Unsettling Revelations

I’m just going to jot this down before I pass out for the night. I think I might have had a little bit too much to drink… but, I was trying to get Oswald to loosen up and relax a little, so I convinced him to drink a bit – maybe he had a little too much by the end of the night, but the poor guy needed it…

I found out why Oswald was so upset when they came back to the inn… after he arrived looking upset, he pulled me aside and asked if he could speak with me in private. That was odd… normally he doesn’t talk to me aside from the normal pleasantries, so I figured that something was really bothering him.

I took Oswald into my room, the one that Szoldazar had rented the night before, and sat him down at the desk. When I asked him what was the matter, he started asking me about Blinsky dolls… I told him that it’s no fun if no Blinsky. I had one when I was a young girl, but it got lost at some point, maybe in the fires of my village, I really don’t remember… I just remember that I used to have one and now I don’t…

He asked why everyone likes them so much, and I told him that the children love them. Most of the children in Barovia have one, and they sleep with them at night because the dolls make them feel safe.

Oswald then went on to tell me that old Blinsky sews a piece of his own hair into every doll he makes, and that he uses them to scry on the children and watch them while they sleep… He seemed incredibly bothered by this. And, yes, it is a bit disturbing if I really think about it… but it makes sense after a fashion. The Blinsky dolls keep us safe, and what better way to keep us safe than to check in on us occasionally? Oswald did say that old Blinsky was able to locate the missing girl from Barovia just by looking into a mirror and tracking her through her doll… she is being held by the Devil himself. A horrible fate, but at least now, Oswald will be able to tell her mother what became of the girl, and bring her some measure of peace and closure.

Oswald seemed very disturbed by my logic. In fact, he said that in his land, Faerun, that would have been against the laws and old Blinsky would be arrested for such things. I explained to him that everything works a bit differently here, and that the Blinsky dolls bring joy and comfort to all of the children of Barovia, so I fail to see how it is worse…

Anyways, I think I was able to help him feel a bit better, but I told him that he should really try to relax for once and have a few drinks. He said that he doesn’t drink, but I managed to convince him, well… me, Trevor and Errki. Brynden was noticeably quiet… he hasn’t been talking much the past two days. Something is bothering him, and I have the feeling that it might be more than being put off by my company the other night…

I didn’t have long to wait before the night got very interesting… we were all sitting around a table, and Brynden’s new kitten hopped up onto the table and began rubbing affectionately on Trevor. I think Trevor must like cats, because he didn’t mind at all and was absently scratching the kitten under its chin as he talked and drank.
 
Suddenly though, the little black cat started convulsing like he was having some kind of seizure or something… then he keeled over. I thought he was dead. It was horrible. But, it was so much worse… for a few seconds later, something began moving inside of the body… as if it was trying to get out. By now, everyone around us was looking on in horror as a massive spider burst out of the cat’s stomach and skittered across the table - away from Trevor who was now trying to kill it. It dragged the body of the cat along with it as it ran, fleeing up into the rafters. Moru… somehow that creepy spider had returned, and had been hiding in the body of the innocent little cat.
 
Brynden just sat there, nonplussed, and waited for the commotion to die down. Trevor cursed and stormed off to his bed upstairs, saying that if he sees the “fucking spider” again, he was going to kill him. I had jumped away from the table as soon as Moru had begun moving in the cat’s belly, and now I found myself seeking out the two hunters, Szoldazar and Yegvene.
 
Szoldazar smiled at me as I approached, but I could tell that his attention was completely focused on what had just happened. “Hey.” I greeted, nonchalantly. “Can I ask you something?”
Yegvene nearly groaned, but Szoldazar nodded.
“Have either of you ever seen anything like that before?” I was hoping that one of them would be willing to give me some kind of explanation because, honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to ask Brynden about it…
“No… never…” the hunters said in agreement.
 
We talked for a few minutes longer, and Szoldazar made some comment in the course of conversation about how he should have paid Errki the gold to talk to me instead of the other way around. I think it was his form of apology for his initial callousness the other night, but I wasn’t bothered by it anymore. We enjoyed each other’s company, well, I know I enjoyed myself immensely and I know that he doesn’t have anything to complain about, and that’s what matters in the end…
 
When I went back to our table, Brynden moved next to me and said that he had a gift for me. He pulled out a Blinsky doll with a wolf’s head sewn onto it. It was a limited edition for the festival! He said that he wanted to do something nice, so he got me the Blinsky doll. I almost kissed him! I haven’t had a Blinsky since I was a little girl, back before the Vistani found me. I thanked him, I hope he knows how much the gesture is appreciated.
 
Then, he asked if he could talk to me… he said that something was bothering him and he wasn’t supposed to tell me, but that he feels as though he has to… so, I invited him to come to my room and talk.
 
When I opened my door, Brynden said that I should sit down. What was he going to tell me that he thought I needed to sit down for? This was really concerning…
 
Brynden began by saying again that he wasn’t supposed to tell me this, but that he needed to… he said that after losing Elaine, he would give almost anything to be able to speak with her again. And that if there is a chance that he could help me do what he will never be able to, then he will do anything in his power to make it happen.
 
I was very confused, and I told him so… I do not have any family. Everyone died when my village was destroyed by Rahadin and the fires.
 
Brynden shook his head.
 
I asked him to spit it out, to tell me exactly what he is talking about.
 
He said that he thinks that I might have an elder brother… that he met him last night…
 
“What?!” I don’t have a fucking clue what he’s talking about… I might have had a brother once, but if I did, then he died with my parents. And frankly, I was beginning to get angry at Brynden for bringing all of the nightmares that I’d been pushing back these past few weeks, rearing to the surface once again… But… something in his eyes made me stop for a minute… Brynden was callous at times, but he would not be so cruel as to give me such false hope, especially not since losing his own sister - something that he feels far deeper than he is letting on, I think…
 
Brynden took a deep breath and then explained. He had met with Izek Strazni at his house last night. Izek had shown him a collection that he has, dolls and portraits of a sister he lost as a child and still sees in his dreams… and all of them are in my exact likeness.
 
I asked Brynden if this is true, then why didn’t the sheriff say anything when I asked if I knew him from somewhere… for his face was uncannily familiar… Brynden said that he worries that I would not be able to accept him as a brother, for his left arm is a monstrous deformity. I said that I should be allowed to make that decision for myself, to which Brynden agreed, saying that is the reason why he is telling me in the first place…
 
We sat in silence for a few minutes, until I thanked Brynden for telling me. He assured me that he felt obligated to tell me, because if there is any chance that the sheriff is indeed my brother, I should have the opportunity to get to know him at least… to talk to him… something that Brynden wishes he could do with Elaine, just once more…
 
With that, he left, leaving me to my thoughts… I don’t know what I should do… a part of me is overjoyed at the prospect of finding a long lost brother… but on the other hand, I do like my freedom that I have now, and I don’t want someone to try to suffocate me in the same way that I feel Ismark would suffocate Ireena if he felt it would keep her safe…
 
I don’t know… I think I’m just going to sleep on it and face whatever tomorrow brings in the morning…