Shownotes Transcript
You are back in Barovia village and listening to Curse of Strudania, a Legends of Aventris podcast. Last time, the expedition met the curious residents of this strange little town. There was Mad Mary, who misplaced her daughter, an old woman named Morganta peddling dream pastries, and the vivacious daughter of the Burgomaster, Irina Kolyana.
Having met someone who might be their first real friend in this land, will they follow her to their salvation? Or their doom? We shall see. As always, the audio quality reflects our humble beginnings, but does improve over time. With that out of the way, let us conclude with the second part of Chapter 2, Sins of the Father.
Well, cast yourselves off and follow me. She turns around and quickly makes her way down the hallway. And it doesn't take long. You pass maybe two or three doors before she makes a sharp turn towards the left and you enter into this well-lit and beautifully furnished, what appears to be...
what appears to be like a den or a sitting room. And there is already a tea tray sitting in the middle of this room. Plush couches encircle it. There are tea biscuits and different types of pastries and things. We knew you were coming, so I had to cook.
set up a few things. So if you're feeling peckish, please, please enjoy. And she looks over and it's at this moment that you see that teetering precariously on an old wooden table is a wooden coffin, which
You would imagine houses the remains of her late father. We didn't have anywhere else to keep it, I hope. It doesn't sour the tea and the biscuits, of course. No, of course not. So sorry to hear that. And I will send a word to my brother that you're here. Yes.
And in the meantime, if you would like to chat, I guess I'd be happy to entertain for as long as I need to, but just one moment. And she turns and bustles from the room quickly. As soon as she leaves, I'm going to just take one step toward the professor and lean in towards him and say, Professor, I apologize, I'm not so good with names. Isn't she the one that's supposed to be deathly ill?
Well, let me just pull up my letter and reread exactly verbatim.
She's been afflicted by an evil so deadly even the good people of our village cannot protect her. That one. That one right there. She languishes from her wound and I would have her saved from this menace. She doesn't seem to be languishing. Well, did I recall any kind of wound on her body? Yeah, well she walked away. Not that you could see?
A roll an intelligence check. Nine. A nine? A nine. Oh, cool. Yeah, no, not that you could see. I'm not one to really speak here. I'm very, very concerned about the children. Sarnax is mentioned multiple times. My understanding is we're going to help them pull this corpse to the church.
And then we're going to go talk to Shraddha, correct? Well, we'll sort out whatever is going on here, and then we'll talk to Shraddha. Yes, of course, but I don't want to just presume that all we'll be doing here is moving the corpse of the father. All right. You say the word, you let me know. Of course.
With that, you have been sitting for a while in this waiting room, not waiting room, in this sitting room. The parlor. The tea, the parlor. The tea is still piping hot in front of you. Just finish your conversations as the door opens and you see the same shapely female figure move its way back into the room as Irina Kulyana enters.
makes her way towards all of you. She takes a seat directly next to Victoria and begins to pour herself some tea, setting aside a couple of biscuits. Well, my brother will be down shortly, but in the meantime, how has your day treated you so far? How are you enjoying Grovia? The village, I say.
It's been lovely, yes, I must say. We're not from around here, as you may have presumed. Well, yeah, it's quite lovely. I'm glad to hear it. The town has been a bit somber since the passing of my father, but we're so sorry to hear that. Yes, very sorry indeed. But your brother seems like a very capable Burgom master, of course. You will be, with time, I'm sure.
Yes, yes. How are you doing? Do you enjoy living in Barovia? I'm doing as well as one can be, considering the circumstances, but my father had a large heart. That's what killed him in the end. But I know that he'd want me to move forward.
Do the positive outlook on everything. Do I know that vampires, like, do the whole, like, thing things? Roll an intelligence check and find out if you do. Okay. Funny things. 23. Yes, you do.
So while she's talking, I'm just like trying to kind of... She is wearing a black ribbon around her neck. She has a black ribbon around her wrist and her neck. It's a sign of mourning. That's what we discovered. Can I look for any signs of wounding at all? Roll a perception check. Can I as well? I need to tablet you.
Natural 20! Oh my god, that scared the living shit out of me. That was totally delayed. I was like, wait, is that natural 20? Oh, just got changed his face. I'm so glad I wore the brown skirt today. Mikey wore the brown cloak, I wore the brown skirt.
That's what I love. Play like you can crit skill checks. I love that. Crit like nobody's watching. That's great. Oh, we need a shirt. Crit like no one's watching. We got to use your slogans. That would be the perfect shirt for Maya. Crit like no one's watching. Yes.
I'll say your presumption checks, please. 24. Thank you. Um, I, yeah. Um, I would say, um,
Rich, you don't notice anything as you're watching the way that she moves. But Kana, as you see, she reaches forward to pour her tea. The black wristlet around her wrist shifts just a little bit. And you can see that you can't see any puncture wounds. You can see that there is a faint pinkness on the skin at her wrist where the skin appears to be inflamed from potentially a fresh wound.
And she's leaning forward and I see this. I just look at Clayton and I look down back at her wrists and I look back at him again. And then I just, I lean forward to, may I have some as well, please? Oh, absolutely. Would anybody else like a cup of tea? Oh, yes, please. Thank you. That would be lovely. She begins to pour all of your tea. She takes a couple of biscuits and places them on the saucers and hands them out.
What brings you to our home, aside from helping my brother bring our father's remains to the church?
Well, we are on a... I hope that wasn't too horrible. No, no, no. Of course not. Of course not. We are on an expedition, actually, from the city that myself and Victoria are from. Oh, please, do tell me more about your city. Yes, yes, we are from the city of Brieg, far to the north of here, I believe. Uh...
and I am an archaeology professor for Miss Taller University, as I've already mentioned. And this expedition is to learn as much as we can about Barovia, given how isolated it is, as you probably know. And so my goal is to research this place and learn as much as I can and
help the world learn about Barovia and all of its workings and mysteries. Not really much to tell, honestly. But I do hope that you are able to find all that you seek. Yes, yes, indeed, of course. How are you feeling?
Who? You're looking at me. You. Oh, you normally should make eye contact with the person you're speaking to. I do not speak with your kind very often. Humans? Yes. I avoid them. She looks around at at least the majority of the party that appears to be human. I see. I'm sorry, what was your question again? How are you feeling? Well, and yourself? I am...
Your voice is a little scratchy. Would you like some more tea? That will not fix it. I'm so sorry to hear that. I apologize for my good friend Sarnax here. He's only asking because I'm sure your brother may have let you know we received word that you weren't doing very well. Oh, yes, that...
How strange, don't you think? It's very strange. I mean, you seem to be doing all right, but your brother was very concerned about your safety and the lies that contained in this letter. Ismael has a habit of worrying, just like my father did.
I would wake up in the morning with bites. Insects, most likely. But they believe it should be something so much more. But you see, since my father's passing three days ago, I've been waking up and there are no new bites and my wounds are healing just fine. So you did have the news? I did, yes. Just normal bug bites? Yes. Well, you got better.
I am currently improving. Can I try to discern her attention from when she said that she felt well to all of this business? Yeah. Would that be a... Insight. I'm like, you're a DM. I shouldn't have to tell you. Oh, yeah? Oh, 13. She seems to be completely honest. She seems like she looks well and she's telling you the truth that she feels like she was being...
feasted upon by some kind of insect or something, but it seems to have stopped. Got it. It's possible that I was sleeping with the window open, and since Father's passing, we've been very strict about paying attention to the morning practices, and we keep the door firmly shut and the windows locked. They only allow guests for important reasons, at least for the next two weeks.
Interesting. Well, I'm glad that you are better. Thank you. I appreciate your sentiment. Well, so I suppose our next course of action is to take your father's body to the church. Is that correct? Yes. I am not in a place to help my father carry it. It is far more cumbersome than I'm able to lift. And...
Word has gotten around town about my fights, and you know how townsfolk can be in a small village like this. Gossip spreads, so no one is willing to come and help.
It was quite lucky that he was able to meet you, and that you'd be willing to come and help lay him to rest. What do they fear of your bites? They believe all kinds of hoaxes. Who knows? Obviously. But they believe that I'm sickly or overcome or controlled by an evil entity, which is obviously not the case. Do I? So I cast Detect Magic...
Like, right before we went in. Would we have met her in the ten minutes that it would have been up? Yeah. She wasn't glowing with any kind of magic. Well, you seem perfectly healthy now, and I'm glad you're on the mend. Why don't we wait for your brother? Do you mind giving us a tour of this lovely estate?
I will wait for Ismail to see if he believes that would be the right thing to do. Of course. It's not often that we have company here. Sorry if I'm not being the most...
Can I insight check her when she says that to see if she seems like she's hiding something or if she's physically unwell or possessed by a Dracula? Yeah, so you can roll an insight check.
Does she seem possessed by a Dracula? How possessed by a Dracula? I'm going to need you to determine whether it's a daytime Dracula or a nighttime Dracula. Because the effects are vastly different. This would be a 12 insight on daytime Dracula. Oh, definitely not a daytime Dracula. Definitely not a daytime Dracula. What you discover though is that she's a fan of the popular band Brunch for Dracula. Laughter
No, you can tell that she seems uncomfortable.
but not in a she's feeling sick and is physically uncomfortable, but that she's never met any of you. She's waiting on her brother. She has no idea how to talk to you. You're sitting in her drawing room, and her dead father is behind her. So it's a weird position to be in for someone, and she just seems naturally uncomfortable. Is the room that we're in the front of the house? Yes, it's towards the front of the house. All right. Okay. Cool.
This is excellent tea. Mind I ask what kind it is? I'm getting some hints of jazz. Oh, it's a black tea with lavender.
Ah, yes, the lab dirt. Very similar. Jasmine. I believe it's from the same family. It's from the lab dirt. It's too tough to mention. Well, I'm going to check on my brother. And as she goes to make her way to sit up, the door itself opens and it's Mark who makes his way into the room. Yeah.
I'm so sorry to keep you waiting, but I had some things to tie up this morning. If you are ready then, we shall... What were you tying up? I was looking through my father's books and I was... It's just a turn of phrase. It's an idiom as it was. No, it is fine. In a place like this, those kinds of questions can sometimes save your life.
I am sensing that is the case. Well, we are ready to assist you. Yes, I'm capable. How far is the church? It is back the complete opposite way from whence you came. That's all right. We're here to help. We'll do what we can. How many would we need to carry this coffin?
I think that with myself and the two of you, we should be fine. Are you looking at me? Yes. Well, I believe Sarnax probably has a bit more strength than I do.
Is that right, Sarnax? You're significantly taller than he is. Well, he's got his natural lizard-y physique going for him. I apologize for assuming. At least two of you do help with care. A large head does not always correlate to a strong arm. One on each corner ought to do it. Kana, Sarnax, you're feeling up to it? Yes, that's really good. Well, then stand up immediately. Of course.
My darling sister, please, if you have anything left to say to Papa, now is the time. And you see as she bows her head and she gets up, she slowly opens the lid of the coffin and a pungent smell begins to tingle at your senses. He hasn't been here long enough for it to be too overwhelming, but you can tell that it is
He's been dead for three days, and she leans down almost as if she has become nose-blind to it. And you see as a few tears begin to slowly drip down her face. My darling father, you were one of the greatest men that I knew. You gave me a life unlike any I could have imagined, and you protected me far more than I could have hoped for. And I'm doing everything I can in this life to honor you.
May you rest well. When the coffin opens, is it wide enough that if I'm looking, would I get any sight of him? Yeah. Can I just kind of look and see if there's any visible wounds or anything that looks like more than just an unnatural... Roll a perception check. Oh, yes.
Uh, no. You look in and you, um, he's fully dressed.
So anything under the dress you would have no way to see, but you don't see any wounds on his neck, his wrists, or anything that might give you idea that he had been attacked. His face is a little bit sunken in and his color is none, but he just looks dead. He's dead. Professor, if you don't mind, can I hand him my hat? Just hold on to that for me.
It wouldn't be right for me to wear it while we are pallbearers. Of course. And I will sell my mage hand. I'll keep it out of me and the mage hand's going to carry the load. Well then, if you are ready, we will make the trek across town and we will lay my father to rest. And then I have one more thing to ask. But we can talk about it online. Irina? He looks to his sister. Irina?
Yes, I will be fine. I will lock the doors and I will stay inside. And if I need anything, I will send one back. If this is all I ask, we may await it.
