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The New Adventures of Thundina Seong! Completed May 4
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<blockquote data-quote="Ealli" data-source="post: 3329383" data-attributes="member: 804"><p><strong>Chapter 3: The Accursed Church</strong></p><p></p><p>“There is a saying, nothing new under the sun,” Thundina muttered as she looked out the window of the Blood on the Vine Inn. Barovia was in deep fog again and the mists did not look like to burn off any time soon. As Thundina rolled out of bed she nearly stumbled, feeling queasy still from where the zombie filth infected a wound from yesterday. “Only thing to do is get some breakfast I guess, maybe that’ll settle my stomach.”</p><p></p><p>As the innkeep served up bread and a weak mulled wine, he inquired, “Are thee Thundina?”</p><p></p><p>When she nodded in the affirmative, he pushed towards her a pair of strange parchments. “What are these?” Thundina asked as she picked them up. The innkeep just shrugged in boredom. One was a picture of some leafy green vegetable and the other looked like some novice painter was organizing his paints. What was truly odd was that both had witty little expressions of love and were then signed one by Halas and one by Tourg. With a little chuckle, Thundina tucked the pair away into her haversack. Surely today was not a holiday in Kharnnath, and Thundina did not think it was the holiday of love in any other nation at this time either. What precisely she was going to do, besides encourage both of course, would have to be decided later. For now, she was walking with an extra spring in her step.</p><p></p><p>Finally, Tourg rumbled down the stairs in his full plate with Orning following just behind. “How are you doing today, Thundina? Did I prepare the <em>Cure Diseases</em> only to convert them into <em>Cure Wound</em> spells?”</p><p></p><p>Thundina turned and began when a bout of nausea swept her. She squeezed her eyes a moment and then smiled sweetly, “You know, Tourg, you didn’t need to get all dressed up on my behalf. I wasn’t intending to kill you for attempting to cure me. But yes, the cut still burns and my head still hurts.”</p><p></p><p>Tourg laid his hand on Thundina’s head and invoked, “Olladra, we ask for your blessing to cast out the disease that afflicts Thundina. Now, let’s see that arm.” Tourg peeled back the bandages on what had been a festering wound and continued, “Ah, yes, that’s looking much better. I need to go see to Krel as well now. Has he come down yet? No, well it is well known that the elderly are more susceptible to illness.”</p><p></p><p>Thundina fidgeted while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble. Once everyone was outside, and Halas was inside with assurances that the group was intending only zombie hunting at the church, the chilly mist wasted no time in getting beneath Thundina’s armor while the warmth of her blade she now carried openly pushed the fog back slightly. Over the barricades and into the mist, north towards the church tromped the party.</p><p></p><p>As the outline of the church began to form in the mist, something nearer drew more immediate attention. Three zombies stood at a crossroads feasting on a dead horse. Tourg, first to spot them, held up a hand and said, “Something’s not right here. It looks like a …” But before he could finish, Thundina leapt forward screaming, “Die, you blasted undead!”</p><p></p><p>With Thundina charging forward, BarBar and Orning kept pace while Tourg, Ashlyn, and Krel struggled to keep up. Sure enough, the ambush materialized. Once the fighters were engaged with the zombies, a trio of ghasts came out of surrounding houses to join the fray. As the zombies were about to be vanquished, and the tide turned against the ghasts, one of the ghasts grabbed Ashlyn and began to run towards the church. Quick as a flash, BarBar was running down the street after it. With his greater speed and agility, he was on it immediately, cutting it off from the church and wresting Ashlyn back.</p><p></p><p>With the ghast’s flight confirming the guilt of the church as the source of the zombie infestation, Krel piped up, “Hey, does anyone need any enhancements for weapons or armor before we enter the church?”</p><p></p><p>“I could always use an improved blade,” Thundina said with a grin, “but you know who would put that to great effectiveness, Orning. He has proven very capable with his sword.”</p><p></p><p>“Bravo?” Orning replied.</p><p></p><p>Krel went over to Orning and prepared his materials, “Orning, hold your blade steady a moment. There, your sword is now <em>Bane</em> to undead. Thundina, did you want your blade enchanted too?”