The Hermitage of Blessed Lightning

The Hermitage of Blessed Lightning lies outside of Abberton, on a cliff face overlooking the sea. While not originally built by Gozrens, it was the perfect place to set up a home and mull on the power of their chosen god.

## Appearance

The hermitage consists of an outer building that, though it seems to lean against the cliff face, is truly only the entrance to a span of caverns and tunnels. The outer ledge is often slick with sea water, and absent the ministrations of the druids it becomes a resting place for slurks. The walls of the building itself are largely blackened due to frequent lightning strikes, something that the inhabitants think of as a sign of Gozreh's favor.

The interior of the hermitage consists of several different kinds of rooms largely bordering the main temple in the center. Throughout the construction are signs of the god, such as the large and elaborately decorated double door depicting the two forms of Gozreh, as well as several mosaics in the Grand Hall portraying a cloudy and storm-filled sky on the ceiling and the depths of the ocean on the floor below. Other notable rooms include: the Veterinary suite, transformed from the bones of a dungeon to provide aid to local animals; the hermits' cells and visitor lodgings; and the catacombs and crypts below.

## History

Although the outer building of the hermitage seems perfectly placed to be used by followers of Gozreh, and indeed has been a home for them for many generations, no one knows who first constructed it, nor how the hermits came to occupy it. That been said, it has provided a home for a loose conglomeration of hermits for many, many years. The leader, by dint of seniority and holding his post for at least 20 years prior to the coup instigated by the arrival of The Beautiful Woman, is one Harlock Hamdeel. The only other inhabitants of the area are the retainers, people who have dedicated their lives to the care and keeping of the hermitage and other occupants. Very few citizens of Abberton have actually visited the hermitage - most interactions are by retainers who drag a battered cart into the village to gather supplies. Some time before the events of Extinction Curse, even though visits stopped.

### The Coup

Some months prior to the first performance by The Circus of Wayward Wonders a mysterious and beautiful woman arrived at the Hermitage. She proved herself to be well versed in religious lore and was accepted by the hermits as another scholar. Unknown to them, she was in truth a succubus demon whose own obsession is the corruption of the pious. Following her intrusion, several events unfolded. Clerics were set against each other in an attempt to win her hand. Demon summoning and corrupting became part of the new normal. And finally, Harlock was captured and displaced as leader.

Not long after the final act of the coup, Balenni and Nemmia both take their leave of the hermitage. Nemmia begins to terrorize Abberton at Balenni's urging, convinced that they have become a cancer on the earth. Balenni herself has found Harlock's notes regarding the Erran Tower, the research that had distracted him so from the changes in his home, and has left to go see for herself. At the time of the arrival of The Wandering Three, the only ones left are a group of corrupted retainers and hermits (and their uncorrupted gay brethren, captured and held within the Veterinary suite), a summoner, a corrupter, and their de facto leader, Enkrisha.