Session 7
General Summary
Vallakin' Me Crazy
Standing before the gates to Vallaki, a pair of guards called out to the party as to their names and occupations, as well as a reason for visiting the town. While everyone gave a name, some more truthful than others, Nova chose the same surname that Gio gave. Before they could fully administer the test of silver on the party, Ariadne swiftly casted charm person to ease their entry as Ireena mentioned that they were there on official business to discuss bureaucratic ideas and issues with the burgomaster. The guard they were talking to, Marcus, briefly explained the laws of the town to follow that may differ from other settlements they've stayed at, as well as some known recent events.1) The mention of the name “Strahd” is strictly illegal, even in written form. If he must be referred to, “the Devil” is the commonly accepted term. 2) The town holds weekly festivals to promote merriment and honor the Burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich. As guests, the party will not be required to assist in the preparation of these festivals, but their attendance and participation in each festival is mandatory for the length of their stay. 3) The next Vallakian festival is the Festival of the Blazing Sun, to be held in five days’ time in the Town Square. They just finished the Wolf’s Head Jamboree. 4) Failure to comply with any Vallakian laws will brand the party as criminals, and will lead to punishments in accordance with the local justice system, including imprisonment in the stocks and, in extreme cases, exile. 5) The guards will need to register each of the party’s weapons.Asking the guards where they might be able to stay, Marcus mentioned that the Blue Water Inn seems quite friendly towards travelers. Upon asking about the Vistani, the guard claimed that the Vistani were not allowed in the town, and pointed on the map where the camp could be found. The group heard a few rumors on the way to the inn the citizens stared at the party...
The burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich, has decreed that the Festival of the Blazing Sun will be held in the town square in five days. The previous festival, which he called the Wolf’s Head Jamboree, just ended. Vallaki has endured at least one festival every week for the past several years. Some Vallakians believe that the festivals keep the devil Strahd at bay. Others think they provide no protection or benefit whatsoever. Most consider them dismal affairs. The burgomaster’s henchman, Izek Strazni, is known as a vicious and intimidating individual as well as having an odd deformity: a blackened arm with white and blue speckles. Fear of Izek keeps the baron’s enemies at bay. No one hates the burgomaster more than Lady Fiona Wachter, who is often quoted as saying, “I’d rather serve the devil than a madman.” She owns an old house in town but rarely leaves her estate. Purple flashes of light have been seen emanating from the attic of the burgomaster’s mansion. Wolves and dire wolves prowl the woods and aren’t afraid to attack travelers on the Old Svalich Road. Well-armed groups of hunters and trappers have managed to kill several of the wolves, but more keep coming. There’s a Vistani camp in the woods southwest of town. The Vistani there aren’t very friendly. Vistani aren’t welcome in Vallaki.Arriving at the inn littered with ravens perched upon the roof, the inside of the warm building was packed; much more lively than anything they experienced in the Village of Barovia. Inside, aside from the numerous patrons, they could see two particularly boisterous and belligerent young gentlemen seemingly jamming out to a very poor quality-sounding bard in a very big and fancy hat. Behind the bar counter was a middle-aged woman with a white-gray streak in her hair tending to patrons, filling tankards with wine. Noticing the new patrons, the woman welcomed them into the inn, claiming it to be 'the safest place in Vallaki,' though everywhere is safe here. Introducing herself as Danika Martikov, she sold some rooms to the party and gave a bit of information about some places and people in Vallaki. While Idris stayed downstairs to listen to the bard, the rest of the party went upstairs to push some beds together to have two beds per room. The bard eventually stopped playing and rested at the bar enjoying a drink of wine, but not before he name dropped numerous locations in Faerun. Idris mentioned that the bard might play better if he had properly tuned his instrument, and followed that up with a quick question about how he knows the places he's listed. Claiming