Baldur's Redux: Keep of Pale Night
As they walked into the Keep of Pale Night, the lair of their enemy, Rain noticed that it looked more like a gothic castle on the inside, shrouded in darkness where the only light came from lanterns and candles, no doubt to keep Mordoc safe while his mortal servants had light to do their jobs.
"So, this is the Keep of Pale Night... doubtless Mordoc knows we're here, despite our attempts to remain hidden." Jherek commented, as the deaths of all seven Nightwalkers would not go unnoticed for long, in fact he was sure that the first one's demise had alerted their foe, despite it being necessary for them to reach this point and stop whatever ritual Mordoc had tasked them with starting, "We must do everything in our power to remain together, since no one should face the White Prince on his own."
"No one save for Rain Shine. She could probably do the impossible." Kharne remarked, because at this point he was sure that she was the strongest being in the world, as she could turn into a dragon, a lich was serving her, the kuo-toa had given her untold power, and who knew what else was lurking below the surface, a being that held the power to kill Mordoc on his own turf.
"First we find the dungeons and my friends, then we kill Mordoc." Rain stated, as she knew her friends were here, she just had a feeling that Kharne was telling the truth about them, and she wasn't about to leave here without them, where she found that everyone, even Kherek and Kharne, agreed with her, no doubt so she could focus on their target, causing her to shift her stance once more, "Very well then, let's track down our targets."
Not a few seconds later they discovered that part of their thoughts were true, Mordoc likely knew they were here as the shadows themselves seemed to come alive and attack them, though like before the group had some who focused on all of their enemies while the others sought out paths to take or treasure to find. Rain knew that Borador was still looking for a bit of treasure since this was an old creature and his abode likely held something of value, though part of his focus was on keeping an eye out for traps since he didn't want any of them to trigger something horrible. The shadows, as Rain found out, barely put up much of a fight, at least in comparison to all of the Nightwalkers that had been outside, meaning it was easy for her and her friends to start exploring the keep as they sought a way down into the dungeons or up to the second floor, as everyone was convinced there were multiple floors. There was an area with a pipe organ that, when played, called forth a number of chests and more shadows, not that it mattered in the end since the group took care of the enemies before the containers were looted, allowing Rain to continue onward as she sought out either of their destinations.
Rain noticed that there didn't seem to be anything interesting on the walls or even the floor, it was just the same pillars and wall carvings over and over again, in fact the only reason they stopped at the pipe organ was because it seemed strange to have something like that where there was nothing of Mordoc's old life for them to stop and stare at. It was almost as if the figure was ashamed of the fact that he had gone and become a vampire, to the point of sealing and forgetting his past as a mortal being, or maybe he had chosen to forget after his transformation and he didn't want a reminder of the past. Either way it hardly mattered in the end, as he was threatening the world with his mad schemes, with the Onyx Tower playing the largest role no doubt, and Rain and her friends were here to take him out before he did something stupid. Of course she did have to wonder if the shadows were fallen heroes or soldiers, given the vast armies that had perished in the battlefield that was all around the keep, but also decided not to worry about it too much as they cut through the shadows and continued ever deeper into Mordoc's dark lair.
She was honestly expecting more than just the shadows, given that Mordoc was supposed to be incredibly powerful and that meant someone usually had followers or slaves to do their bidding, so with nothing new showing up she found that she was disappointed in the ancient vampire's minions. It gave her time to see that Kharne fought like he did when she first encountered him, his style was the same and he was deadly with his blade, cutting through the shadows that slipped through the line that her friends presented to their enemies. Jherek, on the other hand, was skilled with a blade and cut into those who dared to approach him, similar to what Kharne did with his foes, though he was more graceful than their ally was, even though most of the fighting was left to Dorn and the others. Rain did strike down a few shadows while they explored the keep, since she didn't want to leave all of the fighting to her friends, but as she did so she also discovered a set of stairs leading downward, something that caused her to use them without delay while everyone else followed her to make sure this wasn't a trap.
