Khessa reflects: "It seems that our cleansing work is over here... This time, we did not score any points against the Chaos gods - but we still eliminated an evil and dangerous creature."
"Zendra, Ravlen..." the blonde arcane warrior turns to the two rescued "Do you have a place to go to rest and recover? If not, perhaps we should escort you to the dwarves so they can temporarily host you..."
"In that case, I wish you good luck!" Khessa pats both on the shoulder "Take care!"
The blonde arcane warrior then turns to the rest of the party: "The place is cleared... Yoht, do you think the dwarves are interested in taking possession of it? If not, rather than leave it abandoned, I would prefer to destroy it or at least ruin it (I have three spells that could serve the purpose)... Rather than leave it intact and ready to welcome any new dark overlords..."
If Yoth does not want the castle for the dwarves and no one has better ideas than destroying it, the tall adventuress proceeds to ruin it in three places (the castle had three towers, I think? In that case she will choose to ruin the towers) by rising in flight to a great height, then creating (and letting fall like a very heavy and deadly projectile) a 5'-cube of solid platinum. Given its enormous weight and great height, the cube should easily ruin any towers - if not make them collapse.
Khessa then suggests: "Shall we make camp, rest, and set out again in the morning to visit Khaine and his dwarves?"
"In that case, I wish you good luck!" Khessa pats both on the shoulder "Take care!"
The blonde arcane warrior then turns to the rest of the party: "The place is cleared... Yoht, do you think the dwarves are interested in taking possession of it? If not, rather than leave it abandoned, I would prefer to destroy it or at least ruin it (I have three spells that could serve the purpose)... Rather than leave it intact and ready to welcome any new dark overlords..."
If Yoth does not want the castle for the dwarves and no one has better ideas than destroying it, the tall adventuress proceeds to ruin it in three places (the castle had three towers, I think? In that case she will choose to ruin the towers) by rising in flight to a great height, then creating (and letting fall like a very heavy and deadly projectile) a 5'-cube of solid platinum. Given its enormous weight and great height, the cube should easily ruin any towers - if not make them collapse.
Khessa then suggests: "Shall we make camp, rest, and set out again in the morning to visit Khaine and his dwarves?"
He nods his head. "Aye, we will want it back, but we'll need to bring a cleaning crew to remove the taint from this place, if it can be removed. If not, we'll raze it to the ground."
Once it was clear that there was no immediate threat in the room with Ravlen, Vrox would have certainly cast Healing Spirit to summon a healing nature spirit (using a spell slot, not his ring). If you watch Ravlen closely, you can just make out a tiny, translucent figure that seems to flit around and over him. It's almost invisible, but the figure is luminous, like carved glass with a golden light filtering through it, which makes parts of its form visible at certain angles. A sort of green-gold glitter falls from the fey spirit's gossamer wings over Ravlen, vanishing as it lands and healing his wounds. You're not sure, but you think that you can also hear the tinkling of bells, but it's faint like a sound heard from a great distance.
The Healing Spirit heals Ravlen for 6 rounds before it fades away:
3
5
4
6
6
6
Total healing: Unable to parse dice roll.
Vrox would also search the alcove at the west end of the room through the archway (?) to make sure that the group isn't missing any secret doors or other undead who could trouble the dwarves.
When you open the sarcophagus, it reveals a 10-foot-deep hole. The bottom of the hole is filled with the bones of the victims of the count and the other vampires of the keep. There is nothing else in the room.
When you open the door, it leads to the outside and into the mountain pass.
Vrox is happy for a little light and fresh air, but before they leave, he asks, "Should I go down and gather the bones of the vampires victims?" He looks to Clarac for guidance, saying, "I don't know the custom here, but we could bury them outside. It feels wrong -- somehow -- to leave them in this accursed keep, but maybe it will be OK once the dwarves cleanse this place from the oppressive influence of the Count and his patron devil."
If the others think that they should give the bones of the vampires' victims a better burial, Vrox will cast a Light, and Tyekanik can lower the Satyr down into the hole beneath the sarcophagus. Once he reaches the bottom, Vrox says a brief prayer and invokes a Word of Radiance (damage: 18 (radiant)) to help purge any evil influence from the remains. Then he gathers the bones and puts them in a sack. The ground is frozen outside, but Vrox assumes that between Tyek, Clarac, and Khessa, the party is strong to dig a a proper grave for the bones. Or maybe just to raise a cairn over them.
Seeing the dwarves' interest in the structure, Khessa then leaves it intact - but her next proposal remains valid: rest then go visit Khaine!
Since the vampire nest didn't prove too difficult, Vrox and Tyek do not need a short rest. Flute brought them directly from mid-day to sunset so quickly, Vrox doesn't feel particularly tired. As long as Yoht can point them in the right direction in the dark of night, Vrox proposes that they continue from the keep toward Uhubreen tonight, using the dark to hide them from the eyes of the Golgari sentries. By the time the party is close enough to be spotted with Darkvision, they will also be close enough to attack anyone who spots them and tries to raise an alarm.
