Blood Brook

[TigerHunter]

Two Months Ago

Joren Lars stared angrily at the broken trap. It was the third one today he'd found like this. He'd seen this before; some animal had figured out how to get at the bait without getting caught in the trap. He'd have to kill it himself. Something to keep him occupied for a few days.

He stowed the remains of the trap in his sack and drained the last of his water. It was getting dark. But the river wasn't far, he could refill his waterskin and still be back at the cabin by sundown.

--

He had underestimated. The entire valley was bathed in shadow by the time he reached the river's edge, soon it would be completely dark. He'd never be able to find his way back. And the wolves were out. He'd have to camp at the river's edge until sunrise. He could hear a waterfall to the north, perhaps he'd find a cave nearby.

--

No such luck. The waterfall seemed to pour straight from a hole in the otherwise solid cliff face. And now it was fully dark. He strung his bow and sat down against the wall.. It was going to be a long night.

--

He woke with a start. It was bright again. The birds were singing. He must have dozed off during second watch. He cursed loudly, startling a few of the birds into flight. He went to rise... which was when he saw that the waterfall was red.

He blinked. He briefly thought that it must be a trick of the light, but he gradually realized that the waterfall, and the pool below it that trickled towards the river, were both dark red. It was as if blood was pouring from the cliff. Without regard for caution, he cupped his hands and sipped from it.

It tasted like blood too.

Joren ran.

--

One Week Ago

"We do not have the men to spare."

"But Your Holiness-"

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

"I am no heretic, Your Holiness, but I really must-"

"Silence. I have heard your plea and I have denied it. There is nothing more to discuss."

Brother Harbane made his goodbyes and exited His Holiness the Fourteenth Protector's sanctum. That was it, then. There was no help coming from the Protectorate. When the vampires heard of Joren Lars' discovery, Pine Valley would stand alone.

Perhaps they already knew, and were entering the valley even now.

His escort waited outside the building. He said nothing to them. They could see everything on his face. Wordlessly, they mounted their horses. The Valley would need every man it could muster.

--

Now

Brother Harbane gazed at the north entrance to Pine Valley - what used to be his home. Some dying part of him knew that he should feel something, but inside him all was quiet. He felt… dead. And in many ways, he was. Even the pleasure he got from serving his new master was meager and unsatisfying.

The force he was now a part of was a thousand men strong, though before his death he would have objected to the use of the word "men". They were all spawn - mindless drones under the control of the the vampires that had led them here. There were three of them. Niru was Harbane's new master. He and the one called Renfeld both served Viro, who had mustered this force the moment he'd heard the news from Harbane's blue lips.

Harbane felt himself being urged forward. He and the others spurred their mounts in robotic synchrony. The main force had hidden itself behind a rocky outcropping. The sentries would allow Harbane and his escort to pass unmolested.

The group advanced wordlessly, utterly apathetic about the fate they were dooming their friends and families to.

[Jallorn]

Niru inhaled deeply, say what you will about undead, vampires were entirely different. With the exception of a few sensations, you got to experience most of the same things, and he appreciated them more. He'd always heard vampires, like other undead were unfeeling monsters, but that just wasn't true.

He shifted in his saddle, smoothing out a wrinkle in his nice red shirt. He liked the color red, it made him feel more alive. All his clothes were nice, like other vampires he insisted on being comfortable and looking nice, when you got a second chance at life, you didn't waste it. Remember, he hissed at his thralls, you met me on the road and recommended coming here because I was clearly sick.

[TigerHunter]

Ten men, armed with bows and wooden spears, stand at attention behind a crude waist-high wall. They allow you to approach to within ten yards before calling for you to halt.

"Brother Harbane. Identify this stranger."

[Jallorn]

We found him, he's sick, so we brought him here.

Bluff check: [roll0]

[TigerHunter]

The challenger - presumably the captain - nods, and gives some sort of signal to his men. Three of them put down their spears and begin to create a gap in the wall for the horses to walk through. "What news from His Holiness?"

[Jallorn]

No one's coming. After his long years as a vampire, though he's still young by most standards, Niru has learned that spawn should say as little as they can get away with, plus in this instance, it makes him sound bitter.

[TigerHunter]

The captain shakes his head. "We'll manage, I guess. Joren may be a crazy old coot, but that mind of his has been a godsend recently. Just as well, since the gods have no other aid to offer." He spits contemptuously on the ground. "How are your provisions? We've been stockpiling food and water, and you must be tired."

[Jallorn]

I think we're okay for now, and I'd rather not draw upon the resources unless I have to.

[TigerHunter]

"Suit yourself. Your companion should really drink something, though. He looks like death." The captain offers Niru his waterskin.

