Session 4 - Funeral and travel

General Summary

Still on laptop, so notes are lacking

Session notes:

We wake up after a long rest
Ariah wakes first and starts doing her ritual
Damia and Ireena wakes during the ritual and watches silently
They speak about what happened
Ariah asks Ireena if there is always that many wolves, as it seems to be several packs
She says that it is (+zombies), but they usually don't get inside. They seem more agressive than usual
We talk some more
Damia thanks Ariah for her support, and Ariah says that preventing suffering is her mission as a cleric of Ilmater
Ismark has been away the whole night, he seems tired
When Damia tries to wake Jonathan (after waking Richard and Gob), Ismark stops her and says that it is Jackie, and that we should let him sleep for 2 more hours
We eat dinnner. It is mostly stale bread (which is rare to get in Barovia) and pålegg
Ismark says that Jonathan went out during the night to get Jackie, and only Jackie returned. Ismark seems convinced that Jonathan is still safe though
We will have to travel several days through the forest
After eating Ismark goes to wake Jackie
We don't recognize Jackie, but he introduces himself
Ismark clears up a misunderstanding that Jackie is not going to prepare the funeral, but just carry the casket
Richard tries to brag to Jackie about being strong, and asks if he can help. Jackie asks him to fasten to the ceiling (think pulley system)
Richard balanses on a stool on top of a chair to do it, but manages fine
Gob wants to stay behind for a business idea. He has apparently talked with both Richard and Jackie
Ismark and Ireena has a whispered fight. Damia hears that he doesn't want Ireena to come
Jackie exits, and return with a fancy wagon with expensive carpets (Like the image only painted black and with carpets)

