Chapter 12: August the 3rd Report

General Summary

Hail ye, first-timers and faithful mummers and mums alike,

We find our Guardians yet again faced with mortal peril and dubious moral quandries...

Charlemagne, the wildfire druid, was called to prune the wretched Gulthias Tree from the land of Barovia. Our Guardians ventured bravely back through the dark woods and burned out the evil, twisted roots with daylight, making the land lesser and freeing the flora from the Dreadlord's dark spell.

Vorthos, the "Faceless Fury", had a vision of a hateful crystal sphere and dreamt of destroying it with the Soulsword.

Ocarin, the morbid melody, sought out the Raven Queen, but instead found a Lady Spider, the dusk elf princess, Patrina Velikovna. She revealed to him the history of her affair with the young Strahd von Zarowich - and their once hopeful plans for the future of Barovia. She begged our dwarf to promise to destroy the Amber Temple and the Dark Powers within should he ever have the chance.

Warren, the Beastly Shade, met with his demon, and promised to turn to his partner before the dark power of strangers again.

Davian, the Keepers' patriarch, then tasked our Guardians with escorting the Winery's first shipment of wine back to the people - to the village of Krezk, as well as a medical salve for the Burgomaster's sick son. Once inside the village, the Guardians learned of the Burgomaster's son's passing, and of the mysterious and charming Abbot of the abbey overlooking Krezk.

Our Guardians ventured into the abbey, as the only likely place with room for them for the night, and met with the Abbot and his ward, a Lady Vasilka. Further the Guardians met with Ezmerelda and Emil, a monster hunter and werewolf. In a grand twist of fate, it turned out that our very own pirate captain and the hunter had been old flames - perhaps this could be a rekindling...

Unfortunately, our heroes then discovered that they could not leave the abbey, and though Ocarin managed to dispel the charm from Ezme and Warren, he was not able to release everyone, and so our Guardians plotted to uncover more information about the abbey and the Abbot. Vorthos and Warren investigated the library and the Abbot's room, though they were not able to find any record of the man. Ocarin and Charlemagne found Vasilka and though she could not speak, Ocarin was able to communicate with her through her mind, and she begged with Ocarin not to fight the Abbot, but to rather encourage him from his depression. If only a heart could be turned so...

The Abbot returned through a secret teleportation circle in his room and summoned the Guardians to his dinning hall, only to reveal his intention to turn them over the Dreadlord Strahd as a placative gift, as well as to offer Lady Vasilka as a "perfect bride." Our Guardians didn't go quietly and engaged the Abbot in combat - though the Abbot's commands made it difficult, Ocarin seemed to remain immune to the charm. This frustrated the Abbot and out of desperation, he flew to Ocarin and compelled him to reveal his secrets - secrets that our bard himself did not any longer know. The Abbot's hand grasped Ocarin's locket and cast a vision of Ocarin's only memory from beyond - in fact the only memory Ocarin has from before his undeath. A vision of the gods: Helm, Shar, and the Raven Queen bickering over his soul and taking him with saving the original god of death, the scribe Jergal, from the depths of Barovia and the clutches of the Dark Powers.

This vision was shared with all who sight the light of Ocarin's locket: Warren, Vorthos, Charlemagne, and Emil saw it as well. The news of Ocarin's objective however triggered something in Emil, who proceeded to slice off the head of Lady Vasilka and began to taunt the Abbot for his foolishness. Emil was in fact not Emil at all, but Strahd in disguise.

How will our Guardians fare against their enemy? Will Vorthos survive his dark corruption? For how long has Strahd been impersonating Emil? And will Warren and his demon ever get a room??

Campaign

A Tale of Blood & Shadow Campaign

Protagonists

Warren Peace

None Swiftstride (Acolyte)
Monk 7

52 / 52 HP

STR
9

DEX
18

CON
15

INT
14

WIS
18

CHA
14

Charlemagne

None Shadar-kai (Hermit)
Druid 7

66 / 66 HP

STR
13

DEX
15

CON
18

INT
17

WIS
20

CHA
12

Vorthos D'Artagnan

None Changeling (Pirate)
Rogue 7

45 / 45 HP

STR
9

DEX
19

CON
13

INT
12

WIS
12

CHA
16

Ocarin Stonehollow

None Reborn (Haunted One)
Bard 7

52 / 52 HP

STR
12

DEX
13

CON
15

INT
18

WIS
16

CHA
20

Report Date

17 Aug 2024