Session 3: Bifocals and Paris

With the party now united with the very adept at her job Emerelda, they set off to search for Ez's mentor, a gentleman by the name of Rudolph Van Richten. However, before they could get very far, the party was first ambushed by a lanky figure known as the bagman, and then ambushed by a significantly more dangerous individual known as Strahd. It seems Strahd had taken some amount of personal offense to being stood up by the party, who mostly didnt know they had done so, and offered them a meal at his castle whenever they desired to speak. He also mentioned that he had called them to Barovia to help lift its curse, which all involved seemed to know precious little about.

With that most delightful of experiences behind them, the party had set out to find Van Richten, the dwarf Dain decided not to join them, and the fairy Cedar had elected to stay behind with him, rather than chase after the mysterious mentor. With that, they were left behind, and very shortly murdered to death by Strahd in a fit of anger.

The party followed Richten through the fog that borders the land of Barovia, and found themselves and their surroundings changed, to a dark city of all humans, and followed Ezmerelda as she entered a place known as the Everhood Club. Through the loud music and dense crowd, they managed to catch Rudolphs attention, and he proceeded to test them with a bit of combat in this unfamiliar space.

Rudolph roughed them up, and they responded in kind. Seemingly passing this test, Rudolph then led the party out of Paris, and into a new land, where they and their surroundings were once again changed and Rudolph had a conversation with them about their realistic chances of defeating Strahd. He bestowed upon them two gifts, scrolls of magical power, and sent them on their way.