06 - 02/11/23 : A Knife in the Dark

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  The party made their way through a hallway in their immediate vicinity and avoided the paralysis spell glyph trap laid upon the hallway with clever use of a coin from Makoto's purse. At the end of the hallway was a a door locked with a very complicated mechanism; however, Makoto's superior lockpicking skills, coupled with inspiration from Connie, allowed them to defeat the incredibly dense lock.   Beyond the door, the Moonlighters came face-to-face with Arbane the vampire, who was surprised someone made it through his locks. He seemed to be packing to leave, and when asked to explain himself, Arbane came clean and told the party his story.   Arbane was a wild elf of the Green Realm in life, whose home village was destroyed by an incursion of human loggers from Xha'en. Living on the edge of society ever since, he has bounced from port to port, having a difficult time settling in any one place for long. His travels eventually brought him to Revelmoore, where he became a frequent collaborator with the Doom Raiders, and eventually a full member.   Around 20 years ago, Arbane was captured as a casualty of the animosities between the Black Network and the Xanathar Guild. The Doom Raiders controversially wrote him off as an unfortunate but irretrievable loss, and while in captivity he was turned into a vampire spawn by his captor, the vampire Viscardi.   His servitude was short-lived, as Connie's mother Lady Vaida Sundever soon hunted down and slew Viscardi, giving Arbane his free will by proxy. Returning to the Doom Raiders, he committed himself to a life of ethical vampirism, feeding only on animals or on opponents felled in combat. He supplemented his diet with an arrangement with Thrakkus, a butcher aligned with the Black Network.   Arbane's disdain for his comrades leaving him to die and be turned to vampirism never dispersed, however, and when Veszaltyrr returned and caused the factional split, Arbane gladly allied with the old master of the Black Network mostly out of spite. He was assigned to Urstul Floxin's unit, but was ultimately tasked with keeping the network appraised of the actions of the Flaming Anvil.   However, the time with the Scions shook Arbane, who quickly realized how far he had fallen from his far-flung forest home. He decided that enough was enough, and when ordered to join Urstul in defending Maleficarius Towers, he simply disappeared instead.   When Thrakkus died in the Modron siege, Arbane's supply of blood dried up, and his control over his hunger began to slip. He eventually chose Marigold as a victim, given his familiarity with her and her routine, then tried to knock her unconscious and only take a sip, but quickly lost control and drained her entirely. Filled with grief over his actions, he chose to return home to the Green Realm and surrender himself to the judgement of the wild elf elders, hoping for a death that would secure his spirit in the eyes of the elven gods.   Arbane's plan to leave the city had grown complicated, however; in addition to the continuing manhunt for Black Network associates by the City Watch and the Flaming Anvil, the monster hunter Beyard Sundever had grown interested in the rumors that a member of the Network was a vampire, and was casing the location as well. As he was planning to make a break for it, the Moonlighters arrived.   Makoto wished to spare Arbane on the condition that he work for her to repay the crime of killing Marigold. Arbane politely refused to bind himself to the service of another, wishing only to make his journey to the Green Realm. Connie then asked Arbane what his plan was for avoiding further vampiric casualties on his journey west. Arbane truthfully and shamefully admitted that he had none.   The Moonlighters could not justify Arbane's continued existence despite his pleas. Vesper entered and cursed Arbane for leaving Urstul to die, and expressed that her only regret was that she could only kill him once. Arbane apologized one last time and prepared to defend himself, leading to a fight.   The Moonlighters fought ferociously, scoring devastating hits one after another. Arbane tried to desperately attack Connie to give himself some space, but Connie summoned a flame blade in self defense and decapitated the vampire before quickly staking him, bringing his undeath to an end. Left behind in Arbane's ashes was a platinum ring of protection picked up by Connie, and an acheron blade shortsword taken by Makoto.   Vesper, quietly furious, secured Arbane's head and headed upstairs, while Makoto and Connie cased the upstairs part of the lair. Connie stumbled around a few unsprung traps while Makoto masterfully avoided them and danced around their effects. Their explorations uncovered little of note beyond some gold pieces and Arbane's journal, which he kept to help remain in control of himself. The journal contained nothing the party didn't already know from the vampire himself, however.   After their exploration was complete, Connie and Makoto reunited with Vesper, who was deep in contemplation; again, not wanting to speak of her thoughts.   The party secured Arbane's head in a discrete cloth wrap and made their way to a nearby City Watch garrison; the commander there determined the case was too high-profile and would need to be handled by the Flaming Anvil. Thus did the Moonlighters head to the Castle Ward, stopping along the way for Connie to help repair the tongue of a damaged wagon that was holding up traffic on the High Road. He did so with his creation magics, delighting the common folk nearby.   The party soon arrived at the Flaming Anvil Headquarters in the Castle Ward, and made their way inside...