Session 56: Into the Temple of Frigga

The party begins their decent into the Temple of Frigga.

This write up is based on our Sunday, Aug 3, 2025 session and was written by our scribe Carl with a few additions from myself. Thanks to our mapper Jimmy for the screen shots.  Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: The Test Passed & Finding the Dragon's Lair

Date: May 19, 4433
Location: Tegel Village
  
6 AM
We were in the village discussing our situation in private. Somehow we need to get proof of whatever it is going on in the Temple of Frigga. Our days are counting down until the Lich (our current lord and master) comes after us for failure to comply....

Halaf Fec, the local merchant, had two unidentified potions. Arkelm identified them as superior healing and fire resistance. He bought them both.

We had heard a dog barking through our talk, it turned out to be Chompers, Lenrall's dog. Lenrall was the child we had found in the other temple we explored some time back. When it saw us, it ran off and Shadow followed it. Arkelm reported it to us and the rest of us went after them.

Reebo was stealthing toward the Frigga temple to see if there was some way to sneak in, but had not gotten too close when the dog led the rest of us to the front door.  He stayed stealthy as the dog-led parade went by.

At the front of the temple, the dog barked at the two guards. Shadow Walker leashed the dog, and asked if they had seen a small boy. The guards remembered our party and were not friendly. Storm threatened them with a full search party to ransack the entire area, and led the dog back toward town.

Reebo noticed bricked up windows in the side of the temple. We had seen some the first time out, but he found more on the back side of the temple.

Back in town, we had A quick talk with the mayor: the windows were bricked up after some vandalism. The mayor had not talked with Tsathoggus in a long time.

With only the front door as an entry, we continued to ponder our options.

We came up with a plan for Reebo to disguise himself, go in and hide. Then open the door at night when it was safe for us to enter.  

The plan seemed to be working until late afternoon, when the guards started getting  all the 'faithful' out of the temple. 

Reebo tried to be sneaky, but on a COMPLETELY UNUSUAL day, he was spotted and tossed out with the rest of the people visiting. The doors closed behind him.

8 PM
Sunset arrived. Reebo checked the doors, and he knew how to pick the lock. Hearing nothing from inside for quite a while, he unlocked it as the rest of us approached. 

The front room was empty, and with as little light as we could manage, we entered. Aefir led a train of 'the blind', but as Shadow entered the room, all the statues of Frigga came to life. 

Guess the temple had planned around the mercenaries needing to sleep.

Aefir called for us to back out and see what happened, and when we did the statues returned to their rest position. Reebo checked the first floor space after the door, to see if there was a trap actuator that brought the statues to defend. He did not find anything, so Shadow took a diagonal step into the room-all four statues started moving and Shadow stepped back out.

Next Shadow tried jumping in a ways, a few times, and EVERY time he went in the statues animated.  

Reebo pointed at the door we need to access to get downstairs, it was nearly 60 feet away from the front door of the temple.

Aefir cast Misty Step to get on top of one of the benches in the room, and the statues again came to 'life'. Aefir got out promptly.

To test if the interior doors were locked, and how the statues would respond, Shadow ran in and went through a door (not the door that would lead us downstairs, sadly). 

There was a mercenary at the north end of the hall behind the door, who yelled, "What are you doing in here?"

Shadow mumbled something apologetic and ran back toward the front door. Getting through before the slow moving statues could catch him.

As we moved away, Shadow could see more mercenaries coming. We ran like rabbits. The mercenaries' presence in the main room did NOT activate the statues.  

We prepared to encounter, hopefully subduing, the mercenaries and then face the statues.



Two of the mercenaries caught up with us, and as we tried to knock them down and out....Then two more, including the captain. Well trained and well equipped, this would be a real fight.

As the fight got serious, Benedaar arrived from town. Dinner had got to him seriously and he finally recovered enough to join us. 

On beating the mercenaries, we got a little loot, but we were looking for a talisman that would let us get by the statues. Talking to the ones we were able to subdue, we hoped to find out how to get by them.  Alwine told us that it required an attunement that must be done by the clerics. The statues would not leave the main room... sigh, if only we had tried to run to the downstairs door.

Shadow ran in and through the northern door (like before), and this time when he left the main room the statues stopped. One at a time, we ran to the north from the main room crossing before the statues could attack.

The north wing was the sleeping areas, so Aefir ran down to the north rear door, which Reebo said led to the stairs down.  We all ran there, one at a time.

Back in the north wing, Shadow had some discussion with some young acolytes, after hearing some talking behind a closed door. They were reasonable, and stayed put. The next door stayed silent, and the acolytes said it was a priest's quarters. More acolytes were to the south of the main room, but they could just stay put.

Shadow forced the door to the priest's quarters, and soon had it opened.

That room appeared to have been unused for some time, perhaps weeks. A plate of moldy food sat upon the wooden table, with a half filled cup of spoiled wine nearby. Three candles had guttered long ago, leaving a large pile of wax at each of their bases. A pair of dusty spectacles sat in the crease of an open book on a side table.

Aefir, after several minutes of Shadow, Bennedar and Arkhelm not catching up with us, ran back.

Checking a side room, we got a good reason to KILL everyone downstairs.  At the rear of the room, several dismembered bodies of murdered acolytes and late-night visitors were found thrown into a thoughtless pile along with broken weapons and spoiled food.

Aefir asked the acolytes to go to the town as soon as they safely could and tell them what has been going on.

Arkelm found a note which said, “To all those with three summers of service, assemble below in the open library today at noon for an important discovery of faith and truth. — Sarthoggus”

Probably called all the veteran priests down to be processed somehow.

He took the note and book, saving them for later.

We all went to the stairs and asked Reebo where to go. He said both stairs went down to different parts to the same area, so it didn't matter.

Of the two staircases down, we took the southerly, then turned east.  Reebo approached a wall and told us it was illusionary. He also said to be very quiet, as the underground area was well populated.

Reebo walked through the illusionary wall segment and led us on. We could hear some low chatter down the hallways. Beneddar, with his Robe of Eyes, kept us pretty aware of our surroundings.

Down a side passage we could see a gate with a padlock and a chain keeping it shut. A person inside, looked like a prisoner, but to be safe Shadow went to knock him out, and found several farmers, some gnomes, a priest behind the bars. Across the hall, a statue of a child spewed blood into a basin.  EWWWWWW

The prisoners said there were priests all over the underground. We promised to come back and save them, and went back to the main area.

Behind a door, sounds of screams, like someone being tortured. Reebo said we should clear that room.  The door opened onto a devil... 

more like two chain devils torturing a villager
   the torture honcho - a cambian
   two bullywug slaves gathering blood and organs

Battle ensued.

As usual, Aefir led off the fight. Benedaar cast hypnotic pattern, intending to put some (or many) out of the fight. He led it off with "Aefir, shut your eyes!"

The initial results seemed promising, with most(all, hopefully) of the monsters just standing and drooling.


Continued in Session 57: Some People Clearly Need Killing