The Carriage

General Summary

Struggling with the weird house's nightmares and almost starting to fight each other, the group exited the house. In an attempt to destroy whatever evil might be resident within the house, Yeast tried to put it to the fire. But the only thing he was able to achieve was a charred brick.   Anyways, what kept the attention of the whole group now was the appearance of the cause of all the string things happened. The ruler of this realm. Lady Paraskeva Zlobnova. Beautiful, brutal, decisive and powerful.   When she stepped out of her carriage she looked at the adventurers and were slowly clapping her hands. "Welcome adventurers. Welcome to Morlea. I promise you will like it here.". And a very sly grin curled her lips. Making her looking more beautiful and more dangerous at the same time.   The group were taken by surprise and just stood there looking at the scene. Except Thaurudriel. She stepped toward the vampire lady and started to talk with her. What exactly they were talking could not be told by the others but they guessed it was about what happend recently. But they could see that Paraskeva touched her softly at on cheek, like you would do with a good behaving child. It seemed that Thaurudriel was not fond about that gesture.   After a few seconds the other adventurer recovered from the surprise. Eva moved slowly toward Paraskeva, swords still in hands. Szuea readied his arrows and put a mark on the vampire, recognizing that this is a more important target than Thaurudriel.   Meanwhile the conversation between Paraskeva and Thaurudriel seemed to have a twist, because Thaurudriel got angry against the lady. At that time Eva arrived at the carriage, sheated her blades and started to introduce to Paraskeva by using a lie. Unfortunately for Eva, the vampire lady easily looked through that attempt to deceive her. And similar to Thaurudriel she gently touched Eva's cheek.   Whatever happened in detail is not so clear, but suddenly things got out of hand very quickly. Thaurudriel tried to attack the vampire lady with her maul and Szuea tried to shoot his arrows at Paraskeva. Even it looked like there was some success by both of them, it did not really had much affect on the vampire. Even worse, Eva started to growl at Thaurudriel and changed her appearance. She looked more like a beast and instead of her hands she showed claws with an icy shimmer. And suddenly starting to attack Thaurudriel. Surprised by that attack the elven woman were not able to withstand the ferocious attack of the were-creature and got brought to the brink of death.   Szeua at this attempt to intervene and continuing his shooting at the vampire had to face a new experience. Because suddenly he found himself turnde to a cat. Not a catlike creature which he anyway is, but a real simple cat. And like cats do he fled and tried to find a safe spot at a tree.   Hugur confused about what was going on stepped forward at Eva's side. Because she was always helpful and carrying to him, so he felt that this was the only right thing to do.   When Paraskeva saw that Thaurudriel got almost ripped apart, she stepped back into her carriage with some words to show how less she was thinking about the adventurers. And when she entered it the Tabaxi turned back into his usual appearance. It was obvious that the vampire wanted to leave. But before the carriage started to move, Hugur took his huge axe and swung it against the vehicle with some crushing success.   It turned out that this was not a smart move, because now he got Eva's attention. And that in a not good way, because something about his action made her to attack Hugur. And still not understanding what was going on, he was not able to deflect her wild attacks with her ice-cold claws. When Eva finished her first strikes you could see Hugur stumbling, almost losing his halt and falling to the ground. But strong as he is, with a quick move he slammed the hilt of his axe into the ground and found his strength to stand tall.   Now, face to face with the woman he usually trust but who turned somehow crazy he readied himself to go against her. But before anything else could happened a thick fog appeared, blinding everybody within. This fog was caused by Szeua in an attempt to calm down whatever was happening.   Hugur and Eva not able to see each other stood there ready to defend against and attack what or whoever would hit them. No one really moved and thus it was getting silent. And in that silent suddenly they heared a coughing and gurgling from Thaurudriel and Eva was able to smell fresh blood.   During all the chaos, Yeast seemed to stay away from that madness. He stepped back, farther and farther away to find a place where nobody was able to see him.   There they were. Eva and Hugur waiting for everything that might happen, but unable to see anything. Szuea at the ground near Thaurudriel witnessing her giving up life. And Yeast as safe from that madness as possible.   Suddenly, Paraskeva get out of the carriage. Jumping at the back of the horse, which at the point in time turned into a black horse with a firey mane and tail. The vampire lady yelling something at the adventurers and spurred the devilish looking horse away, leaving everyone else back. Standing and being puzzled.   Paraskeva gone, the group tried to make some sense about what have happened. And while discussing, Eva was able to convince Hugur and Szuea that she was trying to safe Paraskeva from Thaurudriel. That she want to offer to serve the vampire lady, because she thinks that Paraskeva want to save the realm. That the vampire lady want to bring back life and laughter to the people living here.   