Madness at Brightmore Abbey IC

[Khosan]

"A hundred years?!" Skipsy's jaw drops, "That means they predated the founding of the Silver Hand by at least seventy years! Ooh, the League'll like this one. We don't have records of any orders of human paladins from before the Silver Hand, so if there's relics of one here? With very similar foundations? That's the good stuff!"

Skipsy keeps her mouth firmly shut as their new elven friends discuss magical cards, but watches with great interest as Analastra goes over her map, "If you haven't been by the watchtower, just south of here, it's pretty neat! Tons of magical energy just floating around! Nothing dangerous - at least as far as we could tell, we couldn't even get the door to budge even a little - but very neat!" She pauses as the gnoll numbers are discussed, "A hundred and fifty to three hundred gnolls, plus their leaders and an ettin, huh? Think that could be enough for the Commander? I'd like to stay for archaeological reasons, that entire plateau sounds very interesting, but I dunno if we can risk it with that many gnolls within spitting distance."

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - Emilia ruminates on the discoveries. It WAS disconcerting to hear, and she noticed Jade mentioning her job. As much as my nature screams against it, we have not found out their defenses. We have a second-hand account of what was their defenses. I do trust Berrian's account, but if anything changed we are to blame for Darkshire's losses. Additionally we do not know fully what they have in store. The worms are not categorized, and for all we know there could be a pit fiend hiding in the desecrated church. The priest shrugs. No, I feel we have to take the cover of darkness and do some exploration still. And I may be able to cover myself in shadows and communicate my findings with you via your minds if you are allowing me to take point, as silly as it is to have the priest do that.

[Xihirli]

Jade gives her a hug. "We'll stay close. Don't die, okay?"
Then a thought occurs to her. "Might want to disguise your scent if you can manage it. Those big ol' snoots aren't just cosmetic, like they are on humans."

[Kushina43]

'The Deck was here!' Jok'lek thinks, eyes widening in immediate realization. His thoughts race as the conversation continues, considering bringing up their own card, but ultimately decides against it for the moment - the gnolls probably had the rest, if it even was here, and he agreed that they need more information before doing anything further, even just returning to Darkshire.

"The belltower, yes.. That is sensible. The dryads will be in our path, but I'm not worried. The rest of their forces make other paths less doable or slower than we want." Emilia's suggestion of taking point through melding shadows and mind communication makes sense, but he's still visibly concerned. "That sounds fine to me, but please take caution - I'd take your place if my armor weren't a hindrance. In fact, before I forget." He reaches into his pack and takes out two smaller bags of differing items, handing them both to Emilia. "Caltrops and ball bearings. In case you're found or need to hinder foes for any reason where we can't reach ya."

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - Emilia takes the doodads, but she somehow doubts she will draw attention to her position by dropping traps. Thanks. But I feel if I am discovered I will have to rely on my innate spells. With that she makes off through the dryad area towards the belltower. If the coast is clear, her heart is set on investigating the cathedral however. She will cast her cloak of invisibility sooner rather than later to avoid suspicion. Spoiler: Stealth checks Show Spoiler: Dryads Show (1d20+6)[21] Spoiler: Belltower Show (1d20+6)[26] Spoiler: Advantage from Invis Show (1d20+6)[8] (1d20+6)[14]

[Amnestic]

Berrian and Analastra see you off with agreeable nods, and Emilia strikes ahead to scout first, heading towards where the dryads were supposedly located. After a few hours, soft music drifts over the air, its strains combining happiness and melancholy. Beautiful and otherworldly voices accompany the melody, singing of golden summers passed and the bitter loss of winter. The music seems to light the boughs above with the golden fire of autumn, though upon blinking it's clear that's not the case. Ahead, five women dressed in gowns of autumn leaves sing beside a clear pond, their hair a cascade of vines, their upper torsos appearing similar to night elves, while their lower half is equine. They giggle and whisper to one another between songs, quietly enjoying their own company and that of the "day".

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - Not revealing her position, Emilia intrudes the mind of one of the dryads. I whisper from the shadows. Are you friend or foe to the gnolls? Simultaneously she probes her victim's mind. Spoiler Show Detect Thoughts (1d20)[14] wisdom save to learn surface thoughts. Emilia will use the second turn to probe deeper into the mind. Contested Int check (why the heck that?) (1d20-1)[8]

[Xihirli]

Jade tries not to let Emilia get too far ahead, though of course can't actually see her. She walks next to Skipsy and smiles with her fang-filled grin to the gnome.
"Sorry about Ox getting hurt. Does he uh... feel pain?"

