Session 108 - the regrouping

Avaras asked from the vampires to leave the castle, agreeing that both sides would reconvene in two days, after the vampires had time to discuss and give their response to the proposal. Until then, the party agreed that someone would always remain in the city and to continue staying at the inn. Friedrich, however, chose to remain in the castle, intent on speaking with the Andorian Inquisition and forging closer ties with them.   Meanwhile, the rest of the party turned their attention toward rescuing William Keatison. They decided on contacting potential allies. Frederick entrusted Avaras with his pouch of magical tokens, enabling him to reach out to various contacts.
  Using dimension door, Avaras, Remus, and Henry of House Doril teleported into a nearby cave, waiting to see if the vampires would react. When it became clear no response was coming, Remus activated a scroll that transported them to Blackrock Castle.
  There, they met the wizard Perlasi, whom Avaras encountered for the first time. Perlasi brought them into his magically protected chamber—its lead-lined walls preventing any form of magical surveillance and divination spells. Perlasi gave Remus a wooden box meant to him. The box was given to Perlasi by Elbarto from Sophia-Hold. Remus was told to open the box right before going to sleep. The party explained the situation regarding William, the vampires, and the kadians, and requested his aid.
  With one of Frederick’s tokens, Perlasi contacted Lady Silkyl, who promised to dispatch her forces to Blackrock Castle within a few hours. He then reached out to Kiras, who promptly arrived at the castle, mistakenly believing William had already been freed.
  For his assistance, Perlasi demanded 1,600 gold pieces. Remus contributed 1,200, and Avaras covered the remaining 400. When Kiras arrived, he paid Perlasi in gems and gold, then listened as the party explained the situation. Kiras explained that political constraints prevented him from acting openly. Instead, he could send three adventuring groups—but they would take two days to arrive. The party insisted they could not wait that long, fearing the vampires would grow suspicious.
  A compromise was reached: Kiras would send what forces he could, and together with Lady Silkyl’s troops, they would mount a rescue the following day. To make this possible, Avaras will prepare multiple teleportation spells to transport troops directly from Blackrock Castle into the vampires’ stronghold. Kiras also left one of his battle-mages with the party, to aid in the coming fight.
  When Silkyl’s reinforcements arrived, one of them was the bard Mangist, a devoted follower of the dragon goddess Hlal. For reasons he could not explain, Avaras immediately felt uneasy in his presence. Mangist, however, recognized Avaras as a former Howler and urged him to revive the organization. Avaras agreed, and even Remus expressed some interest.
  Mangist, his arm broken and unable to fight, suggested they instead seek the help of Ansor, a bronze dragon he knew. Together, Mangist, Avaras, and Remus teleported toward Ansor’s lair, while Henry remained at Blackrock to coordinate incoming forces. On the way, Remus discovered through magical inspection that he and Avaras were both under a detection spell preventing them from speaking about the vampires.
  Upon reaching the lair, Mangist admitted Ansor disliked him and chose to remain behind. He gave Remus a soul stone containing a soul of one of Hundred as payment to secure Ansor’s aid. Nervous about confronting a dragon, Avaras and Remus wasted half an hour awkwardly making noise outside the lair before Avaras finally lost patience and stormed inside, with Remus trailing behind just like a minion would.
  Within, they encountered the storm giant Gaor, who, after a short exchange, led them to Ansor. The bronze dragon agreed to help in exchange for the soul stone. The pair returned with her to Blackrock Castle, where they rejoined Henry, Mangist, and Kiras’s battle-mage. Together, they teleported to the region near the vampires’ castle, preparing for the coming assault.
  Meanwhile, Max and Roger had been scouting the vampires’ fortress for weaknesses. They noticed unusual troop movements, suggesting the vampires knew something was being planned, though they did not yet know what.
  Back in the city, Frederick had attached himself to the head of the Inquisition with unshakable persistence—“like gum on the sole of a boot.” With little choice, the Inquisitor begrudgingly allowed Frederick to stay by his side, even sharing a room with the inquisition at the inn.
  Before going to sleep Remus open the boxed given to him by Perlasi and had a vision of Sophis inventing him to work for him and his religion.