Session 2 - Hore Abbey Catacombs

Because the party still needed some non-missile magical weapons (the wood golems are immune to missile weapons), they decided to knock out a couple side quests first.

Immediately to the north of Caiseal lie the ruins of Hore Abbey. Hore Abbey was founded in 1270. The Cistercian monks, from whose white habits the abbey draws its name, were founded in eastern Gaul in 1098. The PCs decided to delve into its catacombs. The catacombs under the abbey contain undead, but there are rumors of cleric scrolls and a normal sword +1, and some other magic items being down there somewhere, buried with long-dead crusader knights (who may not be so dead anymore).

The party made the descent into the catacombs. They found a large wooden table in the center of one room that was stained from all manner of fluids.  There were also many rusted knives and saws, and many racks of glass vials full of strange chemicals. Amongst the vials, they found some healing potions.

They then entered a small chapel. An open, empty glass sarcophagus sits against the wall opposite the double doors. There are many skeletons laying on the floor, each wearing what appears to be the long-rotted habit of the Cistercian monks.  In front of the glass sarcophagus is a wooden kneeler.

Tiv was able to tell everyone that this is likely the former resting place of the body of an incorruptible saint the Templar knights were supposed to have taken back to the abbey from Bael Turath. Legend has it that the body turned out not to be an incorruptable saint at all, but a vampire who slew most of the monks and caused the abbey to be abandoned and fall into ruin. There are those who claim the current abbot, Gemistos Stratioticus, the one overseeing the rebuilding of the abbey, is that vampire...

Murchad then confirms that the reality of the situation is that the legend is true, although Stratioticus had been cured of his vampirism. His previous party had been here previously and managed to cure his vampirism, although that was before Murchad joined them. Stratioticus became a friend to the party, and he would correspond to them by letter when Murchad was in their company on the European continent.

They entered the old, pre-Christian section of the crypt. The walls of this room contained many small berths in which each house the skeletal remains of a person.  There are ancient pagan symbols carved into the rough walls near the heads of many of the bodies.

They also found a room that housed only one empty berth. There was a skeleton collapsed on the floor, wrapped in a hooded cloak of some kind. In the middle of the floor, two roses grow up through the eyes of the skull (one red, and one white).

The hooded figure is a the skeleton of an ancient druid.  It had previously been vanquished as an undead, and the roses have grown up from the floor through his eyes due to the residual nature magic.

They plucked the roses and some of the skeletons behind them came to life, and a minor skirmish ensued.

After some fights with ghouls, they found two rooms with empty pedestals, one covered with a white cloth, and one covered with a red cloth. They placed the roses on the corresponding pedestals (although they took one of the cloths). Nothing seemed to happen.

They did find the Templar knight with his sword in a crypts with dozens of skeleton-containing berths, and they took the sword. Shortly thereafter, the knight got out of his berth, having risen as a mummy. He immediately began kicking the party's butt, so they just noped out of the fight and outran him back to the entrance, sword in hand.  That qualified as completing the quest, since the main item was retrieved.  The sword seems most useful for Vedica, the thief.

I'm sure nothing bad will come in the future from having stolen the mummy's item and left him alive.  /s

Had they not placed the roses on the pedestals, the skeletons would have risen, too.

It was then decided to try to get a useful magic weapon for you by tackling the kobold hall in the hopes that either they will find a weapon or collect enough money to buy one. After a tough battle with some river lizards on the way, the party has discovered that the kobolds are pushovers in combat, but the caverns are full of dangerous traps and some really nasty yellow mold that can be corrosive and really deadly.  They've found a bit of treasure and took an innovative approach to clearing out a patch of yellow mold, but it involved setting off the spores, so they're currently waiting for the air to clear in that hallway (which is where we decided to break for the night). 

Because they completed two side quests, a milestone chunk of XP was awarded, and most PCs went up a level.