of the Servitor’s main body. It had managed to pull another limb free, again leaving part of it still buried in the crystal. Part of its body was free, and Elitheris could see it struggling to get free, its body humping and pulsing as it fought against the crystalline prison. She loosed the arrow, and it thunked into the squirming mass of tendrils. It screeched, the sound a mix between an anguished carnivore, the grating of rocks in an avalanche, and a buzzsaw with bad bearings. It was felt in addition to being heard, and the sound bore through the eardrums and nestled in the brain, like a painful and obnoxious ear worm. It’s echoes seemed to reverberate through the brain.
Several of the fleeing cultists stopped in their tracks, paralyzed with fear. Some lost their lunches, doubled over in panic and nausea. Others stood, wide eyed, too panicked to run, attack, or do just about anything. A group of five didn’t seem much affected at all, and used the creature’s screech as a sort of war cry, and they fell on Eykit, fists flailing at whatever they could hit.
Eykit unrolled the Darkness strip in a line between the groups of cultists and himself, Taid, and the High Priest. Hopefully, the cultists would hesitate a bit before going through the wall of darkness, or take extra time to go around. It wouldn’t hold them off for long, but a few seconds might be enough.
Taid faced off with the High Priest, who stabbed at him with his spear. The blow was stopped by Taid’s armor, and he responded with a sweeping cut to the Orc’s arm, severing it with the blade of the halberd. Narghest screamed in pain and anger as both his spear and his arm fell to the ground. Taid followed this up with a cut to the stunned Orc’s face, and the body flipped back and stayed down.
Meanwhile, Eykit was surrounded by a cluster of cultists. He struck out with his knives, hitting one in the chest that knocked the breath out of him, as well as consciousness. He fell back to lie on the stone floor, bleeding from a deep puncture wound.
Most of the blows Eykit was getting in return were being absorbed by his mail shirt and gambeson. He struck back where he could, in the storm of flying fists and kicks. These were untrained, non-warriors, and they weren’t really able to hurt him too much, although he did get punched in the crotch, making him see some stars and birds that weren’t really there. He struck out at a second assailant, putting his knife through the guy’s hand, which made the cultist cry out and snatch his damaged hand back, out of reach of the frantic Goblin. Another flurry of blows, and Eykit’s leg got beaten on so bad it collapsed under him, and the cumulative damage and pain from the contusions caused Eykit to pass out.
The three remaining cultists kicked at Eykit’s still body, taking out their anger and frustration upon the non-moving Goblin.
Elitheris started loosing arrows into the mass of cultists. Their attention was on the fallen Eykit, and didn’t realize that an archer was targeting them. The first one punched into the back of the cultist’s thigh, the bloody point emerging from the front of his leg. He dropped, his leg no longer able to support his weight. The other two turned, and charged at Elitheris. She put an arrow into one’s chest, stopping him in his tracks, stunned.
The second cultist slammed into Elitheris, his arms wrapped around her waist. Not having her knife ready, she took an arrow and, in an overhand sweep, slammed into his ass, pushing it in deep. The cultist spasmed, losing his grip on the Elf, and he fell face down to the stone floor.
Taid moved towards the Servitor, still trying to extricate its body from the crystal. It had managed to free another limb, leaving another chunk of itself still in the crystal. As he got close, the Servitor attacked with a pair of tentacles, hitting Taid in the leg, the armor dispersing most of the blow’s power.
He struck back at a ropey tentacle, and severed some of the tendrils that is was made of, but not enough to fully sever the limb. As he watched, the tentacle unformed, the tendrils snaking back into the main body mass, only to have a new tentacle extrude itself, the tendrils that formed it squirming like worms. He attacked again, but the creature parried the halberd strike. The Servitor attacked back, again with a pair of limbs, but Taid managed to dance between them, and they missed the tips whistling as they sped through the air.
The cultist that had tried a takedown on Elitheris wasn’t done yet. He tried to grab her ankles, but she leaped up and did a forward flip over his body, landing too far away from him for him to grab her again. But it didn’t really matter; she was at point blank range, and she put a shaft completely through his chest. He was done, and slumped limply on the stone floor in a spreading pool of blood.
