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<blockquote data-quote="Morrow" data-source="post: 3931877" data-attributes="member: 301"><p><strong>Session 34</strong></p><p></p><p>The party returned to Aster’s temple battered and demoralized. Elias reported that Bronson had a visitor, a loremaster named Arakel. Suspicious of her late arrival the party used a battery of divinations to determine that the diviner meant no harm. Arakel apologized, explaining that she had approached at such a late hour assuming that Aster’s followers kept a nocturnal schedule. She explained that she had only recently come to the city. She was curious about the teachings of Aster and had heard good things about the party’s work defending Freeport. Brother Norton, from the Temple of Tinel, had recommended seeking them out.</p><p></p><p>Tavaari remained suspicious but the rest of the party recognized the trustworthy glow that only comes from a new player character and quickly accepted Arakel’s presence and turned their attention to the vampire spawn. The spawn, who had only recently been turned could offer little information. They knew that the vampires were lead by someone they had never seen and knew only as The Lady. However, they were able to confirm the location of the vampires' lair, an abandoned smuggler's cave beneath the docks near the tavern known as the Black Gull. Protected by a maze of flooded tunnels, the vampires felt reasonably safe. They accessed the caves in gaseous form through a narrow crack connecting to the sewers.</p><p></p><p>After a quick consultation the party agreed that they were unprepared to enter a nest of vampires after dark. Bronson and Queg stayed at the temple while Nate, Sully, Tavaari, and Arakel went to seek out Tavaari’s sister, Arla Fairwind, at the Scholar’s Quill. In spite of the late hour the party was concerned that delaying would leave Arla vulnerable to the vampires. Bill returned to the <em>Big Booty</em>, Jack left to attend to Tavaari’s criminal enterprise, and Marcus went his own way.</p><p></p><p>Nate, Sully, Tavaari, and Arakel soon reached the Scholar’s Quill, a small inn in Drac’s End where Bronson, Nate, and Sully had lived when they first arrived in Freeport. Tavaari had recommended it to Arla as a quiet out of the way place to stay. Upon arrival they found the front door standing open, and Dezi the proprietor dead on the threshold, her throat torn out. A search of the house found Arla’s room abandoned, with tell tale signs of a struggle including a scorched mark on the floor that Arakel identified as the result of a <em>call lightning</em> spell. They found another room whose occupant had been killed before even leaving bed. A third room bore signs of a struggle and the window was shattered from the inside.</p><p></p><p>Finding no further clues the party left the Quill, only to have Tavaari’s familiar, Kitty, discover another body in a nearby alley. The body was that of a warrior, his blade shattered at his side and his body showing the signs of having been killed by repeated energy drain attacks. His clothes and gear identified him as Dezi’s border who had tried to escape by throwing himself out the window.</p><p></p><p>While the rest of the party was investigating Arla’s disappearance Bronson received another visitor. Sonsimoth returned with a tall dark woman in expensive clothes. She identified herself as Lady Lydia Ducanes, the leader of Freeport’s native vampires. Lady Ducanes responded coolly to Bronson’s enthusiastic greeting, admitting to avoiding his prior attempts at contact. However, she the current situation was a special case. The vampire hunters had already killed one of her children and represented a considerable threat to Freeport’s undead population. She observed that it was only a matter of time before the Temple of Aster became a target. She encouraged Bronson to eliminate the foreign vampires and their hunters and explained that she had instructed her children to lie low until the situation was resolved. At Bronson’s insistence she agreed to meet with him again should he successfully resolve the current difficulties.</p><p></p><p>Arakel, Nate, Sully, and Tavaari returned to the temple of Aster just in time to see a tall woman pass through the gates, pause, and transform into a cloud of bats who flew off into the darkness.</p><p></p><p>Much of the next day was spent preparing for the party’s coming confrontation with the vampires. Nate informed the authorities of the slaughter at the Scholar’s Quill and arranged a funeral for Dezi. Sully purchased a new set of armor. The others prepared in their own ways, and by late afternoon were ready. They rendezvoused at the Black Gull but quickly realized that there was no easy access to the sewers. While Nate used his <em>lyre of building</em> to construct a suitable access Arakel sent an <em>arcane eye</em> on ahead. She soon discovered the crack that allowed access from the sewers to the smuggler’s caves the vampire spawn had described. Unfortunately the fissure was barely an inch wide, sufficient for a vampire in mist form, or even an <em>arcane eye</em>, but hardly suitable for a party of adventurers. Beyond the fissure the <em>eye</em> found a small cave system filled with several mounds of earth. Protruding from several of the mounds were coffins.