Escape

August 28, 2019

The group looks nervously at the vampire's coffins.  They can hear the skeletons out in the hallway.  Wait, are they arguing?  Did one just goad the other?  Dorn shakes his head at that.  He didn't know undead well, thank the gods, but being scared?  Dorn considers if they are going to have to block the hallway while dealing with the vampires the group forced back to their coffins when both the others all seem to remember some vampire lore.  Apparently, vampire takes hours to regenerate back into a form that could attack if they have been forced into gaseous form.  They switch their focus back to the hallway.  

Dorn goes first.  Maldar will sneak past at some point to back him up but most of them will remain behind him while he guards the hallway.  Dorn watches the skeletons still arguing.  Maybe a voice behind into another room tells them to attack and its on!  And then the skeletons break apart into the bones, which slide right past him!  He swings back and forth with his hammer, cracking a bone there, shattering one there, but they go past and form up in the room behind!  Dorn sighs.  Why do monsters always make it so difficult?  

Dorn prepares to follow them when he notices the water streaming down the stairs into the preparation room.  He knows he closed that door!  He knows it!  Dorn doesn't want the place flooded and shudders at the thought of it.  Seeing the others handling the skeletons, even as big as they are, Dorn heads back to the door to close it.  With each step, Dorn thinks the flow of water is increasing.  When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he knows it is.  What was a rivulet is now a constant flow of water.  And the door is still closed!  Cursing, knowing magic must be causing it, he yells back to the others that they have a problem.  Dorn turns to go help with the skeletons when the dragon's skull comes out from the other doorway!  Another dracolich!  As the water level rises around him, and flows into the other room, he pulls his sword and attacks!  

Maldar knows Dorn said something but is a bit busy at the moment.  Jinn isn't acting himself and blasting away with big spells, instead content to hit with single blasting spells.  Sure, they are still effective, but not as flashy as he normally is.  Maldar spots an opening, shifts through the darkness behind, and then strikes at the spine.  Of course, skeletons don't seem to care if their spine is intact or not.  Some other energy binds the bones together and moves them!  Maldar sighs and attacks again after Tyrel, who's sword is doing very well against them.  As the second skeleton goes down, Maldar figure these guys can take it and slides through the shadows again to see what is keeping Dorn.  

Oh, Dracolich!  That's what Dorn made note of in the next room!  

Maldar shifts slightly with the shadows and attacks the dracolich, even as Dorn again attacks with his weapon.  Maldar thought that cutting weapons were no good against skeletons but Dorn's sword cuts it as well as flesh.  Maldar hears the others take down the skeleton as Dorn and him work on the dracolich.  Some cuts here and avoiding some claws there and soon it's down.  The water is annoying!  It's a torrent flowing into the room.  Maldar snaps his fingers and before they can talk much, rushes into the room where the dracolich appeared to get the gem.  Maldar pauses at the entrance, seeing the room is not laid out exactly like the other one but soon finds the secret places and gets the items.  Not before triggering a massive explosion of necrotic energy!  That hurt!  

While Maldar was busy, Michel, Tyrel, and Jinn try and dispel the water flow.  They saw it enough to know it was magical in nature, although Jinn still cursed himself for not figuring it exactly out.  Twice they try and dispel it and twice they fail.  Jinn is too tired to try again, at least while they have other options, and Michel creates a wall of stone stopping the water coming down the stairs.  The group discusses what they need to do, while they go crack open the coffins and put the vampires to final rest.  Maldar found the phylactery and Michel performs the ritual to destroy that.  

There was a bit of fun as Maldar played a trick on the party and got himself trapped in a mirror.  Just like Maldar, scoffed Jinn.  Wanting the attention.  Since Maldar freed himself, obviously he wanted the spotlight again!  

However, the group is still trapped.  Something started the water flow.  Something was either trying to down them or push them outside.  Tyrel says he wants to try a new spell and has everyone get close.  As he is prepping to cast a spell to take them all back to the Steel Eagle's lands, the room light level increases.  Jinn isn't sure how else to describe it.  The shadows disappear.  It hits Jinn what he just thought!  The shadows disappeared!  He looks at Maldar, who shakes his head.  Maldar won't be taking them back without shadows!  Ten heartbeats later, Tyrel's playing hits discordant notes and he stops, breathing heavy.  

"There's something blocking translocation magic.  That's what stopped my spell from working!"  

"I can try a teleportation circle," respond Jinn.  "Sometimes links like that are tougher to block."  

