Personal History
The Vistani Protégé of the legendary Rudolph Van Richten, Ezmerelda is a capable and talented individual with a fiery spirit. Despite her workings with Van Richten, her first encounter with the man was anything but pleasant. When Ezmerelda was a little girl, her family kidnapped van Richten's teenage son, Erasmus, and delivered him into the clutches of a vampire. Even today, years later, she can still hear Erasmus's pleas for mercy. That event haunted her childhood.
Van Richten tracked down Ezmerelda's family soon after the kidnapping, but not before the Vistani had sold the boy. Though van Richten could have done them harm, he instead interrogated Ezmerelda's mother and father on the whereabouts of his missing son. Satisfied with their answers, he spared their lives before departing with the information they had given him. Ezmerelda witnessed van Richten's act of mercy and was deeply moved by it.
At the age of fifteen, Ezmerelda, still troubled by what her family had done to van Richten, ran away from home. After many harrowing adventures, she tracked down van Richten two years later. Thinking she was a Vistana assassin, he put a sword to her throat and threatened to spill her blood. Ezmerelda convinced him that she genuinely wanted to help him find his missing son, whereupon van Richten told her the saddest of tales. He had found his son, who had been transformed into a vampire spawn. When Erasmus pleaded to his father for salvation, van Richten granted his request by ending his existence.
Ezmerelda remained by van Richten's side for two years, helping him track down and slay many creatures of the night. But because van Richten could never bring himself to fully trust a Vistana, he kept secrets from her. The two vampire hunters got on each other's nerves, and their arguments became more frequent. At last, Ezmerelda suggested that they part company with some shred of their friendship still intact, and van Richten agreed.
Since bidding farewell to van Richten, Ezmerelda has amassed a sizable personal fortune, some of which she used to buy a wagon to carry her vampire-slaying paraphernalia. On one of her less successful adventures, a werewolf bit off her right leg below the knee, and although she avoided being afflicted with lycanthropy, Ezmerelda was sidelined for months. She commissioned a master artisan to craft a prosthetic lower leg and foot. After several tries, he delivered a prosthesis that restored her mobility. She has since adapted well to the false appendage.
While in the company of a Vistani caravan, Ezmerelda heard a rumor that Rudolph van Richten had gone to Barovia to slay the most powerful vampire of them all. She decided that he might need help and traveled for months to reach Strahd's domain. She rode her wagon to Vallaki and learned about an old tower that seemed the sort of place van Richten would use as a base. When she arrived there, she found some of van Richten's belongings, but of the vampire hunter there was no sign. Thinking that Strahd had captured him, she went to Ravenloft to search for him. Her efforts were fruitless, however, as Van Richten was currently abiding in Vallaki as Rictavio. She barely escaped with her life, and fortunately for her, Van Richten had returned to his tower.
Because of the knowledge that she has gained from her master, Strahd sees Ezmerelda as a high value target. Ezmerelda has done her best to avoid falling into the vampire's clutches.
Presence in Barovia and Interactions with the Party
According to the foretelling by Madame Eva, Ezmerelda D'Avenir is the fated ally of the party. The party first met her at Van Richten's tower, when she returned from Ravenloft on the brink of death. After spending some time in the tower to heal and catch up with her master, she began to work with the party to explore Barovia and learn of its inhabitants, such as the Abbot, the people of Krezk, Vistani, Baba Lysaga, and others.
After learning of Van Richten's capture, Ezmerelda was enraged and distraught. She swore to destroy Strahd - no matter what the cost may be.
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