Khessa, on the other hand, knowing that there is the potential risk of having to face even a god (young as he might be, but still a god), would prefer to move after having rested - and therefore recovered all her magical resources.
But obviously the blonde arcane warrior will also set out immediately, if the majority thinks that the benefit offered by the darkness is greater than that of being able to count on all the spells.
Clarac is in favor of burying the bodies. "Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Honeysweet. I agree that would be best to give a proper burial to the ones we could not save. We can warm the ground as we dig, but it will still take some time."
Unless anyone insists on moving on immediately, Clarac will begin digging a grave outside.
Once it was clear that there was no immediate threat in the room with Ravlen, Vrox would have certainly cast Healing Spirit to summon a healing nature spirit (using a spell slot, not his ring). If you watch Ravlen closely, you can just make out a tiny, translucent figure that seems to flit around and over him. It's almost invisible, but the figure is luminous, like carved glass with a golden light filtering through it, which makes parts of its form visible at certain angles. A sort of green-gold glitter falls from the fey spirit's gossamer wings over Ravlen, vanishing as it lands and healing his wounds. You're not sure, but you think that you can also hear the tinkling of bells, but it's faint like a sound heard from a great distance.
The Healing Spirit heals Ravlen for 6 rounds before it fades away:
1
5
1
2
1
3
Total healing: 13
Vrox would also search the alcove at the west end of the room through the archway (?) to make sure that the group isn't missing any secret doors or other undead who could trouble the dwarves.
Khessa, on the other hand, knowing that there is the potential risk of having to face even a god (young as he might be, but still a god), would prefer to move after having rested - and therefore recovered all her magical resources.
But obviously the blonde arcane warrior will also set out immediately, if the majority thinks that the benefit offered by the darkness is greater than that of being able to count on all the spells.
Vrox says, "Well, it seems like we've cleared out the whole keep, and there are neither undead nor fiends here now." He prefers to go farther before they rest, but he agrees that the keep makes a good, secure location for the group to rest in enemy territory. If no one feels strongly one way or the other, he concedes to Khessa's need to rest and recover her magic. He suggests that they close up the doors to the keep and sleep in the entrance hall (between the three towers) until morning.
If the group decides to take a long rest, then before the rest, Vrox uses Commune with Nature, standing outside Count Glauer's keep, to get a better sense of what lies ahead. That will tell him the following things about the surrounding 3 miles, or at least up to the start of the Golgari's fortress / city:
terrain and bodies of water
buildings
powerful celestials, fey, fiends, elementals, or undead
That information will help Vrox plan for their journey tomorrow. Perhaps he can at least keep the party in terrain that keeps them out of sight of any other watch towers or guard houses of the enemy.
Khessa, on the other hand, knowing that there is the potential risk of having to face even a god (young as he might be, but still a god), would prefer to move after having rested - and therefore recovered all her magical resources.
But obviously the blonde arcane warrior will also set out immediately, if the majority thinks that the benefit offered by the darkness is greater than that of being able to count on all the spells.
Vrox says, "Well, it seems like we've cleared out the whole keep, and there are neither undead nor fiends here now." He prefers to go farther before they rest, but he agrees that the keep makes a good, secure location for the group to rest in enemy territory. If no one feels strongly one way or the other, he concedes to Khessa's need to rest and recover her magic. He suggests that they close up the doors to the keep and sleep in the entrance hall (between the three towers) until morning.
If the group decides to take a long rest, then before the rest, Vrox uses Commune with Nature, standing outside Count Glauer's keep, to get a better sense of what lies ahead. That will tell him the following things about the surrounding 3 miles, or at least up to the start of the Golgari's fortress / city:
terrain and bodies of water
buildings
powerful celestials, fey, fiends, elementals, or undead
That information will help Vrox plan for their journey tomorrow. Perhaps he can at least keep the party in terrain that keeps them out of sight of any other watch towers or guard houses of the enemy.
From what you sense from nature, the valley is old. It is a large valley running to the north towards the mountain entrance that you seek. The vegetation is common for a northern mountainous climate, habituated by forest animals. You do sense a great tree in the distance, also heavy with age that has a darkness to it. Its roots penetrate deep into the ground, and that benevolence from the tree seeps into the very rock and soil around it. Along with the dark essence of the tree, there are a sense of dark beings in that area.
After you complete the ceremony and the bones and bodies and put to rest, you feel an essence wash over you of goodness in this time of darkness. Yoht seems pleased as he smiles to himself, then looks to the group.