he was simply making noises until they sounded cool, he introduced himself as Rictavio. Before Idris left the conversation, Rictavio switched his tune and said he wasn't from here, and presumed Idris got here the same way he did; via the mists. As Idris walked away, Rictavio mentioned that the red haired woman with them was nothing but trouble, as they must know who wants her. Addressing the half-elven bard's concern, Idris mentioned that Ireena was lower on his list of problems. As everyone upstairs started getting ready for bed, a burly older man came up from behind them and brought up dinner, charging them nothing for the meals and asked if they needed anything else during their stay. Introducing himself as Urwin Martikov, the man seemed very jolly and fun, looking at the inn as more of an experience rather than a business. Urwin could tell the party was from out of town, as he mentioned that there were no other female elves around anymore ever since Rahadin slaughtered them all in response to them killing a woman who Strahd was interested in before a red-haired woman stole his favor. Additionally, the elf chamberlain cut off the tips of each male elf's ear. Before sleeping, Idris dumped some makeup powder on the floor next to Ireena's bed to see if anyone would As the party slept, Ahrieya took the first watch. Patrolling the rooms, she saw that Granny, Bella, and Ophilia were each in Gio, room, and were doing something to Gio as he slept. Granny turned to face Ahrieya, and shushed her to make sure not to wake anyone. She explained that she didn't want the party to reveal anything about the mill that they saw while they were there. They wanted to make sure they would stay silent by issuing a warning; sending Gio bad dreams. Ahrieya insisted that they should give her bad dreams instead, and agreeing to appear later, the three women disappeared in an instant. Ariadne woke up to help Ahrieya during the later part of watch, though nothing had happened during that part of the evening. Not mentioning anything to Nova and Gio during their watch, Ahrieya went to trance as they took over. Gio decided to go downstairs as Nova patrolled the hall upstairs. Gio asked about whether or not they had heard anything regarding a few people he seems to be looking for, as well as paid for the food her husband has brought up before. Revealing that indeed some of the people he mentioned had been through here, he stayed downstairs. Nova heard some metallic creaking coming from outside, and upon looking noticed a familiar scarecrow resting outside, virtually t-posing. When she took a moment to close the window blinds, she immediately heard the scampering of the scarecrow along the house. Freaked, Nova ran to Gio to let him know the Gardener is outside the inn. Though on the way downstairs, she could hear the incessant cawing of ravens from outside. Waking everyone up the party looked outside to see an unkindness of ravens flying about the inn, and no scarecrow in sight. As everyone went back to sleep, albeit a little on edge, Nova noticed a lot more and longer hair on the arm which had the bite mark on it. Before Idris awoke, he found himself on stage in a low-brow concert arena. Sitting across from him was a familiar humanoid robes in blazing yellow and orange robes, though not as large as before. Gesturing for Idris to play, the entity waited patiently on a barrel. As Idris went to play, he began the familiar tune on the rebab before slowly shifting into a song he had played with his band. Astonished, he kept playing before the robed figure's gesture faded, and Idris began to play the maddening tune he was used to. Begging to get that feeling back, Idris went to grab the figure only to get a handful of robe. Behind him, Idris saw the figure, hand outstretched. Thinking for a moment, Idris took the opportunity to grab its hand before he woke up. As he woke, he tried to play a different tune on his rebab, only to play the same old song as always. As Gio and Idris took over the last bit of watch, it was relatively uneventful until they noticed the three old women again in Ahrieya and Ariadne's room. Worried and concerned, Gio woke up Ahrieya by passing through her alarm spell, and Granny mentioned that Ahrieya made a deal with them. Concerned about this deal, though not wanting to cause any sort of conflict, the party reluctantly agreed to allow the night haunting to occur to Ahrieya. Those who stayed in the room saw shadowy tendrils flow into Ahrieya's mind, translating to horrible nightmares during her trance. When she woke, she felt awful and weakened from the night before.
