Previously:
The House
The Gang had unearthed some of the dark secrets of the Durst family’s past. The residents of Durst Manor had resorted to rituals of bloodletting and cannibalism in hopes of gaining extended or eternal life. There was also a letter from someone named Strahd Van Zarovich. Apparently, this guy rejected them and thought their rituals were pathetic.
On top of this, there were indications of infidelity by Gustav with the family’s nursemaid which enraged Elizabeth so much that she locked her children away to starve and murder the nursemaid. Gustav’s body was found hanging, dead from an apparent suicide. Whatever happened to the wife Elizabeth or Walter, the lovechild of Gustav and the nursemaid, was uncertain.
After talking to the ghosts of the Durst children, Rose and Thorn, the Gang vowed to bury the children’s bones in the family crypts within the basement.
The Basement:
Upon entering the basement, an incessant chant was heard. The Gang found the Durst family crypts and laid the bones of Rose and Thorn to rest. The basement was a maze of corridors and rooms, that included abandoned living quarters and a dining hall. There was evidence of cannibalism. The Gang ran into some monsters, including ghouls and a carrion crawler. The Gang tracked the chanting down to a level below the basement that contained a shrine. Yor peered through a portcullis into another room and the chanting stopped. Rather than redescribing what Yor saw, I think a picture would work better here:
The Gang is in the Reliquary in the bottom of the pic; Yor is looking to the next room in the upper left of the pic; while there’s a prison in the upper right.
Btw, this cost about $350-$400 on etsy.
Room #35 The Reliquary
Yor peered through the bars of the portcullis wondering what to do and the chant of “He is the ancient. He is the laaand” stopped. Skarther summoned his little fire buddy, which allowed the Gang to teleport.
Most of the group had teleported to the other side of the portcullis, except Moss and Wildthorn. That’s when Roos decided to step up to the altar; consequently, thirteen dark apparitions appeared around the room and began a new chant: “One must die, one must die,” repeatedly. It was deduced that the Gang had to sacrifice one of their members. The Gang debated whether they should sacrifice Smugly since the player couldn’t make it to this session. They decided to explore other options, but they kept the ‘sacrifice the dragonborn’ option open.
Room #36 The Prison
As the only members that hadn’t teleported yet, Moss and Wildthorn decided to explore the other room which turned out to be a prison. Most of the cells were empty, but they did manage to find a gold ring (25 gp) on a corpse. They also found a secret door that led into the Ritual Chamber.
Room #38 The Ritual Chamber
Now the whole Gang was in the room. Roos was on top of the dais near the Altar, Skarther and Yor were near the portcullis, while Moss and Wildthorn entered through the secret door. The Gang collectively decided not to sacrifice Smugly and face whatever may come. Roos stepped off the Dais and the thirteen apparitions began a new chant:
“The end is nigh! Flesh will be taken!"
Movement was seen coming from the gap in the wall and what emerged was something out of a lovecraftian nightmare:
There were two differences between this pic and what the Gang saw. 1) There was the head of Elizabeth Durst gibbering with all the rest of the mouthers. 2) The infant Walter Durst was attached to the monstrosity kuato style. (Total Recall “open your miiind”)
The Gang engaged with the thing and battled it as best they could. After the first round of combat, the ghost of Thornbolt appeared and removed his brother’s spirit, which stunned the Gibbering mass. This gave the Gang a major advantage and they made short work of it.
Now the Durst house was pissed. The ground rumbled and the squeaking of rats was heard all around them. The apparition of Rosavalda appeared and led the Gang along the quickest route in the basement.
Upstairs, all the doorways were opened but the doors had been replaced with swinging scythes. It was time for some ability checks… or so the DM assumed. Much to my… I mean… the House’s consternation, Skarther’s fiery little teleportation buddy removed any challenge and the Gang was free!
The Crossroads
The Gang returned to the crossroads where they had initially met Rose and Thorn. Someone placed a picnic basket there filled with bread, cheese, and a bottle of wine. The label on the bottle was Red Dragon Crush. That’s odd.
Enter the Village of Barovia
After around two hours’ travel, a village emerged out of the mists in the early afternoon. The Gang walked along a cobblestone path, and nothing was heard except the wailing of a woman. Despite the disconcerting lack of activity and odd sobbing, the group was mostly concerned with finding a safe place to sleep since they couldn’t get a good night’s rest while traveling on the road.
A Tavern.
The Gang found the first relatively inviting building near the center of town, a tavern called “Blood on the Vine Tavern.” Apparently not an inn, but maybe someone inside could provide a bed in which to sleep. Inside were a trio of Vistani women, a bartender, and a warrior judging from the sword at his hip.
Meet the Vistani
The Vistani could be distinguished by their pseudo-Slavic accents, brightly colored clothing, and laughter; as in they were the only one’s smiling, laughing, and having an all-around good time. Once the Gang entered the tavern, one of them quipped “oh great, more adventurers.” To which the other two laughed, evidently, she had made some sort of inside joke. Roos bristled at this, but still, the former pirate had schemes in mind. He inquired about his claim upon a windmill to the west, showing them the Deed to the Windmill. The Vistani laughed even louder than before, the second one shot back “sure you can claim it, just don’t get yourself killed!” More laughter and knowing glances at each other.
