Post by gavmeister on Jan 20, 2019 17:13:47 GMT
Returning from Berez they meet up with Theo in the shadow of Argynvostholt. They find themselves in the midst of shades of fog re-enacting the battle of long ago when Strahd defeated the silver dragon Argynvost. Theo has been visited again by his patron, Tenebrous, who has graciously taught him more magic spells and a ritual.
They encounter the Spirit Lamp again, which has been dug up by one of the Abbott’s failed experiments, and has promptly possessed the thing. The flesh golem bludgeons away whilst the trapped souls in the spirit lamp inflict misery on the party. Eventually they beat down the golem. This time Bran destroys the lamp with the Sunblade, whilst Theo prepares lunch and copies down some rituals from the Mad Mage’s spellbook.
Bran surprises Theo by giving him the Flute of Haunting. The new, kind-hearted Bran unnerves everyone.
The skeleton rider approaches Pankas and hands him an everlasting bunch of pink roses. There are two name tags for possible recipients: Gertruda, the missing daughter of Mad Mary in Barovia village; and a mysterious ‘Helga’.
They spend a night at van Richten’s tower then head into the Baratok foothills in search of the Mad Mage. Giselle follows an elk trail and they eventually find the Mage, still hiding under a Mind Blank spell. They keep him company until it wears off, then present him with his spellbook. The Mage reveals himself as the might Mordenkainen, archmage of Oerth. He invites them to spend the night in his Magnificent Mansion. This turns into a stag night for Bran. Mordenkainen shares his concerns that Barovia has stagnated under the rule of Lawful Evil, and his hopes that the adventurers will be able to restore the balance. He presents Pankas and Giselle with Charms of Heroism. Madam Eva’s reading is proven true once again!
They travel on to Vallaki where Ricken officiates at Bran’s wedding to Muriel in St Andral’s church. Giselle wears a lovely frock and Theo says some kind words. He also conjures an illusion of a full moon which temporarily disconcerts the Martikov family. Blinsky gives Muriel a faceless doll in a yellowing wedding dress.
Bran’s honeymoon is regrettably short, however. The party step out of the Blue Water Inn to find Strahd’s Black Carriage awaiting them. Not wishing to postpone dinner with the Count any further, Giselle clambers on top of the coach while the others ride inside… with the exception of Bran who follows behind on Binky.
They drive on through the rain to the gates of Barovia, and then the high road to Castle Ravenloft.
The carriage drives past two ruined guard towers and they get their first clear sight of Castle Ravenloft’s towers before them. The Black Carriage glides effortlessly over a rotting drawbridge across a chasm and through the gates of the Castle. Bran is not so fortunate. Binky stumbles and puts his hooves through some loose boards and the mount begins falling, dragging Bran with it. Fortunately, Muriel has been keeping an eye on things and swoops down in wereraven form just in time to pluck Bran out of the skies. She drops him off at the Castle gate warning him to be more careful in future.
Fog swirls around the courtyard as thunder and lightning move in. The main door to the castle is open and the party venture inside in search of warmth.
They find themselves in a small entrance chamber with four human-sized dragon statues looking down on them, their eyes flickering in the torchlight. They press on through another set of doors into an octagonal Great Entry hall with four stone pillars supporting the ceiling, around which hang eight stone gargoyles. There are doors to the east, a staircase to the north and another hallway to the south.
A tall dusk elf descends from the staircase. He announces himself as Rahadin, the castle chamberlain. He ushers them south, through the Guests’ Hall, and west into the Dining Hall. Standing close to Rahadin, Theo hears a sound like hundreds of voices screaming far away. They enter the Dining Hall and Rahadin closes the doors behind them.
Seated at a mighty organ at the far end of the Hall, Strahd plays a demonstrative toccata and fugue. A splendid feast is laid out for the adventurers. Strahd interrupts his playing and bids them eat. Bran is typically stand-offish but the others accept the Count’s hospitality.
Strahd makes polite conversation for a few minutes but then abruptly turns into his mist-form and leaves. A fierce bone-chilling wind roars through the room. They hear distant sounds of doors slamming across the castle, the main entrance portcullis drops and the drawbridge is raised. Torches are blown out. Ricken casts Light and Bran draws the Sunblade.
