Days 4–6: Journey to Vallaki
General Summary
Day 4 (Призрачнаялуна 8, 735/?)
Journey to Vallaki. Our heroes fight a revenant and learn about the Order of the Silver Dragon. Osrin's third nightmare; she makes a deal with Sykane. Bodaway's first nightmare. Our heroes fight Strahd for the first time, lose Doru, almost all die. Ayduin is good at everything.Day 5 (Призрачнаялуна 9, 735/Mirtul 23, 1492 or later)
Journey to Vallaki. Our heroes press on, fight over a windmill, use friendly fire Charm Person. Osrin receives messages from Cal and finds out they've been gone a lot longer than they thought they were. Bodaway passes on a message for El'zai through Osrin. Bats! Zombies! Ayduin sees his own dead body for the second time! Our heroes collapse in exhaustion and hope nothing kills them in the night. Ri-An and Ayduin both dream for the first time.Day 6 (Призрачнаялуна 10, 735/?)
Journey to Vallaki. Our heroes get word back from Cal, who says she found Grik Jakkenstone for Bodaway's message. They run into some familiar Vistani friends and adopt a stray noble. Sylvain develops a Thing about Wolves. The party makes it to Vallaki, gets interrogated and logged, makes it to the Blue Water Inn. Osrin duels Vasili and it's a lot harder than she thought it would be. Ireena pays up the party but they volunteer to keep hanging out with her anyway. Our heroes meet Rictavio, who delivers unwelcome news.Act 1, Scene 5: The Road to Vallaki: The Battle
The following morning, Sylvain was the first to rise. He noticed a Vistana skulking through the shadows of the camp, then realized Doru was also awake. The two made the best possible use of their time alone together in the pre-dawn hours: learning how to swear in Barovian while Ireena slept on, unaware of the terrible crime against good taste taking place in her midst. Osrin had nightmares for the second night in a row while Bodaway, having had a second helping of Granny's Extra Special Nighty Night Pies, had beautiful dreams that made it literally impossible to wake him up before he got his eight hours in, even when water was dumped on him. Sometimes when my cat wakes me up at 3 in the morning because she decides she doesn't like the food she has out and she wants fresh kibbles instead, I wish I had Granny's Extra Special Nighty Night Pies. While Bodaway dozed on, and after Ri-An made a recording of Doru cramming as many Barovian curse words as he could into six seconds, the group discussed their options for moving forward. They had three choices. The first, and fastest, would be to follow the Vistani's footpath along the river to the bottom of the canyon at Tser Falls, and scale its side to reach the bridge up top. The main issues with this were the matter of a 1,000-foot climb, how broken their bodies would be if they fell during that climb, and the fact that one of their number had no hands, while another had no feet. Though Doru volunteered to carry everyone up the canyon, our heroes were not jazzed at the idea of being carried up a 1,000-foot sheer canyon wall by a vampire they'd met the day before; weirdoes. The second option — and, despite everything just described, the one that was said to be the most dangerous — was to cut through the Svalich Woods until they hit the road again. This would save time compared to having to follow the road back to the crossroads and continuing on that way. However, as even the Vistani tend not to go into the Svalich Woods due to fear of the things that dwell there, it was suggested that if our heroes took this route, they would probably die. The third option, and the one that would take them the longest, was to retrace their steps back to the crossroads and carry on along the main road. It was also, however, likely the safest route open to them, with one stipulation: the longer they took to move forward, the greater the chance they'd end up spending two nights on the road to Vallaki rather than one. Still, after some discussion, the group agreed to take this slowest option, not eager to find out which of their number could survive a 1,000-foot drop or whatever lived in the Svalich Woods, and so they set out, with gifts of food for Ayduin and Bodawa from Atanasie and Manda, and a hat — less ostentatious than Lech's, but still a fine creation — for Ri-An, prompting Ri-An to wonder whether or not they were now betrothed to Lech. This prospect did not seem entirely unpleasant to them. Meanwhile, with Bodaway still fast asleep, the group began their journey with Doru carrying him bridal style. This was a startling way for him to wake up about an hour later. Not long after, they came to the crossroads again, relieved to see the gallows empty once more. However, that relief was quickly overridden by apprehension as they spotted an armoured figure by the gallows. A moment of tension stretched out before, suddenly, the figure let out a cry of rage and began running towards them. Our heroes got into position, the fighters moving forward to defend the rest of the group — and somewhat bewildered to see the figure run right past them, heedless of what blows it took in the process, as it charged straight for Doru, beginning to attack him with a vengeful