In Hextor's Name (Completed 22 Oct 2004)
Capellan
Explorer
Kull's Report, Part 2
I led the others in exploring the remainder of the ground floor level of the monastery. My search soon found the kitchen, as well as the dining hall. There were skeletal remains of monks in both rooms. Those in the kitchen were inert, but those in the dining hall animated as we entered, and moved forward to attack.
As the first of the creatures clawed at the warrior, Brodnak, I invoked Hextor's Will. He was generous, allowing His power to flow through me, and the skeletons cowered in fear. With the undead held paralysed by Hextor's might, my cohorts proved capable of destroying them in short order.
I had just begun directing the others in smashing up the furniture in the hall for firewood, when a strange, tentacled creature floated through an archway to attack us. Unfortunately, it appeared right next to Brodnak, who cut it in half before I was able to personally test its mettle.
Examining the creature's remains, Brodnak proclaimed it to be the creature that had attacked him in the darkness. I decided that the best course of action would be to wait to see if the darkness cleared, then search for the bodies of the two men who had not emerged. However, as this would take time, I determined that the first thing to be done was to build a fire. Not only would this provide physical warmth, but it might also shore up the spirits of some of my more callow companions, who were obviously disheartened by what had befallen us.
The others saw the wisdom of this course, and - with the encouragement of a flask of oil - a fire was soon going in the kitchen. As the room warmed up, I began to get a clearer idea of who my companions were, and which of them could be relied upon.
Of them all, only Brodnak had proven his worth so far, but to my surprise the halfling, Zalich, also proved level-headed. He made use of the fire we had started to prepare food and drink. Few people understand the three keystones of morale: keep your people warm, fed and dry. Perhaps he served on a military vessel at some point.
Of the others, the weakest link was quite evidently the woman who called herself Troilan. Her attitude and remarks made it clear that she would not take instructions well.
As soon as the darkness ended, I led the others back to the front hall. I quickly found the two people who had not emerged when the creature attacked. One was dead: partially consumed. The second - the ship's young navigator - was alive, but unconscious and suffering from frostbite.
Returning to the kitchen with the injured navigator, I placed him near the fire. The self-styled "druid" set his wolf to watch over the boy.
Reasoning that the cellars of the monastery would be less extensive than the upper floors, I led the group down into the lowest level of the complex. This proved an excellent decision - no doubt Hextor had guided my choice - for the cellars comprised not only a large storeroom, containing many useful items, but also an immense furnace, obviously intended to warm the entire monastery.
Fortunately, though the furnace had long gone cold, there was a vast supply of coal at hand. Starting with only the smallest of fires, I directed the others in gradually building up the flames, until the furnace was functioning at full strength.
Returning to the kitchen, I was much pleased with the providence we had enjoyed. Obviously Hextor must be guiding my steps, for I had immediately found the very supplies that were needed most. There could be no clearer indication that He had brought me to this place in order to cleanse it of the curse that befouled His House.
I led the others in exploring the remainder of the ground floor level of the monastery. My search soon found the kitchen, as well as the dining hall. There were skeletal remains of monks in both rooms. Those in the kitchen were inert, but those in the dining hall animated as we entered, and moved forward to attack.
As the first of the creatures clawed at the warrior, Brodnak, I invoked Hextor's Will. He was generous, allowing His power to flow through me, and the skeletons cowered in fear. With the undead held paralysed by Hextor's might, my cohorts proved capable of destroying them in short order.
I had just begun directing the others in smashing up the furniture in the hall for firewood, when a strange, tentacled creature floated through an archway to attack us. Unfortunately, it appeared right next to Brodnak, who cut it in half before I was able to personally test its mettle.
Examining the creature's remains, Brodnak proclaimed it to be the creature that had attacked him in the darkness. I decided that the best course of action would be to wait to see if the darkness cleared, then search for the bodies of the two men who had not emerged. However, as this would take time, I determined that the first thing to be done was to build a fire. Not only would this provide physical warmth, but it might also shore up the spirits of some of my more callow companions, who were obviously disheartened by what had befallen us.
