10.
Chapel In the Woods
This hex is
very wild, the undergrowth is dense and the trees are overgrown with moss.
Travel in this hex is reduced to ¼ normal rate. The chance of encounters here
is also cut in half. 100 yards west of where the stream meets the river in this
hex is a small shrine that the locals, with hushed voices and uncertain looks,
call the Chapel in the Woods. Few locals have ever been to the Chapel in the
Woods and almost no one living has ever been inside, but it is known and somewhat
legendary among the people of the region as the source of both the greatest
evil and the greatest good.
The chapel
itself seems a fairly small structure, though very ornamented. Made of white marble,
it is covered in grime and moss and vines.
The doorway to
the chapel is obvious – what is not obvious is how to open the smooth marble
door. There is no mechanism, no lock, no runes. At the foot of the door is a
tiny ornamental doorway (about 8” high) and in front of that is a slight
depression in the floor. The depression is discolored somewhat. If blood (at least a cupful) is poured into
the depression (it doesn’t matter where the blood comes from), rumbling sounds
will be heard from within the Chapel, then very loud growls. The ground will
shake slightly and the tiny ornamental door will appear to open (illusion, can
be disbelieved) and out will pour dozens of tiny, horrific misshapen spectral
creatures (appearing to be a cross between zombie rats and bloated pigs with
vaguely humanish heads – the creatures are not an illusion) which swarm over
one another, lap up the blood, swarm back into the door which appears to close
behind them. The tiny creatures are have 2 hp each, AC 9, they do not attack
and if killed, they will simply vanish.
Two rounds later, after the blood is consumed and the spectral creatures
disappear, the smooth marble door silently swings inward. Inside, the door has
an iron bar and what appears to be a marble handles to open and lock the portal
from the inside.
Inside, the
Chapel is very small, just 10’ across. Opposite the door is a small altar table
fixed to the wall on which is laid fresh fruit, a dagger and two golden
candlesticks. In the right alcove is a marble statue of a young boy, looking
sad, reaching out toward the center of the room. In the left alcove is a marble
statue of an old man, looking upward as if in pain, reaching both hands up as
if reaching for something. The ceiling is painted as a sky filled with dark,
winged – possibly demonic – creatures.
The altar
table is magical. Anything laid on the table will be preserved forever
(functions to permanently stop time for everything that touches the table). A
dead body, for example, laid on the table will never decay, wood will never
rot, food (obviously) will never spoil.
The fruit lying on the table has been here for 154 years. The dagger is
not magical, but is extremely sharp (and will remain so forever) and well
balanced (worth 20 gp). The candlesticks are gold plated brass and only worth
100 sp for the pair.
The statues
are magical. The statue of the young man bestows a one-time per person blessing
of complete healing (restoring all hit points, cure disease, remove curse,
regenerate lost limbs, etc.) simply at a touch, without any request or desire
on the part of the recipient. The statue
of the old man bestows a withering curse, reducing hit points to 5% of total,
causing disease in the person, twisting a random limb (roll d4) to become
useless, reducing DEX by 1-3 (save vs. spells to reduce all effects by half –
that is reducing to half hit points, no disease, twisted limb reducing DEX by
1) simply at touch. Again, this could easily happen simply exploring the room.
The magic of the statue of the old man is unlimited, can affect the same person
multiple times.
The magic of
the statues and the altar is tied to the Chapel and if removed from the Chapel,
the magic will be destroyed.
TO FINISH: Image, map?
