Session 13
General Summary
Evening Hags
As the crackle of lighting rang out, a fight ensued with the party against Granny and her two daughters. After starting at a disadvantage, the party managed to pull back with only Ahrieya getting knocked unconscious. One by one, Granny's daughters were felled by the party with Nova and Gio absolutely decimating them as Ahrieya exposed weak points before a rapier through the mouth ended Granny. As the three women faded into puddles, a small pouch remained with a small red crystal, a straw doll wearing a dress with a pin through its heart, and a shriveled eye. With the fight over, a bit worse for wear (though not nearly as bad as they thought), the party returned to the Vistani camp outside Vallaki. Nova started to cook up some of her elk while the rest of the party started to unwind. Ariadne and Ahrieya determined that both the straw doll and the red crystal seem to house something inside them, while the eye no longer seemed magical. Pulling the pin out of the doll caused a familiar young woman to appear in front of the party; Gertruda. Expressing her confusion and want for her dog, she had a hard time remembering what happened to her, thought the women seemed to say she was perfect for something. Ariadne delved into her mind to see what happened, and past the confusion Gertruda felt, Ariadne saw the old women chanting alongside her, dark tendrils of shadow seeping into Gertruda. Wanting to return her to her mother Mary, Ahrieya negotiated Luvash to put Gertruda on a caravan moving back towards the Village of Barovia in a few days. While discussing what to do, Rahadin approached the party out of the crowd of Vistani. He offered thanks on behalf of his master Strahd for taking care of the hags at the mill, quite the nuisance they were. They were then given an invitation to dinner at Castle Ravenloft within the next few days, and that they are expected to be in attendance. When they asked for more time, Rahadin explained he would see what he could do, before making another comment about Nova. After a brief but tense exchange between Idris and Rahadin, the man slinked back into the woods.Back on the Road
The party decided that the most important thing they address at this time was Nova's condition and/or visiting Kresk. Along the road, they ran into Vasili and his wagon in conversation with the familiar shiny man, Blackhand. Vasili offered the party a slew of magical items for free, though he admits there might be something wrong with them as he does not know how the Vistani got a hold of them. When told about Granny and her fate, after a momentary bout of nausea, Vasili seemed grateful for what the party had done. Blackhand seemed to be perusing Vasili's wares, and when questioned he claimed to be from some place in the Mournlands outside of Barovia, and was brought here at least 10 years ago, wandering ever since. He heard rumors of power out on Mt. Ghakis, and is going there shortly. Before leaving, he claimed to be indifferent to Strahd, and enjoys the company of other outsiders. Perhaps they may meet again. Moving past the signposts and massive tower off in the distance, night began to encroach. Up ahead, the party saw a figure in withered armor finishing off a humanoid on the ground, with wolf corpses lying nearby. Approaching to talk, the horrifying figure introduced themselves and Ser Patrick Fyngold, a knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon. Despite his appearance, he seemed to be an enemy of Strahd. He pointed out on the party's map where a massive tree might be, and said if they are true enemies of Strahd, that they talk with his commander, Vladimir Horngaard at Argynvostholt, marking it on the map as well. Seeing as they needed to bed down for the night anyways, Ser Patrick decided to help the party and keep watch. However, nothing came during the night, which worried Patrick as that is HIGHLY unusual. As morning came, the party went south towards the tree and past Kresk.Family Reunion
Moving southward towards a ritual hill as explained by Patrick as Yester Hill. Along the path, however, the party stopped when they heard the beginnings of an ambush. A raspy voice with a southern twang ordered the party to relieve themselves of their weapons and supplies. Gio seemed to recognize this voice, and after a moment and a brief discussion, the 'bandits' revealed themselves. The old man came out and seemed glad to see Gio, yet as they grew close to one another received a punch across the face from the typically nervous man. A fight ensued; Where is my family? Why are you acting like bandits? EXPLAIN!!! The 'bandits' introduced themselves as Gio's birth family: Vankirk, Talma, Far, and Zarah Battlehand, with the former two being his parents and the latter being his younger siblings. The family explained that they were whisked here alongside Gio's wife and kids after the beast ransacked their home. After looking for a safe place to hold up, Vankrik decided that Kresk was the best bet, and managed to get his daughter-in-law and her kids into the town on one condition; They receive wine from the vineyard and find out why its being delayed. Frustrated, Gio lashed out as Talma tried to explain the fact that she and her husband let her children die multiple times. She tried to explain that without Gio, things got a lot harder and they had to stop doing grand adventures and gigs and start doing transport jobs. Idris seemed appalled that a mother and father would do that to their children, but Far insisted he did it of his own volition. Talma also seemed to linger on Ariadne for a moment. She seemed familiar somehow. Returning, Gio claimed that they would help his family figure out what is up with the winery AFTER they went to the tree at Yester Hill. Shocked, Vankirk had a bit of a grin. "Like the good old days?" Off to Yester Hill, good luck!!
Report Date
03 Nov 2022
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