Chapter 03 - The Vaults of Altaerein

[pringerbeam]

     "Just decorations I would think." Replied Alak with a shrug before putting a pensive thumb to his chin. "Unless... Well, there's an old rumor they use to scare the new initiates to the order. They say that knights that fail in their duties are executed by beheading but instead of an unceremonious dump in the ditch their heads are secreted away and their helmets are used to make a creature called a Hellcrown. They are supposed to haunt the secret vaults of the order for all eternity and prey upon any initiates foolish enough to get lost in the catacombs. I thought it was just a tall tale to scare the new kids but maybe these are it."


[info]Religion: 19

Hellcrown NE Tiny Undead
HP 20, AC 16, Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +10
Negative Healing; Immune: disease, Paralysis, Poison, Unconscious
Speed: 25 ft Fly

Attacks
Nail +9, 1 action, 20 ft range, 1d4+2 Piercing plus Bleeding Nail

Special
Bleeding Nail: Targets struck by the Hellcrown's nail attack must make a DC 16 Fort save or become Enfeebled 1 and gain Persistent Bleed 1 (Enfeebled 2 and Persistent Bleed 1d4 on a critical fail), additional nails stack this effect with Enfeebled to a maximum value of 4. Nails can be removed with an Interact action to remove the associated conditions.
[/info]

[Asta]

"Well let's try to avoid finding out for sure, if we can..." remarked Spira dryly.

[Throndir]

"This is all so so so evil Mister Stagram!" Melody said from Alak's description. "In the temple of Sarenrae there's no risk of beheading if you fail your duties. You get to redeem yourself, and try again."

[pringerbeam]

     "Well I think it's a great incentive not to abandon your comrades. Besides, it has the benefit of free eternal guardians while eliminating any unsavory elements from the ranks." Replied Alak with an impressed smirk. "Speaking of... the fact that they don't seem to be alerted like the others in the hall behind us makes me wonder if the cultists have even come this way."

[Asta]

"Perhaps we should avoid them, head back and then continue down the larger hallway." Spira said. "It wouldn't do if I were to run low on reagents before we encounter these cultists."

[pringerbeam]

     You turn back and head down the hall of graves to the door at the end of the hallway. Coming to the doorway, Alak girds himself before opening the door. However, the open doorway only reveals a room absent any obvious enemies. The room contains several shelves that line its walls and a low central round table. The shelves appear bare and a thick layer of dust seems to have settled across most of them.
     Unlike the shelves, the table at the center of the room appears to have had some kind of recent activity. The dust is disturbed and several black candles sit partially burned around some ashes in the middle of the table. Tracks in the dust lead to and from the table to the door in back of the room. "Huh... I was expecting something more... climactic."

[Asta]

"Still time for unpleasantness" Spira remarked. "Someone's been through that door back there. What do you suppose they were burning? Is this a ritual space of some kind?"

[pringerbeam]

     Alak looks at the candles and shrugs. "No idea...  But then Vicarius Vulf said I was 'less teachable in the arcane arts than a pack of rutting gnolls'" Says Alak with added finger quotes for emphasis. "Anyone else?"

[info]A Divine or Occult check can be made to attempt to identify the ritual components[/info]

[Throndir]

"Oh oh oh, let me see!" Melody chirped as she made her way forward to the candles.

[info]Recall Knowledge
[blockquote]Religion 1d20+8 : 19 + 8, total 27[/blockquote][/info]

[pringerbeam]

[info]Religion: 27
     An inspection of the components in the middle of the table quickly makes it apparent that it is a setup for some kind of necromantic ritual to interrogate any lingering spirits in the area. The ashes were once pieces of paper that the ritualist wrote questions onto and which the spirits then imprinted answers to the ritualist's questions before being consumed in flame.[/info]

     Your inspection of the ritual shows that it appears to have been cut short as a scrap remains of one of the pieces of paper and the words "Where is Alseta's ring?" can be made out. Unfortunately, the answer appears to have burned away.

[Asta]

"Well damn" Spira cursed. "Is that referencing the ring you're searching for Alak? Maybe we should continue through that back door."

[pringerbeam]

     Alak looks to the slightly ajar door at the back of the room and approaches, cautiously pushing it open with his mace and then fully opening it when nothing happens. In the back room are a series of stone shelves carved into the walls which much like the room before appear to have been mostly emptied except for a small wooden box, a small stack of papers weighted down under a small silver figurine, and a large crimson banner with the order of the nail's symbol surrounded by several gold insignias and medals pinned to the fabric.

     To the right an iron door sits completely open with the tracks in the dust leading further away down a very long corridor. Alak seems to zero in on the wooden box left on the shelf, ignoring the other objects and opening the box in a hurry. Inside, on a small pillow of old velvet, is a simple gold ring with an insignia of two stags headbutting. Alak, looks at the ring with a small sigh of relief and holds it up. "Thank you, this is what I was looking for." He points to one of the badges affixed to the banner which has the same crest. "My family was one of the founders of the order. Unfortunately the life of a knight is dangerous and now this ring and I are all that remains of the Stagrams. With this ring, at least I know that even if I fall, something will remain of us."

     Alak takes a minute longer before looking up to the open passage and the tracks leading down it. "Huh... It seems whoever was here before came in though this passage... and whoever it was seems to have walked right by the gold and silver in this room," He asks as he looks up into the darkness. The passage goes on for quite some distance, far past the light of the torch Alak carries, farther even than the darkvision of Riven.

[Asta]

"Now that you've got it, will you be sticking around? It might do well to check down there." Spira commented casting a somewhat avaricious eye at the various valuable baubles in the room.

[pringerbeam]

     "I will have to start my return to Varisia by the end of the week. In the meantime, I would like to finish cleansing the keep of this cult and figure out what this ring is that everyone we run into keeps talking about." Replied Alak as he peered into the darkness.

[pringerbeam]

     The passage continues for quite some time, snaking its way through the earth for what feels like more than a mile before you come to a short ladder leading up to the underside of a closed trapdoor. Alak looks up at the hatch. "Onward and upward then?"