Session Date: 08/12/2022
We investigate the temple after taking a short rest. Sorcha finds that all of the church records abruptly end about three weeks ago. An arcana check of Senoska reveals information about the temple defenses and how it came to be desecrated. The broken egg was incubating a portal. There has been no evidence of a local problem therefore an influx of energy from elsewhere on the world tree is the only logical explanation.
From the shape of the egg, Calthel suspects the cult behind this is those for Sochet the Crocodile Prophet, considered the embodiment of ambition and hubris. A runner-up would be Crom the Shadow Serpent, but Calthel would expect more snakes and/or dragon imagery for Crom.
With the church records, we figure out there are 22 kids younger than 16 (all of which are saved) - 18 were in the pews, and four were controlled by the creature.
There are monsters in the lighthouse that we take care of, and then we find:
- Greenish-gold slime (Samples taken by Sarras and Calthel)
- Spoils of the tax collectors (we each get 25g for this)
- 12 wheels of cheese
- 12 fleece
- 6 pints of lanolin
- 30 sealskins
- 6 barrels of guano
- 6g 246s
- The corpses of the tax collectors
- Signet rings taken for proof we found them
- There are no heads, and also no marks on the bodies - the necks are smoothly puckered where their heads used to be
- Notably, there is no portal or egg here
Sarras goes ahead and lights the lighthouse. We recover the taxes and get the kids saved and on a boat to head to the mainland. We conclude that all of the adults must have walked through a portal on some level of willingly.
Of note:
Mouths are scrawled all over the walls, as well as slitted eyes. There is a willow tree with bats all around it as well.