Theta Campaign - Return of the Dragon Queen – Session 37

Written by: Flamereptile

Written: 07/30/2026

Theta Campaign - Return of the Dragon Queen – Session 37

This week’s tale begins as our adventuring party disembarks from their captured shyship and separate for a time to prepare for their attack on the Temple of Venovarax beneath them.

In the moonlight of the predawn before their jump, Allistair, Alonzo, Beezul, Dolgrak, and Prinze gathered over the edge of the skyland they inhabited, Sky’s Reach. The latter four gathered around Allistair as he stood silently, with his eyes rolled back within his head as he looked towards the sky. A moment later, his eyes refocused forwards and he looked over his party.

“I counted two guards watching the front of the temple, and three different groups a green kobolds led by some lower ranking cultists coming in and out at regular intervals.” He said.

“Did you see little green and her big punching bag?” asked Prinze.

“If you’re asking about the Oracle and her Justiciar, no. No sign of them.”

The five stared amongst each other for a few moments before Prinze broke the silence, “Well, guess it’s time to jump?”

The other four nodded, then turned to peer over the edge of the skyland. They had done this many times. A moment of silence as Prinze prepared a dramatic spring and jump over the edge, then they followed. But the flash of green rushing past them, followed by a leap of faith never came.

In fact, the only thing that came was a sharp prickling feeling as thorny spectral vines silently grew up from the ground around them and wound up their legs.

Allistair, Alonzo, Beezul, and Dolgrak sharply turned, watching as Sandria Mortessa streaked away into the darkness towards her own tower. Her thirteen vampire children lagged behind, conjuring the vines that grew around the party’s legs before turning and fleeing themselves.

Reactively, Dolgrak and Allistair dove out of the encroaching vines, freeing themselves, and Beezul followed behind in more of a tumble than a dive. Alonzo, however, found himself completely bound. He was quickly covered in dozens of small pricks from the vines which drank his blood like a thirsty beast.

The three that had freed themselves began, in unison, bounding towards the tower to catch Prinze’s kidnappers, but stopped one by one after realizing Alonzo was not trailing behind them. They reluctantly returned to him and pulled Alonzo free from the thorny vines just as the door to Sandria’s tower closed and locked.

“Well shit.” Said Alonzo.

“Who was that?” asked Dolgrak.

“Sandria the Hedgehog.” Replied Beezul.

“Hedgehog?” asked Dolgrak.

“It’s because of her spiky hair.” Replied Beezul.

“He means Sandria Mortessa.” Said Allistair. “She’s the vampire that’s been living in that tower. Though, I’m unsure why she would want Prinze?”

“We could just… let her have him?” said Beezul, “I mean, it might solve a few problems for some of us. Not naming any names.”

The other three stared at him for a moment before Allistiar and Alonzo responded.

“No, I think letting her have him would be very bad.” Said Allistair.

“Not about to let a vampire take our best dragon killing machine.” Said Alonzo.

Beezul sighed, “I guess you’re right.”

Dolgrak simply shrugged. He had no love for Prinze, but he also feared what letting a vampire continue to run loose on the skyland might mean for his own safety.

The four strode up the hill in the center of Sky’s Reach, to the base of Sandria’s tower.

“How do we get in?” asked Alonzo, tugging at the locked door handle.

“Don’t you have the marvelous pigments? Can’t you just paint some bombs or… Wait, that was Maximus. Why aren’t you more like Maximus?” asked Allistair “His marvelous pigments came in handy more often than not.”

“I can try to pick the lock.” Said Dolgrak from a few feet behind them.

Allistair and Alonzo nodded, and Dolgrak approached the door. Kneeling before it, he placed his ear against it, gave it a few knocks, and produced a lockpicking set. After a few quick jiggles, the lock came unlocked and the door was free. He gave the handle a slight tug and noticed something wrong.

“Feels like she pulls a bit hard. Might be trapped.” Said Dolgrak.

“Can you disarm it?” asked Allistair.

“Not from this side.” He replied, “Best bet might be to open it really fast and hope for the best, or take the door off of the hinges.”

“Beezul?” asked Allistair, “Can you take it off the hinges?”

