Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?

The group pulls back and quickly attempts to make a plan while the new vampire fledgelings are just starting to come to their senses. Carindrina, used to battle, rushes forward and attempts to shove the pixie sticks up one of the vampire’s noses, blowing and trying to disorient him. Belladonna asks if we are really going to try to save everyone, seeing Galia’s resolve, she tries to angle herself so she can be between two of the cages. Furus slings his violin up onto his shoulder and begins playing. Belladonna knocks an incendiary arrow and lets it fly, it sinks into the vampire in the middle cage, flames eating away his ragged shirt and singing his skin. Midna moved to the cell while he was distracted and reached through with her shortsword to attack him, but he is jittery and jumps backwards before she can get a good strike. Nira releases a large pulse of positive power through the room, helping heal the captives and harm the vampires. Venus releases firebolt and barely singes the first vampire. He turns and grabs the girl in the cage with him and begins feeding on her, she slumps over in his arms and he glares at the group, panting and new fangs bared, dripping with blood.

In the far corner, opposite of where Alora is held, and where there are two captives with a vampire, the group hears a scuffle and scream. Near Alora, Aquila ran up and slashed at the vampire, but he turned and hissed at her, missing her blow. Galia, who had been standing outside the room while they were talking, ran in to the far cage with two captives, wanting to attempt to save everyone, but shouted at Juniper to go protect Alora. Juniper darted through the group, running around the cages with fey speed. Again a scream, that tapered into a whimper and a horrible slurping noise came from the far cages, Belladonna’s body froze at the sound of torture, and whirled to go help.

Adalia, planning to build a wall of water between Alora and the vampire, ran towards her cage, but then turned to attack the middle vampire, her hands out, an enormous wave slams into the vampire, knocking him backwards. The blood washing off his face, his hungry eyes fix on her and he raises a knobbed finger to point menacingly. She begins to hesitate, but noise from where Alora had been captured, scuffling and kicking, tore her attention back to saving Nell’s sister as she promised.

Carindrina heaving her weapons, ran towards Alora. In the cage, Alora defiantly tried to kick him, but he barely noticed.

Belladonna and Galia look at each other with the same determined expression as they hear gasping, agonal breaths from the far cages no one had gone to help. Galia moves towards the back, but Belladonna stayed to light two more arrows, launching one into the dripping vampire ahead of her. The arrow hits, sinking into his heart with a wet thunk, and he bursts into flame, sinking to his knees and dying.

Midna, realizing she doesn’t need to focus on this vampire, spins and aims a perfect shot through the bars and sinks an arrow into the shoulder of the vampire that is hovering over Alora. He groans, and turns his back to her, searching for his attackers.

Venus, not having time to move, attempted to throw a firebolt towards Alora’s vampire, but the mystic fire fizzled out as it tried to pass through the bars.

Nira was staying out of the direct fray, but feeling that Galia was going in alone, moved towards her and sent her last healing pulse through the area, concentrated on the sound of the dying captives. One of the captives, absorbing the holy energy, swings as hard as she can and decks the vampire, sending his head into the bars. He is a little stunned, but unfortunately seems to still be in better shape than the captives. Galia throws her hand, clenching her fist to call some pink smoky ropes to grab the vampire and magically chain him to the wall of the cage. Nira follows close behind.

Alora, desperate, but now filled with a spark of hope, reaches out and tries to yank the vampire by the leg and knock him prone. He was caught off-guard and slams to the floor.

Near Galia, one of the captives, seeing an opportunity with the vampire being restrained by curling pink smoke, gets up and hauls her foot back, kicking him between the legs.

Carindrina, realizing her hammers wouldn’t fit through the bars, stabs her crowbar through the cage, stabbing it through his back, turning it and wrenching it back out, blood pouring from his wound. He turned to grip the bars and face her, grimacing.

The captive in the middle cage sinks to her knees and sobs, her cries echoing through the dungeon.

Belladonna tried to aim a crossbolt through the bars of the cage, but the thick bolt clipped the edge and clattered to the ground. Midna had a subtle smile, pulling her longbow and releasing another arrow that sinks straight into Alora’s vampire. The blood that continues to spill forth is thick and black and smells like death.
As Venus ran towards Alora, in the other corner, Aquila swatted out to claw the vampire held in Galia’s magic, but her claws didn’t quite cut through the smoke. Galia, losing concentration on the spell, cast a new spell, pink hearts circled over his head like a crown, settled in his hair and disappeared. He stood, transfixed, staring blankly ahead. He turned to look at Galia and Nira through the bars of the cage, a bland, polite look frozen on his face. Adalia glared at him, readying a spell, slamming a large heavily pressured jet stream of water directly at his chest. He falls down, sputtering, but his face is still blank. The additional sonic damage from Furus hits him as a second wave and he covers his ears.

Alora, on her knees, slaps the vampire slumped onto the bars in the cage. Carindrina smiles knowingly at her, drawing her crowbar back, then plunging it directly into his heart. Blood gurgles in his mouth and he pants, staring into her eyes. She stares back, unflinching, her warrior training kicking in, and yanks it out with a grin.

Belladonna loads her bow and takes aim. The arrow finds a home and he releases a breath, slumping even further, pressing into the bars, now dead. While the group celebrates, Carindrina, staring into his body, watches the blood drip onto the spikes, some of the spikes were almost interwoven like teeth, and as they are soaked in blood, they peel apart, opening the cage.

Midna tried to get another arrow through the middle row of cages into the back row where the enchanted vampire lays on the ground, but the arrow falls short before the final cage. Nira moves closer to the bars and tries to catch the vampire fledgling’s clothes on fire, but the dampness hinders them from sparking.

Furus shouted at the vampire with vicious mockery, “Get off of her you fanger!”

The vampire, still enchanted, has a look of confusion replace his bland features, “But we were friends?” then died.

Carindrina called out to the group, “Don’t touch the spikes, they are actually like teeth.”

Venus calls back, “Do you think it will create more vampires?”

Carindrina shouts, “Yeah! Can anyone pour holy water on these?”

A debate ensued on how much holy water was needed to mix into regular water to keep the properties of holy water. It was decided that they would send Aquilla and Juniper back to the holy water at the entrance of the castle to bring more holy water and not utilize the group’s supplies. Then the discussion of using blood to open them led to Belladonna squeezing through the small crack and pushing the dead vampire through the hole, with Carindrina tugging on the other side, mangling the body in the process, and leaving him stuck half-in, half-out of the gap between the bars. Carindrina grabbed an arm and pressed it into the bars near her, the spikes and teeth wiggle and the bars begin to open. His arm, hanging at a grotesque angle, dripped to the floor. Belladonna pulled out her sword and cut off the arm closest to her, handing it through the bars to Carindrina. The group decides to use the vampires to open the cages by pressing their corpses into the spikes. Galia reaches through the bars, dragging the body to press it into the bars, she begins gagging at the squelching noise, and Adalia steps in to help.

After everyone is released, the group looks at the captives. They are filthy, ragged, and emaciated. Carindrina explains that they will take Alora to her sister in Lowtown and anyone who wants to come can come, but they must be quiet. “It is important to be quiet, it is important not to trust your surroundings, and it is important to not go near the water.” The group murmured their assent. She then went through, inspecting the group to see if there were grave injuries that would prevent someone from making the trip, but as a soldier, she saw nothing that would prevent her from going forward. Adalia, with a softer eye, spotted a few people who would need more assistance. The cats returned with holy water and they passed it through the crowd, healing everyone. Then they began to plan their escape to Lowtown.