Session 94

* Small Hamlet near Bilehall
* Bilehall

**Previously...**

## And Now...

### Bilehall and Environs.

The heroes arrive within a day's walk of Bilehall. Between us and the shadowy silhouette of the distant keep, we can see a murky, fast-flowing river and, in the middle distance, a small cluster of buildings, like a small village partially descended into decay. Gar seems keen to stop off at the village, even if only for short rest and a chance to clean up, but others, notably Azrah and Kakeru want to head straight to Bilehall. Dandy, as usual, thinks that everyone is right. She wants to get to Bilehall as soon as possible, but if people need time to get read, she'd rather everyone be fully prepared.

In the end, the decision is taken out of our hands as, looking for a way to cross the river, we find a barge connected to a winch and chain arrangement. The other side of the chain is a small, decaying dock next to the village.

The village consists of no more than six or seven smaller, dilapidated houses and a larger building, presumably a town hall of sorts, huddled around a cobbled town square with a statue on a plinth at its centre. The statue would seem to be of Tovric, though a general state of poor repair, layers of verdigris and the weight of age and neglect put that in a degree of doubt. An ancient plaque, its face cracked and obliterated by moss and creepers is of no help.

### An Uncommonly Friendly Welcome.

Initially, the place seems abandoned, but gradually, we notice hands at windows and frightened eyes peering out between shutters. A small child emerges from one house. He introduces himself as Timmic , and invites us for a meal at his house. By the time he's managed to get the invitation out, more doors are opening and we can see the villagers eyeing us with open curiousity.

At Timmic's place, we meet his mother, and offer to assist by supplementing the meal (which chiefly consists of turnips and gruel at this point) with dried meat (Dandy), Rice (Kakeru), and spices (both). Timmic's father turns up with several odd-fleshy-looking fish, and Gar provides a handful of honeycakes for dessert. By the time we're done, the meal has got pretty big, and several neighbours have showed up to join in.

### In Which Everything goes a Bit 'Wicker Man'.

As Timmic's parents prepare the meal, Dandy chats with Timmic, who talks about wanting the old man of the marsh to teach him magic.

Eventually, the meal is ready. Azrah refuses to eat, which causes some offense, but the others tuck in. Noting that Gar is beginning to slur his words, Kakeru uses alchemy to detect poison and is successful - but alas, it's too late as they've already ingested too much. Gar, Dandy and Kakeru all succumb, as do Timmic and his family.

Outside, Azrah hears this and sees villagers emerging from their homes carrying restraints - chains and ropes. Darting back inside, she snatches up some charcoal from the fire to cause the others to throw up the poison. Kakeru rouses immediately, summoning a flock of ravens to drive back the villagers and give Azrah some more time to revive the others. Between Azrah's medical attention and Kakeru's primal sorcery, the entire party is soon revived. Gar picks up the table and smashes it into splinters, causing everyone to pause briefly, allowing negotiations to begin.

### A Chat with the Locals.

The villagers are in the habit of performing regular sacrifices to the Lord of Bilehall, which they tie to a set of tall stakes just outside of town. This time, it was Timmic's dad's turn, so they were delighted when some travellers turned up. We let them know that Tovric is dead, and that immortality only really counts until it doesn't. In the end, we decide that we've had a meal and a rest, so once Gar can get enough water to wash off, he can head off.

As Gar does that, Dandy chats with the villagers and lets them know that, even if they tried to kill us, they weren't even slightly successful. If we take into account the fact that many of the villagers got scuffed up by the summoned ravens, it all evens out, so the whole thing is a 'no harm, no foul' situation, just a misunderstanding. With that dealt with, the heroes take their leave.

### Entering the Castle.

As the group approach the castle, a darkness descends upon them. It's always night here. From the direction of the castle, a strangely human-like howl can be heard.

