Session 7 - Arrival in Vlasovo

General Summary

Part 1 The party makes its way to Vlasovo and is greeted by Vsevolod, who is reluctant to let them in. With Irina's reassurance that they have not come to preach and Vashti's insistence to be let in the party is permitted to enter to gather information about Khoma. They are told they can enter, as long as they leave their crosses behind.
Vsevolod brings them to his home and calls his mother down to attend to the guests. Svetlana (Vsevolod's mother and local wise woman) feeds her guests a lamb stew and is ready to ask more questions once everyone has eaten. She asks who they seek and Irina tells her they search for Khoma. Conversation about justice and murder follows and eventually Lada’s man meat pie story makes a reappearance as Svetlana pressed for more information about why Khoma is being searched for. Irina insists that she seeks the truth, and the truth alone.
Svetlana responds that “The man you seek is not here, he has gone to serve The Great and Wise” the priesthood of her faith who have been known to advise princes and were rumored to have powers to control the weather, powers to turn into animals, among other things. Svetlana shares that their priesthood is half a day to the North and that they may rest in the barn for the night. She warns that if they go there to search for Khoma they may not return. The barn has several different types of animals, all of whom have a black coat.
Of all the decisions they have to make, none stand out as the ideal option. Ivan recalls learning that one reason one may partake in human flesh is to emulate the one you consume, another is to unite people that have the shared experience of doing so. Lada begins to grow suspicious of the animals in the barn and privately questions the lamb stew.

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Part 2 The party is at a loss for what to do, so Ivan and Vashti leave to find some ale and think about it over some drinks, perhaps they might hear some town gossip that could be helpful. They come across the House of Bogdana who makes living making people drinks in her hut. There they meet a man with green eyes that dons a balalaika and calls himself Feliks. They exchange stories and he decides to help Vashti and Ivan find Khoma, perhaps seeking an adventure. Ivan is encouraged by Bogdana to drink a mystery tincture in his ale that leaves him feeling different than before.
Vashti and Ivan return to the barn where Lada and Irina were briefly discussing marriage and life’s discomforts. Feliks meets the rest of the party and plays a song about little pleasure and a lot of suffering, an accurate representation of life.
Ivan disclosed that he drank what may have been poison. He quickly decides that going back to Bogdana's hut to verify what he drank. Lada attempts to follow Ivan but both find that the door to leave the barn is stuck. Turning around, everyone sees the black barn animals are leaving their pens and starting at them...

Report Date

05 Jun 2022

Primary Location

Vlasovo