Session 93: Come here Rose, give Aunty a kiss... Report
General Summary
Arriving at the top of the stairs, and hearing some sort of shuffling nearby and seeing the wide open space ahead, the group quickly prepared to rush forward. Roy accelerated the group, enabling them to move much faster across the intervening space, then moved stealthily across the intervening space. Boris followed suit. Moments later, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the halls. Jeeves quietly rushed up close to Roy. More shuffling sounds were followed by a loud and drawn-out groan. A feral-looking female creature wandered into the room, and rushed up to Roisin, as Roisin, with phenomenal speed, disengaged and stealthily ran well into the open corridor. Deciding that the next space was too open for stealth, Roy ran full speed across the almost 200 foot long great hall to a corner near the entrance to the core of the nest. Boris, likewise ran full tilt, and arrived at a corner and was able to look through a small decorative crystal pane to see the space beyond. There, Boris observed, as the scream of horror was repeated and followed by a joyous eruption of laughter, a terrible scene. A woman, bound with chains to some form of sacrificial altar atop a raised dais. A male halfling, partially disrobed, urgently copulating with the woman. Blood flowed from the point of joining in a stream through the air to another female, also a halfling, seated upon a throne some 20 feet distant. The halfling female was drinking down the blood flowing from this profane act. Both male and bound female appeared enamored of their joining and their strangely joyful cries echoed through the structure. A number of others seated and bound upon benches below the dais observed this act, with one, a male, on his knees screaming in anger, denial, and helpless horror at what he was witnessing. As Boris watched, the halfling male seemed to reach some sort of completion, and opened a maw far to large for any living halfling, exposing massive fangs, then ripped the throat from the woman on the altar. The woman thus murdered, died with a disturbingly happy gurgle. Jeeves rushed up next to his friends. Roisin also joined her friends, and launched the powerful sickening radiance Roy had previously stored in a grey bead for her to use. The area of greenish light impacted both Rian and Siobahn, but nobody else. One of the feral creatures, vampire spawn, grabbed a man on one of the benches and tore out his throat with its fanged maw, drinking the fountaining blood as the man died. Many other spawn rushed from all directions to confront the party. Roy moved around the corner and into the room, then conjured another sickening radiance in the same place. Siobahn was burned by the destructive light, but Rian seemed unaffected. Siobahn screamed out "Wizard, spawn, kill the wizard". Boris read a magical script, then conjured the light of Dawn to burn some of the spawn and turned the task of maintaining it over to the Rainbow Lash, and moved around the corner. Siobahn resisted the radiance of the spells, and remained upon the throne as her wounds closed. One of the spawn ran out of the searing daylight, and closer to Roy. Rian proudly ignored the green light, turned to look at Roisin, and declared "Come, my dearest love, I have been waiting for you", as Roisin noticed he wore plate armor made of blood with a missing codpiece exposing his core. Rian then cast a magic spell to conjure a blood-red mist to engulf Roy and Boris. Both felt their blood being drained, but managed to resist most of the damage. Jeeves bravely charged through the red cloud, suffering both injury and exhaustion, fired two of the rose crossbow bolts; one was burned away by the radiant dawn, the other struck true. Roisin suddenly felt as though her own heart was pierced, and, looking down, saw blood flowing freely from her chest as she silently fell to the ground, dead. Rian exploded in a torrent of blood that dissolved the spawn near him. Siobahn screamed in horror "My SON!!!!!" and stood stunned in shock as the cloud of damaging blood dissipated. More spawn rushed in, some surrounding Boris. One of the spawn was burned away by the radiant dawn, proving that sunlight could, indeed, destroy these creatures.
Interlude.
Roisin found herself in a familiar white marble throne room, standing before the Pale Queen. Rian stood beside her in a bridegroom's outfit, and Roisin looked down to see her own garments a wedding gown. The Pale Queen said "Oh no, my dear, that won't do, that won't do at all." With a gesture the wedding gown dissolved leaving her in her normal clothing. At this, Rian suddenly began bleeding from a massive chest wound as his clothing erupted in flame. The Pale Queen spoke "Away with you foul thing, you don't belong anywhere but hell." With this a door to the queen's right opened and, clearly fighting every step, Rian strode slowly across the hall and through the door, through which one could see the fires, and awaiting fiends, of hell. As the door closed, the queen turned back to Roisin. "What are you even doing here, my dear? Your friends need you, go back." Roisin suddenly felt the most excruciating pain she had ever felt, an hundred times worse even than childbirth. Roisin's eyes opened and she was laying on the ground in a pool of blood, staining her clothing and covering her in its sticky, clinging, mess.
Roisin, uninjured but slightly deflated, moved to get a better view from the hall entrance, and ordered Boris to attack. Boris attacked the spawn adjacent, striking true with a burst of radiance and knocking it to the ground. The spawn rushed forward, attacking, and missing, Roisin then attacking, and grappling, Roy. Roy read a magic script, then launched a Starfall, striking five spawn and Siobahn. Siobahn, still stunned, was blinded, knocked down, and burned. The spawn mostly suffered the same fate, including the one holding Roy; and one was burned to ash. Boris moved around his prone assailant, and conjured a powerful radius of spirit guardians, the radiant gavels burning four of the spawn nearby, and tried to move away, but the spawn next to him grabbed his leg. Siobahn finally shook off her shock at seeing Rian destroyed, and turned to the group with true fury. Jeeves stepped up to a spawn on the ground, pouring two vials of Holy Water on its face, then disengaged and moved closer to the entrance. That same spawn stood, still blind, and walked right into the area of the Dawn, and backed up into Boris radiant gavels, swung blindly at Jeeves, and was burned to ash before its claws could connect. Siobahn, secure in her lair, called to her spawn to return to the nest. The spawn holding Boris dodged the glowing gavels, and bit Boris, but was unable to pierce his defenses. Siobahn reached toward one of the young children nearby who suddenly swelled up and burst like a bloated tic, the blood erupting into the air and flowing down Siobahn's throat as the vampire queen's strenght returned. Many more spawn could be heard approaching from all directions as Roisin ordered Roy to attack. Roy blasted the spawn attacking Roisin, striking twice. Roisin disengaged and ran toward Siobahn, discovering around the corned a massive pile of corpses drained of all blood, but otherwise undamaged. More spawn rushed toward the group as Siobahn stood and walked over to another child sitting on a bench. Another spawn rushed up to Jeeves and tried to claw him, but tripped over its own feet instead, taking several burns from Boris radiant gavels. Yet another spawn rushed in, was burned, and attacked Jeeves, but missed, then moved out of Boris' range. Jeeves doused it in the head with Holy Water as it ran away, burning it even more. Another spawn dashed to escape Boris guardian gavels. Roy called upon a divine favor to grant an extra action, then moved closer to Siobahn and conjured another Starfall. Roisin, having foreseen this event, saw Siobahn burned, blinded, and thrown down, even as five of the spawn were likewise struck, only one avoiding most of the effect, then launched an orb of radiant light at Siobahn. Roisin had also foreseen this, and Siobahn was struck in the chest. Boris used his magic cape to teleport right next to Siobahn, then move the magical Dawn light right on top of Siobahn, accepting the burning light in order to ensure harm to this unliving horror. Siobahn was burned by Boris' radiant gavels, then sent an imperious gaze at Roisin, who had foreseen this as well, and avoided any impact, then clawed, grappled, and bit Boris, tearing his flesh and draining a portion of his life force to heal herself. Some of Siobahn's wounds healed as even more spawn rushed forward, and Siobahn embraced Boris to bite him again and again drain some of his life force.
