Day 57: The Ambush
General Summary
Day 57 (Волчаялуна 5, 736/?)
The party awoke in rude fashion when they found themselves no longer in their various beds in Azuth's mansion, but on the snow-covered ground of tuama beannaithe's sacred grove. Still blinded by magical darkness, only Sylvain was able to gather his wits about him before their enemies made their move — and though Azuth recognized the sound of a Dispel Magic spell being cast again, with no sight to guide him, he couldn't save the Hallow spell keeping their enemies at bay. Finding themselves locked in combat with Calorfin Galamin, several forms of undead, and a ranged attacker who eventually revealed herself as Imithren Orren, the party spent a terrifying few minutes doing their best, along with their allies, to keep the less combat-ready among the teaghlach cara and wereravens among them alive. It was obvious some of the enemies were intelligent, with Calorfin utilizing her magic to stun several of the party's allies, and a skeletal creature bearing a scythe nearly felling Oileán right away. Ayduin destroyed several of the lower level undead with a well-cast wind wall, and Sylvain focused his efforts on Calorfin, hoping to spare their allies her attention. Despite the party's efforts, however, it didn't take long for bodies to start falling, with Lazar Mescheryakov turned to ash and Cipín cut down. As more of their companions were dangerously wounded, Azuth drew on his arcane power to shield those who couldn't fight, or who were too bloody to press on, at the cost of his own ability to act on anything but maintaining the spell. Succumbing to blindness from Calorfin's magic, Sylvain regained his sight just in time to lock eyes with Imithren in the moment Osrin killed her, promptly falling unconscious after. With Calorfin fleeing, Ayduin, Bodaway, Osrin, Mar, Azuth, and Danica gave chase, Ayduin pausing to revive Sylvain first. Sylvain and Ri-An remained behind to guard their allies, and Osrin continued her claim to fame as the number one bane to vampire spawn in the party, getting in the killing blow on Calorfin — much to Danica's dismay and rage. In the quiet moments after the battle, Sylvain collected Imithren's things, including her armour and weapons. Azuth recast the mansion with the last of his high-level magic, and most of their allies went back to sleep to try and recover, while most of the party stayed awake to keep watch for any more trouble. The following morning, the wereravens met among themselves to discuss what had happened, and how to move forward, while Ri-An worked in the forge, and tried along with Ayduin's bag of holding stash to ensure the party and their allies were as well-equipped as possible. Much of the day was passed in quiet recovery, with the party discussing with their allies who could or could not be of help in the fight against Strahd and Vampyr. It was agreed, for the sake of the long game teaghlach cara and the Keepers of the Feather had been playing for centuries, that neither they nor Azuth could join in the assault on the castle, as someone would need to remain to help pass on information and resources to whoever came to challenge Strahd next. When it came to the fight against Vampyr, however, some of their number may join in binding the Dark Power once again. Still unsure of how to approach their entry into the castle, and how to handle the threat of a corrupted Ismark, the party resolved to wait for the yew, undergo the Huntress's trial, then finalize their plans and part ways again. Sylvain, nobly resisting the urge to go for full breakdown bangs, got a haircut instead from Danica, offering some of his hair to Azuth for scrying purposes. Unbeknownst to him, this led to several of their allies also giving Azuth hair, which he has been trying his best to keep neatly sectioned and tied up with pieces of hide in his pockets. Makar has suggested perhaps everyone's trying to tell him he looked better with the dreadlocks; Azuth still isn't entirely sure if it was a joke or not. Sylvain did his best to expose Danica to delicacies from beyond Barovia's borders using the mansion's magical manifestation abilities, with mixed results. He began to show Ayduin how to effectively wield a rapier, while Bodaway took some private time to write a letter and form a bag for a ball.
Report Date
02 Nov 2023
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