Post by gavmeister on Apr 28, 2019 14:55:29 GMT
Pankas glances up at the rafters and sees a small figure lurking, a little mechanical man not much larger than a child. A flash of lightning illuminates his face, which is painted with soot to resemble a grinning jack-o’-lantern.
Pidlwick II introduces himself as the Castle’s neglected jester, a role he has performed since the original Pidlwick accidentally fell down a long flight of stairs. He has hidden here for decades to avoid the terrifying Strahd. He offers to entertain the adventurers and show them round. Pankas feels sorry for the little man. The others aren’t sure, but he proves difficult to shake off.
They peer through the tower’s spyglass and see a world outside wracked permanently in storm.
Pidlwick II offers to take them to meet the most terrifying man in the Castle – Lief Lipsiege, Strahd’s accountant. They find Lief chained to his desk completing a book of Barovian double entry accounts. The accountant has worked here for so long that he cannot imagine any benefit in being freed from his labours. Theo searches the most recent files and finds a hollowed out book containing a key. This opens four chests in the room. They liberate a hoard of gold and platinum coins and a Manual of Bodily Health.
Pidlwick II takes them down through the old servants’ quarters. They find a rattling puzzle box. Pankas bashes it open but there’s nothing inside. Ricken opens a coffin shaped wardrobe and an old yellowed dress flies out and starts dancing with Pidlwick II. Bran has had enough of this foolishness and grabs the dress, which falls limply to the floor.
They climb down a further long steep flight of stairs. Bran keeps a close eye on Pidlwick II. They emerge in a gloomy Servants’ Hall filled with low clinging mist. Theo, Giselle and Bran have all now made Pidlwick II unhappy so he takes advantage of the mist to duck down and scuttle off.
Through the shadows the hunched, mutated figure of Cyrus Belview emerges. Ricken decides it is time to be Good again and takes pity on the pathetic figure. Cyrus tells him the Abbott gifted him to Strahd long ago to improve the vampire’s temperament; so in a sense they are both servants of the Morninglord. What a coincidence! He tries to make the vampire’s guests as comfortable as possible, and has also protected the upper floors of the castle from intruders with a set of “cunning and deadly” traps. They notice Cyrus has a pendant with a varnished human eyeball, which he says a kind old lady living in a windmill gave him to help her “keep an eye on things”.
Cyrus shows them the wine cellar through a heavy gate but the rotten old casks are covered in yellow mould and worse. He takes them to the kitchen where he has a steaming pot of unruly zombies on the go. After he beats them back into the pot with a spoon, Cyrus complains that he isn’t the cook he used to be - the meals tend to get out of hand these days.
Cyrus suggests the adventurers are in need of a good long rest and urges them to take the elevator to the guest apartments. Giselle takes a suspicious look around the elevator and its shaft, but likes not what she sees. They decide to press on instead. Cyrus is disappointed. He urges them not to enter the locked and barred room at the end of the Servants’ Hall, which Rahadin has declared off limits. So they decide to do that instead.
Giselle picks the lock. They lift the heavy bars and enter. Dark ancient blood stains cover the floor. Large oak tables scarred and beaten lay scattered like toys, their wood crushed and splintered. Replacing them are furnishings made entirely of human bones. Walls and ceiling are adorned with bones in a morbidly decorative fashion. Four enormous mounds of bones occupy the corners of the ossuary. Garlands of skulls extend from the mounds up to a chandelier of bones. A long table of bones surrounded by ten bone chairs stands in the centre of the room. Above the entrance door hangs the massive skull of Argynvost, the silver dragon who fought Strahd long ago.
Theo decides to light up the dragon-skull’s eyes as a prank. Scattered bones in the room whirl together into a Bone Swarm and attack Pankas and Ricken. An Invisible Stalker, which has followed Pankas after he trod on the Strahd groom miniature, takes advantage of the confusion and attacks the fighter.
