Marushka Dragomir-Belmont
Marushka Dragomir
When Marushka was 3 years old, her tribe's caravan was attacked by something as they settled in to camp outside the Svalich Woods. Her first memory was the image of a man clad in steel as dark as the night itself. He was climbing into the shadow of a great black coach amidst the flames of the burning tents and wagons. She distinctly remembers hearing the screams of hundreds of people being slaughtered as she was left alone amidst the corpses of her kin. She wandered the old Svalich Road until she was picked up by the Vistani. They took her to the village of Barovia, where she grew up.
The screams of the dying and the shadow of the man in the flame haunt her dreams to this very day.
Relationships
Beautiful Barovian bard with a haunted past, present and future...
View Character Profile
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Age
23
Spouses
Trevor Belmont
(Husband)
Siblings
Children
Eyes
Violet
Hair
Black
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Tanned
Quotes & Catchphrases
“Have you never watched the Vistani train before?"
Of Fates Bound and Unraveled
Well, I almost cannot believe that I am writing this after everything that has happened… I must admit that I’m a little drunk. Not so drunk I can’t write, but definitely a bit inebriated. We did it! We defeated the Devil once and for all. It came at a terrible price, so terrible a price. But it is done. At last. The impossible has been accomplished. And, if we can defeat Strahd von Zarovich, then what else can possibly be worse? I know, even as I write these words, it is probably a bad idea, I likely just placed a curse or something upon myself, but I have been drinking… what can I say?
There aren’t many of us left… in fact, our little retinue is down to myself, Trevor (thank the gods he actually showed up!), Ezmerelda and Eerika. It pains me to think that we will never see the others again… but, before I fall asleep, I need to write this down. I do not want my friends to be forgotten… and I want nothing more than to drink wine until I pass out and forget everything for a little while as we ride out to wherever Ezmerelda is taking us…
I know I ended my last entry on a rather abrupt note, but it is a good thing that I ended it when I did. For, not five minutes later, we came to where Strahd was waiting for us. The devil sat on the steps leading up to his balcony. Tears of blood were running down his face, and he clutched something in one hand (I assume it was one of his mother’s belongings), and his other hand was clenched so tightly, it was dripping with blood. I’ve never seen, nor even heard of, the devil being so distraught and out of control…
He was flanked by his flaming demon horse (the one that Trevor tried to trap in the catacombs a couple days ago), and Ismark Kolyanovich. I still can’t believe Ismark’s betrayal… how could he have allowed himself to be turned into a vampire after what Strahd had done to his sister? Unless, perhaps he didn’t have a choice…
Strahd looked at all of us as we approached. I sorely missed Trevor at that moment. I know I was angry with him, but I would have given almost anything to have seen him come running up to join us. His whips were a heavy weight on my hips, and my heart felt just as heavy. I tried to be nonchalant as I set his bundle of clothes and gear down by the doorway, hoping against hope that he might appear and need them…
It was then that Strahd began to speak… his voice was filled with barely concealed rage, as though he was the air right before a storm. Lightning split the sky, and his voice blended with the rolling thunder, as rain continued to pour down, darkening the night even further.
I will do my best to recall exactly what was said, although I cannot promise that I will get every word… for the thunder was loud, he spoke quietly, and frankly, I was fucking terrified.
"You. I should have known that this would be the location, despite all my efforts. It appears that you were guided here by fate.
For time eternal, I believed myself to be the master of everything in my life. Before and after my ascension into the night. Outsiders have come and died and my beloved has come again, and died for the last time. None of that matters now.
Satisfaction was supposed to be mine, for I control everything in this valley. But you!”
He stood up, shaking with rage, and I fought the urge to shrink back.
“You wrenched my beloved from me and showed me something that the dark powers had been whispering for so long and I could not hear it. My efforts were misdirected.
I am meant to conquer. I am meant to rule. Joy is gone from my life. It was never meant to be.
So hear me now, vampyr! Either I die here, or I pledge myself to bring about a curse of neverending night and terror.”
He pointed at us. “Starting with these pathetic souls, I will sacrifice every living creature in this valley, so that I may be granted freedom to conquer the land that they once came from.
So come, my dears. Let us dance for the last time and see what fate brings…”
He held out his hand and his black sword materialized as he angrily advanced on us. His gaze slashed over to me, and he shot a spell that barely missed my head and completely disintegrated the rock behind me.
“Just so you know what you’re dealing with.” He snarled, and the fight began in earnest. I channeled my fear into anger instead of panic, and lifted my middle finger at him – a gesture that I picked up from Trevor… it is apparently like telling someone to fuck off in Faerun.
It was all a blur for the most part. I was trying desperately to stay away from Strahd, and keep everyone else alive. He raised his fist in the air, and a massive swarm of bats slammed down from the roof and slammed into us. That hurt, and then the whole place was full of fucking bats flying around. Did I mention that I don’t like bats?
Strahd’s demon horse grabbed Elaine’s hair at one point, and she threw up a dome of force to separate them and to try to contain the horse.
I pulled out the Holy Symbol of the Ravenkind, and blasted the area with sunlight. It paralyzed the vampire that had been fighting Oren and Ezmerelda. Everything was going to shit. We were all separated and there was still no sign of Trevor. I forced myself not to think about him, although it was very hard to accept that he would just leave us hanging like this… leave me to face Strahd without him…
Strahd charmed Oren again… I pulled out the piece of Mordenkainen’s staff that I had taken from Trevor’s belongings and managed to block him in with a wall of force, much like Elaine had done to Strahd’s horse.
A few minutes of desperation later, I heard the scraping of claws on stone. Rocks broke and a huge hybrid werewolf tore through the rocks. For a split second, I panicked, but then I recognized something familiar about the way he stood, the way he moved, and the massive scar running down his face. Trevor had come back! He was a monstrous werewolf who might try to eat me later, but at least he was here. He immediately leapt at Strahd.
Strahd raised his hand and hellfire began gathering in his hand. Everything turned into an inferno, and as the heat seared over me, I braced myself for the pain… but it never came. I heard Oswald roar in pain.
As the blinding light of the hellball cleared, I could see Oswald down on one knee. Everyone was severely burned, Elaine was laying on the ground, severely injured but still alive. Trevor was hurt, but that is not where my eyes were drawn. Bile rose in my throat as I looked over at the smoking emptiness of Rahadin’s armor. Kasimir was gone. Incinerated. I just shook my head, trying to disbelieve it, but I couldn’t. He was dead.
Oren charged toward us. For a split second, I feared that he was going to finish off Ezmerelda or Elaine, but he didn’t. He attacked Strahd instead.
Trevor leapt upon the demon horse, now freed from Elaine’s prison. He grabbed it and ripped its head in two. Then, he leapt upon its body, just as a massive fireball erupted from its corpse. I don’t know what powers being a werewolf granted him, but even that didn’t knock him unconscious… it almost makes me wish I hadn’t asked him to not take a dark gift in the Amber Temple… almost, but not really.
Strahd put his sword away and bit my neck. It was horrible… even worse than the last time, for this time I wasn’t charmed – it hurt so bad and I felt my vision darken around the edges as I slumped down to my knees.
Oswald stood up again, and chanted something. I felt a bit better, so he must have done something. I could at least see clearly now. Clearly enough to see Strahd try to charm Trevor… fuck no! Fortunately, Trevor just snarled in his face and it struck me again, I fucking love that man… well… whatever he is now…
Strahd separated Trevor, Oren, and myself from the others by putting a wall of force across the balcony. Eerika collapsed.
Trevor climbed up onto the roof and leapt at Strahd. Strahd caught him in midair and walked over to the rail and tossed Trevor over the edge! I think I might have screamed, as I cast featherfall to keep him from dying on the rocks below.
A huge cloud of poisonous gas was summoned on the rest of the party, and they started choking. I couldn’t get to them, and I felt the drain on my body from using too much magic.
Strahd sent his sword flying at Oswald. I saw Oswald’s body slump. I thought he was dead but I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t have time to worry about it though, because a split second later, Strahd appeared right in front of me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I cast dimension door and landed on Trevor’s back. I wrapped my arms around him and held on for dear life.
Trevor asked me what he wanted me to do. His voice was super bestial and growly, but I could understand him well enough. I looked out over the valley and could see fissures opening up across the valley. People were screaming in the distance.
I told him that I thought Oswald had just died. The others were all downed, possibly unconscious or dead. The Belmonts are monster hunters, right? That’s what he has been saying ever since I met him… so I told him that this needs to end here and now, and that it is time for the Belmonts to kill the monster.
With that, Trevor grabbed onto the wall and pulled us up. I asked him to stay with me and help pass out healing potions to the party.
I knew then that this wasn’t going to work… we were going to die… all of us, and then all of Barovia, and then… likely, many more people in Faerun. All because we were unable to defeat Strahd this night.
Suddenly, the darkness and mist parted above the tower parapet. Bright, pure sunlight shone down from the sky – it was unlike anything I’d seen in my entire life. Then, a spear came hurling down and impaled Strahd. Sergei’s spear.
I looked beside me, and found Trevor was back to normal – well almost… he was butt naked, and covered in blood and bruises.
A holy light emanated from the spear, and I could see everyone’s wounds beginning to close… well… everyone except Oswald. His body was decapitated on the ground, his head a short distance from his armored body. Oswald faded away, disappearing into the golden light. In his place, the light coalesced into Sergei, in physical form.
Strahd snarled and pulled the spear out of himself, but he was obviously severely injured, even looking to be near death at this point. Sergei stabbed him again, and Strahd collapsed onto him, his head on Sergei’s shoulder. They sunk to the ground, and I could hear Sergei whisper something to him. He told Strahd that his time had come, but he couldn’t be the one to end his life… that right belonged to the people of Barovia.
Sergei motioned for Ezmerelda and I to come over to him. He placed both of our hands on the shaft of his spear, and said quietly, “Finish it.”
I looked to Sergei and said “I’m sorry.” Then, I drove the spear fully into Strahd’s heart.
Ezmerelda poured a vial of holy water into Strahd’s mouth and then decapitated him with Van Richten’s axe.
Strahd’s body faded away into nothingness, and his red armor lay there, empty. As empty as Rahadin’s armor had been without Kasimir.
Sergei looked at all of us and said “thank you.” Then, he disappeared into the golden light.
A moment later, a silhouette of an orc appeared in the same golden light. It looked around, and Oswald’s voice emanated from it. “I’m glad I knew all of you. I think that it’s finally time that I’ll get a bit of good rest. You all did good. For the most part, I’m proud of this place, as shitty as it is. But you made the most of it.” Oswald’s form looked over to me and Trevor. “Trevor, Marushka… for Ilmater’s sake, just be fuckin’ happy.” He turned to Elaine. “Elaine? We’re both beholden to gods, maybe one day we’ll see each other again, just not as we are.” Finally, his gaze sought out Oren. “So are we friends?” Oren nodded, and Oswald continued speaking. “I must be going now. If mouse is still here, because I don’t know how the fuck she survived this whole time, take care of her. And if not, bury her somewhere pretty. Alright. Bye.”
And with that, he faded away. We found ourselves standing in the empty ruins. The mists began to part and recede.
Elaine walked toward the edge of the balcony. A great shroud of blackness enveloped her, and coalesced into the form of what I can only assume is the Ravenqueen that she worships. They spoke low, too low for me to hear, and then the Ravenqueen and Elaine both disappeared into feathers.
At some point during that, Oren slipped away. I assume that he must have gone back into the castle, probably to seek out the riches in the accountant’s chamber, but I don’t know. I haven’t found out.
The castle was beginning to crumble.
Ezmerelda said that the valley was going to be transported back to where Trevor and Eerika are from. From our vantage point on the balcony, we could see the caravans of the Vistani all leaving. They were leaving through the mist.
We picked up Kasimir’s effects.
Trevor put his arm around me and pointed… through the mist, I could see the faint outline of a boat. “There’s where we fucking came in from.”
We clasped hands and leapt off the balcony, floating gently down to the ground. Ezmerelda loaded up her wagon, and we all set out. We arrived in Tser Pools, to find that we arrived in time for Madam Eva’s funeral. I just sat down and wept. Ezmerelda said that we needed to hurry, and we travelled through the mist.
As we drove, I turned to Trevor, and slapped him in the face.
He admitted that he deserved that. I demanded to know what happened. Ezmerelda and Eerika joined in and berated him for being foolish and stupidly thinking that he could control it on his own. I told him what it was like for me to wake up and find him gone, and Ezmerelda asked him if this was normal behavior for husbands in Faerun, because it would never have happened (or been acceptable) among the Vistani.
Trevor finally said that he woke up next to a rock, covered in blood and everything. That’s all he would say, but I knew that he was hiding something from me.
A couple hours later, the mists parted and we found ourselves in the middle of the docks of a massive city. There were more people in this one place than I had ever seen in my entire life! This was far bigger and more crowded that Vallaki, even at the height of a festival.
Trevor said that we were in a place called Waterdeep. Apparently, we arrived in the same docks that they had caught the ship that brought them to Barovia.
Ezmerelda was on edge, I think there were too many people for her. Me, on the other hand? I was so excited! With this amount of people in one place, imagine the stories that must circulate in the taverns! Imagine the opportunities for music and dancing that are beyond what a girl can find in random taverns and camps across Barovia.
Trevor brought us to a tavern called the Yawning Portal, and between him and Eerika, they filled our table with food and drinks, the likes of which neither Ezmerelda nor I had ever tasted. Thus, I am a bit drunk.
Before I retire for the night though, I would like to say that Trevor did tell me what happened, finally… Apparently, he woke up covered in blood, and chained to a rock. Szoldazar Szoldarovich was there, and they had a brief conversation… apparently the hunter had chained Trevor to the rock to prevent him from going on a complete rampage. That was very nice of him. I find that I wish I would have had an opportunity to thank him. For, without his help, I might never have lived to see Trevor again… he likely wouldn’t have made it to Castle Ravenloft in time, and he wouldn’t have been there when we faced Strahd… And for that, I will be forever thankful. Szoldazar sent Trevor back to me.
I wish I could have thanked him. It would have probably pissed Trevor off, I know, but he needs to get over himself. I slept with (well… who said anything about sleeping???) Szoldazar the one night in the Blue Water Inn, it’s not like we had a relationship or anything. I guess the hunter knows how to push Trevor’s buttons, because when I asked Trevor (in a zone of truth), what was said, he said that Szoldazar told him to “give your wife a kiss for me.” I don’t know how he knows that we are married, unless he was following us as we entered Ravenloft – which begs the question as to why. But, I think Trevor will eventually get over it… and if he doesn’t, well… then he should learn how to be nicer to other hunters as we travel this land…
Oh, the stories that I will write… I know, I will write a book… The Tales of Marushka Dragomir. And the first of those, will be the true story of Sir Oswald, half orc knight and the greatest, truest paladin who ever lived… I shall also write the saga of the dwarves in Barovia and how they built a boat that sailed on the land. The tragedy of the Chandler siblings… and the love story of Sergei von Zarovich and Tatyana, how their true love transcended death itself.
And a ballad… a beautiful, tearful ballad of Kasimir Velikov and the fate of the dusk elves…
These, and more, are the songs and tales that I shall write… but for now, I will sleep and for the first time in my life, may my dreams not haunt me…
Fuck
I only have a couple minutes to write this. I’m writing it as we move, actually. Fuck this. Fuck Trevor. And fuck his gods-damned lycanthropy.
I woke up this morning alone. Well, the party was there, but my husband was not. I panicked. Elaine said that he is still alive, but that is all she knows. When I was about ready to go try and find him, I could hear footsteps approaching. Kasimir, bloodied and angry, arrived and threw a bundle of all of Trevor’s gear and clothing at my feet. He said that Trevor had gone off to run with the wolves, or some shit like that.
Can you believe it? He fucking left us on the eve of what is likely the last battle of our lives! He left me without even so much as a goodbye.
I hung his whips on my belt, figuring I might have to put them to use… I’ve definitely watched him enough and he’s shown me enough that I think I can handle them well enough to do some damage. I tucked his fragment of Mordenkainen’s staff with my own, and slung his bundle of gear over my shoulder. As I did so, his journal fell out. I picked it up, and as Kasimir was already starting to pressure us to move, I glanced at his last entry…
It’s a letter. For me. Now I kind of feel bad for what I wrote a few minutes ago. I still feel that way, but he explained himself a bit more. Yes, I’m angry, but if I die here, and if you ever find this journal, Trevor. I love you too. Even when I want to punch you in the face for abandoning us like this… we could have helped you with the transformation. I don’t know how, but we would have figured something out…
I hope that we live to see the next dawn, and maybe I will be able to explore Faerun with Trevor, and tell our own stories… but for now, we must move… Kasimir is already getting too far ahead...
The Death of a Mother's Heart
We spent that night in the relative sanctuary of Strahd's mother's tomb. I slept fairly well, all considering, but I don't know how much of that was being in a relatively safe sanctuary, and how much of it was the fact that I nearly died yesterday.
I still find myself having a hard time wrapping my head around the events of yesterday, particularly those surrounding Brynden. I mean don't get me wrong... I have been half e pecting him to betray us at some point, but it was still a blow. He just so nonchalantly threw Trevor at Strahd feet to kill. Yes, I do know that it could have very easily been any of us, and I'm glad that it wasn't me, but still... Trevor dedicated himself to keeping the Chandler twins alive and as safe as he could.
Yes, he totally failed in that endeavor, but it still doesn't change the fact that he did his best. And in the end of everything, our best is all that we can do.
So, when Brynden so casually offered Trevor up as a sacrifice to Strahd, it still came as a shock. He was so callous. Yes, I know, he lost all of his emotions when he became a lick, but he didn't need to slap us in the face with it so hard, either.
But, since Brynden disappeared, probably dead somewhere, or lacked in a different plane of existence, it has been bothering me.
Trevor and I took second watch... something I was grateful far as it gave me one of the few chances I would get to be able to talk to him in relative privacy.
As soon as the others fell back asleep, I began interrogating Trevor about his newfound lycanthropy. I asked him how exactly it works, and he gave me some generic bullshit answer that didn't tell me anything that I hadn't learned by the time I was five years old.
What an ass! I am so tired of Trevor's vendetta against every other hunter in Barovia, it is going to end up getting me killed.
I demanded to know if Trevor had even paid attention to anything that the ghost of Stoyanovich said and warned him about. Of course, he denied it, saying that of course he listened to the ghost.
I told him that if he turns into a werewolf and kills me, then I will haunt him forever. I will be sure to follow him through all of his reincarnations and haunt him.
Trevor said that he isn't going to kill me, what he was actually told was that the flesh of one beloved to him would be the most succulent that he's ever tasted. It really presses me off, frankly, that he is blowing off this whole situation so much.
As we were talking, we spotted one of the vampires we fought two days ago, watching us from the top of the stairs. She made no move to approach or attack us, but that was almost more disconcerting. The vampire stood there for a time, before turning around and walking away back into the bowels of the castle.
We decided to let the others sleep, keeping a very wary eye out in case the vampire came back, potentially with reinforcements.
After that, our conversation was a bit more subdued - until Trevor snapped his head around and shouts rang in the air.
When I turned around, there was a creature (I don’t know what it was, but it was terrifying), wrapping a garrote wire around Ezmerelda’s neck. Before Trevor and I could jump into action, Oren sank his dagger into the back of the creature’s spine and it was sucked away - back into Oswald’s bag of holding!
I knew there was something wrong with that bag! No one would sell a magical item like that for a mere fifty gold. There was always something wrong with a deal like that…
Elaine grabbed the bag of holding and turned it inside out, dumping the contents onto the floor. There were the things that Oswald and Brynden had put in the bag, a Blinsky doll that looked like Van Richten (which Ezmerelda promptly swiped), as well as some money, and a few dead bodies. What came tumbling out of the bag last though, were four tiny black kittens!
I don’t know if the cat who sold us the bag put them in there, or if someone else did, but for whatever reason, we now had a litter of kittens! Trevor and Ezmerelda weren’t too keen on them, but Oren immediately scooped up the little girl and tucked her into his armor. It was so cute, the big, hulking dragon-man walking around with a tiny little kitten poking her head out of his shirt.
I tucked one of the kittens into my belt pouch (that’s how little they are!), he just curled up and made himself right at home. He’s adorable. I think I might name him Strazni, but then again, I am half tempted to name him after one of Barovia’s greatest hunters, something that will irritate Trevor, just because. Haha, I should name him Kiril, or Szoldi or something like that! What? Trevor really irritated me with how he completely blew off my concerns earlier…
Anyways, we set out in earnest, searching for the heart…
Someone set off a trap that sent a boulder rolling down the corridor, and would have crushed at least one of us, were our reflexes not up to snuff. We found Strahd’s accountant, an elderly man chained to a desk, obsessively counting money on an abacus.
The next room that we entered was filled with mist. It felt like the mist that envelopes the valley, and Ezmerelda, being Vistani (I’m so jealous) is the only one among us, since Kasimir disappeared, who can safely navigate the mists. She walked out into the room, and was attacked. I couldn’t see what was going on, but she was fighting a vampire in the mists. The vampire fled shortly thereafter, through a hidden door in the wall, and we were able to explore the room (as the mist had dispersed).
There were so many papers, journals dating back from the war with the Order of the Silver Dragon, a series of deeds (including one to the city of Krezk…?), and the thing that particularly caught my eye… a bit of sheet music… a melancholic violin piece, that I could tell would be hauntingly beautiful when played. I couldn’t resist… I took the music, figuring that I would play it later. (Just in case it would attract Strahd’s attention or something - I didn’t know who wrote it.)
Ezmerelda cast a spell that sent a disembodied eyeball following the vampire who had attacked her. She said that Strahd himself was on the other side of the secret door, in the next room over. He was wearing his armor. Well, shit.
Oswald and Oren led us up one of the spires - it was nerve-wracking because with the tight spiralling staircase, I wasn’t able to see what was going on up ahead… all I could do was listen for it. I heard a scuffle up ahead, and the voice of that vampire bitch who enlarged herself, started threatening Oswald. A massive explosion rocked the stairs, and the acrid scent of burning flesh rent the air.
Apparently, one of the vampires had some explosive device that had been set off. There was nothing left of any of the room’s occupants. The furniture, vampires, and any other contents of the room had been turned to ash.
We passed through that room, and found a disconcertingly creepy old man in the top chamber of the tower. Dead bodies were everywhere and he claimed that he doesn’t know anything of a heart - he simply rents the top of the spire for his work. I did not know that the Devil rents rooms to people… and if this man sought out Strahd von Zarovich for a landlord, then he must be a horrible person indeed… I find myself incredibly grateful that we moved on and Oswald didn’t start a fight or anything…
After that, we found ourselves on the main floor of Castle Ravenloft. Strahd appeared in our midst, asking us how long we think we’ll be able to survive on this floor. Not ominous or anything…
Elaine took Eerika and dimension doored to the main door, where the sounds of fighting were thickest. I don’t know what they did over there exactly, because I was too distracted by Strahd standing ten feet away from me. Trevor had a genius plan though… he flung his waterskins of holy water (that we had filled from Sergei’s pool beneath Krezk) and cast a spell to summon a swirling wall of wind to surround us and turn the holy water into a vortex. The droplets were stinging, but judging by Strahd’s reaction, they were far more painful to him than they could ever be to the rest of us.
He tried to teleport away, but I managed to counter it. Did you hear that? I countered the Devil’s spell again! If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have discovered I had a surviving brother, was promised to Baba Lysaga, was married to a hunter who claimed to have arrived in Barovia on a boat, and had successfully countered a spell cast by the Devil Strahd himself, I wouldn’t have been able to believe a word of it!
Anyways, Strahd did something where he was able to trade places with Oren, and thus was freed from the grasp of Trevor’s spell. He then turned into mist and fled. Elaine and Eerika came back to the party, with a severely injured Moira in tow. Apparently Kasimir had been taken into the sky by some massive, winged beast. I hope he is okay…
We rested for a time in one of the storerooms off to the side, and I decided to play the music that I’d found. Trevor said that it had been written by Blinsky… I guess he must have recognized his handwriting or something – I wouldn’t have known that.
It was as beautiful a piece as I knew it would be. The notes blended together to form a melancholic ballad that almost sounded like a dirge. A spirit appeared, as though summoned by the music. At first, I was rather nervous, but then it was revealed to be the spirit of one of Piddlewink’s predecessors. He said that there is a great treasure in the catacombs for any who wish to create their own Piddlewink… I do not think that this is something that we will do… for even though it was nice having the little fleshy creeper around, it isn’t within our skill (nor interest, I think) to create one of our own…
We left Moira in the storeroom to recover and to hold down the layout of the floor, while we ascended to the top of the next spire (after the guys raided Strahd’s throneroom for treasures – apparently the staff fragment they found is the sister to the piece that I have)…
By this point, everyone was concerned with keeping Trevor out of the moonlight, as it was streaming in from the windows throughout the throne room, and again on the next set of stairs. So, we wrapped him in cloaks, and anything else we could find to keep him completely hidden from the moonlight… I know it was probably driving him crazy, but I’m glad that he at least didn’t complain too much about it.
This next tower was more terrifying than the first… for, when we reached to top of the first landing, the room before us was one completely black. Oswald said he couldn’t see within it. Everyone with the ability to sense the presence of enemies was uneasy. Trevor said that it wasn’t ordinary darkness (no shit), it was instead some form of ethereal creature that would feed on us if we stepped into the shadow. Because of this, and that it is better to be safe than sorry, everyone who could cast Light, did so, on everything that we could, and we moved through the room.
We ascended more spiraling stairs, which were dabbled with shafts of moonlight coming from windows along the way. I was very careful to keep Trevor away from those shafts – the last thing that I wanted was for him to suddenly turn into a werewolf and then attack us, while we are currently in the middle of trying to locate Strahd’s mother’s heart.
We came upon a nursery. I could hear a woman singing, and an empty cradle was rocking… Ezmerelda and I admonished everyone not to touch anything, lest it trigger the ghost to attack or something. We carefully made our way through the nursery, and again ascended the stairs.
A hall of mirrors was before us, and I felt a panic begin rising in my chest. I didn’t know if we would be able to get across without Trevor losing himself and transforming into a werewolf. Elaine and Oren solved the problem though… they opened the door and inspected the layout. There was a glossy substance coating the floor of the chamber, it looked like blood, but I wasn’t sure why there was blood on the floor. Trevor said something about it being an Oblex, whatever that is… apparently it’s some form of monster that feeds on peoples’ memories.
No fucking way. I like my memories right where they are at, thank you very much…
I could see the heart through the doorway. Elaine laid down a wall of force, and Trevor silenced the area around the heart. Oren and Elaine moved in and they succeeded in stabbing the heart – I don’t know what took them so long, but I didn’t have to go in there, so can I really complain?
The mirrors all shattered, and the entire tower began to tremble. The viscous liquid on the floor began moving towards us. Eerika threw up a door that she pulled from one of the patches on her robe. And we ran… and ran… all the way until we found ourselves back in the sanctuary of Strahd’s mother’s crypt. Surprisingly enough, the crypt was still offering sanctuary…
We set up watches, and now are trying to get some rest… for I am filled with dread anticipation for what tomorrow will bring…
The Catacombs of Castle Ravenloft
Trevor and I shared a crypt with Oswald and Kasimir last night. Elaine, Brynden, Eerika and the dragon-man, Oren, set themselves up in one directly across the way. I immediately curled up in the far corner behind Trevor and fell asleep. I was so tired.
I don’t know how long it had been, but it definitely hadn’t been long enough, when I was awakened by Trevor. We had a visitor…
As ominous as it sounds, it actually wasn’t too bad - a small black kitten had arrived and seated itself between the two crypts. It was offering to sell us potions of healing, among other things. I bought all of the healing potions and the potion of speed that he was offering. He said he had a bag of holding, and he was offering it for only 50 gold… but I am no fool… if someone is offering a bag of holding for that price, it must be cursed or something. Nothing good will come of it, I am sure. Unfortunately, Oswald had no such compunction about overly-cheap magical items, and purchased it… I hope it doesn’t bring us ruin…
The cat left, and we went back to sleep. I just wanted to take advantage of what little time and safety we had, and get some sleep.
When morning came, we decided to search more of the crypts. We came upon one that said “Beloved Wife”, next to that of the architect. Deciding to go ahead and open it, we discovered the pristine body of a woman, with a silver stake impaling her heart. A vampire.
I offered to speak with the spirit of the architect and see if we could discern anything useful, before Trevor killed the vampire woman… the others agreed, so I asked my questions of the architect’s spirit. He didn’t give us much useful information, beyond that there are secret passageways running through the entirety of Castle Ravenloft, and that the most defensible places are the spires. It is probably in one of the spires that Strahd is keeping his mother’s heart - at least that is what I’m assuming, judging by the rest of the events of the day...
We looked through more of the crypts… somehow the party came to the decision that we each get to pick one, regardless of what the others say… Brynden entered the tomb of a lich, and came out with a desiccated corpse, with gems for eyes and amber for teeth. He put it into Oswald’s bag of holding (did I mention that was a bad idea?), then he said something and the lich emerged from the bag and handed him a staff. Judging by the reactions of Elaine and Brynden, it was some powerful artifact… a staff of power or something…
Trevor told Brynden that if he was taking the new staff, he should give me his old one… and that is how I came to be in the possession of a staff of frost. I hope this proves useful later…
We came upon a crypt that is nothing other than a bad omen… it had my name written on it, “Marushka Belmont.” I turned away and refused to look. Trevor wanted to see inside it, but I refused. I didn’t even peek inside. There are some things that one learns when they grow up in the Valley, and especially when they grow up with the Vistani… anyone who sees their body is marked by death. I felt a cold chill run down my spine, a feeling of ominous foreboding. I tried to ignore it and move on… but when the others started talking about finding my rotting corpse laid out on a marble slab, wearing the same clothes that I wear today… I couldn’t take it anymore. I told them to stop and forcibly moved the party onwards.
We explored several more crypts, one claiming to be “the Hellborn”. I wanted to avoid that one, but the others wanted to go in. Kasimir was being an ass, and asked if he told me that True Love was in that tomb, would I want to go in? Asshole. I get it, he’s upset and grieving, but does he always have to be such a superior jerk?
An imp was in there, and apparently he wanted to die. I could feel him staring at me oddly, and he asked me what I am. I ignored him and we moved on. I think Brynden might have killed him as we left, but I wasn’t paying that much attention.
Shortly thereafter, we came upon a named crypt that I was actually interested in… the inscription read “Korval Stoyanovich, Master of the Hunt”. I said I wanted to look into that one, honestly, I think I might have done it to see if I could get a rise out of Trevor… but I was also genuinely curious… I had no idea that the Stoyanovich family was that old… I knew they had some famed hunters, but I’d never heard of one being referred to as “Master of the Hunt”.
I asked Trevor if he could sense anything in that crypt, and he said “Yeah, I smell bullshit.”
In reality though, there were two massive beasts inside the crypt, and Oswald said that they stank. I think that means they are undead or demons or something - I haven’t quite figured out how Oswald’s sense of smell works…
I asked Trevor if that means we shouldn’t look in there, and he was flippantly sarcastic, telling me to “go right ahead.”
I think I pissed him off more than I meant to… Brynden’s skeletal visage was watching Trevor oddly and looking like he was trying to hold back laughter. I just meant to get a rise out of Trevor, I didn’t want to actually hurt him or make him think that I was regretting or reconsidering my choice to marry him. It was a poor attempt at having some fun when the whole world feels like it will come crashing down at any minute.
We opened the door, and there stood the ghost of a hunter and two massive hellhounds… they were nearly the size of horses! I’m not even ashamed to say that I was glad Trevor was in front of me…
The ghost said something to Trevor, asking if he was seeking a Master of the Hunt… I peeked around Trevor, and the ghost’s eyes looked to me. He asked who I am, and I didn’t answer – rude, I know, but his hounds were fucking terrifying and I didn’t want to give him a means by which to track me… I don’t know, maybe his hounds can be sent after people if he knows them or something. I don’t know, but names have power… and I wasn’t about to make a stupid decision that might lead to more pain down the road for me, Trevor, or my friends.
The ghost of Stoyanovich then asked Trevor why he didn’t accept the gift and become Master of the Hunt. Trevor said simply that he’d made a promise. Then, Stoyanovich leaned over to look at me, and shook his head, telling Trevor that I would have gotten over it.
It took me a second to realize exactly what he was talking about… Trevor must have been offered command of hellhounds when we were in the Amber Temple… and he turned it down, even though it would have made him nearly unstoppable… he turned it down because he made me a promise.
I knew that Trevor hadn’t accepted any pacts with the dark powers when we were in the Amber Temple, but I didn’t know he had been offered this! I can’t help but wonder if he regrets his promise and his decision to keep it, now that he sees the power he could have had. I hope not… for me, it’s just further proof of his love. He doesn’t seem angry with me for the Amber Temple…
Then the ghost told Trevor that the hounds are forever out of his reach, but there was one thing he could offer him. “I will offer you a taste of the curse that befalls my family. Then you will know what it means to hunt.”
When he said that, Stoyanovich’s visage took on the likeness of a wolf’s head.
I asked him what he meant by that, and he replied. “He will hunger, and should you give into that hunger, you will kill everyone you hold dear, and the curse will hold forever.”
Before I could speak, Brynden glared at me, telling me to let Trevor make his own decision. Who the fuck does he think he is to lecture me? Look at him! It’s obvious that he isn’t someone who should be handing out advice when it comes to dark gifts and curses. I wish that everyone had listened to me in the first place and had never gone to the Amber Temple… fuck.
Trevor asked if it would be only temporary. The ghost nodded and continued with a warning. “But know this… I am no dark power who will not give you all the facts. The taste of the one you love will be the most succulent flesh.”
My heart sunk as Trevor said “Then I accept.”
Brynden kept saying something about he’ll protect me, he and Elaine could control Trevor through magic if they had to…
The ghost of Stoyanovich simply said “It is done” and began to fade away. I called out for him to wait, wanting to know how Trevor was supposed to control it, but I was too late… without another word, the ghost was gone… and my new husband is apparently now going to turn into a werewolf and want to feast on me – and not in the fun way…
Fuck. This is bad.
I don’t want to die, but I really don’t want to die by Trevor’s hand, or… teeth and claws… oh fuck…
We continued through the catacombs, until we came to a set of staircases that led downwards into larger tombs…
One of them bore the name “Sergei von Zarovich”. Oswald began making his way into that tomb, we figured that, as a paladin, he was the best one for the investigation… before he entered, Trevor handed him the spearshaft that we had taken from Sergei’s pool beneath Krezk. There was no magic left in it, but it belonged to Sergei, and therefore, should be laid to rest in his final resting place…
I didn’t see what happened in the tomb, but Oswald came out, wearing a shining suit of plate armor – I can only assume that it is Sergei’s, judging by the symbol of the Morning Lord emblazoned on the breastplate.
The next tomb we came to was blocked by a portcullis. This one had to be Strahd’s...
