Battlemap
Temple of Measured Mercy
The first thing you notice is the bell tolling beneath the floor, though no rope is moving.
The Temple of Measured Mercy was built to heal the wounded, absolve criminals, and preserve the bodies of honored dead. Its lower halls now serve a harsher purpose, as an ancient saint feeds on pain and turns devotion into obedience.
Cold incense clings to the air, mixed with wet limestone and the faint copper scent of old blood. Blue oil lamps burn without heat in wall niches, while distant bells toll beneath the floor and every footstep seems answered by a slower one.
☠ Threat
Saint Othmar of the Scale, once a healer, now manifests through the temple's bells, lamps, and carved stone. Prior Hesh's corrupted rites have fused the saint's spirit to a living mass of preserved flesh beneath room-4. Othmar does not simply attack intruders. He offers relief from fear, pain, and guilt, then takes control of those who accept it.
History
The temple was raised by the Order of the Masons' Mercy, a guild of battlefield surgeons and stonecutters who believed wounds should be measured before they were treated. They built the lower chambers to store relics, judge dangerous patients, and house their founder, Saint Othmar of the Scale. Centuries later, Prior Hesh altered the rites, teaching that suffering proved virtue and sealing himself below as the saint's keeper.
Encounter Table
CRA faceless former pilgrim carrying a basin of red water and asking each traveler to confess.
A swarm of parchment strips covered in copied confessions, fluttering like bats and whispering accusations.
A headless temple mason dragging a bell hammer and following the sound of fresh metal.
Rumours & Whispers
A temple below the old quarry once healed an entire battalion, but every survivor forgot the names of their dead.
Blue lights have appeared in sickrooms across the district, and those who follow them wake speaking in a priest's voice.
The temple's saint grants painless healing, but the price is paid later by someone standing nearby.
A sealed record beneath the altar proves that a respected noble house began its fortune by selling wounded soldiers back to the battlefield.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Toma Vale, a blunt caravan sergeant
A caravan guard returned from the temple smiling, unable to feel pain, and whispering that the bells are hungry. Her companions want the curse removed before she leads others inside.
A recovered healer's coffer containing 400 gp, rare medicines, and a scroll of greater restoration
Quest giver: Oruvia Pell, a patient court archivist
A local magistrate believes the temple holds confession tablets proving that a noble family ordered a massacre generations ago. The tablets are hidden among the sealed records.
Legal pardon for one party member and a favor from the magistrate's court
Quest giver: Haku of the North Steps, an anxious shrine tender
The blue lamps have begun appearing in nearby homes, always beside the beds of the recently injured. Destroying the lamps without silencing the temple's bell will spread the haunting.
A consecrated lamp that grants advantage on one death saving throw before its flame goes out
Corridor Notes
Thin bronze prayer strips hang from iron pegs, each stamped with a different penitent's name. Several have been scratched blank from the inside.
A shallow channel runs along the floor, carrying clear water toward the deeper rooms. It occasionally flows uphill for a few heartbeats.
Bas-reliefs show robed masons sealing kneeling figures into walls. The faces have been chiseled away, except for one that resembles the viewer.
The flagstones are warm near Room 8 and icy near Room 6, marking the opposing influence of the shrine and the sacrificial vault.
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