This a player's prospective of "The Expedition to Castle Ravenloft". I'm playing Lia and will be writing in a journal format. Comments are loved, as always.
Quattro (NG human fighter 3/cleric 3): Formerly Smuggler #4 in "The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh", Quattro was given mercy by the bard Eulalia and started a new life as her protector. The zombie invasion of Saltmarsh made him fully realize the Light of Pelor, and after a battlefield ordination, he has sworn to avenge his fellow sailors. He has recently joined an organization called the Lightbringers and is working hard to earn their respect.
Eulalia Crandon (CG aasimar bard 4/fighter 1): The beautiful aasimar bard exile from the nation of Ahlissa, formerly a province of now corrupt the Great Kingdom, strives to record all of her adventures and experience all that she can. An official member of the Society of Sensation, which is based out of the city of. Lia hopes to one day return to Ahlissa and free it from the corrupt grasp of the Undying Overking.
Theolorious Vesuvius (N elf wizard 4/master specialist 2): An elven conjurer from Celene, Theo poofed into existence in Saltmarsh's town square a few months ago. A victim of a rival's prank, Theo has been trying to get back to Celene ever since. He's missing one ear and hates standing next to Vehmic in the marching order
Vehmic (CG hellbred warlock 6): A creepy slimy dude with crazy powers. Eats spiders. Not much else is known, though he was sent by the Lightbringers to help out in Barovia. Is he a good guy?
Kaive Crowley (CN human rogue 4/fighter 2): A planar traveler who ended up in Gradsul on accident, smokes big stinky cigars and has a greatsword named Lucy. He brought with him a new type of weapon called a 'pistol' and loves to make explosions. Very intelligent, though a little trigger happy and hard of hearing.
Rufus Gutternife (CN goblin rogue 3/ranger 1, cohort): Born of some strange union of goblin and halfling, Rufus has come to the world of Greyhawk with Sneaky, cowardly, and very dextrous Rufus helps out with the mixing of his chemicals and smokes like a fiend. He wears his buckler as a hat and tends to grab hold when frightened. He's also Lia's biggest fan.
Kurnzarn Keigalsun (CN dwarf cleric 6): Loud, crude, and always drunk, this dwarven preist of Hanseath may more of a liability than an asset in the coming months. He has not been seen since the escape from Saltmarsh, though telltale signs of his presence (empty bottles of booze, broken furniture, warrants for his arrest) have been seen wherever the party is. One can only hope he shows up when the party actually needs him.
When we last left our intrepid adventurors, Lia, Quattro, Theo, and Kurnzarn where fleeing Saltmarsh on the ship Serpant's Star. The town had been beset by vicious murders and the murder, who was believed to be dead, returned to awful unlife to unleash hordes of zombies. Quattro was sent by the Chruch of Pelor to find a sect of Lightbringers, a untitarian organization of undead destroying peoples, in the northern port city of Gradsul. The party was way laid by a covey of foul hags and nearly lost their lives in the process. Lia's angelic voice called down a flight of lillends, who fought to flee the artist and her friends. Once freed, the party traveled onward to Gradsul, and upon arriving, where welcomed into the organization with open arms. According to Lightbringer protocol, another group of adventueres in their employ was sent to Saltmarsh to deal with the undead menace. The sight of fighting loved ones and neighbors now turned into ravagin undead menaces was too great a strain on native poeples, so the group trained. Quattro was officially taught the ways of Pelor, Lia recounted an experiance for each sense in order to be admitted into the Society of Sensation, and Theo wrote a best selling book on oozeology. During their stay, they met Crowly and Rufus, who helped Theo write his book. After six months, the Lightbringers asked the party to go on a mission to find missing members of the order in a region called Barovia. They sent a man named Vehmic will them, who came cowled to hide his oozing pale skin and strange red eyes. He gave the prophecy "Beware the man who carries spiders" and with that crptic warning, the party began to travel. The journey up the Sheldomar River was long and quiet and eventually ended in the middle of the Lortmil Mountains. This is where our tale begins...
4 Patchwell, 591 CY
This tavern is very disheartening. Night will be falling soon and only a handful of patrons sit at the tables, eyeing us warily. I suppose I should be used to the looks the common man gives adventurors like us, but I still wish that they would see that we are not here to cause trouble or steal from them. The sight of Vehmic, even cloaked and hooded, made the patrons make warding signs. The bartender, a sullen fat man lazily wiping a mug as he glares at us, and only grunts when I ask if it is okay if I perform for our supper. I tried to sing something light, a few tunes about harvest and summer love, and it seemed to work a little. The glares are slightly less muerderous and one man almost smiles when Rufus does a short improntu beat on his buckler. He reddened and went to sit by Crowley when he saw that people where watching him. I noticed Quattro was talking to the bartender and then saw coins pass between them. I was quite curious to see what the ingenious smuggler did to get such a fine meal from the man and I found out later that Quattro gave him 20 dragons! That's more than the innkeeper makes in six months, I'm sure of it. It was very kind of Quattro to do that, even if he couldn't afford to. As we were eating, a man stomped in a gave us a note as he said ,"The town of Barovia needs heroes. I suppose you will do." Before I could reply, he was gone in a cloud of angry mutters. The note was very strange and reminded me of the Slaughterhouse boys.*
[the note is pinned to the page] ((Will be reproduced when I can!))
Barovia is where we are being sent to find the Lightbringers. After the man left, I found out later he was a Vistani and not to be trusted, I went to talk to the barkeep about Barovia. He didn't know much and only said that it was a sad, cursed place full of wolves and Vistani. Sounds great. Sometimes I wonder why I do this and then I remember Saltmarsh, how we could have prevented the horrible deeds done there and how we didn't. I remember that girl being attacked in the alley, the rats that swarmed out of the sewers, the valiant priests and warriors who fought the walking dead. I remember that horrible horrible man who tried to sacrifice me to his demon-lord and I wonder how many other young women fell to his blade. Then I don't complain about the flea ridden beds, weak ale, and muddy boots becuase I know we're trying to bring a little light into this dark place we live. Tomorrow we leave for the town. I will write when I can.
*Author's note: The Slaughterhouse Boys, like their name suggests, ran the Slaughterhouse of Saltmarsh. They helped bring the Ripper, the murderer of Saltmarsh, to unlife and held a peice of the Gem of Tharzidun. The craziest of the brothers, Stephen, kidnapped Lia during the zombie invasion and attempted to sacrifice her to a demon lord. The Gem fragment was recovered and give to the Church of Boccob to be destroyed.
Looking forward to reading your journal. I'm running this right now (3-4 months into it) and would love to read it from a player's perspective (and see how it plays out at your table). Keep it coming! :)
M
Author's Note: I'm silly and forgot about the limited time in which to edit posts. >.<
4 Patchwell, 591 CY
Late evening, alone in the common room.
Barovia. The worms creep beneath our floors and our streets, they feast on the flesh of our dead. High in the castle, the once lord is no longer, the new lord is not yet, without form, void. All is void and vanity.
Ireena, Ireena, Ireena! Long have I kept you at my side, long will I keep you close to my heart! Save my Ireena!
I am the Burgomaster. The Master! Kolyan am I! Soon the worms will feast on me.
Come! Do not tarry!
I've not been able to get these words out of my head. They are obviously the words of a madman, and with the disapperance of several capable Lightbringers, I am quite worried about the coming days. Who is this Ireena and what fate has befallen her? I can only wait for the coming sun and pray.
Being in this mountaneous place has inspired me to a new song. I have the first verse finished and I wonder if Rufus will help perform it with me in a few days.
"All our times have come,
Here but now they're gone.
Seasons don't fear the reaper,
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain
We can be like they are.
Come on child, don't fear the Reaper.
Baby take my hand, don't fear the Reaper.
We'll be able to fly, don't fear the Reaper."
I think I need to find a cowbell.
To fully understand the story of the second heroes of Saltmarsh, the story of Fishhook Anni, Peter of Pelor, and Dagger must first be told.
The company of three adventuror's was hired to investigate a haunted house on the edge of town, only to be tricked by the government of Saltmarsh into leaving town. They were transported to the Sea of Dust and left for dead. To this day, the citizens of Saltmarsh do not know where they are or if they will return. Anni was the daughter of the Chief of the wild elves in the Hool Marsh and since her odd disapperance, he has declared a blood feud on the town. For centuries, the Starmoss tribe had been a staunch ally against the lizardmen hordes of the marsh and now that their support was gone, the citizens feared the worst. The Church of Pelor, which had been struggling for years to mantain a chapel in Saltmarsh, gave up hope on the town after Peter dissapeared. They severely reprimanded the government and began to shut their doors on the town.
Lia and her friends were approached by Spider, the local proprieter of the Nymph's Kiss and resident crime lord, to begin the investigation into the huanted house again. He promised them a large sum and swore that it was a 'clean' job he didn't have the man power to do himself. The party agreed and went to investigate. They soon discovered that the 'hauntings' were illusionary and were covering up a large weapon smuggling operation. They also gained a new companion, a smuggler named Quattro, who was a invaluable help. Knowing what happened to the Three, the party turned the remaining smugglers over to Spider, who promptly employed them.