</p><p></p><p>Growing impatient with Nate’s approach, and realizing that surprise offered the best likelihood of success, Arakel cast <em>greater teleport</em> to move the entire party directly into the vampires’ lair.</p><p></p><p>The dual advantages of surprise and proper preparation proved decisive. Arakel’s <em>maximized fireball</em> started the festivities off with a bang. Nate and Tavaari made short work of the Guardsmen, a pair of spike chain wielding vampire fighters. Pyotar Umarov, the blackguard, hardly emerged from his coffin before falling before a withering series of blows from Sully. Even the formidable rogue Tarn Edis was on the defensive. One of the mounds of earth proved to be a gravedirt golem, but Queg was well prepared to battle another golem, and held the formidable necromantic creation at bay. Then the Lady appeared. Having hidden her own coffin in a <em>rope trick</em> she had time to prepare before engaging the party. She cut the battlefield in half by conjuring a wall of moaning souls. Sully and Tavaari were left to face the lady while the rest of the party faced the golem and the remaining vampires. Tavaari stopped dead in his tracks, “Mom?”</p><p></p><p>Sully found herself flanked by a pair of undead shadows. She nimbly dodged their grasping hands and retaliated with two quick slashes of her enchanted blade, dispersing the undead creatures before they could attack again.</p><p></p><p>The undead creature who was once Gabriella, empress of Thonia stood before her son. "I have found you at last."</p><p></p><p>"What happened to you mother? Why are you doing this?" Tavaari asked, his face twisted by sorrow."</p><p></p><p>"What did you think happened to me when I was thrown defenseless from the palace?" Gabriella asked. "Lorrem Erendyl is responsible for my fall. When I finally destroy him he will know that his line has been wiped out. His children have become my children. They will stand beside me when I destroy him."</p><p></p><p>"How many siblings do I have? How many of them have you killed?"</p><p></p><p>Gabriella smiled, her feral countenance seeming almost alive again. "Stand with me, my son. You have suffered as well. Together we will have our revenge."</p><p></p><p>"No," said Tavaari, sadly. "This cannot be allowed to continue. "Goodbye mother."</p><p></p><p>In the blink of an eye Tavaari's form shifted and grew. In his place was a great red dragon. Gabriella's eyes opened wide as her son's fangs and teeth tore into her undead flesh. She fought back fiercely, but her son's strength was to great. By the time Arakel dispelled the wall dividing the battlefield Empress Gabriella was no more.</p><p></p><p>The battle was over. As Arakel and Sully picked over the bodies retrieving magical baubles and gold Tavaari located Arla's coffin beneath one of the mounds of dirt. "She'll wake up in a few days." offered Bronson.</p><p></p><p>"I'll leave her a message to come find me when she wakes up." replied Tavaari. "And send a couple men down to wait for her. She'll be hungry."</p><p></p><p>Bronson openned his mouth to reply, but then stopped as he received a <em>sending</em> from Brother Norton at the temple of Tinel. After a pause he spoke to empty air, "Yes. Bring everyone you can."</p><p></p><p>The cleric turned to his friends. "The vampire hunters are attacking my temple. We have get back there."</p><p></p><p>After some hurried preparations the party gathered around Arakel. In a flash of light the party <em>teleported</em> to the temple of Aster. Except the office they found themselves in was not Bronson’s. They were in the temple of Tinel! A short middle aged human woman sat behind a large desk piled high with books. She looked up in surprise and Bronson recognized Mother Isabella, who had come from the mainland to take over the temple after the 'retirement' of Father Thuron. “I’m very sorry!” Exclaimed Arakel, flushing with embarrassment. “Wrong temple. My name is Arakel.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes,” replied mother Isabella. “Brother Norton mentioned you. And I recognize the rest of you as well. You did give me a start.”</p><p></p><p>Bronson apologized effusively, but Mother Isabella waved away his explanations. “I can see you are in a hurry. You all know the way out.”