Main

“Rydel… Don’t make the mistake of trusting me. I’m no better than those “Fathers of Magic."" - Ahmya

“I’m afraid I’ve already crossed that threshold.” - Rydel

“At your own peril.” - Ahmya

“At my own peril.” - Rydel

Key Developments and Revelations

• Aleron brings Sanctuary and Alistair back to life

• The group has a conversation with Aleron

• They then visit the Stellar Orcale once again and get lore about Grumbar, the Dawnwars, and Caecus

• Aurelius then invites the group to Setmerun for his wedding

Full Session Notes (Sari)

After the fight with Samosek and Alistair and Sanctuary being dead the rest of the group hurry back to the city. At the adventuring guild they ask for help to bring back their friends and are hurridly ushered into the temple rooms. Raise Dead fail on both Sanctuary and Alistair. The group is devastated but when the clerics of the guild leave, Aleron speaks up and invites the group to his tower.

He says he is able to bring Sanctuary and Alistair back and is willing to do this at the cost of some of the souls he had collected for his goal. The party has proven themselves to Aleron and he wants them to continue to hunt and kill the other Fathers of Magic. Only when they are dead and the pact that binds them is resolved will he be able to follow through with his plan and bring the Dragon of Power back to save the world.

By bringing Alistair and Sanctuary back, he warns us that some part of the soul that is used to bring them back will remain with them in some shape or form. So before the group agrees they cast Speak with Dead on both Alistair and Sanctuary to get their insight on Aleron’s idea. Alistair said that he trusts our decisions but seems reluctant while Sanctuary seemed ready to get back to us.

Aleron then brings both of them back and allows us to rest up a bit. During this rest, Aleron answers some questions, among them that any cooperation with the other Fathers is impossible. Targan would destroy his work and he had no contact with any of the rest but can’t trust them because of their shared history.

Kani stays behind while the others trickel out to ask some further questions and they talk about the vision. Aleron says he doesn’t know if its another entity or his own powers that granted him this but he cares enough for the material plane to try everything in his power to stop its destruction. Kani instead says that the vision might be more than just a warning and that Aleron should try and hold onto hope a bit longer.

Back in the city the group reunites for some R&R. Rydel talks to Amyha, asks her if she is able to return to Aleron’s plane now tha she has seen it and then explains that he’s still unable to trust in Aleron. He thinks that the Dragon of Power Vitrix will not be agreeable with helping the mortals and the material plane as it was them that had killed him. Bringing him back might just cause more harm than it will help and Amyha agrees. Aleron will have to be dealt with eventually.

Kani finds Rydel shortly after to talk with him and says that she is unable to be the old Cha’askani and angry and she’d rather be Rydel’s friend again. She asks Rydel to trust her and to rely on her again. They make up and Kani shows Rydel her old form as her echo but this time with wings.

Afterwards she goes to find Alistair and Sanctuary to show them the same and to ask how they are doing after being brought back. Alistair and Sanctuary share their ‘new’ memories when Amyha is also dragged into the room and it turns into an impromptu girls night. Rydel is also invited to join later in the evening and they have a nice wholesome hang out. During the hang out Rydel also seems to have a vision from Petir’s old life where he sees, Asger, a firbolg, an elf and a ginger haired man with a kind smile.

The next morning we windwalk south into the Nomadic Planes to meet with the Stellar Oracle again. As we arrive some of us are able to catch a glance of Maeve who has appearently been cured of Darkvein.

Sanctuary asks to cast Legendlore on the remnants of the Primordial. She sees four beings, the elemental lords united in power to create the world. Sanctuary catches glimpses of the elemental planes and the material plane. the beings reunite again but this time there is a clear hostility among them, something bad is happening and the Primordial of Air walks away, seeming dissappointed.

Next, Grumbar stands over a massive lake with smaller creatures emerging from it. Sanctuary witnesses the Dawnwars where Grumbar is striked down by Gruumsh, the orc god with a massive axe, other gods and their forces.

We take the opportunity to ask more questions. The stellar oracle tells us about Tharizdun, and that darkvein is a curse of magic so powerful that only an equally powerful being could cure or manipulate it. Only another primordial could cure darkvein like Maeve was cured.

Bringing up what happened to Malevor, the Stellar Oracle shares with us that the moon Caecus is a prison for a being responsible for previous cycles of destruction and birth. The only name he knows for it is the same as the moon: Caecus. It was imprisoned to preserve the current cycle.

