What fun! Lots of laughing out loud as the party scouted the Sacred Stone Monastery.
Murder!
The day’s adventuring started darkly as the party murdered two Sacred Stone monks while the monks were picking up trash around the monastery. Donning the robes and masks of the now dead monks, the adventurers scouted the outside of the monastery and select the northwest door as their point of entry. As they approached the door, a monk emerged, carrying an armload of kitchen refuse, heading for the trash pile out back.
Now they take Prisoners
Grunting a greeting in their general direction, the monk did not think the costumed adventurers were a threat and proceeded on his way. Some quick thinking from the party had him stripped and tied up in short order. The interrogation was fruitful as the prisoner sung like a lark, divulging all he knew. Calling forth each of his kitchen compatriates, the party were able to apprehend them one at a time, stripping and tying them all.
Cooking and Cleaning
Now that the party was all dressed in monkly robes and wearing the gilt gargoyle masks of the Sacred Stone, except Ganus who was mounted on Sytarii’s back, the party moved into the kitchen. Sytarii and Ganus opted to stay and finish preparing the evening meal, while the rest of the party sallied forth to explore the monastery.
During the daytime, they found a lot of rooms empty and were able to move about the place quite freely. Along the way, they found some 12-18 monks, 6 duergar and…
Sparring
Eventually, they came upon Mistress Hellenrae, sparring with some monks in the dojo.
She promptly seized the opportunity to work out with fresh subjects and commanded the disguised adventurers to line up against the wall, dismissing the beaten and bloodied monks she had been using as punching bags.
First up was Taban. Hellenrae easily avoided his clumsy attack, returning it with a flurry of blows that nearly incapacitated him.
Next up was Telfid, who threw back his robe and drew his hammer. Bad idea. Hellenrae saw the threat coming and caught the hammer in her left hand while pummeling poor Telfid into unconsciousness.
Angry that her sparring was interrupted by the would-be assassin, she commanded Taban and Keeley to drag the interloper away and imprison him, then dismissed them all as she turned and stormed out of the dojo.
Dinner is Served
Back in the kitchen, Sytarii outdid himself as a chef. The meal was excellent. And it seemed to be attended by the entire monastery. A dozen monks, Master Qarbo and his two bodyguards, and Mistress Hellenrae were all there. The party served the well-received dinner. At one point, they overhead a monk ask of another, “Hey, have you figured out which of the statues are gargoyles yet?”
After dinner, Mistress Hellenrae summoned the “cooks” to thank them for an exceptional meal and to inquire as to this sudden change in flavor. Sytarii managed to bluff his way through that conversation and the “cooks” were dismissed to finish the cleanup.
A Private Audience
After Hellenrae left, the party had one more door to investigate, following Qarbo and his guards. Sytarii led the way and entered the Shrine of Stone while Qarbo was praying. Before he could back out, Qarbo called him over. With Ganus the hunch whispering in his ear, Sytarii was asked some very uncomfortable questions and expected to be struck down at any moment. In the end, Qarbo thanked him for a good meal and dismissed him to his duties.
Back to Red Larch
Exiting the monastery the way they came, the adventurers returned to Red Larch to restock and regroup. While there Villavoe told them about some unsavory characters, most likely bandits, that had come through a couple of days ago heading for Womford. He also explained that it was in the interests of the Harpers that the merchant caravan that left this morning make it to Womford safely.
Mount Up
After acquiring some horses, the party headed off to protect the caravan. Waving as they passed it, the party continued on toward Womford, looking for the unsavory characters.
Bandits!
Following the smoke of the bandits’ campfire, the adventurers were swift to engage. In a protracted battle, the party defeated the sorcerer, his three reaver guards, and a half dozen bandits, ending the threat to the caravan and yielding some interesting clues. The sorcerer had used water magic, and the reavers wielded shark-toothed longswords. Were these members of the water cult?
Alas, our tale pauses here, to be continued next week.
| Character | XP / XP So Far | Level / To Advance | Treasure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 450 / 1102 | 3 (2700) | Wand of Magic Missiles | |
| 450 / 1551 | 3 (2700) | 250 gp gold ruby ring | |
| Sytarii | 450 / 1714 | 3 (2700) | +1 Dagger, “Reszur” |
| Taban | 450 / 1488 | 3 (2700) | N/A |
| Telfid | 450 / 1526 | 3 (2700) | N/A |
| Keeley | 450 / 914 | 3 (2700) | N/A |
| Olive | 0 / 75 | 1 (300) | N/A |
| Defortune | 0 / 163 | 1 (300) | N/A |
| Rainar | 0 / 226 | 1 (300) | N/A |
| Noctavia | 0 / 548 | 2 (900) | N/A |
| Nastane | 0 / 3160 | 4 (6500) | N/A |
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