Demons at Tegel Village

Tegel Village

Type	Dungeon
Status	Explored November 907 TA
Location	Tegel Village
Hex	2808
Campaign	The Siren's Song
Adventure #	133

Overview

Tegel Village

Nine years have passed since the adventures in Tegel Village.

• Ronic Rump is now the 14th Lord of the Manor. A paladin who has established himself as kind and competent. He is slowly refurbishing the old Manor, although he tends to spend his money to help the townsfolk.
• Winterweed is the still the primary export from the town, although the delicacy are lemon tarts which are served to visitors with great gusto (baked by Fawn).
• Thistledown has just gone to sleep - Third Harvest on October 15. She has joined Hedda the Herbalist in business - Hedda is gone to the forest with Thistledown. Jade, Earl the Chicken, baby blue dragon, Queen Phoebe.
• Evan Granger has replaced the wizard Zebulon as the town's mage.
• Rukhs, Brightaxe and Rocky have all gone south the Dragonsford to explore some Bluestone Dwarf ruins in the caves under the city.
• Hune Grimhaft is in charge of the children in the town. Smoky the cat, Grotch the Gnoll is his servant. Member of the Family. Taken over the Hillman Exchange.
• Avery and Fawn (Axeworthy) McIllHenny are married and have children. They are the purveyors of the local inn. Avery is a fine cook.

Rumors

• Skitterdark have been seen around the village. They are being called. (See below).
• Assassin demons have been seen around the village. Likewise. (See below).

The Twisted Plot

The White Temple holds the 11th Covenant of Demons - the prison of Sineater who was bound in 666 SA by Benedict Demonbinder. It was brought to this location and priests used the artifact to periodically renew the protections. It has been here almost 1500 years. By speaking the words, the demons will be driven from Tegel Village, and the covenant will be protected.

Shortly before the First Binding, Sineater gave his Lore Master Borak his blood to impregnate women throughout the Realm - in the hopes that one would find and free him from his prison, a fate he knew was forthcoming. Borak did his master's bidding over the years, but none of his spawn has been up to the task. Borak gave a single drop of the blood to Nomed's mother - a promising witch in the Old Kingdom. Thus, Nomed is a spawn of Sineater.

The location of the White Temple was only discovered a few months ago. When it was discovered, Borak sent out a powerful compulsion to all those of Sineater's blood. Nomed believes it is his mother's calling.

Wrane is the direct offspring of Borak and Wrane's grandmother (on his mother's side). His parents settled in the forest just north of here. Wrane's parents were slain by a group of demon hunters, led by Sir Randall Highgate. Thus, Wrane has ties to Borak - but not Sineater. His compulsion is minor.

Borak will try to convince Nomed and Wrane to open the Covenant. The purer the line, the harder it is to get near the Covenant. Nomed will really struggle, Wrane less so.

GO TO TEGEL VILLAGE AND SET THE DEMONS FREE.

Monks of the Briny Deep

The modern temple, built at the end of the seventh century, currently is occupied by the Monks of St. Jacob, or as they have affectionately been called, the Monks of the Briny Deep. A curious cult, these monks have taken a vow of celibacy and silence. Their religion seems to be based on the belief that the Realm will one day be swallowed by an enormous sea serpent. The writings of St. Jacob supposedly tell of such a creature being sighted in the Great Sea, a bestial creature of impossible size with writhing tentacles and a maw the size of a town. Each day at dusk and dawn, one monk wanders down from the temple to the fishing village. There, he strips down, prays and then walks into the sea. Only to return an hour later, cold, shivering and apparently relieved not to have been eaten by Mother Hydra. Picking up an offering of fish and ale left by the fishermen, the monk returns to the Temple for prayers. The Monks of the Briny Deep do not come into Tegel Village, except a rare visit by Brother Bob (a little joke by the townsfolk on how the monks bob like a cork when in the water).

NOTE: Brother #6 has recently been taken by Mother Hydra! Such excitement. Actually, just killed by the demons who poisoned him before he went to sea.

The monks have been dreaming of a monster for about a month. They know it is coming. They know it!

Spirit Hill

Spirit Hill is the common name by which the slight rise to the east of Tegel Village is known. Walking the road that leads over Spirit Hill towards the ocean often fills one with a sense of peace and serenity. The crest of the hill, now covered with religious ruins, has long been a place of quiet contemplation.

NOTE: The sense of serenity is only from the oldest building. The new construction is a bit more sinister.

