Chapter 28: The Exorcism

[Inferno]

Chapter 28: The Exorcism



The Wolfpack's Lair, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-four. Past Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear




Ingrid's charnel slaves are commanded to defend the torture chamber as the heroes flee deeper into the wolfpack's lair!

The full moon is risen and the blood-curdling howls grow ever louder as Brevos and Telkis frantically barricade the second door! Jerome carries Amity and the gag falls from her mouth, unleashing her heinous laughter.



"What have you done, little girl?" she asks Ingrid in a voice not her own. "You've gone and condemned yourself to Hell!"

The doomed heroes hide in the sleeping quarters beyond the summoning chamber. Brevos and Jerome tie tight to a bed the innocent child they swore to rescue. Brevos replaces her gag and she vomits until he removes it, lest she choke to death on her own bile.

Urdur conjures an illusion that the bunk room is empty and its door wide open. The words of his ageless incantation form clouds of frost. Somehow the room has plunged into temperatures of bone-numbing cold!

Ingrid casts a prayer of silence upon a coin, smothering all sound. Jerome places it near the closed door and suddenly Amity's evil laughter breaks free once more, but only for the ears of Ingrid and Long Bo.

And then Ingrid begins the Holy Ritual of Exorcism.



It could take hours, should they live that long. Ingrid prays, "Save me O Trithereon by thy name. By thy might, defend my cause. Proud men have risen up against me. Men of violence seek my life. But thou art my helper. The Lord sustains my life and every need he has delivered unto me. Glory be to Trithereon. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end, amen...."

Amity barks with laughter, "None can save you now, prideful whore! Your god has forsaken you, as you have forsaken him!"

Mercifully, the enchanted coin shrouds the harrowing howls beyond the door, the thunderous sundering of the first barricade, and the gruesome sounds of the frightful undead and the savage wolf pack tearing each other apart.

Suddenly, Brevos' torch flares, setting the ranger and the bed beside him ablaze!



The ranger screams but can make no sound. So Amity gleefully screams for him in chilling synchronization as he is burned alive. "Aaaaaaaah!" she cries. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhh!"


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 5 feet.

Map:

Undead are depicted in last known position.

Behind the DM Screen:

Fire damage to Brevos: [2d4]=4

PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 32/36, Torch
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 2/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 0/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Silence, 15' Radius (Ingrid): Duration: 2 rounds left.
Improved Phantasmal Force (Urdur)
Exorcise (Ingrid): Casting has begun.

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will snatch a blanket from the bunk next to him and attempt to envelop and pull Brevos to the ground (away from the bed) and smother the flames on him.

[OGRE MAGE]

Fearing that the timing of their plans is starting to unravel, Bo wishes he would have thought of having the others hold off on their spells a bit longer.

He looks to Ingrid as he grabs a pillow case or sheet from a bed. "You don't actually need to see her to do this, do you?"

Unless instructed otherwise, the druid covers the child's head and face with the cloth, and not very gently.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome helps extinguish Brevos, then Lays Hands on him. He grits his teeth against the noise Amity makes.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser will help extinguish the fire. Otherwise, he'll listen close at the door.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur concentrates on maintaining his spell.

[Inferno]

The Wolfpack's Lair, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-four. Past Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear







Shivering with cold, Ingrid holds aloft her holy symbol and beseeches her god to cast out the demon that possesses the child they are sworn to rescue! "Save your servant who places her trust in thee, my God! Be unto her O Lord a fortified tower in the face of the enemy! Let evil have no power over her! And the son of iniquity be powerless to harm her! O Trithereon, hear my plea!"

Deafened, Urdur concentrates with all his might to maintain the illusion that hides them from their enemies that seek to kill them!

Nearby, Brevos is consumed in silent, hungry fire as Amity's proxy screams transform into vile mocking laughter! "Aaaaaaaagghhhahahaha ha ha!"



Silenced by the preternatural hush, Mouser, Jerome and Telkis knock Brevos to the floor and smother his flames with a blanket. Jerome lays hands upon the ranger's scorched red flesh, healing his dire burns. (+6hp) Struck deaf and mute by Ingrid's spell, Brevos nods in gratitude.

