Knowing their wings will fade soon, the paladin wastes no time, but rushes towards the tower where the massive fleder burst forth. Opening their senses to any ripples and fluctuations created by the presence of fiendish creatures, Alaris breathes easy as the area appears to be clear.

Hearing Ling call out, though, makes their heart plummet for a moment. They pivot in mid-air, only to grin as they see the two tieflings wrestling with the altar. With the last waning strength of flight, Alaris wings their way towards the altar and lands, jogging the last couple of steps as the divine plumage fades into nothingness.

"What have we here, my lovelies? Finally, little 'Laris comes in handy..." they say with a rueful smirk before beginning to assess the task before them. First, they make a couple light shoves, just to test the lid and see how it is going to move. "Mmm... won't be able to shove it off. Stand clear... I'm going to try and lift it and move it without doing permanent damage."

Alaris flexes their knees a couple times and takes a firm grip on the altar lid, then heaves with an explosive exhale. The lid comes loose, tilts up, and slides down off the other side of the altar with a loud clunk. "Well, so much for neatness... Oh hello shinies..."

Inside the altar three weapons lie on a decaying piece of cloth. A hatchet, a light hammer and a javelin. Each weapon is engraved with geometric patterns of running waves and their blades are stylistically serrated.

Ling briefly peeks into the altar, but doesn't think that any of those weapons are something she'd enjoy - and there is nothing worth selling in there. "I'll go check out the two doors before we search the tower!" In a flash, she's gone and has already opened the door in the north east.

When Ling tries the door, she finds that it is already open, and stands only slightly ajar. The room on the other side is dark and filthy like the rest of the temple. There's a jumble of furniture and other items, much of which has been toppled to the floor.

Disgusted by the mess and failing to see anything sparkly, Ling takes a quick glance around and walks back out. With a shrug, she passes Nikolai and says: "Knock yourself out, nothing but rubbish in there. Churches really are useless."

As the companions fan out to search the wreckage and ruins, Alaris turns to Astrid with a smile and extended arms. Laying a hand on each of the dwarf's shoulders, the aasimar bends down and places a firm kiss on the dwarf's broad forehead. The warm divine power radiates from the three points of contact, invigorating the dwarf with healing power. (LoH 15)

After breaking contact with Astrid, Alaris once again makes their way to each fallen fleder. A soft prayer, a ruthless cut, and on to the next corpse. Finally, when all is done, they splatter a few drops of holy water across the battle scene. 

Be at peace, tormented ones. May the Lady take you into her everlasting embrace.

As they finish, they hear Ling grousing. "Not as useless as that den of noise and lechery you dragged me to that got us into this mess..." Alaris retorts with a grin.

     Astrid pulls back not realizing what the paladin is doing - leaning in with their lips puckered. She relaxes and gives in as she feels the warm embrace of the radiant, life giving energy provided by the kiss. "Whew... Uh... Thanks. I feel a little better now." Her cheeks a bit rosy with embarrassment of the possible implications of the gesture. She rises to her feet to follow the others through the church. She takes note of the symbols of the various Ruslan gods displayed in the alcoves behind the altar - though the names of the deities escape her at the moment. 

 As Nikolai passes by Ling, he removes his Tarock deck and absently shuffles the cards as he moves about the room, finding the secret entranceway into the catacombs and while striding throughout the room, he stops as an odd groan from a blood-soaked floorboard reaches his ears. The deck within his hands tingles as he rocks back and forth a few times as he tracks down exactly which board is loose. Using a dagger, he pries up the board and locates a hidden compartment with a burlap sack full of treasure. He smirks as he lifts the sack, looking very much forward to rubbing this in Ling's nose. He has told her time and time again to take her time when looking, but her youthful arrogance causes her to ignore his advice. He strolls out with the sack over one shoulder and a smirk as he waltzes over to Ling, opening the bag with a wink. "Nothing of value, eh? Then I guess you don't need a cut of this bit I found? Okay, sounds good! More for the rest of us then." He boops her nose with a finger as his tail twitches around and slaps her ass playfully. "How many times, Ling? Tut-tut."

"Hey, at least my messes are fun." Ling retorts with a wink. "Nothing wrong with a little lechery!" The cocky grin fades from her face and her mouth falls open. "Where did you find that? I swear, I looked!" She crinkles her nose, rolling her eyes, but her sheepish grin betrays that she does feel a little embarrassed. "Maybe I just left something for you to find, you know, because I am so nice..." Adjusting her clothes, she pulls the ring off her finger and hands it to Nikolai. "And while we're on the subject of my amazing body," she pointedly looks at his tail, "and my impeccable character, there's another gift for you. But don't ask me how it works, it kinda just does."

After taking a moment to rest herself, Ling pushes back up and, when everyone seems like they have had a breather, approaches the tower. Poking her head into the darkness, she cannot see anything but stone, so she motions for the group to follow and goes on ahead.

Inside the tower, long ropes for bell ringing hang down the middle of the tall shaft, and a wooden staircase runs in a spiral up around the walls.

     "It's like trying to coral a chicken, that one," Astrid comments as Ling zooms off to somewhere else. "I'm surprised you all have managed to keep your heads trying to keep up with her." She bumps her shield with a fist and it glows, emitting light to push the darkness out from the tower and enters behind the tiefling. Coming to the landing on the level above she pauses to allow Ling to continue her search. 

