The fellowship decided to stay the night in the White Buck Inn before departing in the morning. The party remembered the king mentioning to Jesoc that the monastery in Edhellond was the source of vampire folklore and decided to visit Edhellond before departing north in their airship.

Kifak and Arbun decided to visit the temple of Waukeen to try their luck at gambling before retiring for the evening. Their evening started off with a bang with them winning a game of Highwayman for 20,000 gold pieces. The rest of the evening wasn’t nearly as lucky and they lost most of their winnings before retiring for the evening.

The fellowship awoke the next morning to the same dark green skies. Every villager they saw asked them again if their knew what was going on. The party politely declined and headed to the dock to rent a keelboat to ride up to Edhellond in. While the rest of the party was paying for the boat, Kifak practiced making knots and testing his balance on the boat.

The fellowship paid for the boat and sailed north to Edhellond with Captain Kifak leading the way. The fellowship reached the shores of Edhellond in a couple of hours.

Once a place of learning and contemplation, Edhellond now looms like a scar against the land, its stones whispering of forgotten sins. Local villagers dare not approach, for it is said that those who enter the monastery hear voices — not from the living, but from the damned. Yet treasures of ancient knowledge and sacred relics are rumored to lie within.

The party anchored their boat and made their way to the front door. They slowly opened the door and peered inside. A once-grand hall appeared before them. Faded banners hanged in tatters from the rafters. Ice crusted the floor, glittering like broken glass. Ahead, broken pillars and toppled statues lean drunkenly against the walls.

A heavy silence surrounded the party.

The party cautiously continued on. They next found a room that would have been quarters for the monks of the Monastery. In each of the six rooms, the fellowship found a single skeleton with his arms crossed.

The party smartly cast Speak With Dead and a skeleton rose and shared that they were condemned by Lord Syull. They informed the party that Lord Syull had summoned something unimaginable and that their death was at the hands of those that Lord Syull summoned. The skeleton mentioned that Lord Syull has information about the lore of vampires and that valuable information can be found in the scriptorium.

As the party left to move on, Arbun heard something chanting a prayer in his ear. He shared this with the rest of the party but no one else heard anything. Arbun cautiously moved forward listening intently.

The fellowship examined the door to the north. They found the door was locked and Arbun was unable to pick the door. Hall stepped up and blew the door inwards exposing an unimaginable tentacled green eyed horror inside.

Ilu’rath leapt forward, his green eyes glowing with rage. A vicious battle ensued with this horror. The fellowship had never encountered anything like Ilu’rath before and were injured greatly in the battle. Ilu’rath attacked with both tentacles and mind attacks – transforming Arbun at one point to have the head of a fish. The fellowship were able to eventually defeat Ilu’rath. Ilu’rath dissolved into a puddle before disappearing entirely.

Thankfully Arbun returned to normal after Ilu’rath was no more.

The fellowship explored the room. It appeared to be a chapel with a cracked altar. They explored the altar and it appeared to be cracked from the inside with no signs of it being struck or of magic. The fellowship continued on.

Beyond a set of heavy oak doors lay an open cloister garden, now a field of snow-dusted ruin. Dead vines clinged to cracked stone arches, and evergreen shrubs drooped under the weight of ice. At the center stood a fountain, frozen solid, its sculpted angels weeping icicles. The cold was sharper here, biting at exposed skin, and the silence is complete — no wind, no birds, just the crunch of snow underfoot.

The fellowship exited to the east and entered the scriptorium – a library. The party noticed that besides the books in the library, a solitary skull sat on the table.

They approached the table and were shocked to hear the skull introduce himself as Simon. Simon informed the party that he was Lord Syull’s Oracle before Lord Syull became distant.

Simon shared that:

• Lord Syull and the Monastery were the source of research on vampires in Middle Earth
• Lord Syull’s research eventually caught ‘her’ attention
• Lord Syull was visited by ‘her’ and he became enthralled and he stopped listening to me. He had secretly revered ‘her’.
• She instructed him to assist ‘her’ in her plan. Lord Kyull shared with me that ‘she’ last visited him after her hags had been killed
• ‘She’ fears you – ‘she’ knows you have the shackles
• In her rage ‘she’ captured and turned Urial
• Lord Syull shared an ancient scroll that he had found with ‘her’
• ‘She’ came and retrieved the scroll and instructed Lord Syull to continue his work
• ‘She’ returned to her birthplace on the shores of the Sea of Rhun
• Lord Syull continued his research and opened a portal in an attempt to please her – calling on the ‘timeless ones’
• It corrupted him entirely
• He awaits – what I do not know

The fellowship explored the scriptorium but found no books of note. They asked Simon if he would like to come with them but Simon declined as he felt his place was here.

The fellowship continued on and explored an empty mess hall and pantry that held nothing of value beyond broken dishes and spoiled food.

The fellowship then came before a closed door and cautiously peered inside. Inside, the air felt thicker, almost reverent. Dust motes swirled in the faint light filtering through shattered stained-glass windows. A massive oak desk dominated the center of the room, covered in old tomes and scattered papers. A simple but elegant bed lies against the far wall, the sheets undisturbed for decades. Strange, faint whispers — or perhaps the creak of old wood — fill the silence as you step inside.

Lord Syull awaits on the bed.

“Finally, you have come”

Lord Syull’s robe flew open and unearthly tentacles leapt towards the party. Lord Syull had the same green eyes as Ilu’rath. Lord Syull attacked without hesitation or concern. His attack was so vicious that he fell Hallamir and caused Kifak to retreat. Jesoc entered the breech and with Arbun they were finally able to defeat Lord Syull.

Lord Syull dissolved into a puddle which again disappeared like Ilu’rath.

The fellowship kneeled and decided to rest – aware that some new horror had fallen on Middle Earth.