Past Sessions

Session 1:

The human barbarian Jonah Jolion (Luke Cook), the shadow elf sorcerer Drost Kivlahan (Caleb Jones), the forest gnome wizard Peggy Timbers (Savannah Cook), the human cleric of Lathandar Brother Borovik (Daniel Kaiser), and the tibaxi swashbuckling rogue Quicksilver/Silver (Shawn Sovie) met in Neverwinter in the Jeweled Crest Inn, agreeing to help a dwarf Gundren Rockseeker deliver some equipment to Phandalin, a rough and tumble village on the outskirts of civilization. Gundren and a representative of the Lords’ Alliance, Sildar Hallwinter, left 3 days ahead of you. You set out on the road and, when you were about half a day from your destination, found two dead horses on the ground. Jonah spotted 4 goblins laying an ambush, turning the battle in your favor. You made short work of the goblins, with Kivlahan chasing down the final goblin as it fled, ensuring it could not warn the others of your arrival. You decided to investigate, seeing if your employer was amongst the taken. Defeating the goblins in the cave as well as their bugbear leader, you rescued Sildar from being cooked and eaten like the other poor souls in the room. Silver and Borovik noticed a familiar face. Borovik interred the body outside, offering a prayer to Inspiration’s Dawn, while Silver laid his armor to rest on the grave and marked “Roger Holder” with Borovik adding “Junior”.

You all aided Sildar in collecting the stolen goods the goblins had taken and made it to Phandalin. You were rewarded handsomely for your efforts, which some of you returned or gave away. You discussed possibly rescuing Gundren when Sildar revealed the extent to which the assault on the two of them took place. It appeared that these goblins were working for a group of drow slavers who had also been suspected of kidnapping children. Sildar urged you all to meet them head-on in the Neverwinter Wood while he wrote for aid from the Lords’ Alliance in Waterdeep and Neverwinter, summoning the famous Griffon Cavalry to clean up the town and bring peace to the land by way of the sword. As you prepared to stop the drow, you searched amongst the town seeing what else you might be able to assist with. Coming to the Townmaster’s hall, you found that the role of both the Townmaster and Lawmaster was performed by an old man. He was clearly stressed from the overwork caused by the recent spate of trouble from orcs, goblins, drow, wolves, etc. Upon being criticized for his style of leadership, the guards were summoned and you were all promptly ejected from the building (though not before Peggy Timbers could steal a series of documents helping you narrow your search for these slavers.)

You set your trap, and waited for the slavers to find you. Instead you were found by an unnaturally large raven, which flew up to Kivlahan and mimicked a child’s cry before flying off. You followed its trail until you were beset upon from the trees by a series of giant spiders. You all were quickly brought down and paralyzed by the spider venom. You contemplated your fate as a drow slave as you were dragged to the mouth of a cave alongside some whimpering children. Before you entered the cave, however, a man stepped into the clearing. You watched as he transformed into a werewolf and howled to his pack of lycanthropes, which demolished the drow as another group of werewolves emerged from the woods. The two pack leaders (Emil and Kiril) argued over what they should do with the children and fought in a storm of fur and teeth. Kiril emerged the victor as Emil fled with his pack and the children, pursued by Kiril’s pack. You were left in the darkness and the rain, as a mist descended over you all.

Coming to as the spider venom left your veins, you awoke in a new land: colder, and darker, constantly surrounded by a deadly mist, threatening to choke any who dare try to escape. Jonah, immediately tested this theory, gaining a level of exhaustion as the mists sapped the strength from body. You pressed on into the land, dark and gloomy in the early morning fog. You eventually found a corpse: a man holding a letter, urging whoever found the letter to turn and flee this godforsaken land. The letter referenced that an adopted daughter has been twice bitten by a dark vampyr, that this land was cursed, and you should leave them all for dead.

Choosing not to heed his advice, you pressed on until you came to a village. It was deadly silent but for a whimper you heard in the streets. You followed it to a child and his sister, who claimed that they had fled their house and that a monster was in the basement. You entered, leaving the children in the main foyer to await your return. The house proved to be much more sinister than you could have imagined: the family were cult members, sacrificing people to evil gods in hopes of immortality and fiend summoning. You found the room of the child’s baby brother, Walter, and as Peggy reached in to inspect the baby bundle she was pulled back by the horrifying form of a specter screaming in her face. Driven by a consuming fear,Peggy lashed out at everyone and everything until the Specter was defeated and Jonah calmed her. You continued exploring until you reached the locked bedroom of the two children, named Rose and Thorn. It was locked, but you managed to enter anyway, and found the starved bodies of the two children. They had been neglected by their parents and left to die.

The ghosts of the children, not understanding their fate and fearing abandonment lashed out possessing Jonah until Peggy offered a willing host to a terrified Thorn. With a reassuring offer Silver convinced the children that they would help them find a better place to "live," and Jonah collected the skeletons to be laid to rest. Borovik led the way down the secret stairs of this house, first uncovering the blood-soaked sheets around the skeleton of what used to be the family nursemaid. Borovik, searching for the crypts to lay the children to rest, was assailed by thousands of centipedes which only he could see in the mother's crypt. He then fell unconscious until Kivlahan and Jonah could rouse him. You found the crypts of the children and set the skeletons in their respective coffins. The children floated in front of you once more, thanked you for helping them find peace, and disappeared. You then set out exploring this dungeon, finding the living quarters for what you assumed to be lower ranking cultists. You found some treasure worth taking, namely a silvered shortsword. You all ended your trek in the dining room, after defeating a grick that had made its home in the larder.

 

Session 2:

The party continued their trek through the death house’s dungeon, facing increasingly difficult challenges and finding the treasure of a previous, unlucky, band of adventurers. Incessant chanting, audible throughout the dungeon, was found by Silver to be emanating from a secret entrance into an altar room. Apparitions of long-dead cultists appeared, chanting “He is the ancient. He is the land.” When two of the more daring party members climbed the bloody alter the chant shifted, to “One must die!” and when you all refused to sacrifice a member of your troop it shifted to “Lograth, the Destroyer, we awaken thee!” as a shambling mound of bone and refuse awoke and attempted to consume you all. Lograth was defeated when it made the mistake of engulfing Jonah, who ripped and carved his way from the monster. The chant shifted one final time to “The end comes, death be praised!” and the ghosts disappeared.

The death house wasn’t done with you yet, however, as doorways turned to spikes, and fireplaces spilled sulfurous smoke. You all, escaped the house intact, taking many minor injuries along the way. In hopes of finding a place to stay, you went to the Blood of the Vine Tavern. You purchased room keys from the three owners: human women, dressed a lot like SIlver, with dark hair, tanned skin, and flowing clothes of many colors (a welcome change of pace from the bleakness you had seen so far). Before bed you all met Ismark the Lesser, a native Barovian and the son of the Burgomaster. He beseeched you all to hear his request for aid, and said he would come back in the morning after you all got a night of rest.

 

Tarokka Reading:  
 * After cards are drawn and items are read: “But these cards hold so much more for your fates.”
 * The Ghost runs from their past mistakes, or are haunted by an old enemy. No matter how far they run, can they ever be free from their sin?
 * The Donjon is beaten and broken by their past failures. They are a prisoner of their own mind. In this world of horror and isolation, will they be broken beyond repair?
 * The Miser, so driven by greed for gold, artifacts, power. Does their lust for these things justify the means to an end?
 * The Charlatan: a con, whose life is lies. How long until they lie to themself, until the truth ceases to be, and they lose all respect for themself and everyone else, becoming naught but a hollow shell?
 * The Traitor: one who has betrayed someone close, someone the other thought they could believe in. How long until their faith wanes?

Session 3:

The party met with Ismark in the morning, hearing him out and agreeing to come over for dinner. You pawned some of the treasure you'd found and visited Donavich -- the priest in town. You found him praying for the deliverance for his son, Doru, who was killed and turned into a vampire spawn. You killed Doru, freeing him from the curse of undeath, and left the father to grieve.

You searched around the city, again looking for leads. An old woman peddling from a cart offered you something called a "dream pastry.". She offered one to each of you for free and Jonah, Borovik, and Peggy accepted them. The three were immediately transported into utter bliss, entering a euphoric dream state that left you longing for another taste. The woman told Kivlahan that the secret ingredient for her pastries was a special type of pumpkin, grown only in the ruins of Berez. She offered you 25 gold a pumpkin if you could obtain them. Silver later discussed the woman with the vistani tavern owners, whose good mood immediately soured. They told you that this woman was not to be trusted and the pastries were not to be eaten, though they were unspecific as to why.

Eventually you came to the burgomaster’s house for dinner, meeting Ireena Kolyana and finding the body of the old burgomaster and Ismark and Ireena's father, Kolyan Indirovich, in a side room. Ismark informed you that Kolyan had passed away four nights ago of stress from the constant attacks on their home at night. You quickly retreived Donavich and held an impromptu funeral for Kolyan as evening fell, so as not to dishearten the villagers with the knowledge that their leader had died.

The next morning you departed with Ismark and Ireena in tow, and found the Tser pool: an area filled with vistani who were relaxing by the clear water, drinking, and peddling potions and magical items. Lavash the shop keeper had a wide array of items locked in magical cases, as well as many potions and other magical components. The vistani said they expected five of you and that Madam Eva would be waiting. Madam Eva greeted you all by your full, true names: Brother Borovik, Drost Kivlahan, Peggy Timbers, Lies-In-Wait, and Jonah Jolion. She made cushions available for you to sit on and smiled bemused when one of you chose not to. She then pulled out a deck of cards, and read your fortunes. From the common deck she drew the Charlatan, the Miser, and the Traitor. From the high deck she drew the Ghost and the Donjon. These cards not only reflected locations of people and items that can help you in your journey, they were also dark reflections of each of you, leaving you to determine what that might mean. The rest of you left the tent and went to ask Lavash a question, who told you not to interrupt the old man sitting around the fire. He regaled a story of an archmage who supposedly came to this land a year ago to free it from Strahd, of the epic battle the two had fought. He spoke of how Strahd had cast the mage over the falls and into the river, never to be seen again. You looked back to find that Lavash had retreated slightly as a group of drunken, angry vistani lurking outside of the firelight approached the seven of you.