Let us go. He slowly leads you from the house. You heave. Those who are carrying the coffin, please make a strength. Oh, dear God. Or an athletics or acrobatics check. I'll let you do either one. Hey, acrobatics is fantastic. Oh, dear God.
15. 23. 12. Okay. You are all easily able to, where maybe Sarnax or Shepard seems to lose their footing and slip a little bit, Kana is fully braced on this coffin, is able to hold it aloft, and you are able to easily guide it out of the house as you begin to make your trek from the house towards the church.
It is as you step outside, you finally start to see the millings about the town. There are a few of the townsfolk in this early...
afternoon, it's probably around noon at this point, this early, early afternoon light, there seem to be a few people who are moving here and they're heading mostly towards the inn or towards the tavern or towards the merchant shop. And when they see you, at first they shrink away, but seeing that you are in the company of the new burgomaster, they bow
bow their heads at you, but they make no motion to talk to you or to engage with you as you begin to make your way through town. And it is as you get roughly to where Mad Mary's house is at that Ismark begins to speak to you. He's been in relative quiet as you've made this major travels. And he looks to you and he says, I did not want to have this conversation in front of my sister, but...
She does not yet fully believe what has happened to her. She does not believe me when I say that the Devil's Throat has visited her in the evening and is sucking the blood from her body. I'm sorry. I'm going to need you to take a few steps back. You're saying that the Devil visited her and is doing what to her? The Devil's Throat has a connection to my sister.
You think the Countess has been visiting her in the night? Yes. Every night up until the death of my father. It is what was causing him the stress. It is what gave him the heart attack that caused him to be laying where he is now. So you do or you do not believe what was in the contents of that letter? The letter was not written by my father, no. Why it was sent to you, I could not tell you. Wait.
Why would the Countess stop visiting your sister once and for all? My only guess with the letter is had you not met me and you had met Irina on her own, she may have convinced you to take her to places she should not go, where the Countess wants her to be. But, as fate would have it, you met me first. She's not safe here. There is a place I believe she might find safety.
If you have intentions on traveling to Wallachia, the Abbey of St. Markovia has a nunnery that I believe that she would be able to find peace and safety in. If you could take her there for me. All right. We don't really have a map or any sense of direction. I can give you a map. Is Wallachia on the way to the Countess's castle?
Not necessarily. You'd take the same road, but not the same fork. Well... Where the castle would take you right, the Valaki would take you left, but... My vote is one way, but it's obviously up to the professor who's running the show. I believe that is amenable.
I think getting your sister to safety should be our utmost concern, especially given that we gave you our word we would help you. I'm readjusting the coffin in my...
in my grip. I'm just putting my knee under it now that we've stopped to talk. Oh, no, you're still walking. You're just talking. Oh, okay. What was the name of this abbey? The Abbey of St. Markovia. Markovia? Yeah, M-A-R-K-O-V-I-A. So that is obviously different from your church's St. Andrew, is that right? It is, yes. Where are we headed to?
The Church of Provia. It is but a small church, not quite like that which we'll find in Fulacchia. I just want to make sure I'm on the same page as everyone else here. Your sister's going to willingly go with us to this abbey. It may take a bit of convincing. What kind of convincing? Maybe a little bit of lying.
In what way? Maybe tell her you're taking her to Wallachia on a small vacation. My concern is this. You do not... You have no reason to care what's happening. But I know that if Irina is not protected, she will not be with us much longer. Okay.
Does the devil Strahd, Strahdania, do this to all of the inhabitants of Barovia? Some, yes. But not like this.
Do you know why she's taken a particular liking to your sister? I have my theories. What are your theories? Please share. He looks around for a moment just to make sure that there aren't any of the townsfolk milling about. He looks back at you. I spoke to Evistante about this.
And I showed them a picture of my darling, my sweet baby sister, Irina. They believe that she may house the soul, the reincarnated soul of Countess Stradania's lost love. She feeds on my sisters, or had been, for weeks up until the death of my father.
She was getting weak. Her mind muddled. She's had days to recover and she's finally becoming herself. And I believe that had it continued any longer, that the devil's straw would have had her in her clutches to take her back to the castle. I do not believe she's willing to do it against Irina's will.
So she is bending it to hers. Now, excuse me if I step out of line a little bit here, but we have to meet the Countess. We don't have a choice. If we go to this abbey, it's going to take us out of the way. Your sister may not even join us. Why? I want to help you, but I need to know why. To help me? There is no other reason.
She may or may not die. This is a choice for you to make and for no one to force upon you. But I have not met anyone that I believed could make this trek with my sister and be successful until I met the five of you last night. You offered to help me enter my father's remains, and that is all that I truly require of you. But should you find that your path leads you to Vallaki...
at least consider taking her with you, whether it be now or in the future. That is for the professors to make. Correct. I know that I am simply a higher guide to trigger my usefulness has come to an end.
However, for what my opinion matters, I believe if this devil Shraddhaanya has a reason to keep this girl, to have her be bent to her will, then bringing her to sacred ground is the best thing we can do against a potentially powerful enemy. Exactly my thoughts, Sonnet. It could be useful bargaining chips.
Not future engagements with the Countess. I'm sorry, but please do not use my sister as a bargaining chip in your fate. If you are not willing to take her to safety and leave it at that, then please do not take her at all. She's not...
She's not a prize for anyone. She is not yours to be bargaining away. Let me restate what I just said. Not quite a bargaining chip, but the information that we learn from the true nature of your system will help us in our further interactions. I assure you that she will remain safe if we get into this abbey. I can assure you that that is true. The Hall of Grounds...
is the only protection she will find in Barovia. I cannot watch her at all hours of the day. Then I... If everyone is amenable to it, may we take a sister? Professor, maybe in a second. Yes. My concern is that she only seems to know our every step. She's dropped letters twice now about our exact location. What's to say that she...
isn't watching us right now. Fair point. For outright defying something that she clearly wishes to happen. Well, as far as I see it, she does not know our intentions. She does not know that we wish to leave Barovia, though she could probably accurately guess that. As far as I'm aware, she does not know whether we are good people or not.
So she's found us, yes, twice. That is concerning, but it does not necessarily mean she knows exactly what we are doing and exactly what we are saying. So...
I think that we could perhaps... I guess, do we all give them a side? I mean, we're carrying off. Okay, so you two are... Well, then, what I would say is... What I would say is let's continue. The Countess is unhappy with us. I'm sure she'll let us know. It's my wish to help this girl. So if you think that it's all right.
Yes, yes. We can always adjust course if further information is uncovered. And we'll proceed with the rest of the group. You make your way further along. While they're having this aside, he leans in to all of you and says, I'm not asking that you do this immediately. That you put all else aside to help me. Just that...
Should your path lead you to the lucky that you remember my sister and that you consider that she could be her saving grace. That is all that I ask. I do not want to burden you with our problems. You're not a burden. You're not a burden at all. And I don't want to dash your hopes, but given the things we've seen, if we can speak with the Countess and we can get out of here, that's my number one goal right now.
And so if it makes more sense for us to take your sister on the way, then that's what we're going to do. Well, when we get to the church, I will provide you with a map and you can look at the outlying villages and decide for yourself.
amongst yourselves, whether you believe that this is something you can undertake. If you decide you would like to take Irina with you, please feel free to stop by my home and we would be happy to have you over for dinner. If it is not in your plans, then you're still welcome, but it might be best to make your way out of town. Well, I'm willing to help, but ultimately it's the professor, that gentleman in the top hat over there, it seems to say.
Correct. Let's get this. Let's get this over with. And he continues to move forward towards the church. And you make your way up. The railing around it is rickety and broken. Not all of the metal...
slats are still held firmly to it. Some of them lie rusted on the ground. The church itself seems to be fairly used. The steps are worn up to it and it doesn't look nearly as dilapidated as the other things around it. The graveyard surrounding it is full of tombstones and even mausoleums of varying sizes and shapes. You...
Begin to make your way closer towards the church as you look forward in silence now after the somber conversation with Ismar. And you see the towers of Castle Ravenloft looming ahead of you on the mountaintop, looming over the church in front of you.
This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and wary. A bell tower rises towards the back and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load. You approach further and you reach the door. It's marked without even a moment's hesitation.
grabs one of the heavy iron handles and begins to pull the door open. The heavy wooden doors you notice at this closeness are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire. The
The door strains against its rusty hinges as it swings open and you're able to see the dilapidated ruin of the inside. Give me one moment. I don't have terrain, okay? But still, if you guys have seen her death... Anytime Nikki gets up from the table, we all freak out. I know! Thanks for holding this call for me.
Oh, wow. Thanks, Aiden. What did you say? The church has burn marks and hallmarks? Mm-hmm. On the doors? Yikes. On the inside of the door or the outside? On the outside of the door. Oh, interesting. The doors open to reveal a 10-foot-wide, 20-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel.
The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers. You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris, and you hear a soft voice from within reciting a prayer. Suddenly, the prayer is blotted out by an inhuman scream that rises up from beneath the wooden floor.
Is this normal and expected? Sir, we need to put the coffin down. We need to put the coffin down immediately. Where have you led us? Here would be a good place to leave it. Oh, okay. I'll drop the coffin and be like, Professor, my head! Oh, you are a good man. Does Ismark seem distraught by that scream? He seems to be uncomfortable with it, but he doesn't seem surprised. Ismark, where have you led us?
I've led you to the church. I know, but what unholy things are going on. Father Donovan will be able to help us take my father's remains outside, and we will be able to enter. This church is a disaster. It's not even a church anymore. It's disrespectful. It is a little rough around the edges. Most Barovians are not godly folk.
It sounded like someone needed help. I mean, why are we just... It is not my business to get involved in it. What god does this church worship? The Mother Moon. I'm not familiar. We worship two gods in Grovia. Father Night and Father Day. The Son Lord and Mother Moon.
And do you know what that screeching was? It is not my story to tell. You can ask the father if you... It is well contained. That's what it is. Are we still waiting his arrival?
He looks at you and he glances over towards the very center of the room at the altar in the very front. And you see a man wearing robes similar in fashion to that, which Sarnax is wearing hunched over and be praying had stopped for a moment. But as the scream dissipated, the echoing slowly fading away, he begins to pick up the chant again. And in,
From this distance, it's hard to hear what language it would possibly be in. So we're going to leave the coffin right here on the floor. We could leave it in the entranceways. And you want us to go find the... We need to speak to Father Donovan and... Donovan, you said. He will need to bless the burial. And you're not concerned about those graves? I've heard them many times before. They are contained.
Perhaps the Father can tell us what the hell is going on. From cleric to cleric, I will ask him some pointed questions. It is a touchy subject, so please be gentle with Tomlin. He has a kind heart, though he is a little emotionally controlled. Well, keep your what's about you. Thank you.
I'm going to walk up to the doors and then try to go in. You're inside. If you look at the church, you're in those doors. There are four doors off to the side of you, two on either side. Do we see the father? Yes, he's in the very center kneeling over the altar. Sarnix, do you want to... Do we want to put that on? Would you like to lead and I'll be right behind you every step of the way. I'm going to get a coffee while you talk to him. I will do that, Shepard. Oh.
I'll walk over and I'm going to wave my hand and my lantern will switch to a cone.
And I'm continuing casting it over to see if there's any visual stuff. I don't assume there is. Don't, uh... I'm going to spotlight him. Don't antagonize the man, Sarnax. I will not antagonize him, but I will get answers, Shepard. And I will step forward and... and, uh, say, Father Donovan...
The echoing of your footsteps as you move forward just a few paces reverberates throughout the old walls of this church. And you speak out loud these words and the praying continues for a moment and a moment more until finally you see
The head rays of the man in front of you. With some shuffling, he rises from his knees and begins to dust off his robe. He turns around and meets your gaze. He is a middle-aged man. His eyes are bloodshot and sunken, and he looks like he hasn't slept well in a long time. Worry can be seen on every line of his face.
clutching in his hand he holds a piece of jewelry of his face you can't really see through his grasp the image on the necklace but he slowly walks towards you and as he gets about 10 15 feet from you he looks directly at you sarnat
You've come to enter the Burgomaster, I see. Yes, we have. But I also must ask, what is the source of the screams we all just heard? I would like you to roll. Are you trying to intimidate or persuade him to tell you? I would say persuade. Roll the persuasion check. I don't think I'm particularly intimidated. Ah, you kind of always intimidate. As persuasive as Sarnax can be. Even when he's trying to be charming. Thirteen. Thirteen.
He looks directly at you and says, That is a touchy subject, my friend. You look to be a man of the cloth, a man of faith. I am, indeed. Then I hope that you will have faith in me, that I am in full control of my responsibilities, and it is taken care of.
