Sunny Barovia

 2/27/24 On the morning of our 35 th day in this land (Has it only been just over a month?!?) I woke to find the staff had prepared an unusually large and hearty breakfast.   I asked what the occasion was, and was told that since we were travelling today, Lady Ireena thought we should have a good meal to start.   I was also told that Lady Ireena and Walter had left early in the morning to conclude an errand, but would be returning soon. I enjoyed the repast, but perhaps not as much as Oloch, who attacked the meal with great gusto, calling for more breakfast wine.   As we finished up, I heard a noise in front of the Manse.   I continued sipping on my tea while I went to check on it. A caravan of about 10 Vistani wagons had pulled up.   Walter was sitting with Luvash and Arrabel on the lead wagon, while Lady Ireena was just approaching the front door.   She told us to gather our things as the Vistani were going to escort us to the gates east of ...

 12/12/23 The next morning, the party filled me in on what I had missed during my evening soak.  Ireena and the others went to the Blue Water and met with Lady Karlova, Silas, Escher and an apparently stunning redhead vampire named Celeste Melanie.  The short version is that the contingent was aware of our encounter with the Chamberlain and were unbothered by it.  They were able to shed a little more light on the situation with Ireena’s brother. When the Burgomaster of Barovia died, Ismark assumed the role, but did so without Strahd’s consent. Since that time, the village has suffered.  While never great to begin with, the infrastructure, economy and general quality of living has plummeted under Ismark’s governance.  Strahd asked Ismark to come to Castle Ravenloft to explain himself and what was going on in Barovia.  Ismark refused, so the Chamberlain was sent to bring him in. If Ismark is unable to explain what is going on in Barovia, or a...

 12/5/23 The fact I’m writing this is evidence that I survived.   In fact, we all did.   But in truth, I don’t really understand why. The Chamberlain moved faster than any person or creature I’d seen move.   He was a blur. Before Wolfram could fully draw his blade, the Chamberlain had put an arrow into Oloch, one in Ireena and missed Wolfram with a third arrow.   He jumped forward onto the back of Strahd’s horse as all my compatriots on the road doublee over in pain (They later told me that the screams that accompany the Chamberlain’s presence suddenly became more intense, like a dagger to the brain).   A mote of light launched forward from the chamberlain’s hand towards the group.   Before I could scream a warning, a fireball erupted in the middle of them, throwing their bodies. As my eyes recovered from the flash, I saw a dark specter of some sort had materialized and was attacking my recovering friends. Oloch was down. There was a brief ...

 11/28/23 That evening, we dined with the Baroness, and she was surprisingly understanding about my desire to find Darius before assisting with their burgeoning textiles industry.   The evening was even rounded out with a bit of pie, courtesy of a rather large berry bush discovered by the lumber crew earlier in the week. The next morning, we headed off to the Tser Pool encampment.   It took most of the morning to get there, and we elected to shave off another hour or so by taking the footpath down the embankment to the camp, instead of the longer road around. We sent Laz about 20-30 yards ahead to scout as we approached the camp.   When we were close, he held one arm up and made a fist.   My compatriots squatted down and moved slightly off the path. I pulled out a piece of cured leather, traced a symbol in the air and spoke the incantation necessary to cast Mage Armor on myself.   A sparkle of light and a slight metallic chime told me I now had some m...