 

Session 4:

The vistani, roaring drunk and enraged, approached Drost, demanding he apologize for his disrespect to Madam Eva. Drost attempted to explain his distrust of strangers in this land and was cut off as Balo (the leader of the vistani group) sucker-punched him. Ismark stepped forward and struck Balo across the face. Balo stepped back... and uttered a vistana’s curse. Ismark’s eyes bled and went black, stealing his sight. The gang claimed similar fates would face you all if Drost did not apologize. Drost walked to the tent, said curtly, “I apologize for my transgression,” and left. Jonah then demanded that the vistani cure Ismark. They laughed and said that it was not their problem, which incensed the party. Drost began to cast a chaos bolt which was rent from the air, while Jonah raged and swung down with the macuahuitls. Tatoya, the second vistani, attempted to steal Jonah’s eyes (a curse which Jonah resisted). The third (a tall woman named Ningia) uttered a curse of her own, and Drost’s hands trembled to the point where he could no longer cast spells. Ireena guarded the two party members who had succumbed to the curses while the rest of you fought. The vistani activated strange rites over their weapons: by paying with their blood, they empowered their weapons with ice, fire, and lightning. They demanded your surrender, to which Borovik and Silver acquiesced. Jonah, however, refused, and was promptly brought down, while Peggy misty-stepped inside the tent to Madam Eva. Madam Eva, remarking on the foolish hot tempers of the two groups, called the fight off. The three, satisfied with how low they had brought you all, left. Madam Eva said that it was within her power to heal Ismark and Drost, if brought the required components.

As night was quickly approaching, you decided against travelling all the way to Vallaki, instead heading back to Barovia. A fog descended as you traveled to a bridge, at the other end of which stood a lone man. His voice was chilling as he outstretched his hands and said, “Tatyana, come to me.” Ireena dropped the blind Ismark’s hand and, with a look of fear and longing, began to step forward. Ismark pulled her back and Jonah called out for the man’s identity. He cleared his throat, introducing himself as your host, Count Strahd von Zarovich. You braced for a fight and to defend Ireena. Strahd uttered in a pained voice, “They can’t keep us apart for long.” and disappeared in a cloud of mist. A pack of wolves then descended on the bridge. You fought them off, guarding the handicapped members of your party, and finally made your way back to the burgomaster’s house. You had settled in for the night when Strahd appeared at the window, watched you all for a moment, and then disappeared.

The next morning, Ismark and Drost, finding the curse unfading both succumbed to varying forms of minor madness, brought on by the stresses of the land and of the curses. You pushed hard to Vallaki that day, briefly meeting an undead knight on the road. He claimed that he was wandering the land searching out Strahd’s minions to fight, and that he could not attack the castle until the leader of his fallen order, a man named Vladimir Hornguard, gave the order. You were given directions to the castle of Argynvostholt before the nameless revenant disappeared into the forest, walking towards the sounds of wolves. You reached Vallaki, where suspicious guards interrogated you until Ismark sighed and requested entrance as burgomaster of Barovia. You entered the city, finding the church, ran by Father Lucien Petrovich. He was able to sell you the diamond dust you needed, as well as offering Ireena and Ismark sanctuary. Borovik stayed at the church for the night, and the rest of you went in search of the inn.

You split up, each learning interesting bits of information. Kivlahan learned about a secret group of ravenkind shapeshifters: the Keepers of the Feather. They implored his discretion and expressed interest in his shadar-kai heritage. Peggy learned of strange lights coming from the attic of the baron’s house at night, which piqued her sage’s interest. She and Acorn went to investigate. Jonah and Silver went for a walk, watching a puppet show put on by a large, colorful man and his pet monkey. Only three of the watching citizens showed any enjoyment -- the rest of the crowd seemed melancholy and distracted. Rictavio, a half-elf bard, approached, explaining that most people of this land are soulless husks, created by the land itself. These people can only feel fear. When Jonah suggested they attempt to liven up the crowd, Rictavio said he had to leave. Suspicious, you followed him. Jonah distracted Rictavio, while Silver inspected his cart and found an array of potions (6 vials containing a black liquid, one of which was empty, and a vial with a green liquid), holy symbols and weapons. You all return to the inn as the sun has finished setting at 1803.

 

Session 5:

The party swapped information on what they had learned during their free time in Vallaki and retired to a communal bedchamber. In the morning, you grabbed Ismark and rushed to the Tser pool, cast feather-fall and leapt off the bridge, anxious to heal your two cursed compatriots. You attempt to cut some time off of your return journey by scaling the hill near the bridge -- unfortunately, you found yourselves beset by a vampiric mist which drained the vitality from your bodies. You eventually made it safely to Vallaki, where you spent the rest of the day convincing Yeska, the altar boy and adopted child of Father Lucian, to divulge the identity of the person he told about the bones of St Andral. The bones had gone missing, leaving the church less protected against the horrors of the night. Yeska identified the gravedigger Miliov, who turned out to be very young himself. Upon interrogating him, he quickly told you that he had given the information to the Vallaki Coffin Maker, Henrik van der Voort. Milliov told you that he was only interested in feeding the many siblings that his parents had left behind. You rewarded him extremely handsomely for the information, and left for the coffin maker’s shop as night descended. You unlocked the door and immediately slammed the startled Henrik van der Voort to the ground, demanding to know to where the bones were. Borovik moved to explored upstairs, where he found a room containing six boxes labeled "junk." Seeing nothing else, he left. He exited but immediately heard the sound of boxes breaking. Borovik turned to see a dirt-covered dwarf, pale and with sharp fangs: a vampire spawn. As this was happening upstairs, a red-skinned tiefling woman burst into the coffin shop attempting to defuse the situation. You were all silenced, however, by the sounds of more boxes shattering above.

 

Session 6:

As the tiefling bard, Viola DeLuca (Sarah Neff), burst into the shop, six former adventurers (now turned to vampire spawn) attacked Borovik and the party. The fight spilled outside and into the village as the vampires attempted to prevent you all from stealing back the bones of St. Andral, but were no match for Silver’s speed. Realizing they had failed, the undead retreated over the walls and disappeared into the night. As the fight had now involved the town guard, you all witnessed the awesome and horrifying power of Izek Stranzki’s devil arm as he threw balls of fire at the fleeing dead. Once the town was secured, you apprehended and knocked out Henrik van der Voort. Izek burst into the shop, demanding confirmation that Henrik was the man responsible for the vampire attack. He then dragged the limp form by the foot out of the shop and into to the town square, where the burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich, cried out that “All will be well! These brave heroes have stopped the undead from assailing our town. All will be well!” Izek, in response, hefted his battleaxe... and then appeared to change his mind, kicking the coffin maker awake and burning him alive instead.

Meanwhile, Silver delivered the bones to Father Lucian, who interred them below the church. Overjoyed that the church was once again a hallowed site, he imparted you all with three gifts: a safe place for Ireena to hide from Strahd indefinitely, healing magic should you need it, and a scroll that had reformed on the altar when you had returned the bones. The latter was an item of power, usable by any party members who professed faith in a god or goddess. Your task thus accomplished, you retired for the evening.

You awoke to find a letter left for you during the night. It bore the seal of the von Zarovich family and was from none other than Strahd himself, bidding you all to dine at his castle. You realized that it would be foolish to decline the invitation, but decided that you first wanted to see what was at this windmill you had heard so much about.

None of you were truly prepared for what was waiting for you at the dilapidated structure. You had discovered the place where Mother Morgantha cooks her dream pastries, and as you stepped over the bones of tiny humans you retched as you realized the secret ingredient of the pies that some of you had eaten. Enraged, Jonah led the charge up the stairs and a fierce battle with Mother Morgantha’s two daughters commenced. It was going well, until the two daughters announced in unison, “Mothers home…” With the hags' coven complete, you were all knocked unconscious (save for Peggy Timbers, who escaped into the evening air with two still-living children). You awoke roughly an hour later, chained and gagged and now accompanied by a fairly bloodied Peggy Timbers, who had returned in an attempt to free the rest of the party. The hags, distraught that you had taken their ingredients, demanded their pound of flesh. Looking around at all of your gagged forms, they chose Silver, telling him to choose which one of his friends would die. They warned him that if he picked no one or himself, then they all would die. After much silence, Silver made his choice: “...Jonah.” Morgantha slid her clawed hand into Jonah’s chest and his body fell limp. The witches had taken the body down from the wall to prepare their next meal, when there was a knock at the door. Asking politely to be let inside, Strahd entered the Old Bone Grinder. Disgusted and annoyed at what he walked into, he expressed regret that one of your party had been killed, and in an act of calm retribution killed one of Morgantha’s daughters, remarking that she could “always have another”. He commanded that the two remaining witches leave, and observed you all closely. Removing the gag from Brother Borivik, Strahd asked where his beloved Tatyana was, and if she was indeed now in the hallowed church. Borovik did not reply, but Strahd was satisfied nonetheless. He again invited you all to dine and rest at his castle before departing the structure. Borovik, able to cast spells once more, loosened Peggy’s bonds so that she could misty step and free the rest of you. While the rest of you grieved the loss of your friend, Viola searched the remainder of the windmill. Upstairs she found some gemstones and a dusty old tome. When she returned, you all witnessed a burst of green light as Jonah’s body was filled with life, his arm and left part of his chest slowly becoming enveloped in green lizard scales. You rejoiced at Jonah's resurrection and opened the book, which proved to be the Tome of Strahd.

It was the tale of a prince, a soldier, and a conqueror, and a monster. Strahd had long waged bloody wars against his family’s enemies. His battles came to a peaceful end in a remote mountain valley in which Strahd settled, naming it Barovia, after his deceased father. To show his devotion to his mother, Strahd named his castle in her honor and bid her and his younger brother Sergei come live at the castle. His mother died en route, but Sergei arrived and took up residence at the castle. Strahd grew to envy his younger brother for his warmth and his youth, lamenting that he had squandered his own on war. Eventually, Strahd fell in love with a young Barovian woman named Tatyana. He lavished her with gifts, but she loved Sergei instead. Driven by jealousy, Strahd made a deal with dark powers to regain everlasting youth. On the day Sergei and Tatyana were to be wed, he slew Sergei and drank his blood. He then pursued the fleeing Tatyana, who flung herself off the walls of Castle Ravenloft to escape him as Strahd was riddled with arrows from the castle guards. But Strahd did not die, nor did he live; he became undead, forever.

