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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 197544" data-attributes="member: 150">Spire 1: New AlliesWhile Eli parked the Mystery Machine against a ridge not far from the Spire, the rest of the group packed on their gear. Nikolai and the rest of the Dragoon regulars "volunteered" to stay behind and keep an eye on the ship while the heroes entered the tower and chased down Anathe. Everything seemed groovy. The five heroes wandered down the slope towards the menacing spire, tucked into a ravine in the side of the wall of the great rift. It was a gruesome place, walls covered with carved gargoyles and other threatening stonework. There was also the sign of a great battle outside the tower. The tower itself was blasted and charred in spots - it looked as if a couple of fireballs had detonated around the top. There was a single rope that hung down from the very top of the tower - about 300 feet in the air. And, also near the foot of the tower, there was the corpse of a huge monstrosity, a bit like a huge elephant-sized brain, with eyes, wings, and a variety of tentacles. The group decided to try circling the base of the tower, looking for an entrance. At one point there was a small hut built against the side of the tower, but Pah got a bad feeling about the vines that covered it. They seemed to be vibrating, and there wasn't enough wind to have caused it. Irk tossed a rock at the hut, but that didn't have any effect. Uri managed to spot the glint of something shiny up ahead, closer to the vines, and that was enough to push Pah past her skittishness about traps. She skulked forward until she was close enough to hear soft chime-like music coming from the vines. It was peaceful, delicate music that made her feel like just lying down and going to sleep . . . She shook it off, however, and saw ahead of her the corpses of several others who had not been fortunate enough to shake off the effects of the vine's music. She found a bit of shiny loot, and moved away from the vines as quickly as possible. This left only one obvious means of entrance to the spire - through the top. A quick shift of items that provided Spider Climb ability was enough get the party up to the top - a couple of Halflings riding on the backs of larger characters. At the top they found the nest of the great beast that was dead at the bottom of the tower. It looked like it had been hastily looted, and whomever had done it had left behind a pile of gold and silver, which the goonies quickly scooped into Pah's bag of holding. In the center of the nest there was a hole, about 8' in diameter, that lead to a lower level. The group lowered themselves into the room below, and started to look around.They were in a small room, with many walls that had collapsed, making it a larger, more irregular chamber. There was a door in sight to the north, and Pah started to move in that direction to check it out when things turned ugly fast. Vampire spawn attacked, appearing out of clouds of vapor in the room and jumping at poor Pah while the rest of the party looked on. Pah tried to put her back to the wall, shrieking for Irk to come and save her. Irk charged ahead, trying to get to her side, but one of the Vampires turned and stared into Irk's eye."Hi there," said the vampire.Irk gulped. "You're purty." "Don't let them hurt me." The Vampire said. "Of course not," said Irk. And things started to look grim. Then the door that Pah had been working her way towards opened, and out stepped a woman dressed in simple robes. She stepped to one side and cast a small spell at one of the Vampires attacking Pah. Her sidestep made room for a large mountain lion to bound out of the room. The Lion also attacked the vampires. The party, with Irk working against them, but with the help of the two strangers, managed to force the Vampires to retreat, returning to a gaseous form. While Irk tried to figure out on who's side he was supposed to be on, the others turned and looked at the woman and the mountain lion. She seemed familiar, in ways that didn't make anyone feel any better about things, despite the fact that the Lion and the woman had probably saved the day. So they got to talking, and Crysalis and her friend Ulrich told them their story . . . .</blockquote>

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