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“Tell me, what’s the good of having gods if they don’t do anything?” - Mika ‘praying’ to Helm

Key Developments and Revelations

• The party escapes through the gate, Aelthar burned to crispy bacon

• Arani and Alexei stay with the Stormwatch for another night

• The remaining party interrogates Harman back at Maxi’s home

• Thalia tries to lift the curse from Harman, a voice echoing through her head and wounding her mind

• Mika bigbraines a cure for Thalias amnesia

• Harman explains what has happened to him to join the Black Clover Swords in their coup

• After warning Mika of what is to come Harman is killed

• Esme gets the report of the Myridon army retreating due to attacks on their borders by Liberty and the Caldian States

• Thalia receives a letter from home, asking her to come visit and help out with some incidents

• Arani, Alexei and Esme return home and the siblings reunite

• The party talks about their next steps

Full Session Notes (Sari)

The party arrives at the gate where the bombs are planted, prepares their defenses and hold of the enemies forces for as long as possible. Out of Taman and Esme, Taman is the first one to reach the gate and shortly after Esme also makes it and they reach Thalia up at the tower, who is standing besides the trigger for the bomb, waiting for the right moment. When everyone makes it through and Thalia pulls the trigger, the party realizes that the bomb has been damaged enough in the attacks to not work any longer. It would have to be manually triggered.

Aelthar manages to get close enough, after Arani climbed the cliff to the tower where her sister was, getting out of range before the bomb is set off. Aelthar barely escapes death but is heavily wounded. Alexei, Aelthar, Thalia, Mika decide to return to Maxi’s home with Harman for the interrogation and to allow Aelthar to recover somewhere safe and comfortable, while Alexei agrees to stay with Arani so she can have the time to say her goodbyes to Esme.

Back in the tower, Thalia asks Maxi to help with Harman and asks Rehael to take the other siblings to the hidden bedroom. Thalia explains her plan to Harman, before trying to cast Lesser Restauration on him to attempt to lift the curse. A voice echoes through her mind, claiming Harman to be his possession. After another attempt Thalia’s mind breaks. She doesn’t remember where she is and why she is there.

Mika remembers that the heart of the witch from the forest cures madness and brings it to Thalia to successfully cure her.

Following this, Mika pushes the heart into Harman’s lap, hoping that its powers would also be able to lift the curse from him but Harman seems unchanged. Instead he explains what has happened to him to join the Black Clover Swords. He reveals that he and his friends have been part of a group dedicated to Helm. This group was slowly overtaken by members of a different sect, Selwyn being one of them and slowly converted the members into believers of another entity. Harman had no other choice but to follow along to protect his friends. He, like many others, were manipulated into joining the coup and follow their orders.

Harman is unsure if any other of the members of the Black Clover Swords were victims to this as well, but they didn’t seem as reluctant as he felt. They seemed to enjoy what they were doing.

Harman then rips his chains and stands up before walking over to face Mika directly. He speaks out a warning, about the being they follow being imprisoned in the deepest of the abyss and that it’s chains are being broken one by one. A series of events has been put in motion. He speaks one last name “Bhog Daral” before dying right in front of Mika.

She despairs and runs out of the tower, Thalia runs right after.

At the camp of the Stormwatch Army, Arani enters Esme’s tent to try and have another talk with her sister, when a soldier enters as well and gives a report of the Myridon army abandoning their pursuit. Esme seems okay with that while Arani stays supsicious.

Arani leaves the tent to find Alexei to tell her about the report and to ask her to keep an eye out. Then she thanks Alexei for being there and offers her help if Alexei ever needs it. Sweet moment, unfitting for the two of them. Alexei tells her to shut up, fitting for her. lol.

Thalia has run after Mika for a long time. Mika suddenly just stops and starts…praying. She asks why the gods would allow what had happened to Harman and his friends to happen, why Helm would abandon them when they needed him the most. Her prayers go unanswered.

Thalia catches up and the both of them have a conversation about the gods and Thalia’s faith in Helm. At first she struggels with answering all of Mika’s questions but then she settles on explaing the origins of her own faith and that someone has taught her. Together they return to Maxi’s tower shortly after, where Maxi awaits them with news:
The Caldian States have started an attack against Myridon and Liberty, who was promised lands after Myridon has suceeded its conquest of the Stormwatch Duchy but never got that, also decided to get ready for war. Auriele is preparing an army.

Maxi also has a letter for Thalia that from her home, asking her to come visit when she finds the time and check out some unexplainable incidents in the town.

Back in the camp with the Stormwatch, Alexei wakes Arani to go back to Ituno and check out the situation of the Myridon army. In Ituno they only find evidence of the army packing up and leaving, splitting up in two parties, one going south towards the Caldian States and the other returning deeper into conquered territory of the Duchy.

After they return, Esme also gets the news of the myridon army retreating and its causes and then agrees to go with Arani and Alexei back to Maxi to see their siblings.

The reunion is sweet, Esme openly excited to see the rest of the siblings again. Excitement that she hasn’t shown with Arani but she was getting warmer in her greatings again. While the siblings catch up, Thalia and the others catch Arani and Alexei up on what has happened with Harman. This also leads to Maxi and her little fiendish friend Mir hearing about the Hidden Lord for the first time. Mir gets scared at the mention of the Hidden Lord but Maxi explains that he misunderstood the name of the Celestifel.

He is terrified of a Celestifel called Azgaroth, but when Arani asks the Hidden Lord about that name he seems to not know that name. The party has a discussion about gods and their beliefs before Aelthar reveals the message he had received from Meiavor and his threat on Hidden Hope. The party decides to go fetch Mika for this conversation, who has stayed in the bedroom for the entire rest of the night.

When Arani finds her, she is clutching necklaces to her in her sleep. She made them out of the heart of the witch and says that they will help them.

DATE: 12/12/2023

In-game Date Start: 26th of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 27th 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

• Oskar - 14 min

• Sari - 9 min

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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:

“Thank you for being here, and thank you for just being you, Alexei.” - Arani

“Okay, shut the fuck up.” - Alexei

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“Tell me, what’s the good of having gods if they don’t do anything?” - Mika ‘praying’ to Helm

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“What makes a god a god if not power?” - Mika

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“You can have the powers of a dragon - you can have the ability to breathe fire, you can have the ability to fly, you can have all these things combined. But that does not make you a dragon - it makes you an impersonator.” - Thalia

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“What about me? I was born. And then I became what my parents called an abomination. And then they THREW ME OUT!” - Mika

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“You are a good person to me. I’d like you to be a good person to yourself.” - Thalia

“What if I can’t?” - Mika

“Then I’d like you to be a good person to a friend of mine. She’s called Mika.” - Thalia

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“I’m gonna go kill Bhogh Daral.” - Mika

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