Clothing Optional

We easily bypassed the sets of slaves and overseers on our way to the manor. We would come back to free them later, but as much as I disproved of following this strange woman into a house with a powerful vampire and various unknown dangers, I knew that it would be better to attempt such matters while the daylight was still strong. Sunlight might not kill a vampire outright, but it still slowed them down enough to get a couple of extra shots in.

Yvala led us up behind the manor, allowing us to see it from all sides. Oddly enough, there was no back entrance for the servants to enter into the kitchen. The only entrance was a set of grand double doors fronted by a large porch. The porch sat four feet off the ground with a wide set of stairs set directly in front of the doors. Six tiefling guards sat around on the deck, laughing boisterously and calling for the house servants to bring them more wine. From their slurred voices and unsteady movements, it was apparent that they had been drinking for most of the afternoon. Several made lewd comments alluding to Yvala, who had left the inebriated sentries some time before coming across our scuffle.

Rhegar turned to Yvala. “Think you could get them off the porch? It’d be a fairer fight on the ground and we wouldn’t have to worry about any ducking inside.” “Well not all six, but certainly one or two. I have been distracting them all day. I’ll see what I can do.” She loosened the ties on her bodice to bring it down even further, cocked her hips and walked out around to the front of the porch. She made an elaborate show of stretching her arms over her head, straining the abused lacing further. “You know, I think I fancy a bath. Which of you would like to come with me?” One of the guards elbowed his buddy and snickered drunkenly. “I knew she’d come back.” The guards were pushing each other to get to the front as Yvala ran her hands over her minimal armor. “I’ll need to do my shoulders and someone to help me remove my armor.” She pulled up the hem over her skirt to flash more leg. By now the guards were drooling and pulling weapons on each other. One rushed forward but a bigger tiefling slapped him out of the way with the flat of his sword. “You stay here Berthos. Guyvax, you can come with me.” The big tiefling and the one he called out to head down the stairs. Yvala sauntered up to the big tiefling. “I’ll need someone to hold my wine for me.” She said, giving him a pout as she pulled the laces from her top. “Sure thing, darling.” He drawled. He snapped his fingers at the porch, not taking his eyes off the rogue. “Iathos, grab a couple skeins.”

The guard that had been hit by the sword grabbed a wineskin and hunkered down in a corner to sulk. The other two took bets on the likelihood that the girl would knock the three out for their earlier lecherous behavior. Once the harlot had ambled halfway to the stream with her three companions we made our way to the porch. Vixi and Kyri slunk silently to the edge of the house, hiding in the shadows falling from the manor. Unable to silence their scale plates sufficiently, Rhegar and Garn clanked around the side, drawing attention away from the ranger and warlock and letting Kalena and me come around the side of the house unnoticed. The three guards swung around, eyes falling on the dragonborn pair. “Yep, it was a trap,” said one as he accepted some silver from the other tiefling not currently sulking. A fourth tiefling came out the double doors. “What the hell is this? Who are they? Where are Guyvax, Iathos, and Blejak?”

Kyri stood up at fired two arrows into a tiefling as he raised a wand. As the arrows buried themselves deep in his flesh, a dark cloud exploded outward from his body. The black fog rolled outward covering him and his companions. I called a column of light down on his position. While he screamed with agony, the light did little to dispel the inky fog. Irritated, the tiefling wizards called out a pair of devastating spells. Pain washed over my body. Lights exploded in front of my eyes and all I could see was an opaque film of oily grey. Kalena called out a spell but I could hear it explode off to the side. She must also have been caught in the spells, not surprising since she had been right in front of me. I could hear the human slaves on the porch dropping their trays and bolting down the steps, wailing with terror. Around me my companions were yelling, complaining about the loss of sight or cheering that they had gotten their eyes back. Satisfied that I knew everyone’s location and still blinded by the hellcaller’s spell, I held clasped my outstretched hands together and called out the most widespread healing spell I knew. Kord does bless the strong and the athletic. Kord does bless the sailor with fair winds and washes the wicked from the coast with heavenly storms. We pray to Kord with each swing of a sword, each twang of a longbow, and every hit taken on ourselves to protect a lesser being. Kord hears and Kord rewards with the strength to fight through the end. I spun in an arc as I finished the prayer, letting the healing wave wash over my companions and allowed the holy energy to soak into my body, reinforcing my spells.

Off to my right, Rhegar blindly bullrushed into the brute attacking Garn. His blundering attack was easily stopped by the guard, who shoved the silver dragonborn to the side. Kyri shot the hellcaller a third time and he fell to the porch with a thud. Unable to see, I concentrated on clearing the wicked film from my eyes. It cleared just in time for me to see Vixi curse the other hellcaller standing just inside the rolling black cloud on the porch. Two arrows from Kyri pierced his armor at the stomach and neck. He too fell gurgling to the porch decking. Between themselves, Garn and Rhegar took out the drunken brute. I pulled myself onto the porch and took a wild swing at the last tiefling standing on the deck as he came out of the dark cloud. Vixi’s curse worked just fine though, and an arrow from Kyri brought him to rest on the deck with his magical companions.

Over at the stream, Yvala had been quite free with the wine and quite adamant about her flirting. All four were naked and the brutes were getting grabby after all the teasing. Not wanting to take on all three by herself, she called their attention to the commotion on the porch. “Oh my. There’s a dark cloud on the porch. Something must have happened.” Blejak motioned to the other two. “Go see what those idiots are playing at.” Grumbling, they grabbed their swords and, still naked, ran toward the manor. As they ran, they saw Kalena duck into the black cloud. “Hey, maybe this won’t be bad. There’s another girl up there. As soon as they were far enough away, Yvala pulled a slim dagger from her intricate hairstyle and stabbed the big tiefling in the chest.

“We’ve got two more coming,” said Kalena from the edge of the cloud. Before the others had time to move in, the guards had leapt onto the porch and were menacing the wizard with their blades. “Well you’re a pretty one. All alone, are you?” one leered. “Don’t count on it.” I said as I dropped a holy flame on his naked body. Kyri jumped onto the porch and loosened an arrow at both brutes, as the others moved into position. Kalena stepped back and froze both of the tieflings in place with a pair of icy rays. Rhegar pounded into both. Garn pulled off a devastating attack into the one on the right while I seared the other with a second burst of flame. The tieflings broke out of their icy embrace and attacked Rhegar with gusto. Vixi brought one down with a disturbing curse, allowing Rhegar to move back for a healing spell. Kalena kept the other from moving forward with a cloud of magic daggers. I called down a final flame that was more than the tieflings’ body could take. Renewed by my spell and satisfied that the party was no longer in danger, Rhegar ran to the stream to assist Yvala. He arrived just in time to run his glaive through the tielfling’s midsection as the brute swung at the rogue.

We searched the bodies as Yvala dressed. Happily, the corpses had a hundred gold worth of gems and jewelry. We stuffed the loot in our packs and waited for the other two to return from the river. The black cloud dissipated and Vixi went over to look at the two undressed bodies. “You know,” she said in a contemplative voice, “I’ve only met one other tiefling in my life before today. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a naked male tiefling.” I shrugged and put my hand on her shoulder. “Well now you’ve seen two. Maybe next time we encounter male tieflings, they won’t be set on killing us.” I looked to the doors and wondered what kind of a trap Yvala could be leading us into.