Elaine used a dimensional door to take her and Kasimir to the other side of the portcullis. Then a few minutes later, we received word from Elaine that they had found Strahd. She came back up the stairs to us, and Kasimir joined her. Apparently there was a wide area of turned up earth and a bunch of vampire spawn sleeping around a single wooden coffin. Beside the coffin was a lever, that Kasimir thought would raise the portcullis.
With some clever uses of silence spells, we managed to make our way down into the chamber. I could vaguely see Oren lowering himself down from the ceiling over the coffin. He deftly removed the lid and raised a silver stake to strike at the vampire lying within. Oren’s blow stopped short and then flung himself off of the coffin. I wasn’t able to make out any details, but I knew that it was going to be bad… he had tried to stake Strahd, and failed.
That’s when all hell broke loose, and everything went to shit...
It was sheer chaos… Strahd rose out of his coffin and all of the vampire spawn awoke.
Strahd pinned Oren with his gaze and then the dragon-man turned on us. Elaine went down and I tried to revive her, while avoiding Oren at the same time. Strahd blocked us in with a wall of force, but we managed to get around and over it.
Mist began to swirl around the chamber, until it coalesced into the familiar cloying mists that cover the entirety of the wilds in the valley. Strahd appeared next to me, viciously attacking Elaine with his black sword. He moves almost too fast to even see at times.
Elaine collapsed in the wake of his attack. As she fell, but before she had even hit the ground, Strahd whirled his sword around to me. Pain seared through my body as his blade found the gaps in my armor, and I could feel the warm wetness of blood begin seeping through my clothes.
Brynden began shouting to Oswald, demanding to know who held his phylactery. He insisted that Oswald needed to make sure he got whoever held it out of the chamber immediately. He was holding his new staff aloft, and I feared what he was planning.
As I staggered under the pain of my injuries, I to called for Oswald, beseeching him for aid. Trevor was too far away… and I wasn’t able to fend of Strahd myself, much less do so while I was trying to keep Elaine from dying – well, dying again… not to mention trying to keep away from Oren and the wicked blade that Brynden must have given him… the poisoned dagger from Baba Lysaga.
I heard a massive crash, as the coffin in the center of the room exploded into tiny pieces. Trevor began shouting for everyone to retreat, as he began pulling Eerika from the vampire corpses in the center of the room.
Strahd’s gaze snapped over to Brynden, and he rushed him, roaring with rage, as he went after Brynden. He cut the staff out of Brynden’s hands, and the staff went flying to the ground behind them.
I didn’t know what else to do, so I healed Elaine as best as I could, and then cast dimension door to move next to the staff and picked it up. As soon as I grasped the staff, I heard Strahd’s voice shout “NO!” and as I lifted my gaze, I could have sworn that I saw a momentary flash of fear in his eyes. Then, he raised his hand, and began to cast. I tried to counterspell whatever he was doing, but he spoke a single word, and my body was instantly wracked with pain unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It felt as though that word had sucked the very life from my body. I hit the ground.
The world was spinning, and blackness seeped along the edges of my vision. I could hear Brynden and Oswald yelling at each other, but it was so very far away… there was still fighting going on around me, but it was so far away…
I looked up, and my vision cleared just enough to see Brynden standing over me. For a moment, I thought he was there to help, but then I wondered why his staff was pointed directly at my face. He wasn’t even looking at me though… what was going on? My vision tunneled, until all I could see was Brynden pointing his staff threateningly in my face, before everything went black.
When I regained consciousness, it was to the healing warmth of Trevor’s hand. Everything still hurt, and I couldn’t move, but at least my senses were back – just in time to hear Strahd say “Speak your bargain, boy.”
Brynden started talking, but I did not catch what was said, I was too focused on the blood soaking Trevor’s shirt. I didn’t want to lose him.
Strahd said something about not having the phylactery, and Brynden claimed that Trevor did. Trevor asked “Do I?”
Strahd then spoke, this I remember… he said “Your position is hopeless. Leave the staff. And choose one of your friends to die. The rest may walk out. Or I will kill all of you.”
Brynden’s reply was cheerful. “Trevor, obviously!”
Rage burned at those words. How dare he? I tried to pull myself up to attack him, or to protect Trevor somehow, but I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t respond to my commands. Instead, I just lay there, helpless, as I glared at Brynden. “Fuck you!” I said, pouring as much venom into my voice as I could. Oh, how I wished I could have gotten up to curse him in that moment. Even now, as I write this, I am filled with such anger. How could he betray us like this? I know that he gave up everything when he became a lich, but really? Somehow, I was hoping that there was still something of Brynden in there, and he wouldn’t have betrayed us like that. But such is the foolishness of hope.
Strahd ignored me, and said “so be it”, before laying into Trevor with his black blade. As Trevor collapsed beside me, Brynden snarled at me “Does Trevor have it?”
I didn’t know for sure, but even if I did, I wasn’t going to tell him. Not after what he just did. Instead, I raised my middle finger at him (which Trevor said is one of the worst insults in Faerun) and told him to fuck off.
Strahd held out his hand to Brynden and said “You will leave Trevor and the staff behind, and the rest of you will live.”
Fuck that! There was no way that I was going to just up and leave Trevor there to Strahd’s care. “Give me the staff, and take the girl, and leave.” Strahd said again.
Brynden didn’t hand him the staff, so Strahd came after me. Pain seared through me again, as his sword slashed across me again. The pain ended when I fell into a merciful blackness.
I don’t know what happened immediately after, but when I regained consciousness, Strahd was gone.
Brynden was gone.
The others told me what happened… apparently, Brynden flew up into the air above Strahd and shattered his staff, setting off an explosive wave of force that seriously injured Strahd – enough that he turned into mist and disappeared into the ceiling.
We made our way down the black marble staircase that led to the left of the chamber, and there we found a sarcophagus with a good portion of gold in it, apparently it was Strahd’s father’s tomb.
The other staircase, carved from white marble, led us into another crypt, but this one held an aura of peace, one that made me want to curl up in Trevor’s arms and go to sleep… even though this is neither the time nor the place for that…
As I write this, I’m thinking back on the path that I’ve taken, walking alongside these people…
Elaine was an awkward girl when she arrived, who tried adorably to flirt, without knowing how… now she is an undead shell of what she once was. I don’t even know if she feels anything at all anymore. It certainly doesn’t seem like it…
Brynden was kind of cute, in a juvenile sort of way… he was filled with angst, as though he didn’t know his place in the world – sad, considering he seems to have been raised in a good, kind family… but then, he took a curse from the dark powers, even though they called it a gift… he became a lich and betrayed all of us. I must say that I am somewhat relieved that he is gone… for I would not want to have to fight him and try to kill him when he inevitably would betray us again…
Oswald is much the same as he was when he arrived, I think… perhaps a bit more realistic, and less caught up in the idealism of his religion.
Eerika joined us late in our journey, so I don’t know her all too well… but she does seem to be of a trustworthy sort, even though she seems to have misfortune in her choice of friends…
We lost Erkki in Argynvolstolt, and Adrastos in the Amber Temple. Kasimir is also lost to us, as he disappeared when he lifted the lever in Strahd’s crypt.
And Trevor? Well… I don’t even know where to begin… he was an ass when he arrived, well, he probably still is, but now he is mine. I know now that his attitude surrounding the Barovian hunters was likely just jealousy (although he will never admit it), and he seemed to have gotten over a lot of that ever since we spent a private night together in the Vistani camp.
I don’t fully know if it is Trevor who has changed, or I. But I do know this… I refuse to lose him lightly… If we are going to die in this godsforsaken castle, then we will take as many of Strahd’s servants with us as we can. We have already taken Rahadin from him, and freed Tatyana and Sergei’s spirits to be together… I think that even if this is all that we do, at least we have done something. And perhaps, if we do die, the next reincarnation of our souls will find each other again, and be able to finish what we started…
Becoming a Belmont and Invading Castle Ravenloft
Oh, I scarcely know how to begin this entry… what is a girl to say when she is the happiest she’s ever been, yet is in the lair of the Devil himself?
I shall write later on the events that have led us directly into the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft, but right now, I cannot help but write about that which fills my heart and mind.
Trevor and I are married! It was a bit spur of the moment, and completely disorganized, in typical Trevor fashion, but it’s official. I suppose my name is now Marushka Belmont. Belmont… it sounds weird on my tongue… but if we survive this venture, I am sure I will get used to it.
This is how it happened…
Trevor was acting oddly and asking Oswald cryptic questions when we were traveling in Ezmerelda’s wagon. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but Trevor kept alluding to some components that he wanted to know if Oswald still had with him. I was curious for a minute, but then decided I would be better off sleeping while I could.
Just when I was about to doze off, Ezmerelda swerved the cart. I had no idea what was going on, and didn’t even have time to figure it out, before Strahd materialized on the seat between me and Trevor.
I was shocked. How and why was he right here, sitting in the wagon? Fortunately, Trevor seemed to be the only one who wasn’t surprised, as he crushed a flask of holy water against Strahd’s face and staked him in the chest. What followed was a flurry of blows, and Eerika jumped into Strahd’s lap and held him down, much like she had Kasimir in the Amber Temple a couple days earlier.
Fortunately, Strahd didn’t seem like he was prepared for our party’s reaction to his arrival, and he dissolved into mist and streamed out the back of the wagon. Before he left, he began to cast a spell. I didn’t know what it was, but I managed to counter it. (Thank you Elaine for helping me learn that one!)
I could see Strahd on the road behind us. He looked angry… angrier than I’ve ever seen him in person in my life. He held up his hand towards the clouds and spoke something. Almost immediately after, I heard the sound of multiple wolves howling around us. I glanced over at Trevor and he muttered something about dire wolves. There was a shuddering on the wagon, as Blinsky leapt down with a snarl. I caught a glimpse of the tiger when he ripped a wolf’s throat out, but then he was buried under a pile of grey and black bodies.
Ezmerelda drove the horses on. As the fight faded into the distance, I think I heard the cry of a dying tiger. I am sad for Ezmerelda to lose him, and I know Trevor has grown attached, but for me, I am glad that he held off the wolves for us. I wish he didn’t die, and would, instead, come stalking back to join us, but it is appreciated nonetheless.
We continued on without severe incident until we reached the crossroads by the Tser Pools. Kasimir said that there is a secret entrance into Castle Ravenloft that leads down into the catacombs beneath the castle. We could enter through there, or we could ride up to the main gate… it was obvious which one we should choose… we do need to find the heart, after all…
When Ezmerelda stopped the wagon, Trevor asked Oswald if he had the mysterious components again. Oswald looked at him and got a weird look on his face, and was like “Oohhhh… yes, I still have them.”
I looked from Trevor to Oswald and back again, and asked what was going on. Then Oswald asked if Trevor had asked me yet. Trevor replied saying that he hadn’t really had the time with everything going on, but that he needed a minute alone. Oswald demanded that everyone exit the wagon. So, everyone left, and I started to step toward the door, but Oswald said “Not you!” Then he followed the others out and shut the door.
I looked over at Trevor, and asked him what this was all about. Then, he asked me if I would marry him.
I was surprised, to say the least. Happy, but surprised. I heard exclamations coming from outside the wagon, and I could have sworn that I heard Eerika squealing “Say yes, Marushka!”
I asked him if that was what he was planning with Oswald, and he admitted that it was. I gave him a bit of a hard time for not asking me first, but of course, I still said yes. I asked if he meant when, or likely, if, we make it out of Castle Ravenloft, but he said no… right now. What the hell? Why not? We are likely to not live past the next few days anyways.
Trevor apologized that he didn’t have a ring, but he handed me his journal instead. I know how much it means to him, I know how much mine means to me… it meant a lot that he was willing to gift it to me.
We stepped down from the wagon, (me holding Trevor’s journal in my hands), to the cheers of some of the party, and exasperated impatience from Kasimir.
Oswald then began to talk. I wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying, because he was trying to figure out some particulars. Finally, he turned to Kasimir and asked if he knew any of the Barovian marriage traditions.
Kasimir scoffed, saying that he has lived here for the past 700 years, of course he knows.
The topic of wedding rings came up, and Trevor said that we will have to omit that part. Kasimir actually looked offended. “You don’t have a ring?”
Trevor said that he hasn’t really been anywhere to acquire one, and Kasimir scoffed again. He pulled a ring off his own finger and tossed it to Trevor, telling him to “here. Use this.”
Kasimir ended up officiating the ceremony - apparently Oswald was taking too long. So, after a few minutes, and Trevor slipping Kasimir’s ring on my finger, we were married!
I am glad that Kasimir did it so fast… we were literally standing in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, and I kept finding my gaze being drawn up to the castle, fearing that any moment, Strahd would show up in our midst and kill one of us. We took away his love, I fear what he will do when he finds out about Trevor and I… if he doesn’t already know.
I thanked Kasimir for the ring. It is truly beautiful, it is delicately ornate in the same way as most elven craftsmanship that I’ve seen. I was about to ask him how he has it, when he told me “It was my wife’s. It brings me nothing but sadness whenever I look upon it.” I wanted to cry.
“It looks lovely on you.” He said.
I didn’t know what else to do, so I hugged him. I don’t know what possessed me to do so, but he didn’t shy away, or strike me, so that was good at least.
A few minutes later, Kasimir led us down to the tunnel… I talked to him a little bit and he told me a bit more about his history - apparently he had served the Zarovich family, even back when Strahd’s father ruled it. Kasimir and Rahadin had both served them faithfully, Rahadin to the point that he was actually adopted into the Zarovich family. Kasimir said that he had served Strahd faithfully and led his armies up until the point that Strahd betrayed them and committed genocide on Kasimir’s people. I cannot imagine what it must be like for him… to have all of his people gone… his wife and children…
We found ourselves emerging into the catacombs. The room was massive, with great stone pillars rising up to the high ceilings, and crypts lining the room in neat rows. I could see Brynden standing in the center of the room, hands on his hips, as though he was daring someone to approach him. Elaine was hiding behind a pillar.
I quickly discovered what was going on - the Chandlers had drawn the attention of a group of vampires. We moved to assist our wayward party members, and ended up facing a group of five vampires.
Two HUGE vampires materialized right in front of me and Trevor. One of them cast something, and a pillar of flame shot down right on top of me. That hurt. But Trevor didn’t let them touch me. For some reason, probably because he is actually the greatest hunter in the land - oh shit, I can’t believe that I just wrote that… I better not let him find out, or I fear that his ego will become unbearable, I feel so much safer when he is close by.
Kasimir circled around behind the two vampires, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I pulled out the Holy Icon of the Ravenkind. Reaching over Trevor’s shoulder, I activated it, sending a beam of sunlight directly into the vampires’ faces. No wonder Ireena had been so effective in the basement in Vallaki…
The rest of the fight was a blur. Between Kasimir, Trevor and I, we managed to kill the two vampires before us. Trevor staked them and cut off their heads - so they shouldn’t be able to rise again…
The other vampires turned into mist and fled into the walls… probably to go report to Strahd. Trevor seems pleased by what one of them said… something about recognizing him as the Belmont. I must never tell him what I think of his abilities… it would make him insufferable.
Elaine and Brynden joined us, and a new ally they made while in the castle. A creature who is half man, half dragon. Trevor said he is Dragonborn. (Apparently, in Faerun, dragons like to take the form of humans and have sex with other races, hence the half-dragon people.) Trevor didn’t trust him, something to do with him being descended from a black dragon…
I asked him what his name is, Oren the Black, and he’s a mercenary, thief and assassin. I extended my hand and introduced myself as “Marushka Belmont” for the first time. Oh gods, the look on Brynden’s skeletal face was pure shock. I thought he’d lost all emotion, but apparently, surprise isn’t one of them.
We began searching through some of the crypts. There was a massive one in the wall with the name “Bucephalus” engraved into it. I tried to get the others to stay away, but they didn’t… and Strahd’s demon horse attacked us. It fled shortly after - I don’t think any demon wants to contend with Oswald or Trevor at this point. Did I mention that Trevor is wielding both of his whips at the same time? It is a sight to see, let me just put it that way…
Oswald entered a crypt with the name of “St. Markovia” engraved on it, and came out wielding a thigh bone as a club.
We were making our way through without much incident, when Kasimir stopped dead in his tracks. He stood, staring at a crypt, all color having faded from his face. I leaned forward to read it. “Patrina Velikovna”. Kasimir’s sister.
When that tomb was opened, a ghostly figure of a dusk elf woman was there, she looked at us with hatred and when her gaze landed on Kasimir, she shrieked something about her brother failing her, and then a sound unlike anything I’ve ever heard… it was a piercing wail that stabbed into my ears, grated on my bones and felt like it was sucking the very life out of me.
Everything went black.
I awoke some time later, I don’t know when, but Trevor was leaning over me, making sure I was still breathing.
I looked around, confused, and saw Kasimir laying a short distance away, dead. No. He can’t die like this. My thoughts were racing.
Oswald was just sitting up, and I asked him if there was nothing he could do. He chanted some words, and smashed his fist into Kasimir’s chest… I don’t know what he did, but Kasimir drew a breath and sat up.
So now, we are trying to rest and recover from our wounds before continuing on in search of the heart.
I gave Trevor’s journal back to him. He wrote a letter to me on one of the pages, and I wish that he would have spoken earlier. He wrote that he is dedicating his journal to me as a symbol of his love, and that he considers the curse that trapped him here to be a blessing… and he said that he hopes to prove that a love such as Sergei’s and Tatyana’s is not just in stories and legends…
Fortunately, most of the others were sleeping by the time I had the opportunity to read Trevor’s letter. For, I wouldn’t have wanted to deal with the likely questions that would arise if they saw the tears I dashed from my eyes.
As I look over toward the others, I am glad Kasimir is still with us. Even though he can be an ass at times, I would be devastated if something were to happen to him… I really want to help him see his revenge on Strahd through… and perhaps, he could return to Faerun and find the Elves there? Or at least, find some purpose… for I fear that he might just fade away to nothing without this hatred driving him forth.
As for me, I am quite happy. I hope that we survive this, although it is a fool’s hope, and I know this…
In case I die tomorrow, I will record this here so if Trevor survives me, he will never forget… I love you, Trevor Belmont.
Falling Apart in the Amber Temple
Well, I had planned to let Trevor sleep, but after another couple of hours sitting there alone, haunted by my thoughts and fears, I couldn’t take it anymore. I woke him up.
After he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and actually sat up, I asked him why he was here. Why Trevor agreed to even come to the Amber Temple in the first place.
He said that he hoped to find answers as to how we can defeat Strahd and “go home”, but that he had no intention of accepting any of the dark gifts.
We went back and forth a little bit… until I caught something he said that struck me as being off… Trevor said that he would take a dark power if they were like, this will allow you to defeat Strahd and send everyone home… even if he had to stay here.
I asked him why, when all he’s talked about since I met him in the village of Barovia, is finding a way back to Faerun through the mists. He looked a bit embarrassed, but he said that when he first arrived, all he wanted to do was return home. But now, Barovia has its charms, and that if he has to stay, he’ll make the best of it, but if he is able to return home, then he wants me to go with him.
I know when someone is hiding something from me, not saying what they actually mean… if Trevor is saying what I think he is saying… holy shit. How deep do his feelings run, I can’t help but wonder? I really wish that we had some time to ourselves, like an entire night where we didn’t have to worry about others eavesdropping on our conversations… but that is not likely to happen anytime in the near future - and I feel like our time in this life is horribly limited…
I asked him why he never said anything before. I mean, I’ve known that he doesn’t dislike me anymore, probably even likes me a bit, but why didn’t he say anything? Trevor replied that there wasn’t the time. Bullshit. There is always time for conversations of the heart. Because if we don’t make time for them, then they are likely to never have the time to happen… and then people leave this life without having talked about how they feel.
Trevor seemed surprised when I told him that all he had to do was say something. I motioned to his scar and know I embarrassed him, but I pulled his hand away when he tried to hide it. I asked him why it bothers him so, and he gave some bullshit noncommittal reply. I said that if it bothers him that bad, we can find someone to heal it… even though I actually like it.
Trevor looked at me in shock when I told him that I like his scar. Gods, men can be so impossible sometimes. Of course I like it! For gods’ sakes… he pulled Strahd off of me! I was charmed, thinking that the Devil was the sexiest man I’d ever seen… he was feeding off of me, and Trevor ran up and pulled him off of me. Then, proceeded to take the bastard’s own whip away from him.
But that’s beside the point. Strahd raked Trevor’s face… and it is something that I’ve had to come to terms with myself - if my willpower had been just a bit stronger, I might not have fallen under Strahd’s spell, and Trevor wouldn’t have gotten that close to him. But, that is beside the fact… the fact of the matter is that Trevor did. He actually stepped between me and Strahd… he physically put his body in front of mine and faced off against the Devil himself. How could I not feel an affection for the scar that he took doing the one thing that I never thought another person would do for me?
I mean, a lot of guys will stand up and try to be all “protective” and bullshit. But Trevor isn’t like that. He makes sure that I am as safe as he can when we get into fights, but he doesn’t cramp my style or tell me when, or who I should dance for. It feels like he trusts me to be able to hold my own in a fight, but is always within a distance to come to me if I need help. He pulled Strahd off of me… did I write that clearly enough before? He fucking grabbed him and physically jerked him away from me. I know Kasimir banished Strahd a few moments later, but still… who does that? Who looks at Strahd biting into someone’s neck and thinks to themselves Fuck you. Not today. And then actually attacks him? Trevor Belmont... that’s who.
Does Trevor really not understand? Does he not understand that I started falling for him back when he defied Baba Lysaga? Does he not know that my heart was irrevocably lost when he stepped between Strahd and myself outside Vallaki? All he had to do was say something and I would have told him! I would have told him all of this, if he would have but asked me.
I think he might have a better idea now. I didn’t come out and tell him exactly how I feel, it would have been awkward - especially with Elaine’s dead eyes watching our every move, but I hope he knows. Or at least, I hope he knows enough that he will feel more comfortable talking to me about in the future.
Trevor finally promised to not accept a gift from the dark powers. I basically embarrassed myself and almost begged him not to. I cannot bear the thought of losing him to a curse like that which claimed Strahd’s soul… I am so relieved that he gave me his word. For some reason, I trust Trevor’s word above anyone else in the party right now. Maybe it is my foolish heart talking… but it doesn’t change the fact.
A short while later, the rest of the party woke up. We made our way down the winding staircase and entered a large chamber holding rows of sarcophagai lining the outer walls. A giant stone looking construct was guarding a small open doorway leading into another chamber.
Adrastos and Kasimir were facing off with each other, swords drawn. Oh fuck.
Elaine opened a dimensional portal and stepped through it, pulling Brynden with her. They appeared in the room with Kasimir and Adrastos. As soon as they did, the guardian’s head snapped around and it gripped its sword. Oh fuck. It was probably tracking the magic in the air or something. I very carefully and quietly cast a greater invisibility spell on Trevor. If this monstrosity was going to attack us, I wanted him to have a better chance of survival - because I had the horrible feeling that the guardian’s sword would likely cleave whomever it hit in two… and for reasons I mentioned earlier, I really didn’t want that to be Trevor.
I backed away toward the stairs with Eerika, Oswald and Trevor. (I felt him take my hand, so I knew he was there.) We had a whispered conversation back and forth, and it was decided that Eerika and invisible Trevor would likely be able to sneak around the construct, and I would quickly teleport Oswald and myself into the far chamber. The doorway was too small for the guardian to fit inside, so we figured it would be the safest spot for the time being… not to mention, I didn’t trust either of the Chandlers to be able to talk down the duel that was about to happen between Adrastos and Kasimir…
It worked. I don’t know why Eerika is so stealthy. Is it maybe some kind of latent dwarven magic? She smells to high heaven, and her armor squeaks every time she moves. But for some reason, whenever she wants to sneak by something, everything is quiet, and she is almost as silent as Trevor.
There were three sarcophagai in the chamber… one was shattered, it looked like something had broken out of it from the inside. The other seemed to be fairly undisturbed, and the other one… the one that Adrastos and Kasimir were fighting over, was covered in some shield of ice… I’m assuming that was Brynden’s work, for he was holding the Staff of Frost in his hand and looking at it when we came in.
Everyone was arguing. Oswald tried to calm them. I tried to calm them. Between the two of us, we managed to get them to a point where they were at least not trying to actively kill each other. I didn’t know what to do, none of them were actually listening to me, so I began to play my violin and dance a slow, mesmerizing dance. I quickly lost myself in the music, as I am wont to do… I felt a pang of dread for a moment when I noticed Kasimir’s eyes deepen and all his attention focus on me after a minute or two… I worried I was going to pay for that later…
Elaine then went up and proceeded to touch the sarcophagai. The one unblemished and unshielded one, revealed to her that it would give whoever accepted its pact, the power of Xanthar - so we inferred that it would turn whomever into a lich. Oh. Hell. No.
I don’t know why, perhaps it was her insatiable curiosity, but she then reached out and touched the broken sarcophagus. Black, swirling shadow emanated from it, and the vampire who we have met on several occasions stood among us. It was Vampyr. The dark power who gave Strahd his power, turned the Valley of Barovia into the cutoff land that it is, and made him into the horrible Devil that he is… (or he just made the man into a far worse monster… even if Strahd was always a monster, now he rules the whole valley and controls the very Land).
I am so glad that we didn’t try to fight the crazy dwarf-obsessed vampire when he tried to take Erkki, or when he raised Eerika from the dead, or hell, especially when he appeared in the lich’s bedchamber yesterday. We would have been so fucked. A dark power? I knew he was evil… but a dark power? If they are so good at hiding themselves… what the fuck? We are so fucked. We should never have come to this place...
He eventually disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and mist. Elaine disappeared, and judging from the reactions of Kasimir and Adrastos, she must have teleported into the ice prison surrounding the third sarcophagus. She called out that the Dark Power contained in that one could bring back anyone from the dead, but the price would be everything.
Brynden was rambling on about wanting to raise the silver dragon, Argynvost, from the dead to aid in the fight against Strahd. But Kasimir laughed at him - and I’m inclined to agree. What is to say that the dragon would help us? What is to say that he wouldn’t just kill us for the audacity of raising him from the dead? I don’t know, and frankly, I am not inclined to meddle in that…
Everyone was arguing. I tried to get everyone to leave this place, for no one else seemed to realize what this temple was doing to us as a party… it was splitting us up and breaking our camaraderie and trust in each other. This is what simply being close to these powers was doing to us… we needed to leave.
Brynden shot me a look that was pure venom, and asked where Trevor was then… if I trusted him so much, where was he now? I looked around and I couldn’t find him… even though the invisibility spell would have worn off by now. I searched somewhat frantically, when I saw him on the far end of the outside chamber, inspecting the guardian from a relatively safe distance. I felt an immediate rush of relief… he appeared to have kept his promise to me after all…
I heard one of the dark powers whisper to me in my mind, promising me the beauty and charisma to have anyone and anything that I desire be given to me. When I asked what the price was, the voice merely giggled. I felt sick. I turned away and tried to push any such thoughts from my head. I already am beautiful and skilled enough at the art of conversation and performance to be able to talk my way into, and out of, most situations I find myself in… and I’ve never had a problem finding someone to spend a night with… I had no need of such twisted power - for I knew in my heart that anything in this place would be twisted by the dark, demonic gods that dwelt here… I mean, look at Strahd for example…
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and back into the present. Brynden dropped his spell holding the ice dome around the sarcophagus, and Adrastos approached it. He placed his hand upon it, and before any of us could do anything to stop him, he crumbled into dust. It was horrible. He is gone. Just gone. Poor Eerika ran to where his body once was, as though she was trying to find something to cling onto. I didn’t realize that they had become that good of friends. I knew that they had a mutual tolerance for each other, and maybe a bit of affection, but I’ve never seen a dwarf so broken up by someone’s death before. My heart bleeds for her.
But that was not even the worst of it… for Brynden… foolish boy… must have crawled his way to the other intact sarcophagus while we were all distracted by Adrastos’ sudden end.
Because all of the sudden, as if out of nowhere, I heard Brynden’s death rattle as he drew his last breath, writhing on the ground in agony as he died right before our eyes. Oswald and I reached him at the same time. I could feel tears running tracks down my face as Oswald tried to bring life back into his body.
It was horrible.
A dark, crackling energy began swirling around Brynden’s body, partially obscuring it from view, but not enough that I couldn’t make out the flesh melting off of his bones, leaving only a skeletal form in his tattered robes. A small glass spider appeared next to him, emanating an ominous red glow. His phylactery. Brynden had accepted lichdom.
I could feel my heart breaking into a thousand pieces. The look on Oswald’s face made it even worse, as he grabbed the spider phylactery and tucked it into his breastplate. “Brynden” sat up. He had legs again, but I don’t see how the trade was worth it. For, if what I’ve heard is correct, he will no longer be himself… not in the slightest. Liches only care about the gathering of information and pursuit of knowledge - at the expense of everything they once were. I cannot believe that Brynden would have made this trade if he hadn’t taken the blast to his legs… but on the other hand… why would he have accepted something so terrible, sought it out, even, if he hadn’t wanted the darkness to claim him?
I just stood there, staring at him in shock, tears running down my face. He mocked me when he looked and saw my distress. Brynden has long been an ass to me, but not like that… it is as though Brynden Chandler is dead… as dead as his sister. But his is made even worse because it is purely of his own making.
I felt Eerika’s arm come around me then, turning me away from the others as she said “let’s leave this place.”
I completely agreed with her, so I let her lead me out of the chamber and across to where Trevor was still studying the guardian. He got us past the guardian, I don’t even recall how… my mind was in a haze.
We made our way back into the lich’s bedchamber, Trevor’s arm wrapped around my shoulders. He didn’t even ask what had happened. I don’t think he needed to at that point…
I curled into myself on the bed when we reached the chamber. Trevor kept his arms around me for a while - which I was more grateful for than I care to think about. It was embarrassing, but I do not care. Brynden is gone. Elaine is gone. Erkki is gone. Adrastos is gone. Even Izek Strazni, who scared me on a level that not many men have, is still gone - and with him, any foolish hope of getting through to him and knowing him as a brother… I don’t know how much more of this I can take…
Trevor picked up one of the books in the library, and swept some of the lich dust from the chair into it. Then, he tossed it into the center of the teleportation circle, and watched it disappear.
I didn’t have much time to wallow in my thoughts, for the others came back into the room. Brynden and Oswald were eyeing each other suspiciously. Elaine looked around and said something about us needing to find out where the teleportation circle leads, so what did she do? She fucking stepped right into it!
Not even a minute later, Trevor told us that he had just received a message from Elaine. She was in Strahd’s castle, and the book that Trevor had sent through was there also. So, this circle was bound to Strahd’s dining hall, apparently. Fuck.
Brynden said we needed to go after her. I confronted him then, there was no way that we were ready to go face Strahd at that very moment. He would kill all of us. Brynden began ranting about how we can’t just leave her there to die. And while, my initial reaction was to agree with him, there was no way we would be able to accomplish anything if we did follow her. We would be setting ourselves up for Strahd to just pick off and torture and kill however and whenever he felt like it. We needed a plan, not to rush headlong into an incredibly pissed off Strahd’s personal stronghold without proper preparations. We would die without standing the slightest chance of even trying to kill him.
Brynden shot me another hate-filled look and said that he didn’t care what any of us thought, he wasn’t going to leave his sister there to die. Then he, too, stepped into the teleportation circle and disappeared.
It took the rest of us a few minutes to gather our thoughts and make a plan for going forward. We agreed to take a rest there, in the lich’s bedchamber yet again, and then I suggested that we make our way back to the room that the Vistani had barricaded, and ask them how they planned to get past the roc for their return trip down the mountain.
I passed out hard then. Fortunately, it was a dreamless sleep, until we were ready to move on. We made our way back down to the room where we had met the Vistani the previous day.
I knocked on the door but received no answer. I called to them, and received no answer. Trevor moved in front of me and looked through the small window. Whatever he saw must have been bad, because he motioned to Oswald, who immediately kicked down the door - which exploded inwards.
The entire room was covered in blood. I felt the bile rising in my throat as I recognized the remains of the three Vistani men who had been holed up in here. It looked like they had been torn apart by claws, and their bodies (according to the low voices of Trevor and Kasimir), looked like they had been bitten by human teeth… as we explored the room further, me staying as close to Trevor and Kasimir as I could, they looked up just in time to see the mutated monstrosity that had once been the Vistani woman leap down from the rafters. She looked like some horrible pairing between a human and a spider… she snarled and came after us, but fortunately the guys cut her down before she got too close.
She was truly horrifying, but pathetic at the same time. What weakness of will would make one of the Vistani turn against her own companions, other Vistani, and slaughter them like that. She didn’t even deserve the name or belonging that her people had given her…
We looked around the room, and I collected a bit of their jewelry and baubles to take with me, just in case we come across their families at some point.
The others all began discussing our plans to get out of the temple… I turned to Kasimir and asked him how many people he can cast his flying spell on. He knew what I was thinking, because he said he can cast it on three people… so he would cast it on himself, Trevor and Oswald. Oswald is strong enough to carry Eerika, and Trevor could carry me.
We made out way out to the side of the mountain. Trevor said that the roc was perched on one of the mountain outcroppings, apparently waiting for us to emerge. Oswald did something to distract the roc, and we leapt off the side of the mountain.
Trevor and Kasimir took the lead when we made it to the foot of the mountain. Fortunately, the slow fall down was uneventful, and Kasimir’s enchanted armor kept the mists parted around us. We made it to the road a short while later, and began our trek towards Castle Ravenloft.
A couple hours later, we came upon a familiar wagon… Ezmerelda was driving, with Blinsky the tiger sitting contentedly by her side.
So, now we are in Ezmerelda’s fortified wagon once again, heading towards Castle Ravenloft and what is likely to be the last confrontation of our lives...
The Amber Temple
The old monk's corpse and the Vistani were right to warn us… we should never have come here...
The Amber Temple is but a place of the darkest evils in this world and we are fools to be here. I am a fool to have come along with Trevor and the others. I should have tried harder to convince them to all stay away. I say this even knowing that Kasimir's obsession with getting his sister back is one that I'd never have been able to sway him from..
When we left the Vistani’s secured room, we made our way to the door. At the far end of the massive antechamber. As we approached, Oswald leading the way, a bolt of lightning shot out from a statue guarding the door. The statue wasn’t a statue at all, but a demon…
Oswald managed to counter the lightning bolt and prevent it from hurting anyone. This was bad. The demon was massive… about the same size as the creature that Trevor guided us around in the ruins underneath Krezk.
The ensuing fight was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before today. I have faced men. I have faced hags, undead knights, werewolves, druids and all manner of beasts. I have faced the Devil, Strahd, himself. But I had never, up until that very moment, come face to face with an actual demon… it was terrifying.
I didn’t know how to fight a demon. But, thinking back to our narrow escape from the roc on Mount Baratok, I cast Greater Invisibility on Trevor. If he was invisible, that would be the best way I could ensure that he might actually come out of this alive.
The demon (an Arcanaloth, according to the others) stood still for a moment, raising its hands into the air and summoning an oppressive energy. A gate opened on the other side of the room, and another demon appeared. Fuck.