Some cultists had managed to get around the wall of Darkness that Eykit had put down, and came after Taid. He was armored, and heavily weaponed, and all they had was their faith and bare hands. So they went for the takedown, just to have some hope of trying to unbuckle his armor and hopefully have a chance to kill him. They didn’t have much chance; armored opponents are very tough to beat. But they gave it a good try. They attempted to grab onto his limbs, and one was able to grab onto an arm. Taid pulled free. But there were four of them, and another managed to grapple his chest. However, he was unable to knock Taid down. Dwarves have low centers of gravity, and are hard to knock back, let alone knock down.
Noticing this now that the cultist on her was dead, Elitheris loosed an arrow at the cultist who had a grip on Taid’s chest. The arrow took him through the clavicle and down through the lungs, knocking him off of Taid to lie unmoving on the floor.
Taid struck at a cultist, but the cultist dodged out of the way. The other cultist grabbed Taid’s legs, and Taid slammed the point on the butt end of his halberd shaft through the arm, the metal point clanking against the stone floor as it passed between the radius and ulna to the other side of the arm. The cultist screamed, and let go.
The remaining cultists were no match for the armored Dwarf, and they fled. But they got too close to the Servitor, and it reached out and grabbed them both, the spiky, ropy tendrils cutting into their skin as it lifted them onto itself and the crystal. And then it squeezed, the tentacles sliding through the skin like wire saws and slicing their guts open to spill out all over the crystal. The ritual, still in effect, turned the blood to the acidic fluid that ate away more of the crystalline material that had entrapped it for so long. It freed more of itself. Its head was free, as well as most of its body. It was almost out!
Seeing what it did to its followers made the remaining mobile cultists flee down the eastern hallway, and away from the hungry beast and the intruders who had jeopardized the ritual.
Eykit was unconscious, and the only moving threat was the Servitor of Ghebbiloth, still stuck in the crystal. Amber flashes of energy was coursing from the central mass down the length of its tentacles. Its movements, quick as lightning, were getting more and more frantic as it sensed both its incipient freedom and the fact that two combatants were turning their attention to it.
Elitheris punched another arrow into it, using bodkin points, hoping that the stone-like material of the beast would be better penetrated by the armor-piercing point. It was followed by a second bodkin pointed arrow, and this one hurt it. It screeched again, but the senses-twisting noise didn’t deter Elitheris or Taid.
Taid stabbed it with the point of his halberd, which was followed by an arrow that buried itself feather deep. It tried to grab Taid with its limbs, but again Taid managed to stay out of its clutches. But now he was too far away to stab its main bodily mass, so he stabbed at a limb, instead.
The Servitor let out a hissing scream, and went limp. He stabbed it a few times, just to make sure it was dead.
Then he was off to see if Eykit was even still alive. He only knew that he wasn’t moving. He found that he was breathing, although he looked like the runt the Orcs liked to use as a bludgeon in a barroom brawl. Bruises and shallow cuts covered his body, although none were bleeding badly. Apparently the swelling bruises stopped the bleeding. His leg was a mess of colorful bruises. Taid got out his first aid kit, and went to work.
Elitheris slit throats and looted bodies. She had no questions she wanted answered, so she didn’t bother with any captured enemies. These were people that had murdered what, hundreds of people? And had likely planned on killing dozens more.
On the High Priest, she found a golden necklace, but she didn’t recognize what the 18 fangs were from. She was able to tell that they are from some kind of mammalian carnivore. She found a purse with some money, and a pouch with six Shards in it, two of which are fused pairs. On Priest Kharg Knotbinder, she found his staff, a sturdy hickory quarterstaff with a two inch diameter quartz sphere on the end of it. He also had some money, and a pair of Shards. Priestess Jorna had a bit of money, about a week’s wages for a common freeman, plus her staff, which was adorned with a skull on the end. Grimma One-eye appeared to have been a collector of religious symbols, for she had a pouch full of them. Most were street vendor trash, small souvenirs for tourists. But two were silver, and one was gold, and one was gold with some rubies. She also carried a leather wallet that unfolded to reveal a series of loops, like those for holding tools, with four Shards stuck through the loops. Felgog the Mad had his huge cudgel, and a small amount of coins on him. On both Kharg and Felgog, she found sets of keys. They had apparently been the ones gathering the prisoners to be used as sacrifices. They now could open the prisoners’ cells without having to pick the locks.