"Our old gods are pleased at what you have done here." Consider yourself the benefit of being blessed for 24-hours. He looks at the keep, there is still a red glow to it. "I think we'll just tear it down and build another, perhaps a bit further out then here. Something about the rocks here no longer feel right. This keep may be gone, but I fear the taint of whatever evil that was done has seeped into the very bones of the earth, and it can't be saved. Better to start from scratch. Besides, never build upon a graveyard, bad luck that is."
Once you are ready to march, the trail heads due north into the valley, the peaks of the mountains are obscured at the moment by trees. As you move through the trees, the air is cooler, you do eventually hear the sound of normal wildlife return, birds chirping and such. After traveling for the rest of the day, the sun is setting, and as you are in a valley, it is starting to get dark. You find an area that has a running brook, trees and boulders that would make for a suitable camp site if you chose to do so.
If we camp, Khessa casts Private Sanctum and Alarm as usual, for added security. And Anator, as a good bat, can keep watch during the night, putting its Blindsight to good use.
"Did I just get blessed by a god?" Akkron asks with a chuckle as he sits down cross-legged on the ground. "Well... that is certainly an interesting development."
Akkron doesn't really need a full rest if everyone else wants to continue on; he could take a Short Rest and spend a hit die + regain the two spell slots he used during the encounters (a 3rd and 5th level slot). Alternatively, if we do a Long rest, he'll swap out some prepared spells: Psychic Scream for Wall of Force, Plane Shift for Disintegrate, Wither and Bloom for Invisibility, and actually I think I may trade out Wish for Power Word Kill.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Khessa reflects: "It seems that our cleansing work is over here... This time, we did not score any points against the Chaos gods - but we still eliminated an evil and dangerous creature."
"Zendra, Ravlen..." the blonde arcane warrior turns to the two rescued "Do you have a place to go to rest and recover? If not, perhaps we should escort you to the dwarves so they can temporarily host you..."
The two shake their heads. "Thanks all the same, but now that we're outside of this accursed place, we're leaving."
"In that case, I wish you good luck!" Khessa pats both on the shoulder "Take care!"
The blonde arcane warrior then turns to the rest of the party: "The place is cleared... Yoht, do you think the dwarves are interested in taking possession of it? If not, rather than leave it abandoned, I would prefer to destroy it or at least ruin it (I have three spells that could serve the purpose)... Rather than leave it intact and ready to welcome any new dark overlords..."
If Yoth does not want the castle for the dwarves and no one has better ideas than destroying it, the tall adventuress proceeds to ruin it in three places (the castle had three towers, I think? In that case she will choose to ruin the towers) by rising in flight to a great height, then creating (and letting fall like a very heavy and deadly projectile) a 5'-cube of solid platinum. Given its enormous weight and great height, the cube should easily ruin any towers - if not make them collapse.
Khessa then suggests: "Shall we make camp, rest, and set out again in the morning to visit Khaine and his dwarves?"
He nods his head. "Aye, we will want it back, but we'll need to bring a cleaning crew to remove the taint from this place, if it can be removed. If not, we'll raze it to the ground."
Note-I will be out until Sunday
Seeing the dwarves' interest in the structure, Khessa then leaves it intact - but her next proposal remains valid: rest then go visit Khaine!
[[OOC: Catching up...]]
Once it was clear that there was no immediate threat in the room with Ravlen, Vrox would have certainly cast Healing Spirit to summon a healing nature spirit (using a spell slot, not his ring). If you watch Ravlen closely, you can just make out a tiny, translucent figure that seems to flit around and over him. It's almost invisible, but the figure is luminous, like carved glass with a golden light filtering through it, which makes parts of its form visible at certain angles. A sort of green-gold glitter falls from the fey spirit's gossamer wings over Ravlen, vanishing as it lands and healing his wounds. You're not sure, but you think that you can also hear the tinkling of bells, but it's faint like a sound heard from a great distance.
The Healing Spirit heals Ravlen for 6 rounds before it fades away:
Total healing: Unable to parse dice roll.
Vrox would also search the alcove at the west end of the room through the archway (?) to make sure that the group isn't missing any secret doors or other undead who could trouble the dwarves.
Investigation: 13
or
Perception 25, advantage from Sentinel Shield
[[OOC: Oof! The necrotic influence of Count Glauer's vampires must weigh heavily on Ravlen!]]
Vrox is happy for a little light and fresh air, but before they leave, he asks, "Should I go down and gather the bones of the vampires victims?" He looks to Clarac for guidance, saying, "I don't know the custom here, but we could bury them outside. It feels wrong -- somehow -- to leave them in this accursed keep, but maybe it will be OK once the dwarves cleanse this place from the oppressive influence of the Count and his patron devil."