Sure enough she found some undead in the dungeons, that seemed to be common among the underground places of the world, though her friends found that she wasted no time in slashing them down without even looking at them, almost as if she was feeling them out at this point, before she let out a sigh of relief.
"They're here... I can feel them." Rain commented, as she could sense Adrianna's magical nature easily, thanks to all of the training she did with her friend to tap into her own magical powers, and she was sure that Kromlech and Vahn were near her, something that caused her to shift her stance as she moved out into the main area of the dungeon, "Hang on guys, I'm coming to free you."
As she carefully moved through the dungeon, following the flow of magic that had to be Adrianna's, Borador moved out to deal with any of the traps that were in the area while everyone else dealt with any undead that ignored Rain completely, as if they knew she was dangerous and didn't want to deal with her. These undead were what she was expecting back up in the halls of the keep, though even then it hardly mattered as she moved through them, breaking their bodies down to the point where none of them would spring back to life in the near future. From what she could tell there were a number of levers that needed to be activated and Allessia did so whenever they passed by one, allowing Rain to focus on tracking all of them down, before she found her way to what appeared to be the main prison section of the dungeon. There were a few more powerful undead guarding the door, skeletons in enchanted armor, but they mattered little to Rain as she cut through them with her blade, and even the lich that floated behind them stood little chance of stopping her since it had it's phylactery around it's bony neck, which broke during her assault.
With that done she turned her focus on the chamber they were guarding and found three sealed doors, where she raised her hand for a moment and called forth her power, breaking the doors apart as she tossed the pieces into a corner, only for her and the others to watch as Adrianna, Vahn, and Kromlech, looking healthy despite being down here for so long, emerged from their cells.
"Rain Shine? Are my eyes deceiving me?" Adrianna inquired, as the three of them had been down here for a long time, due to Mordoc keeping them for some unknown reason, even treating them well enough so they didn't die of starvation, but even then she wondered if what they were seeing was even real.
"No, they aren't... I'm here." Rain replied, where she sheathed her blade for a moment before embracing her friends, a fact that allowed Dorn and the others to see that she was overjoyed to be reunited with those she had traveled with before the fall of Eldritch and the Onyx Tower, "I've got so much to tell you guys, especially the fact that I finally remember everything I had lost, but it'll have to wait until later... we've got an ancient vampire that needs to die."
"Lead the way... I want to give him a taste of my axe." Kromlech stated, something that allowed Rain to confirm that each of them had their old gear still, in fact Mordoc had imprisoned them with their armor and weapons, which put a smile on her face since it meant that their power was full intact, before he considered something, "Or his minions... they'll work in his stead."
Rain nodded as she turned and departed from the area, allowing the others to watch as she and Shadow led the heroes of old back up to the keep's main level with ease, as none of the heroes fell behind and made them realize just how good the group of five really was. They got a better sense of how well all five of them worked together as they returned to the upper level and found that more shadows were waiting for them, where Adrianna released bursts of lightning that tore through the enemies in front of her, Kromlech and Rain hacked through their foes, and Vahn's arrows found their marks with ease, allowing Shadow to tear into them with her teeth. It allowed them to understand that the tales about them were true, that nothing could stand before their terrifying might, meaning Mordoc must have lost a lot of soldiers to imprison the trio in his dungeon, why they still had no idea and at this point none of them cared. With all nine of them, ten if they bothered to count Shadow in that count and twelve if they added Jherek and Kharne as well, it took them no time at all to clear out the rest of the first floor and reach the stairs that would take them up to the upper levels.
Jherek considered staying behind to deal with the shadows, but decided not to when he realized that it would be best if he remained with the others, allowing them to reach the upper level and wage war on the forces guarding Mordoc, or at least the path up to his true destination. This time it looked like their enemies were mummies, undead wrapped in bandages, meaning they were far easier to deal with than many of the foes they had encountered so far, which Rain was fine with, as it allowed her friends to get used to fighting again since she had no idea how long they had been without combat. She did find that they were identical to the flesh monsters, in terms of the poison that happened to be part of their bodies, but all of them tore through their enemies without much delay, as Dorn and the others had joined in at this point, allowing them to continue their search for the next set of stairs. Kharne realized just how strong the heroes had gotten since their brief encounter in the depths of the Guild's hideout, they were more capable than he first gave them credit for and realized that nothing could stop them, especially when teamed up with Rain and Shadow, meaning it was best if he remained on their good side until he found an opening to safely depart.