</p><p></p><p>As the party hurried to leave Mother Isabella regarded Arakel above her glasses. “Perhaps you’d better practice that <em>teleport</em> a little more, hmm?” She held Arakel’s gaze for a moment before returning to her work. As the door clicked shut she jotted a note. “<em>Dimension Lock</em> my office.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Morrow, post: 3931877, member: 301"] [b]Session 34[/b] The party returned to Aster’s temple battered and demoralized. Elias reported that Bronson had a visitor, a loremaster named Arakel. Suspicious of her late arrival the party used a battery of divinations to determine that the diviner meant no harm. Arakel apologized, explaining that she had approached at such a late hour assuming that Aster’s followers kept a nocturnal schedule. She explained that she had only recently come to the city. She was curious about the teachings of Aster and had heard good things about the party’s work defending Freeport. Brother Norton, from the Temple of Tinel, had recommended seeking them out. Tavaari remained suspicious but the rest of the party recognized the trustworthy glow that only comes from a new player character and quickly accepted Arakel’s presence and turned their attention to the vampire spawn. The spawn, who had only recently been turned could offer little information. They knew that the vampires were lead by someone they had never seen and knew only as The Lady. However, they were able to confirm the location of the vampires' lair, an abandoned smuggler's cave beneath the docks near the tavern known as the Black Gull. Protected by a maze of flooded tunnels, the vampires felt reasonably safe. They accessed the caves in gaseous form through a narrow crack connecting to the sewers. After a quick consultation the party agreed that they were unprepared to enter a nest of vampires after dark. Bronson and Queg stayed at the temple while Nate, Sully, Tavaari, and Arakel went to seek out Tavaari’s sister, Arla Fairwind, at the Scholar’s Quill. In spite of the late hour the party was concerned that delaying would leave Arla vulnerable to the vampires. Bill returned to the [i]Big Booty[/i], Jack left to attend to Tavaari’s criminal enterprise, and Marcus went his own way. Nate, Sully, Tavaari, and Arakel soon reached the Scholar’s Quill, a small inn in Drac’s End where Bronson, Nate, and Sully had lived when they first arrived in Freeport. Tavaari had recommended it to Arla as a quiet out of the way place to stay. Upon arrival they found the front door standing open, and Dezi the proprietor dead on the threshold, her throat torn out. A search of the house found Arla’s room abandoned, with tell tale signs of a struggle including a scorched mark on the floor that Arakel identified as the result of a [i]call lightning[/i] spell. They found another room whose occupant had been killed before even leaving bed. A third room bore signs of a struggle and the window was shattered from the inside. Finding no further clues the party left the Quill, only to have Tavaari’s familiar, Kitty, discover another body in a nearby alley. The body was that of a warrior, his blade shattered at his side and his body showing the signs of having been killed by repeated energy drain attacks. His clothes and gear identified him as Dezi’s border who had tried to escape by throwing himself out the window. While the rest of the party was investigating Arla’s disappearance Bronson received another visitor. Sonsimoth returned with a tall dark woman in expensive clothes. She identified herself as Lady Lydia Ducanes, the leader of Freeport’s native vampires. Lady Ducanes responded coolly to Bronson’s enthusiastic greeting, admitting to avoiding his prior attempts at contact. However, she the current situation was a special case. The vampire hunters had already killed one of her children and represented a considerable threat to Freeport’s undead population. She observed that it was only a matter of time before the Temple of Aster became a target. She encouraged Bronson to eliminate the foreign vampires and their hunters and explained that she had instructed her children to lie low until the situation was resolved. At Bronson’s insistence she agreed to meet with him again should he successfully resolve the current difficulties. Arakel, Nate, Sully, and Tavaari returned to the temple of Aster just in time to see a tall woman pass through the gates, pause, and transform into a cloud of bats who flew off into the darkness. Much of the next day was spent preparing for the party’s coming confrontation with the vampires. Nate informed the authorities of the slaughter at the Scholar’s Quill and arranged a funeral for Dezi. Sully purchased a new set of armor. The others prepared in their own ways, and by late afternoon were ready. They rendezvoused at the Black Gull but quickly realized that there was no easy access to the sewers. While Nate used his [i]lyre of building[/i] to construct a suitable