The day dawned grey and overcast with the promise of rain later in the day. Bulldust was the only one of the group who saw that dawn, though, as he had kept watch throughout the dark hours up on top of the roof of the  abandoned temple surrounded by its graveyard in the ruined city of Gorna. But even Bulldust was asleep, still up on the roof, 4 hours later when all of them were suddenly woken from their sleep by a blood-curdling scream just outside the eastern wing of the temple.

OOC: It is now about 11am and everyone has had a full sleep and is fully healed. Dregz, Raven and Riza slept in the right hand alcove and the strength damage inflicted by the snake bites was completely healed by the special properties of that part of the temple, just as Slipsnotz had said it would. Everyone else (except Bulldust) had slept in the main southern arm of the temple where the pews provided the most comfortable resting places. Everyone has just been woken by the scream so spellcasters have not had an opportunity to prepare new spells for the new day yet. The scream came from outside the big, high, stained glass window in the eastern wall of the eastern (right hand) wing of the temple. That window is 6 feet above the floor and 2 feet above the side altar in that right hand wing. There are similar windows in the northern and western wings (the western one has been the group's only safe access into the temple via a ladder from the gravestones outside). There are big double doors at the southern end of the temple and small side doors in the northern walls of the east and west wings. The big southern doors are closed but unlocked. The two small doors are locked but the keys for each one still hang on hooks (5 feet above the floor) beside those two doors.

OOC see msg #411 of the day 4 thread for the original description of the temple. I have edited the description above regarding height of windows above the floor to 6 feet, not 10. Note that all windows have been smashed long before the group arrived.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:38, Wed 25 Nov 2015.

Grumpy at having been woken, Jurz gets up and ambles atross to a window to see what is happening.

Show casing his cat like reflexes Minmorc will leap to his feet, stumble slightly and grab Vera. Without even thinking about it Minmorc will grumble under his breathe and grow from two meters to three. Waving his spear he'll bellow in his best New Yorker "Hey, I'm SLEEPIN here!"

OOC: no they don't. Jurz is not tall enough to see out the windows unless he climbs up on the side altar beneath the window. Minmorc had cast Enlarge Person the previous day so has not had a chance to prepare that spell again today yet.

When he realises the window is too high to for him to see out, Jurz grumbles and clambers up onto the side alter to see better.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:30, Wed 25 Nov 2015.

The pearl of power in the back of Minmorcs gauntlet glows and allows him to recast the previously cast spell.

Having spent the night dreaming of horrible undead, Dregz awakens to join in the screaming.  The little goblin is unaware as yet that thanks to the magic of the temple he's been able to throw off the effects of the Drow's poison, but immediately grab his sack containing the Holy Book, finding much comfort in its familiar weight.

"Someones been grabbed by der ghouls !" the priest seems alarmed by the prospect, hurrying over to the altar which Jurz climbed up on. "Can you see dem ?  Are dey dead yet ?"

Bulldust wakes with a start and looks around.  He sheepishly steals across the roof to the eastern wing.  He should have seen this coming.  At least everyone else was asleep too, so no one saw him sleeping on watch.  He peers down from the roof.

Jurz and giant Minmorc can see out the eastern window, which is broken. Bulldust quickly clambers across the roof to stare down into the graveyard on that side too.

Minmorc will point out the window and laugh. "Hur, hur, hur, some fella tried to get in ere and der Ghouls is eatin im.So we gonna fight der ghoulies or jus wait til dey finished deer snack ter see wots wot?

In reply to Minmorc (msg # 10):

Arlein is annoyed, and solves her annoyance by glaring at the pair of goblins scrabling around the altar.

Moffdust climbs up on the alter with the other goblins and gawks out the window too.

Oooo, look at all those ghoulies.  The young bugbear is torn.  He readies a javelin, itching to throw, but stops to consider what could happen after ...