Eventually they discovered the passage that allowed them to reach the uppermost level, where Rain found a white robed figure standing on the other end of the chamber it brought them to, with a bunch of skull accessories for some reason, though as they came to a stop Mordoc turned to face them.
"Ah, you must be Rain Shine. Welcome to my humble abode." Mordoc stated, where he stood there with an odd rapier in hand, meaning he was likely going to attack them as soon as they were done talking, at least when Rain considered all of the enemies she had fought before this point in time, "You must forgive my servants, as they can be an unruly bunch... despite my attempts to train them. Ah, I know why you are here, because you assume that by beating me all will become right in the world, like some storybook cliche... no, it would be better if you bent your knee and pledged to serve me, as I can promise eternal life and power to someone like you."
"I'm not interested, Mordoc. I've come to take the Onyx Tower from you, even if it means ending your life." Rain said, a fact that was followed by her shifting her stance as her friends realized what the vampire was after, while at the same time her soon to be foe let out a disappointed sigh, almost as if he thought she'd join him, abandon her mortality and become one of the strongest vampires in all of existence.
The two stood there for a moment before rushing at each other, where Rain found that Mordoc went on the offensive as he lashed out gracefully with his rapier, his strikes aimed at her vitals so he could either stun her or end her quickly, so he could move onto everyone else, but he found that it wouldn't be as easy as he assumed. While Rain was on the defensive for the time being, just to see what sort of moves her foe had, Modroc found that the tales about her being skilled with her odd blade were accurate, in fact they were almost scarily accurate as she blocked his attacks with the edge of her own sword. The interesting thing was that she was able to use the blade to redirect his blows away from her, as if she might be able to read her movements, or maybe luck had some hand in this, though to bring the battle under his full control, and not give Rain an opening, he turned into a black mist and reappeared behind her. As he swung his rapier at her backside, however, she parried the blow without wasting time, much to his surprise, before shocking him as she spun around and delivered a powerful kick to his right side, knocking him away from where she was standing.
In the next moment he got up and started to move in so he could strike her down, as he had a number of plans that could bring about Rain's demise, though before he could put any of them into motion Rain raised her left hand, showing him the white lightning power she had unlocked thanks to the kuo-tao's blessing.
Mordoc called upon his dark powers and transformed into a swarm of bats, where they spread out as he planned to slip behind his foe while she was distracted by the show, only to be surprised as Rain raised her left hand and loosed a burst of lightning that branched outward, striking each of his bats before shocking him into the wall, causing him to revert back to his normal form. In that moment Mordoc realized something he hadn't considered before this point, the quests that the Harpers had given Rain since her return to Baldur's Gate had empowered her, turning her from a skilled adventurer into one of legend, much like the drow hero Drizzt Do'Urden, meaning his plans had boosted her growth. Even with that fact in his mind he would have assumed that her growth would have been very limited, especially in the couple of weeks that had passed since her return, but her strength, speed, and abilities were on an entirely different level than what he suspected, even if he was being kind with his estimates. The fact of the matter was that she was far stronger than he had planned for, as he went into this battle assuming that he could win, but now, after realizing that none of his attacks had hit their marks, and his speed was somehow failing him, he realized he would either have to flee or try something drastic.
In the next couple of seconds he rushed at Rain and thrust his rapier forward, intending on piercing her heart before she had a chance to defend herself, only to be surprised as the blade hit her chest and snapped in half, where he paused as it happened, his mind processing the impossibility that had happened, before something thick struck him in the chest and knocked him backwards, only for his eyes to widen as he realized what had actually hit him.
"You... you're a dragon?" Mordoc inquired, because as he recovered from the blow, and understood that his blade, one of his greatest treasures, had been broken like it was a rusty tool, he noticed why it had happened, Rain's chest looked like it had changed to scales right before his blow hit, while at the same time her tail had changed as well, into the type that a true dragon possessed.
