The Curious Case of the Missing Skeletons
As the group is discussing their next assignment, Baz receives some news. It seems The Necromancer, a wizard who supplies undead creatures to the fight pit, did not make his most recent delivery and has not responded to the Dispatcher. Baz asks the group to ride north in the morning and check on him. He then singles out Lorelei and lets her know he has a separate mission for her. In the morning the group gets horses and heads north to where Baz told them the Necromancer lives.
Wanna See a Dead Body?
As the group approaches the Necromancer's cabin they notice the woods around them become eerily quiet. They note that the cabin door is open and there is a body on the floor. As they enter and investigate they see that the person is alive. A bit of healing magic brings him back to consciousness and the group meets the Necromancer for the first time. He's an Elven wizard in somewhat tattered robes and is a bit awkward, introducing himself simply as The Necromancer. After chastising Arbin about the power of names he lets them know that his friends call him Tim.
He explains to the group that he felt a powerful presence in the woods recently, something undead, possibly vampiric. As he went to investigate he crossed a nearby stream that marks the territory of a clan of Goblins. He has a tentative truce with these Goblins which the crossing the stream broke. This led to them attacking him and he was barely able to make it back to his home before collapsing. As it is nightfall, the group decides to sleep in the cabin and venture out to track the presence in the morning.
Unlikely Allies
During the night the group is awakened by someone outside their door. They are able to determine that it is a small group of Goblins. It turns out that these Goblins have come to the cabin seeking Tim's help. Their Chieftain has been taken by a creature. It seems they had several members of their tribe taken in recent nights and they believed it had something to do with Tim which is why they reacted so badly to him crossing the stream. They ask the group to come help them get their Chieftain back.
A Lot At Stake
The group travels with Tim and the Goblins to see where the incident occurred. They then track the presence Tim felt and come across a cave where a vampire spawn has been taking their Goblin prisoners. The group proceeds to fight the spawn and several turned Goblins, defeating them all. They are able to find the Chieftain in the back of the cave and bring him back to life.
Tim confirms that it is quite rare for vampires, even spawn, to be seen on this plane. He suspects there is something larger going on that has led to two spawn being seen so close together. He sends the group back to Cothrom to fill Baz in and promises to keep them in the loop as he tries to find more details about the vampire problem.