Chapter 2 - The Rise of Ravenloft

"My army settled in the valley, renamed for my father as we took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god’s grace or justice."

With the final resistance of the Order of the Silver Dragon suppressed, the bountiful countryside was claimed in the name of the late, great King Barov. Too many years of Strahd's life were spent campaigning across the country with a sword in his hand and an army at his back. These long years isolated him from his family, and in his time away, he lost both his father and his dear mother.
The war party has climbed the high hills of Barovia and arrived for the first time at the threshold of the soon-to-be christened Castle Ravenloft. You are wearing the same von Zarovich plate armor from the previous chapter.
The mists clear, your party is marching toward the castle after crossing the drawbridge.
You stand just beyond the front gates of a curtain wall, so colossal that the largest of giant-kind could pass through with ease. The wall is nearly fifty feet in height, interrupted by squared-off turrets that rise even higher. The wall is further dwarfed by the rounded towers of the keep overhead, the tallest of which soars three times the height of the gates. Weighted hooves clop across the wood of a seemingly infinite bridge behind you.
Rahadin, Aleksandra Gwilym, Leo Dilisnya, and Gabriel Andral all follow from behind. Strahd has gone ahead of the rest through the castle doors with a few men to see the inside and will return shortly.

These advisors reveal the following under questioning:

• The lands here now belong to Lord Strahd.
• Rahadin and Alek are aware that there is an assassin hidden amongst the forces that hopes to eliminate Strahd.
• They captured and executed a man who was in possession of a dagger commonly carried by the mystical Ba'al Verzi assassin's guild, but they do not believe he was the actual assassin.
• Rahadin is Strahd’s oldest mentor, advisor, and servant all in one.
• The Dilisnya family was one of the wealthiest banners pledged to the von Zarovich cause. They served under Barov for decades, and Leo’s brother Reinhold took up that pledge after their father passed. Leo is boisterous and cocky, and even in the heat of a fight will not be found without colorful robes and a gaudy, golden lion head necklace that he had commissioned.
• Aleksandra is the older sister of Sir Godfrey Gwilym and Strahd’s second-in-command. Although Rahadin remains his most loyal retainer and mentor, Alek is the closest thing Strahd has ever had to a friend. She is loyal to Strahd to a fault, but unlike Rahadin, she also has no qualms about talking back to Strahd. In battle, she is aggressive but precise and will not be felled easily.
• Gabriel Andral is a Dawnmaster (the highest rank a mortal can reach within the Church of the Morninglord). In the aftermath of Strahd’s victory in the valley, Gabriel takes on the role of the head of the churches of Barovia. To Strahd, Gabriel is a tool that can be leveraged in order to keep the villages of Barovia placated. Gabriel is devout, committed to his convictions, and believes Strahd’s victory is a service to the Morninglord.

After the party has explored the courtyard, Strahd emerges from the entrance of the castle.
The unnerving silence is interrupted by the cold ring of a blade being unsheathed. Strahd clutches tightly to a red, black, and gold dagger. Its finely crafted hilt leads to a sinister, curved blade. He kneels and wrenches his left hand into the soil, returning to his feet with dirt crumbling from between his knuckles. He points the tip of the dagger briefly to the north, east, south, and west before plunging it into his mud-caked palm. A mixture of dirt and blood drip as he squeezes.
‘I am Strahd, I am the Land.’ He repeats the mantra three more times, once in each cardinal direction before looking to the clouds and speaking: ‘Draw near and witness. I, Strahd, am the land.’ Blood and magic meet the soil, and the sky is swallowed.
The courtyard vanishes. And the party returns to the inky black, purple swirling mists.

"All goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death..."