I understand this is a touchy subject, and I do not wish to antagonize you or bring about any emotional duress. However, myself and my companions were almost slain by the evil house on the hill, and we've been encountering darkness at every turn.
I am simply concerned for our safety while we do our duties here. Is that understandable? It is. I hope that it would also be understandable that as a stranger to this place, that it is not your business to be primed into what lies beneath this church. Very well.
If anything arises to threaten me or my companions, I am sure we will be able to handle it. But I believe the Burgermaster needs to be interned. Yes, and you've come at the right time. Should you have come a mere hours later, I would have had to wait till the morning. But we have the time to do it now. Right. I suppose that's lucky. Thank you.
What do you need us to do? Well, there is a plot for him already. We dug it three days ago. He looks at...
Ismark and Ismark not to him. It should still be of good use. So we will take him to his plot. We'll bury the body there. Say our rights. You're welcome to say some if you have some of your own. And we will put his soul to rest. For now. All right. Father, is... Do we stand upon hallowed ground?
Here, there's no hallowed ground. I did not think so, given the state of the structure. Is there a reason for this? A little persuasion check. I'm not rolling very well at all tonight. This is your good die, too. Yeah. That's going to be an eight.
Well, you may be strangers, but if you've cared enough to help Ismark here to bring his father to rest, then who am I to be so secretive? My son has come down with an illness. He is the one you've heard of. I love him deeply. The town folk are not safe with him until I am able to find a cure for him. But having him there...
The ground could not be hallowed. I had to make adjustments to keep him safe, to keep the village of Barovia safe. Did you desecrate the grounds? Truthfully, yes. But many have desecrated them for me. Including the men of cloth. I'm the only man of cloth here. Responsible.
For this church. End of holding its sanctity. I have never met the men you speak of. None were here before me. Very well. Let us continue. And as I turn, as I turn, I'm going to give like a super like concerned look, pointed look to all four of you.
as I turn. Does that look any different than your normal face? My eyes will be even, like, they're literally just like a slit and they'll, like, flash yellow. Road scales. All right, I'll help grab the coffin. I'll help, too. Would you just bring the surround back?
Yes. So you're easily able to heft the weight of the coffin as you make your way around the back and you zigzag through the haphazard tombstones that are here. They don't seem to be in any specific order. There seems to be no pathway, but you do see a plot further towards the back where the earth itself had been interred.
And you travel towards that direction. It takes you a mere maybe 30 minutes to finally lower the casket down into the ground. You hear the loud blood-curdling scream yet again and the shaking of the cellar windows of the church. It's far easier to hear out here.
Maybe it's the location of the windows or the shape of the fencing around the graveyard, but it almost funnels the sound out here towards you. Father Donovan doesn't even seem to flinch at the noise. As if he's heard it so many times, it's mere background noise to him. Ismark, you can tell, seems to be a little put off, but he himself also seems to be
aware that these kind of noises happen. As Father Donovan bows his head, let us all join hands in prayer and remembrance for Kuljan Indira, one of the greatest burgomasters that the village of Morovia has ever seen. And he begins to chant in a language none of you have ever heard. And as you listen,
you're not even quite sure it's a language as much as it is some strange, fanatic, religious chanting. And he, this sing-song chanting that he does, the volume of it rising and falling, louder and softer, slower and faster, until finally he opens his eyes and he unclasps your hands. Well, let us fully lay him to rest."
He takes the pendant around his neck, which you see to be in the shape of a moon and a sun. He opens it and sprinkles a bit of holy water into the ground around the burgomaster. And he begins to pick up a shovel and move the earth back onto, into the grave. I will finish up here. I think that he turns to Ismark. I think that my job here is done.
Please see your way out when you're ready. If you need anything else from me, I should be finishing here in 30 minutes or so. Why do you bury the bodies of those dead, Father? It is our custom. Even in desecrated ground? That which came from the earth must go back to it. The decay feeds the life around it.
The worms must eat so the crows must eat. I believe in returning to the earth in the form of ashes, and that seeding up with the renewal of flame and fire is the only proper way, especially in a land where we have nearly died and too many dead have still walked upon this earth.
Thank you for sharing your beliefs with me. Is it wise- Those are however not ours. I am simply concerned for such magics and necromancy in this land. Is it wise to be burying fresh corpses in desecrated grounds? Sorry. Did you come here to ask for my help? Or to ridicule me on the way that I do my job?
I do not mean to ridicule. I am simply being cautious, says Anuka. If I thought there was danger in what I'd done, I would not do it. I am laying him to rest with peace and the guidance of sun and moon. Let that be enough for you. In our land, our gods rule, even when they do not answer our prayers. And so it shall be.
I will consult mine. Thank you very much, Father, for seeing this soul to its final resting place. Can I scan the graveyard to see if there's been any graves that might be unturned or any things for tampering? Yeah, sure. We'll do a perception check. Okay.
You scan around and it's easy to see that that was the only grave here that seemed to have, or to have been recently unturned. Is that the word for it? Everything else seems to be firmly packed and based on the way the grasses and things are growing on it, they all seem to be fairly older. Do you know what the cure for your son entails? I do not. Are you a medicine man?
Not quite. This one has healing powers, though, and I know a bit about the arcane. He is a bit rambunctious, but if any of you are skilled in medicine, maybe you would take a look? If you would be fine with my brand of medicine. If it cures my son of what ails him, then I will put my faith in your god.
Sarnax, are you sure about this? Aye, he said he put his faith in Garrix. I believe...
This is one more to join... What the fuck is the group of dragons? The flight. You know how I feel as a DM. What's that thing that I'm talking about, guys? What's that thing? Starnax, I'm... I'm concerned. This place is dark and unsettling and everywhere we turn, it's the closest thing I've ever experienced to hell. Starnax.
I mean, these people, everything is just going wrong. There's nothing we can do. It's like we can't save them all. Save in what way? No, but what are we doing? We are so far off. Whatever we set out here to do. Are you sure about this? I would. So if you took a look? I might take a look. I believe, Mr.
Morgan, we are here to satisfy our employer's curiosity. Beyond that, our goals are not set in stone. Nor are they etched in the able wood for bark. Fine. Then lead the way. I would like if all of you accompanied me in case...
Restraining needs to be done. Of course. Please lead the way, Father. I will not be able to accompany you into the Undercroft. I cannot control him. It was all I could do to get him down there, so...
Only go if you believe that you can handle him in this state. His sickness is overwhelming. We will do what we can, Thoth. I recommend covering your ears. Well, friends, as Mark turns to you, reset. I think it is time that we say our goodbyes for now.
If you should need anything, you know where to find me. I wish you all the best in Provia, and I could not be more grateful for what you have done in helping me to put my father to rest. Well, we will be by to collect your sister. Will you be there? Yes. That would be lovely. Thank you. Yes, I will be there. I will make sure to...
Guarantee that she's back and ready for a retreat. Thank you. We'll see you soon. It was great to meet all of you. I will see you soon. Goodbye. He slowly makes his way to leave and you see as he turns and he glances towards the, um,
partially covered resting place of his father. And for the first time, you see a look of utter despair on his face. He chokes back tears and steals his face. Goodbye then, father. It was a happy life together and a happy future in your name and in your own. As he turns around and begins to walk away.
Donovan waits for you to, for Ismark to fully make his way out of the cemetery before he turns to you and says, "Well, I believe that you might actually be the people to help my poor Duru, my poor little boy."
If you're willing to help Irina, then you might just be the people. Let me lead the way. And he slowly walks back to the church. He enters in through the front and towards the back. He moves a few things aside and towards the back of the church, you see a
trap door that you hadn't noticed before. And you hear loud clanging noises coming from it as he shakingly grabs for the key ring around his belt and looks and finally finds the biggest key on there. You look and see this huge padlock of chains wrapped this way and that as he unlocks it. I will be right here should you need me.
Be gentle with him. He's merely sick. That's all. If you could cure him, that would be great. Otherwise, please, just be gentle with my son. Does he respond to his name? You can try. He's not himself. Does he respond to anything? He does. He will respond to you. That's good. We will go. Sonics.
Could you shine a light into the darkness? That is what I do every step of my life.
I'll shine light down into the, I guess I've opened the door. Yes. I'm shining the light down to the trap door. The door opens, the light immediately shines down and you hear the skittering of what sounds to be nails on stone. And you begin to make your descent. The church's undercroft has rough, hewn walls and a floor made of damp clay and earth.
Rotting wooden pillars strain under the weight of the wooden ceiling. Candlelight from the chapel above and Sarnax's lantern slip through the cracks, allowing you to glimpse a gaunt shake in the far corner. It's thin, emaciated.
You can nearly see the outlines of all of the bones beneath the flesh. The fingernails as well as the toenails are elongated and stained, similar to Sarnax. And as you make your way down the stairs, the trapdoor slams overhead behind you, but you do not hear the jingling of the chains.
You can hear the breathing of Donovan. He seems nervous, worried, but he does not make any move to lock you in this place, but to prevent escape. As you make your way forward, you hear heavy breathing and a gnawing sound. That is what you hear and that is what you see. It is nearly dark, but for the lantern light that now shines in the corner. Oops.
I'll shine the light and try to bullseye it and try to cast a light on... Don't kill him, Sona. Are you still among the living? I can smell your blood.
I can smell your blood. Come closer. You, you, you. Come closer. And as you look, you see its head lean up from its chest, its eyes sunken in, its face pale white, its lips pulled back from its mouth. It hardly looks human, its teeth exposed. Two sharp fangs.
down the front as it looks towards you. It doesn't make any move to move towards you, but it's itching at itself and sniffing at the air, grinding its teeth together and staring back and forth from all of you. I can see it in you, flowing in you, flowing through you. I'm so hungry. I'm so hungry. Is this creature clearly not human?
Yeah. It was formerly human, but it doesn't look like it is human current. While Sarnax is using his lantern to cast the light over this creature, I'd like to use Hunter's Sense. Okay. As an action, I can choose one creature I can see within 60 feet. I immediately learn whether this creature has any damage, immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities, and what they are if the creature is not hidden from divination magic. Okay.
I can use this feature three times for longer. Awesome. So how long does it take for you to cast that? It's one action. You immediately cast that as Sarnath illuminates it. It's not a spell. It's just a breath. The ability you use as Sarnath illuminates this creature and he speaks out to you in this way and you immediately are able to sense with your innate abilities that the thing in front of you cannot be cured.
This is a vampire spawn, and there is no going back from the state that this is in. I've got bad news, Professor. Yes? This thing isn't savable. This is some sort of vampire... It runs in you! ...throwing something at me. In all of you! There's nothing we can do here. What do you propose we do?
Come closer. Give me one minute, and I will ask Geryx. We may not have a whole minute, Sarnax. I immediately put my hand on my revolver. We mean you no harm, Doru. I'll reach into my pack, and I'll pull out a little twig that's this jet black bark with a small wailing face on it, and I take it.
and I place it into the flame of my lantern, and it will flare up in this bright golden red flame, and I'll stare into it like Ass Aubrey. And I will say, "Gerrix, Fire Lord, shall we spare this creature?"
Or smite it. What would the outcome be if we smite this creature where it stands? It takes a moment. But your lantern, illuminating that forceful light in the corner, it erupts almost as if dragon's breath swirling from the lantern. Yes.
in through the light. And as the smoke begins to fade and the ashes begin to fall, you can make out a word in the wheel. Let us destroy it. I think we should ask him. Close that.
I agree. We should notify the father. We cannot trust the emotions of a distraught parent. Tell daddy to let me feed. His son is too far gone. The greatest mercy we can give to the child and the father is to destroy this abomination with flame.
I hate to say it, but I'm with Tarnas on this one. We want to at least let Donovan know upstairs what we have discovered so far. That is who we are referring to, Connor. Connor, please go inform him. I feel like we can't do anything until he's the one that let us down here. If he lets us down here in full faith that we're going to help his boy. And so she goes up there and he comes down and tries to stop us and we're putting him in danger's way. I'm praying on daddy.
We will be able to handle it. We should at least inform him there's nothing we can do besides give him peace.
Would you like to let us know, Donovan? Sure. Climb the stairs and... I'm in a good position. I stand under the trap door and I knock on it and no need to open it, Donovan. I fear for the escape of your son. We have discerned that he is in fact a vampire spawn and we are afraid that the only way to cure him may be to set him free.
of whatever is holding him, bewitching him. He is not the same boy that you once knew. There's a pause, and then you hear, Set him free how? Your cleric has a cure for this, then. His cure is to help him pass along.
