Main

“This was supposed to be my punishment, and you stole it!__”- Arani

Key Developments and Revelations

• The party meets with Bel, and learn of Mirror of Mephistar

• We sail down the river styx and find the mirror where we make a deal to learn the location of the Blade of Zariel if we bring a powerful soul to Mephistopheles

• We fight and defeat Makon and give the gem that has his soul to the imp that came with us, and we then learn that Asmodeus has the sword.

• The party arranges a meeting with Asmodeus through Mahadi

• We all try to negotiate for us to get the blade but it ends with Aelthar making a deal 1 on 1

• The party gets the sword of Zariel

• Arani attunes to it as it finds her worthy and changes into an angelic version of herself

Full Session Notes (Trym)

After our journey we finally arrive at Bels lair where we enter after showing our letter of introduction to his guards. inside we see what seems to be a forge manned by several fire hellions and Bel sitting on his throne. we talk with Bel and manage to get the information that to defeat Zariel we could us her Sword she had when she was still an angel. he does not know its location but knows how we can find it so we go on a barge down the river styx until we get close to its location. there we find the mirror of Mephistar which gives us a direct connection to Mephistopheles and his servants on his layer of the hells. he tells us that he will tell us the location of the sowrd if we bring him a soul of great power. be it one of our own or one he has had an eye on already.

We elect to go for the other one and one of his imps lead us to its location. there we find a large corrupted goliath who seems to be in some sort of battle rage. We try to sneak up but he didnt like that very much so we end up fighting but beating him rather easily despite taking some decent damage. inside the helmet of a planetar where we fought him there was to skeletons one of larger form and one of shorter form huddled up holding a gem. during the fight the corrupted goliath kept saying “my Amethyst” who we then learn wasn’t the gem but the person. we learn this through touching the gem and seeing the events of the fight against Vangarnoth 70 years ago. The goliath was named Makon and the woman Amethyst and they were there as an adventuring group helping the effort against the hells and abyss. during the fighting the rest of their group had either died or retreated and then Makon was mortally wounded so as they hid inn the helmet of the fallen planetar, Amethyst mercy killed Makon and trapped his soul in the gem. after this Makon kept coming back to fight and die over and over for decades. the party takes all the info in and then hands the gem to the imp and learns that the sword is in the hands of Asmodeus the lord of the hells.

We go meet with Mahadi since he has place we can speak to powerful beings without risking deathand also his connection to the lord of the hells. Mahadi arranges a meeting with Asmodeus then taking over his body for the duration of the meeting. We talk to Asmodues who seems to to be undeterred by our efforts and somewhat blames the events of Zariel and Seraphiel on the party. Arani start debating a deal of servitude for 100 years as a champion after she dies and Thalia ask if the deal can be shortened if more than one agrees to do so. before a deal can be struck Aelthar asks Arani if she is actually going to do it. when she answers yes he tells asmodues that if they talk alone he will beat any deal they could offer him. Asmodeus agrees to meet with him alone and they make a contract that states when he dies or will be killed in 2 years he will serve as a champion for 100 years along with his summons. he would be allowed 1 hour to return to the material plane every decade until his contract is done. in return they get the sword of Zariel. The party is brought back into the room and Aelthar doesnt wish to tell them right away what the terms were but asmodeus does so and aks if anyone else wants to challenge the deal as he will take the most lucrative offer.

seeing as there were no takers he moved on to the next part which is that he offers his help in dealing with Zariel and Seraphiel by using his dark eight and their armies. In exchange he wants Luci to offer he services to him instead of his daughter Glasya. Luci refuses and he asks if anyone else has deal they want to make. Aelthar threatens that if the make one he will simply beat it as he is already locked into one deal and only has a year or two to live. the party decides against making further deals and leaves. Arani drags Aelthar outside of the boundary of the emporium and starts beating him telling him that it was her punishment not his. Aelthar simply accepts the beating and the party gathers once more and heads off towards wherever Zariel is.

They talk briefly about where to find her and figure out that she is likely in her main fortress preparing for the upcoming venture they are going to have into the house of the triad. While they rest Arani gets ahold of the sword of Zariel and feels a longing within it as it reaches out to her. It seems to count her as worthy and Arani with brief contemplation attunes to the presence. it changes her into a angelic version of herself, growing angelic wings, her scars dissapear and she gets pools of silver for eyes.

DATE: 05/11/2024

In-game Date Start: ?

In-game Date Finish:

Players Present

• Jeremy (Alexei)

• Oskar (Luci)

• 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

• List of NPCs

Wall of Shame

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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:

“This was supossed to be my punishment AND YOU STOLE IT!”- Arani

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“Now i have to know that my mistake doomed you to a 100 years.”- Arani

“You have already been punished.”- Aelthar

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“I swear I will find a cure for darkvein so you will live.”- Arani

“It wont help.”- Aelthar

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“I should have never brought you back.” - Arani

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