Session 22 report
General Summary
Heading out
As the party venture back to Vallaki it is well and truely night. The conversation turns towards what they are going to do with Izek's head. Fassi covers it in makeup to make it not look like Izek.While she is doing this the party discuss whether or not to hide Izek's head in Quill's disco ball but decide against it.
Kriz is holding Izek's battle axe, it has a big indent where Izek's hand used to grip the axe.
Kriz takes Izek's makeup covered head and puts it on his back covered by a cape. He then covers it with his shield.
Markadoo suggests possibly disguising the head as a criminal and then Markadoo can disguise himself as Izek
They decide that the head is an unnecessary risk and that Markadoo is not a good talker.
Markadoo still plans to disguise himself as Izek with the intent to look like he was injured in battle and can't speak.
The party then agree with this and scheme to make it look like they found Izek and are taking him to his room to recover.
With this plan firmly in mind they approach the town.
Vallaki gates
Markadoo transforms as planned as they approach the town gates.They reach the gates and a guard pops up.
Fassi: "Hello there, we need entry"
Guard: "I have been told not to let you into the city".
Fassi tells the guard that they helped Izek and that they have to help him to bed.
Guard looks at Izek "Is this true?"
A second guard pops up.
Markadoo (disguised as Izek) points to his throat and gurgles.
The second guard's eyes narrow.
G2: "we've been informed that you charmed one of us, also i'm not aware of any criminals having entered the city that needed to be chased out"
F: We aren't sure who they were, all I know is we saw Izek's flair and decided to help out. As for the charming I took a linking to that guard.
The guard isn't super convinced.
Markadoo as Izek tries his best to look impatient.
G2: Izek can come in, we have some questions for him. You can all wait out here.
One of the guards go down to open the gates.
Quill goes to walk in with Markadoo but the guard hold his hand up as if saying halt.
Markadoo rasping: Let me in your fools
G1: That's not Izek!
G2: Closes gate
G1: Izek told us you were trouble, I don't know why you are trying to pretend to be him but you are not welcome until we find out what happened to him.
Quill: You aren't Izek? Who did we save?
Quill goes to push Markadoo, and as she does her hand morphs through his arm.
Quill freaks out and commands the rest of the party to run from him.
The rest of the party run off into the the woods leaving Markadoo, who throws a hail mary.
M: Would you let me, Izek in if I do my classic Izek Jig?
the guards look at each other before calling for more guards.
M: thinks running into the woods is a bad idea since it's midnight and runs off down the road in another direction.
Kriz turns to go after M but Quill stops him and explains that the plan is to pretend they have no idea who the Izek imposter is.
M stops and surveys the road.
10 Guards come out of Vallaki, one of the guards points in M's direction and M takes off.
M makes it to a bridge and goes underneath it before lying down on the river bank and covering himself with mud.
In the meantime Quill jumps out from the woods.
Q: OMG thank god, we have no idea who that lunatic was we can help you track them down.
Fassi and Kriz emerge as well.
The guards agree and the party lead them.
Where in the world is Izek?
Quill: I think I see something up there! (She is attempting to lead the guards off track)
Two guards split off to follow her. Kriz follows too.
Another two split off to search the woods around Vallaki
Fassi does her best to distract the guards that branched off with Quill and Kriz.
Meanwhile Markadoo is just hiding in the mud still.
Kriz and Quill discuss if they can use the head for anything.
They are struggling to think of a plan and Quill asks Kriz if they should just run off.
They decide that yes they should. hahahaha.
Meanwhile Fassi is stuck talking to these two guards. Fassi apologises for the negative impression that she's made and asks the guards a little about themselves
The guards aren't used to anyone really caring about them so they happily engage in the conversation.
In the corner of her eye, Fassi sees Quill and Kriz abandoning her.
F then expresses that she is getting nervous in the woods at night and one of the guards walks back to the road with her.
The other stays and looks around puzzled at not being able to see K and Q. Meanwhile K and Q take the head out from where K was hiding it.
Q notices that F did an awesome job of the makeup and it looks nothing like Izek. It looks like a head beaten up beyond recognition.
Q puts the head on the ground and stamps on it in attempt to break the jaw.
Her foot just bounces straight off it.
Kriz steps up and stomps it, and the bottom jaw comes clean off.
Q: You weren't meant to stomp it that hard, Jesus christ! Back at the bridge, a couple of guards step down and begin to search under the bridge.
They both walk past Markadoo and don't see him.
It is very tense and cinematic. Back on the road, Fassi addresses the main party of guards.
