Dead Men Walking

The bulk of the research on Bramandin was done by Hildraft, Moonflame, and Brother Librarian's acolytes; Surya had moved to other shelves and was working seperately and apparently unsuccessfully. What had emerged was terrifying; Bramandin was probably the most skilled Mortal Hunter of modern times, and had slain elves, men, devils, Fae Mhor, at least one dragon, and - according to legend - a demigod, Charn. He was known to be a cambion (whether diabolic or demonic wasn't mentioned), and was credited with powers of sorcery and prescience, as well as being Ta'nara. Gathered around a table strewn with books, they considered what they had learned. Not a great deal. Other avenues were needed. Hildraft decided to attempt the spell Commune to request some answers of Kord. Reaching deep into himself, Hildraft worked the magic of the Gods, and opened the link to his Master. Swiftly, one after another, the companions asked the questions they felt best suited to gain knowledge about the mysterious Bramandin. Then the magic expired, and the companions pondered their God-given answers.

Is Bramandin pursuing us? Yes Is it for something we have? No Does he have a fatal weakness No Did Bel hire him? No Did Cullinan hire him? No Did a demon hire him? No Did a vampire hire him? No Did Skufruss hire him? No Did any of the Kin hire him? No Did a devil hire him? Yes... with qualifications Did a cambion hire him? No Was he hired to kill one specific individual? No Does the hirer come from Avernus? Yes Can we stop him? Uncertain Can he be killed? Yes Can he be killed by means available to us? Yes Can he be turned or deterred from his objective? Uncertain Is he hunting us because of a stolen sword? No Is he hunting us because of a slain devil? No Is he hunting us because of we killed someone in service to a devil? No

(Rooftops, Narthal, Stryre, 22^nd September, 1601)

Sack moved easily and swiftly across the rooftops of the city in the deepening night, heading for the Thieves' Guild, the location of which he knew although he'd never been there. As he did so, he kept his senses alert, and so was not taken by surprise as he discerned another figure travelling the Thieves' Highway ahead of him. His eyes narrowed; the shape moved differently to a human being. The training he'd received from the Renders of the Dark snapped together with recent experiences. It was a vampire!

Stealthily, he followed it as it bounded across the rooves, leaping the chasms between blocks and clinging to walls in a way the half-orc usually believed reserved to himself. Suddenly, it vanished from view, disapearing downwards at a street rather than leaping across. Reaching the edge, Sack discovered it crawling head-first down the vertical wall like a great spider, heading for an open window, and as he watched, it disapeared inside. Terrified female screams began to issue from the room beyond.

With a sigh, the ranger matched the nightspawn's stunt of crawling down the wall, and through the window before noiselessly gaining the floor beyond. The vampire had not noticed him, intent on his victim; a helpless young human woman, clearly already deep under the monster's dominating gaze, lay in its' arms, her head thrown back and throat bared.

Stepping silently up behind it, Sack drew his weapons, and placed the Blade of the Sun at its' throat while bringing Bloodfang gently up between its' legs to touch what (in a human) was a sensitive area. The vampire froze, and there was a tense moment as each considered his options. Sack knew he could slay the vampire, but what he really wanted was to capture it. Unfortunately, he knew no way to do this. Resigning himself, he tightened his grip, slashing with each blade, just as the vampire reached the same conclusion and dissolved itself into a dense vapour. Black blood spurted, indicating injury done to the Son of Cain, but the cloud of gas roiled and curled towards the window. Leaping through it, Sack slammed the shutters closed, delaying its' exit for a moment, and invoked the Sunburst of his sword.

The massive blast of blinding light stunned the vampire, even in its' gaseous form, and it was unceremoniously precipitated out into its' humanoid form, staggering back from the shuttered window in confusion. Unable to see, it was easy prey, and Sack slaughtered it in seconds. Ignoring the weepy gratitude of the rescued damsel, he opened the window again and resumed his journey to the Thieves' Guild.

(Thieves' Guild, Narthal, Stryre, 22^nd September, 1601)

The Guild of Thieves in Narthal was unlike that in many other cities Sack had visited. Far less open than most, the Guild here had its' headquarters underground, with the entrance hidden under a collapsed building in the merchant district. The entrance was an unobtrusive opening in the ground, and as Sack dropped through he was keenly aware that he was being watched. Two - no, three - sets of eyes tracked him as he scrambled along the rubble-strewn passage.

It was apparently a dead end, but Sack was ready for this, and a few moments' searching located a well-concealed hidden door. He turned, and smiled and waved brightly to the hidden observers, before tripping the mechanism and opening the door.

