Massacre at the Alter

Life, Death

The party meets a halfling, Raphael, bound upon an alter at the lowest levels, before invoking the wrath of the cultists by attempting to leave without sacrifice. Holding their ground, Raphael, Gibbs, and Soul all die to the shambling mound woken by the remnants of the cult before Camille, Gromm, and Brokill manage to escape.

Arriving to the lowest reaches, the party finds an alter with a halfling bound by mists resting upon it. An ominous chanting fills the room with the phrase "He is the Ancient, He is the Land" which promptly turns to "One must die" when Gromm steps upon the raised dias. The halfling introduces himself as Raphael, but they have little time to meet as when Gromm and Raphael step off the dais, a shambling mound rises. Soul attempts to fight it and is aided by the party until it kills Gibbs and Raphael, before turning and consuming Soul as the living members, Camille, Gromm, and Brokill, are forced to escape for their lives through a house which has turned malicious and nearly kills Camille with a swinging axe. Grom barely survives a similar fate, already at the limits of his orcish vitality, if not for the timely aide of Brokill to heal him as they escaped.