Dungeons and Dragons Day 19: Shaken Up Status Quo
New Alliances:
The party left the caves with the dreamscape experiences still on their minds. Or rather the Monk, Barbarian/Warlock and their new companion the Paladin did. The others still were no where to be found. After some initial suspicion, the two senior members of the group decided to give the Paladin a chance after a successful persuasion check. After all, having a Trollbreaker in the group had its perks.
While the Paladin returned to his house to report for real now, the rest returned to house Bronzebuckle. They left with a warning that Gonk, their ally might be a Wereboar. After being cleared to be at the council meeting and reporting about the Mindflayer, the group returned to the library. The Paladin who was versed in Dwarven Society joined them.
Startling News:
When they returned to the library, the headmaster had some startling news. The documents indicated a conspiracy that involved a mysterious benefactor called “H” Bronzebuckle might be framed for some crime while Minebuckle might have been doing some shady deals. Runebrewer had skeletons in its closet of course. Indeed the only trustworthy houses at this point were the Library, House Trollbreaker, House Icegut, and House Windmaul.
The Council Meeting:
Next the group finally got into the council meeting. The Paladin was a welcome sight, the others not so much. Notably House Runbrewer’s leader Daznock starting making accusations. These were countered by House Minebuckle’s Glafrel. Such an intense argument happened between these two leaders that Glafrel stormed out and did not return. Another notable event was that Queen Hespith asserted far more authority making the party much more suspicious of her.
Windmaul had some questions to discuss as did Bronzebuckle. Trollbreaker’s Lomduck added some input demonstrating that even though people found them silly, these were still powerful and dangerous Dwarves. Icegut said little but Daznock changed the conversation so that the party was involved. Asking them if they knew about the Vampire, the party perked up. Once he informed the group that in exchange for cooperation that he would remove the Death Knight’s spying enchantment, the party was ready to help.
What Daznock requested was that the party deal with the Vampire Antoinette. Thanks to a scrying spell, the head of this household had already located this deadly adversary. Eager to resolve this newest problem, and more importantly to be free of being spied on, the group set out. Gonk met them and joined the group on the way.
Vampire Lair:
Once inside the newest cave system to be explored, the group was greeted by a horde of Minotaur Skeletons. After the Barbarian/Warlock sent an owl as a distraction, the group gained the upper hand and crushed these creatures. The Monk got beat up quite a bit, but things could have turned out much worse.
Indeed, things did get nastier soon after as Antoinette decided to appear as an image. She wondered why they were causing trouble in her lair. The party said they were on the hunt for her. The Vampire found this absurd, reminding the group that none of the nobles could be trusted. They did not care and said they would kill her if it would resolve this conflict faster.
After Antoinette’s image faded the group entered another room. Within was an incredibly deadly enemy: A Flesh Golem. The Paladin could not even harm such a powerful monster and was forced to stay back while the Monk and Barbarian/Warlock did the fighting. Unfortunately, the Golem almost put the Barbarian/Warlock into the ground with its punishing blows. However, the party won out and ventured even further into the Vampire Lair.
Vampire Spawn:
Finally, only a portcullis stood between the group and Antoinette, but she had a surprise waiting for them. She was not to be their foe in this final room. Instead, Glafrel was. Turned into a Vampire Spawn, he begged the party to end his life. This did not stop their former friend from attacking them. They were happy to end his suffering, Gonk included. However, due to how he was slain, via energy blast, there was no body left behind.
However, instead the group found passes to a dinner party. Invited by Queen Hespith in fact! They also found a magical flail which the Paladin was happy to add to his collection. How Antonette possessed such items was a frightening problem. Even worse, the party had just killed a powerful noble leader. And with no body to show for it, they had no easy way to clear their names! They returned to the Dwarven City not sure what was to happen next.