Session 55

General Summary

Chilling Choices in Krezk

Octyavr 2nd

(5:00 PM)

The air grows colder as you approach the walled settlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flank a stone archway into which is set a pair of twelve-foot-tall, ironbound wooden doors. Carved into the arch above the doors is a name: Krezk.
The walls that extend from the gatehouse are twenty feet high. Atop the parapet you see four figures wearing fur hats and clutching spears. They watch you nervously.

A Tour From the Mayor

• Baron Dmitri Krezkov has been informed of the partys’ exploits via his curtain wall sentries and gladly allows them entry.
• The Krezkov and Martikov families have long been close and he feels he owes you all a debt of personal gratitude.
• Dmitri inspires comfort with his quiet confidence and leadership, sympathy for his anxiety and grief following his son's disappearance, and mild annoyance for his stubbornness and habitual suspicion of outsiders.
• The mist-shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along dirt roads that stretch between stands of snow-dusted pine trees—so many trees, in fact, as to constitute a forest. To the northeast, gray cliffs rise sharply, and the road winding up to the abbey is easy to see from this vantage.
• The village operates as a commune, with no exports or moneymaking businesses. Villagers grow trees and vegetables, cut wood to heat their homes, raise chickens and pigs, and share their food. A few villagers have cows and mules, but there are no horses in Krezk.
• The village has no inns or taverns.
• Dmitri's sole two children are the thirteen-year-old Ilya and the eight-year-old Kala. Ilya recently went missing after a werewolf attack.
• Mentioning your interest in the Abbey of Saint Markovia, Baron Krezkov’s expression becomes stony and cold. He warns you that the Abbot is a cruel and capricious creature, and further shares strange rumors surrounding the Abbot.
• Many believe the Abbot is Strahd or one of Strahd's servants, Dmitri's late grandfather once spoke of a time when the Abbot was kind and compassionate, and cared for the sick and suffering of Barovia. (Dmitri isn't sure whether he believes this or not.)

Shrine of the White Sun and Empty Graves

• Even under gray skies, this pool at the north end of the village shimmers and sparkles. Near its shore sits an old gazebo on the verge of collapse. A wooden statue of a mournful, bare-chested man, its paint chipped and faded, stands in the gazebo with arms outstretched, as though waiting to be embraced.
• Verce does so and nothing happens.
• The pool is fed by an underground spring and was blessed long ago by Saint Markovia.
• The gazebo is so frail that it wouldn't take more than a strong wind to knock it over. It remains standing because it's protected from the elements by the surrounding trees, walls, and cliffs. The statue is a depiction of the Morninglord, positioned so that he is reaching toward the east (the dawn).
• Locals refer to the statue and gazebo as the Shrine of the White Sun, though they have no idea why their ancestors named it so.
• During the parties entreaties with the Baron, Rumex sweeps around the village and notes that many of the homes have their own burial plots behind them. He notes that many of them are dug up and empty.
• Dmitri, questioned by the group about this, assures them that this is no undead happenstance and blames the phenomenon on graverobbers, possibly even related to a recent upswing in werewolf activity.

The Krezkov's Cottage

• The cottage before you is the largest structure you’ve seen within the village, but still modest in its design.
• Its outer walls are constructed of sturdy pine logs, weathered by time but well-maintained. A thick thatch roof slopes gently above, crowned by a stone chimney from which a thin wisp of smoke rises into the air.
• The windows are small but adorned with simple lace curtains, offering a glimpse of a warmer interior.
• Nearby, a fenced-in area reveals a small garden, the earth freshly turned and bearing a variety of herbs and vegetables. To one side of the cottage, a narrow path leads to a small family graveyard, its tombstones casting long shadows in the grey light.
• Tombstones, some weathered by time and others freshly carved, mark the resting places of the Krezkov family in this small, snow-dusted graveyard. A small grave, freshly dug but vacant, stands apart from the others.
• A young, dark-haired girl sits atop a boulder nearby, her hands hugging her knees to her chest as she stares silently at a small grave. She wears a thin tunic and no shoes, her small body so still that she seems almost to be a statue.

She doesn’t immediately respond when Vince calls to her. Approaching, however, she abruptly asks them: "Have you ever had a bad dream you couldn't wake up from?"
Answering her question with thoughtfulness and compassion, she asks: "If something bad happened, but then went away, is it like it never happened?"
Again answering her question with thoughtfulness and compassion, the girl looks them in the eyes and whispers, "I don't think bad dreams ever really go away."
Despite her young age, her eyes look haunted and weary.