Beezul cracked his knuckles, then his neck, rubbing on his belt to imbue himself with the strength of giants, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Allistair, Alonzo, and Dolgrak took a step back and to the side as Beezul contemplated how he would go about it. He reasoned that, if pulling the door would activate the trap, then pushing the door was the only safe option.

Getting a running start, the little Kobold charged forwards, slamming his shoulder into the heavy wooden door. At the first instance of contact, the door was unmoved, but then Beezul’s magically enhanced strength caught up with him, then the next moment he was falling atop the door inwards, tearing it off of its hinges.

As Beezul fell through the doorway, carrying the door down with him, the trap behind it activated, firing six darts across the doorway. The darts, however, harmlessly clanged on the other side of the stone tower, missing the falling kobold completely.

As the Beezul, and the door beneath him, clanged to the ground, he felt a thud next to him as one of Sandria Mortessa’s children landed next to him.

Elric wasn’t always a bloodthirsty terror that he is in the current age. He was once a kind-hearted blacksmithing apprentice who dreamed of forging the swords of heroes. But as he stabbed his hand into Beezul’s side, grasping his ribs like a smith’s hammer, and biting down on his exposed thigh, he considered how much more enjoyable this life was. Perhaps one day he would return to his master’s house and…

His thought was interrupted by the deep Gnome rushing into the tower, stabbing him, then retreating.

Allistair conjured his shadow blade, but chose to leave his Ebonblade stowed, and marched forwards while beginning his blade song.

Beezul, in immense pain, felt his eyes roll back and become bloodshot with his all-consuming rage. He turned himself around the vampire child’s hand, drew his Beedrills, and stabbed his twice clean through. Unsettlingly, the child barely reacted, only drawing back his mouth from biting his leg. Beezul then kicked off of the vampire’s face, breaking his grapple on him, and possibly breaking a rib in the process. He landed a few feet away and postured for his next round of attacks.

Alonzo, however, knew exactly how to take care of vampires, children or otherwise. He drew his religious symbol and conjured forth a celestial. The hulking creature made of radiant light walked forward silently behind the vampire child, swept his legs out from under him, and crushed his head with his heel.

The vampire, writhed and screamed upon the ground as the radiant light interrupted his unnatural healing and burned him to a pile of twisted bones and ashes.

“What the fuck!” shouted Beezul. “What the actual fuck?”

“That’s vampires for you.” Replied Allistair.

“Speaking of vampires.” Said Alonzo, “Allistair, you seemed to have quite the reservations a few hours ago regarding the children on the skyship. Are you fine with coming down here to eliminate vampire children since… well, you know.” He gestured towards Allistair.

He thought about it for a moment, then replied, “No, it’s alright. They are vampires after all, and vampires are a scourge on this plane. Even if they are vampire children.”

The other three shrugged, then the four began their delve into the vampire’s lair beneath the tower.

First taking a short, rusty ladder down, then descending a stony staircase, they emerged into a wide open chamber adorned with all of the furnishings one would expect from the den of a well off mansion.

“It looks like they’ve been busy.” Said Allistair.

Now, the first time the party had ventured into Sandria Mortessa’s lair, it had been composed of only this chamber, carved out from within the skyland.

This chamber was mostly devoid of details, save thirteen smaller coffins that line the walls, one full-sized coffin for Sandria herself within the center, and the skeleton and a sizeable blue dragon lining the walls.

Given the current state of the chamber, however, given that is was now full of furniture, and the coffins and skeleton had been moved elsewhere, it appeared that Sandria’s lair had been expanded considerably.

Mira, Pip, and Roswyn waited within the den of their mother’s lair for their approaching supper. Mira and Pip, who had been sweet on one another for some time, sat together upon a sofa before a smoldering fireplace, holding one another in their arms. Roswyn, who couldn’t stand their affections, instead sat upon another sofa half way across the room.

All of their backs had been turned towards the stairs in which supper would enter from, but they were each acutely aware of their approach, and the screams of Elric moments before.

As the four walked in, Roswyn was the first to turn to greet them, “It took you long enough. Are you going to join us for supper, or are we going to have to bring you in ourselves?”

