The astral throne, liberated from the Dusty Reaver, STEVE the Dragon Turtle’s squatted shipwreck, is returned along with other goodies to Pirate Point.
The only thing left to do is to locate Captain Billy Badger’s blue sapphire activator, stolen by wizard Ulrozax so long ago. Xalver checks his records for Ulrozax’s priors, but data is scarce. Reports and rumors suggest Ulrozax was a priest long ago at the Church of the Weeping Mother, an isolated temple in the mountains to the north. Things got weird when he began writing about an unspecified, controversial experiment. Just one more thing, Xalver calls to the departing Charlie Company as they depart; the Church of the Weeping Mother is also known as Vampire Church.
Rodolf sends the party most of the way to the church by way of the Hall of Doors, but even the short walk is very cold for Ander. Shushed by Ash’s traceless passing, the party follows a high stone wall around the church to the south side, catching glimpses of hooded acolytes within the main chapel. Watc spider climbs across the edifice but sees little through the windows. She knocks on the main entrance but there is no answer.
Ander enters the chapel where eight hooded practitioners are in the middle of service and loudly inquires for Ulrozax. An enveloping, dark, necrotic energy hits Ander. Ten runs up behind Ander to cure his necrotic ailments buying him a few more seconds to fetch out his decanter of endless water to douse several rows of black flamed candles flittering in the nave. Ash, by his hunter’s sense, lists off the immunities of the hooded wight seated in the front row. Watc, hearing no mention of fire, spider climbs across the top of the door and lobs a fireball into the church taking out six of the eight wights. Once Sqyylarr gets reasonable assurance that Ander has neutralized the necrotic candle field, she charges in and murders a wight before it can even ungenuflect. Ash picks off the eighth wight with his vicious longbow.
While Ten patches up damage from the fight, Sqyylarr looks around the back side of the altar. A waiting sword cuts her. She returns the cut many times over on the offending wight. Ten, preferring an ounce of prevention, rolls out his twilight sanctuary and shields Sqyylarr in faith. Ash, in turn, protects Ten from both evil and good. Sqyylarr slays the wight and turns her attention north toward the faint chanting of a classic vampire sporting pointy ears, pale skin, bloodshot eyes, and a bouquet of flowers.
The vampire spawn is wooing a motherly statue weeping blood from its lifeless eyes. When Sqyylarr breaks social distance, the statue crumbles into life as a stone golem and crunches off its plinth. Ten double shots the vampire with a thorn whip to one cheek and a spiritual weapon to the other. The vampire claws Sqyylarr. Ash longbows his vampire prey, Watc adds her witchbolt, and Ten fittingly ends the vampire with his spiritual weapon.
Ander flips his coin-based force ballista into action against the golem, knocking it into the stone wall. The golem bounces back and slams into Sqyylarr. Ander hastens Sqyylarr who brutalizes the golem in a blur of smashing. The commotion lets Ash sneak in a slayer’s arrow that takes the golem to within a firebolt of life. Ander firebolts the golem down.