The others seem at first to be unaware of the Stalker and focus their attacks instead on the Bone Swarm. Giselle realises at last what magic arrows are for, and smashes a line of destruction right through the Swarm. The bones overwhelm Bran and use him as a human shield. Theo’s familiar warns him about the Stalker and he Eldritch Blasts it. Pankas helps Bran escape from the Bone Swarm but at a cost; the Stalker slams him to the floor unconscious and begins throttling him. The others finish the Bone Swarm off and turn their attention on the Stalker just in time: Pankas is within inches of death. The battle over, Ricken leads a Prayer of Healing.
Going south they explore an old barracks room. They attract the attention of the of Sword Wraiths first encountered on the castle’s upper floor. Theo lures one of the Wraiths away and as soon as it strikes him he incinerates it with a Hellish Rebuke. Ricken confuses the Wraiths (and everyone else) with Spirit Guardians. Giselle has got the hang of magic arrows now, and the other three Wraiths fall quickly.
They return to the Hall of Bones and head through the north door into the ruined Kingsmen’s Hall. A door in the north side of the room invites attention and they go through.
The shadowy room is in perfect order. A great table stands here with its chair, inkwell and quill set carefully in place. Lances, swords and shields bearing the Barovian crest are hung neatly on the dark, oak-painted walls.
Rahadin is here, attended by a shadow demon twin and Helga, who bursts into tears when she sees Pankas.
Theo reacts first – he sends his familiar forward to inflict Contagion on Rahadin, striking the dusk elf blind. Uncharacteristically finding his back against the wall, Rahadin summons a Phantom Steed and tries to jump it over the adventurers and through the doorway. He half succeeds but finds himself pinned against the door. The adventurers suffer the effects of Rahadin’s Deathly Choir but do not relent.
Rahadin falls under a rain of blows and his Steed dissipates. The shadow demon fades back to whence it came.
A smouldering Helga fights back the tears and beats Pankas with the bunch of roses he gave her. She jumps on him and steals one kiss. Pankas feels the blood trickling down his neck and plunges his Blood Spear into her chest. She disintegrates. All is still.
They retire to the guest suite at the top of the catle for a long rest, protected by Theo’s Tiny Hut. They return to the Chamberlain’s office and behind a masked door find a dusty, web-choked staircase of ancient worn stone that descends into darkness.
Pidlwick II introduces himself as the Castle’s neglected jester, a role he has performed since the original Pidlwick accidentally fell down a long flight of stairs. He has hidden here for decades to avoid the terrifying Strahd. He offers to entertain the adventurers and show them round. Pankas feels sorry for the little man. The others aren’t sure, but he proves difficult to shake off.
They peer through the tower’s spyglass and see a world outside wracked permanently in storm.
Pidlwick II offers to take them to meet the most terrifying man in the Castle – Lief Lipsiege, Strahd’s accountant. They find Lief chained to his desk completing a book of Barovian double entry accounts. The accountant has worked here for so long that he cannot imagine any benefit in being freed from his labours. Theo searches the most recent files and finds a hollowed out book containing a key. This opens four chests in the room. They liberate a hoard of gold and platinum coins and a Manual of Bodily Health.
Pidlwick II takes them down through the old servants’ quarters. They find a rattling puzzle box. Pankas bashes it open but there’s nothing inside. Ricken opens a coffin shaped wardrobe and an old yellowed dress flies out and starts dancing with Pidlwick II. Bran has had enough of this foolishness and grabs the dress, which falls limply to the floor.
They climb down a further long steep flight of stairs. Bran keeps a close eye on Pidlwick II. They emerge in a gloomy Servants’ Hall filled with low clinging mist. Theo, Giselle and Bran have all now made Pidlwick II unhappy so he takes advantage of the mist to duck down and scuttle off.
Through the shadows the hunched, mutated figure of Cyrus Belview emerges. Ricken decides it is time to be Good again and takes pity on the pathetic figure. Cyrus tells him the Abbott gifted him to Strahd long ago to improve the vampire’s temperament; so in a sense they are both servants of the Morninglord. What a coincidence! He tries to make the vampire’s guests as comfortable as possible, and has also protected the upper floors of the castle from intruders with a set of “cunning and deadly” traps. They notice Cyrus has a pendant with a varnished human eyeball, which he says a kind old lady living in a windmill gave him to help her “keep an eye on things”.