</p><p></p><p>“Nah, save your spices and minerals. I think I’ll be fine.”</p><p></p><p>Finally the misty streets ran up to the run down church. An old iron gate barred the grounds. The oak doors of the church stood closed with carved ravens visible even from the street. Off to each side of the church headstones were visible each with an inscription to one of the Sovereign Host to take care of the deceased. A chain fence ran along the path from the gate to the church doors. A closer inspection of the iron gates showed that they had been installed by Creaking and Sons. Orning and BarBar pushed open the gates which swung into the fencing. The attempt to repeat the trick at the actual doors met a different result; those were truly barred.</p><p></p><p>“Ah, this is my specialty,” said Thundina as she pushed BarBar to the side. “Hmm, door is clean, apart from being locked. This should just take a moment.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you need any help with that? I’ve got a scroll of <em>Knock</em> prepared.” Krel volunteered.</p><p></p><p>“No, no. This’ll just take a moment. And, there, got it.” Thundina swung the door open. The church was well lit with numerous torches. Four doors, two on each side, lined a short hallway leading to the main section. A pit in the floor, ten feet across, just past the hallway obstructed the direct access to the altar at the far side of the church. As Thundina’s eyes traveled up the altar to the figure standing behind the altar, the air around Thundina buffeted her, her head felt worse than it had ever before, and just as quickly it was gone with the final bitten off word from the figure by the altar. Moans from around her indicated that the others had felt it as well. A trickle of blood ran from Thundina’s nose; no one else seemed to have been as badly affected. Any possibility of parlay or negotiation obviously gone, Thundina charged directly, leaping the pit and sailing all the way to the altar. Landing there, Thundina let out a great yell as she drove her guisarme past a hastily raised steel shield and into the full plate mail protecting the fleshy cleric.</p><p></p><p>BarBar and Ashlyn quickly moved to support Thundina against the cleric at the altar. As Krel moved forward too, the four doors in the hallway burst open to reveal a trio of zombies and one of the spellcasting skeletons from the very first encounter in Barovia. While the zombies simply laid into the lightly armored artificer, the skeleton was heard muttering, “Do I attack his will? Do I attack his body? Ah, forget it, keep it simple stupid.” With the monologue complete, a pair of energy bursts slammed into Krel, staggering him.</p><p></p><p>With threats before, and threats behind, BarBar turned to assist Orning and Tourg in dealing with the new menace. The strange cleric did some very fancy chanting which seemed to have no effect; Krel would later describe it as an attempt to <em>Dispel</em> any strengthening auras we had, made all the more humorous by the fact that none were using any such auras. Krel did however scurry off to the side, between some pews, and dropped to the ground covering his head. Slowly, and with great care, he pulled out a potion and then quickly chugged it.</p><p></p><p>Back at the altar, the cleric stepped away from the wall and reached out an icy hand to Thundina. Goosebumps ran along her skin and her breath momentarily caught in her chest before it all passed. Thundina somersaulted off the altar and pirouetted to put the cleric in a pincer between Thundina and Ashlyn. Sensing his time near an end in such a disadvantageous position, the cleric tried to flee by climbing over the altar, only to find Thundina’s guisarme in his kidneys, which has a tendency to ruin escape attempts. Glancing back to the entrance, only a single zombie remained, and BarBar had it well under control. Thundina guarded the new prisoner and made sure he’d sleep well, while Ashlyn tended to Krel. “Come on BarBar, you can do it! Finish that zombie off already!” Thundina shouted encouragingly back to BarBar, and almost immediately a slash from his kama drew an angry line across the zombie which expanded as it crumbled to dust.</p><p></p><p>With Tourg tending to the wounded, and Thundina inspecting the boss for loot and unused scrolls, BarBar went to inspect the pit. “Only 20 feet down, I can make that jump no problem,” and so BarBar jumped down into the gloom. Almost immediately after, “Oh, <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />.” With that, everyone ran to the edge of the pit to see what could shake the resolve of the heroic BarBar. At the edge of the light, one desiccated skeleton, and one gaunt skeleton had confronted BarBar. As Thundina was drawing her bow, Orning drew his holy symbol and shouted, “Good wins!” and brandished the symbol at the creatures. BarBar dashed out of sight with the skeletons in close pursuit.