Izek and Baron Vargas

Izek

Previously: The Gang, Thalion in the lead, was tracking down the stolen bones of St Andral. They had learned that the culprit was Henrik the Coffin Maker. Thalion got him to confess in front of the coffin maker’s shop, where a crowd of onlookers and guards were gathering. Henrik admitted that a vampire named Anastrasya coerced him into doing it and that there currently were six vampire spawns up in his junk room. Yor cast Enthrall and had the guards and half of the onlookers distracted.

[RETCON. A couple of the players cancelled. Moss, Skarther, Smugly, and Ireena went to St Andral’s Church to secure the Bones. Roos, Thalion, and Yor were the active PCs this session with Moss coming in late.]

The Bones of St Andral Resolution

A large man wearing a Guard’s Cloak approached the scene. He hefted a battleaxe in one hand. The other arm was what the party noticed first, however. It was scaled like dragon skin with spines, the coloration was mottled green and brown, and it ended in a black clawed hand.

The large man announced his presence “I’m Izek the Baron’s right hand man. What’s going on here?”

There was some terse back and forth between the Gang and Izek. In the end, Henrik was placed under arrest and escorted to the Baron for questioning. The Gang was suspicious of Izek, but he seemed to be working within his responsibilities as a guard. The Gang decided not to deal with the Vampire Spawns at all and left them free to do as they will. With nothing else to do, they went to St Andral’s Church.

They checked in with Father Lucian. He and Yeska were amid a ceremony to reconsecrate the Bones, while Smugly, Moss, Skarther, and Ireena attended. Yeska seemed distracted by Thalion’s presence while performing his duties. The whole ceremony would be four hours. After giving Milivoj permission to get out of the grave, the active members stood in front of St Andrals, watching the perpetual drizzle of Barovia.

Four Town Guard with halberds emerged from the mist on Old Svalich Road walking towards St Andral’s, led by a man of superior rank judging from his weapons and armor. He wore studded leather armor, a sheathed rapier, and a shield. As he approached the bottom of the steps to the church, he stopped and raised a hand in formal greeting. The Gang could now spot daggers sheathed on his body.

“Greetings and all is well,” he spoke directly to Thalion ignoring the others. “My name is Korga, Captain of the Guard to Baron Vallakovich. The Baron has learned how you thwarted the plans of that scoundrel Henrik. He has also learned through the Town Guard that Ireena the daughter of Koylan Indirovich is with you. He wishes to invite you and Ireena to dinner.” He handed a written invitation to Thalion, maintaining eye contact with him and only him. “The dinner is to be held tomorrow night at the Baron’s mansion just after sundown. All is well.” They also learned that Henrik was being questioned in the Baron’s mansion.

There was some discussion with Captain Korga, but the above was the most pertinent information to this recap. It was clear that the Baron wished to talk to Thalion and Ireena exclusively.

A Day of Preparations

Yor, Roos, and Thalion decided to head back to the Blue Water Inn. They discovered the taproom to be empty with the sounds of prep work being done in the kitchen. Urwin, husband of Danika, came out wiping beet stains off his hands. “Hiya! You be wanting Breakfast?” The Gang accepted the offer. “Welp, beet and cabbage stew coming up! How about some wolf steaks? Only five silvers?” They agreed to this, and he went back to grill the steaks.

While the Gang munched on their breakfast, Urwin stuck around the taproom making small talk. Then he had a favor to ask. “Our wine supplier has been late with his shipments. I was wondering if you could check into it if possible. The place is called The Wizard of Wines, and they supply all Barovia. It’s about four hours’ travelling west of here. We’re not out of wine yet, but we will be soon. It’s urgent but not an emergency yet is what I’m trying to say.”

The Gang agreed to make the trip when they could.

Urwin smiled. “Great! Thanks a lot!” Urwin went back to the kitchen to continue with his duties.

The Gang went to the Town Square to pick up supplies and visit the bathhouse. They visited the “Cracked Anvil” which bought/sold weapons and armor. Thalion got his armor polished to a reflective gleam here. They also visited “Endless Delights Clothiers” which featured used clothing and had a tailor. They had no time to wait for tailored garments, so they bought what was available. Thalion bought fine quality clothes, Yor bought servants clothes, and Roos bought servants clothes for a female. They finished the day off with rented baths. Yor rolled in a mud puddle after bathing.

The plan was this: Thalion and Ireena would arrive for the dinner, while Roos and Yor posed as their servants. Player plot twist! Yor disguise Roos as a female servant from Barovia, being a male Drow, this was quite a difficult task. Player plot twist #2! Yor used his spell Ilusory Script to create a letter. The letter was written in the handwriting found in the letter from Arrigal (see first recap “So it Begins…”). The letter asked the Baron to keep the Gang safe, signed Volenta.

