Day 7: Vallaki
General Summary
Day 7 (Prizrachnayaluna 11, 735/?)
First full day in Vallaki. Our heroes do some shopping, find out the church isn't hallowed ground, go to an orphanage to try and fix that and fix a case of demon possession instead; Bodaway and Sylvain almost die. Vasili turns up and brandishes his rapier, makes friends with a traumatized child. Our heroes go back for a bath and a rest while Ireena Kolyana, Ayduin, Ri-An and Vasili go to run some more errands. They greet the burgomaster, who is friendlier than they expected. They meet his captain of the guard, who is way more into Bodaway than expected. They drop by the coffin shop to see about some bones and find a lot of sus shit to look into later. They go to dinner with the Lady Wachter and find out she's supes into Strahd and has a prophecy that concerns them. Sylvain and Bodaway talk Ireena down before she can try to stab their hostess. The gang breaks into a coffin shop and finds a bonus seven (7) vampires. Sylvain and Bodaway almost die. Then Sylvain actually dies, but Zantras, the Kingmaker fixes him in exchange for a deal. Grghshnq dies and is not offered a deal. Strahd turns up and speechifies at Ireena; she agrees to go with him if he'll leave our heroes alone. The bones of St Andral are taken out of Vallaki. Everything is terrible forever. Ri-An tells a powerful being to fuck off (somewhere, back in Waterdeep, a dwarf smiles). Bodaway receives visions from the Raven Queen.Act 1, Scene 8: Vallaki: Shopping Episode
The following morning saw our heroes trying to make the best of their time in Vallaki, whatever troubles might await them. With Ayduin still exhausted and all of them still recovering from the wounds both physical and emotional they'd received over the last several days, they agreed to focus on resting, recuperating, and trying to stay out of trouble while in Vallaki. Ireena insisted that they should go and make their introductions to the burgomaster and make sure he knew they weren't a threat as quickly as possible — it was agreed that prior to this, they should probably get some less tattered, blood-stained clothes, in order to make a good impression. Speaking of good impressions, Ri-An and Ayduin both failed in spectacular fashion to make Ri-An look like a person, but thankfully Sylvain swept in and, once again mirroring Ayduin's previous feats, fixed everything with a bit of savvy blending. Several of our heroes had errands they wanted to run, to pick up various supplies and see what information they could gather around town. It was agreed that they would look into new clothing first and foremost, then run errands, pay their respects to the burgomaster, and pass by St. Andral's Church to confirm whether or not it indeed offered the sanctuary Ireena so sorely needed. They asked Danica for directions to various amenities, and she gave them the names of and directions to various stores around Vallaki, as well as other options outside town to explore — including a haunted mansion to the southwest, where it's claimed a dragon once lived. Cue significant looks between our heroes. After some discussion of where our heroes might find work, Danica also called Urwin over, and he admitted that the Wizard of Wines winery, which his family ran, was late on their latest delivery. The delivery was over a week overdue, and unless it arrived soon, they would be running out of wine any day now. If our heroes were able to look into the matter for him — the winery being, like so many locations, to the southwest of Vallaki — he would be happy to pay in some way or another. Cue significant looks between our heroes at the horrific prospect of a dry Barovia. Bidding farewell to the Martikovs, they made their way to the town square, trying not to be too overwhelmed at the sight of the gallows and the stocks, where children and the elderly appeared to be among those sporting plaster donkey's heads, locked up for whatever crimes they'd committed. (Judging by the girth of Vallaki's law book, there were a lot of options to choose from.) Finding the tailor quickly enough, they met the giant of a man named Savva and his petite wife Anfisa, and the pair began fussing over how best to outfit the party according to their needs. While some were able to purchase what they sought right away, others would require a bit of tailoring before their clothes would be up to the tailors' standards, and Ri-An's request would involve rushing to make a fine dress from scratch in a matter of hours. Upon paying in full for what they could take with them and paying half of what they'd pick up that afternoon, our heroes continued on, eager to see what else they could find around Vallaki. As it turns out, most of their needs were easy to meet. They found several books to serve a variety of purposes, and in exchange for helping tune up a printing press, Ri-An received several components of a diplomat's pack at a healthy discount. They found someone willing to silver weapons, though it was agreed that the price of 100 gp per weapon was... beyond their means, for the moment. Weirdly enough, the general store