• Dmitri and his wife, the Baroness Anna Krezkova arrives shortly thereafter and she exclaims, “There you are, Kala! You can’t go outside without a coat or boots; you’ll catch cold."
• She then scoops Kala up and brings her inside.
• Anna awkwardly apologizes for Kala’s macabre thoughts, and claims that Kala has been like this ever since she “took ill" a few days ago.
• A quick once-over suggests that Kala has no apparent illness, her demeanor suggests that Anna is not telling the entire truth.

Once More unto a Seat of Power

• The heavy wooden door creaks open to reveal an entryway with a worn rug underfoot. The scent of pine wood mingles with the earthy aroma of burning logs from a nearby fireplace, and a simple wooden table sits beside the door, holding a bowl filled with small trinkets.
• A mounted hand-carved board holds two hanging coats—one sized for an adult and one for a young child—with two pairs of boots hanging beneath the coats. Two additional empty pegs jut out from the board beside them.
• Upon entering, Baron Krezkov—who insists that you call him Dmitri while guests in his home—hangs his coat on one of the pegs on the wall and removes his boots. He then calls out to his wife, Baroness Anna Krezkova, who exits from the kitchen to warmly greet you.
• Anna asks you all to assist her in completing a series of chores before dinner: feeding the chickens, mucking out the pig pen, weeding the vegetable garden, and (most importantly) obtaining a bucket of milk from the cow of Kretyana Dolvof—a widow whose cottage lies just southwest of the village’s freshwater pool. A task which Vince accomplishes with gusto.
• Anna also welcomes help in the kitchen as she prepares an evening meal.
• Though the Krezkovs’ cottage doesn’t have much space, the players are welcome to set down their packs and bedrolls in the animal pens and the structure’s only empty bedroom if they plan to stay the night.

Kitchen Confidential

• A large wooden table stands at the center, surrounded by chairs and covered with a simple checkered tablecloth. Copper pots and pans hang from hooks above a stone hearth, and a variety of herbs dry from a wooden rack on the wall. An open window allows a cool breeze into the space, and a small pile of birdseed rests upon the windowsill.
• Verce helps chop beets and notices a musty, acrid odor emitting from a mortar and pestle atop one of the higher shelves. It contains a faint amount of ground powder colored a vibrant shade of purple. Anna waves it off as a special spice she uses to punch up the flavor in her meals.
• Dmitri walks into the kitchen asking Verce to excuse themselves from the room for a moment of privacy.
• Eavesdropping/peeking in on the conversation through the curtain for a moment, the paladin hears/sees the following:

A small robin flutters down to the windowsill, pecking quietly at the birdseed, as Dmitri and Anna huddle closer together and begin to speak in hushed voices.
“I know you said you’d made up your mind," Dmitri murmurs. “But please, Anna — you have to reconsider."
“Dmitri—" Anna begins.
Dmitri clasps her hands, his voice strained and desperate. “Gargosh, Ivan, and Falkon will help us. They won't ask questions; they know how dangerous it is to travel the roads. Ivan can lend us his mules—we can make a new life for you in Vallaki."
Anna jerks her hands away. “No," she whispers. “I made my choice—for Kala and our people. How dare you ask me to flee like a coward?"
Dmitri flinches, then reflexively checks over his shoulder to ensure that no one is listening.
This is the moment Verce reveals himself and demands transparency.
Dmitri closes his eyes and swallows. “I’m sorry," he says to Anna. “I just don’t want to lose you. With Ilya gone, and Kala in so much pain . . ." You hear the sound of a half-stifled sob. “I can’t do this on my own. I can’t do this without you." Anna embraces him. “We’ll figure this out," she whispers. “We always do."

An Extra Dinner Guest

• The dining room shares a space with the living room, with no wall dividing them.
• This large room is divided into two halves: a dining room and a living room. In the dining room, walls of aged pine softly absorb the flickering light from an wrought-iron chandelier that hangs overhead, its candles casting a cozy glow.
• A sideboard against one wall holds a variety of ceramic dishes and wooden utensils, as well as a few clay jars that might contain preserves or spices.
• The center of the room is dominated by a wooden table crafted of solid oak, its sides carved with patterns of forest leaves curled around crescents, circles, and oblong shapes. Six hand-carved wooden chairs sit around the table.
• A stone fireplace dominates a wall on the opposite side of the chamber, crackling softly as it bathes the space in a warm, flickering glow. A few well-worn chairs and a sofa huddle around a low wooden coffee table nearby, and shelves along the walls hold an assortment of books, family portraits, and small whittled wooden sculptures.
• Close inspection of the patterns on the table reveals that they depict the phases of the moon. The whittled sculptures depict an assortment of small wooden wolves and ravens, as well as a carved wooden sun and moon.
• Dinner consists of borscht (warm beetroot soup with carrots and potatoes), crusty rye bread with butter, and spiced milk with nutmeg (purchased from a Vistani caravan).

