BlogNomic: The First Dynasty of Desertfrog

The eerie sounds of demented organ playing shadow Richardo through the streets as he makes his way through the moonlit city from his family manse to the Cathedral once more. As the Crypt has gotten stronger, so has he; his energy is increased as he moves through the cathedral.

He enters through the Crypt Entrance and the magic seal activates, trickling power into the shells of all Vampire Lords and influence into the Sepulchres of ais523, Brendan, Chiiika, Jumble and lemonfanta. Richardo looks to the South.

In the Entrance Vestibule, Richardo as usual finds nothing but cobwebs moving silently as candles gutter as the stale air moves through the corridors of the crypt. He continues south.

In the Shattered Stairway, Richardo finds himself menaced by a Laughing Gargoyle. The Gargoyle swoops at him but Richardo deflects its attack with his shield and then cracks back with his whip. The Gargoyle is evasive so dances out of the way of the whip-strike before fleeing back towards the Entrance Vestibule. Richardo heads down the stairway and then exits to the east. The sigils of various Vampire Lords here respond to the combat.

The Gravity Room continues to work its distortive magic on Richardo’s body. As he enters, he finds a fine chest suspended in a well of weird forces. Struggling to find his bearings as he is pulled helplessly towards the south exit, he grabs hold of the chest, springing it open. Inside he finds a Secret Passage Map and a Watchful Saint Figurine. He immediately uses both, becoming Perceptive and learning of a hidden gravity well. He swims towards it and is sucked into a sluice of eldritch forces that pulls him into an alternate dimension. As he leaves, the magic of the Gravity Room disperses power into the sigils of various Vampire Lords that are engraved into adjacent rooms.

The dimensional passage spits him out in the Epistolary Oubliette. This room has been undisturbed by human feet for centuries, but the dark forces of mail and parcel delivery have continued to use it for their own wicked ends; piles of greying, crinkled, but otherwise neatly sorted letters and packages. It is guarded by three denizens, who regard him with red eyes and serrated teeth. Richardo sighs wearily and hefts his whip. The Mail Devil, Courier Rat and Messenger Bat are designed for light administration, not combat, and Richardo makes short work of them; he senses that their blood is nutritious but sadly they are too shrivelled and puny to have much restorative value. Finally, under a pile of packages, he spots a familiar emblem: the Sepulchre of the Vampire Lord Brendan, previously encountered in the Pillar Room. Lacking the means to end the wretched creature’s unlife, he contents himself to set the room ablaze; all the paper held in this room means that the fire catches quick. He makes a hasty retreat to the west.

In the next room he encounters something even he could not have expected; a vast expanse of bloody matted fur. Two gigantic rabbit feet are here, clearly dismembered from an impossibly vast rabbit. It appears not to be hostile so Richardo exits to the north. The blood enchantment placed upon the rabbit disperses power to all of the Vampire Lords.

In the room to the north, the giant rabbit charnel house continues - chunks of the mangled torso of the giant rabbit dot the bloodsoaked room. Richardo continues to the north while the rabbit curse continues to feed the Vampire Lords.

In the next room, with a horrific predictability, Richardo finds the head of the giant rabbit mounted on a stake, its vacant eyes staring at him glassily. In a corner he also spots a large basked full of broken chocolate eggs. The rabbit’s vast floppy hat has been animated by the magic of a Vampire Lord, but Richardo makes short work of it. Richardo shakes his head at the excess of Vampire Lords before continuing to the north, as the Vampire Lords receive another dollop of grotesque power.

In the Subterranean Hothouse, Richardo finds himself in a bizarre room, dark and damp with thick, heavy air. In this room, a large, coiling vine has adapted to fill the space and thrive, its extremities thrashing through the muggy air as if driven by a conscious intelligence. Richardo takes a few steps into the room before the thorny liana detects his presence, but then it swoops its tendrils around, seeking to excircle him and tear him apart with its razor-sharp spikes. Fortunately the Watchful Saint of the figurine has blessed Richardo with perception, so he rolls out of the way of the vines; however, the plant has moved some of its thicker trunks in front of the door, blocking off the only visible means of escape. Richardo curses; despite not being tired he knows that there is no escape, so he is forced to retreat. He holds aloft his shield, utters the magical passphrase, and is violently yanked from the crypt back to the chapel at the von Nestor family manor, around a mile south of the city.

Stat changes:
Vampire Lord - Puissance - Influence
ais523 - 6 - 1
Brendan - 4 - 1
Chiiika - 6 - 1
Clucky - 4 - 0
Darknight - 3 - 0
Jason - 5 - 0
Jumble - 6 - 1
Kevan - 7 - 0
lemonfanta - 8 - 1
Phil - 5 - 0
Raven1207 - 4 - 0