Editing The Hallowed Hills

[[File:Hallowed_Halls_Cave.JPG|250px|thumb|right|The revealed cave]]

Shortly after their successful adventure in the mine of [[Duvik's Pass]], our heroes returned to [[Corvis]]. Being a place lacking in amenities and interesting diversions, the three adventurers decided to head back towards the west. They found a willing caravan with which to travel, and set out.

Meanwhile, a scoundrel by the name of Karmann was told, in no uncertain terms, to depart the township of Corvis, and not return. Not being able to afford a voyage at sea, he too decided to join the caravan, as traveling alone in the wilderness is not usually a good idea.

Karmann met the boys over an evening's campfire, as Kimo and Jericho proved to be the only ones who had thought to bring any beer along with the caravan. That night, however, proved fateful, as Jericho and Kimo, both men of the cloth, had strange dreams in which the earth shook and a bell tower was swallowed by a chasm.

Kimo, in a burst of intuition, connected the symbolism of the bell with the logo of the Order of the Celebrants of Glory. Their path was to take them past a valley, at the other end of which, they knew, the brothers of the Celebrants had established a monastary and teaching facility. Perrin then noted that the earthquake, which had been barely felt in Corvis, was showing signs of having been much stronger, the further west they travelled. It seems that Jericho and Kimo had been given a vision.

Breaking off from the caravan, the four (now, including Karmann) travelled through a pleasant pastoral valley, complete with rolling hills and fields of grain and sheep. The Monastary of the Chiming Bell was on the top of a hill, nestled against a larger mountain, with some of its buildings actually burrowed partway into the mountain itself.

They were greeted with joy by Abbot Martine Gerrard, a human priest of ORB, and the leader of the small host at the Chiming Bell. After an exchange of pleasantries, he asked of the boys a favor. It seems that the earthquake had been centered in the hills behind the chapel, and had torn apart the Order's crypt. The damage revealed a network of caverns below the hills. Brother Durham, the Abbot's second in command, had led two alcolytes into the caves to recover the bodies that had tumbled from the crypt into the cavern during the quake. They had not been heard from since.

The abbot asked that the boys enter the caverns, find his missing brothers, and rescue them if still possible. Additionally, he would like to recover the bodies from the cavern, and would like to make sure that the area is secure.

After a night's sleep and breakfast, the boys decended into the cavern, and were immediately set upon by some of the walking dead - it seems that some of the bodies interred in the crypt had not slept so soundly. Calling on the power of the God, Jericho caused the ghouls to turn and flee, and they were quickly brought down by the others. However, in chasing down the last one, Kimo and Jericho were set upon by some sort of flying creature, apparently intent on sucking their blood. Fortunately, they were quickly destroyed as well, and no one was the worse for wear. Jericho and Kimo said prayers for the souls of the dead, that they may peacefully sleep and not rise to torment mortalkind again.

Travelling deeper into the cavern, the party happened upon a room, hot, humid, and dimly lit by lumious fungi. Perrin, the master woodsman of the group, saw a dangerous grouping in the center of the room, correctly identifying a Violet Fungus, and a pair of shriekers. The Violet Fungus is capable of killing a man with deadly toxins, and the shriekers live up to their name by making an unearthly and loud shriek whenever approached. Fortunately, by a liberal application of fire from a distance, these fungi were dispatched with ease.

It was then when they noticed the bodies, which the fungi had apparently been feeding on. Two young humans, wearing the plain dress of an alcolyte of ORB. Again, prayers were said for the dead. The party also noticed that there had been a cave-in, seemingly quite recently, at the opposite end of the room.

Entering the next room, the party was set upon by orcs. Apparently waiting in ambush, they were lead by a spellcaster named Homzahk. After the party made short work of his band, he surrendured, giving over his meager treasure in exchange for his life. Being merciful, the party decided to spare him, and allowed him to depart back the way they had just come. As he left, he made a cryptic reference to the 'demon' in the cavern ahead.

The party, after crossing a great chasm in the middle of the room, was faced with a large boulder, seemingly pushed into the mouth of a tunnel by the orcs. Karmann, who seemed the party's strongest, began to push it aside, and with assitance from the others, successfully rolled it out of the way. The tunnel ahead opened out into a small cavern, where the party was faced with a strange sight. A blonde-haired man, dressed in armor, was bound and gagged on the floor. When he saw the torchlight of the party, he began to struggle with his bonds.

After being released by Karmann, he introduced himself as Brother Durham. He suggested that the party accompany him out of the cavern, and professed ignorance as to the current location and condition of his alcolyte companions.

The party set out to return to the land above ground, but got no further than the fungus room. There, they found Homzhak and his last remaining companion attempting to excavate the cave-in. Homzahk, on seeing him free of his bonds, threw himself at Brother Durham, shouting "Demon!".

The party, preparing themselves to fight the orcs once again, were met with an astounding sight - both Homzhak and his companion were thrown violently aside by the Brother, and killed instantly. He turned and smiled at the party, and that was when they saw the fangs, that had taken the place of his canine teeth.

It seemed the orc had named him truly - Brother Durham was vampire spawn.

After a pitched and painful battle, in which Kimo was charmed and Karmann knocked to the ground, they finally damaged Durham enough to cause him to flee. Calling on his infernal powers, he transformed himself into a blood-colored mist, and attempted to float away. Jericho, remembering his training into the walking dead, uncorked a bottle of healing draughts, and threw the contents into the center of the mist. It seemed to have been the right choice, because the mist ignited, and burned itself out in a matter of seconds - all the while letting loose with an unearthly scream, which will likely haunt our heroes dreams evermore.

All that was left for our heroes after that was to tend to their wounds, collect their treasure, and ascend back to the land of the living.
==Notable Treasure==
* 4 [[Undiminished Star]]s

==Credits==
This adventure was based on the ''Cliffhangers Adventure'' by the same name, published on the [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/ch/ch20001101e Wizards.com] web site.
[[Category: Adventures]]