The others saw the wisdom of this course, and - with the encouragement of a flask of oil - a fire was soon going in the kitchen. As the room warmed up, I began to get a clearer idea of who my companions were, and which of them could be relied upon.
Of them all, only Brodnak had proven his worth so far, but to my surprise the halfling, Zalich, also proved level-headed. He made use of the fire we had started to prepare food and drink. Few people understand the three keystones of morale: keep your people warm, fed and dry. Perhaps he served on a military vessel at some point.
Of the others, the weakest link was quite evidently the woman who called herself Troilan. Her attitude and remarks made it clear that she would not take instructions well.
As soon as the darkness ended, I led the others back to the front hall. I quickly found the two people who had not emerged when the creature attacked. One was dead: partially consumed. The second - the ship's young navigator - was alive, but unconscious and suffering from frostbite.
Returning to the kitchen with the injured navigator, I placed him near the fire. The self-styled "druid" set his wolf to watch over the boy.
Reasoning that the cellars of the monastery would be less extensive than the upper floors, I led the group down into the lowest level of the complex. This proved an excellent decision - no doubt Hextor had guided my choice - for the cellars comprised not only a large storeroom, containing many useful items, but also an immense furnace, obviously intended to warm the entire monastery.
Fortunately, though the furnace had long gone cold, there was a vast supply of coal at hand. Starting with only the smallest of fires, I directed the others in gradually building up the flames, until the furnace was functioning at full strength.
Returning to the kitchen, I was much pleased with the providence we had enjoyed. Obviously Hextor must be guiding my steps, for I had immediately found the very supplies that were needed most. There could be no clearer indication that He had brought me to this place in order to cleanse it of the curse that befouled His House.
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Mathew_Freeman
First Post
Excellent stuff! I am in full agreement with Horacio on this one...it's great!
arwink
Clockwork Golem
Zalich's Log, Entry Two
Half-orcs. Bane of my existence, but they're handy to have around.
So, the ruins. They were cold. Far to cold. There were times that I feared my feet were going to freeze to the floor, and a few times I even contemplated adopting the tall-folks habit of shoes in the hopes of getting warm.
What galled me, beyond anything else in this place, was being trapped without a decent spell. My entire selection for the day was set up for time in the kitchen and the possibility of a pirate attack. I would have killed for a quick warming cantrip at this point, but it was not to be. Cold haunted me for the majority of the day.
We left behind the crewman and explored the ground floor. I had little to do with it, all in all. Yondolla take me if I was going to help a group of barbarians callous enough to let people die, especially when they were our ticket away. Worse, their ability to get along was negligable at best. Kull seemed intent on ordering everyone around, Triolan seemed intent of defying him for little or no reason. If Brodnak acted with any kind of logic, it was lost on me. Some people just never learned the neceissity of working as a team. Sometimes I think prior experience on ships would do the adventuring community good. Anything to teach them the advantages of working together, and not leaving someone behind.
On the upside, they found a kitchen in their marauding. Took a while to get some firewood. I'm not sure where they got it from, I think perhaps they destroyed some furniture in the dining room they discovered, but soon we had a small blaze going and more than enough warmth to ward off the chill for a few hours. Slightly better news was an attack by the strange creature that had plunged the entry hall into darkness and attack Brodnak. Forced into confrontation, they slew the creature and, finally, rescued our young navigator. He was in bad shape, badly frostbitten and close to death, so we lay him by the fire and started to warm him up.
I couldn't help myself then. Much as I disliked their attitude, the cold was worse and we needed something to fight against it. I brewed a quick pot of tea as soon as the fire was alight, and cooked a quick meal. Nothing special, just some spiced porridge with a few bits of bacon I'd snagged from the ship before it sank. Most of the survivors had been ill with sea sickness for most of the journey, so they tucked in gladly to their first meal on dry land. They weren't at all impressed by my skills with magic, I know, but they enjoyed that meal more than any other dinner I'd cooked on the journey thus far.
Eventually, we explored more. The fire was getting low, so the druids wolf was left to watch over the navigator. I didn't really trust the wolf not to maul the youngster, but there were few other options. If they ran intro trouble in the cellars they were exploring, they'd need my help, and we were running out of fuel for the fire far to fast to leave exploring for too much longer. I quickly pulled Tree-tooth, my club, from its place by my pack and followed along after the brave exploreres.
