![[Undead City]](city.jpg)
he next morning Kurik was gone. His bedroll and some of his equipment were on
the ground where he had lain, but there was no sign of him. His weapons, armor,
and other personal gear were also missing. There was no hint of a struggle, and
no tracks to follow. A brief search was mounted until Rosvenir's Finding
determined that Kurik was many miles distant in the direction the party had
been travelling. Rosvenir detected a magical barrier of the Mentalism realm
partially shielding Kurik's mind, apparently an (ineffective) attempt to block
the sort of scrying Rosvenir had used. The group quickly broke camp.
[Editor's note: Kurik's player was unable to attend the session, so no-one
was terribly surprised at Kurik's predicament.]
The swamp was fully as dreary and dismal as it had been the previous day. The stench, however, had surely gotten worse. After an unpleasant day of travel another reasonably solid island was located and camp constructed. The requisite attack came several hours before dawn. Twelve lizard men crept in from all sides, getting within fifty feet of the encampment before Rosvenir shouted a warning. Things happened quickly then. Mystical encased three of the lizard men in a cylinder of ice while the rest rushed forward to attack. Badly outclassed, the nine lizard men didn't last long. Mystical and Zem each parried three attackers, gradually whittling down their numbers. Haer's Sleep spells took several more out of the action. When six of the lizard men had been knocked unconscious or killed Rosvenir's Voice of Fear was sufficient to ruin the morale of those remaining, and they ran away as fast as their scaly legs would carry them.
Day 15
The following morning found the party back in the boats and paddling
in the direction which Haer and Kahlen remembered as leading to Acerak's Tomb.
The swamp seemed more dreary, and less light to penetrate the thick canopy than
the previous two days. After another hard day of rowing the group set up camp
on a somewhat smaller bank of dry land. Given the encounter of the previous
night, two guards were posted for each shift. Not that it did any good, of
course. The attack that night was more subtle than the two previous, and
targeted only Haer. It started as an exceptionally good dream involving a
female halfling well-endowed with luscious foot hair. The dream progressed to
activity which would not be suitable for this family oriented web site. Haer's
unconscious moans attracted Mystical's attention, and she noticed a shadowy
form crouching above him. Rushing forward she slashed the figure across the
chest, causing it to stumble back and promptly dematerialize into a vague mist.
It was a vampire.
The creature floated into the air. "You have gained the attention of the Dim Triad. Enjoy the dawn, you will not live to see another!" taunted the vampire, and flew away into the night. Haer had been bitten three times, draining a portion of his life force. The twin puncture wounds were spaced widely apart, indicating that this was a relatively old vampire. Kahlen healed the physical damage, but still Haer felt weakened.
There had been three pale humanoids in Kurik's vision about the disappearance of Count Hazendel. It seemed likely that these had been the Dim Triad, and that the disappearance of Count Hazendel was of greater importance than initially suspected. Mystical quickly recounted what she knew of the weaknesses of vampires: they cannot cross moving water, and sunlight damages them greatly. They are strongly resistant to magic, though elemental water and electrical attacks stand the best chance against them. They tend to be users of Mentalism magic, though spellcasters of other realms are not unknown. They can only be harmed by magical or silver weapons, or by being punctured with wood (not just through the heart). They need fresh blood at least once per night. A lesser vampire can go up to a month without feeding before falling into a blood fugue, a nightmarish state where they can not move but are tormented by dreams of blood. A greater vampire can go longer without feeding, though no one knows exactly how long.
Day 16-17
The next day passed uneventfully and another plot of dry land was
found to pitch camp on. With the threat of attack by the Dim Triad, extra
precautions were taken. Two guards were posted per shift, and Rosvenir kept a
Presence spell active all night. Early in the evening Rosvenir's spell
detected eight beings nearby. Everyone readied weapons and stood their ground.
The eight paused briefly, then continued on their way. The real threat came
later that night, when the spell detected three entities closing in at extreme
speed. Rosvenir did not have time to wake everyone, so he improvised: he used a
Wave spell to gather all of the stagnant water of the near vicinity into
an enormous tidal wave. The wave measured nearly 20 feet high and several
hundred feet wide, and efficiently sucked up all of the moisture in a half mile
radius. Hundreds of slimy fish and lizards, finding themselves out of the water
for the first time, flopped futilely in the muddy banks.