Someone called out that we needed to kill the Arcanaloth in order for the other one to disappear. I wasn’t paying attention. Fireballs rained down from arrowslits near that roof, and both Eerika and Adrastos went down. They were out of my reach. I ran towards them as fast as I could, but I didn’t make it in time. For a split second, I thought about casting a Dimension Door spell, but I worried it would make me more of a target - as well as the two party members I was trying to heal.
I was too late…
Even as I got a few paces away, I could see Eerika’s shuddering breaths slow, and the vampire who was so taken with Erkki appeared next to her, scooping up her body and stepping through a portal. I could have healed her! And now, she was just bound for certain death, or something far worse…
Elaine teleported beside Adrastos, and she dragged his unconscious body closer to me. As soon as I was within reach, I touched him, pumping him with as much healing energy as I could manage.
The fight was going on in earnest behind me. Kasimir was facing off against the summoned demon, and Oswald had the Arcanaloth backed up into a corner. I could hear Trevor’s whip cracking unusually quickly, so I assumed he was beside Oswald.
I heard a curse and a plaintive cry from the Arcanaloth - a sound I never would have expected from the creature, until I realized to my horror that it wasn’t the demon at all… it held Piddlewink in its massive grasp. Before anyone had time to even react, it tore his little body in two! Piddlewink’s mangled body fell in pieces where the demon threw it, right at Oswald’s feet.
While I cannot say that I was attached to Piddlewink, I never would have wished this gruesome fate on the little Blinsky doll.
Everything was in a blur…
The summoned demon ignored Kasimir’s slashing blade, and held its arms aloft, summoning an ominous orb of energy in its hand. I stood there, watching helplessly as it threw the ball directly at Brynden, up against the opposite wall.
The energy splashed into Brynden as pure acid. I heard a scream and my vision was obscured by the smoke that rose from Brynden and the wall and floor around him. The demon popped back out of existence, allowing me to see what it left in its wake.
Brynden lay on the ground. His clothes were so mangled that I couldn’t even tell if he was alive. Elaine and I ran over to him, careful to avoid the acid still pooling in the area.
I have never seen any injuries so horrible in my life - at least not when the victim is still breathing. There was the faintest breath passing through his lungs. I cannot fathom how he is still alive after that… and I found myself wondering, as I tried to bring him any form of relief, if it would have been more merciful for me to let him die…
Brynden’s legs are completely gone. It looks like the acid must have hit him squarely in the knees, for his legs are completely gone. All that remains are the small stumps of his upper thighs. His clothes were mostly melted off him as well. I could barely look at his face… when I poured all of the healing that I have into his body, trying to ease a bit of his pain and hold him to us, he woke up screaming. Oswald managed to calm him slightly, but I knew that it wouldn’t last long…
Adrastos and Oswald began debating who was going to carry Brynden, for there was no way that he would be able to move himself… and none of us were willing to watch him try to crawl. Oh gods… the poor boy… I can’t help but think of what I would be feeling were I in his position… to have to rely on others to help me move about? To never dance or perform again?... I think I would rather die. I sincerely hope that whatever fulfillment Brynden receives from his pursuit of magic will be enough to sustain him in the days ahead…
Kasimir walked up and glanced down at Brynden impatiently, saying we needed to get a move on. He looked at Brynden as though he was nothing more than an obstacle in his way. He didn’t seem the slightest bit bothered by the fact that Brynden, not even twenty years old, is now going to have to navigate life without his legs! I would have liked to think that Kasimir, after all that he’s been through, would have at least had the decency to grant Brynden a few minutes to process what had just happened. But maybe that is the way of the dusk elves… to be complete, utter dicks to anyone who has had such trauma. I would have expected better from him. Why, I don’t know, but I did...
We were a noticeably subdued group as we continued on, Adrastos carrying Brynden on his back.
As we approached the far end of the antechamber, we could see the doorway that the Arcanaloth had been guarding… it was then that Eerika came running out from a side chamber… alive.
Eerika was covered in the blood and injuries that had downed her, and in all honestly, must have killed her, because I don’t see that vampire being one to carry someone away to heal them.
I asked her what happened, and she said that she died, but that “the nice vampire” had brought her back to life. Oh, fuck…
Initially, even with the questionable circumstances, I was elated to see her… but then I noticed burning runes encircling her neck… we inspected them and discovered that they were effectively forming a magical collar around her neck. Those runes would enable the vampire who had raised her to control her body at will. He could wait until we were all asleep, and then command her body to go to each of us and slit our throats. There would be nothing Eerika could do to stop it either...
We passed through the doors and found ourselves in a bedchamber of sorts. Bookshelves lined all the walls and a massive bed commanded the center of the room, but it was covered in years of dust. A skeleton was seated in a throne-like armchair, also covered in dust, its robes looking like they would fall apart at the slightest disturbance.
I glanced all around, waiting for the demon hiding in the shadows to reveal itself… until the skeleton spoke. It was a lich. We had made our way into the personal chambers of a lich! I looked to the others, and it was disturbing how well they were taking this in stride. Adrastos set Brynden down on the bed. Brynden made a half-hearted attempt to wipe the dust away, before he laid down, falling into the merciful blackness of unconsciousness.
The lich and Oswald began staring intently at each other for a while, not speaking. After several moments of this awkward silence, the lich reached into his robes and pulled out a glass jar, a phalactery. Apparently it is a magical container that holds souls and keeps the lich alive. He held it out to Oswald… which I thought was incredibly stupid because why wouldn’t Oswald just smash it? This lich was pure evil…
Oswald looked resigned as he stepped forward, something was wrong. I grabbed him by the shoulder and tried to spin him around to face me, demanding to know what was going on.
He said that the lich had offered to restore Brynden’s legs and health, and guide us through the Amber Temple, in exchange for a soul to consume for his phalactery. He had said that he didn’t care what soul it was, perhaps the Vistani in the previous chamber, perhaps Eerika (as she was likely to turn on the party without provocation or notice)... I could not believe that Oswald was even listening to this drivel! This thing reeked of pure evil - even I could sense it! Why was he even thinking of parlaying with it?
Then I figured it out… Oswald said that he was going to trade his soul for Brynden’s. Oswald thinks that, without his legs, Brynden is going to be even easier pickings for one of the Dark Powers - and while I cannot say I disagree with him, does he not realize that he would likely be dooming us all to a similar fate if he willingly and so cheaply gave up his soul? I was least worried about Oswald in this place… perhaps I should have been most concerned about him and his stupidly “noble” decisions…
Trevor spoke up, saying something about the aspire who had placed the binding runes on Eerika… surely the lich would like to have a soul that powerful.
And…
Speak of a devil and it shall appear… for the oddly-dwarf-obesessed vampire showed up then, asking what this was all about. He quickly figured out what was going on, and made some rather horrble threats. Oddly enough, he said that he is not necessarily siding with Strahd on all matters, and with the way he was talking, it led us to believe that if we left him alone, he might leave us alone and allow us to go after Strahd…
The guys asked him if he would remove the binding curse from Eerika as a show of good faith, and after some convincing, and talk of dwarf husbandry (is that even a thing??), he agreed, and the burning runes about Eerika’s neck melted away.
Did I mention that he had Erkki with him? Well, what remained of Erkki’s body, that is… I wish I could block the image out of my mind, Erkki’s flayed and mangled corpse hobbling around behind the vampire likes some sick puppet. I managed to not throw up right then and there, which is impressive, if I do say so myself.
The guys and the lich got into a bit of an argument, and Oswald nodded to the lich and stepped forward as if to touch the phalactery. Elaine let loose a barrage of magic missiles, which unfortunately, completely fizzled out, but almost in the same moment, Eerika launched herself and smashed the glass jar into a thousand shards. The lich crumbled into dust.
Brynden had awoken, and he promptly told Oswald off for not trusting him to make his own decisions. For once, I completely agree with him… Oswald seems to be obsessed with becoming some kind of martyr… even if it means sacrificing all of us in the process. It doesn’t’ make me feel particularly safe or confident in our overall survival chances - even though I gave up all notion of surviving this venture as soon as I convinced the others to release Sergei’s spirit and let him and Tatyana be together…
We decided to hunker down in the lich’s room for the night. Kasimir said something rude and stormed out the door by himself, Adrastos immediately following at his heels. I hope they don’t do something stupid and get themselves killed…
So now, I am sitting here, in the bedchamber of a lich, watching the others sleeping around me. I cannot sleep. Too much happened today. And, this is an evil place. We should not be here. I wonder what tomorrow will have in store for us, but I’m almost afraid to ask…
Hopefully sleep will claim me soon, I need to get some rest. I would wake up Trevor, because there are some things that I want to talk to him about before we go to what is likely our dooms… but he is sleeping so peacefully, I don’t want to wake him...
The Beast of Mount Baratok
We left the village that same day, not wanting to waste any time at the abbey. Not to mention, we didn’t want to stay in the same spot in case Strahd came looking for us… not that moving will help at all, but I think it helps some of us at least feel better about the situation.
I tried to get the others to at least grab some supplies or warmer clothing before setting off up Mount Baratok. Trevor was adamantly against it though, more so than many of the others… which I though odd, considering he should have a better idea as to the weather that we would be walking into… but then he said something about the people of Krezk and their reactions to learning of their abbot’s death. Well, banishment, but I don’t think they would recognize or care of the difference.
I think Trevor must have thought that my want for more supplies was purely based on my own intolerance for the climate, because he pulled off his furred cloak and draped it over my shoulders. I would have been able to manage on my own, no doubt, but I sincerely appreciate the gesture. It was sweet. And, his cloak is incredibly soft and warm… it smells of the woods and a bit of ale, but it is not unpleasant.
I found myself daydreaming as we walked up toward the mountain… it was hard going as we got farther up, but I found that the exertion leant to much reflection and little conversation among the party… sometimes that is nice. I wonder if any of the others think about the fates of Sergei and Tatyana… how did Ireena fare in that whole situation? It seemed as though Tatyana’s soul just completely took her over and she then ceased to exist… while I know that it is for the best, and I cannot fathom a more fitting end for a love spanning centuries, it still makes me wonder… do I have a piece of someone else’s soul within me? Is there going to be a time when I become whomever that person is and cease to be myself? I don’t know how I feel about that…
The path up the mountain was treacherous. We walked along a narrow trail, the mountain face to our right, and the sheer drop of a cliff to our left. I hugged the wall as best as I could, and tried not to look down and not to fall. Finally, Trevor found us a spot that he said was going to be our best chance of a camp - but it was completely exposed.
Elaine cast her shelter spell and we hunkered down for the night. Trevor and I were set to take the third watch, so I tried to get some sleep… before I did though, I tried to talk to Kasimir a bit… he is always so brooding and moody. I get it, he lost his entire race to Rahadin’s genocide, and then he killed Rahadin. But there has to be some hope if we defeat Strahd that he would be able to leave the valley. Trevor says that there are whole civilizations of elves where he comes from… surely Kasimir would be able to find a place with them… maybe even a lover? He completely shut me down when I so much as suggested it, saying that his people are dead, there is nothing for him here, and none of the “elves” in that land would accept him. Furthermore, he has no interest in a relationship of any kind.
Oddly enough, I believe him. I wish I didn’t. I hate to think that there is a point in someone’s life when they have been beaten down so badly that they don’t have any hope of anything left… when the world is so dark and forbidding that they don’t, or won’t, let any light touch them. How could he still think this way after what happened underneath Krezk? Oh well, I suppose I will never know what it is like for someone who has lived as long as he… even looking at myself… I know how much I’ve been ground down in my lifetime… and I only remember the past twenty years… I cannot imagine having memories and nightmares from the past five (?) centuries…
Elaine and Brynden woke me up when it was time for my watch. They were frantically talking to Trevor about some goats or something. It’s a mountain… there are goats… what is so weird about that?
I don’t know if it was brought by the presence of the goats or what, but no sooner had I climbed out from under Trevor’s cloak, then a roaring wind sounded and our little dome was covered in an avalanche of snow and debris. Trevor said something about a roc. Then I saw it… the bird was huge! It had to have at least a two hundred foot wingspan! Every beat of its wings left a disastrous gust of wind in its wake. It was one of those gusts that prompted the avalanche that currently buried our magical hut. I don’t even know how one would hide from such a beast.
The rest of the day was a blur… I pretty much just followed Trevor’s and Kasimir’s lead… anything they said to do, I did… we dug our way out of the hut, and we built a sled out of the debris. Trevor was in a trance, using his senses to reach out and track the roc’s movement, hoping to give us enough of a warning to hide before it circled around again…
It came again, obviously… Elaine flew off the back of the sled, but managed to teleport herself back. I was holding on for dear life… I fully expect to die at a young age, but this is not the way that I want to go…
Finally, we stopped. I felt like I might be sick… Eerika was going on about a tunnel into the mountain. I honestly wasn’t paying that much attention.
After some time, Eerika announced that she found a tunnel. It led into the mountain. We went in, a bit apprehensively, I must admit, but it was safe enough… at least there was no wind in here. I offered Trevor his cloak back, but he decided that we would share it instead… not that I was complaining.
The next day, Eerika crashed through the wall of the tunnel, revealing an opening to the mountainscape outside. I thought it looked promising at first, but then, when I saw the wide open field, leading to a small ruined settlement or monastery or something, I thought differently. Trevor said that the roc was approaching. There was too much ground to cover to get there before we got blown away by the bird.
It was decided. Oswald and Adrastos rode their horses across the field, Trevor and Kasimir made their own way across, Elaine would teleport herself and Brynden across to the building, and I would cast Dimension Door to take myself and Eerika across the way.
I waited until the others were across… I wanted to make sure that no one was going to be buried by snow if the roc came back… I figured at least Eerika and myself would be able to help dig them out, just in case.
I couldn’t see much of what was going on down on the ground, but the roc came back, of course. Everything going on was obscured by the winds and whirling snow.
Eventually, the roc flew off, and I saw the others make it to the relative safety of the ruined monastery… only then did I teleport myself and Eerika to the doorway.
The whole building was decrypted… an old body, wearing what looked like some form of monk’s or priest’s robes, was laying dead at the far end of the building. On the door and wall, he had written warnings about what is to be found beyond… horrible things that must never be released…
Brynden, being his usual self, was the first one through the far doorway. What we found throughout the following corridor spelled disaster up ahead… drawings were etched and drawn into the walls, depicting scenes from this very building… and the horrible disaster that befell them.
I cast Speak with Dead on the monk, hoping to glean some more information, any more information, really… he warned us against continuing deeper, and told us that nothing but evil lies beneath, in the Amber Temple.
I would have liked to heed his warning and leave. But the others were dead set on continuing… I am almost ashamed to admit that I seriously considered telling them to go on without me… nothing good can come of making deals with any dark powers… look at what happened to Strahd? Not to mention, whatever it was that caused Strazni to have his demonic arm, and whatever it is about me that makes Baba Lysaga want me so badly…
But, no matter what reservations I have… I decided to stick with these people when I left the village of Barovia… I stuck with them through the Old Bonegrinder, through Vallaki, Argynvolstolt, Berez, and the bowels of Krezk… I’m not going to abandon them now, not when my sense of self-preservation could get Trevor, or Brynden, or Oswald, or any of the others, killed… Sometimes I wonder though… would I have been better off staying in the Blood of the Vine? Just dancing and playing and carrying on with whichever handsome man struck my fancy?
When I think on this for any length of time, my answer is inevitably, no. No, I would not have been better off. For, if I had stayed, I would never have had the experiences that I have… Strahd would very likely still be hunting Ireena… and I would never have known that there is a world outside of Barovia… and Trevor… I don’t even know where to begin, because we haven’t actually talked… I think I might be a dalliance of convenience for him, as he was for me in the beginning, but now? Now I am not so sure. I will probably have to find out at some point, but for now, I’ll just have to accept whatever it is, or is not, and enjoy what happiness I can, while I am alive to do so…
We made our way into the Amber Temple. It was terrifying… the whole place was heavy with a sense of foreboding evil. I kept looking over to Oswald and he looked like he was about to jump out of his skin, or try to smite the very air itself.
Elaine said that she felt a pocket of anti-magic, where the magic in the area had been dispelled. When we followed her lead, we came to a barred door… there was a rustling inside it, and voices. Vistani voices.
When I tried to talk to them, to get them to open the door and talk with us, one kept insisting that I was an illusion… a trick of the dark magic of the Amber Temple. Finally, Trevor spoke to them, and I guess that they admitted that the temple wouldn’t have conjured him up as a temptation (I think they are being too hard on his visage - his scar isn’t that bad… and they were not ones to judge, by the scars crisis-crossing their own bodies and faces.)
We stopped in the room with them long enough to take a meal, and find out their purpose in the Amber Temple. Apparently, they belong to the Vistani who live in the foothills of Mount Baratok, and to survive seven days and nights in the Amber Temple is a rite of passage for their warriors. So, they found the first fortifiable room and dispelled the magic, in order to wait out their seven days of mental trial.
When the others told them that we have business in the Amber Temple, they warned us against going any further… they said that the temple itself will fuck with our minds. But, even though I would have preferred to stay with them, the others insisted on continuing deeper into the temple. So, we will leave.
I told the Vistani man who doubted my reality that now he knows that we are not illusions, or tricks of the Amber Temple. He eyed me up and down, and assured me that he is aware. It was odd… but he made me uncomfortable. I am used to men lusting after me, hells, it is one of the ways that I have always ensured myself an income… Wait, no… that was worded poorly… I am used to men finding me attractive, and then paying me for my music and dancing, and thus providing for my income. I am not a whore.
But anyways, I digress… it isn’t usual for me to feel uncomfortable by male attraction - especially not among the Vistani… but lately? I don’t know… it hasn’t been sitting as well as it used to. Maybe finding out more about the world is making me jaded? Or perhaps it is just that the events beneath Krezk have rekindled the stupid dreams of youth. Or, it very well might just be that he is a Vistani who was leering at me, in the Amber Temple, which is a place that no self-respecting Vistani should ever find themselves.
The Vistani did offer for us to take shelter with them again, should we wish it. I appreciate the option… and would have dearly loved to stay, but I cannot leave the others to face their fates alone. Brynden says that he intends to confront Moru… Trevor has some business with one of the powers, and Kasimir wants to try to bring his dead sister, Patrina, back… none of those things will bode well, I fear.
But we shall see…
True Love beneath Krezk
Where to begin? First off, let me say that all of the stories and ballads about true love must actually be true... I honestly wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. But now? Now I know beyond any shadow of a doubt that it must be true... because there can be no faking the bond that Sergei von Zarovich had with Tatyana... theirs is a love that transcended lifetimes and reincarnations.
I don't know what made their love so special, but it is a story for the ages. If I survive this endeavor against Strahd, then I shall write it. A tale and a ballad, such as will bring tears to the eyes of the great noble ladies and lards of Faerun, if Trevor and Brynden are correct and I actually able to go there.
Well, as with any story or account... I suppose I should start at the beginning...
The morning after my last entry, we moved closer to Krezk. Trevor and Kasimir led the way through the mists. I don’t think I shall ever get used to being able to move through the mists with Kasimir… I keep thinking that I’m going to feel the poisonous effects at any moment, but as long as I stay close to the dusk elf, it doesn’t seem to happen.
Kasimir is such an ass. Trevor and Brynden chalk it up to him being an elf, but I think it must run deeper than that. He is the last of his people, and has watched their genocide… how much of his meanspiritedness is a feeling of superiority from being an elf, and how much of it is pain that he is disguising? I am curious, but at the same time, I fear to ask him. It is not my place. And what could I do? All it would accomplish is to reawaken old wounds. And probably, turn him into a bigger ass.
As we travelled, the mists began to change. We could see the stone walls of Krezk in the distance. Stone walls! I’ve heard about them, but I never travelled this far west in the valley with the Vistani. The walls of Krezk are more akin to those of Castle Ravenloft than even Vallaki itself (well, what was once the great city of Vallaki…).
The mists surrounding Krezk were different. Trevor called it fog. Apparently it is normal rolling down off of a mountain, even in Faerun. In the distance beyond Krezk though, I could see the mist wall… the impenetrable wall of mists that mark the end of the valley. When I was a child, I believed that it was the end of the world… that nothing lay beyond. Now, I know that there is a whole new world on the other side. I find myself believing Trevor more every day, that I might actually get to see that world someday.
After what happened today, I find that all of the unrealistic dreams I had as a girl are coming back to me now… maybe they would be possible after all. I mean, honestly, after witnessing what happened, I think anyone would believe in the old ballads and stories now… a concrete belief, and not just one of a foolish, starry-eyed girl.
Oswald approached the gates of Krezk first, announcing himself to the guard as he usually does, and requesting to speak with their bourgermeister.
After a time, the bourgermeister appeared. At least, I assumed that it was him, because he was dressed like one. Oswald managed to convince him to come down and meet with us in person - because he wouldn’t open the gate to allow us entry, without us first proving ourselves to be an ally to Krezk.
A few minutes later, the gates opened enough to allow the bourgermeister and two guards to emerge. He spoke with Oswald for a time, and he said that they were out of wine… and that in order to prove ourselves, we should go retrieve a cart full of wine from the winery. I had no desire to go there, with Baba Lysaga’s minions laying siege to the Wizard of Wines, either as we speak, or in the near future… so I was glad when Oswald discovered that their friend Moira had already been granted entry into Krezk. Apparently, the “hero of the boat” was known to them and so they had granted her entry without question. Figures…
Fortunately, the bourgermeister agreed that if Moira were to vouch for us, he would grant us entry. I heard a call go up from the guards, and a short while later, the familiar flame-haired dwarf appeared. She seemed happy to see us, well, at least happy to see the others who arrived with her.
Moira vouched for us and we were allowed past the gates. The guards formed an unusually large escort, and surprisingly, they carried their weapons pointed outward, as though they were trying to keep us safe from something, rather than making sure we don’t step out of line…
Fog was settled heavily in the streets, and I could hear noises in the alleys around us. I saw something for a brief moment before it darted away. It looked like a deformed beast, possibly related to a werewolf. I told the others what I saw, and Trevor seemed even more alert than normal. I was tempted to ask him how many beasts were around us, but I didn’t… I didn’t honestly want to know…
We arrived at the bourgermeister’s house, and once inside, he answered some of our questions.
Apparently, this was “the Culling”. The bourgermeister said that several centuries ago, the Abbot arrived, and cured the entire village of Krezk of disease and sickness. The cost of this was the Culling. He said that it is necessary to keep their population low, and as such, during the Culling (which lasts for a few days each year), the weak die off and the health and prosperity of Krezk is maintained. It doesn’t quite add up though, because he did say that he lost his children to a sickness similar to consumption. If it is true that Krezk is free of sickness and disease, then how did the bourgermeister’s children die of consumption? He is a fairly young man, handsome and well-kept, so his children could not have been dead more than a decade and a half or so...
I was uncomfortable with the whole situation… something felt wrong, but I wasn’t able to completely place my finger on it. The bourgermeister said that the Abbot wouldn’t see us until we proved ourselves… He said that in order to do so, we would need to survive in the streets for a day and a night. If that is what it takes to prove oneself to the Abbot, I wasn’t looking forward to facing what must be prowling these streets…
Trevor asked Moira if she would accompany us, but she declined, saying that she needed to “stay and protect the lassie.” Ireena came downstairs then, and we had a brief conversation while the bourgermeister called for our guide.
Our guide arrived, carrying a lantern and wearing a very tall hat. He was older, far past his prime, but I felt like this was perhaps a good thing for a guide, because he must have survived many of these “cullings”.
My hopes were utterly dashed as soon as he stepped out the door. A dark shape slammed into him and carried him off into the fog. That was scary.
Eerika, in her usual fashion, charged right out the door and attacked the beast. I followed after Trevor and the others. I was ready to do what I could but I couldn’t see much of anything, I could barely see to the other side of the street. This was where we were going to have to spend a day and a night… a horrible stone town where the inhabitants were turned into monstrous creatures from the depths of nightmares.
Trevor took a length of rope and tied it around his waist. I wondered what he was up to, until he handed me the other length and instructed me to tie it around myself. At least this way, we wouldn’t be separated in the fog. I felt a bit better. Yes, if one of us got grabbed, it would probably pull the other off of their feet, but I still felt safer. At least this way, if a creature grabbed me, it would have to contend with Trevor as well… and if he were grabbed, I would at least have a chance at keeping him alive long enough to kill whatever grabbed him…
We traversed the streets of Krezk for some time, and killed several of the mutated beasts, or apparently, “citizens of Krezk”. Finally, Trevor and Kasimir led us to the locked gate leading up to the abbey. Piddlewink popped out of Oswald’s pouch, and slipped through the gate to tie a rope around the top. We climbed over the gate and made our way up to the abbey.
Oswald, again, was the one who announced us at the door and we were greeted by a couple of very excited children. They led us to the “Abbot”. I didn’t know what was going on… there was a young man, the “Abbot”, standing in the middle of a flock of children. They were drinking from his wrists that he was holding out to them. It was as though they were charmed or something, but I didn’t see any evidence of the glazed eyes or anything that normally accompany someone being enchanted…
Oswald later told us that the Abbot wasn’t an Abbot at all, but rather, he was a celestial. Something called a deva… I don’t know what that entails particularly, but it is a celestial being that is incredibly powerful - so much so that Oswald didn’t call him out right away. Brynden wanted to attack him, but honestly, Brynden has been lashing out a lot lately… I think it is probably due to everything that has happened to him… I know that Elaine coming back as she has must be fucking with his mind more than he is admitting. And, I don’t know if I even want to know what he endured when he was taken by the “daughters” of Baba Lysaga…
Anyways, I digress…
We made our way down into the depths underneath the abbey… the rooms just grew more and more disturbing as we went… bodies and skeletons of children were everywhere… bloodied tools were everywhere. The whole place made me feel sick. Somehow it almost felt worse than the Old Bonegrinder… for there, the hags were slaughtering and eating children, but here… here… there was evidence of torture everywhere. I cannot believe that I have seen a place that I think of as worse than the abode of Mother Morgantha and the other hags… but this place? I have never seen so many dead and mutilated bodies… and they were all children! I felt as though my heart was breaking a little more with each step deeper we went…
When we got to what appeared to be the last main chamber, Kasimir brought up a point… we were searching for the sun spear, in which resides the soul of Sergei von Zarovich… and we had left Ireena at the bourgermeister’s house with Moira… we would probably need her to be with us if we were going to get Sergei’s soul to work with us… or even have any hope of contacting him.
So, Kasimir left to go fetch Ireena. I asked him to please be careful. He assured me in his superior fashion that there would not be a repeat of the last time… I hoped he was correct, but didn’t see any other option than to trust him… seeing as his one lifetime of personal experience is far greater than all of the rest of ours, put together…
We were deciding whether we were going to explore further, or simply wait for Kasimir to return, when we heard an ominous voice echo through the whole chamber, saying to “please… stay in one spot…” That was unsettling enough, that we decided to do the exact opposite.
Elaine indicated which hallway she thought led to the sun spear (the most powerful divine magic of all the magical auras, she said). So, we explored the others, waiting to approach that hallway when Kasimir and Ireena were with us.
Adrastos is incorrigible… and if I didn’t know better, I would think that he has no emotions whatsoever. He fucking raised a bunch of the children in the first hallway to serve as a meat shield! Children! Yes, I know that they are already dead… but really? They were children! Most of them looked like they were no older than five or six years old when they died.
Yes, I suppose I have to admit that Adrastos’ little child army of undead was useful… but I cried. I couldn’t help the tears when I saw their little bodies getting ripped apart by the various traps in the chambers, or the enemies that we faced… undead though they are, they are still children!
In the first chamber, we found a piece of Mordenkainen’s broken staff. Elaine identified it, and said that it holds the power to allow the wielded to cast one fireball spell per day. The group pretty unanimously decided that I should be the one to carry it. I am not complaining with that logic one bit! I am all for having more in my arsenal to help us survive…
The second chamber was past a hall of mirrors. Because of our previous experience with mirrors in Argynvolstolt, we decided that our best bet was going to be to avoid looking into them at all. I kept talking Brynden down from smashing them… I would prefer to leave everything as undisturbed as possible in a place as heavily ridden with traps as this is…
Oswald entered it, because he saw a symbol of his god, or something like that… when he came out, he was in excruciating pain - I could tell even through his helmet… and he was carrying a shield that was obviously magical. It was festooned in symbols that look like older versions of the ones on his tunic and religious accoutrements.
When we made it back into the main chamber, there was a massive creature sitting there, blocking the doorway. I didn’t know what it was, but after a time, Trevor said it was sleeping and we should just quietly go past it, and that it wouldn’t disturb us if we didn’t touch it. I don’t know if he somehow managed to communicate with it, or if he’s just that good at talking to beasts… but either way, it was terrifying. We ended up waiting, and it wasn’t too long before Kasimir arrived with Ireena.
Kasimir looked to me as if I knew what was going on with the beast. I whispered to him that I have no idea, and he should ask Trevor or Eerika. (Eerika left it some of her rations… I’m not sure why. But it must be a dwarf thing…)
We made it past the beast without incident, but then the corridor split in two. Down to the left was the sound of skittering legs, and to the right was the sound of metal scraping on the flagstones…
We went toward the sound of the skittering, and came upon a magical darkness filling the corridor up ahead. Trevor heard the sound of hundreds of spider legs, and immediately said “Nope” and turned around to go the other way. Elaine dispelled the magical darkness, and Moru was there. He threatened Brynden until he agreed to meet with him in the Amber Temple. Oh FUCK. I don’t want to go there! Fortunately though, Moru seemed to be satisfied with Brynden’s acceptance of his demands, and he, and all of his spiders, disappeared.
When we went down the other corridor, we came upon a flesh golem. I’d read about them in books before, and heard a few stories, but I’d never seen one in person before… It was disgusting… and an experience I am not inclined to repeat if I can possibly help it. Someone had the bright idea that because Piddlewink is technically a construct, they might be able to talk to each other…
I don’t know what Piddlewink said, but whatever it was, pissed off the golem to no end. He smashed Piddlewink with a rock and sent him flying up against the wall. He actually “splatted”. I thought we’d lost him… and while a couple months ago, I wouldn’t have been worried about it, I find that I’ve grown rather attached to the little guy. Fortunately, Oswald was able to save him. The golem was defeated, but it killed a handful of Adrastos’ undead children.
We finally made our way further down, and began to hear the sound of running water…
The corridor emptied out into a chamber that looked like it had been carved out around a pool of water. A gold staff was sticking out of the center of the pool, it looked to be about seven feet long.
Oswald stepped into the water, and a reached out his hand to Ireena. She was scared. I could see her internal debate as to whether she was going to take his hand, or turn andleave, written all across her face. I did not envy her in that moment. Oswald assured her that it would be okay, and I couldn’t take it anymore… I cast calm emotions on her, so that she could more clearly make her own decision.
I hope it helped. It seemed to, for Ireena steeled herself and took Oswald’s hand, letting him lead her into the pool. As they walked a few feet into the pool, Ireena stopped dead in her tracks. She began to fall, but Oswald caught her. When she regained her footing, Ireena turned back and looked at all of us. She thanked us. Something about her was different… as if she was Ireena, but not. I had a feeling that I was looking at Tatyana…
She then reached out and touched the staff. As soon as her hand touched it, a beam of light shot down from the ceiling and lit up the staff in a blinding golden light. All of the runes came alight on the shaft, and a blinding blade of pure light formed on top of the staff. It looked like a spear of pure, radiant, intense sunlight.
The entire pool lit up with the same radiant light. I thought I was seeing things for a minute, as the light was so bright, but it looked like there was a man made of pure light appearing alongside Ireena. But I wasn’t seeing things… the light soon coalesced into the form of an armored man. He moved Ireena behind him and stood there, gripping the spear.
Oswald knelt down in the water. Sergei spoke then. His voice was deep and quiet but it carried throughout the whole chamber. “Why have you come?”
Oswald told him “We seek to defeat your brother, save this valley, and save Tatyana.”
Sergei then looked at all of us individually. I had the distinct feeling that he could see into my mind and heart, as though he was inspecting my past and motivations to see if I was worthy of something. Life, maybe… I didn’t want to know what he would do if he didn’t like what he found…
He smiled and told Oswald “I can offer you this spear, but I have one request… let it be wielded by me.”
Oswald agreed, and Sergei said that it wasn’t a decision he could make alone.
I asked him what he means by the spear being wielded by him.
“Let me be the one to kill my brother.” He said.
Oswald began saying that he would be willing for his body to be used if that is what Sergei needed, for the sake of all of the souls in the valley, and for the rest of his friends to get out of Barovia. Brynden spoke up though, and disagreed.
What Sergei was asking, was for us to free his soul from his spear. If we did that, and gave him what he asked, he would be free to spend eternity with Tatyana/Ireena’s soul. But, by doing so, the spear would lose the power of the sun… it would become nothing more than a metal shaft.
“If you free me…” Sergei said “so that I can be with my love, then I will come to you in your hour of need.”
Oswald turned back to us, to make a decision. Brynden said that we need the spear for more than just Strahd… Oswald had to remind him that we were talking about a man, not just a spear. Brynden replied that we could always free his soul later, as if that made it better.
I looked over at Sergei’s materialized spirit and Ireena/Tatyana… he had his arm wrapped around her and was gently stroking her hair as she leaned into him. She looked like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, that he was actually there with her. Looking at the two of them standing there, I knew that I had to convince the rest of the party to free him.
What other choice was there? There are innumerable ballads, stories and songs about true love… a love that can span time and space… this was it. Looking at Tatyana (for that is who she truly was now), standing in Sergei’s arms… it was like we were privy to a reunion that had been dreamt of for the past seven hundred years. They were so much in love… I thought of Tatyana’s soul, reincarnated multiple times throughout the centuries, always pursued by Strahd, but never able to be reunited with his brother - the one man who she truly loved. I thought of Sergei, his soul trapped within his spear for the past seven centuries, longing for his love, who he would never see again - and even as she was reincarnated, he remained forever trapped in the spear, buried this deep beneath Krezk…
THIS was what the stories tried to capture. The love between these two… and seeing it right in front of me, I was struck by the fact that these stories all fell so short. This is what dreams are made of… those dreams that you have in your heart of hearts that you keep close to your chest, and only allude to in your music and stories, lest you give too much of yourself to your audience, and end up with nothing left for yourself. This is what life tries to crush… but love… true love like that of Sergei and Tatyana? That cannot be killed… not even by the machinations of Strahd himself, or the curses of the dark gods, can kill a love like this. It was our duty to do whatever we could to enable them to be together, if not their bodies in life, then at least, their spirits in death…
I turned to the rest of the party and tried to convince them to free Sergei’s spirit. I told them that this is what all of the stories and songs are written about. I beseeched them to look at Sergei and Tatyana, how could we not release him so they can finally be together. Brynden was doing his best to persuade the party to disagree with me, because we need the spear. When I realized that it was going to come to a vote eventually, I turned to Adrastos. I knew I could convince him, out of anyone, to agree with me… I asked him if he recognized the signs of true love when he saw it. I asked him that if there was any way for him to be reunited with his love, and a party of adventurers had the opportunity to give him that reunion, or separate them forever, what would he want them to choose?