Eykit was awake by this time, although he was still being tended to by Taid, who had cast a healing spell on him. He was shown the loot, and asked for his opinion on their value. He guesstimated that the toothy necklace might be worth a couple of a hundred coppers, the staff with the crystal on the end might be worth about the same, although both Taid and Elitheris thought it might be worth a bit more to a mage, since that crystal on the end might make a pretty good powerstone. Most of the religious symbols might get a few coppers each, but the silver ones might get 15 silver each, and the gold one might be worth 2 gold. The one with the rubies maybe double that.
By this time, Mr. Wiggles made his way to the room, most likely due to the panicky noises he heard coming from the other direction as the fleeing cultists came swarming around the corner. The wounded dog didn’t want any of that.
Eykit was back on his feet, albeit with a makeshift crutch, and with all four members of the group reunited, they set off to free the prisoners, but were brought up short by a milling crowd of fearful cultists. The Mystic Mist that Taid had cast was still there, a wall of terrifying fog that none of them wanted to cross. But there were only a few of them, and they were scared enough not to bother the prisoners as they were led through the mist. Taid and Elitheris were the last up the stairs, and made sure to let the cultists overhear that they were going to have an archery contest: any cultist coming out of the mist would be the target.
They led the prisoners to the kitchen, where they prepared a meal. For most of the prisoners, it was the first food they’d had in days. The prisoners numbered around three dozen, and they ate everything put in front of them. Many were still in shock, and had to be fed by others more capable.
Eykit, Elitheris, and Taid gathered their stuff, preparing to leave. Eykit reminded them that they had not really spent time searching any of the bedrooms, and that a private bed might be good for a night or so. Just not Felgog’s room, as it was a stinky, disgusting mess. They gathered Clyde, though, and making sure he was okay, although it had only been several hours since they had tied him to that tree. The brought him up the stairs and retied him in the main courtyard. They wanted him close, especially when they loaded him up with all of their gear and treasure.
The plan was to impersonate Nopozu for at least long enough to see what information could be gleaned. Eykit, Elitheris, and Taid still had no idea what exactly was going on around the corner, or what they might run into. But maybe they could play it as if Nopozu had killed the intruders. This was more his element, not the dangerous exchange of sharp objects.
He walked confidently around the corner from the western hallway, holding a bloody rag (conveniently provided by the dead Chief Protector) against his throat. He might be able to walk like Nopozu, but he certainly didn’t sound like him. He’d have to act as if he had a throat wound.
The room was large, over a hundred feet long by almost that wide, not that he could see the whole space, as some partial walls obscured quite a bit of it. The ceiling was twenty feet high, and there were pillars spaced about the room, holding up the vaulted ceiling. It was all stone, with no carpets or other floor coverings, and along what must have been the back wall was a row of bas relief carvings. The center section was recessed a bit, forming a shallow, six inch deep alcove of sorts.
Manacled to each basalt pillar was a naked slave, covered in a myriad of small cuts, their bodies drenched in their own blood. Most were limp, and moaning in pain and suffering.
Standing on the far side of the crystal was High Priest Narghest Ratchool, intoning words of power. Two other priests, Jorna Doon and Grimma One-eye, stood by the manacled slaves, sharp knives in their hands.
They apparently were the ones giving the sacrifices the numerous, small cuts. Priest Kharg Knotbinder stood ready for instructions from his High Priest, and stood near the opening to the hallway at the east side of the room.
