Eilieen breathes deeply for a long moment, then nods her head with a snap.  "Yes."  A moment later she winces as Aarnr's 'prayer' booms out through the room, echoing crazily from wall to wall.  Well, it might not have been the healing prayer Arkan wished for, but any port in a storm, she supposes.

Should he need more, she can offer.

"Be wary of ghouls!" she calls out to the brave 'explorers' as they forage deeper into the darkness, and hurries after them.  "Some may yet lurk about!"

Oooo, that thought makes her fingers itch.

Gazing at the dead priest of Orcus, she sniffs in disgust - at him, not the blood.  "Well struck, whomever felled this one," Eilieen states.

"He did it," Aarnr informs Eilieen of Arkan's prowess, not without a hint of jealousy. "I'll get the next one," the tells the young man, perhaps a little too insistently, though the thought that there might be more ghouls to chop into little pieces has his gaze wandering to the shadows beyond the arches.  Whatever the priestess has that causes that itch seems to be catching.

"Are thou feeling better ?" he asks Arkan hopefully.

Arkan stiffens both at Aarnr's loud yelling in his ear and then the surge of power that fills him at the warrior-priests words.

When the exhilaration leaves him he feels drained, yet the weakness and pain from his wounds is gone. In place, he feels like drawing his sword and killing something again!

"My thanks Aarnr, I feel quite alright now." Arkan replies to the priest with a smile. Turning to look at Ozzy's retreating back he says, "I look forward to hearing that song friend!"

Rubbing his side as if he cannot believe the wondrous healing, Arkan follows Ozzy and Colwyn, intent on seeing what the dead priest carried on his person. He still holds Crescent-Fall in one hand, blade pointed to the floor, in case of any more nasty surprises or ambushes.

Colwyn and Ozzy move up to the slain priest, and the former squints at the corpse critically.  "What's yer reckonin'?  I's thinkin' as Arkan's likely been improvin' this one's looks by splittin' them inter 'alfs."

Ozzy smiles, but says nothing, as he scribbles down a few notes - recording details which will later find their way into a song extolling Arkan's prowess as a slayer of dark priests of darker deities.

Between fallen giants, and slaughtered ghouls, the good people of Bard's Gate might very possibly owe this party of bold adventurers a debt of gratitude.

Colwyn bends over the body and starts to search it...

As Erista's Uncle Lio sometimes says, debts are nice, and gratitude is nice, but cash buys dinner.  With that in mind, she watches Colwyn work, observing, "Bet that hammer's worth something."

Though as his wife, Aunt Hilma, would often add, a little thanks costs nothing and buys much.
With that in mind, she spares a moment to grin up at Arkan.  "That was well done," she agrees.  "I'm glad you were here with us."

Since nobody has been bitten or clawed by any more fiendish undead, it might be safe to say that they've seen the last of them ... much to Aarnr's disappointment.  The priest distractedly waves away Arkan's thanks as he peers into the shadows, just in case.  "Thou earned it," he echoes Erista's congratulations.

"As did thou," he tells Eilieen.  "The sight of the grave-touched maggot-worms bursting into flame was very impressive."  He raises a brow, hoping for a bit of divine wisdom be imparted, some trade secret that might allow him to accomplish the same.

"Wonder how they got in ?" Aarnr muses.

"My thanks for your kind words Erista, though I could not have done it without your help." Arkan replies to the diminutive sorceress. "Without any of us none would have prevailed." He announces, further praising the team effort.

Lowering his guard a bit he looks curiously at the corpse again and ask Colwyn and Ozzy, "So, was he carrying anything interesting?"

Colwyn shakes his head.  "Nah...  'lessin' yer's wantin' that there big 'ammer, or 'is mail 'auberk.  Them's bein' no good ter me, an' even if they was, I wouldn' be takin' em' on account of 'ow 'e were bein' a priest of... yer know... 'im what rules in Rappan Athuk... an' I's not trustin' it ter not be cursed."

The rogue straightens up, "'sides them, 'e's got nothin'.  It's bein' almost like 'e were already robbed."

"Well done, Arkan!" Elieen calls after Aarnr spreads the word of the young mage's victory.  "And well done to those who battled the burning beast," she continues, pleased by how things have proceeded.  Some small injuries, nothing more, and easily washed away with the gentle touch of Zadastha...or Bowbe's more forceful one.  "As Arkan says, we all accomplished much here today."

