Introduce Clement and Kycis as they approach a two different forests, Clement holds a bounty poster for a group of werewolves, while Kycis holds a book labeled the Mists of the Shadowfell
The mist begins to grow in the forest seeming to close around them, a brief moment the two can barely breathe before they are suddenly released from the Mists grasp both appearing in a dark misty forest a large gate in front of them
The two introduce themselves to each other as they ponder just where they have appeared, determining that they weren’t in the same area, Clement was in a small town about 30 miles east of Daggerford, while Kycis was investigating a phenomenon known as the Mists in small valley in the Furrowed Mounts and World Pillar Mountains of Zakhara
They hear the sound of wolves snarling and combat nearby and rush into help where they see Anastasia killing a group of wolves
More wolves emerge from the misty forest and the three engage in battle defeating them
The three greet each other and introduce themselves as they inquire with Anastasia that their location where she simply states they are in hell
Inquiring further Anastasia states that they are in Barovia
Kycis states that should be impossible as Barovia was a land that disappeared 1000s of years ago
Clement asks what he means to which Kycis says the many years before the Dale Reckoning that a man tried to expand his empire into where the World Mountain Pillars and Furrowed Mountains meet, before he and his kingdom suddenly vanished and the Mists appeared in the valley making it impenetrable
Anastasia informs them they should go through the gates into the town of Barovia as Barovia is extremely dangerous at night stating she has a place they can take refuge
They enter the town noting the town seems barren, no one in sight
They come to a run down house that seems inhabited as Anastasia knocks on the door
Outsteps Shaymus O’Connor Senior (The Old Man) who looks over the group
Anastasia explains that the two recently came into Barovia as he invites them inside, calling out to his wife that they will need three more plates of food
She steps out and seems happy Anastasia is there asking who her new friends are, making Anastasia seem a bit saddened
The other two introduce themselves as she invites them to sit down where at the table a young Thomas is
As they eat Kycis inquires into the nature of this land as Shaymus explains the following
Barovia is ruled over by a vampire named Strahd Von Zarovich who conquered the land many years and is responsible for the curse upon the land. The sun never shines on Barovia and is infested with all sorts of monsters. He mentions that the people of Barovia had tried to overthrow Strahd many times one time even succeeding but he simply was reborn and the curse upon Barovia continued (Shaymus and Alyssa both seems upset by that topic)
Kycis then deciding to change the topic asks how it is possible for Shaymus to be here as according to a book called Tomb of Annihilation he died in Chult
Shaymus explains before he came to Barovia, he lived in Icewind Dale with his previous wife, daughter and son. Prior to the attack Shaymus and his daughter were hired to travel to Daggerford to help handle incursions of a band of werewolves
He received from a cohort of news of the attack but instead of travelling back home he chose to finish off the werewolf pack attacking daggerford and ended up in Barovia about 20 years ago (Shaymus explains for every 2 years in the rest of Toril only 1 year passes in Barovia seemingly due to the influence of the Shadowfell)
Shaymus offers them an empty room to sleep in for the night that the party agrees too and warns them not to leave the house until morning
Kycis asks why that is too which Shaymus explains the March of the Dead and that when disturbed the dead will try to drag the living back to the graveyard to join them
With that the party heads to the room noting that it seems like a girl’s room, Kycis remains up to watch the March of the Dead
The next day the party thanks the O’Connors for their hospitality and leave the home noting that even during the day the streets seem barren except for an old woman selling pastries
Anastasia tells the group to ignore her when Kycis inquires about buying one
The group then arrives at the Blood of the Vine Tavern and enter where they hear loud sobbing start from outside
A few people in the tavern comment on how she is at it again, and that she should just accept her daughter is gone mentioning she was taken by the Devil.
Anastasia tells them not to bother as they won’t get an answer from her if they go, to the others
Kycis tries to pay for food with his silver only to learn that normal silver isn’t accepted in Barovia
A man named Ismark who states he’ll pay for their meal if they do a job for them
Anastasia seems hesitant to accept while Clement asks how they can help.
Ismark explains that he needs to get his sister to Vallaki, explaining he needs her to leave town
The party accepts (much to Anastasia’s chagrin) and Ismark pays for their meal telling them he’ll explain more at the Burgomaster’s Mansion, his home
Anastasia lectures the group explaining they need to be more careful as Strahd’s spies are everywhere, in the background a cloaked man gets up and approaches the group
He approaches Anastasia and holds out a letter as she takes it shocked and upset
The letter delivered the cloaked man quickly leaves, as Kycis inquires to Anastasia who that was, but she declines to answer
The letter mentions they are invited to Castle Ravenloft to dine with Count Strahd as Kycis recognizes the seal of the long lost house of Von Zarovich, an ancient noble family from a long gone kingdom
The party finishes their meal as Clement asks them if they can visit a church before they set off to which Ana agrees
The arrive at a derelict House of the Morninglord where they see the priest Donavich praying before an altar to the Morninglord (Clement recognizes it as a symbol of Lathander)
Clement goes to one of the pews to pray not hearing anything from his god Illmater
During this they hear an inhuman screech from below as Donavich shutters and starts praying harder
The party head to the basement to investigate where they find a vampire spawn (Doru, Donavich’s Son) yanking at rusted chains
The chains break as he yanks harder noticing the party and a fight ensues
Donavich rushes down at the commotion begging the party to spare his son’s life, but the Vampire Spawn bounds past him draining the man (killing Donavich)
The party then slays Doru as he stands up to fight him.
Anastasia seems to lament the two’s fate
Once upon a time...
The party exits the church to lay Donavich and Doru to rest find a young woman struggling with the old lady selling pastries as she tries to take the woman’s son
The party interferes with the old lady as she states there will be consequences for this before leaving as the woman thanks them
The party then heads to the graveyard where they find an open plot and bury the two bodies leaving a small wood post to mark their graves
They then decide to head the Burgomaster’s Mansion
All the windows are barricaded and the house has numerous scratch marks like it was attacked by monsters recently.
Anastasia is able to identify the likely culprits as werewolves, ghouls, and other undead creatures and from the fresh footprints probably happened recently
The party knocks on the door and Ireena demands to know why they are there
The party explains that they are the group Ismark hired to take her to Vallaki and are let inside
Ireena explains she won’t leave for Vallaki until her father is delivered to Donavich much to Ismark’s protests
The party reveals that Donavich had been killed by his vampire spawn son and agree to accompany Ismark to bury Kolyan Indirovich
Ismark reluctantly agrees and the party helps him move his father in a makeshift coffin
They arrive at the cemetery and while Ismark buries the body they are attacked by zombies
The party returns to the burgomaster’s house where they see Strahd approaching from a horse drawn carriage
Noticing the party Strahd greets them asking the two if they are new to Barovia which Clement confirms
He offers them a welcome insisting they must come to dine at Castle Ravenloft
He then tells Anastasia that it is wonderful to see her again and that she should come along as well
Finally he turns to Ismark asking him if Ireena has come to a decision upon his proposal, him stating that she still needs time as their father passed recently
Strahd nods offering his condolences before telling him that it would be better for them to come to a decision soon, before he walks back to his carriage which goes off into the misty distance
Ismark immediately rushes past the group and checks on Ireena who confirms she is fine
They then hurriedly pack her things and the group besides Ismark leave for Vallaki with Ismark explaining he must stay behind as the new Burgomaster and to ensure Strahd’s suspicions aren’t aroused and that there is a small shortcut to Vallaki that passes by an old Gur encampment
As the party walks they notice a sete of discarded and torn clothes which Kycis is able to identify as a recent lycanthrope transformation
The party is then approached by a man being chased by Twig Blights which the party fights off
The druid then holds Ireena at knifepoint ranting loudly about how if he delivers her to Strahd he will be saved obviously insane
Anastasia bares her fangs at him intimidating the man causing him to drop the knife and run away
The party arrives outside a Gur camp where they are invited to come drink with them
The party accepts much to Anastasia’s chagrin as they mention they’ve been expecting them
Inquiring on what that means the group of Gur explain that their leader Madam Eva had forseen the 4’s arrival and has an important message for them
They tell them that she needs time to prepare however and bids them to join them at the fire
At the fire they tell them of the Gurri Tale of Strahd and Mordenkainen’s battle
As the story finishes the party is informed that Madam Eva is ready to see them leading them to the same cart Anastasia visited
As they enter they see and old lady seated at a small table three cards place in front of her the room is filled with the thick scent of incense
She speaks the name of each of the party members save Ireena going (Anastasia, the Cursed Hunter, Clement the Blessed Child, and Kycis the Resilient Scholar)
She asks them to sit for a fortune reading to which the party accepts each taking a seat
She begins saying “The spirits have given one of you guidance already to slay your enemy, but should you face the darkness together there are three more you must seek. *She motions to the leftmost card* This sword tells stories and its wielder brings hope in your hour of need. *She flips the card revealing Coins 9 Miser* Look for the fortress inside a fortress, in a place hidden behind fire. *She motions to the rightmost card* This book holds great magic and infinite secrets within.*Flips card revealing Swords 5 Myrmidon* Look for a den of wolves in the hills overlooking a mountain lake. The treasure belongs to Mother Night. *Eva motions to the middle card* And last the book that holds what one of you seeks most and will lead you to your enemies demise *she flips the card revealing Stars 2 Diviner* Look to the one who sees all. The treasure is hidden in her camp.”
