As they begin to fight, Dagen begins to walk down the steps
Combat Begins
Setting the Scene
The gang (starting off) is roughly 30 ft. away from Dagen
The vampires and warforged are fighting each other, and have created a “parting of the sea” situation where they give Dagen (and by extension, us) a wide berth
Takes out two silver spears from Kaya’s bag of holding
Misses both his attacks 😔
Kaya
Grabs a silver spear from her bag (bonus action)
Runs up and tries to stab Dagen!! Deals 32 damage to Dagen (rolled a 16, but double damage bcs it’s silver)
The spear pokes out his backside
Dagen grabs the spear and pulls himself further
Second attack PUNCHES HIS ASS. He LETS her hit him (she rolled a 12) I GET SCARED!!!!
Dagen
First Attack
Forces Kaya to make a STR saving throw
She gets a 26, he rolls a 30 (FUCK THIS STUPID BAKA LIFE)
Makes a Bite attack against her, DEALS 16 DMG THAT CAN’T BE REGENERATED UNTIL A LONG REST!!!!!
KAYA’S GRAPPLED!!
Second Attack
Throws Vallen at Camille
Camille takes 16 dmg
Cordelia
Rolls a 21 to hit with Melf’s Acid Arrow, deals 10 acid dmg
Pulls another card as a bonus action: The Star
Kaya makes a DEX save
The card glows with a BRIGHT LIGHT, shoots a radiant BEAM DIRECTLY AT Dagen!!!!!
Kaya manages to shift out of the way (but is still grappled)
Kaya takes 7 radiant dmg, Dagen takes 30 radiant dmg
Dagen’s frightened condition drops
ROUND 3
Camille
Moves 30 ft. towards Kaya (involuntarily teleports), heals her with [Cure Wounds]7 HP (it was more but she can’t heal higher rn)
Attacks with Spiritual Weapon, misses
Purposefully takes an AoO by moving 10 ft away from Dragon
Dagen uses a legendary action to vampire bampf away from Kaya’s spear and appears in front of Camille
Vallen
Stands up, attacks Dagen
Deals 38 pts of dmg
Cal
Both attacks hit!! (DOUBLE 27S TO HIT)
Deals 17 dmg
Kaya
Bonus action grabs her spear
JABS HIS ASS (24 to hit!!)
Deals 20 dmg (originally 10, doubled bcs silver)
KAYA GETS A “HOW DO YOU WANNA DO THIS”!!!!!!!
SPEARS HIM THROUGH THE CHEST
Dagen BURSTS INTO ASHES
Post-Combat
As the ashes of Dagen drift to the floor, his soul darts through the ceiling
Vallen informs us that we should either find Dagen’s resting place or burn the entire building to the ground — he’s regenerating rn
Dr. Pope turns to the party and says he’s going back to Diamond to “prepare the armies”
Vallen turns to Cal and says that we should take him with us, regardless of whether or not he wants to come with us
Cal just fuckin CLOCKS him and he goes unconscious as fuck
Camille throws some rope down to tie Dr. Pope up
They run upstairs, Cordelia runs behind them
Cal and Vallen stay behind to tie up Dr. Pope
Kaya’s SO worried about being a vampire
IS SHE A VAMPIRE???? SHE’S ASKING VALLEN
It’s ok she’s chill everything’s fine and good she’s not a vampire — he didn’t infect her
Upstairs
Camille and Cordelia make their way upstairs — they see piles of ash on the ground on the stairs leading up to the party
The guard that we knocked out earlier is no longer there
The door leading out of the stairs is GONE!! just a fuckin hole
We see few guests helping each other up, it looks like the vampires and warforged LEFT THE FUCKING BUILDING
Everyone else joins the party — Camille says we should go upstairs
Vallen suggests that we just burn the building down
THE GANG STARTS FIGHTING ABT WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD OR SHOULDN’T BURN THE PLACE DOWN
Cordelia and Vallen are BEEFING!! HE TELLS HER TO FIND HER BOYFRIEND!!! GOD DAMN
Camille runs upstairs while the gang is arguing — Cordelia gives Vallen a STERN fuckin look and follows after
There’s NOBODY upstairs
It’s very castle-esque upstairs: red and white with gold accents, ornate as FUCK. It’s dead silent though, where all the people at
There are some doors open upstairs, leading to guest bedrooms
There’s a big double door at the end of the hallway, which looks like the master bedroom
Cordelia casts Prestidigitation on Kaya to get the blood off her
We Finally Kill Dagen
Camille opens the door to the master bedroom
It’s a bigass room!! lots of room for “activities” (this is a reference that I don’t get)
Vallen farts (IT’S CANON. CORDELIA GIVES HIM THE CRAZIEST SIDE-EYE)
There’s a MASSIVE bed in there
Nobody in there
Everyone looks around!!