fury. The rest of the group intervened to protect Doru, and only then did the creature direct some of its ire at our heroes, proclaiming itself a member of the Order of the Silver Dragon, calling them filth in league with darkness. When finally it fell, the group examined it in some more detail — Ayduin and Bodaway concluded that this was a revenant, and an unusual revenant at that, as most revenants could only prolong their lives to seek vengeance for a year at most, whereas by the state of this revenant's shell and armour, it had been kept alive for much longer. Noticing an emblem on the creature's sword — an elaborate "A" with a dragon curled around it — Sylvain took a rubbing of the symbol, and the group moved on, unsettled but largely unharmed. As they walked on, finding themselves once again surrounded by the Svalich Woods as the daylight waned and the road stretched forward ahead of them, Ayduin realized they were being followed, quietly alerting the rest of the group. As some of the party's allies were not as subtle as they could have been, the figure seemed to realize it had been made, and melted back into the shadows of the woods. Eventually, our heroes made camp, seeking shelter on higher ground where they'd be able to see anyone coming from the road or woods, and where they'd have a reasonable chance of seeing anything creeping down from the mountains. Making a small fire, they set up their watch for the night, with Bodaway tying Doru up then untying him again, prompting various lewd comments from the young vampire. While most of the party slept, Osrin once more found herself tortured by nightmares, as did Bodaway. For Osrin, however, her recurring nightmare took a strange turn, when a radiant figure intervened in the carnage and approached Osrin, offering her relief from the guilt and fear that plagued her. She introduced herself as Sykane, and said she wanted to help fight against the needless suffering that took place in Barovia. She could give Osrin the power to heal and protect her friends, if Osrin was willing to accept the gift. Though suspicious, Osrin agreed, and so the first deal was struck. Meanwhile, in the waking world, only Ayduin noticed the slow approach of the wolves that surrounded them, and even then he only noticed at the last possible moment. A fierce battle ensued, though the party quickly discovered that even a dozen wolves weren't much of a match for them. Aside from Sylvain being severely wounded at the start of the battle, our heroes were holding up well under the attack — right up until one of the wolves moved closer and showed itself to be rather different from its fellows. Upon making eye contact with this wolf, Ireena began to panic and back away, staring in horror. The first clue that most of our heroes had that anything was amiss was when they discovered how much more difficult it was to pierce this wolf's pelt, and how it seemed to immediately heal from any blows that did strike true, seeming to take no damage whatsoever. Ri-An was the first to feel the full might of this wolf's rage, as it leapt up and bit Ri-An until they fell unconscious, their natural armour blackened by the horrible power of the wolf's bite. Not long after, the wolf revealed itself: Strahd von Zarovich in the flesh, ready to take what was his. Swarms of rats erupted from the earth and began to attack the party, who fought with a new desperation, all of them far too aware of the threat in their midst. Our heroes found themselves suddenly bereft of an ally, as Strahd ordered Doru to attack Bodaway, and Doru discovered what he hadn't realized before: that Strahd's power over him was absolute, and that with an offhand remark, Strahd could force Doru to do whatever Strahd wanted, no matter how desperately Doru didn't want to carry out the order. The pain on Doru's face was easy for anyone to see, but he did as he was told, and began to attack Bodaway with all that he had. While Osrin and Ayduin took down the remaining wolves and rats, Ireena panicked on the ground, and Bodaway struggled to stay conscious through Doru's assault, Strahd turned his attention to Sylvain, lifting him up and draining him of life. Osrin began to fall to the rats' continued assault, before suddenly standing again, her eyes blazing with white-gold power, her form radiant and full of life. That might have gone very poorly for Strahd, if he hadn't charmed her a moment later and politely asked her to sit the rest of the fight out. In the end, it was Ireena who ended the fight, by holding her own rapier to her throat and telling Strahd in a shaking voice that if he didn't leave, she would kill herself. The moment that Strahd studied Ireena's face, gauging her resolve, stretched out longer than it should have, but at the end of it he nodded, ordering Doru to finish Bodaway off then follow him to Castle Ravenloft. So Strahd melted into the mists, Doru sank his teeth into Bodaway's neck one last time, then fled into the night after his master. With three of their number unconscious and fighting for life, another now forced into enmity with our heroes, another charmed by Strahd and barely conscious herself, those who remained up set up a watch for the rest of the night and waited for the grey dawn to come, praying all of them would live to see the next day.Act 1, Scene 6: The Road to Vallaki: The Marathon
Morning came, and one by one, our fallen heroes rose. Ireena tried to mend Ri-An's dress to mixed results; Ayduin swept in and casually made a masterpiece. While Ireena slept, the rest of the party discussed what had happened, and what they ought to do next. The fortunes Madam Eva had offered two nights before were discussed, and the party agreed it was worth keeping an eye out for the signs she'd given them, as any help they could get in defeating Strahd would likely be sorely needed. In particular, the revelation that the revenant they'd fought the day before was a member of the Order of the Silver Dragon seemed to fit with one of the clues they'd been given, and they agreed to pursue that lead at the first opportunity. For now, their priority had to be reaching Vallaki before nightfall. They'd been told it was possible to make it there with only one night on the road unprotected, and after the previous night's battle, all of them were eager to avoid a repeat performance, fearful it would be their last. So, once Ireena had woken from her rest, the group set off at a brisk pace, eager to see the walls of Vallaki and some prospect of safety. Sylvain and Bodaway discussed the unique chemical properties of Bodaway's blood, and Sylvain mused on the possibilities of weaponizing blood against vampires. The group crossed an old stone bridge over the precipitous drop to the rushing waters of Tser Falls and nothing threatened their lives in the process! They reached another crossroads and Ireena stomped off down one fork, grudgingly admitting that the other path led to Castle Ravenloft. Osrin fought the urge to take the road less travelled to go chill with her new bff. The group passed through the west gates of Barovia and tried to come to terms with their being a Barovia, a Barovia, and a Barovia. Our heroes noticed a wolf following them from a safe distance and decided to live and let live, so long as it didn't make any move to attack. For the first time, Osrin experienced the sublime joy of having a disaster cleric speak directly into your mind. Cal, who Osrin had known in her life before Barovia, was checking in to see if Osrin was alright. Over the next few hours, through scattered bits of conversation, Osrin learned that back in Faerûn, the group had been missing for over a month, rather than the matter of days that had passed for them. In return, Osrin passed on messages, particularly once she learned that Cal and her friends were nearing Baldur's Gate, where Bodaway had a contact. He asked that she find Grik Jakkenstone and pass on a message to El'zai, requesting information on Barovia and Strahd von Zarovich. Not long after the messages started to arrive, the group came upon a familiar but unwelcome sight: a decrepit windmill, looking very much like the rundown version of the windmill found all over the Death House, with the heavenly scent of Granny's Extra Special Nighty Night Pies drifting down the hill from it. An argument ensued, and while the group fully expected Bodaway to give in to his base pie-craving desires, no one anticipated Sylvain and Ireena suddenly arguing to approach after a sound that may or may not have been a child in distress was heard. A brief bit of friendly fire ensued, and the tide was turned when Ayduin charmed Sylvain, leaving Ireena outnumbered 5-1 on the issue of "hey, should we see if maybe there's a child in mortal danger who might need our help over there?". Ireena stomped off down the road, and Sylvain followed placidly, feeling super cool about the situation thanks to his best friend Ayduin. Not long after, the group found itself attacked by swarms of ats. Sylvain absolutely fucking wrecked the bats, mirroring Ayduin's wanton wolf destruction the night before. Then Sylvain tried to wreck Ayduin, having realized what Ayduin had done to him. The group pressed on, fighting exhaustion as they sought the gates of Vallaki and the promise of safety. Not long after the bats were dispatched, they found a corpse in the road — Ayduin's. It bore the marks of the worst of the wounds the group had suffered the night before, and appeared to have been rotting for some time. The moment it was disturbed, the illusion melted away, leaving only an old, inert skeleton. Ayduin confessed what he'd seen at the gallows two days before. The group accepted all of this as one more ridiculous shitty thing about Barovia, and pressed on. Less than an hour after that, the group found a smattering of zombies, and once again entered battle. Even Ireena got in on the action, though she nearly went down herself in the process, having found some of the Barovian monsters stupid enough to attack something Strahd wants kept safe. Ireena confessed that this was not the first time she'd dealt with zombies, as the village of Barovia is full of them. The group tried not to dwell too long on the implications of this, and pressed on. And pressed on. And pressed on. Finally, they came to a stop, having travelled several hours past their limits, with Ayduin and Ireena promptly passing out (give or take a little bush-vom first). Ri-An constructed a little shelter for Ayduin, and Sylvain and Osrin took first watch. Thankfully, the night passed without incident, and the group prepared for the (hopefully) final stretch of road to Vallaki.Act 1, Scene 7: Vallaki: Police State 101