Priest Felgog the Mad, who had been the one to take the previous sacrifice, stood near the west hallway. In the southern portion of the spacious room was a pair of white-robed Acolytes, who were beating the drums they held and giving a rhythm to the chanting of the two dozen or so people whom they were conducting in the ritual.
High Priest Narghest looked up as he saw Nopozu walk in, and nodded at him. He gestured over his shoulder to Kharg, who turned and walked quickly around the corned and down the hall.
Eykit moved back around the corner, to fill Elitheris and Taid in on what he saw. They made a plan: “Nopozu” would go to Felgog, and stab him in the back, followed by the other two attacking with missile fire. It wasn’t much, but it was what they had. Maybe they might drop the first enemy before the rest of them attacked.
“Nopozu” walked back into the main chamber. By this time, Kharg was back; over his shoulder was the limp form of a slave. Emaciated, weak, bruised, and dirty, the woman hung over his shoulder, a fresh, bleeding wound on her forehead where Kharg struck her to make her more compliant. He grabber her leg, and flipped her roughly onto the wet, rough, bloody surface of the half-melted crystal and the spiky form within. He didn’t need to bother with the manacles that would have locked her arms and legs in place; the Thing in the Crystal—the Servitor, as Taid recalled—took care of that by whipping its two free limbs around her. She shrieked in terror as it bound her tightly to itself and the crystal, raising drops of blood where the sharp edges of its obsidian limbs dug into her soft flesh.
Felgog, sensing someone behind him, turned, saw Nopozu, and nodded, then turned back to watch the ritual. The High Priest intoned the thaumatological phrases, and the two priestesses went from manacled slave to manacled slave, making small cuts on the moaning victims. The screaming of the victim bound to the crystal escalated. Eykit could see blood coming out of her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. Then he saw her start to get eaten away by the blood, which altered in color as more liquified flesh joined the blood. Her screams turned to a choking gurgle as her vocal cords and lungs liquified slowly and painfully. The fluid, now no longer blood, but something that sizzled and steamed, left channels in her flesh as it dripped down her body. Eykit could see her body start to collapse and erode away. In addition, the crystal was also melting away under the effects of the magically created acidic fluid.
In the south side of the room, mostly hidden by the partial walls, about two dozen people chanted to the beat of the drums. As “Nopozu” walked towards Felgog the Mad, he glanced through the opening, seeing that the chanting people were cultists, mostly dressed in street clothes. Two wore the white robes of the Acolytes, and they were the ones with the drums, leading the chanting. A few of the cultists wore robes as well, but not many, and none of them were white. Most looked like they hadn’t been laundered in a while. He guessed that the cultist had been too busy with their “work” to really think about their appearance. Or smell.
Eykit surreptitiously drew the knife he had gotten from the priest Drenn. It was a long, finely made rondel dagger, designed for thrusting but with a sharp edge as well. He was easily able to get to Felgog without a problem. As far as Felgog was concerned, “Nopozu” was an ally. The room was loud, filled with screams, chanting, and drums, and the softly clinking sound of Eykit’s mail shirt under the robes wasn’t heard.
Quickly, Eykit plunged his knife into Felgog the Mad’s back, sinking it into his vitals to the hilt. Felgog collapsed with a soft grunt, crumpling to the floor. It took a moment for High Priest Narghest to realize what happened; he was involved in the ritual. But Felgog shouldn’t have fallen. He was a healthy Orc, and even the sickest Orc is more healthy than the healthiest of any other species!
“Intruders!” he yelled, as Elitheris and Taid stepped out from around the corner, missile weapons ready. “Jorna, Grimma, Kharg! Kill them! The Servitor is almost free!” The three priests ran towards their ritual-interrupting foes.
Eykit moved into the open space between the wall sections, to keep out of the way of his companions’ aim.
Priestess Jorna Doon saw Eykit standing in the doorway between the two wall sections. She had her target, and was going to thump that little bastard with her staff. Priestess Grimma One-eye and Priest Kharg Knotbinder were sprinting towards the archers, trying to close the distance before they got too many shots off. If anyone could make it, it would be the pair of Orcs. Orcs were hard to stop; they were naturally tough, fit, and healed quickly.
