“Vincent I leave you to stay with my poochie – Adue!” Strahd called out on slipping out of the hatch of the Giff Battlecruser and using his vampire speed to ooze his way quickly though the hallway, slipping under the Mad Ultraloth that he had polymorphed into a T-Rex and past the force-bubble that had filled with thick black smoke.

Koran had little time to think as facing down the monster crammed into the low ceiling and thick stone walls the T-Rex was still a hulking force as it scrabbled at the doorway.. Koran’s confidence in his abilities, yet for a large beast it was shocking quick as the T-Rex rammed it’s head though the narrow doorway and with a CHOMP, bit down firmly on Koran’s Arm. A lucky blow – but Koran realised that not only had the creature bitten him but he was now trapped within it’s grasp. Surely this would be no problem, the Solar drew all his strength to try and wrench the mighty beasts mouth open – but faltered as pain radiated up his shoulder.

“You know I will call my Attack Dog off if you beg me for mercy” Strahd von Zarovich‘s voice eco’d down the hall before adding “That is my way of saying I will not help you. Also BLEGH!”

In that moment the Monster seeing him pinned did what all creatures do with a food stuck in it’s mouth and jerked it’s head firmly to the side, the Solar whipped around by it’s trapped arm, a stickening ‘crack of bone followed by bright points of pain as Koran slammed into the side of the doorway. His wing twisted under him, barely able to catch a breath before the T-Rex twisted it’s head, and effortlessly did it again.. barely hanging on from his arm Koran felt himself slam into the other side of the doorframe, bruised and broken.
Koran knew what he had to do, with his free hand he slipped the lance under the weak point where his arm hung weakly from the T-Rex’s grasp, hot breath in his face as with a firm twist he grunted as his arm snapped, it wasn’t hard to cut away the last of his skin as he reeled backwards.. bleeding profusely and feeling himself light headed for a moment, weakened not only though loss of his arm, but in failure as he watched the T-Rex kick it’s head up just a little and swallow his arm whole.

Further down the hall Strahd was trying to escape, however on reaching the long staircase up from the Larder of Ill Omen he found it covered by the exhaust from the Giff Battlecruser, raw magic radiating out and up the stairs. For a moment he thought about disabling the engines somehow, but alas he had no tool to do so – Strahd mused on this as he tapped his head with the strange alien device he had found inside the ship. Yes, without the perfect tool there was no way he’d be able to pull that off.

Desperate Times call for Desperate Measures, Strahd reached inside himself and pulled out a scroll, turning it over he nodded and then set to casting it – a door appearing before him. Strahd opened the door and stepped though to appear at the top of the castle. Here where long ago his dear Tatyana had leapt to her death. Dust was thick, nor did it feel that anyone had been here in a very long time. Reminiscing Strahd sensed the Castle most strongly here. The THING hung in the center of the room, moving in and out and in a corner was the bed, a set of manacles still lying on the floor. So long, Strahd had no idea how long it had been since he had last climbed the stairs but as he reached out he felt the room respond, welcoming him back into it’s embrace. Strahd drew upon his dark powers, seducing the tower to be his once more, and as he reached out he felt arms circle him, sharp nails hugging him close. Yes, Yes. This was more like it.

The tower relaxed, he felt his awareness reach out as he called upon his Dark Powers, the bats where his, the rooms where his, all but the platform where he felt a dark patch, a place under control of someone else! Strahd called upon the bats to find and hound out whatever it was, for he had already needed to fight a minor vampire and a solar today, and he was not in the mood of being surprised by another claim on his Castle.

From the distorted echolocation of the Bat he heard her before he was able to draw on the senses to see Tasha the Dark casually sitting upon the Throne that doubled as the Spelljamming Helm for Castle Ravenloft, her legs hooked up over the side as she slowly turned a page on a book that she appeared to have been deeply engrossed in.

“Ah Strahd, it’s about time…” Tasha said as the bats tried to fly though the invisible barrier she had drawn around her, then unable circled. As Tasha sat up Strahd was able to make out the title on the book, with horror he recognised the cover of I, Strahd. His best selling (not really) book, she must have found one of the boxes of the unsold copies in the basement.
Strahd raged as she started reading some of it out out “You know it’s not as bad as I thought” Tasha quipped.
Strahd fumed, the bat-familiar squeaking and ranting, yelling at Tasha to get out of his head and stop reading his thoughts
“Strahd, I know you’re angry but with a good publisher, well it might have…”
The bat continued it’s high pitched swearing – in bat.
Tasha sighed “Strahd, I can tell you are upset because you are doing that flapping thing and squeaking, come now turn back and at least be civilised”.

Strahd didn’t turn back, but he did float down to Tasha’s level and glared at her, he could feel the magical barrier set by the circle of runes cast around the helm. If only he had a means to bypass it?
“Come, get out of there and let me drive” Strahd insisted, Tasha simply ignored him and turned the page as Strahd continued to rant about how only he could understand the complexity of the Spelljamming helm. She had been around him long enough to understand that Strahd was primitive, he had no understanding of technology at all.
Strahd finally had the ‘aha moment and pulled out The Multi-Tool.
“What is that?” Tasha asked.
“Ah Tasha, you think you know everything well HA! You don’t know this!" Strahd said smugly as he drew up his tool.
“Strahd my ego is not so big to assume that I know everything that can ever exist, that is why there is always more to learn” Tasha corrected.
Strahd, didn’t have a comeback for this but with the help of his Trusty Multi-tool he slipped though the Barrier.

Down below Koran was still fighting the T-Rex, Koran had speant some of his radient energy to close his wounds yet his arm was still gone and he felt incomplete without it. Clearly the beast was not going to let up and so in a moment of clarity he drew down a shaft of pure radiance, right in the centre of the room where the creature had no means to avoid it. The Radiance burning the creature and dismissing the polymorph spell turning it once again into a Mad Ultraloth.

This, may not have been the best idea as the creature’s mad eyes locked with Koran’s, quickly rushing in it drew a line in the air that formed into a longsword made of pure psionic force and slashed at the Solar, first once, and then twice.. the blows slowed by the fact that the Ultraloth too was missing both a arm and section of it’s shoulder and leg, the fiend and the solar somewhat evenly matched at last.

But now in it’s true form the Ultraloth was much harder to hit, ducking attacks it’s mad eyes peed thought the doorway at Dunena Ried and The two llamas, Koran too had noticed as he concentrated the forms of the Llama’s seemed to shift, flicking from Llama to something else and back again, it was almost maddening until he chose to simply look away. But here was a opening, the Ultraloth stared, entranced at the strange sight before him and Koran made to mightily strikes, radiant energy shining off his lance. The monster having no time to reach for so entranced was it by the strange Llama’s and drugged out human with them.

However it was not to last for long, as anger raged inside the Ultraloth and again it drew out it’s hands calling flames to leap up around Koran, Dunena and the Llama’s, flames filling the room. Screams and bellows from the Llama’s and Dunena before the three of them fled at full speed down the stairs, deeper into the Castle as Koran simply let the flames wash over him, pain was not new and his mission came first. With fury he lashed at the Monster driving it back until finally it looked like he had defeated it.

“Coward!” He cried as suddenly the Ultraloth was gone, but with Koran’s divine eyes he saw the monster reappear, bleeding heavily, but standing defiantly amid the remains of Captain Adelaide Cholmondeley and her crew within the force-bubble that Strahd had used to contain the fire.

Was it really less then a full minute ago that all of this had started?

OOC: Koran has lost 10 Hit Points (and One Arm) – in order to regain the hit points and arm they will need to use a spell like Regeneration.