The Battle of Castle Ebonhearth

Castle Ebonhearth lay perched into the northern mountains (Arezeth?) Ruled by a corrupt monarch, Nostros Santiago, who keeps his subjects ruled beneath a iron fist. With a decade of odd disapearances happening in the neighboring town, Staltwater, the Windseekers came to investigate. Staltwater is an eerie place, rats running rampant through the street, the howl of wolves ever present in the evening air, a fog thick enough drown sight of any who wary to far, and shadows whose very presence seem to chase about the living. The people live in fear of the horrors that lurk in the night, locking their doors with numerous traps and mechanisms each night in order to protect themselves. As such, the people are very guarded, and although economically stable, live in constant fear. Upon further investigation the Windseekers find Santiago to be a vampire, taking the villagers for human cattle at a controlled rate in order to preserve the group of vampire that call this castle home. After fighting their way through the amassed army of the damned, the party is tricked and dropped into the icy cellar with Santiago's pet remorhaz. Having to fight both the beast and the artic temperature found within this cave prove difficult to the party, causing them to make a great many mistakes. And although they do manage to fell the beast, it is not with no cost. Rodrick Fogripper saves Marian from the jaws of the beast, as it lunges forward in a last ditch effort to destroy its master's foes, taking the brunt the fiery bite and ultimately sacrificing himself. In a fit of rage, Marian storms through the castle making quick work of the remaining vampires and Santiago himself. With party splits Santiago's incredibly extensive treasury among themselves, giving fifty percent back to the town. With the loss of their dear friend, and their leader in emotional shambles, the members of the Windseekers each take their newly found (or in certain cases expanded) fortune and disband.