Racker's Alley - Round 2 - concluded
22 Seila
14 Spawn
11 Rommin
10 Gyllan
6 Iozif
22 Corso
Rommin, Gyllan, and Iozif all move into position to fight with the vampire spawn. Gyllan actually circles around behind the dark creature.
Corso casts his favorite spell, expecting the spawn to fall down laughing hysterically, but much to his chagrin, the spell fails to provoke as much as a snicker from the bloodsucker.
End of Round 2
Racker's Alley - Round 3
22 Seila
14 Spawn
11 Rommin
10 Gyllan
6 Iozif
22 Corso
"Fewer questions, more stabbing! Now get in there!" Corso feels a pat on his back and then a sudden rush of wind as he is vaulted forward.
Seila follows behind him.
Racker's Alley - Round 3 - continued
Seila wiggles her fingers, immediately zipping Corso forward towards the vampire spawn. She moves up even with the surprised bard.
Now that its foes are within reach, the vampire spawn hisses and leaps backward staring at Rommin with a hypnotic gaze.
Racker's Alley - Round 3 - continued
In the blink of an eye, Rommin, the biggest and strongest of the group, is turned from ally to foe by the domination ability of the vampire spawn. As the foul creature points, the big man turns his large sword on the nearest hero, Iozif. Fortunately, the muddled mind of the barbarian results in an attack that is less than spectacular, and Iozif is able to dodge the surprise attack with relative ease. The big barbarian steps back a bit to better protect its new master.
Gyllan's eyes widen as Rommin suddenly turns on his friends! "Uh, can someone set him straight?" he asks, before stepping closer to the vampire-spawn and dealing it a powerful blow! He then calls out to his friends, "And can someone tell me the best way to kill this thing?"
Racker's Alley - Round 3 - concluded
Knowing they are facing a powerful opponent, Gyllan steps up avoiding the mesmerized barbarian and drives his greatsword hard into the vampire spawn. The foul creature looks at the ranger with shocked dismay as his weapon pierces its internal organs causing serious, but not fatal, damage.
From the other side, Corso launches an attack imbued with his arcane energy which also scores major damage against the spawn. Reeling the spawn utters one last curse in a strange tongue then falls lifeless at the feet of the two sword wielders.
Instantly, Rommin slumps but his eyes clear and the domination of his body ends with the death of his "master".
End of Combat
Gyllan gives Corso a decisive nod in response, saying, "Nice work indeed, swordsman! That was quite a dance step you did to get into the fight from all the way down the alley!" He turns somewhat warily towards Rommin, then relaxes as he sees their new companion is no longer under the undead's power. "I'm glad you're back with us, Rommin," Gyllan says, lowering his blade and grinning, "I'd hate to have to kill you so soon after meeting you."
He turns his attention to the alley and nearby staircase, scanning for any signs of other activity or indications who else might have been here. "It looks like the vampire spawn might have been making for these stairs," he suggests. "How about we see where it was headed?"
"No harm in checking. Only in the finding." Seila says as she follows along.
The staircase in the back of the building block is decrepit and looks little used. It seems to lead up to a set of apartments that lie above the ground floor. The doors and windows of the upper floor look snugly boarded up and the place shows no signs of recent use.
"That creature has been feeding here, and living somewhere nearby, I'm sure of it," Gyllan argues. "Who knows, there could be more of them here too. I say we take a look."
He gives Rommin an imploring look, hoping the impulsive fellow will follow along, then takes a few steps up the stairs and glances over his shoulder to see if any of the others are coming along.
Brushing his coat off where it had gotten dirtied when he danced back from the soldier's awkward blow. He frowns, warily approaching as the man drops his weapon, "I'm hardly an expert on the powers of the undead, but given their supernatural, indeed abominable, nature, it wouldn't surprise me if they could poison the mind of an otherwise reasonable man. I trust you are feeling well, or should I have a look at you to ensure you've no traces of a foul humor about you?"
Turning his attention to Gyllan, he nods, "That seems perfectly reasonable to me, Gyllan. Lead the way and I will gladly follow. If there are more of the foul things, I would rather see them put to a final rest."
Breaking into the vacant upstairs apartments, the group spies nothing but disuse. The floor and other flat surfaces are covered with a fine layer of dust that has not been disturbed for some time, save for your intrusion.
