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[Arcalian]

Dradeel hurled lightning into a mass of vampires and they exploded into messy chunks. Xzar chanted, raising lesser skeletons and sending them against the next wave vampires. They could not challenge the greater undead, but did a fine job of slowing them down until Korgan ripped into them in berserker fury, spinning both axes.

Drizzt had drifted back to his own party as they cut a swath through the hordes of young vampires, Drizzt himself stepping forward to challenge the few greater ones amongst them.

Zavrian whirled like a mad dervish, decapitating vampires left and right. Two of his crewmen went down.

Frennendan went down under two vampires, but was blasted away by Anomen. The shapeshifter sat up dazedly, bleeding from several bite wounds, badly drained but alive.

They cleared out the first floor and staked every elder vampire they could find in their coffins.

Jan fired his crossbows, bringing down the last youngling.

Cattie-Brie and Bruenor, of Drizzt's famed party, exchanged a glance. They knew that an intercenine conflict of darkness was afoot here that they would never fully understand. Drizzt himself, stone faced, glared ahead, merely following Adrian's lead. He had some grasp of what Viconia meant to Adrian, and was content to focus on that.

Imoen's hands were trembling. "I can feel my soul," she breathed. "It's so close...."

Cattie-Brie frowned. "Your soul?"

"The vampiress has stolen it," Adrian snapped. "It would take too long to explain."

"But why...?" Drizzt was aghast.

Adrian turned away and would not answer.

Finally Anomen said, "The surface elves have their own exiles. And sometimes they do terrible things."

Drizzt nodded slowly.

The party trooped downstairs.

----

"You have been very resourceful in finding me," said Bhodi, standing arms akimbo. "Though I did not go out of my way to hide."

"Shut up," Adrian snarled. "You were a useful ally for a time, but now you have become expendable."

"How amusing," Bhodi laughed. "I was about to say the same. But the same shall not be true of all your followers. Viconia is alraedy mine, and Imoen will follow. Come, Drow, face your lover!"

Red eyes loomed over Bhodi's shoulder. "You fool iblith," Viconia snarled. "Did you think I did not anticipate that you would do this to me? Shar granted me the powers I needed. Not to resist the turning, but to use it agianst you."

Bhodi screamed in shock and surprise as Viconia sunk her new fangs into the Vampire Queen's neck.

Everyone moved at once.

Drayven decided to disobey orders and assist his Mistress, but Viconia kicked him away like an offending dog.

Jan scuried invisibly through the conflict and poured Elven holy water into the blood pool in the center of the chamber.

Adrian and Drizzt charged for Bhodi, but helmed horrors and lesser vampires got in the way.

Korgan leapt into the blood pool and hurled his magical throwing axe at Bhodi. Imoen likewise fired her new eletrical bow. The shock of the impacts knocked Bhodi and Viconia apart.

Bhodi desperatley wanted to turn and strike Viconia, but knew she must face the greater threat first. As she charged forward, Viconia turned and stalked towards Drayven. Crying tears of black blood, he called his Mistreses' name once and then vanished in a puff of mist. Viconia snarled as his cloud of vapor dissapeared under a crack, escaping. Viconia turned and attacked a helmed horror.

The weight of numbers began to tell on Adrian's side, but there was no telling if it would be enough.