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Must clean. Clean the mess. My mess. I made this. I made me. I am the mess. The leech has my mind. Like shiv. Shiv was better. This isn't high. I am nothing. I am a mess. I must clean.
Lantressa, concerned by the vampire's approach, attempts to blast him once more...
The vampire howls as Lantressa's bolts scorch his face, throwing his arm up in pain. Callie and Korriban's blades still don't seem to have any effect, but that bolt of fire has scarred his face and clearly weakened him. He looks at Lantressa and sighs. "I should have drunk that extract...very well. Take the lad if you wish. This plague has run its course, in any event." He glances around at the others just in time to see Callie casting her spell on Ruan. "Oh, and you can take care of him. Well then. I wish you luck with Andaisin." Then he leaps through the air toward Lantressa--and as he leaps he seems to dissolve, becoming a swarm of chittering bats that flies past Lantressa and into the room beyond! They head for the open door leading toward the entrance.
Ruan's eyes open slowly, and he groans, as Callie applies a healing spell. "Callie...is that...you?"
Initiative?
Vampire
Teodor and Riceak (keep sweeping)
Callie, Korriban, Lantressa
Ramoska Arkminos: HP: 51 | AC/T/FF: 37/16/34 | Fort +14 Ref +17 Will +12; +2 vs. poison, +4 vs. channeled energy | CMD: 21 | DR 5/piercing and wood | Immune: undead traits | Resist: cold 10, electricity 10, sonic 10 | After penalty, scores are: INT 14, WIS 12, CHA 14
Callie nods at Ruan. "It is. Your sister asked us to look for you. We just need to get you out of this ridiculous contraption. Let me try something... see if you can wriggle out after I do this..."
She casts liberating command upon Ruan.
Angry at the vampire's arrogance at leaping her direction and becoming a swarm of bats Lantressa gave the grouping of tiny creatures a vicious smile. She chanted several words and gestured sending a red bead out after the swarm and yelled, "Enjoy a parting gift you bastard!" The bead streaked out and exploded in the midst of the bats into a large fireball.
Korriban sees the vampire leap at Lantressa and dissolve into bats. He watches as Callie saves Ruan and Lantressa shoots a fireball at the bats. He grips his rapier and yells out, "He just turned into bats, Blue! Tress is firing fireballs at them! Should I try to pursue?!"
"Can you fly?" Callie calls out to Korriban in reply. "Where's it headed?"
Korriban looks at the bats. "Maybe if I flap my arms hard enough! They're heading for the open door leading to the open door to the entrance!"
Ruan wiggles desperately, trying to work his way free, but stops, panting. "Sorry...I'm still...too weak," he gasps. "But I can...show you how to...free me. What are you...doing here?"
Outside, Lantressa's fireball blasts the bats...and you all hear a psychic scream as they vanish in a blaze of fire!
Whether the vampire is truly gone or not, there's no evidence of him left...and Teodor and Riceak return to their normal minds.
Callie moves toward the levers. "What do I do?"
She adds, "To answer your question, we're here to rescue you, and to stop what appears to be a conspiracy of Urgathoans to take over the city..."
She calls out as she hears the psychic scream. "Everything ok out there?"
Teodor collapses to the floor, shoulders heaving with sobs.
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Korriban is shocked at the bats going out to a fireball. When all is silent, Korriban steps carefully to Lantressa as he watches the spot where they were. "Lantressa... that was... d**n... That was amazing. I... I think you may have killed him. Heh... again, remind me again to never get on your bad side." He thinks for a few moments before chuckling. Turning to Lantressa, he says, "Those beams of fire and that fireball are just like you... they're hot." The rogue gives a few chuckles before going silent.
When Callie calls out, Korriban shouts back. "The bats just got vaporized by a fireball... I think. I'm not seeing anything left. I think Lantressa killed him. I'm hoping that, anyways."
When he walks back into the room and sees Teodor on the floor sobbing, Korriban rushes to him. "Teodor? Teo? Are you okay? Look, whatever that vampire did to you, it's over. He's gone. Look, you're here. With your friends. Whatever you're going through, we're here for you."
While following whatever instructions Ruan gives her, Callie looks over to Teodor as he begins sobbing, frowning in concern, then up as Korriban replies to her.
