Valgrim has only one spell left: Freedom of Movement, so he is ready to go to Lashonna's place.
You teleport into a city that does not resemble the city you left behind. You hear distant shouts, clangs, and screams that are indications of the chaos running rampant through the streets. The muted flicker of light from buildings burning can be seen across the city. Worse, plumes of foul green fog boil and churn throughout the city, obscuring entire blocks of buildings. There is no sign in the skies above of the ubiquitous Blessed Angles - it would seem the erinyes guardians of the city have abandoned it. Yet, despite these tragedies, the most impressive site is Midas' Great Project. The last time you saw this structure it was little more than a squat ziggurat. Now, an immense tower rises from the ziggurat, stretching well over 750 feet into the sky. Dozens of strange pods and balconies line the edges of the tower, many of which are crumbled and ruined, and in the sky above the clouds spiral and churn like muddy water around a drain. Even the light seems wrong - gray and muted, as if Sarenrae's sun itself were loath to look upon this corner of the world.
Mistwall Manor stands in front of you dark and seemingly abandoned. The guards you became familiar with are gone. Behind you across the Street of a Dozen Smiles and over the wall of Maskholm's boneyard roils one of those plumes of sickening green fog. It pours over the graveyard wall obscuring a fifty foot section of it.
Celeste, who brought you here, gives you a very concerned look before saying, "Good Luck" and teleporting away.
"Well, let's get to work. I am sure the Manor holds some secrets as to Lashonna's whereabouts." Valgrim moves to the door, checks for traps (Perception 42 if you take 10 or 44 if it involved stone). No traps, he breaks in and heads to underground, looking for cellar or basement.
The entrance gates swing open easily on well-oiled hinges. You cross the grounds through Mistwall Manor's elaborate garden, passing under the watchful eyes of an impressive wyvern statue and circling a fountain with water pouring from various cherubic angels holding pots. The manor's elegantly carved doors are locked up tight, and the windows are all barred and shuttered. No magic emanates from them.
Hmmmm.....wonder what is so impressive about the statue? Valgrim takes a brief look around the wyvern statue to see if there is anything odd or hidden about it.
If there is nothing special about the statue, he tries to force open the front door with his crowbar (he asks for help):
Taking a closer look at the wyvern statue, Valgrim at first finds nothing but frowns as he notices the statue has been made from several cleverly put together pieces of stone. Too cleverly put together for a garden in the ranger's opinion, it's the way the stone pieces have been cut. Climbing up and investigating further reveals the reason for the subtly odd seams in the stone - they were carved to disguise a secret door on the wyverns flank that must have taken a dwarven hand, because it is so well hidden. But if Valgrim recognizes anything, it is well constructed stonework...
"Clever girl...guys, I found a door here." Valgrim checks for traps: . If not trapped, he tries to open the door. If it's locked, he asks Alie to cast Knock on it as it maybe arcane locked.
The Knock spell causes the secret door to swing silently open on well balanced hinges. Other than the door opening, there is no other reaction. the stone stairs beyond are carved from stone and the walls are faced with polished marble.
Valgrim has the Unseen Servant pass the barrier of the door, just to see what happens to it. Then, he speaks quietly, "We have to conserve our resources so I will go down invisibly and scout the area to see what awaits us. I'll be back soon, hopefully." He asks for Death Ward (from scroll) and Shield of Faith for Friar to cast on him. Then he walks past the door bracing bracing himself for a trap then turns invisible with his ring and proceeds using Stealth and Camouflage in Favored Terrain (underground), examining any tracks/traps he may find.
Friar casts the requested spells on Valgrim and also adds Protection from Evil to the list. "Can't have you getting dominated, Valgrim? Now go kick a$$ and come back quick."
As Valgrim passes through the secret door the sigils flare to life and the ranger has powerful necromantic magics create wounds across the surface of his body. After recovering Valgrim heads down the steps and into the darkness carefully searching for traps as he goes. After a descent of around a hundred feet the spiraling staircase ends in a hallway that goes both left and right from the stairs. The rangers intuition tells him that going right heads toward the manor.
He heads toward the manor and continues scouting as he has not yet found anything to report on.
The hallway slopes up slightly for a bit before ending in a smooth wall. After some more careful searching Valgrim determines it is another secret door that has some more of those sigils carved in the walls around it. He also thinks he is somewhere directly under the mansion at this point.
Valgrim eases open the door as quietly as he can but the low grinding of the door sounds like an avalanch to his sensitive ears. The magic also makes a low hum as it is triggered but after pausing to see if there is any reaction to his intrusion, he hears none. The secret door opens into the back of a large wine cask laying on its side. Opening a second wooden door that makes up the front cask, the ranger finds himself in a vast cool dark wineceller. All is quiet and he can just make out a large door on the other side of the chamber. Lashonna's expensive tastes are reflected here as dusty aged bottles of wine from seemingly every kingdom and every nationality lie in neat racks upon rows of shelves.
Valgtim has 120 DV so he approaches the door invisible and in stealth, listens at it for enemies, checks for traps, and then opens it as quietly as possible. Same stealth modifiers.
No noise comes from beyond the heavy cellar door and it does not immediately budge, being apparently locked with a heavy bar from the other side.
Not wanting to cause a ruckus, Valgrim heads back to the statue and takes the other path away from the manor.