</p><p></p><p>Ashlyn turned to Tourg and asked, “What do we do now?”</p><p></p><p>Tourg, shocked for a moment, replied, “I must rescue BarBar.” Tourg jumped down to begin the rescue operation. Shortly thereafter, Ashlyn too jumped down. Thundina shook her head and reached for her guisarme instead of her rope like she had been intending to use. With her favored weapon ready, Thundina joined the two heroic Lightbringers in the gloom of the church’s sublevel to find and rescue BarBar.</p><p></p><p>Fiercely muttering, “Bravo … bravo … bravo. Bravo?” something about one of the closets in the hallway was disturbing Orning and he was desperately poking and prodding around. Orning’s pure heart swayed Krel to join in the search of the closet.</p><p></p><p>The desiccated skeleton had returned to the line of heroes, charging forward with unnatural speed and strength. As it hit the line, there was a terrible crunch, and Tourg crumbled to the ground. The skeleton turned it’s bloody maw towards Ashlyn, a quick glance down at Tourg showed no hope, the entire top of his head had been ripped off; instant death.</p><p></p><p>Krel had found something hidden under one of the boxes in the closet. Pushing back the box fully, revealed a trap door. Pulling back the slab revealed a stairs descending down into darkness. A horrifying visage stood right beneath as a seven foot zombie reared up. Orning began his attack. The zombie fought back, scratching Orning. Filth already under its claws, the zombie’s attack seemed to infect Orning’s wound. Suddenly Orning’s eyes went wide while he attempted to resist the disease, he had realized that the seven foot zombie bore many resemblances to a hobgoblin, specifically BarBar. The torches all flickered momentarily.</p><p></p><p>Thundina had tumbled a little past the desiccated skeleton to create a flanking position on it. Ashlyn meanwhile glanced down at Tourg’s corpse next to her feet and saw it begin to stir. In her professional opinion regarding undead, the desiccated skeleton by itself was likely to present more difficulty than the two could handle, but to then add a zombie to the mix as well, and it was definitely an overwhelming force. She made the tough decision and shouted, “Thundina, get out of here. Save yourself! I’ll hold the attention of the undead.”</p><p></p><p>Thundina hesitated a moment, but Ashlyn was no longer attempting to tag the skeleton, only to draw it slowly back, and Thundina too realized that combat was futile and she fled into the same darkness that BarBar had. Off to her left were a set of stairs going up and she quickly got on them and began to dash up them. A square of light up ahead showed a likely exit, but there was something in the way. A large, dark shape was clawing and reaching up into the light. Larger than life was Orning in his flashing armor on the other side. When she heard the zombie moan of the creature between her and the exit, Thundina’s path was obvious, it was a foe in her way. A mighty swing of the guisarme distracted the creature allowing Orning to deal it the final blow to put the thing to rest.</p><p></p><p>Thundina bounded up the final steps, shouting to Orning, and fortunately Krel as well, “Close that! Lock it!” and continued her run out of the closet. Orning, not comprehending, peered down the stairs only to see the desiccated skeleton surging upwards. When the foul creature took a bite out of Orning, causing Orning’s eyes to glaze over momentarily, Krel understood what Thundina was so worried about and slammed the door into the creature’s face. He beckoned Orning, to stand on the trap door a moment while he pushed multiple boxes back over the trap door.</p><p></p><p>Reaching the altar, Thundina had pulled her silk rope out of her pack and secured it to the altar. Looking down into the pit, Thundina saw the crumpled form of Ashlyn laying where she had stood defiantly. With the first hope that Ashlyn would be able to climb out on her own gone, there was only one course, and that was to go in to get her. Krel glanced out of the closet just in time to see Thundina’s head disappearing down the pit once more. “Thundina, no! That’s suicide!”