A Rather Dreadful Haunting in the Holy Halls: Ancient Masks Causing a Bit of a Scene! | Jan Teschner

Arcadia, Northern Treasury – The morning began with rather unsettling news: Captain Mad Matt and one of the lifeboats had quite vanished, which was all very inconvenient, while Selah lay feeling rather poorly in bed. They found a note from Mad Matt, explaining that the warm embrace of Nalzagoth the Star Devourer had left him longing for the quietude of the psychiatric ward at Goldenbank Hospital - a bit of a retreat, one might say. Yet, with duty calling and the weather looking rather unpredictable, the party pressed on, heading to the promised tour of the famed treasures. High Sun Priest Elio, busied with cathedral obligations, was unavailable, leaving Moon Priestess Selene to guide them through. Though exhausted from her long night shift, Selene agreed to accompany them, quite unaware of the rather unpleasant surprises awaiting them inside.

Secrets of the Vault
Their journey led them to the mysterious Northern Cathedral, a massive structure without a single door - making it quite impossible to queue properly. Selene explained that its security was unlike any other place: only teleportation magic could grant access. With expert precision, she cast the spell, transporting the group directly into the vault. They arrived next to a serene basin of holy water, and Selene led them in a gesture of reverence, which Deva eagerly mimicked. As they approached the altar, their eyes were drawn to mountains of gold, ornately crafted statues, and rows of artifacts, each with its own mysterious history. The allure of wealth and secrets was intense, but suddenly Selene’s expression changed. She sensed a rather dark disturbance surrounding some of the artifacts. Immediately, she hurried to a book perched at the altar, examining it closely, as if searching for an explanation for this most disagreeable energy.

Malignant Masks Take Flight
Just as Selene began studying the tome, an eerie wooden mask lifted from a nearby pile, bathed in a twisted green-purple aura and glowing red eyes. Reacting on instinct - and offering no apologies - Mabel and Marina leaped to defend Selene, charging at the mask with their greataxes, but the relic retaliated, sending tendrils of dark energy that were quite a bother to their skin. The battle quickly escalated into a bit of a kerfuffle as other masks, each radiating malevolent energy, floated from the shadows and joined the fray. Suddenly, a chilling presence crept up behind Tiyana: her own shadow, twisted and animated, lunged at her throat. She tried to compose herself despite the fright but found herself paralyzed by the mask’s cursed gaze. Nearby, Deva, wielding her Flame Blade, hurled a javelin at a second mask, but it merely whistled past, missing the target quite embarrassingly. The masks moved with otherworldly precision, shifting to dodge each blow, their red eyes burning with rather unpleasant anger.

Chaos in the Courtyard
Mabel and Marina fought to shield Selene, who clutched the ancient book tightly, believing it to be the source of the spirits. She shouted a warning to the party: these spirits must not escape back into the book’s portal. Marina, attempting to strike the mask from different angles, missed, her axe instead demolishing a golden throne in the vault - a most regrettable accident, truly. Nearby, Tiyana noticed a peculiar red liquid in a bowl by the altar. Desperate to turn the quite dire tide, she threw the liquid onto the mask closest to her, its energy dimming momentarily, before she unleashed a burst of Fireball. As the spirits continued to lash out, Mabel scooped up a gold coin from the ground, focused her energy, and hurled it at the mask with quite considerable force. The coin struck, and the mask shattered into fragments, its cursed power dissipating in a cloud of dark mist. Meanwhile, Marina, being rather unrelenting, loosed another crossbow bolt at a mask, keeping the assailants from closing in on Selene.

Divine Retribution with a Holy Hand Grenade
As she circled the altar, Mabel’s eye caught on a small, silver-gold object, nestled among the scattered treasures – a “Holy Hand Grenade.” Beneath it, a simple note read, “First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shalt be three.” She grinned, grasping the device, and with a flick of her wrist, pulled the pin, counting aloud before tossing it into the heart of the battle. With a brilliant flash and a chorus of angelic voices singing, “Hallelujah,” the mask disintegrated in holy light, leaving a calm silence in its wake.
With the last enemy fallen, Selene exhaled in relief, stepping forward to thank the party - a lovely gesture. She placed her hands on each of their shoulders, healing their wounds with a single touch. As they recovered, Deva voiced her grievances over a supposed gold debt with Elio, to which Selene, visibly irritated with Elio's mismanagement, promptly returned the 200 gold from the treasury, much to Deva’s satisfaction.

A New Mission Inside the Book
Just as they began to catch their breath and perhaps consider a spot of tea, the cursed book sprang open, drawing in the dark energies that lingered in the room. Selene’s face fell, her voice barely a whisper as she realized that the spirits had retreated back into the book’s haunted realm. Shaken, she explained that to truly end the spirits’ reign, the party would need to enter the world within the book and confront the beings directly. In gratitude and determination, she offered a variety of rewards for their bravery: the chance for Mabel to learn the creation of Holy Hand Grenades, assistance for Selah, and perhaps even more gold. Resolved to face whatever lay within the cursed tome, the party returned to their boat to rest for the night - hopefully with much better weather tomorrow - prepared to embark on a new and dangerous journey within the book’s mysterious realm the next morning.

– TO BE CONTINUED –