Session 1 - Maslenitsa in Aleksandrovka

General Summary

Setting- a small town of 200 people, early Berezozol
• The party meets in the village of Aleksandrovka. Irina and Ivan are associated with the convent, as well as Hegumenia Marfa (the Mother Superior) and Sister Evdokia - holder of keys (in charge of the orphanage).
• Lada Kolova is an 18-year-old unmarried baker, who lives on the outskirts of Aleksandrovka and makes delicious pastries and meals that leave people feeling more than just satiated.
• Davajaav (a traveler recently came to the village) is currently staying in Lada’s spare shed, where she keeps her ingredients and other odds and ends.
The village is celebrating Maslenitsa, where there was an abundance of greasy and sweet eats, drinking, and celebration.
• Prior to the celebration Khoma (the Smith) requested that Lada bake some pies with boar meat from a reported hunting trip in the nearby forest. Khoma wanted to be more involved in the baking than usual, and the pies turned out to be delicious.
• The party learns that two people are missing: Khoma (the Smith) and Gavrilo (the potter). Tatiana (Khoma's wife) visits with Lada to share that her husband left with his weapons the last time she saw him. Tatiana takes some gingerbread and tea to her children.
• Ivan and Irina arrive at Lada’s shed in search for Davajaav and all 4 decide to go to the forest to search for the missing towns people. They wander and come across a hunting trail and eventually find themselves facing a boar. Ivan converses with the boar who tells him that he witnessed two men fighting and one heading back to town, with the other in a bag. Ivan communicates this to the party and they decide to head back, all the while searching for tracks. Lada’s nose doesn’t work as well as she would hope, but a shiny object catches her eye. She discovered a rosary in the snow that she gives to Irina, who recognizes it (but keeps that information to herself.)
The group finds themselves at Khoma’s home and Irina and Davajaav enter and make their way to the cellar where Khoma would have dressed and butchered his catches. They find a bag filled with some human skin and bones. Irina is shocked, but Davajaav doesn’t seem too startled. The party makes haste to find Prokhor (the herder/undertaker) so the body can be prepared for burial. They arrive at Prokhor’s home and hear that he is preoccupied. Eventually he greets them in all his glory (I can’t remember what happened to the bag of bones here so…maybe someone else can fill me in, heh)
• Davajaav, Lada, and Ivan retreat to Lada’s shed where she prepares a stew of carrots, cabbage, and turnips for them. Davajaav offers to make some dumplings. Irina goes to speak with Hegumenia Marfa and shows her the rosary that was found in the woods. The bag of bones was given to Prokhor, to prepare them for burial.

Report Date

06 Mar 2022

Primary Location

Aleksandrovka