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Session 15: Time to Care

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“I’m surprised you’re still here.” - Esme

“It was time to care.” - Arani

Key Developments and Revelations

  • Mika is alive. yaay

  • we follow the Stormwatch army as they retreat towards Itunno

  • We formulate a plan to ambush Harman and get help from Esme after we help destroy some siege weapons

  • we beat Harman and start to retreat out of Itunno

Full Session Notes (Trym)

We start the session with the aftermath of the raid and Mika’s revivify being a success. We wait as Mika gets her rage out and she eventually falls unconscious and Arani elects to carry her as we march after the Stormwatch forces. The party talks about what is next and whether we should go after someone else as Harman is hard to reach as the head of an army. We decide to stick with the Stormwatch forces as they could potentially give us the opening needed to get Harman.

We follow the Army for the day and then talk about what we are actually fighting to accomplish and the repercussions of opposing the Myridon army if we want to actually clear our names. The Stormwatch army isn’t very happy with us either as we have been fighting them for months so we don’t really fit in either camp but we have the potential for getting Harman and also we can help out Esme.

Mika talks to Aelthar about Harman’s condition and that he clearly was trying to resist hurting us but couldn’t. Mika questions if the others we have already killed were under control and asks if Aelthar knows how to deal with that. Aelthar says if that was the case then he is sorry but doubts that it is, seeing as the rest didn’t show any restraints when fighting them.

After this conversation Aelthar receives a message from Meiavor saying “Fools… You think killing Daephne means her threat dies with her? I won’t kill them yet, but I should be seeing you soon. Hidden Hope.” Aelthar elects to not mention this yet seeing Mika’s mental state and feels that the group needs to be focused on one goal.

The group sits down and starts to formulate a plan to subdue Harman seeing as we would prefer having him alive. We figure that we need to separate him from the rest of the army somehow and the way to do so is to give him a big target. in this case that would be our forces commander Esme. we would use that to draw him in and then surround him away from his forces. We bring the plan to Esme who seems hesitant but when we state that we are there to help the cause she fights for as well she gives us a deal. we help her destroy some of the enemy catapults and she will give us our chance to take Harman out. We agree to this, and as we arrive in Itunno we find the ideal location for our ambush and prepare to fight in the upcoming battle.

The plan of the Stormwatch forces is to evacuate all the civilians and then do their best to take as many enemy soldiers out as they retreat bit by bit until they leave the city through the southern gate leading towards the mountains and then blowing it up behind them.

Through some convincing we get some Stormwatch soldiers to help us with our plan and we set out as the battle begins. we fight our way across a field and cut down many enemies to destroy the catapults. After a bit of fighting Harman appears and we destroy the catapults. Arani goads Harman to follow us into the city and our ambush is a great success. Harman is knocked unconscious and we retreat with him restrained.

DATE: 05/12/2023

In-game Date Start: 22nd of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 26th 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

  • Find out what’s happening in Hidden Hope

Locations Visited

  • Itunno

Important NPCs Interacted With

  • Esme

  • Harman

Wall of Shame

  • Sari - 9 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

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Memorable Quotes

The best quotes of the Session:

“I never attacked any civilians… none of us did.” - Thalia

Alexei and Arani eyeing each other

“I’m surprised you’re still here.” - Esme

“It was time to care.” - Arani

“Keep your heart and keep your cool.” - Arani

“Harman, she’s still alive. There’s still a debt to be paid. Your blood for ours. The Crimson Cloud awaits you. Follow me, bitch!” - Arani