After we lost sight of Peirce, we heard screaming on our side of the river. Turning to it, we saw Amelia, a bit freaked out at being suddenly back alive. Her God can be a forgiving God as long as you intend to draw it more blood. Distracted by this, we only noticed Peirce had gotten out of the river when he walked up next to us, water running out of his many compartments and crevices.
There was only one way to go; a large tunnel stretched before us. We didn’t get far down it before we found the ruins of a campsite. There was a fire that had been lit recently and contained some journal pages that someone had tried to burn. The fire was cold to the touch. There were three tents, one of which had been ripped to shreds, including the bedding inside. Clear signs of a struggle.
I read the journal pages. I couldn’t make out much, but I gathered that there had been five dwarves from Dvokka Kenstadht, that there were tensions in the city, and they were an exploratory band that kept getting pushed to go further and further into dangerous places looking for resources. This was the furthest they’d ever come. I found another page that said most of the party had been lost after “they” came in the night.
I relayed this to the party. Morwena asked that, should any of us ever keep a journal, or write about our journeys, that we make sure to include details.
I promise Morwena, if we get ambushed by something in the night and I live to tell of it, I’ll include as much detail as I can.
The experience with the river had tired us out. We debated using the ready-made camp, but the clear evidence of a struggle gave us pause. Amelia, having calmed down a bit, used her supernatural senses to see if she could detect any evil presence near us.
There was something evil, and not much further down the tunnel.
We followed the tunnel on and found some crudely carved steps leading up. Eventually this led us into another cave, where we found some fresh blood, and some cold dried blood, and some bones. After a moment of taking it in, we were challenged by a dwarf wearing full armour.
‘She came in the night! We were told we have no choice.’
Morwena threw a marble at it.
Everyone else readied their spells. Reth’s fireball did plenty to stop it but it really hated the daylight that Amelia had cast. Dying and returning had apparently rid Amelia of the vampirism that Clara had quickened in her, the same vampirism torturing the poor dwarf that we were putting to rest.
It didn’t last long. Between the heavy spells from my companions and my own enraged blows we put him out of his misery quickly. To see a dwarf so stricken upset me greatly; first exploited by a bloodsucker of a merchant and then further used by a bloodsucker of more magical means. As we rained fire on him he cried out, ‘She dragged us away in the night and turned us! Our job is just to stop you following.’
When it was over, he was but a pile of ash, and a mithril shirt. I left Peirce to appraise it while I took some of the ash and scattered it in the river while I said a dwarven prayer I picked up during my mercenary days.
After this, we made camp. I dreamed of an orchestra playing a tune that shimmered like sun on water. I woke up and I was still underground, but at least we hadn’t been ambushed by vampires in the night, unlike those poor dwarves.
We investigated the chamber we’d fought the vampire dwarf in. We found some large steps that curved around and back towards the river and past where it became a waterfall. Reth recognised them as being carved by giants. Following further, we came to another junction. Down one, we could make out what looked like an underground lake, so we took that path first.
Amelia immediately went up to the water’s edge and threw in a marble, trying to sense if there was any magic to the water. She didn’t need to wait long for an answer; the water lashed out at her, and took shape along the shore. We had awakened three water elementals.
Morwena heard one of them say, ‘You defile our sacred lake!’
We rushed forwards to join Amelia in combat, or at least help her get out of trouble. I didn’t know what to do except flail at them with my longswords – have you ever tried to cut water? Reth had a bit more luck with a lightning based spell, but it hurt Amelia, too. Peirce had an even more absurd job than me; at least I had a weapon, he was simply punching the water.
Amelia tried her shape water, but succeeded only in taking a small portion of the lake and dumping it on the ground next to us, the elementals untroubled by it.
We heard Morwena attempting to treat with the creatures. They seemed to calm slightly, so we backed off, and the further we got away from their lake, the happier they looked. We all made it back from the shore, only slightly worse for wear.
Morwena said, ‘I always knew that water creatures were better than land creatures.’
A sea-elf would say that, wouldn’t they? I don’t suppose I blame her.
She asked the elementals if they had seen anyone else pass by.
‘The dwarves came from the North and the undead forced them back.’
We thanked them and went back to the junction, to follow the other path down some more giant steps. We found a crack in the wall, and five coffins behind it. A mausoleum!
Amelia and Peirce used their magical sense. There was more magic in the air, and at least four undead creatures.