Cal rolls a NAT 20 TO INVESTIGATE!!! Kaya also rolls to investigate
It looks like people left in a hurry
Scattered around the room, they find 50 GP
Camille rolls a 22 on insight to determine where a vampire might keep their shit
Realizes that there’s something odd with the bed
At the same time, Cal realizes that the bed can be moved (thank u nat 20)
We move the bed!! Behind it is a door
We open the door 😎
The room behind it is very similar to the one we’re currently in, and it contains two CLOSED coffins
The gang asks Vallen to stab the fuck outta one of the coffins
Cal and Vallen stab both coffins at the same time!!
There’s the sound of crunching bones inside the coffin that Cal stabs
The one Vallen strikes is silent
Cal retracts his spear and opens up the coffin he stabbed: he sees a half-regenerated Dagen
It looks like a corpse that just melted into the coffin — there’s lots of meat, ligaments, and fucked up bits. He’s missing one eye and the other is missing its eyelid
His one good eye slides over to look at Cal, but Dagen doesn’t appear to be able to move
CAL SHOVES AN ACTIVATED SUN STONE INTO Dagen’S EMPTY EYE SOCKET AND KILLS THE FUCK OUTTA HIM!!!
Dagen’s half-regenerated corpse withers and dusts away
The gang debates whether or not we should look for Dagen’s wife
If he turned her, then she will wither away eventually (same thing with all the vampires he turned) within the next few days or a week or two
We decide not to worry about her rn
Camille suggests that we search the rest of the mansion/castle in the meantime for additional information, especially if there’s further plans, connections to other vampire groups, or the Changelings
Camille tries to barehanded grab Dagen’s ashes
Cordelia is like “wtf no” and puts Dagen’s ashes in a little vial (she keeps it!)
The Aftermath
The gang decides to go back to the basement to collect what information we can (schematics, shadow boxes, etc.etc.)
Camille is STRUGGLING to pronounce hors d’oeuvres (they wanna grab some on the way back down to the scary basement)
We need to report back to the Capital — Vallen hands Camille a sending stone to let the Keeper know that we’re done
Message to The Keeper: Good news: Dagen’s dead. Bad news: Diamond has LOTS of machine-like soldiers ready to attack, but we have the scientist who made them. Capital soon.
Response message: We’ve received news, come to the capital IMMEDIATELY. Bring the scientist and Vallen.
We debate on how to get to the Capital
NorthPass has ferries!! so we can be back in the Capital pretty soon
The party splits up: Vallen goes to prepare the carriage (gets the pink slip from Camille), Camille and Cordelia run to the basement to gather stuff, and Kaya and Cal start looting
Cordelia and Camille
We grab the schematics!! There’s not a ton of stuff that Camille understands in there
When Camille grabs the paper for the pyramid, they VERY QUICKLY hear the distant screams of bloody murder and feel an absolute sense of dread
Cordelia supervises Camille shoving shit into their pockets
We get five shadow boxes
Kaya and Cal
Kaya steals a nice blanket (it’s like a bajillion thread count) (she’s also wearing it like a cape)
As we leave the building, the town is dead — nobody’s out and about
All the carriages that the nobles brought with them are GONE
We throw Dr. Pope on the fuckin FLOOR (of the carriage)
As we leave, a little plume of smoke comes up from Dagen’s mansion
CAL SET THE DAMN BUILDING ON FIRE!!!
Traveling Back to the Capital
CARRIAGE ARRANGEMENTS
Vallen and Camille sit up at the front of the carriage
Everyone else is SNOOZING
Dr. Pope is on the floor
As we’re leaving, Vallen asks Camille why they called out to Lathander earlier
He hates the undead, we were fighting vampires, and Lathander could be their god (since they still don’t know who blessed them), so it was worth a shot
Camille asks if Vallen worships Lathander despite his hate of the undead — he does! Because his dad worshipped Lathander 🥺
Camille asks what Vallen’s dad was like: he was an incredible man, took great care of himself and his mother
Camille reminisces and says that their brother was much the same — he took good care of them when they were younger
When Vallen asks Camille what their brother’s name was, they say that they’re not ready to say it yet
Camille falls asleep on Vallen’s shoulder and drools all over him
WE GET ATTACKED
As we’re asleep, Vallen wakes Camille up and lets them know that he thinks we’re being followed
An unmarked carriage pulls up and slams into us!!!
