Session 26 Report: Westward to Wine Country

General Summary

Barros finished up his discussion with Urwin, confirming the final details of the arrangement. The Investigation Club would discover what had happened to the last shipment of wine from The Wizard of Wines Winery, in exchange Urwin would provide them with free room and board while they stayed in Vallaki along with an additional 50 gold, the price of the barrel, if they can resolve the situation.   Following this, the party went back upstairs to speak with Esther El Drago. Red used his secret knock of just 4 knocks and Esther opened the door to let them in, locking it behind them. The Club told her about Millivoj's involvement in stealing St Andral's bones, mentioning a vampire named Ludmilla was involved in some way. Esther confirmed that Ludmilla appears to be one of Strahd's consorts and that they were lucky to have survived. She shared some suspicions of her own, mostly around how Vallaki could possibly have stayed safe all this time with just a wall surrounding it, and how all of a sudden a number of vampire spawn and a consort of Strahd himself had made it into the city undetected. The Club also asked whether a vampire can make someone into a cat. Esther looked quizzically at Tavani, prompting the group to quickly clarify they meant to cause someone to believe they were a cat, referring to Stella Wachter. Closing out the conversation, Esther mentioned that she'd be heading back to a stronghold of hers, an abandoned tower in Wolfrun, after the upcoming Festival of the Blazing Sun.   That night Wraithbane  found themselves in a lucid dream, in some kind of humanoid form holding themselves as a blade, in a dark expanse with a single door. Opening the door, they found a slumped human form that upon getting closer revealed itself to be Sergei. Sergei described how he'd been coming to over the last few weeks and found the sensation interesting, experiencing some of what was going on as a passenger in his own body. Wraithbane was quick to cut off any misunderstanding that the body was still his to control, saying only that they may relinquish control once they've achieved their goal.

Once my goal is complete maybe. Your job is to help me now.

— Wraithbane

Suddenly, Wraithbane looked down to find a sword pierced through their torso, blood gushing out. They dropped the sword, everything went dark, and they woke up in a cold sweat.   The next morning, the Club started to make plans on what to do next, Wraithbane being particularly grumpy and short with the others. On the way out of the Blue Water Inn, they ran into their acquaintance Vasilli and Ireena having breakfast together, seemingly engrossed in each other's conversation. They stopped by to say hello and that they'd be heading out West for some time. Hearing this, Vasilli asked if they could keep an eye out for a local merchant named Zhenya Romanov with her carriage and retinue of guards. She had been traveling toward Krezk to confirm some new trading arrangements, but should have been back by now. Vasilli asked the group if they could determine her whereabouts and if she was otherwise indisposed, to see about returning a ledger in her possession that he needed for his tax work. He described her as a medium height human woman with short black hair, also pointing out that one of the guards she was traveling with was particularly well outfitted in a newer looking set of armor that he was particularly proud of and prone to show off. For returning the ledger, he offered the party 50-75 gold depending on their expediency.   The group spend down 70 gold of their retainer from Baron Vallakovich on supplies for the road then headed for the western gate. As they left, they bribed the guard to keep an eye out for a "cat lady", ie. Tavani, and let her know they had set out West. On the road, Wraithbane didn't go into the details of their dream, but they did let Barros and Red know they were concerned their hold on Sergei is slipping. They agreed that if that time ever came that Wraithbane's grip started slipping, they would manacle the body and keep it restrained.   After a handful of hours of travel, the group came upon a fork in the road and a devastated carriage strewn with several bodies. The inspected the scene briefly and were able to identify Romanov and her guard with the shiny armor as two of the bodies, just before being ambushed by another set of plant creatures. A battle ensued and the party made quick work of the humanoid plants, but not before Barros received a painful shot to the hand by one of their thorn-like projectiles. Similar to the ones they fought on the road to Vallaki, these also seemed to bleed red blood.   Once things had cooled down a bit, they took some time to recover and identify the magic-seeming armor the guard was wearing. They discovered the half-plate had an aura of evocation and that it could fire shocking bolts from its hands multiple times per day. Unfortunately, as the party continued to investigate the area, it seemed like the guard wasn't able to make much use of it. They didn't see any signs of other plant creatures having ambushed the caravan, but rather some definitive signs of lupine-like bite and claw marks as well as some brief tracks trailing off into the woods before the trail disappears. On the carriage, the Club found a lockbox containing what appeared to be the ledger Vasilli was looking for. Red also collected some plate armor and two chain shirts from the bodies to recycle into his own metal-working.   Since Tavani had not yet caught up with them and since the evening was approaching, the group decided to pause for the night and set up camp.

Character(s) interacted with

• Urwin Martikov
• Esther El Drago
• Vasilli von Holtz
• Ireena Kolyana