#Udo Lukovich

[costhursdays]

Upon preparing for heading out of the town, the party had a few errands to run through getting Udo Lukovich and his mother Willemina Rikalova out of Vallaki. With the possible threat of retribution from Vargas Vallakovich assuredly presumed, they had to work fast to get the two out of the city. From here they were told by Father Petrovich to head south of town to the small Vistani encampment. Vargas does not trust these Vistana and have forbade any from entering the town. The group disguised the two Vallakian's, heading through the gate trepidatiously, so as to not get caught.

Upon reaching the camp they came across a hurried scene, as Vistana were running to and fro. The group met with a man who seemed to be delegating the lot, sending out teams into the forest and beyond. They learned from this man, Arrigal, that his niece Anabelle was missing, and that no one had been able to find her for half the day at least. Over half the Vistani that lived in the encampment were out searching, including several Dusk Elves, the likes of which the group had only read about due to the rumors they had died out long ago. Arrigal asked for their assistance in finding her, describing her as a little girl in a yellow sun dress and ribbon. While Nick was suspicious of the description, Chiaroscuro proffered that he could help track her with the help of Flicker the Shadowember Cat, who could perceive scents better than anyone in the party could. Arrigal had a young Vistana teen bring out a spare ribbon that Anabelle wore in her hair, and Flicker gave it a healthy sniff before leading the group back to town.

Heading north, the party left through the gate to Lake Zarovich, where they had heard earlier that day from Lady Petrovna that the wolves have been more active in the area of the lake. As they came to the edge of the water, they couldn't see anything save for the small row boats at the shore and one in the water, with a man fishing within. The party got in two, Alexir and Kenshi in one rowboat, Cash, Nick, and Chiaroscuro in the other, and both rowed out towards the man in the middle of the lake.

Approaching him, the group asked how he was doing, but upon speaking the words, the man seemed to be in a daze. He didn't respond, instead slowly lifted a large, tied off burlap sack over the water and dropped it into the lake's frigid waters below. Kenshi sprung into action, leaping into the water and diving quickly to save whatever was trapped within the bag. He reached out, fingers barely grazing to grab the strings of the sack, bringing it to the surface a few seconds after diving in. Alexir threw a dagger at the man in the boat and knocked him out easily as Kenshi brought the girl out of the bag while he climbed into the boat. Cash connected the man's boat to the one he and Chiaro and Nick were rowing and both boats headed back to shore.

While en route to the shore, Kenshi explained where he was from to Anabelle, who was a precocious and curious thing. In the opposite boat, Chiaroscuro and Nick had a conversation using Nick's Psychic Whispers, where the Elf-ish rogue explained that they were from north of Waterdeep and that they had a sister just like Chiaro that they're very fond of. The moment passed once they got to the shore and questioned the man in the boat, who had started to come to from the intense shock to his system.

The man introduced himself as Bluto Krogarov, who had heard a tale that if one would sacrifice something to the lake, they'd be blessed with fish. He took advantage of Anabelle being there where she wasn't supposed to be, seeing her as a missing Vistana child in the middle of town where Vistani children are not allowed to be. The party left him at the north gate, informing the guards there that he had attempted to murder a child for fish, and headed back south to the Vistani camp, Anabelle in tow.

When she arrived home, the party met her father, a large, mountainous man named Luvash, who carried her around everywhere with him now that she returned home to him. He offered the group a gift of treasure as thanks, along with allowing Willemina and Udo to stay with them no questions asked, as they had been willing to save the one thing in the world he cared for. Simultaneously, he also asked the group for help, as their wine supply was low and the Vistani group were growing dry. He requested they go west to check out the Wizard of Wines, to see if anything was holding up their allotted shipment. The party, serendipitously, was already en route to the same place, so offered to check it out for them as well.

Back on the road, they headed west towards the bridge connecting Vallaki to the Svalich Forest. What was ahead of them was a mystery about to be solved.

[glittercleric]

Curse of Strahd, Session 7

Last session, the group explored more of Vallaki, and the manyfold threads running through the town.

Beware: Curse of Strahd spoilers below. If you play this campaign yourself right now, you probably shouldn’t read this.

