stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[DEFCON 1]

"Voices from inside. Can anyone understand what is being said?" Sir Khensu glances at his compatriots, then ushers his mount forward to advance closer to the building. Jarrith Bronns looks around the church's property, then pats his friend on the back before dropping from the back of the horse. "Allow me. I'll check it out."

Jarrith silently hurries forward up to the church, then the group sees him duck into the shadows of the building and then move around it's perimeter.

(Hide & Move Silently checks: Jarrith will circle the building and scout, as well as try and hear specifically what the chants are saying)

 

[stonegod]

Jarrith stealthily walks about the building. Behind the stone building is the cemetery, where simple stone slabs dot the manicured grass that grows at the foot of the great crag. The omnipresent mist encircles the cemetery but seems unwilling to penetrate its heart. What Jarrith does not find is another entrance to the building except perhaps some of the damaged holes in the roof.

Quietly, the Stalker places his ear on the double doors. The rambling drone seems to be the words of some convoluted prayer coming from somewhere inside.

 

[James Heard]

"So...who wants to knock?"

 

[DEFCON 1]

Sir Khensu hears Miss Janis' question and his eyes are immediately drawn to his Shadowbane Brother. Jarrith takes a second to think about it, but then smirks and returns back to the group from off the church steps. "Probably shouldn't be me. I tend to rub folks the wrong way." He throws his smirking grin to Janis... as that personality conflict has reared its ugly head several times since they've all been here.

The Inquistor slides down from the horse and walks up the steps of the church. At the double doors he raises his gauntlet and raps hard and firm three times on the old wood. "Hello! I am Sir Khensu of the Order of Illumination, along with several members of the Lightbringers and the Thaolist Six! We are here hoping to speak with Danovich, or locate the whereabouts of two other members of the Lightbringers who were supposedly coming to this holy place two days ago! Please allow us to come in to speak to you... we are here hoping to help!"

 

[drothgery]

Daellin steps up behind Sir Khensu, ready to draw his bow if needed.

Whatever happened to me scouting ahead? The elf thinks.

 

[James Heard]

I wonder what it would take to burn this place down, Janis thought.

 

[stonegod]

At Khensu's rapping, the unknown voice begins chanting louder and more insistently. Sir Urik, who had until this point been rubbing his temples, states, "Danovich, to be sure. What madness is this?"

The door remains closed. As Jarrith can attest, there are no other entrances other than risking a fall from one of the holes in the roof.

 

[James Heard]

"I'm pretty sure the proper church protocol at this point would be to kick in the door and start shooting, so that the gods can sort things out," Janis provides hopefully. "Preferably before the mysterious chanting finishes and some great and malicious evil is possibly summoned from the darkness lurking to eat us."

Janis pauses.

"I suppose someone besides me could risk peeking in on him from up there," Janis says, pointing at the roof. "I've no chance to even climb a tree though, as a fact, since I was a young girl."

 

[stonegod]

The boisterous knight chuckles at Janis' words. "No need to be falling off the roof if more able eyes can fly." With that, he whispers a few words into the ear of his avian shadow. Soon, a dark arrow darts into the mist and towards the roof.

A few tense moments pass as the party awaits the bird's return. Soon, with a silent descent, Hurrn once again lands on the big man's shoulders. A few caws later, the knight looks at the group. "Its hard to be sure, but Hurrn did see someone crouched behind the altar at the end of the Church. No one else."

 

[James Heard]

"Crouched you say? Hrm," Janis muses. "Kicking down the door time now?" Janis thoughtfully moves further to the rear of the group so as to avoid splinters.

" As for you," she casts a thoughtful eye down to the multicolored snake at her shoulder, " We shall be working on a way to give you wings very soon, so as to not be shown up by foreign knights, my love." Janis makes saccharine nibbling motions at the familiar.