Our heroes descended into the ominous Temple of Myrkul, Pog barring the double-doors behind them. The team edged forward slowly, checking for traps and waiting for Blumpkin to catch up.
At the end of a long hallway, they discovered a huge skull stained with a bloody handprint. Its eye sockets contained precious gems, the sight of which filled Silde with glee. Choosing caution over avarice, the team opted to leave the gems be and followed a bloody trail of footprints heading east.
They came upon another hallway to the north with 5 doors. Our heroes formed up in battle stances as each door was opened, finding nothing but a set of bedrooms with rugs that really tied each room together man. Signs of fighting marked each of the bedrooms. Silde abruptly checked his timepiece, declaring it was "naptime" and slinking off to one of the bedrooms. The fifth and final door remained; an ominous pool of blood marking its threshold.
As the team opened the door it was greeted by a slumped figure in full armor with shield and covered with grievous cranial wounds. Suddenly the creature stirred, asking the party if they were sent by Arlew. Pog replied in the affirmative, and for a brief moment the team thought it had an ally in its quest to clear the temple. That was until Norik moaned "Braaaaains...", clearly ignoring Blumpkin but staring greedily at the rest of the party.
Eschewing his cowardly ways, Velocitor charged headfirst at the evil foe. Norik moved with blinding speed, however, and reached out to blast Velocitor with a withering strike of necrotic damage. Velocitor, unaccustomed to the rigors of melee combat, went flying into a nearby wall and slumped down unconscious. One by one, our heroes streamed into the room to enter the fray, each time surprised by the speed of Norik's reactions. Pog also fell victim to a withering strike, though his hardy Barbarian shirtlessness allowed him to largely shrug off the damage.
As the team assailed Norik from all sides, they discovered him to be quite an implacable enemy. Attacks bounced off his armor and shield, and attempts to blast him with spells were ignored. The only hero able to consistently damage Norik seemed to be Blumpkin, peppering the zombie with a barrage of arrows. Eventually, the team was able to collectively wear down their enemy until he fell for the last time. Blumpkin gently cradled the defeated zombie's skull in his hands and pronounced, "Alas, poor Norik! I knew him, Typhus, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!" Then Blumpkin began softly sobbing while Merkin ground Norik's skull into dust. The party discovered a magical necklace, a stone of opening, and a shield emblazoned with the symbol of Myrkul which Stevil quickly modified with chalk to showcase the mightier and superior god Kord.
The party headed west back through the trail of blood. An ominous, periodic thudding could be heard coming from the barred entrance, which the team surmised was due to someone's attempts to ram through the double doors. Merkin judged that the party still had a few hours before the doors were breached so they continued west toward the "lab" which would have more accurately been described as a slaughterhouse. Mangled body parts lay strewn across multiple examination tables along with journals describing the sickening experiments of Myrkul's disciples. One of the experiments lay encased in a glass cylinder in the northwest corner: an ectoplasmic ooze designed to absorb negative energy. As the party continued their search they unlocked a cabinet that contained a mysterious tarp-covered object. Pog wisely decided to remove the tarp from a distance... but it was not far enough. Every party member lay in the blast radius of a psychic assault by none other than Charlton Heston's brain in a jar! Pog began wailing about his second amendment rights... Velocitor rummaged through the room looking for soylent green... Merkin decried his medieval weaponry, longing for an AR-15... Blumpkin was largely unaffected. Before he had a chance to act, Stevil was mentally commanded to flee toward the barred door. Only Typhus had the wits required to take decisive action! Typhus... our hero of the moment! Typhus... the champion of champions! Typhus... our fate is in your hands! Typhus cast a phantasmal illusion... at a being with no eyes.
Luckily, the party quickly recovered from their psychic damage to make short work of Ben-Hur's brain. They searched through the adjoining room without finding anything of interest other than more body parts.
It was time to face down their true enemy. The party veered north into the bowels of the temple but before they could proceed they were presented with a challenge. The floor was littered with runes and ominous, scythe-wielding statues on both sides. Everyone recognized the runes as matching those in the stone of opening. Typhus bravely volunteered to be the first to attempt a sequence. After safely passing through the first set of runes he was suddenly zapped with glowing fire beams from the eye sockets of the statues. Undaunted, he attempted another sequence with similar results. After some debate, Blumpkin was voluntold as the next hero to venture forth on the tiles. He attempted a slightly different sequence and, alas, was also burned. A disembodied, somewhat staccato voice was heard by the party members echoing in the chamber, reminding them of a hint given by Arlew. Using a numbered sequence provided in Arlew's clue, Blumpkin and Typhus were able to safely pass through the tiles with no further damage. The party followed, steeling themselves to confront the evil that awaited them in the next chamber...