A murderer stalked the streets of Saltmarsh. The gaurd, in a burst of unusual effectiveness, promptly captured him and lost one of their own. The town quickly chopped the head off of the murderer, to prevent his rising in undeath, and held a funeral. Most of the town lined the street running up to the graveyard and the mayor gave a speech thanking the gaurd for their heroic sacrifice. Lia noticed that the mob was incrediably tense, and as the funerary wagon began to roll up the hill, the weather bgan to get darker. She remembered what her mentor said about great bards being able to calm murderous mobs with a song, and though she knew she wasn't good enough to do that, she did began to sing a traditional sailor's ballad about death. The entire crowd began to sing along and just as the tension lifted, they struck. Appearing out of thin air, men in black with wicked knives killed the gaurd escort and began to kill people in the crowd. The mob panicked and rioted while the men on the wagon took off through the cemetary. The party tried to reach them through the crush of the mob only to be pushed back. By the time they reached the graveyard, the wagon with the body of the murderer was gone.
The party searched the graveyard for clues, only to be ambushed by more men in black. They couldn't pick up the trail. Night was quickly falling, and hoping to avoid more atacks, they returned to the town. Mouse, an urban ranger, began to search for information. The next morning she returned with an interesting clue. She talked to many people about the murders in hopes of finding some kind of clue that would lead the party back to the killer's lair but instead learned that one of the Sawfish boys, who ran the slaughter house and stole things from old women, was seen at every crime see right before the murders. She knew none of them had been taken into questioning and wondered why. The party quickly made a plan and decided to investigate the slaughter house.
Kurnzarn would knock and ask for a ridiculous amount of haggis, stating that a holy day was coming up and haggis was the traditional food. Knowing that they would need to go inside to complete the order, Lia and Mouse would go with Kurnzarn and try to seduce whichever Sawfish boy they were dealing with. Then they would knock him out, let everyone else in, and explore. Things didn't go quite as planned. Steven, the oldest and smartest brother, answered the door and wouldn't let Kurnzarn in. Lia began to make innuendos about services she and Mouse could provide if he lowered the price of the haggis. He brought them to the office and began to be try to get those services from them. Mouse punched him in the nose and Lia kicked him in the groin but he didn't go down. Neither of the women wanted to kill him, in case he could be taken in by the cops, but he was much stronger than them. Luckily, the women subdued himand tied him up. Mouse went to let in the rest of the party as Lia began to searched through the desk.
She didn't find any incriminating evidence and the rest of the party joined her. They began to search the slaughterhouse. Nothing odd was in the upper floor except for one brother's very large collection of big scary knives kept in pristine condition. Oh, and the ogre that lived in a room full of humanoid bones. After they dispatched of the ogre, Mouse said she was going to get the gaurd so that whatever other evidence they found was seen by the gaurd. While she was gone, the party went down to the basement, where the cows were slaughtered. In one of the meat lockers, a kobold skeleton attacked them! Then, they found a secret room dedicated to the worship of demons and another Sawfish boy, this one named Alec They subdued him and took him upstairs, only to find that the ogre, his bone room, and the knive collection were all gone. Stephen had slipped his bonds and made a run for it while the party was busy in the basement. Mouse showed up with the Captain of the gaurd and as the party began to show him the evidence, they quickly realized that most of it was gone. The kobold skeleton and the demon altar had vanished! Mouse pointed out the remnants of the battle to the Captain but it wasn't enough to convince him. In a desperate attempt, Lia accused Alec of attempting to rape her, saying that they were only here to buy haggis and when they saw the knives upstairs, which had disappeared as well, they sent Mouse to find the gaurd. Perhaps he believed Lia becuase she was beautiful, perhaps becuase the Sawfish boys were nasty, or maybe his gut told him to take in Alec. either way, Alec was taken in by the gaurd for questioning and the party was relieved. Once
But, still, they knew the body of the Ripper was still out there and that the Sawfish boys were helping him out. The party decided to go to Spider's to make plans. Mouse pulled a shard of a red gem out of her pocket and told them she pulled it off the Sawfish boy. Theo took a look at it and, very calmy, proclaimed that he thought it an evil artifact. It was decided that they would give it to the Church of Boccob to dispose off as soon as possible.
The party went to their respective homes to sleep. When the screaming started, just as the moon hit its zenith, they ran into the streets to be confronted with hordes of shambling undead, skeletal swarms of rats, and black shadows that sucked the life out of people with a touch. Those that fell rose again in awful undeath to find more victims.
All had to cut their way through the undead to the tavern, which had been boarded up as a makeshift shelter. Theo, who held the jewel, said that sanctuary at the temple of Boccob might be possible in exchange for the gem. Everyone agreed and the party began to cut it's way through the horde. As they went, they helped as many as they could to safety but the numbers were against them. Within sight of the temple, a large group of zombies began to circle the party. All seemed lost, until a stylishly dressed man with light brown hair appeared at the temple walls. With a defiant shout at the zombies, he held out his holy symbol. The zombies poofed in a cloud of purple smoke and the man called out "We offer asylum to those who have something to trade. If you have no magic items, the temple of Pelor takes in vagrants."
"We have a shard of the Gem of Tharzidun! We will give it to you for free!" Theo shouted as he walked forward holding the gem fragment over his head between his thumb and forfinger so that the gem caught in the torch light.
The priest noticeably blanched and disappeared, shouting to someone below to open the gates. They swung open silently. he strode forward in an immaculate purple cloak with a bright pink vest, which would seem garish on any other man but he wore with supreme confidence. "We will give you anything we have in trade. Asylum, a way out of this thrice damned city, weapons to fight the horde, anything. Name your price."
"You will destroy it? Immediately?" Theo asked.
A palpable feeling of power surrounded the party as purple lights danced in the mage-priest's eyes. He did not speak as he stared at Theo.
"Right, stupid question. Our fault, of course you will destroy it. Silly us. Well, we could use a wand of curing, perhaps a few potions. Give the priest the gem, Theo. He'll take care of it," Lia said as she stepped forward with an inane smile on her face. The mage-priest made a motion with his hand and a pair of acolytes ran forward with their heads bowed. The priest said a few words in a harsh, reptillian tounge and the acolytes poofed away in a cloud of purple smoke. Theo handed over the gem, which the priest did not touch. He held open a puch at his waist and the gem was dropped inside.
"The Church of Boccob is in your debt. Take these cards. They will attune to you. Show them to any temple of Boccob and you will receive whole sale prices on goods. The acolytes will return in a few moments with your order. Anything else I can do for you this night?" he said quickly as he closed the pouch and tucked it somewhere in his cloak.
"Could you get us to the Temple of Pelor? We've got a feeling they need help," Lia asked quietly. She did not look into the mage-priest's eyes, knowing full well that he could turn her into a pile of dust without a thought. With such power and faith, he could destroy all of the undead in the city in a night but he chose to remain neutrel, uncaring of anything except magic. Such a sad, sad man.
He nodded and the acolytes appeared. Kurnzarn took the healing magics with a gruff thanks and the acolytes scurried back into the temple.
"Good luck and may whatever gods you do or do not worship bless you on this long night," the priest said with a few esoteric movements, "Now all link hands, hold your breath, and count to three. Ready? 1-2-3!" And with that, the earth tipped forward and sideways, all dimensions disappeared and their bodies twisted. As soon as it started, it was over.
The party faced a run down stone church with a small courtyard. The walls were low, about man sized, and benches were carved into them. The gates were right behind the party and were closed. Two score of undead threw themselves against the walls futiley and moaning permeated the air. The party all cursed at once and thousands of dead eyes turned towards them. The moaning grew loader as the zombies turned and began to shuffle towards them. Mouse turned around and began to open the gates. The crossbar was too heavy to lift, so Quattro and Kurnzarn helped. Lia and Theo began to back up, running to the wall and shouting at the others to hurry up. They swung the gate out into even more zombies.
With a cries of rage, terror, and adulation Quattro, Mouse, and Kurnzarn all drew their weapons and began to chop apart the zombies. Lia began to sing and drew her cutlass to defend the rear as best she could. Theo stood between the warriors and the bard as he began to chant. Magic flowed out of him in time with the song. The zombies grew closer and more joined them.
At first, Lia just thought it was a torch on one of the sconces of the church. But hadn't it been dark when they arrived? The golden light grew brighter and brighter until it seemed as light as a summer noon. The zombies in front of Lia caught fire and burned as the ones behind turned and ran.
Standing on the steps of the church, fiver priestesses of Pelor held hands and holy out towards the undead. Light streamed from them and they glowed like angels. They beckoned to the party, who shut the gate again and ran up the stairs. Lia recognized the head priestess as Petra, another aasimar that was dark where Lia was light. They embraced and went into the church.
Petra looked at the party and began to speak, " I must ask brave warriors such as yourseves to undertake a mission for the town. There is a boat in the harbor called The Serpant's Star and it will leave within the hour. You must take this letter to Captain Morgan and you will gain passage. They are going to Gradsul. Tell the Lightbringers what happened here and pray that they are in time. Please, for the town, for its people, you must do this for us."
Quattro stepped forward and knelt at the priestess' feet. He took one of her hands in his and said reverently, "Priestess, this night has shown me what I`ve know fer a long time. I would ask ye t' make me a priest so that I may swashbuckle th' undead in his name in th' comin' moons."
With a smile, she began to speak in a soft musical language. A soft golden light suffused her, starting at her head and running down her arms like golden water until it touched Quattro. The light ran over him and then into him until he burned bright in the night.