"Do it." Someone says.  

Jinn looks around but the water had flowed into all the rooms.  How would he draw the circle on water?  Michel and him use simple flows of magic to dry the water but the ground is still damp.  The circle has to be precise or the magic won't work.  Or worse, will do something to them.  Dorn asks why he can't draw it on the wall?  

"Well, that's not where-, I mean, we always draw it on the floor.  That's where it's drawn."  Jinn reels at this.  Why can't he draw it on the wall?  He needs a flat surface, which is what the wall is last he checked, and they might come in at an odd angle but otherwise, no problem.  He gets to work drawing the circle on the wall.  After getting most of it down, Dorn tries to tell him to hurry up as something is happening back in the preparation room.  Dorn isn't sure what but it's not going to be good!  Jinn keeps going with a steady hand.  The group rushes into the room as he finishes, pulls on the weave to activate it, and connects the wall circle to the floor circle at the Steel Eagle's place.  They don't hesitate and rush into the created portal.  Yes, the landing was a bit rough, but not too bad.  

They catch their breath but notice Maldar has gone quiet and is starting.  It only lasts thirty heartbeats before he snaps out of it.  

"I was told that either we go back to where we were and face the dragons, or they come here and destroy the Steel Eagles."  It was all he could do to keep his voice down so no one heard him.  "We have until sundown."  

That started quite the discussion!  Some wanted to stay, some wanted to head back.  Jinn remembered what happened last time, though, and doing what Thoss wanted shouldn't be the choice they pick.  Jinn points that out and while there is still some discussion, the group agrees.  They will make their stand here, assuming the Steel Eagles are okay with that.  

Once the Steel Eagles agree, and Jinn worried how fast Brianna agreed to let a fight happen on their lands no matter how grateful he was, they started planning.  Jinn and Dorn will go to Daggerford and see what allies they can get from there.  Tyrel and Michel will go to Cromm's Hold to see if the Baroness would accept the people who came to live and farm.  Maldar is going to Waterdeep to try and find Nisha.  

Jinn does the ritual of connecting to the Sorcerer's encapsulate and soon he and Dorn step through into the receiving room.  He talks to Ilayna who says she is interested in helping and will contact Gregorivych up in Waterdeep.  Jinn then goes to Olin's.

Okay, maybe Jinn could have handled that better.  He was a bit rough in asking Olin for help.  Olin hadn't helped the situation, Jinn thought!  Fine, maybe he didn't adventure anymore himself but he had guards.  But noooooo, those guards had to stay with Olin.  No amount of logic, like if the city is overrun or under new draconic management then what Olin has means nothing, would convince him to offer anything.  Having wasted his time, Jinn meets up with Dorn, who says he managed to get Commander Miller to agree to come help and bring guards but only by asking as a noble of Daggerford. Jinn mutters that Olin was not helpful at all but that Ilayna and Gregorivych were hoping to be there.  Both of them head to the Temple to Lathandar and talk to Luc and Liam.  Liam gets energized by this news and signs on immediately.  That takes the wind out of Luc, who look like he wanted to go but can't now that Liam committed to it.  Luc says he will try and send some healing potions later if he can and work on gathering some paladins to send.  

Tyrel couldn't believe he was flying on a giant eagle!  Oh, his sister would be so jealous!  It took a lot of effort not to fly off when he saw an interesting landmark or wanted to see a stretch of road from this angle, instead of down on the ground.  He was definitely going to compose a poem about flying!  And maybe, assuming they survived, and this thought sobered him up a bit, do this again with Michel.  It took them twenty minutes to come into sight of Cromm's Hold.  They landed well out of the walled compound and left the eagles there.  Michel somehow had food for them and they contented themselves to eating while they went to speak to the Baroness.  Tyrel kept going over and over what to do and not.  He checked his clothes for the seventh time to make sure they reflected him and the group but weren't too ostentatious.  He kept itching to grab his lute and play this in a song, even if it was only partially composed, but knew that would not work!  Soon, Daniel had them in front of the Baroness and Tyrel explained what was needed.  He was shocked when she agreed.  She was already figuring out where they could stay, suggesting they bring their own food and not worry about shelter or such items as she would take care of that.  After a few more details were ironed out, they were done.  Tyrel might have gone over and over that "win" with her if he wasn't already thinking about the flight home and if they had time to stop at something he noticed.  