did not have air elemental wisps, but the apothecary on the north side of town did. Ri-An confessed their diplomatic ambitions to Sylvain. The group received an invitation courtesy of an errand boy to dine with the Lady Wachter and Vasili von Holtz that evening and, not eager to make any prominent enemies while in Vallaki, they accepted. It wasn't long after they made their way to St. Andral's Church that the day began to take a turn for the worse. Shortly after making their introductions to the priest, Father Lucian Petrovich, and the altar boy Yeska, our heroes found themselves invited into Petrovich's office. Here, he made a dire confession: St. Andral's had indeed been hallowed ground for centuries, but as of a few days ago, this was no longer the case: someone had stolen the bones of the saint from the secret altar beneath the church, and unless those bones were restored to their rightful place, nowhere in Vallaki was truly safe from creatures such as Strahd. When asked who he thought might have taken the bones, the priest confessed that only he and the altar boy had known of their existence and location. However, he suspected that Yeska had told Milivoj, the church's gravedigger and groundskeeper — not least because Milivoj had not come to work since Petrovich had noticed the bones' disappearance. He advised the group that Milivoj was an orphan, like Yeska, and that he spent most of his time at the orphanage across the street. If our heroes could find Milvioj and find out whether or not he had taken the bones, they had a chance at restoring the church's hallowed status, and ensuring some small patch of safety for Ireena. So the group, by now resigned to things always going wrong in Barovia, agreed to look into the matter, and made their way across the street to the Orphanage of St. Andral.Act 1, Scene 9: Vallaki: The Orphanage
Faced with a delicate situation in a town full of them, the party agreed to split up three ways, in case Milivoj was in the orphanage and tried to bolt. Osrin and Ayduin staked out the back, to guard that line of escape, while Ireena and Ri-An settled in across the street by the cemetery, to keep an eye on the front of the building. Sylvain and Bodaway went inside, to see whether or not they could find their missing gravedigger and solve this case in time to pick up their clothes. Upon knocking, the pair were introduced by a wide-eyed orphan to Headmistress Claudia Belasco, the one (1) certified adult assigned to these many children. Ms Belasco admitted that yes, Milivoj was indeed there, but that the pair would have trouble having any conversations with him, as he'd been unconscious with fever for over a day now. Somewhat suspicious of their motives — particularly between Bodaway keeping his face covered and not being entirely honest about why he did so — she questioned both men briefly, before one tidbit caught her attention: Bodaway's background as an investigator. Seeming to decide she might be able to trust the pair — whether because of their charms or her own desperation, even she may not know — she confessed that Milivoj's illness wasn't the only trouble the orphanage had been having lately. One of her young wards had died a couple weeks before after an alleged accident. Other children had found themselves with mysterious wounds and bad dreams. Three orphans had run away since the death. She suspected something nefarious was at work, but had been unable to unravel the mystery herself — would they help? Suspecting these events may somehow be tied to the theft of the bones, the pair agreed to investigate, asking to have a look at Milivoj first. She led them to his room, where they found the young man damp with feverish sweat in the middle of a troubled rest, visibly ill. Upon examining Milivoj, Bodaway came to the conclusion the ailment was magical in nature, more curse than illness. He suspected it had to do with the theft of the saintly bones and, with a mind to both free Milivoj of his curse and restore the hallowed ground Ireena sought, he asked if the orphanage had a basement or an attic they might look at to see if any clues (or, y'know, skeletons) were hidden there. Ms Belasco stated that there was no basement, but the building did indeed have an attic — so she led them up there, with all three of them startled to discover a young boy sat up there by the window, carving a little wooden doll. The headmistress greeted the young man as Felix — the boy, as it turned out, who had been playing with the boy who died before his "accident." It was obvious that the child unsettled Ms Belasco, and it didn't take long for Sylvain and Bodaway to see why. There was a distinctly unsettling nature to the child, who seemed all too amused at their presence there. Just as they were about to make their excuses and retreat to evacuate the building and get their reinforcements, Felix slumped back, unconscious, with a great cloud of smoky shadow erupting from his every pore, taking the form of a horrifying creature with long limbs and claws, and the vague impression of a face. Downstairs, Osrin and Ayduin watched a pair of