In Dreams - Session 09

Blood in the Snow

General Summary

The party leaves the wagons, guards, and Father Tarbek some distance away from the monastery for their own safety, and cautiously circumnavigates the structure. The expansive single-story building has two wings and a front and back entrance. All the windows are shuttered, and no smoke emerges from the numerous chimneys in the peaked wooden roof. The stable around the back seems quiet.
The rear door is closed but at the front of the building they find disquieting signs: a broken blade, its hilt emblazoned with the holy symbol of the Maker; huge footprints in the snow, twice human size; and two trails of blood, one leading to the partially open doors of the monastery, the other into the wilderness before vanishing under the snowfall. Examining the latter more closely, Eric concludes that it was left by a bleeding creature being dragged through the snow.
He goes back to inform Father Tarbek and the others of their findings, but one of the guards, Daris, is visibly distraught at the news. "Viv!" he shouts, and runs towards the monastery. Before he can reach it, Sylman tackles him and wrestles him to the ground. "I gotta get in there," he says frantically, "my sister's in there!" "You won't do any good to her if you're dead!" Sylman answers. He persuades Daris to calm down, and asks him to be the lantern-bearer as they enter the monastery.
After readying their weapons, they push the double doors fully open to find a horrific sight. A severed head stares blankly at them from atop a pile of bodies on the far side of a small antechamber. There are 8 bodies, all wearing the robes or insignia of the faith: two priests, two guards, and four young acolytes, teenagers or children, including a little girl of 8 or 9. Each one was torn to pieces by something of tremendous strength. Daris fearfully scans the bodies before stating with relief that his sister is not among them.
This room was intended for the monastery's defense; arrow slits line the walls on either side, and a rope and pulley can be used to raise and lower the bar on the door.
The group cautiously advances through the double doors on the far side. They lead to a long hall of worship, the monastery's sanctuary. At the far end is a raised dais with an altar holding gold implements of worship. In the middle of the room a great crystal emerges from the floor, giving off a barely perceptible glow. The monastery was built after this crystal was discovered on the mountaintop; it's said that priests can use the stone to communicate with saints who have died. While the altar seems untouched, several of the room's low benches have been tossed around. At the near end of the room, two doors lead back to the defensive positions behind the arrow slits.
The group moves to explore the doors at the far end of the room. Unnoticed by the others, Eric spots Sylman hanging back and reaching for the gold articles on the altar. He catches Sylman's eye and shakes his head. "These are holy relics," Sylman responds quietly, "we shouldn't just leave them here." "Time for that later," Eric responds. Sylman acquiesces and they follow the rest of the group.
The doors lead to a large dining hall dominated by a long central table. To the right is a trashed kitchen; a smashed door leads further to a pantry, with many of its barrels, crates, and bottles shattered to pieces. A back hall leads to the barred rear exit, and an adjacent storeroom is stocked with winter supplies.
The next room they explore is a bedroom, a large room for a single person. On a table is a parchment note: "Welcome to the monastery, Father Tarbek."
All is quiet. Mongo shouts loudly at one point but there is no response.
Believing the note could represent an omen, Mongo is eager to return to the others. Exiting by the rear door, after confirming that the stable is empty they traverse the monastery's exterior to rejoin Tarbek and the rest, telling them that something terrible has happened here. The group brings the wagons around and puts up the horses in the stable, then gathers in the dining hall where one of the guards starts a fire.
Tarbek is shocked to learn of the carnage. But it seems like some of the monastery's people are still missing. He would have expected to find 15 souls here: the priest in charge, Father Ivan Whitehill, whom Tarbek expected to relieve; two other priests; four guards; and eight young acolytes.
Leaving Tarbek and most of the guards in the dining hill, the party moves to explore the remaining wing of the building. It seems to consist entirely of bedrooms. A large and well-appointed single room is presumably Father Whitehill's; all the other rooms are shared. In the most distant room, containing four bunkbeds, they hear a quiet voice from the ceiling: "is anyone there?" Yes, they answer. "Thank goodness," says the voice. "You must help us. Viv's hurt."
They carefully help the five survivors emerge from the crawlspace above the room's ceiling. Three come down immediately: Tayla, a girl of 13, and Tadd and Lane, eight-year-old orphan boys who grew up at the Abbey and recognize Mongo. The fourth, Dawsin, a little boy of 6, at first remains in a distant corner, unresponsive and clutching a book. Mongo begins singing a children's song; after a while Dawsin quietly sings along, and Mongo is able to coax him out. The boy continues to hug his book; it's a work of scripture, the Analects of Saint Kollion.
The last of the survivors is Vivian, a young woman, unmoving and breathing shallowly, with several bandaged wounds. As he lifts her down from the ceiling, Mongo speaks words of encouragement: "you look great," he tells her; "you're going to be okay." There is no response.
They rejoin the others back in the dining hall. "Viv! Viv!" Daris cries out when he sees his sister.
Over a hot meal, Tayla relates that this all started two days ago. They heard distant shouting, then sounds of fighting and chaos. There were two of the monsters, she thinks; tall, strong, and deadly. Viv, though injured, came to help them hide in the ceiling overnight. The next day seemed quiet, and Tayla came out to find food, but then heard noises at the front of the monastery. At a distance she saw one of the creatures take a body off the pile in the antechamber. "They're using it as a larder," Sylman concludes.
By now evening has fallen. Concerned that the monsters might attack their horses overnight, they clear some room in the sanctuary and bring the horses indoors. But first they clear the antechamber of bodies, wrapping the corpses in sheets and transferring them to one of the bedrooms.
The snowstorm continues. They bar the doors and keep watch in shifts, but the night passes without incident.