Elitheris sighted down her arrow, aiming it at Grimma’s diaphragm, loosing it at a range of about 12 yards. The finger-thick, yard long shaft met no armor on the way into Grimma’s chest cavity. Grimma’s sprint came to a stumbling stop, but she kept her feet, and her consciousness. She stood, wavering on her feet, as her body tried to recover. Taid followed it up with a shot from his crossbow, but Grimma saw the attack and managed to sidestep the hurtling bolt. Taid was understandably pissed that she managed to not get hit. He dropped the first crossbow, and got his second one.
Eykit, meanwhile, started running back towards Elitheris and Taid, but Jorna was much quicker. That scavenged mail shirt, too big for him and looking more like a mail night shirt, was a huge weight that slowed him down. Knowing he couldn’t outrun her and shaking his head in disappointment, he turned to face his attacker. She swung downward with her staff, and Eykit utterly misjudged the angle, moving more squarely under the oncoming blow. Jorna smiled in anticipation. It slammed it into Eykit’s shoulder, but most of the blow was absorbed by the hidden mail shirt and gambeson armor.
That smile disappeared as Eykit grinned, saying, “That’s all you’ve got?” The blow, while powerful, barely left a bruise. “My turn,” he said, as he slammed the fine rondel dagger, lately in Felgog’s back, into her gut in a well-executed thrust.
Jorna paled and grunted in pain as her legs collapsed under her, and she slumped to the ground, unmoving, a spreading stain of blood pooling under her unmoving, unconscious body.
Elitheris shot an arrow at Priest Kharg, catching him in the chest, and leaving him with two feet of wood sticking out his body. He roared in pain. Taid followed that up with a crossbow bolt that hit not far from the arrow, and Kharg’s remaining forward momentum made his body topple forward to crash into the stone floor. He never got up.
Elitheris put another arrow into Grimma One-eye, but she stayed on her feet, much to Elitheris’ consternation.
By now they realized that the High Priest was going from basalt pillar to basalt pillar, killing the sacrifices, bleeding them out. Their blood flowed to the floor, where it started to drain towards the crystal. It was being pulled towards it! The creature was squirming, and it pulled one of its limbs free, leaving the broken-off end of it still trapped in the crystal. It was working very hard to free itself. It was close…so close to freedom…after all of these centuries….
Eykit started moving towards the High Priest, in an attempt to stop him from killing all of the sacrifices. He knew, deep down, that it wasn’t really to save them, he wanted to stop the blood from getting to the crystal. If that thing got out, it would likely kill them all. If the speed of the flailing limbs was any indication, it would move fast.
Taid was also charging towards the High Priest, for the same reasons. Besides, all of the other priests were down anyway. And he would rather fight the priest than whatever that thing was.
Elitheris, frustrated that Grimma was still coming at her, put a third arrow into her. Her grouping was tight, the three arrows she shot less than a hand’s breadth apart. This third arrow finally dropped the tough female Orc.
High Priest Narghest Ratchool had had enough of this interference. Hopefully, the ritual had gone far enough so that the Servitor of Ghebbiloth would be able to free itself. Narghest had only managed to kill three of the six sacrifices on the pillars, and he hoped that it was enough. Because now he had to deal with that little munchkin who wore Nopozu’s mask and robes, but certainly wasn’t Nopozu. And he had killed at least two of his friends, likely more!
He readied his hooked hewing spear, and stabbed at Eykit, but Eykit manages to parry the attack, deflecting it away with his knife. Eykit saw, hanging around the High Priest’s neck, a golden necklace with several sharp teeth as decorative elements. His initial impression is that it was well-made, and likely valuable. He wanted it. So he struck at the High Priest, but although he did manage to draw blood, but cut was too shallow to stop the large Orc.
