Sunny Barovia

3/12/24 Day 38 We looked across the bridge at the Chamberlain.  He was unbothered by the snow and high winds whipping about him. He asked to speak to our representative.  Laz and Wolfram strode forward to meet him. The winds were too loud for us to hear what they were saying, but they did glance back at us on a couple of occasions. After a few minutes, Laz and Wolfram came back, while the Chamberlain strode to the far end of the bridge. They shared with us that the Chamberlain was advising us to turn back.  He said that Kasimir was leading us on a “fools errand” that would result in our useless deaths.  This would displease Strahd. He indicated that those who please Strahd tend to prosper.  If we were to know disappoint him, he will feed on us. The Chamberlain conceded he was not here to physically stop us or fight us.  He was merely informing us of Strahd’s felt this was a poor use of our time. Laz apparently asked the Chamberlain what, exactly, Strahd f...

 2/20/24 Once Oloch called back to us, the newcomers stopped, aware that they had been seen.   They moved off into the tree line, south of the road.   They never got close enough for us to get a good look at, but it seemed as if at least one of them was carrying some sort of spear or polearm. The guardsmen who had been helping with the meat processing, put down their tools and picked up their crossbows.   Most of our party moved into defensive positions in case the visitors decided to close on us under cover of the tree line and emerge with hostile intent. Sgt. Merrill indicated we had about 2/3 rds of the animals processed and packed.   After a group discussion, we decided it was wisest to pack up with what we had and head back to the village. After all, there were 40-50 townsfolk here who came to gather meat, not fight.   We stood guard while everything was made ready.   All except Laz.   He had taken it into his mind to head into the t...

 2/13/24 Despite their speed on approach, the fight didn’t last long.   I felt the familiar tingle of magic (besides my own) as Wolfram activated his Mace of Terror.   Several wolves immediately fled the area, tails between their legs.   Lady Ireena summoned her ghost guardians while Laz danced between the giant canines, stabbing with impunity.   Dasco utilized his Bloodspear to great effect while Oloch and Wolfram might as well have been lumberjacks clearing a grove of trees.   I hovered above, taking potshots where I could. At one point Walter looked like he was about to go down, but he healed himself and got to a safer area. After the pack had been dispatched, I landed and we confirmed everyone was reasonably healthy, given the circumstances.   We now had an abundance of wolf meat and hides, which would be quite welcome in Vallaki and Krezk.   The problem is how we would get a dozen horse-size corpses to either village. Wolfram asked if...

 2/6/24 Things went very, very quickly after that. Everyone was fighting.   The vampires shrieked in pain, presumably from the sunlight flooding the crypt.    That's going to leave a mark I remember seeing Walter struggling with the vampire on top of him while the spectral Ireenas hacked and slashed around them.  I managed to cast Slow on several of the vampires, but the success was short lived.  I was already lightheaded, when I felt something hit me.  Then everything went black. I don’t know how long I was out, but I came to with Walter standing over me saying, “You’re going to be OK, Mr. Carl.   But we need you!   Come on, we need you!” I slowly got up and saw the fight had moved to the outside.   Dasco was calmly wiping the tip of his Bloodspear as he moved for the door.   I followed him outside. The warriors were engaged with the fleeing vampires.   Laz yelled, “Watch the tower!” At that moment, movement near the...

Written by Dave Proudfoot Lord Strahd really has it bad for Lady Ireena. Most men have a type. For some it's a race, some it's a hair color, some poor bastards subconsciously crave abuse and marriage. Lord Strahd? He doesn't like Lady Ireena, he needs Lady Ireena like an opiate. How else account for his chasing the red-haired dragon for centuries? It was Connall who first noted that Walter had not transported with us. It was unsurprising that Lady Ireena had not, nor had the Raven. I miss that damn bird. Regardless, Connall went on to interview Marina further and confirmed that her suitor now returned exclusively at night, appeared to be between 45 and 50, and she believed him to be from a village to the east of Vallaki. Connall then went off to discuss things further with the pigs and goats. This seemed, shall we say, a bit odd, but as I've noted before, I find solace among the dying, so perhaps he finds something among swine and those of the cloven-hoof. He later at...

