Sunny Barovia

 8/8/23 Between the zombie fight and the tour of Ireena’s past lives, we decided that we really weren’t up for a confrontation with Baba Lysaga right now, if we could possibly help it. I was exhausted, Connell even more so, or so it looked. It was getting late, but we figured we could likely make it back to Vallaki by nightfall.   I was still in the hellhound form, so I scouted forward to lead our little group, which now included the goat, apparently.   We waded back through the muck of the swamp and finally got back to solid ground. My spell dropped and I regained my normal shape and faculties. After about 45 minutes or so, we came to the part of the path where we had seen glimpses of an old castle through the fog.   Laz raised a finger as he looked about, clearly listening for something.   We paused, then from the south the sound of hoofbeats.   Many hoofbeats. Getting closer.   Soon, a dark banner designating some unrecognized military unit ...

7/26/2022 Dasco, Lady Ireena and I returned to the Manse.   The others stayed out looking for and helping survivors. After a quick bite to eat, Lady Ireena went to bed for a few hours, and I set about reviewing Victor’s journals until I fell asleep in my chair. I woke sometime around noon or so.   Stiffer than usual, but basically rested.   We were told by one of the staff that Lady Ireena had left earlier this morning to “check on a friend,” and would be back late. The rest of our group eventually returned.   Laz had been instrumental in finding survivors who’d been unable to get to help themselves.   One of them turned out to be Karl Wachter who had been thought dead.   Wolfram was able to use his healing ability on him and apparently save his life, making Lady Wachter even more enamored of our young Paladin. Laz mentioned that while they were all together, Lady Wachter asked to speak with Fin privately.   They stepped out of earshot and exch...

  6/14/2022 That vampire girl escorted us through the rest of the picket lines.   Strahd was there with about a dozen mixed humans in various forms of old or improvised armor.   Of more concern was Strahd’s entourage.   His horse and groom were there, of course. But I also counted at least three of those big wolves as well as a number of clearly vampiric followers.   Strahd politely thanked us for coming, believe it or not.   The new Baroness briefed us on what happened after we left the festival. Apparently, the Burgomaster (who was reportedly drunk) made his way into the stands to greet Lady Wachter who, in turn, introduced him to Lady Ireena.   For some reason this seemed to unnerve him, and he quickly excused himself, leaving his wife Lydia behind.   For her part, Lydia was apparently sporting several bruises to her face which were poorly covered by makeup.   When asked, Lydia confided that her husband does abuse her, which sent Ire...

 5/24/2022 We stood there in silence for a moment.   “Did we really just pull that off?” I ask. “How the FUCK was she able to get in here?!?” yelled Dasco. “Shit, I think we actually pulled that off.” Fin suggested that as a church is by definition open to the public, she wouldn’t have needed permission to enter.   Also, the bones giving protection to the church had been removed; which was the impetus for this whole mess anyway. We took a moment to catch our breath and decided to see if Fin could re-inter the bones.   He said it would take some time, so I cast Invisibility on Laz so he could go scout the town square and get a sense of what happened. Laz took off, Fin got to work, with Wolfram helping out.     Dasco saw to his weapons, I suppose.   I wasn’t really paying that much attention to him.   I summoned Woodhouse just in case he might be handy, then I rested and studied my spell books.   After awhile, we realized that no ...

  5/17/22 Dasco found that the moonbeam was effective on him as well as the vampire, so he moved out of the way. Laz suggested we find or fashion a wooden stake and started trying to cut down one of the planks with his dagger.   It always pains me to see amatures butchering wood and tools that way, so I went down to the workshop, found a proper knife and a decent piece of wood and brought them back up.   I quickly fashioned a stake, handed it to Laz who hammered in into the vampire’s chest.   I don’t know what we were expecting, but we were underwhelmed by the lack of, well, anything. Trusting that this would do the job, Finn and Dasco went to wake Henrick and ask him about the bones.   He quickly revealed that they were in his wardrobe.   He said that some sort of “vampire queen” forced him to invite her and her minions into his home and they were just waiting for tonight’s festival.   Finn struggled into his armor. I don’t know if it was Finn...

  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 ...

 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 ...