Directly inside, clearly waiting for him, was a massive man, his clothes blending into the shadows, with blackened weapons ready at his belt. This was the gatekeeper, and he was loath to admit Sack, particularly in the light of his current "disguise" (a floppy hat and foppish drooping feather). A few terse exchanges in thieves' handsign was enough to dispel most of his qualms, but he demanded to know whether the half-orc's dues were paid up. Sack casually flipped a gemstone of (relatively) enormous value at him, and was allowed in.

The Guild here was one of the most peculiar and impressive places Sack had ever seen. Over the millenia, the ancient city that was Narthal had been built, added to, burned down, sacked, flooded and so on, and in some places, the effort of ripping up the remains of old buildings was too much to bother with, and they'd simply been built on top of. So it was here, and the once-streets and remains of the walls had been slowly covered with layer after layer of superceding structures, until it was well underground.

Then the Thieves' Guild found it, and moved in.

Now, there was an underworld in every sense of the word; streets, houses, shops, bars, all underground with stone or earth for a roof instead of the sky. Everyone who lived there developed a slight stoop, for the roof was lower in many places than was strictly comfortable, but for an organization of wrong-doers, it was the perfect hideaway.

Sack spent some time moving through the stalls and shops of the bazaar section of the place, seeking at each for information on the name Bramandin. In every case, no-one knew the name, or its' import. One was, however, able to give him the location of the motherhouse of the Renders of the Dark, who were based here.

Finally a young rogue, clearly an apprentice, sidled up to him, and announced that the Gamekeeper would like to see him. The Gamekeeper was the name adopted by the Grand Master Thief of Narthal; many felt it was a none-too-subtle dig at their Royal Monarch's sobriquet of Peacock. Sack motioned acceptance, and followed the youth.

They entered what must once have been a major public building in the ancient city, and passed several groups of alert and well-armed guards before they reached the chamber of the Gamekeeper. Tall and whip-thin, he quizzed Sack closely on his business in the city and his alliances within it. It appeared a war was brewing between the Thieves and the Assassins - several thieves having disappeared over a month of nights. The Gamekeeper asked Sack straight out; "Are you allied to the Assassins Guild?"

Sack handsigned back "I'm not allied to anyone." The Gamekeeper looked at him narrowly. "I don't think I've ever met anyone else who could say that and be telling the truth," he said. He relaxed, though; it seemed he had some magic on hand to sift truth and lies.

"Are you allied to the Renders of the Dark?" he asked in return. The Gamekeepers' mouth turned down. "They are not our friends," he muttered. Sack began to wonder how the Guild was surviving at all here; they seemed to be enemies with everyone!

He tried to interest Sack in joining the war on the Thieves' side, but Sack demurred, suggesting strongly that the Assassins probably weren't responsible. "Did you find any bodies?" he asked. The Gamekeeper shook his head. Sack grinned mirthlessly.

The Gamekeeper refused at first to believe that a childrens' legend like vampires could be actually present in his city. Eventually, Sack challenged him to walk the streets with him, and see for himself. Grudgingly, the Master Thief did so.

After only a few minutes, they reached an open bar with street tables, and at one of the tables were sitting four men. Sack gestured to them, and signed to the Gamekeeper; "See those men? Three of them are dead...." A skeptical look was his reply, and he realized he'd have to prove it.

Crossing the street, he fell into a drunken stumble, blundering towards the table as if by accident. As he passed it, he turned his stagger into a swirl and came up gripping the Blade of the Sun. In a white flare of eyeblasting light, the Sunburst lashed out, blotting out the vision of everyone in the street except Sack and the Gamekeeper (who'd been warned).

Continuing his swing, Sack swiftly despatched the helpless, stumbling vampires, looking significantly to the Gamekeeper as each dissolved into dust, and paused only to carve, Be careful who you drink with! into the tabletop in front of the fourth man before crossing the street again and disappearing down an alley - as the hammer of mailed feet on the street announced the approach of the watch.

"Talk to the Renders!" he handsigned, and was gone, up a wall, back to the Highway, and in search of that organization.

(Renders' Motherhouse, Narthal, Stryre, 22^nd September, 1601)

For the first time, Sack was about to visit the main headquarters of the organization of Vampire Hunters to which he belonged. The building wasn't imposing, but fairly large, and possessed of a strong looking - and shut - door. Sack considered knocking. Then he marched up to the door, raised a booted foot, and kicked it to splinters.

From doorways along the corridor thus revealed, startled faces appeared, and assorted vampire hunters, most clutching hastily-siezed weapons, came hurrying along the corridor to intercept the intruder. Sack drew his own swords, and a semicircle formed around him, poised and ready.

There was a brief standoff, as each side eyed the other, then a new individual pushed his way to the front. "All right," he said, "I'm Dagnar; I'm in charge here. What's going on?" One of the other Renders hefted his battleaxe. "Drop the weapons!" he snapped. Sack sheathed Bloodfang, and made the Thieves' Handsign for his name. Dagnar looked blank, but one of the others cued him in whisper, and the Renders relaxed visibly.

