Ep009: Orcs,Vampires and Mustaches, oh my!

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Session Synopsis
Discovering a lead to Don's vampire operation the group head south to Montarthas Manor. Stopping off at the orc-controlled town of Dornswich during an annual festival the adventurers come across a mysterious stranger in the tavern, another vampire whose allegiances are unclear, but he has with him a very intriguing dagger.

The Ledger
Looking through the ledger found in the revealed Don's villa, the Adventurers™ began to look deeper into the vampires dealings to see if there were any other vampires in the city of Altinova who might be masquerading as an elf. The ledger predominantly made mention of ongoing dealings with a woman named Jertrude at an address listed as Montarthas Manor, the abandoned private residence of an old general from the settlement of Laren, south of Dornswich, and had been sacked by orcs decades ago. In the ledger it showed constant transactions between Don and Jertrude for "supplies" (ranging from 50-70lbs) and "gold" (never above 1000 gold). At the villa Hum and Frederica were keen to ransack the villa of loot, but were dissuaded by Walther, whereas Orlyg suggested burning the place to the ground, which led to even greater resistance from the doctor. Using his divine abilities Orlyg, becoming increasingly suspicious of Walther and Hum, checked to see if they appeared to him as demons or fiends, which they did not.

The group returned to the their mansion whilst Hum recovered Sir Sandor and also found Anna Winters in the city, explaining that Don had become a little drunk and so the group had left him sleeping at his villa where he and Frederica had been watching the stars. When returned to the mansion Frederica told the full truth of what had happened that night and apologies, but went on to ask permission to head south to the Montarthas Manor. Whilst the prospect of her daughter facing danger did not appeal to Anna, it was clear Frederica was embroiled in something larger than herself and was becoming a young woman who might have to start choosing her own path. In the morning the group woke for a cooked breakfast of bacon cooked by Anna, and then set off on their journey to Montharthas Manor.

Dornswich
Traveling by horse and carriage driven by Orlyg the group reached the frontier town of Dornswich by 2am with the intention of finding a place to rest overnight; though the town seemed to be alive with some sort of festivities. Confronted by a grey skinned orc at the gate Hum's previous experience in the town suggested a more forceful and dominating stance may be needed to get by here as violence and conflict was the primary means of gaining respect. Hum initially disguised himself magically as a gnome, though later reverted to his normal form believing he would fit in better in the settlement as it was filled with orcs, goblins and hobgoblins. A display of her power Frederica successfully helped the group gain access to Dornswich after Walther's initial diplomacy tactics failed.

The festival was in respect to an old Orc leader called Druk, who had died in battle and his victories were celebrated among a particular clan of orcs. The festivities brought lively music, food, and more civilized elements such as stalls with souvenirs and trinkets. Passing among the stalls Frederica purchased a carved figurine made of dragonbone which the seller claimed had been killed by her father years ago, whereas Hum purchased a shark-tooth necklace in an attempt to blend in more with his blood-kin. Passing among the revelers Hum tried to find what he could about Montarthas Manor, meeting a hobgoblin named Darv, Hum offering him some of the bacon he'd pocketed at breakfast that morning. Darv told the group that many adventurers come this way heading to the manor, but none return; they're all seeking some sort of powerful magic gemstone that can control the dead ((citation needed: notes cut off)).

Heading into the local saloon, The (something) Weasel (which had a sign depicting a creature that clearly wasn't a weasel), the group tried to make a grand entrance after Walther had read much about these old Wild East frontier towns, though no one really took notice, so the group took a seat. Inside Frederica stole some drink from an unsuspecting patron, but quickly returned the sour beverage, whilst Orlyg tried to purchase a mustache at the bar; surprisingly one was not available and so Hum was able to assist with his illusory magic.

The Tiefling Vampire Hunter
In a shadowy corner of the saloon Walther spied a mysterious figure, keeping a close eye on him the group marked the hooded figure as a blue skinned tiefling, who appeared to be cradling some sort of magical item. Trying to work out who the man was and what he was up to, the group spied some sort of Ash residue on his clothing, Hum chose a more direct route and used his detect thoughts on the man and asked him directly if he was a vampire; instantly shaping his thoughts confirm his surprise that he'd been identified

Approaching the man at his table he was being cautious and secretive and so Hum used his magical Command and instructed the tiefling to hand over whatever magical item he was holding; compelled to do so he slid over a curved flambarge dagger. Hum identified it as The Inacus, created by a "peaceful" vampire clan known as Clan Abacus in "the early days" who were opposed to the practices of a vampire clan known as Clan Trident and made to smite them. The Tiefling claimed he was heading to Altinova, but would not speak of his business, but he offered a grave warning to Hum implying that someone would come looking for the dagger. Initially Hum took the words as a threat of reprisal, but it was in fact meant as a warning.

The Shaman
The group parted ways for the evening, but Hum and Walther sought out a shaman who was doing fortune readings at the festival, within a purple tent they came across the orcish woman, dressed in a pearl necklace that had been painted up like eyeballs. For coin she was prepared to identify The Inacus for Hum, telling him that it was a powerful weapon that could only be fully used by a certain type of being (presumably a vampire) and it was used to trap the souls of the vampires it killed, itself growing in power with each kill it made.

Both Walther and Hum had their fortunes read, the shaman told Walther she could "See a struggle in Walther's future, with himself, but also with something else.I do not know how the struggle will end, just that it will happen." she also spoke of some more sprinklings of typical divination about Walther finding great riches along the way, that seemed to hold less portents. For Hum she told him "In your path I see a great Kingdom that you will come too that is ruled by someone I know. In this kingdom you will find the greatest revelation that you've ever come across."

<<< Ep008 From Dusk till Don | Ep010 Montarthas Manor >>>