Barovia, Barovia

We spent the night in a nearby tower, and the next day Rose and Thorn asked us to bury their remains nearby. We found a shovel in the tower and went to work putting them to rest.

The road leading from the tower gave us two choices, go towards the thick mist and risk falling into a pit in this godless land, or take the path into a forest. We chose the forest path and kept walking for what felt like six or more hours. At that point I (Malron Lichtstrahl) thought I saw a hunched figure in the forest. I asked the party if they saw the same thing, but no one did. Schlopkht climbed a tree to double check, but saw nothing. We kept walking, and this time the whole party saw some strange things. The shadow of a giant flying creature, the silhouette of what looked to be a giant bat, a shadowy figure holding an axe, a rider in the distance. All came and seemed to disappear as we blinked.

The fog seemed to be following us, driving us forward. We reached some stonework and a closed gate. The gate opened on its own as we approached. Daring not to let the mist catch us, or to wander into the forest, we went past the gate, and it closed behind us.

Schlopkht caught the foul scent of death ahead on the path, but again we felt there was no better choice than to continue on the path. Following the trail a bit longer we came upon a corpse of young man. Weeble Wobleston surmised he died of exhaustion and found a compass on his body. The compass needle was trembling a bit, and didn’t seem reliable. The body seemed to be pointing at a nearby tree, and it was discovered to have thirteen tally marks and an arrow pointing along a small footpath into the forest, and off the main road we had been following.

We decided to follow this side path, but Schlopkht and Weeble added their own tally mark to the tree, leaving it with fifteen marks before proceeding. After a while of walking we came upon the corpse of a horse, that also seemed to have died of exhaustion, and another tree with thirteen marks and another arrow. More marks were added to the tree, and Weeble pointed out that his compass was spinning wildly. We also noticed that there was a fog here, but not as thick as the one that had been following us along the road. Schlopkht tied a rope to his waist and handed the other end to Weeble, then he went into the fog. Many minutes later he returned looking exhausted and holding onto the rope that led into the fog. He told us that the fog doesn’t last more than a minute and then he found more forest and a fourth tree with thirteen marks. He had tied the rope to that tree and followed it back to us. I offered up some guidance and the party followed the rope, one by one, with me last, through the fog.

Examining the fourth tree more closely we saw the rough carving of a horse and rider on it and a worn dagger impaled into the tree. It also had the following phrase carved into it.

Horse man rides
Seer spoke true

We followed this fourth arrow and came upon what looked like the road we had started from but arriving from the other side. It made no sense, and even more unnerving was that the corpse of the rider was now missing. We checked the nearby tree and saw it had the fifteen marks, two of which were fresh.

We kept along the road, still driven by the fog, and crested a hill from which we could see a village in a valley and castle of stone high above the village. The fog rolled in and covered up the castle but left the village visible.

We crossed a wooden bridge and came across some charred piles of who knows what. We entered a village with dilapidated buildings. There was the sound of flapping wings, and then a blue tipped raven flew overhead. It flew to the west, and circled back, almost beckoning us to follow it.

We ended up at the “Blood of the Vine Tavern”, which seemed to have been recently renamed to the “Blood on the Vine Tavern”. There was a chipped stone statue in the center with a plaque reading “ISMARK ANTONOVICH THE GREAT. Burgomaster of Barovia. Bane of Vampires. 618—662 B.C.”

The tavern had villagers, a fire in the hearth, a barkeep behind the counter, three Vistani, and a gray haired man alone in a corner. We came to learn the gray haired man is Ismark, the grandson of the man who’s statue we saw outside. The town had recently been besieged by forces of Strahd the undead, a vampire. The village we are in is called Barovia, and it lies in the land of Barovia. Some of the villagers had fled west to Vallaki.

Ismark warned us of spies for Vlahd in the form of bats, wolves, humans, and even Vistani. He then asked us for help on a mission; to help his sister hide at a church in Vallaki. It would be a full days journey, and we are welcome to spend the night at his fathers place.

“Fools errand” boomed a voice in the tavern. “Do not follow Ismark the lesser” said a man we came to know as Billdrath. Ismark explained that he had lost friends because Ismark had been too proud to run away when the village was threatened. He explained that Doru, the son of Father Donavitch, had recruited a party to explore the castle near the village and clear it of any threats. They were never heard from again, but shortly after an Elf entered the village and proclaimed that Doru had woken Strahd and that he would exact some vengeance for having his slumber interrupted.

Then a woman entered the Tavern, a face full of fright and dismay. Pale faced, she cried to Ismark speaking of a girl named Gertrude who had gone alone in the night to Vallaki. Ismark promised to send someone to look for her in the morning.

We walked to the mayors mansion at the south end of the village, and when Ismark knocked on the door, a young woman peeked out and then we heard three locks unlocking before the door swung open. It turns she is Ismak’s sister, Irena. She was adopted and we learned that Ismark’s family found Irena in the forest when she was a little girl.

Irena asks us to help the villagers that retreated to Vallaki. First they must bury their father, who died in the attack.

Aera shan Ravanór found a guide to killing vampires which read as follows:

“In some shadowed corners of the world, the vampire reigns as a fearsome predator. Beyond mere bloodlust, these creatures are cursed with a range of abilities and weaknesses that make them as enigmatic as they are terrifying.

Their bodies are resilient to mundane weapons, shrugging off blows that would fell most mortals and regenerating even grievous wounds in a matter of moments. They move with unnatural grace, their senses sharply attuned to the whispers of the night. But it is in their supernatural abilities that their true horror lies. They can bend the will of others to their own, ensnaring friend and foe with but a gaze and a whisper. They can shift form with the ease of thought, becoming bats, wolves, or even a sinister mist that creeps beneath doorways and through cracks. And those their fangs kill become vampire spawn—ravenous creatures with a vampire’s hunger for blood.

These creatures are not wholly invincible, however, possessing a tapestry of strengths woven with fatal weaknesses. Sunlight and running water can end their cursed existence, and wooden stakes through the heart will paralyze them as they sleep. They recoil from the sight of holy symbols, and cannot enter a residence without an invitation. They bear neither shadow nor reflection, and must return to their coffins, crypts, or graves to rest by day.

It is said that the bloodlust of these creatures is an unquenchable fire that burns within their undead hearts. The young and newly turned are slaves to this craving, often losing themselves in a frenzy at the mere scent of blood. But those who have walked the night for centuries, as well as those with indomitable focus and will, may learn to temper this fire. Those who do so possess the rare ability to conceal their monstrous nature, retracting and exposing their fangs at will—a sign that the monster within is held at bay, if only while the vampire allows.”