After I’d spoken my part, I stepped back and started to play. I played the saddest, most tragic love ballad that I knew. I poured every ounce of my dreams, emotions and desires into the performance, in an effort to move the party’s hearts of apparent stone.
Brynden complained that it wasn’t fair, that I would unfairly sway the others to my way of thinking… but I just motioned to where Sergei and Tatyana were embraced, and told him that what they have is true love, and even if we die in the end without the spear, we would have done the right thing and it would be what I would call a good death.
I believed it when I said it, and I will believe it even if I die by the Devil’s hand, and my soul is destined to live and die in pain over and over and over. Watching Sergei and Tatyana together… I would give myself over to Baba Lysaga if that is what it took to allow a love like that to survive…
Finally the others agreed to release Sergei, except for Brynden, of course. I didn’t see or hear if Elaine cast a vote, but the majority of the party agreed with me… I’d like to think that Trevor would have released Sergei’s spirit regardless, but maybe that is just girlish daydreams talking. He said something about making Barovia even more of a hell for Strahd than ever, but I’d like to think that was an excuse. I don’t know… sometimes I wish I didn’t have the dreams that seem to be so foreign to everyone around me… I’ll just have to keep writing them in ballads… ballads that I’ll never get to play in the taverns here…
I asked Ireena/Tatyana for one favor before they left… I asked if she would give us back the Icon of the Ravenkind. She smiled and handed it to Oswald without hesitation. Then, the two of them, arms around each other, faded away and were gone. As Sergei and Tatyana faded away, so too did the light in the spear…
I dashed tears from my eyes before I turned back to the party. We would spend the night there in the cavern, before dealing with the monster upstairs and planning what our strategy would be to deal with Strahd now… he was going to be furious, I could feel it in my bones.
Later…
The next morning, we filled every available container we had with the water of Sergei’s pool. Oswald said that the whole area was sanctified, and thus, the entire contents of the pool was holy water… this will come in useful for our survival, I think. I hope…
Is it terrible of me that I found myself wishing for some privacy with Trevor in this place?... Ah well, perhaps it was seeing Sergei and Tatyana fade away together… or perhaps it is the very real fact that when we leave this place, it might very well be to our doom. If I do die by the hand of Strahd or his minions, I hope this journal makes its way to him, and he reads it… Just in that event, here is a message for him…
Dear Strahd von Zarovich,
You are indeed the Devil that my people have called you for as long as we remember. Tatyana is not going to save you. She was never going to save you. You killed her true love, your brother Sergei, but no matter what you may do, or have done, to us… know this… they are together now. Sergei and Tatyana. They are together and happy in whatever afterlife they have gone to. Tatyana’s soul will never be reborn for you to torment with your twisted obsession for her… so, even though I am likely dead, and you may probably kill every future reincarnation of my soul… I would do it again a thousand times over.
Know this… just this once, if never again… my friends and I bested you. We bested you and freed Tatyana and Sergei to be together forever. True love will always win in the end, even if it takes a millennia.
Fuck you.
Never yours,
Marushka Dragomir, bard extraordinaire
We made our way back up into the abbey. We were prepared to fight the abbot, but fortunately, as soon as Oswald began a conversation with him, Kasimir cast a spell and banished him from this plane. I don’t know where he went, I don’t care where he went… as long as he is away from here and cannot come back.
The children freaked out as soon as the abbot was gone, but fortunately, Oswald was able to put them to sleep…
We heard a roar on the wind. For a split second, I thought that the abbot might be returning, but no… it was different… I followed Trevor and the others outside. The sky in the east was red… storm clouds were swirling and I could hear a chilling roar of rage carried on the wind from Castle Ravenloft.
Strahd knows…
...and so it begins…
As the saying goes: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire...
Oh, where to begin? So much has happened in the past couple of days that I am only now just beginning to even be able to put anything into words. And for me, of all people, to be struck wordless… it has been a crazy couple of days.
The early morning when Strahd visited Elaine on her watch was an appropriate setting of the stage for the rest of these events…
Elaine was completely emotionless as she explained to us what it was that Strahd wanted - apparently, she agreed to talk to Ireena and try to get her to go to Strahd. On one hand, I can understand why she would agree to his deal, as he promised to return Brynden to her in exchange… but I don’t think she understands the gravity of what she has just agreed to… she is now bound to do as he said - and I am terrified of what the consequences will be for all of us if she does not…
As we drew closer to the Vistani camp, Trevor or Oswald must have heard something because Trevor started running and Oswald took off at a full gallop toward the gate. I stayed as close behind Trevor as I could, and when we approached the gate, I could hear raised voices arguing.
I was going to run into the camp and try to mitigate the situation, but Trevor put his arm out and pushed me behind him. Something about the look on his face told me that something was terribly wrong, and so I just did what he wanted without questioning him. Standing behind Trevor, I paid a bit more attention to the voices, and felt a knot of dread forming in the pit of my stomach… I never forget a voice… and Izek Strazni’s voice is one that has been burned into my mind for the rest of my life.
Strazni was demanding to know my location. Peeking around Trevor, I was able to see Vistani bodies laying on the ground. This is not what I wanted… this is never what I would have wanted…
Trevor leaned his head down and whispered to me what was going on… Strazni was escalating, so I stepped out from behind Trevor and called to him.
As soon as I stepped into view, he froze. I felt like a deer caught in the crazed eyes of a wolf. He started walking towards me, and a couple of the Vistani guards moved to intercept him. I held up my hands in a non threatening manner and pleaded with all of them to stop. I told Strazni that I want to talk to him. I asked him to at least sit… he was scaring me, and having to look up at him wasn’t helping me feel any less threatened. I could almost feel the rest of the party tensing, fully prepared to attack him at a moment’s notice.
As much as it doesn’t make any sense… I don’t want him to die. He is actually my brother by blood, and if there is a chance that I could actually have a relationship with a family that I never thought I had, I don’t want to ruin it.
I don’t know what set him off, but suddenly he grabbed my arm and demanded that I would be coming with him. I tried to shake him off, but his grip is insane…
Oswald cast a spell then, to calm everyone’s emotions, and it seemed to take the edge off of Strazni enough to make him at least able to talk to us.
I healed him a little bit, trying to ease some of the pain of his burns… hoping that it would take the edge off of him a bit. I asked him what he remembers about our childhood, before Rahadin burned our village… he recounted everything that I remember, and some things that I don’t, but sound like they must be true.
Strazni insisted that he was going to take me to a grotto on the shores of Lake Zarovich that he claims that we used to go to as children. I have no memory of the place and don’t understand how we would have gone to the grotto together as children… I was so young when Rahadin destroyed my village, that I don’t understand why our parents would have let us go to the shores of Lake Zarovich alone… but then again, I would have never believed that my parents would have traded me and my brother to Baba Lysaga for their safety.
Families are supposed to take care of each other - at least that’s what I think they should do. The Vistani take care of each other… Elaine (when she was actually Elaine) and Brynden, as much as they argued, still took care of each other…
Strazni said that he was going to take me through the city of Vallaki and go to this grotto. Apparently there is a fane under Lake Zarovich that hasn’t had its power sapped at all by Strahd or Lysaga. I don’t know how true this is, but I also can’t help but wonder why… if this fane is strong enough that neither Strahd nor Baba Lysaga have managed to subjugate it… then why would we be going closer to it… we should stay as far away from Lake Zarovich and this fane as we possibly can.
I asked him if there was no other way to get to this grotto, why not just go around Vallaki… but he just looked at me like I was an idiot child – there is a cliff face backing up to Vallaki, yes, but there has to be another way…
I told Strazni that I wasn’t going to go with him alone. He ignored me, except to say that he doesn’t care what the others do, but that I was coming with him whether I wanted to or not…
I knew that the party wouldn’t let him just take me away against my wishes, but I didn’t want anyone else to die…
Fortunately, Trevor finally decided to speak up. He said that he doesn’t understand why we don’t just find a boat and take it upstream. Strazni said that we don’t have a boat. But Trevor just gave him a look and Strazni said that there are boats at the dock in Vallaki.
I poured all of my desperation into one look and one word… I simply said “please.”
I think it must have gotten through to Strazni, because he said “You’re right. Wait here.” Then, he turned and left, walking in the direction of Vallaki.
As soon as he was out of earshot, there was an audible sigh of relief. I felt like I was wound so tight with the tension of impending doom, that I could just now draw a breath.
Everyone began talking at once. We debated about what we should do… stay and wait for Strazni to return, or leave immediately and try to get as far away from him as possible.
We spent the evening talking about our best course of action.
Trevor didn’t want to wait. I didn’t want to stay either, but I also didn’t want to leave and have Strazni tracking us and angry enough to kill everyone. He is already unstable enough that I feared he would just throw me over his shoulder and kill anyone who tried to stop him.
I started thinking back on all of the interactions we've had with Strazni in the
past... something about our encounter in Vallaki was standing out as odd.(well... odder than normal).
I turned to Trevor and asked him what exactly had transpired between him, Brynden and Izek Strazni when they met with him in Vallaki. He told me that they talked, which I knew.
But Trevor shifted uncomfortably... which led me to believe that my suspicions were correct... something happened that they hadn't told me..
I asked him exactly what he and Brynden had said to Strazni. He said they promised to keep me safe, but I could tell that he was still hiding something.
Finally, Trevor caved under my persistence. He admitted that they told Strazni that I had slept with the hunter, Szoldazar. That must have something to do with why I hadn't seen either of the hunters since the night we defeated Rahadin... they probably skipped town...
A horrible thought came to me then.. if Strazni had a bad reaction to my night with the hunter, and he has a delusional obsession with trying to keep me "safe", and stopping anyone (namely Strahd and Lysaga) from "taking" me... what would he do to Trevor?
Oh gods... Trevor's family crest is on my armor- and on his own tunic... I hope that Strazni was too distracted and angry to notice. But then again...
if he had, I think we would all know by now.
I made sure to sleep in my own tent last night. Even though I would have dearly loved the company, I was terrified of what Strazni would do should he return in the night and find Trevor in my tent... Never before in my life have I let another's opinions so sway me when it comes to what (or whom) I choose to do in my own bed... But then again... never before have I had a giant, mentally unstable, demon-armed and totally terrifying man claiming to be my brother and obsessed with trying to protect me from everything in my life... I think I'm being fairly rational - even though
I'm sure some of the others may disagree…
Oswald called to me from outside my tent before I fell asleep. He asked if I was decent (so adorable) and then asked if he could come in. I bade him to enter and he came in with a very serious expression on his face. He asked me about why I had asked Trevor to kill me. I think I forgot to mention earlier that that is out in the open now… I was trying to keep it a private conversation, but after the whole Strazni situation, it came up…
I explained to him that I don’t want to become a hag. That in my viewpoint, there are fates far worse than death… Oswald promised me that he wouldn’t let it come to that… but that if I wished it, and I were to be taken by Baba Lysaga, he would kill me…
I had the feeling that he may have been hurt that I didn’t talk to him about any of my concerns, so I explained to him why I had asked Trevor specifically…
I asked Trevor because he is a monster hunter, and I figured that, as such, he would be the one most able to recognize the signs of me turning into a monster before it is too late. And, I know that with how important forgiveness and redemption is important to Oswald, I didn’t want to ask him to make the call that I had gone too far.
Oswald seemed to understand, more than I thought he would have, actually… he again promised that he would ensure that my wishes were carried out. If I am taken by Baba Lysaga, he will kill me.
When I met his gaze, I could feel tears beginning to burn behind my eyes and threaten to fall… I told him that I don’t want to die. As much as there are fates worse than death - I really don’t want to die…
I need to sleep. I don’t know how long it will take to come, or if it will… but I need sleep… especially if I’m going to be able to maneuver my way around the party and my “brother” tomorrow…
Later…
Oh fuck. Oh fuck…
Let me start off by saying that we are not in the Vistani camp anymore… we left it as quickly as we possibly could… fuck…
The positive out of this entire situation is that we now have Brynden and Eerika back with us… this morning when we woke up, Brynden and Eerika were on the outskirts of the Vistani camp… at first I thought that they were an illusion, but it was indeed our lost friends…
Brynden was wearing some horrible ragged robes, covered in the symbolism of the druids who serve Baba Lysaga. Eerika looked a bit worse for wear, but was altogether the grimy, dirty, hairy dwarf that joined us when we left for Berez those days ago.
After the initial greetings, we discovered that Brynden had gotten away because he made a deal with Baba Lysaga. He actually agreed to bring her Strahd’s head, and myself, in three weeks’ time… and he bears her rune on his palm to ensure that he complies with his end of the bargain.
He told Adrastos that Lysaga was playing him for a fool, because she cannot give him that which he is seeking. He got all volatile and bitchy, and I finally got him to tell us a bit of his story, by calling him out on having lost a lover. He looked at me like I was some kind of mind reader, but honestly, I’ve seen that empty, desperate look far too often in my life… the deep pain of loss hidden behind a wall of anger and hatred.
Brynden insists that he is intending on playing Lysaga false, but I don’t think he understands the power of the pact that he made. Elaine examined it and told him that the rune would cause him excruciating pain and poison him if he didn’t hold up his part of the bargain. She thinks that if he cuts off his hand, the effects will be disconnected from him…
I told the others that I worried what Strazni would do when he arrived to find Brynden here, and with the mark of Baba Lysaga on his hand… and that I also worried that he would freak out and drag me away, killing anyone around. I didn’t want anymore of the Vistani to die on my account, so we agreed to ask the Vistani to leave for Tser Pools. We figured that they would be at least somewhat safe there.
Fortunately, the Vistani were very receptive to our plea, and set out almost immediately towards Madam Eva’s camp at the Tser Pools. They were kind enough to leave the ring of wagons so the encampment didn’t look completely broken down. It was quieter, obviously, but I hoped that Strazni would just figure that they were scared of him and hiding – much like most people probably do when he approaches.
Oswald offered to cast his truth aura spell when Strazni comes back, to see if he is telling the truth about wanting to protect me. I didn’t think it would actually work… and I explained my reasoning…
The truth is relative to different people… and so whatever Strazni would say, in his delusional state of mind, would be true for him – whether it was actually accurate or not.
I used the example of the sky being gray… it is a fact. It is the truth. But, if I were one of those people afflicted with the illness where they cannot see in color, and only see shades of gray (which is one of the worst afflictions I can imagine), it would be just as true that the sky is gray – even if it wasn’t and was in fact, green or blue or red or pink, or some other random color… truth is individual to a person… so what one person views as their truth will be the truth, at least in terms of a truth seeking spell. Or, at least that’s how I think of it…
I might have used a poor example, judging by the look of confusion on Oswald’s face, but it was the best example I could think of… but it was the best I could come up with at the time. And I think I managed to get my point across.
The valley went completely silent. Eerily silent.
We all moved into the most defensible position we could in the ring of wagons the Vistani were kind enough to leave behind. This is it. I remembered thinking to myself. I had a dread feeling that I wasn’t going to be able to talk Strazni around to my way of thinking, and that there was going to be a fight. And, if there was going to be a fight, I feared to even guess at which of my friends I was going to lose this time… possibly even all of them.
My worst fears were nothing compared to what greeted us. No one was approaching from Vallaki. The road was empty.
A portal opened up in our midst, and the Devil himself stepped out. He threw a head at our feet… the severed head of Izek Strazni.
I just stared in disbelief at the head for a moment, before everything went to shit.
Elaine and a couple of the others were talking back and forth with Strahd. He was pissed that Ireena wasn’t here. Apparently, Elaine didn’t hold up her end of the bargain in his eyes, and the Devil had come for his due.
It broke out into a fight… Trevor kept taunting Strahd, and I desperately wished that he would stop. I didn’t want his head to roll at our feet…
The portal shimmered again, and an armored Kasimir stepped through. He wore Rahadin’s armor. He called out to Strahd, drawing his attention as he drew his hand out from under his cloak. In his hand, he held Rahadin’s severed head, gasping for air and pulsing with necromantic energy. Kasimir taunted that his scrying isn’t as foolproof as he thinks, and he threw Rahadin’s head. It rolled to a stop at the Devil’s feet.
Strahd let out a roar of rage, shock, and what seemed like genuine pain and grief. Maybe he actually cared for Rahadin? No matter… we were in deep shit now…
Everything moved so fast. Eerika rushed Strahd and actually managed to grapple him long enough for me to outline him in the flames of faerie fire. Then everything was a blur. I heard Adrastos scream in pain, and then Strahd was all I could see.
I know he must have put a charm on me, but I couldn’t break it… I found myself in a haze, thinking that we were wrong to be trying to fight him… when he materialized in front of me, my heart raced and I thought that he was the most attractive being I’d ever seen in my life. He wrapped an arm around me and I remember turning my head aside to give him access to my neck. I couldn’t help it. Now, thinking back, I’m horrified. But at the time, I couldn’t imagine doing anything but giving him whatever he wanted… he sunk his fangs into my neck and it HURT. I think the pain helped to snap me out of the influence of his charm… that, or it might have been Trevor laying into him with his whip…
Whatever the reason, I was glad when I regained my own mind. I have rarely felt more useless then those few minutes…
Strahd pulled out a whip of his own, glowing with a black energy, and hit Trevor across the face. I didn’t have time to even see how bad it was, because Trevor kept his face turned away from mine as he focused solely on Strahd.
I don’t remember much of the rest of the fight. It didn’t last long. Strahd vanished into mist and was gone.
Piddlewink ran up to Oswald, reaching up his fleshy hands for Oswald to pick him up. I guess he must have followed Kasimir through the portal… Oswald seemed happy to see him and promptly picked him up.
Kasimir shouted at us all to follow him, and he took off running in the direction of Krezk. Adrastos was still doubled over in pain… I don’t know what Strahd cast on him, but it was bad. Oswald rode up and threw him over Yesper’s back, before following Kasimir. I grabbed Strazni’s head and we all ran as fast as we could to keep up. I kept glancing over at Trevor. I couldn’t see the extent of his injuries, but they looked bad.
I don’t know how long we ran for… Kasimir ran into the mists, and the runes in his armor began to glow – and the mists around him parted. He was too fast. I ran until I didn’t think my legs would be able to carry me another step. And then I ran some more…
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity… Kasimir stopped and said we would camp for the night. Adrastos was writhing and screaming in pain. Nothing anyone did seemed to help him… Oswald couldn’t find any injuries, but he was racked with pain such as one should have near death. I asked Oswald if he could just knock him out as a mercy and let Adrastos sleep off the effects (Kasimir said something about eight hours of pain from the spell, or something like that).
Kasimir must have grown tired of him, because he walked up and started cutting Adrastos until he was fairly injured – then Oswald knocked him out.
I wasn’t paying that much attention to what was happening in that side of the camp, because I was trying to see to Trevor’s face. It needed stitches, and I did my best to make them as small and neat as possible. He had a horrible gash down the side of his face, bisecting his lip. I’m just glad that the blow had missed his eye. I tried to take the pain away with a healing spell, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. I don’t know what he’s thinking… It is going to scar, yes… but I think I managed to stitch it in such a way that it will be minimized. I know it has to bother him. I wish there was something I could say that would make him feel better…
Brynden was being an ass. I don’t know why the boy doesn’t just lay off. He would be upset if his face had been scarred… and at least, for Trevor, I think as he gets used to it… it might actually suit him.
If not, and if it continues to bother him… I hope we can find a healer more talented than I, who will be able to help him.
I approached where I had laid Strazni’s head then. I needed to know what happened, so I cast Speak with Dead. I asked him what happened. He told me that he had been on the docks, fetching a boat, when he was killed. A black blade appeared silently out of nowhere, and then he was dead. He didn’t see his assailant. He hadn’t even seen the attack coming… I then asked him a couple more things that I honestly don’t even care about anymore. Then, I asked him if he is at peace. When he emphatically denied it. I asked what I could do for him. “Kill Strahd.” Those were the last words my brother ever spoke to me, even in death.
I buried his head at the edge of our camp. I hope that I will be able to bring him some kind of peace… peace that he never knew in this life…
I went back to others then, but didn’t really join in on their conversation. Kasimir had some interesting things to say, but my mind was elsewhere… on the brother that I never really knew, and the dangers facing all of us now. Brynden and his deal with Baba Lysaga – I fear that he will not be able to back out, and if he tries… I fear the price that she will extract from him… Trevor and his now-scarred face… I hope he doesn’t shut me everyone out now out of some misplaced embarrassment.
One thing that is comforting, is that Kasimir said that I won’t turn into a vampire from his bite… apparently, I would need to drink his foul blood in order to be turned. The very thought of that turns my stomach. But then again, I never would have thought that I would willingly and fearlessly bare my neck to the Devil either…
I look around as I write this. Everyone seems to be lost in their own thoughts and troubles… I’m going to try to sleep, but I fear dreams it might bring… I didn’t think that Strazni’s death would have affected me this badly… I guess it is the misplaced hope and idealism of what might have been. I have to remind myself of what reality was and is…
I hope the morning will bring a better day. But right now, I just want to be held...
Of Missing Friends and Cruel Fates
I scarce even know where to begin this entry… today did not go as any of us expected, and now we are down two party members, with little chance of getting them back or saving them from their fates…
Okay… breathe, Marushka… you know it’s bad when I’m talking myself through this, even just to write it down… here goes…
This morning we set out from the gatehouse to find the center of town. Apparently that is where the magical aura surrounding this place is… at least that’s what Elaine said. I can’t seem to get used to her presence… she sounds like Elaine, but not. There is no spark in her eyes anymore - obviously not, because she’s FUCKING DEAD! I don’t understand what dark pact she made in order to come back, and while, it is nice to see her, and I’m glad that Brynden has some shadow of his sister back, she is not Elaine anymore. Gone is the adorably awkward conversations, the trying-to-be-subtle but failing utterly attempts at flirting… it’s as if she is but a husk. Much like those of my people who are born soulless… she has no emotion, no joy, no lust for life or knowledge anymore…
But I digress. I think it is just easier writing about the return of Elaine and the ramifications that I’m holding my breath for, than to think about what happened today… But I must…
As we made our way through the flooded streets, Oswald leading on his horse, I stuck close to Trevor. I think he could have probably moved through the terrain faster, but I really appreciated that he stayed close the whole time.
There were bodies floating around everywhere, and the stench was enough to almost make me vomit. Fortunately it didn’t look like there were any more weird vines around to grab us. The road was blocked by a mass of dead bodies. I was relieved when Oswald and Trevor decided that we would go around.
We took one of the side paths through the ruins and interrupted some dark ritual. I tried out my dispel magic spell that I learned not too long after leaving the village of Barovia. It worked well enough, I guess. Although it didn’t do much in the long run, it just might have bought us an extra minute or two. We fought the cultists and their summoned or raised, or whatever it was, abomination. But that was nothing incredibly new. Everyone handled it well. Adrastos can apparently fight quite well, so that was good to find out.
Then, everything went to hell…
I could hear the crashing noises of Baba Lysaga’s walking hut coming closer. But nothing prepared me for it to appear right behind me. It wasn’t even more than twenty feet away. I screamed and ran as fast as I could away from it. I knew there was no hope of outrunning it - I mean… it is a moving, walking, apparently teleporting house! As I ran, I heard Oswald call for me to get to his horse.
I don’t know how I managed it, but I scrambled up on the back of his horse while he was fighting, and he wheeled Yesper around and took off. I didn’t have any idea where he was taking me. Frankly, I didn’t care. I’m ashamed to say that I completely panicked. My mind froze. The only thought that was constant in my mind was that I needed to get away. I curled into Oswald’s back, trying to make myself as small and unobtrusive as possible.
Now that I think back on it, I’m embarrassed. I should have been able to handle myself better. I shouldn’t have panicked like that. And I definitely shouldn’t have pressured Oswald into abandoning the party like I did… this is all my fault…
We charged down the street and ran straight into the pile of floating corpses that we had skirted around earlier. The rose up around us and tried to pull Oswald and I from our perch. I kicked out at one, but barely had time to react before Yesper reared up and charged through them, trampling them with his bony hooves. I wondered for a split second, what a magnificent horse he must have been in life, if he is the formidable in death… but it was a fleeting thought.
I could hear sounds of fighting in the distance. Trevor’s voice came in on the wind, shouting my name. Guilt took over then. I pleaded with Oswald to take us back. I didn’t want the others to die on my account. I wasn’t willing to sacrifice any of them to let me get a little bit farther away, and only postpone what I knew must be the inevitable. Oswald told me that he had no intention of leaving any of our friends to die, and we looped back towards the rest of the party.
I could only get an occasional glimpse through the ruins of the walking hut, and what the party was doing. It was stopped. I could see Trevor hiding on one of the balconies. I don’t know what he was thinking, but he must have somehow managed to climb the damn thing. I didn’t get to see what happened next, because the ruins blocked my view again.
A few moments later, we were on the open road again, charging straight at the front door of Baba Lysaga’s hut. I could see Trevor, Elaine and Adrastos laying prone on the ground a short distance away, and could hear cackling coming from inside the hut. I didn’t know what was going on, but I figured that I would be able to have the best chance of stopping it.
I yelled “Baba Lysaga!” Screamed it, is more accurate. I couldn’t tell if she heard me, or if she would even respond.
The house shimmered and disappeared. What the fuck?
I jumped off of Yesper and ran to where Trevor and the others lay. I asked what happened and where Brynden and Eerika are. Trevor said that Brynden was taken into the hut, and no one knew what had happened to the dwarf.
Oh fuck. I don’t even know what horrors will be brought upon Brynden. I shouldn’t have run away. This was all my fault.
I think the others set up camp. I don’t remember much. My mind was running in circles of panic. Oswald’s face appeared in my field of vision and he said he was going to cast a spell on me. A few moments later, my emotions calmed enough that I was able to think more clearly.
The guys… well, now it’s just Trevor and Oswald, seeing as Brynden was captured… and I am not going to count the asshole Adrastos… something is up with him. But I’m too overwhelmed right now to figure that out… told me to just sleep, they would figure out the watches with Elaine. Yeah, did I mention that she doesn’t actually sleep either? It’s weird. Weird and horrible.
I’m going to try to sleep. If it will even come tonight. I don’t know… my life is falling apart, well, what little life I had… and I’m apparently taking all of my friends with me… maybe there is no way to avoid it… maybe I am destined to become a monster. I won’t do it… I will never let myself turn into one of them…
In the morning, I’m going to talk to Trevor. Oswald won’t be the best to talk to about this, because he naively believes that everyone can ultimately, be saved.
]Later…
I woke up and found Elaine on her watch. A figure was walking away from her. Strahd disappeared into the mist. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. She didn’t say what he wanted, but it can’t have been good.
So, Elaine has decided that she’s going to send a message to Baba Lysaga to try and negotiate for Brynden’s return. I pulled Trevor aside to talk to him. I had some things that I needed to ask.
I asked Trevor if he would kill me. I could tell that it shocked him, and he flat out refused. I explained my reasoning… he is a monster hunter. So, out of everyone that I know… if I turn into a monster, a hag, he would have the best chance of tracking me down and killing me. I don’t ever want to become a hag. I would rather die than be like those we fought at the windmill… killing children and baking them into pies. I would rather die.
Trevor insisted that I won’t turn into a hag. He told me that I’ve been talking to Brynden too much, and that even if I have demon blood or hag blood or whatever, I am still me. And my life is my own to do with what I want.
I appreciate what he said, but at the same time… can any of us really argue with fate?
He said that we have done far crazier stuff than keep someone away from Baba Lysaga… now I think I might have some idea of how Ireena must feel. Although Lysaga wants to turn me into one of her daughters, at least it’s not the devil trying to marry me...
Trevor finally promised that he would kill me if I started turning into a hag. But he promised that it would never come to that.
He asked me if there is anything else he can do to make it better. I told him not here. I think he thought I was flirting, but honestly, nothing could be further from my mind right now... and if I am the abomination that all of this would suggest... then who would actually want me of their own free will anyways? I’m not going to command someone to want to sleep with me. Never that... it would make me worse even than Strahd...
I hope with all of my soul that Trevor is right, and I’m not fated through some dark and twisted power to become a hag... I guess only time will tell...
Now we are off to see what we can do to get Brynden and Eerika back… and hopefully, it won’t be too late...
Of Dead Returned and Living Lost
I woke up this morning to a commotion outside the wagon, and Trevor was gone. When I reached for my gear to get dressed for the day, I noticed that my armor was missing. In its place, was a nicer leather gambeson that bore the crest I’ve seen on Trevor’s belongings… he must have traded armor with me, given me his new gambeson, and took his old one back for himself. I donned it, and found it surprisingly comfortable, if a bit loose. I looked around for a note, or any indication of, well… anything, really… but there was nothing. I decided that I would thank him for it when I saw him, and climbed out of the wagon.
…into an absolute, unbelievable shitshow…
Vistani were dragging away a dead horse from just inside the gate, and a strange, tattered woman was standing with the party, all huddled with Moira, around Ireena. Ireena held a letter in her hands, and was staring blankly at the pages as though she didn’t know what to do.
I could see Brynden staring daggers at the tattered woman, and it was only when I drew closer that I realized why she looked so familiar. The face that I was looking upon was Elaine’s. Elaine, who died to Mother Morgantha at the Old Bonegrinder… Elaine, who was entombed in a makeshift stone sarcophagus by Erkki… Elaine, who was DEAD. Her body and tomb were crushed under the weight of the entire windmill when the mass of crows collapsed it over top of her…
I thought I was seeing things… but no. It apparently is, indeed, Elaine – returned from the dead by the power and will of the Raven Queen. I don’t understand it. To be honest, I don’t want to understand it…
She looks like Elaine, but it is as though the spark of life, of the soul that made Elaine into the adorably awkward person she was, is gone. She speaks in complete monotone, and the timbre is gone from her voice. All inflection is gone. She is, perhaps, less shy and more direct than she ever was before – maybe death will do that to a person. I don’t know.
Frankly, I find the whole situation terrifying, as nice as it is to actually see her again. I fear that whatever dark reason the Raven Queen has for returning her to us is going to affect more than just our rebellion against Strahd.
My heart weeps for Brynden… the poor boy. He’s obviously so conflicted about the entire situation. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a family member die right in front of you, and then walk into your sleeping quarters (for that is apparently what she did) one night. It must have scared the life out of him. I’m surprised I didn’t hear a scream or shouting, or anything. … Well, maybe I’m not entirely surprised…. I did sleep quite soundly, better than any night since that first night in Vallaki, actually. Women have needs just as much as men do…
* * *
The letter that Ireena was holding was one from Ismark. He wrote her, saying to please return to the village, because he can keep her safer there than she would be out here with us. He must have received news of some of our exploits, or at least the goings-on in the area.
Ireena, obviously, feels an obligation to return to her brother. But, she also doesn’t want to be imprisoned within the house again. Brynden suggested that we send Ireena off with Ezmerelda to Van Richten’s tower far in the north.
Everyone started arguing… and no one could make up their mind as to the best course of action. Finally, it was decided in a consensus that Ireena would join Moira’s “crew”. Strahd cannot scry on Ireena herself with the ring she wears, and he doesn’t know who Moira is, at least he didn’t when we had dinner at Ravenloft, and he talked about the crazy man who crashed a boat on wheels into his carriage.
In exchange for Ireena, Moira sent her friend, Eerika Dagmar, along with us – saying that we needed to have a dwarf with us. She bade her to take care of the “manlings” and we were joined by this brownhaired dwarven woman, who has the dirtiest armor and clothing that I think I’ve ever seen on a living person… and she has a beard. I thought it was just a myth that dwarf women have beards, but apparently not… I do not understand their culture at all, but they do seem to make very good friends and travelling companions for the most part… at least the few that I’ve met.
* * *
Later…
We arrived at the edge of Berez. The woods immediately grew darker and more foreboding. An acrid, rotten smell permeated the air and we were trudging through disgusting, ankle deep water.
Trevor was leading the way, following a dilapidated, sorry excuse for a path that runs along the river, and supposedly to the ruins of Berez. If it was anyone other than Trevor, I would have been tempted to refuse to continue, I could almost feel the leeches trying to attach to my skin through my boots.
As we walked deeper into the forest, it felt like the bushes and undergrowth were all looking at us. Insects were swarming everywhere. I felt like my skin was crawling with their disgusting little bodies.
Brynden and Elaine were talking to each other, and suddenly, a root tentacle burst out of the water and grabbed Brynden, jerking him under the murky surface. Trevor jumped to help drag him out of the water, and another ten or so roots burst out of the water surrounding us.
I discovered how Eerika fights – and her worn, spiked armor makes much more sense now. She threw herself onto a vine and grappled it, grinding it against the spikes of her armor.
I did the only thing that I could think of at the moment. I cast Shatter and damaged two of the roots, causing them to thrash around madly.
Combat ensued in earnest then. Brynden levitated himself up in the air – I wish I could do that, and I heard the tolling of Father Donavich’s bell once more. A low pained roar rumbled through the air, and my bones. It was coming from the water right behind me. I called out to the rest of the party, and instantly, three tentacles twisted and wrapped around me. I couldn’t get away no matter how hard I tried.
The tentacles started pulling me into a massive, gaping mouth. It bit down on my legs, and I screamed for Trevor. Now that I am thinking about it, I don’t know why I screamed for Trevor – he was too far away to help me… I should have called for Oswald or Brynden, or even Elaine – someone who would have been able to help me from a distance… but no matter, I don’t think anyone noticed…
Eerika dove in beside me, headfirst down its maw. She thrashed around and I could feel the creature’s blood spraying the creature.
The rest of the party began attacking the maw holding me in earnest, Trevor hacking at the roots holding me, cutting one in half with the scimitar he took from Kiril.
A man came barreling over from the edge of the woods, wearing aged and damaged armor and wielding two swords. He sheathed his swords and tried to pull me out. It wasn’t doing any good – he wasn’t strong enough.
I did the only thing that my panic stricken mind could think of… I cursed it. I felt it weaken around me and then Oswald plunged his flaming sword into its flesh, and I felt the root tentacles slacken around me.
Trevor helped me scramble free. I just sat there. Everyone turned to the newcomer and began questioning him, but I was unable to focus. I just sat there, staring at the monster that had almost been my death.
The newcomer introduced himself as Adrastos, and he immediately got on Oswald’s wrong side. I’ve never seen Oswald that angry before… it was only when I listened to what they were saying, and looked closer at the symbol hanging around Adrastos’ neck that I made the connection – Adrastos was wearing a broken, inverted symbol of the same god that adorned all of Oswald’s livery.
Oswald even told him “Hello. Nice meeting you. Fuck off.”
I asked Adrastos why he was there. He said that he was there to kill Strahd. But he refused to say who sent him. He’s one of the rudest, most unpleasant people that I’ve met… and frankly, he needs to get his head on straight if he expects us to have any trust for him when he won’t tell us anything about himself or how he got there, or who sent him.
Elaine started walking ahead. I heard her monotone voice call back that a wendigo was right up ahead.
Oh, shit… could this day get any worse?
I followed close behind Trevor, and he pointed out the wendigo – far bigger even than the one that we killed and rescued the Vistani girls from.