THERE’S A GUY ON THE ROOF!! ANOTHER ONE SKITTERS AROUND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CARRIAGE AND TRIES TO OPEN THE WINDOW
Enemies so far: Roof Guy and The Skitterer
The Skitterer pulls the window down, grabs Dr. Pope, and begins trying to pull him out
KAYA KICKS HIM
CORDELIA CASTS HOLD PERSON ON DR. POPE SO HE CAN’T TRY TO ESCAPE (he’s still unconscious so the spell automatically succeeds)
Camille casts Spirit Guardians so that all enemies within a 15 ft. radius of them take damage (immediately take 19 points of radiant)
Cordelia has to make a DEX save as a dagger DIGS into her arm (ROOF GUY STABBED HER)
Concentration Check: successful! But she has a knife sticking out of her arm :(
Roof Guy tries to push Dr. Pope out of the carriage
Cal tries to shove Roof Guy — Roof Guy falls underneath the other carriage and gets RUN THE FUCK OVER!!!
Kaya casts Mold Earth to try and trip up the wheels of the carriage following us
BIGASS CHICAGO-STYLE POTHOLE!!
It pops up right behind the horses but in front of the wheels. THE CARRIAGE FLIPS THE FUCK OVER!!!
Cal grabs The Skitterer as he’s about to dip (without Dr. Pope), and he takes another 12 dmg from Spirit Guardians
THEY TAKE DR. POPE WITH THEM! THE HOLD PERSON SHATTERS!!!
THIS IS SO FUCKED UP AND EVIL
MIGHT BE DAGEN’S WIFE :((
Future Izzie Note: after reviewing the notes, I have reason to believe the Mysterious Vampire might be Balthazar’s “dead” pupil 👀
SHE CASTS TIME STOP MULTIPLE TIMES! WE’RE STUCK FOR SEVERAL MINUTES
As Time Stop wears off, Vallen pulls the carriage to a stop
Cordelia recaps to the gang what happened and passes out as she realizes there’s a knife in her arm
Camille casts Cure Wounds on Cordelia for 12 HP
Vallen suggests that we just kill the guy after we question him. Camille reasons that we might as well let the Keeper decide what to do with him, since we don’t have Pope anymore
Camille breathes a sigh of relief when Vallen agrees
The gang pulls up (looking for Cordelia) AND SEES HER WITH HIM
Cordelia pulls up next to Julian robotically as hell (but she’s trying to make it seem casual and like she’s just looking out over the horizon)
Julian looks around and looks in her direction
Julian: Are you also looking for someone?
Cordelia: *wringing her hands* I don’t… know…
Julian: You don’t know? Well, we’re all looking for something. You heading to the Capital, then?
Cordelia: Yeah. I feel like I always end up back there.
Julian: Always. But, I have a duty to do. What are you going to the Capital for?
Cordelia: I… run a flower shop.
DECEPTION CRIT FAIL!! JULIAN ROLLS A 19. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS SHIT UP!!!!!
Julian: Flower shops… How long have you run flower shops in the Capital? Also, where’s it at? I would love to come by and buy flowers
Cordelia: 👁️👁️ …. oh no…..
Cordelia: You know…. A couple of years? So what about you? What are you going back for?
Julian: I’m going back to do my duty. My father’s very adamant I get my rank up
Cordelia: So what rank are you right now?
Julian: I’m a, uh, I’m a Journeyman, but my father’s a Captain. I’m trying to get to Sentinel before the end of the year, start of the new.
Cordelia: That’s impressive. You must have a… wife???
Julian: No, no wife. I am engaged though. Though I am questioning it, that isn’t something a stranger should know.
Cordelia: I suppose not. You know, I’ve been there.
Julian: Arranged marriages, am I right?
C: For the longest time, I just lived with the idea that it was never something for me. I had my books - my flowers. And that was enough. That was always enough. And this news gets dropped on you, and…
J: I know! And she’s already running away
C: She ran?
J: She ran. Her father is looking for her, obviously, but last anyone knows she left the Capital. She could be in Diamond, for all I know
C: Could be. Why do you think she ran?
J: Oh, I would. I would, for sure. Capital isn’t meant for people like… It’s not meant for everybody. It’s not meant for me, that’s for sure. If I could leave, I would.
C: What would you do?
J: I don’t know. I would like a little house in the mountains.
Since Julian is there, there are probably other Guardians from the military
Cordelia realizes that they’re probably looking for her 😟
Camille pulls Vallen to the side
They’re worried about their mother — she lives on the border of Diamond and Clover, and if war breaks out, she will be among the first to be affected
Would The Keeper be ok with Camille housing their mother? For a pay cut maybe?
