#12: The Bones of What We Believe
General Summary
Our Heroes — sans Übel Bachmann — were taken by carriage to Wachter Manor by Vasili von Holtz, where they were greeted by Fiona Wachter and Nikolai Wachter Jnr., who was heavily armed. Nikolai left the manor, whilst Fiona had a doktor see to their wounds, and questioned them on the situation beyond the walls. She stated that she was already working on a way of allowing Baron Vargas Vallakovich to save face for attacking young noble women (by using Izek Strazni as a scapegoat), and insisted that "All will be well," seemingly in mimicry of the Baron's words.
Outside, Übel Bachmann followed the young man who she overheard Henrik van der Voort blackmailing for the Bones of Saint Andral, and cornered him in an alleyway. There, she discovered the young man was Victor Vallakovich, son and heir of the Baron. Victor spilled the whole story under threat, saying that he had discovered a book on Necromancy whilst perusing the rarer books at Strahd von Zarovich University, and that he had hatched a plan to "Save Vallaki, save Barovia" from the "Devil Strahd von Zarovich." He hired Henrik van der Voort to steal the Bones from the Church of St. Andral, and he then intended to ressurect the Saint to protect the County of Barovia (reasoning that Saint Andral was a fierce opponent of King Barov von Zarovich, so would likely oppose his tyrannical son Strahd as well). Henrik, however, renegged on their deal, and has been blackmailing him since. He has had to steal books from the University to pay for the Bones to be delivered. Übel robbed the young man, taking a pouch of coins, and a small bone inscribed with an unknown text.
After ambushing Victor Vallakovich, Übel Bachmann was intercepted on her way back to Wachter Manor by a Shapeshifter in the form of a Raven. It could talk, and instructed her to enter the Manor calmly, afterwards it would explain more to her once inside. Once reuninted and in their apartments in the Manor, Urwin Martikov revealed himself out of his Raven-form, and explained the position of the Martikov Family, saying that they had been resisting Strahd von Zarovich from even before he was a Vampire and the coming of the Mists, but that at some point their family had become cursed or gifted (depending on one's outlook) to be Shapeshifters. Not all of their bloodline have the ability, but those who do can only transform into a Raven, a Rat, or a hybrid of the two. The Family have been working as spies and insurgents against Strahd ever since, though they are too few in number, and too weak to fight him directly. Urwin said he knew of Kira Bachmann, the progenitor of the Bachmann Clan, and that their families had worked together before. He then offered Übel a role as a hired killer for the Family, and gave her a tattoo through which they could communicate.
Übel Bachmann then proceeded to have a nightmare, where she was flying over a beautiful bright forested valley, which appeared much like the County of Barovia but perhaps a long time ago. She flew towards the western side, and when she neared a large hill she dipped into the canopy of some trees, and was caught by a horrific looking woman who went to eat her, but was in turn eaten by rats. She awoke in a cold sweat.
Mina Barovonna spent the evening writing letters to Waltar Ivanovich, the senior editor at the Vallaki Gazette, and Vasha Nimirova, the owner of a printing house in town. The letter detailed the Heroes' ordeal at the hands of Izek Strazni, and in general denouncing the chaos that unfolded at the Wolfs' Head Jamboree earlier that day.
The following morning, Soryn d'Nemishcata went with Stella Wachter to the library in Wachter Manor, and found several books which dealt with local history, phenomena, and esoteric concerns. From these books — specifically the Bones of the Earth and Once, Ladies Three — she learned that the original Elven inhabitants of the region known as the Zori had four megalithic sites which bound them to the land, and to the Archfey who protected it. However, these Archfey were "betrayed" in some way by a "Wanderer," and cursed to become flesh and blood. She also perused, but did not manage to plumb the depths of, several other books including: The Wild Forests and the Ordered Fields, A Barovian Botanical, Starful Skies, Comparative Bibliographies and the Origins of the People of Barovia, and Heraldry of Barovia.
Mina Barovonna attempted to find Vasili von Holtz, but it appeared he was not answering his door. As she was walking away, Fiona Wachter exited her bedroom, and through the door Mina briefly saw a stack of more books on her personal desk, as well as the shape of someone laying down in her bed (though she couldn't make out who it was). Mina and Fiona went outside to have breakfast together. However, Mina made a faux pas by mentioning the additional books, and Fiona threatened "politely" but clearly not to go snooping on other people's business.
Übel Bachmann spoke with Nikolai Wachter Jnr., who attempted to cozy up to her and scheme about something related to Mina Barovonna's ambitions, but Übel was unreceptive. However, with Mina and Nikolai's help, Übel managed to get Nikolai Wachter Snr.'s old dueling buckler.
Soryn d'Nemishcata went upstairs, hoping to find a way to get her packs and distract Stella Wachter so she could do some automatic writing in the library, but instead she encountered the spirit of Nikolai Wachter Snr., who didn't seem to realise he was dead. At first, he mistook Soryn for a doxie of Karl Wachter, but she explained she was the cousin of his niece, Mina Barovonna by way of Nikolai's brother, Jannik Wachter. The spirit seemed to not know his brother had a daughter, and began to react violently, before Soryn was able to distract him. He then resumed his march downstairs, and Soryn was able to observe the shape of the key he used to open and close the locked doors in the house. She also saw him apparently attempt to activate and then step through a secret door in the library.
Outside, the Heroes conspired to create a copy of the Wachter Manor key from Soryn d'Nemishcata's sketch, using a file Übel Bachmann stole from the garden shed. Under the cover of music played by Mina Barovonna, Soryn attempted to test the stolen spoon she had filed down on Vasili von Holtz's door, but whilst the key turned in the lock, it broke it in the process, and was jammed in place. Soryn bent the spoon-key down so it was less obvious, and at the sounds of footsteps launched herself into the now-open room. The room was empty and cold, as if no one had been in there for days, and she hid in the closet. Within, she found a single set of clothes matching what Vasili was wearing the previous day, and upon reading the psychic impression on the jacket, she saw the face of Strahd von Zarovich, and sensed a strong emotion of envy.
The footsteps outside stopped near to the door, but then seemed to leave, and shortly afterwards Übel Bachmann arrived and managed to cut the excess of the spoon-key free (though left it embedded inside, as she couldn't risk the noise of removing it properly). She found Soryn d'Nemishcata, and the two fled, but not before Übel managed to prop the door closed with a wedge underneath.
Report Date
13 Feb 2025
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