She bows deeply to Aarnr, touched by his approbation.  "I spent time at the temple learning to better focus Zadastha's fury against the undead," Eilieen confesses.  "The goddess holds great sorrow for the souls of those wretches, lost to their undying state, but only fury for their cold, hungry shells."

A frown follows.  "A pity, Colwyn.  It would have been nice to discover some trinket we might find of use to purchase..."  Baths, warm rooms, fine food.  "...whatever one might desire," she finishes, sighing.  "Perhaps next time."

Turning in a circle, she eyes the dark corners of the room speculatively.  "We should likely search the entire crypt.  Aarnr is correct - they came here somehow, and I would know that answer."

Aarnr nods thoughtfully at Eilieen's words.  "Bowbe froggin' hates 'em," he confides, "an' moreso any small-codded, pukin' toad as would quicken a molderin' corpse."

"The tokens of evil should be consumed in fire," the priest agrees with Colwyn's assessment, but rather than stoking the flames himself, something the Knights would undoubtedly approve of in principle, were the conflagration not to be lit directly beneath their temple, he wisely suggests, "we'll leave that task to the Justicars."

As Zadastha's priestess eyes the dark corners, Aarnr strides towards them, glowing axe lighting his way, as his eyes hungrily sweeps the shadows, looking for more undead or any means by which they might have gained entrance to the crypt, for there more may lurk, o'er-ripe for the culling.

Erista shakes her head sadly at the lack of good loot, too.  "Maybe the Muirian's'll give us a reward afterall," she suggests hopefully.  With a shrug, she moves to the opening to the smaller room marked `Chapel', to see if that might be where they came from.

Aarnr leads the way past the fallen minion of Orcus, and into the chamber itself.  There are ornate carvings on the wall here, forming a frieze above the familiar rows of niches - common folk going about their everyday tasks, such as farming, fishing, building houses, and above them, on the ceiling, is a carving of Muir, watching over them all, the goddess' hand stretches out to the centre of the room, where it grips a narrow pillar, shaped to resemble a sword whose point touches the floor.

To the south is a doorway, and beyond it a dim, hellish red light shines.

Ozzy nods towards the red glow.  "That'll be the chapel, I reckon."

The chapel. if that is indeed what the room is, seems to be in a state of disrepair.  Only the west wall is of finished masonry, while the others are of rough unfinished stone.  The chamber seems to be larger than the map would indicate, and parts of the unfinished walls have been hollowed out.

It looks as though the High Justicar's explanation that the chapel is being expanded was accurate.

The one thing that doesn't fit is the circle of red light which burns in the centre of the floor.  Within the circle itself are glowing runes, glyphs and sigils, and approaching the circle causes a persons flesh to creep, and the hair on the back of their neck to stand erect.

Ozzy gives a long, low whistle.  "I don't think that should be here."

Being somewhat allergic to creeping flesh and rising hair, Eilieen keeps her distance from the unholy circle.  "Vileness of Orcus," she mutters, her tone sharp with anger.  "I comprehend Bowbe's hate," she looses as an aside to Aarnr.  Still holding her spear, but with holy symbol her principal weapon, the priestess slowly - almost daintily - shifts to one knee, studying the ugly sight before her.

There's no concern about her knee touching the filthy ground, for once; the circle is of principal import, and she's going to need to clean her clothing in any case.  "The purpose of this circle.  I wonder.  For summoning?  Transportation?  Is THIS how they arrived, rather than tunnelling?"

OOC - Going to try Knowledge: Religion.  Edit: Haha, 21, did all right for a change! 
This message was last edited by the player at 12:04, Thu 24 Mar 2016.

Aarnr isn't allergic to creeping flesh and rising hair.  In fact he's more of a carrier.  But the glowing rune-circle does look somewhat out of place in the Muir's ¹ crypt.  "As bad as guardsmen and lawyers," he agrees with Eilieen's assessment of the undead.

But the priest just shakes his head at the circle.  "Ye may well be right," he suggests to Eilieen, "I've neither heard or seen of such a thing.  Some sort of a door between here and there, then ?" he asks, making sure he's understood her correctly.  "Do ye think it opens both ways ?"



¹ just occurred to me - in this place all these ornate carvings are probably Muir-als

Cheeks still flushed from the heat of battle, the aggressive healing from Aarnr, and the praise at his combat performance, Arkan stops a few paces away from the ominous looking circle of crimson light in the chapel of Muir.

He feels his flesh crawling just being in close proximity to the blasphemous creation of obviously dark magic, and the hair rising on end on the back of his neck. Gripping his sword in two hands reflexively, he peers at the construct through slit eyes, trying to figure out what purpose it serves.

