Lia purses her lips thoughtfully as she deliberates. " I am not sure if my people will help or not.  In any case we will need to go in person to find out.  I could contact my father but....he will most likely oppose the idea.  My mother will be fearful to do anything that might bring his ire. " 

Knowing that Lia and Poljen will probably both need the speed of the castle, if not teleportation magic, to recruit their hopeful allies Velon turns to Perry and says "I hope you've got that castle flying, and faster than ever!"

Silas shakes his head at the request to join in, "I need to get back to gathering other allies. I have a lead on an elder among my copper brethren to the southeast, I'll be setting out to find him if I can. Be cautious with the Red Wizards. They're not all wicked men, but I have yet to meet one that can be fully trusted. They're all too caught up in they're own concerns to not be seeking personal benefit in whatever situation comes their way."

At the compound, you are greeted by a bored looking halfling clerk who tells you that it will cost 100 gold pieces to open a portal, and that the establishment was not responsible for any harm that might occur to you and yours on the other side of the portal. Once he is paid, the rune sequence is carefully scribed onto a slip of paper, then the halfling walks into a back room, where from the sound of it he kicks someone awake. A bleary eyed and quite elderly human mage wanders out and has a seat by a permanent teleport circle inscribed in the floor before starting what Lawrence recognizes as the long ritual needed to open a portal.

Velon responds to Silas "so, like everyone else we've dealt with thus far since we met you, got it" with a smile.  More sincerely he adds "good luck with your search, we'll contact you soon."

The paladin goes over and hands the halfling clerk the 100 gold and says thank you.

Returning to the others he says "so, I hope everyone packed a lunch."  "Mr. Wizard, what's the plan here?  A little arcane eye?  A little force wall if there are eleven hungry dragons waiting for us on the other side?  It should be good fun."

"I think, since no time was set for our arrival, we will at least have surprise. Let's spend a second hundred, if he can cast another spell, and send the Eye on it's way before us to see what needs to be seen." Turning to the elderly wizard, Lawrance respectfully asks "Sir Mage, can you open the portal twice within the same hour, or do you need rest between castings?"

OOC - if he can cast it twice:

Lawrance spends a few minutes before the casting to link everyone in the Bond again, then casts his Arcane Eye, the point of view moved to the center of the Circle before he tells the wizard to send it on it's way. 

OOC - If not:

"Since our trip is limited to once, let's just go and I'll be ready with a protective spell that should hold any dangers off long enough to mount an assault. " Lawrance will Telepathic Bond the group again as they get ready. He then heads to the Circle and waits until all are gathered before asking the aged caster to open the ring. 

Poljen furrows his brow at Velon's question.  "I do not know.  If one of our magic users can send their king the information about the horn and its meaning, we can ask if they need me, or any of us, to show up in person.  If they wish me to be an emm-iss-airy, I will go once more."  He grins.  "I enjoyed their company.  They throw a great feast!"

 Mari smirks as they await the teleport circle.  " This ought to be fun.  What is the worsr that can happen? That isn't a rhetorical question.  Usually the worst thing that can happen is the very thing that happens. " She laughs at this. " I am getting too old for this.  I need to settle down , garden, have a family..." She winks. 

The wizard shrugs and indicates for Lawrance to make his preparations to send the arcane eye through.

Some time later, the portal opens, and the sensor passes through. Lawrance is treated to a view of a sparse room with walls, floor and ceiling composed of some manner of reddish sandstone. A single heavy door provides the only apparent entry in or out, and multiple murder holes have been placed in the ceiling.

In short, other than the construction style, it looks like pretty much like the room you are standing in now, and most of the other permanent teleport circle spaces you've seen. Few settlements like the idea of not being able to challenge people arriving in their territory.

When the mage tries to direct the scrying sensor out of the room, he finds that it is unable to pass through the walls. Closer inspection shows the space to be warded.

After a few minutes of bumping the sensor around and trying to find a way out, the door opens, and a woman strides in. She appears human, but tall, and unnaturally thin and pale. She's dressed in a flowing robe of red silks traced with gold. She walks over to the sensor, reaches out, and somehow grabs hold of the supposedly intangible eye. She speaks with a lilting accent, and a haughty tone of voice that suggests nobility. "There you are. If you are coming, come, if not, stop wasting my time and setting off my wards." All of a sudden the view from the arcane eye goes dark.