After a moment Madam Eva seems to contemplate something, before standing up and searching through her bookshelves before pulling out a dusty old journal. She says she believes this is what they are looking for hobbling over and delivering the book to Anastasia
Before Anastasia opens the book Madam Eva shakes her head stating they should leave before the other Gur recognize their friend motioning to Ireena.
With that the party departs from the encampment traveling for sometime before finding a place to rest for the night
Anastasia explains the fortunes she received from Madam Eva prior to their arrival explaining that was the reason she was at the gate
As they settle down for the night Anastasia reads through the journal detailing Shaymus’ arrival in Barovia with his daughter Daniella. He explains he believes that the secret to Barovia’s curse lies within the Temple of the Faceless Gods and that he will travel there to find the truth. The book also mentions Strahd has seemingly been experimenting on his vampiric thralls as Shaymus mentions that he has encounter vampires with varying capabilities
Kycis inquires as to why she was referred to as the Cursed Hunter, to which she reveals that when she came to Barovia her party was attacked by Strahd, she barely managed to survive but having been bitten by Strahd she transformed into something similar but not quite a vampire
The party awakens to see a blonde woman watching them but she doesn’t approach
Clement moves to approach but Anastasia stops him explaining that Shaymus warned them against approaching her calling her one of the Brides of Strahd
The party decides to head out arriving as Tser Falls climbing the cliffside to reach the upper road
At the top of the cliff the party finds the corpse of a Barovian hunter that had been torn apart by Dire wolves
The party continues down the road when they pass Castle Ravenloft where Anastasia reveals that that is where Strahd lives and that they should probably avoid it
The party eventually comes to a crossroads that leads to Vallaki and Lake Zarovich
Anastasia mentions that a lake was mentioned in the 1st reading she received and that they should probably since apparently her fate hangs in the balance
The party agrees and they decide to head to Lake Zarovich where they see a Fisherman rowing out to the center of the lake with a burlap sack that seems to have something moving in it
The party rushes to a rowboat while Kycis flies across the lake to intercept the man. After a brief scuffle Kycis accidentally pushes the man into the lake, who quickly sinks below. Kycis panicks as the man disappears beneath the water.
Kycis debates diving to try and save the man as Anastasia and Clement arrive in the rowboat, with Anastasia telling him its not worth it
A cry from the bag draws the three’s attention as they free the bags occupant as they find a young girl stuffed in the bag
The party asks her what happened to which after dusting herself off she states that the man had taken her from the Gur Camp set up outside of Vallaki. She states the man was muttering about sacrificing her to the lake, and her name was Arabellla. She requests the party return her to the camp and they will be quite generously rewarded
The party agrees to do so after they bring Ireena to the church, but the woman stubbornly refuses, explaining she can’t in good conscious selfishly go to safely after what happened to Arabella.
The group protests stating that this is placing Ireena in unnecessary danger, but she refuses to listen.
After some back and back forth they finally agree, as long as Ireena remains outside the camp with Anastasia
The two enter the Gur camp with Arabella where the Gur regard them with suspicion
They are approach by the Gur who demand to know why Arabella is with them
The two inform them of what happened to Arabella who confirms the story
The Gur calm down and one goes to retrieve Arabella’s father
Arabella’s father comes rushing out and hugs Arabella stating his relief at her safety
The group is invited to join the Gur that night for a party, to which the two agree and mention they need to return to Vallaki to finish up some business
The Gur nod allowing them to leave as they return to meet Anastasia and Ireena
They inform the two of the invitation to which Anastasia looks annoyed that the two accept the invitation
They agree it would be best for Ireena not to attend, but that they should attend the party in order to try and get Arabella’s father to allow her to help them
WIth that they head into Vallaki where they are allowed entry but it is noted Anastasia is regarded with suspicion. They notice old posters for a celebration called the “Wolf’s Head Jamboree” which Anastasia knows took place a week ago.
They make their way to St Andral’s Church where Milivoj is outside digging a series of graves
Entering the church they note that there a few people in the church who look dour. Father Lucan Petrovich is in the middle of a sermon
Upon finishing the people leave and Lucan notices the group approaching them
He inquires why they are there to which they state their intention to leave Ireena in the protection of the church
He agrees to house the young lady and then inquires how Anastasia how she is doing though she is rather cagey with an answer
Finishing this the party heads back to the Gur camp as the sun sets
Arriving at the camp the Gur are already drinking and partying joyfully greeting the party
They are offered drinks to which Anastasia refuses
They are greeted by Luvash who once again thanks them for their help, Arrigal lurks behind his brother suspicious of the party. Luvash offers them a favor to which the party states they need Arabella’s help.
Luvash is initially skeptical, with Arrigal stepping forward to protest their request. However Arabella steps forward stating that it is her fate to help the group
The two men grumble in discontent with Luvash stating his refusal, only for Arabella to threaten to run away to fulfill her destiny
Luvash sighs agreeing to allow Arabella to join them, under the condition they find the Old Man (Luvash calls him the “Monster Hunter” with disdain) takes the 14 year old trains her. Arrigal slips away from the group.
The party agrees as they rejoin the party spending the night at the camp. Anastasia at one point goes off on her own with Kycis following her
Kycis tries to inquire about Anastasia but is brushed off by her.
As the party awakens in the morning and leave the camp with Arabella in tow they are approached by Yeska who seems to be out of breath.
When the party ask the young boy what is wrong, he states Father Lucan Petrovich needs to see them right away, to which the party agrees.
The party returns to St Andral’s church where they are greeted by a grim Father Lucan who dismisses Yeska, before revealing to the party that the Bones of St Andral have been stolen
Father Lucan informs the group that Yeska may know something, but he likely wasn’t involved in the theft. Other than that the only other notable suspect he can come up with is the gravedigger Milovoj
With this information the party heads outside where they find Milovoj lurking around.
Seeing the party he tries to flee, but he is chased down rather quickly.
The party demands answers but he initially refuses until Anastasia bares her fangs to intimidate him.
He finally reveals he was threatened by the Coffin Maker Hendrik and a hooded figure.
The party decides to head to the coffin maker’s house
Making their way to house they see people putting up flyers for the “Festival of the Blazing Sun”
Anastasia reveals that the Burgomaster Vallakovich has a slogan called “All will be well!” and often throws festivals to try and raise spirits
The party arrives at the coffin maker’s house and enter, where the man asks why they are there
They demand to know where the bones are, but he denies he has them.