teenaged girls gossip in Barovian, with Osrin providing her best guesses at translation, improvising a soap opera for Ayduin's amusement. Across the street, Ireena and Ri-An were somewhat startled to see none other than Vasili von Holtz strolling down the street, greeting them both warmly. Ri-An was suspicious at first, but seemed a little more inclined to talk to him once he started complimenting Grghshnq. Upstairs, the fight went sour fast for Sylvain and Bodaway. Once again, Sylvain was almost knocked out with a single blow from the demon's shadowy claws. He made his way towards the window, ordering Ms Belasco to evacuate the building. Outside, Ayduin noticed a raven flying to alight on the sill of the attic window — only to jump back, squawking wildly, as Sylvain's thrown dagger broke the window a moment later. Inside, the creature focused its attacks on Bodaway, but Bodaway neatly avoided them. Eventually, it retreated into Felix's form, and before it could flee, Sylvain grabbed Felix and, spotting a gold chain around the boy's neck, told Bodaway they had to get the chain off his neck. Bodaway reached to do so, and Sylvain realized their mistake at about the same moment Bodaway found himself in the back seat of his own mind. Meanwhile, Ayduin and Osrin had realized something was amiss, charging through the backyard and the back door of the orphanage, rather alarming the teenagers they'd been spying on, though both girls seemed to go from startled to excited when they saw Ayduin's handsome elven face. Osrin made a slightly different impression, rushing into a room full of children with a battleaxe. Out front, Ri-An and Ireena noticed the raven flying overhead, and Ri-An learned that hurting ravens is a no-no in Barovia. Hearing cries from within the orphanage — the result of Osrin and Ayduin's failed attempts to convince the orphans they meant no harm — the three rushed to the front door with Grghshnq, to see what had gone wrong. In the attic, Sylvain dodged an attack from the now-possessed Bodaway, who had thrown on the demon's cursed locket, leaving Felix a shivering, terrified mess, abruptly back in control of his mind for the first time in months. Trying to figure out how to help his friend without hurting him, Sylvain began making his way towards the door. Just in time, Osrin arrived, gripping Sylvain's leg to heal some of the damage he'd already sustained from the demon. He had just enough time to let her know what had happened before the demon leapt from Bodaway's body, scraping its claws down Sylvain's body again and knocking him unconscious. Thus began Osrin and Ayduin's battle with their possessed friend, some Vallakian guards' battle to get to the fight before it was over, and Ri-An's battle with stairs. One by one, Bodaway and Sylvain's allies arrived, with Ayduin and Osrin knocking Bodaway out, leaving the demon to flee back into the locket. Removing it carefully — more carefully, after nicking his unconscious friend's throat open — Ayduin set it down on the ground and, once everyone had been roused, the gang had a grand ol' time beating the crap out of a locket. In the end, though, it was Grghshnq who got the killing blow, while Vasili comforted the traumatized child and one extremely confused Vallakian guard watched on while his companion ran for holy water. The next hour or so was a blur of trying to explain the situation to the guards. Thankfully, between Sylvain and Vasili's fast talking and Ms Belasco's testimony, it was agreed that the newcomers probably weren't responsible for whatever demon crap had happened, and had probably helped out overall. In particular, once they realized the party was planning on paying a visit to the burgomaster anyway, they said they'd report to him and leave any questions he had for him to ask in person. Claudia had no money to spare in thanks, but she did offer the party a couple of healing potions, as well as the opportunity to speak to Milivoj, who had finally awoken. In exchange, Sylvain offered Claudia money for some repairs for the damage that had been done, and asked if she could ensure Felix be given something to do — something to make him feel useful and give him a sense of purpose rather than to dwell on what had happened to him. He suggested speaking to Father Petrovich, to see if the church might have tasks for him. In speaking with Milivoj — specifically, Sylvain and Bodaway, while Ayduin and Osrin kept watch on the other side of the door and Ri-An and Ireena took Vasili out to "check on the children" (ie: not spy) — our heroes learned that he had indeed stolen the bones, after mentioning their existence to the coffin-maker, Henrik van der Voort. Henrik had asked him shortly after to steal the bones, offering modest payment in return — but by Milivoj's standard of living, it was significantly more than he made in a month at the church, and could provide several meals at the orphanage. Reassuring him that they had no intention of getting him or Yeska in trouble with the law, the pair got all the information they could out of him, assuring him that they'd see what they could do to