Bala's Role-playing Blog: Faalor V, Chapter Two (July 8, 2006)

Faced with the capture of Mary Reed, Gregory Oak, Rilen Gadeli, and Valdo Bross, the party made it’s way back to the beach cave for some planning. It was decided that Kala and Cyril would go to the giants and see if they wouldn’t help attack the barbarians. It wasn’t hard to convince the giants’ leader that the barbarians had planned an attack on them and, in turn, the giants should retaliate.

With one of the lead giants as a shock trooper, the party quickly overcame the majority of the barbarian guards, who had arrayed themselves at the mouth of their cave. Meanwhile, Jack snuck into the cave to find the captured members of the party harassing their guards. Unfortunately, the barbarian leader, a descendant of the vampire Serrakh, escaped with the Barovian flame sword that Rilen had claimed for his own.

Quickly healing up, the party decided to press on to find and destroy the vampire lord who, it was said, was waking this very night. A few barbarians were found along the way, but resistance was relatively light (thanks, in part, to the mysterious gnome).

Once the party entered the lower levels of the vampire’s lair, it was clear that the architecture was an ancient elven-Teussian effort. Small patches of Stydroidus Kampi waited patiently for the party to attack and then retaliate by spewing their noxious gas. A strange doorway blocked the party's progress, but when the key was finally found undead waited.

In the final level, Cyril was paralyzed by a fleeing undead as he tried to open it's final resting place. A lone coffin waited in the next area, and the party found a diary ("Vlora's Diary") that read:

I start this diary as a record of my progress in this strange land.

The Mists have seen fit to remove me from the Core and bring me to an unknown land called Faalor. Nice enough place except that the bard and his lapdog have followed me.

(pages of meaningless pining for "home")

Our kind seems to be fairly rare here, but apparently, I am not alone in my transportation to this realm. Others, weaker now, have followed. This isn't a bad thing, yet, I must cull the herd of my weaker siblings or I run the risk of tipping off the locals. But one such fool taught me a valuable lesson.

I cannot be killed by traditional means!!! A stake does not truly harm me. The Mists have give me power to survive anything on Faalor. Who knows? Maybe I can survive even the sun's rays!

(page or two about how she lived in Bridalveil and Gundar)

The elves seem to be a bit different here. At home, they confine themselves to Soth's lands, but here it seems they plan to usurp human rule-most unnatural, if you ask me. I killed three for fun as they snuck through the woods. Wonder it was that their leader proved to be an incredible diversion!

The "Opposition" as they call themselves plan on waking one of my kind. This youngster of a Prince (supposedly only 200 years old) is in torpor on a pathetic island far away from food or pleasure. This elfling spell-flinger, he tells me, plans on waking a new vampire lord of Faalor, an old time warrior from "long ago". Strangely, this elf DOES exert some power over me, not that I couldn't snap his neck like a twig.

Amazingly, this "powerful" vampire lord is completely cowed by the elf. Even the stronger, yet younger vampires in Faalor quake at Verlydaar's power. While I wait on this cursed Island, I plan on finding out exactly the nature of that power.

Then, the party came upon the tomb of Serrakh himself. Quickly, Rilen pushed through the magical barrier and stabbed the slumbering creature. Meanwhile, some of the others discovered a strange gem held in a stone claw. Kala smashed it before anyone could react. But the mission was accomplished: Serrakh had met his final death.

The party made it back to their temporary home at the beach cave where the mysterious gnome finally found them. In short, the gnome told them of a teleporter found underground beyond the giants' land. He said that the cave was used by Vraalrym the Red some time ago as he rested from destroying the human-elven settlement on the island. Below that lie a series of old elven ruins, now held by the Splurgorth, what he called "degenerate elves".

Characters attending today's game: