"DIE BLOODSUCKER!!" Laska shouted as she stormed towards two very startled fledging vampires who'd been charged with guarding the entrance to the Athkatlan Graveyard. Grinning like a mad shark, Laska somersaulted over their heads, landed on her feet, whirled around her axis and slashed her two blades outward, decapitating the two vampires in a single, fluent movement.

Dust was in the air as the two hapless vampires exploded where they stood. Keldorn had the misfortune to stand too close to the dust clouds and coughed after getting some of the fine dust in his nose.

The graveyard was an eerie place at night. The moon lit the place somewhat, but also caused long shadows to play across the graves of the long dead. The wind howled through the stone crypts, while darkness ruled in ill-lit corners of this place of the dead.

"Yes!" Laska grinned, clutching the greenstone amulet around her neck. "I am LOVING this necklace!"

"Yes," Dynaheir spoke. "The amulet protects thee from the undead, though I find it suspicious that the Shadow Thieves know about thy problems when being around undead creature and would deliver thee exactly the needed item to combat that problem before our party is attacked by one, so that we attack them."

"Yeah, great amulet, isn't it?!" Laska raved, not hearing the rest of Dynaheir's argument. "Come on! Let's go kill some more bloodsuckers, YEESSSS!!!" she grinned and ran off into the graveyard.

"Laska, wait!" Keldorn shouted after her, putting his hands in his sides. "Don't run off on yourself!"

"Do you think you can stop her when she gets something in that thick Darthirr skull of hers," Viconia chuckled. "Come on, let us follow."

The party followed to find a bewildered Laska pacing around the paved pathways of the graveyard. "Dammit!" Laska shouted. "When I don't want to see them, those gods-be-damned buggers turn up from nowhere and make me sick, but when I don't get sick anymore and I WANT to slaughter them, I can't find them anywhere! Oh, so frustrating!"

"Oy, Bag-o-tricks!" Korgan shouted at Dynaheir. "I gather an ex-biter like yerself be knowin' where ta find the entrance to vampy-girl's lair, aincha?"

"Yes," Dynaheir said. "Follow me."

With lead in her shoes, Dynaheir led her friends, including a twitching Laska and a still-coughing Keldorn to a small and plain crypt, which didn't stood out from the other family crypts of the Amnish nobles. The crypt was flanked on either side by two stone devas and sported a high, wrought-iron lightning rod.

"It's here," Dynaheir said. "You have to move the deva. Push gently on the breasts of the left angel and push the statue to the back."

"Oy," Korgan chuckled, "let's leave that job ta Laska, right? She be used ta that sorta thing! HAR HAR!"

Laska grinned briefly and did so, and as soon as the angel moved into a slot with an audible click, the heavy slab barring entrance to the crypt slid into the floor, revealing a dark corridor pointing steeply downward.

All heads turned to Dynaheir. The gasps in her breath drawing looks of concern. Her eyes showed acute fear, beads of sweat formed on her forehead while her whole body shook like a leaf in the wind.

"Dyna," Laska said. "If you don't want to go down there..."

"NAY, nay," Dynaheir swallowed. "I... I must do this, Laska. For my own sanity if anything."

"Do not worry, fair Dynaheir," Minsc roared. "This time, Minsc will poke out the eyes of every icky, nasty, evil, bad, slippery, nasty, foul-mouthed vampiric manure-for-brain undead creatures! And they are stupid too, so says Boo!"

"Thank thee, Minsc," Dynaheir smiled and put her hand on Minsc's shoulder.

"Okay, remember," Laska said. "Best way to kill a vamp is a swift decapitation. Turns 'em right to dust. Second best is a stake through the heart, but that might take some tries."

"OY, OY, OY!" Korgan roared. "That be discriminatin' us dwarves! We be too bloody short ta reach their bloody necks! 'Ow dare those buggers be so nasty to us poor dwarves! I be choppin' their legs off first, then stake them, then chop their 'eads of and dram 'em into the bleedin' sun, spit on their burnin' corpses and defecate on their ash!"