fix the situation. Meanwhile, outside, both Ri-An and Ireena failed their Perception checks to notice that Vasili had positioned himself right by Milivoj's window, where he could hear every word being said. Satisfied they'd gotten all the information they'd be able to get out of Milivoj, the group headed away from the orphanage, with Vasili tagging along and helpfully offering to help Ireena run errands while the injured among them rested up. No one was thrilled at this idea, since at this point pretty much everyone had decided Vasili was sus. Ayduin and Ri-An volunteered to go along with them, with Osrin, Sylvain, and Bodaway staying behind at the inn, and so our heroes began to recover from their first near-death experience of the day.Act 1, Scene 10: Vallaki: Diplomacy
For the second time that day, our heroes had split their party three ways. Osrin headed into the inn for a glass of wine and some espionage, finding Rictavio at her side soon enough. The pair exchanged a few words before settling into a comfortably grumpy silence — a familiar ritual, for Osrin. She heard precious little for her trouble, aside from gossip about her own party and the gruff exchange of a pair of wolf hunters who seemed to spend most of their time around each other and seemed thoroughly unenthused by the reality of their wives and children waiting at home for them. Meanwhile, Ayduin, Ri-An, and Grghshnq chaperoned Ireena and Vasili, with Vasili focusing the bulk of his attention on Ireena, though he took the time to spill the tea about the Lady Wachter. He advised them not to bring up her husband, who had died some time ago, or her daughter, who had gone mad after an engagement gone wrong to the burgomaster's son, who Vasili happily informed them was kind of a little shit. Stopping at the tailor's, Ireena asked if they had any means of salvaging Sylvain's bloody, torn clothes — at the looks on Savva and Anfisa's faces, she hurriedly paid for them to make him a new outfit instead, to pick up the following morning, and advising Ayduin and Ri-An to lie and say it had cost a fraction of what it did if Sylvain asked. Ri-An received their lovely dress, and all other freshly tailored clothing was retrieved. Asking if she could make one more stop, Ireena grabbed a couple of healer's kits, keeping one to herself and giving Ayduin the other. She might not be that useful in a fight, she said, but the least she could do is make sure she had the means to stabilize our heroes, if they were going to continue at their current rate of near-death experiences. Back at the Blue Water Inn, Sylvain and Bodaway had a bath, debriefing on the day's events so far. They bonded over their mutual inability to go 24 hours without almost dying, especially if doing so would involve walking away from a fight, and discussed who owed who a drink. They also enjoyed the second(?) of many conversations that day about Vasili not being trustworthy. Not long after, Bodaway took a moment to pay his respects to the Raven Queen, having so recently invoked her. In return, he received a vision.You see a half-elf woman and are somewhat startled at the similarities she bears to Sylvain — not physically, though she’s of similar height and build. Her hair is dark and thick and loosely curled, pulled back into a bun that somehow gives the impression of being haphazard and effortlessly elegant at once. Her skin, too, is a deep, deep brown, her cheekbones broad and her lips full and faintly curved with amusement. Rather, it’s the way she carries himself, the way Sylvain tends to carry himself when he’s not too winedrunk or exhausted; there is an innate grace to her that you know can only partly be nature at work, the rest a careful curation of mannerisms. You realize she is at the gates of Vallaki, but… a Vallaki of long ago, you think. Even at a glance, you know the town you’re looking at is much smaller than the Vallaki of today; its walls, too, are more standard, its ends not sharpened to the brutal spikes they are now. Around her stand a motley group: a massive armoured goliath, a human woman covered in elaborate tattoos and wearing heavy furs, a half-orc woman rippling with muscle, a half-orc man with his cloak’s hood drawn up over his eyes, playing with a dagger, another half-orc woman, eyes wary, fingering a ring which seems to glow faintly with arcane power, and somewhat incongruous in a party of such gargantuan stature, a little gnome wearing religious robes. The half-elf woman, you realize, is addressing Vallaki’s guards on their behalf, and despite their appearance and the obvious willingness of some of their number to fight if they must, as she speaks, the guards relax; they smile; they begin to joke. As she leads her party in, she drops a wink over her shoulder at them, radiating confidence.As Bodaway and Sylvain dried off in their room, Ireena and the others bid good day to Vasili, and Ireena led them directly into the party's main room, asking where Osrin was and, when given the answer, declaring they could catch her up after. Ireena did not trust Vasili, she informed our heroes — in general, the