Looking up at the planetar, I decided that continuing with the honesty was the best path forward. After all, talking seemed to have worked so far. And I really didn’t want to waste our strength fighting this thing.

“The Temple’s defenses have been activated, though in an imperfect state. The Malarites are almost to the altar, where they were trapped in a field of slowed time. But they have not been eliminated. Also, the imperfect shield has trapped and bound the souls of those who fell here, turning them into undead. Even the defenders of the temple were turned into undead, who we had to fight through in order to get this far.

“If we’re to free the souls and kill the Malarites, then we need to bring down the defenses. According to what little information we have, the tomb of the first priest has a key, which will allow us to ‘unleash the moonlight’, which can then be used to drop the shield. Which is why we are in this tomb.”

The planetar looked down at us, judging, weighing my words. Finally, she shook her head slowly, “The terms of my service are that I destroy anyone who attempts to defile or desecrate the body of the lover of Mortal Selune. The state the Temple has fallen to is not part of my charge.”

Melinda’s Bluff Check: 1d20+34 = 46

Planetar’s Sense Motive Check: 1d20+23 = 24 (Fail)

Sensing an opening in how the planetar spoke, I smiled at her, and said, “Then, if your service is to guard against those who would defile his body, you could watch over us as we look for the key, to ensure that we do not defile the corpse. Your service is to guard against defilement and desecration, so letting us remove a key to safeguard the temple would not be defiling his body, or desecrating his resting place.”

The planetar hesitated. “Your words make sense. But for a child of evil to handle the remains of the Founder? That would be a desecration in and of itself.”

Melinda’s Bluff Check: 1d20+34 = 47

Planetar’s Sense Motive Check: 1d20+23 = 33 (Fail)

Not a rejection of the concept, but of one of us doing the search? I could work with that! “Then if hands of evil cannot take the key from the tomb, why not you? Your hands are untouched by evil, are they not? You could take the key, and ensure the body is left undefiled. Then, you could give the key to us, and watch as we leave this crypt. Would that not fulfill the bonds of your service?”

The planetar breathed in sharply, as though hit by a blow. She clearly hadn’t thought of that angle. Looking down at me, I could see the thoughts running through her head. She was bound to defend the body from being defiled, but she wasn’t forced to fight those who did not attempt to defile the tomb. And I doubted the strictures of her binding was so specific that it prevented her from taking an item from the tomb.

Slowly, the planetar nodded once. “Yes. That would fulfill my service. I will get the key for you, and watch as you leave.”

I nodded once, and said, “In that case, may I ask you to open the tomb? I would not risk accidentally forcing you to attack me through a mistaken action. I will stand back, so that you can see I am not even trying to touch the sarcophagus or the body inside.”

The planetar nodded once, though it looked like she was convincing herself more than anything else. “Very well.” With that in mind, she set her greatsword to the side, and began pushing on the stone lid of the sarcophagus.

With the stone lid pushed back, the planetar looked to me. “What is this key you seek?”

“It should be a circle, probably a holy symbol of Selune, to fit into the statue outside.”

The angel turned back to the sarcophagus, and reverently pulled out a silver holy symbol, finely engraved with the symbol of Selune. She turned, and handed the symbol to me. I could feel ridges on the back of the silver disk. Perhaps part of some mechanism?

The planetar did not give me time to continue inspecting the symbol, before she closed the sarcophagus with a bang. Gripping her greatsword once again, she said, “You have your key. Now go, and leave this dead soul in peace.”

I stepped back, and bowed my head slightly, before turning my back on the angel. Walking towards the others, I took a breath, and nodded towards the door. “Let’s get out of here. We have work to do.”

As we crossed out of the crypt, there was a cracking sound behind us. Turning back, I saw the planetar fading away as she returned to her home plane, and a crystal in the statue behind the crypt was now broken. I took a breath, and then released it softly.

“Well, it looks like we made it through that. The angel is gone, and that crystal might have had something to do with the binding. But I don’t think going back in there is a great idea. If that person was a lover of Selune while she was mortal, stripping that tomb would be a seriously bad idea.”

Vestele nodded. “That would be a wonderful way to get an angry goddess to curse us, or send other minions of hers after us. Ones that cannot be so easily swayed.”

Your party has survived an encounter with a planetar!

Melinda gains 1200 xp.

Frostmane gains 1688 xp.

Siora gains 1688 xp.

Vestele gains 1688 xp.

I blinked for a moment. I was a little surprised that we got XP for just… not fighting. But that made sense, in a way. Thanks to a bit of fast talking, we had survived an encounter with a very powerful entity, so I guess that could be counted as ‘defeating’ an encounter.