That evening when Viola, Jonah, Silver, and Borovik went to dine at Castle Ravenloft, Strahd offered additional information. He has been imprisoned in Barovia for centuries, searching desperately for a way to end his curse. He is convinced that the key to ending his suffering lies in wooing his Tatyana, who he believed has been reincarnated as Ireena Kolyana. He told the party that you could help in ending his suffering, if only you’d assist him. He offered you food, shelter, and the wealth of his domain should you only give him Tatyana -- and help him with one additional thing. He has been informed that a vampire hunter has crossed into his domain, Dr. Rudolph van Richten, and that he would reward you generously with information on his whereabouts. He concluded the evening, informing you all that he would continue watching and testing your strength with interest, and that you would do well not to draw his ire. Taking a carriage close to Vallaki, you finally made it back to the Blue Water Inn and rested.

 

Session 7:

That morning you split up. Borovik studied the scroll, Viola prepared for a performance at the festival taking place in Vallaki that day, Peggy hunted for more information, and Jonah and Silver investigated the nearby Vistani camp. Along the way the two met Lydia: a human woman who spoke to Jonah and Silver about an artifact she was searching for, which she believed was in the hands of a gnoll pack. Arriving at the camp, you learned about a young vistana who had been kidnapped. Her father, Lavash, was in the process of punishing the man who was supposed to have been watching her, so her uncle Arrigal told you the story.

Silver and Jonah eventually found the culprit: a fisherman named Bluto. He had brought the child to the lake and as you arrived on the scene, he tossed the child into the water. He then resumed fishing, devoid of emotion. You were too slow to save the child and, enraged, Jonah killed the fisherman. Shaken, you carried the child's body back to Lavash. Before you could enter the tent, Rictavio burst out of it. He looked at the child, asked who she was, then pulled a scroll from his pack. As he muttered several words, the child was restored to life. Lavash and Arrigal, elated at the reunion, gave Rictavio as a reward the object he had come to acquire: a Potion of Madness Reduction. Arrigal then directed you to a treasure wagon. You perused the treasure, glanced at the Potions of Mist Crossing (prompting Arrigal to tell you that the potions are a mere enchantment granting you the confidence to cross the mists, without any real effect), before you selected an iron chest containing 650 gold pieces.

Later that day, the festival went off more or less successfully for the first time in years, as you aided the burgomaster in lighting a ceremonial fire which otherwise would have been stifled by the rain. Viola, having magically charmed several guards and Izek, was paid double the promised amount for her performance, and the Baron called the day a triumph. You then departed early for the Tser Pool, killing some dire wolves that crossed your path along the way. You sold the carcasses to some hungry Vistani and paid another visit to Madam Eva. You inquired further as to the meaning of your cards, and she divulged why the fates had selected Viola as the Beast, Silver as the Charlatan, Peggy as the Donjon, Kivlahan as the Miser, Borovik as the Ghost, and Jonah as the Traitor. These are your darkest reflections, and they have the power consume you, should you let them.

Moving on from Madam Eva, you acquired two draft horses and a Vistani wagon. It was an elaborate affair, with a wooden roof, a small stove and chimney for heating and cooking, 6 hammocks (three lining each wall), and roped room for storage underneath. You made much quicker time returning back to Vallaki, not quite reaching the city before night fell. You parked your wagon in the Arasek stockyard and prepared for sleep. Before you could drifted off, however, you ran encountered your half-elf friend, Rictavio. He was sitting alone, tearing through the pages of a journal. Mentally at the end of his rope, he finally revealed himself to be none other than Doctor Rudolph van Richten -- the man Strahd had asked you for information about. He told you that he had a problem: he needed to find more of his potions, and he needed them now. He left, saying he was going to find Ezmerelda, the woman Viola had mentioned to him as having saved her life on the road.

In the morning you set out, finally heading west. Coming to a crossroads, you found Rictavio’s "Carnival of Wonders" wagon crashed on the side of the road. You found his armored tyger and horse, freed it from its binds, and watched as the tyger took up a protective posture in front of the horse, clawing at Jonah when he tried to lead it away. Looking around you found the corpses of vampire spawn and wolves, torn apart by immense slashes and tyger fangs. You also found the bloodied Hat of Disguise and sword cane which van Richten/Rictavio carried at all times. You left your horses with the tyger and cart (praying they would not become wolf food), and followed the bloody tracks of the Doctor. You found him lying face down in a pool of his own blood. When Borovik moved to inspect the Doctor, von Richten lashed out with remarkable speed. Three blast of arcane force smashed into Borovik. Van Richten stood up shakily, introduced himself (in a much lower voice than normal) as Cristian, and with a flourish summoned a two handed axe, whose blades glowed faintly purple. With a bestial scream, van Richten (or Cristian) charged you in the dim light of the morning fog, his eyes screaming with madness.

 

Session 8:

 

You fought the crazed Rudolph van Richten as he wielded his devastating greataxe. You successfully subdued him, and were attempting to figure out what was happening when Viola kicked the axe away from van Richten's body. The axe disappeared and rematerialized in her hands. Viola reeled, began sobbing and ineffectually attacked Jonah with it. He allowed her to draw some blood with the weapon, and she seemed to feel somewhat better. Silver read a bloodied, torn letter the Doctor had clutched in his hand. It revealed the story of a man who had accepted a cursed weapon, the Grieving Heart, from a lich, using its power to exact revenge on a vampire who had destroyed his family. As the axe dragged Rudolph] into madness, he had protected himself from annihilation by banishing all of his despair into another persona: Cristian Brancoveanu. This dark side of him was buried deep within his psyche, and Rudolph adopted a new life as a monster hunter. He drank potions of madness reduction to protect himself from Cristian, but after an attack on the road he lost his cache of potions. He had finally succumbed, barely managing to write a letter which explained what had happened to him. You dragged a nearly incapacitated Viola and the Doctor back to the wagon. There you found your horses surrounded by dozens of wolves. The wolves did not attack, as if to prove the generosity of your vampire host.

Eventually you made it to the walled, sparse forest village of Krezk. You made a beeline for the Abbey of Saint Markovia, intent on seeing the Abbot and hopeful he could cure Rudolph and Viola, who struggling with intense guilt and horror from the cursed axe. You entered the Abbey and encountered many malformed humans with animalistic deformities. They speaking to you in disgusting grunts, brays, clicks, and some broken words of common, and led you to a courtyard. You entered the Abbey and met the Abbot: a gorgeous young man in brown robes, waltzing with a young woman with alabaster skin. He spun her around the room and her head rolled, detaching from her neck. The Abbot calmly set the woman's head back in place, stitched her back together, and told her to go sit down. She did so on her own, staring blankly. He conversed with you all, welcomed you to his home, and observed Viola’s rapidly deteriorating condition with disdain. He called her a devil, but cured her from the cursed weapon anyway. Viola thanked the Abbot "from one devil to another," and the mood darkened. He probed into her mind, and confronted her with the sins of her past, asking her "how many people her parents had killed while she played her little game." As Viola dismissed his jabs, he said that she deserved to feel the guilt of her sins... and shoved her back into the Grieving Heart. Bound again to the curse’s debilitating grief and despair, she stormed out, declaring she would go to Strahd before sitting dejectedly outside the Abbey on the cold, snowy ground. Silver ran out to Viola, convincing her that she had to swallow her pride and apologize to the Abbot if she wanted to be free of the curse. The Abbot cured van Richten and, free of his madness for the first time in decades, he wept with gratitude. He too implored Viola not to lose herself to the axe, and she reluctantly agreed. With an apology to the Abbot, she was cured once more. And so, having destroyed Cristian and saved Doctor Rudolph van Richten from insanity, you found yourselves standing in the courtyard with Rudolph, his horse and tyger, the Abbot, the mongrelfolk humanoids, and the biting snow.

 

Session 9:

 

Before joining the Abbot for an early dinner, Peggy had a horrifying realization: the days were steadily getting shorter. By her calculations, you had about one week until it would be eternal night.

You dined with the Abbot, despite your horror and the events of the previous session. Silver and Viola danced with him and Vasilka, his flesh creation. You chose not to rest in the building, preferring to sleep in the snow than to clear a room for yourselves and face the horrors of the Abbey. Hours before dawn broke, you made your way to Arynvostholt. Along the way you ran into Anna Krezkov, the baroness of Krezk. She told you that she was on a mission with several other brave Krezkovites to find a wedding dress for the Abbot, as payment for his resurrection of her son. Your party split off from the Krezkovites at the Raven’s River Crossing: you all headed to Argyvostholt, while the baroness, her party, and Rudolph van Richten (now disguised as Rictavio once more) heading to Vallaki to procure a dress.

You explored the castle, following the prompting of the ghost of Argyvost to his study. There you learned of the Silver Dragon’s demise at the hands of Strahd. In the castle's main hall you finally found the famous Vladimir Hornguard, slumped in a chair, hand gripped around a sword, staring into the west. He muttered his hatred of the vampire -- how he had destroyed his order, his lord, and the knight he loved. He had become convinced that Strahd suffered a personal kind of hell living in Barovia, and as a result Hornguard was intent on keeping the vampire alive. When Silver and Viola attempted to persuade him that they did not want to kill the vampire, Vladimir was not impressed. Jonah and Peggy then called out his lack of honor and cowardice, which enraged him. You all prepared for battle.

 

Session 10:

 

The fight commenced against Vladimir Hornguard. After a thunderous boom several revenants rushed into the room, the lead paladin claimed to recognize you. In the midst of battle he pleaded with his fellow knights and the man he loves. So blinded was Vladimir by hatred that he attempted to cut Sir Godfrey down, declaring him a traitor to the Order. Convinced that these adventurers are the key to ending the Order’s misery, Sir Godfrey helped you cut down the rest of the undead knights. As Jonah delivered the final blow a dormant power began to stir in his weapons, they revealed themselves as weapons called “The Twin Fangs of the Lizardking.” You got acquainted with your cold, somber ally, collected the dusk elf you had saved and left for Vallaki. Along the way you found the corpses of two Krezkov guards who appeared to have been brutalized by a pack of creatures. The pack revealed themselves as a group of gnolls, moving eastward through the valley from what you were told. As the battle ended you subdued one of the gnolls, left it in the back of the cart, and left Godfrey to see to it that it does not escape. You reached Vallaki, finding an unwelcome sight. The banners hanging outside the walls were of the Von Zarovich family and a guard informed you that Izek the “man-demon” has killed the baron and the baroness and the baronet has gone missing. Chaos erupted in the city with thugs taking to the streets. Lady Watcher ended the chaos and stepped in naming herself the new Baroness of Vallaki. Izek is unconscious in the stocks, awaiting execution. In another part of Vallaki, Ismark was being treated for burns and axe wounds he took when he fought Izek himself. In a crazed frenzy Izek burst into the church clutching a doll in the likeness of Ireena, declaring that ‘THIS WAS HER! SHE IS THE ONE FROM  HIS DREAMS!” and tried to grab Ireena. The brother and sister drove Izek away but not before Ismark took a face full of fireball. You met back up, shared this information, and discussed the late baroness having a wedding dress you could use to please the Abbot and are approaching the Blue Water Inn.