“Probably going to have to take us in yourselves.” Said Beezul.

“Why have you taken Prinze?” asked Allistair.

“Steve, stand by.” Commanded Alonzo.

The vampire children rose from their seats, and Mira called out, “Mother has decided to take of this skyland, and your lizard man was the key to doing that.”

“You’re not going to stand in her way, are you?” asked Pip.

In unison, Allistair, Alonzo, Beezul, and Dolgrak replied, “Yes. Yes we are.”

Alonzo’s celestial, aptly named Steve, hummed audibly in response.

Roswyn leapt atop the back of the couch she had been sitting upon with the grace of a cat, crouching upon it ready to strike. Pip did the same with a nearby chair, while Mira vanished in a puff of shadows and reappeared atop a table only a few feet away from the adventurers.

“You know we just turned your brother into a pile of bones and ashes just a few seconds ago, right?” asked Beezul.

Roswyn and Mira hissed, but Pip replied, “Elric was a fool. You’re dealing with real vampires now.”

Dolgrak immediately loosed a crossbow bolt into Mira, striking her right between the eyes, before drawing his rapier and charging Pip on the chair.

At Dolgrak’s signal, Beezul took to the air, loading a pair of bees into his Bee-Bee Gun and firing both at Pip. While the lad had once been a halfling, making him a small target, Beezul’s aim was impeccable. Both bees struck the vampire, punching holes through his small frame.

Beezul flicked the Bee-Bee Gun over, loaded two more bees, and flicked it back in a cocking motion. Blood streaked from the two new holes punched into Pip, and soon one more joined them.

Allistair, continuing his blade song from the previous encounter, flashed forwards towards Mira, who crouched atop the table, slashing at her with his shadow blade. The blade passed right through her head, leaving no visible mark, but her mind began to shatter from the psychic impact it left behind. He quickly conjured forth a second blade made of air, leaving behind a booming crackle as he sliced her again.

The Ebonblade watched Allistair make two more swings without it, scoffing internally as he missed both. It still could not fathom why he would not draw it? It was quite literally created to slay vampires, and yet…

The vampire children hissed at their attackers, but their wounds began to unnaturally heal just as quickly as they were created.

Roswyn leapt forwards towards Allistair, bursting into a spray of shadows before appearing across the room next to him, opposite of Mira. Together, the two extended their claws and went into a flurry of slashes at the half-blood.

Roswyn’s first swing found itself just short of the incredibly nimble Allistair, missing, but her second found purchase across his chest, dragging a series of long wounds all the way down to his right hip.

Allistair reeled in pain, focusing in to avoid Roswyn’s next four slashes. Mira, who by all rights should have been able to catch Allistair at least once, found herself unable to make contact with him even a single time. Six times did she slash, in unison with Roswyn, and six times did Allistair narrowly avoid her strikes.

Pip, who had just been riddled with holes by Beezul, also burst into a cloud of shadows, appearing in the air next to him with a fresh pair of leathery bat wings erupting from his back.

He looked down on the kobold, even as short as he was, and lunged forwards. Stabbing his clawed left hand into Beezul’s right side, Pip grabbed the kobold’s shoulder with his other hand, then leaned in, and bit him on the neck. Blood gushed from Beezul’s neck wound into Pip’s mouth, forcing his own wounds to seal up in kind.

Latched on, Pip withdrew his left hand and attempted to drive it deeper into Beezul’s torso, but Beezul had caught his hand before he could, saving himself another injury. In lieu of his missed strike, Pip drew in another gulp of Beezul’s blood, causing him to start growing dizzy.

Alonzo, seeing the trouble Beezul was getting into, held his palm up, pointed towards Pip, and released a bolt of radiant light. The distracted vampire failed to notice the bolt streaming towards his head until it was too late.

As the bolt separated his head from his neck, Pip watched hid body fall away to the ground below. His final thoughts were of his life before vampirism. Thoughts of living on the streets and picking pockets. Thoughts of how his games went from simple thievery to butchery. Thoughts of…

Pip’s body had burned to ashes before his skeleton impacted the floor below, and Beezul picked the skull from his neck and crushed it between his little hands.

