Session 1: Into the Mists Report
General Summary
Our party meets at a backwater tavern known as the The Grateful Harp. The party members Pike, Gareth, the brothers- Persevering and Valiant Hellsing, and Balance celebrate a successful adventure together. Although they haven't been together long, they begin to feel like a successful adventuring party and what comes with that- a need to help the weak.
Suddenly, the tavern door swings open, and a hush falls over the room. Framed by the lamp-lit fog, a form strides through the doorway. His heavy, booted footfalls and the jingle of his coins shatter the silence. His brightly colored clothes are draped in loose folds about him, and his hat hangs askew, hiding his eyes in shadows. Without hesitation, he walks up to your table and stands proudly in a wide stance with folded arms.
In an accented voice he says, "I have been sent to you to deliver this message. If you be creatures of honor, you will come to my master's aid at first light. It is not advisable to travel the Svalich Woods at night!" He pulls from his tunic a sealed letter, addressed to all of you in beautiful flowing script. He drops the letter on the table.
"Take the west road from here some five hours march down through the Svalich Woods. There you will find my master in Barovia." Amid the silent stares of the patronage, he strides to the bar and says to the wary barkeep, "Fill the glasses, one and all. Their throats are obviously parched." He drops a purse heavy with gold on the bar. ith that, he leaves.
The babble of tavern voices resumes, although somewhat subdued. The letter lies before the party. The seal is in the shape of a crest they don't recognize. On this letter, are the names Pike, Gareth, Persevering, Valiant, Balance, and Zea. None of the party recognizes the name Zia. They question the barkeep who doesn't have any answers for them regarding Zea or the letter but does provide some information on the man who delivered the letter.
This man is named Arrigal and is a Vistani.The other tavern patrons regard his people as friendly folk who travel about in covered wagons and usually keep to themselves.
The party opens the letter and it says the following:
The party intrigued by this plea for help decides to go to Barovia and help this Burgomaster. Adhearing to the warning from Arrigal, they drink the night away and plan to head out to Barovia in the morning. The morning arrives and the party leaves. They begin noticing that the landscape slowly changing around them as mists begin to swallow up the land behind them pushing them towards an uncertain fate. They continue for some time and see the road itself changing and black pools dot the path forward.
The fog spills out of the forest to swallow up the road behind them. Ahead, jutting from the impenetrable woods on both sides of the road, are high stone buttresses looming gray in the fog. Huge iron gates hang on the stonework. Dew clings with cold tenacity to the rusted bars. Two headless statues of armed guardians flank the gate, their heads now lying among the weeds at their feet. They greet the party only with silence. The party struggles to open the gates until Gareth cuts his hand on the gate which causes the gates to open and welcome the party to Barovia. The party continues forward and realizes that the mists seem have a mind of their own. Pushing and pulling the party in different directions. Some members begin to hear voices in the mists with the only clear words being "His army settled in the valley".
The party enters the Svalich Woods and see towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all but a death-gray light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream. The party members begin to feel nervous and the mists seem to be getting to them- in one way or another. Finally the party comes across a Vistani wagon that has no owner and no horse to pull it. The party investigates it. Gareth sticks his head in the covered wagon and sees not supplies or storage but an endless void until finally a spirling object comes towards him. Balance takes a look inside and the object is an elf who hits Balance and the two hit the ground.
The party surrounds this unwelcomed vistor and they find out her name is Zea, an astral elf who's not quite sure where they are or how they got here. The party checks the back of the wagon again only to find that the void is gone and its a normal wagon. Balance finds a hidden compartment under the driver's bench and breaks it open to find Rudolph's Letter to Ezmerelda. The Hellsing brothers immediately recognize the name Van Richten as a legendary monster hunter who disappeared over five years ago. They speculate if this is where he has been and hope he's still alive.
The letters is old but not five years old, they estimate a few months which means Ezmerelda could still be alive as well and there is hope for Van Richen. They begin traveling once again to the town of Barovia but the mists roll in again. Something is different about these mists and they act as a wall, obscuring the party's vision. Gareth bravely enters the mists first followed by the rest of his party. The mists seems to distort sound and this makes it difficult to stay close to one another.
Pike is separated from the group. He tries to reconnect with them but is taken by a mysterious figure. The party hears Pike scream out for help but they are too late and only find his pike. The mists seemed to recede as soon as Pike was taken. The party thinks something can control the mists or that the mists have a mind of their own. The party tries to search for Pike but the mists get them turned around and find themselves near the village of Barovia and drawn towards it.
They explore Barovia for some time and hear the cries of a woman. They investigate it and find Mad Mary's Townhouse. They manage to get inside and find Mary on the floor of her daughter's bedroom, clutching a doll. Mary explains that her daughter Gertrude ran away a week ago and has not been seen in Barovia. Her mother is worried sick and begs the party to help find her. They agree to keep an eye out for her as they explore this dour country. They go to the nearby church to hopefully gather information about the village. They see the church has seen better days as it appears to have been attacked by magic and monsters throughout the years.
They enter to hear coarse prayers and screaming coming from the undercroft. The party meets Father Donavich and they ask him about the screaming coming from below them. Donavich has been praying throughout the night. His voice is hoarse and weak. He is, in a word, insane. A little more than a year ago, his twenty-year-old son Doru and several other villagers stormed Castle Ravenloft in revolt, having been lured there by a wizard in black robes who came to Barovia from a faraway land. By all accounts, the wizard died by Strahd's hand, and so too did Doru, who returned to his father as a vampire spawn. Donavich was able to trap his son in the church's undercroft, where he remains to this day. Doru hasn't fed since he was imprisoned, and he cries out to his father at all hours. Meanwhile, Donavich prays day and night, hoping that the gods will tell him how to save Doru without destroying him.
Gareth, following his duty, goes to slay Doru and find a padlocked trapdoor. He breaks the lock and Donavich pleas with him not to kill his son. Gareth believes his son is no longer the creature that is down there and continues on his journey. Gareth briefly fights Doru before being joined by the rest of the party. The party is unprepared for this level of beast and they are defeated. Doru ready to deal the killing blow and feed on them, suddenly stops and lets them leave. In a brief moment of sanity, he tells them to leave and come back when they are stronger.
Feeling confused and defeated the party leaves the undercroft and is ordered out of the church by Donavich. The party goes back to the streets of the Barovia where they meet Grandad, an old man wandering the streets. He takes them to the Blood of the Vine tavern and gets them some drinks to hear their story. Eventually their conversation attracts the attention of Ismark Indirovich. Ismark walks over to the table and introduces himself and buys them more wine. The party shows him the letter after discovering Ismark is the son of the Burgomaster. He reads it and tells them that this wasn't written by his father. Ismark and the party are confused why someone would forge a letter from his father. Zea correctly guesses the Burgomaster is dead and Ismark tells them to meet him at the Burgomaster's Mansion tomorrow morning. The party agrees and goes to Grandad's house for rest and recovery.
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