LOST TRAILS: THE HARROWDALE HORROR PART 6

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

"If a chance of parley is what you want, Bennedict," says Klokulf, "perhaps we ought to help with their fallen."

He leans down and whispers near the prisoner, and the stone rope turns to silk and collapses. As he stuffs it into his haversack, he gestures at the ones in the web. "It doesn't seem hard to get another if we change our minds."

[ewancummins]

"If a chance of parley is what you want, Bennedict," says Klokulf, "perhaps we ought to help with their fallen."

He leans down and whispers near the prisoner, and the stone rope turns to silk and collapses. As he stuffs it into his haversack, he gestures at the ones in the web. "It doesn't seem hard to get another if we change our minds."

Klokulf's prisoner emits a low whistle and then gets to work helping the one removing green man corpses.

A couple of green men caught in the webbed doorway cease writhing, and watch the party in stillness and silence.

The two working creatures begin pushing the corpse-laden wheelbarrow back through the (unblocked) door to the left. They do not close the door behind them.

A look through the open portal shows a short, shadowy hallway opening through another wooden door onto a steamy, hazy chamber lit by firelight. The sounds of crackling flames and bubbling liquids travel down the stone hallway, audible over the soft tread of the dead-bringers and the creak of the barrow wheel.

[alhoon]

"Ι am glad for the reprieve and their efforts to gather their dead and all, but let's not get too comfortable" Raen whispered from his place. It's one thing to allow them to gather their dead and a different to walk into that place. These creatures are invaders and have to be removed forcefully or otherwise. But I am not going to attack creatures picking up their fallen."

[ewancummins]

Periele merges from behind cover, clutching a broken and charred piece of railing.
She watches the green men as they leave the room with a barrow-load of their slain fellows.
''Burial? Or is this something else?"
The acolyte takes a few steps toward the open door that leads to the fire-lit chamber down the dim hallway, but she stops well short of the threshold.
''Why have they stopped the attack? Those sounds, you were able to speak with them without magic?"

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

''Why have they stopped the attack? Those sounds, you were able to speak with them without magic?"

"I certainly don't know what they meant by those, or what they thought we meant parroting back," says Klokulf. He steps to the front door and looks at the sky. "But if they leave us alone long enough, I might know soon."

He enters the temple yard, kneels under the noonday sun, and begins to pray.

[ewancummins]

With Klokulf absorbed in his spiritual exercises and a few of the creatures still bound in Raen's conjured web, the rest of the party can cautiously explore the temple.

Of course, the adventurers are not so foolish as to leave the praying priest unguarded, or to split up and wander off into rooms occupied by the monsters.

The unexpected truce seems to hold for now.

Katrin and Alain peek into several rooms, while keeping within sight and hearing of one another with her makeshift club and his spells at the ready.
They discover that the creatures have been burning books and scrolls--quite a few, judging by the many bare but dustless ceiling-height shelves in the main library chamber, next door to the big foyer where the party had recently fought the green men. The explorers discover a score of books stacked on the uppermost shelves, out of easy reach of the diminutive vandals.


No one has followed the green men with the wheelbarrow into the fire-lit back room, but a stealthy reconnoiter in the short connecting hallway reveals what's going on inside: the plant-humanoids are feeding a fire underneath a big bubbling copper tub. The air reeks of burning paper and hot, wet garbage. Smoke from the burning papers and steamy exhalations from whatever is in the tub obscure details in the rearmost room, but from what the scouts can pick out, there must be at least ten of the green men in the hazy chamber. The creatures tap their chests, softly whistle, and gesture to one another, giving no indication as to whether they are aware of being spied upon.
Further back in the vapors, a pair of four-legged things, lower to the ground but of roughly the same size the green men, stalk about, wiggling frills or spiny combs on their backs and sidling close to the far end of the heated copper tub.

At several places within the ransacked temple, party members find sooty drawings daubed on the walls at about waist height.
The drawings all look the same: like an ogre-sized hand-print, the palm of which has not been filled in all the way, but left with a gap resembling a fanged mouth.

[ewancummins]

https://pin.it/aj476kvl5pzzix

[ewancummins]

[alhoon]

Raen hisses in anger at the evidence of burned books. "let's gather what those things didn't burn" he says to whomever is willing to listen and starts carrying books and scrolls to the main hall. About the fanged hand symbol he takes a good look at it, trying to determine whether it reminds him of anything. He also checks the books that have survived the fire quickly, just in case.

[ewancummins]

Raen hisses in anger at the evidence of burned books. "let's gather what those things didn't burn" he says to whomever is willing to listen and starts carrying books and scrolls to the main hall. About the fanged hand symbol he takes a good look at it, trying to determine whether it reminds him of anything. He also checks the books that have survived the fire quickly, just in case.

Raen

VIEW CONTENT:

does not recognize the ghastly design, at least not on a conscious level, but staring at it makes his throat tighten involuntarily and raises goose-flesh on his arms.

Perielle helps Raen recover the books with the aid of a ladder she retrieves from the floor.

The books that have been spared burning seem to be mostly about history.

[Adam]

Bennedict whispers a prayer of sanctuary and steps to the doorway but does not enter, his hands raised and open to show he is unarmed. If one of the creatures looks his direction, he will reach to a wall and trace a quick sketch in the soot of a blobby, bulbous shape with mouths all over it. He points to the picture, and then to himself, frowning and shaking his head. He then points back to the figure and towards the plant men, an inquisitive look in his eyes.

[ewancummins]

Bennedict whispers a prayer of sanctuary and steps to the doorway but does not enter, his hands raised and open to show he is unarmed. If one of the creatures looks his direction, he will reach to a wall and trace a quick sketch in the soot of a blobby, bulbous shape with mouths all over it. He points to the picture, and then to himself, frowning and shaking his head. He then points back to the figure and towards the plant men, an inquisitive look in his eyes.

One of the plant men scurries over for a look at Benn's drawing.
It stares at the picture, unblinking.
Then it sticks its fingers into a heap of soot on the floor and begins drawing on the wall next to Benn's image of the many-mouthed horror from the Temple of Tymora.

The images take shape with many swift finger-strokes:
Several short figures gathered around a tall stick figure. An open hand with a fanged mouth in the palm seems to hang suspended over the head of the tall, central figure.

The plant man points to itself and then indicates the shorter beings in its drawing. Then it points to Benn, and to the tall one under the sign of the hand.

[Adam]

Bennedict points at the tall figure and then at the gibbering mouther drawing, his eyes once again forming a question.

[ewancummins]

Bennedict points at the tall figure and then at the gibbering mouther drawing, his eyes once again forming a question.

The plant-man indicates the gruesome hand symbol and then sticks out both its own hands and waggles its fingers in air.

[Adam]

Bennedict nods slowly, some pieces just beginning to fall into place.

He points at himself and the others, then wipes his hand down over his drawing, erasing the gibbering blob.