You do not intend to kill my son. That may be what's best for him. No, they're both. We will find a cure. I have kept him here. I've locked him away. I've kept him safe. He has not fed. I will find him a cure. I want all of you out. And he begins to start to open the hatch. He would like us to leave. I don't think we can leave this creature here.
when there are innocent people not that far away from where this thing is being kept. I understand it's a small boy, but there's nothing we can do anymore.
This is a very troubling situation. Professor, he's coming right now. Make the call. Just give me one moment. Do you intend to kill my son? We are still seeing what we can do. So I pull out a little bit of Snake's Tongue and a little bit of Honeycomb. I'm saying, just give me one moment here. Ultrathicium. And with that, I'm going to cast Injection on him.
On Donovan? Donovan. Okay, what does he have to roll against it? 14. Okay, he fails. Oh, baby! Unfortunately, your son is beyond repair. He is a vampire spawn, and based on what we know, there is no coming back from this. Your son is dead. Your son is long dead. And so what you need to do is you need to go home.
Hold yourself up, mourn the loss of your son like you haven't done so far. Acknowledge, please, that he's been gone a long time and that we are cleaning this church and bringing good back to this place. You see for a moment a wash of sadness over his face as he is taking in these words, though the suggestion seems to have had an effect on him.
This is something that's incredibly difficult for him to digest, but he looks between you and the magic awash in his eyes. He nods. Yes, I have been silly all this time for thinking that I could cure him. You're right, of course. The only kind thing to do is to put him to rest. Dear boy, he looks into the corner of the room. I love you.
Sleep now. I will go home and rest. I'm so sorry. Yes, as am I. Thank you. Thank you for helping me to see the clarity that I was too blinded by love to see. Good day. Make it peaceful, please. As peaceful as we are able. Thank you. Goodbye, son. And he turns, he walks back up the stairs. He drops the trap door and begins to walk away.
Professor, would you like me to stand at the trapdoor? Yes, please. Stand at the trapdoor. No matter what happens, do not let this creature leave this space. I will stand in the back and maintain concentration. The three of you kill it. Professor, just say the word. Say the word, Professor. Blood, blood. I smell it. More blood. Where is Daddy going? Burn it. Daddy, please. As soon as he says it, boom.
Bang, bang. Roll for initiative. You'll get a surprise grab, or a new roll. I hate bibs. This is brutal. You will get a surprise...
attack shepherd because you are initiating with your weapons you see as he is he's still a shrinking back against the corner he has not fully moved forward but you see that he kind of lurches forward a little bit as if he's getting ready to start skittering towards you he is however looking towards the stairwell where his father made his exit he's not focused on you at all
So he does not see as you aim. I'm going to use my bonus action to cast Hunter's Mark and just fire off Judgment. Okay. Seven plus nine is 16. That hits. Six plus five is 11 points of damage. 11 points of damage? As I move closer to the creature, I'm going to fire off. Okay. You...
cast your hunter's mark onto this creature, marking it for death, and then you let judgment fly. It rears back with a loud screech as it slams itself against the wall, looking horrified, and it takes the damage. There is a wound now in its shoulder. You can see the bone and muscles exposed, the skin blown off in that area. Kana, it's your turn. I'm going to...
use my bonus action to channel my vestige, which is my armor, the blossoms of the spring breeze, and cast Expeditious Retreat. And then as my action, I'll take the dodge action as I'm standing guard in front of the trapdoor. Clayton.
I will hold my action to fire bolts. If by the time everyone's gone, if it's not dead yet, then I'll shoot it off. Okay. I'm going to fire off Judgment and Redemption. Ooh, that's not good. I got a 15 and a negative, or a natural one. 15 hits. Okay.
That's going to be a total of eight points of damage. You once again take both of your weapons and fire off your shots, and one of them blasts into one of the wooden pillars to the side, and this creature skitters over from the blasts.
you would have missed with the second one. It was a near miss, but the, the, the skittering caused him to make his way directly into the shot and taking another huge chunk of damage out of his shoulder. He is, uh, the bones there are swinging limply. Um, he's having a hard time trying to hold them up. It's, uh,
moving around terrified. Sarnax, it's your turn. I'll hold up my lantern as the eyes are glowing with the lantern and I'll say, Garrix, may your destructive fire guide our path and our strikes. I'm going to cast Guiding Bolt on him. Okay. So that's going to be a 20... Yeah, 20. That hits. It is the AC's 50. 13 points of radiant damage. And then the next attack roll on it is I Vantage.
You blast him with this holy bolt of radiant fire. And you, I would say, are familiar enough with vampires that you expect this to do more damage. But it seems to take the full brunt of the damage no less than that.
He's glowing with this ethereal light. And Victoria? I'll beach up my hand and the ghostly skeletal hand will come out and I will make him tackle the chill touch. You have advantage. Yeah, so the hand will come across and touch him with a bony finger and chill the grave. Oh, please.
Ooh. Ooh. Seven. So seven damage. And is he undead?
He is? Okay. So, he now has disadvantage on attack rolls against me until the end of his next turn. Damn. So, it's 1d8 necrotic damage, and he also cannot regain hit points until the start of my next turn. Oh. The hand clings to him until... Ooh, that's like an anti-unlocking. Very nice. Very smart. Very nice.
So my firebolt, is he looking fine? Yep. He's looking like he's taken some damage, but he's still... Ignatus. He hasn't even gone yet. Oh, God. I'm going to feel bad about it. Is that part of Skull's magic words? Ignatus, and I'm going to feel real bad about it. It's like a whole magic spell. It's the whole incantation.
Okay, his turn. All right, it is his turn. He is going to begin to scale the walls. As he climbs up the walls, the radiance from the lantern no longer capturing this creature as it skitters up the walls, and you can hear it moving overhead, but you're not quite sure exactly where it's gone. Oh, my God. If you want to remove his token from the board, you don't know where he's at right now. Oh, my God.
Anyone here with darkvision? And that's his turn. I think you have darkvision. I do. I should for Hathol. I have darkvision. I have darkvision.
Yeah, I got nervous. Just don't see. No! Okay. I'm just, I guess, trying to see if I can see him, to get my eyes on him. Getting further, like, is the trap door directly behind me, or is it above me? It is up a set of stairs. It's about, I would say, probably 15 feet above your head.
Oh, did we... So we dropped down? Is it like a ladder? Yeah, so there's a trap door and then there are wooden stairs. So you walk down the wooden stairs. Okay. So I'm at the top of the wooden stairs in front here, right? Okay. So I'm directly in front of the trap door or beneath it? Beneath it. Okay. I'm just trying to get up now. I'm not like crouched down as much, but I'm standing up now trying to look forward. So I would say that you...
where you're at on the stairs, you are looking around and you see as the... You could not see at first where this creature disappeared to. But just as you're scanning, all of a sudden you see the quick skittering of this creature as it appears almost directly above Sarnas. Oh, Sarnas! Oh, fuck.
Sarnax, it's above you. I'm going to take out my punk you, my short bow and try to hit it, I guess, at disadvantage. I can't really see it. No, you can see it from your vantage point because you're higher up.
The ceilings are high enough that they can't see it because of things, but you are high enough. Oh, God. This is awful. I'm going to use Fighting Spirit as a bonus action to give myself advantage on this roll. And I'm going to take E. Does Starnix's thing not give us advantage already? It was only for the next attack. Oh, okay. Okay.
Oh, not bad. Give you an advantage. 16. 16. I'm sorry. Yeah, 16. 16 hits. All right. That's a d6.
So it does five points of piercing damage. You fire in an arrow and it sinks into him. You hear as he screeches from the ceiling. He continues to mash his teeth. Blood, blood. And you see that where the arrow sunk in, it doesn't seem to have done as much damage as you had expected. I will do the same thing. I will hold my action and wait for everybody to take another attack.
and if by the time Victoria's gone and he's not dead, and I can see him, I'll shoot another fireball. Okay. I'm firing two. Wait, I don't know where he is. Do I have any idea from the noise? You know that he, from what Connor said, you now know that he is above Sarnax, but you would be rolling a disadvantage. Yeah, I'm going to fire two. Because you can't see him, but you know in the general direction he is. I'm going to take a look at my spells and then probably just fire off two shots at him.
Yeah, yeah. I'm just going to fire off two shots at him. First one is a 14. Misses. Dang. And then the next one's a 20. That hits. 15 points of damage. 15? Yeah. Because of Hunter's Mark. Okay.
knowing that he's near Sarnax, I'm going to move this way. You fire off and you are firing blindly one of your blasts ricochets and you hear the...
you hear the impact on the wooden above, the wooden ceiling. It illuminates for just a second, and you're able to see the snarling, hungry face of this creature as it's leering down over Sarnax, ready to pounce. And you're able to use that instance to fire off your next shot. And it blasts into him, and you see as chunks of his mouth, flesh,
blast away from the side of his face and splatters against the floor of the ceiling, or the ceiling of the floor above. We know what you mean. It's the floor for him. It's the floor for him. Well, yeah. And it's the floor for whoever's upstairs. I'm going to... It's my turn, so I hear that, and I'm going to try to cast my lantern upwards to see what I see. You do that, and it illuminates him immediately. You see as he...
You cannot escape the flame. And I am going to... I'm going to cast Scorching Ray. Get him! Get him! Natural one. Oh, boy. 20-something. So two hit. Two hit, okay. So this will be a fire damage. Okay.
Could be worse. Could be worse. Seven, nine, 11 points of fire damage.
So I see that he's on me. I'm going to walk. He's not on you. He's above you. So his eyes are on me though, right? Yes. Okay. I am going. Because you were the closest person to him all the time. Do I go closer to block him or do I, I'm going to try to lure him, lure him. So 30 feet towards the back of the room. You can probably make it all in the wall if you want to just go back. Yeah, I'll go back to the wall. Hopefully he follows me.
Okay, I'm done. So, okay. And I'll keep my lantern on him. So can I see him now? Yes. Okay. He is firmly illuminated via the lantern. Okay, I am going to... I'm gonna just, again, I'm gonna...
continue with the hand. The hand is still clinging to him. I'm going to just re-engage that and have it squeeze around him and cast a shield touch again. And not a defense. That'll do. That hits. This prevents him from regaining hit points. Yes, he cannot regain hit points and he has disadvantage against me. Cool. Cool.
You're getting so jubated right now. It's not important at all. Three damage. Three damage? I will say that you notice that though the other effects happen, he does not seem to take the full amount of the damage that you're throwing at him. He is undead, so necrotic has less. Oh, okay. Okay, got it. Thank you for that. Where you was three? Three damage, yeah. Oh.
He looks around, firmly attached to the wall. His arms, one of them almost completely detached at this point, but he's still, the muscle is strong.
tight as he's still keeping him held aloft on the ceiling as he's looking upside down at all of you. He's looking around ravenously. Tendrils of spit are dripping from his face and splattering on the floor with an echoing plop.
once again turns his face towards Sarnax him being still the closest to him and he scurries over drops down on you and he is going to make his first attack I do not fear you he is going to make a bite attack on you um
with a 17. Misses. Wow. Wow. Yeah. He attempts to bite into you, but you are able to shield it. He screeches loudly and he is attached to the back of you. He takes his claws and he rakes them across your face, potentially with a, this one will hit, 22 to hit. Battle minute.
Wait, no, he's at disadvantage. Why is he at disadvantage? Because I'm blinding that motherfucker. He's on your back. Well, I can use Warding Flare. Oh, gotcha. So I'm going to hold up my lantern and say... Gatorix protects me! He goes to swipe in and as you hold up your lantern...
He rears back and his fingers do not make purchase on you as he misses his attack. I do not fear you, creature. He's going to get no damage on any of you in this fight. Oh, God. I love being a cleric. Why? You can't be terrifying. And that is his turn as well. I'm up. Just wouldn't be fair to us. We're a little hard. I'm just going to keep firing my shit. Shoot her! Shoot her! Shoot her!
I'm going to center myself again. There you go. That's got to hit, right? Yeah, 15. Yeah, 15. This is AC. We get a light. That'll be another six points of piercing damage. Once again, the arrow sinks into his flesh.
He is firmly attached to the back of Sarnax at this point, and he reels back from the damage, but it does still, once again, seem to be doing a smaller amount than you'd expected. Clayton? I'll just shoot at him, seeing that he's attacking Sarnax. Okay.