As Lia speaks Velon responds "three dragons."  "Three dragons is my bet.  Or a dozen wizards in red summoning three dragons, to be more accurate, perhaps?"

As Mari speaks of family Velon comments "I hear Cratol is unmarried, and owns quite a bit of land."  He whispers to Mari hoping to keep Lia from hearing " and so does Fay, but I'd take the three dragons over that, if I were you."

  Lia listens incredously to Velon.  She turns and looks at him, over to Mari and back at him. Her face is calm as she asks, " Velon , my love... Is there something I need to know?" 

"What?  Me?  I see the way Mari looks at you.  I asked her not to steal you away, that's all."  He winks at both of them and then says "well, on that note, stay sharp people."  "Or at least fake it, like I do."

Velon casts detect magic to increase his awareness of what is around him on the other side, then, with his shield at the ready, steps through the portal.

  Lia eyes him suspiciously thinking she heard her son's name mentioned. Seeing him walk forward she quickly follows him through the portal. 

  Mari has her weapons loosed in their scabbards. She grins at Velon's back thinking of his comments.  The young assassin then focuses entirely on her surroundings and walks on cat's feet through after her friends.  

Lawrance reports the finding of the Eye and says "I've every reason to think she was a Vampire, by the way. And a powerful one, at that, to be able to touch the sensor. Shall we proceed through?" Once the group has prepared, he asks the elder to open the portal and send them all through. 

Poljen has his new axe resting on his shoulder as he steps through, ready for trouble.

The group proceeds cautiously through the portal, ending up in the same room that Lawrence had seen. You can hear a chiming of bells as you step through.

The doors are sealed when you enter, and you can practically feel eyes from the murderholes above the room evaluating the group. But shortly after arrival, the doors open. Two men in what appear to be servant's robes stand there, bowing to the group in greetings.

As they stand, on closer look it becomes apparent that both men are quite dead. Their bodies are in essentially perfect shape as far as you can see, makeup was used to hide the skin's pallor, but there is no mistaking that the eyes have been replaced with black stones painted to look like real eyes, or that they are not breathing, especially when one of them speaks without actually moving his mouth, "Greetings to the honored guests. Welcome to Nethwatch Keep, the heart of Lapendrar. Our mistress, Tharchion Eseldra Yeth, is busy at the moment, and will speak with you over dinner. In the meantime, we are here to see to your needs. Might I suggest some time in our spa? The mineral water baths are some of the best in the world, and guests often speak highly of the masseuses."

Cratol looks about the room and then at the two servants.  HE wonders just who this Tharchion really is.

Perry removes the hat of disguise before stepping through the portal, replacing it with a circlet. Once through, he scans the room suspiciously. He sniffs the air. Upon seeing the two undead men, Perry initially has a serious look on his face and looks towards Velon as if to signal that a fight may go down. That is, until they the greet party respectfully. His expression changes gradually as the servants keep talking. As they mention the mineral bath spa and masseuses, Perry's eyes light up.

"Now, see everyone? This is how you treat your guests!" he exclaims, beaming at the rest of his party. Then, he says to the undead butlers, "Please inform the Most Gracious Tharchion that we are honored to be here as her guests and look forward to speaking with her to see how we can help with whatever situation we are here for. In the meantime, lead the way to the spa! It's about time we all had a proper pampering and vacation! What do you say Lia, Mari? Also, do you have any pastries by chance? Lemon cake or pie or, you know, whatever the local delicacies are for living people. Wine too if available please!"

Perry is excited and follows the creepy undead people.

With a quick Prestidigitation on himself to make sure he is actually clean and fresh, Lawrance merely shakes his head at the undead servants, not bothered by their non-living state. "I'm good, for now, thank you. Perhaps just a place to rest and any reading materials you could provide while we wait."

He will go with the others to wait, forgoing the spa or anything else out of the ordinary. 

Velon shakes his head 'No' at Perry after his initial stern look about the undead.  As the bard quickly shifts to being excited about the spa Velon shrugs and looks at Lia.  "You can go in too.  I'll just watch."  He raises an eyebrow at her playfully.

Velon activates his divine sense as they walk, knowing it may be pointless as undead seem to be the norm here.

Poljen simply scowls and goes with the group.  But if some get great massages, and there appears to be no funny business, he might partake.