Summary 165: Cold Feelings (2017-03-21)
Hi guys,
You forced your way into the Cathedral of Arvonesse and were met with the brute force of the freezing cold darkness inside. It was clear that, if you tarried, you'd all freeze to death here. The dank, stinking, frigid darkness imposed gloomy silence upon all inside the almost pristine cathedral. Even your footfalls upon the marbled stone barely echoed. Boamund threw a fire-ring spell that kept you warm enough to slow the freezing doom.
Cataldo proposed that you make haste around the antechamber that occupied the perimeter of the Cathedral, before you crossed into the inner congregation hall (up the grand staircase through an archway ahead). You agreed.
Passing clockwise around the church, you found shrines embossed into alcoves in the great flying buttresses. These were (as inferred by Maugis, with aid from Cataldo): (1) twin statues to the Neleomi Guardians; ancient Jrusteli essences/saints that aided seafarers with friendly winds that opposed Magasta's deadly currents– magics here still were obviously active and Maugis thought they must preserve the Cathedral with the protective winds (Ahappi was not amused; the Thaumanauts, too, were disturbed by the forbidden power here).
(2) unidentifiable statue of what might have been a staff-bearing Zzaburi, but which had corroded or been worn down - Boamund thought he sensed concealed life within it, but you opted not to investigate. There was little or no magic remaining.
(3) a small, simple shrine where a stone bowl sat on the floor. The runic inscriptions on the walls and floor had faded and Maugis could see little or no sorcery left here. But from what he could read, he thought it was the Grand Order of the Crimson Sail's shrine: the naval force of the Middle Sea Empire, brutally opposing the Waertagi and winning the epic battle of No Choice.
4) a set of smaller shrines in one place, opposite the collapsed arch at the far end of the cathedral. These were for the common citizens of the Godlearners and included all “castes” except soldiers. The high-quality statuary was familiar to all of you but not exceptional in its identity. Maugis saw faint enchantments remaining.
5) A statue of a short-bearded, robed man holding up a hammer-headed staff and a set of calipers. The two Thaumanauts got excited and Cataldo said they'd remain here, needing privacy, so you were free to continue onward with investigations. You had no problem with that, and now it was clear that there were two missions in one (but still not in opposition).
6) The crumbled remains of an older shrine, with the only magics that Maugis could see being active on an imposing statue of a mounted knight that was placed in front of the shrine, as if blocking or guarding it. Curious…
7) A simple, normal-sized statue of a cloaked lady, identifiable as St Xemela; the healing saint/Ascended Mistress. The shadows of the Cathedral clung more strongly here and you thought that they might even be suppressing its power.
You finished your survey and returned to the staircase into the Congregation Hall: another, smaller, central circular hall within walls enclosed by the wider antechamber halls. This hall itself enclosed the pyramidal spire of the Inner Sanctum and tower, but on entering you saw no entrance to that spire. Proceeding clockwise around the hall, you saw rotting benches and elaborate diases, with decomposed bodies and skeletal remains littering everywhere. It seemed that those taking refuge here at the Shattering had come to their final end. Above them, illuminated by the faint golden glow of the dome, was a fine Hrestoli frieze depicting events in the life of that major Malkioni saint (much hated by the Rokari).
Expecting undead to rise from these remains at any moment, you proceeded warily around the corner of the spire. The undead did not disappoint you. Immediately, a throng of troll skeletons, sea troll zombies, and armoured remains of what turned out to be troll ghouls (capable of some minor spellcasting) assaulted you. You rushed for a defensive position atop a dias, with your backs to the spire's walls.
Badly outnumbered, the situation again looked dire for you. But everyone played their part. Maugis showed his sorcerous might with two Palsy spells that crippled most of the non-skeletons. Everyone else, even Miguel, hacked apart a troll skeleton or two, with no one suffering injury. Tripping them up turned out to be a winning strategy. A few rounds later, you were ready to mop them up, having suffered no injuries but with Maugis depleted of some magic.
And now, maybe the Inner Sanctum was accessible nearby?
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