A New Friend

A new hand touches the beacon joins the party: Gawain, yuan-ti warlock, who like Savra came to Barovia with a mission, and decided to tag along for the party’s endeavours in town.

Wachter Shenanigans

They overheard the Wachter brothers talking about wanting to break into Rictavio’s carnival wagon, and accidentally unleashed the saber-tooth tiger hidden within. Hilarity ensued as they tried to wrangle the beast, with Gawain successfully Suggesting it calm down, and Wren playing a tiger-charming melody on their shawm. While Wren and Savra checked out the contents of Rictavio’s wagon, the tiger managed to knock Gawain prone and escape. The party chased the beast to the toymaker’s shop, where a terrified Blinsky sat atop a high shelf while the tiger played with its monkey bestie. Gawain conjured a net as pact weapon to catch the tiger, dragging it out of the shop. In that moment, Izek and the town guard marched up to them, intent to arrest the troublemakers, but once Izek saw Gawain, he smiled widely and let the issue go, just taking the tiger with them. The party was very uncomfortable with the way Izek kept staring at Gawain.

Meet the Vallakoviches - Lydia

Bright and early the next morning, Izek collected the party from their lodgings at the Blue Water Inn for their meeting with Baron Vargas. People were bustling in and out of the mansion, bringing bundles of twigs and other decorations inside. Baron Vargas was not quite ready yet to see guests, so his wife Lydia interrupted her brunch with other noblewomen to entertain the party. Lydia was overtly polite, but nervous - an Insight checked showed she was, deep down, terrified of the situation.

Meet the Vallakoviches - Vargas

Shortly after, the Baron finally welcomed the party in his den, smoking a pipe while they feasted on the charcuterie boards brought out for them. He showed great interest in the possibility to strengthen diplomatic ties to the village of Barovia through Ireena’s presence. However, he made his agreement to house her dependant on the party doing him a favor: Investigate Lady Fiona Wachter, a noblewoman who he is convinced has aspirations on his position as burgomaster. He recommended they speak to his son, who allegedly harmed the daughter of Lady Wachter, then excused himself - “there is much to be overseen for the festival, all will be well!”

"Is it just me, or is the baron ... strange?"

After a brief discussion with Ireena, the party decided that they do not trust the Baron at all, and would rather not have her stay in his mansion. The general opinion was to bring Ireena to the abbey in Krezk. However, the Baron’s offering of 200 gp was rather compelling, so they agreed to at least look into Lady Wachter, in case she truly is in league with Strahd as the Baron alleged.

Not-yet-skeletons in the closet

Their first lead was, of course, the Baron’s son, a boy who according to Vargas is “of a difficult age”, and rather unwilling to talk to his parents. A maid showed the group upstairs, pointing out Victor’s bedroom before scurrying away, clearly uncomfortable with being on this floor. When Victor didn’t answer his door, Wren broke out the thieves’ tools, finding only an empty room that is almost suspiciously devoid of personal belongings. Shrugging, the party figured he might’ve wandered off to another room, and started looking for him. The very first door they broke open revealed to them a man chained to the back of a closet, severely beaten and unconscious. Good Samaritan Savra rushed in to heal him, and he introduced himself as Udo Lukovich, the local shoemaker. The Baron had arrested him for protesting the Vallakoviches’ reign at the previous festival. To the party’s surprise, Udo said he preferred that he was just taken to the mansion and beaten up, because the Reformation Center would have been a much worse fate. Unnerved, the party smuggled him out a window using the rope they carried with them, telling him to go to the local church, before returning to their investigations.

Copycat Dolls

The next room was possibly even more unnerving than the closet: It was filled with what seemed to be hundreds of dolls, lined up on shelves and sat on the bed, sitting on windowsills and whatever other furniture was available. And all of them, to the last doll, looked uncannily like Gawain. When asked by the party if he has any idea why someone would have so many dolls of him, he said he had no clue, he has only been in Barovia for about a week, after all, and hadn’t made a lot of acquaintances yet.