"That's the spirit, Korg," Laska said. "Let's go down there."

"Wait a moment," Viconia asked. "Dynaheir? Where does this crypt lead?"

"This is the side entrance to the haven," Dynaheir said. "We always used this one to leave and enter the crypt complex. It leads into a small antechamber near the coffins of the Elders."

"What about the other entrance into the crypts?" Viconia said, turning to Laska. "You know, the one we entered to get the book of Kazaa?"

"Well," Dynaheir said. "That one leads to the entrance at the main hall, which is probably swarming with Bodhi's lackeys."

"I have an idea," Viconia grinned. "I'll have to take the other entrance to make it happen, though."

"Viconia," Keldorn said. "You cannot expect us to go into a den of vampires without a cleric. We might need healing on a moment's notice, or could be in need of restorative magics."

"If my plan works," Viconia nodded, "we might not need any magics. Come on, trust me..."

"That's what that Orcish door-to-door salesman told my aunt Hilda," Jan piped up. "Right before he sold her an ostrich-farm, that is. Anyway, she took it well the first couple of days, but what the Orc didn't tell her that the Orc-farm was mobile, so the next morning, Hilda was greeted by a stack of planks and about twenty Ostriches tied to a pole awaiting to be fed. So, not knowing what to do, Hilda put them in the backyard and let them roam for a bit. They say free-range Ostriches lay the best tasting eggs, after all. Unfortunately, the next day, she found that the Ostriches had all stuck their heads under the sand. Fearing that they were eating her turnips, Hilda tried to take action by putting a bag of gunpowder in the ground and lighting it's fuse... and they said Ostriches couldn't fly..."

"Amazing," Keldorn sighed.

"It is?" Dynaheir asked.

"Yes," Keldorn said. "It's amazing my eardrums haven't exploded yet."

"Unfortunately, Hilda didn't get the dosage right... and guess what? Gnomes can't fly either! And they have a poor sense of direction. All the ostriches landed safely on their feet in the backyard, but Hilda had the misfortune of landing in her neighbor's backyard. Her neighbor was a cannon-ball maker, you see? And he often put his wares in the yard because he couldn't afford to hire warehouse... and wouldn't you know, she was yelling for help so hard that she swallowed three cannonballs on landing, giving her body a rather odd shape, if you can imagine. Anyway, the Ostriches took over Hilda's house and started a commune of free-love, while Hilda is now an oddly-shaped belly-dancer in Calimport... or was. That griffin in the audience was one nasty customer."

"I'm speechless," Dynaheir sighed.

"Just keeping up the spirit," Jan said. "Hey, Vicky's taken off already."

"Lucky Vicky," Keldorn sighed.

"Nice of you, Jan," Minsc said, "to try to raise poor Dynaheir's spirit."

An eager glint appeared in Laska's eyes. "Let's go kill some vampires!"

The first battle with four male fledglings in the antechamber was over swiftly. Keldorn carved a vampire in two by the power of his faith... then again, the power of Carsomyr also helped a bit as well.

Laska took care of the second vampire in the room. The eager elf crept towards another fledgling guard, and quickly grabbed the sides of his head to give it a sharp twist. The vampire's eyes grew wide as he suddenly found himself having eyes in his back, so to speak. Laska giggled briefly at the spectacle of the disoriented vampire before decapitating him with one hew from Ipsiya.

*'EWWWWW, dusty vampires, ew, eww, ewwww'* Ipsiya shouted over the sounds of combat. *'What torments do you subject me to?!'*

"MWUHAHAHAHAHA!" Lilarcor shouted over the combat while Minsc knocked a vampire silly. "Great fun!"

Poor Korgan was trying to jump up and down trying to chop at its head while Jan fired wooden bolts from his crossbows. So far, neither of them was having too much luck, until Dynaheir cried in anger and shot a fan of fire from her fingertips, putting the hapless vampire ablaze. The creature screamed and fell to the floor trying to put out the flames. Korgan saw his chance and slammed his axe down, ending the creature's unlife.