[Jallorn]

Niru looks up with a confused look, I'm not thirsty mommy.

[TigerHunter]

"Oh, but I insist." The captain splashes some of the water on you. It burns like acid. The sentries are suddenly fully alert and armed.

You probably saw this coming, so no surprise round. You win initiative.

[Jallorn]

The spawn draw their weapons to "attack" Niru, but he turns into a bat before they can get to him and he flies away.

[TigerHunter]

You hear shouts and the twang of bows. An arrow flies past you. You easily maneuver out of the way of the captain's spear, only for another arrow to tear through the thin membrane of your wing. The sentries appear confused. Some of them attack Harbane and his party even while others look to them for aid. Harbane himself parries a thrust from a spear, while four of the archers fire a volley. Three of the arrows miss, but the fourth stakes one of Harbane's escort straight through the heart. He topples off of his horse, slain. Five of the archers begin to knock another arrow, while another grabs a horn and lifts it to his lips.

Take 5 damage. There are six archers, the rest of them have wooden spears.

[Jallorn]

Niru wings over the archers, unleashing a mental scream, as his thralls drop to the ground, still trying to appear innocent.

Move action to reach within 15 feet of the archers, then manifesting Mental Disruption (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/SRD:Mental_Disruption) at them. Will negates, DC 16.

[TigerHunter]

The archers lower their bows (and one horn) with quizzical looks on their faces.

"What are you doing?!" the captain bellows, ostensibly at no one. "Get the vamp!" Seeing that Harbane and his escort are not fighting them, the sentries break away from them and charge you, swinging their spears wildly like staves. With your small size, you easily dodge their blows.

[Jallorn]

Once again, Niru unleashes a mental blast at the soldiers, before flying for the nearest cover.

So yeah, Mental Disruption.

[TigerHunter]

The soldiers adopt the same slack-jawed expression as the archers. You quickly bolt for the safety of the pine trees.

[Jallorn]

Niru hides himself among the trees, as one of the thralls raises his head, Is it gone?

[TigerHunter]

The soldiers begin to shake off their confusion. "For now," the captain says. He looks at the archer with the horn, who is standing slack-jawed. "What are you waiting for? There's a vampire in the valley." The archer begins to raise the horn to his lips again.

[Jallorn]

Seeing the man raise the horn, Niru moves closer to the men, and fires a blast of heat towards him, attempting to pierce the horn as well.

Energy Ray: Ranged Touch Attack: [roll0]
Damage (fire): [roll1]

[TigerHunter]

The heat ray misses the horn, striking the archer clear in the chest. He screams and collapses, with the horn falling to the ground. His fellows give a yell, and loose their arrows in your general direction. One of them gets lucky and strikes true. The captain angrily shoves his waterskin in Harbane's face as the other spearmen gather threateningly around the party. "Drink."

[Jallorn]

Niru fires another blast off at the water bottle, this time a freezing blast.

touch attack: [roll0]
damage:[roll1]

[TigerHunter]

The blast shoots harmlessly past the group, covering a pile of pine needles with frost. The captain stares at the patch, then at the waterskin, then deep into Harbane's dead eyes.

"Kill them."

The soldiers thrust with their weapons, but they are easily batted aside by your spawn.

[Jallorn]

Niru flies back in, resuming humanoid form as he leaps for the captain. The remaining spawn go for the nearest others.

Spawn 1:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] and Energy Drain (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/SRD:Vampire_Spawn)

Spawn 2:
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] and Energy Drain

Spawn 3:
Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5] and Energy Drain

Spawn 4:
Attack: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7] and Energy Drain

Niru:
Slam Attack: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9] and Energy Drain (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/SRD:Vampire)

[TigerHunter]

You slam into the ground, hard. Three of your spawn strike their targets, and three of the spearmen fall to the ground. The archers fire another volley, and they strike true: you and Harbane are both hit, and one of your spawn takes two arrows in the chest.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Jallorn]

Niru pulls the arrow out, and then leaps at the captain, aiming for the man's neck. Harbane heads for the horn, and the other three spawns head for the archers.

Grapple Check: [roll0]
Blood Drain Damage: [roll1] Con Damage

Spawn 1:
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] and Energy Drain

Spawn 2:
Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5] and Energy Drain

Spawn 3:
Attack: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7] and Energy Drain

[TigerHunter]

Three of the archers go down. The other two turn and run deeper into the valley.

[Jallorn]

Niru continues to draw blood from the captain, as Harbane spears the water bottle, and the other spawn grab bows and each fire an arrow at the fleeing men.