Dmitri asks the party to sit at the table while he prepares to share their plight with you.
Midway through dinner, there comes a knock at the door. When Anna goes to answer it, a woman with the voice and appearance of Kretyana Dolvof greets her.
Anna greets her in return, with some small amount of surprise, and asks her business.
One moment, the visage of an elderly woman stands before you. In the next instant, without any shade of transition or spectacle, she is gone—and in her place stands a handsome young man in a brown monk's robe, a painted wooden symbol that depicts the sun hanging from a chain around his neck. He carries himself with an ageless grace, and his eyes bear a quiet, cold serenity.
Anna and Dmitri react to his appearance with shock, and the party notices that they appear to be terrified. In a low voice, Dmitri commands Kala to go to her bedroom—an order she silently obeys.
The Abbot greets Dmitri, Anna, and the party cordially, and notes with mild interest that the Krezkovs have guests.
Dmitri nervously asks to know why the Abbot has come to visit them. In response, as he steps toward the shelves above the hearth to inspect the whittled statues there, the Abbot asks whether it is a sin to visit the home of his friends and neighbors—"especially," he notes, with a glance toward Anna, “friends and neighbors who may soon be family?"
As the conversation continues, the Abbot asks the players the following questions, answered with varying degrees of guardedness:
"How do you like the village? A quaint and quiet settlement, no?" "The children of Krezk have always seemed healthy and well-protected. The Krezkovs have been good stewards of this land, haven't they?" "I see by your weapons that you're no strangers to the dangers outside these walls. It's good that the good people of Krezk are protected, isn't it, from the threats that lurk beyond?" "Isn't it beautiful how such a small, fragile thing can exist on the corners of Strahd's domain?"
When asked why the Krezkovs appear to be afraid of him, the Abbot insists that they have nothing to be afraid of. “There is no fear in doing one’s duty," he says serenely, “nor shame or sin in accepting one’s fate. Like the sun, moon, and stars, we all have our parts to play, and theirs is a blessed one."
The Abbot won’t share the Krezkovs’ “duty," insisting that one’s relationship with the gods is a private matter, to be shared only as one chooses. Addressed, the Krezkovs appear paralyzed with fear, and Dmitri only shakes his head instead of responding.
The Abbot looks briefly stricken and adds sadly, as he inspects a carved figurine of a wolf upon the mantelpiece, “It is true that many instruments of the gods have first rejected their calling. But is it not written that those who refuse to serve the divine become the tools of the divine, while those who serve the divine themselves become the divine?" He murmurs, mournfully, “The choice, I fear, is never an easy one."
The Abbot inclines his head respectfully toward Dmitri and Anna, apologizes for disturbing their meal, and bids them a good night. “You will consider my words tonight, I hope," he says, bowing deeply. “May the light of the Morninglord go with you." He then departs the cottage.
Through the front door, beneath the fresh-falling snow, the young man’s silent silhouette stands wrought in a halo of dark moonlight. Then, within the blink of an eye, the man simply ceases to be; in his place, an eagle taller than a man stands upon the earth, its feathers blending seamlessly with the falling snowflakes. With a powerful flap of its wings, the creature ascends, soaring into the night sky until it vanishes into the depths of the Barovian darkness.

• Dmitri and Anna then collapse onto their knees, holding one another and crying quietly. Comforted by the party, they share the following:

• Recently, a werewolf attacked the village of Krezk, somehow managing to bypass its walls. In its rampage, it wounded many and killed Kala. (“I held her in my arms as she died," Dmitri sobs. “Half her side was missing. She kept whispering, ‘Daddy’ and ‘Mommy’ over and over again, until she finally fell still.")
• The Krezkovs’ son, Ilya, vanished in the chaos, and hasn’t been seen in days.
• The Krezkovs prayed to the Morninglord for guidance and deliverance, begging for mercy and salvation—and the Abbot answered.
• The following morning, the Abbot’s bestial servants—a pair of creatures who called themselves Otto and Zygfrek—invited the mourning Krezkovs to the Abbey. There, the Abbot offered a bargain, promising to resurrect Kala in full health if Anna promised to sacrifice her heart to the Abbot for use in solving the darkness of Barovia.
• To Dmitri’s horror, Anna accepted—and the Abbot brought Kala back to life.
• The Abbot gave Anna one month’s time to make peace with her family and neighbors—an act he called “the Morninglord’s mercy."
• The Krezkovs don’t have much time left. (A few nights at most.)

