Leaving a Mark (Campaign)
From Avegost
Leaving a Mark was an Avegost Campaign with its central plot point revolving around the splitting of the Vampire covens and the rise of the Ritari coven.
Contents |
Cast of Heroes
Plot Synopsis
Plot Overview
The following plot synopsis was written by Allison Whitney, Jeffery Campbell, and Joe Landolfi.
The Hunter
Damian, Simon and Lenore slumbered deeply until hearing the voice of Valorin demanding them to awaken. All three of them were naked, surrounded by four bloodless corpses, and disoriented from their feast of the previous night. After being scolded for indulging in more than one meal, Garut intervened and sent Valorin from the room. The three could tell that Valorin was bitter towards them which Garut attributed to Bryant's favor for them.
Garut questioned them about their missions to follow the troops and the possible hunter, most of which they had a difficult time remembering. As the three dressed themselved, Garut proceeded to jog their memories about the reasons for their interest in the mortal army, explaining that their coven and the baron of Finnstraad had an arrangement which exchanged a supply of meals for their protection of the baron.
As he spoke, Lenore finally remembered something from her mission to follow and observe the hunter. She reported that this hunter had courted a whore at the local brothel and that afterwards, Lenore had taken the woman to feed on her. Unfortunately, this whore had been marked with a curse for any vampire that dared to attack her. At this news, Damien, Simon and Lenore passed out.
When consciousness returned to them, they found themselves bathing under the moon with the sounds of battle raging through the keep. When they began investigating, they found several dead humans, and, shockingly enough, a dead vampire, whose wound appeared to be burned by holy fire. After dispatching a fairly week soldier, they descended into the courtyard, seeing a few dead vampires and many dead humans.
They found Valorin at the front gate with a few others, struggling to keep the gate from buckling beneath the weight on the opposite side. He commanded the three to hold the gate, and ran off to intercept the soldiers who were scaling the walls to enter the keep. Lenore took position at one of the murder holes and began firing her crossbow at the large number of soldiers outside the gate. Simon and Damien kept themselves against the gate, trying to keep it closed.
Each of the three summoned a pack of wolves to aid in the imminent battle. Lenore remained where she was, still firing her crossbow at the army. As the soldiers took up a battering ram and broke through the gate, the summoned wolves arrived, and the battle began...
The Ritari's Fall
As the soldiers attempted to push into the keep, the wolves kept them from advancing while Damien, Simon and Lenore continued their attacks. The towers around them exploded with fire as the army outside used its siege weapons. Finally, they began retreating, and the three sent some wolves to chase them down.
Just as they closed the gate, a gargled cry issued over the turmoil, drawing the three towards the center of the courtyard. There stood the hunter having just slain Garut with his sun blade. Valorin stood a short distance from the hunter, his childe standing next to him. The hunter seemed to have the ability to overcome any magics thrown at him, so Valorin commanded Damien, Simon and Lenore to find Rayvan and warn him of the impending danger. With that, he teleported the three of them away from the dangerous hunter...
....and into the treacherous sunlight! They quickly huddled beneath a nearby awning, searching for any kind of shelter, Valorin's severed arm still clutching Damian. They found an old hermit sitting in front of a small hovel and decided that they should stay there until nightfall. They were able to procure two meals, a woman who was interested in Lenore's dress and a nosey guard. Damien also found a signet ring in the ashes of Valorin's severed arm.
As night fell, the three heard a thump outside. Upon exiting the hovel, they were surrounded by unknown vampires who were less than friendly. The three explained their situation, but these vampires were untrusting and required more proof of the intentions of the three. The quest given to them was to dispatch a group of four do-gooders who were searching the graveyard for Rayvan's Coven.