We make our way outside, when Rydel gets a message from Aurelius telling him to visit Setmerun soon and to bring a wedding present.

Supposedly the message from Gabriel reaches them shortly after. The situation in the Northern Alliance has become dire, Ironhaven has been attacked by A’odon’s forces and he asks for their help.

DATE: 27/10/2024

In-game Date Start: 9th of Solis, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 16th of Solis, 959 A.D.

Players Present

• Jeremy (Alistair)

• Oskar (Ahmya)

• Rasmus (Rydel)

• Sari (Gabrielle/Kani)

• Sydney (Sanctuary)

Subbed Characters

• X played X / Everyone was present.

Completed Quests

• Link to completed quests

Obtained Quests

• Link to quests picked up this session

Locations Visited

• List of Locations

Important NPCs Interacted With

• List of NPCs

Wall of Shame

• Oskar - 8 min

,

Example

“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”

Key Developments and Revelations

• After resting with the caravan, woke up in a strange land, full of eerieness, malice and fog.

• On finding a path and following it, they come to the Gates of Barovia.

• Here the party meets Strahd Von Zarovich for the first time. He insinuates that he knows everyone in the party except for Sunny.

• They follow the path, see a group of buildings, then beyond that a larger village overlooked by cliffs and a castle on it.

• Making their way to the group of buildings, the fog seems to follow them, and Kronkus & Sunny get lost in it momentarily, with their being some time dilation happening whilst in there.

• Making it to the hamlet, they find all but one of the buildings empty and dark. Two children rush to them, saying there’s a monster in their house, and that their parents are keeping it at bay in the basement, and their baby brother is upstairs.

• The party move into the house, finding that this seems to belong to the Durst family. Moving into a main room, they hear the sounds of a party from beyond a nearby door.

• Opening the door, all lights in the house go out, no people are in the room beyond. The front door and gate close and lock on their own. A wolf growls from somewhere in the dark.

Last Time, in Barovia…

Arrival in Barovia

• The party joined the caravan heading out of Daggerford. Each one joined for a different reason, and none knew the others.

• On the first night, the caravan rested early, having been delayed from its set off by a latecomer to the caravan.
  The latecomer, Marko, had setup a campfire with food and drink, and one by one offered, convinced or cajoled the party to join him at his fire.

• The night was spent with everyone learning little bits about the other, drinking, eating, and being merry. Late, Marko crawled under his wagon for sleep, and invited the party to rest by his warm fire, which they did.

• When they awoke, they were not in the same place. The wagon, Marko, even the caravan itself was gone. No tracks or signs of movement in the immediate surroundings. It was if they had been picked up and placed here.

• All of their possessions were gone as well, bar a few items that were kept close to them while they rested.

• Taking stock of this new land, they found it eerie, almost dripping with maliciousness. There is a thick fog, swirling as if with a life of its own. The trees seem different, twisted, gnarled and unnatural. The sun, while present, seems to have trouble penetrating cloud and fog, and does not give much light or warmth.

• While the party is taking stock of their situation, Kronkus finds that the long-silent voices have started whispering to him again.

• Sunny reached out to the Triple-Fish God, and found his connection was muted, but there was a new, strong core in that feeling that’s never been there before, almost certainly connected to the Triple-Fish God.

• Moving around, they find a rutted path leading east/west. Westward leads into a thick wall of shifting fog, east has the fog thinning. They head east for a few hours.

Meeting Strahd

• Ahead, the forest slightly parts, and they come to a huge stone wall, with a large metal gate in the middle. Out of the front of it, a pack of wolves are tearing strips off a very dead body.

• Sunny casts Thunderwave above the wolves, in an effort to scare them. They reel back for an instant before they turn to face the party, almost undaunted by the noise. A larger wolf then snarls and pads towards the party, teeth bared.

• As the large wolf lunges to attack, his is called to heel by a voice. A man appears at the top of the wall, who effortlessly walks down the side of the wall as if were normal, flat ground. As he gets to the ground and walks through the wolves, they let him pass. He also passes the large wolf, ruffling its fur.

• Walking up to the party, he introduces himself as Strahd Von Zarovich, ruler of Barovia, and welcomes them to his land. He acknowledges them as the latest batch of adventurers to be brought here, more pawns in the game.

