Sunny Barovia

9/27/2022  As we went up the stairs, we actually met Strahd and Baroness Wachter coming down. He was telling the Baroness that his residence would be in better order the next time she visited. I opined that despite the toll that time has taken on the castle, there was some spectacular workmanship at the heart of it. This lead Strahd into a bit of a history of the castle’s construction. I found it to be a fairly fascinating tale, but I suspect Laz and Wolfram were a bit bored by the rabbit hole the conversation had drifted into.  We thanked Strahd for allowing us to wander his castle, and we asked about Lady Karelova and the gift we supposedly gave her. He said that Karelova is his senior most bride but wasn’t sure what the gift was either. He suggested we review our own recent activities. Perhaps it was the recent death of Lady Ludmilla that had propelled Lady Karelova to her current position. Or perhaps it was the “new meat” in the form of the former Burgomaster now ca...

4/5/2022 After dispatching the last of the wolves, we heard several people approaching.  We retreated back to the path and waited.  It was a group of 3 Vistani.  They went to one of the fallen wolves and urged Wolfram to come help.  At their urging, he used his abilities to partially heal the fallen wolf and it scampered off into the woods.  The Vistani thanked us, and all but ordered us back to the path. In a text book display of victim blaming, they told us if we hadn't wandered off the path, we wouldn't have a problem with the wolves.  They then agreed to escort us to their camp. Along the way, they explained their unique relationship with Strahd.  Strahd "controls" the wolves and other denizens that prowl Barovia.  Because of the ancient agreement, the Vistani can walk unmolested where others would be in mortal peril.  In exchange, they remain neutral, neither siding with or against Strahd in his business.  Healing the wolf was a way...

  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...

Session 29 Notes. Battle at the Orphanage.  While searching for some sort of adult at the orphanage, we came across the nursery. The babies were in the care of two teenage girls – Fanya and Tessa. They must have found Wolfram rather dashing and were willing to talk to him. The older girl, Fanya, explained that the headmistress had run an errand and would be back. We asked about how Cedric died, and they told him that he had fallen through the window at the end of the hall; a window that was now boarded over. We learned that Cedric had picked on some of the smaller children in the orphanage, and had recently stolen a locket from his bunkmate, Felix. Fanya also told us that Felix was “weird,” but didn’t elaborate much. About that time, we heard headmistress Belasco come home, ask why the door was open and who was here. We identified ourselves and the party started down the stairs. As I was last in the procession, Wolfram shot me a glance, and looked up at a trap door in the ceiling a...

 Session #27 & 28 We arrived at the Burgomaster’s home in time to see villagers bringing bundles of sticks and tinder the residence.  When asked, one of the villagers told us it was for the upcoming festival.  Burning sun festival?  Truth be told, there are apparently many such festivals here.  Attendance is mandatory for all.  From what we can gather, not only are people required to attend, they are also required to have a good time – or face punishment. When we entered, the bundles (or “tinder” as I like to think of it) was scattered throughout the hall. We met with the Burgomaster – Baron Vargas.  He happily accepted our documentation and confirmed that we (meaning Lady Ireena) would be able to claim the house as a home while here.  He seems to be of the opinion that these festivals will somehow prevent Strahd , “The Devil” from entering Valaki.  That and the frequent repetition of the phrase “All Will Be Well.”  It reminds me of ...