Dim lighting scarcely illuminated ancient hallways that smelled of death. Although, the stones which made this dungeon were immensely old, they were all meticulously scrubbed clean. The corridors were narrow, not allowing for tactically sounds battles, but it was hoped that the larger areas were less unrelenting.

"Well, that was fun," Laska said. "NEXT!!'

"Hold," Dynaheir spoke. "I know this place. Let me see first."

Dynaheir threw her head back, extended her arms outwards and muttered some arcane words. The air crackled with power for a moment, and then Dynaheir stood still like a statue.

"What she be doin'?" Korgan muttered. "Practising for her new job as a pigeon-toilet?"

"No, no, no," Minsc said. "Boo says that she has gone walking but left her body behind! Oh, fair Dynaheir is so clever, isn't she? Minsc always has to drag his body along through all the icky mud and nasty bog."

Dynaheir's body shuddered for a while : her soul had been returned to her shell. Taking a moment to orientate herself, she sat down on one of the empty chairs in the chamber. "Bodhi's most powerful and fanatically devoted servants in bloodbond have gathered up in the main hall, and they look ready to defend their mistress to the death. We are going to have a hard time fighting them off."

"Damn," Keldorn sighed. "We shouldn't have let Viconia go off on her own. We're in a spot of trouble now."

"Maybe not," Dynaheir said and walked to the back wall of one of the deeper corridors and pushed against the wall, revealing a narrow hidden passage heading downwards into the complex. "This leads to Bodhi's private chambers. If we take this passage we'll bypass the main room completely and we'll be able to get the drop on the vampires. "

"Cute," Laska sat as she looked at Bodhi's porcelain bath, filled to the brim with blood.

"Oy, she be a vamp, what be ye expectin'? A mud bath?" Korgan said as his eager eyes roved about the room which was richly adorned. A set of beautiful ancient tall vases lined the walls, while precious carpets and even more preciously adorned tapestries covered every inch of stone. Apparently, Bodhi liked her luxuries... and Korgan was eager to plunder. Tables and lazy divans stood in the high room, and a heavily-adorned, ornate golden boat covered up with a heavy golden lid, apparently Bodhi's resting place, stood opposite to the bathtub.

"I hope nobody's home," Jan said.

"More to the point!" Korgan said, not being able to take his eyes of the golden boat. "'ow be we gettin' that boat outta here ta sell it!"

"Can we settle this?" Keldorn asked. "We are in the midst of creatures evil to the core and our first thoughts should be towards survival!"

"Oy!" Korgan shouted. "I be a dwarf, Keldorn, I cannay 'elp meself!"

"Couldn't you just," Keldorn paused, "rise above 'being a dwarf' for just a moment?!"

"You okay, Dyna?" Laska asked. "You're shaking like a leaf."

"I was... made in this room, Laska," Dynaheir hissed. "I'll... be fine in a couple of moments."

"Hey, look at this!" Jan said as he stood near the table and the divans. "It's a maquette of the city! Hey, where are my turnip-dolls when I need them. I could play with the huge lizard that rises up from the sea and just squishes and squishes all the buildings!"

"Good gods," Keldorn said as he looked at the detailed and utterly correct maquette. It was about 2 meters in diameter and exquisitely made. Several houses were marked, indicating them as bases of operations, while flags of another color indicated holdings by the Shadow Thieves. Several bi-colored lines indicated the battle-fronts between the two groups, with small blocks indicating battle-troops, gains and losses. "They've carved up Athkatla like a roast!"

"It's an underground war," Laska said. "It's hard to imagine those battles are all going on without being noticed."

"I'm certain the Cowled Wizards know, but are not interested in the outcome," Keldorn said, "they're probably arrogant enough to think that the outcome of the war won't matter to them either way."

