Strahd, the Final Chapter: When will it end?

The Final Chapter so far…

The Gang had infiltrated Strahd’s Castle by flying and landed atop the North Tower. They had two major goals revive Kasimir’s long dead sister, Patrina, and destroy Strahd.

They entered the tower and destroyed The Heart of Strahd (his phylactery). Kasimir suffered a fatal fall but was Revived by Mamol. They traveled down to the Larders of Ill Omen, killed Rahadin. They met Cyrus Belview who led them into an elevator trap that split up the party. Chaos ensued.

They were chased by Ludmilla and Anastasya along with two other Vampire Spawn. Grant killed Cyrus using his signature move, i.e. shooting him in the back. Several Gang members fell into teleportation traps, but the remainder of the party was able to destroy the Vampire Spawn. Eventually the Gang was able to reunite. Donkar found a ring with the soul of Van Richten who considers himself rather knowledgeable in all things Strahd.

They found themselves in the lowest level of Ravenloft, which was the level where Patrina was located. They made their way to the Catacombs. Along the way they came across a complicated Teleportation Room. They weren’t sure if it was a trap or an actual functioning device. They continued on.

After some travel, they discovered the Catacombs and promptly got to work. Crypts were busted open, things were fought, and treasure was gained. Eventually they found Patrina’s crypt.

They opened the crypt and surprise! She was a wailing Banshee which instantly sent half of the Gang into Death Saves. Mamol mass healed the downed members, and Kasimir used the power of Zudhun to Revived the dusty bones of his sister. Brother and sister had a tearful reunion. Patrina reclaimed her spell book. She agreed to go after Strahd but insisted that she get a Long Rest so she could learn her spells. That would mean leaving the castle and returning.

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Last Session…

The ring which contained the soul of Van Richten, insisted to Donkar that letting Patrina regain her powers would be a disaster. The Gang put a pin in that because they had more immediate problems, like escaping the Castle alive. Many of the Gang were low on hit points.

They decided to return to the Teleportation Room and consulted the clues on how to make it work:

• Cast a stone into the fire:

• Violet leads to the mountain spire

• Orange to the castle's peak

• Red if lore is what you seek

• Green to where the coffins hide

• Indigo to the master's bride

• Blue to ancient magic's womb

• Yellow to the master's tomb

They cast the Violet stone into the fire and were teleported to snowy Tsolenka Pass. On the plus side, they were only 2-3 hour walk to the Winery. On the negative side, they were all damp from sloshing around in the fetid water of Strahd’s basement and the current area was frigid. They returned to the winery, but everyone suffered two levels of Exhaustion.

Upon returning to the Winery, Patrina insisted on a private room to study her spell book. The Gang debated what to do next, making sure to exclude Kasimir. Van Richten insisted on killing Patrina. The Gang agreed with the ring.

Elyrion persuaded Kasimir to come out to the vineyards where he confessed his love for him. Then things got weird. A large flash and the sound of a fight was seen and heard coming from the manor. In fact, it seemed to be coming from Patrina’s bedroom. Kasimir rushed back to the manor.

That’s when the bats arrived and dropped dozens of letters. (Yep, fucking letter-dropping bats. I told you that it would get weird and it got even weirder.)

Elyrion tackled Kasimir confessing his undying love for him, I think dry humping was involved. My memory fails me here.

Anyway, however it happened, the dirty deed was done. The Gang had killed Patrina and Kasimir was knocked out then tied up.

Here’s what the letter said:

Dear Adventurers,

Thank you for purging me of my consorts, clearing the way for a new generation to fill the vacancy. It should be noted that this new generation of chosen subordinates will not be considered my consorts but rather will be thought of as my shepherds.

I will soon be imprisoning many more souls within the fair confines of Barovia to replenish my dwindling supply of fresh blood. Your skills for violence will be most useful in shepherding the new flock.

Alas, I will only need four shepherds, and I have already chosen one who has come before you. This leaves only three vacancies. You can, of course, chose to submit to my rule. Doing so will make everything so much easier.

Strahd Van Zarovich

After spending several nights resting, the Gang traveled back to Castle Ravenloft. They hid in some bushes west of the castle and decided what to do next.