At the end of a long hallway, they discovered a huge skull stained with a bloody handprint. Its eye sockets contained precious gems, the sight of which filled Silde with glee. Choosing caution over avarice, the team opted to leave the gems be and followed a bloody trail of footprints heading east.
They came upon another hallway to the north with 5 doors. Our heroes formed up in battle stances as each door was opened, finding nothing but a set of bedrooms with rugs that really tied each room together man. Signs of fighting marked each of the bedrooms. Silde abruptly checked his timepiece, declaring it was "naptime" and slinking off to one of the bedrooms. The fifth and final door remained; an ominous pool of blood marking its threshold.
Eschewing his cowardly ways, Velocitor charged headfirst at the evil foe. Norik moved with blinding speed, however, and reached out to blast Velocitor with a withering strike of necrotic damage. Velocitor, unaccustomed to the rigors of melee combat, went flying into a nearby wall and slumped down unconscious. One by one, our heroes streamed into the room to enter the fray, each time surprised by the speed of Norik's reactions. Pog also fell victim to a withering strike, though his hardy Barbarian shirtlessness allowed him to largely shrug off the damage.
As the team assailed Norik from all sides, they discovered him to be quite an implacable enemy. Attacks bounced off his armor and shield, and attempts to blast him with spells were ignored. The only hero able to consistently damage Norik seemed to be Blumpkin, peppering the zombie with a barrage of arrows. Eventually, the team was able to collectively wear down their enemy until he fell for the last time. Blumpkin gently cradled the defeated zombie's skull in his hands and pronounced, "Alas, poor Norik! I knew him, Typhus, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!" Then Blumpkin began softly sobbing while Merkin ground Norik's skull into dust. The party discovered a magical necklace, a stone of opening, and a shield emblazoned with the symbol of Myrkul which Stevil quickly modified with chalk to showcase the mightier and superior god Kord.
The party headed west back through the trail of blood. An ominous, periodic thudding could be heard coming from the barred entrance, which the team surmised was due to someone's attempts to ram through the double doors. Merkin judged that the party still had a few hours before the doors were breached so they continued west toward the "lab" which would have more accurately been described as a slaughterhouse. Mangled body parts lay strewn across multiple examination tables along with journals describing the sickening experiments of Myrkul's disciples. One of the experiments lay encased in a glass cylinder in the northwest corner: an ectoplasmic ooze designed to absorb negative energy. As the party continued their search they unlocked a cabinet that contained a mysterious tarp-covered object. Pog wisely decided to remove the tarp from a distance... but it was not far enough. Every party member lay in the blast radius of a psychic assault by none other than Charlton Heston's brain in a jar! Pog began wailing about his second amendment rights... Velocitor rummaged through the room looking for soylent green... Merkin decried his medieval weaponry, longing for an AR-15... Blumpkin was largely unaffected. Before he had a chance to act, Stevil was mentally commanded to flee toward the barred door. Only Typhus had the wits required to take decisive action! Typhus... our hero of the moment! Typhus... the champion of champions! Typhus... our fate is in your hands! Typhus cast a phantasmal illusion... at a being with no eyes.
Luckily, the party quickly recovered from their psychic damage to make short work of Ben-Hur's brain. They searched through the adjoining room without finding anything of interest other than more body parts.
It was time to face down their true enemy. The party veered north into the bowels of the temple but before they could proceed they were presented with a challenge. The floor was littered with runes and ominous, scythe-wielding statues on both sides. Everyone recognized the runes as matching those in the stone of opening. Typhus bravely volunteered to be the first to attempt a sequence. After safely passing through the first set of runes he was suddenly zapped with glowing fire beams from the eye sockets of the statues. Undaunted, he attempted another sequence with similar results. After some debate, Blumpkin was voluntold as the next hero to venture forth on the tiles. He attempted a slightly different sequence and, alas, was also burned. A disembodied, somewhat staccato voice was heard by the party members echoing in the chamber, reminding them of a hint given by Arlew. Using a numbered sequence provided in Arlew's clue, Blumpkin and Typhus were able to safely pass through the tiles with no further damage. The party followed, steeling themselves to confront the evil that awaited them in the next chamber...