Excerpted from the journal of Etaf
Gerin
August 10, 1377 (The Year of the Haunting)
Restored after a night’s rest,
we ventured back into the water-filled room and swam out to the underwater
portal (or in the cleric’s case, sank). Omiata went through first, followed by
Friar Francis, but when the rest of us tried to follow, the portal was shut! We
did our best to open it, but nothing was working…and then suddenly we were
through the portal into the ethereal plane! After emerging, we saw dead rogue and
a cleric holding off a group of undead and a fire elemental. After making quick
work of the monsters, Francis raised the elf, who told us that he’d been
trapped on this side of the portal, but was able to ring his Chime of Opening
before succumbing to the undead attack, allowing us to come through.
The rogue’s death was not in
vain, as those same undead also released the ghost of another adventurer, who
had been killed in a prior attempt to attack Artor Morlin. She provides us with some useful information about Artor’s lair, including a way to avoid his guardian phase
spiders. There is an amulet held by Medachei, one of Artor’s thralls, that will tame
the beasts.
In the next room, we found a
pile of smoldering coals, which when disturbed drew the attention of Artor’s steed, a nightmare. What promised to be a long and
dangerous battle became a simple matter when Francis called on Lathlander to
banish the evil back to whence it came. With the nightmare gone, we moved on.
Next we came to a closed door
that the rogue refused to open, after hearing snake-like sounds on the other
side. Francis, after praying for some time, determined that on the other side
was an undead creature – but not just any undead. This was a vampire gorgon, especially
dangerous with her stony gaze and vampiric strength
and speed. Hiding our eyes, we entered the room, using shiny objects as mirrors
to look around – a shield, a bit of metal, or (in the rogue’s case) a spatula.
But we saw nothing – she could also turn invisible! Before long, though, she
revealed her presence by attacking her biggest threat – Friar Francis. Fortunately,
Lathander was with him, and he was not badly hurt.
Before she could attack again, I quickly cast a spell to bring her under my
control.
The vampire gorgon, it turned
out, was none other than Medachei. Under the
influence of my Command Undead spell, she happily gave the amulet to Friar
Francis, and told us all she knew of Artor Morlin’s traps. She was unwilling to aid us any further,
though; having been raised from a small girl by Artor,
then turned into a vampire to serve him, the loyalties
and fear ran too deep to be overcome. We left her with strict orders not to let
anyone pass behind us, and moved on.
As we approached Artor’s lair, we looked to Francis for the amulet – but found
it missing! After a futile search, and even checking with Medachei,
we decided to continue onward. Entering the vampire’s lair, we find him and 3
phase spiders, waiting for us – of course he had been aware of our presence for
some time. Francis destroyed one spider quickly, and the monk and dwarf engaged
Artor, but the rogue went to the other 2 spiders –
and produced the amulet! Ignoring Omiata and his eight-legged friends, the rest
of us attacked Artor with everything we had. He stood
no chance, especially once the monk tripped him and pummeled him mercilessly as
he lay on the ground.
Our victory left all of us in
a good mood, enough that we let Omiata’s amulet theft
go. After leaving the ethereal plane, I sealed the gate behind us, leaving Medachei there, for visiting a vampire gorgon on the world
was not something I’d like on my conscience. Returning to Waterdeep,
we collected a reward from Corinna at the Spires of
Morning – well, everyone but Francis, who donated his to the temple. We decided that a little well-earned rest and
relaxation was in order, and went our separate ways in the city.
August 20, 1377 (The Year of the Haunting)
We were well rewarded by the grateful
residents of Waterdeep for removing the vampire threat
from their midst.
§
BadAxe received the Ancient Blood-Cry Hammer, a legendary
dwarven weapon of great power.
§
Omiata kept the
amulet we found in Artor’s lair,
and one of the phase spiders as well, to serve as a mount. He has four arms
now, but then he’s always been a little strange.
§
The church
rewarded Francis’ generous donation by awarding him an angelhelm,
a headpiece of great holy power.
§
I read a Tome of
Intellect that we’d found in Artor’s lair, finding
many new methods by which to improve my thought processes. I also joined the
Watchful Order of Magistes and Protectors at the
All was well for a tenday as we rested, upgraded our equipment, and enjoyed the
fruits of our labors. But no good time lasts for long, not for adventurers in Faerűn.
On the tenth day, I received a frantic mental summons from Dreiw.
Our keep was under siege…
Last updated 03-30-2007 by Skip Franklin