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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Olgar Shiverstone" data-source="post: 4042262" data-attributes="member: 5868">(Behind on updates ... apologies to our one fan.)Session 8: Every church hides an evil cult.Two weeks passed as they sailed south into the Azure sea headed for Fort Blackwell.  Although Thalas was appreciative of the quiet time to study at first -- he was nearing breakthroughs in his spell research that could prove useful in the future -- pretty soon he was just going stir crazy.  There's only so many days you can use prestidigitation to swab the deck,he reflected, before you want to shoot a magic missile up someone's nose.Thalas wasn't the only one with cabin fever.  After ten days into the trip, old Father Conrad kept asking the Captain when they would arrive.  "Are we there yet?" was a reasonable question once per day, but every two hours was getting a bit much.All of which motivated Morderas to do a bit of skulking.  At nightfall, when the Captain announced that they were less than a day's sailing from Fort Blackwell, Morderas called for a crew meeting on the main deck.  Everyone gathered, expecting another repeat of the severed head business from two weeks prior, but nothing happened.  Five minutes passed, ten ... no Morderas.  Finally, Captain Amella turned to Athal."So ... what's this about?"  Athal turned to Thalas, who just shrugged."No clue.""Back to your posts!" Amella shouted, and the crew went back to work.Morderas appeared from the bilges a few minutes later, with a gleam in his eye.  His eyes darted a bit, then he told the others: "I searched Father Conrad's cabin.  There's nothign there.  No holy symbol, no books, very few possessions.  Something's not right about him.""Maybe he's the leader of an evil cult," Thalas suggested wryly.  "It happens in every human church eventually, I hear -- someone gets subverted, and soon the church is just a cover for the worship of some evil god."  Despite hhis deadpan delivery, they all had a good laugh at the suggestion.  Apparently, Morderas wasn't suffering from cabin fever -- he was suffering from paranoia.The next day they sighted land off the port bow, and the ship turned toward massive jungle cliffs.  A small opening in the cliffs led to a sheltered cove beyond, where several small ships rode at anchor, and a small town of rough stone buildings grew ramshackle on the cliffside.  "Fort Blackwell port," Avner declaimed, "a more wretched hive of ...""Stow it, Avner," Amella commanded.  "We'll be docking shortly to take on supplies.  We leave again at sunrise.  Don't be late or you'll be left."Father Conrad was the first down the ganplank when they finally docked.  Thalas was just happy to be on solid ground for a while, and away from some of the other idiot passengers.  This merchant prince business was turning out to have a few more downsides than he'd first considered.  He wandered the rough stone streets, finally stopping at a ramshackle building with the sign of a tavern out front.  "Ah, civilization!"  He stroleld in, took in the few locals, and had a seat.  "Wine, please, your best," he motioned to the serving wench.Thalas soon had ten bottles of the finest local vintage linend up in front of him, sampling.  "My first find!  We'll buy up samples, and trade them in Sasserine!  A fortune to be had!  Anyone want a taste?"  The rest of the party was there, minus Morderas who had wandered off somewhere, as well as Urol Furol, who had tagged along with Arjan.  Happily, Avner had chosen to remain aboard ship, so they were free of his noxious presence.  Thalas happily sipped -- some might say guzzled -- his new find.Several hours passed, during which time the wine grew to taste better, the music became finer, and the serving wenches more attractive.  Thalas was happily in his cups, having just had some visionary ideas about combineing a pinky jab with a word in Abyssal and a bit of cheddar cheese pinched just so, when Morderas skulked into the tavern."Father Conrad disappeared!" he told the others.  "I followed him to the temple on the hill, where I found a bunch of red robes who didn't know who he was, and claimed not to have seen him.  I killed one, and got this." He held out a piece of parchment with strange writing on it."You did WHAT?" Athal asked."Well, I didn't have much choice," Morderas replied.  "He trheatened me.  Plus I heard screaming.  Strange things are afoot at the temple of Heironious, I tell you."Rhiannon was shaking her head.  This was not headed anywhere pleasant.  Thalas held up a hand, wobbled, and squinted at the paper.  "Donth know the languath," Thalas said, "but waith."  He made a few gestures, and referred to a rune-covered leaf, crushing it.  "Ah, yeth, now ith makes thenth.  Ith a litht of nameth.  thayth here that thome of them have been 'impregnathed.'  Evil culthisth, like I said!"  He lowered his head to the table."See?" Morderas said.Athal considered, then rose.  "Fine, we'll check it out, but only until we can find Father Conrad.  No unnecessary killing.  If this turns out to be nothing, we're turnign you over to the watch here when we leave.""Something's wrong, I swear," Morderas insisted.  They followed him into the night, Thalas staggering and weaving a bit, and sucking down a vile human drink that Arjan pushed on him to clear his head, somthing they called "coffee".The shrine to Heironeous was a large building, dark, with only two torches burning in the main chapel, which was quiet."Something's not right," Rhiannon agreed.  "Where are the paladins?  There would always be a paladin on guard here, day or night.""There wasn't anyone here when I cam ebefore," Morderas said.  He pointed to two doors at the back.  "I went in the right door and found six monks; down the left was the office of the one I killed."They headed down the passage behind the right door, down a flight of stairs, into an empty bunkroom, and through a doro at the back, which dead ended.  The floors were bare stone, but the wall construction wood, and it was hot and damp, even though they had descended below ground level.  Morderas found a concealed door at the back of the room, revealing another wooden staircase leading down, and they trooped down it.  "Look, frogs!" Arjan said.  The sound of croaking frogs could be head echoing from the darkness ahead, and several small green frogs hopped about the landing one which they were standing."Stupid frogs," Thalas muttered, as he booted one down the passageway.  Arjan flew into a fury, aiming a spear at Thalas' chest.  Thals stepped back, but Athal had to step between them to keep Arjan from charging.  Thalas looked, and felt, bewildered."He attacked that innocent frog!" Arjan hissed in a froth."So?" Thalas countered wittily."Not now!" Athal commanded, bodily turning Arjan and pushing him down the corridor.  Thalas waited, then joined the end of the line, shaking his head.  Not that he really had anything against frogs, but so many of them in one place was creepy.They entered a large, lit chambe whose walls were carved with bas-reliefs of frog-like people in all sorts of strange poses, performing unspeakable sexual acts with humans.  "Cult," Thalas muttered.  "Told you." Humans have the strangest tastes.  He looked at one particularly perverted carving.  I'm not even sure that's physically possible.Four figures emerged from the shadows at the far end of the room, formed a line, and charged forward croaking.  Two were men, but two were some sort of frog-men -- not quite human, but not quite bullywugs.  Thalas wiggled his fingers, and a blast of snowballs burst among the frog men, pummeling them.  Neat trick.Morderas, Kithkanan, and Athal charged forward, each taking an opponent, and one of the humans was soon down.  One of the frog things shouted -- an impressively loud sound -- and Morderas staggered back, suddenly unable to continue fighting.  Kithkanan hacked at the frog thing, and Thalas moved forward, readying his glaive.  Arjan eyed him, briefly, and Thalas returned the glare, until Arjan turned at aimed his spear at one of the frog creatures.  Thalas stepepd forward and cut own one of the humns as Athals and Kithkanan succeeded in knocking out the two frog things.Moderas slowly recovered, and they proceeded into another large chamber leaving Quinn back to guard another door.  Morderas strode forward to open a door, and there was a sudden blast of heat and light."Morderas is down!" Kithkanan shouted, and Rhiannon began running forward, just as there came a warning from Arjan:"Four more coming from behind!" They were caught in a vise.</blockquote>

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