Day 39: Argynvostholt
General Summary
Day 39 (Хололуна 15, 735/?)
The following morning, our heroes set off early for Argynvostholt, after assuring themselves the children seem relatively settled with the Vistani for now. Iosef gives Sylvain one last bit of sass for the road. In the first hour of travel, they receive a letter from a wolf, which is a new one. It seems this letter comes from the werewolves of Krezk, whose leader was apparently among those lycanthropes the party slayed several days before. The pack is under new management, and that management has had enough of life as one of Strahd's disposable lap dogs. They offer a proposal: their aid, in exchange for their freedom should the party succeed and free Barovia of Strahd. The letter says they're heading east, but will return to their home at "Brother's Cave." Everyone agrees that's a later problem, and they move on. The rest of the day's travel passes without incident. The party discusses the merits of various efforts at diplomacy and/or deceit, and somewhere Ezmerelda gets a nosebleed without knowing why (assuming she's still alive to do that). Reaching Argynvostholt, they decide against knocking on the front door, but after scouting ahead inside and spotting a couple of revenants, Sylvain opts for the "HALLOOOO! ANYBODY HOME??? WE'RE FRIENDLY AND WE WANT TO TALK TO GODFRIED!" I feel like this is a great time for me to mention that Sir Godfrey Gwilym is in the Wiki. He is mentioned here by name on multiple occasions. This is one of the reasons I update this thing, you know. I try to help you kids. But you all decided Ri-An must be right, and it's definitely Sir Godfried, so I'm holding you to this. You don't get to back out. You're calling him Sir Godfried until he corrects you. If he corrects you. Maybe he's too awkward and he'll just help you out while being called by the wrong name the whole time. Maybe because they used the wrong name or maybe because it's inherently their nature, three revenants come charging out of the chapel, swords out, at full speed. They aren't an especially challenging fight for the party at this level, but some of our heroes definitely take psychic damage from the encounter, first from their knightly taunting, and in one case out of their poorly masked pity when one person keeps dropping their sword. We won't name names here, but we will note that there were six natural 1s from two people within a very short timespan — five of them all in the first round. Despite these follies, it doesn't take long for our heroes to realize that a little bit of radiant damage per round is all you need to stop a revenant from healing and, while they'll surely be back in new bodies, for the moment at least this first threat was dealt with. Looking around a little more, Sylvain's protective anxieties begin to rise, and with good reason, as with the party split off in roughly three directions, Bodaway opens a door and is immediately attacked by a giant spider. Osrin faces her own mortal threat: a lone bat, which Chuckles heroically saves her from. And Ri-An and Grghshnq wander outside to check out the foggy cemetery. A battle ensues, Ri-An coming in right in time to see all eight giant spiders that had occupied the half-collapsed ballroom dispatched, and Ayduin looking rather worse for the wear. The party spends some time clearing out the ballroom of its webs, and Bodaway finds an enchanted bracelet, while Ri-An finds a magical cloak, fastening it around Sylvain's shoulders. Ri-An, having investigated the mausoleum outside and found it empty, informs the party of their findings. They enter the main hall of Argynvostholt again, and a massive winged shadow seems to pass overhead, guiding them upstairs. For most of the party, save Osrin, the shadow has a feeling of undeniable goodness, a goodness of the sort they've rarely encountered in Barovia. Bodaway finds a pearl in the rubble, and the party travels to the second floor to clear it. There, they find more loot — a ring, uncovered by Sylvain in one of the half-collapsed bedrooms — as well as an undead guard drake who just wants shiny things for its tub, a revenant who just wants to be left to their prayers, a smoky dragon-like figure, and the trap that almost killed Ezmerelda d'Avenir — that would have killed her, had it not been for the intervention of Sir Godfrey Gwilym. With a wall of stone separating Grghshnq from the party, and semi-incorporeal warriors charging forth from both ends of the hall, the party enters a fierce battle — the latest to claim Chuckles' life, and one that sees Osrin dancing on the precipice of death. Bodaway, too, nearly falls to the threat of the phantom warriors, but in the end, all the party's enemies are dispatched, and they're left to patch up their wounds and wait for the wall to disappear. In the meantime, Sylvain finds some potions — they're a surprise tool that will help us later! With the wall down, the party goes in search of Grghshnq, and they find what remains of the construct in one of the mansion's towers, with Ri-An easily finishing the job Grghshnq had started on the phantom warrior who felled it. Already on their way up, the party continues their exploration of Argynvostholt, eventually reaching the roof and the mansion's highest tower, where after another scuffle with a lone phantom, they learn that this tower must once have been home to the beacon. After unsuccessful attempts to light said beacon, they settle in amongst the ravens for a short rest. Eventually, they return downstairs, and Sylvain spots a spectral dragon who indicates an area of danger on the third floor, but nods for the rogue to come down all the same. After a careful journey down, the party is led into what was once some sort of den or study, and it is there that they briefly interact with the ghost of Argynvost, who tells them that if they can return his skull to its rightful crypt, his spirit will shine there forever, bringing hope to this dark land. So, new quest just dropped, I guess. Still aware of the need to find Godfrey, but leery of the lone figure in the skeleton-filled room Argynvost's spirit had been gazing at, the party proceeds to tip-toe around Argynvostholt until, finally, they do find Sir Godfrey — your fated ally is always in the last place you look, isn't he? Sir Godfrey proves surprisingly reasonable to interact with for a revenant, though he warns that no allies can be found within Argynvostholt so long as they remain bound to Vladimir's will, and his will remains bound to his thirst for vengeance. He offers to watch over them that night in Argynvostholt so they can rest undisturbed, and to try to wait in the mausoleum for their return of the skull, should they be successful on their mission. The party tries to stage an anxiety intervention for Sylvain. Sylvain is unimpressed. That night, Bodaway dreams of the sanctuary by Berez, and Ayduin in his nightly trance comes into the knowledge of how to reconsecrate the space.
Report Date
18 Jul 2022
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