 

Session 10:

 

You entered the Blue Water Inn seeing the Krezk party sitting around a table talking softly, and the Vistani trader Lavash sitting at the bar talking to Urwin and Danika Martikov the tavern owners. Silver talked with the Martikovs who offered to halt the deal they just made with Lavash, where they would give Lavash a Cloak of Protection if he supplied them with wine. The only stipulation was that you investigate the Wizard of Wines winery and restart the Barovian production of wine. At the table with Anna Krezkov and her party you ensured her that you will find the dress you need at the home of the late Baron. Silver rushed in, quickly sneaking in and making off with the wedding dress, and talking down a shady looking investigator here to investigate the deaths of the Baron and Baroness. You talked to Ireena and Ismark, who agreed to stay inside while you pulled off a plan to convince Strahd that you were moving Ireena. Collecting the wagon to leave Barovia with your party in tow, Viola, casting disguise self, made herself to look like Ireena and Jonah grabbed the wagon. Finding your undead revenant friend Sir Godfrey now guarding two prisoners, the gnoll you had rendered unconscious, and a new prisoner, a young man in his early 20s. With a wand and spellbook clutched tight to his chest the man identified himself as Victor Vallakovich, the baronet. He explained that he did try to steal your wagon, but he had no other choice. He always knew the Lady Watcher had it out for his dad, but didn’t think she’d make a play on his life, which is his suspicion. Victor was in his room, practicing spells, when he heard his glyph of warding go off. Knowing this meant he was under attack he grabbed his book, his wand, his favorite skeletal cat, and turned himself invisible. He threw open the door to run, and was met with a man reeling from the lightning shock of the ward who swung a poisoned dagger wildly and caught Victor as he ran. Victor, barely maintaining concentration fled for his life and hid in a tree on the edge of town. Then you all arrived, when you left your wagon, supposedly unguarded, he snuck in to take it and was met by Sir Godfrey. Sir Godfrey broke his glasses and threw him in the wagon. Once this was all explained you decided to take him out of town, and left Izek to Lady Watcher’s justice. The caravan left down the road, making it most of the way to Vallaki when you were assaulted by vampyr and dire wolves. The battle raged from the front of the caravan all the way back to the commoners fighting for their lived and was mostly in hand. One dire wolf, hung mostly in the back unnoticed and observed you, your fighting styles, your strengths, your weaknesses, the revenant, the boy wizard, the tyger, and the doctor. Eventually, when you attacked it, it revealed itself as your host, the devil Strahd von Zarovich. He walked to the back of the wagon, staring in at your motley crew, and, as the boy protested, his voice cracking with fear, stepped into your wagon and home. There is no forbiddence for Strahd von Zarovich, this is all his home… and nowhere is safe. He used his beguiling presence to have Viola move aside, revealing that his Tatyana was not being moved. Sir Godfrey, filled with an unholy rage, bore down on Strahd with all of his might. He struck down with a righteous fire, cleaving Strahd through the chest with the greatsword Grimfrost. In horror you watched as a red electricity overcame Strahd and his wound reset itself in a few seconds. He called your efforts, “Cute.” and then teleported away. Bloodied but alive, you made it back to Krezk. Van Richten, saw this as his opportunity to gather his wagon and make for a tower that he uses as a home base and asked you that if you saw Ezmerelda, to tell her that he was sorry. You and the baroness gathered her son, still insane from resurrection madness, and brought him and the dress to the Abbot. He appreciated your work, appraised the dress and found it satisfactory, and turned his attention to the child. The boy, screaming “they were so hungry” and “we would all feast soon” was touched by the Abbot, and the screaming stopped and the boy fell limp, breathing, but exhausted by the magic of this healer. The Abbot then told you that was one of your favors, elaborating that he will grant you his healing or his revivifying touch two more times for free. With that, you went back down to the village, Peggy and Victor talked spells and lore. Both being of superior memory, they flipped through each others books. The rest of you, doing a walkabout of the city heard a scream coming from a house and the baroness emerging from the house. She made eye contact with Brother Borovik and, knowing that priests of the Morninglord are experienced with this task, asked for your help in delivering a child. Silver ran back and forth to the Shrine of the White Sun gathered blessed water. Jonah helped comfort the anxious husband. And Borovik successfully coached the Krezkovite woman through the birth. Borovik held the child, who kicked out his tiny legs, but was otherwise silent, no crying, no noise. Everyone looked on with bated breath as Borovik blessed the child in the pool’s water, who then began to cry out. The room heaved with a sigh of relief as the parents rejoiced that there child was born with a soul. You retired back to your wagon and had a much needed long rest, awaking at 5 in the morning to the sound of your gnoll prisoner struggling against its binds and Sir Godfrey delivering another knockout. You confer amongst each other and realize that, for the first time, you had a relatively silent night, as the wolf howls were few and far between.

 

Session 11:

 

You rose at five in the morning for what would turn out to be a long day. Borovik cast tongues and pulled the gag off of the gnoll prisoner, he told you that soon his pack would feed on all of your bones and when they killed well soon they would be free. It started barked madly and before long you heard the gnolls closing in on Krezk. You turned the wagon around and got back just in time to halt an attack by gnolls and their undead companions. You noted the position they came from and prepared to make your way to van Richten’s tower. Arriving you found the corpses of three werewolves, Drusilla, and Antony, but the Doctor was severely wounded but alive, resting at the top of the tower. He remarked on Ezmerelda’s wagon being out front but didn’t say that he saw her. You went back to the gnoll camp running into Lydia and the Blood Hunter mercs planning their own assault on the camp with quite a horde of undead. You let them go first, with Silver coming up behind quitely relaying the info. You found the camp pressed up against the wall of mist, and Lydia and her undead dispatched the initial group in less than 30 seconds. She remarked that now it was time for the real fight and their party faced towards the wall of mist, waiting for the monster they came to hunt. The beast of butchery emerged from the mist and the horrifying visage of the demon shook SIlver and Borovik to the core. While Lydia and company did battle with their quarry you all shook Borovik from his paralyzed state and Borovik cured Silver. Balo got thi finishing blow on the demon which apperated in a cloud of mist upon its death, revealing that rather than the true demon lord this was a projection of the lord’s spirit. Lydia claimed the weapon it dropped, but Silver, assisted by Viola’s darkness grabbed the horrifying book which damaged Silver as it let out a horrible scream. Silver ran but was caught up to by Lydia who threatened Silver with death if he didn’t turn over the book. He did but attacked when she grabbed the bag, seeing that Peggy was preparing a counterspell she cut her losses, gave the bag back and left. Meanwhile Tatoya was killed by Viola, Balo was knocked unconscious by Jonah, and Ningia escaped into the mists. You gagged Balo, gave him specific for what horrible things would happen to you if you didn’t follow his instructions and removed the gag. Instantly he cast a death curse on Viola, who resisted, the psychic backlash instantly killing himself as intended. You left the corpses and looted Balo’s magic hand crossbow and studded leather armor. On your way back you found a small tiefling boy from Baldur’s Gate. He identified himself as Tarul and was trying to hide from these grownups while he waited to return to his friends. He reluctantly led you back and you found a tied up gnoll, hands and teeth gone being beaten by a high elf girl, a halfling boy, and a set of dwarf twins. You scolded them for this barbarism and were dismissed flatly by the children. Eventually you convinced them to accompany you to the Abbey of Saint Markovia and the Abbot agreed to watch over the children if you cleared out the old hospital wing. You left the children with the Abbot and Victor and cleared out the wing. In the end you found Ezmerelda d’Avinir, the vistani monster slayer, plotting her next move. You informed her of her mentor’s status and location and she prepared to move out and assist him after realizing that the abbot was insane and a worthless ally. When she saw the kids and observed their affliction she remarked that while lycanthrophy is difficult to cure, she can suppress it, healing Nimiria and one of the twins by having them imbibe Hunter’s Bane. They survived the concoction and Ezmerelda said she could work a double shift and make two more tomorrow, but would need her tools in her wagon. You left the kids in the Abbey and left Victor in Krezk. You met the Martikov family huddled outside the Wizard of Wines Winery and informed of the blights and druids who invaded their home and kicked them out. You assured Davian the old patriarch of the family that you would clear them out. In a spectacular fashion you cleared the area of enemies and Sir Godfrey took the Gulthias Staff waded through the blights and snapped the staff over his knee, destroying all the blights in the area. Davian, impressed by your strength told you that in order for the wine to start to flow again he would need to get at least one of the magic gemstones back that have been used to produce wine for centuries. One was lost ten years ago, by the love-struck fool Urwin if you’d believe his father, one was stolen by the evil scarecrows of Baba Lysaga who lives in the Ruins of Berez, and the last one was taken by the evil druids of Yester Hill. You made your way to Yester Hill, distracted slightly by a Will O’Wisp that rapped Silver in a desecrated tower full of zombies. Borovik expended a used of destroy undead and Silver escaped. You arrived to Yester hill as a lightning storm began. You made your way to the top of the hill finding a massive twig statue of Strahd von Zarovich the druids made. When you started discussing your plan of action the druids and barbarians of the hill awoke from their tomblike homes and attacked. The barbarians focused on taking down the enlarged Jonah, while the druids began working on a ritual or threw small balls of fire at Godfrey to shut down his regen. After several rounds, the fight seemed in hand until a fireball streaked into the clearing exploding on Jonah, Godfrey, and one the barbarians. Strahd rode into the clearing astride a Nightmare, flanked by two dire wolves. Sir Godfrey descended on his enemy but Strahd still seemed to instantly heal up any wounds did to him. When Strahd tried to use another fireball Peggy launched off a counterspell, and drew Strahd’s annoyance. Strahd toyed for several more rounds as Godfrey tried desperately to kill him. Eventually Strahd buried his sword into Godfrey and the Nightmare smashed his head with its fiery hooves. He flew upwards on the fiendish horse and sent one last fireball down at Peggy doing exactly one point of damage after the arcane ward. You breathed a sigh of relief at your remarkable survival, and mourned your friend and ally, who held the line just long enough for your all to stop the ritual. You made your way to the true gulthias tree and pried a magical battleaxe from its base. You hurried down the hill and the toll of a church bell pulled your attention to the wall of mist where you saw, far off in the distance, a beautiful golden city, and, turning towards the top of the hill, you made out the fiery mane of Strahd’s horse. The vampire himself returned to the top of the hill, staring off longingly at the city, so close, yet so far. The party made it back to the Wizard of Wines and returned their gem and since you purified their red dragon crush and gave them one stone they could restart the flow of wine in the  valley. You ended your session pulling into the Old Wizard’s tower where Van Richten is resting.