Graveyard

Surrounding the entirety of the White Temple is the graveyard of Tegel Village. While the Rumps are buried in their family crypts at the manor house, the common folk of Tegel have been buried in the peace and contentment of the White Temple since the time of Sir Rumpole Rump. That is not so say that nothing strange has ever happened in the graveyard. Crazy Cogsworth, the gravedigger, can oftentimes be found sleeping in the shade of the old tombstones of the cemetery.

The White Temple

The White Temple Map

Like many ancient structures, the White Temple actually sits on top of foundations built over the course of centuries. Each new addition is built while the older buildings fall into disrepair. In the last few moths, extensive renovations to the White Temple have been undertaken by the Monks of the Briny Deep. They have done much of the work themselves, although they have paid to have stone masons and carpenters help with the structural construction.

NOTE: This is odd because the monks have no money. RUMOR: They found a chest of gold under the sea while "bobbing" for Mother Hydra. TRUTH: They have been bribed by the demons who are working toward solving Musgrave's Ritual.

Exterior

The walls of this chapel are a mixture of very old stone and newer construction. The newer construction is solid, although of a less ornate, more workman-like nature. It is clear that most of the work has been done in the past few months. The windows of the chapel are a plain dark blue glass.

Strangely, the only entrance into the chapel are two thick silver metal doors in the west. These are locked with a metal lock which also appears to be of new construction.

NOTE: There is no ornamentation - at all - on the exterior walls of the chapel.

Electrified Door

• DESCRIPTION - Type mechanical and technological; Trigger touch (see text); Reset automatic (1 minute; see text)
• INTERACT - Notice Perception DC 32; Disable Disable Device DC 29
• EFFECT - 10d8 electricity damage (Reflex DC 25 half) to anyone touching the door; typically an electrified door triggers only if a creature attempts to bypass or force the door; electrified doors connected to a generator have no charge limit, otherwise the trap has only enough energy to function once with no reset

Room 1: Nave

This room is oddly void of pews and other trappings of most religions. It is very tidy, clean swept. A broom in the southwest corner looks well used.

The most noticeable features of this room are murals on the floors and walls. A large portion of the nave's floor has been painted to resemble the surface of the sea - complete with waves and whitecaps. The work appears to be unfinished as the edges show rough brushstrokes and an unfinished border.

Stranger yet are six murals, five of which have been finished. A sixth painting is underway. A small table is filled with brushes, pots of paints and thinners, and other artist tools. The murals depict strange alien-looking creatures. All seem seaborne, but none of the figures resemble anything you have ever seen in the ocean.

On the eastern wall, a sculpture has been started in plaster. It is early in its construction and nothing can really be told of its features except an tentacle or two.

NOTE: A radiation of evil comes from behind the wall at the back of the nave.

NOTE: An eyehole about 15 feet up on the statue looks into Room 5. Make climbing the statue creepy.

Pictures a - f

Room 2: North Transept

The north transept of the chapel seems unfinished. The walls are bare and the floor pristine. This area has been swept clean like the main nave. At the far end room, a portcullis leading to what would traditionally be a transept chapel. The portcullis is down.

NOTE: If the party snuck in here, then they will overhear the demon voices from Room 4.

Room 3: South Transept

A set of wooden doors lead from the south transept into a private room. Normally located where a chapel would be in a traditional church, these doors appear to be locked.

NOTE: Normally, a Monk of the Brine will be here.

This room is clearly repurposed from its original use as a burial chapel. The outline of the worn stone of the original crypts can still be seen on the walls and floors.

Five cots, a small table and chairs and other signs of a simple monastic life are evident.

NOTE: This is the monk's common room - after they gave up their quarters in Room 5 to the demons.

Room 4: Tunnel Room

This room was once a burial chapel. The destroyed crypt of its original occupants can be seen strewn across the floor as rubble. Unlike the rest of this chapel, this room is filled with dirt - in fact it looks like an excavation site. A number of shovels and buckets are strewn in the rubble. A discarded mummy lies heaped in the corner. Beyond the crypt, there are a set of thick wooden doors in the south wall. These flicker with runic power.

NOTE: There are a number of footprints - both human and very large humanoid in the dirt. These prints lead from the outside and down into the crypt. Only the large prints lead to the door in the south.

Through the bottom of the sarcophagus, a tunnel has been dug. It is rough-hewn. The tunnel is more of a pit with a 15' drop into a hallway below. The hallway is made of cut stone and is clearly ancient.