Meet the Vallakoviches - Victoria

Still not having found Victor, the party investigated a massive library (that did not contain anything of value or use for them), and some personal rooms of the Vallakoviches, including the master bedroom, which contained a trapdoor leading up to the attic. Climbing up, the party found themselves in a dusty room chock-full of forgotten furniture and knick-knacks. Among antiques and paintings, Kyra found a bag full of curious scarlet dust, and Wren picked up a shiny gemstone. At the end of the room was a door carved with a skull, with a sign on the doorknob reading “All is not well!” in all-caps. Wren attempted to open the door, but triggered a Glyph of Warding on it, which Suggested to them that they don’t really want to be here, and aren’t they craving some more cake? Kyra managed to stop Wren from absconding, and Savra passed the door with no problem. 

Inside, they found their quarry - however, she’s not quite what they expected, for the Baron does not, in fact, have a son, but a trans daughter, and a magically inclined one at that. Victoria, as she wished to be called, was rather prickly and defensive at first, wanting the party gone, but warmed up to them as they made  it known that they have no intention of aiding her father. She told them the truth about what transpired with Stella Wachter: The two of them were brought together for a potential arranged marriage, but Victoria had no interest in marrying a girl, “at least not in the way I am expected to”. However, Victoria noticed latent magic in Stella, and offered to teach her some spells in exchange for Stella showing her how to do her makeup and how to dress femininely.

Spell Experimentation Gone Wrong

As part of their studies, the two of them experimented on each other with magic. One fateful day, Victoria expressed interest in mastering the Fear spell, and Stella encouraged her to try it on her, saying she’s strong enough to take it. Unfortunately, that proved not to be true, and in her desperation to console a terrified Stella, Victoria attempted to wipe her mind with Modify Memory, a spell she had never tried before. It went awry, leading to Stella breaking down and fleeing the mansion in mindless terror. Victoria has since been trying to construct a teleportation circle in the hopes of escaping Barovia and getting Stella the help she needs - a rather unsuccessful endeavour so far, as Wren noted that the teleportation circle is incomplete and would likely disintegrate anyone who tried to use it.

Don't piss off the baron

The party promised not to tell Vargas about Victoria transing her gender, or anything they learned from her, really. In parting, Victoria warned them not to anger the guard or her father, lest they are brought to the Reformation Center. Curious, the party asked her what that Center is, and Victoria explained her father employed some mages who are brainwashing people into being “happy”. The party resolved that maybe the Baron’s reign needed to come to an end. (Gawain also learned that the room full of dolls belonged to Izek, which made it abundantly clear that Izek was downright obsessed with Gawain for some unknown reason.)

Bone Theft

The party collected Ireena from the den, where she had been patiently waiting as to not be in the way of their investigations, then headed for the Church of St. Andral’s, hoping the local priest could give them some information about the Abbey in Krezk. They found Father Lucian comforting a grieving woman - Udo Lukovich’s mother, as it turns out. The shoemaker himself is nowhere to be seen yet, which caused some concern. They asked Father Lucian if Ireena could stay in the church, it being consecrated ground and thus a veritable protection against Strahd and his minions. Father Lucian took them down to the crypt hidden below the altar, “for privacy”, and told them Ireena would unfortunately not be safe with him, as the bones of St. Andral, which consecrate the church and grant him his divine powers, had been stolen two days prior. He and his altar boy, Yeska, were out tending to a dying man the day it must have happened, but the gravedigger, Milivoj, was preparing a plot in the graveyard, so Father Lucian suggested they talk to him. However, Milivoj had not come in for work since, and the headmistress of the orphanage he lived at had not allowed the priest to come inside. The party came to an agreement with Father Lucian that they will look for the bones in exchange for him writing a letter of recommendation for Savra so they may be let into Krezk to see the Abbot under the guise of Savra wishing to be fully ordained as cleric of Lathander.

We ended the session there, with the next task at hand being the investigation of the orphanage to hopefully recover the bones.

[glittercleric]

Curse of Strahd, session 9

After escaping from a lethally dangerous situation, the party prepares for further investigations to protect the town of Vallaki.

As always, if you are currently playing this campaign and are not in my group, you should probably move along, here be spoilers.

