Session Report 24

General Summary

The waggoneers were rushing their way up the mountainside of Mount Ghakis. They were pushing the steers to the limit, whipping the carriage around even the most perilous of cliffsides. Eventually the party makes it to a ravine 100s of feet deep. The only way across was the thin stone bridge that lay in front.  With a careful "ya" the horses trot across yet halfway a large screech lets out and a bird the size of a house slams down onto the bridge, stealing both horses yet losing grip on one and leaving it behind.
The large bird flies away and the party settles down. They summon a new horse and head on their way. Yet moments later Strahd pops out of the bridge's buttresses and claims a horse of his own. The drivers exchange some words with Strahd and then he is on his way, flying upwards, towards the mountaintop. The drivers summon another horse thanks to Russel this time and head on their way upwards.
The trio of Carlos, Pablo, and Bart make it to the mountainside temple. Carved statues drowned in snow guard the entrance to this structure.
Before entering the group surveys the surroundings of this entrance and are able to see some light spilling through a crack in the wall. With some butter and lard the trio is able to squeeze their way through the crack and into the room beyond.
The room itself smelled of pine and sweat with muddy and torn bedrolls splayed out on the floor. Two low burning torches provided light sources within the eroded stone-brick walls.
The trio moved onward and pushed their way through a double set of doors which opened up into a large hall. The ceiling sat fifty feet above with the bricks crumbling and collapsing in some parts. The floor descended down two sets of stairs into a wider bottom floor. The trio could spy in the center of this lower floor sat a large obsidian black toad statue which sat perched, its hind legs used as a support to sit on.
Next to the statue lay placed two stone pillars which had what looked to be two humanoids tied to a side. The trio inspected the two individuals yet went invisible before hand with the aid of one of the magic gems.
As the party spoke and inspected the humanoid they found out this was one of the remaining Hags that had fled from the onion windmill. Before much could be said a voice called out to Bartholomew. A voice coming from the toad statue.
The voice spoke again yet much clearer this time, asking him of his journey here. As the voice spoke a slow mist drooled out of the toad's mouth. The mists collected itself into a humanoid figure before dead pale eyes pierce from beneath the wisps of mists. The eyes of Lord Strahd.
Lord Strahd welcomes you and begins to ask where the other children are at. Bartholomew stays tight lipped and as the conversation continues he begins to learn that the night mommy was none other than Strahd. Carlos and Pablo reveal themselves, now confused and in need of answers.
As the four speak the trio begins to realize they want none of this and need to leave. They slowly begin backing up with the gems before casting spells on Strahd and running. The trio splits up with Bart running up the stairs and the two bagpipe brothers heading down a smaller hallway with stairs heading upward. Yet before the brothers could make it to that stairwell Strahd fell upon them.
After Strahd finished with the bagpipe brothers he went after Bartholomew and happened upon the wood elf out in the snow, all alone. As Strahd flew towards the shivering elf a skirrrrrrrt echoed off the mountainside walls. In a flash Ricavio's wagon rounded the final switchback and stopped right in front of Strahd and Bart. Gunter and Russel rushed towards Bart as Kif trailed a few feet behind. 
Soon after Rictavio busted out the back on Sasha. Both him and Ezzie were armed to the teeth with both of them having some sort of harpoon slung on their back.
The outside of this structure becomes a battlefield as stakes, bullets, and spells are launched across the frozen stone cliffside.

Report Date

03 Oct 2022