Chapter Nine – Attacks in the Servants’ Area
Vampire Spawn await our Heroes. What looks to be an ancient Spell book is spread open atop a small round table. Two mail clad Skeletons are bolted to the walls. They look menacing but are seemingly impotent. Ahead a stairways leads upwards into the darkness. To the right a door leads out into a courtyard cowering beneath the vast grim walls and towers of this vile place.
The book, however, is too fragile for even the nimblest fingers to unearth its crumbling, decayed secrets.
Then heavy footsteps approach, weapons are readied in anticipation, but it is Father Tobias who has returned seemingly unscathed but, worryingly, without Mirafir.
Once the excited babble has died down, the Cleric tells us of his own escape from the cunning trap.
The noble adventurer’s then press on – but not before Father Tobias asks if they had heard the sound of an alarm bell, which they had. The noble adventurer’s enter abandoned servants quarters; broken and rotted cots lay around their feet. Up a dark flight of stairs, yet more broken furniture awaits them, a sad bitter reminder of far happier days.
SERVANTS’ UPPER FLOOR:
Dirt-caked windows allow little light to enter this upstairs room. Broken bed frames and torn bits of mattress litter the floors.
A tall, dusty wardrobe roughly shaped like a coffin, its black doors painted with fantastical creatures, stands between two cracked, full-length mirrors hanging on the SOUTH wall.
A staircase descends along the NORTH wall.
Frimly and Galan take the lead, looking for Secret or Concealed Doors. Frimly carefully opens a promising looking wardrobe, only to be greeted by an unearthly spectacle as a ladies nightgown flies out and dances to the an ethereal rhythm that seemed to emanate from all around. But the dancing gown offered no harm and soon collapsed to the ground when brush as Thora walks past.
Thora and Sir Ly guard the staircase the unsettling sound of strange scrabbling noise coming from below. A vain attempt to ambush whatever is coming for them fails as the party is taken by surprise themselves by a quartet of emaciated Nosferatu creatures as they emerge, climbing up walls and over the balustrade. Father Tobias shouts a warning:
Father Tobias: “Beware these Vampire Spawn!”
A brutal battle ensues.
Galan is attacked by 2 Vampire Spawn and receives multiple blows from the them. Indeed one of these vile undead clings to him and bites into his neck. There is much flailing from the warriors but all bar Thira struggle to hit their enemy.
Finally the tide begins to turn but not before 2 Shadows appear on the stairway taking Sir Ly by surprise.
Sigune takes a savage assault and sustains a terrible bite from one of the Vampire Spawn.
Thora kills one of the other Vampire Spawn, while 2 other Vampire Spawn drag Galan over balustrade and they plunge 20’ feet below
Sir Ly is hit several times by the Shadows, creatures whose freezing touch sucks the very strength from a man.
Thora then dispatches the other Shadow.
Father Tobias leaps over balustrade to aid Galan using his ‘Boots of Levitation’ to avoid a heavy fall. Thora also runs to help.
Sir Ly is hit by the remaining Shadow for more strength loss.
Frimly too is hit by the Shadow, which suddenly flies up to the ceiling and avoids further damage before escaping out of the window.
On the stairway Galan, Thora and Sir Ly make quick work of the remaining 2 Vampire Spawns.
Plans are made to heal the savage wounds that Galan and Sigune have, in particular, taken. What effects the Vampiric bites may cause are not yet known.
Fortunately, it is understood that the debilitating loss of strength that the Shadows inflict are only temporary.
Galan recalls that such creatures, as these blood sucking Vampire Spawn, have the power to regenerate and that only a wooden stake, driven into their malodorous hearts, can finally destroy them. Such stakes are fashioned from the broken furniture that abounds. These are gleefully driven into the 4 Vampire Spawn.
The servants’ quarters are then thoroughly searched for secret doorways but nothing is found.
The adventurers choose to rest themselves and recoup their powers before continuing on.
But their respite is only temporary, half an hour of rest, and somehow a band of four Skeletons skitter up the stairway and attack the two on watch.
Maybe the Shadow had informed his Master?
Sigune tries to turn them but fails. Instead she spider climbs behind the bony brethren.
Fierce fighting on the stairs is followed by a successful turning by Father Tobias.
Though Sigune takes a heavy blow before 2 Skeletal Archers, are now visible to Sigune who cannot see into darkness like the other fair and foul folk, take position at the bottom of the stairs aiming their bone arrows at Sigune, one of which lodges agonisingly in her forearm. The archers are soon smashed.
Father Tobias tries to cut out the arrow splinters using Holy Water, which bubbles and froths, to hopefully heal the Unholy wound.
Upstairs, while all attention is focused upon their fleshless foes, Frimly spots the return of another, or the same, Shadow creature, which he wishes to ambush. But the creature does not attack and seems merely intent on gathering information…no doubt for his over-preened Master, Count Strahd.
It seems no rest can be gained in Castle Ravenloft and instead attention is turned to locating the errant wizard, Mirafir, whom more than one adventurer believes responsible for the bell ringing and subsequent Vampire Spawn attack
Thus Father Tobias intends to casts ‘Locate Object’ in an effort to find the missing mage. The Adventurers plan is to step out into the courtyard to help increase the range of Father Tobias’ spell.