Cyrus shows them the wine cellar through a heavy gate but the rotten old casks are covered in yellow mould and worse. He takes them to the kitchen where he has a steaming pot of unruly zombies on the go. After he beats them back into the pot with a spoon, Cyrus complains that he isn’t the cook he used to be - the meals tend to get out of hand these days.
Cyrus suggests the adventurers are in need of a good long rest and urges them to take the elevator to the guest apartments. Giselle takes a suspicious look around the elevator and its shaft, but likes not what she sees. They decide to press on instead. Cyrus is disappointed. He urges them not to enter the locked and barred room at the end of the Servants’ Hall, which Rahadin has declared off limits. So they decide to do that instead.
Giselle picks the lock. They lift the heavy bars and enter. Dark ancient blood stains cover the floor. Large oak tables scarred and beaten lay scattered like toys, their wood crushed and splintered. Replacing them are furnishings made entirely of human bones. Walls and ceiling are adorned with bones in a morbidly decorative fashion. Four enormous mounds of bones occupy the corners of the ossuary. Garlands of skulls extend from the mounds up to a chandelier of bones. A long table of bones surrounded by ten bone chairs stands in the centre of the room. Above the entrance door hangs the massive skull of Argynvost, the silver dragon who fought Strahd long ago.
Theo decides to light up the dragon-skull’s eyes as a prank. Scattered bones in the room whirl together into a Bone Swarm and attack Pankas and Ricken. An Invisible Stalker, which has followed Pankas after he trod on the Strahd groom miniature, takes advantage of the confusion and attacks the fighter.
The others seem at first to be unaware of the Stalker and focus their attacks instead on the Bone Swarm. Giselle realises at last what magic arrows are for, and smashes a line of destruction right through the Swarm. The bones overwhelm Bran and use him as a human shield. Theo’s familiar warns him about the Stalker and he Eldritch Blasts it. Pankas helps Bran escape from the Bone Swarm but at a cost; the Stalker slams him to the floor unconscious and begins throttling him. The others finish the Bone Swarm off and turn their attention on the Stalker just in time: Pankas is within inches of death. The battle over, Ricken leads a Prayer of Healing.
Going south they explore an old barracks room. They attract the attention of the of Sword Wraiths first encountered on the castle’s upper floor. Theo lures one of the Wraiths away and as soon as it strikes him he incinerates it with a Hellish Rebuke. Ricken confuses the Wraiths (and everyone else) with Spirit Guardians. Giselle has got the hang of magic arrows now, and the other three Wraiths fall quickly.
They return to the Hall of Bones and head through the north door into the ruined Kingsmen’s Hall. A door in the north side of the room invites attention and they go through.
The shadowy room is in perfect order. A great table stands here with its chair, inkwell and quill set carefully in place. Lances, swords and shields bearing the Barovian crest are hung neatly on the dark, oak-painted walls.
Rahadin is here, attended by a shadow demon twin and Helga, who bursts into tears when she sees Pankas.
Theo reacts first – he sends his familiar forward to inflict Contagion on Rahadin, striking the dusk elf blind. Uncharacteristically finding his back against the wall, Rahadin summons a Phantom Steed and tries to jump it over the adventurers and through the doorway. He half succeeds but finds himself pinned against the door. The adventurers suffer the effects of Rahadin’s Deathly Choir but do not relent.
Rahadin falls under a rain of blows and his Steed dissipates. The shadow demon fades back to whence it came.
A smouldering Helga fights back the tears and beats Pankas with the bunch of roses he gave her. She jumps on him and steals one kiss. Pankas feels the blood trickling down his neck and plunges his Blood Spear into her chest. She disintegrates. All is still.
They retire to the guest suite at the top of the catle for a long rest, protected by Theo’s Tiny Hut. They return to the Chamberlain’s office and behind a masked door find a dusty, web-choked staircase of ancient worn stone that descends into darkness.