 

Session 12:

 

You conversed with the recovering Rudolph van Richten and Ezmerelda d’Avinir, now reunited with her old mentor, discussing the book you had prevented Lydia from taking. Van Richten waited until the morning in order to prepare a new spell and, come morning, meditated on the grim nature of the cursed book. He uncovered that the chained book made of fleshy demon hide was called a Book of Keeping. Believed to have been created by a sisterhood of hags commissioned to create an army by Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells. The books contain the name of every Yugoloth the hags spawned and are rumored to even contain the true names of demon princes and arch devils as well. The books were lost from the hells and scattered among the planes, being found at various times, bringing disaster and ruin in their wake. Your party, seems to be the unfortunate group to have stumbled upon one of such books. You left it, in the bag of holding with Rudolph and Ezmerelda who set to crafting two vials of hunter’s bane in order to help cure the remaining children you had rescued. You took your wagon and made it to Vallaki before sunrise and split up following several leads throughout town. Urwin Martikov gave you all your earned cloak of protection and in return you promised to take him with you and finally put down the witch Baba Lysaga. He also gave you a parcel, given to him by a woman last night. Inside it, four letters for Jonah, two for Borovik, and two for Peggy. It revealed a disturbing and tragic truth about Barovia, for every day you spent in Barovia, one year has passed on the material plane, making for a tragic revelation for Brother Borovik and Jonah. In addition the parcel contained a page torn out of a record book from Townmaster Hallwinter, the man you had saved on the first day of your time as adventurers. The page was dated 1489 P.C and was a death record from the town of Phandalin over a period of time, it stated that the party was considered lost to the Underdark in addition to three children whom you had actually found. You prepared letters and purchased another Bag of Holding from Lavash (Content of letters and payment given). Three hours passed and at “dawn” you went to your friend Yeska’s coming of age, a rather cheerey affair considering the land and received a blessing as Yeska read passages from old tomes of the Morninglord. You congratulated him on his special day and went north of Lake Zarovich searching for the Mad Mage you had heard about. You found Mordenkainen the archmage, trapped in this land same as you, a man who supposedly battled Strahd and lost. He fired bolts of lightning at you but was able to be talked down when Peggy pulled her letter from his… close associate… Elminster. He allowed you to rest in his “magnificent mansion,” which he stays inside of in order to avoid the time distorting effect of Barovia, he supposedly disappeared five years before you all. After taking a short rest, you went to dinner at the castle. You arrived, parked your wagon in the stables, and went inside as storm clouds brewed overhead. Again you were greeted by the dusk elf Chamberlain, and again he led you to the dining room. Again you saw Strahd hammering away on the organ, but as he turned around, welcomed you to his castle, and introduced himself as your host Strahd von Zarovich. He then faded in a puff of mist with a throaty chuckle, the doors behind you slammed and then one after another the doors slammed shut and the portcullises flew and the drawbridge was raised. A cold wind filled the hall and the feeble light from the torches was blown out. You lit your bullseye lantern and the Light of Lathandar and set about exploring the castle that you were now trapped inside of. You descended one level and Silver and Jonah were caught in an Elevator Trap, loud chains rattled and the party was separated. We now begin with a surprise round on Jonah and Silver from a rug.

 

Session 13:

 

You explored the depths of castle Ravenloft. Survived the elevator trap, made your way through the flooded dungeons, and found one of the werewolves who was there when your party was first pulled into the mist. You freed Emil from his cell and he pledged to fight alongside you until you were able find a way to escape. You entered the horrors of the Ravenloft torture chamber and fought the gigantic undead torturer and freed its latest victim from his binds. The unfortunate soul was none other than the undead knight Sir Godfrey, his limbs twisted to face backwards when he was dead so that he would be unable to fight once reanimated. You delivered a coup de grace and borovik took 30 minutes to conduct a quickie surgery. You explored the depths of the catacombs and found the crypt of Sergei von Zarovich. Peggy was able to open the coffin and you uncovered the body of the murdered noble, floating, almost as if he was sleeping, surrounded by a radiant glow. In his hands you found the hilt of the sunblade, on his person was a brilliant set of plate mail. Feeling an approving sensation as you touched the armor, you took the Plate of the Dawnmartyr and the Sunsword. Eventually you were able to escape the depths of Ravenloft by teleporting back to the Coffin Maker shop in Vallaki. You ran to the Church and found Ismark, face down in the graveyard and a charmed Yeska in the Church. Ismark was able to tell you that Strahd kidnapped Father Lucian and held him hostage unless Ireena go to him. Despite Ismark’s best attempts, Strahd absconded with Ireena and the Father as he had need for a Priest. In the morning, many of the residents of the valley received an invitation to the wedding of Strahd and Ireena that will be taking place at midnight in four days. With little to lose the innkeepers revealed themselves as wereravens in oppositions to Strahd, and that they wanted to help. You departed for Krezk, deposited the holy symbol of Tasha Petrovna you got in Ravenloft, and a ray of sunshine burst through the clouds and the Blood Moon partially abated. You began to hunt for the werewolves, taking down a small party of lycanthropes. But soon after, Silver, Godfrey, and your innkeeper wereraven friend Urwin were altered to the crunching of twigs as Lydia unleashed an ambush. Silver, quickest to act, charged Lydia, triggering a finger of death to strike him down instantly. The rest of you were assailed by skeletal archers, the resurrected blood hunters Balo and Tatoya, Ningia, and Lydia now wielding the power of her new flail. You were knocked unconscious save for Urwin who took the skies, and Peggy who teleported away. The ones taken captive were awoken to a rough interrogation, compelled in a zone of truth, but not forced to speak Lydia attempted to extract the truth. Breaking both of Ismark’s legs, and forcing the undead Silver to immolate himself in a fire until destroyed. She used the tibaxi as a worthy sacrifice to unveil the location of the Book of Keeping, and with no time to lose she bore down on her treasure. Peggy was able to contact Ezmerelda, who was currently fighting Mordenkainen in order to forcibly administer a greater restoration and cure his madness. Once her and Van Richten were able to bring him down and cure him, the wounded trio were able to teleport to peggy. Rush towards the party, and take them into Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion. Thankfully the archmage was able to find one of his spellbooks and prepared Wish. After a rest Mordenkainen cast Wish and Lies-in-Wait was brought back from undeath to life once more. You begin the session having left the mansion with Ismark, Urwin, the reformed Sir Godfrey, and a resurrected Silver.

 

Session 14:

   
 * As you rested in Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion, the resurrected Silver told you all a story. How he was not a tibaxi noble, come to this land to study rulership before returning home to lead his people, he was born Lies-in-wait, a hunter and a fisher from a small jungle village. Bored of the monotony and thrilled by the tales he had heard he hitched a ride on a ship and made his way to Waterdeep. Unable to mingle with high society and not sure how to get started with no money and no idea of the customs, he got involved in questionable business to make ends meet. After that job ended he made his way out of the city, he stole a wagonload of items from a vendor who was less than kind to him and began to sell off those items and dress himself in fineries. He rebranded himself as Quicksilver, hoping that with a new identity, he would be able to fit in with the high society he had became enamoured with. With this new revelation you departed, on the hunt to thin the ranks of Strahd’s allies. You remet Emil and met his mate Zuileka and their six children having fled from the den awaiting you all. You charged headlong into the fray and a fierce battle broke out culminating in Kiril’s hunting pack closing off the exit hoping for a quick kill. With some clutch spellcasting you made Kiril and the remainder of his pack flee. They disappeared into the woods and would have made a clean escape had it not been for Silver, lowering himself into a sprinter’s stance and bursting after them in a flurry of speed. However with three swings of his greatsword, Kiril felled Silver who would have bled out had it not been for the wereraven innkeeper Urwin, flying to Silver’s side and administering a health potion. Kiril and the remnants of his pack escaped into the woods. Nixing to continue to the chase you checked in on your friends in Krezk, ensuring the burgomaster’s help in your final fight, small as it may be. You then made your way to Argynvostholt, and entombed the skull of the Silver dragon in its rightful place. As a beam of Silver light erupted from the mausoleum, the revenants of the land save Godfrey, found their rest, and the Blood Moon was abated.

Session 15:

   
 * You made your way to the ruins of Berez, traversing through the sludge, mud, and biting flies. Eventually you came upon the hut of the witch Baba Lysaga, as you prepared to burn it down with fire the hut animated throwing massive boulders and lashing out with thick tendril like roots. The witch came out floating in her giant’s skull turned vehicle, and became briefly distracted by the illusion of Strahd on a nightmare, she reached out, trying to touch her “baby boy” and was enraged when her hand passed right through. The fight progressed until the hut was destroyed and the witch was cornered, not seeing another way out she incinerated the battlefield in a fireball, killing herself. You looted the hut, recovered the gemstone from the wizards of wines, and Urwin Martikov took it and flew back to Vallaki to regroup with his family. Next you sped towards the Amber Temple, fought some snow wraiths, heard from Gimble via sending, a former student of Elminster, here with two squads of knights to help you, and entered the fabled amber temple. You defeated some of the defenders of the prison and decided to rest while allowing Silver, who was turned invisible, time to explore. He came upon the sealed rooms of the fabled Amber Sarcophagi, cages that held back beings of extraordinary power, and extraordinary evil. He chanced upon a breached vault, and found a sarcophagus, burst open from the inside out, a horror that left Silver paralyzed. While in that state four nothics, unphased by invisibility, rooted through Silver’s person, taking the Sunsword and Shroudsplitter, placing it in the breached tomb and kneeled in worship. After the paralysis wore off SIlver left the tomb, perused the ancient library, and found an old lich, gone senile over the years, who, if carried around, could assist Silver in the exploration of the Amber Temple. He agreed to help you find the Holy Symbol if you helped him confirm the imprisonment of the vestiges left here. When you got to the breached vault, Exthenetar rushed in, and was immediately rebuked by four psychic screams. The pair withdrew and you all completed your rest at 3AM with 21 hours until the wedding.