[The player playing Moss arrived at this point and he was added to the retinue of Thalion’s servants. It should be noted that the player plot twists did little to affect the upcoming dinner with the Baron, in fact, they may have made things a little more difficult. I’m still scratching my head wondering why they chose to do it. I guess, in part at least, it was a chance for Yor to use an underutilized spell and skill; Illusory Script and Disguise.]

Dinner with the Baron

Baron Vargas Vallakovich

The Mansion had walls of plastered stone that displayed many scars where the plaster had fallen away with age. Drapes covered every window, including a large, arched opening above the mansion’s double doors. Two Town Guards flanked these doors.

“All is well Ireena and Thalion!” Said the Town Guards dutifully. A noblewoman, judging from her clothes, opened the doors immediately after the Guards called out.

“All is well!” The Lady seemed to have a grin permanently pasted to her face, and stress could be seen in her bunched shoulders and furled brow. “I am the Baroness Lydia Petrovna wife of the Baron Vallakovich, and sister of my dear Father Lucian. I am so grateful for your bravery, Thalion. And what an honor to meet the beautiful Ireena Indirovich!” She glanced at Yor like he was detritus that had been blown onto her porch. Her perma-grin briefly dropped, “Oh…ah… the servants. They may wait in the Entrance Hall.” The grin returned bigger than before as she addressed Ireena and Thalion again.  “Come, all is well, come.”  They entered the Baron’s Mansion.

Framed portraits adorned the walls of the grand foyer, which featured a wide staircase with sculpted railings. A long, carpeted hall stretched almost the length of the mansion to the west with several doors in the north and south, plus one more door at the far end of the hall. Seats were brought for Moss, Yor, and Roos.

The Baroness led Thalion and Ireena down the hall and opened the door on the left. She announced Thalion and Ireena’s arrival and stepped into the Dining Room. Thalion insisted on going first, being suspicious. His trust in the Baron was close to nil and he wanted to be safe. As it soon turned out, his suspicions were well founded. Thalion entered gave a formal bow and turned towards the doorway to give Ireena space to enter. Inside the room were Baron Vargas, Captain Korga, and Izek all with glasses of wine in hand. They were standing at a long table with eight chairs, although there were only six place settings. Plates, glasses, and silverware made up these settings.

Ireena stepped into the doorway. Izek’s wine glass dropped from his hand and crashed onto the floor. His polite smile dropped, and his expression changed to one of obsessive zeal. “You! The one of my dreams… I must possess you!” He made the quickest path towards Ireena, in other words, he stepped onto the table soiling the tablecloth, crushing a plate, and knocking over glassware. He picked up his axe which was leaning against his chair.

Thalion reacted by stepping between Ireena and Izek and drew his war hammer and held up his shield. It’s kind of awkward to have everyone armed and armored at a supposedly polite dinner, now that I think about it, but here we are. They began trading blows. The others in the room seemed as shocked by Izek’s actions as the Gang. The Baron and Baroness retreated out another door with the Baron calling “Stop this nonsense immediately! Korga! Stop Izek!”

Captain Korga was hesitant on what to do next, baffled by the whole situation. “Hey Izek! Stop!” He continued with these futile commands throughout the fight.

Roos rushed forward drawing his rapier, and aided Thalion in the fight. His sweat ruined his alabaster makeup, and a pair of plump beets dropped from his blouse. He ignored these distractions. Moss summoned a shillelagh and soon aided Thalion from his other side. With everyone crowded in the doorway, Yor could not maneuver himself into the fight, so he explored the house for a bit. He found the Baron’s coat in a nearby closet and tried it on.

Izek, despite being outnumbered, continued fighting on. The Gang eventually killed the man. Captain Korga looked at the situation in shock. The Baron entered the hallway from the far door surrounded by a retinue of a dozen Guardsmen. “The dinner is canceled. There will be a full investigation into this. I ask that you leave the premises immediately.”

Yor had one more stratagem to play. He rushed forward with his Illusory letter and shoved it into Baron Vargas’ hand.

With an annoyed sneer, the Baron quickly read through the letter. “What?! This makes no sense. Who the hell is Volenta?!” He looked at Yor. “And what are you doing wearing my coat?! Take it off!” A disappointed Yor took the Baron’s coat off.  “Grrrr, your filth got mud all over the interior. Get out of my house! NOW!!!” The Gang left.

Back at the Taproom

They found themselves back in the Blue Water Inn and chatting with Rictavio. Thalion had healed his wounds, and everyone had a glass of wine in hand. They were trying to figure out what just happened, and various hypotheses were considered. Unable to make heads or tails of the matter, Moss focused on other riddles.

“Hey Rictavio, do you know who Madam Eva is?”

“Yes, I do. She is said to be a Diviner. What of it?”

“What does this mean: ‘The card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope.’ She flipped the card and divined that ‘There is a town where all is not well. There you will find a house of corruption, and within, a dark room full of still ghosts’”

“I can’t tell you what anything else means, but ‘a town where all is not well’ must be referencing Vallaki. Hope that helps.”

“It does. Thanks.”

END SESSION