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“That is your problem to face. May Erathis judge you justly.” - Cassandra

Key Developments and Revelations

• Bugbears and Trolls of the Grurruk-Tal are dealt with

• Support from Revelle arrived and most promptly left

Full Session Notes (Sydney)

Leaving the settlement, the group goes out with the reinforcements to battle with the bugbears. We hear the sound of warhorns, both the bugbears and another group.

Zara, warging through Keena, sees the bugbears attacking two groups of people, one from House Albaris, whose banner is a silver stag jumping over a shattered stone wall of pine green, and one from House Fenroth, who has a banner with a red-crested helm atop crossed lances which are dripping water on a pale blue field. Zara is aware that these noble houses are considered minor houses. The group arrives and helps the people being attacked, including Elderan Albaris and Seressa Fenroth, as well as their warriors.

During the battle, Brakor’s tattoos light up as he enters a ‘second stage’. We defeat the bugbears, and Cassandra is given Brakor’s magical greatsword. Elderan Albaris tells us that Revelle contacted them via Sereya. Elderan asks who we are, and we inquire about the supplies and resources they are providing to the settlement. He tells us that Sereya and her group are currently fighting the trolls and don’t appear to need help.

On the way back to the settlement, Belaern talks to Matheo about his reaction to the name Sereya and whether they need to worry about these people. Matheo reassures him that we don’t need to worry about them, but when arriving at the settlement, he runs around trying to disguise himself. The party is informed that the illness has been cured, and we see that the trolls have been taken care of.

Sereya and her group depart from the trolls’ territory and head into the guild laboratory. Everyone in the party, except Matheo, goes to the laboratory. We pass by one of Sereya’s party members, a Dragonborn priest of some kind, who is going into the settlement. Before we are visible to the people in the laboratory, we hear Revelle saying that she doesn’t want to run, and that there is so much more research to be done in the ruins.

Cassandra asks for a word with Revelle, and Zara asks to join them. Sereya and her party members introduce themselves to Belaern and Killian. Cassandra asks why Revelle is opposed to the Silent Wing. She tells us that the Silent Wing is seeking control of knowledge, a notion with which Revelle disagrees. Cassandra doesn’t believe her about the bad things Revelle claims the Silent Wing has done. Revelle then discusses her sect within the Adventurers Guild, known as The Resurgent Circle. They believe that the world is on the edge of a new era and that by studying the ancient past, they will ascend into the next era. After Cassandra leaves, Zara tells Revelle to run, and that by staying, she is being honorable and stupid.

Returning to the settlement, Zara approaches Matheo, asking if he’s alright. Matheo says yes and asks if the group should discuss what’s happening. The party gathers and begins to talk about what happens if Isareth and the Silent Wing are people we need to watch out for. Most people in the group say that if there is an imminent threat to the settlement, they will defend it, and if that threat comes from Isareth, they would leave.

DATE: 29/06/2025

In-game Date Start: 5th of Hallowtide, 988 A.D

In-game Date Finish: 5th of Hallowtide, 988 A.D

Players Present

• Jeremy (Killian)

• Oskar (Cassandra)

• Rasmus (Belaern)

• Sari (Matheo)

• Sydney (Zara)

Subbed Characters

• Everyone was present.

Completed Quests

• Defeat the Bugbears of the Grurruk-Tal

Obtained Quests

• N/A

Locations Visited

• East of the Settlement (Bugbear territory)

• Settlement

• Guild Laboratory

Important NPCs Interacted With

• Seressa Fenroth

• Elderan Albaris

• Dain

• Sereya

• Nellari

• Lucairn

• Revelle Endor

• Vaeren Isareth

Wall of Shame

• Sari - 1 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:

“That is your problem to face. May Erathis judge you justly.” - Cassandra

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