The Black Parade
| The Black Parade | |
|---|---|
| Date | 10/21/25 |
| Storyteller | Jolyne |
| Tier | Legendary |
| Player Characters | Vara, Zeal, Illiam Elro, Chrys |
| Rewards | 450 exp, 10786 gp, Sun-Slaying Bow (de-cursed into Sky-Piercing Bow), Bloody Fang, Bloodthirsty, Sanguine Fang (Major), 1x each of Scrolls of: Bursting Bloom (rank 4), Avenging Wildwood (rank 2), Rose's Thorns (rank 6), Swallow Light (rank 2), Wall of Mirrors (rank 4); 3x Spell Echo Shots, 3x Transposition Ammunition (Greater) |
| Result | Vampire Exterminated |
| Author | Vara |
| Downtime | 30 |
Log
The solstice is rapidly approaching and now we have a deadline to meet; stop Lefarym from performing the ritual to blot out the sun within 30 days. Unfortunately, we happened to be exactly that far away from the location, and teleporting somewhere unfamiliar is very risky. So we ended up taking the long way. Before we left though, Melfyra asked if we wanted her to come along - the consensus was that her being there would be an unnecessary complication, considering they're Reflections of each other, and bad things happen when a Reflection meets the original. Though in hindsight we might've wanted her, at least so that we could do the traveling spell we used for the Glass Desert. She gave us locks of her own hair to use against Lefarym - either to help track her down or for other purposes - before we left without her.
Nothing could really slow us down on the travel there, and we arrive right on the solstice. She's commandeered a village and taken the frankly extravagant manor for herself. Illiam's magics point us to the clock tower and we face off with some undead servants of Lefarym. They seemed to have an attraction to skin, but couldn't hold a candle to Zeal's intimidating tactics. As one tried to leap away, Zeal and I managed to catch it mid-pounce, easily dispatching the first and allowing us to focus on the second. With the first distraction out of the way, we flew up the side of the clock tower. Chrys thought it was amusing, and it really was kind of poetic how we rose in the east, like the sun. Especially with how bright that flower is. As we went in through the clock face, an arrow whizzes by the Lictor's helmet, missing him entirely. Unfortunately, she completed her ritual on time. The sky behind us turned red as the moon became red like blood.
She had a couple of plant creatures - I recognized them from when Holly Crown was brutally murdered by one in the past. With my aid, Zeal stands in the face of the vampire reflection and proves too overwhelming for her, as I take out her plant servants with help from Illiam and Chrys. It doesn't take much as Lefarym seemingly dies from one of Illiam's big spells. But my eyes are too sharp for her to evade - she turns into mist, but I could plainly see that it was a magic turning her body into mist. It slips through a gap in the southern face, and I dart out of the eastern face to follow her. One plant minion remained at this point, and I realized that Lefarym was moving very slowly. I could keep an eye on her and help on the inside. The final creature within the tower falls when it fails to move away from a blaze I had set at its feet or away from Zeal's damaging presence. Prior to its death, I busted open the southern clock face, so the others could easily move back outside. Zeal had possession of the bow at this point, after it had fallen from Lefarym's grasp.
We watched as the mist began to move towards the manor, and in the courtyard was a weird tree. While I was fumbling with my weapons situation, Lefarym managed to squeeze into the manor. Unluckily for her, I was still on her trail, she couldn't escape forever. A couple more of those flaying undead came out and we had a great time just devastating all of her minions. I transformed my glaive into an axe to chop down the tree automatically, but it knocked it down, so my normal sword had to suffice. With the courtyard cleared, we flew up to the window I watched her fly through. Inside the manor, I got to work tracking the cloud by the residual condensation she was leaving behind. The trail led us downstairs, and one more undead minion stood ineffectively in our way.
All signs pointed to Lefarym being somewhere in the room, so first we ensured there was no chance of escape by closing all the doors and windows. But we could not find any signs of the vampire's coffin. But we all knew Melfyra loves the organ and playing vaguely ominous music. Chrys and I had no talent for the pipe organ, but Illiam proved their resourcefulness by reading the sheet music. Which is good, because I was about to head back outside and get my glaive to turn it into a big hammer and start smashing things. The song was vaguely ominous, and after completing the performance, the organ slid away to reveal Lefarym's coffin. I flipped open the lid and plunged my sword into her heart. We all took the opportunity to ensure she couldn't rise again, and then we looted the hell out of the manor. She had some rituals, a research tome on blood sensitivity and something called "sanguimancy", and a bunch more magic. I asked Zeal to see the bow, and... it was weird, it seemed like it had an opinion on what had happened. Haven't come across many weapons with opinions before. So I showed it to Illiam and they did some curse breaking, and now it somehow seems more pleasant. It can't do any more sun eclipsing but it's still a powerful bow, and I'm the best suited in the group to hold onto it, so now I've got a complete repertoire of weaponry. But the ominous blood moon is still an ill portent. We teleported back to Onadbyr but the sky remains sunless even days later. Though, there is also the case of the hesperids from before. We never did fix their old "grove", and since they're associated with the sun, they're probably both having a bad time - what with the permanent eclipse - but also probably have a good idea on how to fix our new problem.