After their laughter subsided, the third Vistani took on a condescending tone “allow me to give you some advice, little adventurers, you are not the first to enter Barovia. You will face Strahd sooner or later, then be defeated like all the rest. I suggest that you go see Madame Eva, as she is the only one who can provide some divination that may see you out of your plight. You can find her by traveling the road west, then travel north once you reach the gallows at the crossroads. There is where you will find her encampment.”
Meet the Bartender
The bartender’s most distinguishing characteristics were his supreme lack of animation and droning monotone voice. Any inquiries by the party were met with short, simple answers that really didn’t provide much information. The most important thing they learned was that his name was Arik.
Meet the Warrior
Their riveting conversation with Arik was interrupted by the warrior. He introduced himself as Ismark Indirovich, the Burgermeister of the Village of Barovia. The Gang recognized the name Indirovich from the letter they had received from Arrigal the Vistani and the letter that they found on the corpse along the road. Ismark advised that they would be better off having this conversation in private at his home where he could provide proper shelter for them to rest.
While traveling to his home, Ismark inquired if they could escort his sister to the town of Vallaki. He believed his sister was not safe here in the Village of Barovia since the village was harassed nightly by wolves and ghouls. These monsters seemed to focus their attention upon their home where the ghouls continuously uttered the word “Ireena,” which happened to be the name of his sister. He believed that the source of this harassment was Strahd Von Zarovich, a powerful vampire who lived in Castle Ravenloft.
Ismark suspected that the vampire wanted to make Ireena his thrall. The thing that puzzled Ismark was that the vampire had yet to make an appearance. It was obvious that the harassment was coming from Strahd, since it was the only one who could command such creatures.
Perhaps it was waiting for them to invite it into their home? It was well known that vampires could only enter a home if they were invited. On the other hand, a vampire could easily charm a person into inviting it inside. Maybe it had other plans.
The Mansion
Ismark and the party reached his home, which was a dilapidated mansion. The iron gates at the front appeared to have been recently twisted. One of them was permanently stuck open as it clanged and creaked in the occasional breeze, while the other lay on the ground. Weeds surrounded the house, except for a muddied path that had been created closest to the home. Inspecting this path revealed that it was created by large wolf paws and humanoid feet. Heavy claw marks were also spotted on the houses outside walls. The windows were all broken and had been boarded up.
The Gang entered the place, and the interior was well furnished but worn. The presence of holy symbols was spotted in every room. Wildthorn discerned that the symbols were derivative of Lathander the Morninglord of Faerun. This spurred a conversation between Ismark and Wildthorn. Apparently, Barovians paid homage to a deity known only as The Morninglord. Ismark believed that the god’s presence was no longer in Barovia, but he and his sister engraved these symbols anyway in a vain attempt to ward against the evil creatures.
In one of the rooms was the corpse of an older man lying in a coffin who resembled Ismark. The faint odor of decay could be smelt through the masking bouquet of decaying flowers. “This is my father,” Ismark remarked. “He died four days ago. The terror of the nightly attacks was just too much for him and his heart failed.”
The Gang showed Ismark the letters. He told them that the letter from Arrigal was an obvious forgery, but the second letter found on the corpse was his Father’s handwriting. Ismark confirmed that a messenger volunteered to brave the mists in a desperate attempt to save the village.
Meet Ireena.
Ismark introduced the Gang to his adopted sister Ireena, who was statuesque and beautiful with a strong, commanding presence. The most notable characteristic was her auburn hair. Ismark informed her that the party is willing to escort them to Vallaki. She thanked them but said that she cannot leave the village in good conscience until her father was given a proper burial with the final rites of the Morninglord.
This was when Moss cut in and proposed a solution to their problems. “Why don’t you just give yourself up to this dark lord? I mean, if you really love your village, surely you would be willing to sacrifice yourself…right?” This went over about as well as a turd in a punchbowl and was met with cold silence.
Moving on…
Meet the Local Merchant
The Gang realized that they had one more task. They needed to sell their loot! The party received directions to Bildrath’s Mercantile from Ismark who seemed to avoid any eye contact with Moss. The Gang shouldered their backpacks and made to leave. As they left, Moss felt a cold hard stare from Ireena.
The Gang walked into Bildrath’s store. The merchant agreed to buy anything at market price. On the other hand, for sold goods, Bildrath stated that “the best I can do is ten times the price." When the Gang grumbled their complaints, Bildrath responded with "if you don’t like it, then you can talk to my nephew, Parriwimple. Oh Parriwimple!” Bildrath wore a poop-eating-grin (see pic above) as a lumbering hulk of a man came down the stairs. Parriwimple seemed nice enough, but the armor and sword at his side, along with his bulging muscles, contrasted his simple, friendly countenance.
The party inquired about the Red Dragon Crush wine. Bildrath informed them that all the wine in Barovia came from one place, The Wizard of Wines, which was a couple of days trip to the west. BIldrath complained that their next shipment of wine was overdue.
The Gang sold their goods and left. The village remained ominously quiet except for the loud singular sobbing. For some odd reason, everyone felt inspired after leaving the store.
The Gang Goes to Sleep.
And finally, at long last, the Gang began their Long Rest. Something that hasn’t happened since the first session. Let’s hope that it won't be interrupted by the Ghouls and Wolves.
END SESSION.
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