They search the Dining Hall and find a secret door behind the organ. They go through and find a storeroom containing dozens of mirrors of all shapes and sizes. Theo catches a fleeting glimpse of an undead version of himself in one of the mirrors. They find a corridor leading to the narrow spiral Guards Stair going up and down. Giselle and Pankas scout up the staircase passing a similar corridor on the Court of the Count level, and then they climb further and reach the castle Parapets. Pankas sees a figure scuttling around the roof-tiles. They become anxious about splitting the party and re-join the others.
They make their way back to the Entry hall and inevitably are attacked by the eight gargoyles. Giselle wastes a magic arrow on one of them, and battle is joined. The gargoyles hit hard at first. Theo cowers until Ricken channels a powerful Radiance of the Dawn to stagger the monsters. The warlock then plays a Haunting melody on his Flute which spooks the gargoyles, leaving them easy targets. A couple of rounds of steel blades and they are done.
The party rest in the Dining Hall then make their way up the northern staircase. Pankas sets off an annoying but weak trap on the landing, and they keep going up.
They emerge in the Audience Hall where a large wooden throne faces the south wall. They find a secret door to the corridor on this level which Giselle and Pankas passed earlier. A set of double doors are in the east wall, as is a single door. Bran barges through the double doors and finds himself in a narrow north-south corridor with another set of double doors in the east wall. He is distracted however by two floating skeletons which he attacks before realising they are just a collection of bones wired together for show. Behind the one to the north is a hidden door, which they decide to follow into a clean well-swept short corridor leading to the King’s Apartment Stair.
A light shows from a doorway which Pankas and Bran open. They encounter Helga, the castle maid, busy dusting a chamber containing eight beds with yellowing lace curtains. Pankas blurts out a greeting and presents a delighted Helga with the bunch of pink roses. Bran, however, notices the maid beginning to smoke when he approaches with the Sunblade. He accuses Helga of being a vampire and she bolts. Pankas strikes a glancing blow with his spear, as she hurtles past on her way to the stairs. The others are surprised to see their two companions giving chase to a smoking hot maid.
They encounter the Spirit Lamp again, which has been dug up by one of the Abbott’s failed experiments, and has promptly possessed the thing. The flesh golem bludgeons away whilst the trapped souls in the spirit lamp inflict misery on the party. Eventually they beat down the golem. This time Bran destroys the lamp with the Sunblade, whilst Theo prepares lunch and copies down some rituals from the Mad Mage’s spellbook.
Bran surprises Theo by giving him the Flute of Haunting. The new, kind-hearted Bran unnerves everyone.
The skeleton rider approaches Pankas and hands him an everlasting bunch of pink roses. There are two name tags for possible recipients: Gertruda, the missing daughter of Mad Mary in Barovia village; and a mysterious ‘Helga’.
They spend a night at van Richten’s tower then head into the Baratok foothills in search of the Mad Mage. Giselle follows an elk trail and they eventually find the Mage, still hiding under a Mind Blank spell. They keep him company until it wears off, then present him with his spellbook. The Mage reveals himself as the might Mordenkainen, archmage of Oerth. He invites them to spend the night in his Magnificent Mansion. This turns into a stag night for Bran. Mordenkainen shares his concerns that Barovia has stagnated under the rule of Lawful Evil, and his hopes that the adventurers will be able to restore the balance. He presents Pankas and Giselle with Charms of Heroism. Madam Eva’s reading is proven true once again!
They travel on to Vallaki where Ricken officiates at Bran’s wedding to Muriel in St Andral’s church. Giselle wears a lovely frock and Theo says some kind words. He also conjures an illusion of a full moon which temporarily disconcerts the Martikov family. Blinsky gives Muriel a faceless doll in a yellowing wedding dress.
Bran’s honeymoon is regrettably short, however. The party step out of the Blue Water Inn to find Strahd’s Black Carriage awaiting them. Not wishing to postpone dinner with the Count any further, Giselle clambers on top of the coach while the others ride inside… with the exception of Bran who follows behind on Binky.
