Sunny Barovia

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 ...

  4/19/2022 I spent the rest of the day with Kasimir, talking primarily of the Arcane.   It was refreshing to be exposed to someone with a very different perspective on things than my original instructors.   At one point he mentioned that when we were ready for the Amber Temple, we would want to make sure we had procured some good, cold-weather clothing and gear. He walked me back to the gates around 6 p.m.   He seems a good man, but deeply troubled.   His hate for Strahd runs deep.   Very deep.   I almost wonder if he hangs on just for the opportunity to revenge himself on Strahd. When I got back, I found my compatriots had not been idle.   Wolfram and Dasco had clearly been sparring, Laz was sweaty from some sort of gymnastic venture and Finn had that contented look he gets after long meditations. After eating, Finn took some time to mend the components a disassembled lock Muriel had brought by.   She promised to return and rebuild ...