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Session 13: Hidden Dealings

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“If whoever is in there harms any of us, we will put you back into the grave.” - Alexei

Key Developments and Revelations

  • Arani remembers her talk with the Hidden Lord

  • The Hidden Lord tells her about the whereabouts of her missing siblings

  • The group decides to go after Harman next

  • Shortly before catching up with Harman’s troops the group is approached by Kaddrus

  • Kaddrus wants the armor and starts a fight

Full Session Notes

While Arani is dead, the Hidden Lord is able to show her more of his prison inside the armor. It looks like an ‘unsettling harmony’ of celestial and fiendish design and as Arani tries to apporach the Hidden Lord further, black tendrils wrap around her body. They quickly tighten around her as she starts to choke. The Hidden Lord urges her to take a deal with him. He can save her from death and help her in her search for her remaining siblings, if she agrees to allow him control over her body once. Very much influenced by Arani’s faith in his celestial origin she just asks for his name and to share his memories with her of how he came to be in this prison. He agrees only to giving his name and reveals it to be Seraphiel. He then shows Arani the location of her two remaining siblings; Esme who is riding a Direwolf and leading an ambush on Harman’s troups and then Kaelen’s petrified body in the courtyard of the Order of Ambers. Then he sends her back to the land of the living (wasn’t Helm. Thalia’s lying.)

Jumping awake Arani feels a burn on her hand as a symbol appears in her palm. She tries to hide it but at least Alexei was aware that something was going on, so Arani takes her and Mika (bop) (who is pretending to sleep in her arms) outside to gather water. Arani shows them the symbol and tells her about the conversation with the Hidden Lord. Alexei is a bit reluctant in trusting him while Mika needs a bit longer to really understand what is going on.

They return to the cave where Thalia and Aelthar get ready for the day. (bop) Deciding on the next steps, we return to Maxi’s tower to get a teleportation tablet to Vanquished’s Rest and find ourselves facing a graveyard with a giant’s skull in the middle of it. After a quick history lesson, the group realizes that its the skull of Gautar, King of the Cloudgiants who was killed by Crusus the Vanquished after Gautar came down to talk some sense into Crusus but failed.

Close by we also see the fort where Crusus rallied his troups for war. Now it’s just a museum though.

The party continues and tries to track down Esme and Harman’s troups.

On the way we come across another battlefield where two farmers, a father and his son are scavenging through the bodies for everything they could make into money. Alexei approaches them, asking a few question and after the son recognizes her she gives them money. She tells them to get away as quickly as possible.

Mika is still sure that she can talk some sense into Harman as he was the only one who still seemed reluctant at the moment of their betrayal. There are some split opinions but before the group could really get into another discussion a member of the Knights of the Scale, the Hidden Lord worshippers shows up with a big friend at his side. He demands the armor back telling the group that they have no idea what they are actually dealing with. He reveals that the Hidden Lord is of the same race as Garcius, a Celestifel who attempted to rise to godhood but was stopped by a group of heroes at the last minute and who is responsible for the merging 9 years ago. The Hidden Lord also attempted to become a god and was imprisoned for that reason. bop

Seeing that the party, or at least Arani is unwilling, his demands turn to threats and a fight breaks out.

The Crimson Cloud emerges victorious but a feeling of unease sure accompanied the sweet sweet taste of victory. lol.

was the victory that sweet? yes. interesting

DATE: 21/11/2023

In-game Date Start: 18th of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 20th of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

Players Present

  • Jeremy (Alexei)

  • Oskar (Mika)

  • Sari (Arani)

  • Sydney (Thalia)

  • Trym (Aelthar)

Subbed Characters

  • 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

  • Jerm - 3 min

  • Oskar - 4 min

  • Sari - 30 min - old lady emergency

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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

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Memorable Quotes

The best quotes of the Session:

“If whoever is in there harms any of us, we will put you back into the grave.” - Alexei

“What happened to your hand?” - Thalia

“She got caught by some brambles in the forest” - Alexei

“Ah. Plants, again? Great.” - Thalia

“Magic is a funky thing.” - Mika

“I don’t want your life, I don’t want your garbage.” - Alexei