F: We are sorry about what we've done to this town, but do you really think we will find anything tonight?
G: What do you mean what you've done to this town?
F: We've had this suspicion cast on us and put you out but really all i'm trying to say is there much more that can be done tonight?
G: I have my orders
F: Surely you'd like to see your wife.
G proudly: I am a town guard, I would love to be with my family but we have seen this Izek imposter, if it were not for him i'd be home with my family but i've been called to duty and I cannot abandon my post.
F: How can we regain your trust?
G: Helping us get this imposter is good, but we have been instructed not to let you in until we have found out what has happened to Izek.
F: Yes we have no idea who that was.
After seeing she will get nowhere with the conversation, Fassi says her goodbyes and flies into the sky to take watch. Meanwhile under the bridge, the guards don't see Markadoo so they climb back up.
M makes it sound like there is a bat in the air.
M turns invisible / disguises himself as Strahd then appears in front of the guards as Strahd. At the same time Q and K are re-emerging while trying to get their story straight.
The guard that was looking for them calls out to them.
Q: We saw a flash in the forest and we found the guy.
The guard does not believe Quill for a moment. (Q rolled nat 1 on deception)
G: Let me see that head, pass it to me.
Q notices guard does not believe her (Q rolled nat 20 on insight haha)
Q hand him the head and the guard examines it.
G: Who's head is this?
Q: Kriz now!
The guard reaches for his sword.
But before he gets a chance to draw, Quill stabs him through the throat.
Kriz drags the guard and the head back into the forest while Quill starts doing her best to clean the crime scene.
Fassi sees this happen and starts to fly down to distract the other guards.
Markadoo appears as Strahd and Fassi freaks out.
The guards turn to face him.
Fassi yells out "OMG STRAHD" so that the other guards will come over but also so Q and K know.
Then joins a group of Guards. In the meantime Kriz decapitates the guard that Quill and him killed.
Kriz strips the guard.
Kriz hears Fassi yell "STRAHD" and he freaks out a bit so he pops out of the woods carrying the naked headless corpse of the guard to see if Quill is ok. Markadoo as Strahd tells the guards that Izek has been disobedient and he has taken him away to teach him a lesson.
M warns them not to go in the woods tonight.
The guards ask for clarification as they are trying to find the Izek imposter.
M tells them to go about their business but that the woods are not safe.
The guards assure him that they will be fine as they are town Guards.
M bids them good day and walks off before freaking out a little and going invisible and walking into the woods. Fassi asks the guards what happens next.
The guards tell her that they aren't allowed to let them into town until they find out what happened to Izek but it appears that they have.
They tell her that the group is welcome back in the town.
The guards head back to town and Fassi goes to re-group with Quill and Kriz. Quill is finishing up cleaning the crime scene as Fassi reaches her.
Fassi is excited to sees them and lets them know that she solved the case.
Q: But we solved it? we have a plan!
F: Strahd has Izek
Q: I'm so confused? What do you mean Strahd has Izek? We killed him.
K walks out with a guard head, the uniform strewn over his shoulder.
K: Do we need to dress up as a guard?
F: No no, we are all fine
K: What do you mean
F: Fassi launches into an explaination
The party hears wolves and leg it back to the road.
Kriz dumps the guard's remains into the lake.
Markadoo has the same idea and the party soon regroup near the bridge. F asks M if he saw Strahd
M confirms that he did.
A pack of wolves converge on where Kriz threw the body.
The party approach the town and are now allowed in.
Reporting to Wachter
The party head to Lady Wachter'sFassi knocks on the door and their is no response.
Quill tries to climb in the windows and they are locked.
She then decides to look through the windows and investigate.
Nothing stands out as wrong. Quill climbs onto the roof and looks through a window.
Quill sees Lady wachter sleeping. She appears to be hugging a corpse.
Q: fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck
Climbs down as stealthy as possible.
Q: she's sleeping with a corpse guys...
F: OMG
M: sleeping sleeping?
Q: ...like snoozing but I have no idea what might go on at other times.
K: Shrugs, i'm carrying a head on my back
M: I've heard stories of when loved ones pass away that they sleep next to them once before they bury them.
Q: I don't think this was once... I think this corpse was dead dead for a dead while. I hope it's not some necropheliac shit because the corpse was defs dead but not decaying... Maybe we should have figured out more about these people before we helped them... who the hell rushed into the decision to kill Izek and support these people???
F: That's not fair Q, this seemed like a very good idea.
K: I mean she did promise us town ownership.
Q: I can't believe M signed us up for this.
