Amber Temple, Old Windmill, Barovia Village.

Elyrion/ Wood Elf/  6^th Level Rogue(Thief)

Grant/ Shifter/  6^th Level Ranger (Hunter)

Mamol/ Hill Dwarf/  6^th Level Twilight Cleric

Moss/ Human/  6^th Level Druid (Spores)

Sleeps/ Tabaxi/  5^th Level Monk (Open Hand)/ 1^st Level Peace Cleric

Not present at the session:

Smugly/ Red Dragonborn/  5^th Level Monk (Open Hand)/ 1^st Level Sorcerer or Wizard (can’t remember)

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Hello Fireball, My Old Friend.

Day 24: It had been a while since they could enjoy a normal conversation. The screaming winds coming out of the north shoved the Gang forward. The switchbacks had finally ended, and they reached the carved peak of Ghakis. With plenty of yelling and gesturing, they agreed to enter the squat stone structure up ahead.

The highest peak of the snowy mountain looked like some titan had chopped its pinnacle vertically down the middle, then sliced it halfway horizontally, removing a significant portion of the peak. The Gang was thus making their way across an unnaturally flat hemispherical plateau towards a sheer cliff. Extending from the center base of the cliff was a four-room structure seemingly carved out of a huge block of stone.

The Gang swung the double doors open and wedged pitons into the doors to ensure that they would stay open in case of emergency. Elyrion willed his Sun Blade’s light to its full brightness. The frigid hallway before them featured two doors on the left and right, with a fifth set of double doors at the far end of the hall.

Chiseled into the walls of the corridor was the same inscription in dozens of different languages:

 "If you seek honor or power, turn back

 for these walls hold naught but doom.

 In many vessels below, the darkness

 shelters a timeless evil.

 The danger is an infection of malevolent divinity.

 Our arrogance and folly forged

 this place into our prison.

 Leave now, before our damnation becomes yours.”

Sitting up against the corner at the end of the hall was a dead body, covered in tattered robes. They could tell from its mummified features that it had been here for a great number of years, preserved by the cold climate of the mountain. A close inspection revealed that the corpse was likely a young man when he was alive. In one hand, he clutched an iron hammer. In the other, a dulled iron chisel.

The four rooms had crumbled furniture and broken wares. This seemed to be abandoned living quarters, complete with kitchen and dining room. They opened the double doors and discovered stairs going down beyond the edge of the Sun Blade’s light.

The stone staircase descended two hundred feet into Mount Ghakis. The stairs terminated in another hallway that was ten feet wide and tall, and fifty feet long.

On either side of the hallway, they saw elaborate carvings that depicted the monastery above, as well as a group of twenty humanoid figures. The figures were shown excavating a portion of the mountainside through magical means.

Further down the hallway, the carvings showed the construction of a massive underground structure, the Amber Temple itself.

Beyond that, the carvings showed the humanoid figures trapping evil-looking entities into large blocks of stone.

As the hallway progressed, the detail and care of the carvings began to degrade. The humanoid figures began to look like the evil entities they captured, and they began to attack and kill one another.

At the end of the hallway was one final carving, hastily scrawled. In it was one living humanoid figure, surrounded by evil faces all bearing down upon it. In one hand, the figure held a hammer; in the other, a chisel.

Beyond the hallway was a large natural cavern. At the far end of the cavern there was a pair of large amber doors, slightly ajar.

Moss and Elyrion approached the amber doors and peered through. On the other side of the doors was a twenty-foot-wide balcony made of black marble that extended to the left and right. From deep within the inky darkness directly ahead, a fiery light appeared. Before the pair could explore any further, the fiery light quickly grew exponentially, and they were subsequently engulfed in a fireball spell. They retreated to the group singed and shaken.

Mamol with his superior Dwarven Darkvision was next to peek through the amber doors. Again, he was hit with a fireball spell originating from directly ahead.

Finally Grant, taking the precaution to cast Pass Without Trace, took the lead. This time there was no fireball forthcoming. He explored a little further:

He discovered that the balcony overlooked a vast temple. Black marble staircases at each end of the balcony descended thirty feet down to the temple floor. He spotted the vaulted ceiling thirty feet above the balcony on which he stood. A set of amber doors were closed directly to the west, while open doors stood to the east. Finally, he could spot arrow slits along the walls to the left and right at the same height as the balcony. Three pairs of glowing orange eyes appeared in the arrow slits to the left. Fireballs spewed forth from each pair of glowing eyes. Grant managed to survive by sheer luck of the dice.

The Gang decided that it was in their best interest to busy themselves with something other than the Amber Temple. They returned to the Wizard of Wines by nightfall.

Soylent Dream Cakes

Day 25: They awoke early in the morning fully healed (yay 5e) with a new destination, the Old Windmill. They traveled across the valley without incident. Several hours later, they were east of Vallaki. The Old Windmill was about fifteen minutes to the south.

Several ravens flew overhead, and Grant decided to commune with one (I forget the spell). Using the raven’s sight, the Ranger spotted the Old Windmill. The raven then flew back north along the Vallaki Road and spotted old Morgantha traveling south. The Gang decided to ambush her.

The five of them got the jump on her and managed to wrap her in chains. Morgantha’s features transformed into something fiendish, similar to Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring movie.  After learning that Dream Cakes were made of children, they killed Morgantha.  They traveled back to the Old Windmill.

Moss and Elyrion (I think) knocked and entered the Old Windmill. They discovered an elderly lady walking down the stairs. She smiled and nodded as she continued towards a barrel in the center of the room. They had a tense conversation while this was happening. It ended when the old lady knocked on the barrel three times and called towards the upstairs, “Oh Bella! Can you get down here?”

A small demon emerged from the barrel, a Dretch to be specific, and attacked the party. A fight ensued. Bella came down the stairs ten seconds later. The Dretch was easily dispatched. The Hags, for they were indeed Hags, turned invisible and escaped.

The Gang explored the Old Windmill and found evidence of grounded down children’s bones. Thay also discovered two children in cages. The Gang burned the windmill to the ground and escorted the children to the Village of Barovia.

Barovia Village Revisited

Day 25 (late afternoon): They arrived in the Village and delivered the kids to Ismark. They had a brief conversation.

The Gang decided to go to Bildrath’s Mercantile and give persuasion another try. Madame Eva’s divination revealed that Bildrath’s nephew, Parriwimple, was the Gang’s “destined ally against Strahd,” whatever that means. They’ve already tried to persuade Parriwimple to join them once and failed once.

The Gang entered and exchanged pleasantries with Bildrath, then asked to talk to Parriwimple and he acquiesced. They talked to Parriwimple. I can’t remember the conversation, but the Gang walked away with Inspiration.  

They returned to Bildrath. The Gang ended up striking a deal with the shop proprietor. The Gang would find and pay for two able bodied people to replace Parriwimple as Bildrath’s assistant.

The Gang will be 7^th Level after their next Long Rest.

END SESSION