Session 21

 The Temple of the God of Life

The final morning of travel to the temple, Amisha hears a sharp cry of pain from her pocket, and a light from her coin is missing. The face of Mocaeis grimaces, and tells her that one of her fellow priests has perished at the hands of the Liad, and she must hurry. It does not respond to anything she says, and soon the god's face returns to its typical ear-to-ear grin.

Cult of Kathelia

The cult of Kathelia are here before the party. At the entrance to the temple there are two (hidden) Khazoks, which attack when the party closes in. Once the fight begins, assassins leave stealth to join the fight. The entrance to the temple is in a wild, once-maintained garden. Near the main doors is a pit, with the carcass of a dog hung over it. The temple is built from a strange calming yellow sandstone that doesn't match any of the nearby geology.

Khazoks

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6 

Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d10 

Pace: 6

Parry: 5

Toughness: 7 (2)

Treasure: Meager, per every 5 khazoks

Special Abilities: 

Armor +2 Rocky shell 

Bite: Str+d6

Camouflage: While not moving, khazoks resemble small boulders. Characters actively searching for danger suffer –4 to their Notice rolls. Khazoks which aren’t detected strike with surprise, getting the Drop on their unsuspecting foes.

Assassin 

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 

Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Stealth d8, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Throwing d6 

Pace: 6

Parry: 6

Toughness: 6 (1) 

Various Edges: Alertness, First Strike, Thief 

Treasure: Meager 

Gear: Leather armor (+1), short sword (Str+d6), throwing knives (Range: 3/6/12, Damage: Str+d4)

Special Abilities: 

Poison: The quickest way to kill someone is with poison. A typical poison requires a Vigor roll at –2 or take an automatic wound.

Inside the temple are various monsters, cultists, and traps.

Items to be discovered:

• Any NON-story altering rando loot
• Journal of a cultist (Annaya Lest)
• Explains what they're up to, in some small detail: "The would-be saviors of the gods are supposed to be arriving sometime this week, Holvalda says Kathelia told him herself; though I have my doubts, it is also written in Volume 24583 of Our Lady's Visions. While I couldn't bear the consequences I would face if it should happen, I still almost wish us to lose, just to see them wipe that superior look off his pointy face. Perhaps if I were to kill him in the fight, no one would notice it was me and not self-fancied heroes who did it... In any event, I'm glad I got to create the Khazoks. As hard as it was to kill the poor puppy, it was such a thrill to finally get to use my bone flute!"
• Reveals that the cult uses bone flutes and the blood of animal or intelligent beings to infuse power into something else--the air for visions, though it is limited to events connected to the blood of the sacrifice; inanimate objects to enchant or animate; people to enhance. The cult initially gained power and influence due to its ability to grant actual knowledge and inherent power to its members.
• The Hearkener's Prophecy
• A book written by the Hearkener of the God of Life, whose name was Vovaenis, which contains the history of Vovaenzol, and thus the history of the creation of the world and of mortal kind. Reading this enlightens Loneil, and he gains a higher level of knowledge of everything from it. Importantly to the party, it ends with the Prophecy, a clear statement of what needs to be done: "I shall build the Godly Tomb, though my God is not dead, but lost, and send them by this word to that Godly Tomb, where they shall restore him. I fear for the survival of the world; if their enemies should prevail at that day, and Traia lose either her power or destroy Shaefev's divinity, then the world, even the universe may fall from their discord—yet Traia's own limited power prevents my writing here the full solution. But as Vovaenis wishes, if they can bring their master to that Godly Tomb, and call him forth by his True Name, he will be restored."

The cultists' primary objective is to retrieve the Eye of Issald, and will make called shots for the eye as often as possible. Each cultist wants the honor of retrieving it themselves.