17.3 Secrets for the Duke, Screeches in the Dark!

SESSION DATE: October 10, 2026
PRESENT: Kakariki, Kemurial, Zhanis, Tobias

Deep Dive

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Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[Secrets for the Duke, Screeches in the Dark!.mp4]]

World Anvil Journal

Oh-ho-ho! What a super-important, super-busy day for Team Gilded Iron!

First things first: what were we going to do about poor Ulrika-friend? She was sitting right there in the sarcophagus, fully chained up, struggling against her brand-new vampire urges with red eyes and scary fangs. Zhanis went right up to her to have a big heart-to-heart talk about what she wanted. Ulrika was totally panicked and horrified, torn between her pride as a proud Kislevite and her own hatred of the undead, but she said one thing very clearly: she is not ready to die yet, and she would gladly accept a cure!

She also told us the bad guy who bit her was still hiding in the catacombs—a mean vampire named Adolphus Krieger—and that the mysterious artifact came from a place far to the south called Nehekhara, used to control and bind vampires!

The Secret Mind-Meeting with the Duke!

We needed to keep this super quiet so the traumatized citizens of Praag and Ulrika's snobby friends wouldn't panic. So, what did Tobias do? He did the craziest, coolest mind-trick ever!

Tobias cast a big Psychic Projection spell. His real body fell fast asleep on the floor (Kakariki and Blaze stayed right beside him to guard him like brave bodyguards!), while his glowing mind-form zoomed all the way to the Duke of Praag!

Zhanis, Tobias, and Ulrika’s spirit-forms talked directly to the Duke in private. The Duke was actually super nice and empathetic! He agreed to keep the whole thing a secret for one whole week while his advisors research a cure. But he gave us one big rule: we have to clean out every single bad monster from this underground area so it's safe for Ulrika to stay right where she is, hidden away safely!

The Invisible Bat-Monsters & Adolphus's Taunt!

As soon as Tobias popped back into his body, we got right to work clearing out the rest of the catacombs! Kemurial picked the lock on the southern door, and Blaze trotted in to check for fire.

BOOM! Suddenly, the room went pitch black as the braziers snuffed out, and invisible Vampire Nightbringers started shrieking like giant, terrifying gutteral bats!

Kakariki fired a super-fast sling stone—PEW!—while Tobias made one vampire get super confused and attack its own friends!

Then, right in the middle of the fighting, a pompous, creepy, young-and-old voice echoed all through the room:

"You really know how to make a mess of things. Brilliant... You have foiled the beginnings of my plan. Enjoy playing with my children. I will see you another time."

It was Adolphus Krieger himself talking to us through his spooky magic! But Team Gilded Iron doesn't care about spooky speeches!

• Blaze fought super hard, wriggling out of nasty grabs and spitting hot lava all over the place!

• Zhanis summoned a giant, beautiful, whirring circle of Spirit Guardians that went ZAP on all the bad guys!

• Kemurial dashed through walls like a ghost, dropping maximum-damage smites and glowing fireballs!

• Kakariki hasted himself up to super-speed, firing glowing stones left and right while super-genius Blaze chomped the bad guys right down to the floor!

By the time the dust cleared, the invisible bat-monsters were smashed to scrap, and the room was totally clear!

We didn't even have time to search for loot yet because our magic was wearing off, but we did a super-duper job protecting Ulrika-friend and securing the area for the Duke!

Time to rest up, catch our breath, and figure out what to do next. Yes, yes!