Session 16:

   
 * You traversed the remainder of the Amber temple. Guiding the lich Exthanetar through his rounds to confirm the presence of the other vestiges of the dark lords. You fought an aberrant creature inside one of the sealed rooms and defeated the nothic creatures guarding the tomb that had been destroyed from the inside out. As you collected the weapons they took from Silver, Jonah heard a familiar voice thanking him for getting it this far. His left, scaly, arm tore itself free and crawled back to the broken sarcophagus. As it dragged across the floor, Jonah fell to a knee, fading out of consciousness. The arm shed its lizard like scales and looked like a rotting arm missing an index finger. Once it entered the coffin, it snapped its fingers and disappeared. Jonah reeled between life and death, but felt a stirring voice, his father, compelling to press on in the hunt, he rose to his feet and the Twin Fangs of the Lizard King awakened. The party, now with a one-armed Jonah, made their way to the library of the Amber Temple, grabbed a series of texts from the table, and went to confront the vampire spawn guarding the sarcophagi. You fought them, taking one casualty as Jonah was slain, brought back by a quick revivify. And found the tombs containing the dark gift of vampirism, the power to revive the ancient dead, and the secrets to lichdom. The last one however, had the faint frosty outline of a four fingered hand pressed on the door and there was no response from inside. But there were other concerns, as Sir Godfrey placed his hand on the coffin of Zhuden the Corpse Star and accepted his gift. He came to realize that no undead could be resurrected and could not revive the love of his life, but instead he became determined to sprint to Argynvostholt and restore the Ancient Dragon to life, departing at once. You made your way into the treasury and as promised Exthaneter helped you acquire the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. With your final treasure secured, you made your way to Vallaki. Finding the most welcome sight of the banners of Waterdeep and New Phandelver flying outside the gates. You talked to Yeska who gave you six vials of holy water and wished you luck in rescuing Father Lucian. Entering the Blue Water Inn you found a series of new and familiar faces. Two captains, Onkeya from New Phandelver, Collette from Waterdeep have both been sent with a squad of knights in a party put together by Elminster, Warden of Waterdeep, and Sildar, Lord of New Phandelver. Gimble, a conjurer and former student of Elminster with his artificed companion, Aurora, a robotic creation in the structure of an arctic bear. Mother Eliza Chamond, the priest of New Phandelver, who studied with Borovik back when they were young acolytes, a testament to the years you all have lost. There was also a half-elven man, Cleramar, a personal guard to Vito DeLuca, sent to tail the group sent to rescue you all and ensure Viola’s safety, who just so happened to get in way over his head.
 * You also had Donavich, the priest of Barovia whose son you had freed from vampirism by killing him, your old friend Ismark, 8 wereravens representing the Keepers of the Feather, Emil and Zuleika, the werewolf blood hunters, Ezmerelda and Rudolph van Richten the famous monster hunting duo, the archmage Mordenkainen, disguised as the baron of Krezk, and the Baroness of Krezk and her six guards. A disheartening number compared to the horde of night creatures you were about to face. You took a rest in Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion, where you bonded with old friends, copied spells, learned about your brother’s many children, discussed strategy, and regrew an arm. On the eve of battle, right when it was time to walk to the wedding the gates of Vallaki opened and in strode Sir Godfrey and Lord Argynvost in human form, back from the dead.
 * And so your party of fifty went to a wedding. You reunited with Father Lucian who nervously joined you in the chapel of Ravenloft. The Abbot begun the ceremony and as the creatures of the night looked on Ireena marched in, charmed and attended by 4 vampire spawn. Ismark stood up and challenged Strahd to a lord’s duel and as he left the altar you launched your plan, flawlessly timed due to Mordenkainen casting telepathic band. Argynvost shattered the window of the chapel, Mordenkainen conjured an air elemental myrmidon, the knights charged across the drawbridge, and the fighting erupted. Spells were flun, arrows began to fly, the wereravens took to the rafters, the werewolf blood hunters took after the heart, Cleramar delivered intell about the heart, it was chaos. But in the chaos Mordenkainen removed the charm effect from Ireena and led Strahd on a chase, buying you time to escape the mayhem. You were confronted by the Abbot, revealing his true form to be an angel, corrupted and insane, utterly convinced of his righteousness he assaulted you all but was slain. The knights rushed to the chapel to provide reinforcements and you fought the gargoyles and wyrms guarding the main hall. Slaying them you moved into the throne room, in an attempt to reach the heart of sorrow. In the telepathic bond Cleramar informed you that there was a secret door to take you up to the heart, and that Rudolph and Ezmerelda were cornered by Strahd, who magically sealed the doors of the castle. In the throne room you found your old friends the night hags of old bonegrinder, with a new sister, and fought them as Viola blasted open the sealed doors with her thunder magic, effectively saving Ezmerelda from a horrible death, repaying her from the time Ezmerelda did the same for her. The Doctor was not so lucky, slumped against the wall in a bloody mess. Strahd could feel the danger approaching the heart as Mordenkainen, Argynvost, and Ireena approached from the top, and the lycan blood hunters approached from the bottom. Before he could get there, Ireena, torn wedding dress, soaked from the rain, sword in hand destroyed the heart of sorrow… and the castle pitched and shuttered. Now the next part of the fight would commence. Your allies would hold off the night hordes and you would take the beast down. First you would have one final foe to fell, the werewolf Kiril. You fought him them in the mist covered hall outside the hall of bones and now. As the sounds of fighting and dying rage above, you stand at the entrance to the hall of bones doors closed. What do you do?

Session 17:

You finally defeated the lord of Ravenloft. Strahd, slain in his coffin you made your way upstairs to count your dead and finally take a moment to catch your breath. You said your goodbyes to the vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten, his quest completed he went to join his wife and son in eternity. Come morning you looted the castle and emerged to find the sun breaking through the clouds. You joyfully parted with your longtime ally Sir Godfrey who took the sword Grimfrost and with Argynvost he departed to Argynvostholt where he could finally go to rest alongside his husband. You, Ismark, and Ireena began to feel a strange pull to the parapets of Ravenloft. A golden apparition of Sergei von Zarovich appeared, thanking you for providing salvation to the land, he expressed satisfaction with the new owners of his sword and armor, and reached out to Ireena who was flooded with old memories of all her past lives the dark powers forced her to endure and remembered her life as Tatyana. She was finally able to find peace and the two smiled and floated away in a golden light. Despite the joy of succeeding in saving Tatyana, it couldn’t help but feel sad seeing her go. You comforted Ismark who felt the same way. The knights, finding your horses and wagon that you had left, loaded up the dead and you spent the rest of the day gathering the citizens of the land and making your way out of the valley. You felt the warm burst of a midsummer’s day and looked behind you to see the Underdark entrance, now guarded and walled by the City Watch of New Phandelver. You were given a hero’s welcome by Lord Sildar Hallwinter, feasted, told stories, cleared your name, and… socialized. The next day you made your way, full speed ahead to Waterdeep entering the City of Splendors and deciding on your party name, The Revenant’s Dawn. You settled in the Yawning Portal tavern until you found more permanent housing. Got reacquainted with old family members and enjoyed the city of splendors as you prepared for an event that would hopefully put your adventuring party on the map. The Festival of Heroes. A two week extravaganza where the best and bravest adventurers come to the city and tell tale of their most trying moments over the past year, fight for honor, glory, and gold, the citizens get to marvel at all of the technological, magical, and material marvels in town, and the city gets a good look at who they should begin awarding contracts to. You began to make high level connections with parties such as Urchin’s Five, and the Godsworn, as well as officials such as Mirt. Silver and Borovik took to the doubles contest, Jonah fought in the single’s, both got eliminated by the Urchins’ Five in the semifinals and will be fighting representatives from the Doom Raiders. Peggy fought in the wizard’s duels and is about to fight Kilran of the Urchin’s Five to advance to the finals. Viola spent her time socializing with Gwendolin and Anka, and the members of Urchin’s Five, as well as preparing for the storytelling competition. We now cut back to Peggy Timbers about to begin her big match.

Session 18:

You completed the Festival of Champions all of the fighters took 3rd place losing against the Urchin’s Five, and the defeating the Doom Raiders. Through your hard work you swept the Storytelling Competition winning the whole event and winning the prize of favorite new Adventuring Party, being brought on stage during the closing ceremonies to receive congratulations by Laeral Silverhand. You attended the formal after party and got acquainted with the followers who have pledged their service to the Revenant’s Dawn. In the morning you met Volo, gave him a full rundown on the undead that you met in Barovia in return for him turning over an old tavern that he purchased the deed to in order to converse and research the poltergeist who inhabits the place. You took over the Trollskull Manor after appeasing Lif, that all you wanted was to restore the place to its former glory, having an affinity for friendly undead for friendly undead appears to be a running theme. While you hired and made contacts with the MANY guilds of Waterdeep to get the place up and running, you made contact with the wereraven family the Martikovs and they agreed to set up a new vineyard outside of Waterdeep and run the tavern part of the manor in return for a portion of the cut and naming rights. You split up around the city taking care of some training, research and varying downtime activities. Viola joined the Harper faction and Silver joined the Lords’ Alliance. When you got acquainted to you many neighbors one of them, a tabaxi private eye named Lucky made her services available to you and you quickly took her up on her offer. Borovik hired her to do research on the Blood Hunters and Lydia, and Viola hired her to trail Valencia to find out if this boy she is seeing is really the scum that her father believes her to be. Borovik sent his new follower Jorran the Autumn Knight to New Phandelver to research the Underdark and see if Lydia or the Blood Hunters came through the town. Peggy had her follower, Katres, to research the Marsh of Chelimber Plague. Viola has been able to get fine clothes tailored for her free of charge from Naesala. Silver changed the name of the Rowdy Crew to the Waterdeep Brawlers. And Jonah got acquainted with Decazex.