Though several members of their group were still exhausted the next day, slowing their pace significantly, our heroes pressed on, eager to reach Vallaki and find whatever comforts the town had to offer. For some, that's baths. For others, brothels. Everybody's got their coping mechanisms, okay? Not long after they started travelling, they heard the sounds of approaching hoofbeats. For lack of any reasonable alternatives, they continued trudging on, deciding to deal with any company once they knew what kind of company was coming for them. Much to their surprise and relief, the familiar sight of a Vistani wagon came into view, with Atanasie and Rudolph at the helm. Greetings were exchanged and some of our heroes, admittedly, wanted to know why the hell they couldn't have hitched a ride the whole way there. Atanasie said he hadn't realized they'd be heading this way as of the day before, and pointed out the wagon was not large enough to bear such a large party, but offered a lift for those members who looked closer to death than the others. So Ireena and Ayduin hopped in, and friendly chatter was had. For the first time, our heroes began to get a clear sense of the position of the Vistani within Barovia, when Atanasie confessed that they were not going to Vallaki itself, and that it would be best for the party if they weren't seen with the Vistani by Vallaki's guards. When asked why, Atanasie said that Vistani were not welcome within Vallaki, and that given Vallaki's security procedures, it would be best if our heroes pretended to be as disgusted by the Vistani as the people of Vallaki are. Ri-An asked Manda if she'd heard Lech say anything about them, and Manda promised to find out what she could. Sylvain asked for spices for the party to season their food with, and received a bag with a little bit of every spice in the wagon mixed together, courtesy of Rudolph's complete lack of understanding of how spices work. And, not long after, the group came upon their latest crisis: a noble in distress, scrambling away from a pair of wolves, his rapier forgotten at his side. While some of our heroes rushed forward to save him, Sylvain dropped to the back of the group, finding himself suddenly overcome with fear, this being one crisis too many for him. Thankfully, his help wasn't needed, as after a couple of shots from his fellow adventurers, the wolves fled into the woods, well aware that the odds were now firmly against them. The noble stumbled to his feet, picking up his rapier and dusting off his clothes before introducing himself as Vasili von Holtz, a resident of Vallaki. When asked what he'd been doing out in the woods, he confessed ruefully to a bet made with some wolf hunters about how long he could survive outside the town's walls — a bet that he wasn't technically sure he'd lost just yet. When he realized where our heroes were headed, he delighted in the opportunity to escort them, and to introduce them to the wonders of his town, insisting that their dinner and drinks were on him tonight. Though somewhat suspicious of this newcomer, the party had little choice but to go along with him to the gates of Vallaki, while their Vistani friends peeled off from the road, headed to their camp southwest of the city. Upon reaching the gates of Vallaki, the group found themselves faced with a walled city, surrounded by towering wooden pillars sharpened into spikes. They were greeted by a pair of female guards with pikes, who demanded their names and business in Vallaki. While Vasili tried to smooth talk their way in, vouching for the group, the others began to get a clearer sense of the sort of town Vallaki was. The group was strongly advised not to speak, see, or hear evil while within Vallaki's walls, and were admitted into the inner gates for processing. There, they found their appearances, professions, names, and belongings meticulously catalogued, with all of them insisting that yes, their weapons did have to be on their persons in order for them to fulfil their business in Vallaki, thank you so much for asking. Sylvain put his Charisma bonus to good use by sassing the police state guards. One of the guards was openly grossed out by Bodaway's scarred face. The other was extremely tired re: how to catalogue a metal dog who can be used as but is not inherently a weapon. Finally, the group was let through, one thick tome of Vallakian law in their possession, and they made their way to the Blue Water Inn, where the promise of food, beds, and baths awaited. On the way, Osrin and Bodaway were both startled to notice a wagon bearing the logo of Corvus Nightfeather's Circus of Wonders on its side. They got to the Blue Water Inn, where they were welcomed by the friendly face of Urwin Martikov, one of the inn's owners, who immediately set them up with drinks and food — though Sylvain abstained when