Back
in faerun they found themselves naked and freezing the the temple vault were
they died. The exit was frozen over and
the corpses from there previous life were still in the vault, skeletons inside of
what they had on them when they died.
After retrieving their gear, they broke there way through the frozen tunnel and climbed out to the
surface to find themselves in the middle of a brutally cold winter. In Oakhurst they learned that they had been
missing for over two years. Since then
much had changed, the vampire attacks ceased, but many other strange things
began happening. Sir Bradford returned
from the temple of lathander and has since then declared himself Lord over the lands surrounding Oakhurst and
taken residence in the old Hucrele estate.
He soon changed his title to Lord Bradford. A dark chill now
surrounded the estate that no sane person dared to go near, save a few
strange new travelers that would come and go at night.
Upon arriving at the Hucrele estate they realized it was no longer the once immaculate and well tended grounds they remembered. Vines and overgrowth had overtaken most of the doors and windows. Cautiously they entered through the unlocked front door, to encounter a deathly silence and dark corridors. In the eastern corridor they found what used to be the kitchen turned into a fully functional forge and annexed to the kitchen a small storage space with a closed coffin. Belros slowly opened the coffin to find a sleeping vampire, it was Rurik Lutgher, the dwarf forgemaster of Oakhurst. Quickly Elexan pierced his heart with a wooden stake, paralyzing him. Searching his belongings revealed that in his two year of undeath he had become quite accomplished at imbuing his weapons and armor with magical enchantments.
In the main gallery the group was shocked to find the source of the corruption was not only Lord Bradford but another Gulthias Tree. The battle that ensued proved to be more difficult than previous battles with the Gulthias, not only did they have the vampire to contend with but the tree had filled the room with sharp undergrowth that was attacking them. Lord Bradford's hatred of all things good, especially Belros, did not prevail that day. After pouring all of his hatred in attempting to slay the paladin he was still defeating by the adventurers, turning ethereal and fleeing to the sanctuary of his coffin to recover.
The group then decided it was well time to head back to Oakhurst, to recover from the battle. Fortunatley, knowing the ways of vampires, Elexan was able to convince the group they needed to finish there work with Lord Bradford here before he had a chance to regenerate. High up in the tower behind the gallery they found his coffin, locked, trapped. Luck was not on Searos' side as he tried to disable the magical trap and instead caused a hail storm to erupt inside the tower. After almost killing him, Searos was hesitant to have another try at the coffin. Though low on healing spells, Elexan decided to accompany Searos to help protect him should he fail to disarm the trap. Fortunately, the extent of Elexan's healign ability was not tested as Searos deftly disabled the trap this time. Almost as soon as Elexan slid the lid from the coffin, Lord Bradford's partially regenerated body lunged for his throat. Another wooden stake quickly ended the threat of Lord Bradford.
After some debate, they decided to attempt to try a resurrection on Lord Bradford to remove the vampirism. A powerful spell that Elexan had never attempted before, even with a scroll success was unsure. Luck again was on there side as Sir Bradford came back, cured of vampirism but still a loyal supplicant of Gulthias. It was time to test the theory that consuming an entire summer fruit would cure the supplicancy. A mind control spell quickly convinced Bradford the supplicant to consume the summer fruit. A day later the supplicant of Gulthias, Vampire Lord Bradford, was no more. It was just Sir Bradford, Paladin of Lathander. Seeking atonement for all that had happened, he vowed to stay in Oakhurst rebuilding the temple to Lathander. Praying that one day Lathander would forgive him for his failure.
In one final stroke of luck Elexan was able to resurrect Rurik Lutgher with there only remaining Scroll of Resurrection.
Upon arriving at the Hucrele estate they realized it was no longer the once immaculate and well tended grounds they remembered. Vines and overgrowth had overtaken most of the doors and windows. Cautiously they entered through the unlocked front door, to encounter a deathly silence and dark corridors. In the eastern corridor they found what used to be the kitchen turned into a fully functional forge and annexed to the kitchen a small storage space with a closed coffin. Belros slowly opened the coffin to find a sleeping vampire, it was Rurik Lutgher, the dwarf forgemaster of Oakhurst. Quickly Elexan pierced his heart with a wooden stake, paralyzing him. Searching his belongings revealed that in his two year of undeath he had become quite accomplished at imbuing his weapons and armor with magical enchantments.
In the main gallery the group was shocked to find the source of the corruption was not only Lord Bradford but another Gulthias Tree. The battle that ensued proved to be more difficult than previous battles with the Gulthias, not only did they have the vampire to contend with but the tree had filled the room with sharp undergrowth that was attacking them. Lord Bradford's hatred of all things good, especially Belros, did not prevail that day. After pouring all of his hatred in attempting to slay the paladin he was still defeating by the adventurers, turning ethereal and fleeing to the sanctuary of his coffin to recover.
The group then decided it was well time to head back to Oakhurst, to recover from the battle. Fortunatley, knowing the ways of vampires, Elexan was able to convince the group they needed to finish there work with Lord Bradford here before he had a chance to regenerate. High up in the tower behind the gallery they found his coffin, locked, trapped. Luck was not on Searos' side as he tried to disable the magical trap and instead caused a hail storm to erupt inside the tower. After almost killing him, Searos was hesitant to have another try at the coffin. Though low on healing spells, Elexan decided to accompany Searos to help protect him should he fail to disarm the trap. Fortunately, the extent of Elexan's healign ability was not tested as Searos deftly disabled the trap this time. Almost as soon as Elexan slid the lid from the coffin, Lord Bradford's partially regenerated body lunged for his throat. Another wooden stake quickly ended the threat of Lord Bradford.
After some debate, they decided to attempt to try a resurrection on Lord Bradford to remove the vampirism. A powerful spell that Elexan had never attempted before, even with a scroll success was unsure. Luck again was on there side as Sir Bradford came back, cured of vampirism but still a loyal supplicant of Gulthias. It was time to test the theory that consuming an entire summer fruit would cure the supplicancy. A mind control spell quickly convinced Bradford the supplicant to consume the summer fruit. A day later the supplicant of Gulthias, Vampire Lord Bradford, was no more. It was just Sir Bradford, Paladin of Lathander. Seeking atonement for all that had happened, he vowed to stay in Oakhurst rebuilding the temple to Lathander. Praying that one day Lathander would forgive him for his failure.
In one final stroke of luck Elexan was able to resurrect Rurik Lutgher with there only remaining Scroll of Resurrection.