I approached Agatha and Agryk this evening while they were dining. Agatha was none too happy to see me, but when I explained why I had returned, she at least seemed willing to accept my presence. Agryk was even less hospitable, constantly insisting that I provide some form of monetary "insurance" that I would not up and disappear again. Mordent, the third member of their party, was at least hospitable and was willing to accept me from the start without hesitation - this greatly surprised me. Whether he had a hidden agenda or not, I'll never know, but I do think his acceptance helped to offset Agryk's stubbornness.

We got caught up on recent events - things have changed greatly for Agatha and Agryk. Honesty, Agryk's once cohort is now apparently a blood stain in the water. Agatha has also seemingly lost her familar, though I dare not ask about what happened to it. In my eagerness to move things along, I forgot to ask what happened to the cloaked man that joined them as I left. I suspect he also met a grizzly fate. She explained that the reason she and Agryk look to be so much older now is the result of a dying curse placed upon them by Grovil. I didn't think he was to be trustedm and this seems as good evidence as any to prove that thought.

While I was explaining why I came back, I mentioned the nightmares I had been having. This apparently piqued the interest of the drow that were seated at the table, and they requested my permission to cast a spell that would allow them to see into my dreams. I gave permission, hoping that this would help my goal in eliminating the cause of the dreams, but also because it became evident that I needed to do something to win back Agatha and Agryk's trust.

The next morning after gathering some supplies, we descended into the undead city buried underneath Erelhei-Cinulu, lead by an undead who knew where the demons were coming from. It lead us to the crypt of a merchant family, where it left us and fled.

Inside were two buildings. The first one had already been broken into, and had six caskets, all looted. The other building was sealed. It took great effort, but Agryk and I managed to bust the door down. Inside were two coffins, previously untouched. It wasn't long, though, before all that changed: two vampire spawn jumped out of one coffin and began to attack us just as their vampire master emerged in a gaseous form from the other coffin and attacked.

Fighting the invisible vampire proved to be somewhat difficult, as I was the only one who could see it, but we managed to drive it off. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but during the fight, I seem to have blacked out. Judging from the bite marks on my neck, I presume the vampire bit me and somehow, the rest of the party managed to drive it off before it killed me. But no one has said anything about that.

Agatha detected magic on the vampire's coffin, and after dispelling it, detected an even stronger magic inside. After spending an hour chipping away at the coffin, we finally managed to get it open, and Agatha retrieved the object inside.

It was a deck of cards.

The most powerful deck of cards I have ever seen. And ever hope to see, as long as I live.

This deck of cards gives you wondrous - or vile - rewards, depending on which card you draw from the deck.

Agatha drew three cards. I didn't see anything obvious happen after she drew the first one. As she drew the second card, a mace appeared in her other hand. After she drew the third card, she briefly turned into a block of stone, and then returned to normal. She explained to us that she now had the ability to answer and one question at will within the next year (quite helpful to complete our objective). She also said, with some joy, that her curse was lifted.

Not feeling quite so lucky, I decided to draw only one card. As I drew the card, a young female fighter appeared next to me and said she was in my service.

This will certainly be interesting.

But this is where the luck ends. Agryk decided he was going to draw four cards. Nothing apparent happened after his first two cards were drawn. But when he drew his third card, a horrible undead creature appeared and begain attacking him. I'm not really sure what kept me from trying to defend him - perhaps it was his immense distrust of me - but he managed to, just barely, defeat the thing. His victory was short-lived, though, because as soon as he drew his fourth card, he disappeared.

Mordent, undeterred by this turn of events, insisted on drawing no fewer than five cards. But after he drew his third, he fell to the ground, unconcious. He's still alive, but Agatha and I have been unable to revive him.

Agatha and I aren't quite sure what to do. I think we're going to make camp here and try and come up with a plan.

While we were waiting, I felt a curious thought in the back of my mind, and I went over to Mordent's body. He had on him a sword with a rose crest on it. And this sword seemed to be calling out my name, ever so quietly. I took the sword, and a strange feeling came over me. I can't quite explain it, but, I feel as though this sword were meant for me.