“Right. Anyways, let’s see what we can do with this key.”

Walking up to the statue in the crypt’s antechamber, I placed the Selunite symbol against the gap on the Crone’s chest. As I did so, the silver symbol began melting into the statue itself. There was a soft click, of a mechanism being unlocked, and then the entire statue began to shine a brilliant silver white, the color of pure moonlight.

That moonlight soon concentrated itself in the Crone’s hand, which I now realized was standing with an upturned palm. The sound of stone moving against stone heralded a hole opening in the ceiling above us. And then there was a thrum of energy, as the unleashed moonlight shot up through the newly opened hole.

Siora grunted in approval. “Well, I guess that counts as solving that, right? Now, we just need to go and figure out how to focus the moonlight, right?”

I grinned at her. “After we talk to the ghost of the orc shaman, and let her know how we took care of the situation. She probably already knows, but she did promise to show me how to bind myself to that artifact. And you know that will help with our fight against the wolves.”

The beguiler laughed. “Fine, fine. Let’s go and see what the sword does.”

Walking up the stairs, we found ourselves in a temple that was now lit only by the two braziers and the light of the moon, for the sun above had been blacked out by magical darkness. Next to the new hole in the floor, where the moonlight came shining out, a mirror was fixed, causing the light to shine upon a crystal high above the ground. There, the moonlight split into two, heading to two points on the balcony of the second floor. No doubt, those were the mirrors we needed to turn.

Brathik’s spectral form emerged from a nearby column. The former shaman smiled at us. “Good, you have turned on the moonlight, and the death of the priestess has allowed the spirits of the fallen to pass on. Between that, and my distraction, I can tell you that all but the strongest of the wraiths have either been killed or released from their undeath. That one, however, has fled to the High Priestess’s room on the second floor.”

I sighed. “Well, at least most of the lesser wraiths are out of the picture. I suppose we’ll have to deal with the last one before we take down the final barrier. I don’t want that thing attacking us from behind while we’re occupied.”

Brathik nodded. “A sensible idea. Especially since the key for the mirrors on the balcony is in the High Priestess’s desk in her study. Up till now, it had not been guarded, but the wraith no doubt wants to feed, now that the living have come close for the first time in ages.”

“Well, that is lovely.” I shook my head. “But we have slain the priestess and freed the fallen from their torment. Will you complete your end of the bargain we made?”

The ghost nodded. “Of course. I may be dead, but I am a woman of my word. My body, along with the possessions I had in life, and some treasures I was able to move, resides in state in one of the bedrooms above, since I did not wish to leave my body simply lying in a pile of carrion. Meet me there, and I will show you how to bind yourself to the sword.”

Brathik floated upwards, towards the balcony, before she stopped, and looked down at us. “Oh, and you probably want to check all the rooms. That is where these Selunites lived, and kept most of their treasures. No sense in leaving them for others to plunder. Or is it secure?”

Laughing, the ghost continued. “Either way, the barrier preserved much, so you should be able to find some items of interest, if you go looking.” And with that, she flew up into the balcony, passing through the marble as though it weren’t even there.

With that thought in mind, we made our way to the stairs in the furthest corner from where we had entered the temple. Brathik’s actions suggested that her body was in one of the rooms on this side, so that would be the side to start from. Fortunately, the spiral stairs were only slightly cramped for Frostmane’s bulk, or we would have had to consider other options than simply walking up the stairs, and none of us wanted that.

The first door we came to was slightly opened. Whether that was because the acolytes were in a rush, given the temple’s impending siege, or because the undead had been in and out of this room over the years, I could not say. At the very least, it was definitely not locked, and there was no one inside.

The room was a simple affair, with a bed, dresser, and a chest sitting at the foot of the bed. A small personal shrine was engraved into the wall next to the bed, but otherwise the room was unadorned. The acolytes probably cared more for their piety than their pleasure.

A quick search of the dressers revealed several sets of priestly vestments, and other clothes, suitable for relaxation. Nothing out of the ordinary, or worth taking. The chest, on the other hand, had four potions, which I identified as being potions of Cure Light Wounds. Nothing spectacular, but it was better than nothing.

The next room was identical to the first. Same bed, same dressers, same crap. The chest was the only difference. Instead of potions, we found a stack of books. The first was a book of poetry in the elven tongue. A few of the others were novels with titles like The Lusty Elven Maid. The last book, however, had the symbol of Sune on the cover, and was a very accurately illustrated guide to the carnal arts.

Some things never change, even in another world, and ‘horny clergy’ is apparently one of those things.