"Then, well done, Lantressa. We definitely couldn't have handled that without you." She says loudly enough for Lantressa to hear. "When we're in a pinch we work together pretty well." She shakes her head and says to the group. "I'm sorry I dived in. I just... seeing Ruan like this..." She continues to work to free him and doesn't finish her thought. "Hopefully we've almost got you out, friend."
Her hands full, she can't move over to Teodor but she says to him, in a more subdued voice.
"There is no shame in what he did to you, Teodor. It's not your fault. And as you have faith in endings, know too will this feeling end."
Teodor tries to control his sobbing. "These leeches...they take, they violate. Like back in Ustalav. It took me. We must find a way to end it."
"Perfect bedfellows for the Lamms," Callie says darkly. "Hopefully Lantressa got it. If she didn't, we know now: kill it with fire."
Korriban frowns at Teodor's sobbing. "It's okay. This will end. The disease. These cultists. All of it. And I will make sure no other vampires will take over your mind. I promise."
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Lantressa preened a little under the praise she got for killing the vampire. She looked at Korriban and cocked one hip before touch her rear with one finger and making a hissing sound, "Don't you know it Korriban." She smiled viciously, "And don't you forget it."
Turning her gaze to Callie Tressa responded, "Thanks Callie. And yes, burning things usually makes sure they're dead, or at least distracted enough not to be able to focus on you so you can make them dead."
She then turned her focus on Teodor and said in as comforting a tone as she could, "It's alright Teo, it's over now and we won." She sighed, "I just hope I actually killed it for good, I'd hate to have to watch my back for the rest of my life for a pissed off vampire."
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"These parasites are harder to destroy permanently than that. They are an infection, a disease, a F$+@ING ROT! Just one could lay waste to several villages, bleeding them dry, turning them against each other! SPREADING THEIR FILTH!" Teodor is sweaty, short of breath, and wild-eyed. He makes minimal effort to stand. His hands clench and influence. "F#*&. It took my mind. I need to get wasted ..."
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Callie sees Teo shake, and hears his last comment. I know how that feels, she thinks, and because she knows how it feels, she knows it wouldn't help to say that. She didn't know him enough to know what to say, but said something anyway because Callie didn't know how not to talk.
"That's one thing you could choose to do... or given the leech was helping Lamm and the Urgathoans, we could finish clearing out this place and finding Lamm. Ending them will end his particular plans for now at least. Did that guy you were interrogating mention notes hidden back in that other laboratory? Maybe we should go look for them."
Teodor's head snaps to Callie. "Yes. You're right. I can get wasted afterwards. Let's see if we can help more." Teodor stands finally. "Could we not mention the parasite's control of me to my sister's. They were too young to remember life in Ustalav."
Lantressa preened a little under the praise she got for killing the vampire. She looked at Korriban and cocked one hip before touch her rear with one finger and making a hissing sound, "Don't you know it Korriban." She smiled viciously, "And don't you forget it."
Korriban chuckles. "Oh, believe me, my lady. I know it and I'll never forget it." His chuckles turn into some light laughter. "Can't believe you responded to that. That was a horrible line. One of my worst, easily."
"These parasites are harder to destroy permanently than that. They are an infection, a disease, a F$!$ING ROT! Just one could lay waste to several villages, bleeding them dry, turning them against each other! SPREADING THEIR FILTH!" Teodor is sweaty, short of breath, and wild-eyed. He makes minimal effort to stand. His hands clench and influence. "F!*#. It took my mind. I need to get wasted ..."
Korriban watches as Teodor freaks out and then calm down. Korriban chuckles. "Yeah. I think we all need something to take the edge off. But, I'll leave the drinking to you. I'll find something else."
"That's one thing you could choose to do... or given the leech was helping Lamm and the Urgathoans, we could finish clearing out this place and finding Lamm. Ending them will end his particular plans for now at least. Did that guy you were interrogating mention notes hidden back in that other laboratory? Maybe we should go look for them."
Korriban nods at Callie's suggestion. However, a thought comes to him. "Guys... this may not be over quite yet. Lamm may be gone for now and the vampire may be dead. But, there's still the person in charge here... the High Priestess, Andaisan. There'll still be trouble if she's not taken out. She has to be somewhere down here. The elevator's the only way up and we've been told that there's no passage to the outside."
Teodor's head snaps to Callie. "Yes. You're right. I can get wasted afterwards. Let's see if we can help more." Teodor stands finally. "Could we not mention the parasite's control of me to my sister's. They were too young to remember life in Ustalav."