He hoists the casket into the wagon, and puts some flowers on it
Ismark explaines that Ireena can't come, as she is much safer at home where Strahd can't enter. Jackie offers to let her pay her respects
Ireena touches the casket, makes a circle motion around her heart (clockwise) and bows her head
As we're passing by the store, the owner and a tall man stands outside and seems to be trying to pull something out of the lock
Jackie gets nervous and hits a rock, making the two people turn at the noise
The owner seems to look at the wagon closely, but lets us pass
We eventually make it to the church
- (it is not raining like in the picture)
- Behind the church is a graveyard
- There are two ravens on the roof, staring at us
- Ismark says that we should enter and go get Father Donovich who is probably reciting his morning prayers
- We hear screams to the right, but the prayers don't stop
- Ismark is startled, but don't mention the screams
- The Father looks very tired, and he seems hoarse from praying all night
- His greeting to us starts with "Blessing of the Morninglord"
- The hissing scream is coming from below us
- He leads us outside to behind the church and says that he hasn't prepared the hole and asks us to help with that
- Richard and Ariah helps to dig
- Damia asks Jackie if he's strong. He says that he probably shouldn't help as he hurt his hand last night
- Damia tells Richard and Ariah to prepare themselves, then Enlarges them both
- Richard chooses to resist the spell, while Ariah accepts it
- What would normally take hours takes 10 minutes
- Ariah lays the casket in the hole at Jackie's suggestion, while the father recites the morninglords prayer Elegy for the Dead
- The prayer ends with "For in death, life", as they do the circle symbol over their hearts
- Once the ceremony ends, fog starts to seep in Everyone but Damia notices someone at the gate, watching Once we're done with the ceremony, the person walks back(?) into the cart and both the cart and person vanishes
- Ariah asks what the screaming is. The father explains that it is Doryu(?). And insists that he is not hurting anyone
- He is not ok after Strahd turned him, but he is not hurting anyone
- Ariah doesn't know anyone that can cure vampirism, and tells them that it is beyond her abilities
- The father explains that Doryu has not fed on human blood yet, and thus not completed his journey
- Strahd seduced him over a period of time, before taking him to the castle and biting him several times. He wanted to make Doryu a consort, like he has with so many others and is planning to do to Ireena
- We decide that we don't have time to wait here any longer, and take our leave
Jackie excuses himself, and says that he has to go fetch Jonathan. He brings his cart
We go back to the mansion
- Gob is not in the mansion
- Jonathan returns eventually
- Jonathan says that Jackie asked him to get the payment for him. He then tries to gaslight Ismark into thinking they agreed on 50 gp
- Jonathan says that Jackie had to leave suddenly to look after his 6 dogs: Tina, Dina, Holly, Jolly, Bob and Rob
- Ireena has prepared supplies. We can choose anything from simple weapons, mess kit, 5 rations each, 40 bolts
- Jonathan gives 10 gp to us each
- While we're gearing up, a tired Gob returns. Pulling a cart he is too small to carry
- He says Jackie gave the wagon to him, as they have struck a business deal
- He is planning on staying in the village. He has spoken with Ismark as well
- Ariah asks (expecting a no) if Ismark or Ireena happens to have a pair of platinum rings. They don't unfortunately. (Jonathan might be able to create one with his ability, but only one at a time)
- Ismark will not be joining us, as he has to become the new burgomeister in the village
- Lancelot stays in the village as well
We head off towards Vallaki
After a few hours we arrive at a small river with an overgrown bridge
- Jonathan steps on a wooden toy: a figure of a woman with two antlers
- There are wagon tracks going both ways on the road
- Damia and Ariah understands that the figure is an old symbol of some sort, while Jonathan just knows that it is something religious
- Damia asks to keep it to look into it more, and Jonathan accepts
We head further into the dark fog-filled forest
While we're walking we decide the watch order for tonight
- Jonathan
- Damia
- Richard
- Ariah and Ireena
We walk further and arrive at a crossroads. There is a gallows, with a crow sitting on top of it
- A signpost reads ___, ___, Vallaki
- Jonathan tries to cast Speak with Animals to talk to the crow, but it chooses not to answer him at all
- Ireena says that if we follow the road to Vallaki, we get dangerously close to Castle Ravenloft. If we take the other road, it will take longer but be farther from the castle
- Jonathan suggests that we pretend to walk the road to Vallaki until the crow is out of sight
- Ariah fails a wis save, and nothing happens :)
- While we're discussing, Richard is walking around and hears a stick snap by the gallow
- Everyone rolls a wis save (Ariah crits this one ^^)
- Jonathan failed the save and sees himself hanging from the gallows, as he recieves the curse of the hanged one
- The rest of us see Jonathan standing paralyzed. He explains what he is seeing
- Ariah suggests that it might be Strahd messing with his mind
- Jonathan shakily asks Ireena if she wants to take the watch with him instead of with Ariah, since he won't be able to warn us if he is a ghost. She agrees.
We start walking towards Vallaki, then change over to the other path.
Once we arrive at the path Richard, who walked last and doesn't have dark vision, is gone (he crit failed...)
Damia casts message to Richard, then ties a rope around her waist which she gives to Ariah, before walking into the forest to meet him half way
Richard hears the rustling leaves Damia asked him to go towards, and walks towards it
Damia breaks cover and uses Thamathurgy to shout "Richard"
The sound comes from the opposite way of where Richard was heading
He sees a tall creature with horns, as he slowly backs away towards the group
He manages to sneak away and join the party
We walk a bit further, and start looking for somewhere to set up camp
- Only Ariah rolls well, and we settle in a small depression by the road where we might be able to cover up and stay hidden
- Damia makes a makeshift tent
- We go to sleep, and keep watch
  - Jonathan and Ireena
    - They hear wolves, but not nearby
    - Jonathan is really shaken by what he saw
    - Ireena gives him another blanket, and tries to talk to him about Jackie
    - They then talk about how Jonathan got to Barovia
    - He tells her that he was drinking with the Vistani, and then followed a dog (Lancelot)
    - Ireena thinks she was born here, but don't remember
    - She knows she was adopted, and that the Burgomeister has a daughter similar to Ismark
    - Jonathan is convinced that he is already dead
    - Ireena: "I think it's called depression"
    - Jonathan asks if Barovia was always this grey, and Ireena answers that it used to be better
    - Strahd wasn't always cursed. He did pretty good in the valley, then he turned
    - Ireena gives Jonathan some nuts to comfort him
  - Damia
    - Jonathan gives Damia the leftover nuts at the watch change
    - She spends her watch investigating her Ring of Regeneration(?), but doesn't attune to it
    - The watch ends uneventfully
  - Richard
    - Damia gives Richard the nuts that she didn't eat
    - Richard can't see in the dark
    - Richard casts Detect Evil (?) and notices an undead behind us
    - He light a torch and walks towards the undead (making sure not to leave the camp out of sight)
    - He doesn't see the undead when he reaches where it was supposed to be
    - He spends the rest of the watch looking around nervously until the torch goes out
    - When it does, he casts Detect Evil again, and senses the undead in the same place
    - He doesn't see it this time either and spends the rest of the night carefully watching
  - Ariah
    - Richard warns her of the undead 50ft away
    - As the watch finishes she hears a wagon approaching from the crossroads
    - Seeing as the party is not that well hidden in the 'sunlight' she quietly but quickly wakes the others to warn them
The wagon is a Vistani wagon, with flowerpots in the windows
- We try to be quiet, but both Richard and Ariah is wearing heavy armour it goes badly
- Ireena crits and manages to hide away from the rest of us
- The man in the wagon tries to convince us to travel in his wagon with him
- We convince him that we're going into the forest
- He believes us and tells us that if we're going towards Vallaki eventually, there is a vistani camp in that direction.
- We should stop by and talk to Madam Eva if we pass by
- He leaves and Ireena comes out of hiding
- She has heard of the woman he spoke of, she is a very old fortune teller whose tellings always comes true
- People usually have their fortune read when they turn 18
- Jonathan says that he would like to go to the camp, and we decide to go after we've delivered Ireena safely to Vallaki
Ariah wants to go investigate the place Richard felt the undead, now that it's daylight