Session Report 1

General Summary

Each of you was invited to a dinner feast by Duchess Morwen of Daggerfall as thanks for coming to the cities aid in a recent attack. Duchess Morwen claims each of you has a combat prowess that puts her city guard to shame. She asks for your help in once again making up for the deficiencies of her guards. You and the other fellows invited to the feast agree to the job after negotiating a payment of 10GP for each fellow. As you and this gang walk out of the gates you can spy a fire and a ring of three wagons a few dozen feet away. Sounds of joyful laughter mingled in with the twang of a lute or the bellowing bass of a vocalist.
As you get closer a tall and burly human male with deep black hair walks over and juts out his hand. “ The name is Stanimir and do not worry yourselves. We have no wish to make enemies of Lady Morwen. We knew the queen would send some stronger goons and we have no wish to fight burly men like you. Now I have a story to tell all of you but first, each of you tells me yours. I will listen to you, you will listen to me, and then I and my fellow Vistani shall leave at dawn. Does that sound alright to you all?"
Each of the individuals gives their nods or grunts of acceptance. Then one, by one, each brute sent to scare off these travelers explains or refuses to explain their story. All this storytelling makes the adventurers and travelers thirsty so many breaks for ale and food occur between each story.
By the end of the stories, Stanimir seems caught between laughter and sadness from listening to the horror and joy each of you holds.
Stanimir fills his mouth with wine, then spits into the fire. The flames turn from orange to green. As they dance and sway, a dark shape appears in the bonfire’s core. “We come from an ancient land whose name is long forgotten—a land of kings. Our enemies forced us from our homes, and now we wander the lost roads.”
The dark shape in the fire takes the form of a man being knocked from his horse, a spear piercing his side.
Stanimir continues. “One night, a wounded soldier staggered into our camp and collapsed. We nursed his terrible injury and quenched his thirst for wine. He survived. When we asked him who he was, he wouldn’t say. All he wanted was to return home, but we were deep in the land of his enemies. We took him as one of our own and followed him back toward his homeland. His enemies hunted him. They said he was a prince, yet we didn’t give him up, even when their assassins fell upon us like wolves.”
Deep in the bonfire, you see the dark figure standing with sword drawn, fighting off a host of shadowy shapes.
“This man of royal blood fought to protect us, as we protected him. We bore him safely to his home, and he thanked us. He said, ‘I owe you my life. Stay as long as you wish, leave when you choose and know that you will always be safe here.’”
The figure in the dancing fire vanquishes its final foe, then disperses in a cloud of smoke and embers.
Stanimir’s face becomes a somber mask. “A curse has befallen our noble prince, turning him into a tyrant. We alone have the power to leave his domain. We’ve traveled far and wide to find heroes such as yourselves to end our dread lord’s curse and put his troubled soul to rest. Our leader, Madam Eva, knows all. Will you return to Barovia with us and speak with her?”
The gang of individuals agrees yet before venturing out with the travelers they head back to get payment from the Duchess Morwen.
As the ruffians meet with the Duchess, they are told thanks but Daggerfall is in economic troubles and cannot afford to pay the ruffians. The ruffians push back and the Duchess capitulates, paying the individuals.
The next morning the ruffians set out with the travelers and ventured with these wagons for two days and two nights. Not too soon after departing on the first day the ruffians were already causing trouble as they lit and extinguished part of one of the wagons. The travelers seemed to mind little of the trouble and the wagons creaked on.
On the first night, a deep fog surrounded the party and the wagons as they slept. Carlos Manylives decided to sleep away from the party and climbed a tall tree to slumber in. The wagon party set off the next morning and traveled through the day with the drivers eating their lunch and breakfast as the horses drank their water during breaks. Eventually, the party settled down in a dense forest that allowed little moonlight to slip through.
When the ruffians awoke the next day, the fog had not dispersed yet the wagon party had as the ruffians could not find any evidence of them or a trail they left. The ruffians spent time searching around for the wagons but instead got lost themselves in the fog until stumbling into a clearing. The clearing turned out to be a trail that split the dense forest in half. On the ground not far from where the ruffians venture outlays a dead body with flies buzzing above.
A few of the ruffians inspect the body while another, Carlos Manylives, inspects the surrounding brush for trails of animals. He can make out abnormally large paw prints pushed deep in the mud which are signature characteristics of a dire wolf.
As the dire wolves prowl the edges of the woods they are spotted by the ruffians. The ruffians struggle to hit the hairy beasts as they weave between the thick trees yet the dire wolves struggle little at biting the guts of Russel the Crow and Hashhorn. With teamwork and compassion, the Ruffians were able to fell two of the five dire wolves, scaring the rest of the small pack back into the dense forest.

Report Date

09 May 2021