Vampire Hunting

## Week 2 (15/03/16): Vampire Hunting

GM: Ciaran

Players:

* Rose Burdin III, Dwarven Fighter / Luca
* Dante Fern, Human Wizard / Thomas
* Remy, Elven Wizard / Ian
* Emry, Halfling Thief / Steve
* Hepititus, Halfling Skirmisher / Kieran

## Report from Rose Burdin III (Luca)

My Dearest Liath,

Over a fortnight has passed since I last wrote to you and first set foot inside of the Granite Citadel. My life has already changed considerably. The thrill that I feel is unlike anything I could have imagined. I often joked with you over what could have possibly been the appeal of your youthful adventures. The feeling you described had never made sense to me until this very moment. Offering your axe to the Vanguard has sent me on a path that I have no wish to step off of.

Eight days ago I accepted the call of a mysterious comrade and traveled to Carabalis. An earlier investigation saw the discovery of an illegal elixir, going by the name of 'Blue Fever'. The Citadel had already managed to assist in stamping out the supply to the great coastal city, but they worry'd that it's distribution went into far more sinister depths. They were correct.

After speaking with local law enforcement and with the aid of Thea, a Dwarven sailrunner with strong connections to the Citadel, we were pointed towards Giron, a nearby logging village that supplied Carabalis with wood. Percy, the man leading the investigation seemed uninterested in our involvement. A scuffle with two criminal Orc brothers saw Thea injured and lead us to information over a possible distributor, a strange man by the name of Ivan. Meira, of the Keepers, did make note to warn us in the case of Ivan's involvement, with her believing him to be a Vampire. Meira is not often wrong, but that night I prayed she had slipped this one time.

Two days of careful travel passed as I got to know my new friends and Citadel comrades. Remy, the learned Elf fascinated by the rise and fall of empires and the wonder of Tree Ents. Dante Fern, the paranoid Human mage with an unquenchable curiosity, and the Halflings, Emry and Hepititus; One a conscripted thief, the other a charismatic skirmisher, both with coin on the mind.

We arrived at the logging town just as night was falling on the second day. The mood was eerie in the unusually quiet town. Emry noticed incisions on the necks of the somber villagers, and we deduced that our fears were all but confirmed. Ivan had sunk his teeth into this poor township. Not wishing to draw attention to ourselves, we came upon the local inn, as most travelers would. The rugged exterior did not do justice to the beauty inside. The simplistic design of the empty Inn left me breathless. Such understated beauty in this poisoned town. I must make sure to return there at a more appropriate time.

The silent Inn Keeper made no reaction to our entrance, regardless of the fact that we seemed to be her only patrons. She handed over a room key to Emry, as he laid down the necessary coin. We made our way up to our room, knowing there was no real chance that any of us would be in for a good night's sleep. Such things are now a part of my past alone. Dante faded into invisibility as he remained downstairs to monitor the lobby. He later reported to us of the Inn Keeper slitting her own hand and letting her blood fill up a barrel. Ivan's hold over these poor people needed to come to an end. It was far worse than we had imagined. At the first sign of daylight, we had to call to action and bring him down. That is if we survived the night.

We took turns on watch as we attempted to rest our weary heads. I struggled to sleep not only from the fear, but from the guilt of laying down as innocent villagers suffer these atrocities. It was on Remy's watch that we were all awoken to a call of panic. I opened my eyes to pure darkness. I heard scurrying as I noticed a flash of light leave the Elf's fingers and break the darkness for a split second. I reached down beside me where I believed Mindi was. Her cold wooden handle felt foreign as I readied myself to use her for the first time. I stood in guard, trying to make sense of what was happening. I thought to myself "I'm not ready for this". I didn't know why I thought I ever could be. I panicked and with fear in my voice, I shouted; "What do you want here?!" A cold chill ran along my spine as the noise of something more sinister than I'd ever imagined came over my mind; "TO FEEEEED"

A flash of light broke through the darkness as Remy lifted his staff and dispelled the debilitating darkness. The face of this demonic creature confronted me as I first laid my eyes on Ivan. Scowling teeth and piercing eyes adorn the face of an otherwise joyful Halfling. He retracted from me and turned towards my comrades, and almost on instinct, I struck! As if acting in a trance I brought my arms down, and pierced through Ivan's robes and into his back. I felt his bones crack as the serrated edges of Mindi drove themselves into his flesh. The room was sprayed in his blood as I caught my first smell of battle. Is that what it was always like for you? The fear, the adrenaline, the rush? I see the appeal. I whispered to myself "Liath would have loved this."

