Having been welcomed into the party crowd, Double Trouble, our heroes the Cleric Autumn and the Necromancer Penny, realised they actually didn’t know much about the Blitz Ball or its Patron Evalena Ena, the mysterious lady on the balcony.
As the rest of the guests went back to partying, our heroes took in the lay of the land and spotted a huge bar towards the back of the big dome.
Conversations
Making their way across the dance floor, they tried to get some information from a stressed bartender on his second day on the job.
As that didn’t yield much result, Penny turned to talk to a moody love-struck elf whose fiancee had also become part of the “Grey Parade”, Evalena Ena’s entourage.
Meanwhile, Autumn struck up a conversation with a halfling woman, who had further information to share about both cocktail making and what the Blitz Ball was all about.
Finally, Penny asked another stressed bartender for a “Purple Sparkly”, her favourite drink. While the bartender had no idea how to make the drink, she caught the attention of another more angry-, but experienced- looking bartender, whose mood changed for the better at the chance to make the unusual cocktail.
As the conversation evolved it turned out that the bartender had learned the cocktail from Penny herself years back when the interstellar tavern she used to work for, had visited Equilibrium.
Finally the heroes left the bar and visited the lavatories where they noticed that all mirrors had beautifully decorated fabrics hanging in front of the mirrors.
Here the heroes struck up a conversation with a female Orc who could give them more information on the Grey Parade.
While in the bathroom a loud gong was heard. The Orc could tell them that there would be four gongs before the actual event of the evening would commence.
What did we learn?
From all the conversations our heroes learned that Evalena Ena chose a new group of people to join the Grey Parade at the yearly party called The Splendour, which was happening tonight announced by four loud gongs.
The current Grey Parade would ascend to immortality as promised by Evalena Ena.
The heroes also learned that Evanlena Ena had been a driven, almost obsessed student at the School of Necromantic Studies years ago, but had been dispelled from the school for unknown reasons.
Finally, the party also learned that Evanlena Ena and the Grey Parade hung out in the VIP area underneath the Blitz Ball itself.
A plan
Regrouping after a short discussion with two bouncers at the balcony, the heroes decided to turn invisible and sneak behind the bar to see if there was a way down from the backroom.
A second loud gong was heard while the party was planning. It sounded like it came from underground.
Indeed there was. It turned out there was stairs leading down to a wine cellar and after some too-close encounters with the Ogre Lady running the back office, the heroes went through a door they found in the basement.
The hallway
On the other side of the door, Double Trouble found a fairly recent constructed and well lit hallway with 3 additional doors.
The two friends started a longer discussion about which door to try first, but suddenly footsteps approached from the wine cellar and they quickly opened a door that to their surprise opened directly on to a staircase.
Quickly hiding inside the staircase, the heroes discovered they had chosen the wrong door as the steps stopped outside the door.
Quickly Autumn barricaded the door as the person outside started banging on the door in frustration:
“Karl! Karl! are you in there again?? You don’t have monopoly on the toilet you know… KARRRLLL!!!”
But as no answer was forth-coming from this Karl person, the other person left frustrated and somewhat unrelieved.
Fearing the person would return, the heroes wasted no time running across the hallway and into the door opposite as the third gong rang.
The door opposite led to a beautiful hallway of marble with a single, massive ornamented door at the end.
While debating how to approach the door, the fourth and final gong sounded. The heroes could hear the party goers upstairs get louder stamping their feet in unison.
Time was up!
Penny knocked on the door with no result and in the end the party entered a huge open hall.
The Splendour commences
As if on cue, the 5 doors to one side opened and the 5 members of the Grey Parade stepped out. Opposite Evalena Ena floated out while holding a speech about the event that would now unfold with the promise of eternal life.
The Grey Parade gathered around Evalena Ena on the huge circular platform.
Slowly one member walked, with a vicious dagger in hand, over to a peer and stabbed the willing victim before our heroes could intervene. From the victims body rose a Spectre.
The Spectre then floated over to Evalena Ena and merged with her disappearing into her frame.
Meanwhile, the heroes realised the Grey Parader with the dagger was indeed Fayeth the woman they had been searching for.
But to their horror they saw Fayth walking towards another peer, but this time in a motion to handover the vicious dagger.
Invisible Penny snuck close to Avalena Ena and threw a javelin at her causing damage and knocking off her mask in the process (Nat20) revealing the undead nature of the Wraith Avalena Ena was now revealed to be!
And the fight was on. The two nearby Grey Paraders ran in between Penny and Avalena Ena.
To prevent another murder, Autumn shouted the Command “Run” to one of the Grey Paraders Penny was fighting and to Fayth. Both failed their tests and ran to the edge of the now rising platform and jumped off the edge.
The Dagger was left on the ground.
As the platform rose up through the dance floor, the last standing Grey Parade rushed over to grab the dagger and commit suicide in the name of Evalena Ena.
A second Spectre rose and Evalena Ena, desperate to continue her unnaturally preserved life, tried to escape the fight with the heroes.
But the experienced fighters would not have it. First Autumn slammed the Wraith with her mighty hammer followed by her Spirit Weapon slashing at the undead figure.
But it wasn’t enough.
As Avalena Ena floated out of melee range, arms open to embrace the Spectre in front of the huge crowd, Penny made a last attempt to stop her with a Firebolt.
Nat20!
With that Evalena Ena, the would-be-immortal Wraith, was blown into bits of shadow and dust disappearing over the stunned crowd as they watched the glamour of the Blitz Ball itself fade as the Wraith expired.
Epilogue
A bit shaken, but somehow freed from the lure of the Blitz, the party goers one by one left the Blitz to return to their homes.
Our heroes picked up Fayth to bring her back to the School of Necromantic Studies to face the music for the damage she had caused in her obsession to join the Grey Parade.
The city of Equilibrium and the Baron of the Balance publicly recognised that our heroes had dealt with a hidden threat that the officials had missed.
The end?…
“Bleh! Look at them! Heroes! Bah! They left me with NO HAIR. BALD!!! I will have my revenge… heroes or not. Believe you me… believe you me…”
—Rizo, Leader of the Pink Ladies.