Sunny Barovia

  11/11/24 Day 40 We stood there in the mud and blood, burned and tattered bodies all around us.   Small, smoldering fires, left over from the fireball scattered about. I looked at my companions, all with various degrees of injuries and all (save Dasco and myself) were soaking wet from being drug into the lake. I knew this was a problem, but I couldn’t process why.   My brain was still pre-occupied with the battle we had just one. So I just stood there staring at them, with that same sensation you get when you walk into a room, but forget what you were looking for. Finally, it hit me.   It was freezing cold here, and they were soaking wet.    I glanced around, then started gathering wood from the remains of the gazebo.   “Listen up,” I said, “we’ve got to get you guys dry and warm sooner rather than later.   The way I see it, we can try and hole up in one of these cabins and build a fire or perhaps we can make it up to the Abbey and seek...

 7/2/24 (Note Abe provided significant narrative to this entry - I could have never remembered this much detail.  Thanks Abe!) Day 40 “We should leave,” Kasimir said.   His tone was one of absolute certainty. “Yeah, well, you know we can’t do that,” responded Wolfram. As a group, we moved forward.   The bodies were hanging from hempen ropes from the battlements.   Wolfram and Oloch moved through the gate first, the rest of us following.   Inside the vestibule, in a bit of grim irony, blood was dripping down from the murder hole above us. We passed through the barbican and gatehouse.   Once inside, we saw dozens of Krezkans: men, women, children, are impaled on thick sharpened branches taken from the many trees of the village. The impalements took many forms. Through the chest, through the back and, most prominently, up through the nethers. Among the displayed corpses, Oloch spotted Lucas, the hard-working old pipe-weeder who shared his garden...

 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...

 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...

  8/29/23 I told Kasimir of our recent experiences in Berez.   He listened patiently and warned not to underestimate Baba Lysaga, as he considers her one of the top three spellcasters in Barovia.   I asked who the other two were, hoping that he was one of them.   He was not.   He said one was the mage who attempted to overthrow Strahd a number of years ago.   However, that one has since gone mad and is a recluse on the north side of the lake.   The other one he suspects can be found in the Amber Temple.   He did not believe either would aid us against Baba Lysaga.   I asked if he would be willing to assist us with the hag.   He said after we aid him at the Amber Temple he would consider aiding us in return.   He again opined that we were not quite ready for that challenge, but we would be soon. We chatted more, drank some tea and he agreed to teach me a new spell later that night.   I excused myself to let my friends know...

2/28/23 The Blue Water Inn.  Busier on the Inside. The Blue Water Inn was hopping, as the kids say.  We only recognized about a third of the faces there.  Another third were Vistani and the rest were strangers to us.  Music was being played, boisterous conversations, the sounds of laughter and the clunk of wooden mugs.  We are recognized, and I see multiple people give little nods of acknowledgement to Nikoli. Drinks are ordered and I find my way back into the kitchen to find Urwin.   The small staff is very busy, but Urwin motions me back.   He’s busy filling stew bowls and cutting hunks of meat and vegetables for another batch.   I tell him I won’t keep him long, but I thought he should know that Muriel lives.   He is happy, but not as happy as I expected, given his reaction right after she fell.   I mention this to him, and he tells me that while he’s happy she lives, she is lost to them.   He doesn’t explain further, and I let...

 2/21/23 Abe was kind enough to send me notes from the first encounter.   Rather than me paraphrasing, I’m going to take the lazy route and just post them (with some minor formatting changes) here.   Thanks Abe! Three men and a woman meet the party on the causeway. Additional men and women remain back at the forest and scattered along the lake shore. Lead Male Druid - “We are the People of Baratok” “You stand in the presence of Seer-Sha, Daughter of Baratok” “I am Quade, first of the Lodge of the Crag Cat. I will speak with you.” Seer-Shaw - Perhaps in her late forties, if the years were particularly hard. Pale, blond hair, beginning to transition to white.   She carries what looks like a thin stone rod, approximately the length a walking stick.   She is also wearing furs over some sort of extraordinarily thick hide armor. She is medium height with a lean, athletic build and attentive to her surroundings. When anyone looks at her, she seems to ...

  9/20/2022 We’d fought swarms of rats before, back when we first took control of the Manse in Valaki.   It was a chaotic mess with us coming out much worse for wear as a result. But clearly we’ve learned quite a bit in the two weeks or so since then.   As the rats attempted to swarm us, Laz pulled his blade, and it was quickly covered with a greenish flame.   The party waded in and started swinging.   Well, except for me. I hung back just a bit.   I’m not as young or fast as I used to be.   Even Woody took a few swipes with a baton he was carrying.   (He didn’t hit anything, but he looked cute doing it.) They made short work of the vermin, and I threw a firebolt on the odd rat that escaped the initial carnage. As I said, there was a rather ornate, steel door.   As we debated the best way to go through, Oloch walked up and simply knocked on it.   He turned around, looked at our startled faces and said, “I’m sorry, was I not supp...