We Happy Few
As the party woke up, they went downstairs to get information from Danika on where to go in the town for supplies. With locations marked on their map, and their bellies filled with raven-lox (a strange pancake with smoked fish), the party set out for the day. Gio and Nova both went next door to a blacksmith named Rhaast's Armaments. An elderly man working weapons inside seemed to make a lot of weaponry found carried by the local guards. When asked if he could silver Nova's axe, as well as a large maul, he stated he would need the rest of the day to silver them. Pleased with the prices and outcome, the pair left the blacksmith to return later for their weapons. Ahrieya went to a potionary and ingredient shop. On arrival, she saw a half-elf behind the counter of the store The Third Eye Potions and Sundries. Asking for some salt as well as some incense to bring back Viggo after and unfortunate run in with some old women the night prior, the owner happily sold the investigator the supplies, claiming that she doesn't get a whole lot of business from the locals as is. Idris wandered towards the town square as a rogue flier slapped him in the face. It read...Adjacent to the square were some guards and commoners putting up another poster. That one read...Come one, come all,to the greatest celebration of the year:THE WOLF’S HEAD JAMBOREE!Attendance and children required.Pikes will be provided.ALL WILL BE WELL!—The Baron—
Further exploring the town square, Idris approached a guard to ask for an audience with the burgomaster. Claiming he would need to go to Izek in order to get the permission to meet with the burgomaster, the guard reluctantly took Idris to talk with Izek. Across the courtyard, a man in olive skin with black, purple tipped hair with a large axe strapped to his back as well as sporting a horrifying blackened claw-like arm. Moving to talk with the captain of the guard, Idris was surprised that Izek was not as terrifying as the rumors he had heard about the man. When asking about an audience with the burgomaster, Izek mentioned that he heard about their arrival and can set up a meeting with him in a few hours, asking them to meet at the burgomaster's manor. Ariadne left to try and find something along the lines of a boutique or clothing shop. After looking around a bit, she managed to find a shop with a sign labeled with a 'B' on the sign, as well as a sign inside which read "Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!" Inside, she saw all manor of toys, though slightly terrifying, all about the shop. The jovial shopkeeper Gadof Blinsky seemed excited to have a patron in the store, giving her a tour before tending to something. As Ariadne looked about the shop, she noticed a doll that was perched upon a self; a spitting replica of Ariadne herself. When asking about it, Blinsky said that it was not for sale, and that someone had commissioned it. Asking who, the shopkeeper sheepishly said that it was the captain of the guard, Izek, who had been commissioning the dolls in Ariadne's likeness. Concerned for why someone would want to do this, Ariadne paid for a vampire ventriloquist dummy before heading out of the shop to meet up with the party. Before reconvening, Gio and Nova decided to detour and go into the The Dusklight Supply Shop, as Gio had heard a lead about some people he was looking for and that they had visited the shop before going somewhere. Upon entering, the strange, soft-voiced shopkeeper wore a smile during the entire questioning process. Asking about the people who had come and gone through the shop some time ago, the shopkeeper began listing off all the patrons that day who visited. Unsure on the trustworthiness of the information received, Gio threw up his hood and left the shop. Leaving the shop, Viggo noticed Gio trying to head out of town towards the east. When Ahrieya called him out on it, and Ariadne send him a message, he said he wanted to go out of town to check out the Vistani camp to look for someone. Going alone, he went out to a massive tent outside of town with a similar celebration going on as he has experienced at every other Vistani camp he has been to. Wandering the camp, a Vistani by the name of Arrigal stopped him and asked why he was here. When told Gio was looking for some people, Arrigal took him to see the leader of the camp, Luvash. Luvash mentioned that he had never seen anyone by the descriptions Gio had given him, though if more people are missing that wouldn't surprise him. Luvash also mentioned that his daughter, Arabelle, was missing