Just at the moment of the party's triumph Freya arrives and tells Crow she is urgently needed in Cambria. The two
depart leaving the party behind in front of an apparently empty mansion owned by a very rich and powerful
individual who is busy elsewhere. Milo announces that since it is past midnight it is actually his birthday and
he is sure
Count Draku would have wished to mark the occasion by leaving him a few gifts.
Others in the party conjecture that a few of Draku's minions might be still inside the mansion and that it is
the party's duty to make sure that those villains don't make off with any valuable items.
Leaving Nameless and Arlan round the back of the mansion in case any of the suspected minions try to flee that way
the rest of the party enter through the front door after Circe picks the lock (a surprising accomplishment for someone introduced as a pure magic user). They find themselves in a very large posh hallway with many doors
off it. As it's his birthday Milo is chosen to be the party member to go ahead and set off the lethal traps. Milo
is, however, very good at spotting things, and he notices the eyes of a picture seem to be following him. He then
notices a magic missile shortly before it hits him (which appeared to have come from the picture). Before other
members of the party can calculate precisely how many thousands of gold pieces the picture is worth Circe, Horatio and Beorhtric have destroyed the painting and set fire to the panelling behind it. Horatio ruins his cloak putting
the flames out.
Searching all the rooms on the floor results in little loot apart from several spell books found in the library.
The party agree the next move is to look upstairs and Milo ascends the stairs before vanishing. The rest of the party have no time, however, to think of rescuing him as they are immediately attacked by a surprisingly powerful suit of armour.
Milo finds himself in a large crypt with as many a twenty tombs visible. He heads towards the door only
to be confronted by two glowing eyes which are owned by a wraithlike figure. Milo battles the wraith bravely
mostly avoiding its deadly touch. He has just won his encounter when the remaining party turn up having chanced
that the teleportation trap is not sending people to random destinations. The party heads towards the doors but although Circe picks the lock she cannot open them conjecturing that they are barred on the other side. Milo
produces an adamantine drill which creates a small hole in the steel door and when the party have finished
fighting off three more wraiths Circe teleports to the other side and with some effort removes the planks that
were barricading the door shut.
After some exploration that suggests the party are a single floor down from the entrance hallway they return to
the crypt only to find the door slams shut after they have entered. A sinister voice says 'Welcome to my domain'
and a vampire glides through the air towards them. Before the party can do anything he has charmed Horatio but
the rest of the party battle the vampire, distracting him enough for Horatio to break free from his spell. Too late
the vampire realises the party are more powerful than he realised and he flees at top speed out of the crypt in
bat form. He escapes from the crypt but takes such a beating from the party that he dissolves into mist.
The party decide to try and find the vampire's tomb and having detected magic in one of the tombs open it up. The
skeletal occupant of the tomb objects and after a brief melee the party are in possession of a +1 sword. Reconsidering their approach the party decide to seal the crypt and indeed on examining the door find it used to have an
airtight seal. They try to reproduce a makeshift seal at which point Circe, who knows a thing or two about vampire lore, tells
them that inadvertently they have done the right thing. Although the vampire seemed to escape it is impotent
in its current form and must return to its tomb to survive (which the party have just prevented).
The party decide that they might be better continuing their exploration with Nameless and Arlan. Crow temporarily
returns to warn them that they should expect local law enforcement to arrive at dawn (in a few hours) and that
if (as she hopes) Draku is defeated in Cambria his possessions will legally belong to the state. She adds 'Oh, and don't go into the basement. It had an evil reputation even before Count Draku bought the estate.'