Sunny Barovia

 1/14/23 The next morning, we geared up to travel back to Vallaki, with the last six children we had saved from the Werewolf den.   The hike was relatively uneventful, and very nearly peaceful.   The smaller children took turns riding on Oloch’s shoulders, which he seemed to enjoy almost as much as the kids. We discussed the sword that Sergei had referenced.   It was almost certainly the one we had seen Tatyana wielding against Strahd in that vision that wasn’t a vision.   For her part, Ireena said she remembered that Sergei had been a fairly powerful paladin and wielded that blade in the service of The Morninglord but had no idea what had become of it afterwards. As we approached the village of Vallaki, Oloch and I split from the group so I could meet with Kasimir.   The rest of the party continued on after agreeing we’d meet at the Manse. We found our way around the base of the hill to Kasimir’s home.   I briefly explained what had occurred w...

 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...

 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 ...

7/18/23 There was a time that being attacked by wolves would have been terrifying.  There was a time being attacked by a werewolf would be beyond terrifying.  Funny the things you start to get used to. Don’t misunderstand – this was no walk in the park, and I knew the shakes would come later.  But for now, our little group was efficiently decimating this canine conclave. (See what I did there? It’s called alliteration.  Authors do it. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m realizing alleteration appears more and more in the verbal components of more advanced spells.  But I digress.) Oloch was fully in his element.  He was humming what sounded like a slow waltz, moving much more gracefully that a man that size has the right to.  A wolf leapt toward him, he turned and slashed with his axe as if this were a choreographed dance, and I watched as this wolf split, nose to tail, as if water before a boat, or soil at the passage of a till.  I watched as...