 1/17/2023 I don’t really have a strong memory of what came next, as I was feeling pretty dizzy. Much of what I’m putting down here came from the others filling me in once we were safer. But I will do my best. I remember casting Slow on the vampires while the battle continued. One of the vampires still had Dasco grappled, but Dasco was getting in some good shots with the bloodspear, while Wolfram was whacking it with that Terror Mace. Laz stabbed one of the direwolves who got a good bite on him, then threw him to the ground. Walter killed it a moment later. Meanwhile, the other vampire slashed his claws across Oloch’s neck, and down he went.   I remember yelling and launching a firebolt at the one who killed Oloch. But Oloch wasn’t dead, because he got back up looking pissed. I heard Dasco yell, “What the fuck?   Seriously?” as the vampire was trying physically drag him away.   Wolfram yelled something about the “Power of Greyskull” before hitting the v...

 1/10/2023 We left the den, but it was clear that several of them were following us.   We got to the clearing where we had battled their mates earlier and thought to take a short rest.   I walked a few feet back down the trail, offered a few rations and called back, “There’s some food if you’re hungry.”   Part of that was a genuine offer.   But it was really more of a way to let them know we knew they were there. The boy, whose name is Ilya, started getting really nervous that we had stopped.   We heard a howl in the distance, and Ilya suggested that we should probably keep moving until we were out of that clan’s territory. As we got closer to the road, we could see another werewolf standing alone in our path.   After a few more moments, we could see it was Whiteclaw and some of her wolves.   Laz warned us that there was “something” in the trees as well, but none of us could see anything. We greeted her and started to approach.   She ...

 12/27/2022 When we woke the next morning, we found a boy of maybe 12 or 13 helping the Baroness in the kitchen.   Fortunately, he was not naked.   The baroness had provided him with some of her son’s clothes and he had a blanket wrapped around him. Walter greeted us warmly as we tried to figure out how best to interact with him.   This was accomplished initially by pretending that nothing had changed.   But as breakfast was served, we did broach the subject. Walter explained that he didn’t remember the sacrifice itself, but he did remember existing with and within that creature we eventually killed.   While it has been some 300 odd years, he was not really conscious for much of it.   He would wake when the creature did – usually when some party of explorers found themselves trapped in the house.   He did remember talking with the ghost of his mother, whose death apparently didn’t keep her from teaching her son as much as any mother would. ...

 8/16/2022 Tser Pool Encampment at night While it was nice to rest with a goblet of wine for a bit, there was work to be done around the Vistanti camp. Dasco, Wolfram and I went out with a couple of Vistani brothers named Stefan & Grigori Vasille to gather firewood.   While the woods have proven to be fairly dangerous, it was clear that these Vistani felt quite safe.   They didn’t even bother to bring weapons. We gathered a bit, then the brothers felt my skills would be better put to use by keeping watch.   Which I was happy to do.   There was one slightly tense moment when I saw 4 or 5 of those big dire wolves coming through the trees.   But they appeared to have no interest in us and moved on. We came back to the camp with enough wood to last several days.   Dasco found a fellow wine hater in the personage of Lee Funar.   Good. They can discuss the relative merits of lake water versus river water.   Well, Lee can.   Dasco...

  6/14/2022 That vampire girl escorted us through the rest of the picket lines.   Strahd was there with about a dozen mixed humans in various forms of old or improvised armor.   Of more concern was Strahd’s entourage.   His horse and groom were there, of course. But I also counted at least three of those big wolves as well as a number of clearly vampiric followers.   Strahd politely thanked us for coming, believe it or not.   The new Baroness briefed us on what happened after we left the festival. Apparently, the Burgomaster (who was reportedly drunk) made his way into the stands to greet Lady Wachter who, in turn, introduced him to Lady Ireena.   For some reason this seemed to unnerve him, and he quickly excused himself, leaving his wife Lydia behind.   For her part, Lydia was apparently sporting several bruises to her face which were poorly covered by makeup.   When asked, Lydia confided that her husband does abuse her, which sent Ire...

  Sessions 29, 30 & 31 3/8/2022 The shadow of the creature began moving.   We followed it downstairs to the office where it entered a locket sitting on the desk.   Using mage hand (Lord knows I didn’t want to touch it directly!) I closed the locket.   The locket itself had arcane designs across it, and Wolfram got a sense of “good” from it.   Lady Wachter, who apparently has some knowledge of this sort of thing, suggested that the demon must have been bound to the locket, and when the boy opened it up, it possessed him.   By closing it, we had re-imprisoned it. We went to Milivoj’s room and found he was now recovering.   Finn healed him a little further so we could question him about the bones of St. Andral.   He didn’t seem to know what we were talking about.   But upon further conversation, he had some memory gaps.   He did finally admit to vaguely remembering carrying a bundle past the Blue Water Inn, but doesn’t remember wh...