Seeking shelter at the temple of Arawai, our inquisitives chanced upon Sir Herman and his sister, the cleric Fiona Flamehair investigating a series of crypts in the temple catacombs. As it turned out, Vicks also discovered, upon setting foot in this hallowed place, that he could once again seek the divine intercession of Arawai, and quickly proceeded to offer up ablutions and prayers at the altar while his friends continued their search.
The underground catacombs, as it turned out, were treacherously dark and the ground uneven. Approaching the largest crypt, where Sister Flamehair was scrutinizing something, the party discovered that it was in fact a sarcophagus of stone that interred the bones of an ancient warlord - Hrothgarr the Terrible, Scourge of the Dragon Lands. Further investigation also revealed that other sarcophagi in various sealed crypts near to this place contained the remains of his numerous sons and daughters. and his close to two score sons and daughters. The tomb of Hrothgarr had been destroyed somehow, split in twain as if by a great blow, and the rest of the sarcophagi bore marks of wear and tear.
Sniffing about, Picadilly also discovered a bunch of tracks leading up to the tomb of Hrothgarr and a brass button - the sort worn by the clergy of the Host. Curious indeed. Following up on this lead, Picadilly decided to hunt for the temple's keeper, and clambered up to the chambers above to investigate, while Chris and Jaq decided to unseal some of the crypts, to nose around for more information about the tomb's denizens. Understandably, both Sir Herman and Sister Flamehair chose to have no part of this sacrilege, and excused themselves to investigate the town further.
Though the temple keeper was nowhere to be found, Picadilly did discover the cleric's effects left in a dresser in the room, and a journal describing the goings on in the past tenday. It seemed everything had started with a curious storm brewing on the horizon, and a strange sound in the sealed chambers below.
Meanwhile, Chris and Jaq were happily busting the sealed crypts open, and had come into the possession of an incredibly sharp bronze sword and what appeared to be a cruelly barbed spear with a blood groove. Gripping the spear, Jaq was possessed by an evil force, and a voice in his head shouted for him to stab Chris with it. So he did. As blood ran down the blade, the two finally realized what the item was, and its cursed nature, and quickly ran towards the ladder leading up. They slammed the trap door down as the spear animated and chased after them, causing it to lodge in the planking. Their antics gained the attention of Vicks, who had just about finished his ritual ablutions, and with Vicks's help, they managed to subdue the weapon. Jaq then grabbed hold of it and stuck it in his pack for safe keeping.
After securing the temple, and finding no sign of the brother sister duo, the party decided to rest for the night. The following morning, they were woken up by the sound of bird song and the ringing of the church bell signalling the morning mass. As sunlight streamed into the temple, they discovered that every thing about the town seemed to be well. People were in the streets, going about their business, and the temple keeper was pottering about cleaning around the altar.
Everything in Dulled Quartz seemed to be well. The blasted cart stood in the street, but already it was being cleared away by the townsfolk. A gruff dwarf was supervising the clean up, and all along the main thoroughfare and the square, it seemed the town was one full of life, instead of one wracked by death. Still, there were houses that were marked off and quarantined, and as the cleric explained, there was a strange illness about. People were falling ill, turning pale and sickly and weak, and dying.
As our adventurers made their rounds with the cleric to administer to the sick, they began to notice a strange pattern to the casualties. Some ten of them had perished over the course of the night, and some of these people looked, if anything, strangely familiar. Like the shades that had been slaughtered to a man by the inquisitives the night before. Also, Jaq began to notice a curious pattern in the way each house was positioned. They formed a rather ominous symbol, when joined together by lines on the town map.
Something was definitely wrong here.
Picadilly wandered the streets as Chris, Jaq and Vicks conferred. She was happily munching on apples bought from a nice, old lady when she reached the perimeter of the town. Biting down on the apple left a strange after taste, and when she gave it a closer look and a sniff, she discovered that the apple tasted chalky and wormy. It was, in fact, rotten. And the basket the old lady had given her was tattered and charred. After alerting the others, it became apparent that something, or someone, had cast a powerful pall over the village. Now that they were aware of the truth, the party finally saw the village for what it was - a ruined husk, burnt and rotted and twisted, and the people were shadows - murky blobs that only marginally resembled their former selves.
Truly, something terrifying and nefarious was afoot here.
Rushing back to the church, where everything strange had began, the party discovered the source of the corruption. Evil bled from the depths of the catacombs, and descending deep beneath the church, everyone discovered a mountain of bones and the remains of the townsfolk, as well as Hrothgarr the Terrible, risen to a state of gruesome unlife.
Mocking the party, and thanking Vicks for helping to bring his soul back to the body locked within the sarcophagi, Hrothgarr summoned his children and pressed forth his attack. The two crypts that were already open spilled forth their inhabitants - two skeletons clad in ancient armor, who called the weapons they had wielded in life back into their hands, out of the possession of Chris and Jaq.
A tough battle ensued, though Jaq's dragon touched music, Vicks's flame strikes, Chris's eldritch blasts, and Picadilly's hammer smites won the day. After ploughing through Hrothgarr's initial children and braving his magical assaults, the party finally smote him and brought him low. As Hrothgarr's earthly shell dissolved into ash, black flames erupted in the remaining crypts, incinerating everything.
As the flames burned, so too did the magic around the town, The town revealed itself for what it was - a ghost town populated by ghosts who knew nothing about their own unearthly conditions, wrapped up as they were in the illusion as well. And thusly, did our inquisitives uncover the source of the trouble at Dulled Quartz. They also discovered the remains of Sir Herman and Sister Flamehair merged amongst the bones of those who had been slain.
Taking responsibility for the evil they had unleashed in their previous quest to procure the dragon shard, they decided to spend the better part of the next two days laying the victims in this town to their final rest.
Their holiday time in Xen'drik, as it were, was finally up. With only a day left to spare, they had just about enough time to do some souvenir shopping before heading back to Sharn in Cassandra Seele's newly refurbished airship.
What will their return to Sharn bring? And what news, since it's been a week since the inquisitives left the fabled City of Towers.
All this and more in next week's installment of Eberron Mystery Theatre.
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Treasure and Experience
1. All adventurers gain enough XP to reach level 10.
2. Bronze longsword +2 - +2 keen longsword
3. Blood Seeker Longspear +1 - +1 magebane, seeking longspear
4. Hrothgarr's Sword - +1 Unholy greatsword. Additional powers unknown.
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