15 - 8/2 : Sins of Our Fathers

With the the vile druids and hill berserkers vanquished, the group took the magical stone and returned to the Wizards of Wine Winery. Davian was grateful for the return of the stone that provided nourishment for the entire winery, and promised to uphold their agreement. The Martikovs would do their best to find out the fate of Ireanas brother Ismark. They were loath to go to Ravenloft, but would honor their promise.
After a brief discussion, the party planned to head to Krezk and search for Dr. Van Richten and other allies. Davian said with the wine flow returning, they would surely be allowed in, and they had been preparing a cart to bring to Krezk. He introduced his son would be doing the shipment, Adrian, a laid-back yokel who talked at length about farming, who would be making this delivery.
The wagon was loaded and the horses strapped in, so the group departed to the village of Krezk. The short journey was relatively safe, and with the shipment the guards were willing to let the party in.

Krezk

Krezk proved to be a fairly small town in comparison to Vallaki, but the close-knit community still had its charm. It sat on the edge of a cliff and near a hill that proceeded up to a large Abbey. Nestled within the snow-covered trees and hidden behind the large exterior wall was a cluster of small huts.
The group proceeded to the Burgomasters house along with Adrian, and introduced themselves. He was a man befitting his noble title, but had a sense of friendliness and kindness not often found in Barovia. He also carried a sense of sadness, as he had just lost his daughter. With the group offering help, he in returned returned the favor and gave the information he knew. The burgomaster knew of Doctor Rudolph Van Richten and sent for the vampire hunter. After a discussion, he was willing to lend his and the towns support against Morrigan and her evil, should the group find out what fate had befallen the Abbey.
Soon after, the infamous monster hunter Van Richten arrived. No longer in his elf disguise, he appeared to be an older man, with scars indicating his many years of experience. He told the group he had been gathering all the information he could about his foe, and knew her to be in command of a near invincible army of wraiths. Even those who thought they had the upper hand against the vampire, soon found themselves surrounded and destroyed by this terrible foe. He knew not how to break her command over this army, and wished to gain access to the Abbey to see what information it might hold.
With both signs pointing to the hillside, the party packed up and began the ascent up to The Abbey of Saint Markovia.

The Abbey of Saint Markovia

After ascending a series of perilous switchbacks, the group stood in the shadow of the two story abbey. The group investigated the entrance and discovered two guards. The strange dog-looking folk did not appear to be undead or gnolls, but possessed all manner of odd deformities. After surprising them, neither were willing to fight and allowed the group to pass without sounding the alarm.
In the largest section the group noticed and elegant man and a strange girl. Her face almost appeared discolored and stitched. The party continued past and went through a broken window into another section. Growls and snarls and fighting could be heard from the halls, and a mysterious golem patrolled the dorms.
The party avoided the creature but checked on a few of them, and saw tons of the same malformed creatures inside. Next the party investigated the garden, before sending their familiars up the stairs to see what was on the second floor.
Unfortunately it seemed some unseen creature lie in wait, as the familiars were quickly slain. With a foe at large, the group ascended the stairs and prepared for battle! From the shadows the undead struck with their strength sapping grasps, and the battle raged on!

Portraits

Wixley - The small halfling fights with bow and is an expert in dealing with undeath. She has abhors cities and civilization and is much more comfortable in the wilds. Her signature ability is to use spirit bats to knock back her enemies.

Fabian - A powerful sorcerer overflowing with magic, the aasimar sorcerer brings a potent suite of spells to the table to take down all foes.

Judge - The stoic worshipper of Muir, his combat expertise and righteousness leads the group to glory against all evil assailants who would dare challenge the group. During the trip to Argynvostholt, Judge revealed that he was none-other than Hanfred Vel, a famous Paladin of Muir. He had a great burden on his soul, and had returned to put a stop to the the tragedy that he believes set in motion.

Qiao Tai - An astral monk from the distant realms of the Xha'en Hegemony, she has traveled far and found herself in the lands of Barovia. After resting at the Church of Solanus, she heard the commotion in the graveyard and quickly rushed to the groups defense to fight off Morrigan's undead. She now joins their group in the crusade against the vampire. In a recent fight against Morrigan, her right arm was obliterated by Morrigans necrotic magic!

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Ireena Kolyana - The adopted sister of Ismark, she has been bitten twice by Morrigan and fears for her life. Morrigan has offered Ireena join her numerous times, but she continues to refuse. She has discovered an affinity for fire and learned to control it, gaining fire spells. Later in her desperation to help her friends, she discovered she now had the ability to heal.

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Davian Martikov - The patron of the Wizards of Wine Winery, evil druids had infested his vineyard and pushed his family out. Thankfully due to their shapeshifting ability they were able to escape to safety, and the party was able to root them out and restore the Martikovs to their home.

Adrian Martikov - The son of Davian, he was a simple man but proved an adequate companion during the trip to Krezk.

Ezmerelda d'Avenir - She is the apprentice of the infamous monster hunter Doctor Rudolph Van Richten, who had met the party under the disguise of Rictavio. She was annoyed to find her wagon destroyed, but claimed to have other supply caches hidden and agreed to help the party.

Dmitri Krezkov - The Burgomaster of Krezk, he had just lost his daughter and was still in a state of mourning. After offering their support, he was willing to return the favor should the abbey be investigated. He was concerned for the Bishop, and had heard screaming coming from the hill for many nights.

Doctor Rudolph Van Richten - The famous monster hunter had come to Barovia to destroy Morrigan, but realized quickly how terrible his foe was. He has gathered as much information as he can, and has been biding his time until an opportunity arrived to strike.