Kala's Terror

• Kala hasn’t been the same since her resurrection. Dmitri and Anna haven’t asked, but they’re terrified that she remembers the experience of dying—and that what she saw beyond the veil of mortality scarred her forever. The life and laughter have gone out of her, and she spends much of her time staring at the grave her parents once prepared for her.
• Vince goes to speak with the girl.
• A small bed sits against one wall of this small, muted bedroom, its quilt a patchwork of floral patterns and faded pastels. A shelf above a nearby dresser displays a few simple toys: a stuffed bear with button eyes, a whittled wooden horse, and a small, tattered book of Barovian folk tales. On the windowsill rests a small ceramic pot that holds a wilting flower, its petal drooping in the shadowed light.
• Kala is sitting on her bed with her knees clutched to her chest and staring at the wilted flower on the windowsill.
• Speaking kindly to Kala and sharing his own experience, she asks him whether he's ever seen a “monster" before. She then asks, “Why do monsters like the dark so much?"

As the conversation continues, Kala hesitates, then asks Vince if they will help her. Agreeing to do so, she insists that they keep her request from her parents, “because I don’t want to make them sad."

• Her parents won’t tell her, but she thinks she died—and that the Abbot had something to do with her coming back. She doesn’t remember exactly what happened: only a flash of teeth and claws, and blood and pain.
• Kala then remembers being somewhere dark, filled with mist and distant screams. “I felt like I was supposed to go somewhere," she mumbles, “but the mist stopped me. Every time I tried to leave, it brought me back into the screams and the darkness."
• Eventually, she awoke once more into her body—healed and whole, without any more pain. Her parents took her home and lavished her with love and care, but Kala could tell that they were nervous and afraid, as if one wrong move could break her.
• Kala has had nightmares ever since her resurrection—dreams of the monster that killed her, and of the dark place she went to when she died. She believes that confronting the monster will allow the nightmares to stop.
• Kala informs Vince that she had snuck outside to play in the garden on the night that she died—and that the monster came from the wine cellar beneath the house. She asks him to bring her there and keep her safe, so that she can either see the monster for herself or confirm that it has gone forever.
• Attempting to dissuade Kala from venturing down to the cellar, she replies, "I need to see for myself. I don't want to be afraid of the dark anymore."

Wine Cellar

• A heavy wooden bulkhead door stands against the cottage, on the side facing the garden. Close inspection reveals that two of its hinges are broken, and the lock is battered and broken. The center of the door bulges slightly outward, as though struck from the inside by a great force.
• The door opens to a descending set of stone stairs that open into the wine cellar.
• The room is chilly, and the walls are lined with empty wooden racks that once held bottles of wine. The scent of damp earth is pervasive.
• The floor bears a trail of deep gouges and claw marks. The marks lead to a bare spot between two wooden racks, covering a portion of the far stone wall approximately three feet across.
• Investigating the marks reveals that they were left by a large, lupine beast.
• The bare spot on the wall hides a secret door. It can’t be closed completely due to damage, leaving a thin crack in the wall from the floor to a point six feet above the ground.
• Rumex finds the mechanism that unlocks the door—a disguised lever on the wine rack.
• Once the lever is pulled, the lock on the door releases and the door drifts slightly forward, revealing handholds along its side that can be used to pull it fully open.

This area is unlit.
The air here is thick and musty. Three sets of heavy silver shackles are bolted to the stone walls, with two surrounded by disturbed half-circles of salt.
Claw marks mar the walls and floor, and the silver shackles bolted to the east wall have been heavily damaged, with one shackle burst open and the other torn from the wall entirely.

• Dmitri and Anna find Kala missing from her bedroom, exit into the garden, and descend the wine cellar steps upon noticing the players’ footsteps in the snow, finding the players at the door to the hidden basement.
• “I’m sure you have questions," Dmitri says, quietly, when he first arrives. His eyes are haunted and sad, and his gaze lingers somberly on Kala’s face. “I ask only that you not judge us too harshly when you hear the answers."