[Khosan]

"You know, I'm not sure! I sure hope not!" Skipsy pats Ox on the head, who clucks contentedly, "He's been fully smashed to bits a few times now, and I rebuild him every time. That'd be pretty traumatic for the little guy!" Ox locks eyes with Jade, his beady black pupils briefly flash red and his comb transforms into its sharpened combat form, all of which escapes Skipsy's notice and vanish as quickly as they appeared.

Skipsy maintains a respectful distance from the dryads, but does have her notebook out and a pen in hand to take notes regarding their behavior.

[Amnestic]

One of the dryads holds their song when Emilia speaks to them, raising a hand to her ear and seeking the sound, before continuing to sing.

"Sisters, sisters, a voice in my head,
Raspy and cold, and filled with dread."
The other dryads quiet themselves, looking around, before the first sings again, louder,

"Not friend, not foe,
The laughing ones bring us no woe,
And in return we leave them to their jokes,
their japes, their freedom sought from yokes.
Now it's your turn to answer true,
Are you one or are you few?"

[Xihirli]

Jade grips her sword as Ox looks ready to throw down, but keeps it sheathed. She checks the strap on her shield, though.
I think he feels pain… and anger.
She just nods to the gnome, though. "Got it. Uh, Jok’lek, what was your favorite thing we've fought so far? I think mine was the warp stalkers. They tasted good and fought good, too!"

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - Their carelessness was disconcerting to Emilia. Singing songs and prancing about was dryads thing but she expected Darkshire's fey to be more...dark. We are half a dozen, and we would like to pass your trees without a fight. Are you game?

[Amnestic]

The dryad sings in return to Emilia's continued telepathy.

"Leave us in peace and we'll leave you in turn,
But stay a while, if you wish to learn.
A secret for a secret is the game that we play.
Your heart's deepest past to keep the darkness at bay.
Only a true secret, never shared, can satisfy.
No use have we for second hand truths, or those that lie."

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - I shall accept your game then. Let me fetch the others. she says as she slinks back to get the rest. So the dryads let us past, if we dont fight them. If we tell them a secret, we might even get more information. And I might just have the thing they want. An evil smirk covers Emilia's broken jaw, and she beckons the others forth. Spoiler Show I was planning on passing the dryads to check the abbey on my invisbility spell, but I want to give you a chance to interact.

[Xihirli]

Jade shrugs. "I don't know any secrets, but I want to meet some Dryads! If we get along well maybe we can call this a place to retreat to."
Jade meets Emilia's evil smile with her own feral one. "Let's go!" And she hops up to Emilia.

[Amnestic]

As the party approaches from the bushes the dryads hop and giggle, their be-worded melody turning to a light hum.

"A secret for a secret, this is the game.
Knowledge you might need if this land is to be tame.
But nothing comes for free, everything has a price.
Speak clear, speak true, for we will not speak twice."

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - Emilia steps forth, her hands behind her back. She is not only not ready to cast a spell, in fact she faces the dryads like a convict would face a judge. After I died, after the scourge rolled over the lands, the Lich King resonated in my head. His incredible power urged me to submit. Until the Battle of Icecrown weakened his grip on us slowly. I was among one of the first ones to break free, yet I followed his command for far longer. Truth be told, I wanted the living to die. To suffer how I had suffered. To be left by their own like I have been left alone. On this power, the shadows I serve have been nourished. She steps a bit closer to her group, now with a shining face. I thought the dark was giving me unholy strength, but it was weakness to cower in the shade. You, you lot gave me the strength to realize that. The elves just sealed the deal. Yet I will not fully renounce the evil. It has bored itself into my conscious, into my very self. As such I want to bask in the light, fully knowing there will be shadows close by. For I am Emilia of Brill; born in the Light, commanding the Void. I will see through that this scarred land will regain its former glory. Maybe it will never see the Light again. But it will seize its destiny. Spoiler Show I hope that suffices.

[Xihirli]

Jade blushes hard.
"Awwww!" She steps up and gives Emilia a hug. "Come here, ya big softie! I love you, too!"
She glances at the Dryads. "No one has ever told me a secret, and I have never kept one." She strokes her chin. "Maybe they’re connected somehow."

[Kushina43]

The group keeps back at first when they approach the dryads, Emilia probing first in stealth, and Jok'lek tries to banter with the remaining party.

