Session 4 ... So You Have Visited Barovia?

As the dust settles on the collapsed ruin that was Durst Manor, I stand with my new friends. We have survived a visit to a haunted house. It has not been without cost ...
 
Tobias, distraught and muttering to himself begins to staunch the flow of blood from his severed arm. His mumblings are heard to be prayers to Ilmater, his arm given as penance to some past sin, or so he believes. I help bind his wound, it is the least I can do. After all it was I who caused the hurt.
 
Vegar is near catatonic. The self inflicted wound to his throat is raw and sore looking. He says nothing, dropping to his knees as if he too is in prayer. I hope his Goddess of Light and Mercy grants him some form of peace.
 
We have a new companion to our group. The old hound from the manor stays by my side, perhaps grateful to be spared. I doubt whatever awaits us will be any less traumatic!
 
We set up camp on the edge of the manor grounds overlooking a valley. Nestled in the valley is a small village, overlooked by an ominous castle. In fact this castle looms over the entire land, as much as is visible within the palisade of fog.
 
I take the first watch, Scraps resting at my side. I wish I had some way with animals, that I could offer comfort, but alas my life left little time for pets. Baldur's Gate is also not a place where one could find a friendly animal, any dog you encountered is likely to be feral or rabid, or both! I will bring this sorry creature to safety, this I swear! As my watch progresses I suddenly find myself standing in a shallow sea of liquid silver, a sun of purple energy spitting plasma hangs overhead. Have I been brought to yet another world??
 
There is some sense of familiarity about this realm. The infinite argent ocean and the purple star sing in resonance to my new found power.
 
A female voice rings in my mind ... and I converse with an entity. She(?) is eons old and has been known by many names, none of which she is willing to share. She seeks to use me as a weapon, but in return she offers herself as a weapon.
 
This realm has suffered "great injustices", and I have "much work to do". She does not share her name, yet she knows mine. She calls me her champion! A mistress is nothing new to me, and in fact only Adriel ever saw a potential in me. I accept her call to arms, and with that the world shifts. I find myself standing on the heliotrope orb, the lustrous metallic sea hanging overhead, spanning into infinity.
 
With that I awake into the misty damp world of horror and dread ...
 
With the dawn, or lack thereof, we travel into a village. Situated within the valley the collection of houses should be in greyscale, such is the lack of movement, life, or normal community. We do find a pastry seller, an old woman pulling a cart from house to house. She gives her name as Anika, or simply "Nan". She lives with her family in a windmill outside of the village, which she names Barovia for the land that surrounds us. She gifts us all tasty looking pies. Scraps is very appreciating of my half.
 
Civilisation is limited, but she does name two settlements, Kresk & Velacky. All ruled from Castle Ravenloft, by a Count named Strahd von Zarovich. An ill aspected master that feeds off the land. If he is anything like the "nobles" from Baldur's Gate, than it is natural that he takes what he can. Although I sense something more extreme in this instance.
 
We move on to a merchant named Bildrath. Our need for a remedy for Tobias' injury is growning more desperate given the sweet smell coming from his stump. Rot has taken hold and soon will come fever and sickness.
 
Bildrath would do well in Baldur's Gate. He ups his prices and relishes in the needs of his "customers". Like any criminal he is not afraid to fall back on the threat of violence, and for that he has a half-wit called Periwinkle. I itch to teach them some manners, but I must learn more about the rule of law here. He has a quest for us, and when we return he will treat us differently. This I will ensure regardless of his bully-boy.
 
Thus we find ourselves tracking a mangled corpse of a wolf. Something large and unnatural has been preying on human and beast in the area around the lake. We leave Vegar at the edge of the village with Scraps for company. He needs time to recover, and it would not be fair to drag him into yet more horror.
 
Tracking the killer (human beast or something else) seems a daunting task but Griff shows preternatural skills. He tracks like a Royal Bloodhound, seemingly sniffing the ground and following the spore of the creature.