Above them, the bed still burns! Hungry flames leap to nearby bunks as the low ceiling of the chamber fills with roiling black smoke!

Coughing, Ingrid pleads: "And let my cry come unto thee! Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting Trithereon, who once and for all consigned that fallen tyrant to the flames of Hell! Hasten to our call for help and snatch from ruination and from the clutches of the noonday devil, this innocent soul!"



Amity screeches in a voice not her own, nor remotely human: "The filthy sow is a heretic of Pelor! Trithereon cares not whether she lives or dies! Nor whether you live or die, pathetic groveling slave!"

The grey druid sees Ingrid in deep concentration and unable to respond to his query. He places a threadbare pillowcase over Amity's head, unable to bear the demon any longer.

Facing Bo, the shrouded thing shrieks nigh to deafening and the floor itself trembles with her rage!



The heroes are nearly toppled by the quaking tremor before it subsides!

Suddenly, the silencing spell on the coin dies and instantly, from beyond the shut door, distant sounds of rupturing wood and the howlings of Hell assault their wakening senses!

"They're here!" screams the thing that was Amity. "IN HERE!!!"

With mounting desperation, Ingrid implores: "Strike terror Lord, into the beast, now laying waste your vineyard, let your mighty hand cast him out of your servant, Amity Mantle, so he may no longer hold captive this innocent! Holy Trithereon, we beseech thee!..."
(Ingrid: Please roll 1d100 for first attempt to cast out the demon. You want to roll low. Critical rolls and fumbles exist in this game. Good luck!)


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 5 feet.

Map:

Undead are depicted in last known position.

Behind the DM Screen:

Fyi, 'Exorcise' allows an attempt to cast out once per 10 minutes. Now comes the first attempt.

PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/36
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 2/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 0/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Improved Phantasmal Force (Urdur)
Exorcise (Ingrid): Casting has begun.

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Ingrid continues concentrating on the Exorcism ritual, desperately hoping her prayers to Holy Tritherion will be answered, but fearful the demon inhabiting the child is correct- her actions have caused her god to forsake her, condemning her friends to a fate worse than death as a result.

Exorcism Attempt: [1d100]=80
Sorry, guys. When I set up the new macro, I made a test roll like I always do. The test roll was a 3. I don't know if it would have been low enough, but I may have just wasted my best chance of success.

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome turns to the burning bed and begins trying to extinguish the flames. If he can't put them out, he'll concentrate on separating the burning material from the rest of the flammables in the room.

[ChubbyPixie]

Removing a dagger from his bandolier, Telkis will cut the end off his waterskin and throw it on top of the middle bunk before readying his heavy blanket and furs to try to try to begin tamping out the flames...

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo leaps back, hopefully before the flames ignite him next. Seeing the fire growing, he prepares to magically create enough water to douse it, but he waits to see if the others are able to put it out first before wasting any more of his precious few remaining spells. (Create Water above the fire, if necessary)

Cringing at the noises outside, he exclaims. "It sounds like they are at the second blocked door already. We will need to try to be quiet now, since our magical silence has already faded."

If there is no need to cast his spell, the druid grabs any more cloth he can find from the bed, attempting to make a gag out of it to prevent the demon child from calling out any more.

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur continues to concentrate on his spell.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser will try and force the sack over her face into her mouth as a gag to quiet her shouting.

[Inferno]

The Wolfpack's Lair, The Haunted Wood, The Dark Mountains, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Thirty-four. Past Midnight. Wednesday, December 14th, 576 CY
Freezing cold, clear







Beneath the shroud there is no knowing what is happening to the child.

"They're here!" screeches a voice that is not Amity Mantle's. "IN HERE!!!"



From beyond the shut door comes the sound of splintering wood and the crash of a sundered barricade! The howling grows louder! The fell voices are seemingly without number!

The harrowing cacophony summons dread memories unbidden. The doomed heroes remember the blasphemous legion of worshippers at the unholy standing stones, beneath that writhing half-glimpsed horror!



Now, that heinous multitude has transformed, becoming frightful monstrosities all working murderously toward the heroes' throats!

Brevos, Jerome and Telkis beat the fires out! Surrounded by smoke and chaos and madness, Urdur holds his fierce concentration upon the spell that shields them from certain death!

