Still in the upstairs portion of Henrik van der Voort’s coffinshop, the party exchanges blows with the vampire spawn, unleashing deadly attacks to no avail. Tamar casts Moonbeam before morphing into a Dire Wolf. Bogdan, divinely aided by a Protected from Evil spell from Brume’s magic, smashes the undead with his staff. Zack springs to action, swinging his great sword in heroic arcs, wildly missing. Brume senses the true nature of these “abominations” and manifests his true angelic nature, sprouting wings and a halo. The spawn literally tear into the party, raking their sharpened claws into the heroes’ flesh. They claw, they grab and bite, and try their best to prevent escape. Clementine walks into a maelstrom of violence and bloodshed, unleashing a volley of Scorching Rays upon the undead.

The party, hard-pressed and feeling the pressure, fights back desperately. Tamar’s Moonbeam chars a few of the vampires, igniting their ferocity. Bogdan, despite his magical defenses, is overwhelmed by the vicious monsters and gets knocked unconscious. One of the bloodsuckers dug its claws into Brume and held out, trying to bite him; Brume channels the Morninglord’s divine power and is able to Turn three of the six spawn, making them flee in terror, also while casting Healing Word on Bogdan, reinvigorating the monk so he may return to battle.

Now the fight is looking a little more fair, giving the adventurers a tiny chance to catch their breath. They realize that the vampire spawn have done a great deal of damage within just a few seconds. The party fights back valiantly, spells and thunderous blows balanced against gnashing bites and gruesome claws. Brume has an idea and hopes to open an avenue of escape. The pale cleric cast Thunderwave and shatters a nearby window, cracking the stone wall separating the party from alleyway outside. The cone of thunder also catches two of the spawn in the blast, knocking one prone.

Zack, growing more determined after a despairing number of misses, Smites one of the fiends and deals it a mighty blow, sending it back to hell. Two of the vampire spawn cower from Brume, but the remaining few fight even harder, seemingly determined to prevent any of the living from escaping alive. Tamar seizes an opportunity to break free from her attackers. The giant wolf charges towards the wall, intent on jumping through the window and towards freedom; she manages the jump, but not before smashing through the wall around the window frame. Landing in the alley below with a thud and a snarl, Tamar realizes the window frame is stuck around her neck, as if she was wearing a giant wooden necklace.

The druid, still badly hurt, doesn’t waste time and makes a dash for safety. Zack Smites another vampire, and with the air of an impeccable braggadocio proclaims: “two down, four to go!” One by one the heroes make a dash for freedom, with vampire clawing at their backs

Bogdan’s superior speed sees him sprinting to the end of the alley before everybody else. The monk makes a huge commotion, yelling “VAMPIRES ARE ATTACKING” and “THEY HAVE THE SACRED RELICS”. The noise serves its purpose, drawing the attention of two Vallakian guards.

Tamar is grappled and brought to the ground, reverted to her half-elven form and overpowered by one of the spawn, struggling to avoid becoming a meal in the grasp of the vampire spawn’s bloodlust. Zack, on the opposite end of the alley, had been knocked to the ground by another spawn. Fearing for his life, the paladin channels Lathander’s holy light and drives the undead into a frenzy of claws and teeth. Brume, still in his angelic form, flies from the opening in the upstairs wall to the adjacent rooftop to gain safety. Two of the vampire spawn broke away for unknown reasons, after one shouted at the other in a horrific guttural language no one understood. They ran away from the alley mouth, and within seconds the party lost sight of them.

Tamar and Zack are now both in dire straits, and Brume feels the pressure and is in a tight spot. He has to choose which to save, and the wrong choice could mean death. Unable to save both of his friends, the man-angel let practicality have its head and chose to heal the adventurer closest to him. Flying down to Zack, Brume first retrieves the bones of Saint Andral in their hempen sack, and whispers Healing Word in the paladin’s unconscious ear. Zack frees himself, but Brume’s choice meant that no one was close enough to Tamar.

The druid pays the ultimate price. Drinking one half-elf dry, the deadly vampire spawn turns it’s attention to Clementine, looking for a second meal. Zack, beaten and bruised and nearly out of any means to help himself, heals himself with what little divine energy he has left before he plows through a window in the building across the alley. The abjured vampire, left behind without seeing where the paladin went, swears and spitting by himself at the back, until Brume flies away. The cleric heads to Tamar’s bloodless remains mere seconds too late; he scoops her up and ascends to safety, leaving the abjured spawn free to menace people once more.

Clementine is attacked by the remaining vampire spawn. The two guards try first defend her, and later to pry them off of her, but to no avail. The undead bleed her dry as well, their unquenchable thirst ever driving them forward.

Zack finds himself in a room face-to-face with a Vallakian citizen armed with a cleaver. Realizing the man is a butcher, the paladin throws the man some gold to cover the broken window and manages to push past to safety, yelling about the danger behind him so the butcher isn’t caught unawares as well.

The party is now scattered, and two of them are dead. Will the remaining adventurers make it back safety and regroup? Can they get the holy bones back to Saint Andral’s Church? Only time will tell.

Treasure:

• None

Inspiration:

• For putting his incredible speed to use to warn the townsfolk (and plea for help), Bogdan is inspired
• For putting the lives of his party members above his own, and feeling the cost of choosing which party member to save, Brume is Inspired
• For being tasty, Tamar and Clementine are ded. So ded.