Day 48: The Beacon
General Summary
Day 48 (Хололуна 24, 735/?)
The party enjoys one last good breakfast in the manor, though Sylvain's meal is perhaps somewhat spoiled by the state of Bodaway's regenerating arm, which seems to be progressing much faster than the first one did. As they eat, their allies tell them about the cosantóiri slíabh, the mountain protectors, who are likely to be the only people they'll run into the further south they go. As Oileán and the others tell it, the cosantóiri are fairly isolated, relatively neutral in their relationship to Strahd, and may not engage with the party at all. Saying their goodbyes to their allies and wishing them luck in their own goals, the party leaves with a dragon skull on a ratty mattress, accompanied by Makar and Brádan, who helps them stealth to Argynvostholt. There, they find Godfrey in the exact same spot they left him, covered in a layer of ice and frost, seemingly having forgotten why he was there in the first place. He remembers quickly enough, however, and helps the party open the mausoleum and return Argynvost's skull to its rightful resting place. With that action, the beacon of Argynvostholt is lit, and all across Barovia, all manner of creatures react, friend and foe alike. The party themselves feel bolstered by the pure light of the beacon, Argynvost's last gift to the land he died defending, which helps take the sting out as they watch many souls leaving Argynvostholt as, finally, the return of Argynvost frees Sir Vladimir from his singleminded focus on vengeance, freeing the revenants of the Silver Order to move on with him. Sir Godfrey, however, remains bound by whatever forces of fate have tied him to the Suicide Strahd, and the party watches as he says goodbye to his former lover. After, Godfrey leads them through the abandoned manor to collect magical items, with Osrin taking Sir Vladimir's magical greatsword, and Sylvain stowing the gauntlets with his belongings in case the party ever decides they want one of their elven members to get punchy. Saying their farewells to Makar and Brádan, Ayduin uses the same stealthing spell to lead them to the road that will take them south. As they walk, they learn that Sir Godfrey has one particularly useful skill: due to his vow of vengeance against Strahd, he can sense where Strahd is at all times, an early warning system against any future attacks. At the end of their day's travel, they make camp, and Bodaway's arm finishes shedding. After some debate over how best to dispose of the carapace, it's agreed that burying the thing is preferable to burning it. Everyone takes a turn having a heart to heart with Godfrey, and Godfrey pulls through it reasonably well, for a guy who basically hasn't socialized in 400 years. That night, Osrin finds herself once again in Mount Celestia, speaking with Helena. She learns that Helena herself was once an adventurer in Barovia, along with her husband, daughter, and their closest friend, with all of them in turn falling to corruption or death. Osrin gets the point, which is that all she has to do to regain her path is to decide to do so, to trust in herself, and to stop acting like she's only worth something if she has Alandras telling her what to do — as a result, she unlocks an as-yet-unrevealed boon.
Report Date
20 Jan 2024
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