</p><p></p><p>With no breath to spare for shouting, Thundina climbed as quickly as she could. Reaching the bottom, Thundina glimpsed the reanimated Tourg as well as the desiccated skeleton out in the gloom. No time to spare, Thundina simply grabbed Ashlyn and began climbing back up. As she reached the lip of the pit, Krel was there to help pull Ashlyn out and then immediately administer a charge of <em>Cure Wounds</em> from one of his wands. Thundina nodded, for if Ashlyn lived, that would help, and if she was dead, it would help as well. Still, to be on the safe side, Thundina moved such that she could push Ashlyn back into the pit should it be no longer Ashlyn but a new zombie. Fortunately, Ashlyn recovered from the tap of the wand and was able to give assurances that she was still alive. No thumping came from the trapdoor, an almost unnatural quiet.</p><p></p><p>Reasonably sure that they were safe, relatively speaking, Thundina moved to check on the cleric from before. The kidney shot had indeed been fatal; there would be no hard decisions on captive versus execution here today. A quick ransacking of the altar turned up a fragmented book, a ragged diary, a gold chalice, silver bells, and a couple potions. Securing the items, with no objection from Ashlyn, Thundina recommended returning to the Inn. With Ashlyn and Krel in agreement, Orning was convinced to leave his watch in the closet.</p><p></p><p>During the walk back, Thundina finally understood what her dad had been talking about in all those stories of the times he worked with others. He had always said the first rule of party adventures was “Never split up the party.” Thundina would always ask, “So what is the second rule?” And Father would say, “Never. Split. Up. The. Party!”</p><p></p><p>Returning to the Blood on the Vine, Halas came out to greet the returning heroes. “Say, weren’t there more of you earlier this morning.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, Tourg and BarBar fell in combat at the church.” Thundina replied.</p><p></p><p>“Mmm, that’s too bad,” Halas began, but promptly ruined the effect with, “So, does that mean I can join the group?”</p><p></p><p>A quick step forward and Thundina’s fist drove into Halas’s gut knocking the wind out of him. “No. Have some respect for the dead, man.”</p><p></p><p>Still larger than life, Orning step forward, picked Halas up by the neck, briefly looked him in the eye, said, “Bravo,” and dropped Halas back to the ground.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s get inside, and decide what we’re doing next. That church was a disaster.” Thundina ushered everyone inside. At the mention of a church, Orning perked up.</p><p></p><p>“Disaster at the church. Accursed church! Terrible church!” Thundina shouted. At each mention, Orning temporarily perked up, not seeming to be able to put the two words together.</p><p></p><p>With everyone inside, it came time to tally what had been taken from the church. Thundina passed a scroll and a trio of potions over to Krel, “You’re the expert in these, can you find out what we’re dealing with here please.” Next was the fragmented book. The book described the procedures necessary for the creation of undead. Thundina passed the book over to Ashlyn, “Would you guard and keep this book?”</p><p></p><p>As she looked over it, Ashlyn replied, “I would prefer to burn it. It is an evil book.”</p><p></p><p>Orning, who had been staring intently at the book chimed in, “Stinks of evil.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, I’m okay with burning it.” Thundina nodded and left the book by Ashlyn.</p><p></p><p>Krel glanced up and said, “Thundina, I would have thought that you would have wanted to sell something like that.”</p><p></p><p>“No, that wouldn’t work. Besides, we have this we can sell,” as Thundina pulled out the golden chalice.</p><p></p><p>Slightly shocked, Krel said, “What about your friends?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, they knew the risks coming in, though. The whole point of undead infested temples is to raid for treasure!”</p><p></p><p>The final item to be inspected was then the fragmented diary. Thundina leafed through the journal, picking up a few important phrases. Only a few pages, but it spanned over 45 years. Strahd was mentioned many times in relation to multiple murders and disappearances. In addition, several mentions of the Sunsword, the Tome of Strahd, and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, all three items which are rumored to be around the area and of great importance. The church seems to have been the source of the zombie plague indeed, with a strange undead being the originator and the cleric attempting to build an undead army to take on Strahd. When Kolyan objected, he was murdered by the author of the diary. We will need to find Kolyan’s son and inform him. So many names to put to people. As Thundina came to the end of the diary, a realization struck her, the angles were all wrong! She had been careful to check for traps on all doors, but then was struck by a Lovecraftian trap on a book.