Cursed Challengers vs The Beast
Lets get right into it. Everyone fought bravely, with Cedric's scroll of Bless manifesting as a misty hand which steered the party's attacks into weak spots. Horace managed to keep the Beast dazed throughout the duration of its first form, but tragedy struck when he moved away from an undazed Beast and was struck down. With arrow and spell, Sylvar and Cedric felled the fleshy Beast. With bated breath, the players watched Horace's last death saving throw... And were horrified to see a third failure. Horace died suddenly and silently. Sylvar rushed to Horace's side, pleading with Cedric to do something. Somehow... Cedric was able to sacrifice a future personal resurrection to give Horace a chance to come back from the dead. While this was happening, Horace found himself in an endless void. He felt the eyes of a dark predator at his back, and was offered another chance to explore Barovia by a Dark Power. Horace was about to tell the Dark Power to get stuffed so he could get on with his afterlife, when a silver sliver of mist appeared in the darkness. Feeling a connection to Cedric and seeing a potential escape, Horace needed to out run the grasp of the Dark Power. It didn't look like he was going to make it, but at the last second the silver of mist formed into a hand and yanked Horace back to life.
The Beast is dead, Horace is alive, and the house is collapsing. Before the party exited the ritual chamber, Horace looked Cedric in the eye, saying "I don't owe you anything". The party ran into the spirit of Gustav Durst who pleaded for them to stay there and die. Intimidation failed, but Cedric succesfully leveraged Gustav's guilt and they passed by him unharmed. The party made it out of the Death House in one piece, and looked back on the dark and bottomless hole that swallowed the house and its sins. Exploring their surroundings, the party realized that they were now in the Durst Manor's home plane, Barovia. Finding refuge in a decrepit tower, the party laid all three of the Durst children to rest under the strange watchful gaze of four bats. The party then took a much deserved long rest.
Visions in the Mist
Heading out from the campsite, the party saw seven silhouettes in the mist. Silhouettes that... May or may not foreshadow things to come. Those silhouettes were; a hunched figure, a huge avian shadow, a dragon, dozens of tiny bird-like shadows, a tall slender figure with elegant feathered wings, a broad-shouldered figure with an axe and a swollen hand, and finally a cloaked man on a horse with a flaming mane. After passing through the Gates of Barovia, the group found the remains of a young man and his horse. Piecing together the evidence carved into a nearby tree, the party deduced the man died of exhaustion while riding the same path over and over in an attempt to escape. In addition to the 43 tally marks, Horace discovered the message "The Horseman Rides" and "The Seer Spoke True".
The Village of Barovia
As the party approached the village, a curious raven snatched a shiny pinky ring from Sylvar's trinket collection and led the party deeper into the village. Following the raven the party passed by a large statue of a man in leather armor holding a sword. It bore a weather-worn plaque at its base which read "ISMARK ATONOVICH THE GREAT. Burgomaster of Barovia. Bane of Vampires. 618-662 BC". Retrieving the pinky ring from the steps of a tavern, the party entered the "Blood on the Vine". Inside was a very unenthusiastic bartender, three as of yet un-met women, and a hospitable man named Ismark Kolyanovich. Ismark paid for the party's drinks and apologized for the state of the village. He told the party they had entered the land of Barovia, a realm surrounded by deadly fog and ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, a powerful vampire who slumbered in Castle Ravenloft until recently. He also explained that the village is recovering from a failed revolt and subsequent siege.
The local priest's son, a young man named Doru had led a group of villagers to Castle Ravenloft in an attempt to kill Count von Zarovich. None of them returned. Strahd's right hand, a dusk elf named Radahn, delivered a message that the people of the village had 90 days to make peace with their gods. Some people fled, but most remained to defend their homes. Two weeks ago, Strahd made good on his threat. A horde of undead flooded the village, with the villagers fending them off for a nightmarish week. The siege ended after Ismark's father died in battle, joining the dozens of casualties. For the past week, Ismark has been organizing search parties to track down missing villagers who fled into the Svalich Woods. As he explained this, a woman named Mary burst into the tavern, apologizing for interupting the burgomaster and his guests. Ismark calmly corrected Mary, saying he had not yet been elected to replace his father. Mary said that she couldn't find her daughter Gertruda anywhere and she feared that she had gone to the castle. With a grim face Ismark told Mary not to worry and that a search party would be formed as soon as the last person from the previous search party returned. One villager spat and snarled "Ismark the Lesser". Ismark grimaced, but did not comment at the insult. As he escorted Mary back to her house, Ismark informed that the party they were welcome at his home, as there are no rooms for rent at the Blood on the Vine. Cedric said they'd explore the village and speak with Ismark later.
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