Session 40
General Summary
Revelations and Prophecies
Sintyavr 27th
(9:00 PM)
Rumex is Distressed...More Than Usual- While Verce and Fenrir begin to scout around the environs of the Blue Water Inn for confirmation of Rictavio's whereabouts, Rumex begins his familiar meditations.
- Spreads out the ornate rug...Sits down on the floor...Sits cross legged in the middle of the rug...Places black figure in front of himself...Lights a candle...Starts muttering to himself
- Uncharacteristically, the ritual intensifies...Starts leaning back and forth… Rocking slowly...Humming in a pulsing sound....
- Vincenzo, whether motivated by concern or irritation, attempts to gain Rumex' attention, calling his name and then putting a hand on his shoulder
- Speeding up the rocking....Still breathing in a pulse...rocking back and forth...no notice of Vincenzo.
- When Vincenzo begins to take an earnest look at the small black figurine for the first time, Rumex snaps to somewhat, but what he describes comes across in fits and starts, as if he is afraid of something unexplainable:
"Dorsain's got....You can't see it, it's invisible...Xan Yae...my brother, Rheum and I, saw it...with my own two eyes...I felt his presence...it's there. Coming for me? No, it's invisible...the incense? Cuz it smells..."
- Fenrir picks up a trail that seems to belong to Arabelle that leads to Arasek Stockyard, the same direction Danika said Rictavio returned with his wagon.
- He follows along to the consternation of passers-by, almost but not quite drawing a response from the guards.
- Vincenzo asks Verce downstairs fro a cup of tea while Ilyson makes sure Rumex doesn't swallow his own tongue while meditating too hard.
- During idle conversation and catching up with the town's condition, Danika's stories seem to not exactly line up with what the party has experienced in the prior weeks...particularly concerning the couple dozen Barovian refugees outside the gates as well as the mysterious Mad Mage...
- Danika and Urwin relay the information in the text box below that they are sure about through their "raven network"
- Ireena swears she doesn't remember any of this happening, and is beginning to doubt any of her memories, perhaps even her memories of Strahd's attempted courtship of her.
Hammertime
- Just over three months ago, the priest's son, Doru, led a rebellion against Castle Ravenloft. Many of the village's youth followed him, swayed by his promises that the vampire's death would return sunlight to the valley and banish the Mists. Someone unknown to them, perhaps named "Alanik" was involved somehow.
- Doru and his followers never returned. Instead, shortly after his rebellion departed, an elf named Rahadin rode to the village and warned that the villagers had one hundred days to make peace with the Morninglord before Strahd's wrath fell upon them.
- Some Barovians fled for Vallaki, but most others remained, persuaded by the words of Ismark Kolyanovich—the son of Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich—who vowed to lead them in defending their homes.
- When the hundred days were up, dozens and dozens of undead laid siege to the village, returning to attack each night. They were led by a strange, pale undead that seeped a reddish mist, its victims becoming undead like the others.
- After several days of fighting, a particularly brutal attack left dozens of villagers dead or wounded, including Burgomaster Indirovich. The villagers aren't sure why, but Strahd's forces withdrew shortly thereafter.
- Vincenzo experiences that cold, clammy feeling slithering about in the dark corners of his mind signalling the beginning of another unwanted interjection on the part of his patron, Hammer.
- The dark patron gives voice to what the party is beginning to suspect...the fact that in this land even your own memories can't be trusted.
- Hammer blames Strahd himself for this malevolent bombshell of a revelation
- Vincenzo appears almost as a madman gesticulating and seemingly talking to himself while pacing around the Inn's tables drawing some concerned glances, Verce gives him a concerned eye, and reminds Vince of some private conversations held previously.
- Danika repeats that Rictavio recently departed the inn and that he mentioned “inspecting his wagon for some necessary repairs.”
- The companions follow Rictavio's trail to Arasek Stockyard instead of waiting for him at the Blue Water Inn.
- Peering through the gates, the Carnival of Wonders Vardo has returned to its previous spot.
- Helena scouts ahead and spots Rictavio kneeling by the wagon, where he appears to be adjusting the spokes of the wagon’s rear left wooden wheel. She notices that Rictavio is repeatedly adjusting and re-adjusting the same spoke, and that Rictavio’s lips are moving, as if he is speaking with someone.
- After an expertly crafted flank and squeeze manuever, covering all the exits, the party moves in to confront Rictavio for an explanation of just what the hell is going on, when...
- He stands up, walks around the vardo and greets Vincenzo who was playing the front man.