</p><p></p><p>With the prime leadership of the expedition gone, Thundina was growing into command. She made the decision, a visit to Madam Eva at the Tser Pools for guidance as to the nature of the church and the unnatural creature there. With the sun only reaching its noon position, although still obscured, Thundina was once more driving her friends and colleagues to set off. As they prepared to leave, a voice called out to them…</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ealli, post: 3329383, member: 804"] [b]Chapter 3: The Accursed Church[/b] “There is a saying, nothing new under the sun,” Thundina muttered as she looked out the window of the Blood on the Vine Inn. Barovia was in deep fog again and the mists did not look like to burn off any time soon. As Thundina rolled out of bed she nearly stumbled, feeling queasy still from where the zombie filth infected a wound from yesterday. “Only thing to do is get some breakfast I guess, maybe that’ll settle my stomach.” As the innkeep served up bread and a weak mulled wine, he inquired, “Are thee Thundina?” When she nodded in the affirmative, he pushed towards her a pair of strange parchments. “What are these?” Thundina asked as she picked them up. The innkeep just shrugged in boredom. One was a picture of some leafy green vegetable and the other looked like some novice painter was organizing his paints. What was truly odd was that both had witty little expressions of love and were then signed one by Halas and one by Tourg. With a little chuckle, Thundina tucked the pair away into her haversack. Surely today was not a holiday in Kharnnath, and Thundina did not think it was the holiday of love in any other nation at this time either. What precisely she was going to do, besides encourage both of course, would have to be decided later. For now, she was walking with an extra spring in her step. Finally, Tourg rumbled down the stairs in his full plate with Orning following just behind. “How are you doing today, Thundina? Did I prepare the [I]Cure Diseases[/I] only to convert them into [I]Cure Wound[/I] spells?” Thundina turned and began when a bout of nausea swept her. She squeezed her eyes a moment and then smiled sweetly, “You know, Tourg, you didn’t need to get all dressed up on my behalf. I wasn’t intending to kill you for attempting to cure me. But yes, the cut still burns and my head still hurts.” Tourg laid his hand on Thundina’s head and invoked, “Olladra, we ask for your blessing to cast out the disease that afflicts Thundina. Now, let’s see that arm.” Tourg peeled back the bandages on what had been a festering wound and continued, “Ah, yes, that’s looking much better. I need to go see to Krel as well now. Has he come down yet? No, well it is well known that the elderly are more susceptible to illness.” Thundina fidgeted while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble. Once everyone was outside, and Halas was inside with assurances that the group was intending only zombie hunting at the church, the chilly mist wasted no time in getting beneath Thundina’s armor while the warmth of her blade she now carried openly pushed the fog back slightly. Over the barricades and into the mist, north towards the church tromped the party. As the outline of the church began to form in the mist, something nearer drew more immediate attention. Three zombies stood at a crossroads feasting on a dead horse. Tourg, first to spot them, held up a hand and said, “Something’s not right here. It looks like a …” But before he could finish, Thundina leapt forward screaming, “Die, you blasted undead!” With Thundina charging forward, BarBar and Orning kept pace while Tourg, Ashlyn, and Krel struggled to keep up. Sure enough, the ambush materialized. Once the fighters were engaged with the zombies, a trio of ghasts came out of surrounding houses to join the fray. As the zombies were about to be vanquished, and the tide turned against the ghasts, one of the ghasts grabbed Ashlyn and began to run towards the church. Quick as a flash, BarBar was running down the street after it. With his greater speed and agility, he was on it immediately, cutting it off from the church and wresting Ashlyn back. With the ghast’s flight confirming the guilt of the church as the source of the zombie infestation, Krel piped up, “Hey, does anyone need any enhancements for weapons or armor before we enter the church?” “I could always use an improved blade,” Thundina said with a grin, “but you know who would put that to great effectiveness, Orning. He has proven very capable with his sword.” “Bravo?” Orning replied. Krel went over to Orning and prepared his materials, “Orning, hold your blade steady a moment. There, your