Session #4: Conflict at the Church

We picked up where we'd left off last game, with the crew hunkered down in Barovia's town square. Last session, they'd decided to venture to the village's church, as many of the townsfolk were indicating that the roots of the undead curse were there. Their secondary goal was to venture to the (deceased) mayor's home.

Only a night and morning had passed. Ashlyn kept Benson's company, and the two discussed their pasts, their experiences, and their faiths. At the same time, Gavrin was twisting Jelani's ear because she'd told Cookie to make food for the village's many refugees. Ever the businessman concerned about the troupe's bottom line, Gavrin ended the discussion by promising that the cost of the food would come out of Jelani's share of the profits.

In the tavern, Drezz was approached by a small boy named Peter, probably no older than 5 or 6 years. Peter's father was "still at home," according to his weeping mother. He was curious about Drezz's lineage, having never seen a half-orc before. The two chatted for a short time, with Peter asking if he could accompany the party to the church. Drezz denied the request, sayin that it would be dangerous. Peter grudgingly agreed to remain behind with his mother. Later, as the party scaled the north barricade into town, Peter offered Drezz his lucky charm: an old, gray rabbit's foot.

A few hundred feet north of the town square, with Vaor on point, the party encountered a trio of zombies feasting upon the remains of a horse. The party arrived piece by piece, and battle was met. As the PCs hacked away at their undead foes, a trio of ghouls emerged from the nearby builings, attacking Vaor from behind and paralyzing him. The ghouls' intention to drag him away, likely in order to sate their vile appetites, was put to an end by Jelani's invokation to Tymora. As two of the ghouls ran away in fear, the third dropped Vaor, proclaimed "You're one lucky bastard!" and spit into the tiefling's eye before fleeing after his companions.

The battle was further complicated by the arrival of two frenzied carcass eaters. The creatures had been attracted by the commotion, and immediately set upon Jelani and Norm. Still, the group made short work of the carcass eaters and the zombies that remained. Spirits were high, and they continued on to the church only a little worse for wear.

Ahead, the church loomed out of the mist. Our brave heros ventured to the doors, where they could hear strange chanting emanating from inside. With no time to spare, they opened the doors and charged within. Drezz was the first on the scene, which was revealed to be a ruined chapel with a large hole torn into the center of the floor. The church's only living occupant, the village priest, Danovich, stood up from behind the altar, screaming "You'll never take my son away from me!!" before unleashing a fury of divine flame upon Drezz.

With that, several zombies and a deathlock emerged from the southern rooms, accosting the rest of the adventurers as they moved inside. Drezz, singed but still alive, closed in on Danovich, with Vaor close behind. The two quickly subdued the old man before he could do much more harm, while everyone else contended with the zombies. Jelani, calling on Tymora one more time, easily scattered the three zombies, causing them to flee.

Drezz, infuriated and in a barbarian's rage, took a leap of faith and plunged into the hole in the floor. He was immediately set upon by the source of the necromantic scourge: a blaspheme. No one could say where the horrible creature had come from, nor did they much care as it tore into Drezz with its horrible teeth. Along with the blaspheme were two more zombies (the animated corpses of Ashlyn's missing companions) and a skeleton.

In short order, the entire party was involved in the fray. Vaor went toe-to-toe (or is that "phalange to phalanges"?) with the skeleton, while Benson (after leaping through the hole in a failed attempt at "death from above" on the blaspheme) and Drezz continued taking turns hacking the vile creature. Norm followed Ashlyn down the stairs into the attack, and applied his electrifying touch to the beast, while Jelani fired holy rays into the melee from the upper storey.

Ashlyn, seeing the zombified remains of her two missing companions, became slightly unhinged. It made matters worse that the two zombies, upon seeing her, shambled towards her with murderous intent reflected in their dry, shriveled eyes. As the distraught paladin tried to fend off her former colleagues, almost everyone else suffered from the blaspheme's blasphemous bite. Things were looking grim, indeed, until Jelani let fly one last mercurial ray.

With a blinding flash and a spiritual shockwave, the blaspheme was suddently torn asunder by the holy might of Tymora (combined with the brutal hacking of swords and the crackling power of sorcerous electricity). Every other undead creature in the room shuddered violently before dropping to the floor in inert rotting piles. The death blow had fallen none too soon, for the group was in sorry shape: Ashlyn was nearly dead, and Drezz (his rage expended) was literally on death's doorstep.

The battle done, the crew tended to the wounded and gathered up items of importance (ie, loot): a diary, along with items of religious significance, was contained within the altar; a mess of alchemical and surgical apparatus, too large and fragile for immediate removal, littered the northwestern corner of the basement; the arms and armor of Ashlyn's friends was found in the basement, as well; and a fragment of a foul text -- possibly the cause of the priest's undoing -- lay upon the altar.

All in all, the players had accomplished much in a single evening of swordplay. After three sessions with a single encounter each, they'd moved quickly through two (or three, depending on how you tally them) difficult encounters in one evening. The dice were with them, and though I wasn't rolling horribly, my rolls were certainly less effective than I'd become accustomed to. I had fully expected at least one casualty, but it was not to be. In future, I must learn not to underestimate this motley crew.