"Quattro, you hve been redeemed in the light of Pelor. Do you swear to heal those who are sick, no matter what their creed or race? Do you swear to be merciful to those who ask and to those who are downtrodden? Do you swear to fight the undead in everything you do? Do you swear your life to Pelor so that his light may touch all of Oerth?"
"I do, m'am. Everything an' always," he said with shining eyes. She pulled him to his feet and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his whiskery cheek. "Then, welcome, brother. Go to the Sun Father with a pure and shining heart and he will bless thee," she said as she stepped back. One by one, the priestesses went to Quattro and welcomed him into the fold. Once they were done, Petra handed the letter and shining gold symbol to Quattro.
"Go with speed and luck, warriors," she said as they left. They broke into a run down to the harbor, and through luck or divine providence, ran into no more undead that night. The ship was in the harbor and they traveled to Gradsul
5 Patchwell, 591 CY
Village of Barovia, evening.
I must write quickly as the others finish cleaning up the street. Writing down the horrors that we have seen this day will create a sense of order where there is only chaos, will help me remember what I have seen so that I can fight against it all of my life.
We left the inn at dawn. Kurnzarn, who I thought had been arrested for public urination, had caught up to us in the night with the wagon of supplies and ale. He was sleeping in the barn with the horse, a huge, old draft horse he’s been calling Snowball, when we went to saddle our horses. We finally woke him, only to be cursed at. He muttered something about catching up latter and went back to sleep.
The journey to Barovia was, to quote Crowley, gods’ damned creepy. A thick fog covered everything, and with the light diffusing through it, made it impossible to see. Fearing for the horses legs, we stopped and sold them at the first farm we passed. Our traveling would be slower but we knew we were close. Wolves howled in the distance, crows cawed menacingly, the birds did not sing. The gods have quite the flair for the dramatic sometimes.
We arrived at the gates at noon, at close as I could tell. A battered wooden sign stuck into the ground said “Welcome to Barovia!” in archaic script. The gates were huge and ancient wrought iron with stone pillars carved with trees, wolves, and ravens. To the left and right, impossibly thick woodlands stretched as far as I could see. The branches of the trees were twisted and hung thick with moss. Crowley went up to the gate first with Rufus. As they began to examine it, the gates swung open with an earsplitting shriek. Crowley spat, shrugged and walked through. Quattro and I exchanged worried glances. I drew and strung my bow as Quattro drew his battered cutlass. We moved through the gates slowly, with Theo and Vehmic coming last. Once we were past, the gates swung shut on eerily silent hinges. Crowley grunted and waked back towards them. He took out his huge wrench and banged on the gate with no success. They stayed shut.
“Guess we don’t get to leave that way,” he grunted as he dropped his cigar to the ground. Quicker than I could see, he had another one in his mouth and lit. Rufus followed suit with a small black cigarillo, though he spared me a grin. “Don’t worry, Lia. If we need to go that ways, we blows it up! Hee hee hee!” Rufus said as he trotted after his master. I gulped. I worry about those two’s predilection towards explosive, though I am also fascinated by Crowley’s fire spewing crossbows. I haven’t seen them in battle yet, though I am sure that Phyrrus* would approve.
By mid afternoon it started to get darker and we hit the edge of town. The buildings were eerily dark and all was silent. The streets were cobblestones and slick with the dew of the fog. I saw a wagon in the street ahead, shrouded in fog. And then I heard the moans, the telltale scraping of dead feet against wood and stone. I looked quickly at Quattro and then began to sing a hymn that the Lightbringers taught me that would make Quattro’s ability to destroy undead even greater. I continued to slowly walk down the street as my companions spread out. Quattro and Crowley took the lead, each holding their weapons at the ready. Vehmic scampered up the wall of a nearby building with startling agility. Theo began chanting a spell and Rufus disappeared into the mists. The fog slowly revealed more boarded up buildings that disappeared once we were passed them. The wagon appeared to be a meager attempt at a barricade, a common strategy during zombie incursions I have learned.
A bright flash of fiery red light streaked from the top of the building that Vehmic was perched upon just as the zombies began to crawl out the wagon. The blast hit the zombie in the chest and it caught fire as a deafening crash rocked out of the tiny crossbow in Crowley’s hand. The flaming zombie was hit in the shoulder but it kept coming, faster than any other zombie I’d ever seen. Its rotting legs carried it to Crowley as fast as any man. It was followed by three more and I was sure that the crash of Crowley’s weapon would draw more. Quattro drew his holy symbol out from underneath his tunic and held it towards the undead. With a call to Pelor to rival any paladin I’ve ever heard, beautiful golden light exploded out of from him like an ocean tide that seared the skin of the zombies. I took a deep breath and continued the hymn, knowing that it would make this battle much easier if I kept singing. As I sang, I drew an arrow and let it fly. It struck the flaming zombie in the eye but the thing kept coming. Theo stepped next to me and shot as well, his arrow hitting the same zombie in the arm.
Crowley quickly dropped his weapon and drew his wrench, pummeling the zombie in the head to great effect. An earthen hand exploded out of the ground in front of the next zombie, grabbing hold of it and smashing it onto the ground. Quattro let lose another terrible shout and this time, the light that came from him turned two of the zombies to ash. Theo called out a warning as more zombies appeared from the alleyway to our left. I kept singing and let another arrow fly, this time hitting one appearing from the alley. Crowley reloaded his weapon and shot the same one as I. Quattro ran to the same and began to hack at it with his sword as Vehmic shot another fiery red blast at it. The other zombies began to swarm Quattro. I changed my song to a Frostti war song and waded into battle, blood lust clouding my vision. I don’t know how long we fought, though Quattro did come close to leaving us for good. His wounds are infected, black around the edges and seeping. I couldn’t identify what kind of disease it was. I am scared that if he dies, he’ll rise as one of the undead. We pray that he doesn’t.
Kurnzarn pulled up in the wagon a few moments after we finished fighting. Between my healing songs and Kurnzarn’s everfull tankard of ale, we managed to heal most of Quattro’s wounds. We were discussing what to do next when an odd sound reached my ears. I told everyone to shut up and listen. A melodious clang, perhaps from a cowbell, was coming down the street towards us. What could it be?
The clanging continued to become steadily louder. We fanned out around the wagon again, wary. Theo summoned a large white buffalo and ordered him to charge down the street towards the sound. The white buffalo disappeared into the fog with a clatter of hooves. The clanging continued and then got louder as the sound of more hooves raved towards us. Out of the fog, a heard of zombie cows lead by a huge zombie bull raced towards the wagon!
“Hurry, ye fools! Help me move the wagon! Save the ale!” Kurnzarn shouted as he grabbed Snowball’s bridal. I was fascinated by the cowbell, so melodious and loud! I knew I had to have it for my new song! But, I also knew I could stop a rampaging, zombie bull by myself.
“Theo! Cast that web spell! I need that cowbell!” I shouted as I ran to the side of the street. He moved to the side of the street and looked for something to anchor the spell. Crowley handed a small, round thing to Rufus and took one out for himself. Almost lazily, he pulled a pin out of the side and threw it at the bull. Rufus began to giggle manically and gleefully pulled the pin out of his. He threw it in front of the bull at the street. “Duck and cover!” he screeched as they leapt behind the barrels. I didn’t have time to react as the explosion blasted a hole in the street and in the bull. Still, the cowbell rang on as Snowball panicked, kicking his way out of the wagon’s harness. Theo called out an incantation and pointed right in front of the huge hole in the street. A glob of grease flew out of his finger and landed right in front of the bull. It slipped and flew head over heels over the hole. The other zombie cows followed suit, flying through the air with dead moaning lows that sounded suspiciously like “Graaaaaaaiiiiiinssss”.
The bull slid to a stop in front of Snowball. It laboriously rose to its feet as Theo lobbed another wad of grease at its feet. As it began to charge down the street again, it slipped and slammed into poor Snowball, who had just managed to kick his way out of the harness completely. With a sickening crunch, the screaming horse and moaning bull landed in a heap. Snowball’s legs were crushed and the zombie bull gored him with his horns as it tried to stand again. The sound of Snowball dying will stay with me for a long time. Kurnzarn silently charged forward and took a swing at the bull’s neck. With a sickening crunch, the dwarf’s great axe cleanly severed the bull’s head from it body. He then knelt at Snowball’s side and began to pray, his hands held over the draft horse’s corpse. As he healed the horse, I ran over to the bull’s corpse. The cowbell lay in a pool of thick black blood and I quickly picked it up. An image of a butterfly was carved on one side and the clacker was engraved with a phrase in Halfling. “The brightest flowers grow out of the darkness”. Theo cast a cantrip upon it and stated matter of factly, that it was indeed magical. I am convinced it is a sign from Apollo that what I do here pleases him and the songs I will write will be sung for ages to come.
As I write, the boys are making a barricade in the street. We are at a four way intersection and our barricade is partway down the southernmost road, the one we traveled up. The stable the now healed Snowball in an abandoned house, since Kurnzarn has grown so fond of him. The barricade is made out of the two wagons and zombie corpses. I protested loudly to this, saying that whatever plauge turned these poor souls into zombies could be virulent and the bodies should be burned. I refuse to stand next to a stinking pile of corpses. It was decided that Crowley, Rufues and Vehmic should scout ahead and pull any other undead towards us so that we may destroy them! Quattro and I are to stand guard as they go, to warn the others when they return.