Grapple: [roll0]
[roll1] Con damage

Spawn 1:
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

Spawn 2:
Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

Spawn 3:
Attack: [roll6]
Damage: [roll7]

[TigerHunter]

Both men stumble as the arrows strike true, but they remain upright and continue to flee. The captain ceases his struggling. You feel his mind assimilate into your own. He is now your loyal servant.

[Jallorn]

The spawn knock arrows and fire again, the first two fire at the same target, whichever has been hit only once. Harbane hands the horn to the captain.

[TigerHunter]

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[roll4]
[roll5]

One of the arrows misses its mark, but the second arrow brings down the archer. The other archer takes the third arrow in the leg. He stops, briefly, before continuing to flee - but much more slowly and with a limp.

Through the ears of your spawn, you can hear your master's impatient voice. "What is going on, Niru? I was expecting a report as soon as you passed the sentries."

[Jallorn]

We've encountered a bit of a problem, lord, but I think we can work around it.

[TigerHunter]

"Should I advance the rest of the army?"

[Jallorn]

Not yet lord, I believe we still have the element of surprise.

[TigerHunter]

"Then the plan remains intact. I will have Renfeld break off." Viro nods at Renfeld, who transforms himself into a hawk and takes off towards the south. All but one of his Spawn break ranks with the others and run after their master at a full sprint. They will reach the southern entrance to the valley in a few hours; just in time to launch a flanking assault should things not go as planned here at the north entrance.

[Jallorn]

Nodding to himself, Viro heads for the remaining sentry, while his spawn head for town. His presence clued them off once, so now he'll simply take out the last witness. Make a game of it, and get a new toy too.

[TigerHunter]

Seeing you coming, the sentry begins running desperately, still limping. Despite his best effort, you easily overtake him.

[Jallorn]

Do you fear death? Or perhaps you fear the mindless obedience like those shells over there? I'll be honest with you, there's no real difference. The people those used to be are dead. But perhaps I can offer you another choice. You'd be surprised how useful you can be to me as a human. And if you serve faithfully, I might even make you a vampire one day.

[TigerHunter]

"Die... abomination..." the archer lunges at you with an arrow, but it breaks on your toughened skin.

[Jallorn]

Well, I shall have you tell your family that you went out fighting bravely then. Niru leaps on the man, drawing the blood necessary to make him a spawn.

[TigerHunter]

You feel the man's memories take their places in your mind. You get brief flashes of this poor soldier's life as your mind sorts these out. It recognizes these memories as foreign and blocks them off to prevent them from affecting subconscious thought. You'll have to concentrate in order to learn the contents of his memories, but his mind is completely yours.

[Jallorn]

Niru generally prefers to converse with his spawn, it's less... invasive. That is, he feels more in control when he avoids letting the other being's mind flood his. Are there any other sentries who might find out about my little invasion?

[TigerHunter]

"No. We're the only group allowed out past the main wall."

[Jallorn]

Good, come on, we're going to stand watch outside the gates, let me know if we get too close though.

[TigerHunter]

You follow your Spawn down into the valley. The pass widens as you travel, but is still narrow enough to restrict the movements of an attacking army. Dry leaves crunch beneath underneath your feet as you pass through the pine trees. Finally, your newest Spawn motions for you to stop.

"Unless they've altered their plans, the wall should be just ahead. If we get any closer, they'll hear us. And there was talk of clearing away the trees in front of the wall, so they'd be able to see us too."

[Jallorn]

Alright, you two, Niru points at the newest ones, stay here, the rest of you go on in.

[TigerHunter]

Harbane and his escort, less one, spur their horses onward. After a minute or so, they find their path blocked by a sturdy-looking wooden wall twice as high as a man. Evidently the valleymen never got around to making that clearing. The wall is lined with archers, all of whom have knocked arrows and taken aim at the group. One of them begins to call out what sounds like a challenge, but is stopped by a man in leather armor. You can feel that Harbane recognizes him.

"Welcome back, Brother Harbane. Just a moment and we'll have the gate open for you." He jumps down, leaving the archers to look at each other confusedly. "First, though, I'm supposed to ask you to drink some of this holy water," he says, drawing a waterskin. "Sign of the times, I guess." He puts on a forced smile as he offers Harbane the skin.

[Jallorn]

Get back here dratted flies! yells Niru as he rushes out towards the spawn.

He's back! cries Harbane in a panicked voice, He's been chasing us for days. Got one a while back.

[TigerHunter]

The archers react slowly. They figure out what's going on quickly enough, but even those who have line of sight are slow to spot you among the pines. What they lack in reaction time, they make up for in aim - the very first arrow strikes you slightly to the right of the center of your chest. An inch left and the wooden shaft would have lodged in your heart, killing you instantly. Slightly humbled, you take care to avoid the next few shots, most of which fly past you harmlessly. One lodges itself in your leg.