Oh, God, dude. Blizzard. I'm going to fire off two more shots at him. Okay. I'm normal, normal, regular hits? Yes, you can see him just fine. He's firmly illuminated by the light. Ugh, only one hit. Okay. 11 points of damage. Guys. Jesus Christ. That's amazing. Okay.
Once again, you fire your shots. Sarnax is twisting and turning, trying to keep the light on this creature as it attempts to sink its teeth into his neck. And so one of your shots misses as they're a moving target at this point. But the other one is able to strike true as it wedges its way, appears to be between two of his spinal bones.
I will, as it's on me, I will, uh...
I will say, a babe in fire. And then I'm just going to cast Sacred Flames, which is my best saving throw. And I'm just going to fucking ignite in the flame. Oh my god. Natural all of you? So the lantern is going to completely shoot a pillar down as a Sacred Flame of golden red fire. We'll do five points of fire damage to him. Oh, no, radiant damage.
Right? Yeah. He, once again, shrieks in pain, clasping. He lets go of you with one hand and he's holding on to his head, screaming and shaking. I'm hungry! I'm hungry! I'm hungry!
And that is your turn. Okay. I'm going to let the skeletal hand drop down, and I will clutch my beads and put my hand forth and cast Firebolt out at him. I think two plus five. And it's...
The door is on fire. Big money, big money. Ten. Ten points of damage. Ten points. Max damage. The blast hits him from behind. You see as what's left of his matted, tangled hair goes up into flames. His scalp is seared as blisters begin to form where the fire took hold on his flesh.
and he is holding on to his on onto the back of his head screaming and rocking on sarnax's back you you see as he reaches in he he feels where the blisters have now accumulated from your fire and he holds on to it screaming but you start to see as the flesh begins to heal up and
and he seems to be regaining some of his health. Bro. Okay. Noted. He is then going to once again lean down and attempt to make a body attack on Sarnath. Would have hit, but it rolled to a three. So then he's going to attempt to claw. Another fucking three. Okay, this dice is done. This dice is done. It is time for rest, boy.
Sleep. Connor. Connor. Clayton, can you man the door? I feel that my position may be more advantageous. Of course. Right there. Yes. So I will use my bonus action. How far off the ground am I if I were to jump off the stairs to here? Could I make it? Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to...
my armor, my... I keep forgetting the name of it. My blossoms on the spring breeze and all glow with this silvery bluish hue as I use my bonus action to make a...
and possibly fast dash 30 feet here, use my movement to get here, and then with my action, I will swing out with my naginata and try to attack him, get him off his back.
So join us next week when the setup is Mikey and Andy, Richie and Kelsey. And then over somewhere over there is Maya on her own camera. What did you say?
I didn't quite get that. You can just throw them away from the mics. Is that a one? It's a one. Okay, so nine... Yeah, it's a one. Eleven points of slashing damage. And I'll just remain there then. I won't action surge just yet. I will...
16. And now Clayton dies of crippling sadness. More damage. That's enough.
You are finally able to, switching places with Kana from this vantage point, you're finally able to aim your spells as you shoot your firebolt directly towards this creature, and it is able to find purchase and does a bit of damage. It still seems to be holding on. Well, I'm going to fire two shots at him. Okay. I got a natural fucking 20. Yay!
You have to probably preemptively say, how would you like to do this? So both of them hit. One of them is a natural. Yeah, yeah. So just describe how you're killing it. It's 13 hit points. So I'll just use judgment and seeing that it's beating after the massive blow that Maya just put into him and he's on fire from Clayton. And I'll just use judgment and say...
I'm sorry, young one, but whoever did this, you will face judgment. And I put one slug directly into its chest and try to put it down. You do this and you move forward. And as your blast is moving towards it, it's almost as if the realization hits with this entity as it looks back at all of you quickly. It looked towards the door. Daddy, I was so hungry.
as it's blasted in the chest. The entire chest cavity explodes with the force of judgment. And Sarnax does not come out clean in this as the back of his robe is caked in the sticky remains of this vampire spawn. I'll just take my hat off as I holster my weapons and walk towards the corpse to get a better view of it.
Um, I'm sorry. Sarnix, are you all right? I'm fine. I'm going to give you a hand. Let me help you up. Let us burn this church to the ground. Well, no, no, hold on.
How do we burn the church? It is desecrated ground, Cleet. Can he not make it holy again? It depends on his state after your spell wears off.
And he learned we murdered his vampire child. We brought him to rest. He was suffering, clearly. Starving to death. But will the mourning brain of a father come to that conclusion as well? Perhaps not at first, but time heals all things. Should we bury him now while he still thinks this was the right choice? We will not bury this one. No.
And I'm going to pull out a little wild oil and start... Wait before you burn him. Let me at least take a look, please. I want to be, like, leaning down and looking at him as well. Take your time. I want to just sort of examine him, like, look at his fangs to kind of get an understanding of what a vampire spawn is. Because I probably haven't... I've never seen one before, so I just want to kind of learn as much as I can. Um...
You wrote an investigation check. To maybe help with the... Who could do this? It's just a child. It was just a boy. Uh... 24. Damn.
You are able to look through what's left, the remains of this creature. The head is still there. The chest cavity is blown pretty much apart. One of the arms has been completely detached from the torso. But looking at this creature, you can see the starvation that is overcoming, that it had to have been starving for a long time to become this emaciated. Its fangs firmly open,
visible with the... with how peeled back its lips are on its face. And looking at them, you can see that there is a hollow tube running through the fang itself, where it looks like it sucks blood in through the fangs themselves. And it is completely hollow and drugged inside, not a drop of blood had this spawn ever tasted. And you...
notice a few things that it doesn't appear to have the same strength that you know vampires to have in that it seems to be weaker, punier, smaller. And your experience with it, you know that if you had come into contact with an actual vampire, the outcome would have been far different. And you imagine this to be more of a fledgling.
A vampire that hadn't fully been turned, but a mere husk, mindless, blood-drinking abomination. Well, this clearly wasn't a full-fledged vampire. I don't like this at all. Do you think this is the workings of the Countess? It's hard to say.
How is it hard to say, Professor? We don't know anything about the Countess. We've just heard stories. We don't know nothing. We know she is a vampire. We've known people say she's a vampire. And even if she is, who's to say there aren't other vampires in this land? He was just a boy. And we killed him. Does that upset you, Shepard? Of course it upsets me. It upsets me greatly. Mr. Morgan...
Can you sense where I'm dead now? Yeah, yeah, just give me a few minutes. Perhaps this was what you were sensing last night. Once more, no. I'm sure there is more where this came from. But I just don't feel right. This was not our place to do this. Not our place, Professor. Why not us?
We're here for an expedition, and this father, yes, his boy was probably beyond curing. But how do we know that for sure? How do we know that there's not some magic elfin in the world that could have cured him? So we let him keep an abomination in the basement, starving, and so that a wooden door between him and all that he wishes to feed upon until he gets so hungry...
He gets down to his last wit, bursts through and feeds on every single man, woman, and child in this village. Professor, it matters not what we are here to do. It seems as if we are the only ones willing to do what must be done. And therefore, I intend fully to do what must be done. And I'm not saying it wasn't a mercy kill. It was. I'm glad we could hopefully bring this boy some rest. It's just...
I just hate to think of the what-ifs. What if this father who kept his son at bay, he clearly hasn't had a single drop of blood since he was turned. He was effective at maintaining his child, and yes, he desecrated the church, but what if we just wiped out the only chance that he had to save his son? You were saying he was already dead, Professor. He died the moment he became this creature.
as far as we know but are you omniscient
Do you know every spell in the world? I know. What if there's knowledge out there that perhaps could have turned him back? I know what my god told me. I stared into the flame, and my god, the Fire Lord, Garrix, commanded me to kill this creature. Destroy it. I will sleep well tonight. I cannot sleep for the rest of you, but I have no ounce of regret. I used primeval awareness.
You sense undead within a mile of you. Yikes. I will give you a little bit of a hint here. You know the death house is within a mile of you, and you know that there are undead present in that house. Oh, right. So at the very least, you know that no matter where you are in the village, you're going to sense undead. I'm still getting something, Professor. But we're not that far from the death house.
That's right. I mean, it's very obvious that, yeah, this was obviously some sort of a... I mean, it's just a hunch. Well, hopefully this was one. I guess we've done a few good deeds today. Oh, you also get inspiration.
for laying the body to rest. All of us? Oh, shit. Oh, I may have already had inspiration. I used mine. I think everybody used their inspiration in Death House. I did. Oh, I must have. Well, yeah. You got inspiration for laying the children to rest, but then you used all of your twist of fate and then we're...
Yeah, we really, we really, yeah, we really fucked. Fucked, you have said. But yeah, sorry, I meant to tell you that, but thank you. Do you wish to investigate the body or whatever is left of it further, Professor? Or shall I put it to rest? Please put it to rest. Perhaps we should burn it and maybe put it in an urn or vase, something that we can return to the father.
This would be kind. I'll look around the basement and see if there's any containers. Roll an investigation check. Yes, ma'am. I'll wave my claw and the flame will whip out of the lantern and strike the body and catch on the oil. Ideally, depending on what the DM says. With the intention to burn it. You got a what?
You are unable to find anything down here. It seems like everything that had been in this undercroft had been removed, but you do peek upstairs and you're able to see that there are a few vestibules you'd be able to take and use as a makeshift turn. And they're close enough you wouldn't need to ascend. You'd be able to just reach for them. Leave the door open for the smoke. I'm going to go wait upstairs at the church.
Do what you have to do. I will watch it. It's our next holler if you need anything.
I will. I'll stand... I'll get up and stand like five, ten feet back, but I'll just be waiting for the body to burn to ashes with him. I'll hand you the vessel I found and go upstairs to the church. I'm just going to find a seat, maybe in like a broken queue. Who's going upstairs? I'm going upstairs. And then the rest of you are watching Sarnat's burn a body? I'm going to stand there and watch it burn until the flyer's out. Oh, yeah, I'll go upstairs. So the two of you manage the...
manage putting Doru to rest. You scoop up the ashes and put them into the vestibule to take up and deliver to
to Father Donovan, and you make your way back upstairs, and the three of you have accumulated near one of the pews, one of the few that are not completely in shambles, and you have been listening to what sounds like crying coming from one of the four rooms.
You've listened for a bit, and it was long enough, I would say, for the three of you to discern that it is the weeping sounds of Father Donovan. That not only does this function as the town church, but it also seems to be his home. And that he made his way to his room and is mourning his son the only way he knows how. With prayers and with tears. Shall one of you go speak to him?
Deliver the remains. Professor, perhaps it should be you, as you were the one that convinced him his son was truly dead. Yes, it must be me. Do you want me to come with you? If you would like. Carry the arm. I will be outside. Oh, carry the arm, yeah. So I will knock on the door. You knock, and you wait. For a moment, you hear the crying stop.
And you hear no words. And then silence. Before the crying starts up yet again. There's no move to answer the door. There's no move to speak to you. Father, your son is at rest now. Hopefully his soul is at peace. We've collected his remains and
We'll leave them right by your door here. I'm emotional Connor to kind of put the urn on the ground. There is a scraping sound for a second and the wailing gets louder and louder. The pure rush of emotions that have been held up in this man come rushing forth all at once as you say the words. And you hear no footsteps closer, but you can almost feel to your very bones the agony that this man is feeling.
I'm very sorry, and I must admit that I used some magic to allow us time to do what had to be done. And I'm going to end that magic now, and I'm going to drop suggestion. You drop the suggestion, and for a second, there is silence. The crying starts up again, and you feel, though you have no way of knowing, that deep down, he knew the truth.
and that in this moment, knowing what has been done, that there is no going back, that he is accepting it, no matter how long it will take him. Please let us know how we can help perhaps rebuild the church or bless it again. The crying stops again and you hear footsteps. The door cracks open a small amount.
And between racked sobs where he can't find his voice, you hear, just go. Just go. Yes, stretch away. I'm so, so sorry. But I'm an attorney and I will leave the church. I look at him and bow my head. Leave it. Just go. Place it on the ground. His eyes are completely bloodshot.
The tears staining his face, the entire cloak that he's wearing is nearly completely damp with the remnants of his sorrow as you make your way out of the church. There is going to be much more of this. I am now certain of it, but I promise all of you
And I promise to the grieving father who cannot hear my words, we will avenge his son. We will avenge all of the lost and wayward souls this land has taken. And I am certain of that as well. So we just steel ourselves, we go talk to this Shroud, and we get the hell out of here. If it would be that easy.
