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Session 8: Knifeplay

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Alexei runs over, sliding through Mika’s legs while chugging a healing potion.

Khalia goes to swing at Alexei, but before she can, Alexei strikes a tendon in her arm, causing her to drop the blade. She catches it in her off-hand, and thrusts it into Khalia’s gut.

“I win.” - Alexei

Key Developments and Revelations

  • The party defeats the armor on the 2nd floor of the mansion and find the two owners of the mansion in the attic imprisoned in cages

  • The party sneaks into the kitchen on the 1st floor and finds the cook who has been ordered to make cinnamon buns for Mika

  • They continue into the cellar, where the voice of the Hidden Lord talks to them again

  • Arani finds Ira and Carel and the party frees Maxi and Kade

  • The party defeats Khalia and finds the armor of the Hidden Lord

Full Session Notes

Upstairs the party has encountered the ‘Helmed Horror’, an infernal animated armor with three runes on his chest that absorbed the magical attacks from Aelthar. The party defeats the armor, destroying the runes and Arani takes the magical shield on her back. They continue on and find a stairway up into the attic. Upstairs the owners of the mansion are imprisoned in cages, and seem afraid when we introduce ourselves as the Crimson Cloud.

We offer them to walk down with us, Thalia warning them that they should stay put if they’re unsure if they can move around the mansion without being found. They said that there might be a way out through the sewers, but decide to stay put until we gave them the all clear. When Thalia asked them if there’s any place they might have hidden a stash of artefacts or things that might help them they warn her about the chest in the master bedroom. There’s a trap on it.

The owners remain in the cages, with Arani leaving a bit of rations with them and the keys they found in the studio downstairs.
In the master bedroom, Alexei checks the chest for traps and doesn’t find anything at first, so she allows Arani to open it and reveals a few useful items like Healing Potions and Kits. Arani sweeps the Potions but when she reaches for the Poison kit the trap is triggered and a cloud of poison spreads into the room. Mika, who was sitting ontop of the bed right behind the chest gets dragged out by Arani grabbing her horns and fireman carrying her out of the room.

Arani decides to go back in to grab the others items and takes a heavy hit from the poison. We decide against taking the ten minutes for Thalia to heal us up and sneak down into the first floor and right into the kitchen where we bump into the cook.

He greets us with Cinnamon buns, something that he was ordered to make and hand over to Mika when she comes through. Mika gleefully takes a few before walking into the pantry to check for any ingredients she could buy from the cook.

She grabs three containers with spices in them and pays for one, while Arani hands over the money for the rest of them. This confuses Mika for a good minute until she realized what happened as they continue down the stairs into the cellar. A few shanenigans later, Alexei scouts ahead, finds the door leading to the sewers then opens the door to a wine cellar.

As the rest of the group steps into the room, the voice of the Hidden Lord speaks into their minds again. He reveals that he can sense the presence of celetial being among our group and follows up with speaking into Arani’s head alone. He tells her that her presence feels familiar, from before and from right now as a presence like hers has been around for a while. She asks if they are okay, assuming that he’s referring to one of her siblings. The Hidden Lord says that they are alive.

Because of the words of the Hidden Lord and Alexei’s teasing, Mika misunderstands her to be a god and a few more playful teasing ensues among the group.

They continue into the sewers, first splitting up a bit to investigate the area and Alexei scouting ahead again.

She finds a bigger door and listens in, hearing the sounds of armor moving a bit and reports back to the group. They discuss their next steps for a bit before barging into the door and fighting against the two guards inside.

Alexei starts opening the cellar doors during the fight to reveal empty rooms, until Arani joins in and finds one of her siblings, Ira.

They embrace as the fight continues and Khalia appears. She congratulates the group on finally arriving, mocking Mika specifically about Minravints who seemed to be very important to her. She has mentioned him briefly before and said that she was her baking teacher. She doesn’t get to ask any further question before Khalia attacks.

During the battle, Arani opens the remaining cells, freeing Maxi who joins the fight against Khalia. The fight was tense, until Alexei speeds up to face a hurt Khalia and knocks the sword out of her hand before grabbing it out of the air and stabbing Khalia with it. Khalia dies.

Arani finds another of her siblings, Carel, in the last cell and has a heartfelt reunion with both of them. Maxi offers to take them back into her home and keep them safe until the party returns. Arani agrees but holds on, the siblings reluctant to let each other go after being reunited after almost 8 years, but then allows Maxi to take them away.

Kade, another prisoner who was freed, reveals herself to be a member of the Knights of the Scale and has been looking for the armor of the Hidden Lord. the party has agreed to retrieve the armor already so they join Kade to go through the remaining rooms.

When they enter the next room in the back of the sewers the voice of the Hidden Lord speaks to them again, and then orders the two guards in the room to kneel. They struggle against it but the party quickly executes them.

The Hidden Lord reveals his story to the party, explaining that the Knights of the Scale worship him as a god, but that they have kept him inside the armor to use him for his power and that they would not allow him to be free. Arani points her sword at Kade as a reaction and tells her to leave them immediately. She seems confused and yells around for a while. Thalia and Alexei try to diffuse the situation but Arani doesn’t back down, saying that they are abusing a holy creature for their power and that Kade should leave with her life but leave the armor with them.

A heated discussion breaks out between Arani and Thalia, who suspects the armor and the being inside to be fiendish and not celestial in nature, but Arani trusts the feeling of familiarity that she sensed from the Hidden Lord.

During the discussion the Hidden Lord asks Arani to put the armor on to show them that he only means to share his power with them, which she does. Much to the dislike of Thalia.

DATE: 17/10/2023

In-game Date Start: 9th of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

In-game Date Finish: 9th of Hallowtide, 959 A.D.

Players Present

  • Jeremy (Alexei)

  • Oskar (Mika)

  • Sari (Arani)

  • Sydney (Thalia)

  • Trym (Aelthar)

Subbed Characters

  • Sydney played Aelther

Completed Quests

  • Link to completed quests

Obtained Quests

  • Link to quests picked up this session

Locations Visited

  • List of Locations

Important NPCs Interacted With

  • Kade

  • Ira

  • Carel

  • Khalia

Wall of Shame

  • Trym - Power cut out

  • Oskar - 4 min

  • Sari - 2 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:

“The cinnamon buns was a nice treat, unless they’re poisoned, in which case you can go fuck yourself.” - Alexei

“So what did you buy from him?” - Mika

“So one of us is a god?” - Mika

“No.” - Thalia

“That’s not how it works.” - Aelthar

“I… am a god.” - Alexei, oblivious to the previous conversation, walking out with two wine bottles.

Alexei runs over , sliding through Mika’s legs while chugging a healing potion.

Khalia goes to swing at Alexei, but before she can, Alexei strikes a tendon in her arm, causing her to drop the blade. She catches it in her off-hand, and thrusts it into Khalia’s gut.

“I win.”

“Knifeplay… Hot.” - Khalia’s last words