Making sure to keep ahead of Astrid, Ling pokes her head into the room on the first floor - it is largely empty. Taking a moment to search it, she finds a small, carved music box that springs open when she picks it up and reveals a ruby inside. Prying it loose with her dagger, she pockets it with a grin. Ling steps out onto the balcony through the other door and holds up her find for Nikolai to see, mind messaging to him: "I do find things too!" Then she continues on upstairs, treading carefully on the old, creaking wood.

Suddenly, she grips the banister hard and the world starts spinning...

Quote from HanaObrien >>

After taking a moment to rest herself, Ling pushes back up and, when everyone seems like they have had a breather, approaches the tower. Poking her head into the darkness, she cannot see anything but stone, so she motions for the group to follow and goes on ahead.

Alaris carefully follows Ling and Astrid into the bell tower and up the stairs. "Stay close!" Alaris whispers a reminder. "Try not to outrun the Lady's Blessing." Alaris keeps moving, trying to stay close to both of them, but also watching behind to make sure the others are following.

Hundreds of people all around her in this great hall, all seated and perfectly still. They cannot be real. There isn't a movement or a breath among them. They're frozen like waxworks.

All of the figures are wearing magnificent clothes, and the blaze of their colours makes this room look rich and majestic after the dust and emptiness of the others. Each person is sat upon one of a row of stone chairs running along each side of the chamber, and the floor down the middle is free. Every figure wears a crown upon their head, and is dressed in robes of crimson, silvery grey, deep purple, and vivid green. The fabrics are patterned and adorned with needlework pictures of flowers and strange beasts all over them. Precious stones of enormous size and brightness stare from the crowns and hang in neck chains, peeking out from wherever anything is fastened.

At first, the faces all appear kind and wise, handsome, even. However, after Ling walks a few steps further down the room, their expressions grow solemn. By the time she has reached the middle of the room, the faces are strong and proud - happy, yet cruel. The figures appear ever crueller as she goes further, until there is no happiness left at all, giving way to despair, as though those towards the end of the chamber had both done and suffered terrible things. Beyond the last of them, the rows of chairs continue empty to the end of the hall. It seems that the room was intended for a much larger collection of images.

In the centre of the room stands a square pillar, about four feet high, with a golden arch atop it. A little golden bell hangs from the arch, but is cracked right down the middle. Besides the arch lies a small golden hammer.

"The bell of Charn," Ling whispers. Slowly, the huge cracked church bell above her comes back into focus . Her dizziness settles and she sits down on the stairs, cradling her head, still holding the ruby in her hand. "The house of Charn" she says again. Stop waisting time, little downworlder, and do your job!

“We don’t really, we just follow behind and pick up the pieces.” he comments to Astrid with an exhausted smile on his face. Ghoul flies ahead, just as impatient as the tiefling girl currently leading their pack. The bird perches next to her on the banister, eyeing the trinket she’s found as she holds it aloft. But as Ling wavers and seems in distress, the celestial cormorant ruffles and begins squawking in a panic. Of course this is no sooner than Caio has also noticed his friend tilting and folding to the ground, and the elf is already rushing to her side. “Ling! What’s wrong?” A pale hand rests on her shoulder and Caio’s jet eyes dart to Alaris. “Is this devilry?”

"I think not, but I do not know. This is not the first time she has had such an episode over the last two days. For that matter, I think most of us have had strange episodes - strange flashes like this over the past days. Ling, are you well? What happened?" The paladin stands nearby, hovering over Ling with worry.

Ling shakes her head to clear it, clutching the ruby and then, as if remembering she is even holding it, she begins to turn it over in her hand. "I was in this strange place, like a huge abandoned city, and..." slowly, she tells the others what she just saw, ending with: "and I was staring at this bell, and then suddenly, everything got blurry again and it was the church bell again. I know the place was called Charn, that monster guide said so, but it made a lot more sense to me there than it does now... kinda like a dream." She looks up again, squinting at the bell. "How does a giant thing like that even crack?" 

     Astrid is about to admonish Ling for her continued efforts of indiscriminately pilfering every bauble she finds before proper precautions are taken. However, she bites her tongue when the tiefling wobbles and sinks to the floor. Confused, she looks between the rest of the group to gauge their reaction to Alaris's statement about such visions that have intruded. She then glance up at the bell. "Charn? What is this Charn?"

With the others exploring the tower, it occurs to Shiva that she may be able to find an interesting book in the tatters of this old cathedral. Sitting up, she begins to search the piles of refuse that have already been turned over by Ling and Nikolai, and comes upon a book that appears to be almost untouched. Perusing its pages as she makes her way back to the pews, she comes to understand that this text details the deity that the building was devoted to, as well as the practices of those who worshiped here. 

Taking a seat, she begins to quietly repeat excerpts aloud;

"Perun...warrior god....storms, law, war, and fertility. Symbols include eagle and oak tree......and the hamer, axe, and spear."  

Now the earlier findings come into context, and she reads on to what look to be gospel. This section is more difficult to read, as it seems to be an intricate dissection of the Taneman language employed to convey some divine principle. Or perhaps this exceeds her comprehension of Taneman, since she isn't very accustomed to reading in this language. The only things she can make out are "lightning"  and "apple".

Seeking clarity, she stands once more and calls out; "Nik? Ling? Could you guys help me with this book? The writings are confusing as all hell! And how are things going in that tower?"

Ling calls out to Shivala: "Up here, tower is clear!" To Astrid, she replies: "Hell if I know. Some kind of place. Or people. Or both." She shrugs, visibly uncomfortable to discuss this with the newcomer. Trying to shift the topic of conversation, she asks: "Now can someone tell me how a bell like that cracks? Even that big fleder didn't look strong enough to do that. Shorty, do you know anything about metals?"