• He looks at each member of the party, including the still hidden Wilfyr, attempting to meet their gaze. Those that do, feel drawn into that gaze, with the world around them starting to spin away. There is only Strahd. Strahd doesn’t hold them in this gaze for long.

• He speaks briefly to each member of the party. His speech infers that he knows each of the party members to some degree, or about their past. Except Sunny. Sunny seems to be the enigma to Strahd.

• He warns the party that they will find no rest or success in his lands, that it obeys his command. He also warns them to not meddle in his affairs, and that if they do not, then their stay won’t be unpleasant.

• With that, he turns and strides away towards the gates, swirling his cloak around him and turns into a cloud of bats that then flies through the bars and off into the air beyond. As Strahd leaves, the wolf pack dissipates,into the forest.

• Inspecting the dead body in the road, they find it horrifically mauled. On closer inspection, they find a crumpled, partially torn Kolyan Indirovich’s Letter that Wilfyr takes.

• The party then pushes open the gates, and walk through. The gates closes and locks behind them. Beyond is more forest.

Finding Shelter

• After a little while, the path comes to the top a rise, giving the party a clear view of a Barovian Basin of sorts. In the far distance can be seen a town. Next to that are some cliffs, with an ominous castle at its heights, overlooking the town. About halfway to this town, there seems to be a small group of houses. Seeing signs of civilisation, the party heads down the path into the valley beyond.

• As they’re walking, they notice that the wall of fog is forming up thicker and thicker behind them. Its almost like its keeping pace with them, slowing down and speeding up when they do. Kronkus & Sunny attempt to interact with the fog and walk back into it.

• They lose all visibility, and cannot hear, touch or see each other. They try to leave the way they came, but cannot get out, only walk into more fog. After 10 minutes, both of them exit the fog from exactly the same place that they entered into it. To the rest of the party, they have been waiting for them for an hour.

• Continuing on, the rutted road finally gives way to gravel and stone, as they draw closer to the hamlet of houses. The houses are dark, boarded up, and there are no signs of life. Except one.

• As the party moves between the buildings, the sound of a child sobbing draws their eyes, and they see a small boy and a slightly older girl walk towards them.

• They are wailing, and after being frightened by Kronkus’ approach (due to his unnatural visage) cry that there is a monster in the house, pointing to the lit up house.

• Most of the party dash into the house, while the kids say that their parents are in there, keeping the monster trapped in the basement. They also say their baby brother is still stuck up in his nursery. Sunny tries to convince the kids to come with the party into the house, but they refuse, growing more and more scared of going back inside the house.

• All but Kronkus move into the foyer finding family portraits across the walls, labelled as the Dursts. Kronkus remains outside to try and convince the children to come with them, but they run off. He turns and joins the party in the house.

• As they all step into a large main room, the sounds of a party can be heard coming from another room, from beyond a nearby door. Arkemon retrieves the longsword from above the mantlepiece, and goes back and retrieves the heraldic shield from the foyer.

• Wilfyr finds a door on the opposite side of the room to where the party noises were coming from, and as he approached, heard the growls of wolves coming from beyond it.

• Arkemon warns against opening that door, and instead opens the door that should lead to the party they can hear. As he opens the door, the sounds stop. There is no people in the room beyond. All the torches, fireplaces and candles in the house go out as the party is plunged into darkness.

• Behind them, the gate and door into the entrance to the house close on their own, and lock. And another wolf growls in the distance.

DATE: 13/04/2021

In-game Date Start:

In-game Date Finish:

Players Present

• Adam (Milo)

• Alex (Arkemon)

• Ben (Elgin)

• Chad (Sunny)

• Russ (Delta)

• Stephen (Wilfyr)

Subbed Characters

• Everyone was present for this session.

Completed Quests

• No completed quests

Obtained Quests

• Leave This Land

Places Experienced

• Gates of Barovia

• Barovian Basin

• Durst Manor

Important NPCs Interacted With

• Strahd Von Zarovich

• Rose Durst

• Thorn Durst

,

Memorable Quotes

The best quotes of the Session:

“Rydel… Don’t make the mistake of trusting me. I’m no better than those “Fathers of Magic."" - Ahmya

“I’m afraid I’ve already crossed that threshold.” - Rydel

“At your own peril.” - Ahmya

“At my own peril.” - Rydel

---

---

---

---