Anastasia once again threatens the man with her fangs, leading him to reveal they are upstairs.
Heading up stairs they find a room with five coffins in them one open with the bones of St Andral.
The group approaches as the coffins burst open as 3 vampire spawn burst forth (A Fighter, Rogue, Wizard) to which Anastasia recognizes as her original party.
They fight the Vampire Spawn as they taunt Anastasia about what happened to her (not explicitly stating her state as a Dhampir)
They defeat the Vampire Spawn, as the Fighter reveals it is already too late, as one of Strahd’s brides (Jazmin Stoyanovich) is already headed to the church to kill the priest and take Ireena to Strahd.
The party rushes out into the streets where they see Jazmin (a Vampire Assassin Rogue) and Izek Strazni (who the burgomaster was threatened into providing for the attack) approaching the church.
The party rushes towards them and are forced to engage in a battle in order to try and get the bones to the Church.
The party struggles during the fight with them managing to slay Izek Stazni, as Kycis manages to get past the vampire and towards the church. Jazmin pursues the wizard as Anastasia and Clement try to hold her back.
The battle enters the church where Lucan and Ireena seeing the fight move to assist the group as Kycis rushes the bones back to their proper resting place.
As the bones return to their proper place reinvigorating the hallow spell Jazmin screams in pain as she burns up and smoke billows from her body leaving the church. The party chases the smoke outside where they see it flying towards Castle Ravenloft.
Lucan greets them outside and advises them to leave town quickly before Strahd can arrive.
The party leaves Vallaki quickly as townsfolk slowly enter the streets to see what the commotion is
As they exit Vallaki they see a carriage blocking the road, similar to the one Strahd was in earlier.
A voice bids them to enter to which the party not wanting to anger Strahd decide to agree heading to Castle Ravenloft.
There they are greeted by an elf (Rahadin) who states he has been expecting them, and that the Master awaits them
They are led into a dining room where a lavish feast is set and sitting at an organ playing a melancholic song is Strahd
Strahd joins them bidding them to eat as he discusses various topics including magic, candlekeep, and their feat in defeating Jazmin. (Strahd seems interested in particularly Candlekeep)
As the meal concludes Strahd bids them farewell before vanishing in smoke as laughter can be heard through the castle.
The Elf reappears guiding the group out of the Castle
They return to Barovia where they make their way to Shaymus’ house
When they arrive they find a disheveled looking Shaymus who looks concerned
They enter asking him to train Arabella so she can help them fight Strahd as Madam Eva’s fortunes foretold.
Shaymus then confirms their desire to kill strahd and agrees train Arabella
Shaymus nods bidding them to follow him where he leads them outside to his cellar.
He tells them they will find plenty of information they may need to kill Strahd.
As they enter Kycis immediately starts perusing the books finding books on Blood Magic, and Blood Hunters. While walking around Clement trips over a loose floorboard hitting a book shelf knocking down a book called “Barovian Legends.”
Within the book it explains Barovia was a land where two gods are worshipped the Morninglord (Lathander) and the Nightmother (Shar), eventually a warlord named Strahd von Zarovich came and conquered this land, where he ruled the land with a iron fist, however he would one day turn into a vampire and the Barovia would be shrouded by the mists. It also tells the story of several failed attempts to kill Strahd one of which succeeded but he simply returned
They gather some supplies like silver weapons and other vampire killing weapons.
As they step out they confront Shaymus about what is in the cellar, where he reveals his role in the one successful insurrection against Strahd, however when he returned he took Shaymus’ daughter turning her into a vampire as punishment
Since then Shaymus’ memories of his time in Barovia during the first insurrection have since faded, and with his current family he wasn’t willing to risk theIr safety again. But that he hid the clues to Strahd’s defeat to keep him from finding them, suggesting they visit a tower he once used as a homebase
He offers to let them stay the night to which they agree to do so
They awaken in the morning and leave to continue searching for the items that should help them slay Strahd
As they walk through the streets they are suddenly approached by a panicking lady (the same one whose child was being kidnapped earlier)
She tells them the Old Lady selling pastries came back and stole away her son
When asked where he may have been taken, she tells them it must be Old Bonegrinder
The party agrees to help her and quickly set off to the old windmill.
On the way there they are attacked by a group of zombies
They arrive at Old Bonegrinder a raven squawks as them agitated, something Ana notes as a warning, reminded that Shaymus once told her Ravens are to be trusted.
The raven flies down a path but the party approaches the windmill which they enter.
As they enter they see a child’s corpse and children’s bones scattered on the floor
Kycis and Clement both pissed cast fireball beginning to burn down the windmill.
A group of Dretches run down the stairs and the party kills them before fleeing the collapsing windmill.
As the party gazes at the rubble they hear the raven squawk again landing on a sign post.
It motions to the path it flew down earlier and Clement deduces the raven wants them to go down the path.
They follow the path to see ravens circling a stone circle where 3 Night Hags and a Man (Bandit) along with 4 kids.
One of the kids is dragged towards and altar in the center of the stone circle
The party intervenes and slay the hag and the man, managing to save all the kids
The kids begin to cry and freak out, but Kycis and Clement manage to calm them down when they agree to return them home to Barovia.
They return to Barovia, where they encounter a group of hunters outside the town looking panicked.
The hunters explain they had set out after the party to try and find the missing kids.
The party allows the hunters to take the kids to deliver them to their parents, returning to Shaymus’ house for the night. That night they are awoken by a scream of pain, rushing out they are attacked by 4 Werewolves.
After defeating the Werewolves, they hear a commotion coming from the living room where they see Alyssa holding an injured Thomas as Shaymus standing in front of Daniella (Vampire Blood Hunter Order of the Mutant and the Blonde Woman that the Party saw after visiting Lady Eva) Shaymus reveals that this is his daughter.
Clement goes to heal the injured Thomas as Daniella taunts Shaymus about his failure to protect his family again. 4 Werewolves burst in as the party kills them and Shaymus manages to “slay” his daughter.
Daniella turns into smoke as the party catches their breath. With Thomas healed, but blinded, Shaymus tells them to check on the rest of the town
The party rushes out to see Barovia is mostly untouched, except for the Burgomaster’s mansion which looks like it was attacked as well.
They rush to the mansion where they find it was been destroyed. Searching around they find the corpses of vampire spawn, wolves, and humanoids.
Eventually they come to a room where they find the dead body of Ismark with a stake driven through his own heart.
After investigating they determine he was bitten by a vampire and staked himself to stop the transformation
The party returns to Shaymus’s house where they inform him of what happened
The party leaves the next morning now more determined to defeat Strahd.
The party arrives in Vallaki again where they witness the events of the Festival of the Blazing Sun
They decide to head to the Blue Water Inn where they are informed by the bartender they are short on wine right now, offering them a free stay and food if they can get go to the Winery called the Wizard of Wines
The party agrees as Clement and Kycis decide to head the Church of St Andral’s
While Kycis donates some gold to the church and decides not to tell Ireena of her brother’s death (as well as discussing the book Tomb of Annhillation), Clement tries to contact his god
When he opens his eyes he finds himself in a black space, but instead of Illmater he encounters a woman (The raven Queen) she tells him the Gods can not pierce the veil of Barovia.
She then offers to assist Clement so long as he helps her children, but he seems apprehensive
With that the party sets out to the Wizard of Wines
Cut to Strahd who standing atop a balcony on Castle Ravenloft where he turns to a woman Vanesa Myasnikova (a Spores Druid Vampire) telling his bride to go to Yester Hill to insure that Wintersplinter is risen)
As Vanesa leaves Jazmin approaches Strahd and begs him to allow her to seek revenge on the party
Strahd is initially refuses, but as Jazmin begs for a chance to prove herself he agrees telling her to go to Berez and confront the group if they get too close to that accursed sword
They fight some wolves on the road, and then fight 6 Strahd Zombies
As they come to a crossroad (the signs pointing to Yester Hill, Berez, and the Wizard of Wines.