access Arakel sent an [i]arcane eye[/i] on ahead. She soon discovered the crack that allowed access from the sewers to the smuggler’s caves the vampire spawn had described. Unfortunately the fissure was barely an inch wide, sufficient for a vampire in mist form, or even an [i]arcane eye[/i], but hardly suitable for a party of adventurers. Beyond the fissure the [i]eye[/i] found a small cave system filled with several mounds of earth. Protruding from several of the mounds were coffins. Growing impatient with Nate’s approach, and realizing that surprise offered the best likelihood of success, Arakel cast [i]greater teleport[/i] to move the entire party directly into the vampires’ lair. The dual advantages of surprise and proper preparation proved decisive. Arakel’s [i]maximized fireball[/i] started the festivities off with a bang. Nate and Tavaari made short work of the Guardsmen, a pair of spike chain wielding vampire fighters. Pyotar Umarov, the blackguard, hardly emerged from his coffin before falling before a withering series of blows from Sully. Even the formidable rogue Tarn Edis was on the defensive. One of the mounds of earth proved to be a gravedirt golem, but Queg was well prepared to battle another golem, and held the formidable necromantic creation at bay. Then the Lady appeared. Having hidden her own coffin in a [i]rope trick[/i] she had time to prepare before engaging the party. She cut the battlefield in half by conjuring a wall of moaning souls. Sully and Tavaari were left to face the lady while the rest of the party faced the golem and the remaining vampires. Tavaari stopped dead in his tracks, “Mom?” Sully found herself flanked by a pair of undead shadows. She nimbly dodged their grasping hands and retaliated with two quick slashes of her enchanted blade, dispersing the undead creatures before they could attack again. The undead creature who was once Gabriella, empress of Thonia stood before her son. "I have found you at last." "What happened to you mother? Why are you doing this?" Tavaari asked, his face twisted by sorrow." "What did you think happened to me when I was thrown defenseless from the palace?" Gabriella asked. "Lorrem Erendyl is responsible for my fall. When I finally destroy him he will know that his line has been wiped out. His children have become my children. They will stand beside me when I destroy him." "How many siblings do I have? How many of them have you killed?" Gabriella smiled, her feral countenance seeming almost alive again. "Stand with me, my son. You have suffered as well. Together we will have our revenge." "No," said Tavaari, sadly. "This cannot be allowed to continue. "Goodbye mother." In the blink of an eye Tavaari's form shifted and grew. In his place was a great red dragon. Gabriella's eyes opened wide as her son's fangs and teeth tore into her undead flesh. She fought back fiercely, but her son's strength was to great. By the time Arakel dispelled the wall dividing the battlefield Empress Gabriella was no more. The battle was over. As Arakel and Sully picked over the bodies retrieving magical baubles and gold Tavaari located Arla's coffin beneath one of the mounds of dirt. "She'll wake up in a few days." offered Bronson. "I'll leave her a message to come find me when she wakes up." replied Tavaari. "And send a couple men down to wait for her. She'll be hungry." Bronson openned his mouth to reply, but then stopped as he received a [I]sending[/I] from Brother Norton at the temple of Tinel. After a pause he spoke to empty air, "Yes. Bring everyone you can." The cleric turned to his friends. "The vampire hunters are attacking my temple. We have get back there." After some hurried preparations the party gathered around Arakel. In a flash of light the party [i]teleported[/i] to the temple of Aster. Except the office they found themselves in was not Bronson’s. They were in the temple of Tinel! A short middle aged human woman sat behind a large desk piled high with books. She looked up in surprise and Bronson recognized Mother Isabella, who had come from the mainland to take over the temple after the 'retirement' of Father Thuron. “I’m very sorry!” Exclaimed Arakel, flushing with embarrassment. “Wrong temple. My name is Arakel.” “Oh, yes,” replied mother Isabella. “Brother Norton mentioned you. And I recognize the rest of you as well. You did give me a start.” Bronson apologized effusively, but Mother Isabella waved away his explanations. “I can see you are in a hurry. You all know the way out.” As the party hurried to leave Mother Isabella regarded Arakel above her glasses. “Perhaps you’d better practice that [i]teleport[/i] a little more, hmm?” She held Arakel’s gaze for a moment before returning to her work. As the door clicked shut she jotted a note. “[i]Dimension Lock[/i] my office.” [/QUOTE]
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