Session 19:

You spent some more time in the city. Learned that Balo and the Blood Hunters were traveling with Viktor Vallakovich and are in the Underdark, having killed an outpost of drow and freed the slaves held there for an unknown purpose. Viola undertook a mission from the Harpers, talking to an awakened, talking horse, Maxeene, about supposed Zhent spies that are in the city who are they themselves spying on the Xanathar guild. Silver undertook a mission for the Lords’ Alliance gathering intelligence on an antipaladin, Colter Outerbridge, who was exiled for bribing city officials. He was back in the FIeld Ward, recruiting down on their luck peasants into lives of slitting throats and picking-pockets. You found him and knocked out two of his companions, while another escaped. Colter himself was blown up by his own trap, set off by Peggy Timbers. You went to the Halls of Justice to turn in the two surviving members, and went into rooms to be briefly interrogated. The other member was interrogated by Vito and Viola DeLuca who gave up that the group was kicked out of the Zhents for their practices, they were planning to take their new convert criminals into the city to strike havoc. You left the Halls of Justice, leaving the Cleric and the Evoker with the authorities and now it is 3 in the morning.

Session 20:

The next day you conferred with your followers, made arrangements to  and Jonah met with the Spirit in the Tree. A large willow in an estate in Waterdeep. Jonah heard out the Spirit who explained that it and its followers on the estate and in the city represent the Emerald Enclave, a group of wardens who protect the natural places of the world from outside threats. Jonah and Decazex accepted and became Springwardens of the Enclave. In the evening Viola was called into Lucky’s office who found information on Valencia’s secret comings and goings. What Lucky found was that there was no scumbag guy and that it seemed that Valencia was dating a woman, she presented these findings saying that it seemed strange, while she talked she looked deeper into the crystal ball and noticed that the couple had a tail. Lucky and Viola gathered Vito and the party and rushed after Valencia. You found what looked like a struggle and tracked it through a sewer outside of town, Inside you found what looked like someone breaking free from binds and killing several of the captors in the area, in one of their pockets you found a picture and description of Valencia. You noticed a trail of blood and followed it. Running up the wall and scaring the shit out of a guard who fired a crossbow at you before recognizing that you were the famous Revenant’s Dawn! You were allowed to continue and ran for forty minutes  along the rooftops on the city before SIlver caught up to a woman leaning over a ledge staring at a building down the block. She wore a thief's garb and appeared to be a human woman until she dispelled her disguise revealing that it was in fact Valencia, her secret revealed that she was sneaking off to revive the mantle of the Black Viper a notorious thief from 100 years ago, and the scumbag boy she was sneaking off to meet was her friend who helped her plan heists. All together, aided by Vito and two of his Hidden Blades, Lucky, and Valencia. Disguised again, you stormed the building. Jonah flew through into a top window making himself alone in a room with an aberrant tentacled creature, Valencia’s unconscious girlfriend, 2 other intellect devourers, and several bruisers of the Xanathar guild. One of the brain dogs stunned you with a psionic blast while the other attempted to worm its way into your mind. When it didn’t work the mind flayer decided to cut its losses and cast plane shift and Jonah came back from being unstunned. You cleared out the rest of the cutthroats Cleramar and the other Hidden Blade bagged one of the still living boys and inoculated all of you with the serum, causing you to instantly forget your knowledge of DeLuca crimes if you were compelled to or chose to speak to the authorities. Serana reunited with Valencia who then confessed to her father that he was always just business with her and she never got the chance to be a kid. So once she got good enough she started sneaking out, nabbing a ring of disguise and deciding to, at the idea of her friend Marcus, relive the legend of the notorious Black Viper, corrupt nobles beware. Vito, taken aback, apologized for being too strict and serious, but then his mood darkened as he began to feel that he was not strict enough as the Xanathars felt that they were in a position where they could attack his daughter. He stormed out of the building as he prepared to interrogate the poor sap he captured after a couple days letting him stew. It is now 8AM of Midsummer.

Session 21:

You enjoyed your Midsummer, attending various parties around the city. As you were walking home a summer storm opened up the sky, and Peggy believes she witnessed, for the briefest of moments, an large eye staring down on the city, an ill omen of some divine judgement from someone spurned or betrayed given the day on which it occurred. A couple days later Jonah and Viola attended to the interrogation of the Xanathar agent who Vito had captured. Jonah went into the room alone and after five or so minutes emerged sheepishly, having “accidently” killed the prisoner by punching him so hard in the nose that his neck broke. Jonah told Viola that the prisoner had dangerous information on him and needed to speak to Vito, just the three of them, holding a Bag of Holding that contained intellect devourers. Jonah claimed the Bag of Holding was stored… inside of the prisoner. He pulled an Intellect Devourer from the bag to prove his point, saying that those brain dogs may be trying to infiltrate the closest guards of Vito’s. Viola arranged for Vito to come to the Blue Water Pub, having his guards remain outdoors. The entire party went into Jonah’s attic workout room and Vito held the bag, preparing to turn it inside out. Before he could do that, and just as SIlver began to suspect that something was amiss Jonah attacked Vito, a dark ring on his finger glowing as he delivered three critical hits. Vito was killed and his soul got trapped in a box that Jonah was concealing in his trousers. Jonah then ran out the window and as you rushed out the building you saw the Hidden Blades fighting in the street and Vito’s personal abjurer was waiting to stop you, having their brains devoured and then masquerading as Vito’s trusted guards. Dark Jonah escaped into the sewers with Vito’s soul. You split up to confer with contacts about the nature of the Xanathar stronghold, learning that it exists in an ever changing miasma in the sewers of Waterdeep, with portal doors opening and closing on a daily basis. You also learned that attempts to slay Xanathar or remove its eyes results in it replicating itself at a rapid rate, usually leading to the new Xanathars killing the adventurers and then killing each other, with the victor becoming the new crime lord. You gathered your followers and met back up at the Elated Enchantress being ambushed by a host of Xanathar thugs. While the Hunters and the Brawlers fought in the streets you went into the restaurant seeing the aftermath of the attack, multiple guards and civilians were killed and you stumbled upon four turned Hidden Blades going through Vito’s records. You killed the Intellect Devourers piloting them and took the records they were going through, insurance for the resurrection of Vito, his family, and the Hidden Blades, and ledgers, stocks, and receipts for other DeLuca establishments. You went into the back room extraplanar casino of the enchantress. In the fighting pit you found two living Hidden Blades discussing how to best kill the remaining creatures in there. After insulting their dead friend they split off to take out some hill giants and you approached a large glass case containing a Behir, a serpentine lightning monstrosity. You hit a button next to its enclosure and a gas filled the room putting the creature to sleep. Before you could find a way to enter the enclosure two stone golems emerged from the wall holding catchpoles. They pushed in on a portion of the wall and began to drag the creature into the fighting ring, not slowing or stopping to your protests or demands that you help them fight. They brought the creature to the center and administered a loud noise waking the creature instantly, to your frustration. You beat back the beast and killed the Chimeras in a similar fashion. WIth all living creatures neutralized, you could safely shunt the casino into an extraplanar pocket dimension. You were all ejected to the street and were left to scatter in all directions as the City Watch closed in. In the end, Silver, Viola, Decazex, Asha, and most of the Brawlers were arrested and brought in, spending a night in holding until a cursory investigation found that you were acting in self-defense. Hastened by your various contacts. Borovik scryed on Jonah, finding him, skull split open, brain missing, in a sewer tunnel, being munched on by rats. You gathered him, cast greater restoration to restore his brain, and brought him back to life and it is now 11 AM.

Session 22:

After reconvening with the recovered Jonah, bringing him up to speed on what he missed you began to rally over the events of the previous day. You tracked down the possessed Abjurer through scrying and when Viola pursued the alien to an apartment she disguised herself and knocked on the door. The door opened and Viola was met with over 70 possessed individuals crammed into the room like sardines, at the door were 4 possessed Hidden Blades and the Abjurer. They already had their blades drawn and summarily killed Viola dragging her body into the room before she could make a sound. Peggy and Borovik met up with “Viola” who was discovered to be possessed, after they killed the Intellect Devourer piloting her they answered the questions of the panicked City Watch. the y helped bring Viola to the Church and after a ressurection ritual Viola was restored to life. You took a month to conduct faction downtime. Peggy went north to gather some material components for Elminster with some other students, defeating a Frost Giant and its Yeti companions. Jonah searched high and low throughout the city and found the location of the Great Horned Beasts. Borovik went with some knights and routed a sect of a Cult of Cyric the Dark Sun. Viola and Darius went to Baldur’s Gate, spying on some corrupt nobles and exposing their racketeering against poor, low income homes and businesses. And Silver took the Bloodless Brawlers to battle against a goblinoid warband. Once you returned to the city you followed up on Jonah’s lead, uncovering the Cassalanter family’s crimes, where they took homeless Waterdaviens, drugged them, and sacrificed half of them to Minotaurs in a labyrinthian maze beneath their house. Getting the aid of the Harpers, Lord’s Alliance, Emerald Enclave, and the Church of Lathander you conducted your assault on the estate. As the sounds of battle unfolded many of the guard members of the Cassalanters shed their helms revealing that they were in fact Bearded Devils. Scores of Spine Devils poured out of the windows, shattering the glass onto the streets, thick chains from the stables fell and bloody Minotaurs rushed forth, killing indiscriminately. While your forces fought you rushed into the house, finding the two children of the Cassalanters, as you tried to rush them to safety they asked “but who will keep you safe?” with a twisting insidious smile. They transformed into a horn and ice devil respectively and you did battle with them. Once you sent them back to Hell you rushed forward into the house as the sounds of battle raged throughout the house, destroying the walls and structure around you.

