Lan gave his companions a brief glance before observing the massive door in front of him.  He shivered in the cold rain, soaked to his bones and muttering under his hood.  He had noticed the shadows dancing on the window overhead, but ignored them.  It was time to get out of the rain.  Without waiting for his companions and completely unaware of the danger inside the Keep, Lan placed both hands on the doors and gave a mighty heave, unsure how heavy the doors may be.

The door gave way, and Lan wasted no time entering the Keep.  Now shivering uncontrollably, Lan threw the hood from his head and stamped his soaked boots.  "By all the g-gods!" a string of curses followed, and not quietly.  "If it isn't c-c-colder than a witch's t-..." his voice trailed, reminded of present company.  Glancing red-faced toward Ayleth he quickly caught himself and promptly finished, "-oe.  I was going to say toe."

Lan cleared his throat.  He began to survey his surroundings, advancing into the room a few steps.  He kept a wary hand on the pommel of one of his daggers.  "Where is everyone?"  He shook himself violently, trying vainly to rid himself of these shivers.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Tue 05 May 2015.

My eyes closed, my fur wet by rain, dirty in the mud, is a perfect camouflage in the darkness of the dark forest. The few rays of light that penetrate the undergrowth are not enough to determine whether it is day or night, just my instinct can help me to find the right path. I am aware, all my senses focused on the darkness and gloom. Sniffing the breeze hoping to find a familiar smell, a smell that guide me through the maze of trees, humidity, mud and darkness. I have learned to enjoy the silence and loneliness, I have learned to listen in loneliness, to feel in loneliness, and silence somehow has become a comrade of life.

I open my eyes ... I start walking through the grass and mud, quietly, careful, stealthy, not to break the silence that protects me of the unknown.

Two glowing lights peered out from the darkness, they continued to move forwards revealing a worn helm. The spectral knight Zigor re-sheathed his sword upon recognizing the trio, "Oh... You survived... and made it out here, what luck you must have, and I as well."  His words rang as hollow as his body.

"Well, I suppose we ought find you some of the flying beasties to draw you lot a hot bath and tend a fire then? Oy, you've got a few more guests here!" The ghost turned his attention to the kitchen way and called out into the darkness.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:27, Thu 07 May 2015.

Lan shook himself again, sputtering.  He said nothing, just glanced in the direction that the knight had called.  He glanced backward to Ayleth, "Flying beasties?" he muttered, puzzled.

"We most go to the North."

I said, and started to walk slowly in that direction, looking at each person in the eyes, attentive to any change in the hostile and unfamiliar environment of the forest.

Soon enough Karath's group reached the keep, just in time for the storm to quell to a sprinkle. An explosion of bats left to the skies soon after, disappearing to all directions of the forest. "Look! It's the others!" Millie offered, spotting the crowd in the open entryway.

A few bats of the hundreds did stay behind from the hunt though, not vampiric, but fruit bats; including the young citrus-named one the other group had rescued, flew into the grand hall to answer the call. "Hello. Um, are you more friends?"

"Is everyone allright?"

I shake my wet fur, I splashed water around, water and mud. While I wait for the answer to my question, I see the new site we have reached. I try to find a good place to camp, restoring forces dry off. I put all my senses on this task.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 12:40, Wed 13 May 2015.

"Alright?" The dead soldier's laugh echoes form its armor around the hall "Well, the others are alive, or at least they were when they turned in." The red lights in the helm turned upwards towards towards the stairs in the center of the hall "Probably asleep by now, I'd guess. Though on the other hand the littler cat seems to have taken a shine to a promising new recruit we've picked up... Bah, now I've been infected by such vulgar minded drivel being among you mortals too long. Go ahead and get your rooms from the animals already if that make you feel at ease."

"Umm, about that... Well, I heard from the eldest that we kinda have an emergency and no one can go up right now... but like, you could stay with us in the cave maybe? We're working on it... but we kinda um..." The young bat stammered shyly, but finally blurted out the main problem. "Could you maybe perhaps spare some blood for Countess? She woke up and she's really thirsty and breaking a lot of stuff right now."

