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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerakSpielman" data-source="post: 486345" data-attributes="member: 7464">The Party Reaches the Front Door    A puff of snow sprayed out as suddenly the group found themselves in the center of a small arctic village. The temperature contrast of this place compared to the warm, comfortable Fiernas Cabal was striking.    “A bit chilly here,” commented Canter.    Serena shrugged. She had remembered to wear a warm wool robe - and under layers. It wasn’t her fault if the rest of the party forgot that it was devilishly cold this far north. Canter did not, however, seem particularly troubled. Perhaps that shiny new armor he had taken from Malz Akir’s smouldering corpse kept him a bit warm. Canter had made a big show of using his crafting skills to remove the embossed insignia of Vecna from the breastplate, replacing it with the symbol of Fharlanghn.    None of the others seemed particularly distressed about the weather, with the possible exception of Glim, who was trying with great effort to keep his teeth from chattering. Fjorda’s bushy beard and thick skin probably kept her quite well insulated. Cloudtoucher seemed to not notice the temperature at all - wherever they traveled. It must be some sort of monkish  discipline. Kellen was at home in any natural environment.    “Well, what now?” Glim asked, as articulately as he could while holding his teeth apart.    “We head north I suppose,” answered Kellen, “The wizards back at Fiernas seemed to be pretty certain that was the right way to go from here.”    The party looked north.    “I think I see a greenish glimmering of some sort,” announced Cloudtoucher.     “That would be the Dimensional Anchor we heard about,” explained Serena, drawing on her extensive knowledge on the subject.    “We might as well get it over with,” Canter decided, leading the way.    The group moved out of the nameless town, not even bothering to exchange glances with the astonished-looking townsfolk they passed on the way. They didn’t speak to the locals before setting out. (There were some rather important things they could have learned, too. Oh well for them)    After a little more than half a day of trudging through dwarf-deep snow, they came within a mile of the massive structure. Rather than a traditional tower, it seemed shaped more like some sort of step-pyramid. Each “step” on the pyramid was composed of two distinct levels: a smooth, well-crafted level followed by a ragged, stony level. The rough-cut levels made the entire affair look like it had been carved out of a rough, conical mountain, but the carvers only bothered carving out every other level. There was a massive set of doors in the side of the tower facing the party.    “Shall we go over again what we know about this Vampire?” asked Canter.    “All right,” agreed Serena, always eager to show off her memory, “He was the head of an evil Cabal over 200 years ago. He abruptly left his post and traveled north, never to be heard from again. He was a very powerful wizard at that time. He has resurfaced now, as a Vampire, and has significant dealings with the Vecnans. He has engaged in a project to create an Ultimate Weapon to aid the Vecnans in their attempt to Take Over the World. This device will be complete in one week. We must protect the lives of countless innocents by ending this before then.”    “An apt summation,” Cantor observed dryly, “Though I was hoping to lead into more of a conversation about what we plan on doing now that we’re here. The wizards seemed confident that we would be totally unable to defeat him in combat. There must be another way.”    “We could bluff our way in,” suggested Glim, “You have all those Hats of Disguise, remember? They served us well enough inside the Vecnan temple. Why not use them here?”    The group talked it over and agreed that this was, indeed, the best plan available to them. They would pose as a group of Vecnans coming to see the progress being made on the Ultimate Weapon. Canter would pose as Malz Akir, because the shiny armor was very unique and would allow his disguise to operate more efficiently.    “All right,” said Kellen, “The story is we’re emissaries from the Temple of Vecna come to check on the progress of the Ultimate Weapon. If possible, we want all talk and no violence. Got it?”    Fjorda seemed sullen, but everybody agreed.    Disguised, they approached the double door. It stood at least nine feet tall and looked strong enough to repel a siege. Canter approached and knocked.     There was no response.    He called out, “I am Malz Akir, and I wish to speak to Murnig Ulbrig! Open the door!”    There was no response.    The party stood there, shuffling their feet uneasily. Should they enter uninvited? Was there some sort of protocol to be observed when one high and mighty villain visited another? Was their cover already blown?    Canter tried the knock-shout routine again.    There was no response.    The group exchanged glances.    Glim shrugged, “We might as well just go on in. Is the door locked?”    “There’s no lock,” said Canter, pushing on the right wing of the door. It opened easily, “It’s not barred either.”Next: The Party discovers whether or not their disguises worked</blockquote>

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