Adventures in Beast World - Session 9 - A Missing Brother (Part 2)

Session Date: 2023-11-14 The crew, with their new friend, Fynn Callaghan, head underground into the cave entrance that the twig blights and vine creatures seemed to have been guarding. Once inside the cave they come to a fork in the cave system. On one side, stairs lead up to ornate double doors, while on the other, a natural tunnel leads off to another smaller door. The more studious folks in the group head up to the ornate doors to get a good look at them. Carvings of traditional Pirhouan iconography cover the doors, indicating that this may have once been a Bethel. While seemingly long forgotten, there were signs and scents that this has been actively used recently by a number of creatures. Ever diligent, El did not find any traps on the great doors, pushes open the doors and leads the crew in, triggering a trap in the next room. Vines spring out from the floor, ensnaring the rabbit, while the rest of the crew manages to dodge out of the way. It takes a few minutes of hacking at the vines to break El free, but eventually, with the unexpected help of Emily they manage to beat back more animated plants. The crew takes a moment to look around the room, realizing they are in some sort of tomb or crypt. While some of the sarcophagi seemed to be disturbed or damaged, the crew decided that they shouldn't do any further disturbing of the dead. Continuing through the room Fynn discovers that the next set of doors, also covered in carvings, depicts iconography that he has never seen before. Motifs of plants that don't appear to be native to the Beast World adorn these doors. In some ways it looks like the carvings may have been carved over something older, but it is hard to tell. While Fynn stops to really dig into the doors, the rest of the party pushes on into the dark corridor beyond. In El's infinite wisdom, he sets the next set of doors on fire in the hope of shedding some light on the corridor. Meanwhile, Stacy Charelston leads some of the friends through the darkness, stumbling into a room that may have once served as a sanctuary. Today it is being used as a holding room for the beasts that have been abducted by the cultists. Some cultist guards get the jump on the crew as they come out of the darkness a bit unprepared for a fight. However the crew rallies and quickly takes control of the situation. After dispatching the cultists, the crew takes stock of the situation. They have found Samuel Tinsley, the young ovine whose sister they had met in town, along with Thadric Greenbough. Seemingly missing from the group of captives is Emily's partner, Hannah. Not wanting to leave anyone behind, the crew headed back through the dark corridor to the still smoldering door. Without any real element of surprise, the crew piled into the main room of the ancient bethel. The cultists being none to happy about losing their prisoners, are not wary about picking a fight with the crew. The crew put up a good fight though and was able to beat back the cultists.