The One I'd Like to Forget

After a very long night and hardly any sleep, I managed to finally calm my mind enough to go to sleep in one of the rooms in the windmill. I kept replaying Elaine's death over and over, trying to come up with... something. Anything. Wanting to be able to fix my mistake. It was enough to sober me up, honestly. Sure, I didn't get along with the girl that well, but she was supposed to be under my care. Maybe it would've done us all better for Marushka to have saved her instead of me. I wish I could say that sleep was a welcome reprieve but I awoke in the morning with a sense of urgency. I heard a sound, a noise tickling my ears that snapped me awake. As I looked outside I saw a mass of crows unlike any other approaching us. I knew at once this was not a good sign.
 
The mass of birds began bombarding themselves into the side of the windmill with reckless abandon. It sounded like a sickening hail. I dressed and ran downstairs as fast as I could to alert the others and get everyone outside before this all came crashing down on top of us. I was... mildly successful. Errki had finished stonecarving a coffin to lay Elaine to rest but hadn't gotten her in it by the time this all happened. So he ran downstairs with Elaine's body to give her peace in her last place of rest while the rest of us escaped. Well.. almost the rest of us. The damn fool Oswald noticed Errki going down into the basement instead of outside and followed so he could make sure no one was left behind. All the fool accomplished was ensuring that two people got left behind instead of one. Before I could even think about going back inside for him, the entire Windmill was crushed by a concentrated sphere of crow and dropped straight down onto Oswald and Errki. Fuck me and our luck.
 
We tried to start going through the rubble to dig the two out when some more undead decided it would be a good time to show up and bother us for awhile. I'm growing more and more tired of the undead that plague these lands. But I'm also getting better at killing them. Hunting them. Learning their traits and patterns. Oh yes, they will soon become my prey much like the beasts of this land. We dealt with the walking dead in quick response and spent the rest of the day digging out our companions. They were none the worse for wear, which was good news. I don't know if this group could've handled one of them dying in that collapse as well. I tried not to speak too much to Bryndan, for fear of hearing him giving me the lashing I'm due.
 
As we proceeded on towards Vallaki, I kept my senses about me as we traveled but I got no senses of any beasts near us. The only thing we encountered on our way was some blood and wolf tracks. Thankfully, no sign of the children that Errki released from the Windmill, but given this land I'm not so ignorant to think that every single one of them made it to Vallaki unscathed. We did end up finding a set of massive wagon tracks leading the way towards Vallaki. Whatever it was must have been massive to leave some tracks. At this point, I'd rather not find out what it is. As we got to the fork in the road between Vallaki and Castle Ravenloft, we came across the same black carriage that Rahadin appeared before us in, though thoroughly damaged as if some great thing had slammed into it at high speed. Oswald could still detect the presence of unseen horses that pull the vessel, but we decided not to pry any further to the wreckage and get Ireena to Vallaki as soon as possible.
 
We camped before the gates of Vallaki as it was falling deeper into the nights, and decided it better to wait until the 'morrow to try and gain entry. Strahd's minions are denizens of the night and with a half-orc in our group (which we'd already seen the prejudices of in this land), we decided it best to not have to deal with people thinking we work or are somehow in league with their devil. The next day we approached the gates, and after a simple test of silver, they let us pass. The rest of the journey to the city was uneventful and we made it to Vallaki finally. Sadly, it was soon apparent that the state of Vallaki was not as hospitable to someone such as myself as I would have liked.
 
Unhappiness is a crime with a punishment of imprisonment in this city. Fuck me. We went to the church first, mostly because we felt it would be the best first place to take Ireena to find out what they could do to protect her from Strahd. While Oswald's summoned steed, undead as it was, passed the gates and entered the city with us just fine, it was unable to remain on this plane inside the boundaries of the church proper. The half-orc's physical deficiencies would soon be remedied after we entered the church thankfully by the local Bishop. Recognizing a warrior of the faith, the man immediately cast a spell that restored Oswald his eyes, good as new. He was less so inclined to accommodate Errki or mine's request. Wanted us to prove ourselves or some shit to the people of the city. Whatever. He agreed to keep Ireena safe and even led us to the underground area of the church where the robed remains of a long-dead holy man were displayed; apparently so powerful that Strahd couldn't even enter the city.
 
