Altar Boys

With the hellhound slain, Damien suggested that there might be a trigger mechanism on the floor on the other side of the door that closed the door. Yor tested this theory by abruptly throwing the hellhound corpse onto it. Apparently this was correct, but that did little to help Damien, who was then trapped on the other side from the rest of the group, in the dark, having already cast his Light spell for the day. Yor tried to hold the door open, but was forced to release it to avoid being crushed, while some of the others observed that the lever had nothing to do with the closing of the door.

While the group tried to think up ways to get Damien back, Morena spotted a small force of mindless undead entering the hallway from outside. The largest undead creature – the skeleton of some large beast - charged forwards, attacking Yor. Matje moved swiftly to form the other half of the front line, and Terenar began shooting at zombies. While Rendan asked his god to bless him with a shield of faith, Camthalion drew his bow, but held off attacking. Aerlene went to assist Yor and Matje against the large skeleton, and Morena turned some of the rear undead.

Only after it had injured both Yor and Aerlene, was the large skeleton destroyed. Matje dealt the killing blow. Yor immediately stepped over the fallen skeleton, and began laying into the humanoid skeletons behind it. Terenar enchanted Camthalion’s bow, which Cam then used to fire at one of the zombies. Rendan also joined the fray, attacking a zombie himself. Aerlene joined him with her spear, while Morena caused more undead to flee from the ranks. Matje began felling zombies. Yor moved onward to the next skeleton in line to be crushed. Terenar, meanwhile, began firing again. Rendan, however, lost his grip on his mace, which flew off towards Matje.

Yor pulverised another skeleton, and Aerlene finally managed to take out the zombie she’d been locked in combat with. Matje delivered two devastating attacks to the last remaining skeleton, and Yor attacked the final zombie, slaying it with a mighty hit.

Morena again noticed something out of the ordinary, as did Rendan. Their warnings came too late, as the scalemail-clad human male who had previously fought the party alongside the female wizard had returned to try again. Sneaking in invisibly, he attacked Matje, scoring a nasty gash on the elf’s arm. The fight then began again in earnest, with Matje and Yor engaging the man in melee, while Terenar and Camthalion shot at him. The man was worn down while Rendan continued to heal Matje, and finally Camthalion loosed an arrow that struck the human in one eye. Admitting defeat, he requested a warrior’s death - and for a long moment, it seemed Matje might kill him, despite Aerlene’s shouted objection. Matje, however, simply knocked the man unconscious, and the group gained another prisoner.

Minutes later, the door behind which Damien had become trapped opened, to reveal the elf, carrying a makeshift torch, and bearing gifts - treasures he found in the corridor. The group examined the treasure, and discussed what the intrepid explorer had found on the other side. Deciding to go see this altar for themselves, they entered the left corridor, rounded a bend, and came to a large, vaulted chamber. Two statues of what were apparently angels stood to either side of a stone altar, from which rubble had been cleared. Dust indicated that the area had been undisturbed for quite some time, apart from Damien’s footprints from earlier.

The presence of the altar terrified the female prisoner, suggesting that this was hallowed ground, so it was decided that the group would camp there for the night. The adventurers agreed upon three watches, consisting of one person each.