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--- game_systems:pathfinder2e:blood_lords:adventure_journal [2025/07/13 10:04] – [Scouting and Attacking] Bryan Stephens
+++ game_systems:pathfinder2e:blood_lords:adventure_journal [2025/08/23 14:12] (current) – [Killing the Iron Taviah. Again.] Bryan Stephens
@@ Line 882: / Line 882: @@
+==== Killing the Iron Taviah. Again. ====
+|Campaign Dates|Lamashan 05-15 4723|
+|Game Date|5/15/25|
+{{ :game_systems:pathfinder2e:blood_lords:npcs:iron_vampite.png?400|}}
+The group slowly enters into the manor, noticing the same black shadows along the walls. The entrance, a  great hall has seen better days. To the north, half-demolished brick walls and piles of rubble demarcate what was probably once a kitchen. Mildewed tapestries hang on the walls, and two granite statues of mastiffs face into the room. Piles of rock suggest there may have once been other statues. An unsteady staircase ascends to the upper level. Two curtains of shimmering shadows, one to the west and one to the east, ripple faintly like flimsy veils. The ruined kitchen is broken brick walls surround a kitchen full of cobwebs and rat droppings. Investigation shows the interior walls collapsed from some explosion in the kitchen long ago.
+Sebastian notices blood smeared in a deliberate pattern. He scoffs at the clumsy attempt to shape it into a mark—until he realizes it’s holding back the curtains of shadow. Unable to resist, he pricks his own finger and paints a more artful design. The shadows retreat, peeling away from the east wall to reveal a hidden door.
+Dregdat opens it deftly, and the group peers inside. An enormous ballroom stretches before them. Four dancers in fine attire glide and whirl across a polished wooden floor, bathed in the glow of a grand chandelier dripping with candlelight. A lively gavotte fills the air—then, almost imperceptibly, the tune dips into a minor key. The dancers falter, slowing as the room decays around them. Floorboards rot, ivy worms through the cracks, and the chandelier sags beneath heavy cobwebs. Yet the music insists, urging the ghostly figures to continue their mournful waltz.
+Dregdat shuts the door quickly and describes the vision. The group agrees to leave that haunting room untouched—and to avoid disturbing the other shadows.
+From upstairs comes the sound of a room being ransacked. The party climbs the steps, and Blake, without hesitation, throws open the door.
+The ceiling of this windowless room rises to a dome. Beneath it is a tattered round rug embroidered with overlapping circles of silvery thread. Low shelves around the room’s perimeter display dark-colored crystals, empty incense holders, globules of shimmering shadow, and a few books so old their spines sag. The vampire Iron Taviah is here, moving throughout the room, clearly looking for something.
+She talks to the group, remember that they killed her. She is clearly insane. She cackles about how it is is Chancellor Kemnebi who inadvertently imparted her new existence, and that he’s the mastermind behind the poison plot. She claims she knows his mind, but he messed up, and now she knows his. That is how she knows about Gristlehall, and she is sure that she can find the secret to defeating him here in this home. This shocks the group, especially Zaheri. Kemnebi is chief among the Blood Lords and second only to Geb himself. For him to be plotting against Geb, the king and the nation, is outrageous. It is also rather typical of this horrible nation. She searches on, ignoring the group, other than asking them to help search.
+Dregdat is shaking with rage. Zaheri, having talked enough, strikes her with //magic missiles// from his //wand of force barrage//, unleashing powerful bolts of pure force that bypass her defenses. Zaheri’s group sees this as an opening and they pour their energy into the vetalarana vampire. Startled, she casts //haste// upon herself and backs away from Hanover, who was already there attacking her with ghostly claws. But, Blake was also already there, and his scythe strikes the hag. However, undead though she is, she retains her defenses against normal metals, and the great blade does not cut deep. Dregdat unleashes an //energy bolt// upon her, while Osric and Sebastion both launch attacks. Blake drops his weapon and pulls his cold iron mace. As the melee goes on, the former hag cannot seems to score a solid hit. While her claws bite into Blake, he is immune to being paralyzed. Before Zaheri can even cast again, Osric fells the undead. All drops quiet.
+Dregdat feels his soul is free, unbound from this plane with her death. He can pass on if he chooses, but is not yet compelled. Being freed in this shadow realm apparently shades this transition from the psychopomps. The group heals up and does a quick search. There is no reason to engage in creature after creature in this dammed home. They recover 900 gold and an //Ebon Marionette// which Zaheri gives to their new ghost companion.
+==== End of the Threat. Beginning of the Next ====
+Seldeg meets the group as they emerge from the mine. He tells them they are to be congratulated. Zaheri is cagy but mentions that this was Gristlehall, Kemnebi’s old home. Seldeg is immediately suspicious:
+//“Chancellor Kemnebi. He’s the one who summoned me,”// Seldeg says grimly. //“Trying to throw me off the trail, no doubt. Weeks of pointless drudgery to unravel the truth, interrogating his proxies and skulking about the dregs of Mechitar. Waste of death if you ask me. I had my suspicions, but I never imagined—”// Seldeg shakes his head.
+//“What do you have by way of hard evidence?”// he asks. //“Nothing, I wager, considering how crafty Kemnebi is. The chancellor is the most powerful person in Geb, after the ghost king himself. There is no more dangerous foe, politically or personally.
+//“We’re at a fork in the road,”// Seldeg continues. //“This investigation puts you on a path to inevitable peril. You can choose to be done with this business. You’re not bound as I am to pursue a threat against the nation, and your place in Graydirge is a secure one. You can just leave it. If not, we need proof, and that trail leads to the capital and all its intrigue. This is an important choice.”//
+Zaheri does not hesitate to agree. Sebastion nods along. Osric has nothing else to do. Blake notes he is unsure. Seldeg laughs and says,
+“This was my little joke. This is Geb, none of us have choice. You are hereby summoned to Mechitar for an audience with the ghost king Geb. Arrive prior to the new moon. Prepare for a lengthy stay.”//
+With that, the group looks to an uncertain future. They will ride through Greydirge on their way back. A new adventure awaits.

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