Book 3: The House of Lament Session 12: Heroes Ride Horses

General Summary

Grizzled Boar Inn

In the morning, the group realizes Amoiety is missing, which causes a panicked Norikami to frantically look for his friend and in his haste throwing the letter Amoiety had left to the floor and covering it with the sheets from the bed. Eventually Kass discovered the letter which only informed them that he had business to attend to and hoped to meet them all in Kartakass.
Speaking of Kartakass over breakfast draws the attention of Ozrek, a pale man sporting a wide-brim hat and a badge upon his jacket depicting the symbol of Ezra. Ozrek asks if he can accompany them as he too is headed towards Kartakass. Meanwhile, Quantarius says he has matters to attend to in town and will meet them upon the Crimson Road later on.

Zeidenburg Market

After Kass purchased a healing potion from the Misty Witch’s Brew (an alchemical shop made to look like a giant skull with green glowing eyes) and Norikami purchased equipment for a horse he doesn’t have, the trio hear screams coming from the fountain in the middle of the marketplace.
The fountain depicts the image of a noble woman, one of her hands clutches a dagger and the other rests upon the head of a giant wolf. More notable, however, were the creatures emerging from the fountain and the corpse of a man they recently killed slumped upon the cobblestones. These unknown creatures had long purple tentacles covered in fangs and a gaping maw at the center of what likely passed as a face of them.
After dealing with the tentacle creatures, Norikami destroys the tadpoles within the fountain then suggests they all get horses so they can catch up with Amoiety. After a bit of discussion and urgent requests from Ozrek, the group cannot convince Norikami not to get a horse as he is convinced that “heroes ride horses”. On their way out of Zeidenburg he purchases an older mare from a nearby farm and names her Fast Flash.
Quantarius shows up on a horse that appears to be made of shadows as they exit the farm. He seems surprised to see them, having thought they would have been well on their way by then.

The Crimson Road

Along the Crimson Road, the group speaks to Ozrek for a bit as he explains the weapon he carries - a pistol. The weapon is rather loud and draws a lot of attention to itself. When they’re getting close to the border with Kartakass, they encounter a large group of creatures (whom Victor identifies as Goblyns) attaching a well-dressed gentlemen.
After defeating the Goblyns, the group speaks to the man they rescued. He thanks them and introduces himself as Casimir. He says he’s from Kartakass and came to Barovia in hopes of selling a few fine quality instruments and other goods, though he swears he will never go to Barovia again after his experience there. The people, according to Casimir, were far too closed and unfriendly. He assures the group that they will enjoy Kartakss whose people are very friendly.
The group continues down the road and the Mist begins to thicken. A strange howling surrounds them and Victor is convinced it is not from a natural wolf. Quantarius tells them to flee to the misty border, stating a Mist Wolf is coming for them. He himself does not flee and as the group enters the Mists they witness Quantarius standing before an elephant-sized wolf made of the Mist’s themselves.

Report Date

05 May 2022