"Corso's right, looks like there's nothing to see here," Gyllan replies, though his attention is still focused on scanning their surroundings. He shrugs and turns to Rommin, saying, "Let's get out of here, reminds me too much of parts of The Shingles where I grew up."
The hole Corso refers to is the small opening in the side of the store on the ground floor. The bodies were piled in front of it, but Gyllan had spied it previously. It is about 3x3 with rough edges and looks like it was roughly cut out of the masonry walls a short time ago.
Inside the store beyond is dark.
"Yep, I fear you're right again, Corso. This could become a habit," Gyllan says, suppressing a grin. "I'm okay with going first, but I'd appreciate a little light in there before I go in that hole. Seila, anyone?"
"Very clever, I haven't seen such a thing before. I suppose I am ready if the rest of you are also prepared. Lead the way, Gyllan." Iozif eyes the hole with mistrust. He sets his longspear against the wall, drawing a morningstar to better prepare for the narrow enclosure.
The light from the ioun torch casts a brilliant light around Gyllan, allowing him to see into the hole a bit better. The masonry hole goes all the way through the outer wall of the store on the alley and opens into the interior.
Crawling carefully through, Gyllan sees dozens of crooked glass eyes -- hollow and crazed -- glare from the heads of malformed and half-carved dolls lining the skewed workroom shelves. Rat-gnawed stuffed aurochs, disembodied doll limbs, miniature rolling elephants, unseaworthy wooden ships, and crooked blocks illustrated with deformed or poorly painted animals fill bins and racks about the room. A cracked wooden door leads to the north, while a rickety trap door breaks the sawdust covered floor to the east. In one corner lies the drying corpse of an old bald man amid the wood chips, rusty tools, and oily rags of a scored workbench.
Gyllan's eyes widen, reflecting the glow from Rommin's brilliant, floating stone. "Neat trick, that. I'll have to look for one of those."
He goes quiet and nods at the hole, then makes his way through it as quietly as he can. Once inside, he starts to move toward the body on the floor, having noticed something about it, but he stops, looks up and says "Uh-oh."
Feeling smugly satisfied that he spotted the source of Gyllan's concern, Iozif says, "A corpse that seems to have been fed upon by more of the vampire spawn. I'm not sure why Gyllan is making such a fuss over it though."
Toy Store - Surprise Round
22 Seila (surprised)
22 Gyllan
18 Iozif (surprised)
16 Spawn Red
13 Spawn Blue
11 Spawn White
11 Corso
3 Rommin (surprised)
Gyllan sees the formless clouds in the corners of the room above the dessicated corpse and knows what that means: more vampires. Two gaseous forms start to congeal into humanoid shapes in the far corner.
"This isn't going to be easy," Gyllan says quietly. He lays a hand on his blade and mutters a few words before taking a step forward.
Toy Store - Surprise Round - continued
Grimacing at the gaseous vapors that will form more vampire spawn, Gyllan starts the fight by casting a spell the magically increases the density of his weapon, causing it to do more damage than it otherwise would.
From under the doorway to the north, another gaseous cloud floats upwards, apparently forming into a third spawn.
The other two spawns (blue and white) solidify all the way, dropping to the ground with a hiss and a flick of their forked tongues.
Corso spends a few moments reciting verse, trying to inspire courage in his mates even in the face of a very difficult fight against deadly enemies.
End of Surprise Round
Toy Store - Round 1
22 Seila
22 Gyllan
18 Iozif
16 Spawn Red
13 Spawn Blue
11 Spawn White
11 Corso
3 Rommin
Gyllan strides across the room and strikes at the nearest vampire spawn!
Stepping into the room Seila calls forth the blessing of Desna to bring good fortune onto their blades.
Move. Cast Bless +1 to attack tolls and saves against fear.
Toy Store - Round 1 - continued
Seeing the array of foes before them, Seila knows the power of the ancestors can help with this fight. She calls forth Desna's blessing in their name, and boosts the morale of all on the side of good.
With new found courage and competence, Gyllan strides forward striking a blow at the nearest vampire spawn. The blow strikes the undead spawn, but the creatures magical resistance keeps the wound from being as bad as Gyllan had hoped.