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The barkeep looks at Patrick quizzically. "I do not recognize those names. You are in the country of Barovia, ruled by Lord Strahd von Zarovich. However, your money seems to be good, and I will take it." He glances at the weapon laid upon the tab;e by the Russian, but if he recognizes it for what it is, he makes no display of such.
well, if that's subtle I'd hate to see blatant
Ivar hands the barkeep two gold coin and adds
may I have an ale also, The first will cover the meals and ales the second is for two rooms please. If its possible we would like them beside each other.
Kolya too watches the barkeep's reaction very closely:
:
Ok the name lines up, so the fellow were after is still the fellow were after, hope we can get back to the world just by walking
After the bartender brings Father Patrick his ale, the minister takes the cigarette from behind his ear and using the candle on the table lights it, taking a long drag he looks at the cigarette and then the Russian and says softly.
”Thanks, so did they pass the “don’t freak out because we don’t know what an automatic weapon looks like” test? So do you see any one that might want to talk? Probably should talk to someone a little”
Turning to Kaitlin Patrick asks
”did you see anyone that seems out of place or anyon who seemed like they would speak to you?”
Kolya shrugs his broad shoulders and reaches for his hand gun, holding the weapon for a moment;
"Marakov .32 autow-loader. Dependable and durable. Leeke all zhings Russian."
The former enforcer slips the gun back into its shoulder holster and nods again;
"Zhey deed not know zhe Markakov's true nature... Zhis place baffles me..."
Jon continues stealthily searching the area.
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Patrick, you are able to gather that the people of Barovia lives in mortal fear of "the devil Strahd." They seem reluctant to say much more beyond that, though they seem to both revere and fear him.
"Initial reconnoiter done. If this is a mock up, it's ... not ours. It's too good, there's no reason to make it THIS realistic. Castles 1,000' vertical above the town on a cliff. I could check it out, but, it's wide open. I'm not ready to blow my presence yet do that. Maybe in a couple days. People don't seem to be traveling alone, and most of the windows are shuttered tight. I haven't seen anyone that looks like a cop or soldier or even any guards. This might change up topside, but, unless we're going in hot tonight, I'm going to stay local, and check some outbuildings."
Jon will sneak up on each building, trying to get a rough map of the village, and try and identify each buildings purpose. If he finds any that don't seem to be homes, or otherwise appear abandoned, he'll check if they are locked, and what type of lock, and consider entering if he thinks he can get in unseen and silently.
after speaking to the locals for several hours father Patrick tells
Kolya and Kaitlin, noddig to the door.
"I'm stepping outside and contacting Jon on the radio."
Stepping out the heavy oaken door into the rain and fog Patrick stares off into the night. A darkness he hasn't experienced since hunting in the great northern woods of Canada.
it's amazing, no lights, but we cannot see the stars because of the fog, just this stygian darkness.
radioing Jon
Jon, people here live in mortal fear of "the devil Strahd" too afraid to say more than that. I assume he's is one evil dude, if you get caught out there we will not know until they are setting up a gallows. Why don't you join us for the night and we will set a guard. We can all sleep a little and come up with a plan to go to the castle tomorrow. These people seem to be too afraid and in aw of there king to be anything but innocent by standers.
"I'd been planning on camping in an out of the way spot out in the woods, or perhaps an abandoned building. I feel it's a toss up on usefulness for having an extra person that the "devil Strahd" doesn't know about, and coming in for the night. I've got ... about 3 more buildings to check, and if none of them look promising, I'll go stash some of my things, hide them in the Ghillie suit, and come on in."
Koyla approaches the barkeep again, this time with a smile;
"Moy friend. I vunder... Are zhere any vho oppose zhis D'yavol Strahd?"
"So vhat vould Barovia gift a man vho rids your fair nation of zhis blight... zhis tyrant? Zoloto? Gold??"
The former enforcer taps the gold of a Euro to accentuate his point.
How are the locks on the doors/windows? Are they even locked? If I think I can get in stealthily, without leaving evidence behind, I do. I do not have the skills to do B & E, so at that point I'd fall back to plan B, caching the Ghillie suit, and rejoining the team.
Father Patrick nods to Kolya and Kaitlin that he is stepping back outside so the seven people in the Inn do not hear him on the radio
"Jon, are you going to join us, or have you found a place you want to remain for the night?"
"I'll be there in a minute, just taking a quick look at an empty building. Going to slip in, check out all the details, cache some things, and then come to you. Nothing we've seen indicates that this will be a normal op. Tops, 10 minutes."
Jon slips in, checks closets, mattresses, dust amounts on the floor boards, construction types, any details that supports / fails to support what we're seeing. He then slips out, hides the ghillie suit over the stash in the woods, and walk in from the outside of town.
how do we want to do this
as they were waiting for Jon to join them in the inn, Father Patrick approaches Kolya and Kaitlin and asks them
"we have two rooms, In normal circumstances I would insist on Kaitlin having her own room and the three men sharing, how do you two think we should do this two and two or all of us in one room and keeping watch? Talk about it a little, I'm going to ask the bartender if I can see the rooms."