As they look around they notice that there is a gallow with a body hanging from it, as they approach they see Clements body hanging from the noose
They touch the body it disintergrates into ash.
They head to the Wizard of Wines, where they notice a flock of ravens flying above them.
They encounter a cowled man (Davian Martikov) who tells them 3 magic seeds power the winery, however evil druids from Yester Hill, working for a Hag living in the ruins of Berez. Believing the seeds have been taken there
The party agrees to head out to recapture the seeds, but the man asks them to clear out the winery first
The party agrees and when they approach the winery they fight 24 Twigblights and a Druid. After slaying half the twig blights Anastasia breaks the druid’s twisted staff.
They enter the Winery where they encounter 2 more Druids, clearing them out they find the first seed, still present in the winery
As they go back to meet with the man, they see 7 more ravens land and transform into people.
The man introduces himself as Davian Martikov, and the others being Adrian (his eldest son), Elvir (his youngest), Stefania (his daughter), and Dag Tomescu (Stefania’s husband), Claudiu (teenage son of Dag), Martin and Viggo (twin sons of Stefania) who are holding a baby named Yolanda. They explain the bartender/owner of the Blue Water Inn is Davian’s brother named Urwin Martikov
They introduce themselves as the owners of the winery and Keepers of the Feather
They explain they are followers of the Raven Queen, and oppose Strahd, which is why he is attacking their winery.
The party asks them to deliver wine to Vallaki, however they are told that they need the other seeds to begin production of the Winery.
With that the party heads to Yester Hill, encountering 3 Druids who they fight along the way.
They arrive at Yester Hill where they spot 6 Druids, 6 Berserkers, 3 Vine Blights, 6 Needle Blights. 12 Twig Blights, and Vanesa
The Druids and Vanesa are performing a ritual as the party approaches
A battle breaks out as those not performing the ritual hold back the party.
Eventually the ritual is complete and a Tree Blight (Wintersplinter) is created using one of the magic seeds
The battle continues as the party is brought to there last legs. Eventually Kycis uses fireball to destroy the Tree Blight. Meanwhile Clement fights Vanesa, when he is visted by the Raven Queen once again as he is on his last legs.
The Raven Queen once again offers her help, willing to serve as an intermediary for Illmater to empower Clement further
Clement agrees and when he flashes back to reality, with his newly empowered strength manages to take down Vanesa.
With the battle over and the party very injured, they collect the seed and Anastasia collects a magic axe she find planted in WinterSplinter. As the withered tree has the seed ripped from it, the Gulthias tree withers and dies.
The party rests for the night, and in the morning heads out to the Wizard of Wines, running into 4 Berserkers killing them.
Returning to the Winery, they deliver the seed to Davian to tells them Adrian has gone ahead to Berez, and that while they collect the 3rd and final seed he will begin the wine production so he can start deliveries again as soon as possible.
He informs them the hag in Berez is named Bab Lysaga and calls herself Strahd’s mother but they are unaware of the reason why as she is not actually related to Strahd.
As they make there way to Berez they set up camp for the night and man approaches.
Ana realizes that its a revenant that asks if they are an ally of Strahd
He asks if they are allies of Strahd, and when they deny the claim, he introduces themself as a member of the Order of the Silver Dragon.
He tells them to come to Agrynvostholt, but they tell him the need to go to Berez first.
Realizing why they are going there he wishes them luck in dealing with the witch.
They then hear a howling are attacked by 5 Werewolves and 1 Loup Garou
After they kill the monsters the revenant tells them to come by their hold when they have the chance
In the morning they head to Berez, where outside they meet Adrian in Raven form.
He takes a human form, and informs them that Baba Lysaga is in the town, and has captured some other wereraven allies.
Suddenly a bolder whizzes past the party as they hear the creaking of wood.
They turn towards the town to see a a hut atop moving roots approaching as Baba Lysaga
She cackles and alongside her Creeping Hut attacks the party.
After and intense battle, Kycis eventually manages to kill Baba Lysaga as Ana defeats the Creeping Hut
They as they approach the hut Clement notices a statue that reminds him of one of the Fortunes.
Clement tells them of the statue as Kycis frees the trapped ravens and Ana retrieves the seed
As they step outside the group gives the see to Adrian and inform him they will meet him back at the Winery. He thanks them for the help and departs as they group approaches the Statue
As the party approaches the statue and as they investigate it, Anastasia touches the statue causing 7 Zombies to burst from the ground (A Swarm of poisonous snakes burst from the corpses)
As the zombies surround the groups Jazmin appears stating she has come to get revenge on the party
A fight ensues where they handle the zombies with ease but Jazmin causes them more trouble managing to knocking down Clement during the fight
Anastasia is thrown into the statue shattering it knocking her out briefly.
As Kycis gets Clement to his feet, Anastasia notices a sword hilt grabbing it as Jazmin approaches Kycis and Clement preparing to kill them
Activating the Sunsword Jazmin screams in pain as the blades sunlight begins to burn her body away
Clement manages to grab Jazmin as Kycis fires off some spells hitting her, before Anastasia cuts off Jazmin’s head
Her body dissolves into ash permanently killing the vampire
The party exhausted from the fight decide to rest, when they awake they have to fight 4 Werewolves
Finishing off the werewolves the party leaves and returns to the Winery where Davian reveals he has the shipment of wine for Vallaki.
He then asks the party if they have visited Krezk when they say no
He explains Krezk rarely allows outsiders in, but if they need to go to Krezk they just needed to return here and he’ll give them another wine shipment
With that the party sets off back to Vallaki encountering a 3 Barovian Witches 4 Skeletons and 6 Strahd Zombies
When they return the bartender who thanks them and provides them with a meal and room as promised
The party rests for the night
Anastasia asks if Ireena has been informed of Ismark’s death, but Kycis states he didn’t
The party awakens to a free breakfast where Urwin Martikov says they have been called to the Church by Father Lucan
The party alongside Urwin head to the church
There they see Shaymus, Arabella, Lucan, and Ireena all there. Urwin reveals he is here as the representative of the Keepers of the Feather
Ireena looks at Kycis awkwardly as she talks with Arabella (Shaymus has told her of Ismark’s death)
The group convenes as they assess the current situation in Barovia
Lucan and Shaymus both note that if they want to get rid of Strahd they would need to finish the collecting the items Madam Eva told the party again
However left with the question of how rid Barovia of Strahd permanently Ana asks Shaymus whether he found anything at the Amber Temple
He admits he doesn’t remember what he found in the Temple not even remembering going that far into the mountains
Still he seems skeptical of anything that may be found there and even then they should first focus on gathering allies
Shaymus states that he could easily get the town of Barovia to assist in an uprising, and Father Lucan asserts he could sway the town of Vallaki to help if they can find a way to kill Strahd, that leaving Krezk the party states they can travel there to try and gain the assistance of the town
Ireena seems excited about Krezk, but before she can say anything Shaymus reveals a former colleague of his named Esmeralda De’Avenir
Anastasia asks who she is, to which Shaymus state she is another Blood Hunter, but not from the Order of the Ghostslayer like them, rather she is part of the Order of the Profane Soul who devel the furthest in to Blood Magic mentioning the two don’t see eye to eye
The party mentions the Revenant and Argynvosthost, to which Lucan reveals that it was once an order of knights that served a silver dragon named Argynvost before Strahd killed them all and the dragon. Rumors they had become revenants had been all over Barovia but no one dared to raid the manor lest the rumors were true.
Urwin mentions that the Keepers of the Feather can keep an eye on Strahd’s forces as well as investigate the Amber Temple to see if anything of use is there.