Korriban nods at Teodor's request. "Of course. They will never know. You have my word."
"It didn't even occur to me to say anything," Callie said.
With Ruan's instruction, and no evidence that the vampire might come back any time soon, you're able to extricate him from this surgical device/torture instrument without running any risk of injuring him further. The young, good-looking man sits up weakly.
"Thank you, Callie...I can't believe you're actually here! And I can't believe you managed to chase off that beast..." He shudders. "Freedom seems surreal. But you're here, I'm safe...how is my sister? What are you doing here?!"
As you gather yourselves up and look about the room, it occurs to you that there may be useful tools in here...the alchemical equipment lying about is probably worth a fair amount of coin, and you see six clearly labeled vials of acid. There are also several notebooks that, when opened, contain neatly organized notes on the development and spread of blood veil...those could be useful!
As you look around the room, you spot the faintest outline of a rectangle--a secret door to the west!
"Gather all this, especially paperwork." Teodor still looks around like a scared animal. "Secret door over there."
Korriban looks at Ruan. "We're here to save you and to end the plague. These "doctors" are actually cultists of the Pallid Princess." The rogue nods when Teodor points out the secret door. "I'm on it. Let's wait until we deal with everyone here before we take everything that isn't nailed down. I also think we should get Ruan out of here before we face Andaisan."
He sneaks to the door and checks it out.
While Korriban deals with the door Teodor found, Callie scoops notebooks into her handy haversack.
THe door Korriban is investigating proves neither trapped nor locked, and (hearing nothing from the other side), he pushes it open. The room beyond is dusty, and several open trunks spill books across the room, some apparently quite old. The tomes stand in orderly stacks and haphazard heaps, invading nearly every foot of floor space save that occupied by an elegant, black-canopied bed.
One trunk alone, at the foot of the bed, is shut, and closed with a heavy padlock.
Ryan, moving around feebly, says, "Yes...Urgathoa...I heard some of those priests use that name for her." When Korriban opens the door into the next room, he blanches. "I think...I think that was that monster's bedchamber. Not that he slept much...but he would retire there sometimes. Please--can you help me get out of here? I don't want to stay down here a moment longer than I must!"
Riceak, clearing his threat, speaks up. "If you want, I can see our buddy here out and make sure everything's ok upstairs. It's your choice, really."
Korriban is surprised by the contents of the room. "Wow... that is a lot of books."/b] He enters the room, looking around. When he comes to the bed, he notices something odd. [b]"Guys. This bed doesn't have a mattress. The sheets are stretched over an empty frame. There's a coffin with dirt underneath it!"
He looks around at the books. "Some of these books are valuable. However, they're also pretty fragile. So, we're going to have to be careful with them."
When Riceak makes his offer to escort Ruan, Korriban bites his lip in thought. "Ruan does need to get upstairs. However, if Riceak heads up on the elevator, then we have no way to get up. We also need to get rid of this coffin. It may be a way to prevent him from coming back." He then proceeds to pick the lock of the trunk.
If he lets her, Callie puts her hand on Ruan's shoulder. "Hey, we know you've had a real rough time. Believe us, none of us want to stay here long. As Korriban noted, we can't let anyone leave without trapping us down here, but why don't you go to the entry room with Riceak and wait. You can rest a little and get your bearings. If we find any more test subjects, we'll send them to you. Then we'll all go up together when we're done."
Ruan nods, still looking shaken. "I...thank you, Callie. And you--Riceak, right?" The armored man nods. "I don't want anything other than to get out of here, but of course we can't let you get trapped down here. We'll wait for you near the exit." Riceak gives you all a wry salute and heads out with the shaken young bard, one hand protectively hovering near his sword's hilt.
Korriban works the padlock for several minutes, but is unable to trip it--it's a well-made device. He suspects that he could get it if he kept working at it, but that would take a while...time that you can't be certain you have.
At the very bottom of the chest is a worn gold amulet, clearly once engraved with a humanoid figure but now so worn out as to be completely androgynous and unrecognizable.
There doesn't seem to be anything else in this room. Which means that the only way forward...must be the doors leading to the east from the room with the vats of blood veil.
Korriban frowns at the padlock. He turns to the others. "This is a well made padlock. I can continue working on it and pop it open. However, that will require some time. Time that we might not have. Thoughts?"