Upon seeing Pip destroyed, Mira let out a cry of remorse, but Alonzo had neither mercy nor hesitation.

Without missing a beat, he pointed towards Roswyn, silently commanding Steve to eliminate her. Steve produced a mace from the same radiance that composed its own body and charged forwards towards the little vampire.

Once. Twice. Three times Steve struck the little vampire from behind, burning her with its radiant mace. She turned towards Steve, eyes big and full of bloody tears, her skull half torn off from its mace.

Dreams of wandering the forest behind her home filled Roswyn’s head. She had gone there with her mother, an elf of unnatural beauty. They had picked herbs together, which her mother used to teach Roswyn to make medicines. She had continued to use those skills, even after she had torn her own mother’s throat out, but not to make medicine.

Four. Five strikes. Roswyn’s final thoughts of pre-seasoning her victims with poisons flashed through her brain as it was flung across the wall behind Mira. The spiciness of the poison paired so well with the sweetness of her victim’s fear. It was just…

Steve stomped upon the little skeleton as its flesh burned away.

Mira, who had been a gifted singer before being turned into a vampire, released a cry unlike any ever heard by the party. Shadows coalesced around her like a shield made from darkness itself.

Dolgrak, suspecting the trouble these shadows might cause, dashed across the room and stabbed at Mira, but the shadows had a different tale in mind.

Like a hand forged from nothingness, the shadows grasped Dolgrak’s blade, stopping it inches from Mira’s throat. Dolgrak quickly withdrew his rapier, hoping to avoid it being wrenched from his hands and went in for another strike. But just as the first hand dissipated, a second appeared from the shadows that surrounded Mira, again catching his rapier.

The shadows around Mira dissipated, but Dolgrak had become dejected and he withdrew.

Beezul, dizzy from blood loss, loaded another bee into his Bee-Bee Gun, first imbuing it with lightning then fired it. At first, it had missed, being off from his unstable state, but as luck had it, the bee arced and bounced off of the wall four times before striking the enraged vampire in the head.

Mira cried out as the lightning bee had split her clean in half down to her stomach. She reached out, unable to fully control her arm, towards Allistair, hoping to grasp him to take his blood to heal herself, but Beezul fired a second bee, severing her hand clean off.

Beezul was disappointed, however, as the little vampire still stood. Eager to put an end to her, he loaded two more bees and shot off each of her legs at the kneecaps. The body tumbled to the floor, but she still groped out at Allistair.

Allistair, not wanting to simply stand by for her to finally grab ahold of him and relieve him of his own blood, swirled in a dervish with his shadow blade, hitting her three times. Each strike passed harmlessly through the vampire, leaving no marks, but shattered her mind a little more each time.

Broken in both mind and body, Mira held still for a moment. To her, moments seemed like ages as she began to hum to herself. She hummed like she had when she was just a little girl. She used to sing sweet songs to her siblings, the very same she used to perform for her village, before she was turned that is. After that her songs were only used to lure prey into the darkness before she took them.

Mira used her intact arm to reach across her torso, pulling her body back together. Her wound sealed itself up, and her missing hand and legs began to mend and regrow.

She snarled, dodging a few more swings from Allistair, then leapt towards the easiest target, the easiest source of blood that she could reach.

Propelling herself with her one intact arm, Mira reached out and grasped Dolgrak, stabbing her claws into his right shoulder. She swung herself around and planted her teeth around his throat, and began to tear into him.

Dolgrak let out a cry of pain as the little vampire latched onto him and began sucking blood from him feverishly. With each ounce taken, more and more of her limbs regrew.

As Dolgrak tore at the little vampire, trying to wrench her off of him, Steve took a single swing at her, separating her from her supper. A moment later, Mira splatted against a wall, and turned to bones and ashes.

Steve, at Alonzo’s command, closed the distance and made sure this one’s corpse was reduced to nothing more than dust and fragments.

All panting, except for Alonzo, the four took a moment to catch their breaths and exchange concerns with one another before quaffing potions to heal their injuries and continuing on into the vampire’s lair.

That is where this week’s tale ends, and next week’s tale will begin.