- Impressively, he spots a well hidden Rumex and requests that everyone reveal themselves, correctly guessing the rest of the group were near.
- Rictavio greets them warmly, but feigns ignorance of their allegations and claims.
- Vincenzo insists that they wish to help Arabelle, which threatens to blow his cover.
- Rictavio’s gaze hardens, his fist tightens around his cane, and his voice lowers to a near-whisper. He demands to know if they are spies of Strahd, and calmly threatens to “dispatch” them if they serve the Devil’s will.
- Vincenzo musters sufficient evidence of their good faith and Rictavio sighs and commands the players to form a protective wall around the rear of the wagon.
- Rictavio reluctantly stows his blade, checks the perimeter for Strahd’s spies...he then removes his hat of disguise, and confesses his identity as Dr. Rudolph Von Richten.
- A young girl’s voice quietly rings out from the wagon: “They mean me no harm. Please, open the door.”
- Von Richten produces a key from his sleeve and opens the door. When he does, the players can see that the wagon contains a soft bed of straw, a comfortable woolen blanket, a few books, and a young Vistana girl—Arabelle—who is clutching a plush saber-toothed tiger to her chest and wearing a beaded necklace with a carved copper amulet.
- Arabelle greets the players warmly, thanks them for their efforts to find her, and shares her regret for the wounds they have sustained along the way.
- Von Richten is surprised to learn that Arabelle was expecting them, and Arabelle admits that she had a premonition that someone would follow in their tracks and that she left multiple clues—the Tarokka card, the bracelet, the handkerchief, and the ring—to guide the players in their path.
- Arabelle thanks Von Richten for his efforts to keep her safe, but gently reminds him that they both knew that their plan could not last forever—and that, with the players present, a long-term solution is more likely within reach.
- Through conversation the party learned the following:
Well Look Who It Is
- Until recently, Von Richten had been laying low in the tower at Lake Baratok. However, that changed when he saw a Vistana man bringing a wriggling sack to a golden-haired vampire spawn on the banks of the Luna River. (Von Richten recognized the vampire as a man named Escher, a bard from Barovia who had joined the Barovians’ revolt.)
- Von Richten attacked the pair, killing the Vistana and scarring the vampire, who fled. Upon opening the sack, he found a young Vistana girl within.
- The girl, who introduced herself as Arabelle, was uncertain of why she had been kidnapped. Von Richten used his talisman of echoes to interrogate the dead Vistana’s severed head, and learned that Strahd had issued a bounty on young girls matching Arabelle’s precise and unique description: dark-haired and olive-skinned, with lavender irises.
- Von Richten and Arabelle agreed that returning her to the Vistani camp would leave her exposed to Strahd, and was therefore too dangerous.
- The two returned to the tower at Lake Baratok, where Von Richten had previously hidden his horse, Drusilla, and a covered Vistani wagon that he had first used to enter Barovia.
- Using his hat of disguise, Von Richten adopted the dead Vistana’s guise and snuck into the Vistani camp by Vallaki to steal three pots of paint, which he used to disguise his wagon as “Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders.”
- Von Richten and Arabelle then traveled to Vallaki, with Van Richten adopting the identity of Rictavio to hide in plain sight. Arabelle has remained concealed in his wagon ever since.
- While the tower at Lake Baratok contains a permanent antimagic field that would block Strahd’s scrying, Von Richten believed that Strahd would be well-aware of this fact, and that the tower would therefore be among the first places he looked.
- As such, Von Richten, who already wore one such amulet, gave Arabelle a spare amulet of proof against detection and location that he had once given to—and then received from—one of his students.
- As the conversation draws to a close, Arrigal emerges from the shadows of a nearby alley like an absolute stealthy boss.
- Arrigal thanks Van Richten for the “fascinating story,” thanks the players for their “aid and guidance,” and commands Arabelle to exit the wagon and return with him.
- Von Richten immediately accuses Arrigal of being a spy for Strahd, noting that, while stealing the pots of paint, he saw Arrigal whispering to a bat in the woods nearby. He demands that Arabelle remain in the wagon, and asks the players to defend her from Arrigal.
- Arrigal’s hands go to the shortsword and daggers on his belt, while Van Richten prepares to draw his sword-cane for battle. Arabelle quietly asks the players to help them see reason.
- Arrigal is ignorant of Strahd’s bounty on Arabelle and truthfully shares this when asked, finding the notion preposterous.
- When asked whether he would give Arabelle up to Strahd if commanded, he fiercely and truthfully rejects that he would ever do such a thing.