The thunderous crashing water and subsequent drenching woke the
rest of the party along with every other living thing within several miles
of the spot. Weapons drawn and defensive magics cast, they waited for the
attack... but none came. The unorthodox tactic had worked. A subsequent
Presence spell found the three beings hovering several hundred feet
away, forty feet above the still churning water. Rosvenir hoped that the
three were the Dim Triad, trapped due to a vampire's inability to cross
moving water. He cast a Whirlpool spell centered immediately below
the creatures, to keep the water moving so they would not escape.
Early draft of the RTOH Screenplay 56 EXT -- SWAMP NEAR TOMB OF HORRORS -- LATE NIGHT The contorted look on Zem's face reveals the inner conflict. Dim greenish light from the glowing sword casts an eerie glow to the scene as he resists its will. [[Alternate: if no special effects budget available, use a green flashlight off camera]] Wading into the swamp, Zem searches for something to satisfy its ravenous bloodlust. There is nothing. The sword chooses a target. Resisting with all his might, Zem is dragged back to the isle and towards Haer. [[Cut to brief closeup of Haer, with quizzical expression]]. Zem makes a clumsy swing at the thief, missing by inches. The sword wants blood, and Zem can no longer control it. With a mighty swing it arcs for the halfling, who dodges and rolls to one side. The sword is ready for this maneuver, and slices across Haer's rib cage on the backswing. It is a shallow cut, but satisfies the hunger of the blade. Zem is in control once more. [[Who should play Haer? Keanu Reeves said no halflings, might have to make Haer an elf instead if we want him.]]
Rosvenir no longer detected the three trapped beings. Somehow in the confusion they had escaped. As it was near dawn, the group broke camp and began to move. They planned to travel until a few hours from the location of the Tomb, and then make camp early so as to come upon it in daylight next. Thus, in late afternoon camp was set up on a grassy knoll affectionately christened Yasi Isle (for Yet Another Small Island). Amazingly, nothing attacked during the night. This was considered an ominous sign.
Day 18
The boats were launched at the crack of dawn. The plantlife in the
water was much denser in this part of the swamp, making paddling more difficult
and requiring frequent stops to free the boats from snags. Thus the party did
not arrive at the location of the Tomb until late afternoon. The area looked
nothing like it had twenty years before when Haer and Kahlen had last seen it.
On the hillock where the Tomb lay hidden a massive skull of blackish stone now
stood, inscribed deeply with strange glyphs and runes. A stone wall encircled
the area, with a gate of bone guarding the entrance. Inside the wall a squat
city had sprung up. The City sat on solid footing, but outside the wall a thick
layer of sargasso covered a moat of unknown depth. Several rowboats similar to
those of the party were beached on a sandbar at the edge of the sargasso.
Rosvenir's Finding spell placed Kurik at approximately the location of the stone skull. The boats were pulled up onto the sandbar, and after short discussion the group walked out onto the thick moss towards the City. The ground quivered a bit as they walked but the floating vegetation was dense enough to support their weight, until the undead monstrosities reached up from underneath that is. The zombies grabbed Mystical and Endira, trying to pull them beneath the surface. Both teleported a short distance away. Five grinning undead jumped up to the floating vegetation and attacked, while another three remained below to try to drag people beneath the water. Zem slashed and parried three of those on the surface, while Haer took out a fourth with a sling bullet. Mystical spread her demonic wings and took to the sky, swooping down to decapitate one ghoul. Rosvenir repeatedly sent Starbolts crashing into another of the foul things.
Always eager to take the fight to the enemy, Zem took a deep breath and jumped through a hole in the moss, casting spells to allow free movement and vision underwater as he did. The remaining undead followed him under. Most of the rest of the party had gone airborne, and could not tell exactly what was happening below. Zem parried off attacks from five of the creatures, killing one while his Holy Attack spell made two more implode. He probably should have cast a spell for water breathing instead. After a few rounds of combat he lapsed into unconsciousness.
From the air above, Mystical had used Detect Life to pick out Zem in the mass of creatures below. Not knowing what odds he faced, Mystical decided to pull him out via telekineses. Zem's limp form burst through the moss just as the water began to froth and bubble madly. She held Zem upside down and got him breathing again before he suffered any real harm from the lack of oxygen.
The battered group flew across the remaining distance and landed on a sandy bank outside of the City walls to recuperate. Freed from Zem's control the sword fought on, decimating the undead. Not satisfied with the lifeless energy of the ghouls it flew from beneath the waters and zoomed towards the party, choosing Mystical as its target this time. She parried the dancing blade away until Endira was able to calm the sword with a bardic spell. It dropped to the ground, sated once more.