Before I could relish in my successful blow, an unnatural creature latched onto my back and pierced into my armour. I hear Remy refer to them as homunculi. Servants of Ivan, these ape-ish animals scatter themselves across the room, attempting to protect their undeserved master. I watched helplessly as the now wounded Ivan dissipated into a cloud of smog, approaching my new friends. Dante, still fighting off one of these unholy creatures, pulled his attention towards the undead cloud and threw everything he could muster towards it. Beams of radiant light enveloped the room as they cut into his gasly form. In a panicked attempt, Ivan launched his dying self towards Dante, erupting into a force of demonic energy. The rest of us were all taken aback too. I felt the now shriveling homunculi fall off my back, as I shielded my face from the smell. The smoke cleared as I noticed Dante's body, lying lifeless where he last stood.

I ran to his aid, as I felt the emotion of losing you make it's way back to the front of my mind. I comforted him in his last moments as I watched this brave man die. I wept for my fallen friend. Was this the price for adventure? The rush that I felt was now a memory. To have both of those feelings within the span of seconds took it's toll, as I crumpled onto his chest. To sacrifice your life for the sake of others. That is the bravery that Dante showed, and the bravery I wish to gain.

I watched over his body, as Remy took to the town to assess the situation. The villagers massed in the centre of town, with similar looks of confusion.  Remy helped to alleviate some of their panic and inform them of their situation. I'm almost thankful that they couldn't remember anything. I don't want to imagine what else they may have been subjected to. Jacob, the Sailrunner from Carabalis approached our party with similar reports of memory loss, but none of any injuries. We were suspicious, but there were more pertinent matters at hand, and we enlisted him to help get everything back on track in the small town.

We spent the next few days interviewing the villagers and helping them to recover and get back onto their feet. Reports of Ivan as a "Charismatic Stranger" were common as recollection began to fail from before two months ago. We discovered Ivan's lair and went to investigate, finding scriptures on the walls. Remy took note of these as Emry went hunting for coin. A large cache of the blood used to produce the blue fever was found, and we decided to destroy it in the hope that this will never befall another innocent township, much to the anguish of the two Halflings. It didn't take much longer before we were satisfied that the quality of life was back to normal in Giron, and we set foot for Carabalis, absent of Jacob who suspiciously left very early into the town's rehabilitation.

The trip back was far more somber, as we transported Dante's corpse back on a commandeered wagon, but otherwise it went without a hitch. As soon as we made it back to Carabalis, our first stop was into the Sailrunner's place of operations, to inform Percy of the advancements in his case. He seemed suspiciously uninterested in our findings, and at the mention of Jacob's disappearance, quickly covered for him and disallowed us from following up. Definitely something to bring to Nat. Hopefully she can make some sense of this. We stopped in with Thea to make sure her recovery was progressing as we also thanked her for her aid and warn her of the possible corruption. She asked us to "Say hi to Spuducus for me." The name didn't ring a bell, but I look forward to meeting the subject of my new friend's affections. After some more kind words, we returned to the portal as I introduced myself to Spearos, the Orc Portalmaster. I prayed that the second trip through the portal was less sickening. My prayers were far from answered.

Returning to the Citadel, my first stop was to respectfully bring Dante into the Granite Temple for the appropriate rites. I mourned for my friend once more and thanked him for his sacrifice. I returned his belongings to the quartermaster, in the hopes that they will be put to good use. I rendezvoused with the rest of my party right before we approached Meira with our findings. She was notably pleased with our success, but guilty for allowing Ivan to run free for so long. She thanked us for our duty and service to the Citadel.

I come out of my first assignment feeling accomplished and competent. Perhaps this life truly is for me. Perhaps it is not such a pipe dream to believe that I will one day live the life that you have lived. The things I can learn from these incredible people is more than I can imagine, and the thought alone of all the possible adventures I may be a part of makes me feel so... alive.

Until next time my love,

Your Rose.