While Oswald and Ireena agreed to take shelter here at the church, we all went to the Blue Water Inn where we could find lodgings for the rest of us who didn't care to crash at the church, as well as find some information on the state of things here in the city and even find some work. You know, our little Do-This list for his holiness to give us assistance. Much of the outside of the city as well as inside was decorated with wolf heads, apparently in regards to some celebration that was to be going on soon to... mock Strahd? I don't know. It sounded stupid. While I didn't for the display, I did notice the professionalism of the way the heads were removed. Whoever hunted the beasts were professionals. If I hadn't already written that crackpot of a hunter Kiril off as a corpse, I would have immediately come to the conclusion that this precision was far beyond him.
 
I had begun to wonder how I could repay Marushka for saving my life (several times, admittedly) back at the windmill, as we'd arrived at an actual city for the first time since being brought to this godsforsaken place. She's beautiful, no doubt. A night with her would be treasured by any man, surely. We didn't really seem to.. get on much, to be honest. I'm not really sure why. I know I gave her a lot of shit about Kiril, but honestly... I fear it was simply a way for my pride to protect itself. She had seen firsthand what I'm capable of, and yet seemed to have something of a crush or infatuation with Kiril from the moment we met him. I hated it. But.. I realize that she was not deserving of my ire. Not in that way. Maybe I could buy her something nice? Apologize, and thank her for her support. It would be a blatant lie to say I could have made it this far without her. I'll tell her soon, I think. Elaine's passing has had me thinking about how quickly any of us could be taken. I don't want to leave something unsaid and regret it for the rest of my life. Or afterlife. Either way.
 
There was information to be heard, work to be had, and I needed to be drunk yesterday. There was something about a winery, but fuck if I can recall it now as I recall my thoughts to put to parchment. Moira was here, I was delighted to discover. Apparently she was driving the boat on wheels that left the tracks we had been following and plowed into Rahadin's carriage. We had a good laugh at that and exchanged some stories and drinks. Still doesn't seem interested, but I have a nagging suspicion its because she's married, despite the whole situation with that being fucked. What did stand out, however, was a half-elf who kept rambling on about some stories and juggling or whatever. More importantly, he seemed to be capturing the attentions of Marushka and Ireena. It may have been a case of jealousy rearing its ugly head, but I was not about to let either of them be bewitched by some tavern boywhore. While Bryndan and I approached to let this half-elf know the two women were with us, his focus seemed to shift from just the women to all of us. I would have bet money that "Come around back to my wagon and see my tiger" was the worst euphemism I had ever heard, he was encouraging the rest of us to join as well. While me and the girls I could understand if the half-elf swung like that, it's another thing to invite the dwarf, the half-orc, and the boy. He seemed genuine enough, at any rate. And even if he did have a tiger, he'd be a fool to try and cross the lot of us all at once.
 
So we went. Like fools.
 
As we entered the wagon, the man removed his disguise and introduced himself as Rudolf von Richten, a hunter. A crafty one at that. He presented Ireena an item, a necklace, if I recall. The Amulet of Ravenkind. With him inside the wagon was indeed a tiger, looking at Marushka with a murderous intent. Like its owner, it seemed to have a distaste for the Vistani. Next to the tiger was a beautiful woman, sharpening an axe. Ezmerelda d'Avenir was her name, and she was a hunter trained by Van Richten as well. She apparently lost her leg to the vampire, and was in hiding due to his powerful scrying ability. I like strong women. She was certainly my type, and while we all talked on, I tried to learn as much as I could from the pair, as I was prepared to add the scourge of unlife as my enemies. A powerful relic that the Amulet of Ravenkind seemed to be, I had to ask Rudolf where he came across it. He stated with all seriousness (and worse still is I believe him) that he stole it from Strahd himself.
 
.....fuck.