Adventures in Beast World - Session 23 - The Investigation Continues

Session Date: 2024-05-07 10 Saattaa 1365 The crew meets back up at the Inn, finding Stacy is up and about they fill her in on the goings on. Testing theories, and playing with magic, El prestidigitates an image of the now missing Otter, showing it to Butch, the barkeep. Finding yet another person who can't really focus on the image and doesn't recognize the youth. Sam asks after her parents and El tries to make a picture of them, but Butch tells them that with all the people that come through it isn't always easy to remember individuals. The crew heads over to the Dramphinian temple to ask about the goings on. It seems there is only one young initiate in residence at the momet as the order has headed off in to the foothills to track down a potential threat. The initiate informs the crew that he has heard of Church of the Black rose, and it is something that the order is looking into, however the current mission was more of an immediate priority. He also informs the crew that he can attempt to get a message to Lyraleth Morgenstern as they have visiting members through all the time, there are just no guarantees on how long it will take for the message to reach her. The crew then makes their way over to where the Church of the Black Rose has taken up residency. Outside the central city, but still very much part of the city. The building is somewhat imposing with a dark air to it. The front doors are locked with puzzle lock. Placing the carvings in the correct order allows the crew to open the doors. Fynn, El and Stacy are the brains behind actually solving the puzzle. This of course after Fynn has to talk Stacy out of bashing the door down or just teleporting inside. The crew enters the building, finding Zeke, a priest of the order apparently cleaning up what appears to be a sacrificial alter. The crew tries to strike up a dialog, with Fynn sticking to the back of the building and Stacy attempting to sneak around the perimeter. The others make a rash decision to head straight up the center aisle. As El tries to bluff his way into sounding like he wants to join the church, Zeke senses something is afoot. He lays down a powerful command spell on Charon, and the party find themselves in combat with a powerful dark cleric.