Vallen says that the Keeper would probably be willing to do it for free, but Camille should ask after the Council disbands
Camille asks Vallen to make sure their mom (“A woman that looks like me”) doesn’t die if he ever comes across her. Vallen’s leaving the group after this, but he doesn’t seem against the idea
At the mention of Vallen leaving the party, they say that they really value their time with him and that he was one of the first real friends they’ve ever made. They express that they hope their (as in Camille and Vallen’s) paths cross again
As they leave to unload the carriage, Vallen calls out Camille’s name. In response, they very quietly go “That’s not my name”. Vallen says he will keep that in mind
Group Perception
As soon as the ship docks, we all see that the town is in a PANIC!! The military in the capital is on ALERT
One of the guards steps out, asking for the entire party BY NAME!!
JULIAN HEARS CORDELIA’S NAME AND 👁️👁️ STARTS LOOKING AROUND
Vallen raises his hand and points us out to the guards
The guards say that the Keeper’s ordered us to go to the Garrison, and they’re here to escort us
The town is BUSTLING!!
We aren’t stopped at any check points AT. ALL!!
The Garrison
Large, imposing stone building, decorated in Clover’s symbols
The guards lead us up the stairs PASTCaptain Purah’s office, towards a MAGIC ELEVATOR!!!!
From the outside looking in, we’re entering the Keeper’s Tower: the tallest building in the capital
The guards leave us at the door, and we walk into the top floor of the Keeper’s Tower!!
The Keeper’s Office:
An entire half side of the room is covered in glass, giving the Keeper a south/east side view of the Capital/Kingdom
On the right side of the room, there’s a huge wooden desk with a massive chair + couches and chairs reminiscent of the Oval Office
On the left side (where the windows are not) of the room is a very long war table
Who’s in the room:
Captain Purah (talking to some folks near the Keeper’s desk)
A fancy gentleman (dressed like what you would normally see at a fancy party) (OMG HIIIIIII I LOVE MEN) (HIS NAME IS OZ)
Captain Purah waves us over, asks us to sit
She says she will need our expertise on upcoming matters
He also grabbed the paper with the drawing of the Pyramid on it
WE RECAP WITH THE KEEPER
The Curator (The Keeper has no record of the Curator in any of his archives)
The Curator can sense when we’re close to the Pyramid or close to someone who’s touched the Pyramid recently
Dr. Pope
He was tasked with researching alternative methods to win the war
Cal’s come across him a couple of times
The Keeper reads Cal’s mind and learns that he gave Dr. Pope the Pyramid (not that he knew what it was at the time)
The Keeper asks: whose trust lies with Clover, and whose lies with Diamond?
Kaya: “If no one there is there to experience peace, then there is no peace at all. I’m with Clover.”
Cordelia: Dead silent, staring off into the distance. At this moment, she locks eyes with her dad. “I have, and always will stand with Clover”
Camille: They’re allied with Clover because that’s where their family lives, but they question whether or not Clover has been taking Diamond’s resources like Garrett claimed
Diamond has a lot of resources compared to Clover, despite Clover’s size. Diamond holds a lot of agricultural resources that Clover needs to continue
Yes Clover has been taking Diamond’s resources, but Clover and Diamond were once in an alliance. Diamond broke that alliance, so Clover stopped providing them with protections, and that’s how we got here today.
Cal: “Sounds like propaganda to me. Whoever side you chooses, the other side will always pay the price. I don’t stand with Clover — I don’t stand with anyone. But I stand against Diamond”
This is the answer the Keeper was looking for — sacrifices must be made in order to keep this kingdom where it needs to be.
The Keeper doesn’t understand why the Orb chose us, but he doesn’t think that it was coincidence that we all walked into Hillford’s bar at the same time, or that it was a coincidence that Cal headed to Hillford when he needed to go in the opposite direction
We need to be inducted (into the government??). We’ll get passes, special privileges, etc.etc.
We will officially be Ambassadors of Clover
Clover needs the Pyramid. If Clover has the Pyramid, then Diamond will not.
We need to retrieve the Pyramid and deliver it to the Keeper
Camille asks the Keeper if he can keep their mother safe. The answer is yes
Border towns will be evacuated, others will be heavily guarded
Camille’s mother will be brought to the Capital
The Keeper needs to discuss the kingdom’s next steps with the Faction Leaders and Vallen
Detailed reports on what’s happening in the Kingdom
Locking down valuable resources (Mithril, Adamantium, etc.)
The Keeper will meet us downstairs, and we will stay in the Capital for a day (we have rooms somewhere in the Tower)