With the group finishing the conversation Shaymus pulls the group aside informing them that Arabella should be capable enough to join them she is now a Spirit Bard
As Shaymus leaves Arabella in their care, Ireena approaches them asking to join them asking to journey with them to Krezk
They initially refuse but after she begs them revealing that she has been having dreams calling her there and threatens to go there on her own they concede allowing her to come with them.
With that the party leaves Vallaki with Krezk in their sights
The party arrives once more at the Wizard of Wine where they see the Martikovs loading up another wagon
They offer to take the wagon to Krezk explaining their need to enter the town to which the Martikovs agree giving them a amulet with the symbol of the Keepers of the Feather of they run into any trouble
As they reach the woods of Krezk they note the trees have clearly showing signs of werewolves.
After a bit of investigation with Ana drawing on her knowledge of monsters they determine this must mean a den for the werewolves is nearby
The party arrives at Krezk where the guards tell them to turn back
The party states they are hear to deliver wine to the town and one of the guards runs off to fetch the Burgomaster
The Burgomaster questions the groups intentions, but after hearing they are associated with the Keepers of the Feather and the guards confirming the barrels do indeed contain wine they are allowed in
The party is searched for any sign of lycanthropy and are allowed in despite some distrust due to Ana’s condition
The party decides to head to the local tavern first
As they enter and order a meal they listen to the rumors in the crowd
They over hear rumors regarding werewolf attacks, one of the survivors from the last uprising against Strahd hiding in the abbey, the death of the Burgomaster’s son due to some unknown illness, an old wizard tower that served as a monster hunter’s base a while ago, and that the Abbot never seeming to age and how he must be an associate of Strahd
The party discusses their next move with Clement stating he wants to visit the Abbey to see if he can talk to the Abbot about something
Kycis notices Ireena seems to be shifting in her chair anxious
Suddenly Ireena stands up and quickly walks out of the tavern
The party follows and calls out to her but she doesn’t respond as if in a trance
They come to a small blue pool where the voice of a man calls out to Tatyana.
Confused Anastasia stops Ireena from entering the pool of water as in the reflection a man who looks like a living Strahd
The party talks with the reflection learning this is Sergei Von Zarovich the original owner of the Sunsword
Still the party is suspicious of the man but when Ireena demands to be released so she can join him they are shocked enough to give her an opening to rush into the pool
In a flash of light Ireena disappears reappearing in the reflection next to Sergei
The two both thank the party for leading Ireena hear, stating the curse Strahd had brought upon the land had kept the two lovers separated for so long.
As a thanks for their assistance promising Ireena would be out of Strahd’s grasp, Sergei vanishes with Ireena leaving behind a crystalline blade at the bottom of the pool, the Sunsword’s original blade.
Anastasia enters the pool grabbing the blade as the Sunsword seems to hum in danger.
Looking up they see Strahd’s face form in the clouds as he yells “SHE IS MINE!”
Lightning strikes the pools sending Anastasia flying back as the other two party members barely manage to avoid it
As Clement heals Ana the Crystal Blade and Sunsword are drawn together fusing into one blade
After collecting themself and wishing the best for Ireena the party decides to head to the Abbey first
The party encounters guards outside the Abbey and wake them up asking to see the Abbot
As the guards go to lead them they notice they are Mongrelfolk
They are led to the main hall where they see the Abbot helping the woman, after some thought Kycis identifies it as a Flesh Golem
The Abbot introduces her as Vasilika as Ana notes her resemblance to Ireena and The Abbot states the Morninglord has ordered her to marry Strahd to end the curse on Barovia
Clement seeing the Abbot in full notes this man is a Deva, and is in awe of him
The Abbot asks the party to find a wedding dress for the golem to which they state they will do it at Clement’s urging
Ana and Kycis clearly don’t trust the Abbot, while Clement asks to speak to the Abbot privately
Despite being of different gods Clement confesses fear at being unable to talk to Illmater directly and his insecurities regarding his fears that he has been abandoned
Despite the Abbot’s reassurances Clement eventually realizes the Abbot is insane, and thanks him for his time before going to rejoin the party.
As the party prepares to leave a guard enters stating the Burgomaster requests the Abbot’s presence as the two leave the party decides to look around asking the Mongrelfolk about the rumored monster hunter
They state they know who they talk about and agree to lead them to them
They are led to the barracks and enter noticing the main room has been made into a makeshift alchemical workshop
There is a lady standing over an alchemist set who turns demanding to know who is disturbing her
The party introduces themself and the woman introduces herself as Esmeralda D’Avenir
The party explains their intentions for seeking her out to which she flatly refuses stating she wouldn’t work with the Old Man again
The party inquires why learning she was friends with Shaymus’ wife and sees his remarriage as a betrayal of her friend
Kycis points out Strahd is a far greater threat than their personal scruples
Ez states that last time they killed Strahd he just came back, to which Clement asks what they can do to gain her assistance.
Seeing he is a holy man she offers to assist them if they can help a newborn in town who was born soulless, explaining she was in Krezk searching for a way using alchemy to help the town’s significant population of soulless people.
When asked why she doesn’t go to the Abbot for help, she states she doesn’t trust that madman, and stays here to keep an eye on him
The party agrees and she motions for them to follow her as she leads them back into the town
They come to a house where Ez knocks on the door and is greeted by the woman, who lets them inside
Ez asks to see her newborn to which the woman agrees leading him to a room where the child lays in a crib looking nearly lifeless
Ez motions for Clement to go ahead as he casts Lesser Restoration on the child.
Clement focuses his magic realizing that the solution isn’t permanent, but still the child looks much healthier
The child begins to giggle and grasps Clement’s finger as the mom begins to cry with joy
The group exits the house as Clement admits to Ez that he couldn’t heal the child fully, but Ez states that even if they couldn’t heal the child fully the relief they brought was more than enough, and says she will assist them in their fight against Strahd
With that Ez departs to gather her things to meet up with the other resistance members, stating if Ana wants help with her curse to visit the old wizard tower the two once used as a base
As the party begins to consider their next move they are approached by the Abbot who says they should come with him
He leads them to the Burgomaster’s Mansion where the Burgomaster and his wife are outside hugging a young boy
The Abbot greets the two and states that the party was the other people he spoke of to the Burgomaster
Confused the party asks what is going on, which the Burgomaster’s wife explain she has agreed to go to Vallaki where she knows the Burgomaster there has an old wedding dress they can borrow and the ABbot said three others would be willing to accompany her there
The party once more agrees to the job and the Burgomaster’s wife states she will be ready for the journey in 3 days and tells them she will meet them at the inn
The party agrees and goes to retire for the night where the party discusses the Abbot’s madness and the epidemic of soulless children in Krezk, with Clement stating that the Burgomaster’s child was also soulless.
Cut to Strahd shattering a mirror in the room as he rants in anger at losing Tatyana to Sergei once again
As he shatters a dresser he calls out of Daniella and Vanesa demanding they come to him
As the two immediately enter the room he demands to know how their preparations for the Ritual of Ascendance. They confirm that the ritual will be ready within the month and with the death of Jazmin they will need another sacrifice
He rejects finding a sacrifice immediately, instead he needs they first need to deal with the interlopers
He enters the throne room drawing a ritual circle on the ground with three spots depicting a sword, shield, and tome.
Activating the ritual three beings (keep them shadowed and out of sight)
He then turns to Vanesa ordering her to go with them to go to the old Wizard Tower and make sure there isn’t anything there they could find useful, and then head to the Werewolf den and prepare to attack Krezk
Vanesa nods and departs with the three shadowed figures while Daniella remains
Strahd tells her to bring her that girl that came from Barovia (Gertruda the daughter of Mad Mary) and then meet up with their ally in the Gur to gather information on other potential sacrifices
The party decides in the morning to investigate the old wizard tower making their way out of town
As they make their way to the tower they are attacked by 3 Dire Wolves, 2 Werewolves, and 6 Wolves
Defeating the group the party comes to the edge of Lake Baratok, where they see the tower off in the distance with three silhouettes entering it
The party concerned begins to sneak towards the tower where they over hear voices talking inside telling them to tear the place apart
They hear rummaging as with a short debate the party decides to bust in seeing three copies of each party member (This shadow anastasia is a human) tearing through books in the tower.
