Sunny Barovia

 11/18/24 Day 40 - Afternoon I must admit, some small part of me held out hope that the figures advancing toward us along the top of the wall would turn out to be allies. That was, of course, insanely naïve of me.   But to be fair, I thought I had seen all the vampires scamper back down over the walls in retreat. Apparently not. I should note that every vampire we’d seen so far (with the possible exception of Strahd) was fairly slim, if not gaunt in appearance.   They were almost universally slender with a build that suggested they never had to physically exert themselves in their entire existence.   If it weren’t for the unnatural strength and powers granted to them through vampirism, they’d hardly be a threat to anyone. So, when I saw the muscled, heavily armored figure advancing toward us along the wall, I could be forgiven for not realizing it was an ally of Strahd.   Sir Fides Behind this behemoth was a female vampire Laz (as he later told us) r...

  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...

 7/9/24 & 7/16/24 Day 40 While Wolfram had reduced their numbers by almost half, there were still many more in the fight.   I was surrounded; hands reaching, grabbing. I flew up 15 feet, out of the fray, then zoomed over to the cover of trees.   More undead approached.   Once climbed up the tree next to me, but I simply flew out of his reach and observed the battlefield. Chaos.   Undead literally exploded around Ireena and her protective circle.   Oloch, Wolfram and Laz were dragged back into the pool by the crayfish creatures but a flurry of blade strokes told me they were cutting their way free. Dasco was stabbing wildly about himself but was being overrun. “Fireball!!   Fireball!!” I heard him yell. Yes.   Fireball indeed. Hovering above, I shot a fireball down into the thick of them. More bodies exploded out. Trees caught fire. No matter. These are just delays.   Distractions to be dealt with.   Our real...

 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...

 6/25/24 (Lore details provided by Abe) Day 39 – 40 The offer of perusing Exethanter’s library was more than Kasimir or I could resist.   Wolfram and Lady Ireena also seemed eager at the prospect. Exethanter provided tomes on the nature of Vampires, the Undead, a partial history of Barovia and others.   The three of us eagerly started reading. After maybe 30-45 minutes later, Laz interrupted us to announce that he had gone downstairs and had a very cordial conversation with Heinrich/Nefron.     They hit it off so well that Heinrich provided Laz with a magical Sending Stone, so the two could keep in touch.   He suggested that we should use it to provide them with some notice if we decide to return.   This subtle invitation was not lost on us. Heinrich when we met him Heinrich by the time we left About an hour later, Exethanter returned to the Library.  Where before his movements had been slow and jerky, he now moved with a smooth grace...

 3/5/24 (Co-written with Abe) Day 38 That morning, we loaded up, made sure we had what cold weather gear we could get and headed out.   Kasimir met us just outside of Vallaki.   I noticed that while we were all swaddled in poorly-cured, and roughly sewn wolf-fur, supplemented by far more effective gloves, hats and boots provided by the Vistani, that despite his explicit warning that we find appropriate cold-weather clothing, the dusk elf was wearing little more than a loose-fitting traveling tunic, long breeches and water-proofed medium boots. I asked if we needed to stop somewhere and obtain some more weather appropriate clothing for him.  He chuckled and said it wouldn’t be a problem.  I could only assume he had arcane means of assuring he didn’t freeze to death. We started westward on the Old Svalich Way. As we got underway, Kasimir looked nervously back towards the woods to the south that concealed the Vistani camp. “I am loath to depart,” he admitte...

 11/7/23 Once inside the walls of Krezk, the villagers who accompanied us finally began to relax.   An adventure, after all, is really just a bad series of events that you managed to survive.   For most of those that accompanied us, this excursion fit that bill. Everything was taken back to the Baron’s home for later distribution.   The villagers returned to their homes and a modest dinner was laid out for us. As this is my personal log and not some flight of High Fantasy, I shall not dwell on food descriptions.   Suffice it to say the meal was humble as befits this poor town, but also quite a satisfying end to the day.   But the day, as we were about to learn, was not over. Following the meal, Wolfram told Ireena that there were some matters to discuss; Notably, the Abbot’s offer. (There had been quite an involved discussion among our group about the morality of the Abbot’s attempt to duplicate Ireena.   Regardless of individual opinions, we...

The following was co-Authored by Abe Barker. Thanks Abe! 10/17/23 There is an incident that I neglected to address in my last posting. After I identified the properties of the amulet and handed it to Wolfram, I saw a rare excitement in his face. He thanked me and examined the amulet for himself. He looked up, then back at the amulet. Then up and back at the amulet. This went on for about 30 seconds before Laz said, “You want to try it now.” It wasn't a question. “Yes. Very much. Is that weird?” Wolfram asked. As he spoke, his gaze never left the surface of the amulet. I chuckled. “No. No it’s not.” “Go play,” said Laz. Wolfram looked up, a cheerful smile on his face. Ireena, who had been watching and listening silently, then reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. “Please wait, Sir Wolfram. It occurs to me we might want to invite a few people to watch. The Baron, for one, and perhaps some of the villagers.” "What are you proposing, Lady Ireena?" Wolf...

 10/10/23 Our business with the Abbott apparently concluded, we took our leave and made the long hike back down to the village.   We checked in at the Burgomaster’s home.   Anna was looking a bit frazzled, but Walter and their son Ilya were keeping the kids entertained.   Anna told us that her husband had decided he had urgent business at his smithy.   I bet he did.   With all the chaos of the children here, I felt like I had urgent business at the smithy as well. We found the burgomaster at his anvil, as promised.   He was absently hammering on some piece of metal and didn’t seem terribly distracted by our arrival. I had the impression the only thing he was making was noise. He greeted us warmly. We talked about finding shelter for ourselves and the children for the night.   He said he would inquire quietly to several families who he felt were trustworthy and find temporary lodging for the kids.   Permanent placement would come later. ...