"Why didn't you knock?" asked Dagnar testily. "We know who you are, and have been told to offer you all assistance." Sack shrugged. "I did knock," he signed. Dagnar beckoned to the Render who knew handsign, and led Sack into his office.

Sack explained what he'd witnessed, and was astounded to find that Dagnar was completely ignorarant of the nightspawn infesting his city. "Where are all your Renders?" he signed angrily. Dagnar shrugged. Most were out of the city; some in Karennal, some in Thornal, drawn there in no small part by Sack and his companions' activities. Even Caradoc, the Master of the Renders, was out of the city. Only a skeleton force remained in Narthal, and as Sack described what he'd found, Dagnar paled. They were over-faced. No, he'd never heard of Bramandin. And then Sack told him that Cullinan was in southern Stryre raising an army of undead, and Dagnar started to show real fear.

"Talk to the Thieves," signed Sack. "They'll listen after tonight. And the Assassins, if you can. You need all the allies you can get."

"Aren't you going to lead us?" asked Dagnar, in a lost voice.

"No," signed Sack, "I have other things to do."

He left. As he travelled back to the stables where they were to meet up, he pondered his discoveries. How on earth had the Renders become so weakened here, in their home city, as to have vampires drinking on the streets? This was urgent, he thought, and Teleported back instead, landing in the Library near his comrades.

(Festival District, Narthal, Stryre, 22^nd September, 1601)

Hansen had left word that he and Billy would start off at a bar called The Field of Gold, a tavern named after the ceremonial field used to crown Belarn I, first King of Stryre, and a favourite haunt of political Royalists. The barman there remembered them all right, commenting that Hansen had fit right in, but that the bear was a bit of a surprise.

Back on the streets, Sack put his skills to use, and managed to pick up the pairs tracks. These led to a rather less salubrious bar, the Curious Wolf. Ducking inside, they instantly recognized Billy's massive form, hunched over a table, deep in conversation with Hansen.

Both looked worried, and appeared very relieved to see their friends. Hansen leaned close to Sack and spoke. "I'm not the expert - you are - but look at that man over there, table near the window, blue shirt, and tell me what you see."

Sack looked, and sighed. The man in question bore the unmistakable taint to his skilled senses of a vampire's thrall; not yet undead, but drained and dominated, and serving an undead master. He glanced significantly at the others. Surya suggested they rent a room in the back, rather than doing anything in the open, and he and Hildraft walked over to the bar. Sack got up and went to sit with the thrall.

When they reached the bar to discover the proprietor was a half-orc - unusual this far west - and got talking to him. His name was Galen, and he didn't, he said, normally hire rooms out. Hildraft put a rather large purse of gold down on the counter - quietly - and Galen grinned. "You can stay in the back barrel room until you starve for that," he chuckled. The pair investigated, and found a dark, fusty room, crowded with large ale barrels. A good point - they'd deaden any noise.

Returning, Surya and Hildraft also approached their target, and suggested they'd like to talk a business proposition over with him. He sat back and indicated he was listening; but Surya stressed they wanted to talk "out the back." The thrall was very loth to accompany them, seeming very sure they'd rob him, but finally a flashed handful of golden coins overcame his fears. As he headed for the back of the inn with Surya and Hildraft, Sack slipped into his vacant chair, dropped a pack of cards on the table, and grinned around at his friends.

In the back room, once the door was shut, Hildraft opened the proceedings by casting Zone of Truth.Then Surya drew Tormentor and allowed its' evil miasma to flow into the room. Behind his back, Hildraft's hand tightened convulsively on his axe. The thrall was completely unmanned, falling to his knees and begging for mercy, and information was fairly easy to get out of him.

He served a vampire named Tolkalloth, luring likely-looking individuals from bars like this one to meet him in a derelict warehouse not far from the Wolf. Surya smiled reassuringly. "Maybe I'd be a good recruit for your army," he said. Hildraft's grip on the Axe tightened again. Within the Zone, no falsehood could be spoken....

The thrall looked up, wondering relief dawning in his eyes. "You want to come to Tolkalloth?" he asked, almost incredulously. Surya nodded, perfectly honestly. The thrall regained much of his composure, and began making arrangements to guide them there. He nodded at Hildraft. "You'll have to hide those," he said, indicating the many symbols of Kord the dwarf was sporting.

They returned to the table, and told Sack quietly what was happening; he rose to join them. As they walked out of the door, Hansen and Billy were looking worried again, and Inveros Moonflame was staring incredulously after them, clearly convinced they'd gone right off the deep end.