Jeremiah joins Ingrid in digging the grave, shape changing into a black bear to help with the digging, and to hide his tears. ‘Hundreds lost, and now one more. It doesn’t get easier, only more painful. Reawaken in a better place Shiara, or sleep a deep sleep free of pain and corruption...’ he thinks as he digs.

(Before leaving this place, after a long rest, Jeremiah will cast Plant Growth, taking 8 hours to bolster the health of plants in a half-mile radius centred on Shiara’s grave)

"There is no answer to our plea, the Affliction has forsaken us, and my ornate throne turns it's back on those who await here." - The Dark Emperor Strahd

With Ezzozito dead, a large gaping would that descends into the depths of the Afflicted land bleeds and weeps like a puss filled boil. It leads deeper, and deeper into the cursed earth, and you're not sure how far it descends. The smell of death is in the air, even as flowers and plant life bloom again in the wake of Shiara's death.

The Dark Emperor claims another member of the Brotherhood, too soon.

Only the Thorned One, Kristiana of the Wrapped Agony, and the Chalice of Inverted Verses remain.

Then, truly terrifying horrors await in Strahd's Cathedral.

OOC: I vote for the Chalice first, then the Agony, then weakling Strudel.

OOC: don’t forget the thorned one.

Skaya crosses her arms and waits for someone to answer her, eyeing the helmets which are the main reason she hasn't assumed you're all monsters to be killed.

OOC: And Books would vote Chalice next.

Ingrid nods, “Ingrid. We are hunting down servants of the Foul Strahd, along with the relics to gain entry to his fortress. Now, if you would like to accompany us, I am going into that hole in search of more resources to accomplish that.” Ingrid turns and descends the hole.

Jeremiah nods towards the newcomer. ‘We’re feeling a little raw right now, we just lost our sister fighting this abomination.‘ He looks towards the hole, ‘And we might not yet be done with it...’

Intelligence check (does Jeremiah recall seeing Skaya before): 19

(OOC: Yeah, you might've seen/worked with her once in a while. With that roll, you know that she was raised in the Brotherhood, obv. you don't know what happened to her after the destruction of the Brotherhood lol. She fought with that rapier she's holding, although it did not have the rose things on it at the time--those're new. No magic when you knew about her, she was solely focused on the rapier, kinda rogue-like)

Skaya's hand tightens around the hilt of her rapier, and she nods. "If you have a way to truly destroy Strahd, I would like to join you," she says grimly.

‘I don’t know how you survived the purge.’ Jeremiah pauses, the greater grief brought to the surface by the more recent one, ‘But you’re welcome to join us.’ he says, voice a little rough.

"I ran," Skaya says grimly. "And even then, not all of me did." She turns and pads into the hole after Ingrid, dark energy reminiscent of the Affliction's energy swirling around her blade.

(In discord, you guys, more or less, wanted to descend, so here we go)

THE GALLERY

Like descending the interior of a wet, disgusting large intestine, you manage to scale down about a mile of organic wall to far beneath the surface. You guys suffer one level of exhaustion from the descent. What you descend into is unlike anything you've seen before, or expected.

You climb down into a large room. The floors are white marble and the walls are also white, with the occasional light source attached to the walls. There is blood on the floor, and bits of meat and naked footprints. Sophisticated paintings are adorned in many, many places on the walls, and you can see hallways that lead deeper into whatever this place is. You experience a moment of vertigo, and one your skin you can feel the faintest detection of some sort of radiation you can't explain. 

You get the dreadful feeling you are..someplace else.

You feel a presence.

Through one of the doorways lurks..something. It's two large severed hands fused together at the wrist, walking around with spider like movements. It's thumbs on each hand touch, the nails resembling eyes. It pauses, "looking" at you through one of the doors.

This room has four exits. You can't tell which way is North. You can choose A, B, C, or D. The intestinal passageway remains open.

Jeremiah calls upon the spirits of nature, leading to the return of the Bear Gees...

Barry: 16hp

Maurice: 18hp

Robin: 19hp

Falsetto: 19hp

He asks one of the bears, Barry, to investigate the strange creature.

(Which door is it through?)

Clearly overweight and unfit, Jimmy is quite winded when they finally reach the underground room a mile below the surface (I'm taking 2 levels of exhaustion...Jimmy's a blubber-butt).  Bent over and wheezing, he hears the strange creature inspecting them.  Startled, he pops back up and withdraws both rapiers and pops into a Ready stance, awaiting the inevitable attack...

Youre purposely taking more exaustion? Ok. The creature is lurking by the B door. You can’t tell which way is “north”. When the bears or bear approach the fused hands, it skitters away down the B hall.

"Should we follow it down the hall?"

Ingrid nods at Hera, "What's the worst that could happen?" and follows the hand spider.

Jeremiah asks Falsetto to guard the way back, and warn him if there’s any trouble, then follows Ingrid with the other bears providing an advance guard... (They have advantage on perception rolls involving smell (and +5 to boot))

Dark ice forms and spreads across Skaya's skin as she slips after Ingrid and the bears, rapier out and clad in icy armor.

You proceed down the white marble halls, following the Curator, lit by torches that burn dim light. You enter another small white marble room with a very large singular painting and three exits. The painting catches you eye, it's impossible to miss.

It's an abstract painting. A small plaque below it says,

"THE SCREAMING FACE OF MY WIFE. By Milo De Fretwell."

The abstract painting is, indeed, a work of art of a screaming woman that fills the entire canvas. Even though it is merely art, it's one of the most horrific things you've ever seen. You look at it as the Curator flees down a random path further into the Gallery. You have no sense of direction here, and so far, this place is nothing but rooms of art. Who has collected all of these paintings? You don't recognize anything or anyone from them, as if they do not belong to this world. You feel on edge. This place feels alien.

Like a trainwreck, you can't look away from the painting, there is something supernatural about how terrifying it is to observe.

Everyone needs to make a DC15 WIS save, please.