consensus was: no one trusted Vasili. Various reasons were given between this and the several other conversations on this topic, but the juxtaposition between his demeanour around the wolves and his confidence in all other fights they'd seen him in, along with the uniquely fortuitous timing of his arrival both the day before and that afternoon, were both flagged as cause for concern. Still, they agreed, there was little to be done but to go to the dinner that evening, make as pleasantly neutral an impression on the Lady Wachter as they could, and avoid spending any more time around Vasili if they could help it. When Osrin came up, Ireena went down to have her own bath and prepare for the day's social engagements, and the party discussed what to do next. They agreed that they'd have to look into the matter of the missing bones sooner rather than later, but that there was little they could do until after dinner. In the meantime, they agreed to alert Rictavio to what they'd learned, so they'd have one (hopefully competent) ally keeping an eye on the situation — in particular the church, which they feared may be attacked while it was vulnerable. Rictavio seemed about as thrilled to hear about all this as anyone could reasonably expect him to be. Once all of them were in their proper Diplomacy Clothes — some wearing more armour and carrying bigger weapons than others — they made their way to the burgomaster's mansion, hoping not to have any more revelations while they were there. Upon reaching the mansion, both Ireena and Ayduin noticed a foreboding building some way behind the main house, crowned by a watchtower. Ignoring this, they made their way to the front door, where a maid greeted them and led them to the burgomaster's study. They met the burgomaster, flanked by his mastiffs and with an intimidating figure with an infernal-looking arm behind him, and were somewhat surprised to have a... pleasant interaction. It seemed that the burgomaster's policy of mandatory positivity extended to his interactions with suspicious outsiders, and he seemed satisfied with the account our heroes gave of their reasons for being in Vallaki, and plans for the near future. The group was somewhat unnerved to notice a tremendous intensity to Izek, the burgomaster's captain of the guard, who was staring at Bodaway kind of like this and had been ever since Bodaway walked in. After wrapping up his discussion with the group, the bemused burgomaster followed Izek as he rushed over to Bodaway and said he had something to show him, striding across the hall to his own room and opening the door. Inside, Bodaway and his friends found a profusion of dolls, many of which seemed to show the same individuals over and over, in some cases obviously showing them growing up through the years. Most alarming, however, were the several dolls which showed Bodaway himself — not only as he was, but as he had been, including several in-betweens from the human man he once was and how he looked now, many of which Bodaway himself had never seen before. Some confusion ensued — Izek insisted that they were half-brothers, sharing the same father, and that Izek had had dreams of Bodaway ever since he was a child, as well as all their other siblings — all the people represented by the dolls. Bodaway questioned Izek with some urgency regarding the Artist and how his arm had gotten the way it was — for the first time, Izek seemed self-conscious, saying he'd been born with his monstrous arm. His mother had found herself in Barovia while pregnant with him and, shortly after giving birth, had died. The burgomaster had arranged for Izek to be brought up, and had become the only family Izek had truly known — but now, finally, one of his siblings was here in Barovia. Izek hugged Bodaway. Bodaway managed not to have a complete nervous breakdown. The burgomaster extended a dinner invitation but the party expressed their regrets, saying they'd already made plans for the evening. Izek said he and Bodaway could talk again the next day, eager to start their long-delayed brotherly rapport. Somewhat in a daze, our heroes left the burgomaster's mansion, and with time to spare decided to check out the coffin-maker's shop to see what they could learn ahead of time. Ayduin and Ri-An discussed an elaborate plan involving a dance performance to lure the coffin maker out of his shop. Ireena pointed out that perhaps causing a scene in the town square might not be in the party's best interests at the moment, and suggested one might need a permit for public performances. Thoroughly disgusted at the prospect of not being able to dance their way to victory, Ri-An rushed back to the inn to consult the law book. Meanwhile, the others experimented with the novel concept of knocking, being told via yell from inside that the coffin shop was closed. Upon making inquiries regarding when it might be open, they were again told that it was closed. Following this, they received no more replies. Sylvain discovered the doors appeared to be barred from the inside, and all the windows were both frosted and guarded by iron latticework. Making