The Raiders limped back to the city of St. Orlan, avoiding dangerous encounters in their vulnerable state. From the high priest at the temple they sought restoration and attained it via a generous donation which went to offset the rededication of the once-defiled church. Anauk, whom Lah sent to restore the holy ground a year before, announced a festival to celebrate the first anniversary of the rooting out and banishment of the succubus.
For a month the adventurers relaxed and recuperated in St. Orlan, at times enjoying food and wine at the restaurant on the banks of the Beleniasa and at times training with the local militia. Four young adventurers, newly arrived in town, made friends with the band and were accepted as hirelings: Scenwulf, Mygnak, Pippen and Darthorian.
Para, the old sage sent by Lah, delivered a regretful farewell. He explained that Lah had faith in him and the party but unfortunately fate does not honor the timid. The harsh rebuke may have passed over ragtag band who were otherwise occupied with training or recreation. Para and Cahu boarded a carriage bound for Lah’s Retreat.
During this time, they continued to hear rumors of vampire attacks. The notice of a bounty was posted at the office of the sheriff: 300 sheep for the proven death of the vampire. At the tavern, the servant of a local noble told of an unusual death of a horse at Hunter’s Camp. The servants travelled south with supplies for the small cabin used as a base for warm season hunting. After a night at the cabin, one of the horses was found dead. The party took this as a lead and went to investigate.
They found the cabin well stocked. The corpse of horse remained in a corral. It showed no obvious signs of attack. They stayed overnight at the cabin and fought off a mountain lion who wandered near.
In the morning, they hiked to an usual rock formation known as Hammerrock. A gargantuan boulder seemed to balance on a rocky peak. As they approach the foot of the landmark, giant crab spiders scurried around to attack. They were quickly put down. A few offerings were left at the boulder. Nothing indicating a vampire hideout was discovered.
Back in town, they heard another rumor of a pair of missing halflings who left for Muleshoe, a small settlement southwest of town. The party planned to decoy the vampire with a broken wagon. A night of waiting did not attract the monster, so they went on to Muleshoe. There they heard of a strange gentleman asking to buy all of Muleshoe, a cluster of three families along the main road to Dragonpit where the ancient road to Tosasth cut north.
The unusual buyer and the fact that he turned back before crossing a creek at Muleshoe encouraged the party to guess he was the vampire Ebahi. They turned back themselves to find the area of blood they heard was found on the road. When they arrived, they noticed a trail of blood going south into deep brush. Before long they spotted a cave.
Carefully Ferris crept up to the mouth of the cave. Inside slumbered a huge bear. The party rushed the bear and cut it down. Inside, they found many bones, including fresh bones they concluded were those of the halflings. They gave these a proper burial and returned to St. Orlan to relate the sad news. Ghevont took the fine bear skin to a tailor to be made into a heavy cloak.
Endnotes
- They players struggled during this session to decide what to do. They seemed to hunt the vampire because they thought that’s what the DM wanted. They fear the challenge of Tosasth and the white dragon they assume must be fought to get there. They decided not to explore the mine that was securely shut.
- The session also suffered from much distraction. Adding another younger player (Michael) once again generated joking and lack of focus. Also, Jeff was interrupted during a battle by a phone call.
- Characters present: Tienart/Tre, Ghevont/Jeff, Aderian/Jason, Ferris/Henry, Azrak/Nick, Scenwulf/Michael, Mygnak/Michael, Pippen/Michael, Darthorian/Michael, Para/NPC, Cahu/NPC, Dacha/NPC.
- Virtues: humility and reverence for burying the bones of the bear’s victims
- Vices: none