"Got it. Uh, Jok’lek, what was your favorite thing we've fought so far? I think mine was the warp stalkers. They tasted good and fought good, too!"

"While we've been together? Definitely the warp stalkers, for the same reason. Though nothing can quite match getting into a scuffle with a swarm of mantids, that was a.. messy time."
Soon, the group emerge to interact with the dryads, unexpected to him, but the prospect of more information they really needed was enticing. They only needed bear themselves true, something the troll was only recently coming to terms with. And Emilia was the first to offer, speaking of her relation with the ways of the holy Light and its opposite shadow, how being with the group helped her out of the shadows entire and welcome back the Light as part of herself once more. Jok'lek clapped his hands once out as a show of support. "I am happy for ya, Emilia, for being open about that. I, too, have something to share."

He steps forth afterwards and kneels in respect, for both his new friends and the dryads. "Garrosh's reign as Warchief was not pleasant. Yet when the military came looking for troops, I answered the call. Eventually I turned and joined Warchief Vol'jin's rebellion, but I used Pandaria as an outlet for my rage before that point." He pulls out his magical lantern, blessed by the loa Hir'eek, and places it in front of himself. "I used to think I did not know myself, but in truth I relished in the power I was given, ignoring the atrocities being committed. I killed to further Garrosh's reign, was given the honor of joining his Kor'kron, and stuck there for longer than most of my peers expected for a non-orc. Ultimately I helped the madman, fought the Shado-Pan and the Alliance, all the way through the Vale. It was only that far in, when the heart of an Old God was dumped into its pools and the land utterly blighted by the Sha, that I realized his depravity... and my own, for getting that far so unthinkingly."

He stares into the lantern, into the eyes of the carved bat loa. "That's when I left the Kor'kron. I joined Vol'jin's rebellion, and we know how that went. But I was still lost for a long time, unable to come to terms with how I'd let myself go so far down. I was lucky enough to have a helpful, forgiving sister, and with her aid I found clarity starting with worship of Hir'eek. Despite my rage, I try to adopt his outlook as protector." He stands up and picks up the lantern, turning to the party while feeling renewed after letting this out. "That is my secret, my story up until now, and it's one that I will keep writing with the loa's guidance behind me. And, I hope, with all your help as well."

[Khosan]

Skipsy stumbles into the glade with the dryads, a big smile plastered across her face, "Hello! Uh, I hope we don't have to rhyme. I don't think I have the time!" She pumps her fist and whispers, "Nailed it!"

Her jaw drops at at Emilia's, then further at Jok'lek's secrets, "You guys! You didn't have to tell us! You coulda just whispered them. I'm proud of you guys though! And glad you trust us." The gnome steeples her fingers and thinks for a good minute. She frowns, sighs, and shrugs, "I don't think I have any secrets you'd accept! I've got some doozies that these guys haven't heard. I did some, uh...clandestine work, but I had bosses who knew what I was up to and worked with other agents all the time." Skipsy turns to face the others, offering up an explanation before one is even asked for, "This was about twenty to thirty years ago? Just before the Third War, before Mekkatorque was elected High Tinker. There were concerns about the dangers a new Horde posed, so teams were formed and deployed to observe, report, and sometimes respond to potential rising threats. Then the War started, the Burning Legion showed up, Thermaplugg irradiated Gnomeregan, and things got messy. We were on our own for a while, I think some other cells joined up with the Venture Company, but we stuck as close to the mission as we could. I don't wanna get into too many specifics, it's not...not a proud time in my life. Especially now, knowing all of you."

[Xihirli]

Jade laughs at Skipsy's little rhyme, but mostly listens close.
"Aw, I love all of you! Come on, group hug! Right now!"
She smiles apologetically at the dryads. "Like I said though, I don't have any secrets. I say everything that comes to my mind! And this is my inside voice!" She shouts.
"What you see is what you get, a goblin who likes to kill things and hang out with her friends."

[Amnestic]

"A woman of death, for death,
Bereft not of hope, but solely of breath.

Here is the secret you have earned:
The Abbey holds the Light, turned.
Guardians corrupted in ages passed.
Only their deaths will see you past.
Seek not their redemption, for it will not be found.
Not above, or below, this once sacred mound.

"To the warrior of rage,
Seeking not to rewrite, but a new page.

Here is the secret you have earned,
to see the darkness overturned.
A card of power, a card of void.
Guarded still by a mage destroyed.
Sought he to safeguard this place.
Yet all he found was himself debased.
Free him from his tower of torment if you seek the reward,
Of yet another card to add to your hoard."

