Chapter 1.8: A Reflection of Angels

Ten rows of wooden benches are gathering dust in the church, all the way from the main entrance up to the golden altar where the voices are coming from. Throughout the whole building, massive paintings are covering the wall, all of demonic creatures fighting angelic beings. The room is well lit by the burning candles and the light that enters through the red stained glass windows. A few pillars are scattered throughout the room, supporting the roof, and creating ideal places to hide.

(Stealth 13 versus perception 11)
Although they only heard two voices, Bruq sees three people standing near the altar. He stealthily and slowly walks up to the nearest pillar, just ten feet away from them, as he tries to gather as much details about the talking cultists.
(Perception 22)
The woman is a dark grey and blackish gnome, a subrace he recognizes as a svirfneblin. These gnomes lack the finesse many other races have, having no calendar to keep track of time and living underground, far away from the civilized surface dwellers. She’s about three-and-a-half foot tall, dressed in a simple black and red robe and has a dagger on her belt. She has earrings in the form of mushrooms and some golden rings next to them. Based on these observations and the info gained during the eavesdropping, he concludes she’s some kind of magic user, probably a wizard.
The man commanding her is a human. He has light brown skin and a fire red beard and long hair tied into a knot. His chest is naked and his lean physique is decorated with the same red symbols as the church walls. He doesn’t seem to have any weapons on him, although his lower arms and shins are covered with spiked bands. A golden amulet hangs from his neck, resting between his pectoral muscles.
The silent cultist is fully plated in dark red armor. A helmet with curled horns on the side hides his face and most of his body is covered by the black tower shield he’s carrying. In his other hand he holds a long ebony sword.
Across these three figures, he spots four acolytes around the altar, all face down towards the floor and with the same magical red shard stuck in their body. He looks back at the others, meeting questioning eyes asking what he has observed.
(Intelligence 12)
He thinks about how he can make himself as clear as possible with an understandable sign language, realizing that they should have discussed this before he sneaked away. He holds up four fingers, continuing with moving his index finger along his neck and tipping his head to the side with closed eyes. After this, he holds up three fingers and holds up his shortsword, making small hostile movements.

“You’ll come with me”, the leader speaks, “and you’ll stay here. If you even have the slightest suspicion something's wrong, let me know immediately.”
Bruq signals his allies to attack. He couldn't let the cultists continue their unholy rituals. They quickly walk around the corner, creating a straight line of sight to attack.
(19 versus AC)
“Don’t forget to …”. The cult leader stops mid-sentence as he sees a satyr aiming directly at him and releasing an arrow. He turns away quickly, protecting his face, but this doesn’t prevent the projectile from piercing his left shoulder. “Gods be damned!”, he shouts. “I told you this would happen!” He pulls out the arrow and breaks it. “You’ll regret that, bastard!” He turns to Rowynna. “Go mess up the statues. I’ll give these mercenaries something to fight.”
(11 versus AC)
The cult leader takes a few steps forward. His wizard sidekick turns away from the battle, while the fully armored soldier goes to stand beside his master, blocking an incoming crossbow bolt with his shield. The head cultist pries into the wound of his shoulder and wipes his finger across the amulet, smudging it with his own blood. “Maka’an eratu neghep, zaraan virishek sezsjem!”
A blood red flare comes off of it and the crimson crystals break. They dissolve and enter the bodies of the murdered acolytes.
“Good luck with them, heroes”, he snarls sarcastically, walks up behind the altar and jumps down into an unseen area. The gnome follows.
The moment they want to move closer, facing the lone warrior guarding the shrine, the four corpses make short spastic movements. Their bones make unpleasant sounds as they stand up, turning their heads to the five invaders. They stand silently, looking at them with hollow ochre eyes, waiting what their next command is going to be. “Kill them all and kill them quickly.” The soldier finishes his order by bashing his sword against his shield, starting to advance into combat.
As the revived priests follow him, Bruq switches quickly from his bow to his trusted glaive, making a single statement that summarizes the whole situation. “Fuck.”