On the ground, the captain's eyes go wide. He apparently left his weapons on top of the wall. He runs to the gate and begins pounding on it desperately. "Let me in! As your commander, I demand that you open the gate and let me in!"

[Jallorn]

Niru shouts up at the archers, You lot are safe, it's those four I want. Simultaneously, he forces the air around his body to thicken, forming a protective barrier.

Manifesting Inertial Armor as a Standard action, cost: 1PP (gives me +4 armor bonus to AC.

[TigerHunter]

The archers ignore your words and continue to fire, though their arrows do nothing against your shield. You can hear a heated argument on the other side of the gate, then a creak as it opens slightly. The captain immediately squeezes through the gap.

[Jallorn]

Niru rushes forwards as his spawn try to follow the captain.

[TigerHunter]

The gate slams shut just as you reach it, your Spawn safely on the other side. Two short horn blasts sound - somebody must have finally had the presence of mind to sound an alarm. More fighters begin appearing on the ramparts.

[Jallorn]

I'll be back for them! Niru yells up at the wall as he retreats. Meanwhile, the spawn try and get lost in the commotion.

[TigerHunter]

Unfortunately, there's no commotion for them to sneak away in. Behind the wall is a raised platform for the archers to stand on. There are no other walls, but the platform is held up by a series of evenly-spaced columns. The area around the gate is clear except for a small contingent of spearmen. Most of them are standing with a bemused look, a few are angrily leveling their spears, and one is standing at attention doing a poor job of hiding a smile. "Orders, sir?"

The captain stares off into space, a look of relief on his face, before snapping back to reality. "At ease." He takes notice of the ones angrily leveling their spears. "All of you." Most of the men obey, but one keeps his spear pointed at Harbane.

"Sir, have these men been tested?"

"I said at ease." The soldier looks for a moment as if he's simply going to drive his spear through Harbane's heart, but finally complies. "Thank you," the captain says, turning to Harbane. "Now, if you don't mind, he has a point." He offers you the waterskin a second time.

[Jallorn]

Naturally, Niru is disappointed that his plan didn't work, but still, ideas abound. How about a fire? A bolt of energy flies towards the wall, alighting the wall with heat.

Energy Ray (Fire) 3 PPs
Touch Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[TigerHunter]

The ray strikes the gate, causing its surface to break into flame. The fire is not immediately noticeable to those on the other side, however.

[Jallorn]

From the forest, Niru calls out, You will all burn for taking my prey from me!

[TigerHunter]

"Heh. I wonder what he's yammering on about." The man's smile droops a little bit for every second you refuse to accept the water. One of the men places his hand against the door, feeling for heat. He seems to have noticed something.

[Jallorn]

Harbane reaches out to take the water, then looks at the man by the gate, What is it?

BLUFF CHECK!!: [roll0]

[TigerHunter]

The captain glances at you suspiciously, but turns to the soldier as well. "Yes, what is it?"

"The wood's hot here. I think it's on fire."

[Jallorn]

What do we do? Harbane asks the captain.

[TigerHunter]

"Please. Drink. Monty, have someone-" A shout of "Fire!" from upstairs interrupted the captain, who motioned the men around him to go put it out. "They'll take care of it. But please drink. For me."

[Jallorn]

Harban takes the water, raises it to drink, then turns his head and cough, simultaneously covering the hole. He then proceeds to "drink" from the waterskin.

Bluff: [roll0]

[TigerHunter]

The captain seems visibly relieved. "I'm sorry, old friend, I just thought... never mind. You're free to head on into town, I should go help put out that fire." The captain runs off. A few of the other soldiers glance at you suspiciously, but make no motion to intercept you.

[Jallorn]

Harbane leads his group deeper into town, thinking about the design as he does.

[TigerHunter]

The wall appears to have been built at the very edge of the forest, since there are no trees to obstruct your view of the town. The path - it's a bit narrow to be called a proper road - into the town is flanked on both sides by a crude catapult, likely of recent construction. The town itself is a few hundred feet past the wall, and consists of a few dozen wood cabins lining both sides of the path. The same setup can be seen on the other side of the river. A wooden bridge connects both sides of the town. Two men appear to be lowering a net off of it; the town likely subsists on fish and whatever can be gathered from the pine forests. Besides those two, the town appears to be deserted. All of the inhabitants have likely fled or are guarding one of the two entrances to the valley. You estimate that there are maybe a hundred cabins in total.