Aris was almost disappointed in the entryway. It was a plain room with three normal sized doors, one in each wall. A moldy and rotten rug covered the center of the floor, and the remains of a wooden chair and coat-rack in little better condition littered one corner. The room to the right was a store room in better times, containing only the rotted and rusted remains of a few barrels. the room to the left was a servant's stairway and freight elevator, presumably for moving the barrels and their contents to the levels above.

The central room was much more ominous. Five more doors dotted its circular walls, and six more decrepit rugs were scattered about the floor. A spiral staircase pierced the middle of the space, climbing up and down through the center of the Old Temple. A burned skeleton lay in the open. A cracked and crumbled bit of stone was clenched in one outstretched fist, and the floor about where it lay was charred black, the flagstones cracked by the heat. The whole party froze, staring at the ruined remains.

Aris spoke first, "Mul, can you 'hear' anything near us? Anything that could be responsible for this?"

"Hrm... More hungry dead and face-takers below us, nothing above. But I cannot 'hear' mindless things, like the Guardians, so there may well be more."

Aflia knelt down near the corpse and dragged a finger through the dust. "Ash underneath plain old dust. Whomever this was, she was killed some time ago. There's not enough left to tell much, aside from the fact that she didn't have tusks or fangs, so probably a human or elf."

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Lady Ussi knelt across from Aflia, "not a Silithid priest, that's for sure. The ones I knew were all more... deformed than this. Probably human though, the bones are thicker then I'd expect from elves."

Talae looked uncomfortable, "you mentioned the priests would be deformed. How?"

Lady Ussi flicked her tongue, "They would seek to appear more like their god or goddess, so more and more serpentine in appearance. I'd expect a lesser priest to have more than just fangs and scales, they would have an extra pair of arms, or slither about on a serpentine tail. Upper priests and true Clerics would have both, and sometimes more."

Little Bird flexed her wings, "We need to keep pushing forwards if we want to re-sanctify this place. I can feel something... unhallowed lurking in the stones."

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Status Report:

Treasury: 10050

Income: +5 gold per day (semi-retired Agent of Althiem)

Equipment: In good condition.

Estates:

Ikin: Village, Fishing Docks

Trebor Convent: Under Construction

Four Empty Holdings (may be improved later)

One Old Temple (occupied by ???)

The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings.

Total Deaths: 1