M: Go back up there, knock on the window and let her know we have this head. The party full blown sqwabble over who should try to wake up Lady Wachter.
just as Q is saying "If she's sleeping with her dead corpse friend that's pretty fucking weird..."
The front door opens and out comes the maid.
Maid: Thank goodness it was you, I was coming out to see who was yelling outside
Q: We thought we were being quite
Maid: well you woke me up.
The party take turns apologising.
Maid: why are you out here yelling at this hour?
Q: We have come to tell LW that we have completed her task and didn't realise it was so late.
Maid: I recommend that you wait until the morning are you really going to make me wake her?
Q: I think she would be thrilled
Maid: I'll do it but i'll tell her you made me. The maid returns into the house and after some time comes back out and tells them to come in. They see LW sitting in the lounge in an extravagant night gown.
LW: To what do I owe the pleasure? Come gather around as my eyes are a bit blurry. You see, I was... sleeping.
The party gather
Kriz put Izek's head on the table
LW: What is that?
Q noticing it is still covered in makeup takes it and starts rubbing it.
LW is annoyed and is not amused by their "Prank"
Q continues to take the makeup off the head.
She finishes and passes LW the head, doing her best to re-attach the jaw.
LW looks at it and smiles: This is exactly what I asked for! Welcome to the book club.
The party press her for her plan.
LW tells them that tomorrow she plans to take the town.
As she finishes the servant re-appears with four cloaks and masks. LW states that once the burgomaster lights the fire she will have some book club members take him away. Who knows what will happen to him, but that will happen behind the scenes. The details don't matter as that will be out of sight out of mind but she will make a big speech.
K: Can you take care of his son too?
LW: Don't worry, that whole family will be taken care of.
K: how do we not get caught in the cross fire
LW: You can do whatever you wish, you don't even need to be there as you have already delivered. But if you wish you can be my eyes and ears in case anything goes wrong.
K: We have our own interest in the burgomaster's mansion as long as we have access to that we will be fine.
LW: Don't worry, I will be the burgomaster come tomorrow.
K: Perfect, wait didn't you promise us town ownership?
LW: of course do you have any requests?
L: Perhaps a shop we can open up?
LW: Of course
Q: And you did mention that we would be able to influence the town and the way it is run?
LW: You are in my book club, you are in my inner circle. Of course you can.
K: What are your plans for the church?
LW: I feel father Lucian will be stubburn. Don't worry, leave that to me i'm sure we can change his perspective.
F: We want to release people from their smiling prison
LW: Malicious unhappiness is bull shit, you'll be able to frown without consequence.
F: Great, let's see what the new world looks like tomorrow
LW: Indeed.
Blue water inn
The party go back to the Inn after a VERY long day. Quill high fives everyone: Guys we did such a good job.The party discuss that it felt like the day has lasted five months. They chuckle over the fact that they really did not do their research on Lady Wachter. They reason that it should be fine and if it isn't they'll deal with it. They reason that they should probably let Danika know what is happening.
They walk into the pub and greet danika She thanks them again for the seed.
They exchange pleasantries as she pours them drinks, Markadoo slides Quill a Milk down the length of the bar. The party go with Danika into the back room.
Urwin is there. Fassi Informs Danika that Izek is missing and that tomorrow there will be a new burgomaster.
Danika frowns for a few moments before smiling and exclaiming "oh my god that felt so good!"
D: This is not the first time this has happened and it won't be the last.
F: So glad you get to frown again
Danika high fives Urwin before asking who the new burgomaster will be.
D: No wait, I want it to be a surprise. Anything would be better than our current one.
F: This could all just be rumours anyway
D: This is interesting we haven't heard anything about this through our network
F: Maybe you should recruit us? Danika makes them all recruits of the keepers of the feather.
K: you mentioned that this isn't the first time? How did the current burgomaster get into power
D: Let's just say the previous one didn't pay his taxes and was made an example of.
They confirm this happened around a year ago.
Q: Do you have any guesses as to who the new burgomaster might be?
D: As a wildcard I would love for it to Blinsky
Q: any other guesses
D: I used to guess, I used to have hope but I realise things will happen whether I want them to or not.
Q: You believe in fate?
D: We are it it's whims and really by fate we are talking about Strahd.
Q: I've seen people walking around in bird masks, do you know what they're about?
D: Wereravens?
Q: No, here's a picture
D: This means nothing to me, where have you seen these?
F:... these are festival clothes aren't they?
D: Not that I know of... It would be nice to have a bird festival. Quill is concerned that as a spy network they don't know much. After that the party go to sleep.
Report Date
08 Apr 2024
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