A puzzling knight

The land standing in front of you is dark and swampy despite the sun which shone high through the clouds only minutes ago. Small, wispy lights flit lazily between murky pools while the stench of marsh gas overpowers your nostrils. You hear pained groans as shambling corpses stumble or crawl across the terrain, wandering aimlessly in search of their next meal. Most of them seem to be around level three or four. They aren't much of a threat, but attracting the attention of too many of them will waste precious time and energy on the way to your true goal: a smattering of distant stone structures obscured by the thick, drifting mist. You duck back into the trees on the edge of the bog and plan your approach with Ari—and Tlax's moral support.

Suddenly, your planning is interrupted by a thunderous, loud "yaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Another peek outside the copse of trees shows the outline of a familiar berserker with several companions. It's hard to make their shapes in the fog, although you hear the crackle of lightning and hiss of acid accompany them. You reopen the recently-dismissed popup which you had thought nothing of only moments before: this complicates things, although it's hard to say for better or for worse.

Dungeon: The Unholy Congregation
This Enilevean temple was overrun long ago by a powerful coven of necromancers, who have since desecrated its sacred ground and poisoned the earth. Purging their foul presence from the land rewards a set of unique items.
Rewards: Enileve's Wrath (long sword), Enileve's Embrace (mail armour) (Rewards change every week)
(Resets once per week. Next reset: 05:07:32:15... 05:07:32:14...)

Not only are you not keen to wait a week, but you can't say if what will be available next time will fit your needs, so you can't afford to have the adventurers get to the crypt before you do. However, their presence here might serve as your ticket in: every zombie with at least one functioning ear is currently making its way in their direction. Motioning to your compatriots, Ari casts a minor spell to darken the area around you, making you near-invisible in the gloomy bog, and you race as quickly and silently as you can towards the cluster of crypts on the horizon. You and Ari quickly cut through the two corpses you encounter on the way: when you ask Tlax to participate, she merely hisses at you in return and mocks gagging. A few minutes later, you reach the first of the squat structures, the sounds of battle now well behind you. The area around you is soon lit with a pale glow: you seem to have attracted one of the wispy lanterns as you crossed the mire, and it bobs lazily in front of you as if to light your path.

The temple grounds are a sad affair. The area is dominated by a huge church a few hundred metres ahead of you, gargoyles leering at you through the gloom and door thrown open as if to invite you in. More groans come from inside. A collection of wood shacks dots the premises, long abandoned and mouldering. The entire yard is surrounded by a spiked, wrought-iron fence. The area separating you and the church is dotted with gravestones in a variety of designs, from simple wedges of rock to elaborate statues of angels. Several larger stone crypts are scattered haphazardly throughout the yard.

The sounds of battle draw steadily nearer: you need to make a decision fast. You came here to fight necromancers, not adventurers, and doubt you have the strength for both. Even if you could defeat this group, there's no guarantee that another group won't steal the rewards while you retreat and recuperate. For that matter, having seen firsthand how quickly adventurers are able to return, there's no guarantee the same group won't be back before you are. Tlax simply stares back at you. Ari motions to the church, but looks unsure. Suddenly, the dancing lantern starts bobbing its way towards one of the crypts to your left. The direction feels right: after all, you were looking for a buried item. Besides, necromancers are most likely to be found where fresh materials await. Ari looks uneasy with your choice but follows.

The large slab of stone that ordinarily seals the crypt hangs slightly ajar, allowing you slide inside to reveal a modest shrine with a sarcophagus in the middle. The lid of the coffin has a relief of a knight whose gauntlets rest on the pommel of a long sword. Three angels are carved into the walls, arranged in a triangle around the walls: to your left, a beautiful winged woman in a flowing robe stares ahead wearing a blank expression. Meanwhile, the engraving to the right shows a shirtless, muscled winged man looks compassionately down at a sick child. The final engraving, directly in front of you, shows a stern, armoured angelic man swinging his sword at a cowering imp.

You frown at the dead-end and turn to leave, but not only are the sounds of battle drawing closer, but you hear a low, haunted moan and see a tormented, spectral woman drifting through the mist between you and the church. Turning around, you see the orb is now bobbing directly in front of the angelic warrior. You reach out to run your hand against the carving.

"U-um, wait, I don't think we should touch anything in here just yet. I have a bad feeling about this." Ari objects and shivers in the chilly gloom. You ask what to do, but she only tells you to wait in return. You listen outside and feel yourself grow quickly impatient, as the crackle of lightning and frenzied yells grow nearer.

"Look, I think our friend here is trying to tell us this is some sort of puzzle. Doesn't your goddess hate daemons? Even if he wasn't here to help, this would be obvious." Ari reaches out to stop you, but you can't afford to lose any more time: you rush out and touch the angel's brandished blade. The light winks out and the room goes pitch black, accompanied by a grinding and a low hiss. You light a small fire to see the door sealed shut behind you and a noxious-looking green gas filling the room.

"No, no, no!" You share her frustration: you have no idea why you put so much faith in the little bobbing wisp of light. You can't help but feel that getting this wrong a second time will be a bad idea. You step back to rethink things, but you don't have much time.

"Okay. There has to be a way out of this trap. So... it's the angel healing the sick? Doesn't your ex-goddess love do-gooders?" Ari frowns in response.

"No, no, no, that doesn't sound right at all. The goddess is sometimes merciful, but she is not known for it. Your first idea was much better, but something was off. I just can't figure out what..."

You look up to see the gas slowly descending. You don't have long to make your decision.

"Wait! I think I remember hearing back in training that all of the goddess' angels are women. But this isn't right: all of her heralds are also warriors who take the fight against the darkness, and the only warrior here got us into this mess..."

Suddenly, Tlax rushes past you and bumps her nose into a small piece of the woman's graven robe. You can only see it now that she pointed it out, but a small scabbard protrudes from under the woman's flowing robes. The hissing stops as suddenly as it began, and another loud grinding sound announces the sarcophagus sliding out of the way to reveal a rough stair descending deep underground. Ari lets out a squeal and hugs Tlax, who reciprocates with a celebratory lick on her cheek, but you can't feel put off by this whole ordeal. Aren't these goddesses and clerics supposed to be all honourable and good, not deceptive tricksters? That's your job. You grunt and march down the stairway, eager to light something on fire for a change.

The stairway bottoms out into long hallway lined with alcoves. Most are empty, but you see occasional bones and even a single leering skull peek out at you from the flicker of your makeshift torch. Suddenly, skeletal hands reach out of one of the alcoves and begin to close around your neck. You snap your fingers and the entire side of the corridor erupts into a long wall of fire, expending a considerable amount of magical energy and annihilating the skeleton and any of his would-be friends in the process. "Don't forget to save some for the final boss~" comes a singsong voice from behind you. You spin around and glare. She looks apologetically back at you, but the moment you turn back, you barely make out a low whisper of "ooh, someone's feeling a bit grumpy. Think maybe we should cheer him up?" and a conspiratorial giggle. Part of you wants to send a fireball their way to show them just how grumpy you are. Another part of your heart softens a bit at the care that's clearly there beneath the teasing in her voice.

You roll your eyes as you decide to split the difference. Pretending you didn't hear anything, you continue to stomp deeper into the crypt. Maybe another skeleton will be kind enough to show its ugly skull. You could use something else to burn.