Taid arrived, and faced off with the Orc, his halberd against the Orc’s spear. As the High Priest’s attention was on the more credible threat of the armored, heavily armed Dwarf, Eykit turned towards the milling crowd of cultists, who were unsure whether to continue the ritual to free their god, or turn on the intruders. Their High Priest hadn’t given them any new orders, so they had kept up their part of the ritual. Eykit shouted that they should get out and save themselves, hoping that the disguise he still wore would confuse them long enough to make them follow the instructions. Eykit was a good public speaker, and a good actor. A few bought it, and bolted for the eastern hallway. A couple were confused, and several came after him, thinking that he was an imposter. Him killing the priestess in front of their eyes was kind of a giveaway. But not all had seen him do the deed, and in the confusion ran for the exit.
Elitheris drew a bead on the center of the Servitor’s main body. It had managed to pull another limb free, again leaving part of it still buried in the crystal. Part of its body was free, and Elitheris could see it struggling to get free, its body humping and pulsing as it fought against the crystalline prison. She loosed the arrow, and it thunked into the squirming mass of tendrils. It screeched, the sound a mix between an anguished carnivore, the grating of rocks in an avalanche, and a buzzsaw with bad bearings. It was felt in addition to being heard, and the sound bore through the eardrums and nestled in the brain, like a painful and obnoxious ear worm. It’s echoes seemed to reverberate through the brain.
Eykit unrolled the Darkness strip in a line between the groups of cultists and himself, Taid, and the High Priest. Hopefully, the cultists would hesitate a bit before going through the wall of darkness, or take extra time to go around. It wouldn’t hold them off for long, but a few seconds might be enough.
Taid faced off with the High Priest, who stabbed at him with his spear. The blow was stopped by Taid’s armor, and he responded with a sweeping cut to the Orc’s arm, severing it with the blade of the halberd. Narghest screamed in pain and anger as both his spear and his arm fell to the ground. Taid followed this up with a cut to the stunned Orc’s face, and the body flipped back and stayed down.
Meanwhile, Eykit was surrounded by a cluster of cultists. He struck out with his knives, hitting one in the chest that knocked the breath out of him, as well as consciousness. He fell back to lie on the stone floor, bleeding from a deep puncture wound.
Most of the blows Eykit was getting in return were being absorbed by his mail shirt and gambeson. He struck back where he could, in the storm of flying fists and kicks. These were untrained, non-warriors, and they weren’t really able to hurt him too much, although he did get punched in the crotch, making him see some stars and birds that weren’t really there. He struck out at a second assailant, putting his knife through the guy’s hand, which made the cultist cry out and snatch his damaged hand back, out of reach of the frantic Goblin. Another flurry of blows, and Eykit’s leg got beaten on so bad it collapsed under him, and the cumulative damage and pain from the contusions caused Eykit to pass out.
The three remaining cultists kicked at Eykit’s still body, taking out their anger and frustration upon the non-moving Goblin.
Elitheris started loosing arrows into the mass of cultists. Their attention was on the fallen Eykit, and didn’t realize that an archer was targeting them. The first one punched into the back of the cultist’s thigh, the bloody point emerging from the front of his leg. He dropped, his leg no longer able to support his weight. The other two turned, and charged at Elitheris. She put an arrow into one’s chest, stopping him in his tracks, stunned.
The second cultist slammed into Elitheris, his arms wrapped around her waist. Not having her knife ready, she took an arrow and, in an overhand sweep, slammed into his ass, pushing it in deep. The cultist spasmed, losing his grip on the Elf, and he fell face down to the stone floor.
Taid moved towards the Servitor, still trying to extricate its body from the crystal. It had managed to free another limb, leaving another chunk of itself still in the crystal. As he got close, the Servitor attacked with a pair of tentacles, hitting Taid in the leg, the armor dispersing most of the blow’s power.
He struck back at a ropey tentacle, and severed some of the tendrils that is was made of, but not enough to fully sever the limb. As he watched, the tentacle unformed, the tendrils snaking back into the main body mass, only to have a new tentacle extrude itself, the tendrils that formed it squirming like worms. He attacked again, but the creature parried the halberd strike. The Servitor attacked back, again with a pair of limbs, but Taid managed to dance between them, and they missed the tips whistling as they sped through the air.