The trip up to Waterdeep for Maldar went well.  Maybe even a bit faster?  Or maybe Maldar knew the way and that made him more confident about it.  He still couldn't believe that the southern gate was twenty minutes of city walking to get where he needed!  Twenty minutes!  That was around Daggerford three or four times!  Once again, Maldar sought out the dark alleys and used the shadows to make it go faster.  A few times, Maldar thought he saw some cut throats ready to attack but he didn't even spare them a taunt before using the next shadow to keep going.  Soon he was in the temple district and looking for the temple of the Red Wizards.  Maldar had no idea where it was.  None.  He found a city watch patrol and asked them for directions.  They didn't directly correct him that the Red Wizards didn't have a temple but an enclave, more a diplomatic place.  The other watch members he wasn't talking to had a negative reaction to the Red Wizards and Maldar wasn't sure why.  Nisha had always been pleasant enough!  However, they did verify he wanted to go there as the Red Wizards were known humanists and a gnome such as himself might not be welcome.  Again, this surprised Maldar.  Maybe stung a little.  Did Nisha think of him in that way?  Maldar shook his head and knew it didn't matter.  They needed the help.  He went over what he would say as the watch led him to the enclave.  They checked with him again and Malar noticed they only retreated to the next alley, as if they would need to be there. 

Maldar stepped inside and realized that enclave must mean store because he kept hearing snippets of conversations, bargains being made, items being bartered.  A few times, several patrons and other Red Wizards stopped to look at Maldar as he want deeper inside.  He found a free clerk or seller, Maldar wasn't sure, and the clerk seemed relieved Maldar didn't want to buy, merely wanted to see Nisha.  The clerk ecstatically handed him off to someone else to take him to Nisha.  The next clerk, and then butler, also sneered at Maldar.  Openly.  Maldar held his tongue.  He worried that he might be embarrassing Nisha and she might not be able to help.  He was wrong.  She was delighted to see him and quickly agreed to come help, if her friends could come along as well?  Maldar agreed, figuring they would need all the help they could get.  Nisha said they had to pack then would be on their way.  Did Maldar want to go with him?  

"No, I should get ba-, wait, does that mean on one of those mounts you had before?" asked Maldar, looking at Nisha.  She grinned and nodded.  "Sold!  I can wait for that!"  It was worth it, thought Maldar, flying back on one of these creatures, an Asperii, with Nisha.  He wondered if they were for sale?  

All of them were back and talking about what to do.  The Steel Eagles were getting their people ready to travel.  When Liam arrived, he had a ritual ready to refill their rings magic to take blows!  All gratefully accepted it.  

Vikeya offered to cast a spell that will show them the battlefield as an illusion so they can see what is happening.  Dhrida offers a spell to allow them to talk across the battlefield to each other.  They will have to do this during the fight.  

Michel grabs the copper items he collected for Mystena and then pulls out the bone rattle.  Maldar comes to join them and they wait.  At the point Michel was thinking it didn't work, when a nearby pool gurgled and then Mystena walked out of it.  She didn't have her glamour on and looked as she truly was.  Michel greets her and Maldar hopes it goes well.  Then Mystena goes on to tell them that the other covens are dead and her own is being hunted and in hiding.  Michel pauses and then apologizes.  He says he won't burden them anymore.  Mystena then offers some help that she knows about Thoss before turning back and disappearing back into the pool of water.  

10,000 xp

GM Notes

• I'm really happy with how well this campaign has come together.  A final fight with all of their allies, as many as could make it, showing up to help. 
• We did some of these meetings at the end in Hangouts and it worked well. 
• We also had to talk about Wish spell changes.  I get that they went for balance but it feels like they went too far to the point of me wondering why it's in the book at all. 
• It feels like they should have clarified or offered ideas in the DMG rather than doing what they did. 
• I have removed the last paragraph, effectively, from Wish and also offered more ideas to the guys what it can do for them.   
• I did expand on what happened for the above narrative.  I'm sure I changed some things here and there to make it work in my mind.  As usual, let me know if I missed anything or changed something too much.  
• Now it's a matter of figuring out how to do a grand battle.  
• To the write up, I think I finally understand what another system said about undead not experiencing pain but reliving an old one.  They know a blow should hurt, their mind tells them it hurts, but with no nerves to supply the specific way in which it hurts, the brain conjures up an old pain.  So, in the fight with the skeletons, they were confused, being newly undead, how a blow to the knee felt like the time they got a rock dropped on their foot. 
• The idea, of course, was to push them outside and face what was there.  For some reason, the players had other plans.  

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