Session 81 Report

General Summary

Haymin’s Heroes began their trek to Darkhold Manor. They followed Norat Shae’s instructions and passed through the village of Wellspring. While there, they inquired about Darkhold Manor to the north, but the residents of Wellspring had never heard of it. Nevertheless, they continued north. Once they passed the farmland surrounding Wellspring, the trail ended and they maneuvered through the woodland north. At twilight, when the sun was setting, a thick mist suddenly appeared around them. Farther ahead they could hear the sound of a baby crying. They pressed forward, the sound of the crying baby growing steadily louder. After about five minutes, they exited the mist and the sky had quickly darkened. The sliver of the waning moon appeared dim and the stars faded. Behind them, there was a wall of mist stretching out from east to west as far as they could see. Ahead of them they saw four children in a clearing. The oldest one was about eight years old and was holding a crying baby. The other children were trying to console the infant and quiet him down. When they saw Haymin’s Heroes, the children reacted with fear. Titta Morco did her best to calm them down and asked how they came to be there. The children told them the Shadow Wolves had brought them. The Shadow Wolves were vampires, and Prince Xanthus’ new stalkers. Mogi Delvin used Detect Evil. The children did not radiate any evil auras, but he saw several of them around them in the darkened forest beyond the clearing. A familiar voice called out to Haymin’s Heroes and demanded they surrender and a grim realization crept into Titta’s mind. The voice promised to spare the children if they surrendered, but promised the children would be torn apart by vampires if they chose to fight. A dozen vampires stepped into the clearing and surrounded the party. Titta agreed to surrender. The voice in the woods expressed his disappointment, claiming they wanted a rematch. Then the Gray Wolves stepped into the clearing accompanied by Gellir, the Shadow. They smiled, each revealing vampire’s fangs. Ovorin ordered Haymin’s Heroes to lay down their weapons. Then a new group suddenly arrived on the scene. Six people stepped into the clearing, two humans, a half-orc, an elf, a dragonborn, and a halfling. Two of them, one of the humans and the halfing, wore holy symbols of Solis, God of the Sun. They told them the vampires could not see them and that if Haymin’s Heroes did as they instructed, they would get them out of here safely. The two clerics cast Hide from Undead upon the entire party and the children, while the elven ranger and the human druid cast Pass Without Trace. Then they led Haymin’s Heroes and the children out of the clearing. The vampires spread out and began looking for them, but they managed to evade them. They traveled in silence for a while until they reached a cave entrance. There was a hideout inside that was obviously lived in with sleeping areas and supplies. The children were tended to and everyone was offered food and drink. When the children were settled, they took Haymin’s Heroes aside to talk. This group was known as the League of Light and they opposed the vampire overlords here in Gloaming. Gloaming was the name of this world surrounded by the mists. Here vampires could walk out in the sunlight, which was only ever as bright as an overcast day in Embril. When protected from the dim sunlight, vampires were empowered by the pervading darkness. Gloaming was divided into four provinces, each ruled by a vampire prince or princess. At the center where these provinces met was Castle Blood, where Lord Bram Invictus ruled as the god-king of Gloaming. They were currently in the province of Darkhold, ruled by Prince Xanthus Vasile. The League of Light was just these six, but there were more of them in the past, as many as sixty. However, they had suffered a terrible defeat attacking Darkhold Manor and lost the majority of their numbers. They were all that remained. Two of them, Eshandra the dragonborn and Othay the elf, originally hailed from Embril. Eshandra came from Brightsands in the Namarak Coast and Othay from Aravess. They had stumbled into the mists years ago and had been stuck here ever since. They are now fully invested in the cause of the League of Light, though they would like to return to their homes eventually. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone asked if spells such as Plane Shift could be used to leave Gloaming, but Marvon, the human cleric of Solis in the League of Light, said he did not know. They had not yet reached that level of ability. He then told them about the Mistwalker Machine. Whatever this device was, there was said to be one in Darkhold Manor. And the vampires used it to control passage in and out of the mists. Otherwise, stepping into the mists would be deadly to the living, while having a healing effect on the undead. They spoke some on the politics of Gloaming. According to the laws, the vampires could not legally feed indiscriminately on the living. However, the princes and their minions abused their power regularly. They often took who or what they wanted and since they ruled the land, accusing them of breaking the law and proving it was often futile. Lord Bram Invictus let his children govern the provinces and seemed to turn a blind eye to their abuses of power. Bram Invictus created the world of Gloaming and was all-powerful here. Though the people rarely saw or heard from him. He seemed content to rule from on high in Castle Blood, set upon the Fang, a large mountain between the four provinces. Haymin’s Heroes began formulating a plan to attack Darkhold Manor. They informed the League of Light they had been hired to bring Xanthus Vasile’s ashes in return for payment and since they were here, they intended to do just that. The League offered to help them, though they admitted attacking the vampires would be a death sentence for them. However, they could offer a distraction that might thin out the numbers at Darkhold Manor while Haymin’s Heroes attacked. They were all aware that if Prince Xanthus was killed, another child of Lord Invictus would replace him. But the new prince should be weaker and hopefully conditions would improve for the people of Darkhold and for the League of Light. That would be a victory they could build upon. They learned as much as they could about Darkhold Manor and who or what protected it. Of course there were mainly vampires, possibly over thirty of them present at any time. Prince Xanthus was an anti-paladin, or blackguard, and a powerful vampire. But there were other undead as well. There were necropolitan guards. Necropolitans were sentient undead, humanoids who willingly underwent a ritual to convert them into undead. They retained all abilities they had in life, but now possessed eternal life through undeath. There would probably be skeletons, zombies, ghouls, wraiths, and possibly other lesser known undead varieties. Worgs lived on the grounds surrounding the manor. They were one of the few living creature types found at Darkhold manor. Sarothane was the court wizard, a necromancer, and he was a living human. And there was Prince Xanthus’ steed, a nightmare. Apart from that, the League did not know of any living guardians. Kyrie, Selia Roselyn Maxwell, and Ladigo Farthon discussed what spells they had available for this assault on Darkhold Manor. Auren Sylynn, Pyzar Zim, and Titta also discussed the use of their weapons. Spells could be used to enhance them, but they were limited. It was likely Pyzar would use his silvered greatsword enhanced by a spell from Kyrie which would allow him to harm the vampires. He would then lend Titta his truedeath augment crystal to Titta so she could have one on both of her scimitars. After a long discussion, the party rested for the night. The next day, they accompanied the League of Light to the nearby village of Broon to return the children to their families. They thought it best to wait until the next day as the vampires were likely be looking for them all in Broon last night. They returned the children to relieved parents and then began the trek to Glimmerton, the main town of Darkhold. Darkhold Manor overlooked Glimmerton from a bluff just across the River of Tears. It only took a few hours to reach Glimmerton and when they arrived there allies of the League of Light at the Weary Traveler Inn hid them all in a secret room beneath the establishment. Vampires were searching for Haymin’s Heroes and the public were told they were wanted as enemies of the state. They rested beneath the Weary Traveler for the rest of the day and planned to attack Darkhold Manor tomorrow. On April 5, 499 AV, they set their plan in motion. The League of Light set out first to cause their distraction. When the time was right, Steggard, the innkeeper, informed Haymin’s Heroes it was safe to begin their mission. Under the cover of Hide from Undead and Pass Without Trace Haymin’s Heroes trekked up the path to Darkhold Manor. They reached the gate and found it was unlocked and unguarded. They opened the gate and stepped into the grounds, moving off the cobblestone path that led to the manor and into the forested grounds surrounding it. Somewhere father in the grounds, the sounds of wolf howls could be heard. Haymin’s Heroes pressed forward.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists