Session 74: Highkeep
Main
Quote of the Session
Key Developments and Revelations
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The party reunites with Gabe and Asger
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Plans are made to take over Highkeep
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The party then reunites with Thena and Lionel, who bring along Ethan,Andrik and Ferwin
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They attack Highkeep and encounter Alesander who says he had planted some bombs that will go off if we don’t allow him to retreat unharmed
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Thena kills Alesander, Sanctuary bring him back, triggering Thena who summons a pitfiend
Full Session Notes (Sari)
The group arrives in Stillmoon and heads to the council building where Gabe, Asger and Moriad await them. The city is in motion, armies are getting ready to march, all in all the soldiers number up to 20k. Inside the war room further plans about the take over of Highkeep are being discussed and they settle on aiming for a quick surrender of the Ascil army. When the commanders, Alesander and the Ascil commander die the rest of the army would be forces to surrender and retreat.
The Adairn loyalists are also reportedly based within the goblin fort, and are ready for battle.
Plan is as follows: the party will teleport into Highkeep, together with Thena and any support they can get. They’ll find and kill Alesander and the Ascil commander while Asger’s troops and Stillmoon’s troops will siege Highkeep from outside the walls.
Gabe scries quickly on Soren’s office but finds it emptied out. Asger’s army gets ready to leave to arrive in time together with Lionel and Caspian who will signal the siege to begin when he casts Storm of Vengeance.
When they leave the council building they find Thena waiting, together with Lionel, Ferwin and two members of the Band of Lions, Ethan and Andrik.
Gabe has a heartfelt reunion with the kids after taking a second to collect himself when he saw Thena’s Darkvein.
The group take the few days it takes for the Stillmoon army to get into position to rest and prepare. During this time Amyha and Thena have a conversation, they talk about Thena’s symptoms, Amyha’s ‘cure’ for Darkvein and about the soulgems that were still in Thena’s posession.
Thena then has a conversation with Gabe and asks a favor of him. She made him promise that in case she loses her mind to darkvein and becomes a threat to anyone, Gabe needs to stop her. He does so after first declining, if only to give her a little peace of mind.
Gabe then talks with Ilmater, breaking down and begging for answers that he doesn’t get. Instead he switches the conversation to Highkeep and Gabe asks for forgiveness for the man he has to become to deliver vengeance for Thena. Ilmater asks him to keep vengeance out of his heart and to remain compassionate.
In the meantime Caspian tries to cheer Lionel up and promises to keep him and his sister safe.
The attack begins, Caspian joins the party inside Highkeep and they quickly make their way from the courtyard inside the keep. The commander of the Ascil army also joins the battle.
Inside in the dining hall, Alesander awaits sitting on the throne. He has as skull with him and is confronted by Gabe and Rydel as they break through the door. Alesander threatens that if he is not allowed to leave Higkeep alive he will have his man blow up the mountain base that holds Highkeep and the surrounding city up on the hill.
When thena joins the dining hall, Gabe is about to explain the situation to her but Thena walks right up to Alesander and slits his throat.
She then starts absorbing his soul into a lantern, but is stopped by Sanctuary resurrecting Alesander so Ethan can have the minute he needs to be able to copy Alesander’s voice.
Thena snaps and summons a devil to attack Sanctuary.
DATE: 10/02/2025
In-game Date Start: 10th of Reaping, 959 A.D.
In-game Date Finish: 14th of Reaping, 959 A.D.
Players Present
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Jeremy (Caspian)
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Oskar (Ahmya)
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Rasmus (Rydel)
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Sari (Gabrielle/Kani)
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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
- Sydney - 3 min
,
Example
“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!”
Key Developments and Revelations
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After resting with the caravan, woke up in a strange land, full of eerieness, malice and fog.
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On finding a path and following it, they come to the Gates of Barovia.
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Here the party meets Strahd Von Zarovich for the first time. He insinuates that he knows everyone in the party except for Sunny.
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They follow the path, see a group of buildings, then beyond that a larger village overlooked by cliffs and a castle on it.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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The party joined the caravan heading out of Daggerford. Each one joined for a different reason, and none knew the others.
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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.
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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.
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All of their possessions were gone as well, bar a few items that were kept close to them while they rested.
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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.
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While the party is taking stock of their situation, Kronkus finds that the long-silent voices have started whispering to him again.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The party then pushes open the gates, and walk through. The gates closes and locks behind them. Beyond is more forest.
Finding Shelter
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Adam (Milo)
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Alex (Arkemon)
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Ben (Elgin)
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Chad (Sunny)
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Russ (Delta)
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Stephen (Wilfyr)
Subbed Characters
- Everyone was present for this session.
Completed Quests
- No completed quests
Obtained Quests
- Leave This Land
Places Experienced
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Gates of Barovia
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Barovian Basin
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Durst Manor
Important NPCs Interacted With
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Strahd Von Zarovich
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Rose Durst
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Thorn Durst
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