There is a strong aura of good coming from the pit.

There is a strong aura of evil coming from the room beyond the doors.

Room 5: Chancel

This room is protected by a glyph of warding against all non-demons. The glyph is a blast glyph that deals 10d8 of sonic damage to any non-demons who try to pass through the archway. A DC 23 Reflex save for half damage. Spell resistance applies. Read Magic allows one to identify a greater glyph of warding with a DC 16 Spellcraft check.

This oddly shaped room is clearly once a chancel, although the furniture piled up in a niche in the west wall shows that it might also have been used as a common room.

The north end of the room is piled with several boxes, barrels and two chests. In the center of the room is a large metal disk lays upon the floor with candles burning in a ring about the edges. The circle appears to be made of a black metal and coated in sulfur. It is clearly not part of the original architecture. Finally, several tables are at the far end of the room. These are scattered with papers, vials of liquid, a small box of sulfur and a variety of strange knives and tools.

• The barrels contain powder - one appears to be sulfur and the other a course black dust (explosive).
• The boxes are filled with hammers, mallets, shovels and other mundane instruments.
• Both chests are unlocked and contain 1000 gp each. (used to pay the Monks)
• The summoning circle is the way the demons will retreat once the Covenant is opened.
• The papers appear to be the attempts of the demons to solve the two puzzles.
• One vial is a slow-acting poison that causes paralysis. It is half-full. (used on Bob)
• The knives and tools appear to be mostly used for torture.

NOTE: Only Nomed and Wrane can enter here. If they confront Borak, he will test them by having the circle be filled with fire. Each will be commanded to jump in.

Nomed is pure - a spawn of Sineater. Wrane is Borak's grandson and will survive also.

Temple of the Covenant

The oldest structure on the hill is a small two-room affair behind the current temple. Nothing is known of its origins, although it is possible that the original foundations were laid in the Second Age.

Room 6: Nave Ruins

The outer room of this structure is filled with windows, now open to the air, and is used as a viewing room where the dead of Tegel Village are laid to rest between death and their burial. This tradition carries to this day. A member of the family or village guard watch over the body until the next holy day, when it is buried in the cemetery surrounding the complex.

Musgrave's Ritual

Below this crypt lies a covenant which all good men must protect. It holds evil within and evil at bay. If the image fades, speak "Demons Fall Back" and move it as quickly as possible to safety.

The air is filled with a wave of good that sweeps through the room and beyond. Demons need a DC 30 Will save or be knocked unconscious. Borak and his urviles will flee through the magic circle, if possible. The magic circle will take them back to their haunts in Sandal.

Room 7: Covenant Projection

In the center of the small inner room is a most peculiar magic. Floating mid-air in this room is a ghostly coffer, a box several feet in each dimension. Observers can clearly see through the box. Windowless, the walls of this room are filled with letters carved in stone.

Entering the room causes some to be sickened (Wrane and Nemod), although most find the room very peaceful and almost warm to the skin.

NOTE: No meaning has been attached to Musgrave’s Ritual, so named for a long-deceased town drunk who was always coming up with solutions to the puzzle.

Room 8: Covenant Room

This hallway is ancient - filled with the musty scents of fifteen hundred years of dust. Despite its age, this hallway radiates an aura of good.

NOTE: Human-sized prints lead up and down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway is a stone pedestal carved with a strange set of runes and letters. Atop the pedestal is a box, clearly ancient and magical. The emanations of good enchantments is strong on the chest.

Fill in the boxes with the letters to the right so that two words of equal length are formed which are opposites of each other. Letters in connected boxes are the same, and are only given once to the right.

Attack and Defend.

Opening the Covenant

The aura of good disappears the moment before the lid of the covenant cracks open. It is replaced by an overwhelming sense of evil. DC 30 Will save or flee.

Streams of grey light swirl from the box, each materializing into the form of a demon. The demons quickly dash down the hallway towards freedom. As you slowly lose consciousness, the last figure emerges - Sineater the Giant Raver. He towers over his companions - his form lean, massive and powerful. His head, slightly serpentine and too small for his body, tilts back as he laughs at a freedom after centuries of captivity. It is the most evil sound you have ever heard.

Denizens

• Monks of the Briny Deep
• Lore Master Borak
• Skitterdark (10)
• Barizou - Assassin Demon (6)