Bo and Mouser uncover Amity and gag her, but not before she vomits on them both!



Sickened, the grey druid urges silence but one cannot quietly cast out a demon.

Ingrid pleads, "Hear my prayer! O Trithereon grant me, your unworthy servant, pardon for all my sins and the power to confront this cruel demon!"

The thing inside Amity shrieks behind her gag and the walls begin to bleed!



Ingrid cries, "In the Name of Trithereon! It is He who commands you! It is He who flung you from the gates of Heaven to the depths of Hell! Be gone from this creature of light! Be gone! I command you! By the judge of the living and the dead!

"I cast you out! Unclean spirit!"

Suddenly the door to the bunkroom ruptures and gives way! Beyond its threshold are all the nightmares of Hell.



The wolfpack of the Dark Mother has found them.


Actions?! (Ingrid: You've cast for 20 minutes. Please roll 1d100 for second attempt to drive out the demon. You want to roll low. Critical rolls and fumbles exist in this game. Good luck!!)


Map Detail:

One square = 5 feet. Light areas are visible. Wa-c are wolves. W1-2 are man-shaped terrors.

Behind the DM Screen:

Spells with a verbal component must be cast aloud. That, plus the smell of smoke and fire to the monsters' heightened senses will be enough for them to soon disbelieve the illusion of an empty room.
W1 breaks down door? [1d6]=4 Yes.

Animate Dead, the two barricades, the scent markings, and Improved Phantasmal Force bought you 20 minutes.
'Exorcise' allows an attempt to cast out once per 10 minutes. Now comes the second attempt.

PC Status:

Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 4: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 36/36, Torch
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 3/4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/19, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 2/5 2nd lvl, 0/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 3: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 20/20, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 5: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/38, Spells: 0/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 1/2 3rd lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 4: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 34/34
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 4: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 11/11, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 0/2 2nd lvl

PC Magic:

Improved Phantasmal Force (Urdur)
Exorcise (Ingrid): Casting has begun.

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome of the Mighty Oak
Jerome steps forward, attacking (W1).
[1d20+1]=9+1=10 melee Longsword s/m [1d8+1]=1+1=2

We must hold the doorway! he shouts, then begins to recite the Catechism of St. Cuthbert's Paladins.

Who shall guide us in dark times? St Cuthbert of the Cudgel
How may we survive? The power of our arm, the keen ness of our eye, Our Faith
When shall we withdraw? In Death!
How will we know our path? Forward in faith!

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur slowly backs away from the door. He maintains his illusion for as long as he can, knowing that the gig is up or will be very soon. He is careful not to interrupt Ingrid, or touch Amity, or the walls.

[ravenn4544]

Mouser gags at the bile all over him. "Bah!! You filthy bitch!" He continues to try and gag her and will scrape any vomit off him that he can.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

Now that the wolves are at the door- literally- there is no more need to try to be quiet. Raising her voice to try drowning out Amity and the deadly clash between her companions and the werewolves, Ingrid continues the ritual. Get thee out! There is no place here for such as you! Hie thyself back to the Hell from wence ye came! Holy Tritherion commands you! His humble servant here on earth commands you, and Tritherion's will flows through me!

Exorcism Attempt: [1d100]=43

[ChubbyPixie]

Telkis will also step to the doorway, and if he can will also attack the demon wolf there (W1). At the very least he will attempt to impede the brutes from getting further inside.

Morningstar +1 (THAC0 17): To Hit:[1d20+1]=18+1=19, Damage: vs s/m [2d4+1]=3+1=4, vs L [1d6+2]=5+2=7

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo wears the vomit with pride, almost afraid to see the size of the monsters who just tore through the closed door. Glad to see his friends willingly stepping into the breach to protect Ingrid and the horrible little girl they have been trying to save all this time, he silently wonders if his idea to hide in here will eventually get his entire group killed.

The druid moves behind Ingrid, looking to see if he would fit under the bed at her back, in case he needs a quick place to hide from it all. Looking at Brevos's torch, he gets an oil flask ready and waits to see what is trying to kill his friends at the doorway, saving what little magic he has remaining for the inevitable healing that will be needed very soon.