sword is now [I]Bane[/I] to undead. Thundina, did you want your blade enchanted too?” “Nah, save your spices and minerals. I think I’ll be fine.” Finally the misty streets ran up to the run down church. An old iron gate barred the grounds. The oak doors of the church stood closed with carved ravens visible even from the street. Off to each side of the church headstones were visible each with an inscription to one of the Sovereign Host to take care of the deceased. A chain fence ran along the path from the gate to the church doors. A closer inspection of the iron gates showed that they had been installed by Creaking and Sons. Orning and BarBar pushed open the gates which swung into the fencing. The attempt to repeat the trick at the actual doors met a different result; those were truly barred. “Ah, this is my specialty,” said Thundina as she pushed BarBar to the side. “Hmm, door is clean, apart from being locked. This should just take a moment.” “Do you need any help with that? I’ve got a scroll of [I]Knock[/I] prepared.” Krel volunteered. “No, no. This’ll just take a moment. And, there, got it.” Thundina swung the door open. The church was well lit with numerous torches. Four doors, two on each side, lined a short hallway leading to the main section. A pit in the floor, ten feet across, just past the hallway obstructed the direct access to the altar at the far side of the church. As Thundina’s eyes traveled up the altar to the figure standing behind the altar, the air around Thundina buffeted her, her head felt worse than it had ever before, and just as quickly it was gone with the final bitten off word from the figure by the altar. Moans from around her indicated that the others had felt it as well. A trickle of blood ran from Thundina’s nose; no one else seemed to have been as badly affected. Any possibility of parlay or negotiation obviously gone, Thundina charged directly, leaping the pit and sailing all the way to the altar. Landing there, Thundina let out a great yell as she drove her guisarme past a hastily raised steel shield and into the full plate mail protecting the fleshy cleric. BarBar and Ashlyn quickly moved to support Thundina against the cleric at the altar. As Krel moved forward too, the four doors in the hallway burst open to reveal a trio of zombies and one of the spellcasting skeletons from the very first encounter in Barovia. While the zombies simply laid into the lightly armored artificer, the skeleton was heard muttering, “Do I attack his will? Do I attack his body? Ah, forget it, keep it simple stupid.” With the monologue complete, a pair of energy bursts slammed into Krel, staggering him. With threats before, and threats behind, BarBar turned to assist Orning and Tourg in dealing with the new menace. The strange cleric did some very fancy chanting which seemed to have no effect; Krel would later describe it as an attempt to [I]Dispel[/I] any strengthening auras we had, made all the more humorous by the fact that none were using any such auras. Krel did however scurry off to the side, between some pews, and dropped to the ground covering his head. Slowly, and with great care, he pulled out a potion and then quickly chugged it. Back at the altar, the cleric stepped away from the wall and reached out an icy hand to Thundina. Goosebumps ran along her skin and her breath momentarily caught in her chest before it all passed. Thundina somersaulted off the altar and pirouetted to put the cleric in a pincer between Thundina and Ashlyn. Sensing his time near an end in such a disadvantageous position, the cleric tried to flee by climbing over the altar, only to find Thundina’s guisarme in his kidneys, which has a tendency to ruin escape attempts. Glancing back to the entrance, only a single zombie remained, and BarBar had it well under control. Thundina guarded the new prisoner and made sure he’d sleep well, while Ashlyn tended to Krel. “Come on BarBar, you can do it! Finish that zombie off already!” Thundina shouted encouragingly back to BarBar, and almost immediately a slash from his kama drew an angry line across the zombie which expanded as it crumbled to dust. With Tourg tending to the wounded, and Thundina inspecting the boss for loot and unused scrolls, BarBar went to inspect the pit. “Only 20 feet down, I can make that jump no problem,” and so BarBar jumped down into the gloom. Almost immediately after, “Oh, :):):):).” With that, everyone ran to the edge of the pit to see what could shake the resolve of the heroic BarBar. At the edge of the light, one desiccated skeleton, and one gaunt skeleton had confronted BarBar. As Thundina was drawing her bow, Orning drew his holy symbol and shouted, “Good wins!” and brandished the