Zalerian wasn't sure what to make of Teshak. He had been worried when the young sorcerer was swallowed up by the moldy ooze. Teshak was fortunate enough to escape without serious physical injury but Zalerian couldn't help but think that his mind had been influenced in some way. If Teshak hadn't dug up a seemingly magical dagger, Zalerian would have thought that he had gone mad as some of the other adventurers thought. There was something else going on with Teshak's mind and he wasn't sure if there was a way to find out or to help the sorcerer.
There was something unnatural happening and Zalerian wasn't sure what to make of it. Teshak was acting strangely but he had uncovered Tempest as if he knew exactly where to find it. Magic was surely at play given the mold that formed around Teshak's hand. The sorcerer left the courtyard to rejoin his companions after sheathing his old dagger to wield Tempest. Teshak faced numerous questions from the adventurers, who were curious about what happened and worried for his condition. The only member of the group who didn't stick around for the questioning was Arguk, who left with Trax to scout out more of the monastery.
In face of all of these questions, Teshak shrugged. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Don't we have a monastery to search?"
Zalerian crossed his arms, and although he wanted more answers, there was no use trying to get Teshak to talk if he didn't want to. His companions recognized that as well although they weren't too pleased. Belash threw his hands up in defeat while Melkia kicked a loose floor tile in anger. Zalerian wasn't too surprised by Belash's reaction but Melkia losing her temper over Teshak wasn't something he expected. Thinking back on it, she seemed interested in trying to keep the sorcerer alive since they arrived at the monastery. With a shrug, he decided to focus on the task at hand.
"I suppose we should finish up," Zalerian said, waving Arguk as the gnoll and his hyena returned.
"This room is connected to the nave that we've searched already but there's one hallway left with at least four rooms that connects back to the nave," Arguk reported to the group. "I thought it best to wait for everyone before checking it out."
"We're almost done," Emra said. "Let's stick together and search the rest of the monastery."
"Teshak, if we run into any more enemies, stick with your magic," Melkia said as a warning. "Don't get yourself killed because you have a new dagger."
The sorcerer shrugged, deciding not to argue with Melkia. Arguk led the way away from the courtyard and toward a large and plain hallway that connected to various chambers. A statue of a winged angel worn down by weather stood against the wall to the group's right. Emra bowed her head and Zalerian took it as a sign that the statue was important to her faith and might have represented Sarenrae herself.
"I guess we should search the closest room," Belash suggested, motioning to the nearest chamber.
"That would probably be best," Arguk nodded in agreement. "This shouldn't take-"
Arguk was interrupted by a loud screech coming from the second-closest room. The adventurers prepared for combat in time for an unusual enemy to emerge. Wild baboons, four in total, charged out of the room, screeching and hooting in a violent manner. Zalerian would have been amused by the baboons if they didn't bear their sharp fangs. He recognized that they were wild animals out to defend their territory and they needed to fight back.
The baboons may have been wild but they were far from a match from the group. Arguk and Belash charged forward, leading the way ahead of Zalerian and Emra. They were covered by Melkia and Teshak, who took a baboon down each with an arrow shot and a frosty ray respectively. Arguk struck down a baboon with a swing of his scimitar while Belash threw the last one against the wall with a swing of his greataxe. Zalerian and Emra slowed down their charge and looked at each other, surprised at how efficient their friends were in battle.
"I guess we weren't needed this time around," Emra noted.
"All of us make for a great team," Zalerian said with a chuckle.
"I guess that's one less room we need to search," Arguk said, glancing down into the room the baboons came from. "I'm not seeing any other creature."
"Let's get back to our search," Melkia told the group.
With the baboons dealt with, the group made their way into the room they meant to search at first. The room they stepped into must have been a library long ago based on the musty smell of rotting paper and old leather along with empty bookshelves lining the walls. A wooden balcony overlooked the room and there were a few books that were left behind. Zalerian was interested in seeing what knowledge survived but he had work to finish. Without anything to fight, the group deemed the library safe and moved on.