A fight ensues as the Kycis tries protect as many books as Shadow Kycis tries to destroy as many books as possible taunting him about his thirst for knowledge leading to his demise
Anastasia’s shadow holds up a book titled Dhampirism and taunts her about her curse as the two fight
Clement’s shadow meanwhile taunts his inability to hear Illmater telling him that his god has abandoned him
After a tough fight the party manages to defeat the shadows but in the process of the battle the tower’s unstable structure had been compromised and grabbing what they can they make there escape.
In the chaos the group grabs as many books as they can grabbing (the book titled Dhampirism, 3 Books on Blood Magic, A Book labelled the Shadowfell and Dread Domains, and finally an untitled book being the Tome of Strahd)
Taking a breather, the party begins to page through the the most relevant books, learning that Dread Domains like Barovia are formed when a powerful being makes a deal with a powerful force only known as the Dark Powers, Anastasia learns that in order to cure herself that she needs to kill the progenitor vampire that cursed her and then need to receive assistance from a Cleric and their god. Even true resurrection wouldn’t cure them as Dhampirs are not true undead. Finally they learn Strahd’s backstory
They discuss the contents as they hear howls in the distance, hiding within the rubble to take cover as 8 Werewolves arrive at the scene investigating the commotion. After searching for a while one of the wolves demands that the people hiding show themselves
The party emerges and the werewolves cackle in joy
They mention that Strahd will reward them handsomely for killing them
A fight ensues too which the party comes out victorious but one of the werewolves flees during the fight
The party tracks the werewolf, all the way back to the werewolf den (As the party is unable to sleep during the night due to a curse, though Clement cures them in the morning)
The party arrives outside the werewolf den where they see 2 Werewolves standing guard.
Sneaking up to the entrance they attack the 2 Werewolves, but fail to prevent one of them ringing the alarm bell
The party rushes in to the cave fighting their way to the Shrine of the Night Mother (They fight 8 Werewolves, and 9 Wolves)
They enter the Shrine, where they see a black tome sitting there. Standing protectively over a group of 8 children is Zuleika Toranescu, who is protecting them as Kiril Stoyanovich rages demanding the children be killed, standing their watching with amusement is 6 Dryads and Vanesa
As the party makes their presence known Kiril howls in rage before Vanesa approaches telling him these were the people Strahd wanted killed and that Strahd can grant any wish of his if he kills them
A battle ensues as the party while fighting Kiril, Vanesa, and the Dryads Arabella manages to convince Zuleika to help them.
They manage to take down Kiril and the Dryads while Vanesa gets an advantage over Clement
In the meantime Kycis manages to grab hold of the book, and immediately finds himself in a black space
Before him appears Mystra;s avatar congratulating him for finding the Infinite Grimoire
She offers him the role of her chosen, but Kycis refuses stating he would rather pursue knowledge on his own
She chuckles at the response seeming a amused stating that she will watch him with interest
Before she can leave Kycis asks why he can contact her while Clement is unable to contact Illmater
She reveals that this book is a fragment of her divine power allowing her to pierce the mists but Illmater has no such artifact
As the vision fades away Kycis sees the fight continuing
He engages in the fight activating Silver Wind Strike killing Vanesa. With her body exposed to the sun her body crumbles to ash as the party takes a breather
As the fight calms down Zuleika thanks the party for their help, revealing that she had been unwillingly been turned into a werewolf by Kiril and he had kidnapped these children from a town outside Barovia
Clement offers to remove her curse and says she and the children can take refuge in Krezk for the time being
She agrees as Clement cures her of Lycanthropy
Before the party can continue their discussion they are interrupted by a slow clap
The party turns to see Strahd commenting on how nice this scene was before stating the party has a book that belongs to him
He demands it back and he’ll let everyone live, to which the party promptly refuses
Strahd sighs dramatically and states he will have to kill them then, and attacks them
He immediately targets Ana taking her down almost immediately commenting on his sorrow that she should’ve accepted his gift rather than becoming this disgusting half breed, He then takes down clement commenting on the uselessness of him and his god and that soon even the sunlight will no longer hurt him
He then takes down Arabella commenting on how sad her father and uncle would be to see her like this
In the process of this fight Kycis flees, managing to hide behind some boulders on a cliff edge outside the cave
Strahd exits looking around for Kycis and dragging an unconscious Zuleika, and unable to find him leaves with Zuleika’s body
Kycis waits a few hours before going inside to check on the others
He sees the 8 children have been drained of their blood but Strahd and the unconcious bodies of Arabella, Ana, and Clement
He wakes them up but before Kycis can get in a word Ana walks off on her own (barely holding her hunger back seeing the bloody mess)
Clement and Kycis decide they need to bury the bodies exiting the cave with the bodies where they see Ana barely holding it together
Kycis stays back and tries to talk to Anastasia but she refuses to talk to him snapping at him to leave
Clement and Arabella meanwhile buries the bodies and performs burial rites meant to prevent them from becoming undead
He noticeably struggles to do so feeling like his connection to Illmater was weakened.
Clement and Arabella has a conversation about Clement’s struggles to which Arabella tries to encourage him
Kycis apologizes to Anastasia for running, to which she states was probably a smart idea, but she was struggling with her hunger
The party regroups and decides to head back to Krezk disposing of the Tome of Strahd in Lake Baratok in the mean time
Cut back to Strahd’s castle where he finishes preparing for Zuleika to be turned into a vampire
Daniella approaches him concerned the party has killed both Jazmin and Vanesa
Strahd dismisses this stating that their allies in Vallaki will serve as a distraction and with Zuleika and Gerturda they now have enough sacrifices for the Ritual and will be moving full steam ahead into its completion and that once they ascend no one will be able to stop them
That Daniella can have revenge on her father for trapping them in this land that prevented her from being able to find her younger brother
The party returns to Krezk for the night and another day passes as they recover (time skip it)
They meet with the Krezk Burgomaster’s Wife (KBW) in the morning to leave for Vallaki
They make their way to Vallaki with 12 Guards and KBW
On there way there they have 4 sets of fights one against 3 Cursed Dolls, 2 Scarecrows and 1 Barovian Witch losing 1 guard, the second being 6 Zombies and 8 Strahd Zombies in these battles 2 guards die, the third being 12 Wolves and 3 Dire Wolves losing 3 guards.
They arrive in Vallaki where the groups spilt up with KBW’s entourage going to meet the Burgomaster to inquire about borrowing the dress while the party visits the tailor where they are overcharged due to Kycis and Ana being non human
As they step outside they notice a new poster talking about the Festival of the Shining Moon
They head to the Burgomaster’s mansion to ask about KBW, they are granted an audience with the Burgomaster there who tells them she was refused
However recently a man named Arrigal told him that there is a plot to assassinate him and that if the party stops the plot he will part with the dress
The party agrees and decides to meet back up with KBW at the inn
As they arrive the Watcher brothers come in and begin to drink
Anastasia talks with KBW for a bit having a bit of a heart to heart afterwards KBW heads up to her room to get some rest
They begin discussing what their next move is
When asking about who the Burgomaster’s enemies are Ana says there are a ton because of his actions meaning there is plenty of people who would try to kill him
Clement notices that the brothers are beginning to make a ruckus approaching them to get them to leave
They leave without a fight as they drunkenly talk about their mother’s plan and how it will just get them all killed
After sending the two outside Clement returns to the group revealing what the brothers said
Ana states that Lady Watcher is a major enemy of the Burgomaster and due to their tension that she rarely leaves the house
However she has a book club that many powerful people part of it
The party returns and informs the Burgomaster of the plot who asks them to handle her however they wish
They decide to find the brothers first and asks some questions, finding them drunk in a haybale
To get info Clement begins to sermonize to them which takes a bit to gain their trust
He turns the sermon to one of personal suffering and the brother mention their mother being horrible and her scheme
They also mention their mother drove their sister insane after she failed to marry her off to the Burgomaster’s son
They mention they want to rescue their sister but can’t do anything against her and now want nothing to do with her
They head to the house breaking in and finding Lady Watcher and Arrigal there waiting for them
They offer them to join them for tea where Lady Watcher flashes her newly acquired vampire fangs to Clement a fight ensues with Lady Watcher (Vampire Spawn), Arrigal, and 24 Cultists.