Session 23:

You fought your way past the swarms of devils in the house, making your way upstairs searching for the Lord and Lady of the House, you found the attic where they housed the spined devils and the private study where you took a red grimoire with only blank pages save for a few blots of dried blood. Heading downstairs you fought some minotaurs and homeless Waterdaviens that were in the process of transforming into minotaurs. You looked into the other cells, finding emaciated minotaurs that looked like they were starved and tortured. Getting to the base you found a brilliant painting of Bhaal the Lord of murder, chained kneeling to the ground, plotting vengeance. When Borovik prodded it with his divinely imbued staff it smoldered into pieces, revealing a cache of funds, squirreled away by the Cassalanters. You had some Brawlers and Hunters begin confiscating the money into one of your Bags of Holding and departed to finish exploring. You returned in time to find Victoro and Ammalia disposing of the troops you placed there and taking your bag of holding. You placed Victoro inside of a Wall of Force as Ammalia placed you all in a Circle of Death, an Iron Golem rose up in the form of a minotaur made from the iron chains across the ceiling. It let loose a stream of poisonous breath and Victoro was freed from the Wall of Force. You knocked Ammalia unconscious and he rushed over to her attempting to heal her which was counterspelled. He then cast plane shift and took the two of them to safety and the Iron Golem was returned to chains. As the estate continued to crumble around you, the party, with the help of the City Watch, breached the final door. (The room of George’s hurt feelings) You found the Altar of Bhaal, with a large statue of the deity with his arms outstretched over a brazier of fire. You saw cultists finishing the burning of texts and a robed figure in the back directing the cultists, an old, tall, slender man, he had a beard that appeared to be stained crimson wearing faded grey robes with a gold trim and the wrists and neck. His hand appeared to be withered and decayed as he hastened the cultists to finish their work. As you rushed towards the man you were intercepted by a figure standing next to the statue waiting with a greataxe. Flying up over the pyre of burning books was a tiefling with a burgundy hue, her horns split into six parts curling back, up, and forward. Her left eye, a pool of blood, and her right, a light yellow. She wore clothes that appeared to be made from goristro hide and leathery demon flesh. Silver rushed the man in the back and sliced him with the sunsword, he grabbed his wound, looked over the room at all of you, and nodded to Requiem, teleporting out of the room. The fight broke out across the room as the cultists summoned elemental creatures made from boiling blood; others heating the internal temperature of people’s capillaries and veins, burning them from the inside out; some sliced thin cuts on their hands, drawing forth weapons from the wounds. A form of magic that has yet to be seen by this world as far as you are aware. You fought the antipaladin, saved by the summoning of an Angel of Lathander by Borovik who referred to the Zealot as “Deceiver” and as Silver got the killing blow she grit her teeth saying “Pleasure meeting you, see you soon.” You parted her head with her body and we are going to pick up right at that moment.

Session 23/24:

You escaped the burning estate of the escaped Cassalanters surely to see them again and reconvened with your crew. Mirt, on behalf of the city, thanked you for your efforts and extended an offer to rise to the rank of a Venture Noble of the City of Waterdeep, allowing you to purchase an estate in the Sea Ward and keep bannered troops. All you would have to do is accompany Nikolaj out to where ships laden with magic items, gold, and other expensive merchandise and defeat a Storm Giant and Dragon Turtle that had been sinking the ships. You interrogated one of the survivors Weatherby Stevens and uncovered that he was a deep scion sent to misdirect and sow the seeds of war with the colony of Storm Giants living in that area, rendering the whole shipping lane useless. You cured him of his transformation and he confessed that when he was tossed from the ship there was a dragon turtle, but he was grabbed by other deep scions who gave him and the other survivors a choice, drown or join them. With this information you departed on a mostly boring month and a half long trip, although you did find a fabled ghost ship, helping the dead end their eternal voyage. However, on Highharvasttide as the day closed, every sentient creature in the world was assailed by dreams and visions of Archdukes of the Nine Hells and Princes of the Abyss depending on which fiend would elicit the most fear. The entire world experienced this primal fear, many were driven mad by the dreams, but the worst was yet to come. As you finished getting to your destination it came out that these visions led to swarms of fiends pouring through gates made in populous cities up and down the Sword Coast.

Session 25-26:

fought Illusory dragon and the hags and aboleths

Back from you excursion at sea you reconnected with friends and loved ones back home. Lucky has been busy on contracts from the City Watch to help solve tougher crimes since there has been a rapid uptick since the war began, Darius has been assisting the Harpers in seeing that the needs of the commonfolk are looked after, and Eliza has been providing food and healing to the poor, sick, and wounded. You returned to an all-together changed Waterdeep: the autumn is cold and an ill omen of the winter to come; the streets are lined with recruiting posters urging citizens to join the war effort, injured soldiers, and displaced refugees; and the air feels tense and ominous. Getting a briefing at the Palace of Waterdeep you observed the progress of the War so far and decided your best effort would be in dealing with some pirates that had been raiding the coast, on march to Candlekeep, held back only by a small detachment of monks, LA soldiers, and Elminster Aumer. Before you could go Darius has some news to inform you all, he told you a story of how he was lost in the Shadowfell when he was a child, protected by a flock of guardian ravens and guided to the Fortress of Memories, the home of the enigmatic Raven Queen, mother of the shadarkai. He was gifted with shadow sorcery and a duty to watch and observe the tragedies and tales of the ages, and that when the time was right he would tell his tale only knowing that it meant that the raven queen had a desire for you to come to her palace. He does not know why or when, but when you are ready, the Queen has something for you. Your party was also visited by Irhavith the paladin of helm and one of the Godsworn, during an interrogation of an old foe Dea, he found that she had discovered the ritual book that you had taken from the Cassalanters, he demanded you turn it over as you were incapable of protecting it. A fight broke out in the taproom of your pub and that is where we will pick up.

Session 27:

You finished fighting Irhavith, him teleporting from the pub. Calling the other members of the Godsworn they validated Irhavith’s story and were not surprised in the slightest. He reportedly said that he is allowing you to keep the book since you proved to him that you could guard it. Having done that you departed on your journey south of Candlekeep, to fight the pirates that were bogging down Elminster’s division of LA forces. Going through Baldur’s Gate, you assisted the Harpers in observing the rule of law by the Flaming Fist militia. Going throughout the city’s Lower Ward, it was a dreary autumn day as sunken faces stared at you on the street or form alleyways. You approached a crowd gathered to witness a public execution, Viola and Jonah waded through the crowd while Silver watched from the periphery. Attempting to make it to the stage a burn scarred elder woman stabbed Viola with a silver dagger screaming something about divine judgement. A Flaming Fist sentinel through the woman to the ground and with the stomp of a steel boat, the cracking of bones indicated that she was no longer going to be a threat. In a long winded argument you convinced the executioners to hold off one more day when a prisoner made a break for it. Silver caught up to the individual, a rock gnome sorcerer whose left arm and left half of his face is covered in red scales. He introduced himself as Simon, an alchemist who was arrested on suspected fiend worship. You concluded that after Belial tore through the city, much of the city was burned and anyone suspected of having connections to devils was arrested as a way to appease an increasingly unstable population. After using a zone of truth you freed 9 of the 12 executionees. You went south meeting up with Elminster who gave you a brief run down of the situation. Making your way as dusk began to fall you stole across the blighted land, fighting the corpse flowers, cadaver collector, and the many skeletons, having defeated the hordes we begin there.

Session 28:

Launching the attack on the pirate hordes your units caused a minor distraction drawing forces away from the causeway. Fireballs and catapults launched overhead threatening some form of harm. You were noticed by a group of Yuanti, led by an Anathema. The six-headed snake demigod almost killed Peggy but you were able to drive it off and kill it. Continuing on you freed the prisoners and despite your hopes they were in no condition for fighting. You entered the boss tent and after Peggy peered through the illusory spell you found you were dealing with a Rakshasa, a fiend from the lower planes. It had a particular interest in Borovik’s Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and expressed a limited knowledge of your group and its capabilities. It said that in return for the Amulet it would leave with the pirates, give you a promised plethora of magic and nonmagical items, and allow you to return with the prisoners. Unable to find a bargaining point you fought the fiend, culminating with the Rakshasa tearing a hideous gash across Silver’s chest but Silver stabbing the fiend with Shroudsplitter and the monster dissolved into a foul ichor. Taking loot from the place you claimed a Frostbrand Scimitar, a Crystal Ball, a very nice crossbow, many valuable gems, and a spellbook. You rested that evening although Silver could not find rest, in the morning he tried to bandage his wounds and center himself but could not get his hands to stop shaking, could not control his breathing, starting holding his chest and then grabbed at his throat as if he couldn’t breath. The rest of the day you spent recovering from the previous days battle took stock of your wounded and watched the rest of the battle unfold. Silver you begin to feel a similar phantom pain echo from your chest as you feel Leon’s vengeance, you have won the battle but almost half of the soldiers who came to the beaches south of Candlekeep shall not be going home. Now let us find out how your units and retainers fared. Even roll for Tassilio.

Session 29:

You gathered your followers and units and marched to Candlekeep, grateful as they were for your help, disobeying the strict orders is outside of their ability. Everyone besides Jonah gave a donation and were allowed inside and you spent the next tenday spending your time researching various topics, all of the demon lords and devils that were assaulting this world, the fabled vestiges of the divergence, and other topics that would aid you in your quests. Peggy, with the help of the Candlekeep monk Halfine made a plan. Halfine was on pilgrimage to Waterdeep during the Festival of Heroes and spent a fair amount of time watching Peggy and listening to your story, seeing her research and think out loud was the rest of the proof that she needed that she should help you, not satisfied wasting away the war on the inside of a library. The two snuck into Candlekeep heading towards the spiraling depths. When she reached the bottom, with the faintest glimpse she noticed something was slightly off. Using Bigby’s Hand and an extraordinary feat of luck she came into a room shrouded in magical darkness. When she entered the room the darkness dispelled and she saw a dusty room with a small desk a shelf of crumbling books, a closed leatherbound book completely free of the thick dust that choked the room, and several sets of footprints walking to and from the book. What she read through was a book called the Murmering Canon, a book that talked about the rise of an archmage who forged an empire of tremendous power and used the immensity of lichdom to attain godhood, but was betrayed and murdered by their closest ally, the Rotwood Traitor. The archmage speaks from beyond the veil and waits and watch for the time to be right to reenter the world once more. As she finished the book her mind was assailed by the secrets she uncovered and almost forgot the book as it crumbled. A cold wind surrounded Peggy and her and Halfine left for the surface. You completed your research and made your way to Waterdeep, checking in with loved ones and contacts and waiting for your Stronghold to finish. As it did, new followers pledged their service to you. Simon remained as an alchemist and sorcerer who would work for you all operating out of Peggy’s tower, as Silver was getting acquainted with his new Captain Hulmir Lockjaw roughly 100 tabaxi from Maztica approached having traveled across the sea to fight in the war. A rock gnome arcane blacksmith Welra came to Jonah, desiring to make magical arms and armor. Faen Enxath, a broad shouldered dragonborn mercenary came to pledge his service. And seeing the completion of the temple, a well-trained group of knights pledged their service to Dawnlord Borovik.