Patrick leaves the other two to figure out sleeping quarters and goes to the bartender and asks
My good man, would you show me the rooms we paid for please?"
Patrick is sure to keep a watchful eye as he is shown to the rooms.
Kolya nods and shrugs his broad shoulders.
"Dah. Vorks for me."
Noticing many of the patrons carry edged weapons, the Russian approaches the man sitting alone and gestures toward his blade
"Nice blade friend. Local cravtsmanship yis?"
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"Aye," the man replies sullenly. "It belonged to my father, and his father before him." He barely looks up from his drink.
The barkeep shows Patrick to your rooms. They are simple affairs, each with two single beds and a single table and chair. Each has a window that can be shuttered, and the door can be barred from within.
seems safe enough
Patrick returns to the dining hall sitting down beside Kaitlin, as Koyla speaks with the locals and they await Jon's arrival.
Kolya slips his own NR-40 knife from its belt sheath and nods;
"Dah. Good. Mine own blade vas given to me by mine vamily..."
The big russian grins and places the knife on the table;
"Vhat say ve drink to our blades... Dah?"
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About 10 minutes later Jon walks in down the road, openly, carrying a mostly empty duffel, earpiece in, hidden in his collar and opens the door to the inn.
As he opens the door to the Inn, he nods to Koyla and Kaitlin, and turns to the Innkeeper.
"I don't suppose there's any stew left? That IS Stew I see? Yes please to bread, and water is fine." Turning back to Koyla and Kaitlin. "How is it? And no luck out there."
After the space is clear of potential prying ears, or perhaps upstairs.
"Half an inch of dust on archaic straw filled mattresses. This place is either legit crazy, or so high a budget to make no nevermind."
"Same here," Kaitlin says in a low voice. "Either we're really in the past, or someone is going to incredible lengths to make us believe that we are."
I believe in the supernatural but this is twilight zone stuff
scratching his head and thinking out loud
"did we move back in time or did a piece of time move into our time, or dimension or whatever. The scary part is why were we sent to deal with it instead of someone from the U.N.? Either way we still need to finish what we started, whenever or wherever we are.
At the mention of sleeping arrangements, Kaitlin sighs. "We really should go two to a room, for safety and security. Father, would you mind my company?"
hard to keep watch with just two
nodding at Kaitlin,
"Of course I don't mind your company, shall we all sleep in one room three sleeping and one watching at all times? We could move a bed over if the floor bothers anyone"
Kaitlin shrugs. "Logical. I like the idea."
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Morning breaks to gray and dreary skies and an omnipresent thick fog. The inn doesn't offer breakfast, so if you want to find something to eat, you'll want to move on into the village. The innkeeper suggests a small tavern near the village square, the Blood of the Vine.
Tall shapes loom from the dense fog, and the muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. A dilapidated wooden sign reads "Welcome to the Village of Barovia." As you grow closer, the shapes resolve into tenements whose windows are boarded, broken, and lightless. Nothing moves nearby, though the fog limits visibility. Faint sounds, as of something groaning, echo hollowly from somewhere deeper in the settlement.
The streets are choked with mist, limiting vision to only a few dozen feet. The buildings here at the edge of town look abandoned, burned out, or barricaded. Garbage litters the ground, and a carrion stench assaults your nose. Ahead, an overturned haycart blocks the street.
After as pleasant a night as one would expect sleeping on mattress stuffed with straw. Father Patrick heads out with the team to find the tavern called ‘the Blood of the Vine’. Walking to the Village of Barovia Patrick finds the fog unsettling.
this kind of fog, I’m surprised anyone was out last night, this many abandoned buildings and the stench
Patrick puts his right hand into his overcoats pocket and grasps the brass knuckles there, the weapon was not as comforting as he hoped it would be.
”Jon, this is much different than I expected, and the smell! Was it like this last night, what am I saying of course it was, this doesn’t happen overnight. What happened here? It looks like a war zone.”
Jon ambles along with the group in the fog, almost absentmindedly not making a sound, the duffel he brought in with him last night slung over one shoulder.
"You know, while it was hard to tell last night, I think all of the occupied buildings I saw last night may have been heavily barred from within. And, yes, warzone, IS a good description. Very few people out and about, and as an odd counterpoint, zero guards or soldiers. This begs the question... how is boot heel being kept in place?"
In a quieter tone about two minutes into the walk.
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"See that grey building with the 3 boarded windows and dull blue door? I stashed a few things in there, in case we need them."
seeing where Jon points toward Patrick asks him, smiling, trying to lighten the oppressive feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"This handful of coins I have will only last a little while, do you think that is a place we can use as a base or should we camp out in the woods? Or, do you think after we get more information, we'll just be able to waltz in there this morning, coup up the place, and walk back tonight?"
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Okay, at long last (sorry), a map is up on the Roll20 site. The squares don't line up exactly, so please just make the best of it.
From where you stand, you can barely make out the shape of a fallen wagon in the intersection through the fog.