This path goes some distance and under the street above until Valgrim is certain he must be underneath the closest section of the Boneyard to Mistwall Manor. It ends abruptly in a solid wooden door reinforced with steel that the ranger detects neither trap on nor noise beyond. However, he does notice a dim light coming from the crack underneath the door.
Valgrim: 288/213
Ferez: 185/185+15
Bublaka: 215/215+15
Alie: 185/185+15
Party Buffs:
Life Bubble - party - 42 hours
Status - party - 24 hours
Heroes' Feast - party - 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 temporary hit points, +4 morale vs. poison and fear, +1 morale bonus attack and Will saves
Valgrim:
Magic Vestment - Valgrim armor - 21 hours
Sacred Bond - Valgrim/Friar - 150 minutes
Prot from Fire - 140 minutes
Stoneskin - 140 minutes
Barkskin (100 minutes)
Freedom of Movement (self, 100 minutes)
Greater Darkvision (self, 120', 15 hours)
Death Ward 2 mins
Shield of Faith 17 mins
Ferez:
Magic Vestment (x2) - Friar's armor and shield - 20 hours
Sacred Bond - Valgrim/Friar - 150 minutes
Prot from Fire - 150 minutes
Barkskin (100 minutes)
Stoneskin - 140 mins
Alie:
Protection from Cold - 140 minutes
Freedom of Movement - 140 minutes
Stoneskin - 140 minutes
Bublaka:
Prot from Fire - 140 minutes
Barkskin (100 minutes)
Freedom of Movement - 140 minutes
Remaining in stealth he tries to open it, as he is invisible. Is it locked? Some kind of roll needed?
The faint crackle of a fire within? The slight creaking of leather...armor or glove tightening on a hilt? the faintest sound of a foot shifting on the stone floor? There is another...more than one in there then.
Valgrim stealths away and goes back and gets the party and brings them down to this room, staying 50' ahead of the party. He also gets healed by the wand:
4 charges left in wand
When party in position, he opens the door.
Valgrim opens the door upon a chamber that looks like a well furnished guardroom , with a long wooden table and several weapon racks. A large, lit fireplace stands in the east wall, A set of closed double doors looms in the middle of the north wall, and a narrow stairway leads up to the west. Lying bound in middle of the room are about a dozen townfolk, bound with ropes and gagged. At the table sit four rough looking men that turn with surprised looks at the suddenly opening door.
After the attack, Valgrim turns visible, and curses, "Damn vampires!"
Initiative:
Friar uses his standard action to invoke his Nimbus of Light in case any undead enemies rush past Valgrim down the hall - 30' aura of daylight deals 19 dam to undead each round and dispels [Darkness] spells.
"Gentlemen, if you know what's good for you, you will throw down your weapons and repent of consorting with the evil that invades this town."
Valgrim dashes up to the vampire and lays a slash across his face causing him to reel from the unseen attack.
The door slams shut again. Meanwhile, inside the room from out of the shadows strike a couple of figures wrapped in shadows that the ranger missed on his first assessment. The first attempts to knock the trangers weapon away while the second comes up behind to try and grab the warrior from behind while baring his fangs in anticipation. Both spring back into the shadows after both successful disarm and failed grapple. The third remains dazed in front of the ranger.
Meanwhile, a man you recognize from Midas' party flies down from the wall and slams closed the door. Valgrim remembers trading pointers with him on the finer ways to bring giants down. His name is Captain Vulras who commands a band of rangers to the north. He weeps openly as he yells out, "Lashonna! Hear me, I will honor you with this man's death."
Valgrim stares at Vulras and the vampires. "Impressive to disarm me, just makes me kill you all more slowly. And you Vulras, you discussed hunting orcs with us at Midas' feast. And here you are, one of Lashonna's lapdogs. Sad. I'll get about to ending your existence in a second."
The vampires concentration now broken, the prisoners and thugs at the table disappear into thin air.
Realizing the dwarf is outnumbered, Friar uncharacteristically starts barking orders: "Alie, use your magic to open the door (cantrip), Bublaka inspire us and Valgrim to battle, and I will bathe the undead in the holy light of Sarenrae." Friar double moves down the hallway, drawing his +3 disruption morningstar, until he can catch all the undead in his Nimbus of Light aura. He also wants to be 15' away from the assailant in the hall.
Valgrim slashes the staggered vampire across the face, keeping him reeling but then follows through with a powerful blow that cuts across embeds itself deeply in a second assailants chest, severing the stricken vampire's spine. The vampire looks stupidly down at the blade for a moment before disolving into a mist...
Valgrim's remaining able foe steps around him to get out of the burning light and lashes out at the dwarven warrior with a blinding series of blows.
Meanwhile Captain Vulras floats a foot above the floor and turns toward the blazing sun that is Ferez. He opens his arm as if welcoming the light. As he flies forward with, now smoking, bloody tears streaming down his face, he says toward the heavens, "See my mistress. I would embrace and strike down the very sun for you!" He brings down his bastard sword in a deadly arc as he arrives in front of the priest of Sarenrae. As the blade cuts Ferez he feels a creeping cold emptiness as his very life energies get pulled into the blade.
The mist that formed from the vampire that Valgrim "killed" recoils from the light and begins drifting up the stairs.
With haste, Friar strikes at the vampire with his Morningstar.