Vhakizla – Chapter 13

"Summer of 67. Second Age. Vhak.
Griffon, now. Damn. There was a boy coulda led the company one day. Practically did.
That’s what these young mercs don’t understand. Victory is a stiff drink and it’s always followed by a chaser of tragedy. When we win a battle, we fought a battle and when we fight a battle, people die. They’re stabbed or burned or bled or crushed or sometimes just disappear.
And it never happens in the battles you think it might happen in. It’s always the small stuff – the stray bolt, the parting shot, the trench-foot – that gets them.
Now, thanks to some pool of bewitched blood in a dank catacomb, the Chimera’s lost one of her heads. How she’ll take the news, whether she’ll seek a mother’s vengeance or retreat into a bottle, well, that depends entirely on her one remaining son."
 – Beholder's Log, Gnoson 25 67 2A

Summoned before Vhakizla, the Wyrm Returned, the remaining members of the Menagerie's Command Tent – Chimera, Remorhaz, Umber and Mouse arrive in the Fangs to report their victories – and failures – to their draconic patron. No sooner have they, however, than Strategos Kharix accuses them of poaching the dracolich's subjects as recruits for their mercenary army. Knocked onto the backfoot, the mercenaries have no choice but to pursue a risky maneuver – accuse he Strategos of treachery.
While Kharix and Vhakizla both balked at this accusation, the longer the mercenaries spoke, the more and more the evidence began to accumulate – the vampire's deathbed confession, the curious lack of results the death knight's searches turned up, the hostility towards the workers in the Basins. Backed into a corner, Strategos Kharix was directly challenged by the dracolich and, when threatened, instead lashed out at the mercenaries, revealing her true form as a vampire spawn.
As battle broke out at Vhakizla's feet, the vampire spawn launched from mercenary to mercenary, drawing as much blood as she could. Umber, Remorhaz and even the Commander leapt into the fight, battering the traitor Kharix until she dissolved into mist. Before she did, she issued a threat to the mercenaries, from which they gleaned an important fact – Griffon still lived.
Upon defeat, Umber and Remorhaz chased the vampire's misty form deeper into the palace. Upon locating the sarcophagus, they staked Kharix in place and dragged her before the dracolich. Pleased with their efforts, Vhakizla promised them unfettered access to her kingdom, to ferret out the final hiding place of Caliphar II. Departing in her good graces, the dracolich made one final request – leave Mouse behind for a private audience.
Retiring to Thariza Place, the mercenaries convened in the Commander's chambers to discuss their next moves. Pouring over old documents, they determined three potential leads – Baromont, the Ghostmire and Piety's involvement. After some debate, they decided to investigate the Ghostmire, the haunted swamp in the heart of Vhakizla, while sending a small cavalry contingent to search the Ancestor Hills.
One thing they knew for certain – if the vampire spawn spoke true, they had precious little time to rescue Griffon before he became one of them too.

Campaign: The Menagerie
Game Date: Gnoson 25, 67 2A
Starting Point: Vhak 
Player Characters:

• Remorhaz 
• Umber