Session 6: A Blue Friend

General Summary

A Grim Daydream and a New Friend

Strahd's words lingered in the party's ears. "My friends and I shall see you again. Perhaps, very soon." The group took some time to ponder what Strahd meant by 'his friends'. Ireena thought that the immediate meaning was the dire wolves that appeared with Strahd, but also that Strahd is rumored to have spies amongst vermin such as bats and rats. Ireena hesitently added that some Vistani have also been known to act as spies for Strahd. Not as many Vistani as the average Barovian thinks are actually spies, but that doesn't change the fact that some are. And the carriage tracks seemed to confirm this possibility, as they led back to the Tser Pool Encampment. Ireena did think it was worth it to visit Madam Eva, but understood if the party wanted to avoid it. After some discussion, the party did agree it was worth it to see what Madam Eva had to say and continued on to the Tser Pool. On the way, Horace was suprised to see a roadside gallows and even more suprised to see, just for a moment, his own corpse hanging from the gibbet. No one else seemed to see anything though, so Horace kept his mouth shut. Before they could arrive at the Tser Pool, the same raven from the Village of Barovia crash landed at Sylvar's feet. It was riddled with silver barbs and barely alive. Horace was able to spot the source of the barbs, an artifical hunter bird called a strix. Intuiting that the strix's attention would be devoted to the raven, Horace told Sylvar to leave it and hide. But where Horace saw a problem to be avoided, Sylvar saw a small winged creature that had stolen something from them. For a few seconds, it wasn't a raven. It was Sylvar's best friend Pas. Sylvar was caught between keeping the party safe and keeping a tiny, helpless creature safe. They apologized, saying they had to save the raven. Cedric saw a way to compromise, and muttered to Sylvar to conceal the raven as best they could. In a flash, Sylvar had expertly hidden the bird in their cloak and Cedric had conjured an illusionary replacement. As the Strix approached its target, Cedric animated the illusion flying off into the forest and the party ran away from the Strix to the Tser Pool Encampment. Sylvar was able to remove the silver barbs, but at the cost of the raven's consiousness. However, when Sylvar rushed to apply bandages to the raven's wounds, they found bandages were unnecessary. The raven's wounds had healed in a matter of seconds. The newly named Bluey would regain consciousness as the party entered the Vistani encampment.

Prophecies and Stories

The party was warmly welcomed at the encampment by a Vistani who identified himself as Stanimir, and although he didn't deny Strahd had visted the encampment, he also refused to say much about Strahd's visit. Madam Eva was even more prescient than Strahd, greeting the party by their full names. Madam Eva seemed pleased to see Sylvar taking care of a raven, saying that she herself once had a pet raven named Turul long ago. "I have only seen him once these past ten years, however. Doubtless he has gone wild without me." She then proceeded to read the party's fortune. (See Tarokka Reading for those details, dear reader!) Once she finished, she told the group that they had the potential to bring down Strahd and bring back sunlight to Barovia. Rattled once more, the party left the tent and met two more Vistani. Eliza and Arturi. Eliza was much more outgoing, asking questions of the party while Arturi hung back. Stanimir invited everyone to play a game around the fire. Arturi mentioned it had been some time since he shared a Vistani fire as everyone circled around the bonfire. Stories were shared by Stanimir, Cedric, Eliza, Arturi, and Ireena. (See Letters, Stories, and Journals for those) Cedric would be the one to correctly guess which stories were true or false, and won a manuscript authored by Dr. van Richten, as well as some other trinkets. As the party said their goodbyes, Madam Eva emerged from her tent with a pouch of gold. She said, since the party was headed to Vallaki anyway, would they buy a toy for her grand-niece Arabelle? Blinksy Toys is her favorite.

A Brace of Skeletal Encounters and a Pastry Pushing Granny

The party left the warm glow of the Vistani campfire and returned to the Old Svalich Road. The journey back to the River Ivlis Crossroads wasn't taxing, but it did eat up valuable daylight (even if that daylight couldn't be seen properly). And they weren't the only people traveling the Crossroads. A skeletal rider on a skeletal warhorse, whose tattered clothing matched that of the corpse outside the Barovian Village. It appears that Madam Eva's prediction that "The Horseman Rides" extended beyond death. The rider paid no attention to the party however, and galloped off down the Svalich Road. That would not be the last undead that the party would come across before coming to Barovia. As they approached the bridge at Tser Falls, our heroes spotted an armored skeleton standing sentinel at the middle of the bridge. The skeleton claimed to be a knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon and asked if they served Strahd. Not wanting to attract any sort of attention, the party stated no allegiance or emnity toward the Lord of the land. The Skeletal Revenant was unsatisfied with their neutral answer, but did not bar passage though and mearly watched the players leave through dispassionate eyes. Or at least he would have, if he had any eyes!

By 5 o clock, the party had made it to the old mill on their map. Cedric remembered the Vistani warning and recomended keeping a safe distance. They also came across an ancient stone slab, some distance from the mill, standing just under six feet in height. It was decorated with a carving of a raven over an engraved three-pointed star. Ireena identified it as an ancient monument to the Seeker, and the three-pointed star is the symbol of the Ladies Three. Ireena didn't know much about the Ladies Three, only that they were ancient goddesses whose worship has long since faded from the valley. The party continued to travel along the Old Svalich Road. Coming from the direction of Vallaki, the party came across an old woman. She said is a peddler who sells baked wares to the good people of Barovia. She has just returned from a day selling pasteries to the townsfolk of Vallaki and "those poor hungry dears camped outside the gates". Ireena asked if they were the Barovians who had fled their village. The old woman Morgantha confirmed this, and added that the Burgomaster of Vallaki had barred the refugees from entering the city. The granny thought that the party looked gaunt and hungry and gave them each a free dream pastry. She said they were "filled with the light and love of dreaming" and best eaten after a warm meal and washed down with some wine. Pastries pushed, Morgantha made her way to her home, the old mill up the hill. As she departed, she warned the players that the guards at the Vallaki gates are confiscating silver coins and visable silver items from travelers as a tax.

Ireena's Dream Lake

Two miles away from Vallaki and the safety of its walls, Ireena asked to make a suprising detour. She was drawn to the shores of Lake Zarovich. With some trepidation, Ireena remarked that this was the lake from her dreams. (See Ireena's Story) She was certain, however, that she had never visted this lake with Ismark and her father, Kolyan. She was uncertain of the implications, but shook herself out of it when reminded of the Barovians outside the gates. The party inched ever closer to Vallaki but Sylvar was uneasy. They had been hearing an increased amount of rustling from the underbrush flanking the road. And in a heartbeat, their suspicions were confirmed when a pack of wolves lunged from the underbrush and ambushed the party. Horace readied his quarterstaff, Sylvar knocked an arrow, Ireena drew her rapier, and Cedric gathered the mist around him to form his armor. Initiative was rolled and that's where we'll pick up next time, Dear Players.

Report Date

18 Oct 2023