Expecting to reemerge from this memory, the party instead finds they will bear witness to a second as the mists part once more... What feeble light burns in the dimming fireplace is enough to fill the room with rolling waves of red and amber light, illuminating rows and rows of ancient books—their leather covers well-oiled and preserved through careful use—large gaps span segments of the shelves, likely left to fill in more knowledge. A stone floor is concealed beneath a thick, luxurious rug. In the center of the room is a large, low table, waxed and polished to a mirrored finish. Even the poker in its stand next to the blazing fireplace is polished. A sturdy, carved desk houses several scrolls of parchment, open books, and candles burned nearly to the wick. In one of two chairs crafted of burgundy-colored wood with padded leather seats that face the hearth, is Lord Strahd von Zarovich; his head rests sorrowfully in his left hand, a letter is gripped tightly in his other.

Strahd has just received word that his mother, Queen Ravenovia, has passed. She was never able to see her namesake. Gabriel Andral stands off to the side in the doorway. He has delivered the news to Strahd personally, and he hopes to provide some comfort to his Lord by offering condolences on behalf of the Morninglord.
Strahd tolerates the Morninglord's presence in the land and recognizes the power of the church but is not devout himself and believes the Dawnmaster's words are nonsense. The party only witnesses this conversation as spectral apparitions, and can sense a clear tension between the two. Strahd eventually accepts an offer from Gabriel to take a walk down to the chapel and leaves. Strahd's desk contains a variety of spell components (none worth more than 10gp), some high-quality spellbook parchment, and a small lockbox. The chair he was seated in also contains a letter from his family's attendant informing him of the queen's passing.
After you've had time to explore the space, Strahd returns to the room and pauses. He looks around knowingly as if he recognizes that someone was here. Sufficiently unnerving you, he snuffs the fire, and pulls the poker, stepping through a secret door directly behind the sputtering flames in the large firebox.
Following through the party sees piles of almost uncountable coins, platinum and gold, smatterings of jewels and gaudy trinkets of all manner, along with an impressive locked chest with untold mysteries of further treasure.
As you begin stuffing your pockets with coin they begin to lose their substance, melting into the ether as the embers behind you sputter out, the darkness overtakes the study, and the world goes black.
(Each player was able to pilfer a few books that made the jump back to present day Barovia with them. The lockbox on the tabletop contained 37sp and 162gp. These items survived the magics of the tome.)

"Escape from the isolation of death was impossible. In my many years, I learned that the brightest days cast the darkest of shadows."

Tome of Strahd

Wondrous item, legendary

(requires attunement by a spellcaster)
While attuned to the Tome you gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on any skill checks made to recall information about Barovian history or lore.
• You gain a +1 to your AC and to any saving throws when defending against Strahd von Zarovich’s magic.
• While attuned to the Tome you may spend 4 hours attempting to decipher new sections of the Tome in order to gain further insight into the life of Strahd and the land of Barovia.

Deciphering a chapter requires an Intelligence (Investigation) or Intelligence (Arcana) check and at least 4 hours of dedicated research time. Another creature may assist you in the attempt and grant advantage on the check if they help. Attempting to decipher the book or offering your help in deciphering it reduces your passive perception by 5 for the duration of the 4 hours.
The Tome also appears to contain esoteric, magical knowledge akin to spells inscribed within a wizard's spellbook. As the secrets and magic contained within are revealed to you, you may cast any spells recorded in the Tome as a ritual. If a spell found in the Tome does not have the ritual tag, it is nonetheless a ritual spell for you when cast from the Tome. Once a spell is cast in this way, it cannot be cast from the Tome again until the following dusk. If the spell is of a higher level than you are able to cast, you must succeed on a DC10 + the spell's level Intelligence(Arcana) check. If you fail, the spell's use for the day is still expended.

Spells Learned

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Prologue - Illusory Script (1st Level Illusion)

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Chapter One - Unseen Servant (1st Level Conjuration)

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Chapter Two - Gentle Repose (2nd Level Necromancy)

Rahadin

Aleksandra Gwilym

Gabriel Andral

Leo Dilisnya

News of Ravenovia's Death