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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1437305" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;The Hallowed Hills&quot; by Miguel Duran (WotC Cliffhanger) - Part 3The wagon makes it only as far as Andalyn and Gendrew's house, however, before Mantreus calls a halt.&quot;I'll just be a few minutes,&quot; he promises, before knocking on the cottage door.&nbsp; His knock answered by Gendrew, the sorcerer disappears inside for a few minutes, before returning with a wooden scroll tube, stoppered with wax at both ends.&quot;I bought some scrolls and a wand for detecting secret doors.&nbsp; I don't think that's got many charges left, but I figured it was worth it.&nbsp; You know how these old buildings are full of secret treasure rooms.&quot;&quot;That 'old building' is a holy house of the church.&quot; The Padre sounds reproving.&quot;Yes, but it's not your church.&quot;&quot;True.&quot; The Priest of St Cuthbert considers this point, and nods in satisfaction. &quot;Good idea.&quot;Sirdros, who probably ought to object to all this, seems occupied with getting the wagon moving once more, and makes no objection to the nascent plan for monastery-robbing.In fact, the elven priest says very little at all, over the next day and a half, and it's not until the second night of the group's journey, as they sit around the fire for their evening meal, that the cause of his reticence is revealed.&quot;You were planning to mention the catacombs of undead when, exactly?&quot; the Padre complains.&quot;They're not full of undead.&quot; Sirdros sounds waspish, &quot;This is a sanctified monastery of Pelor.&quot;&quot;But there are tunnels, filled with corpses, right?&quot;&quot;Yes.&quot;&quot;And those are, in fact, the part of the monastery that's been damaged?&quot;Sirdros sighs.&quot;Yes.&quot;&quot;Damage that caused an opening into further, hitherto unexplored caverns?&quot;&quot;Yes.&quot;&quot;And the fate of the three monks who decided to go poking around in these caverns?&quot;&quot;They weren't 'poking around' - they were recovering lost treasures that had been lost in the tremor.&quot;&quot;Whatever.&nbsp; What happened to them?&quot;&quot;They haven't returned.&quot;The Padre looks smug.&quot;Sounds like undead to me.&quot; Mantreus agrees, &quot;What are we getting paid for this, again?&quot;&quot;Nothing.&quot;&quot;Well, that's a bad deal.&quot;Despite their resentment over Sirdros' late revelations, the group continues toward the monastery the next day.&nbsp; Though it is only early winter, there is a bite to the air, and the group bundles up warmly together in the back of the wagon, leaving the Pelorite to handle the horse - and the cold - by himself.&quot;You know, someone else could take a turn.&quot; Twinkle suggests, in a far too casual tone of voice. &quot;It can't be that hard.&quot;&quot;No, they can't.&quot; the Padre grumbles back in a half-snore, &quot;And you certainly can't.&nbsp; So whatever you're planning to do to the horse, you can forget it.&quot;Twinkle, grumbling about nasty, suspicious humans, moves further away from the cleric.&nbsp; He appears unconcerned, and - after a few minutes of growing steadily more chilly - the gnome shuffles back into the warm clump of bodies.&quot;Why are we stopping?&quot; Briar asks suddenly.&quot;Maybe Sirdros has frozen solid?&quot; Mantreus suggests&quot;Of course I haven't.&quot; the elf mutters in response, &quot;There's something odd, up ahead.&quot;The others poke their heads up over the front of the wagon.&quot;It's a bee.&quot; Mantreus shrugs.&quot;It's a foot-long bee.&quot;&quot;It's the wrong season for bees.&quot; Briar offers, &quot;They hibernate at this time of year.&quot;&quot;Are you missing the part about it being a foot long?&quot;&quot;Do the big ones have different habits, then?&quot;&quot;Oh, for ...&quot; Sirdros sputters, then sighs, &quot;What are we going to do about it?&quot;&quot;What do you mean?&quot;&quot;Shouldn't we attack it or something?&quot;&quot;Why would we do that?&quot;&quot;It might try to sting us.&quot;&quot;I should think it will, if we try to kill it.&quot;&quot;I meant if we didn't kill it.&quot;&quot;Why would it do that?&quot;&quot;Isn't that what bees do?&quot;&quot;Bees also hibernate in winter.&quot; Briar points at the foot-long insect as it buses in rather erratic circles over a clump of brown grass. &quot;Which that isn't.&quot;&quot;You're just being difficult for the sake of it, aren't you?&quot;&quot;Pretty much.&quot; The rogue grins.&quot;Fine, I'll kill it myself.