Talking with the Abbot
General Summary
Excerpt from Seir’s Little Black Book (Session 1/7/20): Penned in Borokin’s hand, via dictation
Letho noted that Strahd’s potential wife is actually covered in stitches, with some make-up covering them. I wonder if the vampire will notice them. Thoradin, you, and Letho combined have been able to decipher some of the scrolls Thordin had found a while ago. Bless, protection from poison, and a third one that’s hard to understand. It seemed to be a bit out of their pay-grade in terms of sacred religious texts. The abbot offered all of us dinner, and as we were getting ready he discussed the wedding dress. He said that we would need to go to Villacki to get the necessary materials. Khaylen asked the priest to heal me before we got the dress. However, he refused, saying it would take too long (about a week and a half?) to perform the ritual. Apparently, we need the dress within a few weeks as Strahd was visiting soon. When we were bringing out the wine, the violin music from the upper floor stopped. There was a crash, then some bumbling footsteps. A small man came down the stairs, one with what appeared to be a crab claw, a bear’s foot, and two (??????) heads, one adult and one baby?As he came down the stairs, a bottle of purple grape mash rolled out from under his simple monks’ robes. Letho volunteered you to help serve the meal, and you agreed. I felt a little nervous seeing you walk off towards Otto, but you gave him what sounded like a genuine compliment and he seemed to like you all right. O checked out the windows as we sat down to eat. She snuck outside as people set the table and wandered around the graveyard right outside the door. It seemed to be made up of the abbey’s old previous inhabitants, before Strahd or the current abbot. One of the graves had a sun-shaped indentation on it, with the name Petrovna carved into it. Khaylen sat at the head of the table, and I plopped down as close as I could to the strange, half-corpse lady, wondering how we could. The abbot produced a huge pot full of stew, some of which was mixed with some slop Otto and you brought in with a bucket to be fed to the abbeys’ inhabitants outside. The stew was actually quite delicious. As we were eating, another woman joined us at the table, this one actually looking to be mostly human. She was a vistana, with a strange, dragging gait and a fancy blade. As she got closer, I realized that she had an ornately-carved wooden leg. Khaylen says she looks a lot more battle-ready than the average vistani. O, sitting next to her, gave her a rather adoring glance. The abbot introduced her as Ezmerelda, and said that she was also willing to help deliver Vasilka to Strahd. However, Zin claims that she responding with some hostility to his words. The abbot said that the woman has permission from Strahd to enter and exit this land. Apparently, she has come here willingly to help Strahd with his plight. She kicked her seat back in response and rested her foot on the edge of the table, receiving a slight glance of disapproval from the abbot. Khaylen asked the woman about what caravans she’s traveled with. She said she hadn’t traveled in a while, but had a family name of d’Avenir. Apparently, her whole family has passed. The abbot began his prayer to the morning lord. Letho said that he had heard some of the prayer before, apparently some words were shared between their two religious sects. Apparently, however, it seemed like he was speaking in multiple tones, possibly multiple words at the same time. I have no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed convinced that such a task was possible. He says some of the words sounded to be similar to his scriptures, supposedly said directly by angels to his people. However, he couldn’t translate them. The stew was a mix of rabbit and root vegetables. A giant cacophony of noises came in from the courtyard, and you re-entered the dining room with a rather nervous look on your face. Okay, after this something rather amusing happened. Letho apparently wanted to speak to you without the abbot understanding, so he said a few words in draconic. The abbot seemed to respond to the draconic, but he might have also thought you were coughing. The abbot asked about what we have seen in Barovia. We brought up the big lake that’s nearby, to the east, with a watchtower near it. He said the lake was named Baratok, but didn’t have much else useful information about it. The lake was named after Strahd’s father (evidently much in the valley is named after Strahd’s parents). The tower belonged to an archwizard Khazan, one who helped Strahd raise sections of his castle and engineer its insides. Perhaps it would be an interesting place to check out if we need some info on Strahd’s castle, though I don’t really wish to go there. Apparently, the wizard is dead now, as he sought everlasting light through magic instead of faith. He was a lich, but died permanently through some magical errors. As far as the abbot knows, the tower is abandoned but heavily trapped. Khaylen and the man talked through their plain to lie to the baron while I held my tongue. The thought of lying to the man that tried his best to help us pricked my scalp, but I suppose he made the choice to lie to us first. We decided to sleep overnight in the abbey. The abbot said that there weren’t any beds, but agreed to let us stay elsewhere. We chatted about where to go to buy the wedding dress, and Letho pointed out the woman who made our masks in Barovia. However, as we were trying to have a civilized conversation, Zin, Kyalen, Ezmerelda, Clovin, and O tried to have a burping competition. Zin produced a noise so impressive the vistani patted his head and gave him some further instruction, to O’s obvious jealousy. Thoradin asked if Letho would become a Lich. The abbot said not, but that he would become a “black hole of darkness that gathers in all around you and devours all around it.” Letho, once again, seemed rather unconcerned. Khaylen pointed out that she was all right with Letho wanting power and dying early, she didn’t want him to murder all of us, some logic I very much agree with. At some point, we began discussing the order of the Mystic Lake. Letho and Khaylen got into an argument. Letho said that he feels like he has nothing to live for, and wants to understand the source of the darkness. Insults were tossed around about the mystic lake. Around this point, you say that Thoradin got out his crossbow and seemed to be holding it under the table at Letho? Letho brought up the good point that, despite the nature of this dark, evil, creature, it did bring us back to life. O and Zin noticed, as the conversation was going on, Ezmerelda began trying to distract people away. The abbot seemed to be looking between Borokin and Letho, strangely. The silver order of the lady of the mystic lake once had its home in Barovia, apparently. The abbot revealed that, perhaps, the issues the order is currently facing can be… fixed. That means you might be able to be saved! Apologies, scratch that out. That wasn’t terribly professional. But I can’t help but think- this could give Letho something to build his life around instead of a murderous rampage, and let you actually live a long, full life Doesn’t that sound wonderful? I know that you haven’t even imagined what it’s like to live longer, but, trust me, living can be pretty wonderful. The order locally fell some time ago, as some people tried to exterminate them. They made it to the doorsteps of the area, and killed whoever they could. However, when they got to the lady herself, she sacrificed herself, casting a spell that routed the invaders. However, despite the action of self-sacrifice, she is still alive in some form. However, those order members in Barovia tried to bring the lady and the lost cultists through necromancy, killing many and causing the order to fall to a horrible curse. Letho fell back, stunned. There was some silence around the table, then Khaylen broke the silence by asking the vistani if she had met Madam Eva. She said that she had done so, and she had been given the gift of something called the “sight”. Apparently it is some skill that manifests in many different ways, that allows one to see future possibilities. Apparently, this art is practiced using cards. Madam Eva is a famous seer. Apparently, one can only be born with the sight, and they must be a vistani to get it. How… disappointing. Ezmerelda got up and left the table. O’s mood noticeably hit a downturn upon the woman’s disappearance. #TODO: Ask Ezmerelda about how she gained the ability to freely enter and leave Barovia #TODO: Figure out how to bring back the order of the mystic lake. #INFO SEIR DOESN’T HAVE: As Ezmerelda left, she put two cards in Thoradin’s lap, one “the seer” and one “the avenger”.
Report Date
08 Nov 2022
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