Having dealt with the ambush, the party continued to move through the monastery searching for the Horne of Killing Cloude or clues to where it might be. In the upper chambers they found a library and the abbot’s quarters.
The library yielded up the librarian journal, that showed he had been worried about The Gardener (who they worked out was the Halfling ghost they had met previously) and a strange book with a permanently damp cover that he had been searching for. Both finished up in a haversack for later perusal.
The abbot’s quarters had a strange effect, there was a huge (but old) bloodstain on the floor and when Larran entered the chamber he felt a stabbing sensation in his heart. It was so bad that he dropped the sword and shield he was carrying and stood immobile for a moment. However, a few seconds later, apart from the occasional itch, he was absolutely fine again. It was only later that he noticed that he now has a white mark on his chest that looks to have the same shape as a section across a short sword.
Then it was down into the monks quarters. Which they discovered were haunted by a number of shades - great shadows actually – that lay in wait before they jumped the group. Robert took the brunt of the attacks, and the shades seemed to drain the strength out of him. They retreated quickly. Cassandra and Ox managed to dimension door away before the shades caught up with them, but Rudy and his group were attacked once more by the shades and Robert fell to the floor completely drained of strength and life. However, they too managed to Dimension Door away to the front of the abbey. Cassandra, on the other hand, had pointed and specified a distance, only to arrive 40feet above ground level. So she and Ox took some damage from the fall.
Fortunately Rudy realised that Robert was likely to rise again as a shadow in his own right, and called out a warning. Rudy, Larran and Hebrin stood back, Cassandra flew up to an advantageous position and used the Rod Of Quicken that she had taken from the gardener’s ghost to allow her to cast two fireballs at the Shadow that arose from Robert’s dead body. Then, with the charred body of the priest in the portable hole, they teleported back to Ruler’s Roost in Horcroft.
Eventually they used a painting of The Starstone in Absalom and Cassandra teleported herself, Ox and Laran to that fair city. It must have been a really good painting because she hit the spot she had been aiming for precisely! Most ignored them, for who in their right mind approaches a party of strangers powerful enough to teleportointo a strange city? All except the street kid, as unconcerned as ever, who asked them if they needed a guide.
Soon they got to the Cathedral of Iomedae and managed to negotiate a Resurrection for Robert. But it was expensive! Then it was back to Rulers Roost.
Rudy had been playing with the water clock, and pushed and poked all sorts of things. In fact he had had a go at just about everything - apart from letting the water out. It had some sort of magical aura and was still keeping time after years of neglect.
The book turned out to be written in Aklo - which Cassandra can understand. It has all sorts of informative nuggets concerning dungeoneering, arcane, astrology, astronomy and the stars – which Cassandra kept as she felt it would be useful to her.
Investigation of the other items they took from the Abbey made them believe that the story of the Horne of the Killing Cloude, was a ruse. A trick to get them away to an dangerous area where they could be killed or slowed down. If Getane had been a bit more thoughtful, it could have been very difficult for them indeed.