The wendigo began backing up, and we cautiously followed it into the outer gates of Berez. Finally, it moved into the courtyard and stood up onto its hind legs. It held open its arms as though in a demonstration of something, and I saw a freshly flayed and crucified body of a dwarf, a telltale piece of a red mohawk still remaining on its head. Erkki.
A collective gasp of horror went up, and Elaine cast a fireball at the wendigo. Eerika charged in and grappled it. The wendigo reached behind itself and ripped Erkki’s body off of the rack… I could hear the wet sounds of flesh ripping… he launched Erkki’s body at Brynden, burying him under the bloody corpse of our friend.
More wendigos appeared, smaller, but no less dangerous. Everything turned into a clusterfuck then… and it was made worse when I saw Erkki’s body begin to convulse.
A wendigo was upon Elaine and I, so I grabbed ahold of her and cast dimension door to move us to the other side of the battlefield. As soon as we left, I looked back and saw the wendigo we had just escaped, rush at Trevor and injure him badly. Erkki’s corpse stood up and rushed Trevor, grabbing onto him and trying to bite into his neck.
Finally, the wendigos were mostly defeated… but Brynden and Trevor were seriously hurt. Brynden was the closer of the two, so I ran to him and healed him. Brynden looked pointedly at my new armor as I leaned over him, “Nice armor… even if it is a little big…”
We managed to kill all of the wendigos and Trevor finally cut down Erkki’s body again.
There was no air of celebration after that fight, even though we managed to survive, and kill several wendigos… I just stood there, in shock… staring at Erkki’s mangled body. We were so close… and it all proved useless.
I asked the others what they do for their dead in Faerun. Brynden turned to Eerika, being the only other dwarf around. She said that he should be buried in stone. So, Oswald loaded his body up on his warhorse.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I just sat on the ground and cried.
We moved into the gatehouse nearby, and Eerika barricaded a shelter for us in the lower level. It reminded me of the time when Erkki barricaded the broken cart for us. It was the only place that looked like it might be remotely safer.
Eerika’s shelter wasn’t big, but it was big enough to accommodate all of us closely. We made ourselves as comfortable as we could, and Trevor said that he could sense a vampire approaching about a mile away. He estimated that it would arrive within a few hours.
I curled up against the wall, tucked behind Trevor and Oswald, and tried to get some sleep… or at least as close to a semblance as my mind would allow… it didn’t work…
I asked Adrastos why he was here. He said that he wants Strahd’s head, for a personal matter. I do not like that guy… he eventually admitted that he was sent by Baba Lysaga. She wants Strahd dead, apparently. He insisted that the only agreement he made with her was that he would bring her Strahd’s head and then she would give him something in return. But he wouldn’t tell us anything else. The bastard…
The vampire that Trevor sensed earlier arrived. It was the creepy, perverted one that was following Erkki in Castle Ravenloft. He asked us for Erkki’s body. He claimed that something so beautiful should be buried in the mountains… I actually believed him. I think he must, for some weird, insane reason, actually care about Erkki. We agreed to let him take the body, as he was the most likely to be able to bury him properly.
We sat around for a while after that talking… Brynden wants to find out more about the Fane of the Swamp. Stories say that Berez was built on a site of power, along a leyline. I told them this, and that the center of the city’s government would probably be situated over the point where the magic was strongest. We decided to investigate that in the morning, and I curled up behind Trevor and Oswald once again, finally able to get some sleep…
* * *
Later…
I should probably be making this its own entry… but I lack the mental fortitude right now… my world is crumbling… everything I thought I knew about myself… about my family… apparently is all a lie… I fear I am a monster… or I will soon become one… fuck.
Morning came. Elaine said there was an aura of necromancy coming from directly outside the gatehouse. We went to investigate.
A hedge druid was standing there. He wore a wendigo skull upon his head as though it were a crown. I could see the bugs nesting in his mossy clothing.
Oswald asked him if he killed a dwarf. The druid looked at him briefly and denied it. Then, he looked straight at me and smiled, saying “Ah, she has come…”
When we questioned him about how he knows me, he replied in his raspy, slimy voice “Grandmother said you would come. All of her grandchildren come eventually. All those who are, and all those who were supposed to be her grandchildren.”
When I demanded to know what he was talking about, he elaborated… asking me if I ever wondered why the Vistani wagons came and took my brother and I… “He was to be sacrificed and you were to be given away, until the vampires came to your wagon… and spoiled Grandmother’s plan… it is good that you have come back… come my dear, come with me… come and meet Grandmother…”
Brynden quietly said that it all makes sense now. I asked how – for none of this was making sense to me… He asked why Strahd would want me dead unless I was related to Lysaga.
I fail to see why Strahd would want me dead. Brynden said that when Rahadin came and burned my entire village, it was because he was looking for me… for me and my brother…
The druid again bade me to go with him to meet this “grandmother”, because she wishes to see me. I told him to give me a name and he said that he would “give me far more than that…”
* * *
I found myself standing in a hut… I looked around and could see the gatehouse that we were staying at less than a mile away. The hut felt like it was rocking back and forth. A table was set and laden with food. Several beautiful young women were seated at the table, welcoming me as their “sister”. And commenting that I’d finally arrived.
I heard an old woman’s voice welcome me. I asked why I was there, and the door opened. An old woman, seated on a floating dragon skull, comes into the room and welcomes me, saying how “they all come to me eventually. Stay with Grandmother…”
I asked what she meant and she gestured at the other young women. She said that destiny is the reason why they all come to her.
She told me that my parents gave me to her. A vision entered my mind…
I saw my parents meeting with Baba Lysaga in the dead of night. They were making a blood pact… exchanging my brother and I for their own survival.
The worst part is that I remember the scar on my mother’s hand… I know what I saw must be true, because I never knew how she got her scar, and she wouldn’t tell me anything about it…
I told Baba Lysaga no, and she insisted that I would come to her… because she has been nothing but honest with me…
* * *
I woke up, Trevor holding me up. “Are you alright?” he asked, concerned.
I shook my head.
The druid bade me again to come with me… I refused. I told him that I needed to think about it.
“By all means…” he said, and began walking away. He walked to the river’s edge, and a group of corpses floated to the surface and formed a raft, that he climbed upon and began floating down the river…
The party began mumbling. Brynden asked me what I wanted them to do. Trevor asked me what happened.
I told them that Baba Lysaga took me. Trevor insisted that I was right there the whole time. Brynden is the one who mentioned astral projection, or something like that. I don’t even know. I told them that she called me her granddaughter… then I began to cry and couldn’t stop. It was embarrassing, but frankly, I don’t care right now.
I asked to talk to Oswald, Trevor and Brynden in private. Elaine came along, but I didn’t tell her no. We went back into the gatehouse, and I told them everything.
Elaine tried to help. But she just made me feel worse… pointing out that I now know my past… I finally told her to stop.
Brynden told me that I’m still me, and asked what I want to do. Talk to her?
Of course I don’t want to talk to her! I already talked to her! I don’t want to have anything to do with her!
Oswald told me that it is up to me. He compared Lysaga to Izek Strazni… he said just like I told Strazni that I make my own decisions, then Lysaga is the same. I tried to explain that she isn’t… she gets inside my head – something that Strazni could never do (at least to my knowledge).
Oswald also said that I “live in a kingdom ruled by some creepy vampire who can look at anyone he wants. There was a guy who made dolls, who spied on children…” and that this isn’t the weirdest thing I have ever dealt with.
Trevor agreed with him. Oswald then told me that “Where you come from doesn’t change anything about you… it’s who you are that’s important.”
Oswald and Brynden reminded me that I have an interest in the world outside of Barovia, and that there is much more to see, and much more to life than what this valley has shown me so far.
Brynden then started talking about how he thinks we’re closer to defeating Strahd than ever, and all that. I honestly couldn’t even pay much actual attention to what he was saying at that point.
Oswald said that he doesn’t think that Lysaga would force me… something about her being a former wetnurse and actually caring about those she considers to be her wards, or something like that.
The whole time, I was waiting for Trevor to say something. I don’t know why, but I wanted him to say something. When he finally did speak, it was just to say that he’s not good with words but I know how he feels and he will support my decision in any way that he can.
I told them that she was close… that I could see them all standing there, and Trevor holding me up, from the windows of her hut… she is right in the woods out there, and I fear that she is going to chase me. I pointed it out and Trevor said that whatever is in the woods is moving this way slowly.
Brynden mentioned something about a devious bloodline at work… said that there is something called a tiefling, and it would explain why I am the way that I am… apparently I can’t just be charismatic and beautiful in my own right… it has something to do with demonic blood in his mind. I don’t know…
We went down to join the others… well, they did. I stayed in here for a few minutes to write this down. I will be useless to the party until I at least have this written down and somewhat out of the recesses of my mind.
I feel like my life, my very identity is crumbling down around me. Everything I knew, everything I believed…
A small part of me wishes that I would wake up in my room at the Blood of the Vine and realize that this has all been a dream…
But then, I wouldn’t actually have these friends... I wouldn’t have had the good times travelling across the valley…
Fuck.
Tragedy and Escape from Argynvolstholt
Vladimir Horngaard is one of the most terrifying individuals I have ever met in my life - and I’ve met quite a few…
The whole time Oswald was talking to him, I could hear the audible creaking of his gauntlets constantly tightening on his sword. Horngaard was angry. Now I think I begin to understand what I heard about the commander's hatred being of such a level that he brought his entire order back as revenants.
Horngaard claimed that he knew exactly why we were here, and he pulled a leather bound book from behind him and held it up. I could feel his hatred filling the room. He told us that we were not the first to come for the book, and we would not be the last. Oswald seemed at a loss for what to say, so I stepped up beside him.
Using my most placating voice, I asked him if we could just see the book. We didn’t need to take it, we didn’t even need to touch it, we just needed to learn the information that was held within.
He turned his burning gaze to me and said that whoever wants to read the book must first possess it.
More conversation was had between him and Oswald, and it didn’t look too terrible, until Ireena piped up. I don’t remember what she said, but I just remember the sinking feeling of doom that settled in my stomach.
Horngaard’s face snapped over to the party, and he demanded for whoever had just spoken to speak again.
Ireena did. And Horngaard reached behind him for the book again, flipped through it and held it up where we could see. “How do you explain this?” He demanded, his voice reverberating through the entire hall.
The page that he showed us had an exact likeness to Ireena… Tatyana, drawn onto it.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck.
What that prompted was the most desperate fight of our lives - at least of mine. The revenants lining the aisle started advancing and Horngaard attacked. Van Richten did something that turned some of the revenants away from us, but then Horngaard plunged his sword into the ground, and some dark energy emitted from the black blade. A moment later, the ground opened up to either side of us, dropping off into the endless chasm that Erkki fell into.
Horngaard did something, I don’t know what it was, but there was a wave of powerful magic that slammed all of us to our knees. Oswald, Trevor and Van Richten were the only ones who managed to stay up. I couldn’t move. It was horrible… the revenants were all closing in and there was nothing I could do. I watched Ezmerelda go down and I couldn’t do anything to help her.
Finally, I was able to move again. I helped everyone as best as I was able, but I have rarely felt more useless…
Trevor and Ireena were seriously injured at the same time. Then I heard a dark voice in my head telling me that I must choose between my friend or Strahd’s beloved. I called out to Trevor to come closer so I could heal him, but he shouted back that Ireena was more important. So, I ran to her side, trusting that Trevor would be able to handle himself.
Horngaard grabbed Trevor by his throat and almost threw him over into the abyss. Fortunately, he somehow managed to twist away. I was paralyzed again, so I couldn’t even help him. I’m glad he managed to get away. I didn’t even want to think about what it would be like to lose Trevor so soon after we lost Erkki.
It seemed mere moments after that thought entered my head, that Horngaard grabbed Brynden and flung him off the edge into the abyss. Fortunately, out of any of us, I do believe that Brynden was the most equipped to handle something like that – for he levitated back to us a short while later.
The rest of the fight was horrible. I got hit by something and blackness claimed me. I regained consciousness to find a bleeding Trevor beside me. He could have healed himself, closed that nasty wound, but he healed me instead. I didn’t even have time to feel grateful though, for Oswald collapsed in front of the commander. I couldn’t reach him. No matter what I did, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to him in time.
Just when I thought that all of our hope had faded, and that we would all die there, in the bleak silence of Argynvolstholt, another shadowy figure appeared. Godfrey Gwilym’s voice rang out, telling Horngaard that this was supposed to be only a test. He called him out on trying to kill us instead of test Oswald, and said that they were meant for more than this.
That calmed Horngaard down enough that he stopped attacking, although I could still feel the rage rolling off him in waves. He then addressed the party, saying that Oswald had passed the test. We would be allowed to leave with the book, but he would be killing one of us.
He gave us one hour to decide which one of us would die.
I sat down with the others and we began talking. Brynden was arguing with Oswald about which one of them should sacrifice themself. I looked around at the party, the closest friends I’ve ever known, and I told them that it should be me. I was terrified… I don’t want to die. But, I am native to Barovia. My soul has been reborn over and over again, and will remain here and be reborn when I die… whereas them? They don’t have to be a part of this cycle. They have a chance to not even start their soul down the path that mine was forced into at some point in the history of my people. It should be me.
Trevor and Brynden kind of flipped out on me. Trevor refused, with more intensity than I’ve seen him put forth in a conversation – unless it was talking shit about another hunter. Brynden looked very upset by my offer at all. He kept saying that my soul having been stuck here already is the reason why it shouldn’t be me. He said that I need to leave Barovia and be able to experience something else – something that they had all already known.
I appreciate the sentiment, but I wasn’t seeing any other logical option at the time. I wasn’t going to let one of my friends sacrifice themselves when honestly, it would be far worse for them than it would be for me.
We heard a noise then, a sort of choking, gagging sound. When I turned around, I saw Van Richten laying in a spreading puddle of blood on the steps of the dais, his own dagger buried deep within his throat.
I heard Ezmerelda cry out, as we all rushed to his side. I tried to heal him, but there was nothing I could do… Van Richten was dead and beyond any help we could offer.
Horngaard reappeared from behind his throne and said that the price had been paid. He dropped the book, more like a tome, on the floor in front of us and disappeared.
A doorway to the courtyard appeared behind the dais then, and we took Van Richten’s body, and left that horrible place.
I hope I never have to set foot on the grounds of Argynvolstholt again for as long as my soul lives…
We were a solemn group as Ezmerelda drove the wagon out. She took us to the Vistani camp just south of Vallaki. Even from a distance, we could see the smoke still rising from the burning city. On the walls, Trevor said there were flayed corpses nailed to the ramparts… I didn’t want to look. I decided to take his word for it.
Survivors and refugees from Vallaki had streamed into the Vistani camp, so it was now at almost double its capacity. I called up to Ezmerelda to please keep an eye out for Izek Strazni. I wasn’t about to get out of the wagon if he was anywhere around. I do not wish him dead… I just wish for him to stay far away from me and my friends…
A short while later, the wagon stopped and Ezmerelda called softly that we were safe to emerge, she hadn’t seen any sign of Strazni. We were in the middle of a bustling Vistani camp, although there were more non-Vistani than I’d ever seen among their ranks.
We went our separate ways a bit. Trevor, Brynden and Oswald went off and started to help tend the wounded… at least, I think that’s what they did. I found myself drawn to the central bonfire and the strains of mournful music rising into the air.
I lost myself in the music and dance. I don’t know how much time passed, but eventually, Trevor made his way over to me and tried to join me in a dance. It was, frankly, adorable… he tried. He really did. I appreciate the effort, if his dwarf friend did not. Moira was calling out insults at him from the sidelines.
I danced and played until long into the night. Varda wagons were provided for our use by the head Vistani, in appreciation for the help with the wounded, and something Ireena had done. I honestly wasn’t paying that much attention – the call of the music was too strong.
I invited Trevor into my wagon. Now I’m sitting here, writing this as Trevor is sleeping beside me. I hope I didn’t make a mistake… I briefly considered finding one of the attractive Vistani men for the night, but then when Trevor joined me by the fire… I couldn't resist the temptation... I didn't want to...
I suppose I will just have to see what tomorrow will bring. For now, I must sleep…
Argynvolstolt, Part Two
Oswald approached the next chest. He prodded the latch with his sword, in an attempt to open it and avoid the same situation Brynden found himself in… once again, the mimic opened its mouth and bit down on the first thing it could grab – fortunately it was Oswald’s sword, and not his arms…
Right when we all attacked the mimic, it turned to Ireena and vomited a swarm of stinging hornets at her. I don’t know how she managed to keep her feet and her wits, but she did. Oswald and Brynden promptly laid into the mimic, until blood began seeping through all of the cracks in the wood. It was pretty disgusting – and it’s not like I am particularly squeamish… Trevor and Ezmerelda attacked it as well, but it was the “professor” Van Richten who finished it off, with a well-placed blow to the keyhole of the chest.
One more chest down, and no luck on the key…
Everyone was debating what to do for the next chest. A few of the others wanted to use Mage Hand to open the chest from a distance, while still others thought we should go about it the old fashioned way… open the chest and beat it down if and when it reveals itself to be the mimic.
Finally, it was decided – in frankly the only logical course of action. Van Richten cast his Mage Hand spell and all of us surrounded the chest as he moved the magical hand to open it. An eye opened in the center of the chest, and a voice rang out through the room, offering us a deal in exchange for its life.
Oswald said that it wasn’t a mimic at all, but a demon in the form of a mimic. None of us were inclined to believe anything that it said – for it claimed that the paladins of the Order of the Silver Dragon had made a deal with it and left it alone for the past centuries. Van Richten, in what I have learned seems to be his style, pulled out a candle and cast a zone of truth on the area. The demon mimic apparently didn’t even attempt to resist his spell.
Trevor and I talk to it, while Oswald and Van Richten glare. I don’t remember the conversation exactly, but the gist of it was that the demon would lead us through the next few chambers, until it grew tired of us. When we ceased to amuse it, it would betray us. Apparently, it didn’t want us to fight it, because it said that it would end up being defeated if we all fought it, although it would kill at least one of us.
I wasn’t wanting to make a deal, but I didn’t really see what other options we had. There was no way that I wanted to make a deal with unforeseeable consequences, but I also wasn’t sure how else we were supposed to get out of here…
Van Richten got all pissed off and attacked it. The demon mimic looked at us in turn and said “I’m sorry, children.” I had the uncomfortable realization that its mouth hadn’t moved at all… and yet its voice was reverberating throughout the room…
A tendrilous mist swirls around the mimic and around all of us, before coalescing into an exact replica of Oswald. It looked down at its hands and then turned to Oswald. It asked him how it would feel to watch his companions be struck down by his own hand?
Trevor shakes his head and calls out that he accepts the deal.
The evil shade of Oswald reaches out his hand for Trevor to clasp, and when Trevor pulls his hand back, he is holding a key.
Trevor opens the door, and the demon (I’ll just call him Evil Oswald), leads us into a narrow hall of mirrors. He dares us to look into the mirrors and see what knowledge we could gain. I purposefully keep my head down and my eyes trained on Trevor in front of me… as we walk along, I noticed that Brynden was standing with his hand pressed against the mirrored wall, as though he was in some kind of trance.
Oswald and I forcibly pull him away from the mirror and he seemed to snap out of whatever his trance was, but he was talking nonsense. Brynden kept saying that Elaine was there, asking why Elaine had been there. She had wanted to tell him something, that there was a secret to defeating Strahd and that she was going to tell him, but then he got pulled away.
I felt a sinking pit in my stomach when Brynden hurried toward the front of the group and asked Evil Oswald if he knew anything about the Amber Temple.
“You ask me about my home…” he replied.
Fuck.
The pit in my stomach turned to bile. I had hoped that Brynden would deviate from that train of thought, at least for a while – if the stories are true… the Amber Temple is dedicated to dark gods – and there is no way that I want to be involved in anything to do with the dark gods… isn’t it enough that we are trying to defeat Strahd, the Devil Himself? Why go and tempt fate with those who, apparently, are the ones who cursed Strahd and the land of Barovia. They would have to be worse than even he is…
The next door opened up and we found ourselves looking into an empty, circular room. Oswald took a step through the doorway and disappeared. He stepped back out and reappeared in our midst. So, since he came back seemingly unharmed, we all followed him in.
We found ourselves in a massive library with four stories spiraling up. Evil Oswald appeared again and told us a tale… apparently, Strahd once faced a foe who was so strong that he couldn’t defeat him, so, instead, Strahd imprisoned this person in a plane of existence all his own.
Based on that context, I could only assume that this must be that different plane imprisoning Strahd’s enemy.
Evil Oswald led us up to the third story of the library, where we found an old man pouring over stacks of books and muttering. He looked to be a wizard of some sort. At least, that’s what I gathered from the broken staff behind him and the arcane texts everywhere.
The old man has clearly lost his mind. He accused us of being agents of Strahd, which is something I am growing increasingly tired of… I understand the misunderstanding, as more than half of our party is wearing his insignia, but come on… we are obviously seeking a way to defeat him… else, why would we be here? Why would Oswald be completing all of these stupid tests?
Brynden kept asking the old man who he was, because he was convinced that he'd seen him before in a book somewhere. He lamented the sad fact that Elaine isn't here, far, she would be able to tell who the old man is. I'm not so sure about that, but I wasn't going to argue with him on the matter…
Finally, I got tired of all of the back and forth conversation without ever getting anywhere. I asked the old man if he would be willing to let Van Richten use a spell to try and identify the broken staff - for, if we could find out anything about the staff, we might be able to find out more about the man’s identity. He finally agreed, with an overabundance of paranoid suspicion.
While Van Richten was studying the old wizard and his staff, the rest of us began searching through the sections of the library, trying to find anything that would give a clue as to the man’s identity. I wondered if this was going to be some kind of a test for Oswald, like a test of his intelligence or something…
Shortly thereafter, Van Richten called down from the upper level that the wizard was none other than Mordenkainen. Brynden immediately began freaking out, and even Oswald and Trevor were acting super impressed. Apparently, Mordenkainen was one of the most famous wizards in Faerun, but he’d disappeared some decades ago and no one had heard from him since.
Van Richten said that Strahd had stolen a piece of the staff, and repairing the staff would be the only way for Mordenkainen to regain his memories, and thus, his powers.
Mordenkainen scryed on the missing staff fragment, and we saw some of his memories play out as though reflected onto the metal plate on his head. We saw a great duel between the wizard and Strahd. It was insane. Mordenkainen cast a massive fireball at him, and Strahd shrugged it off like it was nothing. We heard the words “Seek Mount Baratok.” Then, the scene changed. We saw Vallaki burning and Strahd walking among the flames, and the servants of the former mayor being flayed alive. I didn’t, however, see any glimpses of Izek Strazni. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or worried by that…
The broken piece of Mordenkainen’s staff was on display in Strahd’s throne room. We didn’t see it when we were there for dinner, but then again, I hadn’t really been looking for Strahd’s trophies - nor had we been invited into the throne room…
The old man, Mordenkainen, said that he would teleport us out of the library. Before I fully knew what was happening, we found ourselves in another chamber with yet another chasm. Evil Oswald appeared behind us and directed his ominous speech at Oswald:
“We have tested your loyalty. We have tested your faith in your friends. We have tested your ability to deduce. We have not yet tested your faith…”
With that, he led us down and across the chasm to a large summoning circle. Oswald said that he didn’t understand what was going on, to which his demonic counterpart told him that he needed to prove his faith and protect his friends.
With that, he disappeared.
Oswald looks at all of us, and then with a shrug, walks into the middle of the summoning circle. We all, with the exception of Van Richten and Ezmerelda, follow him into it. There was no way that we were going to let Oswald deal with whatever was in that circle by himself. Absolutely not. Van Richten said that he wasn’t here for that, and basically cowarded out. I get it, no use risking your neck unnecessarily, but does he or does he not want us to succeed? If Van Richten and Ezmerelda actually want us to succeed, then they should be jumping in with the rest of us to defend Oswald.
A dark purple, swirling mist surrounded us and obscured any view of outside the circle, to where Van Richten and Ezmerelda stood. Evil Oswald appeared in the center of the circle and turning once again to Oswald, the demon asked if his faith would be able to handle him in his true form.
Oswald ignored him, as though he hadn’t even heard, and more of that mist swirled around the demon as he transformed into a giant man wreathed in flames, astride a flaming horse, with a massive burning sword unsheathed.
Oh fuck.
Oswald and Ireena immediately attacked the giant demon. He looked over at me and I could feel his burning gaze pinning me as though he was seeking some entrance into my mind. Nothing happened though, and he swung at Oswald, which Oswald blocked with his sword. Even the wendigo didn’t strike such a blow against Oswald… I didn’t want to know what would happen if he actually landed one… I had the horrible feeling that one of us might be cut in two.
Oswald chanted an incantation and attacked again. The fight went on, and I saw the demon pin Trevor with his gaze much as he had me a few seconds earlier.
Trevor then walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders. "Make it through this." He said, and cast Protection from Good and Evil on me. He was salivating and looking like he was suffering from the hunger pangs of a starving man.
The fight got more desperate with each passing moment. The demon's gaze burned with flames and I could tell that he'd cast some sort of spell. I still am not entirely sure of the manner of his casting, but it was bad, whatever it was.
Ireena was the next one he pinned with his gaze. She began to fight far more recklessly, as though she didn’t believe she could possibly be beaten.
About that time, the demon hits Trevor hard. Somehow, Oswald managed to mitigate the damage.. something happened and I could see that the wounds that should be on Trevor, instead materialized on Oswald. Trevor was still hurt badly though, because the demon hit him two more times in a flurry of attacks… and now there was a symbol branded into Trevor’s forehead. It matched the symbol that was on the summoning circle we were in.
I ran over to Trevor and reached out my hand to cast a healing spell on him. I cast the spell and the mark on his forehead flared with burning light. Nothing happened. Trevor’s wounds didn’t heal, they didn’t t even look like they were starting to knit back together…
About that time, I heard Van Richten call out from the other side of the circle that we are right fucked. I guess that this demon must be a really bad one… as if we wouldn’t have been able to figure it out for ourselves by now…
Next, the demon pinned Brynden with his gaze. I don’t know what he did, but all of the sudden, Brynden lost all interest in the fight. He began removing his armor and stripping out of his clothes! This was not the time nor the place for such things! It had to be some kind of enchantment or curse… something to make it easier for the demon to win, because he struck Brynden with a mighty blow… and I noticed that the mark was no longer on Trevor’s forehead, it had instead been moved to Brynden’s. So, I could heal Trevor now, but Brynden was beyond my help until the mark was removed from him.
Then I found myself pinned by the demon’s gaze again… unlike the last time when nothing happened, I now felt consumed by desire. I looked over at Trevor and in that instant realized that I wanted him, needed him, right then. I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I should have realized it before, and even in the heat of battle, I couldn’t wait. I remember vague thoughts in my haze that were saying that if I didn’t seize the opportunity now, I would never get another chance. All I could think about was how much I wanted him in that moment. So, I did what any sensible (not that I was in full command of my senses) woman would do… I surrounded myself in beautiful magic and wrapped my arms around Trevor’s neck and kissed him. I surprised him, but at the moment, I didn’t care. All I cared about was satiating that insane desire…
A few moments later, I felt myself snap out of my haze. Ireena was down, dead or hurt, I didn’t know, and most of the others were seriously injured. I was in the process of trying to disrobe Trevor… in the middle of the fight with the demon no less! I could feel my face flush with embarrassment as Trevor set me away from him and said “Not that I would normally object… but now is not really the time for this…” and ran off toward Ireena’s limp form.
Van Richten and Ezmerelda came into the circle, looking quite the worse for wear. I hoped that they’d gotten their asses handed to them out there – it would have served them right, for leaving Oswald and the rest of us hanging like that…
The demon moved as though to attack Ireena again. Trevor jumped on her, covering her unconscious body with his own. It took me a moment to see what he was doing… for when he took the hit that was meant for Ireena, the burning brand moved from her forehead to his. Brynden was able to heal her, and help bring her back to consciousness. Oswald went down next, but was up with a roar. I moved over and healed him a bit, to try and keep him up at least for a while longer.
Then, I’d had enough… nothing that we did was seeming to cause this demon any drastic harm. I looked at the demon, deliberately seeking eye contact, and commanded him to “Stop.”
Much to my surprise, he actually stopped. He turned to Oswald and asked him what the most important thing to his god is.
Oswald replied that his god’s final and most important command was to endure suffering for others.
The demon then asked if Oswald would go with him to his realm in exchange for our lives.
“Without hesitation.” Oswald replied.
At that reply, the demon held his hand out for Oswald to shake, and as soon as the half-orc shook his hand, the demon and all of his ill effects disappeared.
We decided to stop there for the night. We were all beaten up, and those of us who rely on spells were almost out of what we could cast that day.
Brynden and Oswald took the first watch, and Van Richten and Ezmerelda took the second. That left third watch for myself and Trevor.
I didn’t really want to talk to him, but knew that I needed too. I apologized for my behavior, and while he said he didn’t mind, it was still out of line. He said that he was far from angry, and under any other circumstances would definitely not be opposed to such, but he understood that I was not in my right mind, having been affected by some magic or cursed presence of the demon.
Eventually, I steered the conversation away from my accosting of him, and we were able to have a fairly pleasant and uneventful watch.
The next morning, Ireena was still asleep. We tried to wake her up, but no matter how much we tried, she was sleeping as though dead. Finally, she woke up.
Ireena told us that she dreamt she was in a new Castle Ravenloft. It was in complete repair and sunlight was streaming in through one of the stained glass windows. She awoke next to someone who looked related to Strahd, but was bigger and more muscularly built. She woke him up in her dream, and the way that he treated her was as though she was precious to him.
Later that morning, we made our way to the next set of doors. These were huge double doors, incredibly ornate, with silver dragons winding up the planks. Once again, Oswald opened the doors and was the first to walk through. We found ourselves in a massive court hall. Knights lined the aisle leading up to a throne on the dais at the head of the room.
Godfrey, the revenant that we’d met in the first chamber, appeared before us and said that Oswald had passed all of his tests but one… the final test that must be administered bytheir commander.
Oswald approached the dais and took a knee before the figure seated there. We all followed him, mimicking his movements and mannerisms.
The commander’s voice rung out. He said that if Oswald is a knight, then he needs to introduce himself.
Oswald introduced himself then, much as he had upon arriving to Argynvolstolt. The commander seemed satisfied and introduced himself as Vladimir Horngard. He told Oswald that he had done well, but that in order to prove himself, he needs to undertake one final test…
Argynvolstolt, Part One
I shall endeavor to write this in account in the order by which it has happened thus far… trying to not allow myself to be swayed in the writing by my reeling emotions… I fear to lose any important detail if I let myself get caught up in what I want to write, when what is important right now is an exact faithful account of our time in Argynvolstolt thus far…
As we approached the ruins, the world fell silent. Eerily so. There were none of the normal sounds of life in the area… no birdsong, no chirping of insects, nothing but the quietly moaning winds. The gates were closed and locked. It was painfully obvious that no one has come this way in quite a few years, if not centuries.
Oswald rode up to the door, as he had summoned his undead warhorse when we began approaching Argynvolstolt. He knocked loudly on the door and proclaimed himself a paladin of Lythander, naming his order and lineage from Faerun. He called for the paladins of the Order of the Silver Dragon to open their gates and treat with him. I didn’t know that Oswald was even capable of such a show of eloquence… but I suppose that he can do so when the occasion requires it. Whatever it was about his speech, it worked, for a few moments later, the gates creaked open, cobwebs and dust falling down on us as we followed Oswald through into the silent courtyard.
Oswald rode ahead of us, his posture as straight and proud as any knight or lord. He turned his head to us as he passed, pointedly looking at Brynden, as he said “I will be expecting an apology in ten minutes.” I felt guilty then. I know it might not have been specifically aimed at me, but it felt like it was. I apparently misjudged the half-orc, thinking him kind but more than a little dense. I didn’t even consider the fact that he must have been trained in more etiquette than I ever was…
The courtyard was eerily silent, even more so than the land outside. I had the uneasy feeling that I was walking into a haunted tomb, one which the restless spirits of the dead are ever wandering, waiting to sink their clutches into unsuspecting passersby. Odd, I know, considering how locked and sealed up this whole place has been, but that was the feeling in my gut and the prickle on the back of my neck.
We followed Oswald up to the door, and he again knocked. This door creaked open and we found ourselves entering a great hall that was cast in total darkness, save for the small shaft of light that was cast across the floor from the open door. There were bones everywhere… skeletons of long dead warriors… my initial instincts about this place had been correct. This was a tomb. The door swung shut behind us with an ominous thud.
A figure materialized in on a dais in front of us. I say materialized because I honestly have no idea where he came from. He didn’t arrive. There was no one there, then suddenly, he was standing right in front of us. I could make out eerie blue flames burning in his eyes. He was obviously undead of some type, but he didn’t seem to faze Oswald in the slightest, which I thought odd.
The armored figure spoke then, his voice a quiet grating that sent prickles of unease down my spine. He challenged Oswald, wanting to know why we came and stating that the agents of Strahd are clever and will use any disguise to get back that which we come seeking. I can only assume that he is speaking of Strahd’s book.
Oswald explained that one of the paladins rode by and tossed him a silver coin that summoned his horse. He thinks there must be a reason for that, because otherwise, why would the paladin have given it to him? It’s not like knights are likely to give away their mount without a very good reason.
The knight reached out his ghostly glowing arm for Oswald to approach, and show him the coin. He complied, placing the silver coin in the knight’s hand. I couldn’t make out what was happening in any detail, because Oswald’s bulk was blocking my view. I did hear the same disturbing voice ring out, ordering Oswald to summon his mount.
I wasn’t sure how he was supposed to do that, seeing as I was pretty sure that he had left his horse standing outside. Instead of re-summoning the creature, Oswald put two fingers into his mouth and loosed a piercing whistle.
Boom! A great blow rocked the doors, sending more dust cascading down. Boom! Boom! Boom!
The knight nodded his head, and the great doors once again swung open. Oswald’s skeletal horse walked sedately in, his barding arching proudly over what, in life, must have been an impressive form. He sauntered up to Oswald and nudged his shoulder, whickering.
The knight finally conceded that we might not be agents of Strahd, but that since the enemy is clever and his pawns use many disguises, Oswald would have to prove himself.
Oswald looked around at the knight, his own horse, and all of the skeletons littering the floor. “Ya know…” He said. “You are all full of so much hatred and anger at Strahd… I might not know a whole lot, but what my god says is that that amount of sheer hatred can’t be good for you. Have you ever thought about forgiving Strahd?... maybe that way you could finally find peace.”
I knew it as soon as the words left his mouth. Oswald had likely just doomed us all… you don’t tell a castle full of revenants that they should just forgive the one who drove them to their fates… they are beings whose very life force is bound to their rage and hatred… my initial panicked thought was confirmed when the entire hall lite up with glowing blue eyes, and all of the skeletal warriors stood and began advancing on us.
