Chapter 5

Once back on The Butcher's level of the cellars, they started looking for more monsters. They cleared out the various rooms of monsters and treasure items before returning to the The Butcher's own residence. Sue had an inspiration before they went in. She discussed the idea with Hat and received approval, so she contrived a spell that gave them breathing masks to filter out the horrible stench of decaying bodies before they opened the door to that hateful chamber.

They were met with a nauseating sight. The floor was covered with dried blood and human skins were hanging like sacks from hooks on the walls. Various body parts and internal organs were scattered about. All-in-all, it was a very disgusting sight, but, at least, they didn't have to smell it.

Several chests were positioned seemingly at random around the room, and they took the time to examine each one. Most were filled with gold, but a few appeared to contain magic items which Hat identified for them. One of the items was a magic money belt which had an amazing set of properties. There was no limit to the amount of gold, platinum, or copper that could be put into it, the metal was stored in some magical "other dimension." As long as there was enough gold, etc. within the belt, the wearer was always able to withdraw the exact amount needed on that occasion. Thus, they had no further need to look up a money changer. They agreed that Sue should wear the belt, since there was always the possibility that Jack could lose it during combat. Sue and Jack dumped all of their gold and copper into the belt, but its weight never seemed to increase!

Another item they found was a sorcerer's robe which Sue immediately donned. This robe provided some protection against attack by magic charges, something that they had not known even existed. The robe also boosted some of Sue's spell casting ability. For example, her fire balls now had an explosive component so that they would affect a volume of space, and not just the target actually struck. This was the equivalent of gaining weeks of experience with using her fire ball spell, and the ability was there as long as she wore the robe.

The final item they found that they decided to keep was a ring which Sue donned. This ring provided some protection against poison attack and broadcast a protective field about 5 yards in diameter. As long as Jack was within that circle, he also had the equivalent protection from poison. The protection wasn't perfect, but it was proof against minor poison attacks. Jack was happy, because it gave him an excuse to stay close to Sue, as if he needed an excuse.

Once they had looked over everything that was to be found in the various chests, they gratefully left that hell-hole and went down to the next cellar level. This level was similar to the previous two levels, and the odor of rotting flesh was gone. Sue canceled the breathing filters so that they would have the advantage of smell in detecting danger, but nothing was apparent, so far. They did meet and kill some more skeletons and zombies, but there was nothing remarkable about this level.

They took a break for lunch and Sue noted that the supplies in the pack were running low. They would need to return to the inn to recharge their food supply pretty soon, but they were not looking forward to climbing the steps to return to the surface. They hoped that something would turn up.

Jack noticed a purple glow in the air coming from a room they had not yet visited. They advanced down the corridor toward the glow. They reached the room and looked in. There was a pentagram painted on the floor with some strange symbols painted on each of the 5 points. The purple glow was covering the area of a circle surrounding the pentagram. They approached cautiously and Sue asked, "Hat, what is that?"

It is some sort of transportation portal, but I have no idea where it leads. The only way to find out what is at the other end of the link is to step into the portal and see where it takes you.

Jack said, "It may well be worth our while to investigate this. Let's give it a try. Give me your hand and we will step into its field together. But be ready to cast a defensive spell in case the link leads us to trouble."

"OK, but I hope you know what we are doing!"

The clasped hands and stepped into the field. There was a moment of total darkness, followed by the dim light of the church vestry. Sue said, "This wasn't here before. There was no purple glow in the room, then. Let's step back into the glow and see what happens."

They again experienced the moment of total darkness and found themselves standing on the cellar level they had been on, before. Jack said, "It appears to be a transportation short cut from the cellars to the vestry, but it's triggered from this end. Let's go back and travel to the inn where we can recharge our supplies."

They repeated their jump to the vestry and walked to the inn. The owner saw them walk in the door and exclaimed, "I thought that your were gone forever! What happened?" Jack gave him a summary of their adventures, so far, especially the fight with The Butcher. "People have been disappearing from around here ever since the priest vanished 10 years ago. That's also when the undead started walking our streets after dark. What will you do, now?"

"We need to replenish our food supplies, and I want to visit the local blacksmith to purchase some additional weapons. The shield and mace you loaned me worked out well, so I want to return them and get some of my own. Where do I find the smith?"

Sue and Jack picked up the food they needed and followed the innkeeper's directions to the smith. Jack had left the mace and shield and took his two bardiches along to trade for something else. They talked with the blacksmith, John Griswold, about new weapons. Griswold said that, over the years, he had acquired some weapons with magical properties. They weren't needed by anyone in the village, so they had lain in his storeroom for years. Perhaps Jack could find something that he liked.

The three of them went into the storeroom and Griswold rummaged around. "Here are the best examples of what I have that you might find useful. I also have a magic pack that you can wear on your belt. The magic pack is only 6 inches square by 2 inches thick, but it has unlimited carrying capacity. I don't know how it works, but you can store the world in there and it won't weigh you down. Try it on and you'll see what I mean."

They now had an almost unlimited supply of money, so Jack when hog-wild and bought 1 of almost every magically embellished weapon and shield that Griswold had in stock. He was particularly taken with a kite-shield that had protection against poison and magic strikes. The shield was sturdy and looked like it would stand up to almost any weapon. To go with the shield, he selected a battle ax which was embellished with a spell to increase its striking power 4-fold. He also selected several swords and maces, as well as a supply of javelins. All of these went into his new magic pack and could be retrieved in only a few moments. The deal was finally finished when Jack traded in the two bardiches he had taken from the goat-men.

All of these purchases took a lot of money, but they expected to refill their money belt when they returned to the church cellars. They were still somewhat tired from the fight with The Butcher, and it was getting late in the day, so they decided to spend the night in the inn and return to the church the next day. They bid Griswold a good evening and returned to the inn for supper and a romp in bed before going to sleep.

The next morning they felt much better. Sue was sure that it was the effects of the release provided by the sex they had enjoyed as much as it was from the resulting deep sleep, but whatever it was, they were ready to face anything as they left for the short walk to the church. Jack had put the food pack in with his weapons, so they were practically unencumbered as they walked to the church.

They went directly to the vestry and found the purple glow just where they expected it to be. As a test, Jack went alone through the portal, waited a minute or so, and returned to Sue in the vestry. She reported that the glow had disappeared as soon as Jack had stepped through, but now was back, so she concluded that the portal was, indeed, activated by use at the other end and was probably how the undead left the cellars to attack the town.

They both went back through the portal and resumed their search for monsters and for the cause of the attacks. They quickly cleared the last of this level, but found stairs going down to at least one more level below where they were standing. They took these steps and found a bit of a change in the nature of their surroundings.

This level, the fourth that they had visited, was not finished to the standards of the previous levels. The ceiling and walls were still of stone, but they were not polished, and the floor was a kind of dirt or clay. It was hard packed, but it was not of the quality of the stone floors above. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of enemies to fight, except that there were fewer undead and more goat-men.