Oppol’s Seizure of the Temple of Ancients

Characters: Cheynar, Illdric, JadeBlade, Janora, Vi’Helm
NPCs: Jynn Thatcher
Synopsis: Qualen Shadowbourne is summoned to the hidden shrine of Kelemvor by his new mentor Jynn Thatcher, a disciple of Kelemvor who seeks to strengthen his god and re-establish his presence on the Dragon Coast. Trekking through the diseased city of Teziir, Qualen and his comrades use the poorly scrawled map to a section of the city that has been quarunteened. Massive hand-painted signs ward the area, but not a soul is around to enforce it.

The map leads them to a multi-story brownstone, but the directions for entrance indicate the shrine is in the cellar of the house. Moving through the adjacent alleyway, they are attacked by the ghost of Poor Friar Tomas. The filth of the alley works against the group as Qualen succumbs to the fumes of some airborne mold. Vi’Helm forces the ghost to flee as the cleric presents the holy symbol, but the noise of battle attracks the scarred, old man Jynn Thatcher.

Jynn invites the group into the cellar. Illuminated by numerous candles mounted on shoulder-height iron stands, the room holds several items sacred to Kelemvor, the Lord of the Dead and Judge of the Damned. A gentle-reposed corpse lies covered on a low-standing altar. Jynn describes Qualen’s particular remorse of his fallen companion Farthick and has promised to return the dwarf to the plain of the living, if he can find his soul and if he wishes to return.

But Jynn’s concerns lie outside of the city limits. It has come to his attention that a mysterious mound of stone has appeared not three miles towards the coast. Jynn announces that he is resurrecting the Eternal Order, a knightly order of Kelemvor whose purpose is to hunt and destroy powerful undead. The rumor of this stone mound houses a temple of an ancient sect. But the mystery is why it has appeared. Hand in hand with the rumor the temple is the fact that an undead kobold has taken residence inside and is manipulating the dead. Qualen’s first step towards the Eternal Order was to eliminate this threat, but the warrior lies stricken from the disease of Teziir. The others must carry out the mission.

Reluctantly the group journeys to the temple, following another one of Jynn’s crude maps. Cheynar scouts ahead of the group sneaking inside the temple threshold, but the trespassing provokes a cluster of water elementals from a broken fountain of worship. The others arrive to aid the scout, but the battle has twisted against Cheynar’s favor, forcing her deeper into the temple’s interior. Another guardian is triggered as a floating mystic cloud targets the catfolk attempting to suffocate the intruder. The group comes to Cheynar’s side and defeats the elemental sentries.

Beyond the first two chambers, the group spies a cluster of movement beyond. Moving to the central tomb, they meet the undead kobold sorcerer Oppol who has animated the bodies of his destroyed tribe. But before they can mount a unified front, damned spirits spew out from tomb chambers from behind, creating two fronts of this battle. The superior skill and weaponry of the group proves that they have come far in a short period of time. Oppol is eliminated by Illdric as JadeBlade annihilates the kobold zombie tribe.

The others fair far worse against the evil dead and Cheynar retreats to the entrance. As the kobolds are destroyed Ildric and JadeBlade return to the others and help to destroy the undead. Cheynar draws one to the temple’s door, but it returns to the tomb to expel the others. Finally, the assault ends after the last walking dead is dropped. The ancient temple stands silent but offers much in sight. Murals depict grand cities, some atop clouds and some below the sea. A warrior is depicted in a mural wearing coral armor standing proudly among his people.

The group takes etchings and recovers some of the arms of the kobold attackers. As the sun sets, the group returns through the frozen coast back to the dying city of Teziir. Jynn is astounded at their success and relishes the etchings they procured. Their treasure will go a long ways towards understanding the mystery of the temple’s appearance. Thankful for their efforts, the cleric of Torm heals their more grevious wounds and promises to focus his efforts on the dwarf warrior Farthick by asking Kelemvor to spare his soul. But something is amiss in the City of the Dead. And something is amiss amongst the lost souls of Teziir.

Encounters: ghost, two shadows, two water elementals, belker, ten kobold zombies, 5 wights, and an undead kobold sorcerer.
Achievements: defeated the evil undead of the temple and restored it to peace.