October 30, 1203 AR

The next morning the group rises while it is still dark. Eric first speaks a healing word to Viv, who wakes up to Daris' joy. Though disoriented, she is at first eager to help with the fight against the monsters, but is eventually persuaded to rest and defend the children if it becomes necessary. Daris elects to stay with her.
The remaining combatants in the group resolve to set an ambush for the creatures, who seem likely to return to their "larder." After a flask of oil and a lit lantern are set in a corner of the antechamber, one of the outer doors is opened, the bar is raised into position overhead with the pulley, and the pulley rope is tied to a hook set in the wall. The inner doors to the sanctuary are closed and barred. Behind them the benches are piled up to further block the entrance, and Falbar and Gracen stand guard as a final line of defense. The party members arm themselves with ranged weapons —those able to use them take heavy crossbows from the guards' quarters—and settle in to wait behind the antechamber's arrow slits.
For a time all they hear is the sound of the blizzard, a little less fierce than yesterday. But then they hear the sound of something big approaching. Eric hurriedly speaks words of bardic inspiration to his companions.
The creature that enters the antechamber is a thing of nightmare—a furry, horned creature, nine feet tall, with savage claws and fanged teeth. A yeti! When it sees its bloody handiwork missing, it lets out a piercing howl. Sniffing the air, it scans the antechamber for enemies.
The four of them fire their weapons. Mongo's crossbow bolt strikes true; the creature howls in pain, then looks at him through the arrow slit with a gaze that seems to burrow into his soul. He is paralyzed and wounded by a freezing chill.
Enraged, the yeti begins to pound on the inner doors. The wood cracks. While Sylman and Bruno continue to fire their weapons, Eric summons an Unseen Servant to close the door, untie the rope, and lower the bar, trapping the creature. It pays no heed and continues to attack the inner doors, which make another cracking sound.
Eric rejoins the attack, and Mongo shakes off the paralysis and does likewise. But despite being struck by multiple arrows and bolts, the yeti shows no sign of weakening, and continues to pound on the inner doors with unfettered rage. At one point it turns its chilling gaze on Eric, but the bard is able to withstand the effects.
Eventually the inner doors shatter. While Mongo, Sylman, Eric, and Bruno continue to fire at it, the creature begins to toss aside the benches that still block its path. Gracen and Falbar shriek in fear, and the horses scream with terror. As the four party members begin to move back to the sanctuary, one set of cries falls silent, and they hear a shout, "Falbar!" Re-entering the sanctuary, they see the yeti standing over Falbar's crumpled form, and Gracen fearfully preparing to defend himself.
Hoping to save his life, Eric casts his Sleep spell, and the yeti falls. Hurriedly, before it can awaken, the five survivors move to surround it, then stab at it simultaneously. "Die, abomination!" Sylman says, skewering it through the neck. Even so, it takes all of their blows to finally kill it.
There is not even time to pick up Falbar's corpse before there is a pounding at the outer doors. The party quickly ready their missile weapons as the second yeti smashes through.
Even as they fire a barrage of missiles at it, Eric commands his Unseen Servant to pour the oil out upon the floor, then light it with the lantern. The creature howls as it is engulfed in flames. After a moment, it turns and exits.
Fearing that it might attempt to enter by the back door, Sylman dashes towards the rear of the monastery, but is brought up short at the sound of a heavy impact overhead. Mongo runs outside to confirm that the yeti has indeed jumped on the roof. After his arrow goes astray in the howling wind, the creature jumps down to attack him, but his armour protects him from its massive claws.
Dashing back into the sanctuary, Sylman jumps atop the crystal to fire through the monastery's doors. His sneak attack strikes the yeti in the back; Eric and Bruno shoot it as well, while Mongo's bastard sword injures it further.
The yeti turns to disengage, taking another blow from Mongo as it retreats into the blizzard. Running outside, Sylman readies his longbow, calls upon Eric's words for inspiration, and looses a final shot. His arrow strikes true and the yeti falls, its corpse sliding to a halt amidst the falling snow.

Campaign

In Dreams

Protagonists

Report Date

04 May 2019

Sessions