D&D 5E (2014) EB's Curse of Strahd IC (Year One)

[Charwoman Gene]

"I'm ill suited to help carry a coffin, but if anyone else wants to do it I'll help. Aren't there legends of what happens to unconsecrated bodies?"

 

[hero4hire]

"We bury him." Digger announced. "I know the rights. He will not rise." There was a slight twitch of irritation on Digger's face in that he was not able to bury the man they found by the roadside. He could only accept the cold comfort that the unfortunate soul was probably wolf food and would not rise as an unholy aberration.

 

[EarlyBird]

"That is a very kind offer," Ireena says to Digger. "But I wish to carry out his last wish and bury him next to his wife, Magalin..."

"But Ireena!" Ismark cuts in, "That place is haunted. The dead..."

"Enough Ismark. We already discussed this and agreed that Father Donavich can prevent that. You have never seen mother's ghost rise with the others."

Turning to the group and giving Irena a warm smile. She asks the group in a very soft voice. "The church is just on the other side of town. Will you help us take our father there. We cannot do this alone."

OOC: Digger, Joisah, and Ismark could carry the coffin.

 

[hero4hire]

"Regardless of the location, I will oversee his interment. Recite the proper rites and make sure he will not return."

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

 

[industrygothica]

Halo remains quiet as the others continue their exchange. Horrified that this beautiful woman is trapped here, a prisoner in her own home--of course she'll do whatever it is she asks of them. How could she not? And for a fleeting moment she can empathize the unseen monster for its desires. And in the next, she knows that she will defend Ireena's honor with her life.

 

[EarlyBird]

Your small group is somber and resolute in seeing to the final wishes of Ireena's father. Josiah and Ismark take the front of the coffin while the grand stature of Digger alone takes the rear. Ireena leads the way, holding the small hand of Tilly as her father watches them both, and the shadows of the streets closely. Halo and Irena come up behind the procession, the dwarven cleric chanting a death march softly under her breath.

You move through the foggy streets without noticing a single soul.

Atop a slight rise, against the roots of the pillar stone that supports Castle Ravenloft, stands a gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load.

The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire.

Ireena easily opens the doors wide and walks inside.

(a) The double doors open to reveal a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers. You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris, and you hear a soft voice from within reciting a prayer.

(f) The chapel is a shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments. Next to him hangs a long, thick rope that stretches up into the bell tower. Suddenly, the prayer is blotted out by an inhuman scream that rises up from beneath the wooden floor.

"FATHER! Father please! I'm starving!" A haunting young man's voice cries out from beneath the chapel floor.

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[hero4hire]

"Starving...." Digger whispered. The tall man set his end of the coffin down and took out his silvered spade which served both shovel and weapon of choice. "You there...PRIEST! What has befallen this church?" The hunter of undead had a sinking feeling he knew who...WHAT was locked below. Starving...inhuman scream....locked up by a priest. In Digger's mind it could only add up to one thing.

 

[industrygothica]

... but Halo made no such assumptions, and clinched her axehandle tightly in her fist. "What sort of unholy place is this, keepin' hungry children in the basement? Ye got some quick explainin' t'do, old man."

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Irena carefully watches the priests response, looking for facial tics and other tells to guess at his true motives.

OOC: Insight: 1D20+7 = [11]+7 = 18

 

[EarlyBird]

The priest rises from behind the altar and takes in the sight of the group. His shoulders slump as he becomes resigned to the fact that someone has discovered his secret. He looks to the ceiling and raises a cry in anguish...

"So this is your answer, then? I beseeched you to help save my son, to give him back to me. But instead you send a group of monster-slayers to my door. Damn you Morninglord! And damn to those who would do your bidding!"

OOC: Need WIS save from Digger, DC 13 and please... ROLL INIT Ireena save [roll0]