The source of the howl becomes almost immediately obvious as the castle gates appear. Before them stand two immense, undead, wolf-like creatures standing guard and sniffing the air. These are Vampiric Hellhounds. They were originally humanoid figures, surgically altered to run on all fours. Their hairless faces are split by an unnaturally wide mouth filled with needle-sharp piranha teeth. Their flat noses and large, membranous ears resemble those of an immense bat. A similar, translucent, heavily veined membrane extends between their wrists and ankles. As they scent us, they charge.

Dandy fires a sling-bullet at them but he's so distracted by their hideous appearance that she accidentally grabs a magic acorn, trapping one inside a little house, which it quickly tears its way out of. With an alarmed squeak, Dandy flees up a nearby column. Kakeru, perched atop a second column hits the other with a blowgun dart.

It seems that Leshrac and Gar have planned something for this event, so Leshrac lobs a vial at Gar, which he immediately pops open and drinks a single drop of. With a loud and commanding voice, he commands the hounds to stop. Initially, they are briefly confused and sniff the air, but Gar steps forward, commanding them to heel, which they reflexively obey. Heading resolutely forward, with the hellhounds in his wake, Gar opens the gates and enters the foyer. The others scramble to keep up with him, while trying not to get too close to the hellhounds.

Inside the party is greeted by an immense, luxuriously-appointed foyer and waiting within are two more hellhounds. They lunge at Gar, and he's able to stare down one, but the second bites him savagely while he's momentarily distracted. Kakeru and Dandy, both terrified, flee up some nearby curtains. Fortunately, Gar is able to swiftly dispatch the hound that bit him. He turns to see if he needs to re-assert his control over the others but, before he can, all three prick up their ears.

Moments later, a musical-sounding female voice rings out, calling the dogs to her. Gar tries briefly to maintain control over the first two, but all three pay him no mind as they rush to obey the command of their mistress.

### Meeting our Hostess.

The female voice calls out again, inviting us all into a nearby drawing room where our hostess, a stunningly attractive vampire named Serafina greets us. The Hellhounds are present, but have been tucked away out of view so as to avoid causing alarm. She, she explains, has been tasked to remain behind and maintain Bilehall in Tovric's absence. She is aware that that absence may be longer than Tovric may have accounted for when he left, but has been given her commands and must make the best of them. She has arranged for a welcome to be laid out for us, and an array of food.

Oddly enough, while there is a quantity and variety of food available, all of it is red in colour. On one plate, a red velvet cake with blood-red icing, on another, a selection of forest berries, a chilled carafe of red wine. The effect is hospitable, but unnerving. After our previous meal, everyone is reluctant to indulge, but Dandy does take a few sneaky handfuls here and there 'for closer examination afterward'.

Once everyone is comfortably arranged, she explains that, while she will not prevent us from recovering Chance's mind, Tovric did take the precaution of setting a guardian over it, and she is powerless where issues of the guardian and its duty are concerned.

### The Guardian in the Library.

She offers us a chance to take a look at what we're dealing with, summoning an eerie will o' the wisp to guide us through the labyrinthine hallways to the Library.

Opening a heavy wooden double door, we gaze upon the Library. It is a tall room, three storeys in height, with plentiful balconies on all sides and a multitude of ladders and tight, spiral staircases. The floor is dotted with display cabinets showcasing various objets d'art, as well as an array of sumptuously overstuffed and ornate chairs. An immense, grated fireplace sits in a commanding position on the opposite side to the double doors.

On one of the display plinths, the crystal holding Chance's consciousness is clearly visible. Just as everyone is calculating the time it would take to dart in, grab the crystal and run back, and formulating the most direct route, a sound from above draws their attention. With a soft rustling, like a snake's scales over dry leaves, the guardian descends from the shadows of the third floor. It's central form is a massive orb, with a cluster of seven fleshy polyps (an eighth would appear to have been severed) emerging from its surface. Each polyp is tipped with what would appear to be an alien, unblinking eye.

As it turns, folds of skin recede back revealing a massive, central eye in the centre of the orb. It smiles a wide, toothy grin filled with crocodile-like teeth. At least It seems pleased to see us...