If the others think that they should give the bones of the vampires' victims a better burial, Vrox will cast a Light, and Tyekanik can lower the Satyr down into the hole beneath the sarcophagus. Once he reaches the bottom, Vrox says a brief prayer and invokes a Word of Radiance (damage: 18 (radiant)) to help purge any evil influence from the remains. Then he gathers the bones and puts them in a sack. The ground is frozen outside, but Vrox assumes that between Tyek, Clarac, and Khessa, the party is strong to dig a a proper grave for the bones. Or maybe just to raise a cairn over them.
Since the vampire nest didn't prove too difficult, Vrox and Tyek do not need a short rest. Flute brought them directly from mid-day to sunset so quickly, Vrox doesn't feel particularly tired. As long as Yoht can point them in the right direction in the dark of night, Vrox proposes that they continue from the keep toward Uhubreen tonight, using the dark to hide them from the eyes of the Golgari sentries. By the time the party is close enough to be spotted with Darkvision, they will also be close enough to attack anyone who spots them and tries to raise an alarm.
Khessa, on the other hand, knowing that there is the potential risk of having to face even a god (young as he might be, but still a god), would prefer to move after having rested - and therefore recovered all her magical resources.
But obviously the blonde arcane warrior will also set out immediately, if the majority thinks that the benefit offered by the darkness is greater than that of being able to count on all the spells.
Clarac is in favor of burying the bodies. "Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Honeysweet. I agree that would be best to give a proper burial to the ones we could not save. We can warm the ground as we dig, but it will still take some time."
Unless anyone insists on moving on immediately, Clarac will begin digging a grave outside.
You can dig the graves, and you are left alone. Nothing or no one comes from inside of the keep.
Nothing but dust
Vrox says, "Well, it seems like we've cleared out the whole keep, and there are neither undead nor fiends here now." He prefers to go farther before they rest, but he agrees that the keep makes a good, secure location for the group to rest in enemy territory. If no one feels strongly one way or the other, he concedes to Khessa's need to rest and recover her magic. He suggests that they close up the doors to the keep and sleep in the entrance hall (between the three towers) until morning.
If the group decides to take a long rest, then before the rest, Vrox uses Commune with Nature, standing outside Count Glauer's keep, to get a better sense of what lies ahead. That will tell him the following things about the surrounding 3 miles, or at least up to the start of the Golgari's fortress / city:
That information will help Vrox plan for their journey tomorrow. Perhaps he can at least keep the party in terrain that keeps them out of sight of any other watch towers or guard houses of the enemy.
(Lord Akkron is mostly just following along and letting everyone do whatever ceremonies they feel need to be done right now.)
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Khessa and Alfred help Clarac wuth the digging and the ceremony.
Shevis then ready... either to go or to rest.
From what you sense from nature, the valley is old. It is a large valley running to the north towards the mountain entrance that you seek. The vegetation is common for a northern mountainous climate, habituated by forest animals. You do sense a great tree in the distance, also heavy with age that has a darkness to it. Its roots penetrate deep into the ground, and that benevolence from the tree seeps into the very rock and soil around it. Along with the dark essence of the tree, there are a sense of dark beings in that area.
After you complete the ceremony and the bones and bodies and put to rest, you feel an essence wash over you of goodness in this time of darkness. Yoht seems pleased as he smiles to himself, then looks to the group.
"Our old gods are pleased at what you have done here." Consider yourself the benefit of being blessed for 24-hours. He looks at the keep, there is still a red glow to it. "I think we'll just tear it down and build another, perhaps a bit further out then here. Something about the rocks here no longer feel right. This keep may be gone, but I fear the taint of whatever evil that was done has seeped into the very bones of the earth, and it can't be saved. Better to start from scratch. Besides, never build upon a graveyard, bad luck that is."
Once you are ready to march, the trail heads due north into the valley, the peaks of the mountains are obscured at the moment by trees. As you move through the trees, the air is cooler, you do eventually hear the sound of normal wildlife return, birds chirping and such. After traveling for the rest of the day, the sun is setting, and as you are in a valley, it is starting to get dark. You find an area that has a running brook, trees and boulders that would make for a suitable camp site if you chose to do so.
If we camp, Khessa casts Private Sanctum and Alarm as usual, for added security. And Anator, as a good bat, can keep watch during the night, putting its Blindsight to good use.
"Did I just get blessed by a god?" Akkron asks with a chuckle as he sits down cross-legged on the ground. "Well... that is certainly an interesting development."
Akkron doesn't really need a full rest if everyone else wants to continue on; he could take a Short Rest and spend a hit die + regain the two spell slots he used during the encounters (a 3rd and 5th level slot). Alternatively, if we do a Long rest, he'll swap out some prepared spells: Psychic Scream for Wall of Force, Plane Shift for Disintegrate, Wither and Bloom for Invisibility, and actually I think I may trade out Wish for Power Word Kill.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
Provide feedback!