for a few days now. Gio said he and his companions would help him find Arabelle, and Luvash promised to ask around for people matching Gio's descriptions. Before leaving the camp, Gio took a brief look around camp, finding an axe belonging to someone he knew. When asked how the Vistani who owned it got it, they mentioned someone sold it to him for money for supplies. Gio bought it back before heading out. The party gathered once again outside the Blue Water Inn, and after a brief discussion decided to head on over to the burgomaster's manor before it got too late.COME ONE, COME ALL,to the greatest celebration of the year:THE FESTIVAL OF THE BLAZING SUN!Attendance and children required.Rain or shine.ALL WILL BE WELL!—The Baron—
Of Barons and Birthrights
When the party arrived at the burgomaster's manor, they saw Izek waiting outside for them. When he looked at Ariadne, however, he swiftly started aggressively moving towards her. Pointing towards the amulet around her neck, Izek claimed that Ariadne was a thief, asking what she did to his mother, Redinella, to take that from her. Equally as irritated, Ariadne said that her mother gave it to her, and demanded to know why he was commissioning dolls in her likeness. Taking a moment to think, he said they can discuss this later, as they have a meeting to keep. Moving through the manor, they were brought to a dining room filled with noble-looking women. One, introducing herself as Lydia Valllakovitch, was interested in the individuals called in to meet with her husband, reassuring them that "All is well!" within Vallaki. After an extremely awkward pause, a call was heard from upstairs before everyone rushed upstairs. Ushered into a loaded library, the burly man introduced himself as Baron Vargas Vallakovitch. Ahrieya spent no time waiting and rushed immediately towards the books he had within this study. Asking why they are here, Ireena spoke up that they wanted to discuss matters of protection for their people, and general issues about running their town. Vargas stated that the weekly festivals keep the devil at bay, and stopping anyone who exhibits 'malicious unhappiness' from afflicting others. When asking if this was truly the reason they were meeting with him, the party revealed they were looking for a space place to keep Ireena. The Baron retorted by saying everywhere is safe in Vallaki, though there is one who is spreading malicious unhappiness within the town. Lady Fiona Wachter is believed to be a devil-worshipping practitioner of the dark arts, but her status as one of the only few noble houses in Vallaki keeps the Baron from taking any drastic measures. Something is definitely up with those 'book clubs' she hosts. The Baron Vargas Vallakovitch promised that he can find a safe place to keep Ireena, as well as throwing in his nice chair, if the party got evidence of Lady Fiona Wachter's dark practices. Agreeing, the party went to leave the manor, but not before the Baron suggested they talk with the priest at the church, as he tends to learn a lot of information about the denizens of Vallaki. On the way out, Izek stopped Ariadne. Ahrieya wanted to stay with her, but in actually she noticed a door bolted from the outside in the hallway out of the manor and wanted to check it out. Ariadne and Izek went to his room, where it was revealed he has many, many other dolls of Ariadne, all slightly different, either in ages, sizes, or clothing. He revealed he has had dreams of her, with a man and a woman, though only the image of her was clear enough to capture. He didn't want to lose the image, and therefore would constantly had dolls made in Ariadne's image. When asked to describe her mother, Ariadne gave a description which matched his own mother, and suspected that they might be siblings. He said that some time ago, a cart he was on traveling from Vallaki to Krezk was attacked, and in a blue flash, saw his father gutted and his mother gone. He gifted one of the dolls to Ariadne, and promised not to make any more of them now that he knows who they are. Meanwhile, Ahrieya unlocked the bolted door to find a chained person inside, bloodied and bound. Moving to unlock him, the man revealed himself as Udo Lukovitch, and that he was bound here because he spoke up against the Baron during one of his festivals and was imprisoned for malicious unhappiness. Unlocking one of the manacles, Viggo let Ahrieya know there was movement in the hallway. Misty stepping out into the hall, Ahrieya saw a pair of armored guards walking along the hall as they quickly moved to arrest her. As the party waited outside, Ahrieya came out clad in irons, claiming that she was snooping about the manor and breaking into locked rooms. Idris convinced them that they need Ahrieya in order to complete their investigation on the Baron's behalf, and as Izek mentioned that this would serve as a warning, unlocked her manacles only to have Ahrieya bolt off towards the west of Valllaki.Late Night Vigil