“Wait!” I called out. I’d been trying to let Oswald do that talking, but now, it seemed as though he was going to get us killed more than help anyone. I could see Brynden readying himself to cast one of his spells. I turned to him, shaking my head urgently, hoping beyond hope that he would actually follow my lead just this once…
I pushed my way up to the front of the party, casting a worried glance to Trevor. At least, I think he understood what would happen if Brynden went into one of his stupidly reckless attacks. I would not be able to cast enough spells fast enough to get us out of that situation alive… if Brynden attacked right now, or if I wasn’t able to diffuse the situation, we would all die here.
Pouring every ounce of persuasion that I possessed into my voice and words, I tried to talk our way out of the impending massacre. “Please ignore my friend.” I implored the revenant. I explained that Oswald is incredibly well-intentioned, but he isn’t necessarily the most intelligent person in Barovia… I told him that we do not want them to forgive Strahd, we are trying to defeat him. For one brief moment, I thought about telling him that we are helping Ireena keep herself away from Strahd’s grasp, but I almost instantly thought better of it… if they truly hate Strahd with such a passion that it brought them back from death, these revenants would be more likely to simply kill her to hurt Strahd, than they ever would be to try to protect her. They haven’t spent the time that we have, getting to know her and befriending her… I wasn’t about to serve them up Ireena on a platter - for that is exactly what I would be doing if I told them anything about her…
When I felt the eerie flames of the knight’s eyes focus on me, a chill went down my spine. I could feel our lives hanging in the balance. I told him that we wanted to read the tome and find out what information we could that would aid us in our fight against Strahd. Obviously, there is something about that book that the knights were against letting us have it… I thought back to what Madam Eva had said in the Vistani camp… it would impart great knowledge to us. That gave me an idea.
I told the knight that we didn’t necessarily want to take the book from Argynvolstolt… we just wanted to read it. “We don’t even have to touch it.” I told him, gaining confidence in what I was saying. “Your commander can turn the pages! We just want to gain the knowledge that is in the book.”
He looked mildly interested at that, well… at least as interested as a spirit inhabiting a suit of armor can look… but more importantly, the others all stopped advancing on us. They stood there, blue glowing flames in their eyes… but they had halted.
Maybe we would be able to get out of this alive after all…
I couldn’t quite make out what Oswald and the knight were saying, but he kept looking at his horse and then back at the party. Something was obviously going on, I just couldn’t tell what it was…
“He wants to taste flesh.” Oswald called back to us.
“What?” Brynden demanded.
Oswald then went on to say that his horse, apparently, wanted to taste a bite of man-flesh. I asked if he was meaning that he wanted to get into a fight, surely a warhorse would be able to take a bite out of someone in a battle… Oswald shook his head and said that he wanted it now. He wanted to try a piece of Brynden’s flesh.
Brynden began freaking out, understandable, but completely irrational at the same time… Oswald said that he didn’t specify how big of a piece, and asked if he could cut a little piece of Brynden’s cheek for the horse.
Brynden vehemently refused, and I could see the energy begin gathering in his hands that heralded the beginnings of one of his bolts of pure chaos magic.
This was going to be so very bad… I couldn’t let Brynden attack the horse! It would probably set off all of the undead in this place and they would cut us to pieces! Oh fuck… I couldn’t believe what I was going to do, frankly, I still can barely believe it.
“Wait!” I called, running up toward Oswald, consciously putting my body in between that of Brynden and the horse as I moved. “I’ll do it!” I exclaimed, trying to keep the desperation from my voice.
Oswald looked at his horse and then back at me. He said that his horse agreed, but that he wanted twice as much flesh. Fuck. I stood there while Oswald pulled his dagger out. His eyes were sincere when he asked me if I was sure that I wanted to do this. I didn’t have to, he told me. But, I did. That was the whole point, I think… that someone needed to agree to have this done in order for him to prove whatever it was that he needed to prove to these people, revenants, whatever they are…
I closed my eyes as his dagger moved closer to my face. I couldn’t believe that I was standing here letting him do this. He whispered some apology and said that he would heal me. But, I don’t know if he would be able to… stop the bleeding, yes, but avoid or heal a scar? I heard Trevor say something about scars being attractive, but I couldn’t muster up the humor to even chuckle. This was going to be bad…
Just when the dagger almost touched my face, the revenant knight held up his hand, and told Oswald that he had passed the first test. Apparently, the test was to see if he held enough loyalty to his horse to hurt one of his friends at the horse’s request. I don’t understand it, but I’m also not complaining… I really did not want the undead thing to actually eat a piece of me!
A doorway opened on the other side of the room, and the revenant knight told Oswald that we could continue to the next chamber.
As we entered the next room, we found ourselves facing a chasm. I don’t know how deep it was, but Van Richten tossed a pebble off the edge, and I never heard it hit the bottom. There was a bridge jutting out across the chasm not too far away, and there was a massive armored figure standing in the middle of it, both gauntleted hands resting on the pommel of his massive sword.
We all shimmied our way along the ledge over towards the bridge. Much as he had earlier, Oswald walked forward to meet the armored figure on the bridge. I could hear him ask for passage and be refused. The knight demanded a duel in order to step aside. Oswald moved to accept, but the knight informed him that it couldn’t be him… he had to name a champion from among the group of us. If the champion was defeated, then they would be thrown to their death from the bridge.
When Oswald came back and told us of this new obstacle, Brynden piped up, saying that he wanted to fight… I think he was feeling guilty that he didn’t have the courage to let Oswald cut his cheek, when I was going to let him do it to me…
Erkki butted into the conversation, telling Oswald that it was going to be him, because there was an anti-magic field surrounding the entire bridge, besides… apparently he thought that if he were to lose, it would be a fitting end for a slayer. From what I was able to gather, he’s supposed to find death in battle because of some dwarven custom or oath… I’m not sure.
Erkki stepped out onto the bridge and faced up against the massive knight. They fought a furious battle and Erkki looked like he was winning the upper hand. Until he wasn’t. The revenant had Erkki bent over, his head and upper body hanging off the edge of the bridge. The threatening voice called back to Oswald asking him to make his choice… telling him that Erkki was going to go over the edge into the chasm, unless Oswald was willing to trade places with him. Before Oswald could reply, Erkki shouted that he wasn’t going to be giving Oswald any moral dilemmas. With a mighty roar, Erkki launched a mighty blow that broke the revenant’s hold on him, and with a bellowing laugh, he fell.
I haven’t felt that desperately helpless since I was a young girl fleeing from a burning village. Erkki was in an antimagic field… nothing I could do would be able to help him. There was nothing any of us could do that would help him. I couldn’t even put him to sleep to make his end a bit less painful. I couldn’t even play him a song to ease his passing. Nothing. I couldn’t do anything but stand by and watch him fall into the darkness of the chasm.
I think I heard Brynden scream in denial. I can’t be sure, though. Everything was in a haze. I didn’t even know he cared that much for the dwarf. Or maybe it was just that without Erkki, our chances of making it through the rest of the trials that these sick, undead bastards would think up, were greatly lessened without the jovial dwarf. I don’t know. My mind isn’t processing this very well right now.
I shall have to write a song. But not here… not in this place. I will write the song of Erkki, so that the children of Barovia might know of the fierce, indomitable dwarf who gladly gave his life in a fight for his friends…
After Erkki’s fall, our greatly subdued group moved on to the next room…
It was filled with treasures, the likes of which I’d never seen before in my life. Elven artifacts and other weapons and armor, not to mention books and scrolls, were scattered about everywhere amongst the gold and platinum coins. It was tempting to pick up something, but, I knew, and repeatedly reminded the others, that to disturb or try to remove anything from this place would likely result in certain death…
There was a keystone in the center of the room, as well as eight different chests…
Another armored figure appeared in the room and told us to turn back, that to continue would bring nothing but death and misfortune to the party.
We shrugged the warning off. We hadn’t come this far, and lost Erkki, to merely turn back at a cryptic warning. We needed to find the book that Madam Eva had told us about, and I’m pretty sure by now that it must be the same book that Van Richten claims to have removed from Castle Ravenloft itself.
The keystone had something inscribed on it, it was a dwarf rune. I have no idea what it says, and I found myself greatly wishing that Erkki was there, for he would have been able to figure out the entire thing very quickly… I’ve never seen anyone find clues in stone as well as the dwarf, no matter how obscure, Errki always found the information that he was looking for in the stone – at least as long as he has been travelling with us. Had… Not has... Had been travelling with us… this is going to take some getting used to…
Anyways… Oswald opened one of the chests and found nothing that seemed to be the key. Then, he went to open another one and was unable to even touch the object. It must be warded or something – maybe each person is only allowed to pick one chest to open, we decided.
Immediately upon that decision, Brynden (I think he feels like he has something to prove, especially now that Erkki is gone…) walked over and opened one of the chests. He found a wide variety of scrolls and spellbooks, interspersed throughout the overflowing chest. As soon as he began rifling through the papers, trying to find a key buried in its depths, the lid snapped shut on Brynden’s arms with a sickening crunch. Before we could do anything to react, long slender legs emerged from the chest, and it stood up to it’s full height – which lifted Brynden a solid fifteen feet off of the floor, held up by only his arms, which were bleeding profusely.
Blood was pouring down Brynden’s arms, soaking his cloak and the clothes under his armor, as the entire group jumped into action. I don’t remember exactly what happened in the fight, I just know that I really like my new Elvish scimitar that I got from one of the vampires in the basement… Eventually, we managed to defeat the mimic, killing it and extracting Brynden’s arms so we could heal him…
We still haven’t found the key… and there are still six more chests to go…
On the Road to Argynvolstolt
That night in Ravenloft was actually the best night of sleep I've had since my night with Szoldozar in the Blue Water Inn. I can barely believe I'm saying this, but it is what it is...
Ireena and I set out immediately upon waking up. Neither of us were inclined to spend more time in Ravenloft than was absolutely necessary. We met up with the rest of the party in the courtyard where the coach had dropped us off the previous day.
Once again, the carriage was there waiting for us. I looked around at the party... something was going on... I didn't know what it was, but something happened last night... something that Ireena and myself were not privy to. Erkki looked like he'd seen a ghost, and Trevor and Brynden were obviously hiding something.
Erkki asked what dreams mean, and if there is a way to keep other people from invading yours. That immediately piqued my interest... especially since Erkki's sleep disturbances seemed to have ended since shortly after we killed Mother Morgantha and her daughters. He told us that he dreamed of a shirtless vampire coming into his room, pulling his beating heart from his chest before licking it and putting it back...
Weird.... I wondered if it was a dream brought on by stress and alcohol, or if it was a vampire who actually came into his room. Trevor asked if Erkki drank too much the previous night and was seeing things. Erkki insisted that he hadn't, and I'm inclined to believe him.
Shrugging it off, I climbed into the carriage with the others. We were not alone.
Ezmerelda d’Avenir was curled up in the corner. It doesn’t take a wizard to find out that she was probably the presence that I thought I felt in the hallway last night. What she was doing here, I had no idea… I thought that she would have been up by Lake Zarovich dealing with the black medallion that we had given Van Richten to dispose of…
We heard a noise outside the carriage. Trevor threw his cloak over Ezmerelda’s form a split second before I did the same with my skirt… I’m very glad that my skirt is so full, for, between the two of us, we were able to fully cover her.
A vampire appeared in front of Erkki, directly between him and the door to the carriage. It was a large, shirtless vampire, who was more muscular than I ever thought a vampire would be. He exchanged words with Erkki, I wasn’t able to catch exactly what was said, and then Erkki pushed past him and climbed into the carriage. The vampire peered in one of the windows, at which point, Trevor called out to the spectral driver to please get a move-on already.
The coach lifted off into the air, much as it had the last time. Erkki and Brynden began trying to start a conversation about what our plans should be. I interrupted them, vehemently insisting that we not talk about it right now… we were in Strahd’s personally constructed magical flying coach after all. If there was anywhere less safe to carry on a private conversation than Ravenloft itself, it would be in the black coach.
We passed the rest of the journey in relative silence. It was late afternoon when the carriage touched down at the crossroads near the Wizard of Wines. As soon as we disembarked, the coach and its spectral mounts all dissolved into a grey mist.
We agreed to buypass the Wizard of Wines for now… Brynden wants to go seeking a temple that he heard tell of, but when we were “discussing” what to do, Oswald chimed in, saying that he has been thinking about the coin that the undead paladin gave him on the road a couple of weeks ago. The coin that summons his undead warhorse who, according to Oswald, talks to him in his mind. Telepathic bond, perhaps?
As soon as he said that, and mentioned the name Argynvolstolt, I thought back to what Madam Eva had said in her reading, she mentioned a “skeleton of a deadly warrior lying on a bed of stone, surrounded by gargoyles”... the only place that I can think of that would apply to her words is Argynvolstolt. It seemed as though Ezmerelda agreed with me, even though she didn’t say anything in particular.
Brynden still wanted to seek out the temple of the dark powers, for if they were working against Strahd, he thinks that we should hear what they have to say. I think that’s crazy. Legend says that it was conversing and dealing with the dark powers that made Strahd into what he is in the first place. And, based on the way my companions talk, I really think that this might be as much a hellish prison for Strahd as it is depressing and filled with horror for those who find themselves here…
Oswald managed to talk some sense into Brynden though, or at least postpone his stupidity for a while by pointing out that we will probably be able to find more knowledge on every topic in the book that appears to be in Argynvolstolt. Either way, that is our best bet for acquiring the knowledge for what we should do next…
And so, we set off on the road towards Argynvolstolt. On the way, Erkki started handing out “rape whistles” to the rest of us. I don’t know what the point of a “rape whistle” is, it must be a dwarf thing from Faerun or something… Trevor got all annoyed and said that he could whistle on his own, putting his fingers to his mouth and letting fly an ear-piercing whistle that probably woke the dead within a mile radius… but I sincerely hope it didn’t…
An hour or so later, we heard a wagon or carriage barreling down the road towards us. With the mists to either side of the road, we didn’t really have much room to hide, so we just stepped out of the way, hoping that whoever was coming wasn’t looking for a fight. A familiar wagon greeted us, and I heard Ezmerelda’s barely restrained sigh of relief as Van Richten charged into view. He was coming from the direction of Vallaki, obviously running from whatever was happening there and causing the city to burn. He pulled the wagon up short when he saw our party, and proceeded to berate everyone for going to Castle Ravenloft.
Finally, he shut up long enough to offer us a ride to Argynvolstolt in the wagon… which I get the suspicion isn’t his at all but, like most Vistani wagons, is the property of a woman, so it would be Ezmerelda’s wagon… not particularly important, but an interesting distinction that it seems the rest of the party didn’t even consider…
The first part of the journey was uneventful. I felt a jolting thump thump thump when the wagon ran over something in the road. I poked my head out of the window just in time to see a body smushed into the ground behind us. I really hope it was already dead before Van Richten ran it over…
We decided to ride through the night, taking alternate watches. I was on second watch with Trevor, so I fell asleep as soon as I was able, as far away from the tiger as I could reasonably get. Erkki was all up in its space though, and began fiddling with a name tag on its collar. “You named your cat Blinsky?” He called up to Van Richten. “Irony.” The old man replied. “I decided to name a predator after a predator.” That was the last thing I remember before I fell asleep… After what felt like only a few scant minutes of rest, I was jolted awake by the howling of werewolves and Trevor shaking me awake.
Oswald and “Blinsky” the tiger immediately jumped out the back of the wagon to join the impending fray. Trevor dashed to one of the mounted crossbows on the side, before apparently deciding that he wasn’t able to see well enough into the mist, so he climbed out on top of the wagon with Ireena, Ezmerelda and Van Richten. I stayed in the wagon, figuring that it would be the best vantage point for me to best be able to influence the fight.
I could see a group of four werewolves partially concealed by the mist. I didn’t have much hope of actually hitting any of them with the mounted silver crossbow quarrels, so I took out my violin and cast a shatter spell on their area. It damaged a few of them, I think I might have missed one, but the others took damage and, more importantly, it seemed to mess up whatever strategy they had in mind.
Then, everything turned into the chaos of melee. Van RIchten jumped down beside Brynden and the two of them were fighting off two werewolves while Oswald fought another on the other side of the wagon. Brynden went down (again), but I couldn’t reach him for my healing spell… Van Richten did something that I’ve never seen before though, and Brynden jumped back up as though most of his wounds were healed. That was useful.
Another wolf was heading for Trevor, so I outlined it in the dancing flames of faerie fire. At least everyone could see it clearly now. There was no chance of it sneaking up on anyone or being missed in the darkness and mist.
The tiger, Blinsky, was insane! A werewolf was on top of Erkki, and the cat leapt on it, sinking its jaws into the werewolf’s neck, snapping it and throwing it back into the mist as if it were nothing more than a child’s Blinsky doll. I really hope it never decides to turn on any of us… well, especially me. It seems to really like the dwarf… he’s been sitting beside it for most of the journey, giving it “pets and scritches.” There must be something to that, because Blinsky sure did leapt to Erkki’s aid at the first opportunity.
It was a short, harrowing fight, but the werewolves were soundly beaten. For a second, I felt as though I should have gotten out of the wagon and joined the others on the ground, but this worked out far better in the long run, for I was able to cast spells the whole time, and then when the opportunity arose, fire one of the mounted crossbows that lined the sides of Van Richten’s wagon.
All of the bodies were thrown back into the woods and mist, and we continued on our way. I was able to catch a few more hours of sleep before it was my turn to take the watch. It took me a while to fall back asleep, as my mind was occupied with images of our recent fight, as well as Van Richten’s descriptions of fleeing the burning Vallaki.
Dawn just broke, and the sky is lightening to a pleasant light grey. Van Richten just called down that we can see the ruins of Argynvolstolt in the distance if we look. We should be there within a couple of hours… I hope this goes well and we find the information that we seek...
Dinner with the Devil
I can’t believe what I am writing… or, rather… where I am writing it… I am currently sharing a bedchamber with Ireena in Castle Ravenloft… I can barely believe it myself, so it is far too important and crazy to not write down. I sincerely hope with all of my heart that we all make it out of this alive…
In order to explain the situation that I now am finding myself in, I must go back to Vallaki, when we were just leaving Vanderhoute’s basement…
Izek Strazni led us out of the basement, his hulking presence menacing every time I caught his gaze drifting over to Brynden. He scares me. Brother or not… he terrifies me. I get the distinct impression that he is mentally unstable, and frankly, I’m terrified to be alone with him. I’m torn though… because if Brynden is correct, a part of me, I think it’s whatever remains of the little girl who fled her burning village, a part of me really, genuinely wants him to be my brother… for everything to be true and for him to come along with us and watch my back.
But that is not what would happen… I’m terrified of what will happen now, if we meet him again… we betrayed our agreement with him… well, we disobeyed his orders… I told him that we would leave and all talk about it later. I didn’t specify when the later was going to be, though… so technically, we (at least, I) didn’t lie to him. But I do not think he has the mental capacity to see that. Or to see any other side of any story, frankly… that’s probably why he has risen to the position with the Baron that he has…
But, I digress from what is actually important...
As we were following my "brother" out of Vanderhoutes basement, he turned to us and stated that we were to meet him at the Baron's house in one hour.
His tone brooked no argument, neither did his hulking, demonic arm.
A collective sigh of relief passed over the party as Strazni turned down a road and disappeared from view. Brynden opened the letter bearing the seal of Ravenloft. It was addressed to us… in it, Strahd thanked us for assisting him in dealing with the little problem of upstart lieutenants and a bride who plotted ill for his love. He invited us to join him for dinner at Ravenloft. He said that no harm would come to us as long as we abide by his rules. Of course, there was no mention as to what his “rules” are… but I figured that he would tell us when we got there… oh fuck..
Trevor said that he sensed undead closing around outside the gates of the city and that there was also something undead over by the Blue Water Inn. We debated going to check it out, but we wouldn't have enough time to walk to the inn and be back in an hour to meet with Strazni and the Baron. So, it was ultimately decided that we would go to the church and inform the bishop of what we had discovered. Errki, in what I'm beginning to think might be typical dwarf fashion, decided to head to the Baron's manor early, with or without the rest of us...
As we were approaching the church, Trevor thanked me for saving his life so many times and said that he had something for me. He bought me a necklace as a thank you. I kind of feel bad for my immediate reaction of being somewhat apprehensive. All gifts are always attached by strings, in my experience… but maybe things work differently in the land they come from. It is a beautiful necklace, black stone with a red rose inlaid in the center. There are small pearls and stones ringing the edge, and it hangs from a black chain. It is stunning. I shrugged off any lingering questions as to why, and thanked him for the gift.
When we arrived at the church, Brynden and Ireena told the bishop everything that had happened. About the time they had finished, Errki came running though the door, and said that we needed to go see Lady Wachter immediately, the Baron be damned. If we were going to take the Devil up on his invitation, then we needed to go see Wachter straight away.
After Errki said that, he turned to the bishop and asked him to warn the two hunters who hang out at the Blue Water Inn to leave Vallaki. Brynden and Trevor both shot glares his way that promised retribution. I didn’t know what was going on, but I could tell that based on their reactions, it had something to do with them… and the only two hunters that Errki could be talking about were Szoldazar and Yegvene. The bishop agreed when Errki handed him a small pouch of gold.
I turned to Trevor and Brynden and demanded to know what they had done. They refused to answer, pretending like they didn’t have any idea what I was talking about…
Finally, Errki told me that they had told Izek Strazni that those hunters had fucked me. And that they were walking around the city looking very unhappy. The latter was a complete lie, and the former? Well, I slept with Szoldazar, but that is neither here nor there. And it definitely is none of their business, nor is it the business of a brother whom I just met. If he is even my brother at all… for, although, I do believe it, his story is credible enough… at the same time, I have a very hard time viewing him as family. I’ve only just met him, and he obviously never looked very hard for me in the first place…
What the fuck? I get it, Trevor and Brynden are probably jealous. Brynden obviously fancies me, and I know that Trevor finds me attractive, if nothing else, but seriously? Brynden is little more than a boy, and Trevor’s illogical jealousy of every hunter in Barovia is well known to me… but this? They purposely set up Szoldazar and Yegvene to be arrested and very likely killed! What the fuck? They would have been great allies to have on hand for when the shit inevitably hits the fan.
I once again am digressing… as disturbing as the potential fates of the two hunters are… it does not have much bearing at all in what events led up to our arrival and stay at Castle Ravenloft…
We decided to heed Errki’s instruction and made our way to Lady Wachter’s mansion. There were a couple of the Baron’s men standing guard at the gate, obviously keeping an eye on all those arriving and leaving the property.
They let us pass without incident, and when we made our way up to the porch, the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. The foyer was filled with men in various states of armed and armored… all of them wearing blackened armor and crimson cloaks emblazoned with the arms of Ravenloft.
One of them stopped sharpening his weapon long enough to motion us up the stairs. When we ascended the stairs, we were called into a room at the end of the hall. There, we met Lady Wachter.
She was a very tall willowy woman of advancing age. Lady Wachter already knew about the fight in Vanderhoute's basement. She also described Strahd's invitation as though she knew exactly what it said. It was more than a little disconcerting that she knew so much. I figured out why when my eyes were drawn to a black crystal ball sitting on a pedestal in the center of the room.
We asked why she is supportive of Strahd. Lady Wachter looked at us wryly and said that she would much rather be ruled over by a reclusive king who rarely leaves his castle, than by a madman who deals in dark magic and tries to bring in dark powers. "Which?" she asked," is better for the people of Vallaki?"
I didn't know what to say to that. She then went on to say that one cannot hope to outwit Strahd at his game of chess... for, Wachter said, that is all this is to him... a game of chess where he makes the rules. Strahd makes the rules and he is the land, he can be anyone he wishes... sometimes he is a city guard, sometimes he walks as an old man with a cart, sometimes he is the quieter of two hunters.
When she mentioned the two hunters, I shot Trevor a look. He had the decency to look chagrined for a moment before asking Lady Wachter about the forces mustering in her parlor. She told us by way of answer thatif we planned on taking Strahd upon his invitation-which she strongly suggested we do- then she advised we should leave Vallaki with all haste.
When I said something about not knowing how we were going to get out, Lady Wachter motioned to a magic circle traced on the ground on the far side of the room. "That," the woman explained, "will teleport you outside the city gates.There, you will find a black coach, which will safely take you to Ravenloft?
Trevor then asked her if, in the coup that was inevitable at this point, if they would please take Izek Strazni alive. Lady Wachter looked at me, her eyes shrewd, and said that she doubted very much that they would be able to take "that one" alive, but she would make an effort.
I looked to Trevor and he whispered that he at least wanted to try, to at least give me the chance to get to know my brother. I again expressed my doubt that Strazni is actually my brother, to which Lady Wachter assured me that he is... for good or ill.
With that, we made our way to the teleportation circle in the back of the room, and Lady Wachter activated the spell. We were surrounded by a disconcerting mist that enveloped us, then we were standing about a hundred yards outside
Vallaki's eastern gate. Thirty yards away sat Rahadin's black coach...
I fought down rising panic as we approached, but Rahadin wasn't climbing out of the carriage.. Rahadin is dead. I was surprised though that the carriage is intact, seeing as the last time I'd seen the carriage, it had been smashed into little pieces on the side of the road. I put it down to some magic of Strahd's as we made our way to the carriage.
As we approached, the door swung open and a ghostly figure appeared in the driver's seat. A chill ran down my spine, but the ghost didn't say anything, it merely
waited for us to board.
We situated ourselves inside. It was far more spacious than I was expecting. As the coach set off, the mists began seeping into the carriage, making us all feel ill. But, a short while into our trip, about the time I was about to force myself to relax enough to sleep, I felt the coach begin to lift off of the ground. At first, it was terrifying, but when it evened out and we were looking down upon the treetops, it became quite exhilarating.
After an impossibly short amount of time, we found ourselves touched down on the ground outside the gates of Castle Ravenloft. I felt a hard knot of dread forming in my stomach the closer we got to the door.
Much as they had at Wachterhouse, the doors swung open, seemingly of their own accord. We entered into a massive hall with plush red carpets laid out in the. walkways of black marbled floors.
A door opened at the far end of the hallway, and a figure that was all-too-familiar stepped out to greet us... a tall, imposing dusk elf clad in pristine black plate, the emblem of Ravenloft emblazoned on his breastplate. Rahadin.
I panicked for a moment. He was dead. I saw Oswald smash his helmeted head in with his hammer. I saw his body as Kasimir knelt there in shock. Rahadin was dead...
I began backing away, my mind working frantically, but I found myself running into Trevor and the others behind me. Rahadin spoke, welcoming us to Castle Ravenloft. Something was off... his face looked the same, but there was something inexplicably different, something that I couldn't place. Then it sunk in... he had spoken, not in Rahadin’s haughty voice, but in Kasimir's quiet one. I glanced over at the rest of the party and Trevor was looking pensive, but the others looked horribly confused.
"Rahadin" motioned for us to follow him and I swear I saw Kasimir shoot a wink at Trevor and I as he turned away.
We were led through a portrait hall..I had the uncomfortable sensation that they were following us with their eyes. Finally, we were led into the dining hall. There were places already set at the table. "Rahadin" told us to take our seats and that Straka would be joining us shortly.
We took our seats... Trevor taking the chair directly across from Strahd's thronelike chair, while the rest of us sat along the sides, making sure to seat Ireena next to Oswald, and between him and myself. .
A few minutes later, a mist started pouring into the room, swirling around everything, and everyone. Unlike the mists outside, this didn't cause the same sensation of being slowly poisoned... yet this was so much worse... The back of my neck prickled as though someone had walked up behind me and their breath was caressing the back of my neck... The mist swirled through the hall before coalescing on the throne like chair as it solidified into Strahd himself.
Even though I was expecting something like this entrance, it still hadn't prepared me. I mean, I knew that Strahd could become mist, and I'd seen vampires do it before, it still didn't prepare me for having the Devil himself moving around me like that... it was disconcerting on a deeply personal level that I, frankly, can't spare the mental energy to focus on right now. Strahd welcomed us (most especially Ireena) to his home and thanked us for eliminating his problem of disloyal lieutenants. Irena pointed out that one got away. "Ah." Strahd said. "Do you mean that one?" he gestured to the ceiling. When I glanced up to where he indicated, I could see the vampire who had fled the basement, crucified among the rafters.
The food was delicious, and the wine was the finest vintage that Wizard of Wines has to offer. I noticed Trevor didn't eat or drink anything. As a matter of fact... I can't say I remember ever seeing him eat anything aside from his magical berries. Does the man have something against food?
I honestly don't remember much of the exact conversation, but Strahd was surprisingly open to questions. Ireena asked about the broken stained glass window, to which he replied that it was merely a painful memory.
She then pulled out a page ripped from a book, and asked if it had anything to do with that... the page held a picture of a figure quite akin to Strahd himself, although bedecked in armor bearing the symbology of the morninglord.
Strahd said that was a story for another time. He flirtatiously offered to tell Ireena whatever she wanted to know over a private dinner for just the two of them.
I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who was put off by that suggestion.
The conversation continued and I eventually worked up the courage to ask Strahd why, if he only punishes those who deserve it, why then did he send Rahadin to burn villages?
He looked right at me then, and I felt the uncomfortable weight of his full attention.
"A story for another time." was all that he would say.
Conversation continued, and I found myself only partially paying attention, as my mind was occupied by the chaos of my own thoughts. I did hear something about Strahd asking us to help the Martikov family with the issues they were having at the Wizard of Nines. Apparently they are a family of wereravens... I didn't know such a thing existed, but I find myself unsurprised.
We had already been asked to help the winery when we first arrived in Vallaki, and I think the general consensus was that we would likely help them. But why does Strahd want us to help?
Skeptical, I asked him why. Strahd replied that as the lord of the land, he sees to the needs of his people... and that if there is anything that brings joy to the people of Barovia, it is our wine.
I shrugged. In that observation, at least, the Devil was correct. A Barovia with no wine would be a Barovia not worth living in.
Errki asked Strahd if we could catch a ride to the winery in the black coach. Heagreed, but said, looking pointedly at Brynden's bandaged chest, that we would be best served to rest for the night.
Strahd offered us accommodations in the castle for the night, giving his word that no harm would befall us if we continue to follow his rules. I wasn't comfortable with the situation, but felt a lot better after the devil gave his word.
As much as I do not trust our host, the people of the valley all know Strahd to be a man (vampire?) of his word.
Regardless of whether it is wise or not, the party agreed to stay and rest the night in Castle Ravenloft.
As we prepared to leave the table and follow "Rahadin" to our rooms, Trevor pointed out the window. Brightly glowing flames lit up the night sky... Vallaki is burning...
Of Men and Vampires...
When we woke up this morning, we were all discussing who should go and pursue which lead. We needed to try and speak with Milevich, providing he was awake, and we also needed to track down any leads on Rahadin.
Yes, he is dead... But we needed to find answers as to how he managed to impersonate a guard, and how he was able to use the identity. Had he killed a guard and assumed
his position and identity, or was someone in league with him?
And so, the decision was made that we would
need to split up... some of us would pursue the guard mystery, while the rest of us were to go talk to Milevich.
Brynden and I mutually decided that we should split up. One of us going with each group, simply for the fact that we are the most charismatic and persuasive members of the whole party. I wanted to go track down the guard information, as I really had no desire to go back to the orphanage. But, as soon as I offered to accompany Trevor and Errki to track down Rahadin leads, Brynden spoke up and argued against that.
He apologized, but said that it would be a very bad idea for me to go with Trevor. His reasoning was that they were going to talk with Izek Strazni, and as he apparently claims me as his sister, it might cause us more problems than those we already have.
I asked him what kind of problem, and Brynden said that the sheriff had personally tasked him with keeping me safe, and he very likely will be strongly opposed to my involvement in any of this. Besides, he elaborated, Brynden had already been invited into Strazni's house, therefore, it seems as though the sheriff trusts him at least a little bit.
As much as I didn't want to, I had to agree with him. The last thing that I need right now is for the sheriff of Vallaki to randomly decide that he needs to keep me safe and lock me up or some shit. And, as far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother...
So, Brynden went with Trevor and Errki, while I accompanied Oswald and Ireena to
the orphanage. Once again, I knocked, and the same nun answered the door. I asked if Milevich was awake, and she nodded, directing us upstairs to the same room where we had found the boy last night.
Milevich sat in the center of the room, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth. I won't go into much detail as to our exact conversation with the boy, for much of his talking was little more than incoherent babbling about the profane. He had the profane darkness inside his mind, he insisted, and the fingerbone that had once belonged to his younger sister... she doesn't need it anymore because she is dead. But, he did admit to taking some of the bones of St. Andral to protect himself from the profane.
When we pressed him for more information, Milevich admitted that he was supposed
to deliver a boon to someone named Vanderhoute. He was vague about who this
Vanderhoute is, and after much frustration, Ireena asked the nun who Vanderhoute is.
Apparently, he is the coffin-maker. He lives in his shop off the main street running through Vallaki. He is reputed to be very skilled at his craft, although I cannot say that I've ever been particularly interested in coffin-making. I usually avoid such activities, and those who perform them, just in case it would attract some dark power that could ruin me...
Ireena and I had to pull Oswald away from Milevich... his heart is too kind to be able to turn his back, even when the boy has clearly lost his sanity. It's a shame, of course, but there isn't anything that we can do about it right now.
Oswald wanted to go talk to this Vanderhoute, but I said we needed to meet up with the others before we went anywhere. Fortunately, as soon as I mentioned it, Oswald and Ireena agreed.
It ended up being a non-issue, however, because as we left the orphanage, we met up with Trevor, Brynden and Errki.
They were just getting back from meeting with Izek Strazni and the guard who Rahadin had been impersonating. Apparently, the guard broke his leg two weeks ago and had been spending his time at home, surrounded by his loving wife and children. None of them went into much more detail beyond that... the only thing I learned about their meeting with Strazni is that he bade Brynden to keep me safe.
What the fuck. Who does he think he is? And who does he think I am? I might not be as intimidating as Izek Strazni, sheriff of Vallaki, but neither am I some delicate flower who wilts at the slightest hint of danger.
I have faced a greater wendigo, Mother Morgantha and her two daughters, Rahadin and fourscore wolves, not even to mention the countless men who looked at me and saw an easy target... And yes, for most of those, I wasn't alone... but neither am I alone now... I am travelling with some of the best friends I have ever known. Friends who defend each other no matter what their disagreements. I trust them with my life, even if they are from the outside world, this "Faerun" that Brynden and Trevor (when he is speaking to me) have told me about.
I am curious about this faroff land... this "Faerun"... Some of their stories make me wonder what else there is in this life. What other lands and stories might be out there? And, what adventures? Is it actually true, as Brynden has claimed, that the sky is blue and the sun shines brightly enough to hurt your eyes? Is it true that Elves live in massive cities, and there are some who live deep underground in a cruel society where they worship a dark spider goddess and the males are relegated to be little more than slaves?
All of this seems too fantastical to be true, but everyone I've spoken to about this land has claimed the same thing... It makes me curious.
But, I digress. I need to get back to those fateful events of earlier...
We traded information and all agreed that we needed to seek out Vanderhoute and discover whatever this boon was that Milevich was to deliver.
And so, we set off...
