The Keys of Telku / The Final Key pt. 18 / Kith the 30th, 3593 CE / 8-21-22

In the library of Castle Eichon, Stele the cleric of Accuris prepares to cast a zone of truth spell. The party is suspicious that there may be a traitor in their midst. With every effort to stop House Eichon on behalf of their patrons, House Dracus, it has seemed as if the enemy has always been one step ahead, and never has this been more true than tonight. Even as the citizens of Pandona celebrated The Night of Masques, reveling in the streets, the Adventurers joined with the Amita K'un in assaulting Castle Eichon. Though they were victorious in capturing Lady Narya and slaying the traitorous sensei of the Bloodguard, Ashikaga, the victory rang hollow when they returned to Castle Dracus only to discover it engulfed in flames. Despite a mighty storm called up by Rados's patron, Mother Matina, there appeared to be little hope of survivors. As the other Amita K'un went searching for their sensei, Master Sun, and their lord, Kitaya, the party returned despondent to Castle Eichon, barring themselves inside as they make further plans. After John secures the prisoners in a storage closet, Stele casts the spell, and the party begins inquiring into each other's true motives. Though they learn a little more about the indvidual missions that drive some of the party members, no one is able to identify a mole in the group, and as the spell wears off, they decide they should investigate Castle Eichon's catacombs in search of more clues to the possible fate of Lady Bloodmist, the ancestral vampire who was just recently freed from a deathlike state to help House Eichon wage war against House Dracus. In the catacombs, there is still the evidence of the damage wrought by the earthquake days earlier, another event caused by Rados's strange demi-goddess, but the glass sarcophagus which contained Lady Bloodmist remains empty. That is until upon closer inspection, the party discovers a hidden door behind it, leading even deeper into the crypts. The sub-level is decorated in much more ornate style reminiscent of House Eichon's Eastern origins. Beyond a barred pair of massive double doors, Rados detects great evil, but determined to locate Lady Bloodmist, the party removes the crossbar and enter. Beyond they find the heart of the ancient crypt, with a massive sarcophagus depicting some sort of demonic entity in the Pellish style. Lord Mako stands in the chamber, absently regarding a painting on the wall of a woman in white. The party engages the traitorous Lord in dialog, hoping to learn more about the circumstances leading to the destruction of Castle Dracus. Lord Mako reveals that it was his intention all along to cause the fall of both houses, as retribution for the death of his mother, the consort to Overlord Uramae of House Eichon. Moss deduces that House Oberion, with the aid of Tarrus the One-Eyed, was behind the plot to bring down House Dracus, and that they more than likely plan to steal the title of Overlord from Kitaya. Though Mako seems unconcerned with revealing secrets behind the plot to the party, the reason why soon becomes apparent, as he transforms into mist and floats away, making an oblique reference to his mother. It is at that moment that Moss notices the mysterious woman in the painting is moving, even as there is a sound of sarcophagus lids crashing to the ground from the crypt's antechambers. Soon a battle is once more engaged with the vampiric Bloodguard who have emerged from their undead slumber. Despite John and Moss's efforts to destroy the painting, it serves its purpose in providing a portal for the ghostly woman depicted to manifest in real life and join the fray as well. To make matters worse, someone closes and bars the doors to the crypt from the other side, trapping the party. As they fight back against the Bloodguard and the ghostly woman, John manages to partially break down the door, allowing Stele to squeeze through. But even as the grippli priest considers fleeing the battle, he gets a sense from Accuris that his duty lies within the chamber, battling undead, and he bravely re-enters and rushes into melee with several vampires. But mist has begun to emerge from under the largest sarcophagus from which moments before the party heard a strange scratching noise, and the ghostly woman, after nearly choking Rados and almost paralyzing Moss with fear, has used an illusion to trick the party and now is at large somewhere in the room.