Lan blinked.  He noticed Kerath and the others join them but didn't get a chance to greet them before the fruit bat said something about a bloody-thirsty countess.  His ears twiched, almost as if he believed he'd heard wrong.  "What?" he said numbly, his hands falling to his side.  "Blood... thirsty?" He cast a darkened look to the spectral knight, then to the stairs to which the knight had glanced.  He shouldered his bow into his hand and nocked an arrow, gesturing to the knight, "Come on, we have to get up there!  Go ahead of me."

Zigor drew his sword and marched up the steps, pausing and hiding behind his shield near the top. "Fie! The bleeding door's been set ablaze!" One of the knight's few weaknesses was light, and light it was, nearly everything in the room was burning orange as smoke filled the air. There was no telling if anyone was inside from the banister, and it didn't seem to be spreading to the stony and bare walkway. To the left and right the far doors the ends of the halls were opened.

Kerath instinctively seeks the hilt of his sword Blood Rage, advancing behind Zigor with cautious steps.

¨ What choices do we have? There is no other way? Personally I do not like bloodsuckers ...¨

Maybe that dislike for vampiric creatures was the result of some past adventure or maybe not, maybe that phobia was instilled by the legends sung by bards of his tribe in the nights under the stars.

The darkness is not a problem for Kerath, his eyes are adapted to find the slightest trace of light and provide an excellent night vision. But an unexpected change in the intensity of light will blind for a few seconds the proud Chengahl.

Lan noticed the open doors on either side and shook his head, "There are two ways," he said in answer to Kerath's first question.  The half-elf turned to Zigor, "Right or left, knight?"

To Kerath, Zigor was not an enemy, but, the fact that he was a vengeful spirit do not provide a lot of confidence and always kept him in a state of alert when Zigor was close. On the other hand, he knew about the exceptional battle skills that Zigor possessed and his particular dexterity using the shield and sword. It was a trump card to have Zigor as an ally.

"Something feels wrong both ways... Ugh, especially to the left, it feels like some sort of 'holy' magic." Zigor looked away to the right, continuing on towards the door.

Within there was a young looking white haired woman, passed out on the floor and covered in blood. The room was messed up, half the furniture was shattered to pieces, and insect-like limbs and pieces littered the ground and the bed. A fireplace burns on the northern wall. A strange scent fills the room.

Lan glanced longingly toward the left door.  While the knight may not have liked the idea of 'holy' magic, it seemed like an appropriate alternative when the half-elf spotted the strange girl on the floor. "Gods," he exlaimed, keeping the nocked bow in his left hand, he pointed with his free hand to the woman on the floor, "She's not one of ours.  What do you suppose happened?"

"Zigor verifies the girl on the floor, but be careful, remember the words of that bat."

"By my ancestors !!!!! I hate vampirism !!!"

"Lan'elli, inspects the room, maybe there is some secret passage, some ..."


Kerath not end the words... he took a deep breath that was slowly dropping out, with eyes closed was savoring every particle of air, every essence hidden in the room odors; moisture, blood, dust, bats, spiders, wood, stone, fire, the particular smell of Zigor, the most attractive essence emanating from Lan'eris and ....

Opened his eyes and turned his attention to the bed. A scent caught him, a known scent, familiar scent, a smell that could enjoy again when he joined to this adventure...
Shaking the imposing hairy body, he moved toward the bed and said: "They rested here. They were here. They are close. Feliph and Tath."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:52, Fri 15 May 2015.

Zigor approached the lady tentatively prodded her with the blunt side of his sword. With no response, he knelt down closer, turning her over onto her back. "This one's not breathing." The knight said matter of factly. "Let's see; there are few puncture wounds, shallow, paired with tight spacing. The hem of her clothes is burnt. Nothing else, she must have been one of those folks that bleed a lot I guess. I'd say she must have died from the spiders' poison." Upon this, several bats started sobbing loudly.