Private Notes

• We have to figure out what to do with Ulrika. Kemurial tries to discern whether he can possibly cure her. He doesn't recall how, but he thinks it's not an insurmountable problem. We discuss giving her one of Zhanis's Psi Lenses that she has left at the Citadel, but we'd need to warn them of the fact that a vampire spawn would suddenly be appearing. That might not be wise to have a potentially dangerous person entering such a place. Tobias can send messages and appear next to anyone he's familiar with. But those in Praag and Kislev in general aren't exactly fans of undead creatures to begin with, so walking her through the streets of a freshly-razed Praag filled with traumatized citizens.
• Kakariki suggests whether we should go ahead and send a message, but instead of warning them we're bringing Ulrika to them, tell them of the situation and how things have changed and strongly request they come to us instead, prepared to try to cure her if possible.
• Zhanis volunteers to speak to Ulrika to find out what SHE wants for herself. Ulrika is sitting up in the sarcophagus, fully chained and bound. She's already got that look of hunger. She's struggling to get out of her chains. Zhanis tells her the facts, that she's now a vampire spawn, and with that comes with traits and associated societal problems and dangers, but that she won't lose all of her humanity. Zhanis wants to know if she knows who did this to her, what it means, and whether she understands the situation she's in. She also gives her our own thoughts on the options we've discussed. Ulrika says that she immediately follows the transformation. She expresses that she's devastated, panicked and horrified by what she has become. We can tell she has experienced severe trauma trying to grapple with the monstrous urges she's had already. She says she's torn between her fierce pride and loyalty to her heritage, her people, and that her continued existence would be that of an outcast, never welcomed back into her circle. And she's also torn between self-preservation and her own personal hatred of the undead, and that she isn't ready to die yet. Zhanis tries to reassure her that her situation doesn't have to be known by all, and that if we act quickly and quietly enough, we can potentially prevent those around her from knowing. Ulrika says she would gladly accept a cure if we can do that for her. Ulrika says that the vampire who bit her and attempted to turn her was still in the dungeon. His name is Adolphus Krieger. And she says Nehakhara, the birthplace of vampirism well down to the south of where we are, is where the artifact comes from. She says the artifact and the ritual can call, compel, and control undead, specifically intelligent ones like vampires. There's something about the ritual she's heard of that, once her transformation was complete, he was going to take her to the southeastern part of the region to try to bind other vampires to him. He's trying to reawaken a vampire order, starting in Sylvania.
• With that, we plan to send for help from trusted parties who can assist her, and to keep it on the down-low as much as possible.
• We are able to take a short rest while preparing to execute our plan.
• We choose Tobias to project himself, using Psychic Projection, to the Duke. In that form, he would be able to communicate directly with the Duke, whispering the message to him in private. It takes 10 minutes to manifest, but lasts one hour, which should be plenty of time to convey the message, the situation, and even get a plan together. While he's projecting, his actual body will be unconscious, so we'll all need to stay back and protect him for the duration.
• Tobias manifests Distant Voice to the Duke to ask for his location and that he needs to talk with him in private. The Duke presumably comes back with his location and accepts the meeting. Tobias then projects himself, Zhanis and Ulrika after the 10 minute manifestation time, using Psychic Projection as a 6th Order ability. He misses his Strain roll by one, meaning he takes six more Strain. Oof. But it works at least.
• Their bodies are unconscious, and fall into a slump. Kakariki and Blaze stay next to them during this time.
• Ulrika remains still during the meeting. Zhanis explains everything to the Duke, and explains her concerns to him about things, and why this needs to stay quiet. Zhanis is able to persuade the Duke that this is just a projection, and that she can't hurt him in this form. The Duke expresses more empathy than disgust. We're looking for a cure, and that we need his support and influence to try to find someone trusted who can cure her. The Duke is willing to discuss with one of his advisors to find out whether they have this capability. He brings in an advisor. They don't have the ability to do it right now, but will research what needs to happen to get her cured. That's great. Now we need to ensure her safety without alarming anyone, especially those in her circle. Zhanis emphasizes how Adolphus Krieger was trying to use his relative against Praag and the whole region for his own gains, and that the vampire who is responsible for her condition is still loose and looking to perform a ritual. The Duke says he understands that Sylvania is quite a way away, but asks if that's something we think we can stop quickly, and he asks how long he'll be expected to keep this a secret. He says he can give us a week. Any longer than that and he'll unfortunately need to temporarily banish her from Kislev. Zhanis understands. They then discuss security, and whether she'll be kept here in Praag? How will security for her be assured for Ulrika? The Duke suggests that clearly there was some evil that remains hidden under Praag. It might be ideal that she stays where she is rather than being transported at all. He asks if we can ensure that no danger remains and we clear all threats from the place she's currently in. Zhanis says yes, we can do that for them. Then they can discreetly move guards and other medical/religious assistance into the area. Given the information he now knows about the area, it might be simpler to just keep her here. Zhanis agrees. They then move on to the artifact. The Duke says he's frankly getting tired of hearing about world-ending artifacts. He says he will keep this secret, particularly from the Tzarina because she's far more cold-blooded and ruthless than he is. But he stresses that we have limited time to deal with this. Zhanis understands. He gives his appreciation for all we've done not just for him, but for the kingdom. He asks that we keep his cousin safe, and that we find a cure. Done deal.
• The Duke leaves them with the instructions to contact him again once we clear the area.
• Tobias returns their consciousnesses to their bodies, and Zhanis relays all the information from the meeting.
• We immediately get to clearing the rest of the place out.
• Kemurial checks the southern door for traps. It's locked, but not trapped. He tries to unlock it, and is successful.
• Kakariki Readies a shot should opening the door reveal any obvious enemies. Tobias uses Psionic Toughness on himself.
• Kemurial opens the door, revealing seemingly just an empty corridor. Kemurial and Zhanis go in. They quickly discover they are on the other side of a hidden door. They find the mechanism. They wait and listen beyond the door. They don't hear anything, but they smell smoke, like there might be something burning on the other side.
• Kemurial beckons for Blaze to go ahead since there might be fire. He obliges.
• Kemurial opens the door for him. Some stuff happens quickly. A vampire-type creature immediately spins and the braziers all go dark. Kakariki gets his Readied shot off at the creature, and hits. We heard the screech of what we imagine half a dozen vampire bats to sound like, but it's deeper and more gutteral. INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Tobias - Moves forward into the corridor and manifests Believe at the Vampire Spawn. It fails its save, meaning it must move toward its closest ally and make an attack against them on its next turn.
    • Vampire Nightbringers - This invisible creature moves within Kemurial's Blindsight range, so Kemurial warns us of its presence and location. Another one does the same. Kemurial says there are three, but two are hidden.
    • Friar Karl - Casts Spiritual Weapon near the Vampire Spawn. Casts Orison on Kakariki and Kemurial.
    • Kakariki - Bonus Action Magic Stone for three more magic stone ammo. Then Action to cast Haste on himself. Hasted Action to attack the Vampire Spawn, hitting. Moves Blaze next to the Vampire Spawn, but gets two attacks taken at him because the invisible creatures held their action to attack. One missed. The other would've hit, but Kakariki uses Feral Reflexes to give an extra 2 AC to Blaze against that attack, making it miss. Blaze continues in and uses Lava Spittle on the Vampire Spawn, hitting and killing it, and the lava spittle hits one of the once-invisible creatures.
    • Vampire Nightbringer - Moves up and attacks Blaze, hitting, and reducing his max HP by the amount of Necrotic damage he took. Other things happen. Can't keep up. At some point Blaze gets Grappled and takes more damage to his max HP. Then more things happened that I couldn't keep up with.
    • Kemurial - Moves back slightly, provoking, which would crit but he can't be crit. Casts 4th Level Fireball using Academy Ring. All but one enemy fails their save. Nice! Bonus Action Potion of Speed for Haste. Hasted Action to attack, adds Sacred Weapon and Strike of the Giants, hits for maximum damage since it's the first time he's hit them with an attack this combat, and it knocks him Prone.
    • Zhanis - Casts 5th Level Spirit Guardians, then moves up, catching a few enemies within it. All of them fail their saves, taking decent damage.