The discussion went back and forth and at some point in time Yeast got dragged into it. After some time Hugur and Szeua seemed to believe into Eva's arguments and sided with her. Only Yeast looked like he has a different point of view but didn't want to argue any longer.   It got late and the adventurers felt tired. They briefly talked about what to with the corpse of Thaurudriel but decided to take care about after a rest. Of course they made sure that nothing valuable left there to not lure someone or something to the location.   The mists around the mansion faded away after Pereskeva left and it turned out that the house was not by itself. It was part of a village and there were other houses visible. So, it seemed to be a good idea to find a stay within the village. But Yeast did not feel comfortable there and everyone else also sensed something strange. The sounds they could hear did not make them feel welcome.   Thus the group decided to find some place outside the village and after a short time they recognized some light. And when they got closer they were able to see a campfire with a single person sitting in front. When they got near the fireplace the figure stood up and turned towards them. The movement was calm and not threatening, so they did not need to be alarmed.   It seemed to be a male of almost average height. He had darker skin and brown/white hair which was long enough to cover his neck and shoulders. The most prominent feature with him were his white eyes. He introduced himself as Tyrane Blackwood and it turned out that he was Druid exploring the land to find out what happened to the nature here.   He invited the group to share his fireplace and that they can stay for a rest. So they sat down and everyone introduce him- or herself to Tyrane and got into a conversation but not really speaking about the things happened, recently. And at some point Yeast addressed his speech to Tyrane and mentioned that he feels safe to show his real face, which was covered behind a mask until now. When he lifted the mask everyone could see a tiefling's face but partly covered with some kind of fungus.   No one seemed to be very much off about this view. Perhaps they have seen so many weird things the very last days, that this was something normal to watch.   The chatting at the fireplace went on and for some short time Yeast seemed to draw on the earth. Maybe that was his way to cope with the situation they mastered. Or was it something more important?   Finally they got their rest and were able to sleep a deep slumber. When they woke up they felt refreshed and went back to the village. Their plan was to find the major's home because Eva remembered the letter the found days ago. When they entered the village they heard a constant sound like people were moaning of grief. Something very sadening. And suddenly the door of one of the houses opened but only to be shut afterwards. This caught the adventurers attention and so they decided to see who is in the house. When they arrived there, they saw a sign saying "Bildrath's Mercantile" indicating some sort of shop.   They found the door unlocked and after a knock, they entered and were greeted by the shopowner. He introduced himself as Bildrath Cantemir and offered his services. Even if the group did not found something they wanted to buy, Eva asked him for information about the village's major - Kolyan Indirovich - and his daughter.   Bildrath was willing to give away some information for the right coin. Unfortunately Eva did not agree on the amount of coins. And after a short haggle where Hugur got involved, perhaps as a token to make a point, Bildrath seemed to be insulted. And to protect his honor he called for his nephew, called Parriwimple. He was about the same size and stature of Hugur and seemed to be simple minded. To avoid some escalation Eva whispered something into Bildrath's ear and suddenly the tension dropped and Bildrath and Eva could agree on the value of the information.   So, the group learned that if they want to know more about the major and his daughter they should turn to Ismar "The Lesser" Indirovich. The major's son. Most probably he could be found at the inn.   With Eva paying 10 pieces of gold the group left the shop to find the Inn. But on their way they decided first to find the source of this sad mourning. And after a short time they found a house and from it's inside they could hear a woman softly crying. They gently knocked on the door but there was no answer. Still the crying continued. Thus they decided to open the door, which was unlocked, and see if they can be of any help.   When they entered they found a older woman, her face soaked with tears, asking about the whereabouts of Mary. While she was mourning and mumbling she always was cluthing a doll. The doll was not really pretty, even looking a bit scarry. But obviously it belonged to Mary and Mary seemed to be the woman's daughter and missing.   Eva tried to speak to the woman from mother to mother and learned that the woman's name was Gertruda. And that indeed her daughter Mary was missing. They also managed to got a closer look on the ugly doll and they saw a label saying "No blinksy no fun". From the woman they learned that the dool was made by a dollmaker who is living in another village. During their conversation the name of Paraskeva was mentioned and from that moment on the whole situation seemed to drift in an unfortunate direction. The woman seemed to be scared to her bones by the name of the Vampire Lady. She got more and more desperate and at the end she seemed overwhelmed with sadness, fear and pain and got unconscious.   There was nothing else to do for the group, at the moment. Thus they left the house and got on their way to the Inn...

Character(s) interacted with

Paraskeva Zlobnova; Bildrath Cantemir; Parriwimple aka Parpol Cantemir; Gertruda