Escape from the Coffinmaker Shop

We open the session with a very precarious situation: The party surrounded by six vampire spawn they had awoken by setting off a Glyph of Warding primed to ice. Beaten, bloodied, and with Kyra grappled, the odds didn't seem in their favor. However, at the top of her first turn, Kyra heard a voice in her head: "Kyra, this is not just. This is not where you are supposed to die. Let me lend you strength. Protect them." She rolled a Religion check. On a 11, she felt magical energy surge through her body, and found herself under the effects of Heroism, Protection from Evil and Good, and Magic Weapon. Emboldened, Kyra took a stand against the vampire spawn, holding them at bay to cover her friends' escape. Still, Gawain nearly died as the vampire spawn grappled him and downed him again and again, his blood soaking the dusty boards of the coffinmaker shop. For a grim moment, it seemed like the party would have to make the impossible choice to leave Gawain behind to die, but through a combination of one vampire spawn deciding it'd rather hunt him than kill him while he's weakened, another hesitating to drink his blood, and a desperate jump out a window, he managed to escape after all. Wren used their Performance of Creation to block the doorway off with a stone wall, but the vampire spawn tore through it like its wet tissue, forcing the party into a mad dash to escape the shop. Weirdly enough, the vampire spawn did not follow suit.

Recovery at the Church

The party made their sort-of-sneaky way back to the church, garnering some strange looks, but thanks to the Vallakian pledge to always be happy, nobody apprehended them. A dark woman's voice rang out through Wren's mind: "Oh, you poor little bird. So lovely, yet so frail. Do not fret, dear one. I shall snare you and build you a beautiful cage."

At the church, they found Ireena conversing with a local nobleman, Vasili von Holtz. He introduced himself as an accountant, and Insight checks gave the impression that he has no strange intentions, likely just seeking Ireena's company for networking reasons. Vasili informed the party that he encountered "a mutual friend" wandering the streets in disarray, and took him to "the lady" until he is "well enough to continue his journeys". He then remarked he finds himself in need of new shoes, prompting the party to realize he is talking about the shoemaker, Udo Lukovich, and that Vasili is likely an associate of Lady Wachter's.

Reconvening with Father Lucian, the priest was incredulous at the revelation that Henrik harbors vampire spawn. He voiced doubt that Henrik would do such a thing on his own volition - the coffinmaker must have been compelled by someone. The party decided to go back to the shop after nightfall, when they long rested and are better equipped to take on the vampire spawn. They're level 5 now!

Sneaky Business

After nightfall, refreshed and more clear-minded, the party realized that their gear is not up to the task of protecting them against threats such as the vampire spawn. Unfortunately, the shops were already closed, so they went for the obvious solution: breaking and entering, but leaving payment for the goods they are taking. A Pass without Trace-powered stealth mission ensued, the party expertly evading the guard patrols by looking out for the glow of their torches.

To their dismay, Vallaki proved quite the disappointing place to shop for weapons and armor for. The best they could find was a set of studded leather armor for Gawain, who didn't want to rely on Mage Armor anymore after the spell fizzled out in the coffinmaker shop. No weapons or metal armor. They did not check the apothecary.

Gone, but not without a trace

After this detour, the party returned to the coffinmaker shop, only to find it trashed and deserted. It seemed like the guard went through the place - smashed and singed crates give evidence of Izek's presence. Henrik's bed was covered in dried blood, spilled relatively recently, likely after they escaped from the shop. It was enough blood to indicate the owner might have died by exsanguination, likely through vampire spawn.

In a hidden compartment in Henrik's wardrobe, untouched by the guard, they found a pouch containing some silver and electrum coins embossed with the profile of Strahd, alongside a letter reading "Thank you for the services rendered - W". Henrik might've had dealings with Lady Wachter, but was she the one who deposited the vampire spawn in the coffinmaker shop? And if so, for what purpose?

The party did not get to ponder that question further, as heavy footsteps sounded outside the shop. They hurriedly hid beneath the wreckage of the crates as Izek lumbered up the stairs and proceeded to search the shop. Standing in the room they hid in, dark and menacing, lighting his way with the flames dancing between his demonic fingers, the party held their breath ... in vain, as Izek stepped forward and pulled away the boards Savra was hiding beneath, leering at her: "Found you".

This is where we ended the session. What fate will await the party now that Izek has found them? We'll find out today.