She was responsible for this abomination. Who's to say she's just going to give us her blessing and let us leave? I know one, but we gotta try. We can't be trapped here. We can't deal with this. We gotta do what we can, like Sarnak said, to avenge these poor people, get your research done, and get us all out of here safely. Let us prepare for every possibility.
This sacrifice will not be forgotten. Shall we return to the manor? Let us recover the girl. It's the same thing that's not happened to her. That's what I'm worried about now. We must get to holy ground as quickly as possible. That is the only thing that can stop this dark magic.
I wish I was strong enough to sanctify this ground in an instant. I must pray harder. Perhaps one day. But for now, I truly hope we help that boy and perhaps we can help this girl. And I'll turn and start walking towards the Ivanovich. Irina sounds kinder of it. I will join. Yeah, I'll just follow.
It takes you about 20 minutes or so to make your trek back through town. You're walking slowly, your shoulders heavy with the burden that you now carry on your hearts. And you slowly make your way back to the manor at the edge of town. You walk up and once again you knock on the heavy iron knockers. It takes but a moment.
before the door opens and irena's smiling face is looking out on you well it has been but a morning since i've seen you and you have done great by us i hear that the internment went well and i could not be happier father rests now and i couldn't thank you enough and
Well, this mark says that you're to take me to Fulocki. I've never been. I know it doesn't look it, but I've been in Peruvia my entire life. The village, as it were. I've never been to Peruvia. I'm so excited to travel. Yes, yes. Are you ready to leave right now? I do believe that I... Yes, I believe that I am. All of my luggage should be stored safely in the drawing room.
If you wouldn't mind helping me, I have three bags with me. You never know what a lady will need in a new city, of course. Gentlemen, please. Uh, sure. Just point me in the direction. Are you feeling peckish? Would you like some tea or something to eat before we make our way? Not hungry, no. Actually, if you have fresh water to cool on these doors, I would like to do something. You'd like a drink, yes? Yes.
No, just maybe to wash my hands. Of course, I'll show you to the washroom. She shows you to a small washroom. There's a basin there and a lever that seems to release some kind of valve that rushes water into this big basin.
what appears to be a porcelain basin. And you are able to do whatever you need to with the water. The men round up her. Is it enough for... Yeah, it's like a small... It's like a small beauty bag and then two...
Mary Poppins-sized clothes bags. Like carpet bags. Yeah, like carpet bags. Thank you. I'll just gather two in one hand and one in the other and go back out to the parlor, I guess, where Clayton is. So now I'm getting paid to be a pack mule. I believe we didn't specify exactly what your duty's water wouldn't be.
Mr. Morgan and I figured you would want to be polite and help the lady. Well, of course I want to be polite and help everyone. My question is, how far do we have to go to get to this town we're going to?
Would it make sense for us to get some kind of tour? Oh, yes, of course. My brother specifically mentioned that you're going to need a map. So, if you could wander on up. Well, thank you. That's very kind. There are some dotted lines to get you to some of the most important places. If you look here, we are currently here in the village of Barovia.
Now, we are trying to make our way here to the town of Velarki. And it is quite a trek. You see, we have a couple of options. But I do believe that he suggested that we take this path here as it goes less through the woods. This path here, as you see, winds quite a ways through the Svolok woods and they are...
Well, we definitely want to take the shortest path and get there as quickly as possible, avoiding the, uh, staying off the beaten path as much as possible. Yes. Now, along this path, we will run into a potential bit of trouble. There is a Vistani camp there, he told me, and they can be a rowdy bunch.
And so we may want to be careful, but I believe that that is the only hindrance on our path. Should we take that one? Rowdy people we can handle. I think you'll find the Pistani, especially the Pistani ladies, are quite fun. Miss Morgan. My father, may he rest in peace, was not fond of me spending too much time with the Bologna. He was afraid I would get ideas. Yes.
Well, I think you're plenty grown up and you're in good hands with us. I would be excited to meet you.
I pulled the stopper.
And I let the basin fill up with water. And from my pack, I take out a velvet bag. And from it, I have like an intricately carved wooden ladle.
And my hands are shaking as I do this, but without touching the water, I dip the ladle into the water. I fill it up and I douse my left hand with it. Then I change hands, scoop the ladle with water, douse my right hand. And then I put my head over the basin and I scoop it.
I just let it cleanse my whole self and I take about 30 seconds to just meditate, center myself. And I take my brush out and I comb my hair through so it doesn't look as noticeable. And then I let the water drain without touching it. I rinse the spoon one more time under the sink and put it back in the velvet bag, tie it up and I walk out. You meet up with your party shortly after.
Please be brief.
I will be. What is the rush for? What are all these dour faces for? We're going on an adventure. I will be back soon. And she bustles off, um,
blue dress bouncing as she makes her way towards the back of the house and up the stairs. It takes her but a few minutes before she's back down. You can do anything in the interim if you want to. I ask again, Professor, is there any way we can get some sort of carriage or something? I mean, you see the map. This is a long, long walk to be making this trip on foot.
Perhaps we could ask if they have any available, but I haven't... Have we seen any horses since we've been in Barovia? Nope, or carriages. I haven't seen a single stable, livery, or carriage anywhere. You know that the three Bastani women from the inn said that at the camp they had horses and they had carriages. Well, right, I said no, they do. That's the only... Yeah, so...
Clayton isn't sure if that's like a special Dasani thing. You don't know if it's a special Dasani thing. That's just your only experience so far of hearing about horses or carriages. Well, Shepard, I... If the baggages are too much, Kana and I can easily assist you. No, no, they're not heavy. It's not... This is a long trip. Sorry to be looked at the map. It would be very dangerous as well. But I have walked many miles through the forest and...
It never ends. I am fine to walk, but if time is of the essence, perhaps procuring...
A wagon would be the best solution. But as the professor said, I did not see any. I'm no stranger to the outdoors, and of course I'll walk if we need to. We don't have a choice, we don't have a choice. I just, yes, time is of the essence, I kind of figured. Well, when Irina gets back, we could ask if there are any available at all. Couldn't hurt. And if not, I think we'll be fine. You know, the four of us at least have, we walked...
Hundreds of miles through, I'm guessing, right? Hundreds of miles through Ereos. You did. And we do. You all kept us safe. So no matter what danger lurks out there, I think we can handle it. I'm just more worried about getting there quickly, and hopefully Irina won't turn into some sort of abomination as well as that poor boy. Did you find anything strange on Ereos when you looked at the bottom of the mountain?
Just that it was vampiric but not quite a true Nosferatu. It had fangs, never taken a bite of blood based on my investigation. It was a fledgling vampire I suppose or a vampireling or a vampire spawn as I believe one of you said. Shepard. That's correct. So I was able to confirm that.
Do you have any marks on him? Any bites on him? Good question. Did I see any bites on him? Any scars? Do you remember what you rolled? 24. No, 28, 25. Yes, there were definitely two marks on his neck. Yes, there were two marks on his neck. He was to... I don't know exactly how it works, but...
Take all the time you need.
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a folk horror tome for Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition. And don't forget to snag all of the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, a tarot deck, and more. Thank you. And it is roughly about that moment that Irina begins to descend the stairs. She seems bubbly and happy and quite a good disposition. Well, I've said my goodbyes, and if you don't mind, I hope that along our journey...
You would not be too put off if I'm not talkative. I have my little book and my water paints. And I've always wanted people to draw new things. So if you don't mind, if I'm just sketching about this away, then we'll just enjoy our company together with no further expectations of each other. Spare by me. I love you.
What time is it? It is probably around two in the afternoon at this point.
So you went to bury her father right around midnight. That took about 30 minutes. Then it was, you had a bit of time where Sarnax was insulting the priest. Wait, midnight or noon? Noon, sorry, noon. And then I would say it probably took about an hour for the entire ordeal with killing his son and making your way back to the camp. I mean...
Yikes. Yikes. It's been yikes from you, dog. Mr. Morgan? Yes? Do you think it wise that we leave now or should we wait for the light of the morning? No, we leave immediately. The longer we wait, the longer we're stuck in these god-forsaken lands, the worse off we're all gonna be. And, Irena, are there any horses or carriages or wagons
Available to take on our journey. Not in the town, but if we make enough haste, we should have hopefully reached the Vestanian campground. And if they are kind, maybe they'll let us stay there. I know it can be quite dangerous to camp in the woods on our own, but I am with Adventurers, maybe it would be fine. But maybe we could make it to them, and they may have carriages and horses for us to take.
Now, we'll make haste and see what we do. Well, let's move right away. Agreed. We'll consider it an adventure. I'm excited to go on one. It's always strange. So, to new friends and to new adventures and to the rest of the beautiful land of Barovia. Yes, of course. Onward. I will lead the way out of town and you have the map. I hope that one of you fine gentlemen would be willing to lead the way thereafter.
I will light our path. Oh, lovely. Screech, we've enlamped. We're all set. Adventure. Great. And she grabs your hand. I'm so excited. Oh, Beatrice. All right, then. Let's go. And she prances out of the house. Her spirits are high. Her cheeks are flush. She looks...
incredibly happy and alive. And you notice that she is still wearing the black sash around her neck, but she has removed the ones around her wrists. And a quick glance shows the faint scars on either wrist of two women.
two imprints almost exactly the same actually i would say you probably could tell exactly the same size as the ones in the neck of doru but they seem to have healed and your magic your detect magic when you met her shows that unlike the poor vampire spawn that you had to lay to rest she as of yet is not undergoing the same affliction so far she's been spared
and you may be wrong. Well, I'm very cautious. I just take furious notes about my guesses at vampire biology and how the biting works and how turning might work and knowing nothing about the whole God business. Um,
Throughout our journey, I will just sort of subtly try to keep an eye on her neck to see if she ever takes it off or if I can get a glimpse if it moves or whatever. I just want to kind of get confirmation. I just want visual evidence that...
You know, the old two sticky boys were there. Two sticky boys. Yeah. Roll an investigation check. For sticky boys. Roll for sticky boys. Roll for sticky boys. You keep a close watch. She is, as you begin to make your way, you leave town. And though the dreariness of this land doesn't seem to dissipate as you leave, the dark and...
dreariness of the village of Barovia itself, there is a bit of relief that comes over you as you step out of the sullen village and begin to make your way along this rough hewn pathway out of town. You travel for a few hours, you make your way over a cobblestone arched bridge, uh, mossy and slick, but you're able to make your way over it. Um,
Looking at the map, you see that this is the Iblis River that you've been able to make your way over as you continue towards the fork in the road.
Irina is excitable, loving every bit of the scenery that she's able to see, things that she's lived here her entire life that she's never been able to see, and it's near hours walk outside of her home. And it is at this point, Clayton, that you are able to get the glimpse of the wound on her neck, and you see that it is significantly more fresh than the ones on her wrists. ♪
It looks like it's healing, but you believe the timeline probably does match, and it appears to be about three days old. It's a deep, deep wound, and it is taking a while for the flesh to be able to rejoin and refuse together in that spot. Irina. Oh, yes, Clayton. For all of our safety, I must ask you, how did you get those wounds on your neck?
Oh, as I told you, before my father passed, I was come upon by some strange insect or something. I must have been leaving my bedroom window open. Can I check to see if she's bullshit? Yeah, roll a...
You know the rule. Insight. Yeah, thank you. An insect check. An insect check. An insect check. Twelve. Yeah, she seems to be honest. Oh, no! I see. So that is truly what you believe. I see. And same as the wounds on your wrist. Oh, yes. There were others prior. Where?
On my bosom, sir, if we're going to be so crass. May I take a look, please? What? No, sir. I mean that in the most respectful way possible. Of course you cannot. I would like to confirm something. Thanks. I almost kept it. I almost kept it. We're all adults here, are we not? I'm bringing up the rear. That is incredibly forward.
A lady does not show her bosom to a man, especially one she's just met. He's an academic. He means well, I promise. He's not trying to be ungentlemanly. Perhaps Victoria could inspect your bosom in the woods, out of sight. No, we should not go. No, not in the woods. Right here. And we will turn away if we must, but...
Would you feel more comfortable if Victoria were to do it? It's silly. Impudent of you, sir. But if it were a gentle lady, then...
It would be less invasive. Do you mind, Victoria? I don't forget to offer your name. Sorry, I would never offer something up like that. I would. Helpful to the professor, I'm happy to. And of course, if it's all right with you, dear. This was not what I was expecting to be doing on the road to the lottery. Neither me. Now, Victoria, I need you to confirm when I grab a wrist. Well, sir, unhand me!
She's like shaking, but she's not very strong. I'll just kind of gently. I'll take a look. Check for size as well. So I'll walk. For the Bates, for the Bates! LAUGHTER
What did you say? I can promise you, sir, that they are of an ample size. Thank you very much. He meant the bite marks. And I can promise you, sir, that the bite marks are exactly the same. We've had a physician in to see them and he has concurred that it was the same insect that has done them all.
The physician, you say? Let us go. We'll get it out of the way. So I'll leave her... If it will get him to stop talking about my body in such a way. Now, face me. Yes, please. Professor, you're no better than the ruffians I used to hang out with at the bars in Yonah. LAUGHTER
I'll just untie, you know, the lacing. I can't do that myself. This is so intrusive. It's just us ladies now. Her hands are shaking, you can tell. She's completely red in the face. She is so shaken up by this. My word! I can't get this. I can't get this spot. You do it. Just close your eyes and think of Break. I don't know what Break is.
Why don't you just grab it? So I'll untie just enough to pull it loose and kind of pull. She like flinches every time like your skin touches her skin. Okay. But she steals herself through it. Try to expose as little as possible just searching for like a mark.
You're able to pull it down enough. You're pulling it down. You're getting a little uncomfortable. And finally, as you get as low as you're probably willing to go, you see the two faint markings on one breast of the same person.
Okay, and it looks the same as... They are the exact same size. You take her hand and inspect them next to each other and you can see that the spacing is identical. Do they look more or less fresh than the neck wound? They are less fresh than the neck wound, more fresh than the wrists. Interesting. Okay. Well, that's everything. Let's just get you tightened back up, Kevin. We will never see this. Of course not.
And she ties herself up. Are you happy now, Professor? Are they the same? They are. Yes, they're the same. You said a physician looked at your marks before? Yes. Did he have a guess as to the kind of insect that could have done something like this? A very large mosquito. He's a strange man. We don't have a physician in the village of Brune. But he was travelling through. He had a kit and everything.
and a stranger monkey. Is this the name of this man? His name? No, I don't rightfully remember. I just called him the physician. I think it started with an R. Did it end with an O? I think it started with an R and ended with an O. Would you recognize this man if you saw him? Oh, of course. Do you know where he came from? No.
Oh, no, but I know he was headed to the locky. Well, keep your eyes open. If you see him, maybe we'll get a chance to talk to him. Yes, I would love to speak to him again. I can at least bring you to him to confirm that I'm not crazy and that it was some large mosquito. We don't think you're crazy. Not at all. We're looking out for it. Have you ever seen a mosquito? I've never seen a mosquito a day of my life. What? With two proboscis. What are those? The...
Pokey thing. Their teeth? Well, they're not quite teeth. I don't know much about your teeth. It's a singular tube that... That's horrific. That is erected from their mouth and stabs into their victims and the blood is extracted. With this exact same spacing. You say that as if it's not completely plausible. It is not completely plausible. You don't understand.
Anyway, I believe just any change in how you're feeling, you must let us know right away, of course. Of course. But for now, I'm feeling very, very upset. Well, I meant no disrespect at all. I'm trying to keep us all very safe. Meaning disrespect is not the same as not being disrespectful. Your intentions are null when your actions prove otherwise. Well, perhaps we'll find this...
and get a little more information on his diagnosis. Yes. My curiosity will be sated. A learned man will show you that you should not poke your nose in things you're not familiar with. Professor. As I'm reading the way, I'm like, may we please continue?
I would like that, Shepard. Shepard, may I borrow your eyes? What? Yes, Starnax, I've come. And I'm carrying a luggage as I pick up my pace and try to get to the front of the pack. What does he mean? What's going on? See, Shepard, how... Could you take a look over there? And as I'm pointing, very exaggerated, I'm going to whisper in a low voice.
Do you still wish to seek... I'm going to stage whisper here. Do you still wish to speak with the Countess Tredomia? I hope that we have a choice, Arne. We'll just slide a pan to see if she hears you. If she's our only way in and out... I'll just say what I do. Yep. Wow. Slide a pan! Round 15. Okay.
I don't think we have a choice, Arnexia. If she's our only way in or out of this place, then we have to. We've got to talk to her. We don't have a choice. I don't think there's going to be any good that's going to come from any of this. We have to. Keep your hand on judgment at all times. I pick up one bag, give me a thought, and I hand over the bags in my right hand.
so that judgment is easily accessible by the fastest gun in the world. And I will take it and say, now your hand is useful to me. Fair enough. Continue.
I'll just let him lead and I'll slow my pace to kind of fall back towards the rest of the group. I'll be bringing up the rear, just keeping an eye out with my blade at the ready. You continue moving along. You have traveled for almost five hours at this point. You're tired. You're exhausted. Five? Five?
Oh, I thought you meant seven hours. I'm like, no, no, no. Yes, it is seven. I'm like, oh, are you the DM now? Cool, switch places with me. Sun goes down, you're all dead. So that's what that means. You have traveled for about five hours and you can tell that Irina is getting tired. She continues to complain that her feet are hurting and her shoes and how long until we get there. As Irina
You look ahead and you see the road splitting in twine. An old wooden gallows creaks in a chill wind that blows down from the high ground to the west. A frayed length of rope dances from its beam. The well-worn road splits here and a signpost opposite the gallows points off in three directions. Barovia Village to the east, back behind you.
Sare Pool to the northwest, and Ravenloft slash Vallaki to the southwest. The northwest fork slants down and disappears into the trees, while the southwest fork clings to an upward slope
Across from the gallows, a low wall crumbling in places partially encloses a small plot of graves shrouded in fog. Now, this is the area that you remember from the map that had you not had it, you would have been under the assumption that only one of these roads led to Vallaki. But you can see from your map that both roads lead to Vallaki.
And you were informed to take the northwest fork. If the northwest one is the one that we are... That's the one that heads to the Vistani camp. Okay, yeah. Then that's absolutely the direction that we're going to go. But the other one leads to Ava. No. Madame Ava is a Vistani. Oh, okay. She is their matron. We're making an assumption that she may be there. Okay.
Well, to the northwest. This is the right that you confirmed on the map, Trevor? Yes, sir. And I will stick right next to Starnax and make sure that we're all all right. All right. Irina reaches out and grabs your hand. It's horrible, isn't it? That thing there, rotting, decaying away. What it means? It's his awful sight. I don't like looking at it. What thing?
The gallows. Do you wish to not look at it any longer? I don't wish to touch it. I'll look away as we walk. What does it represent? The loss of life. What else? Under whose command?
Who acts as the judge, jury and executioner when it comes to these gallows? I am unaware it hasn't been functioning for as long as I've been alive. I've never seen it before. I don't travel. I've heard that it used to be the way to enforce the law. At least under my father's rule as smoker master, we never employed the gallows. Everyone had a fair trial.
Your father sounds like a tremendous man. He was. And I believe my brother will rule instead in the same way. Sonix, are you thinking about burning it? It does seem to be vile and tainted with the egregious violations of justice long past. Do we have time? I'm more concerned about how long we'd have to sit here and watch it burn so that the rest of the forest doesn't just go up.
You raise a fair point. It is late, and the night is full of horrors. Perhaps another day when we come back. Doesn't look like the tree's going anywhere. I feel like we have some time. We've been through a lot today. I can say, though I don't have the experience, the last thing you want is to draw attention to us, Ms. Rose.
That was my thought, exactly. Especially with the night encroaching on us so quickly. I shouldn't have even... Did you say the camp is within sight? It's not, no, not a camp. Oh, you're asking me to give it to you. Yeah, no, you see the fork? You don't know how long the camp is. You can expect that you're probably going to be traveling a little bit in through the evening. Got it. I would say we press on. We get to the Bassani camp as quick as possible. We can always regroup from there.
Fair enough. I think from this point forward, we should move with some caution. And I'll clutch maybe it's... Use them. And use them. Use them for shadows of wickedness. Use them. So for one hour, we all have plus five to stealth checks. You see as Victoria clutches the rosary or the beads around her neck, the prayer beads around her neck.
And you see as for a second, her eyes flash with pure wickedness, seduction, temptation. It quickly fades, but all of you feel a little stealthier. All right.
Let's proceed forward. Let's keep a normal pace, but be careful. I'm going to roll. Go ahead. I really got a natural 20! Yay! That's okay. 23, we passed out. Oh, so that would be, it's plus five. Oh. Not pass without a three. 22. 18. 23. Oh!
I got 16. That was with your plus 5? Yep. I gotta see what Irina's shit is, because I honestly don't know what the hell I have. Irina's shit, Irina's shit. I don't look about natural 20.
It doesn't matter because I wasn't rolling for anything. I was going to say, your statement makes me think it's not actually a natural thing. Yeah, I think you're fucking bullshitting us. So you begin, you begin, you look back at the wooden gallows, the stairs that lead up to the, that lead up to the main portion of it, the tall,
wooden planks that extend up and over the rope that dangles from it and the small trap door in the very center where the bodies would hang. And you all shudder at the thought and the look of it as you begin to pass.
and you begin to head towards the northwest fork. And as you move away, you hear a creaking noise behind you, coming from the gallows. Where there was nothing before now hangs a lifeless gray body. The breeze turns the hanged figure slowly so that it can fix its dead eyes upon you. Looking at you is a face you've never seen before.
but victoria staring back at you is the mirror image of yourself your dark dress swaying in the wind the color drained from your face all life removed from your body as you stare at yourself hanging there in front of you you blink you rub your eyes and you look but it is not going it's not changing it's not going anywhere
As you stare into your own lifeless eyes. And they just see a body that they don't know what they see, but yes. Oh, okay. I didn't know if they see a similar description. I've sinned. This is what I deserve. What?
nobody deserves anything. That body was not there a moment ago. Wait, did we all see this? Yes. You all heard the creaking and the creaking of the wood as the body fell down, as they, you know, the sound of removing the chair and allowing the body to hang. You all heard that moment and a crack. And as you turn and look, there is a lifeless grave body that is swaying now on that single rope attached to the gallows.
Its eyes, the wind turning it towards you, its eyes staring into you. None of you recognize the face, the person of this. Victoria, however, sees herself. What's
I don't know who that is. You can see it there. You can see it. What is this evil? It's another trick. It's my wickedness hanging in front of us. Don't you see it? I see wickedness, but it is not your wickedness. I'm going to step forward and I'm going to try to cast Sacred Flame on the rope to get the body down. Absolutely horrible.
- Yeah, you do that. - You're being taunted, Sonix. - Roll to hit, I guess. - It's a dexterity. - It would auto-fail because it's a-- - So I'm just aiming for the rope. - Because it's a rope. - You cast this and you see as the rope begins to burn. And as the rope burns, you expect to see this body fall to the ground, but instead you see as it begins to shimmer and shift.
And as if turning into dust, it nearly evaporates on the wind and you see the bits of it fade out of existence. The wicked illusion shattered. This is just tricks. This isn't real. That's just like Death House. Continue. No trick.
This is like a house straight from hell. There's no way this is real. We need to get out of here. We need to keep going. We have to press on. That was my warning. For what? You've done nothing wrong. You are not to judge me. The God on the rack has deemed me unworthy. He has pointed to my sins, and I am now to be punished. I will repent. Well, your repentance can wait until we make him. Is that all right? Yes.
I wish you'd go. Just go. Perhaps Sarnax can help you with your repentance. He seems like a holy man. Can you cast some kind of blessing in him? I deserve no blessings. And redeem her for her sins, as she speaks of? Do you, child, submit to the fire? I do not. My punishment is to be in darkness and alone.
There can be no shadow without light. Well, if we dally any longer, we're all going to be in darkness. I agree. We should continue. Please, let's press on. We can have these conversations when we get to the Bastani camp. Let's go. You once again begin to make your way towards the northwest path. The northwestern path. And you travel and find yourselves
your stealth roles treating you well as you're able to make it safely through the descent of twilight on the land of Barovia. And it takes about two hours before you begin to see the flicker of flame off in the distance, a roaring bonfire. And as you continue to make your way closer, the sounds of laughter, jubilation, some bit of revelry. You're about
I would say a five minute walk from where you can clearly see now a, the road gradually disappears and was replaced by a twisted muddy path through the trees. Deep ruts in the earth are evidence of the comings and goings of wagons. The canopy of mist and branches suddenly gives way to black clouds boiling far above.