They drive on through the rain to the gates of Barovia, and then the high road to Castle Ravenloft.
The carriage drives past two ruined guard towers and they get their first clear sight of Castle Ravenloft’s towers before them. The Black Carriage glides effortlessly over a rotting drawbridge across a chasm and through the gates of the Castle. Bran is not so fortunate. Binky stumbles and puts his hooves through some loose boards and the mount begins falling, dragging Bran with it. Fortunately, Muriel has been keeping an eye on things and swoops down in wereraven form just in time to pluck Bran out of the skies. She drops him off at the Castle gate warning him to be more careful in future.
Fog swirls around the courtyard as thunder and lightning move in. The main door to the castle is open and the party venture inside in search of warmth.
They find themselves in a small entrance chamber with four human-sized dragon statues looking down on them, their eyes flickering in the torchlight. They press on through another set of doors into an octagonal Great Entry hall with four stone pillars supporting the ceiling, around which hang eight stone gargoyles. There are doors to the east, a staircase to the north and another hallway to the south.
A tall dusk elf descends from the staircase. He announces himself as Rahadin, the castle chamberlain. He ushers them south, through the Guests’ Hall, and west into the Dining Hall. Standing close to Rahadin, Theo hears a sound like hundreds of voices screaming far away. They enter the Dining Hall and Rahadin closes the doors behind them.
Seated at a mighty organ at the far end of the Hall, Strahd plays a demonstrative toccata and fugue. A splendid feast is laid out for the adventurers. Strahd interrupts his playing and bids them eat. Bran is typically stand-offish but the others accept the Count’s hospitality.
Strahd makes polite conversation for a few minutes but then abruptly turns into his mist-form and leaves. A fierce bone-chilling wind roars through the room. They hear distant sounds of doors slamming across the castle, the main entrance portcullis drops and the drawbridge is raised. Torches are blown out. Ricken casts Light and Bran draws the Sunblade.
They search the Dining Hall and find a secret door behind the organ. They go through and find a storeroom containing dozens of mirrors of all shapes and sizes. Theo catches a fleeting glimpse of an undead version of himself in one of the mirrors. They find a corridor leading to the narrow spiral Guards Stair going up and down. Giselle and Pankas scout up the staircase passing a similar corridor on the Court of the Count level, and then they climb further and reach the castle Parapets. Pankas sees a figure scuttling around the roof-tiles. They become anxious about splitting the party and re-join the others.
They make their way back to the Entry hall and inevitably are attacked by the eight gargoyles. Giselle wastes a magic arrow on one of them, and battle is joined. The gargoyles hit hard at first. Theo cowers until Ricken channels a powerful Radiance of the Dawn to stagger the monsters. The warlock then plays a Haunting melody on his Flute which spooks the gargoyles, leaving them easy targets. A couple of rounds of steel blades and they are done.
The party rest in the Dining Hall then make their way up the northern staircase. Pankas sets off an annoying but weak trap on the landing, and they keep going up.
They emerge in the Audience Hall where a large wooden throne faces the south wall. They find a secret door to the corridor on this level which Giselle and Pankas passed earlier. A set of double doors are in the east wall, as is a single door. Bran barges through the double doors and finds himself in a narrow north-south corridor with another set of double doors in the east wall. He is distracted however by two floating skeletons which he attacks before realising they are just a collection of bones wired together for show. Behind the one to the north is a hidden door, which they decide to follow into a clean well-swept short corridor leading to the King’s Apartment Stair.
A light shows from a doorway which Pankas and Bran open. They encounter Helga, the castle maid, busy dusting a chamber containing eight beds with yellowing lace curtains. Pankas blurts out a greeting and presents a delighted Helga with the bunch of pink roses. Bran, however, notices the maid beginning to smoke when he approaches with the Sunblade. He accuses Helga of being a vampire and she bolts. Pankas strikes a glancing blow with his spear, as she hurtles past on her way to the stairs. The others are surprised to see their two companions giving chase to a smoking hot maid.