&quot; Sirdros climbs down from the wagon and pulls out his morning star.&nbsp; Taking a deep breath, he begins to stalk over toward the slowly buzzing insect.And then a new voice calls out:&quot;No!&nbsp; No!&nbsp; Don't hurt it!&quot;</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1437305, member: 6294"] [b]"The Hallowed Hills" by Miguel Duran (WotC Cliffhanger) - Part 3[/b] The wagon makes it only as far as Andalyn and Gendrew's house, however, before Mantreus calls a halt. "I'll just be a few minutes," he promises, before knocking on the cottage door. His knock answered by Gendrew, the sorcerer disappears inside for a few minutes, before returning with a wooden scroll tube, stoppered with wax at both ends. "I bought some scrolls and a wand for detecting secret doors. I don't think that's got many charges left, but I figured it was worth it. You know how these old buildings are full of secret treasure rooms." "That 'old building' is a holy house of the church." The Padre sounds reproving. "Yes, but it's not [i]your[/i] church." "True." The Priest of St Cuthbert considers this point, and nods in satisfaction. "Good idea." Sirdros, who probably ought to object to all this, seems occupied with getting the wagon moving once more, and makes no objection to the nascent plan for monastery-robbing. In fact, the elven priest says very little at all, over the next day and a half, and it's not until the second night of the group's journey, as they sit around the fire for their evening meal, that the cause of his reticence is revealed. "You were planning to mention the catacombs of undead [i]when[/i], exactly?" the Padre complains. "They're not full of undead." Sirdros sounds waspish, "This is a sanctified monastery of Pelor." "But there are tunnels, filled with corpses, right?" "Yes." "And those are, in fact, the part of the monastery that's been damaged?" Sirdros sighs. "Yes." "Damage that caused an opening into further, hitherto unexplored caverns?" "Yes." "And the fate of the three monks who decided to go poking around in these caverns?" "They weren't 'poking around' - they were recovering lost treasures that had been lost in the tremor." "Whatever. What happened to them?" "They haven't returned." The Padre looks smug. "Sounds like undead to me." Mantreus agrees, "What are we getting paid for this, again?" "Nothing." "Well, [i]that's[/i] a bad deal." Despite their resentment over Sirdros' late revelations, the group continues toward the monastery the next day. Though it is only early winter, there is a bite to the air, and the group bundles up warmly together in the back of the wagon, leaving the Pelorite to handle the horse - and the cold - by himself. "You know, someone else [i]could[/i] take a turn." Twinkle suggests, in a far too casual tone of voice. "It can't be that hard." "No, they can't." the Padre grumbles back in a half-snore, "And [i]you[/i] certainly can't. So whatever you're planning to do to the horse, you can forget it." Twinkle, grumbling about nasty, suspicious humans, moves further away from the cleric. He appears unconcerned, and - after a few minutes of growing steadily more chilly - the gnome shuffles back into the warm clump of bodies. "Why are we stopping?" Briar asks suddenly. "Maybe Sirdros has frozen solid?" Mantreus suggests "Of course I haven't." the elf mutters in response, "There's something odd, up ahead." The others poke their heads up over the front of the wagon. "It's a bee." Mantreus shrugs. "It's a [i]foot-long[/i] bee." "It's the wrong season for bees." Briar offers, "They hibernate at this time of year." "Are you missing the part about it being a [i]foot[/i] long?" "Do the big ones have different habits, then?" "Oh, for ..." Sirdros sputters, then sighs, "What are we going to do about it?" "What do you mean?" "Shouldn't we attack it or something?" "Why would we do that?" "It might try to sting us." "I should think it will, if we try to kill it." "I meant if we [i]didn't[/i] kill it." "Why would it do that?" "Isn't that what bees do?" "Bees also hibernate in winter." Briar points at the foot-long insect as it buses in rather erratic circles over a clump of brown grass. "Which that isn't." "You're just being difficult for the sake of it, aren't you?" "Pretty much." The rogue grins. "Fine, I'll kill it myself." Sirdros climbs down from the wagon and pulls out his morning star. Taking a deep breath, he begins to stalk over toward the slowly buzzing insect. And then a new voice calls out: "No! No! Don't hurt it!" [/QUOTE]

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