Despite the gloom of night, the occasional flash of lightning reveals that the walkway south along the inner wall leads to another walkway atop the perimter of the outer curtain wall.
Though he is a bit worried about what might lurk below, Verran nods in concurrence to the suggestion as to where to search. There was still much on his mind that he was mulling, but he had no real advice to offer at this time.
Countessa casts a sidelong glance towards the ground. She didn't like heights, but was more concerned about being left alone in this place with that creature lurking about.
You make your way south, along the top of the wall separating the outer ourtyard from the inner bailey the castle. This wall connects with the top of the outer curtain walls of the castle, meeting at a bastion where a decaying ballista still stands. One needn't be siege engineer to determine that this ballista will never fire again.
Looking over the side of the outer wall, you see that the base of the walls are only about five feet from the sloping edges of the pinnacle of rock on which the castle is built. The walls are about 90 feet above the courtyard, but looking over the edge, you estimate that the drop is at least 300 feet onto jagged rocks below.
You head west along the wall-walk of the southern curtain wall. The walkway is about 20 feet wide, with battlements on both sides. You come to a larger bastion at the corner of the walls. Another ruined ballista stands here.
Peering into the darkness, Petracleus frowns...
Theodora looks around cautiously, wishing it were closer to dawn.
(darkvision)
"Do you hear that...?"
Ireena unsheathes her sword, her gace grimacing at the pain of the spider venom still in her muscles.
Initiative Rolls:
You are about 25 feet from the bastion with the ruined ballista.
Surprise Round
"Brace yourselves."
Ready an action to hit an enemy that comes within range.
Verran will do similarly, readying himself for an incoming attack.
Ireena likewise braces her shield for an attack.
The ballista glows with an eerie blue radiance as the ghostly forms of a dozen soldiers materialize. One shouts, "They're on the walls!" and with surprising speed, they turn the ballista toward you! Bathed in this eerie glow, you see that the ballista is now anything but ruined: "Fire!" shouts the leader, and a glowing blue ballista bolt fires at you!
After the ghostly soldiers fire the ballista, they all look up and shout, "NOOOO!!!" and raise their arms defensively. A horse-sized, bat-shaped thing of blackness swoops down on the soldiers, and they all fall down and then disappear.
At that, the ballista stops glowing, and returns to its ruined appearance... but now it points toward you!
Beyond the bastion holriny the ballista, the outer walls of Castle Ravenloft turn toward the north.
Dodging the large ghostly bolt, Theodora moves swiftly towards the ruined ballista in case the ghosts awaken again.
Countessa, concentrating on other things, barely dodges out of the way of the ballista bolt. She turns to fire off a spell in that direction, but witnesses the scene and stops, staring.
"Gahhh. I am becoming tired of fighting things I can't hit back!"
He'll move out of line of fire of the ballista.
Verran manages to twist out of the way of the bolt and then nods to Celowyn.
"Much death and evil happened here, so it is of no surprise. We need to be more careful. How many are hurt?
Caught flat-footed and stumbling around in the darkness, Petracleus feels the coldness of the ghostly projectile pass through his chest... for a moment, the world turns monochromatic... the only light coming from his companions, and then colur returns... and the bard doubles over in pain...
"Urghhhhhh!!!", clasping his chest, he can only nod mutely when Verran asks whether anyone is hurt.
"This place will continue to be infested by tormented spirits until we destroy its dark master. Let's keep moving once everyone is feeling better." Theodora suggests quietly, sighing at the tough task ahead.
Far from feeling his best, Petracleus is gracious as Celowyn offers support, "Thankyou... I am fairly sure I can walk... and, next time, I'll be sure to keep my eyes open!!!"
You pause briefly to look over the bastion where the haunted ballista stands. Under a crumbling roof, you find a barrel of rain-warped arrows with rusty heads, a large iron cauldron, and a broken cask of oily wood. You're about to move on when Daimon notices a panel set in the wall that is slightly discolored. Tapping it, he sees that it's hollow.
Not finding anything else of interest here, you turn north along the wall. As you approach the walkway over the main gate of the castle, you notice through the gloom that the drawbridge has been raised. It's about a seventy feet across the chasm to the guardpost beyond. Towers rise on either side of the gatehouse. There do not appear to any way into the gatehouse from the walkway along the walls: doorways that had once existed were bricked decades ago.
Moving along, you come to the northern bastion, which also houses a ruined ballista. The roof over this bastion has completely disintegrated, and there is nothing of interest of value here.
You then proceed east along the northern wall. Much like the southern wall, this wall was built on the edgs of the rocky pinnacle which houses Castle Ravenloft. It's hard to estimate the drop in the drizzly gloom, but it's easlily over 200 feet down onto jagged rocks.