The cultist that had tried a takedown on Elitheris wasn’t done yet. He tried to grab her ankles, but she leaped up and did a forward flip over his body, landing too far away from him for him to grab her again. But it didn’t really matter; she was at point blank range, and she put a shaft completely through his chest. He was done, and slumped limply on the stone floor in a spreading pool of blood.
Some cultists had managed to get around the wall of Darkness that Eykit had put down, and came after Taid. He was armored, and heavily weaponed, and all they had was their faith and bare hands. So they went for the takedown, just to have some hope of trying to unbuckle his armor and hopefully have a chance to kill him. They didn’t have much chance; armored opponents are very tough to beat. But they gave it a good try. They attempted to grab onto his limbs, and one was able to grab onto an arm. Taid pulled free. But there were four of them, and another managed to grapple his chest. However, he was unable to knock Taid down. Dwarves have low centers of gravity, and are hard to knock back, let alone knock down.
Noticing this now that the cultist on her was dead, Elitheris loosed an arrow at the cultist who had a grip on Taid’s chest. The arrow took him through the clavicle and down through the lungs, knocking him off of Taid to lie unmoving on the floor.
Taid struck at a cultist, but the cultist dodged out of the way. The other cultist grabbed Taid’s legs, and Taid slammed the point on the butt end of his halberd shaft through the arm, the metal point clanking against the stone floor as it passed between the radius and ulna to the other side of the arm. The cultist screamed, and let go.
The remaining cultists were no match for the armored Dwarf, and they fled. But they got too close to the Servitor, and it reached out and grabbed them both, the spiky, ropy tendrils cutting into their skin as it lifted them onto itself and the crystal. And then it squeezed, the tentacles sliding through the skin like wire saws and slicing their guts open to spill out all over the crystal. The ritual, still in effect, turned the blood to the acidic fluid that ate away more of the crystalline material that had entrapped it for so long. It freed more of itself. Its head was free, as well as most of its body. It was almost out!
Seeing what it did to its followers made the remaining mobile cultists flee down the eastern hallway, and away from the hungry beast and the intruders who had jeopardized the ritual.
Eykit was unconscious, and the only moving threat was the Servitor of Ghebbiloth, still stuck in the crystal. Amber flashes of energy was coursing from the central mass down the length of its tentacles. Its movements, quick as lightning, were getting more and more frantic as it sensed both its incipient freedom and the fact that two combatants were turning their attention to it.
Elitheris punched another arrow into it, using bodkin points, hoping that the stone-like material of the beast would be better penetrated by the armor-piercing point. It was followed by a second bodkin pointed arrow, and this one hurt it. It screeched again, but the senses-twisting noise didn’t deter Elitheris or Taid.
Taid stabbed it with the point of his halberd, which was followed by an arrow that buried itself feather deep. It tried to grab Taid with its limbs, but again Taid managed to stay out of its clutches. But now he was too far away to stab its main bodily mass, so he stabbed at a limb, instead.
The Servitor let out a hissing scream, and went limp. He stabbed it a few times, just to make sure it was dead.
Then he was off to see if Eykit was even still alive. He only knew that he wasn’t moving. He found that he was breathing, although he looked like the runt the Orcs liked to use as a bludgeon in a barroom brawl. Bruises and shallow cuts covered his body, although none were bleeding badly. Apparently the swelling bruises stopped the bleeding. His leg was a mess of colorful bruises. Taid got out his first aid kit, and went to work.
Elitheris slit throats and looted bodies. She had no questions she wanted answered, so she didn’t bother with any captured enemies. These were people that had murdered what, hundreds of people? And had likely planned on killing dozens more.
