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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wulf Ratbane" data-source="post: 224394" data-attributes="member: 94">SESSION TWENTY-THREE: the fallen paladinKELLAN’s TWENTY-THIRD SESSION JOURNALThe next day, we explored the city surrounding the mongrelmen caves. We discovered a half-dozen possible hiding spots for Dale - some of them with multiple sarcophagi. After spending the day searching for Dale, I had to spend a good part of the evening explaining to the mongrelman woman why I wouldn't sleep with her. She could not accept that I had made a promise to my deity, and breaking such a vow would cause me to lose face with my order, lose powers from my deity, and lose respect for myself. She could not accept this, seeing mating as a *duty* no less than the duties I hold dear - but in the end, she left.The next morning brought another challenger for the leadership. I knew I would defeat him easily, so I tried to convince the mongrelmen that their method of choosing a leader was not only counterproductive, but it robbed them of what they needed most - healthy, strong tribesmen to stand against the predations of the yuan-ti and the bugbears. He, and the others, would not listen (perhaps not surprising - it is hard to instantly change one's deeply-held beliefs, and since I would not change for them, it shouldn't surprise me that they would not change for me), and I eventually tired him out, and the others killed him for being defeated. Disgusted, I left the caves, and with the others, moved out once again to explore more of the city.Jorie had a parrot companion flying overhead to contact us if anything unusual happened from his vantage point at the caves while we explored. It alerted us to a curious meeting: the bugbear chieftain exited their compound, blew a horn, and summoned the Lady of the Lake. After about a ten minute conversation (would that we could have overheard it!), the chieftain handed over a box, and the Lady departed.We hit upon the idea that since we could not find Dale, we should leave notes for him inviting him to a rendezvous of our choosing. While this was certainly a dangerous gambit, it was better than what we were doing: quickly losing cachet with the mongrelmen, the bugbears and the yuan-ti ready to crush us between their combined might and interests. We had to upset the status quo and hope that things would turn out all right. Our mission, after all, was to find the whereabouts of Dale, and while the evil groups were a tempting target, we had to be able to survive to report back, or all would be in vain. The notes said "Kellan Evershar, Paladin of Heironeous, wishes to meet with you at the temple by the lake shortly after dark to discuss your current state and possible redemption." We left copies of this note at the sarcophagi we had discovered, and at the end of the day, made ready at the place we had appointed.The response was quickly forthcoming. As the last light left the sky, four vampire spawn (two mongrelmen, one bugbear, and one tasloi) crept up to the roof where we waited, and a reptilian flying creature with rider swooped down and alighted on our tower. The rider lifted his helm, and the sight of Stirling Dale's undead white face stared back at me.While I had suspected Dale's fate, the fact of his condition was greatly disturbing to me. Here was the man whose tales of valor and might I had grown up hearing - an idol of my young innocent days, as I dreamt of defeating evil at the side of one of our premier hunters of the dead - and now he had become that which he most hated. Was I, a mere undistinguished knight, to destroy this paragon? Who was I to defeat him? The answer, of course, is that each of us must do our best to do our duty, and let Heironeous champion the valorous. Meanwhile, hoping to get more time, I struck up conversation with him. It turns out that he was turned by the vampire yuan-ti, and he does not see any difference in his responsibilities; he carries on as if still in Heironeous' service, destroying evil, but in his own way - by turning them, slowly, one by one to vampires, and causing maximum fear among them all. He rejected my suggestion that he come back with us to find some way to heal his condition; he is truly a vampire, he's happy about it, and he is slaying evil right and left. Seeking to buy time to think, I told him that my superiors would not accept me coming home without proof of his whereabouts; I asked him to return the next night with a letter to you explaining that he still existed. He agreed to do so, seeing perhaps that I was indeed trying to buy time but still respecting a young paladin's devotion to duty and honor. With that, he turned and once again took flight, the fallen paladin silhouetted against the moon above. DMs TWENTY-THIRD SESSION NOTESI was impressed with the players' disguise plan from the previous session, and the plan went off without a hitch. However, they then spent the next day wandering around the city in full daylight. In good conscience I couldn't let the bugbears NOT notice that, so the "political" situation changed once again.The encounter with Dale was a lot of fun for me, watching the players squirm, trying to decide if they could "take him" or not right then and there...</blockquote>

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