The Death Knight's Squire (Finished!)

[GinkyGotBack]

The track leads deeper into the wood, and the light fades. Ancient trees line each side of the path, and you can't help but think this wood is an excellent place to hide out. Then, ahead you see something strange... it appears to be a low stone building, at the corner of the track where it runs north. No doubt this is the structure you glimpsed earlier. Tucked in amongst the trees, it is made solidly, of grey stone, fronted by two large stone double doors.

 

[dae mec]

She walks to the building, curious despite herself. Sylrila takes a closer look, trying to determine if the building is abandoned, or if there are any traps, strange markings, spells, or anything like that. Paranoid? Maybe a little bit, but she'd been careless and lost Daisy because of it. If she has to slow down a little bit, then it's worth not making another stupid mistake.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

You search around the door and the house but find nothing traplike or strange.

 

[dae mec]

Good, thinks Sylrila. She knocks on the doors, curious to see if someone's inside. She follows that up with a quick, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

 

[GinkyGotBack]

There's no reply.

 

[dae mec]

Sylrila first glances around to see if anyone else is on the path and then tries to open the door, searching for purpose on any handles that may be on the door. If none is there, she tries to push or pull it both.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

There doesn't seem to be any significance involving the door or the handle. That is, until you try to open it. As you grasp the metal ring that acts as the handle and pull outwards, you hear an audible 'click' and then a 'ffft!' sound. Two darts come flying towards you from cleverly concealed holes that you only just now notice. The darts fly out at you at blinding speed, but your reflexes kick in and you dodge quickly out of the way. Well done!

 

[dae mec]

"Well!" she huffs out loud. "Rude." Sylrila's glad that her mentor's insisted on throwing objects at her during training. She pries the door open just a tad more so she can take a peek inside. This booby-trapped building, whatever it is, probably isn't related to the Death Knight. If he had his base so close to the entrance of the forest, more people would stumble upon him. But she wants to take a look, just to see if she can figure out what this is.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Peering through the doorway, you can see a straight corridor leading to a flight of stairs going down. The air coming from inside the building is cool and you can hear no noise coming from inside.

 

[dae mec]

Sylrila hesitates, but she's always hesitating. Whatever this is, they put darts on the door to ward off (or even kill) intruders. Darek is still in trouble; does Sylrila really have the luxury of delaying to seek a whim? She doesn't hear any noises suggesting that people might be in trouble. She decides to reach out with her Divine Sense to make sure that she isn't turning her back on a cult of vampires or anything like that... and to see if there might be anyone watching her.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Closing your eyes, you reach out your senses further into the building, down the stairs and beyond to where you cannot see. You do not detect the presence of any Fiends or Undead creatures, but you can sense a form of good further within. One of a celestial nature.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Also, you notice some ornate designs around the metal ring handle of the door. Looking closer, it is clear it is a mosaic of sun designs. A close study of the designs reveals the obvious, at least to you: They are images of Amaunator, the Sun god, the most worshipped in the realm. This is probably a temple of some sort.

 

[dae mec]

Oh. The realization clicks for her, and that changes her considerations. She knows that Amaunator and Tyr have complementary domains, though they rarely interact or even acknowledge each other. Yet, he's a powerful god, and now that she knows, it seems unwise to pry open the door to a temple and leave without paying the nominal respect.

If this temple is guarded by a celestial being who obeys a god of order, there's the secondary question of why they let an undead knight and creature of destruction to roam, kidnapping children...

Sylrila straightens her shoulders and strides into the temple. "Greetings," she says as she walks. "I am a Paladin of Tyr, and I've come to pay my respects." It seems like she's been bandying about her title quite often, she acknowledges ruefully. But sometimes, it can't be helped.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

You enter the quiet, cool passage and pad softly down the corridor. Soon you are at the top of the flight of stairs, looking down. You quietly walk down the stairs, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, you descend to the bottom of the stairs, where a medium-sized chamber lies. As you become accustomed to the light, or rather the lack of it, you notice at the far end of the chamber is a large idol, made out of bronze by the looks of it. You know the God well, and you recognize him from the door handle: it is Amaunator, the Sun god, the god of law and justice (aside from Tyr, of course), worshipped throughout Faerun. You also notice cushions lying about the place.