their way around to the back — Ri-An flipping through the book and discovering that yes, you do need a permit for any public performances in Vallaki — they discovered some potential weaknesses they might be able to exploit in the lattice and, not eager to start something they didn't have time to finish, they made their way up to Wachterhaus, to dine with the burgomaster's rival. They found the Lady Wachter as gracious as the burgomaster had been, if somewhat bolder in her demeanour. She teased them about their reticence, and had both Ayduin and Bodaway sit at her side, having deemed them the most interesting members of their party. Bodaway confessed he'd spent much of his childhood in prison. Osrin characterized her childhood as, by and large, taken up by stupid shit. Ri-An took several mental notes. Vasili pulled out a chair for Ireena, presumably that she might sit beside him, and Sylvain slipped into it instead, leaving Ireena free to sit between him and Bodaway. Vasili refrained from murdering Sylvain at the dinner table. After some more awkward conversation, along with some creative performance on Ri-An's part to conceal their general inability to eat the way their companions do, the Lady Wachter showed her cards. She told them about her life in Vallaki — how as a young girl, she'd lived in fear of the burgomaster, Vargas's father, Vargon. He had been a cruel man, who believed the only way to rule was with extreme force, and her youth had been characterized by regular public executions and the conscription of disobedient children into the town guard. When Vargon had abruptly died, she and others had been hopeful his son would make a better ruler, and for a time it seemed like he would. But it didn't take long for the people of Vallaki to realize there was steel behind Vargas Vallakovich's ever-present smile, and when it became clear that he was just a tyrant of a different shade, she went on a diplomatic trip to the village of Barovia, ostensibly to network, but secretly planning to go to Castle Ravenloft, to see whether the devil both Vallakoviches had railed against was truly the monster they painted him. Instead she found a reasonable, considerate, intelligent, charming man, who welcomed her into his home and listened to her concerns. Whatever threat Strahd might present to various people in Barovia, she had never seen him threaten her town — that honour went to two men, both by the name of Vallakovich. Ireena refrained from murdering the Lady Wachter at the dinner table. The Lady Wachter went on to say she'd also stopped by the Vistani at Tser Pool, to hear her fortune from one of their elders — Madam Eva. Madam Eva had told her that during the Lady Wachter's lifetime, a stranger from a foreign land would come to Vallaki, and that their coming would be the sign of a new age in the town. First, however, their arrival would lead to a great purge, the likes of which Vallaki had never seen. Afterwards, the sun would shine on Vallaki once again. She returned to Vallaki, and looked into those who had made their way into Barovia from other worlds. She waited, and some thirty-something years ago, outsiders had come to Vallaki. However, they ignored her plea, and moved on, intent on fighting Strahd, like so many had tried to do before. They failed, to no one's surprise save perhaps their own, with one survivor returning with his tail between his legs to work at the town's Reformation Centre alongside other failed adventurers. So, she asked our heroes: would they ignore her warnings, too? For she had waited many years, and with their arrival, and Rictavio's, along with her age, the time was surely nigh. Our heroes promised her they would think all of this over, and bid her a good evening. Ireena rage-ate some bread. Bodaway squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.
You see her again, as she wakes, meeting the eyes of the human woman you saw before, who looks exhausted, keeping watch while the others sleep by the side of the road. The human’s gaze shifts instead to the hugely muscular half-orc woman you saw before, and the half-elf’s gaze shifts as well — you can see that she appears to be deep in sleep, except for her eyes wide open, staring sightlessly. The half-elf shifts to the human’s side and they begin to speak in low murmurs; you cannot hear the conversation but by the end you can see the human is shooting the half-orc looks you don’t like, looks that usually came before a bad fight back in the day. The half-elf sees those looks too, and unlike you, she smiles.
You see her once more, and this time she is in a castle you’ve never seen before; it seems vast, and there is a sense of deep oppression to it. You have never knowingly walked on desecrated ground, but you imagine it would feel something like this. She is arguing in furious whispers with the human woman before; it seems they have a choice for which path to take. The more the human denies her, the angrier the half-elf gets; you see her draw her dagger and slide it between her ally’s ribs when she’s distracted by one of their fellow party members, and the vision fades.