He's pretty sure everyone would be cross.  They usually are whenever he does anything.  If he throws a javelin then they'd have to kill all the ghoulies.  But the ghoulies protect the hideout.  Yesterday Dregzie said our ghoulies would even attack ogres if we were being chased by them.  And the noise of a fight may attract attention from passers-by who are not supposed to know we are hiding in here, cos its a secret hideout.  But if he hid after throwing the javelin then people would only see ghoulies climbing all over the temple and the passers-by would remember this building has a bad reputation and keep out.  But the ghoulies could get in, and Moffa could get bitten.  Moffa could turn into a ghoulie!  What if they heard Minmorc shouting about sleeping?  Then they'd want to go in and bite Moffa ... and Minmorc ... and if Minmorc turned into a ghoulie then everyone would die - even the queen - even old Iuz.

He holds the throw and watches the doom of the world unfold below.

In reply to Bulldust (msg # 13):

Oopses sleeps through the racket. It's just far enough away it hasn't woken him.

Rolled a -6 listen check.

Moffdust peers out the window wondering "Who woulds go creeping arounds de graveyards in broad daylights?"

Riza wakes with a start at the screams, she readies her spear but waits until the others decide wether to help the person being attacked or not.

"'e was probably tryin' ta steal our stuff !"  Dregz sounds affronted by what he hears. "Dat's why der ghouls're eatin' 'im."

"Dat'll teach 'im !"

"Dat was a good trick dough" Jurz nods in appreciation as he watches the intruder get eaten by their  outer defences.  "He's magicked himself from out dere by we walls to right dere by the window.  Juz like dat"" he adds as he describes the way the intruder disappeared and reappeared much closer to the church.  "Maybe's he was trying to magic-jump dose goulies right in  here wiv us?" he suggests, staying with the theme of intruder as thief and attacker.

There are now a total of 12 ghouls around the body of the intruder and they have dragged him 5 feet away from the wall as they fight to all get at the body. Nobody recognised him before and now recognition of the corpse would be impossible. The ghouls are currently ignoring everyone in the temple as though they can't see them at all, despite being only 5 to 10 feet away from some of you through the broken window. The corpse has literally been torn to pieces and plucked out of the various components of the dark, studded leather armour he was wearing. His shortsword and 3 daggers have been discarded and one of the ghouls has dumped all the contents of the victim's backpack in a heap 10 feet south of the body. That ghoul is busy devouring the foodstuff it found among the contents of that pack.

"I reckon we let em finish der grub den grab his stuff. I'm gonna go and have a word wid Twofer after der suns gone down and I done my prayer sesh, but I bin thinkin. If we gunna stay ere I'm gunna make myself a good place ter sleep, put up some walls an mebbe even get a bed."

"Eeeuwwwww!" Moffdust watches fascinated as the victim is devoured. She casts Detect Magic  as she watches. "Lets us sees if es got any magics wes can shares."

Riza says nothing from her corner, stowing her spear and leaning against the wall in the corner

"Stays here?  In der city?" Jurz sighs.  "We's just run away from  one bit of de wars and now youse wanna stays here and be parts of der next bit?" he questions.

"Dere's trees and lakes an bogs, an woods and all der paces a gobbo shoulds be out dere and yous wanna stays in der city." the druid sighs again.  "Ohh!  Look at dat! he says pointing as he sees one of the ghouls pulling a bit of the body in half.

"Der Queen won't let us go till she's sure der killin's stopped," Dregz mutters disgustedly.  "Soon as dat happens, I'm wiv Jurz - we gotta get outta here !"

Bulldust puts the javelin away and quietly crosses the roof to the trapdoor.  He comes down from the roof looking dejected.  "Yep, me too.  I wanna go back in da woods and hunt elfs.  In da city yer jus cant kill anyfing wivout someone sayin yer shouldnt a killed dem cos dey was part ov somefink else.  In da woods no one cares about stuff like dat, yer can jus kill fings.  No one cares about elfs."  He curls up in the charcoal pit to sleep while they wait for sunset and selling the loot.