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Session 48: Guards and Gods

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Quote of the Session

Key Developments and Revelations

  • The party talks to some of the generals about what comes next

  • We have a conversation with the gods present at the planar tree

  • Alexei talks with Joergen and serenity’s retribution and gets sent to eryx to get a soulstone

  • The cult of black earth were already there and fought the local guards and some new faces also including Cyric

  • The fight ends and Alexei goes with Cyric and his party at the behest of Caitlin Moonsong to Epithon to free her “Mistress”

  • The rest of the party heads to Epithon and then meets Umbrach Horcus and Aelthars parents. They arranged to hold a family dinner in the evening.

Full Session Notes (trym)

The party stands vigil as the end of Petir’s funeral happens and after some acknowledgments form Esta the party leaves. Aelthar tells them about the message he got and that he is going to Epithon to find his parents. They agree to wait a bit so Arani can talk to the generals and the gods to figure out what comes next and what they plan to do now that brimstone has fallen and so has 2 aspects. Metilles ays that he will likely head back to the empire to retake it and unite it against the coming storm, and Lambert agrees. Thalia and Aelthar buy some potions and then reunite with the group. We then talk to Corellon and the other gods in their pavilion under the planar tree. they tell us what they know about Tharizdun but also that they cant directly intervene to help the mortal realm since that would break the divine order. and if they break it the overseer would send an executioner to deal with them. this executioner is Helm. we also learn that the seals that were made to keep Tharizdun imprisoned was made by Vangarnoth and that the gods present don’t know if anything can be done to stop them from being broken. there are 2 beings they tell us about that would likely have some knowledge on the subject which is Asmodeus and A’odon. Corellon assures us that we should believe in both ourselves and the mortals as a whole as there have been calamities like this before and the mortals have always pulled through in the end. despite frustration from them not being able to help directly we start to leave when Rillifane rallathil approaches us and agress to help us find Mika as it was mention before in the conversation. despite the potential consequnces he helps us find out that Mika is imprioned in Ioun’s realm and also grants us the way to get back to the planar tree.

Alexei wakes up after a rough night of drinking and talks to Serenity’s Retribution and Jorgen. Jorgen looks rough and has some green in his eyes while also looking very frail since last we saw him. He asks them to go find him a soul stone in Eryx and after a lil bit of convincing Alexei agrees to go with Jamis to eryx. when they appear they hear fighting in the distance and go to help. there is a giant and some smaller enemies belonging to the cult of black earth. the enemies are dispensed of with the help of the local guards, a new party of adventurers including Cyric, Kerelan, Twilight and the Jamis and Alexei. As the fight is about to be at an end a dragon burst out from the building carrying something and then flies away. After the fight the participants tend to their wounds and a young girl by the name caitlin Moonsong approaches the group and asks them to help free her mistress who is apparently imrpioned by an evil worker of magic. she also states that her mistress is similar to Alexei’s ordeal. Alexei agrees after securing payment of some sort and Jamis stays behind to find the soul stone. Alexei, Cyric, Kerelan, Twilight and Caitlin Moonsong then go and fetch Agnese from the temple in eryx and travel to the city of Weavington in Epithon to rescue the mistress from castle Rosered.

The rest of the party appear outside the Visilis manor and all the commoner avoid the party and we are soon approached by 3 guards who apprehend us which we willingly go along with. Once inside we are greeted by umbrach Horcus who apologizes for the misunderstanding and also for how Antael went about getting Aelthar to show up. We head to Horcus office and speak about who they are and why Aelthar should view tham as family despite having no realtion to them. they agree to speak about why they wanted him to come back during dinner. the party then goes to their rooms and Aelthar goes to his parents to speak to them. they ask how he has been and comments on his cars but he assures them he has been in good hands. They tell him to remember that his name Doryu not Visilis and that the Vislis family are essentially cultists who worship the dragonmarks. Aelthar goes and talks to the party about how expects them to behave and at the very least not be the cause of any bad blood between the group and the family.

DATE: 17/09/2024

In-game Date Start: 1st of Solis, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 1st of Solis, 959 A.D.

Players Present

  • Jeremy (Alexei)

  • Oskar (Mika)

  • Sari (Arani)

  • Sydney (Thalia)

  • Trym (Aelthar)

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

  • Grogory Fon Dwite

  • Gregory Fon Dwite

  • Jan Thomas

  • Fredrik

  • Fradrik

  • John

  • Dedrik

  • Sir Brand Brige

  • Antael

  • Umbrarch Horcus

  • Corellon

  • Rillifane

  • Amara

  • Cassiel

Wall of Shame

  • Jerm - 8 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:

Gregory and Grogory shenanigans

“these people are strangers to me and this place is not my home”