On the High Priest, she found a golden necklace, but she didn’t recognize what the 18 fangs were from. She was able to tell that they are from some kind of mammalian carnivore. She found a purse with some money, and a pouch with six Shards in it, two of which are fused pairs. On Priest Kharg Knotbinder, she found his staff, a sturdy hickory quarterstaff with a two inch diameter quartz sphere on the end of it. He also had some money, and a pair of Shards. Priestess Jorna had a bit of money, about a week’s wages for a common freeman, plus her staff, which was adorned with a skull on the end. Grimma One-eye appeared to have been a collector of religious symbols, for she had a pouch full of them. Most were street vendor trash, small souvenirs for tourists. But two were silver, and one was gold, and one was gold with some rubies. She also carried a leather wallet that unfolded to reveal a series of loops, like those for holding tools, with four Shards stuck through the loops. Felgog the Mad had his huge cudgel, and a small amount of coins on him. On both Kharg and Felgog, she found sets of keys. They had apparently been the ones gathering the prisoners to be used as sacrifices. They now could open the prisoners’ cells without having to pick the locks.
Eykit was awake by this time, although he was still being tended to by Taid, who had cast a healing spell on him. He was shown the loot, and asked for his opinion on their value. He guesstimated that the toothy necklace might be worth a couple of a hundred coppers, the staff with the crystal on the end might be worth about the same, although both Taid and Elitheris thought it might be worth a bit more to a mage, since that crystal on the end might make a pretty good powerstone. Most of the religious symbols might get a few coppers each, but the silver ones might get 15 silver each, and the gold one might be worth 2 gold. The one with the rubies maybe double that.
By this time, Mr. Wiggles made his way to the room, most likely due to the panicky noises he heard coming from the other direction as the fleeing cultists came swarming around the corner. The wounded dog didn’t want any of that.
Eykit was back on his feet, albeit with a makeshift crutch, and with all four members of the group reunited, they set off to free the prisoners, but were brought up short by a milling crowd of fearful cultists. The Mystic Mist that Taid had cast was still there, a wall of terrifying fog that none of them wanted to cross. But there were only a few of them, and they were scared enough not to bother the prisoners as they were led through the mist. Taid and Elitheris were the last up the stairs, and made sure to let the cultists overhear that they were going to have an archery contest: any cultist coming out of the mist would be the target.
They led the prisoners to the kitchen, where they prepared a meal. For most of the prisoners, it was the first food they’d had in days. The prisoners numbered around three dozen, and they ate everything put in front of them. Many were still in shock, and had to be fed by others more capable.
Eykit, Elitheris, and Taid gathered their stuff, preparing to leave. Eykit reminded them that they had not really spent time searching any of the bedrooms, and that a private bed might be good for a night or so. Just not Felgog’s room, as it was a stinky, disgusting mess. They gathered Clyde, though, and making sure he was okay, although it had only been several hours since they had tied him to that tree. The brought him up the stairs and retied him in the main courtyard. They wanted him close, especially when they loaded him up with all of their gear and treasure.
Rewards Granted
4 Character points
Golden necklace with fangs
Some money
12 Shards, 2 of which are fused pairs
Hickory staff with a 2" crystal sphere on the end
Oak staff with a crescent moon symbol on the end, currently used as a crutch by Eykit
Bag of religious symbols, including two that are silver, one that is gold, and one that is gold and rubies
The knowledge that they stopped a very dangerous creature that would have killed hundreds or thousands of people
Golden necklace with fangs
Some money
12 Shards, 2 of which are fused pairs
Hickory staff with a 2" crystal sphere on the end
Oak staff with a crescent moon symbol on the end, currently used as a crutch by Eykit
Bag of religious symbols, including two that are silver, one that is gold, and one that is gold and rubies
The knowledge that they stopped a very dangerous creature that would have killed hundreds or thousands of people
Missions/Quests Completed
The Orc Temple Adventure is basically complete. All that is left is looting and leaving, and getting back to town.
Character(s) interacted with
High Priest Narghest Ratchool
Priestess Jorna Doon
Priestess Grimma One-eye
Priest Kharg Knotbinder
A large group of cultists
A large number of prisoners/slaves, now freed
The Servitor of Ghebbiloth
Priestess Jorna Doon
Priestess Grimma One-eye
Priest Kharg Knotbinder
A large group of cultists
A large number of prisoners/slaves, now freed
The Servitor of Ghebbiloth
Report Date
20 Feb 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
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