The party returned after thwarting a creepy death cult that was really really fond of worms.
They discovered in their absence that there was an attack on the funeral procession on the recently deceased high cleric of Lathander. Of course the city guard and a handful of adventurer chased off the attackers but not before they defiled the coffin and corpse inside.
One such random adventure type helping was a wandering ½ orc warrior who was stopping in Stonekeep looking for information about various orc tribes. Once the attack on the parade started he waded into the fracas. It wasn’t because it was the right thing to do. It was it was a fight and it seems this guy loves him a good fight!
The day after the party consisting of the rouge, barbarian and monk returned to town. The bard decided to travel north a bit to see what he could find for inspiration there. Once back the party split to investigate the disturbance, to relax and drink, investigate a bit into the ninja/monk medallion they found and why there was also a giant conclave of armored paladins, crusaders and holy warriors arriving in big numbers.
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| So many guys looking like this coming into town. |
-The monk had some historical knowledge about the ninja medallion guy. The attire and medallion show his allegiance to the Order of the Dark Moon. Bad monk types.
-The priest body was stuck with several long thin hollow needles.
-The dead monks were being held by the city guard. They consisted of several humans, a tall thin no nosed pointy eared humanoid, several other humans with pale greyish skin, many tribal tattoos and a lot of body piercing, and finally a pair of drow. The city was keeping the drow information secret as not to cause more panic.
-The holy guys were from temples of Tyr, Torm and Tempus. They were setting off toward the Dead Lands and to the various shrines and temples in the lands, Why? Well to see if they had been defiled like a few of their temples in the North had been. To find the culprits. To discover the evil stuff that was all evil. (This was a big plot hook for the paladin, but he was absent this game so……) They were also hiring anyone willing to travel to the outlying temples in the region to see if there were any issues there, and to call to action any holy warriors that would want to help.
Well having nothing better to do. Having a new ½ orc warrior looking for work and a bit of revenge (the ninja guys made him bleed his own blood this cheesed him off). Having a promise of a few hundred gold coins plus expenses paid sounded fine. Also the party monk might want to figure out more about this monastic order (the sound like a fantasy version of the Sith and the Foot Clan) maybe even wanting to join them! The party resupplied and headed to the small Temple of Torm two days North.
By the night of day one the party reached a small roadside inn. The same roadside inn that once was partially blown up during a fight with a band of raiders a year+ ago. It had since been rebuilt and opened for business. There were a half dozen dwarven patrons eating and drinking when the party arrived. A half dozen dwarves that eventually all advanced on the group. They were not looking to fight, but looking to confirm the identity of the party.
See these dwarves knew of the tales of Durgeddin's Forge,the Halls of Healing, and the Dwarven steam tunnels and the adventuring party that cleared all of them. They noticed the monk, rouge and barbarian from the tales. They were ecstatic to meet and thank them for helping reclaim all these long thought lost areas. They had heard tale of the great sword that had chosen a ½ orc to wield it in battle. This lead to drinks, song and wanting to hear tales of the adventures in these dwarven ruins. It was a long night.
Eventually, the party turned in not knowing that drinking all night with dwarves was no the wisest decision.
Long past midnight the barbarian awoke to the sound of strange hushed whispers. A could see around a dozen small hooded figures stalking through their room. He quickly grabbed his great sword and leapt into battle bellowing as he sung to awaken his friends.
The monk quickly awoke and seeing the situation began all manner of kicking and punching. The rouge and the other ½ orc continued to sleep. Drink all night with dwarves in never a good idea.
Eventually the rouge awoke to see a pair of beady eyes and a long nose protruding from a hooded cloak above him. The ½ orc warrior awoke as a knife was about to strike him. They both grabbed weapons and joined the fray.
Their opponents were little folk dressed in black with hooded cloaks. The fought with paired daggers. Their faces were mostly covered but they all had beady eyes, large noses and mouths full of nasty pointy and crooked teeth. The strangest bit was that when they died they would make a strange high pitched squeak and then explode into darkness. Their bodies would burst and leave a cloud of light absorbing darkness.
The party made quick work of these would be assassins. The good news was that there was nothing to clean up as there were no remains left. Eventually the clouds of darkness cleared and only a few bits of clothing and daggers were left. Daggers the monk had heard about before but never seen. Daggers employed by Darklings. Creatures of darkness from the Shadow Fell. Creatures that were not thought to exist. Creatures that are rumored to do assassination work for the Order of the Dark Moon. It seems that the party was being watched and targeted.
The group checked their surroundings. Found the dwarves in all manner of drunken slumber. Some tried to wake at the sound of battle, but didn’t quite make it in time. They policed the area and then returned to sleep for a few hours.
The next morning they mounted up and made for the Temple of Torm.
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