Sunny Barovia

 8/22/23 We woke up fairly refreshed.   I took some time to ritually cast Identify on the goat, and sure enough, it was under the influence of some sort of Polymorph spell. Now the Polymorph I’m familiar with fades after about an hour, so this must be some sort of higher, more complex variation.   I realized it may be beyond my capabilities, but as we had nothing to lose, I tried Dispel Magic at my highest level. Low and behold, the goat transformed into a young man named Edrin, just as Connell had said.   For those of you keeping score, this is the young man the rest of the party was hired to retrieve when I elected to tag along, before we found ourselves in this accursed land. He was overwhelmed with gratitude and was eager to join us as repayment.   It was easy to see this young man was a bit of a pampered dandy and likely would only be an impediment in the field.   So, for now, we put him to work with the rest of the household staff, and he may ev...

 8/8/23 Between the zombie fight and the tour of Ireena’s past lives, we decided that we really weren’t up for a confrontation with Baba Lysaga right now, if we could possibly help it. I was exhausted, Connell even more so, or so it looked. It was getting late, but we figured we could likely make it back to Vallaki by nightfall.   I was still in the hellhound form, so I scouted forward to lead our little group, which now included the goat, apparently.   We waded back through the muck of the swamp and finally got back to solid ground. My spell dropped and I regained my normal shape and faculties. After about 45 minutes or so, we came to the part of the path where we had seen glimpses of an old castle through the fog.   Laz raised a finger as he looked about, clearly listening for something.   We paused, then from the south the sound of hoofbeats.   Many hoofbeats. Getting closer.   Soon, a dark banner designating some unrecognized military unit ...

 

(Written by Abe Barker) The boy stood alone after Ireena collapsed at the base of the stone monument and the five nearby men followed suit immediately thereafter. For the briefest moment, the boy assessed his circumstances as his friends and traveling companions lay silent on the soft, damp soil. Then he got to work dragging the magus clear of the puddle he’d fallen into. I landed nearby and absently scratched at the earth as the boy lay the unarmored man on his side and checked to ensure he was breathing. After that, he checked Ireena, and then each of the other fallen men. When he was done, he looked at me. “Maybe a spell?” he asked, glancing at the monument. “None of them are hurt, and they seem to be sleeping, but I can’t wake them. Also, I was closer than both Connell and Carl, but I didn’t feel anything.” I almost answered, but that would have been pointless, as the mountain druid was as unconscious as his companions. Instead, I dug deep and did my best. ‘Wayyyt’ I managed to say...