6/8/21 Session 19 - "A Malicious Maid Brings About the End of the Game"

The party meets Cyrus Belview on the other side of the trap they have discovered. He seems to not know (or is lying to the party) about the Abbot and the other people like him at the Abbey of St. Markovia in Kresk. The man invites our heroes over the trap one at a time, as the trap is pressure sensitive and the weight of more than one individual would set it off. They venture forward to meet him in the next room, a large area attached to a wine cellar, a kitchen, guard barracks and dining hall. He mentions that he has sent several casks of wine to Vallaki at the behest of his master. The party asks him several questions which he seems hesitant to answer, they get very little information from him, but do find that he seems to be "cooking" corpses in a cauldron in the center of his kitchen. This seems odd but not specifically malicious.
The party ventures forth from this room to another decorated entirely with furniture made of bone; a great table, numerous chairs and several decorations are here as well as the skull of a large dragon above the main doorway. After investigating they continue to venture North until finding an office containing their good friend Rahadin. He sits at the center of the room at a well-made desk surrounded by Barovian trophies and armors. He is less than pleased to see the party but abides by his masters’ commands and humors them by answering questions regarding their suspects. He indicates to the adventurers that the only people having the ability to leave the castle outside of himself are the wives. After questioning Rahadin, our heroes move on and begin finding small secret places in the castle.
Eventually, they stumble upon a woman cleaning a set of beds. A meek woman, Helga Ruvak, she seems to be the daughter of the Village Boot Maker in Vallaki. She needs to get out of Castle Ravenloft, but the party makes no promises as they know they can't leave without the permission of Strahd von Zarovich. She believes she knows a way out and wants to show the party. They reiterate that they most likely can't get her out, but agree to meet her in the foyer later to investigate this potential escape route to see if it could be how information is slipping out of the castle.
The party begins to venture out but before they can, Helga reaches out and asks Lilithus to deliver a letter to her parents in Vallaki if she can. Lilithus makes no promises but does take the letter and leaves with the rest of the party. They continue searching the castle and eventually happen upon a room with a logbook heading out into the courtyard and stables. After searching around, they eventually head out to the courtyard to investigate and recognize this door as the likely place Helga was going to bring them. Seeing no way to escape, they turn around to head back in to the castle but are startled to see Strahd von Zarovich and Helga, now bearing a toothy vampire grin, standing at the door blocking their entry.
Strahd von Zarovich indicates to the party that Helga has informed him of their desire to leave Castle Ravenloft. The party protests and informs the dread lord that he has been misled, they made no such statement and were merely investigating a route by which information may be leaving the castle. Strahd dismisses Helga and makes it plain to the party that he expects an answer to his question now, he believes they've had more than enough time to investigate. They start to piece together what information they have and Balasar Norixius goes blank for several moments. After coming to he explicitly accuses Volenta of being the traitor. After analyzing what little evidence they do have, the party chooses to use this information to accuse Volenta. Strahd von Zarovich seems to have what he wants from the party and gives them the opportunity to immediately leave the castle via carriage to a destination of their choosing.
Before leaving our adventurers decided to press Strahd further on a few subjects as they seem to have his undivided attention for the moment. Fredriech Carlston asks Strahd about his spoon. While the dread lord is pleased to have this item returned to him, he has very little information about how this item was removed from his castle and indicates that this may be a matter Volenta may know more about than she was letting on. Having done Strahd von Zarovich a favor, the party asks about the stones protecting the Wizards of Wine Winery. This is another topic which he seems to have little information to offer to the party.
At this point the party leaves and departs for Vallaki. On the ride there Lilithus attempts to get some privacy to read the note that she was given by Helga. This note has nothing to do with her family or the shoe makers in Vallaki, but instead indicates that there is a traitor within the party. (Dun-dun DUUUUUN)