A lot has happened over the day. It all started last night, when a strange man delivered a letter to my companions, Titus, Len, and Eliza, as well as myself. The letter, signed by Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich of Barovia, spoke of a threat that faced Ireena Kolyana, and asked for our aid. There was much debate on whether we should help, given that none of us have ever heard of Barovia, but in the end, we decided to sleep for the night, and travel west to Barovia, as instructed.
This morning, breakfast was more eventful than most. Titus, being an artificer, was able to enchant my armor and halberd, improving them through magic. They will be of great aid in the coming battles, and I am thankful for Titus for the gift. When we set out for the road, we were joined by an orphan boy who tried to pick my pocket the night before. He never gave us a name but calls himself “Big Man.” Ha! As if he was. No, until he proves himself, I shall call him boy, for that is what he is.
By the afternoon, we were nearing the end of our journey, when all of the sudden, a mystical fog overtook us. There was no chance of escape. We were caught within it. I have no idea what force is responsible, but whatever it is, they wanted us to end up in a town unlike any I’ve seen before. I still do not know what this town is called, but I believe that it might very well be Barovia.
We were swept off into another adventure when we found two children, a girl and a crying boy. They claimed their parents were missing, that there was a monster in their basement, and that their newborn brother was stuck in the nursery on the third floor. Naturally, we were inclined to help, and entered the house. That is where our trouble began.
We found that there was more to the house than meets the eye. The first and second floor look tidy and clean, as if someone had been living in the house. And then, the third floor was covered in dust and cobwebs. It was on the third floor where the trouble started, when we were attacked by an animated armor and broom, both of which fell to the magical onslaught of Len, Eliza, and the boy. When we found the nursery, we were attacked by the spectral ghost of the nursemaid. She fell quite easy to my halberd, with Torm strengthening my blow to smite her to whatever afterlife awaits her.
A more thorough investigation revealed several facts. When we looked down on the street, the mist had engulfed the town, and the two children who sent us here were long gone. The newborn boy, the reason why we were here, was never here to begin with. We ended up finding a secret room in the library, revealing tomes of dark magic that were later debunked by Titus to be fake. There was a chest inside of the room with a broken poison dart trap that killed another adventurer. Titus shot the skeleton’s skull clean off with his crossbow, even though it was not undead. We looted the chest, which, ironically, contained a scroll of Protection from Poison. It also contained the book I write in now as my journal.
The skeleton had a letter clutched in its hand. Much to our surprise, the letter had the same seal and handwriting as the one that sent us on our path to Barovia. It was signed by Strahd von Zarovich, and spoke of how a cult lived in the house where they made human sacrifices in the basement. We knew that we were in trouble, but we decided to rest for the night before moving on with wherever our paths take us next.
Truth be told, although Titus thinks we should, I think there is more to the house than we’ve found. The basement that both the children and letter mentioned is nowhere to be found. Additionally, there is no bedroom for the two children, if they even existed in the first place. I hope to search for the missing bedroom and basement entrance, and that we can solve what has brought us here.
Chance The Podcaster 