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Message: <blockquote data-quote="htetickrt" data-source="post: 1394670" data-attributes="member: 16534">Dagger Hills While discussing disguises, Trella's use of the word "frilly" piques Quid's attention. As soon as the druid leaves, the priest claps her hands together, "I can take charge of arranging the disguises. It has been ever so long since I have been back in civilization, I am curious of the latest fashions."  She immediately moves off in search of apparel, joined by Dobi. The remainder of the large group seeks out purveyors of more practical goods, equipping themselves with what they can find of their desired provisions.  The local general store is well stocked, and yields nearly everything the party desires from it.  The armory proves to have a slightly less impressive selection, causing a bored Khail to forget entirely about buying some.  Noticing, Kai turns to Khail, looks him sarcastically up and down with a raised eyebrow, and asks with a smile, "You gonna get some armor for that?" Khail clears his throat in response, glances at Lenara, and mutters, "Ahem, Yes, yes—some armor would be a good idea…."  Lenara seems slightly disappointed, but is still willing to aid the paladin with her fading knowledge of metalworking as he looks for suitable barding for his celestial warhorse. Meanwhile, across town, Quid eventually settles on several sets of peasant/farmer outfits, realizing that Dagger Falls is not a haven of haute couture.  She is mollified, however, by the long conversation she and Dobi share about the latest Waterdhavian styles, and the doings of various much sought-after Silverymoon fashion designers. As Dobi continues to fill Quid in on the latest gossip, "…apparently Sir Giacommo Artuzzi, that dirty old man, was having some sordid affair with some pretty boy half-elf. When Lady Artuzzi found out, she had both of them polymorphed into toads. I was lucky enough to purchase an Artuzzi gryphon-feather scarf, one of the last ones he made. I was to pick it up when I arrived at Silverymoon, hopefully it's still there…”, the sprightly halfling makes sure that the travel kit he packed in Waterdeep is still largely intact.  As soon as Quid has finished her purchases, he leads her to a nearby tavern, finds an unused soap box which he hops upon, pulls a wooden flute out of his pack, and plays a brief but bright Oriental tune in a diatonic key. To those who stop to listen, Dobi relates the tale of Sage Ezra's further adventures in Kara-Tur, and the time when Ezra gained audience with the Grand Muk-Ee-Muk in his Golden Pleasure Dome in a room of silk and gold and 144 Eunuchs and 225 royal concubines. “Of course Ezra had been brought in wearing shackles, because of a fling he had had with Royal Concubine #114, Miss Peace-Blossom in the Garden of Heavenly Tranquility. Ezra had wooed the lovely Pease-Blossom with a poem: ‘Eyes as lovelyAs a babbling riverdoggerel haiku’ When his most eminent and supreme highness heard this, one tear formed in his most august eye, who then made a small gesture to the Grand Vizier. The sharp nosed man proclaimed, ‘in his exalted majesties most humble generosity, he shall spare the barbarian's life; instead he will be taken to the royal bloodletter for the Happy Snippity-Snip’ a term causing all 144 Eunuchs to grimace in remembered pain.” After the tale, Dobi plies the fascinated tavern goers for information on the drow, not really expecting to get any.  He is not disappointed, learning only that the drow attack was all but unprecedented, and that its savagery and seeming irrationality scares the stuffing out of them. While the rest of the party shops or regales, Kyree rides Trella the horse south with his usual dexterity, and enough wisdom not to make jokes about their positions.  A few paces away gallops Earl, enjoying the freedom to run alongside his new friend.  It takes the three only a short time to reach their destination, made obvious by the blackened remains of farmhouses a short way off of the trail. Kyree dismounts and takes in the fell sight.  His eyes gravitate immediately toward the shattered houses.  “They didn’t take anything,” he whispers, looking away from the gruesome remains of a family dog. Trella reverts to her usual form.  “Drow,” she says simply, as if that explains everything. “Look, some places are left untouched.  And they didn’t even take the meat from the slaughtered cattle with them.” “They weren’t here to pillage,” Trella intuits, “they were here to spread chaos and fear.” Kyree shudders.  “Doing a good job over here.” Trella mocking look back fades into pity.  “Let’s go back.  There’s nothing more to be learned here.” ********** “That’s it, then,” Trella finishes her tale, pushing back from the table with long, tanned legs. Kai glances around the near-empty tavern.  “I see why people would want to stay home.”  A small sigh escapes her lips at its mention. “Let’s get some sleep.  I’d like to see the dawn tomorrow.  It might be the last for a while,” Quid remarks, earning another sigh from Kai. ********** Trella roughly awakens Andy before donning her new armor and making her way to a warm breakfast.  The monk wipes the sleep from his eyes, deeply regretting her purchase as he watches her move away.  Sensing his eyes on her, Trella smirks and decides to order up a great feast for the large party from a suddenly helpful innkeeper.  She taunts Andy unmercifully as the group slowly files in for the meal, much to the delight of everyone who is not Andy. Taking its leave of Dagger Falls, the group traverses the rough trail south with easy strides, reveling even in this short break from imminent danger.  Ten miles pass all too soon, and the party’s collective spirit is dampened upon viewing the destruction that Trella and Kyree explored earlier.Moving west through the decimated homestead, Trella leads the party two miles from the main trail, past a low, rounded hill dotted with jutting boulders and dense briar patches.  Sere grasses crown its barren slopes.  Beyond this first rampart, a long chain of rugged hills stretches away to the south and to the east—the Dagger Hills.  The trail turns here and continues south, skirting the lower slopes. Two old, small, stone buildings stand here in the shadow of the hill.  The ruined shells of several more lie nearby, overgrown with tough brown grass.  A niche has been cut in the hillside, just past the surface buildings.  Within it, a stone door stands closed in a masonry alcove. Dobi comments dryly, “Mausoleums around a crypt.  How delightful.” Khail strides purposefully to the first structure, examining the great double doors that bar the entrance to the ancient mausoleum.  The doors or the lintel may once have borne an inscription or crest, but centuries of wind and rain have erased any such marking, just as they have slowly eroded the structure of the building itself, leaving cracked walls and crumbling mortar in their wake. The doors swing open easily at the paladin’s touch, revealing a dusty open area, littered with human refuse from the campsites of more than one grave robber or bandit, and four closed doors, presumably leading to crypts.  Training his eyes on each in turn, Khail is relieved to note the presence of no evil beyond any of the portals. Vaguely bored, Kyree asks, “Should we go inside?” Having no desire to examine the dead more closely, Kai shakes her head.  “This place has been well-looted.  There’s no sense disturbing their peace any more than it already has been.” Quietly assenting—which causes Lenara to swoon at his manliness—Khail approaches the second mausoleum.  A single, massive, stone door bearing a weathered but still visible family crest marks the entrance to this crumbling mausoleum. Their interest piqued by the crest, both Dobi and Cerridwin approach the doors with wide eyes.  The latter notes a single word, written in the Common tongue: “Chahir.”  Dobi, looking closer, finds the phrase “Together for Eternity.” Grey eyes narrowed in suspicion, Khail extends his senses through the doorway.  “Evil!” he exclaims.  “Five moderate sources…and one strong one.  The taint is powerful here; it must be destroyed.”  Lowering his shoulder, the paladin slams into the door, his great strength overcoming the substantial resistance of the plugged portal. After passing through the swirling dust, two ornately carved stone coffins can be seen lying side by side against the wall across from the door.  Dust lies thick on the floor, and the air inside is stale.  Kyree’s sharp eyes pick up traces of dirt on the floor near each coffin, dark spots among the light-colored dust. The signs unmistakable, Rhien and Quid both hiss, “Vampires.”  An instant later, five vampire spawn materialize in front of the party, taunting the group.  “Thought to rob the dead, did you?  That’s what we thought we’d do too.” Khail manifests his blade, the glow of which is itself a taunt to the undead, but is more concerned with the stronger aura he sensed.  Snicker answers this last riddle with a telepathic shout to all party members, “There’s an invisible one on top of the right coffin, and he’s been casting spells!” To be continued…</blockquote>

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