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We had been quite right about heading east.
Kamca Faithtrammels was the mayor of a small town known as Conjuredhip. Quite possibly the worst place to live in the entire world.
Kamca gave us quest after quest, mainly giants, one of whom killed his uncle, but also a cyclops.
He seemed to be giving us the quests against progressively more murderous enemies, as though testing us out to see what we were made of.
Probably the most interesting was the Vampire who dwelled in Blifisholbus (speaking of which, all the caves in the area we'd been to had names in Koboldish. My guess is they were originally Kobold holes until the kobolds themselves were driven out by the monsters we now slayed.)
In any case, the Vampire named Athaca Fathermasters the Grand Shadow had been terrorising this region since before recorded history, slaying at least one hundred and forty-two, amongst them the mayor's only son.
The bastard lurked a pretty clean cave, I have to say. Don't usually expect that of monsters. Typically they have stolen items cast aside all over the place. Not the Vampire though.
When we found him, he was clearly waiting for us, and reeled off a litany of murder as long as your arm.
I struck at him with my best blade, but the blow turned aside on his ancient, and hardened hide. That sword could cut off a giant's arm, and here it was being stopped by a creature no larger than a human.
I fell back against it's onslaught. Vampires are damned fast, and I was having trouble tracking its movements. It grabbed me by the hand, and grinned at me hideously.
"I would have expected more from the progeny. Frankly, I'm disappointed, Kodor." it hissed at me, it's eyes laughing.
Before it could say any more, Drakolus landed his blade on the hand it gripped me with, slashing it badly. Hissing, and grasping its hand, it leapt over me, away from its attacker, gazing at him menacingly.
I rolled aside, dodging it's grasping hand, and sprang to my feet.
Kel had caught up with us by that time, and it was three of us against the vampire.
The monster cannoned into Drakolus, knocking the tigerman off his feet.
Kel stepped in and buried his axe in the monster's left calf muscle, causing it to fall to the ground.
He stepped in, without uttering a word, and struck the Vampire's head from its shoulders.
I congratulated him on his kill, but he shook his head.
"It's not that easy to kill a Vampire." he said. "Grab the head, we've got to destroy it to make sure the monster is gone for good."
We returned to Conjuredhip with the news, and told Kamca of the secondary stage of our task.
I couldn't get what the creature had said to me out of my mind. I felt it warranted investigation, after we dealt with the head.
In the end, dealing with the head proved an easy matter. We climbed the summit of the Crowded Teeth and cast it into the caldera.