The fight is relatively easy and begins to search through the house finding the Watcher daughter. Clement cures her temporarily of her madness and as the party leaves he and the daughter go to the church to get her fully healed
The rest of the party goes to the Burgomaster’s mansion where they tell him what happened. He thanks them giving them the dress as a reward
They meet back up with Clement who along with Father Lucan cured her of her madness and they go find her brothers who are glad to see she is well
As thanks for their help they offer to do anything for the party to which Arabella asks them to help fight Strahd which they agree.
The party returns to Krezk with KBW coming with them, however they spilt up at the gates the party not wanting to see the aftermath of the Abbot’s schemes
When KBW asks what they can do for the party as thanks for their help they secure her help against Strahd
With this the party decides to head to Agrynvostholt
One the way there they encounter a Dullahan which absolutely wrecks Kycis before leaving
They come to the manor where they see a Silver Dragon statue out front.
They investigate around the manor hearing people walking around upstairs
Eventually they enter a room with a lit fire place which forms a Fiery Spirit of the Dragon
He reveals that the Revenant are restless because of Strahd killing him and that to begin the process of putting them to rest they must retrieve his skull and bring it here
The party asks why the skull is he states his knights should know where Strahd had placed it and that right now they should be gathered in the Dragon’s Audience Hall
The party agrees to seek out the knights heading to the Audience Hall where they see Vladimir Horngaard and 23 other Revenants gathered, Vladimir does his whole spiel (see book I ain’t writing all that)
The party states they are simply there to return the Dragon’s skull to the knights to which Vladimir accepts telling them Strahd took it to Castle Ravenloft
With that the party sets off to Castle Ravenloft unnerved by the fact Strahd’s allies don’t attack them as they enter
They begin to explore the castle running into a mongrelfolk named Cyrus who insists they return to their rooms but doesn’t do anything to actually stop them as they find the room with the Dragon Skull
Deciding to further explore the castle potentially finding the sword Madam Eva told them about
They explore finding a room with a destroyed cake (Sergei and Tatyana’s wedding cake)
They end up fighting 3 Swarms of Rats before coming to Strahd’s library where Kycis finds a Nether Scroll
Kycis begins to talk Ana and Clement’s ear off about the Nether Scroll, when Arabella using her magic manages to find a secret passage behind the fireplace
She calls back to the party where they enter, walking through a hallway till they came to a door where they find a miniature fortress. Entering inside Arabella finds the Oghma’s Saber
Grabbing it Arabella has a vision of Oghma who asks her to tell him a story
She tells him an old Gurri fairytale/folk song (while playing the violin) and amused by this he states he likes her and names her his chosen
Confused Arabella awakens from the vision, but with the weapon secured the party flees the Castle encountering 3 Vampire Spawn on their way out
They make there way back to Agrynvostholt, where the dragon spirit appears before them outside telling them to return the skull to the Mausoleum as it is the cure of Vladimir’s madness
The party makes their way to the mausoleum where Anastasia enters and places the skull, the Dragon’s Spirit bursts from the skull and flies out of the mausoleum to the top of the mansion’s beacon exploding in a brilliant light as a beacon shoots into the sky
The party climbs up the beacon’s tower where in the right windowsill sits the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind
Clement takes the symbol and is taken to the black space where he sees the Raven Queen alongside Illmater
The Raven Queen states she has fulfilled her end of the bargain and will depart allowing the god and his progeny to talk
Illmater congratulates Clement for completing the tribulations put forth by Barovia the two have an extended conversation
The party descends the tower to see the Knights of the Silver Dragon waiting outside
They thank the party and when the party reveals they seek to destroy Strahd Vladimir next to Sir Godfrey agree to assist to them.
With that the party departs as they meet a Wereraven on the road who informs them Rahadin (the elf) and Alexei are headed to the Amber Temple
Arabella decides to leave the party for the time to prepare for the Final battle and gather the allies
The party sets up camp with the Temple in their sights in the morning the Party and Arabella go separate ways
The party makes their way to Tsolenka Pass where they fight Sangzor Kycis nearly gets hit off the cliffside
As they make their way across the bridge they hear a horrible shriek of a Roc which swoops down to attack them, but they manage to take cover in the guard towers, after some time the Roc leaves
However the group is ambushed by 6 Snow Maidens
Eventually they reach the gate where they accidentally trigger the trap releasing 2 Vrocks which they fight and kill
Finally getting through the gate they see with a massive wooden spike driven through their body the Abbot having been skewered
Alexei walks out and taunts the party calling them as foolish as the Abbot
A fight ensues between them which ends when Alexei explodes in a ball of necrotic energy killing Kycis
Clement manages to revive him but Ana is pulled into the black space where Alexei absolves her of guilt and apologizes for leaving her but whatever magic Strahd had done to him now meant he could no longer be revived.