Isn't there a saying about the gods looking out for fools and adventurers both? Seems to work, because the only things in the catacombs below the ruins were supplies and the old furnace, complete with supplies of coal. We wasted no time in loading the ancient mechanism up, and I lit it with a cantrip. Within moments, the pleasure of warm floors and a night without shivering were within our grasp.
Of course, the Gods have a sense of humor and nothing is ever that easy. For all the years of good fortunte I've had in my life, I sometimes wonder why I can be cursed with nights like that one when luck turns sour so suddenly. Just once, I'd like to go down on a peaceful land where the locals are pleased to just help a stranger.
Half-orcs. Bane of my existence, but they're handy to have around.
So, the ruins. They were cold. Far to cold. There were times that I feared my feet were going to freeze to the floor, and a few times I even contemplated adopting the tall-folks habit of shoes in the hopes of getting warm.
What galled me, beyond anything else in this place, was being trapped without a decent spell. My entire selection for the day was set up for time in the kitchen and the possibility of a pirate attack. I would have killed for a quick warming cantrip at this point, but it was not to be. Cold haunted me for the majority of the day.
We left behind the crewman and explored the ground floor. I had little to do with it, all in all. Yondolla take me if I was going to help a group of barbarians callous enough to let people die, especially when they were our ticket away. Worse, their ability to get along was negligable at best. Kull seemed intent on ordering everyone around, Triolan seemed intent of defying him for little or no reason. If Brodnak acted with any kind of logic, it was lost on me. Some people just never learned the neceissity of working as a team. Sometimes I think prior experience on ships would do the adventuring community good. Anything to teach them the advantages of working together, and not leaving someone behind.
On the upside, they found a kitchen in their marauding. Took a while to get some firewood. I'm not sure where they got it from, I think perhaps they destroyed some furniture in the dining room they discovered, but soon we had a small blaze going and more than enough warmth to ward off the chill for a few hours. Slightly better news was an attack by the strange creature that had plunged the entry hall into darkness and attack Brodnak. Forced into confrontation, they slew the creature and, finally, rescued our young navigator. He was in bad shape, badly frostbitten and close to death, so we lay him by the fire and started to warm him up.
I couldn't help myself then. Much as I disliked their attitude, the cold was worse and we needed something to fight against it. I brewed a quick pot of tea as soon as the fire was alight, and cooked a quick meal. Nothing special, just some spiced porridge with a few bits of bacon I'd snagged from the ship before it sank. Most of the survivors had been ill with sea sickness for most of the journey, so they tucked in gladly to their first meal on dry land. They weren't at all impressed by my skills with magic, I know, but they enjoyed that meal more than any other dinner I'd cooked on the journey thus far.
Eventually, we explored more. The fire was getting low, so the druids wolf was left to watch over the navigator. I didn't really trust the wolf not to maul the youngster, but there were few other options. If they ran intro trouble in the cellars they were exploring, they'd need my help, and we were running out of fuel for the fire far to fast to leave exploring for too much longer. I quickly pulled Tree-tooth, my club, from its place by my pack and followed along after the brave exploreres.
Isn't there a saying about the gods looking out for fools and adventurers both? Seems to work, because the only things in the catacombs below the ruins were supplies and the old furnace, complete with supplies of coal. We wasted no time in loading the ancient mechanism up, and I lit it with a cantrip. Within moments, the pleasure of warm floors and a night without shivering were within our grasp.
Of course, the Gods have a sense of humor and nothing is ever that easy. For all the years of good fortunte I've had in my life, I sometimes wonder why I can be cursed with nights like that one when luck turns sour so suddenly. Just once, I'd like to go down on a peaceful land where the locals are pleased to just help a stranger.
Mathew_Freeman
First Post
What Horacio said, only with more exclamation marks 
djrdjmsqrd
First Post
OOC: RG?
Cap,
Any chance we can get a RG going for the PCs/NPCs of this fine SH?
Djordje
Cap,
Any chance we can get a RG going for the PCs/NPCs of this fine SH?
Djordje
