Day 35: Mayonnaise Diplomacy
General Summary
Day 35 (Xololuna 11, 735/?)
The following morning, after breakfast, tea, and a morning run, the party makes its way to Bildrath's Mercantile — currently the one (1) functioning general store in the entire demiplane. #yikes It turns out Bildrath's, like every other general store in Barovia, only sells items for ten times the going rate in Faerûn. Still, the party has a fair amount of money in the party fund at this point, so they're able to stock up on a few items, and between Bildrath's and what supplies Ismark can find around his home, they set off with a reasonable array of cold weather gear, though there may still be certain hurdles to overcome, particularly when it comes to some of their more metallic members. The party buys Chuckles new winter boots, which is probably the nicest thing anyone's ever done for Chuckles. They journey west, bound for Tser Pool, and only a collective six points of damage is taken on the journey, thanks to Bodaway turning into a cloud, floating into Sylvain's bag, and not exiting quite as quickly as he should have. They discuss Ismark's corruption, Bodaway's chat with Ponto, and the eternally irritating nature of Barovian vs. Faerûnian time differences. Upon reaching Tser Pool, the party is in a largely subdued mood, though the greeting they receive is as friendly as ever. While Osrin receives a reading from Madam Eva, a handsome stranger approaches Ayduin and Sylvain with whiskey, introducing himself as Marlyn. When Marlyn asks the pair for stories, they deliver — Sylvain, with a tale of the time he saw a mindflayer, and Ayduin, with a tale of probably what is only one of his times seeing man-eating plants, let's be real. As Sylvain barters for winter boots and Ri-An barters for a hide to work with — Sylvain offending Marlyn in the process with some surprise non-con magic use — Bodaway pays a visit to Madam Eva, offering his apologies for his sins and asking whether Madam Eva might know of any way to lift a Vistani curse without making amends. Madam Eva indicates that she very well might, but that she certainly won't act against the will of one of her own when Bodaway hasn't even tried to make amends. Sylvain apologizes to Marlyn, and in exchange Marlyn offers Sylvain a story of his own: the day the wizard passed through Tser Pool with an army of deluded villagers at his heels, trying to rally the Vistani. Only one took up the offer, in the middle of the night, while her husband was sleeping. She met the same fate all the fools who followed the wizard did. If they seek the Mad Mage, Marlyn suggests, ask him what Col would think of what he's up to these days. And tell him Alyonka's husband says fuck you, do better. That night, Bodaway dreams of someone else's husband, settling into the sun-kissed memory of a brown-skinned knight whose dear love Vladimir comes to visit him on the roof of a great building overlooking Barovia.
Report Date
16 May 2022
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