symbol at the creatures. BarBar dashed out of sight with the skeletons in close pursuit. Ashlyn turned to Tourg and asked, “What do we do now?” Tourg, shocked for a moment, replied, “I must rescue BarBar.” Tourg jumped down to begin the rescue operation. Shortly thereafter, Ashlyn too jumped down. Thundina shook her head and reached for her guisarme instead of her rope like she had been intending to use. With her favored weapon ready, Thundina joined the two heroic Lightbringers in the gloom of the church’s sublevel to find and rescue BarBar. Fiercely muttering, “Bravo … bravo … bravo. Bravo?” something about one of the closets in the hallway was disturbing Orning and he was desperately poking and prodding around. Orning’s pure heart swayed Krel to join in the search of the closet. The desiccated skeleton had returned to the line of heroes, charging forward with unnatural speed and strength. As it hit the line, there was a terrible crunch, and Tourg crumbled to the ground. The skeleton turned it’s bloody maw towards Ashlyn, a quick glance down at Tourg showed no hope, the entire top of his head had been ripped off; instant death. Krel had found something hidden under one of the boxes in the closet. Pushing back the box fully, revealed a trap door. Pulling back the slab revealed a stairs descending down into darkness. A horrifying visage stood right beneath as a seven foot zombie reared up. Orning began his attack. The zombie fought back, scratching Orning. Filth already under its claws, the zombie’s attack seemed to infect Orning’s wound. Suddenly Orning’s eyes went wide while he attempted to resist the disease, he had realized that the seven foot zombie bore many resemblances to a hobgoblin, specifically BarBar. The torches all flickered momentarily. Thundina had tumbled a little past the desiccated skeleton to create a flanking position on it. Ashlyn meanwhile glanced down at Tourg’s corpse next to her feet and saw it begin to stir. In her professional opinion regarding undead, the desiccated skeleton by itself was likely to present more difficulty than the two could handle, but to then add a zombie to the mix as well, and it was definitely an overwhelming force. She made the tough decision and shouted, “Thundina, get out of here. Save yourself! I’ll hold the attention of the undead.” Thundina hesitated a moment, but Ashlyn was no longer attempting to tag the skeleton, only to draw it slowly back, and Thundina too realized that combat was futile and she fled into the same darkness that BarBar had. Off to her left were a set of stairs going up and she quickly got on them and began to dash up them. A square of light up ahead showed a likely exit, but there was something in the way. A large, dark shape was clawing and reaching up into the light. Larger than life was Orning in his flashing armor on the other side. When she heard the zombie moan of the creature between her and the exit, Thundina’s path was obvious, it was a foe in her way. A mighty swing of the guisarme distracted the creature allowing Orning to deal it the final blow to put the thing to rest. Thundina bounded up the final steps, shouting to Orning, and fortunately Krel as well, “Close that! Lock it!” and continued her run out of the closet. Orning, not comprehending, peered down the stairs only to see the desiccated skeleton surging upwards. When the foul creature took a bite out of Orning, causing Orning’s eyes to glaze over momentarily, Krel understood what Thundina was so worried about and slammed the door into the creature’s face. He beckoned Orning, to stand on the trap door a moment while he pushed multiple boxes back over the trap door. Reaching the altar, Thundina had pulled her silk rope out of her pack and secured it to the altar. Looking down into the pit, Thundina saw the crumpled form of Ashlyn laying where she had stood defiantly. With the first hope that Ashlyn would be able to climb out on her own gone, there was only one course, and that was to go in to get her. Krel glanced out of the closet just in time to see Thundina’s head disappearing down the pit once more. “Thundina, no! That’s suicide!” With no breath to spare for shouting, Thundina climbed as quickly as she could. Reaching the bottom, Thundina glimpsed the reanimated Tourg as well as the desiccated skeleton out in the gloom. No time to spare, Thundina simply grabbed Ashlyn and began climbing back up. As she reached the lip of the pit, Krel was there to help pull Ashlyn out and then immediately administer a charge of [I]Cure Wounds[/I] from one of his wands. Thundina nodded, for if Ashlyn lived, that would help, and if she was dead, it would help as well. Still, to be on the safe side, Thundina moved such that