Alexei then explains to her Strahd plans a ritual called the Ritual of Ascendance which would make him immune to all the weaknesses of a vampire and that to perform this ritual he is sacrificing 3 vampires and 12 Vampire spawn and if the ritual is complete then the party would stand no chance against him
The two perform funeral rights for Alexei and The Abbot before heading off and approaching the Amber Temple
As the reach the Amber Temple Rahadin steps out declaring he has come to put an end to the party
A fight ensues with him managing to kill him
Strahd stands in the north tower watching the land of Barovia as people begin to assemble in Vallaki
Daniella approaches him once more informing him the ritual will begin soon, and that come morning his ascension will be complete
Cut back to the party as they enter the Amber temple. Coming to the overlook where the see a massive statue depicting an ancient faceless God of Secrets
As they walk through the temple they come across a dilapidated bookshelf with a journal on it
They read through it describing from a scholar that this temple was crafted by an ancient order of wizards known as the Faceless
They had created this temple to seal away dark evils in a place far from most civilizations
The scholar theorizes that as the temple original purpose was forgotten and generations went on the descendants of the Faceless would go on to form the 4 towns that would become Barovia when Strahd came to conquer these lands
He notes that clearly the danger that lies within has been lost as the ruins have become inhabited by wandering barbarians
The book mentions Strahd had hired him to come and investigate these ruins and the scholar believes Strahd to become paranoid about his aging
Still the scholar doesn’t care as he can finally conduct his research here signing off the journal of Heinrich Stolt
As they walk through the temple they not the skulls on the ground shattered and destroyed, to which Anastasia identifies as former flameskulls
Kycis theorizes these must have been the spirits of the Faceless Wizards in order to protect this place
The group comes to the Upper West Hall where they find a skeleton clutching a staff of frost. Kycis takes the staff and becomes corrupted with a craving for power
Ana and Clement become concerned as Kycis begins to act strangely this being confirmed when they find the false bottom in the chest and he takes the Tome of Understanding
They remove the curse place upon Kycis and he returns to normal giving the Tome to Clement to use
Eventually the party comes to the Secret room of a former, however the phalactery has been destroyed and the lich’s body lies dead and decayed on the ground
They investigate the room finding another of Heinrich’s journals where he mentions Strahd came and made some sort of deal with the most dangerous of powers held in the deepest part of the temple
The journal then describes the direct aftermath of Barovia becoming a dread domain, and Heinrich’s decision to become a lich to find a way to escape the domain, making his own deal with the Dark Powers
It then describes some of his his attempts before coming to multiple pages ripped out
The book then describes how he has finally found a method to leave Barovia, but it requires the curse upon the land to be stopped as detailed in previous pages
The last page mentions how he can’t trust anyone as Strahd’s agents are every and surely seek to end his life, thus he will hide his pages where no one will find them
After investigating the room some more leading them to the lowest portion of the temple
There they fight a Relentless Juggernaut
During the fight the Juggernaut shatters the wall sealing off the Amber Vault
After slaying the monster the party steps into the Amber Vault as Dark Smoke seeps out from the three coffins
As if said from a thousand voices the coffins ask if the party seeks “Eternal Power and Uncontestable Strength, The Greatest of Arcane Secrets, or the Power to Restore Life with a Touch”
The party flatly refuses demanding to know how to end the Curse on Barovia the Powers taunt them the Curse is eternal, that so long as the deal stands Barovia will forever remain in the Shadows
Kycis threatens the power stating he will find a way to destroy them, but they dismiss his threats
During this Clement notices a leather case hidden behind one of the coffins
Approaching it he finds inside the missing journal pages describing to end the curse one needs to harness Divine Power, when Strahd is in his truest form, to sever his connection to Barovia
With this in mind the Party leaves the Amber temple and makes there way back outside
Arriving outside they see a Wereraven waiting for them who informs them that the resistance has assembled in Vallaki and provides them with healing potions the restore them back to normalcy
The party arrives outside Vallaki where they see a large number of people have amassed prepared to raid Strahd. Cheers can be heard as the party enters, as Arabella (who is helping with preparations) calls them over
Arabella leads them to a tent in the center of the town where The Burgomasters of Vallaki and Krezk, Davian and Urwin Martikov, Esmeralda De’Avenir, Shaymus and Alyssa O’Connor there surrounding a map of the castle
It is mentioned that while the Gur are not directly joining the uprising they have supplied various necessities at a reasonable price thanks to Arabella
Davian states that their scouts have noted Strahd has amassed as many monsters as possible within the walls of Ravenloft, he has also retreated into the catacombs of Ravenloft, and that the assault will be difficult
Alyssa states that whatever Strahd has been planning must be coming to a head with Esmeralda agreeing stating an immense amount of arcane energy has been gathered near the castle
They notice the party arrival asking if they found a way to sever the curse in the Amber Temple
The party confirms they have and explain that they will need to cut Strahd’s connection to the land when he enters whatever his true form is
Shaymus explains the plan with the Keepers of the Feather engaging in an aerial assault on the castle’s forces, The amassed armies of Vallaki, Barovia, and Krezk will engage in a frontal assault of the castle lead by the Burgomasters and Alyssa, finally Shaymus and Esmeralda will accompany the group ensuring they can reach Strahd without difficultly with Arabella helping them fight Strahd
When asked if the party needs anything they say no and Shaymus nods stating then let the battle begin
The army marches to Castle Ravenloft as the opening part of the battle begins with Trebuchets and Ballasta from both sides launch attacks
As the Barovian army breaches the walls of Castle Ravenloft a swarm of Zombies, Winged Horrors, Werewolves, Wolves, and other monsters rush to meet the Barovian army as the Party rushes into the fray
They fight their way through Strahd’s army eventually making their way to the castle gates
As they enter the Castle they are confront by Daniella and a group of Vampire Spawn as Shaymus and Esmeralda tell them to continue on and find Strahd
The party fights their way to the catacombs where they are see Strahd, 2 Vampire Spawn, 3 Animated Armors, and Various Zombies that are scattered amongst the Catacombs. 12 Vampire Spawn, Zuleika (now a vampire), and Gerturda (now a vampire) float in the air around a ritual circle bound by magic chains made of blood and dark magic
Strahd orders the his minions to attack and a battle ensues
As the fight rages on Kycis feels thrum of power from his Grimoire and set of words appear in the book Kycis’ Undead Extermination
A silver light fills the room as various copies of Kycis appears throughout the battle field unleashing waves of slashing magical force that cuts down the Zombies, Animated Armor, and the 2 attacking Vampire Spawn
Strahd snarls and enters the battle himself as the party fights him till the Heart of Ravenloft is destroyed causing Strahd to scream in pain. He sends out a wave of magic that sends the party back yelling for Daniella to come so the ritual can be complete
As Daniella appears in the staircase in a flood of mist Strahd, smirks activating his magic teleporting her to the ritual circle as she is bound by the same blood magic chains
Strahd limps towards the center of the circle, as Shaymus and Esmeralda enter the catacombs, Esmeralda distracts Strahd with a crossbow bolt as he snarls storming towards the two.
Shaymus rushes past Strahd taking an attack as he rushes towards the Ritual circle
As the party recovers they and Ez begin to fight Strahd as Shaymus begins to eliminate the vampire spawn and other sacrifices
Eventually Shaymus gets to Daniella apologizing to her for failing her before eliminating her
With the ritual foiled Strahd screams in rage as black magical force bursts from his body once more sending the combatants flying back the damage being enough to finally knock Shaymus and Ez unconcious
Strahd takes on his true form (something spooky and shadowy)
As the four party members get to their feet, Ana’s sunsword’s light is diminished
The shadows grow trapping the four in black spaces as Strahd’s laughter can be heard telling them he will turn them all to his spawn and use him for his ascension
Anastasia sees Strahd in her space and tries to attack him only for nothing to happen as she begins to be thrown around
Kycis sees the Dullahan which no matter how he tries to escape from it, it catches up to him attacking him
Clement sees Illmater rejecting him as he sees his skin crack as he becomes a Fallen Aasimar
Arabella stands in her space seeing the others being attacked but is unable to help crying out for help
She feels her saber thrum as Oghma’s voice tells her to play a song of joy, she questions how that could help, but receives no answer
With no other option she begins to play her violin as her sword thrums before it begins to glow brightly
The shadows begin to recede as Strahd yells once more in rage as the Sunsword blazes to light once more
Clement feels his strength return as he shatters the fake Illmater with divine magic
Kycis fires a bolt of magical energy destroying the Dullahan
Finally Anastasia’s sword glows brightly and she destroys the fake Strahd
The final fight begins with Anastasia gaining the final blow as Strahd’s body taking the form of a black orb
The party questions what the orb is when Clement feels an intense warmth seeing the Avatar of Illmater appearing before them
The avatar states this is the Curse physically manifested and invites Clement to but an end to this suffering
Clement agrees and with god and mortal working in tandem a bright light surrounds the orb causing it to vanish
The party wakes up Shaymus and Ez helping them outside
Where the people of Barovia celebrate the arrival of the heroes as the mists and clouds surrounding Barovia retreat
Cut to the party in Barovia as Clement finishes using magic to cure Ana of her condition
With that Kycis and Ana with Arabella leave as Clement remains to help the people of Barovia rebuild and hopefully help those who still suffer the ill effects of the Curse
Arabella decides to travel the world and learn more stories the world has to offer
Anastasia returns to Parnast alone having been unsuccessful at raising her brother deciding to settle down for the rest of her days
Kycis returns to Candlekeep having penned a book called Curse of Strahd
The way you built the atmosphere around Strahd’s presence especially that eerie tension in the quieter moments really pulled me in, it feels heavy in the best way. I’m curious though, are you planning to dive deeper into his past motivations later on, or keep that mystery lingering a bit longer?
The way you built the atmosphere around Strahd’s presence especially that eerie tension in the quieter moments really pulled me in, it feels heavy in the best way. I’m curious though, are you planning to dive deeper into his past motivations later on, or keep that mystery lingering a bit longer?