Marquest's Tomb
The event picks up at the edge of a flowing river, which is successfully navigated by the party of three. A shadow in the distance appears and flies toward the party, revealing itself to be a stone gargoyle. The gargoyle paces; it takes a few glancing blow, that seem to do little or no damage, and seems to decide it has other businesses, and flies off in the direction of the town. The party arrives in the graveyard and searches the tombs easily coming across the Jalo Families' crypt. The doors to which have already been knocked in. After descending into the tomb they first come across a room with the door closed, behind which the sounds of dogs. Passing that room they move on in the only other direction they can go. They encounter a beast with many eyes, and 6 mouths, who all seem to spit fire. The ugly masses of gray flesh is dispatched without too much effort by the party, but not without temporally blinding Simon. Continuing down they come across the party they were searching for. They decided to wait outside where they adventure party is, and ambush them on their way out. An epic battle ensues; which ends the night with the vampires forcing the party into a retreat.
The Battle Rages On
When we last left off, the mortals had retreated into a room and closed the door. As the three of them contemplated the best method of entry, an unknown vampire made his presence known. Even though they did not completely trust him, they welcomed the aid of a cleric to offset the mortal cleric. Gathering their senses, the group decided to simply break the door down.
This proved to be a very bad choice; in the time it had taken for the new vampire, named Ralius, to introduce himself, the mortals had managed to rig a trap over the door. Several flasks of holy water poured down on Simon, burning into his skin and causing him to scream in pain and rage.
Simon, Damian and Lenore forced their way into the room once more while Ralius remained outside of it to catch anyone who tried to escape. Lenore, silenced by the halfling's accursed wand, was forced to resort to physicality, something for which wizards are not known. With no real battle abilities, it was overwhelming to her, and she fell. Her comrads did not worry, however, knowing she would simply regenerate and revive. But these mortals had come to the crypt in search of vampires; they had come prepared with wooden stakes. The dwarf plunged one into Lenore's chest then turned his attention to the rest. It was not long, however, before one of her companions removed the stake, allowing her to regenerate.
The halfling through a flask at Damian, which, as a monk, he could easily deflect. The substance within the flask, however, ignited when the glass broke, and Damian was covered in flames. He used this to his advantage by grappling his enemy...which spread the fire. The dwarf also became engulfed in the fiery substance and began to burn as well.
Finally, the elvish paladin died. The cleric called to the halfling, ordering her to "Just do it." With both Simon and Damian still grappling and draining their victims and Lenore just waking up from her injuries, only Ralius had any chance of preventing her from doing whatever her friends had ordered. Before Ralius could react, the halfling vanished from sight, leaving only the sound of her heartbeat to follow.
Certain that whatever she meant to do would harbor the vampires efforts, Ralius followed the halfling's heartbeat but could do nothing without actually seeing her. The cleric also decided to retreat after the halfling, leaving Damian to feast upon the dwarf.
Victory?
The battle with the mortals continued on as the four vampires fought to defeat them. They began to realize that this particular group may have been more than they could handle, but there was no turning back now. The only way to see Rayvan was to kill this group.
Simon dashed off after the halfling, attempting to stop whatever it was that she was planning, but she had turned invisible using a ring on her finger. Even though Ralius had been waiting to intercept her, the halflings stealth proved to be well practiced, and she slipped by him unseen. Once in the room, she spoke an incantation, and a bright light shone from within.
From the room, two planar guardians appeared, and began attacking not only the vampires but the mortals, as well. Lenore fell, once again, the dwarf driving a stake through her. Simon also fell and received a stake through his black heart. Damian began to weaken, and almost certainly would fall next. Ralius had decided to flee.
Then appeared a dark figure, swooping in and slaying all in the area, preventing Damien from helping either Simon or Lenore. The figure seemed to defeat the mortals and the planar guardians with almost no effort. Once the threat had been vanquished, the figure went to retrieve Simon, and Damien removed the stake from Lenore.
The figure revealed to be none other than Rayvan himself. After delivering their message to him, the vampires learned that the ones who sent the group to kill the mortals had known the task would be to great and had counted upon their destruction. Rayvan made an offer to the four of them, an offer to teach them how to be vampires in return for their submission.
Though none of them understood what this ancient vampire was offering to them, each of them submitted. He bled four drops of his own blood to the floor and commanded them to drink. When they did, their existences changed forever...