Running through the streets, Ahrieya came to a large patch of grass outside the warm glow of a church. Gripping the green blades, Ariadne, Idris, and Ireena followed Ahrieya. Messaging to Ahrieya, Ariadne asked if she was okay. Taking a moment to compose herself, she stood up, stating "He wont stop, he will never stop looking for me. He's relentless." Upon discussion, the party realized it was NOT the Baron or Strahd that she was referring to. As the rest of the party approached, they figured they would check out the church as one of Madam Eva's card readings alluded to it. Walking inside, they found the church to be packed, with an old priest presiding over the pews. Approaching the priest, he seemed very amicable and answered any questions the party had. Lady Wachter has book clubs where she meets with a bunch of other noble families in Vallaki. She despises the Baron and often directly opposes him. Her sons both frequent the Blue Water Inn, though they are almost always drunk. Lady Wachter also has a daughter, though she doesn't leave the house often. She was betrothed to the Baron's son, Victor Vallakovitch, though he had done something to her and hasn't been the same since. Asking if he had a gravedigger, he mentioned that he did. Milovaj, the gravedigger, lives in the orphanage next door, but has not been to work for a few days. Wanting to look through the graveyard, the priest, Father Lucian, allowed the party to do so. Before leaving, Father Lucian grabbed Ahrieya's shoulder. He ask if they were working on official Vallakian business. After affirming, he mentioned that the church itself is hallowed ground; no creatures of evil can set foot in the church without being harmed. The bones of the saint of this church, Saint Andrel, keep the ground hallowed. Recently, however, the bones have gone missing, and he believes that Milovaj might have taken them. Father Lucian asked if they could retrieve the bones for him, though told Ahrieya to be soft with Milovaj; hes only a boy. As the party investigated the graveyard, they saw a low-hanging mist throughout the entire grounds. Idris took point, investigating about the grounds itself. Rounding a corner, he saw familiar names inscribed on gravestones: Sena Lancaster, Vadon “Don” Erzeiros, Sinead “Sin”, and Adalgrim “Grim” Ostgood. Panicked, he started digging into Sena's grave. When the party lost contact with Idris, they all locked arms with each other. Ahrieya heard a sinister sounding voice, referring to her as its sister. Dropping to her knees, the mists quickly enveloped her. Ariadne heard the voice of her mother once again. Nova tried to stop her from moving towards it, but ultimately failed as Ariadne turned around only to be swallowed by the mist. Gio saw the image of a beautiful raven-haired woman, as Nova heard the voice of Rahadin once again ridiculing her. Both of them managed to hold on to each other and not run off. Idris, after digging for quite some time, managed to uncover the body of a young woman in a pastel dress; eyes closed, arms crossed. As he stared into the body, he heard a wheezing voice from behind him; "All your fault. ALL YOUR FAULT!"Rewards Granted
They seem to be in good favor with the Baron, as well as having a familiar connection to the captain of the guard.
Gio and Nova both have silvered weapons now, and Ahrieya had gotten some supplies for healing potions as well as some spell components.
Ariadne got a ventriloquist dummy from Blinsky's Toys.
Missions/Quests Completed
The party has arrived in Vallaki, supposedly where they can keep Ireena safe.
Gio has a new lead for the people he is looking for.
A young girl by the name of Arabelle has gone missing and needs to be found.
The bones of St. Andrel are missing and need to be found in order to make the church hallowed once more.
The Baron Vargas Vallakovitch tasked the party with finding incriminating evidence of Lady Wachter's dark practices.
The Gardener is in town, stalking the party.
The party still needs to find a safe place to house Ireena.
Report Date
06 Sep 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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