About halfway along the outer walls, you come to another junction where the wall extends back toward the inner keep. You proceed west along the outer wall, and see the inner courtyard to your south, raindrops splashing on paving stones. The clapboard roof of some sort of outbuilding leans against the wall, about seventy feet below you.
At the eastern end of the castle walls stands another bastion. The roof of this one is intact, and a rickety-looking ladder leads up to an open trapdoor in the roof. There is nothing of interest here.
Heading south, you come to another juncture with an inner wall that leads back toward the inner keep. That walkway ends at a heavy oak door. The wall itself ends at a defensive platform, although there isn't much to defend from here: the view to the east looks over the valley of Barovia below. A narrow, arched walkway connects the platform you're standing on to a similar platform about forty feet to the south.
Looking down into the courtyard, you see that there seems to be some kind of garden just behind the inner keep. To the east are steps to an overlook flanked by some small, squat outbuildings.
Looking east through the gloom, you think that the sky just might be starting to brighten with pre-dawn light.
"I'm not sure there is anything else helpful out here. Perhaps we should move into the inner keep now." Theodora suggests to the others.
"There is something in here..."
Countessa takes a look over the cache. "The first three appear to be potions that will heal minor cuts and scrapes (potions of cure light wounds), this one will provide a temporary boost to health (potion of aid), and the wand looks to restore vigor and health (wand of lesser restoration (31 charges))."
Exhausted, Petracleus merely nods when his companions suggest moving into the keep...
"We should make use of that wand to remove some of the sickness and fatigue from some of you. Since dawn is approaching, we should try to be as healthy as possible when the forces of darkness are at their weakest. I can use the wand, or Verran can if he prefers." Theodora advises, looking specifically at Countessa, Ireena, Petracleus, and Verran in turn.
"Definetly."
"All right, let me see what we can do." Theodora takes the wand and uses it first on Countessa, then on Ireena, followed by Petracleus, and lastly Verran.
Looking east into the sky, you estimate that it's about two hours before sunrise. Theodora takes this respite to use your newly-found wand of lesser restoration on those of you still suffering lingering effects from your fights with Strahd and the spiders.
You walk back along the wall to the inner keep. A large ironbound wooden door blocks your way. It is locked.
(@#^)
"Hmm, this may take some time. A more pressing problem is what we are going to do about this vampire? Our best efforts left him unscathed. How does one defeat an invincible enemy?"
Take 20 on disable device
"Not quite our best," Countessa contends, feeling rejuvenated. "I have a few surprises left. No enemy is invincible. Everyone has a weak point."
Feeling a freshness in his limbs as Theodora's wand lifts the fatigue that had weighed heavy upon him, Petracleus nods in appreciation. Keeping his voice subdued a little, he watches as Damion works at the door... and when Countessa suggests that no foe is without their weakness, he agrees, "Indeed... and look, sunrise is nearly upon us. I wager that Strahd is a creature of the night - the mere fact that the attacks that have befallen Ireena's family have not come whilst the sun hangs in the sky attest to that... the advantage, Damion, is ours".
"Except that we won't be fighting him on the ramparts. We will probably find him in some dank dungeon. Optimism is all well and good but I would prefer something a bit more solid. We should at least sharpen some wooden stakes... Does that really work on vampires or is that a myth?
"From what I recall learning at the temple, yes, in a way at least. Keeps them disabled so that you can in fact end them. This is why I was concerned that we came here on his terms and not our own. We didn't have time to properly prepare. I would have wanted some more holy water for example as it's needed to properly ensure final death. "
"Maybe we should start looking for that amulet. It seems to have some sort of power over him. I'm not afraid to face him, but I do not want to endanger any of your lives in a hopeless battle."
Daimon begins working on the lock. Just as he thinks he's got it, the tip of one of his lockpicks breaks in the mechanism freezing is shut. He then takes a good 15 minutes to drill out the lock and disassemble it, leaving a small pile of cogs and tumblers on the floor beside it.
With the lock removed, the door opens with a loud creak of half-rusted hinges. The door leads into an open tower that's about fifty feet in diameter. A ten-foot wide walkway curves westward along the outside wall of the open tower. There is no railing on the edge of the walkway; your light illuminates barely twenty feet up and down revealing nothing other than inky blackness beyond. Ten feet to the south, the walkway becomes stairs climbing upward along the outside wall. Two heavy wooden doors lead north and west. Just past the door opposite you, stairs descend along the inside wall of the tower.
This tower seems expectantly silent at your arrival.