Act 1, Scene 11: Vallaki: The Feast of St. Andral's
Our heroes left Wachterhaus, leaving aside All That for later — tonight, they had some stolen bones to re-steal. None of them noticed an invisible Vasili von Holtz following them from Wachterhaus, just far back enough to see where they were going. Successfully sneaking to the back of the coffin maker's shop, noticing only one light in one window in the front of the building, the group began to work on the lattice, with mixed results. At one point most of them fled into the trees nearby while Ri-An did some performative vomiting — regurgitating largely whole food due to their lack of a digestive system — while Sylvain apologized to the guards, saying they would clean the mess up and get their drunken friend back to the inn as soon as possible. The guards, convinced by the performance, left, and our heroes got back to the business of B&E. The lattice removed between Ri-An and Sylvain's efforts, they went to work next on the window itself, almost removing it without a sound, though at the last moment it tipped inside with a loud clink, saved from shattering only by a coffin directly below the window. The party waited, sure they'd been made, but when no one came to investigate, they made their way inside, beginning to investigate. The first room they found was, shockingly enough, full of coffins. When none of the coffins seemed to contain any spare bones, they began to investigate the rest. Seeing the light from under the doorway of one room and rightly guessing that Henrik van der Voort was inside, they checked the other of the downstairs rooms, finding a wholly mundane workshop. They had a choice: to confront the coffin maker, or to check upstairs and see if they could leave without ever being detected in the first place. After some brief, whispered discussion, it was agreed that Sylvain would go upstairs to look and, if he found nothing, they'd discuss next moves again. Ireena rushed to follow Sylvain, perhaps concerned about his track record of brushes with death, and stumbled slightly as she did so, still rather tipsy, though the coffin maker did not come to investigate. The pair went up to the coffin maker's kitchen, finding a dismal assortment of bland foods, before making their way through the next door, where they found his equally depressing bedroom. Sylvain couldn't find a thing, whereas Ireena caught an irregularity in the bottom of his wardrobe. Opening it up, they found two bags: one full of bones, and the other full of silver coins. Sylvain retrieved the bones, and a moment later he and Ireena both froze as they heard an all-too-familiar voice nearby say, "Do it now." Into the kitchen came a half-elf woman with a sharp smile and pale skin. Charging down the stairs came a mighty, pale goliath, who raised his greatclub as he went and cracked Bodaway right in the face. Even those who hadn't heard Strahd's words could hear the sounds of many footsteps as suddenly they found themselves in a battle with six vampire spawn. Upstairs, the half-elf told Sylvain and Ireena that all they had to do was surrender the bones — there didn't have to be a fight. Ireena was frozen in panic; Sylvain tugged her back into the bedroom with him, declining the half-elf's very kind offer. Downstairs, a fierce battle began, with the goliath quickly identifying Bodaway as the main threat the moment his weapon lit up with radiant energy, and doing everything he could to take Bodaway out as quickly as possible. The moment Bodaway was unconscious and out of his way, he made his way out through the front of the shop, seemingly disinterested in continuing the fight. Two vampires followed him, one of them stopping to drain Bodaway of life immediately after Osrin had gotten him back up. Upstairs, the half-elf and one of her companions attacked Sylvain, knocking him unconscious, with her big-chinned companion absconding with the bones. Finally snapping out of her stupor, Ireena fed Sylvain a health potion, and he jumped up, getting one good stab in at the man with the bones before the half-elf came up from behind and skewered him straight through his heart. Leaving him to his death and Ireena to her inevitable nervous breakdown, she followed her companion. Her companion got wrecked by our heroes, who knocked him prone and stole his bones, Ri-An handing them off to Grghshnq and telling it to run. The moment Ayduin opened the door for Grghshnq, it ran, vampires hot on its four heels. The vampires seemed much more interested in the bones than in the fight, though some were still engaged with the party when Sylvain came charging downstairs, fresh off a quick conversation with Zantras, the Kingmaker, who Sylvain had mistaken for Strahd himself during his second close call with death in the Death House. Zantras offered Sylvain a deal: a second chance at life, and an amplification of his natural charms, in exchange for the power of those who Sylvain killed. No big! Though Sylvain was skeptical, he was also extremely dead, and given his limited options, he went for the deal. Ireena, who had been trying to avenge Sylvain's death, got that much closer to her inevitable nervous breakdown. Sylvain gave a manic giggle and went after the bones, to save Grghshnq and Vallaki. Inside, only two vampires were left, one of whom had grappled Ireena and pulled her back from the others. Ri-An was on the verge of helping Sylvain save the day, when they, Ayduin, Osrin, and the remaining vampire — a sulky blonde — found themselves trapped inside an invisible dome. And Strahd von Zarovich revealed himself, crawling awkwardly