It appears this room was once a monastery of some sort, used by devotees of Amaunator for meditation. Although what it's doing so far out in the wilderness is anyone's guess.

You cry out your "Greetings," but disappointingly, there is nobody around to reply.

 

[dae mec]

Sylrila feels a little melancholy at the thought of this seemingly abandoned monastery. How sad, for this temple to have been left untended. Perhaps that's the celestial presence she's sensed: remnants of worship. Amaunator isn't her patron god, but he still deserves respect. Sylrila has celebrated his festivals, but as a child and past then: Tyr isn't a jealous deity. She shrugs off her pack and takes a stick of incense from the block she keeps for prayer and meditation. Sylrila lights it, places it in the dusty holder, and bows her head.

"Amaunator," she begins, "May your light guide me and fill this temple." She keeps it simple, ending it there.

Sylrila looks around, checking again for the presence.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Walking up to the large bronze idol of Amaunator, you see it is exceptionally well made, and seems like it was just placed here yesterday. The metal gleams dully as you move around it. As you stand up after having finished your prayer, you see something small lying on the ground. A holy symbol of Amaunator! It is on a long, steel chain to be worn around the neck, and is in the image of a large effulgent sun with runes on the front. This perhaps belonged to a cleric, monk or paladin.

 

[dae mec]

She picks up the chain, wondering if it belonged to the last resident of this temple. It reminds her of the amulet she's wearing right now: a silver disk with the hammer and scales delicately engraved, strung on a thin chain. Sylrila tries to see if there are signs of age or if there's anything unusual about the holy symbol.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Leaving the temple after finding the holy symbol, you're left with a choice. Either go north further down this path or return east to go back to the junction.

 

[dae mec]

After promising to take the symbol back to one of his temples, Sylrila tucks it into her pack. She knows that, if she were to lose her own, she'd want the person who found it to bring it back to her brethren at the church. Sylrila looks further down the path, trying to see what's down that way. How much daylight does she have left? Sylrila doesn't want to backtrack to a different path, reach a dead end, and waste even more time waiting in the dark.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

With the canopy of trees above you blocking all the sunlight, it is hard to tell what time of day it is. When you took the path to come down here, you knew it was still light. However, you don't think you were down in that temple for so long that much time has passed. It may be close to an hour since you began trekking through the woods.

 

[dae mec]

The logic for picking the western path hasn't changed, she decides. Sylrila can make good time in the remaining day if she continues down the western way. Mind made up, she continues on.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

As you continue to cautiously make your way forward through the Western path, which has begun to veer north, you spy something just off the side of the path. A bush, laden with red berries!

 

[dae mec]

Sylrila's a little hungry, but from her life on the farm and her father's excursions into the forest with her, she knows the number one rule is "Don't eat strange plants." She never really took to the nature-loving side of her heritage, but she glances at the berries anyway to see if she can drudge a memory from her lessons.

 

[GinkyGotBack]

Examining the berries, you notice that they are shaped vaguely like stars. A rhyme your father taught you about berries comes to mind. "If they're red, that means you're dead. But if they're shaped like stars... well, they're as good as gold bars?" It wasn't his best rhyme, but it seems to stick out like a sore thumb in your head. Nonetheless, you recognize these berries as Redstars! They are renowned for their powers of sustenance. Quickly you take out a pouch and gather a good amount of them for later.

You may add Pouch of Redstars to your inventory. This small meal can be eaten at any time, and their healing properties will restore 5 hp to you, up to your hp max.

Pleased with this find, you turn down the path and continue on your way.

The woods become ever deeper, and the sound goes out of the air. There are no birds here, or something has frightened them into silence... It is hard to even tell what time of day it is this deep in the forest. Across the path, you see a trail of footprints leading from the right to the left. They lead back into the forest where it becomes very dense, however there is no sign of the foliage being disturbed even though the bootprints look relatively fresh: they could have been made as recently as last night!

On the track ahead, you can see that this path eventually bends to the right, and on the corner there appears to be an entrance to a cave...

 

[dae mec]

Sylrila's pleased mood continues through the darker parts of the forest. She's had a run of good luck (or she's been blessed): between the temple and the berries, the trek has been easier.

She stops at the sight of foot prints. Could this be the trail of the Death Knight? Perhaps. She's not that deep into the forest, but perhaps deep enough. Sylrila crouches down to examine the prints.