"You're only half right, as I'm half dragon and half kirin... now stand still while I end this." Rain stated, though as she took a moment to shift her stance, so she could rush forward to end her foe, Mordoc burst into shadows and tore through one of the windows, showing that he was actually a coward at heart, causing her to move towards the opening as she stared out in the direction of Baldur's Gate, where lightning was gathering as she sensed something powerful move, "So that his plan: moving the Onyx Tower into Baldur's Gate so he can seize it, and the rest of the Western Heartlands when he deems that the time is right to do so."
It was a decent plan, using his main servants and followers to prepare the Tower while he remained inactive, meaning this just forced Mordoc to play his hand early, but now that this was happening she was going to return, with all her friends, and take down the vampire before he did anything else.
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well, it could be a lot worse...she could be facing down Strahd von Zarovich, literally the first Vampire ever to exist. fortunately for all, hes trapped in the Shadowfell, in a Zone of Dread.
11594961 Interesting. I had no idea he existed... the Forgotten Realms are an interesting place.
11595095
not many do, only those sorry adventures who manage to fall into his prison. of course, getting in is the easy part, the hard part is getting OUT. oh, and actually defeating Strahd, since he cant actually die...the party CAN kill him, but he will be back after a few months time...
11595383 His immortality is starting to sound like the punishment type.
11595415
hes literally trapped in the Shadow Realm, i dont think you can get any more punished than that...
11595431 That's fair. It's not a nice place to be stuck in.
11595432
that being said, theres a lot of relly fun loot to be found in his prison realm...like a literal Lightsaber...its called the Sunblade, its a sentient magical blade that exists to destroy Strahd and what he has become. once held and wielded by Strahds Paladin brother, the Sunblade was captured and its original crystal blade destroyed, but the hilt survived, and now has the ability to create a blade of pure sunlight, along with a few other nifty abilities...
unfortunately for my group when we played through Curse of Strahd, we never got the chance to find such enchanted goodies...
11595442 It does sound like there are a few interesting things in such a plane.
11595476
theres interesting things in all the planes, one simply has to look for them...though sometimes, a Spelljammer helps...
11595705 You know, I had to look up what a Spelljammer was... and, even with everything I've found out about the Forgotten Realms universe, this doesn't surprise me one bit. Ships capable of traversing the Sea of Night aren't that unusual, but they do seem helpful.
11595714
eh, depends on who build your ship...and if you actually have a mage attuned to piloting the thing. the real strength of the Spelljammer though, is its ability to visit other Spheres. not just the Realms, but the Spheres of Eberron and Dragonlance as well as myriad of others...though a few you probably would not want to do more than visit, for example, the Dark Sun...here...
11595721 Without watching the video I'm going to guess that they're like the various realms of Oblivion in the Elder Scrolls universe.
11595728
nope, every setting in D&D is encased in its own Crystal Sphere, while some of those Spheres are completely solid and therefore cut off, others are permeable enough that interstellar trade is a possibility. Ebberon, another D&D setting, is a dimension within its own Crystal Sphere and it is possible to use a Spelljammer to travel between the Sphere that contains the Realms and the Sphere that contains Ebberon. you can also enter Wildspace by going off the beaten paths, but that van get very risky very fast, as interstellar space is not empty...
11595734 I see. That's very interesting.
11595945
in all honesty, i do not know that much about Spelljammers...though, it WOULD be somewhat amusing if Discord were to show up in a Spelljammer docking in Waterdeep, crewed by Discord clones, to take Rain back to Equestria...a Space Galleon would do the job, theyre a little on the slow side, but they can land on the water and be indistinguishable from any other non-Space Galleon plying the waves, carry 20 tons of cargo, plenty of guest and crew quarters, and three weapon emplacements giving the ships a damage output of 11D10 damage...assuming of course that the ship is stock, quite a few Spelljammer Skippers will upgrade their ships any chance they get...
11596366 I hadn't considered such a thing... but it does sound interesting.