There's a clearing here next to a river that widens to form small lakes several hundred feet across. Five colorful rounded tents, each 10 feet in diameter, are pitched outside a ring of four barrel-topped wagons. A much larger tent stands near the shore of the lake, its sagging form lit from within. Near this tent, eight unbridled horses drink from the river.
The mournful strains of an accordion clash with the singing of several brightly clad figures around a bonfire. A footpath continues beyond this encampment, meandering north between the river and the forest edge. I think as we approach, we need to make our presence known so we don't starve anybody. We're not here to cause trouble. We're looking for rest, Phil. Agreed. I'll...
wave my hand and then the lantern will let up the super bright light all around us and they'll say they will see our light through the darkness you'll be able to see us coming from very far away if you do not already know that we were on our way all right so you're making your way yep
Very, we're not trying to be stealth, we're trying to approach. You approach and you make no move to soften your footfalls or to hush yourself as you make your way up to this encampment. Who's leading? Me.
And I'm behind Starnak. You lead with your lantern light. And at first, it seems that none of these Vistani seem to notice your approach. As you see what appears to be about 18 different Vistani humans dancing around a bonfire, playing instruments, some of them sitting and chatting. You see some going in and out of these tents.
And you continue to walk forward as you see one. A female Ristani turn and look towards you. A smile lights her face. We knew you would be coming. Take a seat. Let's spend some time together for the evening. Well, I'll be. We were right, Sarnax.
I had a feeling. We are the expedition of Professor Clayton Asran of Miss Haller-Reed University.
He's here too. That's me. It is great to have you join us this evening. It is much better to be in the light of our bonfire than it is to be out in the glooms after dark. So you should sit. Would you like a drink? We have plenty of wine. And she points over and you see these large casks, barrels of what appear to be wine. They're all tapped and you see...
quite a few drunken Vistani stumble over, knock the handle back and slosh wine into these big tankards. Spilling out, they seem to not have a care in the world for a drop spilt as they are just chugging it, clashing their tankards together, laughing, playing music. I was just getting ready to tell a story. Do you want to hear it? We'll take seven drinks, please. Please, seven drinks then.
And she puts her hand up and one of the males who's slightly drunk looks around. I'll get it then. Nobody else? I'll get it then. And he walks over and you see him grab seven of them. He starts filling them up. I'll get it, okay? Nobody's arguing with me. And he fills up the drinks. He comes over and he slides them to you. She's a great storyteller. So, you know, that's...
Put your storytelling pants on. And did you know as well that we would all be here? I don't know who you are, but enjoy the wine. Well, thank you, good man. I love your hat. It is flashy, it is large. He's wearing a large hat as well. I like your hat. It has fruits and things dangling from it. Would you like to trade hats? Uh, no, no. This is a very important family matter.
Probably not a fair trade, anyway. Mine is more expensive. Yours is higher altitude. It's covered in gold. That's all fake. He pulls it off and he bites into it. It bends really easily. But you know, it looks like it's real and that is the point. Holy crap, there are two of you now. I'm going to head to bed. Have a good night, friends.
The second he hands me the drink, I'm going to just grab it with one motion. I'm going to just reach it over to Shepard. I'm going to just all in one glug drink all of mine. You see Irina sitting there holding it. I've never had alcohol before. It's going to hurt.
No. Perhaps you shouldn't have any, too. No, I agree. Perhaps you should not. The gestawney woman looks over. No, you should definitely drink it because you never know when you're going to have it and it's always worse the first time. So at least you're somewhere safe. I'll drink that. I agree. I think you should have at least one cup. That's why I ordered this for you.
Well, I'm... you ordered. What are you talking about? You didn't order anything. I offered you drinks. Oh, not ordered, but I asked for seven, and I included her in it. Well, I would hope so. She traveled with you. Yes. Hey, let's drink. Too much talking. Yes. She knocks back a goblet full of wine. I'm working on the second one. I'm just sipping mine. I'm so glad that you all made it. It is good to see you.
So you knew we were coming? Of course. Did Alenka send word? Oh, you've spoken to Alenka? She said good things. Oh, no, of course. She was the one that recommended we come here. I knew it. I just knew it. How is she doing, my dear sister? Oh, she's your sister? We're all brothers and sisters, even. Oh, well, no, she's doing lovely. She's running the inn in Brooklyn.
Provia Village. She seemed just fine, isn't that right? Yes. Everything seemed great. She seemed in good health as far as that could be good. Well, I was just about to regale people with a story. Would you like to hear it? You never ever say that. Sure, please. I mean, we need to kind of unwind from our trip and the story sounds nice. Great. A mighty wizard.
came to this land over a year ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. He stood exactly where you're standing now. A very charismatic man he was. He thought he could rally the people of Rovia against the devil's straw. He stared them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en masse.
When the vampire appeared, the wizard's peasant army fled in terror. A few stood their ground and were never seen again. The wizard and the vampire cast spells at each other.
The battle flew from the courtyards of Ravenloft through precipice overlooking the falls. I saw the battle with my own eyes. This is so hard to keep that accent up. Holy shit. I saw the battle with my own eyes. Thunder shook the mountainside and great rocks tumbled down upon the wizard. Yet by his magic, he survived. Lightning from the heavens struck the wizard.
And again he stood his ground. But when the devil's throne fell upon him, the wizard's magic couldn't save him. I saw him thrown a thousand feet to his death. I climbed down to the rive to search for the wizard's body, to see if he had anything about it. But the rive reedless had already taken his body away. Isn't that so interesting?
The entire thought of it. A revolt. The people rising up and failing in this instance. But there was hope for just a moment. A flicker. Because one man told them it was possible. And now he's dead and in the river somewhere. And most of the pests are dead. So it was not a win, but it is interesting how charisma can get you so far.
Don't you think? It. Well, you have to have it for it to get you anywhere, darling. Have some more wine and you might find that it comes out of you a little bit. It is a tale as old as time.
Small folk attempting to rise up against the boot that steps on their throat. Time and time again, and all the boot does is move to the left or to the right and crush army. They rise up unequipped and unprepared, and the fools that rouse them... You've told great stories, Lizardman. You should stay with us for a while.
Oh.
Or what is your name? It is Dania. Dania. Dania. Dania. I did actually pick it out beforehand, but then I forgot. Was the wizard's body ever recovered downriver, or did it get washed out of Barovia? If it was possible to find, I would have found it. As you can see, I love trinkets, and I needed to know whether he had anything valuable on him. This, uh...
This wizard sounds like a pretty... sounded like a pretty powerful person. He was. Yet he was no match for the Countess. Nobody is a match for the Countess. She's far more powerful than anything I've ever met in my entire life. And you've met her? Oh yes. She's beautiful. But she can be a bit prickly.
She's a friend of your people? Well, some, yes. Speaking frankly, we've been invited to meet with her, I guess at her earliest convenience. To the castle? Yes. What are the chances of us currying any kind of favor with her to...
be allowed to leave? To be allowed to leave? I don't know. The only people she allows to leave for now are Divistani. But are you happy like Divistani? He can tell stories like Divistani. And you can drink like Divistani. I'll drink to that. So maybe you would have to talk to her to find out. Just ask her. We intend to. What is the worst that could happen?
We end up like the wizard? Well, the wizard did try to fight her. Are you going to go in and try to kill her? In her own home? That's not the plan. End up worse than the wizard. I don't know if there's much worse than the wizard. He is dead now. What is worse than that? Far worse things. Living in this land, you should know that.
You're doing great.
No, I do not. I go because I please to, because I want to. You are a people of freedom. Yes. I envy that. Some do. You should have been born a Vistani. I am working to provide that freedom for my people.
if it takes hundreds of years. A valiant effort like the wizard. Hopefully you find more success than he did. But it is getting late. You should really see Madame Heber. She would be so upset if you did not stop him to say hello. I would love to see her. We very much appreciate your hospitality. It would be an honor to meet with her. She points you towards the largest tent.
You can walk in if you would like to. Just let her know you're coming. Can I bring this? Please. She would love it if you did. Thank you. Take two. Don't mind if I do. Ember, over there is past out with a full glass. Take his. I'd be honored. Thank you. I'll just scoop it up. I'm like, gobbling. I'm ready to go. He snorts loudly as you rip it out of his hands, but he doesn't wake up as you take his. Thanks, partner.
I grab another mug and I fill it up for Ava when we get there. And I'll refill as well.
You make your way to the largest of the Vistani tents. And as you reach it, you begin to peel back the curtains that are the entranceway to this tent. Magic flames cast a reddish glow over the interior of this tent, revealing a low table covered in a black velvet cloth. Glints of light seem to flash from a crystal ball on the table as a hunched figure peers into its depths.
As the crone speaks, her voice crackles like dry weeds. At last, you have arrived. Cackling laughter bursts like mad lightning from her withered lips. She looks out at all of you. Victoria, my sweet, sweet child. Wickedness follows you, but...
Your God knows you are just and faithful. Clayton, it is answers you seek, and it is Madame Ava who will give them to you. Your college will be better off for having known you, for the valuable information you will bring back to Sprague Valley. Shepherd, you do him great honor.
He will be proud of all you do here and all of the horror that you rid in this place. Kana.
A master lost, but hopefully found. You have made your way to the right place. Tharnass. You plan to plant your tree in Barovia to rid it of the evil. You may just do that yet. But first...
The Devil's Throd? What do you plan to do about Stradania, Vanzant? In what regard do you mean "do"? Your intentions, Sevan. What do you plan to do? How do you think you will defeat the Vampire's Throd?
and rid the land of the evil that is lording over it. That is awfully presumptuous. Is she not a friend of yours, Madame Eva? She's a friend of all of us, Thoth. But the mother of the Visani knows all and sees all. And you are saying she is evil and needs to be destroyed. I'm saying that you have come for a purpose.
You and I both know what it is. But in your current state, you will never accomplish your goals. You will die here in this land. But a reading to tell your future, what you need to overcome the obstacles in this land and to rid it.
of the evil that lies within. Yes? Would you like a reading? Your divination is very powerful. It is. I see all I know. Well, by what means is the power of this reading being channeled? My gods...
And which gods are those? Cards. Which cards are those? My Taroka cards. And they themselves are potent enough to tell our fate. They are a conduit for my magic. I am a clairvoyant. They produce the reading for you. But the magic is in me.
Have I ever heard of Tarot Cards? Probably not. Tarot Cards? Your name doesn't sound familiar. I've heard of cards and games being used for divination, but never anything that could give allegedly such a valuable reading. That could...
Turn the tide in the war against the Countess? Yes. So would you like to know what your future holds for you? Yes. Yes. I am curious. Then... May we sit? Sit, and let us begin.
You will each shuffle the deck. You will infuse your energy into the guards so that I will use them to tell you your future. Pass it to Kana.
Such dainty hands for a warrior. When Kana hands me the cards, I do some poker stuff. It's been a while since I've had a deck of cards in my hand. I do a little fancy poker shuffle. Nothing too crazy, just a little sleight of hand. I'm used to playing with poker cards before I hand them off to Professor. While I'm handling the cards, can I get a sense of...
Can I feel that they're magic? Do I get any sense of divination given my kind of study? The cards themselves do not seem to be magical. I would say that you get a strong sense of divination power from both the crystal ball that she's leering over as well as just from herself. Very interesting. So I pass it off to Victoria. Yeah.
I am cutting the deck and I will need you. Me? Yes. The divination magic is strong with you. Take the top card and flip it. The traitor. The traitor.
This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy. Look for a wealthy woman, a staunch ally of the devil. She keeps the treasure under lock and key with the bones of an ancient enemy. The next card. May I keep this? Yes. The conjurer.
This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope. I see a dead village drowned by a river.
Ruled by one who has brought great evil into the world. The next, the paladin. This is a card of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance, a sword of sunlight. I see a sleeping prince, a servant of the light and the brother of darkness. The treasure lies with him. Again, the artifact.
This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness. Look for an entertaining man with a monkey. This man is more than he seems. Next card.
The final card, the beast. Your enemy is a creature of darkness whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you to her and to where you will eventually destroy her. The beast sits on her dark throne. And that is where we'll end the session. Ah!
Oh my god! Splash! Babies! My my, what an interesting Taroko reading. Madame Eva claims to see so many things: past, present, and future. But can a parlor trick truly provide the tools to defeat me? I think not.
But I suppose a glimmer of hope in a land of darkness can be all one needs to press onward when things look bleak. Now our heroes must leave the safety and comfort of the Vistani camp behind and face more terrors that haunt the night. See what evil awaits them in Chapter 3 of Curse of Thradania. Suffer the little children.
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