"To the gnome of spycraft, of deception, deceit
Who nevertheless sought honesty and not to cheat.

Here is the secret you have earned,
And know that you shall not be spurned.
You are not alone in your quest,
This much you have have guessed.
Others yet seek the cards.
And their own do they jealously guard.
Mayhap they be friend, mayhap they be foes.
But as sure as you hear us now: You will come to blows."

"Alas to the goblin whose honesty is true,
We traffic only in secrets, only they may earn a clue.
Yet hold fast to that truth in your heart and mind.
For many others will repay it in kind."

Their trade completed, the dryads giggle to themselves, their song complete. Impromptu and a bit a-lyrical though it may have been, but the message has nevertheless been delivered and the transaction - such as it was - completed. They spring to their cloven hooves and dart away, laughing as they vanish into the treeline beyond your light, leaving you to digest the information you received.

Spoiler: OOC

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I will never rhyme again. Gonna give time for the party to chat before moving further up the hill.

[Khosan]

"That counted?!" Skipsy whips around to look at the dryads, dumbfounded, "Uh, alright then! Bye!" She gives a little wave to the dryads as they leave, nervously kicks a rock, then turns back to the others, "So...I know I just outed myself as a former spy, but I hope you guys still trust me! As long as I've been with you guys, I've been exactly who I said I was: an archaeologist in good standing with the Explorer's League."

[Xihirli]

Jade has a few "witticisms" to add to some of the Dryads' poems.
to see the darkness overturned.
A card of power, a card of void.
"Ah yes, darkness's only weakness... void!"

You are not alone in your quest,
This much you have have guessed.

"Yeah, she's part of team fun-sized. Also whatever our team is called."

Yet hold fast to that truth in your heart and mind.
For many others will repay it in kind.

"Aw, you're all so sweet! Wanna join our party?" She asks the Dryads, flashing her best winning smile.

When Skipsy tries to explain herself, Jade hugs her right away. "Don't worry, Skipsy, I'm not worried you're a spy. As has been established, I know no secrets for a spy to take! Now let's keep going, and keep a stiff upper lip and a song in our hearts."

[Kushina43]

"To the warrior of rage,
Seeking not to rewrite, but a new page.

Here is the secret you have earned,
to see the darkness overturned.
A card of power, a card of void.
Guarded still by a mage destroyed.
Sought he to safeguard this place.
Yet all he found was himself debased.
Free him from his tower of torment if you seek the reward,
Of yet another card to add to your hoard."

"Tower of torment.. Would that be the weird watchtower we saw earlier? Perhaps that illusion or whatever got erected to protect them from the monsters he accidentally summoned. I'd wonder how the mage could still be around, but I'd guess magic, as with anything weird going on here." When Skipsy expresses doubt about their ability to trust her, Jok'lek is just as quick to assure her as Jade. "In my eyes, spy work doesn't detract from you being worth trusting. You've shown to be sincere far as I can tell, and that's good enough for me."

The secrets exchanged for Skipsy and Emilia gives him a little pause for different reasons. Emilia's seems a bit simple, though absolutely useful - "Guess we got some corrupted guardians that need slaying at some point." While Skipsy's sounds like outside betrayal waiting to happen. "If the dryads speak true as we expect, maybe we should avoid telling Berrian's group any more about the cards - they're the only other group we know is here. Analastra must have seen ours during the battle with the treant, so if they're looking for the deck too, they already know we have one. Best avoid telling them anything about the mage's card for the time being."

[Spore]

Emilia Shadowburn Forsaken Shadow Priest AC: 13 HP: 29/32 PP: 18 PIv: 9 PIs: 18 Conditions: - Concentration: - She pretends to be cold and unfeeling, but the hug, a thing of lives past, still tickles something inside Emilia's soul. Of course she feels the touch of the goblin and her warmth, but the undeath makes it hard to concentrate and keep positive emotions going. But she knew, that is what the Light was. The hope and fervor inside every living thing. She smiled warmly, not the crooked visage she normally uses to portray a smile. Emilia shrugs at Skipsy. As far as the Alliance and Horde thing goes, I don't really care. You have helped blood elves, you are a gnome, and you wander with a Forsaken, a Troll and a Goblin. Your allegiance is your own. Neither do I care about the conflict nor does it truly hurt me. Alive or dead, it does not matter on the cosmic scale. Your intent is what matters, where your soul is judged once you take your last breath. Finally she turns to the analytic troll. We know dark energies twisted this place. My guess is either void or fel though I am by far no scholar. It is somehow linked to a world beyond. If that is the Burning Nether or the Void, it is up to us to find out. Mages are about pocket dimensions and otherworldly summons, even if the Kirin Tor just permitted water elementals and smaller pets, other mages have summoned far greater things. The Blood Elf Prince himself summoned a phoenix born of fire. And your analysis of Berrian may be true, but why should they gives us access to the holy well then? Maybe their goal is for us to remove the dangers inside the abbey and then weakened as we would be, to backstab us and take our prize. We have to be careful.