"We already slept overnight in between exploring this place--if time was of the essence about something, we blew that already. Besides, we've found Ruan, rescued the other prisoners, possibly killed the vampire, and chased off Rolf, who is well ahead of us with his spell no matter what we do. I'm not sure there's a better way to spend the time than be sure the vampire's experiments--whatever he's got back there--are put to an end for good."
Korriban nods. "We still need to check those doors going from the room with the vats of disease. That may be the way to Andaisan. We don't need to open this now. We can always return to this afterwards. We're also going to need to find Rolth. Wherever he is."
Teodor will take the time Korriban uses to unlock the pad to carefully search the books.
"I've obviously been wrong several times, but the way they talk about Andaisin, she's the brains of the operation, and probably not actually here. Or if she was, well... if Lamm can dimension door out of here, I'm sure their leader can beat a retreat through less than typical means as well. If she had been here, and she was smart, she'd be long gone. I'd rather finish what we started here, personally, before moving on."
She shrugs. "I really hope she did, but we're not sure if Lantressa really killed the vampire. What if he comes back to whatever is in this room while we're elsewhere? I've given my opinion. You're the only one with the skills to open this thing, though, so it's up to you."
Korriban snorts. "Or Andaisan is going to stay behind to get her spoo~ky revenge on us. A last man duel type of thing that I read in books from time to time." Korriban sighs and looks at the chest. "Whether Andaisan is still here or not, let's get this stuff in case the vampire comes back. Watch my back. I'm going in."
Korriban finally manages to pop the lock. He's surprised by the contents. "Guys. Look. About a hundred of crystal vials. Most of them are filled with a little blood. This must be the vampire's lunchbox. And look..." He carefully puts his hand into the chest and pulls out the amulet. "There's this gold amulet. I can't recognize this humanoid figure, though."
"We should show the vials to the Pharasmans; if the blood has samples of the plague they might be able to use them to devise a cure. As for the amulet, let me look at it..."
Callie examines it with detect magic. If it has an aura, she tries to analyze it.
Examining them, both the vials of blood and the amulet appear to be mundane. The vials and the amulet are certainly worth money, but otherwise are not of note.
Teodor, searching through the books, finds that they are largely mundane books. They're a mix of a few religious books--from widely varied religions--lore on vampires and vampirism, and texts on healing and medicine, many of which are quite old. None particularly stand out, though quite a few are valuable.
"This one fancies itself as rational still. That makes it more dangerous."
Korriban says, "Duly noted, Teo. So, to the last set of doors, then?"
Callie nods. "Lead the way."
Korriban nods and leads the way to the remaining unopened doors, carefully moving so as not to make too much noise. He also keeps an eye out for any danger that could have snuck in on them.
Callie stows everything valuable in her handy haversack, and you make your way back into the room with the vats of blood veil. The two doors leading to the east, off of the catwalks, are spread about ten feet apart, but Korriban's quick examination shows them both to be roughly identical. They're heavy wooden doors and firmly latched, but neither appears to be locked or trapped.
Pressing his ear to the door, Korriban hears someone exhorting others:
"...and though we have not heard battle for some time, I doubt not that the heretical invaders must be out there still! Hold the line, companions. We are the last defense between these warriors of so-called righteousness and Lady Andaisin! Hold the line!"
Teodor tries again.
"She's here! Lady Andaisin is here! She's routed the self-righteous fools!"
Callie shrugs and whispers. "Nice of them to wait for us."
She pulls out her wand of cat's grace and casts the spell on herself. If anyone else wants the spell cast on them, and there is time to do it, Callie will offer to do so. If not, she puts the wand back in her haversack.
Callie casts a spell from her wand (possibly more than once) as Teodor attempts to trick the cultists into relaxing. Korriban, still with his ear pressed to the door, hears:
"Lady Andaisin?! There?! How is this possible?!"
"Doubting fool! Through Urgathoa, ALL THINGS are possible! Let us go to celebrate the victory!"
Korriban hears the talking behind the door and whispers out what he's hearing to the others. Teodor then shouts a lie. Korriban lets him do it, figuring out his plan. When Callie begins to cast a spell from her wand, he whispers, "What spell is that?" When she answers, Korriban raises a hand, showing that he would like the spell as well. When he hears them shouting in response, Korriban whispers to his friends, "Get ready! They're coming!" He then steps back, goes into his stance, and readies his weapon to stab into the first cultist to open the door.