17 - 8/30 : The Negotiations Were Short

With the preparations complete and gear packed, the party left the safety of Krezk and departed towards the ruined village of Berez. With few distractions along the way, the group passed the junction to Argynvostholt and went up river towards the village.
The entire town appeared to be little more than a swamp, with trees and the rocky remains of a few buildings reaching out of the water. In the middle appeared to be a large, ominous hut sat upon large tree trunks. Nearby the party spotted a pen that appeared to contain numerous goats.
Wixley approached, but the animals acted strangely. At first they would look normal, but suddenly they all turned their head in unison and their eyes almost appeared to glow red! They would return to normal, before exhibiting even more strange behavior.
Judge noticed some scarecrows dotted around the outskirts of the hut, and approached cautiously, fearing they may be magically animated to defend the hut. His suspicions were correct, as he approached they suddenly sprang to life and hurled theme at Judge!
While they got a few hits off, the Scarecrows had a difficult time inflicting much damage on the group, and one by one began to fall under the parties attacks. Before the fight ended, a young woman exited the hut and called for an end to the hostilities.
The group talked with her a bit, but knew she was not of this world and was suspicious of her motivations. She seemed indifferent to Morrigans presence, and offered a deal in return for the magical stone stolen from the Wizards of Wine Winery. Disgusted by the vile hag, Judge had enough, cut the negotiations short and attacked!
The hag had a fearsome array of spells, but even more formidable was the gigantic hut behind her. It roared to life to defend its creator, and launch devastating attacks with its roots while hurling enormous boulders at the party. Judge hacked away with tremendous skill using the axe gifted to him by the hyperborean soldier of eons ago, Wixley focused targets down using her arrows but was held back by her lack of magical attacks. Qiao used her spectral arms and high movement to keep herself well positioned on the battlefield and pummeled away at her foes. Lastly Fabian launched his own spells from the back, a Storm Sphere wrecked havoc on the hut while he continued to launch other spells at the hag and hut.
Not long after the fight had begun, a wereraven who happened to be scouting nearby swooped down to provide aid! Unfortunately she was of little use in combat, but she was able to land a few bolts in to the Scarecrows.
With a flurry of ferocious slices, Judge was able to strike down the vile hag, but as she fell she seemed to only melt? From the huts legs, water seeped out of the trunks and began to reform themselves into the hag once more! Baba Lysaga had returned, and the fight continued on!
The huts devastating blows began to take their toll and things looked grim, and the hag returned to life again, seemingly undying! But as the damage added up, the hut finally collapsed and its magical energy faded. The hag looked concerned, and looked to flee, but with one final blow met her end.
With the fight over, the group investigated the hut, found some coin and magical items as well as the magical stone. The group gave it to Muriel for safekeeping, who provided the party with some aid. She said there was a magical statue nearby that was blessed by the Moon Goddess, and surely with the good deeds the party had done they may be able to garner her favor. Finally she departed back home, and wished the party good luck in their travels.
Upon approach, the statue appeared to be quite similar to Ireena! Though different, she still possessed four arms, the wings and distinctive moth-like appearance. Unsure what to make of this, the party stood to ponder it for a moment, when suddenly a distinctive voice lashed out at them... Morrigan!
The vile ruler of the realm demanded the party leave this place, and never return. She betrayed her affection for whomever the statue was of, and told the group to depart or they would be destroyed. When the party refused, she unfurled her wings and swooped in to attack!
But as the vampire was about to strike, a beam of pure moonlight shown down from the heavens and repelled her. Morrigan hissed at the group with unbridled anger, and flew off into the darkness. The party felt comforted by the radiant light, and as they huddled together for a rest, the statue appeared to be holding something. Slowly with two of its arms outstretched, it reached down and presented a magical bow to the group, its string composed of pure moonlight. Wixley took it gratefully, and the party took this moment to get a much needed rest.

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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Baba Lysaga - This vile hag lived in the ruins of Berez, a town that has been flooded in Barovia. She lived in a Creeping Hut that animated to defend her when the party attacked.

Creeping Hut - This enormous construct was created by Baba Lysaga and defended its owner. When Baba Lysaga was struck down, she seemed to reform from the Huts essence, but when the hut fell she was unable to return.

Muriel Martikov - While she was not much use in combat, she recommended the group visit the shrine blessed by Narrah, took the stone and safely returned it to The Wizards of Wine Winery.

Morrigan - The devil herself and curse upon the lands of Barovia. She has confronted the party once at the Village of Barovia and her minions have been a constant thorn in the parties side. She set in motion the events at Vallaki, appeared before the group on the return from Argynvostholt. Most recently has appeared at the ruins of Berez, where she tried to ward the party away from a statue of a moth woman that bore a striking resemblance to Ireena. Morrigan has consistently tried to recruit the party to her evil deeds and seeks out Ireena, though for what purpose is unknown. While she remains an incredibly powerful force, the party is starting to give her a proper fight.