[Amnestic]

With the dryads having taken their leave, and without any strong cause to change your goal, you continue up the hill, eventually cresting the summit after a few more hours of travel.

The ruined shell of the abbey's glorious template stands forlorn at the top of the hill, a monument to its former majesty. Hints of silver and golden ornamentation still gleam and there through a coat of black soot and dust that covers the entire structure. The archved roof of the temple is half collapsed and its windows shattered, but it still manages to convey something of its original purpose - to remind the viewer of the power and grace of the Light.

The other structures on the hilltop have fared worse than the temple with the passage of years and the devastation of wra. West of the temple is a squat stone building ringed by crumbling columns that must have once suggested grandeur and elegance, but now seems tawdry. To your left stands the ruin of a long, low structure, now little more than heaps of rubble and debris scattered among barely standing walls. Only the gatehouse, guarding the road that runs up from the village to the north, stands more or less intact, though its doors hang from their hinges, open.

Circling the hilltop to the north gives you a better eye on the village, but the eternal darkness of Duskwood makes picking out numbers of gnolls as hard as ever from this distance, forcing you to rely on shadows dancing among flickering bonfires scattered across the village roads. You do see the shadow of a (or 'the') tower to the north, down the hill, though you'd need to pass through the gatehouse and at least part of village to reach it, unless you wished to risk the sheer and steep edges of the hill. Though the tower is in the village, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of fires nearby, perhaps indicating the gnolls are giving it a wide berth.

Spoiler: Abbey Map/OOC

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Reporting the map as you decide on next place to visit. You're near the Abbey building at the top. Heading down to the village from this angle requires either passing through the gatehouse or sliding down a scary steep hill, probably in the dark, which would require ability checks to not faceplant into fall damage.

[Xihirli]

"The elves say there was nothing in the temple. I say that's our first place to check out. If they're wrong, then we need to know, and if they're right, we can maybe establish a place of safety inside."
Jade tries to think back to the construction of the temple she saw in her visions. "I might be able to remember the layout. I did watch this place get built... though I suppose it could have been a vision of the future when it's rebuilt..."

[Khosan]

Skipsy, quickly disappointed by their inability to really see the gnolls, turns her attention to the abbey. She cracks open her journal to review the dryad's rhymes, then turns from the abbey to the surrounding buildings, "I think there might be a card here!"

The gnome presses a finger to one of the passages in her journal, reading aloud but not bothering to mimic the dryad's delivery, "The abbey holds the Light turned - I'm guessing that means a card - corrupted guardians, whose deaths will see us past. I don't know how the last two lines are relevant, but no redemption for them, and something about that not being above or below this hill." Skipsy flips a few pages back and continues, "Analastra identified these buildings as containing earth elementals, spiders and some leggy, burrowing worms, but didn't see anything in the abbey itself."

She finally closes her notes and neatly places it in her bag of holding, "I have two theories. One, the abbey contains the corrupted guardians, and if we defeat them the card will be revealed to us somehow. Two, the guardians are one of the creatures in these buildings. Or all of them. So I guess I have three theories!" Skipsy giggles, "I'm with Jade, we should check out the abbey first."

[Amnestic]

Deciding to tackle what is near instead of far, you head to the ruined Abbey building. Though the roof is half collapsed and the building is blackened by soot and decay, some hints of its ancient granduer still shines through in the abbey's great temple. Might columns rise toward the heavens. Smaller pillars of graceful shape and eelegant decoration hint at the template's lost beauty. Alters to several different figures - saints or revered figures, perhaps - surround a towering statue of what is most likely Tyr, depicted as a humanoid figure wearing knightly armour.

As Analastra indicated, all seems quiet as you stand on the threshold, but there is a cold sense of foreboding and otherness that emanates from within.

Spoiler: OOC

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Giving a brief moment in case you want to make any preparation/buffs before heading inside.