Moving away form the body carelessly, the spectre turned its gaze around the room. " Looks like quite battle eh? Arrows, claw-marks, burnt spiders, broken furniture; I wouldn't have thought Tath and our new acquaintance capable of this much damage. It almost makes me wish I have gone up-stairs too."

The half-elf took a deep breath, glancing toward the other door.  He entertained the idea of leaving Zigor and Kerath to investigate the other room, but shook the thought away when he saw the woman's body again.  Kneeling beside her, Lan gingerly brushed a hand over the woman's sightless eyes, closing them.  He turned and regarded the weeping bats.  This must be the Countess they spoke of, the half-elf mused.

Standing to his full height, the half-elf shouldered his bow and put a hand on the hilt of one of his daggers.  "How do you suppose they escaped?" he inquired, stepping further into the room to investigate.  Something about the fireplace seemed off to Lan.  As he awaited the knight's response, the half-elf scrutinized the area around the fireplace.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Mon 18 May 2015.

"Well..." The knight paused for just a moment, not enough to indicate any serious thought on the matter. "The door is open. I'd assume they ran out. It's not like the spiders could operate a door, eh?" The spirit looked towards the door, it was bashed in, the latch laying clear across the room like a battering ram struck it open from the hall.

"What's it matter in any case? They are obviously not here. We should split up and check the other rooms." Not waiting for an answer, he started marching towards the door, but before he reached it, the crying bats began to drop to the floor, unconscious.

The healer rushed to the bat's side, looking them over. "They are poisoned. I thought I smelled something strange in the air." He barely stifled a yawn, and focused sharply on the bats, tending to them and trying to figure out how to help them.

Kerath turned his attention to the door which provided access to the corridor, felt that his eyelids were becoming heavy and the room began to spin. Kerath try to maintain balance while understand what was happening. He look at the dead body of the girl while he could stammer:

"P...ois...ssss...son ... Sssss.....piders ... Lannnn... Antidot..."

Lan had already been crouching when a strange feeling overcame him.  Kerath's words echoed his thoughts.  Coughing, the half-elf tried to stand and staggered a little, managing to stand only by leaning on the fireplace.  He swore and followed the wall back to the door, "Zigor, help Kerath, I can't support his-" a cough, "his weight," he murmured.  As he exited the door, he pulled a solitary dagger from its sheath and glanced around, finally looking back to check up on the others.

Upon remembering the Angel-man, Lan cleared his throat and drew in a choked breath.  He started to speak, faltered, then managed, "Sankt, can you do anything about the poison?"

Tora comes into the room slowly with Eve over her shoulder and sees the situation no better in here. "It's poison in the air. You eventually end up like Eve here." She pats Eve's behind as she says this. "If anyone has a cure, I'm all ears. If not, we should get to someplace with cleaner air. Eventually even I'll succumb to this foul air."

The angelic healer began chanting mystical words without another word wasted, even though he was happy to see the pair reunited with the group, it was definitely a race against time at this point. It was easy enough to cure a person of poison, but he was being worn down from dawn to what was now well past midnight, trying to cure an entire room, which itself was still filled with hundreds of times a normal dose of an unknown poison, as well were his own lungs. holding back a cough in his throat, he managed to initiate the last verse before swooning.

A dim white light radiated in the room, lessening the poison in the room and all it touched, the side effects would remain for a time, but now staying awake was more a battle of willpower for those affected. Ayleth grabbed under one of the healers arms, her other hand with a cloak over her mouth; she seemed used to that sort of thing. Millie scooped up the bats and quickly left the room, while Zigor apathetically helped the massive Kerath away.

The group headed down towards the main hall on the first floor, not wanting to stay any longer in a poisoned, smokey, and ignited second floor. After they left the room, the last out might might have caught something white moving out of the corner of their eyes...
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:41, Wed 03 June 2015.