"Take a look at this," Jan grinned and handed Keldorn a book. Keldorn took it, removed his reading-glassed from his pouch and leafed through the book, trying to make sense of Bodhi's Calligraphy. "Sweet Torm," he finally exclaimed, "this book is certainly a big score for the Order."

"What do you mean?" Laska asked.

"It's a record-book," Keldorn grinned, "names of contacts, smuggling routes, names of corrupt officials, lists of ships which carry smuggled goods into the city... The Order can make life for the Shadow Thieves very difficult with this Guidebook to the Underworld."

The ancient and beautiful oaken doors on the other side of the room opened slowly. Immediately, the already jumpy party whirled around, ready to confront the enemy... The enemy turned out to be a petite vampire with long red hair, green eyes and a ready smile.

"Myrna?" Dynaheir asked.

"Oh, hey, Dyna!" Myrna greeted cheerfully. "I heard you were mortal again. Sorry to hear that, though. You don't know what you're missing, girl..."

"I am afraid that I do know what I'm missing," Dynaheir nodded.

"Hold, foul creature!" Keldorn raised Carsomyr and prepared for battle. "I'm sending you back to Hell!"

Myrna blinked once and stared open-mouthed at Keldorn before turning back to Dynaheir. "Do they still make humans as dumb as this one?"

Dynaheir shrugged, then turned to Keldorn. "Keldorn," she spoke, "Myrna may not look like it, but she's a 1000-year old vampire with all the powers such an age entails. She'll make mince-meat out of thee before thou canst blink thine eyes, and then we still have to battle all of Bodhi's followers, which are younger but with many."

"I am a paladin!" Keldorn said. "It is my duty to stop these foul creatures from feeding on the blood of the living!"

"OY!" Korgan chuckled. "Can ye nay rise above 'being a paladin' and think about survival fer a change? HAR HAR!"

"That's okay," Myrna bubbled. "I'm leaving anyway. I'm the last independent here... Bodhi's really nuts, you know that, just go to the spike-room and you'll see why! Bodhi's plans of conquest are finished and I am leaving to find a coterie which does appreciate my presence. Ta, ta..." she said, raising her arms, causing a puff of smoke to appear. A huge bat whooshed over their heads, headed towards the tunnel which they had just come from.

"What's the spike-room?" Laska asked.

"Question is," Jan said, "do we really want to know? It sounds like a room where plenty of innocent turnips came to their deaths... and humans too, but face it, what's more important? Turnips or some humans? I mean, humans are a dime a dozen, but the perfect turnip? Those are really hard to find. Why, I remember when my aunt Betsey held the annual Turnip-pageant. Oh, turnips came from all over the Realms to compete in our one-of-akind pageant! The first price? A crown and an invitation to a lovely dinner at the Jansen home... Yum, yum!"

The spike-room near Bodhi's war-room was something straight out of a horror-scenario. A metal-coated room in which the floor slanted down to form a giant cone, while there was a pool in the middle of the room where the blood was caught. The metal panels sported huge metal spikes, most of which were blooded, and trailed of caked, dried blood had left a trail from the spikes to the funnel.

"Oh, sweet Corellon!" Laska exclaimed as she was the first to enter the room while carefully avoiding the spikes.

"Hey, that's the first time I've ever heard thee call upon a god, Laska," Dynaheir said, but understood while she and the others entered the room as well.

A groaning vampire hung above the funnel, dripping blood into the pool below. Chains and meathooks were slammed in his arms, keeping him suspended in the air. Burn-scars and metal daggers were strewn all over the male's body... but most noticeable was that he had been crudely ripped in half right under his ribcage, offering a gory view of the vampire's innards. Worst thing was, he was still alive and near-conscious.

"Good gods," Laska gasped. "Poor bastard..."

"Isn't that the vampire we confronted at the docks just hours ago?!" Keldorn exclaimed.

"Boo wants to know how you can tell with half his face gone?" Minsc gulped. "Minsc and Boo don't like vampires, but this is an act of icky, icky evil!"