Eileen did make some good points, and was likely correct in the circle's purpose, but it never hurt to try to make sure.

---

Knowledge (The Planes): 25; Knowledge (Arcana): 16

Erista gives Ozzy an admiring look for his quick assessment of the glowing red circle.  "I think the biggest question is, did they somehow magic it here from the other side, or did somebody who can come down here without anybody wondering have to come down and put in this part?" she wonders aloud, giving it her own look-over.

OOC: With Knowledge: Arcana of 17.

"One of the Justicars is a froggin' pox-marked, dankish, scale-sided death-token ?"  Aarnr thinks he has the gist of what Erista is saying, eyeing the roof above vengefully.

"I don't know," Erista replies, quickly, thinking she has the gist of what Aarnr is saying.  "I just think it's a question worth thinking about."

The glowing sign on the floor, despite its fiery intensity, seems to chill the air close to it.  And there are whispering voices which seem to issue from it from time to time.  Close up, it can be seen that the markings have been cut into the floor, as if with a chisel.

Colwyn carefully crouches down near the circle and squints at it as the discussion goes on behind him.  "Them was bein' cut inter the stone.  I's reckonin' as Erista's bein' right... some bugger's been doin' this from this end."

Ozzy also approaches the circle, then makes a circuit around it, talking to himself as he does so... "Looks familiar, but what is it?  I know this, but I can't remember where from.  Is it... ?  No, that's not it."

He starts pacing back and forth, clicking his fingers and muttering furiously.  Eventually that stops too, and he falls into a sulky silence, glaring at the design on the floor.

"Perhaps we should throw a coin at it and see if anything happens." he finally suggests.

Still peering at the disturbing circle of sorcerous power Arkan states to the others in a low voice, "The symbols relate to traveling and portals to other places. The markings on the edges are used on objects to allow users to communicate over vast distances."

Shaking his head he looks the others in the eye and adds, "I do not know much else for sure. But possibly this...construct could lead us to the source of the ghoul infestation. Or allow us to communicate to it, somehow. But like Ozzy says perhaps we should test it first by tossing something into it."

"That one looks like a froggin' duck !"  Aarnr points triumphantly.  The priest has been staring intently at the runes for almost a few seconds before making his important discovery.

Everyone seems convinced that the mystic circle might allow travel, but seem too timid to even suggest what obviously needs be done, let alone risk such themselves.  Luckily Aarnr does not lack for courage.  Tact, personal hygiene, common sense, even, but not courage.

"Let us prise out the gleepin' clacker-clawed haggards an' show them their steamin', bat-foulin' entrails !" he says, almost poetically as he eagerly strides forward into the circle, his glowing axe raised ready to greet whatever he may befall.  "Come ye malmsy-nosed, mammerin' hordes of the nether hells !  Come an' be many times damned, ye quailin' pigeon-liver'd scuts !"

Eilieen studies...studies...perhaps studies too much, watching the circle.  She loses her awareness of the discussion around herself, only vaguely hearing the skirl of the voices in her ears.

Well, Aarnr's skirl.  Everyone else sounds like murmuring.

Then things come to a head, rapidly.  "Aarnr, NO!" she cries, lunging forward in an attempt to stop Bowbe's priest.  "That's a sign for Orcus!"  She doesn't bother pointing - instead, the frail priestess struggles to halt the big man's progress into the magical circle.

OOC - Going to actually make an attempt to stop Aarnr...which will prove ridiculous, given my stats and my normal rolls, but I have to try.

Colwyn is paying attention.  From the corner of his eye he catches sight of Aarnr striding forward, and his own reflexes cut in to handle the situation.  By the tim Eilieen attempts to stop the much larger priest, the rogue is almost out of the door...

Eilieen grabs at a bicep that's almost as big around as her waist, and Aarnr actually slows.  Then inertia wins the day, as Aarnr takes another step, and one foot touches the rune carved floor inside the circle.

For a moment which seems to last forever nothing happens.  Then for another moment.  And another... and then Aarnr takes another step.  Now he is fully within the circle, while Eilieen teeters on the brink.

Nothing continues to happen.

Colwyn stops in the doorway.

Aarnr frowns, looking down at the runes, pausing for but a moment before stamping his foot down hard.  "Nothin' froggin' happened !" he turns to complain, brow rising as he notices Eilieen clinging on to him.  "Perhaps we need a duck.  Any of ye got a duck ?"