It wasn't too terribly long before we arrived at a non-descript building with piles of wood everywhere and stacks of coffins in various states of completion. I had to suppress a shudder when I noticed that the vast majority, an uncomfortable number, of the coffins were child sized. I glanced at the others. Fortunately, they seemed able to focus on the task at hand...
Trevor knocked on the door. A tall man with grey streaks beginning to show in his wavy
hair. A handlebar mustache adorned his upper lip.
I told him that the boy, Milevich. had "pointed us in his direction to ask about the boon that he received.
Vanderhoute studied us for a minute, completely calm and composed. He said that the boon wasn't for him... Lady Wachter had paid him a handsome sum of gold to collect it for her. When asked, he stated that he doesn't know what it is. He doesn't ask questions, he just does
the job...
Oswald told him that his job ruined Milevich's life. Vanderhoute shook his head and insisted that he had nothing to do with the boy and that, if Milevich's life was ruined, the blame solely rested on Lady Wachter.
Oswald then cast whatever it is that he does, where his eyes glaze over and he seems to retreat inside himself for a few moments.
When he regained his senses, he looked directly into Vanderhoute's eyes and announced that the coffinmaker has one of the bones of St. Andral on his person. Vanderhoute didn't deny it…
Oswald nodded understandingly and asked if he carries it for protection from what is in his house.
Vanderhoute was implacable. He agreed, still remaining completely calm. Then Brynden
cast what I'm beginning to view as his signature spell... he levitated Vanderhoute so he began floating up to the ceiling.
Oswald wanted to search the house. Trevor said that we didn't have time... we were due to be at Lady Wachter's for dinner in two hours time, I agreed with Trevor, but the others began searching regardless of our arguments.
When they uncovered the trap door leading to his basement, Vanderhoute called down a warning from the ceiling. "I wouldn't go down there if I were you..."
Naturally, the guys ignored his warning. Actually, they probably took it as a challenge, the assholes. They immediately went right down. I followed behind them cautiously, descending
the stairs enough that I was able to see, but not so far that I wouldn't be able to quickly retreat back up the stairs and out if I had to.
My breath caught in my lungs when my heart skipped a beat. A magical circle of some type was laid out on the floor, and surrounding it were ten coffins. I looked to Oswald and heard him whisper "vampires?
We all ascended the steps as quickly as we could and confronted Vanderhoute. Oswald asked him why there were ten vampires sleeping in his basement. At the mention of vampires, Vanderhoute's face went ashen.
"You didn't know, did you?" Oswald asked in that kindly, matter-of-fact tone of his.
Vanderhoute shook his head emphatically and explained that Lady Wachter had paid him a great sum in order to trace the magic circle in his basement. He had no idea that it would bring vampires into his home or Vallaki.
For some reason, I actually believed him... the blood draining from his face in a look of shocked horror is one that I do not believe he was faking. Brynden must have thought the same, for he released his spell and told Vanderhoute to run-which he promptly did.
An argument ensued. The guys wanted to kill the vampires here and now, but I tried to get them to leave. If we left now, we would barely make it to Lady Wachter's in time for our meeting with her over dinner. Then, we would be able to use the little bit of time
to come up with an actual plan on how to deal with ten vampires.
Brynden and Trevor ignored me. Trevor started pulling out vials of holy water and stakes. I put my hand on Trevor's shoulder and pleaded with him to leave. He brushed off my pleas, telling me that this might be our only chance to have the advantage.
When I was unable to move Trevor, I turned to Boynden. It was the first time in my life that I've ever begged anyone for anything. I begged him to leave. Let us go to Lady Wachter's dinner and deal with the vampire threat later. Brynden tried to get me to leave. He said that I have a brother, I should leave and go to him. I refused, saying that I don't have a brother.
I pleaded with them to leave. It was ten vampires.Ten vampires! They would kill us.
Brynden said that this was our chance to make a difference. I told him that sometimes you can't make a difference... sometimes, the only difference you can make is whether you live or die. And... I don't want to die...
About that time, one of the coffin lids cracked open and a vampiress sat up, seductively running her hands through her hair. Brynden stiffened, and I figured that she must be the vampire who had taken Elaine's ear back when they first arrived.
Oh shit....
After a moment, the vampire spoke. She said that they weren't here to kill us. All she and the others were here for was to make an example of Vallaki during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, and to retrieve Ireena for Strahd.
She bade the others to listen to me and leave... the vampires would let us walk out of here unharmed.
I told Brynden that Elaine hadn't died just so he could throw his life away in an unnecessary fights. I was speaking quietly, trying not to draw too much attention to myself. It didn't work, though... the vampire turned to Brynden and said that I was right... and now, he would watch me die, as she would be sure to kill me right in front of him.
Oh fuck... I didn't want to do this... but there was little choice now, as all of the other coffins were opening and nine other vampires rose to join her...
Errki had run off as soon as we discovered the coffins. I caught a brief exchange between him and Brynden, but I'm not completely sure what was said... whatever it was though, had Errki running off to gods know where... right when we were about to take on ten fucking vampires... Strahd's lieutenants, no less... Fuck.
Trevor attacked first, throwing the orb that Madam Eva gave us back in the Vistani camp by the Tser Pools. It exploded, sending a blinding flash of sunlight into the middle of the vampire ranks. It burned into the vampires and they clutched their eyes, blinded. It was then that the fighting started in earnest... Ireena held aloft the Icon of the Ravenkind that Van Richten had given her. It shot forth a blast of light that blinded the vampires again and I shattered the magic circle and managed to injure a bunch of the vampires in the process. The fight was brutal.
I've never faced actual vampires in combat before and honestly... it was terrifying. I wish I never had to do it again, but I get the feeling that as long as I keep the same company, my life, and the lives of my friends, will continuously become more and more dangerous.
I spent most of the fight frantically trying to keep everyone alive... Trevor and Brynden both went down a couple of times and I was barely able to heal them in time to prevent them from slipping into the clutches of death.
One of the vampires threw a fireball at me and the blackness that consumed me was almost welcoming... at least after the nightmarish explosion of flames.
I opened my eyes then to find Oswald standing over me, his shield raised to fend off an oncoming attack... he had healed me. Pulled my unconscious mind back into wakefulness, undoubtably saving my life. I thanked him as I regained my feet, taking in the current state of the battle.
We were hurt... a few of the vampires were dead, but the others were more than making up any slack in their ranks. Ireena held the icon aloft again and a cone of sunlight again burst forth, blinding the vampires.
One of the vampire mages disappeared in a cloud of mist. A moment later, he reappeared right next to me and I saw the fireball that formed in his hand. I tried to jump out of the way, but again, I felt the searing pain of the flames before once again feeling myself falling into the encroaching blackness.
Is this how I die? It was my last conscious thought before the darkness fully claimed me. I don't know what happened after that, but I awoke to Boynden's concerned face before my eyes.
"I've got you." He said, guarding me as I got back to my feet.
As soon as I regained my footing, a giant smash resounded in the confines of the basement. Errki and a giant of a man crashed through a hole in the ceiling. I heard a woman scream at their sudden appearance. Was it me? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that I felt
a wave of terror when I saw the man, Izek Strazni, I realized, rip a vampire in two with a giant, demonic arm.
I did the only thing that I could do in that situation, I aided my friends, and even my supposed brother, with every bit of magic I possessed.
After what felt like forever, but in reality was little more than a few moments, the
vampires were defeated. One of the mages transformed into a misty vapor and fled up through the floor, but all of the others lay slain.Trevor had managed to kill the female vampire, I guess her name was Ana Strahza. I felt a grim sort of satisfaction with that, even though Elaine isn't here to witness the retribution for her lost ear.
As soon as the battle was over, Izek Strazni leveled his battleaxe at Brynden and growled "I told you to keep her safe!" as he stalked over to us. I don't know what was more terrifying... the ten vampires or the violent fires burning in Strazni's eyes as he advanced on Brynden.
Brynden told him that I was fine. Strazni growled something to the effect that Brynden should never have allowed me to be there. Brynden told him calmly that he tried to get me to leave, but that I make my own decisions and he can't force me to do anything.
Strazni made as if to argue with Brynden further, which I worried would result in Brynden's death, for, as I looked at my friend, I could see how badly he was injured. I found myself worried that he might collapse at any minute, even without the looming threat of Strazni’s axe and demon arm...
Steeling myself, I stepped between the two men, holding my hands out in an attempt to placate Strazni.
"He's telling the truth." I told him. I wasn't about to let Brynden get hurt on my account.
Strazni ignored me, continuing to address Brynden as though I hadn't even spoken.
"You obviously aren't capable of keeping her safe.” He bit out, then turned to me, acknowledging me personally for the first time in this whole encounter. “You are coming with me.” He declared.
“Excuse me?!” I was starting to get angry. “I don’t know who you think you are, but you cannot just show up and tell me what I can and cannot do.” I made sure to plaster an angry smile on my face, so he wouldn’t have a legitimate cause to arrest me.
“You’re my sister. You shouldn’t be here in the first place. You are coming with me.” Strazni growled.
“Why should I believe you? As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a brother.” I shot back. “And, I asked you in the Blue Water Inn if I knew you from somewhere and you told me “no”. So, why should I believe you now?”
He looked at me for a second before speaking again. “The last time I saw you…” he said. “It was fifteen years ago… You were running away from our parents’ house in the burning village. Rahadin’s carriage was there and our parents’ bodies were dead on the ground.”
All of it came rushing back to me in a flood of memories that I’ve tried my hardest to suppress for the past fifteen years. I looked closer at his face, and I did recognize him… I saw the vague image of a brother who I could barely remember. I shook my head. “Regardless… even if you are my brother, I make my own decisions. You do not get to show up randomly and start controlling my life… besides… if it is true, and you are my brother… why did you never look for me?”
Strazni didn’t answer. He merely stared impassively at me for a moment, rage seething in his eyes.
“You are here now.” He declared. “You’re coming with me, and I am taking you away from Vallaki. Fuck the Baron. Fuck duty. Family comes first.”
“Not here.” I told him, trying to keep my tone as placating as possible. The glares that he kept shooting Brynden were scaring me. “Let’s all of us go and get a drink. We can talk about it later…”
“Not them.” Strazni bit out. “Just you.”
I shook my head. “No. They come too…” I insisted, still holding my hands out placatingly. “They are my friends. They have saved my life on numerous occasions… you said that family comes first. Well, I don’t have a family. And, when you don’t have a family, you make your own family. My friends are my family.”
That seemed to get through to him at least a little bit, judging by the way he relaxed his white-knuckled grip on his battleax.
Finally, he agreed… after a fashion. We would all go and meet with the Baron, and then he said I would leave with him then. I reminded him that we would talk about it… but I get the impression that, again, he was ignoring me.
After that tense conversation was over, we began searching the bodies of the vampires. The warriors were bedecked in beautiful plate armor that Brynden, Oswald and Ireena kept eyeing.
One of them had a suit of leather armor that looked to be in excellent condition. It was too big for me, however, so Trevor offered to give me his armor if I let him take the vampire’s. Judging by the size and style of the armor, I went ahead and agreed. It would be nice to have some new armor, but it was all together too big and would be time consuming to alter… whereas Trevor’s armor is more flexible, so it can just be wrapped and belted tightly around my waist for it to be a passable fit.
A few weapons were of note, but nothing of particular interest to me, save for a pair of silver scimitars in the same design as Kasimir’s, showing that they were probably forged by the Dusk Elves. One of those would be an amazing replacement for my rapier…
Ireena found a sealed letter when she was rifling through one of the vampire’s pockets. It was sealed with the emblem of Strahd…
I really hope we're not fucked…
Of Nightmares Slain
I don’t even know where to begin… Rahadin is dead. I can’t even believe it sometimes… he has haunted my dreams and nightmares for as long as I can remember, that spectre in the flames of my village, that I can hardly believe that he is no more. If I am feeling this way, I can’t even begin to imagine what Kasimir must be feeling right now… he has personally been hunting Rahadin for… I have no idea… centuries at least.
But, I suppose that I should start at the beginning… after I went to bed last night, I guess that Kasimir had taken Ireena back to the cathedral for the night… as she feels safer by the Bones of St. Andral, and she probably is, if everything that I’ve heard so far is correct. But, I digress… I was woken up only an hour or two after going to bed by a loud commotion downstairs.
I threw my clothes on and ran down, grabbing my gear just in case. Ireena was in the door, panting and out of breath. She gasped out that Rahadin was here, and he was fighting Kasimir in the road. Trevor was already running out the door by the time she finished her sentence. A couple of the others woke up their dwarf friend who was currently passed out on the table. At the commotion, Szoldazar and Yegvene emerged from their room, having already donned their gear and gripping their bows and axes.
We followed Ireena out towards where Kasimir was fighting. I found myself taken by a desperate hope that he would still be alive, that Rahadin hadn’t already killed the tormented elf I’d grown to respect in such a short amount of time. There was a massive commotion as we approached the fighting… and I could see that there were town guards fighting off countless wolves. There had to be at least three score wolves in the street. At the center of it all, Kasimir and Rahadin were locked in a duel. Blood was streaming from multiple cuts on both of them, and I couldn’t tell how badly either was hurt – it just looked bad.
Screaming and the howling of wolves was coming from the church up ahead. I saw Trevor tear off down the road, weaving in and out of the fighting as I think only a hunter can do, as he sprinted his way to the church. I hoped he was going to be okay, running off by himself… but, if it was wolves up there, it should be right up his alley…
The dwarf woman must be a cleric of some sort, for she called upon “Moradin” and healed Kasimir as soon as we arrived. The fighting was furious. I backed myself up against the wall of one of the buildings lining the street because I didn’t want to chance a wolf coming up behind me unexpectedly, and I focused on helping the others.
A cloud of mist enveloped where Kasimir was fighting a short distance away and Rahadin was gone. I couldn’t tell where he’d gone, because I had a couple of wolves trying to rip my throat out. When I did manage to catch sight of Rahadin again, the bastard was on the roof closest to me.
I didn’t have anything that I could do to get to him – there was no way I was going to climb on the roof and go toe to toe with him in a duel, especially not after seeing the fucker fight. He would have cut me down like he did my entire village when they perished in the flames.
Oswald stepped up toward Rahadin and held his fist aloft, a look of utter concentration on his face. He uttered a spell, I didn’t catch what it was, but I figured it out when Rahadin froze… hold person. Rahadin couldn’t move at all and, judging by the look of intense disbelief and rage that contorted his disturbingly handsome face, he was as surprised as I was that it actually worked. I took full advantage of the opportunity that I didn’t think I’d ever get again and wreathed his body in the dancing purple flames of faerie fire. I figured that it would at least keep him from pulling any stealthy bullshit.
A few wolves broke off from the main fighting and lunged at me. One got a good bite in on me, but I managed to avoid the others – I’m very glad that I backed myself up against the wall so none of them could jump me from behind… for it seemed to be attacks from behind were what was taking down the guards, when they did go down.
When I was distracted by the wolves, Oswald climbed up onto the roof along with Rahadin. Kasimir must have figured he was too far away, which makes sense, seeing as I was surprised he was still standing, what with all of the blood pouring from his wounds… Kasimir let out a cry of pure unadulterated rage and hatred, and sent a lightning bolt shooting straight for Rahadin’s chest. Oswald made it onto the roof right after Kasimir’s lightning bolt shot Rahadin square in the chest. Fortunately, he was far enough away that the lightning didn’t hit Oswald as well… he was only a few steps ahead of Kasimir, who was quickly making for the roof, but it was that little extra distance that gave him the time to raise his giant hammer over his head and calling upon the power of his god, smash Rahadin’s head in, completely crushing his helmet. I could barely believe it when Oswald kicked Rahadin’s body, and it came tumbling off the burning roof…
I just stood there for a minute… then it hit me… I felt and heard the screams… the screams of the countless people that Rahadin had murdered – their screams filled the air and pierced my ears. I got lucky though, for I saw most of the guards around me clutch their hands over their ears and collapse, dead, with blood pouring out of their ears and noses.
I looked around as soon as I was able to pull my gaze from the broken body of Rahadin. Kasimir was kneeling in the street, blood and rain mixing together as it ran rivulets off him. He was staring at Rahadin in disbelief. Oswald, Ireena and the dwarf cleric, Moira, looked to be in fairly good health. Brynden was hurt, but he looked like he would be okay. Szoldazar and Yegvene were also there, they looked to be okay, at least they were okay enough to begin the process of taking wolf pelts.
We heard commotion and screaming, accompanied by wolf howls, coming from the cathedral where Trevor had gone… we all took off running as fast as we could to help him. I found myself hoping that we would find him still alive by the time we got there – the howls were very ominous. I didn’t want Trevor to be dead…
As we drew closer to the churchyard, I could see the ongoing fight through the broken windows of the cathedral. Trevor was getting thrown around like a ragdoll by a giant werewolf. We sprinted into the church, and I got a closer look. Trevor was fighting the biggest werewolf I’ve ever seen. He was injured, probably badly, judging by the amount of blood seeping through and staining his shirt… Trevor yelled for us to check the bones.
I had forgotten all about the bones of St. Andral… oh shit…
“Damn it!” Trevor shouted. “Check the fucking bones!”
Ireena and Moira ran to go check, Ireena’s face turning white as she turned back to us. I knew they were gone before she even said anything.
The combatants were locked in a fierce wrestling struggle, but I was able to maneuver my way up to Trevor, close enough to touch him and deliver a healing spell. I immediately darted away, fortunately managing to avoid the werewolf’s attention… I didn’t want that one coming after me.
Brynden and Oswald jumped in to help Trevor, which royally pissed him off, odd, when he was in the middle of a fight – I mean, I know that Trevor has an ego, but come on… he looked half dead! When the werewolf was dead, it reverted back into its human form and I understood Trevor’s attitude a little more… it was Kiril. Shit. I wasn’t expecting that… I don’t know what I thought when the claw marks were on the tree and he was gone back on the road, but I didn’t think it would be this… or maybe I just didn’t want to admit it to myself. It was easier to think that the hunter I’d admired from the stories, up until quite recently, in fact, was dead instead of the leader of creatures he was supposed to hunt…
Trevor seems greatly pleased with himself that he killed Kiril with his own magical sword… asshole. I mean, I do understand that he’s jealous or whatever, but he really doesn’t have a need to be jealous… he has been proving himself to be a very capable hunter in the weeks he’s spent in Barovia. Slowly his fame will spread, and the name Trevor Belmont will fill the bedtime stories told to children to scare the nightmares away.
The bishop was badly wounded, apparently he was holding his guts inside his body when Moira went down to him – she managed to heal him enough to stabilize him and give him enough relief that he was able to speak with us. Apparently, the bones of St. Andral were taken at some point during the commotion.
Most of the occupants of the church are dead – Errki came back white-faced after going to the dormitory where some of the children lived… I do not think I even want to know… I’m just frankly glad that I didn’t go with him and Moira when they went to check on the children. Errki has a soft spot for children, especially after the Bonegrinder and his unknowing ingestion of the meat pastries filled with the flesh of children…
After everyone was back together, we talked to the bishop, and Van Richten, who had was there with his assistant, Esmeralda. I can’t say that I was happy to see the racist jerk, but he proved to be a great help with solutions for keeping the loss of the bones under wraps. If news gets out that the bones of St. Andral have been displaced, Vallaki will be in so much trouble… we will be in so much trouble…
The bones were the only thing that was keeping the city safe… as long as the bones were in their blessed state, Strahd couldn’t come into the city, nor could any of his undead minions. His other servants, Rahadin and the wolves at least, seemed as though they could come and go as they pleased. But now? Now, there is nothing stopping Strahd from finding out, and when he does find out that the bones are laying about somewhere and Vallaki is unprotected… it doesn’t even bear thinking about what the Devil might do…
We needed to find a way to locate the bones. The bishop mentioned that one of the altar boys, Milevich, hasn’t been seen in the past two days, and some of us felt like the boy was somehow intrinsically tied to the missing bones. Or at least, we wanted to find out if he knew anything.
We left to go find the boy. He lives at a local orphanage, so we decided to make our way there to look for him. On the way, Brynden mentioned that we needed someone who could scry on the bones, to see if we could find them that way, or at least get another real lead… or even to scry and see if we could locate the missing Milevich.
Oswald said that he knew someone who could scry. He explained that Blinsky uses the dolls as markers to track individual children. The others were really disturbed by it, and Errki looked positively murderous for a few minutes, but honestly, the opportunity outweighed the moral issue that they had with it. Or at least, that’s what it seemed like, because they were all really quick to agree to go talk to Blinsky.
When we passed the scene of the battle against Rahadin, we found his body, and Kasimir, both gone. I assume that Kasimir took the body with him and left to do whatever it is that he needs to do. Szoldazar and Yegvene were there, collecting pelts from the dead wolves. They looked up when we arrived, their attention immediately on Trevor, who for some reason was hauling Kiril’s body with him. Why he didn’t just leave him there at the church, I don’t understand… it must be a hunter thing or something.
Szoldazar went over to Trevor and they had a quick exchange. I don’t know what they said, but Trevor hung Kiril’s body on the wall while they talked. Really? Did he have to do that? I mean, okay… he was a werewolf, I get it… but Trevor didn’t have to hang his body out like a trophy. I didn’t catch what Trevor and Szoldazar were saying, but I caught a glance from Szoldazar right before Trevor hauled off and punched him in the face. When Szoldazar shrugged and turned around to walk away, Brynden punched him in the face. I don’t know what their problem is, but they need to get over it. We have more important things to worry about… besides… it would be smart if everyone remained on good terms with the two hunters, as they have already offered their services to guide us through the woods of Barovia for a reasonable fee. I’d hate to need them in a week, and have them up their prices on us…
Anyways, we arrived at Blinsky’s, and Oswald knocked on the door. Blinsky answered and took us into the back room where he keeps his ornate scrying mirror. I’m not going to go into much detail as to what the exact conversation was, but basically, Blinsky was able to locate Milevich by process of elimination. He tried to scry on the boy but was blocked by some kind of magic. The most information we were able to get about his whereabouts is that Milevich was in the orphanage. Something dark was blocking it though… and Blinsky said that for someone or something to be able to block out his ability to scry like that, it would have to be at least as strong as the Devil himself.
We made our way to the orphanage, and there was no light coming from the interior. I knocked on the door, figuring that if any of us were going to get a response, I would probably have the best chance of it. A woman cracked open the door. I could barely make out her face in the light of her single candle.
I asked if the boy Milevich was staying there. She said that he was, but she spoke in whispers, obviously petrified of something. I don’t know what, but I could only assume that it had something to do with the darkness that Blinsky’s spell was unable to pierce. I mentioned that Oswald was a paladin and hope sprang into her eyes as she opened the door wide.
The woman directed us upstairs and bade us to be quiet, insisting that we “not wake him” as he was finally sleeping. We went upstairs, well… the dwarf, Moira, and Oswald led the way upstairs. I could hear children sleeping fitfully in the rooms along the hallway. Another woman came out from one of the doors, looking very disturbed. She hurried past us and Oswald and Moira opened the door.
I don’t know or understand what was going on… but it was bad… There was a boy, I figured that it was Milevich, laying on a small bed in the center of the room. I could see red runes coming away from him and moving up the walls. They would disappear and then reappear as though in waves. I still don’t fully understand what was going on, but Oswald looked nervous – which is something that I honestly haven’t seen before… and that scares me.
Brynden was acting all protective, making sure I was behind him – I don’t know what has gotten into him these past couple days, but in this case, I didn’t even question it. I had no desire to be anywhere near that… whatever the “that” was that was going on in that room. Oswald and the dwarf did some divine magic stuff, and then Oswald picked up a black necklace from the boy. He held it carefully away from him and we left. Oswald, Moira and Brynden kept casting a protection spell on Oswald, maintaining it for the entire walk back to the cathedral.
They took it down into the room where the bishop and Van Richten were talking. They were saying something about the monks and word not being able to get out about the missing bones, but honestly, I didn’t pay too much attention. I was tired and Trevor was in the foyer with a fresh bottle of wine.
I needed a drink. Hell, I still need a drink, and Trevor, Brynden and I spent a good portion of the night draining the bishop’s stock of alcohol dry.
I had a couple really good conversations with the guys. Trevor told me a little about his family… which explains a lot… I get the impression that he has a lot that he feels like he needs to prove. Brynden actually talked about Elaine a little bit… I think he definitely needed that – seeing as he’s so closed off emotionally from everything except anger and a sort of hopeless depression…
Trevor now knows that Izek Strazni claims to be my brother. I don’t know… I did feel a connection with him in the Blue Water Inn, but he claimed that I don’t know him from anywhere. If he is actually my brother, wouldn’t I remember him, and wouldn’t he have told me?
Both Trevor and Brynden say that I should go talk to him, to give him a chance to explain. But I don’t know… he scares me…
The last thought in my mind when I laid down to sleep though, was wondering what happens to nightmares when you kill them? What happens to nightmares when the monster who haunted them you’re entire life was laying dead before your eyes not more than a few hours earlier…
Can a nightmare even be slain?...
Unsettling Revelations
I’m just going to jot this down before I pass out for the night. I think I might have had a little bit too much to drink… but, I was trying to get Oswald to loosen up and relax a little, so I convinced him to drink a bit – maybe he had a little too much by the end of the night, but the poor guy needed it…
I found out why Oswald was so upset when they came back to the inn… after he arrived looking upset, he pulled me aside and asked if he could speak with me in private. That was odd… normally he doesn’t talk to me aside from the normal pleasantries, so I figured that something was really bothering him.
I took Oswald into my room, the one that Szoldazar had rented the night before, and sat him down at the desk. When I asked him what was the matter, he started asking me about Blinsky dolls… I told him that it’s no fun if no Blinsky. I had one when I was a young girl, but it got lost at some point, maybe in the fires of my village, I really don’t remember… I just remember that I used to have one and now I don’t…
He asked why everyone likes them so much, and I told him that the children love them. Most of the children in Barovia have one, and they sleep with them at night because the dolls make them feel safe.
Oswald then went on to tell me that old Blinsky sews a piece of his own hair into every doll he makes, and that he uses them to scry on the children and watch them while they sleep… He seemed incredibly bothered by this. And, yes, it is a bit disturbing if I really think about it… but it makes sense after a fashion. The Blinsky dolls keep us safe, and what better way to keep us safe than to check in on us occasionally? Oswald did say that old Blinsky was able to locate the missing girl from Barovia just by looking into a mirror and tracking her through her doll… she is being held by the Devil himself. A horrible fate, but at least now, Oswald will be able to tell her mother what became of the girl, and bring her some measure of peace and closure.
Oswald seemed very disturbed by my logic. In fact, he said that in his land, Faerun, that would have been against the laws and old Blinsky would be arrested for such things. I explained to him that everything works a bit differently here, and that the Blinsky dolls bring joy and comfort to all of the children of Barovia, so I fail to see how it is worse…
Anyways, I think I was able to help him feel a bit better, but I told him that he should really try to relax for once and have a few drinks. He said that he doesn’t drink, but I managed to convince him, well… me, Trevor and Errki. Brynden was noticeably quiet… he hasn’t been talking much the past two days. Something is bothering him, and I have the feeling that it might be more than being put off by my company the other night…
I didn’t have long to wait before the night got very interesting… we were all sitting around a table, and Brynden’s new kitten hopped up onto the table and began rubbing affectionately on Trevor. I think Trevor must like cats, because he didn’t mind at all and was absently scratching the kitten under its chin as he talked and drank.
Suddenly though, the little black cat started convulsing like he was having some kind of seizure or something… then he keeled over. I thought he was dead. It was horrible. But, it was so much worse… for a few seconds later, something began moving inside of the body… as if it was trying to get out. By now, everyone around us was looking on in horror as a massive spider burst out of the cat’s stomach and skittered across the table - away from Trevor who was now trying to kill it. It dragged the body of the cat along with it as it ran, fleeing up into the rafters. Moru… somehow that creepy spider had returned, and had been hiding in the body of the innocent little cat.
Brynden just sat there, nonplussed, and waited for the commotion to die down. Trevor cursed and stormed off to his bed upstairs, saying that if he sees the “fucking spider” again, he was going to kill him. I had jumped away from the table as soon as Moru had begun moving in the cat’s belly, and now I found myself seeking out the two hunters, Szoldazar and Yegvene.
Szoldazar smiled at me as I approached, but I could tell that his attention was completely focused on what had just happened. “Hey.” I greeted, nonchalantly. “Can I ask you something?”
Yegvene nearly groaned, but Szoldazar nodded.
“Have either of you ever seen anything like that before?” I was hoping that one of them would be willing to give me some kind of explanation because, honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to ask Brynden about it…
“No… never…” the hunters said in agreement.
We talked for a few minutes longer, and Szoldazar made some comment in the course of conversation about how he should have paid Errki the gold to talk to me instead of the other way around. I think it was his form of apology for his initial callousness the other night, but I wasn’t bothered by it anymore. We enjoyed each other’s company, well, I know I enjoyed myself immensely and I know that he doesn’t have anything to complain about, and that’s what matters in the end…
When I went back to our table, Brynden moved next to me and said that he had a gift for me. He pulled out a Blinsky doll with a wolf’s head sewn onto it. It was a limited edition for the festival! He said that he wanted to do something nice, so he got me the Blinsky doll. I almost kissed him! I haven’t had a Blinsky since I was a little girl, back before the Vistani found me. I thanked him, I hope he knows how much the gesture is appreciated.
Then, he asked if he could talk to me… he said that something was bothering him and he wasn’t supposed to tell me, but that he feels as though he has to… so, I invited him to come to my room and talk.
When I opened my door, Brynden said that I should sit down. What was he going to tell me that he thought I needed to sit down for? This was really concerning…
Brynden began by saying again that he wasn’t supposed to tell me this, but that he needed to… he said that after losing Elaine, he would give almost anything to be able to speak with her again. And that if there is a chance that he could help me do what he will never be able to, then he will do anything in his power to make it happen.
I was very confused, and I told him so… I do not have any family. Everyone died when my village was destroyed by Rahadin and the fires.
Brynden shook his head.
I asked him to spit it out, to tell me exactly what he is talking about.
He said that he thinks that I might have an elder brother… that he met him last night…
“What?!” I don’t have a fucking clue what he’s talking about… I might have had a brother once, but if I did, then he died with my parents. And frankly, I was beginning to get angry at Brynden for bringing all of the nightmares that I’d been pushing back these past few weeks, rearing to the surface once again… But… something in his eyes made me stop for a minute… Brynden was callous at times, but he would not be so cruel as to give me such false hope, especially not since losing his own sister - something that he feels far deeper than he is letting on, I think…
Brynden took a deep breath and then explained. He had met with Izek Strazni at his house last night. Izek had shown him a collection that he has, dolls and portraits of a sister he lost as a child and still sees in his dreams… and all of them are in my exact likeness.
I asked Brynden if this is true, then why didn’t the sheriff say anything when I asked if I knew him from somewhere… for his face was uncannily familiar… Brynden said that he worries that I would not be able to accept him as a brother, for his left arm is a monstrous deformity. I said that I should be allowed to make that decision for myself, to which Brynden agreed, saying that is the reason why he is telling me in the first place…
We sat in silence for a few minutes, until I thanked Brynden for telling me. He assured me that he felt obligated to tell me, because if there is any chance that the sheriff is indeed my brother, I should have the opportunity to get to know him at least… to talk to him… something that Brynden wishes he could do with Elaine, just once more…
With that, he left, leaving me to my thoughts… I don’t know what I should do… a part of me is overjoyed at the prospect of finding a long lost brother… but on the other hand, I do like my freedom that I have now, and I don’t want someone to try to suffocate me in the same way that I feel Ismark would suffocate Ireena if he felt it would keep her safe…
I don’t know… I think I’m just going to sleep on it and face whatever tomorrow brings in the morning…
The Blue Water Inn
Yesterday passed fairly uneventfully for me… I spent the day in the tavern, paying attention to all the conversations going on and trying to gather a decent amount of information while the others went off to do whatever they felt like during the day. Also, not going to lie… I wanted to make some extra gold… it’s not everyday that I find myself in a lucrative situation like this, so I wanted to make the most of it.
Overall, I was able to find some information, but nothing spectacular… just general unease among the people about the rulership and politics of Vallaki. What was far better though, was the twenty-five gold that I made during the day.
The musicians were tolerable that evening, after the others got back… but they were nothing to tell your friends about. I was feeling the urge to perform and show their warbling noise up with some real music, so I made my way over to the stage area and jumped in.
As per usual, most of the patrons glanced over occasionally while I played, but there ended up being a rather small crowd. There was a pair of guys, hunters or something by the looks of them, who kept on watching me and looking at each other as though they were waiting for me to make a mistake. I don’t make mistakes when I perform… so I was getting pretty irritated. It wouldn’t have been so bad, I guess… but they were sitting in the front row of seats and making their trepidation about my performance painfully obvious. I’d like to see them do better…
Anyways… I ended the song and headed for the bar where Errki was standing to grab myself a drink. As I brushed by the hunters, one of them reached out and caught my hand. What the fuck? They should know better than to just go around grabbing bards in taverns. I turned on him, ready to knock his teeth in, when he said that he just wanted to talk to me. The way he said it, with an unusual amount of trepidation in his eyes, made me pause for a moment… what were they on about? Maybe I should listen to whatever he wanted to say, as it seemed important enough that he was nervous to talk about it…
When I paused, he introduced himself as Szoldazar Szoldarovich and his companion as Yegvene Krushkin. He said that they were the greatest hunters in the valley. As soon as he said that, I scoffed. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before…” I told him as I made to walk away.
He laughed and said that I must have already met Kiril Stoyanovich… I didn’t deign to give him a proper response, as that is still kind of a sore spot for my pride, especially around Trevor… it made me really glad that he wasn’t in the room at the moment, because he would have had something snarky to say.
Szoldazar said that unlike Kiril, they were competent… seriously… what is up with fucking hunters and hating on Kiril… I mean, yes… he turned out to be a total disappointment, but really? This was getting a bit ridiculous.
Szoldazar claimed that they were the hunters who provided all of the wolf heads for the festival. I shrugged and dismissed him flippantly… it doesn’t take a badass to kill a couple packs of wolves over the course of weeks…
“Look…” he said apologetically. “Your friend paid us 15 gold to talk to you… he said you are going through a dry spell and he owes you his life, so he wanted one of us to try and have sex with you.”
What in the fucking pits of all hells? I’m going to kill Errki… It does explain why they were watching me perform with such trepidation… they probably thought that I was a man in disguise or something like that… what the fuck?
I told them in no uncertain terms that I am not a whore and if I want to sleep with someone, I can get any man I want.
The shame of it was too, that I was really itching for some company… and had been looking forward to letting go a little bit while I was in Vallaki. It had been a long time since I’d last had someone to sleep with, and I, frankly, had been planning on picking someone up that night… but Errki paid them to have sex with me. What the fuck? I mean, what really sucked is neither of them are bad looking… Szoldazar is actually quite attractive, and if it hadn’t been for the gold exchange, I would have totally taken him up on his offer for the night… what the fuck?