I am worried about Theo, though. I know he is young for an elf. I think he's only a dozen of years passed a century. For one so young, I worry that this mission will have dire consequences for him. He has been more detatched that usual, not speaking unless spoken too. He was shaking so badly after the zombie cow incident that Kurnzarn shared his ale with him. Now, not only is he scared but he's a little drunk. The next few hours should be interesting.
I will write when I can. Apollo, Pelor, Hanseath, and whoever else is watching, bless us.
I like how you worked in a little B.O.C. bard action. :)
M
I like how you worked in a little B.O.C. bard action. :)
M
Oh yeah. I rolled a nat 20 on her Craft (composition) check, so it's going be an amazing song. Besides, it's such a sweet song! And now she has a magical cowbell! What's not to love?
Thomas, the song does not cure diseases. Yet.
Well, we usually play on Sunday evenings, so ideally I will have the chapters up between Monday and Wednesday.
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I like how you worked in a little B.O.C. bard action. :)
MOh yeah. I rolled a nat 20 on her Craft (composition) check, so it's going be an amazing song. Besides, it's such a sweet song! And now she has a magical cowbell! What's not to love?
Thomas, the song does not cure diseases. Yet.
'Cause I've got a fever, and the only cure is
"Graiiiinnsssss" I was laughing at work and people were staring at me. ;)
Also I like that you've brought in some more technology based character (guns and explosives) since I'm currently running an Iron Kingdoms game and it gives me some good ideas on what to use.
Can't wait to read the next exciting chapter, keep up the good work.
5 Patchwell, still.
Blood of the Vine Inn, Barovia
Not long after I finished my last entry, I heard Theo yelling. I was posted just pas the barricade, at the corner to keep watch. I ran back to the barricade, leaping over zombie corpses and debris with my cutlass drawn. Theo was laying a few lengths away from the barricade, yelling about how great the plan to scout ahead would be if we actually listened to him and how completely drunk he was. I stopped dead in my tracks and rounded on Kunzarn, who was leaning against the barricade sipping his tankard.
“He thinks there’s a ditch there,” Kurnzarn said as he gestured towards Theo.
“What are you talkingsh about, Kurrrrnzarn? There’sh totally a ditch here.” Theo said quite clearly as he raised his head up. I tried speak but Theo beat me to it. Maniaclly, he yelled, “I’m hiding! Hiding from the nasty icky gross zombies! Can’t lose another ear, then I won’t be an elf! Can’t can’t can’t!”
Slowly, I turned back to Kurnzarn. “I leave you alone with the adolescent elf and you get him drunk. I can’t believe this. We’re trapped in a zombie infested town and you get the wizard drunk. What in all that is holy is WRONG WITH YOU?!”
He shrugged and took another drink. “It only gave the boy two tankards full. It wasn’t even enough to get a child drunk and now the fool is flailing around like a madman. S’not my fault.”
The dwarf is the worst kind of fool, a danger to himself and others. Logic would dictate that a terrified adolescent elf would need spirits strong enough to knock out an ogre, not calm rational support. How silly of me to think otherwise! Damned dwarf will get us all killed.
I had just taken a deep breath to begin giving the worst (best?) tongue-lashing of my life to Kurnzarn when Theo really began to yell. “They’re coming! Go, valiant friends and slay them! Give them what-fore! Tally ho and all that!” With that pronouncement, he began to dig a hole in his ‘ditch’, I assume to get farther away from the zombies. He abruptly stopped and jumped to his feet. “Wait. Hold it, I can do magic!” he cried as his hands began to trace symbols in the air.
I shot another glare at Kurnzarn just as the crack of Crowley’s pistol rang out. I heard him shouting out the warning moments later. The fogs parted for a second as I trotted forward, revealing Crowley with Rufus over his shoulder. The zombies gave close behind, moving fast and clumsy, while two winged shapes flew above. They shrieked and dove down on Crowley, who deftly dodged them. He was coming from the north along the road that seemed to cut straight through town. I knew Vehmic went east and I kept an eye out on the fogs for the flash of his strange powers. Quattro, Kurnzarn and Crowley met the zombies with a mighty yell. The priests’ waves of divine might light of the fogs and scaled away the flesh of the undead. I began to sing, this time my newest composition, and held my ground just in front of the barricade.
“Oh no! They’re gonna get me! Gotta go gotta go!” Theo yelled from behind me. I turned and saw him disappear with a little belch. Cursing Kurnzarn with everything I had, I turned to follow him. I climbed over the barricade again, trusting Quattro and Crowley had the zombies under control. Theo had disappeared. Moving slowly down the street, I kept my eyes on the buildings to each side. I walked to Snowball’s makeshift stable, thinking that could be the only place Theo would be. Suddenly, I heard the crash of broken glass and the screams of elf and horse.