"Bodhi doesn't tolerate failure in her childer," Dynaheir said. "No doubt she tortured him and hung him here as an example to inspire fear in her defenders. Trust me, for her, this isn't the worst she can do to her followers. I've seen things thou wouldst not believe."

"HAR!" Korgan chuckled. "Aye, I be seein' Bodhi be charging this poor sod an arm an' a leg! HAR HAR HAR!"

"That's in poor taste, sir dwarf," Keldorn said. "What is this room for? Torture?"

"No," Dynaheir said. "A coven of vampires needs constant nourishment. We used to take the captured Shadow Thieves in here and impale them. The magic would extend their lives... they were nothing more than blood-sources for us. Other captives were shipped to an island called Brynnlaw for some shadowy reason. We were never told were they were for."

"A second stronghold?" Laska offered.

"Who knows," Dynaheir said. "Bodhi was very tight-lipped about it."

"Let's move on," Laska said. "Jan? Would you put this poor vamp out of his misery?"

"Aye," Jan said, putting a stake on his crossbow, "it's not like his heart will be hard to miss..."

In the main room, a well-lit rectangular room with a huge table in the middle, stood about twenty experienced vampires, guarding the left entrance. Suddenly, the startled vampires turned around when they heard the sound of a fireball being flung in their direction from the right entrance behind them. Hisses and screams sounded as the fireball exploded in their midst, setting the defenders on fire and scattering them across the room. The barrage of fire was followed by several wooden bolts firing from the darkness in their midst, and soon after that, a party of adventurers stormed through the doorway, attacking the temporarily stunned vampires.

Laska high-kicked one vampire in the face, knocking her back, while decapitating another female spellcaster with one swing from Ipsiya. Dust flew through the air as Keldorn slammed Carsomyr into the cadre of vampires in front of him, the holy powers of the Avenger instantly destroying their negative energy with one swipe. Korgan in the meantime, was having less luck reaching the necks of the tall vampires with his axe. His intended victim was grinning broadly, feeling himself invulnerable before the raging dwarf. "OY!" Korgan shouted and drove his fist into the vampire's groin. The vampire hissed and doubled over, giving Korgan the opportunity to slam his axe home. The last thing the vampire would hear before he was dusted, was Korgan's roaring "HAR".

Meanwhile, Minsc was in the process of being charmed by one of the creatures. The vampire grinned as Minsc stood there looking a bit dazed. Laska was on them, however, and threw a silver tray into the back of the vampire's head, breaking the creature's concentration. The creature ended up gulping as a very, very angry man-mountain slammed a beefy fist into its face.

But as soon as the defenders composed themselves, they went on the attack. The eleven vampires left started their assault on their living intruders. And to made matters worse, a group of Skeleton Warriors joined the battle, pushing Laska's friends back ever further, pushing them into a small foyer connected to the main hall.

Laska experienced the sharpness of vampiric claws as she ducked away a little too slowly and felt a nail rake across her cheek. The party was being pushed back further and further towards a large slab of rock resembling a door. In response to the vicious attacks, the adventurers formed a back-to-back circle, defending themselves... fortunately, their luck was about to turn.

The huge slab started to move... and fell inwards, shattering the marble-floors underneath its weight. The vampire's advance stopped for a moment, allowing for a single spider to skitter through the opening : Khittix. And Khittix was not alone.

With the speed of lightning, a veritable army of giant spiders stormed through the doorway, overwhelming the hapless vampires instantly. Threads of silk captured the vamps and skeletons alike, trapping them forever in cocoons while Sword Spiders slashed at the last remaining free vampires.

Two more figures stepped through the doorway as well, a Drow and a half-Drow.

"I claim," Pai'na stated with a lopsided grin, "this lair in name of the arachnids! You don't know how long I wanted this place. It's perfect to breed and safeguard my fellow arachnids." The hive-master druid smiled and petted Khittix for a moment. "It seems you've been taking good care of him, Viconia. Good," she told the flabbergasted party. "I'll clean up here and seal off this dungeon."