The Krezkov Story

Eighty years ago, his grandfather was bitten by a werewolf. His ancestor survived, but the curse of lycanthropy remained with him until his death—and was passed down, intermittently, within the Krezkov line.
The curse emerges on the first full moon after an infected Krezkov’s thirteenth birthday, transforming their body into a powerful, violent beast on that night and each full moon thereafter.
Since then, the Krezkov family has kept the curse under control by binding themselves in silver on the nights of the full moon and imbibing a potion of wolfsbane, which keeps the spirit of the wolf docile and calm.
Dmitri was born a werewolf. When Ilya was born, his parents hoped that he might escape the curse—but as the night of his first full moon approached, the signs of lycanthropy were impossible to ignore. (The signs of lycanthropy, Anna shares, include sudden, uncharacteristic bursts of restlessness and aggression. sharpened senses of hearing and smell, an amber tinge to the irises, and a markedly increased appetite around the time of the full moon.)
Anna prepared Ilya a potion of wolfsbane, and helped bind him to the shackles upon the walls beside his father. Somehow, however, when Ilya first transformed, the potion failed to suppress the rage or strength of the wolf inside. Ilya broke free of his shackles, escaped the cellar, and rampaged across the village—though not before wounding several of the villagers and killing his sister, Kala.

Ilya then fled across the walls and vanished into the Svalich Woods. Despite arranging several search parties in the weeks since his disappearance, Dmitri and Anna have found no sign of him.
Dmitri apologizes to the players for concealing this information from them, and notes his understanding if the players are frightened or upset.

The Players'Choice

• The Krezkovs also have additional aid in locating Ilya: Ezmerelda d’Avenir, a monster hunter and a friend of the Krezkovs, has been traversing the Svalich Woods for the past several days in search of him.
• The Krezkovs, self-reliant and proud, would never dream of asking the party to find Ilya or speak to the Abbot for them.
• Offering to do so anyway, however, the Krezkovs are humbled and brought to tears with gratitude, though they apologize for not having much to offer in thanks.
• The party waste no time and set off for the Abbey immediately.

The Abbey of St. Markovia

• The switchback road that hugs the cliff is ten feet wide and covered with loose gravel and chunks of broken rock. The ascent is slow and somewhat treacherous, and the air grows colder as one nears the top.
• The road climbs 400 feet, doubling back on itself twice before reaching the northern gate.
• The party uses the Keeper's whistle and are able to get a layout of the grounds from a raven spy. Theu notice guards posted on a form of curatin wall.
• The road from the village climbs above the mist to the wide ledge on which the abbey is perched. A light dusting of snow covers the trees and the rocky earth.
• The gravel road passes between two small, stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a five-foot-high, three-foot-thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear to be unlocked. Viewed through the gates, the stone abbey stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop of the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing gray smoke.
• Rumex oils the gate and sneaks through with an invisible Vincenzo to scout ahead whule Ilyson and verce hold steady for a signal outside the gates out of view.
• They pass the gatehouse where they hear the sounds of snoring and cut right through a graveyard.
• Looking up at the curtain wall they see the 'guards' and are able to discern that they are merely for show. They appear to be inanimate scarecrows dressed as guards.
• They make their way back through the graveyard to scout further but are intrigued by a raised grave with carvings upon it.
• Rumex trys to crowbar the lid off but has difficulty since it is sealed with a concrete mortar. The crowbar slips a bit and clangs against the stone.
• Two guards rush out from the gatehouses, each with quite unique featues and call out into the wind "Who are you...What do you want?"

And that is where we wrapped up for the night...Is it next Saturday, yet?

Rewards Granted

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Silver Manacle (One cuff attached to a chain)

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Salt

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Krezk Village

Shrine of the White Sun

Abbey of St. Markovia

Raven's Eye View of the Abbey

Map of Krezk

Gates and Streets

Burgomaster's Cottage

Wine Cellar and Hidden Room

Barovia

Report Date

26 Oct 2024

Primary Location

Krezk

Secondary Location

Abbey of St. Markovia

Related Characters

• Anna Krezkova
• Dmitri Krezkov
• Kala Krezkova
• Kretyana Dolvof
• Otto Belview
• The Abbot
• Zygfrek Belview

Dmitri Krezkov

Anna Krezkova

Kala Krezkova

Kretyana Dolvof

The Abbot

Raven

Gatehouse Guards