Maybe it was the adrenaline or some strange horse god, but with two swift kicks, Snowball shattered one of the walls of the building. Through the debris, I could see four zombies swarming over the wagon to get to the poor horse. Theo was now where to be seen, though I heard him yelp in surprise behind one of the doors. The zombies lurched over the wagon just as Snowball broke his ties, rending the poor beast’s flesh and mauling him. A rage filled me. Snowball had already been near Death’s door once this night and I did not want to see him mauled by horrific undead. “FOR SNOWBALL!” I yelled as I leapt over the debris into the building. I fought instinctually. The debris of the fallen wall felt like the deck of a ship under my feet as I danced around the zombies. Theo managed to call a few friends to help me, though I think his state made it difficult. When the last of the undead were cut down, I turned to Snowball. He was beyond our help, the poor animal. We said a prayer, later. I hope he doesn’t turn into a zombie.
We made out way north, towards where Crowley said the town square was. Running low on spells and with daylight fading fast, as silently as possible we moved down the street. Not long after we began, the narrow streets opened to the square. Hearing the sounds of battle and a pained yell from ahead, I ran forwards. Four zombies appeared out of the mist and attacked. I managed to hit one and then Quattro leapt in front of me. With a flash of light, the zombies were burned. It was easy enough to cut them down with the boys’ help. Kurnzarn ran forward and shouted out the alarm.
A half dozen undead swarmed a beautiful blond swordswoman. As I ran forward to help, the very eth seemed to reach up and grab her, pulling her down into the moist dirt with a muffled shout. Kurnzarn squared off with a strange dirt covered zombie that seemed tougher than the others surrounding us. Quattro and I dealt with two in front of us and Crowley dealt with another. The zombies that infest Barovia are much tougher than those that were in Saltmarsh. I wonder what type of necromantic evil has infected these poor souls. Kurzarn says that the zombism comes from an infection in the wounds received. Over half of our party is infected, with their wounds rimmed with black. Theo has been hit the hardest and is barely able to cast spells. If we are not able to rest and heal soon, I fear the worst.
The gravedirt thing almost killed Kurnzarn, attempting to make the earth swallow him (not too terrible a fate for a dwarf, I suppose) and viciously attacking him. We managed to destroy it and save the swordswoman, who is named Ashlynn. As it fell, a great cheer was raised from within one of the buildings. The doors were unbarred and people came out to help us into the inn, called the Blood of the Vine. I mentioned that the name of the inn was strange to Crowley, who merely grunted.
Ashlynn is the paladin of Pelor we were sent to rescue. She says that her companions Thendrick and Matilda went into the Cathedral to find the source of the plague and haven’t returned. She calls them fools for not heeding her words and visiting the wise woman Madame Ava of the Vistani beforehand. . After her companions left, Ashlynn protected the last garrision of the town, the Inn. Quattro gave her a coin emblazoned with a sun and lightning bolt that lit up when she touched it.
The image of a woman appeared in front of Ashlynn and said “Help us, Ashlynn na Pendaron, you’re our only hope. In Darkov find Rea-Help us Ashlynn na Pendaron, you’re our only hope. In Darkov find Rea-.” Ashlynn closed her hand and the image disappeared.
Theo appeared next to her and said grumpily, “Hmph, illusion magic. Quite easy, actually. I can’t believe they messed up the recording like that. You’d think they’d know what they were doing with a standard message spell but nooo….”
“Thank you for your help. May the Sun Father’s Light bless you all in this dark place,” she interrupted smoothly. With an elegant bow, she spun on her heel and trotted up the stairs.
I nudged Quattro in the ribs and said, ‘Promise me that when you’re a holier than thou pally, you won’t act all holier than thou.”
He grinned and playfully tapped the brim of my hat, pushing it down over my eyes. I quite literally squawked and jumped into the air. Blinded, I could hear Quattro’s receding laughter. By the time I fixed my hat, Kurnzarn had collected a tem of men to retrieve the wagon from the ruins of the building, gotten the wagon, and was passing out free beer. The citizens of Barovia, understandably, were quite morose about their situation. Kurnzarn gathered some information about Madame Ava and the note we received. Apparently, Burgomaster Kolyan had not written the note. His son said the baron Strahd visited the house about a week ago and the next day, Kolyan fell ill and died. His sister, the Ireena mentioned in the note, was locked in the house with their father’s body now. The family also used to have the holy symbol of Ravenkind, which mysteriously quit working.
I sat and traded tales with a table of Vistani. They are a fascinating people, full of interesting lore and songs. I even managed to talk a few of them into playing my new song with me and the despair that had settled over the Inn was lifted for a few minutes as tables were pushed to the walls and dancing began. And people say that bards are just spoiled dandies! If they saw the change in those people of Barovia when the dance music began, they’d not say that again anytime soon.
Tomorrow we will travel to Madame Ava’s and see what she has to say.