in through the window. Outside, Sylvain bore witness to Grghshnq's death, and pelted after the vampires, doing his best to take back the bones. The vampire who had just killed him was, understandably, somewhat bewildered by this turn of events. Inside, Strahd and Ireena began a conversation in Barovian, while the vampire who had been holding her ran outside to join his companions. There was nothing our three heroes could do but watch as Strahd spoke to Ireena, revealing himself to have been Vasili von Holtz — a revelation that visibly shook Ireena, though a moment later there was anger in her face and her voice as she said something that seemed, just for a moment, to wound Strahd in turn, his confidence momentarily overshadowed by a cold anger. Outside, time and again, Sylvain caught up with the vampire running with the bones, only to lose her as she continued to run. Tearing open the bag, he felt a moment of triumph, something to make up for the considerable wounds he was sustaining as part of the chase, only to have his hopes dashed when the vampire gathered up all the bones again and resumed her flight. Inside, Ireena spoke in Common to Strahd for the first time since he'd appeared and asked one question: If I go with you, will you leave them alone? And Strahd answered, Да. Yes. With an additional request that he order the blonde vampire trapped with her friends not to attack, Ireena took off her pack and followed Strahd out the door. Outside, Sylvain continued his chase, with one truly disorienting moment of seeing Ireena sat in front of Strahd on a mighty dark horse wreathed in flames, flying through Vallaki's night sky, screams starting up around him as the devil was sighted within the town for the first time in over a century. Before he could say "what the fuck," he found himself suddenly bereft of the boost of energy and power Zantras had granted him, sagging with exhaustion and hiding, well aware that he was in no state to continue to fight three vampires. So the vampires left Vallaki, wounding two guards and killing a third, and fled into the night with the bones of St. Andral. Inside, Ri-An, Osrin, and Ayduin, thoroughly demoralized, tried to hit the remaining vampire, who had been ordered to "sit and not bite." Despite this edict, they had a surprisingly difficult time hitting her. After a couple of minutes of stewing, the invisible force holding them dissipated, and they found themselves in the company of three strangers — two older men and a younger woman — asking if they needed help. The three were understandably unimpressed with the timing of their cavalry, and summarily dismissed the strangers, with Ayduin offering a vague thanks for the offer. Outside, Sylvain began making his way back to the group, while Ayduin began searching for Sylvain in the opposite direction. Ri-An went to find Grghshnq and realized that they had the tools but not the magical reserves left to restore life to their faithful hound. While searching for Sylvain, Ayduin found a fallen guard — the one who'd taken such a dislike to Bodaway — and stabilized her before heading back to the group. In the distance, he heard screams, but all our heroes knew they were in no shape for another fight that night. Eventually, all five of them reconvened, short one Ireena and one Grghshnq, and they began to make their way back to the Blue Water Inn, a solemn procession, Ri-An carrying Grghshnq, Ayduin and Osrin splitting Bodaway's prone body between them. Rictavio came running up to them, fresh off the battle at St. Andral's Church, where thanks to Rictavio tipping off some guards ahead of time he was able, with their help and a couple basins of holy water, to destroy two of the vampires, while a third fled. He was badly injured but still up, and when he heard that the blonde vampire was scootching away at Sylvain's suggestion, eager to escape within the terms set out for her by Strahd, he went off to try and take her out, too. Our heroes returned to the Blue Water Inn, meeting a sea of crossbows quickly lowered once those assembled within the tavern realized they weren't vampires come to wreak havoc on them all. Sylvain went down to speak to Danica, who made him sit down and have a glass of wine, taking a long drink herself once Sylvain began to catch her up. Casting a glance around the tavern, she told Sylvain to come to the kitchen with her to get something for Ri-An, in the wake of her dog's death. Leading Sylvain behind the bar and into the kitchen, she gave a cursory nod to those stationed at that door before revealing another, hidden exit to Sylvain — one that led up a hidden staircase, culminating in another door. She led him up the stairs, telling him that on the other side of that door was the hallway across from our heroes', and if he went down it to the farthest door on his left, he would find a bedroom, with a hidden door in its far left corner. That door would lead him into the loft above the stables. She didn't know if he would need that information, but she thought he ought to have it, just in case. Thanking Danica and suggesting they might need to talk more later on about why her tavern was full of hidden passageways and doors, Sylvain followed her back into the kitchen, where she pulled together a surprisingly delicious concoction of wine, tea, and honey, sending Sylvain back to his friends to recuperate and wait out the night. Those who could sleep, slept. Others stayed awake a little longer, alone with their thoughts whether they wanted to be or not.
Report Date
19 Oct 2020
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