"Told you I had a good idea," Viconia chuckled. "Oh, you should see your own faces right about now!"

"Well," Laska said, and walked back into the main hall to see the spiders spinning in the last of Bodhi's now lost coven... not mention crawling all over the walls and ceilings, exploring their new home. "Those spiders..."

She never got to finish her sentence. All of a sudden, Laska was caught behind some sort of magical wall, which not only kept her in, but also spiders out. Opposite to her stood the last of the vampires : Bodhi. Her skin was white as porcelain, her hair as black as night. Her blue eyes betrayed intense hatred towards anything that was alive. She wore a rather revealing leather catsuit, showing off her perfect curvy body. She also wore long black gloves up to her elbows while her black boots ground over the stone floor as she approached.

"You used to be an elf," Laska spoke when she noticed Bodhi's long and pointed ears, as white as the rest of her skin color.

"I am still an elf," Bodhi nodded.

"Don't look into her eyes!" Dynaheir shouted, but it was too late. Laska already found her strength and conviction slipping away as her spirit drowned in the deep blue eyes of a most dangerous predator.

"Oh, my dear," Bodhi said, now only inches away from Laska. "You seem to have hurt yourself," Bodhi smiled like a cat and drew Laska close to her, licking away the blood from Laska's cheek. "Hmmm," Bodhi said, and slowly removed Laska's helmet, playing with the elf's plait as she let it slip to the floor, "I have the taste for more." Quickly, Bodhi embraced the elf, pushing her head to one side slightly. Laska's body shook with pain while shouts of protests from her party sounded : Bodhi sank her teeth into Laska's neck and started to drink.

Laska's pain could be read from her face, but it was soon replaced by the tell-tale euphoria any vampire-victim had when bitten. But Bodhi did not kill her victim. Instead she pulled away and threw her head back, letting the last remainder of blood trickle down her chin. From her face, it was clear that Bodhi had undergone a similar erotic experience.

"The blood," Bodhi spoke in her sickeningly sweet voice, "of an elf is pure nectar... The blood of a divine creature is heavenly... Imagine what the blood of a creature that is both tastes like? Care to try?" Bodhi smiled and briefly brushed lips with the paralyzed elf, allowing Laska to taste a bit of her own blood.

"Pity I can't stay," Bodhi said while a shimmering portal opened behind her, "but you have helped me more than you realize. My brother needs you now, but we will meet again at Spellhold... and I will feast on you, dear Laska, I will feast on your precious divine blood."

Bodhi jumped through the portal, and Laska was released, falling to the floor with a thud. Immediately, the field fell and Laska's friends rushed in.

Laska groaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure as she was being supported by her friends and felt Viconia's soft healing magic flowing to the wound, taking the pain away and leaving only pleasure behind.

"Are you alright?" Keldorn asked.

"I think so," Laska swallowed. "Wow... Wow, am I alright... Now I understand why people can be so attracted to vampires."

Outside, the sun was just rising, bathing the graveyard in a beautiful orange glow, dispelling the dark shadows that had dominated there.

"Ah, now this is better," Keldorn smiled. "How symbolic that the sun should banish the darkness as we rise from the depth."

"Oh, shut up, Keldorn," Viconia chuckled. "The sun isn't anything special." Behind them, Pai'na sealed the crypt, taking it for herself and her spiders. Khittix walked next to Viconia as the party prepared to go back home for some well-deserved rest.

"Laska," Keldorn said, "did you two really have to go back for that thing?"

"Hey, we earned it," Laska grinned and opened her bag of holding. Bodhi's golden boat appeared on the cobblestones, bathing in the sunlight.

"Oy, it be spoils o'war, Keldy," Korgan grinned. "Donnay deny us the bleedin' pleasure!"

"Well, we could sell it," Laska said, "but it could also make pretty good lawn-ornament."

Keldorn sighed and shook his head.