Sunny Barovia

 Note the following was written with generous help from AI.  I cobbled together the best responses (in my opinion) and filled in blanks myself.   7/22/25 Day 43 Wolfram and Oloch were looking worse for wear after their fight with the ghouls and needed a short rest. Not a long rest — that would require something approaching safety — but a short one to stop the bleeding and gather ourselves. We debated where. I suggested we not camp in piles of bat dung. Basic hygiene. We couldn’t all fit in one crypt, so Oloch and Wolfram sat down in one, with Dacso as overwatch. The others kept watch in the halls and I went back into Wizard Nimblenobs crypt to better examine his staff.   Looked enchanted. Carvings. Ornate design. I cast Identify on it.   Turned out to be wood. Just... wood. Nimblenob’s Staff of False Hopes, evidently. I put it back. No comment. Our rest went uninterrupted. Fighters look better. Irina kept watch. Good woman. Capable. Doesn’t talk to...

  7/15/25 Day 43 At one point during the session, the party split.   Abe was kind enough to write up a summary of what Carl and Dacso did not witness.   See * below.   Thanks Abe! I still had several minutes left in my Detect Magic spell, so we continued to walk the hallways and determine which crypts or doors had magic emanating from them or behind them. As we were doing that, we came across a crypt without a door.   As soon as we approached, we were attacked by a giant spider, much like what we faced at Castle Argynvost.   As it came out, Dacso immediately dispatched it with his bow.   He stepped forward, saw another spider inside and killed it with two more well placed arrows.   The was one left, but Wolfram stepped in and ended it with his Sunsword. Compared to how we struggled against this just a week or so ago, this seemed almost anti-climactic.   I’m not complaining, mind you.   I just find it interesting how quickly we’...

  7/8/25 Day 43 We climbed the rope to the balcony.   Fortunately, the railing held and we all made it up. It was good to be out of the water, even though we were all still soaking wet. Laz felt he could pound a hole through the door and work the spike out that he had put in the other side.   I started to ritually cast Identify to check on the sword.   The others settled in for a short rest. After about five minutes of hammering, we heard voices on the other side of the door.   Someone said, “What’s all that noise?   Where is it coming from?” Laz stopped hammering. There was more muffled discussion that I couldn’t make out, but it told us there was more than one person on the other side of the door.   Laz started making low moans, or as he called it, using his “zombie voice.” The voices said something about maybe taking a wrong turn and went quiet.   Laz set aside his tools and sat back to rest, hoping to give time for our visito...

  7/14/25 Day 43 Laz moved back to the northern group of cells to open the few remaining locks.   I waded through the fetid water and watched him work.   Behind me I heard Wolfram talking to Lady Ireena.   Seldom had I heard the Paladin so tongue tied. He explained the circumstances of finding the magic sword, but he was stumbling over his words like a nervous teenager talking to the prettiest girl at the fair.   I had suspected that he was developing stronger feelings for Lady Ireena, and this conversation seemed to confirm it. I won’t (because I can’t) try and quote everything Wolfram told her.   But he ended it with, “…And that’s why I want you to have this sword.” She accepted the sword with her expected grace and confirmed that she also detected the sword’s emotions. Oh, gods.   My eyes rolled so hard I could see the back of my skull.   I moved closer to Laz to escape any further awkwardness. Oloch was poking around in the cell La...

  6/24/25 Day 43 I moved forward to where our friends were last seen, then everything went dark for me as well. I felt myself rapidly sliding down a passageway. I shot out of that and was suddenly underwater.   I felt hands grabbing me, helping me to my feet.   I looked around.   Laz, Wolfram, Oloch and I were in a small cell with water up to about chest level.   We were locked in by a sturdy looking iron grate.   Oloch tried to force it open without success.   “Hang on.   Brute strength isn’t always the best solution,” said Laz, fishing out his lockpicks.   “It's worked for me so far,” replied Oloch. Laz moved closer to the bars. The opening to the lock was on the other side of the gate, so he had to reach through the bars and access the lock from behind and underwater. Despite these obstacles, he was able to pick the lock and open the gate. Laz then went back try and open the door to the chute.   He found it, but it was c...