There were only two rooms left to search and Arguk led the way to the room on their right, passing through a doorless arc. They found themselves in a large kitchen with the walls lined with cabinets and cupboards. A wooden table stood at the center of the room and an oven was placed at the far wall from the entrance. The group didn't step further into the room, noting the shards of broken glass and smashed pottery across the group. Once again, there wasn't any sign of life in the room, and they made their way to the final room.
The adventurers found themselves in the mess hall although the three long tables and dozens of chairs had rotted away from how much time went by. Sunlight filled the room from several open holes in the ceiling with the group spotting a door on the wall they faced. They made their way to the door and opened it, revealing a dormitory with ten bunks in disrepair. The roof in the room was mostly intact but Zalerian gasped to see a large spider with the head of a wolf that had spider-like mandibles and eyes. It was a horrifying sight and he braced himself for battle against the spider as it skittered down the wall.
Much like the baboons, the wolf spider wasn't much of a threat against trained adventurers. Melkia shot an arrow into its body with ease and Teshak blasted its jaws with a ray of cold frost. It managed to survive the ranged assault and made it to the floor only for Emra to bring her scimitar down on the spider's wolfish face. It let out one final hiss before it collapsed and Zalerian sighed in relief. He didn't care much for spiders and was glad to see that there was one less spider to worry about.
"I believe that's the last room," Arguk noted. "Our work here is done."
"Good work, everyone," Zalerian said, smiling. "What's next?"
"We'll need to let Lady Almah know that the monastery is safe for the caravan to use," Belash suggested. "We'll have to travel back to Sultan's Claw and report back to her."
"And leave the monastery for gnolls or pugwampis to claim while we're gone?" Melkia shook her head. "Some of us will need to stay and guard our new base. I'm not going anywhere."
"I would like to stay as well," Emra said, nodding in agreement with Melkia's plan. "I have a lot of work to restore the Monastery of Saint Vardishal and the sooner I can get started the better."
Teshak glanced down at Tempest, still in his hands, before speaking up. "I'll stay as well."
"Trax and I will go to Sultan's Claw," Arguk offered. "The two of us can travel alone if necessary."
"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to travel by yourself," Melkia said with a frown. Zalerian couldn't tell if she was worried for the gnoll or worried that he would try something.
"I'll go too," Belash said. "The journey won't take too long so I don't mind."
"I appreciate the company," Arguk said and turned to Zalerian. "And what will you do?"
"I'll stay as well," Zalerian told the group. "I'd like to learn more about what happened at the monastery before our arrival and I can help clean up a little for the caravan."
"Then we have our plan," Emra said. "Arguk, Belash, stay safe."
"We will," Belash assured her. "There's nothing out there that can stop the three of us!"
Arguk nodded and Trax let out a bark. With a plan settled on, the group left the hallway and entered the nave. Zalerian and Emra waved at Arguk, Belash, and Trax while they departed from the monastery to travel back to Sultan's Claw. Melkia had accompanied the group but was more interested in making a warning for any other pugwampis by leaving their leader's head on an arrow by the entrance. Zalerian noticed that Teshak split off from the group before they stepped foot in the nave and he wondered where the sorcerer had gone off to. Although worried for Teshak, Zalerian knew that the monastery was safe for him to explore.
Emra bowed her head toward Zalerian before turning around to enter the chapel. Restoring the monastery was important to her, and although he didn't consider himself to be a religious man, he would have to see about helping her when he had the chance to. For now, he wanted to give the monastery a more thorough search to learn how it became abandoned to begin with. Recalling Arguk's idea that a battle took place, Zalerian decided to begin his search in the undercrypt and made his way toward the stairs.
A/N: A little bit of a shorter chapter but it's mainly meant to wrap up the rest of the Monastery of Saint Vardishal.
Until next time.