Killing Clergy
Characters
Tim Kaufman – Halfling 2 – A merchant who lost his wagon in an accident.
Sindri – Elf 1 – a cloaked and broody lord.
Ralf Lionsword – Fighter 1 – a tall, dark and handsome warrior, overboiling with muscles.
Clyde the Ascetic – Cleric 1 – a waif of a man, an ascetic purist.
Tipuu – Magic-user 1 – scrawny, long haired surfer in robes.
Smerdya – Halfling 1 – Becloaked in russet, his small black eyes peer out.
Eight secret agents of the crown – retainer fighter 1.
Many events had taken place during the parties downtime. It had been revealed that their retainer Antoin Longin was in fact an agent for the crown. He is a tax collector, and he’d been using the party to gain ingress into Castle Xyntillan in search of the Malévols revenue books. He was adamant that the Malévol’s were hoarding their tax payment to the crown and he has a special mission to gain evidence of such. He caught the party whilst they were enjoying the fruit of their labours, drinking, merrymaking, and spending coin. He marched into the tavern back room with eight armed men, each a secret soldier of the crown, and declared that they too owed money in taxes, a significant amount. The party could help him attain the ledger he requires from the castle, or he would arrest them for tax avoidance. The party agree, and the eight men were given orders to aid the party. Longin had a vague idea that the ledgers would probably be held somewhere secure and safe, possibly in the dungeons of the castle. He knew no more. The party would be rewarded if they succeeded.
Also during downtime plucky Tim Kaufman searched out a lawyer, he was looking for some advice on how he might recognise the ledger. He inadvertently bumped into one of the Malévols when he went to the law offices of RH Wirtz Esquire, Sergent-at-law. The Malévol there intimidated him, and told him he would soon need a lawyer himself, and that all of his indiscretions were being recorded. After a little research Tim discovered the name of this mocking figure, Vincent Godefroy-Malévol, ruthless lawyer and famed belletrist. On hearing that the lawyer was a famed writer and critic he sought out some of his books at local book shop the Ink well. He shelled out 200gp for a copy of The Lay of the Were-Wolf. Much reading was done.
Exhausted and intimidated Tim went on a bender, and found himself in a duel after a misunderstanding with a merchant, a duel that the galling won.
The party made way out to the Castle with their retinue of chainmail adorned warriors, fairly excited that they could do some serious damage with such bulky numbers.
After two days they reached the castle and headed into the grand entrance. No corpses were pilled outside this time. They entered the large front door. As they rushed over to the butlers quarters, where they planned to descend into the basement, the ghostly butler emerged from behind a pillar. He told them that they had made quite an impression on the dwellers of the castle, never had he seen Médard Malévol the Mighty so happy, but the masters of the castle had been made aware of their trespasses and would not be happy. He said he would go and fetch the welcoming party, and drifted through a wall.
Panicked the party rushed into the butlers quarters, it had been tidied up since their last visit, but they found papers in the butters handwriting, a list of their names and physical descriptions, also when Tipuu held the note up to the fire, he saw indentations of some other script. The indentations were a list of orders, dictated most probably, to find and kill the party.
They went into the basement with haste.
Down in the wine cellar Sindri went knocked on the northern door. The strange voice of Ambrosias came echoing back. The cleric had been most deranged since his face had been accidentally melted off by green slime.
“What do you lot want?” He wasn’t the least bit intimidated by their numbers.
“Here’s some wine.” Clyde handed some over, and the deranged priest chugged it down. Tipuu, who had never been to the castle before, poured some oil into his waterskin and offered it up to Ambrosias. The priest began to drink but spat it out.
“What is this? You like tricks do you?”
“No, no, its a special brew that my mum made.” Tipuu returned.
“I have a drink that you would like.” The priest spat, and grabbed the mage by his beard. Tipuu didn’t resist but looked to his friends for help. They stood and watched, knowing how dangerous the priest could be.
He dragged Tippu by the beard over to a large cask of wine, with his huge fist he punched out the head of the cask and revealed a fragrant wine with floating dead rats.
“Llllooks delicious.” Tipuu, said, looking to his friends who stood dumbfounded.
“Yes, yes it is, in you go.” Said the priest, who hauled the mage up and began shoving him into the barrel. Wine overflowed across the floor, chunks of rat flowing by. Once Tipuu was inside the cask, the priest shoved him down, replaced the head and began nailing the cask closed.
“We need to do something!” The party, except for the elf and two halflings, all ran into the room and surrounded the priest. Blades crashed against the impenetrable bulk of Ambrosius, and his return blows equally bounced off of Clyde’s armour. Eventually, the giant cleric was slain, Tipuu free’d and the party striped his body, finding a magic potion, rosary and magic armour.
Next they decided to go north, into the chamber of ‘eldritch horrors’ they had witnessed before.
“Men, form ranks!” And the soldiers of the crown rushed into the arched chamber and readied their spears. The shambling faceless horrors came rushing into the line, but fell swiftly, and soon the hulking abominations were fleeing. The party quickly slayed a few of them as they lurched through a southern door, eventually they decided to not pursue.
Inside the chamber were roots with white polyp like fruits dangling down, they had strange tubular appendages like sea cucumbers. In the West there was a large marble statue of a comely beauty suggestively holding her shawl open to reveal a buxom bust. Behind this was a door.
“Lets make out way North!” So that’s what the party did, they went through a wide corridor, and found several sets of door. Very bravely they had their retainers peer inside, something that would be reported on return to town, and they found a chamber of holding cells, and a chamber littered with bones. The party decided to enter neither. Up ahead the chamber transitioned into a natural cave on one side, and there was a clammy, close feeling to the sticky air.
The party went into another chamber heading East, and heard the rattling of chains coming from the North-East. To the east however was a large set of double doors, a gargoyle of a fiendish woman as the keystone. Inside the double doors they heard much shuffling and eerie singing.
Sindri decided to knock on the door, for reasons unclear, and beyond the door a litany of howling screams came echoing out. With hardly any time to react the doors swung open revealing a hoard of vampiric Nuns, their faces white and rotting, with large black teeth and swiping claws. One of the retainers was quickly slain, but the party struck back killing several of the unholy nuns. Clyde the pious held aloft his cross and brought down divine intervention, several of the creature fled shrieking into the dark. The battle intensified, and the creatures slashed and screamed with voices as black as their habits. The party struck hard killing many of them, using the reach of their retainers’ spears to their advantage. Eventually the nuns fled back into shadow.
Triumphant the party searched the room, it was a large octagonal chamber with a huge pillar at its centre. Dusty footprints circled the pillar. In the north there was a confessional window sealed with metal mesh. Tim Kaufman broke the mesh back and saw a chamber with some treasures. Bishops vestments, bottles of booze, and a large brass bishops crook. He swiped these, except the crook which animated when he tried to grab it.
“I’ll try and grab it.” Tipuu said bravely. He went to the small hole, reached in, and as he grabbed the brass pole it animated and smashed down on his skull killing him instantly.
“Dio, why.”
When Clyde grabbed the item it didn’t animate and rested sweetly in his palms.
The party withdrew, back through the wine cellar, and decided on taking several casks of wine with them.
As they struggled up the stairs with the casks, they heard weeping. There was a ghoulishly white woman in a stained wedding dress stood in the corner crying. Luckily she didn’t seem too bothered by the party. Out they went, and it took them four days to get back to town rolling these huge casks.
What will they do next?
Judges note
The party mostly levelled up this session, luckily one of the casks they stole was full of health potion. This was sold for a huge amount of coin. Next session will see quite a few level two characters.
Dreadlord Games 