- In order to prove his story to a confused party and a disbelieving Arrigal, Von Richten retrieves the wooden box containing Yan’s severed head from the hidden compartment of his wagon.
- He casts speak with dead upon it using his Talisman of Echoes. (Because Van Richten was disguised at the time of Yan’s death, the head doesn’t recognize Van Richten as his killer.)
- This is what was spoken:
What is your name? Yan.A Tough Compromise
What lord did you serve in life? The vampire, Strahd von Zarovich.
Did that lord command you to kidnap the girl Arabelle? He did, through his servant, the vampire Escher.
What did he ask you to do with her? He bade me to take her to the Luna River, where she would be brought to Castle Ravenloft.
How did you die? A man’s sword cut my head from my shoulders.
- Arrigal is shaken by Yan’s apparent testimony, but not entirely convinced—until Arabelle speaks up to confirm Von Richten’s story, calmly reporting that Yan kidnapped her, that Von Richten rescued her, and that she overheard Yan asking another man whether “Castle Ravenloft” would pay its debts in exchange for the “whelp’s delivery” before hearing the exchanging of coins shortly thereafter.
- Von Richten is unwilling to allow Arrigal to take Arabelle back to the Vistani encampment.
- Arrigal is unwilling to allow Von Richten to keep Arabelle hidden in Vallaki, away from her family.
- Von Richten wants to prevent Strahd’s spies from finding Arabelle.
- Arrigal wants to keep Arabelle with her family—and especially her father, Luvash.
- Both Von Richten and Arrigal want to keep Arabelle comforted and safe.
- Von Richten and Arrigal reluctantly accept the reasonable proposal that the companions propose...
- That “Rictavio” relocate his wagon to the woods near the Vistani camp, where Luvash can visit her daily, while Arrigal feeds Strahd false information about Arabelle’s whereabouts.
- When a final agreement is reached, Arabelle places a small hand on Ilyson's arm and softly thanks the party for their efforts.
- She then steps forward and takes Von Richten’s hand in hers.
- Arabelle thanks Dr. Von Richten for helping her, and informs him that he’s a good man—a sentiment that his son agrees with.
- The blood drains from Von Richten’s face, and he sways on his feet, as though he’s about to faint. “My son?” he croaks.
- Arabelle pats the back of Von Richten’s hand, and tells him that his son has been keeping her safe in the wagon. She promises him that his son loves him very much, and shares her belief that he has been keeping Von Richten safe as well.
- Von Richten quietly thanks her, now resembling a weary old man far more than a veteran monster hunter.
- A few moments later, Arabelle staggers, her eyes rolling back into her head as the whites of her eyes become the color of storm clouds. When she speaks, her voice seems to echo with the sound of a second, far older woman’s voice as she utters the following:
In darkest night, the light shall flee, No dawn to break, with no reprieve. From the grave, the dead shall climb, Their restless march a baleful sign. At castle’s peak, a heart beats red, Its hunger deep and ever-fed. Should silence fall, the skies shall crack, A thousand souls in torment black.
- Arabelle then falls over unconscious.
- Vincenzo easily discern that she is unharmed—merely asleep.
- Upon waking, Arabelle retains no memory of the prophecy she spoke.
- In gratitude for the partys’ aid, Von Richten bequeaths to them his Talisman of Echoes and one half of a pair of Sending Stones to keep in contact.
- Arrigal is similarly grateful for the players’ assistance in recovering his niece. He is glad to promise that, notwithstanding his oath of loyalty to Strahd, he will refrain from reporting Arabelle or Von Richten’s true locations to Castle Ravenloft, and will avoid reporting the companion's movements for as long as he can.
- In addition, though he won’t take up arms against Strahd or cease his work as a spy, Arrigal offers to deliver false information to Castle Ravenloft once when requested—but no more than that.
- He won’t deliver any information that is obviously false, however, and he provides no guarantees as to how long or whether Strahd will believe his information.
(11:00PM)
Next Steps?- Long rest? It's been a loooooooong day....and tomorrow is a full moon, last day of Sintyavr...
- Lady Wachter's house to see why she sent a letter with Ernst inviting you to tea or dinner?
- Burgomaster's Mansion to check in with Victor and his Stella problem?
- Tune in next time to find ou....OK. I'm done.
Rewards Granted
Arasek Stockyard
Rictavio's Wagon
Report Date
29 Jan 2024
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
Ireena Kolyana
Danika Dorikova
Urwin Martikov
Hammer
Rictavio
Dr. Rudolph Von Richten
Arabelle
Arrigal
Talisman of Echoes