Szoldazar claimed that they were the hunters who provided all of the wolf heads for the festival. I shrugged and dismissed him flippantly… it doesn’t take a badass to kill a couple packs of wolves over the course of weeks… and I turned and walked away. I must have goaded his professional pride or something, because he pointed at the stuffed wendigo head on the wall. “I killed that.” He claimed.
“Okay.” I replied, turning back to face the pair. “So you killed the wendigo… I’ve killed one too. What’s the big deal?”
He gave me a look that was frankly insulting, before asking if I’d actually killed one, his tone telling me more than any words that he didn’t believe a word I was saying.
“Well, me and my friends did, yes.” I told him.
“So there was what… five of you?” he asked. Gods, this man was annoying. Attractive, but annoying. Or maybe, I was just frustrated.
I nodded.
“I killed that” he pointed again, “all by myself.”
“Okay.” I decided to humor him. “How?”
“I cut its fucking throat.” He replied proudly.
I nodded. “Okay. What does wendigo blood do when it touches something.”
By way of a response, he pulled out a knife that was all pitted and eaten away as if by acid. “This.” He said.
I admit it. I was impressed. I tried to brush it off, but that’s impressive. “So, you’re good with a weapon. Good for you.”
“That’s not the only weapon I’m good with, if you want me to show you…” he said with a wink and a grin.
Fuck it, I thought… what was the harm after all? I told him to prove it.
Szoldazar bought a room for the night, and we went upstairs. To say that it was good, would honestly be an understatement… I am very pleased with my decision… and I slept more soundly and thoroughly than I have in quite some time…
This morning though, when I came downstairs, the guys were pretty pissed. Trevor fucked off and didn’t even say good morning, and Brynden moped around all day like a puppy… I know Brynden has a puppy crush on me, and he occasionally flirts, but I get the feeling that flirting is his general way of interacting with women… and Trevor? What the fuck does he have to be pissed about? He can barely stand my presence, always rolling his eyes or making some snide comment whenever I say anything. The only time Trevor has taken me seriously was the few brief conversations we had when I saved his life...
But I can’t worry about that right now. If they have a problem with me, they should be man enough to speak to me about it… I wonder about this Faerun land that they come from though… is it perhaps that the women there are afraid of or constrained from fulfilling their own desires?
I’ve spent most of the day in the tavern again… I figure I’ll be able to find out the best information this way… not to mention, raise some more coin.
The sheriff came in, Izek Strazni, apparently, he wanted to meet me, along with all of the other newcomers to Vallaki. Something about his face is eerily familiar… I feel as if I know him from somewhere, but I do not recognize him. His eyes flickered with a bit of shock when he saw me, but he quickly covered it up… if I wasn’t so used to reading people, I would have missed the slip entirely. He is a large, bald man, and wears a cape thrown over one shoulder. He was dressed in the livery of the city, it’s obvious that he holds great power and influence here – and I got the distinct impression that it would be best to remain on his good side…
Izek was unfailingly polite in his introduction, although he made it clear that he already knows my name and those of my companions… a subtle threat? I’m not sure. But, when he turned to leave, I asked if I know him from somewhere. He denied this, saying that I do not… it is odd though, because I feel as though I do… I just cannot place the memory…
The others are here now, though… Oswald looks upset. I’m going to go try to talk to him… the last thing we need is for him to be arrested for malicious unhappiness, or whatever bullshit the city guard calls it…
Vallaki and a Carnival Wagon
I haven’t written anything in the past few days… so here is the short version of what happened. I don’t have time to go into too many details because I want to get down to the tavern, but I want to write enough at least to jog my memory for when I pen a book later, or write some amazingly famous ballads…
That noise that I was hearing when I cut my last entry short turned out to be a huge cloud of crows and ravens. They slammed into the Old Bonegrinder over and over, until it started to collapse. I’m glad I was still awake – I was watching Brynden, to make sure he didn’t try to do anything stupid in his grief.
The sound of wings beating was like thunder rumbling through the beams of the windmill before the first impact. The whole building shook and trembled before it started to crumble. Brynden and I yelled for the others and we ran. When I turned back to look, Trevor and Ireena were behind us, but Errki and Oswald were both still inside… then the entire structure collapsed in a cloud of beams and stone.
Most of the birds had died as they threw themselves into the windmill, but the few that remained flew off in every direction as soon as it collapsed. A group of zombies was waiting for us outside the wreckage… fortunately, the group of us were able to dispatch the zombies, although to be fair, the others put in most of the swordwork. I’m good with a sword, don’t get me wrong, but I’m far better at making sure the others fight well and don’t die… well… except for Elaine. I tried, and failed… I couldn’t heal her enough.
It took the better part of the night and into the morning to dig Errki and Oswald out of the rubble. Fortunately, they had suffered only minor injuries in the collapse… Errki’s leg is another story though, for it was fried by wendigo blood when he had to fight his way to the children in the depths of the windmill.
We moved out on the road as quickly as we could… anxious to get to the gates of Vallaki. We found blood and wolf tracks all over the road as we went, but we didn’t find any bodies of children… I hoped that they hadn’t been dragged off by Strahd’s wolves… We found ourselves following deep cut wagon tracks, as though something extremely heavy had been moving along the road very quickly.
As we drew closer to Vallaki, we came upon the mangled corpses of wolves, and the ruins of a coach. As we drew closer, we were able to see the same black coach that carried Rahadin… pulverized and broken. Neither myself nor the others had any idea of what would have caused such damage, but we weren’t going to stick around long enough to investigate further.
Finally, we approached the gates of Vallaki. We decided to make camp and wait until dawn before we approached the guards, as we didn’t want to cause any potential issues.
We entered the city gates without too much fuss, at least, none after we allowed the guard to press sanctified silver on our forehead to make sure that we didn’t burn.
We made our way directly to the Cathedral of Saint Andral. As we entered the gates, Oswald’s conjured horse disappeared, and I could feel the thrum of some kind of magical force protecting the area… the bishop said that it is the bones of St. Andral that keep the city safe from Strahd and his forces of the night, as they do not allow anything undead to pass into the city. A nice sentiment, surely… but what about Rahadin and his other spies? What is to stop them from just infiltrating the city. But, I was not about to ask those questions… I was getting enough suspicious looks from the monks who moved about the grounds… I guess I look too much like the Vistani for their taste, racist bastards.
The nice thing about the cathedral though, is that the bishop recognized Oswald as a fellow champion of a good faith and cured his blindness. The bishop then took us down to see the bones themselves. I’ll admit, it was pretty creepy… in a nicely religious sort of way… the bones all laid out in state, dressed in opulent robes, much like those of the bishop.
A short while later, we made our way to the Blue Water Inn, a locale that made me feel far more comfortable in its familiarity. I’ve never been here before, but it’s ultimately a tavern, and all taverns have a common thread running through them that provides a great deal of comfort to one such as I…
There were notices posted throughout the town square, advertising the Wolf’s Head Festival, and demanding that every citizen of Vallaki remain happy. The festival explained the scores of wolf heads that were displayed on spikes across the entire square… apparently, from what I was able to gather from the few whispered conversations that I overheard, it was but one of the many festivals that were held every 10 days, to celebrate Vallaki’s freedom from the control and influence of Strahd… I cannot fathom why anyone would want to openly provoke him like this… it is the height of arrogance and stupidity to think that they will be able to stand against him in such a brazen manner.
It is nice to be in a populated area again… I’ve never been to Vallaki, I only saw the outskirts when I was travelling with the Vistani caravan… but I’ve never seen a city this vast! It’s quite amazing, actually.
That night we all claimed a table in the tavern of the Blue Water Inn… the innkeeper, Danika Martikov came over to talk to us, along with her two sons. She said that there is something threatening the wellbeing of the Wizard of Wines, which is also run by the Martikovs. She said that if we agreed to go help with the vineyard’s problems, she would give us free rooms while we are in the city.
A crowd was beginning to form around the stage
area, and seeing as I wanted to make some extra coin while we were here, I wanted to check out the competition. So, I excused myself and made my way over to the performance.
A fancily dressed half-elf was regaling the crowd with stories and juggling. He was good… like, really good. He kept on looking over at Ireena as he performed (she’d walked up to watch along with me), and it was obvious that he was going to want to get her in private afterwards. I could see Trevor and Brynden shooting him murderous looks out of the corner of their eyes, and Oswald sat there with them looking confused.
The juggler approached us when his performance ended and tried to talk us, and by us, I really mean Ireena, into going outside to see his carnival wagon. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen, he insisted, and housed his tiger. Yeah… right… a tiger in a wagon right outside the inn? Come on… I’ve heard my share of pickup lines before, but that was a new one.
About that time, the guys walked over. I was a little confused when he invited all of us to see his carnival wagon. What kind of trick was this? Then, Madam Eva’s words came back to me… something about a stranger in a carnival wagon who was not as he seemed would aid us, or something like that… I will have to reread exactly what she said. I think everyone remembered at the same time, for we all agreed to accompany him.
Outside and around the corner was the very wagon he’d bragged of. It was a very expensive wagon, but I failed to see what made it so spectacular… until we got inside… inside the wagon was festooned with weaponry of various types. An actual tiger was laying down on the far side, and a Vistani looking woman was lounging up against him, sharpening a silver-edged battleaxe.
As soon as the door closed behind us, our host pulled off his ears and removed his makeup, revealing not the half-elf we’d been introduced to, but an aging human man.
He apologized for the deception and introduced himself as Rudolph Van Richten… a hunter and pursuer of knowledge who had made it his life’s work to destroy Strahd. The woman with the battleaxe was Esmerelda d’Avenir, his apprentice and associate.
Van Richten went on to say that he had been hunting Strahd for years and had worked with many other groups of adventurers… of course, they are all dead… why am I not surprised?
He gave Ireena some artifact, the Relic of the Ravenkind, or something like that... and told her that she is in grave danger. Other than that, the man is a racist jerk who hates the Vistani so much that he trained his tiger to specifically target and kill Vistani. I know, a lot of them have their issues, just like everyone else, I might add… but what the fuck? Seriously? I can’t believe that this is supposed to be a “good guy.” …racist prick…
I'll try to write more later, but right now the inn is picking up a bit and I want to see what I can find out this night...
The Old Bonegrinder
I barely know where to begin this tale… we lost Elaine. How? You ask…
Well, sit with me and let me tell you this tale… of the Old Bonegrinder, a coven of hags, and a young woman from Faerun who died protecting the children of Barovia…
We were to pass by the Old Bonegrinder on our way to Vallaki. I was hoping that we would be able to just slip by without gaining the attention of Mother Morgantha or her daughters, but of course, we had no such luck… not to mention that Errki had eaten their pies and so we were bound to get dragged into something with them. I’ve found myself wondering a few times if I would have been better staying around the Vistani camps and performing in Barovia… but there just wasn’t anything to do.
I wanted adventure, and I’ve found more than I was originally bargaining for when I walked up to the new group of adventurers in the Blood of the Vine…
But anyways, I am getting sidetracked…
We were set upon by a horde of starving people… those addicted to Mother Morgantha’s pies but who don’t have the money to buy more, so they slowly go insane until they die and become wendigos – at least that’s what the others have said. I always avoided the pies because I don’t like Morgantha… she gives me the creeps.
Trevor and Errki made a barrier around the bridge and Elaine and Brynden burned anyone who approached. It was horrible. The flames and the writhing screams… If I hadn’t been so busy fighting for my life and the lives of my companions, I would have been sent right back into my nightmares of my earliest memory.
We finally made it to the field in front of the Old Bonegrinder, where we stopped to rest for the night. Half of us were injured, and the rest of us were exhausted. Bedrolls weren’t even beginning to be unrolled yet when a beautiful woman approached. She was gorgeous… but there was something about her that felt like an illusion or something… she was almost too perfect.
As I figured, it was one of the hags… things went sour when Mother Morgantha and her other daughter showed up.
I don’t recall exactly what was said, but ultimately, any conversation was stopped short when a lightning bolt shot out from Trevor and hit Morgantha and one of her daughters square in the chest. Trevor, the bloody idiot, was wearing the cursed necklace! If he does that a couple more times, it will kill him… as it is, there is nothing that we can do to remove it…
All hell broke loose from that point… Errki took off for the windmill, saying that he was going to go save the children who are being kept in there. The rest of the party attacked the hags and I desperately tried to keep them alive.
Elaine sealed her fate when she dealt the deathblow to one of the daughters. Morgantha focused in on her with blind, single minded hatred. Elaine fell unconscious, and I was able to heal her in time to bring her back, but it was all for naught…
Brynden charged the hag, who was standing over his sister’s prone body. Right there in front of his face, he looked into his eyes and said that she was going to take that which he loved. Then she reached out and grabbed Elaine’s face. We all watched in horror as the life drained out of her and her body collapsed to the ground. Lifeless. Dead.
Brynden’s scream of denial is one that I shall never forget for as long as I live. Everyone is upset, but I am concerned for Brynden… I have seen what happens to those who lose their family when they are old enough to remember, old enough to fight it. Old enough to lose and understand that they weren’t strong enough…
The hags are all dead. As I write this, I am keeping an eye on Brynden. We are in the Old Bonegrinder now. Errki freed a group of young children from the clutches of the hags, and their wendigo guard.
The children all ran off towards Vallaki. I find myself daring to hope that they reach the city alive.
Oswald and Errki have gone below into the cellar… I believe that they are constructing a coffin for Elaine. I do not know what the funeral rituals are in Faerun, but this seems like it would be something she would have liked… to know that because of her actions, a score of children have been saved from the horror that is being ground up into meat pies…
Wait… something is happening… I can hear a great noise approaching from the north. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to stop now… hopefully I will be alive to write another entry…
Of Monsters and the Men Who Hunt Them
Everyone was in an argumentative mood when we headed out morning. I suppose it had something to do with the events of the previous night. Ireena got tired of the arguing and just started walking. Naturally, the others all fell in behind her.
Later that day, we came upon the remains of a Vistani wagon. There were dismembered bodies arranged in a ritual circle of some type. I haven’t seen anything like it before. There was a trail leading off from the wagon, it looked like some people had been dragged away. By what, I had no idea, so I asked Trevor. He’s always going on about how he comes from a great family of monster hunters… and while I’ve seen him in action a few times and he’s good in a fight, and he obviously knows his way around the woods, I don’t really know how he would measure up against some of the Barovian hunters… maybe that’s why he badmouths Kiril every chance he gets…
We followed the trail. I would say Trevor followed it, but it was a blatant enough trail that a child could have tracked it. Whatever we were chasing was huge…
A couple hours of following the trail later, we saw a figure slumped in the road up ahead. As we got closer, I could see that it was Kiril Stoyanovich! He was severely wounded. I don’t know how bad it must have been to best him, but he was close to death. A massive antler was protruding from his chest where it had impaled him and then broken off. His bow was broken into several pieces.
He didn’t know what it was, but he said that it was a massive, antlered beast. Kiril’s weapons had been ineffectual, he said. Trevor asked him some questions and seemed to come to his own conclusion of a sort. Kiril did say that the beast had a few Vistani girls with it, and that they had been still alive when Kiril fought it a couple hours earlier.
The party had to come to a conclusion on what to do. I didn’t want to leave Kiril there in the middle of the woods… in his present condition, I wasn’t sure that he would be able to survive. So, it was decided that we would continue on and try to rescue the Vistani, if they were still alive… Oswald set a spear in Kiril’s hands, so he would at least have some weapon to defend himself, as Trevor “borrowed” Kiril’s magical sword.
A short while later, we came upon a clearing. At the far end of the clearing, we could see a massive antlered creature bending over the prone forms of two young women, by their clothes, they were likely the Vistani from the destroyed wagon.
As we got closer, Trevor whispered that it was a wendigo. I have no idea what that means, but by the way that he said it, and the fact that Kiril was laying near death a ways behind us, it was something really bad…. We charged in.
The fight was pure chaos. I danced around the edges of combat, imbuing as much magic as I could into my song, bolstering the party and healing their wounds when I could.
Trevor and Oswald were locked in furious combat with the wendigo. I saw some of the creature’s blood spray Oswald in the face and his eyes melted. Literally… his eyes melted into his face, there must be some acidic component in the creature’s blood. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was horrible.
Something happened to Oswald though… when the wendigo was finally dead, we all breathed a sigh of relief, until Oswald attacked Ireena! He fucking attacked her and tried to rip her throat out with his teeth! I must admit that I thought it had something to do with him being half-orc… maybe they taste blood and go crazy, I don’t know… but it was terrifying. One of the guys knocked him unconscious, and we were trying to figure out what happened and what to do about it.
Trevor explained that Oswald was suffering from some form of “wendigo sickness”, where he would try to eat us… like actually, physically, eat his friends. Like I said, it was horrible.
Everyone was arguing about what we should do. Brynden thought that we needed to kill Oswald to prevent him from killing any of us. I could tell that the thought was freaking him out, but I think that he cares enough for the half-orc that he doesn’t want to see Oswald turn against everything he believes in due to a contracted disease. Elaine argued that we should just tie him up until we can find a way to cure him.
I must admit, that I was inclined to agree with Brynden… it’s a terrible decision to make, but I for one, don’t trust some rope to hold Oswald… he would tear his way out of them and kill at least one of us before we would be able to bring him down… if we could even bring him down.
The issue with this wendigo sickness is that, apparently, after a few hours, he would come back to life and rise as a wendigo. Then we would have another one on our hands to deal with… I asked if it would stop the rising if we burned his body…
I heard a voice behind us answer the question, saying that yes, it would stop him from rising again if we destroyed the body with fire.
Everyone spun around, and the Devil himself was standing there. Strahd just walked up to us as if this is an everyday occurrence for him. I can count on one hand the times that I have been more terrified in my entire life. He is the Land, so he can find anything he wants and do whatever he wants… but it is another thing to have him just appear right behind us and insert himself into our conversation.
He then went on to berate the group of us for putting Ireena in danger. He said that he is the one who can keep her safe, and we are just going to get her killed, motioning at Oswald’s unconscious form as if to further illustrate his point.
Strahd handed Ireena a letter, and asked her to please read it. I’ve never seen him be anything but unfailingly polite to her… I can see why she is tempted to go with him. What choice does she have? He could come and take her at any time, but he keeps asking her. I can understand how she must be conflicted.
He then warned us about the Old Bonegrinder. He said that we will die there, and under no circumstances was he going to allow Ireena to die… Strahd would see to that personally, if necessary.
Brynden began questioning Strahd… asking him more questions than was wise.
I really wished he would stop. I have no desire to tempt fate any more than we already are… and I definitely don’t want to tempt it in the face of the Devil himself.
Finally, Brynden stopped talking… I think his sister might have had something to do with it.
Strahd was beginning to show how thin his patience was growing. But then, he walked over to Oswald and said “here is a measure of goodwill” and cured him.
Strahd then looked back at Ireena and asked her to please read the letter. Then he walked off into the mist and disappeared.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was audible.
We rescued the two girls, untying them so they could walk with us, and made our way back towards Kiril and the ruined wagon.
Kiril was gone. There were marks in the tree trunk that he had been leaning up against when we left, they looked like claw marks, but I’m not sure. Trevor didn’t seem overly worried. In fact, I think he was rather pleased with how the entire situation was turning out… I think he might be jealous… professional jealousy, perhaps?
We’re spending tonight night in the ruined wagon. Erkki managed to fashion the debris into someone of a fortification for us to sleep in. It isn’t much, but it definitely beats a bedroll on the side of the road…
My watch just ended. I was with Brynden this time. The guy is pretty full of himself, but he is a decent flirt, which is fun. I keep catching Elaine looking at me though… not sure which way she swings, but this could make for some fun on the road…
Of Fire, Mist and Countless Screams
Well, I quickly learned what the commotion outside Madam Eva's wagon was all about... one of the guys opened the door and stuck his head out to see what was going on. I could see the Vistani gathered around, but didn't see more, so I slid out the door to stand with them. Most of the Vistani camp was standing outside Eva's wagon, in a semi-circle facing the dark mist that was rolling in. I moved to stand with them where I could see better, as well as blend in. We could hear approaching horses, although there were no hoofbeats. A black coach pulled up, pulled by eight black horses that looked as though they weren't quite touching the ground. Screams echoed in my ears. I could hear the screams of hundreds of people dying... A figure emerged from the coach, an elf, judging by his pointed ears. He was wearing black armor, and his gaze immediately sought out Irina. "You haven't done what he asked..." his voice rang out. As he spoke, Irina began walking over to him. A couple of the others grabbed her, but it wasn't until Ismark grabbed her that she stopped. He must have charmed her or something.
As the figure took a step closer, his face haughty and arrogant, it hit me again... the screams.... hundreds of people dying... my entire village, burning and slain. Myself as a young child standing next to the corpses of my family, watching this same figure stride across the field. He stopped and glanced at me, dismissing me as worthless I suppose, before stepping back into the very same coach and disappearing from reality... only to return haunting my dreams most nights...
The elf said something that I didn't quite hear, my mind was focused on my nightmares. A hooded figure moved through the Vistani to face the elf. He pulled back his hood to reveal Elven features, except his ears had been hacked off. The elf from my nightmares spoke, disgust permeating his voice. "Ah, so they have been harboring you?"
The hoodedelf didn't answer. He stepped up in front of the Vistani. "Kinslayer." He spit out as he pulled his sword.
The armored elf answered his accusation, saying, "My people were not killed by Strahd."
With that, the hooded elf, we later learned that his name is Kasimir, attacked.
Trevor was behind me, I heard him say something about beasts approaching. A few seconds later, real screams began to join the ones in my mind. A pack of wolves had descended on the outlying Vistani, and were tearing apart a group of them, mostly women and children, who had not been fast enough in their escape to Madam Eva's wagon.
A massive werewolf appeared on a wagon off to the side. It looked like he was about to leap down onto someone, when he began floating up into the air. I looked around and Bryden was concentrating hard… he cast a levitate spell or something… that guy certainly comes in handy in a fight. He goes down very easily, but between me and the big paladin, we can heal him pretty well, at least enough to keep him alive.
Trevor and Elaine handled the wolves, Trevor held them with his whip (I’ve never seen anyone do that!) and Elaine burned them as they approached. Kasimir was joined by in his attack on the other elf.
Everyone jumped into the fray. I was playing a quite inspiring tune (I could feel the magic rising through me), if I do say so myself, and whenever something came close enough to me, I fought with my rapier. I took down a wolf and injured another. The fighting continued… the armored elf was finally injured quite badly, and he moved back into his coach and left… I wish we’d be able to stop him… I have a very bad feeling about what will happen if he makes it back to Strahd and tells him about this fight… the elf left bloodied, I don’t know how badly he was hurt, but it was bad enough that blood was smearing his black armor and he left a trail of blood behind him – for once it was his own.
The werewolf was a bigger problem. Brynden went down and it must have broken his concentration because the spell holding the werewolf aloft was broken. He leapt down in the middle of us and went into a frenzied rage. One of his claws swiped me hard and I don’t remember much after that… I woke up what I assume was a few moments later, with the others leaning over me and Brynden, for he was knocked down again. The werewolf was dead, and Irina was still with us. So, at least there’s one good thing out of all this… Strahd does not have her today.
The hooded elf joined us for a time. Elaine talked him into answering some questions. Apparently, he was one of the leaders of the dusk elves hundreds of years ago. The black armored nightmare spawn is named Rahadin von Zarovich. He is a kinslayer, but even worse, he betrayed his entire race, not only his kin. He was adopted by Strahd’s father, and even took their name. Rahadin was instrumental in carrying out the dusk elf genocide all those years ago, and had been serving as Strahd’s right hand man since he came into his
inheritance at Castle Ravenloft.
Kasimir confirmed that Strahd wants Irina because she’s the reincarnation of his lost love, Tatiana. Apparently, she is the third such reincarnation. It is so important to Kasimir that Strahd never gets what he wishes for that he even executed his own sister when he discovered that she was the second reincarnation. Elaine tried to get him to come with us to Vallaki. I could have told her that it wouldn’t work, but he made that very clear himself. Kasimir was going hunting for Rahadin. He disappeared shortly
thereafter, following the bloody trail.
The Vistani gave us the use of a couple wagons for the night, a gesture that was greatly appreciated by the entire party. In the morning, I heard the sounds of men training, so I took my breakfast down to watch. I love watching the men train. Occasionally I’ll join in when I get the opportunity, but today I was content with watching. The half-orc, Oswald, was off to the side, working over Brynden, apparently trying to teach him how to fight with a sword. It was cute, Brynden and a couple of the younger Vistani were trying to show off, flexing and such.
A few minutes later, Elaine walked up and offered me some food. She said that she’d paid four gold to one of the Vistani women for some food, and she had way too much to eat by herself. I thanked her but pointed out my own breakfast. I didn’t need to take her food. She offered some of it to Brynden, Oswald, and the Vistani. I laughed and asked her if she was prepared for the consequences of that… many of the men would take her offer as a sign of potential interest.
Elaine blushed as realization dawned and she backtracked. It took a little while for some of the denser men to catch onto whatever Brynden told them, but when they did, a few of them shot her looks of scarcely hidden disgust before all moving away from the field, leaving just the two of us, Brynden and Oswald standing there. I gave Elaine a hard time for chasing them away, because she obviously hasn’t had the pleasure of watching the Vistani men train with sabers. But she just shrugged it off. I get the feeling that she is more attracted to women than men, but I haven’t yet been able to confirm or deny that theory.
About an hour later, Trevor emerged from Madam Eva’s wagon, obviously hung over… frankly, I wish he’d been sharing whatever he’d been drinking.
About an hour later, Trevor emerged from Madam Eva’s wagon, obviously hung over… frankly, I wish he’d shared whatever he’d been drinking.
Ismark went back to Barovia to take over his duties as bourgermeister. Apparently he trusts us enough to take Irina on without him now.
We set out towards Vallaki. It was a fairly pleasant journey, as much as can be expected. As the day began to close, I found myself wishing for the safety of a Vistani wagon, but it was not to be. We made camp that night and it passed fairly uneventfully. Aside from the usual dreams, I slept well.
The next afternoon, we heard a woman screaming from a cabin a little bit off the road. Errki and Oswald immediately took off running to see what was wrong. The rest of us got there a little later to find the door smashed in and the two of them covered in filth.
Apparently, the cabin was haunted by the ghost of a woman, centered around a cauldron that held the women's rotting corpse. As we reached them, they were arguing about how best to destroy the cabin or if we should spend the night there, because it was approaching late afternoon. Fortunately, everyone agreed to burn the cabin to the ground, along with everything in it.
That night we camped under a glorious full moon. I was on watch with Trevor, when he expressed concern about Errki. His comrades had been killed by werewolves, and Trevor wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to turn. So, he tied him up. We figured that if the dwarf was a werewolf, the best way to find out would be if he was completely restrained. When I was talking to him, I asked Trevor if he was a hunter like Kiril Stoyanovich. I think he might be jealous of Kiril… he gets very quiet or angry whenever the famous hunter is brought up. But, based on what I’ve seen, I think Trevor will become a great hunter someday. I hope he sticks to it and the mists don’t take him.
When the time came to change the watch, Trevor shoved Errki with his foot and turned him over so his face was bathed directly in the moonlight. Errki woke up and immediately began shouting for Trevor to untie him. The noise woke up Irina, who walked up to us an cut Errki with her silver sword. She shrugged and announced that he isn’t a werewolf.
As their arguing continued, I went and sat on a rock waiting for it to quiet down. I zoned out a bit, until everyone was looking at me weird. They said that my eyes rolled back in my head and I said something about coming out to play with the mother of the hunt, or something like that. Irina insisted that we keep moving, as my words were ominous. I felt like the moon itself was watching me.
So, we set off, moving through the night. We didn’t stop until dawn.
The following night we were attacked by a horde of giant spiders. They began their attack by trapping Trevor in his bedroll, something disconcerting because that means that they knew who they needed to take out of commission first. We killed all the spiders, but Brynden went down (again), and his familiar, the spider Moru, jumped to his rescue and killed the last spider, although he too died in the process. We continued on again that night, for none of us would be able to sleep anyways.
The next time we stopped, I took second watch with Brynden. He’s cute. He tries to hide his pain and abandonment issues behind a charming mask, but fails utterly when someone knows what they’re looking for. He’s rather good at flirting though, so that was fun. I talked to him a bit, hopefully he’ll start to appreciate his sister a bit more. She cares deeply about him, it’s obvious to everyone but Brynden. I wonder if Elaine ever gets out of her own head enough to have regular conversations…
I’m really curious about this group of adventurers… what is it that brought them here? They showed up with a dwarf, whose absence seems to be bothering Trevor the most… I wonder why? Also, how did spoiled young nobles find their way into Barovia? In the company of a half orc paladin, two dwarves and a monster hunter in training? If my intuition is correct, and it usually is, then this is going to be the story of my lifetime… it just better not cost me my life…
Madam Eva
I got to meet Madam Eva!!!! I've been hearing about her for almost as long as I can remember, and just today got to finally meet her!
After meeting Kiril Stoyanovich in the woods, we traveled with the Vistani to Madam Eva's camp. We went directly into her wagon upon arriving... not even stopping to really talk to anyone.
Madam Eva's wagon is festooned out with decorations. When we entered, she was sitting behind her table, looking around at us with her clouded eyes. She motioned for Trevor to sit opposite her for the reading. I'm slightly disappointed, I was hoping that she would pick me, but it makes sense that she would start with one of the outsiders who began their journey together. She told everyone something about themselves that apparently isn't common knowledge. She mentioned that Elaine (the one-eared girl) had come from a noble family and was seeking knowledge. Madam Eva then went on to address the dwarf, about his friends being killed by werewolves. She turned to the young man, Brynden, I think his name is, but his sister keeps calling him Bry, and said he was adopted off the streets at a young age, risen to the rank of noble. She looked at Trevor, and talked about how he comes from a family of hunters in his land, but that he is looking to find his own way in the world. Just when I was beginning to wonder if she was going to acknowledge me, Madam Eva turned her face to me and said "Don't think I've forgotten about you... girl from a dead village."
I didn't think that it was disconcerting at all... until she got to me. I found that I didn't like the looks that the other travelers were giving me when she spoke of my village. Frankly, that's none of their business and I don't like it when anyone looks at me like that.
Madam Eva then began a tarot reading with Trevor....
The Swashbuckler was in position 1, signifying History and Knowledge of Enemy... A skeleton of a deadly warrior lying on a bed of stone surrounded by gargoyles.
The Illusionist was in position 7, signifying a Powerful Force for Good and Hope, A Symbol of Protection... A man, here in the valley, is not what he seems. He comes here in a carnival wagon.
The Philanthropist (Madam Eva looked to Oswald) was in position 2, signifying a Blade of Pure Sunlight... Look to a place, where the children lie still in a place of madness.
The Seer... Look for a Dusk Elf living among the Vistani. He suffers from dark dreams and great loss. Help him and he will help you. "I see a great paladin from a fallen order..."
The Executioner... she sees a dark figure watching his land.
I felt goosebumps rising across my arms as she finished her reading. Then Madam Eva reached under her table and withdrew a driftglobe. She said that it gives off the daylight spell. We can use it once and then it will shatter forever.
She then continued to explain some history that I'd never heard of before... she said that Strahd executed all of the women of the dusk elves, because they slighted him, and he wanted the male dusk elves to have to watch their race dwindle and die over the years. In comparison, she explained that the Vistani had helped Strahd in the past, and he rewarded them by allowing them to travel unharmed through the mist... How I wish that I was actually one of the Vistani... can you imagine the amount of stories that I'd be able to gather if I could travel unhindered through the mists like that?
Madam Eva then continued... apparently, most Barovians don't have souls, which is apparently why so many people are dour and depressed. I figured that it was from too much wine and no music or dancing to go along with it, but apparently not. Those of us who do have souls (obviously me), are reborn again and again into new people. Irina, the new bourgermeister's sister is the third reincarnation of Strahd's love, Tatiana.
We all sat there for a minute. I've been writing this as Madam Eva was speaking, for I didn't want to lose anything that she said. So now, I'm finishing up writing this as fast as I can. I want to record everything about this night... I've dreamed of getting to meet Madam Eva, but I never expected that I'd get to meet her this soon.
Wait... what's that? There's a bunch of commotion outside... what the hell?
Strangers from Distant Lands
A new group of adventurers came into Blood of the Vine a couple nights ago. A couple of dwarves, a few humans and then one huge guy who turned out to be a half-orc. They looked pretty banged up when they got here... the one human woman in the party got worked over by something on the road... she's missing one of her ears. I told her it would make a lovely scar - didn't want to hurt her feelings any, because with the way she's arranged her hair, she's obviously self conscious about it. I mean, I can't blame her... if something ripped my ear off, I'd wear my hair down over it with a scarf so no one would ever see it...
Ismark Kolyanovich apparently hired them to take his sister, Ireena, to Vallachi. Apparently Strahd wants her and means to take her for his bride. Ismark doesn't want this to happen, so he's foolish enough to think that hiring this band of fools will protect her. No one can be protected from the Devil or the Land, and he is both. It is a fool's errand. But, I wasn't going to turn down the 1000 gold that Ismark offered to help guide them... and this should be a good story if nothing else...
And, that's how the chain of events began that led to me being once again in a Vistani wagon traveling the roads across Barovia. We're on our way to talk to Madame Eva. I'm so excited because I've heard about her for as long as I can remember, but I've never actually gotten to meet her in person! I did see her wagon once... though none of the Vistani would let me see her. I can't wait!
Apparently, these people think that they came to Barovia on a ship... which I thought was pure insanity because there is no port or sea here... Barovia is landlocked. Apparently, some of the Vistani believe them though, so maybe there is something to it. The Blood of the Vine is full of adventurers who claim to be from all kinds of weird places... apparently these people arrived from a city called Waterdeep in the land of Faerun. I will need to find out more... one of the men, Trevor Belmont, he says, fancies himself a monster hunter... he said he has a lot of stories that I wouldn't believe from his family and their exploits. He said that after he was obviously offended that no one here has any idea of who he is, nor do most of the people care.... I told him I'm always in the market for stories. He's a pig, just like all other men, because he had that look when he asked me what I was interested in trading... I told him that I could trade my own stories, or maybe a dance, if his tales turned out to be really good. Men...
The wagon is stopping... I'm going to see what's going on...
*A few minutes later.*
Oh my god! I just talked to Kiril Stoyanovich! None of my new companions have any idea about how insane that is! He was there, just standing in the middle of the road... He told everyone that there are wights ahead and if we paid him, then he would take care of the problem for us. The idiots I'm traveling with were all confused, until I told them very clearly and slowly that Kiril is the most capable hunter in all of the land, and that he spends days and weeks at a time out in the mist! No one can do that without dying!
I jumped out of the wagon and went to go talk to him with Oswald and the dwarf, Erkii or something like that... I got the rest of the group to agree to pay him... and I pulled out my pouch to cover the rest of the balance, and he winked at me and said not to worry about it, he would give me a discount. Then he slapped my ass and walked back into the forest.
I know what I said about men earlier... but let me just say... most men are not Kiril Stoyanovich... I normally don't get flustered around men, but damn... some men are just what a girl wants, you know?
I'm going to just stop now just in case someone is watching what I write...
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