  • Round 2

  • We all hear a voice that sounds commanding, pompous, young and old at the same time. It carries a certain gravitas with it. It says "You really know how to make a mess of things. Brilliant. Your valiant defense of this city, your staunch resistance... You have foiled the beginnings of my plan. I know your names, and who you are. This will not end here. Enjoy playing with my children. I will see you another time."
    • Tobias - Manifests Iron on himself, giving himself a couple extra AC among other benefits. Floats above and takes a couple attacks at an enemy, hitting both times.
    • Vampire Nightbringers - Moves next to Tobias and tries returning the favor, missing both attacks. Then moves away from Tobias, provoking. He uses a power to make the opportunity attack, manifesting Concussive Slam. The Vampire Nightbringer fails its save, taking damage and being knocked Prone. It uses half its movement to stand back up and continues moving away. Another one steps up to Tobias and attacks, missing both times, then moves away toward the southeast like his friend.
    • Friar Karl - Attacks with Spiritual Weapon and hits and Vampire Nightbringer. Orison on Kakariki and Kemurial
    • Kakariki - Action to True Strike attack a Vampire Nightbringer, hits. Bonus Action to True Strike again, hits again. Blaze attempts to escape the Grapple, and does so successfully. Blaze uses Bonus Action to try to tumble past the two enemies next to him, and does, provoking, and it misses. Kakariki's Hasted Action hits, Wrath of the Pack, Blaze's attack hits, knocking it Prone.
    • Vampire Nightbringer - Stands up from Prone using half its movement, Disengage Action to escape to the west. Bonus Action for something, can't see.
    • Vampire Spawns - Multiattack at Blaze, hitting once and is Grappled again. Sheesh. Turns Blaze back to the west. Maybe it wasn't all for naught, right? Bite Constitution Save on Blaze, and he saves. Another one sttacks at Blaze, hitting once, and fails the Bite save, meaning even less max HP now. And another one uses half movement to stand up from Prone, then Dashes and Disengages away from Kemurial to the southeast.
    • Vampire Nightbringer - Bonus Action attempts to hide with Shadow Stealth, but fails, steps into Spirit Guardians, fails save taking damage, moves under Tobias and Kemurial and attacks Zhanis. Both attacks miss.
    • Kemurial - Attacks the Vampire Nightbringer that's directly under him, hitting for max damage since it's the first time he's attacked him this combat. Second attack also hits, and he pumps Divine Smite into it for extra damage.
    • Zhanis - Attacks the Vampire Nightbringer right in front of her, hitting. Moves away and back in so as to trigger the Spirit Guardians damage on the Nightbringer, killing it. Nice!