she could push Ashlyn back into the pit should it be no longer Ashlyn but a new zombie. Fortunately, Ashlyn recovered from the tap of the wand and was able to give assurances that she was still alive. No thumping came from the trapdoor, an almost unnatural quiet. Reasonably sure that they were safe, relatively speaking, Thundina moved to check on the cleric from before. The kidney shot had indeed been fatal; there would be no hard decisions on captive versus execution here today. A quick ransacking of the altar turned up a fragmented book, a ragged diary, a gold chalice, silver bells, and a couple potions. Securing the items, with no objection from Ashlyn, Thundina recommended returning to the Inn. With Ashlyn and Krel in agreement, Orning was convinced to leave his watch in the closet. During the walk back, Thundina finally understood what her dad had been talking about in all those stories of the times he worked with others. He had always said the first rule of party adventures was “Never split up the party.” Thundina would always ask, “So what is the second rule?” And Father would say, “Never. Split. Up. The. Party!” Returning to the Blood on the Vine, Halas came out to greet the returning heroes. “Say, weren’t there more of you earlier this morning.” “Yes, Tourg and BarBar fell in combat at the church.” Thundina replied. “Mmm, that’s too bad,” Halas began, but promptly ruined the effect with, “So, does that mean I can join the group?” A quick step forward and Thundina’s fist drove into Halas’s gut knocking the wind out of him. “No. Have some respect for the dead, man.” Still larger than life, Orning step forward, picked Halas up by the neck, briefly looked him in the eye, said, “Bravo,” and dropped Halas back to the ground. “Let’s get inside, and decide what we’re doing next. That church was a disaster.” Thundina ushered everyone inside. At the mention of a church, Orning perked up. “Disaster at the church. Accursed church! Terrible church!” Thundina shouted. At each mention, Orning temporarily perked up, not seeming to be able to put the two words together. With everyone inside, it came time to tally what had been taken from the church. Thundina passed a scroll and a trio of potions over to Krel, “You’re the expert in these, can you find out what we’re dealing with here please.” Next was the fragmented book. The book described the procedures necessary for the creation of undead. Thundina passed the book over to Ashlyn, “Would you guard and keep this book?” As she looked over it, Ashlyn replied, “I would prefer to burn it. It is an evil book.” Orning, who had been staring intently at the book chimed in, “Stinks of evil.” “Yes, I’m okay with burning it.” Thundina nodded and left the book by Ashlyn. Krel glanced up and said, “Thundina, I would have thought that you would have wanted to sell something like that.” “No, that wouldn’t work. Besides, we have this we can sell,” as Thundina pulled out the golden chalice. Slightly shocked, Krel said, “What about your friends?” “Yes, they knew the risks coming in, though. The whole point of undead infested temples is to raid for treasure!” The final item to be inspected was then the fragmented diary. Thundina leafed through the journal, picking up a few important phrases. Only a few pages, but it spanned over 45 years. Strahd was mentioned many times in relation to multiple murders and disappearances. In addition, several mentions of the Sunsword, the Tome of Strahd, and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, all three items which are rumored to be around the area and of great importance. The church seems to have been the source of the zombie plague indeed, with a strange undead being the originator and the cleric attempting to build an undead army to take on Strahd. When Kolyan objected, he was murdered by the author of the diary. We will need to find Kolyan’s son and inform him. So many names to put to people. As Thundina came to the end of the diary, a realization struck her, the angles were all wrong! She had been careful to check for traps on all doors, but then was struck by a Lovecraftian trap on a book. With the prime leadership of the expedition gone, Thundina was growing into command. She made the decision, a visit to Madam Eva at the Tser Pools for guidance as to the nature of the church and the unnatural creature there. With the sun only reaching its noon position, although still obscured, Thundina was once more driving her friends and colleagues to set off. As they prepared to leave, a voice called out to them… [/QUOTE]
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The New Adventures of Thundina Seong! Completed May 4
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