offered the option of wolf steak. Seated around a table with their new best friend Vasili, they settled in for an evening of relative safety, and tried to discuss next steps whenever Vasili wasn't at the table. Picking up on their (extremely subtle) hints, Vasili tossed enough money on the table to cover their latest round of drinks and excused himself. On his way out, he couldn't help but be tempted by a passing remark from Osrin, and he suggested perhaps before he went, they ought to have a little duel outside, so he could find out whether or not she really could lift that big weapon she carried around. Agreeing despite herself, Osrin followed Vasili out to the space in front of the inn, as he proudly announced that daring feats were about to be performed. Several of the patrons followed to see the show, as did Brom and Bray, the innkeepers' young sons, who did an abysmal job of hiding behind some adults to catch the forbidden fun. Our heroes found themselves somewhat surprised, given the circumstances under which they'd found him and his general demeanour, to discover Vasili von Holtz appeared to know how to wield his rapier after all. Indeed, it was quite clear to everyone watching that he could have won the duel, but held back, letting Osrin take the winning blow instead. Osrin was not at all impressed with this turn of events, though she still used her healing hands to seal up some of the wounds she seemed to have inflicted. Heading back inside, the group discussed their plans, now free of any too-close prying ears. Ireena declared the party's duty fulfilled, as she was now safely within the sanctuary of the Blue Water Inn in the safe haven of Vallaki, etc. etc., and deposited the bag of gold her brother had given her onto the table. Most of the party accepted, save Sylvain; Bodaway accepted Sylvain's share on his behalf, to keep the gold warm for him. Ireena noted that they were no longer under any obligation to saddle themselves with her; they suggested that perhaps they all ought to stick together for the moment; Ireena refrained from crying in relief. So the party drank some more, eventually making their way up to their rooms, passing out, relieved for the safety of walls around them. Of course, they weren't safe from their own minds or the things that can enter those minds — Bodaway suffered another night of ghoulish nightmares, while Ri-An and Ayduin dreamt for the second time. Ri-An got a crash course in magical medical theory, and Ayduin got all fucked up by a bereaved nymph. Sometime after midnight, a knock came at their doors, and a half-elf with patchy facial hair informed our heroes that they needed to talk. Osrin found herself distracted by intermittent little squeaks, the exact nature and source of which she couldn't quite identify. The half-elf introduced himself as Rictavio, the bard whose name is for sure not Ricardo, who they'd heard tell of from the proprietors, having the distinction of being the only other known outsider to Barovia within Vallaki's walls. Rictavio informed the group that they were all in grave danger, that Vallaki was not a safe place to be, and that they should move on as quickly as possible. When asked for more information, he confessed to being not just a bard but a spy, sent here by an organization whose name he couldn't disclose on an anonymous tip sent out into the wider world from Vallaki. Though he'd received the tip several months ago, he'd only succeeded in entering Barovia in the last couple of weeks, and couldn't say how he'd managed the thing. Furthermore, it seemed that the tip had been sent from Vallaki at least five years ago, from what he could discern. He warned our heroes that Vallaki was a political powderkeg ready to explode at the slightest provocation. The ever-smiling burgomaster and his mandatory festivals were pitted against his political rival, the Lady Wachter, who Rictavio didn't believe was any less dangerous than the man she'd pitted herself against. When the group protested that they'd just gotten to Vallaki escaping threats outside the town, and were in no shape to press on, Rictavio told them something they'd already begun to suspect: there was no reason why Strahd would not be able to enter Vallaki, so far as he'd been able to tell. The closest thing to a safe haven the town might be able to offer was St. Andral's Church, which he'd heard was hallowed ground, though he hadn't confirmed it himself. When asked why he'd reveal himself and this information to the group, Rictavio offered two motivations: first, that he knew that as outsiders they'd have no idea what they were walking into, and second, that he was doing everything he could to preserve the peace in Vallaki, and he feared what their arrival might do to that tentative balance. He warned them not to get involved in anyone's political plays, and said if they had to remain in the town beyond the next morning, to keep their heads down and try not to get involved. Finally, he bid them all good night, and our heroes, still exhausted from the trials of the last several days, fell back into uneasy rest.
Report Date
07 Sep 2020
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