  • Round 3

    • Tobias - Moves forward and through a couple enemies on the eastern side and uses his Iron to attack them. First one CRITs! Second one also hits. Bonus Action to manifest Psionic Shift at 2nd Order. The target fails the Strength save and gets moved 5' into the Spirit Guardians, and subsequently fails that save, taking damage.
    • Vampire Nightbringers - Steps over and Disengages to escape into a room to our south, and unsure what he does after that. The other one flies 10' up and over Tobias, provoking from Kemurial, who uses Booming Blade as part of his opportunity attack, hits for max damage, and will take more damage if it voluntarily moves. It does continue to move, so takes an extra bit of damage. He makes attacks at Tobias, both of which miss.
    • Friar Karl - Steps into Spirit Guardians for some security, 2x Orison on Kakariki and Kemurial.
    • Kakariki - Moves in, True Strike attacks. One hits and kills the nearly dead flying one. Second one at the right-side grappling guy, hits. Wrath of the Pack, Blaze's attack hits, knocks him Prone. Hasted attack at the left-side grappling guy hits. Wrath of the Pack, Blaze's attack hits, knocking him Prone as well. Hellish Wound on both of them. Blaze's Action to attack the nearly dead one grappling him, hits and kills it.
    • Vampire Nightbringer - Moves up and tries to surprise Kakariki with two attacks, both miss.
    • Vampire Spawns - Takes Hellish Wound damage, stands up from Prone, moves 5' and spins Blaze around, then attacks him. Both miss, and Blaze makes his Constitution Save on the Bite. Uses Deathless Agility as a Bonus Action to Dash further. Another one uses his Spider Climb to climb on the wall above the brazier in order to get Flanking on Blaze, missing both thanks to Feral Reflexes. Fails the Bite save, taking 7 more max HP damage.
    • Kemurial - Moves into the room to Flank with Kakariki and attacks the Vampire Nightbringer, hitting for max damage, killing it. Continues moving westward into the corridor. Second attack at a Vampire Spawn hits for max damage. Hasted attack CRITs and kills it. Two enemies remain. He continues moving to the southern portion of the room.
    • Zhanis - Moves south and west, then Dashes to move further, getting the last Vampire Spawn caught in her Spirit Guardians. Continues moving east toward the entrance of the central room.

  • Round 4

    • Tobias - Shouts "One went inside this door!" then moves toward it and opens it. "It's here!" he says. Manifests 2nd Order Incinerate, doing damage to the Vampire Nightbringer, then moves away.
    • Vampire Nightbringer - Unsure, can't see.
    • Friar Karl - Says he's holding the doorway and has his eyes on Ulrika. Readies an action to Sacred Flame the first enemy he sees in range, dropping Spiritual Weapon.
    • Kakariki - Runs himself and Blaze into the central room, doesn't see any enemies. Blaze opens the sarcophagus with his insane strength, but nothing but dirt is inside.
    • Kemurial - Goes incorporeal to move through the wall and moves through the center room out the other side. He says he senses the Vampire Nightbringer on the north side of the room near the corridor we came in through. He attacks it and hits. Second attack also hits. Hasted attack CRITs and kills it. Nice!
  • Combat over.
• Since we have some magic effects running out soon, we decide to continue on instead of immediately searching for loot. We can always come back later.

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

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